Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Get back here, ecto-scum!” Maddie yelled as she fired off another shot from her ecto-blaster. That thing had killed her Danny and was using her poor baby’s body. And this had been going on for almost 2 years. Her poor baby. But she was bound and determined to get kill that ghost scum and lay her poor baby’s body to rest. If it was the last thing she did.

“Tell him, fudgecakes,” Jack called while aiming the Fenton bazooka at the thing. Of course, Jack’s shot went wide (his shots usually did), but Maddie didn’t fault him for that. She took another shot at Phantom which landed. Her face twisted into a baleful grin when Phantom shouted in pain, but Phantom’s flight didn’t falter, instead he got further away. Damnit.

Phantom took one last look back at the two hazmat-wearing scientists before turning invisible and rocketing up into the stratosphere. Tears were streaming down his face as he turned towards the slowly rising sun. He had one of his many go-bags on his back and began racing east. He and his friends and Jazz had gone over worst-case scenarios and escape plans many times. There weren’t too many cities that he could go to which had the same amount of ectoplasm in it, so he was limited in his choices. His first choice was Gotham, much to the dismay of his entire team. But he told them that Gotham had all of the Bats and an insanely large population of homeless teenagers. The GIW and the Fentons (even if they were batshit (hehe) crazy wouldn’t dare invade Gotham. Plus, Phantom was pretty sure that Gotham had a sentient City Spirit. Eventually, his arguments won out.

Phantom, bleeding and exhausted, finally landed in a grime covered alley. He carefully checked to make sure no one was around and made sure there weren’t any cameras (not that they would have been able to see anything; most cameras glitched out around ghosts anyways) before he allowed his transformation to wash over him. He scrunched his nose in disgust at the smells of the alley; blood, piss, literal shit, vomit, and other less pleasant (read identifiable, not that Danny was thrilled to be able to identify any of the other smells) wafted over his nose. He looked around to see if he could find somewhere to hide for a moment.

There.

A bit of cardboard in the dumpster. Danny snagged it and then dragged it behind the dumpster. He flopped down and winced in pain as the motion aggravated his wounds. He opened his go bag to see what all was in it. He found an envelope of cash which he quickly phased into his thigh. This was Gotham and showing that he had any cash on him was just asking to get mugged. The second thing he found was a burner phone (thank you, Tucker), again quickly phased into a random body part. He found a small wallet with a new id, phase into yet another body part (he was going to run out of body parts at this point). The med kit was a very welcome sight and could stay in the bag, as could the clothes, the thermos, the wrist ray, and a few other items that had been packed. He sent a silent word of thanks to his team before turning his attention to the med kit.

The med kit was an industrial sized one, thank the Ancients. He pulled out an ecto-dejecto and pressed the injector hard against his thigh. He let out a hiss of pain as the needle released the healing ectoplasm into his system. It was one of the few inventions of his par…Jack and Maddie that he was truly grateful for. It hadn’t worked as designed, but that worked in his favor. The next thing he pulled out was the Fenton Fishing line. Danny lifted his shirt to see where the last shot Maddie had gotten on him. It was red and angry and definitely needed a few stitches, at least until the ecto-dejecto kicked in, which wouldn’t be for another few hours. His stitches were clumsy and uneven (they usually were when he had to do them on himself), but eventually he was able to tie the last one off. He wrapped the wound in a layer of bandages and then burned the used supplies with a carefully placed ectoblast.

Now his next problem. Where would he sleep for the night. His first thought was to seek out abandoned buildings, but he quickly discarded that thought. He remembered Jazz’s PowerPoint on Gotham. Too many rogues attacked, and abandoned buildings and warehouses were prime realty for rogue attacks. Plus, there could be other homeless people, and while Danny himself had never been homeless before, he knew that there was some kind of rule or hierarchy within the homeless camps. And he was pretty sure that they would NOT take kindly to a new homeless person encroaching on their perceived territory.

His second thought was to try to find an apartment or hotel to rent. But he discarded that just as quickly. While he was fairly sure that Tucker’s new id would stand up to scrutiny, knowing Fenton Luck and the fact that he was now in the city where the famed Oracle was supposed to be squirreled away, well, he wouldn’t put it past something triggering an alert somewhere. Either his id was fake, and it would bring the Bats on his head, or it would ping on the GIW radar. Neither was a good option.

Sleeping in the alleys or out in the streets was just as bad of an option as the first and for the same reason. But in some ways, they were actually worse. Sleeping out in the open is just as likely to encroach on another’s territory as it is to get him noticed and/or kicked out for being there. He didn’t know Gotham’s law about sleeping in public places, and it wasn’t like that was something he had to worry about back in Amity.

Before he could truly panic, a cop call rolled by and stopped at the mouth of the alley. A metaphorical light bulb went off over Danny’s head. Even if Danny thought ACAB (thanks Freakshow and his mind-control bullshit), that would be absolutely PERFECT. It would be like hiding in plain sight. Sure, cops worked for the government, but who would think that he would sleep in the back of a cop car. No one did that willingly. It would be like him going to the GIW. As long as he could maintain his invisibility and intangibility, he would be fine.

He grabbed his bag, made sure that he had everything and raced to the car before it could pull away. He made sure that no one was already occupying the back seat before phasing inside. He stretched out along the bench seat and listened to the radio chatter for a few moments before drifting off to sleep. He would wake every so often when the car would move spots, but otherwise, his slumber was rather peaceful. When he heard the cops say something about ending their shift, he was brought into full wakefulness.

He stretched carefully, grabbed his bag, and then phased out of the door. He made a note of the unit number so that he wouldn’t sleep in the same one twice. He meandered over to another alley and pulled out his phone. He was surprised to see that he slept for almost 6 hours, and it was just after 2 in the afternoon. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that it had been a while since he’d last eaten. He sent a quick text to the Team Phantom group text that he’d landed in Gotham and had managed to find somewhere to sleep. He didn’t go into detail (they didn’t ask) before phasing the phone back into his thigh. He reached into his other thigh for the envelope and grabbed some cash. He pulled a few dollars out and makes his way to what appears to be a grungy diner.

He ordered his meal, a nice hamburger with a chocolate mint shake (not as good a Nasty Burger) and left the waitress a nice tip before wandering back out into the murky Gotham streets. His next problem would be to find a place where he could shower and change his bandages. He figured he had several options for this. He could either sneak into a hotel, a gym, a truck stop, or something like a community center. He pulled out his phone and began googling what would be his best options. Everything would likely have cameras, even if he planned on using his invisibility. A hotel would probably be the better option, with a community center coming in a close second. He decided to go with the hotel option because he could use his invisibility to check whether or not a room was occupied. If it was, then he could back out, no harm, no foul. If not, then free shower. His bag had included the basic toiletries so that was one less thing to worry about. And just like with the cop cars, he would make sure not to use the same one every night. He would also alternate between hotels and the two community centers that he’d found.

For the next couple of months, Danny would say that his life was decent. It wasn’t great because of the whole, you know homeless thing, but it wasn’t horrible either. He had a roof over his head, if you counted the sleeping in the back of cop cars as a roof. He had enough money to last for a few months (thanks, Grandma Ida), and he was getting a decent shower every night. He stopped a few low-level, petty crimes; his Obsession wouldn’t let him NOT interfere, damnit.

And then things went to absolute shit.

Danny had been sleeping so well, till suddenly he wasn’t. The car was flying down the pock-marked roads. Something about a trafficking-ring bust that the Bats had busted. It had been a BIG bust too. Black Mask AND Scarecrow had teamed up. The car pulled in front of the busted up warehouse (again, this was why he didn’t sleep in the damn things), and Danny hastily grabbed his go bag and phased out. He panicked trying to find a new sleeping spot. It looked like every damn cop car in GCPD was there.

FUCK!

Where was he going to sleep now? He couldn’t risk a hotel, and he got quite a few side eyes just using the laundromats. He had to close his eyes to prevent his “scary eyes” from flashing (fuck you, Vlad, his eyes were NOT scary, they were an emotional and trauma response) green. He took another look around when his eyes locked on a weirdly armored vehicle that was oddly reminiscent of the GAV. Unlike the GAV that was all silver and green that just screamed cartoon villain, this vehicle was solid black, but just as heavily weaponized. Danny didn’t care; he still phased into the back seat. Danny curled up into a small, tight ball and promptly went back to sleep.

He didn’t notice when the motherfucking BATMAN, and no less than three of his associates jumped into the vehicle with him. Nightwing, who claimed shotgun, Red Robin, who’d been slightly injured with a mild concussion, and Robin also slightly injured with a broken wrist were in the back. Red Robin and Robin both began shivering as Danny unconsciously made the temperature around him colder than other areas.

“Tt. Father, I demand you turn up the temperature,” Robin demanded.

“Y-y-yeah…B…it’s c-c-c-cold b-b-back here,” Red Robin stammered.

“Hn” Batman grunted, but he reached for the temperature control anyways.

The rest of the ride back to the Cave was quiet, not even Nightwing could get the younger Bats to talk. The Batmobile rumbled to a jerky stop which caused Danny to wake and lose his invisibility. The four vigilantes stared at this random ass teenager who just fucking appeared in the goddamn BATMOBILE in absolute shock. Danny let out a startled “eep” before phasing out of the vehicle and into the Cave proper. He didn’t get far because he realized he was well and truly lost. The four vigilantes jumped out of the vehicle and got into battle ready stances.

“Uh…” Danny said intelligibly.

“Who the fuck are you?” Another vigilante snarled at him. Danny jumped and floated in the air for a few seconds. His ghost sense kind of but not really went off when he looked at the man. The man wore a deep red helmet, a black leather jacket, some sort of Kevlar armor. Danny could make out the outline of Bat symbol across the man’s chest. Danny could see glowing green flash from behind the lenses of the man’s helmet, and all four of the other vigilantes instantly forgot about the random teenager in the Cave.

“Hood, stand down,” Batman ground out.

Rage/Pain/MINE/PROTECT/MINE came from the brick shithouse, and Danny let out another startled yelp.

Calm/Friend/like you Danny sent back, and the one called Hood instantly relaxed.

Batman turned and placed a heavy hand on Danny’s shoulder, and Danny slumped in defeat. Batman frog-marched the boy to the large meeting table. Danny held up in hands in surrender. Batman shoved him in a seat, and Danny nearly folded over the table but refrained from doing so. He did, however, draw his knees to his chest, crossed his arms across his knees, and laid his head down so that only his eyes could be seen.

“Umm, please, I’ll go wherever you say, just please don’t turn me over to the government. They’ll vivisect me. I’ve seen their plans,” Danny pleaded.

The mouths of all the gathered Bats dropped open in horror. Even Signal, the daytime hero, had gathered in the Cave was absolutely flabbergasted. Hood placed a hand over the center of his chest, right where his own Y-scar was. The only scar that the Lazarus Pits hadn’t taken away when he was dunked in it after his resurrection. Red Robin was the first to regain some semblance of cognitive function.

He spluttered for a few minutes. “But…but…but they can’t. That…That’s against the Meta Protection Acts,” Red Robin finally stammered out.

“Uh, but I’m not a meta. According to the Anti-Ectoplasm Acts, I’m considered an ecto-entity. Which, also means that I’m a non-sentient, non-sapient ball of post-human consciousness and/or emotion that’s imprinted on ectoplasm and if found I’m to be handed over to the Ghost Investigation Ward or as we call them the Guys In White for extraction, experimentation, and extermination since we don’t feel pain.”

Danny watched as Red Robin’s fingers flew over the keyboard on a laptop that he pulled from who knew where. He didn’t know what the vigilante was seeing, but his lips had thinned into a very thin line. Danny didn’t even know it was possible for a person’s lips to almost disappear like that.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Ectoplasm. Like ghost goo?” Hood asked, incredulously.

“Yeah. Exactly like ghost goo. It’s what we ghosts are made of,” Danny snarked.

“Well, you look pretty damn alive for a ghost,” Hood snarked back.

Danny considered for a moment. “I’m a rare case. The other ghosts call me a halfa, half ghost, half human.”

“How does one become half ghost?” someone, probably Spoiler, asked, voice full of skeptical sarcasm.

Danny bristled, and his eyes flashed green. Everyone at the table tensed, waiting for the murderous rage that usually accompanied that color. Did this boy have something to do with the League of Assassins, after all? “Please don’t ask. Ghosts tend to react violently when people ask about their deaths.” Nearly everyone at the table inhaled sharply, including Danny. Danny forced himself to calm down.

Batman felt bile rise in his mouth and had to choke it back down. This was another child he’d failed. Danny didn’t look like he could be a day over seventeen, and that was pushing it. He met Red Robin’s eyes and had a silent conversation with his son who only nodded. So far, the mysterious teenager had been telling the truth. About the Anti-Ecto Acts. At any rate.

“Why are you in Gotham?” Batman asked instead of the 100 other questions rolling around in his head.

“It…it wasn’t safe…my par…some scientists began hunting me because they were in league with the GIW. The day I left, one of them got in a good shot. And the other one was aiming a bazooka at me. He missed, but the first one shot me again. I managed to grab my bug-out bag and run. When I landed in Gotham, I was…wounded.” Another sharp intake of breath followed this statement. Danny dropped his head on his arms. But no one missed how the boy had almost said his parents. Hood was seeing green. Again. He forced it back down.

“Where have you been living all this time?” Signal asked.

“Umm…Mostly in the back of cop cars. I would take showers in different hotels, truck stops, and even in the community centers. But I would sleep in the cop cars. I figured if the GIW came looking for me here, they would ask the local law enforcement, and I would hear it over their radios.”

For a solid blink of time, everyone sat in silence. Hood was the first to break it by laughing so hard he had to pull off his helmet. Nightwing looked laid a hand across his chest in mock offense, but Danny could tell the vigilante was fighting a smile. Soon enough, everyone except Batman and Robin were either laughing with Hood or smiling. Batman brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and gave the most Tired Dad sigh to ever dad sigh. Robin was scowling at everyone.

“That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard,” Hood gasped out, wiping tears that were leaking out from his domino mask that he’d had on underneath his helmet. “Can we keep him?” Hood asked, as if he were asking to keep a lost pet or something. Danny was so confused.

Batman sighed. Again. He knew that he would never live down the “adoption bait” jokes he heard, and the boy would fit right in. And in the deepest parts of his brain, he had already begun filing the mental adoption papers. Oh god. Maybe, he really did have a problem. But then again, Wayne Manor did have the room, and the boy needed help, that much was obvious. He was far too skinny, and Alfred would skin him alive if he turned the boy away. And if he put the boy into the foster care system, he’d likely end up as part of a meta trafficking ring, much like the one they’d busted up tonight. He’d only just gotten Duke out of the system before something had happened. Then, he realized that he didn’t even know the boy’s name.

“What is your name?” Batman asked softly, dropping his typical Batman growl.

Danny blinked up at him. “D…Danny, sir.” The other vigilantes began laughing again. Danny was still confused. Hood made another “c’mere” motion followed by safe/mine/protect coming from a sort of pseudo core. Danny hopped out of his chair and walked over to Hood.

“Danny, we’ll do everything we can to protect you. You’re safe here,” Hood said fiercely, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy.

“Oh. I…I…ca…can’t. You’ll get…You’ll get in Trouble,” Danny flinched away from the kindness the older man was showing him. Tears began forming in the corners of his eyes.

“Danny, you let us worry about that. We’ve handled far worse than some mere government schmucks. Hell, most of us of punched gods and walked away. We can keep you safe. We want to help,” Hood spoke softly the boy who had begun trembling in his arms. Even Robin nodded.

“But…but…what about the Anti-Ecto Acts? If you get caught harboring me, you could get charged with TREASON!” Danny stammered. His heart rate actually in the normal people range for once, which meant it was jackhammering for him.

Hood pulled the boy in close and held on tight. Danny tensed as the buff arms held on tightly but then melted into the hug. And that was all he needed before the flood gates opened. The rest of the Bats sat in silence, listening to Danny sobbing in Hood’s arms. After what seemed like hours, Danny finally quieted down, hiccupping softly against the larger man who, somehow, reminded him of his dad, no, never again his dad, Jack. The other man’s sort-of core began softly purring which startled both of them.

“YOU DIED TOO?!?!” Danny whisper shouted as he looked up at the man. He kind of knew, but this was just confirmation of the fact, one he’d hoped to ignore. “No, wait. Ignore that. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It caught me off guard. I didn’t mean…” Danny babbled. Hood reached down and ruffled Danny’s hair with a bark of laughter to show that he wasn’t offended.

“Yeah, kid, I died too,” Hood said softly. The rest of the Bats tensed. Usually, whenever someone mentioned Hood’s death, fists were flying. He picked Danny up and settled him in his lap. Danny squawked but immediately leaned against Hood, emitting his own purr in response.

“You don’t have to tell me how. I can sense it, just not the specifics,” Danny mumbled around a jaw-cracking yawn.

“Is there any thing we should avoid talking about?” Red Robin asked.

“Yeah. Like I said, don’t ask about how a ghost died. If they offer first, that’s one thing. But speaking of it causes them to relive their deaths. And most ghosts don’t form under, well, peaceful or happy circumstances. It can cause them to lash out, often very violently.” Danny heard a soft, “that explains so much” that he wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear but super-hearing was bitch sometimes. “Next thing to know is that all ghosts have Obsessions. They’re not…” Danny swallowed thickly. Hood rubbed his hand on Danny’s back; the action bringing Danny a small measure of comfort. These people knew Hood died and still accepted him so maybe it would be ok. “I know the word obsession has negative connotations, but for a ghost, it’s what anchors them to the Living Realm. If they don’t fulfil their Obsession, it will cause the ghost great pain and eventual death.”

“But aren’t all ghosts dead?” Spoiler asked in disbelief.

“Uh, yes, but also no.”

“What even does that mean?” Red Robin exclaimed.

“A small percentage of ghosts are formed from those that died. But then you have the Neverborn, those who were never alive to begin with, the Ancients, who are concepts like Time, Hope, Sleep/Dreams, Weather, given form, and then you have the other afterlives that inhabit the Infinite Realms, like Heaven, Hell, Valhalla, and many others. All of their inhabitants, like demons from hell, would technically be considered an ecto-entity if not technically a ghost.” Multiple Bats groaned at this admission. “But back to Obsessions. When a ghost Fades or is Ended, that’s it. No more. No reincarnation. No more afterlife. Nothing. They’re just gone. And an Obsession can be anything. Back home, one ghost’s Obsession was being remembered. Another ghost’s Obsession was boxes.”

“BOXES?” Red Robin snorted.

“Boxy is an absolute menace. Especially that time he managed to get into an Amazon Warehouse.” At least, Danny’s voice had gained some strength.

“I’ve brought everyone some food,” an older man with a British accent in a finely tailored suit and also wearing a domino mask appeared from somewhere pushing a snack cart in front of him. Danny startled so hard that he would have floated a few feet in the air if not for Hood’s arms wrapped around him. “Does the young master have any allergies?” Hood nudged Danny to answer the question, so he shook his head.

“I don’t like toast. The only allergy I have is an extinct flower called Blood Blossom or Rosa Sanguis. It’s one of the only things that can like kill me all the way,” Danny said as the older gentleman nodded succinctly and set a plate in front of him. Danny’s eyes began sparkling. He’d never seen such an array of food that was actually edible outside of fast food. “Oh ANCIENTS. This is so good. And I didn’t even have to fight it first.”

Hood choked on his own food. “Kid, what?” Hood choked out after hitting himself in the chest to dislodge the food that had gotten stuck.

“Let’s just say that ectoplasm stored in the fridge can have an interesting effect on the food stored there,” Danny said after a sip of some hot chocolate that the gentleman had brought to go with the food. “The hotdogs were rebelling against the sandwich meats. And the fruits and veggies were holding the cheese hostage the last time I looked in the fridge.” Hood wasn’t the only one who choked at that particularly concerning statement. What even was this kid’s life? Batman heaved yet another Tired Dad sigh. He seemed to be doing a lot of those and pinched the bridge of his nose again.

“Did anyone ever try to call the Justice League?” Batman finally asked.

“Yeah, we tried. But we were ignored, or told to stop calling in pranks because ghosts aren’t real, and eventually we just gave up,” Danny said with an air of resignation. Hood clenched his arms around Danny.

“What is the name of your town?” Danny looked extremely uncomfortable at the question, but Hood ran a hand down his back.

“Amity Park, Illinois,” he answered softly,

Batman pulled a tablet from somewhere…WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM???...and begun looking into the Justice League’s files on the Watchtower to see if Danny’s claims were true. They couldn’t be true. He didn’t want them to be true. His fingers clicked against the screen of the tablet in a furious rhythm. He hoped against all hope that Danny’s claims that the Justice League had ignored a child in danger were false. The Leage knew ghosts existed, after all, they had Deadman. And Red Robin had once worked with Secret, aka Greta Hayes. How? How could they ignore something like this?

Batman’s lips disappeared almost like Red Robin’s had earlier. A total of 15 calls originating from Amity Park had been placed to the Justice League’s Helpline. A total of 15 calls had been ignored or dismissed. He saw a whole slew of names: Jasmine Fenton, Tucker Foley, Samantha Manson, Dash Baxter, Paulina Sanchez, Lance Thunder, William Lancer, Harriet Chin, Star Thunder, Kwan Chin, Wesley Weston, Jeremy Manson, Pamela Manson, Kyle Weston, and Daniel Fenton. Batman paused at the last name. The boy had introduced himself as Danny. OH GODS NO!!! Danny, who said he was half ghost had personally called the helpline only to be told that ghosts didn’t exist. Pain flared in Batman’s head, and he quickly shoved his cowl off, secret identity be damned. Somewhere, Bruce noted that there were several gasps from the table. When he looked up, Danny had his face covered by his hands. At Bruce’s nod, the rest of the vigilantes at the table quickly unmasked as well.

Hood was trying to pull Danny’s hands away from his face. “No. No. You can’t. The GIW will hunt me down. You can’t.” Danny began hyperventilating and actively fighting against Hood’s pulling hands. “Just let me go back to sleeping in the back of cop cars. I’ll be fine.”

Calm/safe/SAFE Jason attempted to calm Danny down in the same manner that Danny had calmed him down earlier. But he noticed that Danny’s breathing eased, and he hung limply against his arms. Jason began carding his hands through Danny’s hair, an action he’d seen Dick do for Damian several times and thought it would further help relax the teenager.

“Perhaps, this is a conversation better suited to be continued in the morning, after breakfast” the gentleman in the suit instructed with a raised eyebrow.

Jason stood up and hefted Danny up with him. Danny squeaked in surprised as he flopped over the walking tank’s shoulder, but he didn’t put up much resistance. “Y’all heard the man. Last one up has to handle Condiment King the next time he acts up,” Jason taunted, already at the elevator. Everyone scrambled from the table as the doors closed. Danny huffed at their antics.

But maybe, just maybe, it would be ok. Batman had looked really mad when he realized that the calls for help had been ignored. Danny cracked another yawn. He sent a quick “I’m still half-dead” to Team Phantom and promised a more in-depth update after he got some sleep. Tomorrow was promising to be an interesting day, if nothing else.

Chapter Text

“By the way, my name’s Jason,” the walking tank said as they walked out of the elevator into a very nicely furnished study. Danny looked around the study with interest. The entrance had been hidden behind a grandfather clock. Danny would remember that for future references.

“So, where we headed? And you gonna put me down?” Danny asked, still semi-draped over Jason’s shoulder.

“My room and nope. I figured the moment I put you down you’re gonna do a runner. Can’t run if I’m holdin’ ya.” Jason paused for a moment because he’d seen the kid density shift out of the Batmobile. “Well, I figured you wouldna density shift outta my arms, anyway,” Jason corrected himself. Danny snorted.

“It’s called intangibility. It’s a basic ghost power. I have a bunch more, but flight, invisibility, intangibility, and overshadowing are something all ghosts can do, but I don’t like that last one much.” Jason filed that bit of information away for later as Danny had kind of hunched in on himself when he mentioned it. Jason didn’t even know how the kid was able to hunch in on himself like that since he was in such an awkward position.

Jason pulled open a door to a room with a large king-sized bed inside. “We took showers downstairs, but the bathroom’s through that door.” Jason pointed to the appropriate door. “If you’re not out in 2 minutes, I WILL track you down and haul your ass back here.”

And somehow, both of knew that Jason absolutely COULD and WOULD do as he threatened. Danny merely snorted again as he completed his nighttime routine. They switched places, and Danny climbed into the bed waiting for Jason to come out of the bathroom. Jason emerged a few minutes later in a pair of well-worn Wonder Woman sweatpants and a matching t-shirt. Jason motioned for the younger boy to put himself against the wall, which Danny was only too happy to do. For the first time, in really, really long time, Danny felt safe and comforted. Jason laid down next to him and without thinking about it, Danny cuddled up next to him. Jason tensed, not expecting this literal stranger to cuddle him (he didn’t exactly give off ‘cuddle me’ vibes, according to well everyone), but Danny had started purring again and was already asleep. Jason allowed himself to relax.

“Master Jason. Master Danny. Breakfast is ready downstairs whenever you’re presentable. I’ve also brought the young master another change of clothes,” called the same British voice from last night. Danny jolted awake, but then remembered the events of the previous night and quickly relaxed.

“Thanks, Alfie. We’ll be down shortly,” Jason called back. “Come on, Specter.” Danny spluttered; Jason laughed. At least it was better than Invis-o-bill or Damned Spook. “Gotta warn ya. It’ll be the whole family. It was ‘bout time B brought in nother one, and with what ya told us last night, and ya bein’ Prime ‘Doption Bait, the whole gang will be chompin’ at the bit to meet ya. But iffin it gets ta be too much, just tell me. There’s plenty o’ places in Manor for a bit o’ quiet.”

Jason let Danny get himself dressed and ready to face the horde that was the Wayne family. They repeated their switch off like they had last night. When Jason emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered, he had on a fresh pair of loose jeans and a different T-shirt. Jason noticed that Danny seemed decidedly more nervous and kept a firm hand on his shoulder as he guided the younger boy down to the dining room. He knew from the sound and by how many people had gathered that they would be in the main dining room, so he guided the two of them there.

Danny “eeped” and froze when he saw the sheer number of people at the table and stepped behind Jason, hoping the older man’s bulk would effectively hide him. Jason slid his hand from the bony shoulder down to the boy’s back and knelt down and turned to face him so that he was eye level to Danny instead of towering over him.

“I meant what I said last night. You’re safe here. And I meant what I said upstairs. If it gets too much, we can leave,” Jason said softly, reaching inside of himself like he had last night to send calm/safe/family to the boy who was slightly trembling. Jason heard someone (probably Dickface, fucker) coo over the two of them about how adorable big brother Jason was being. This caused Danny to flush slightly pink, but he nodded. Jason stood up and led Danny to an empty spot next to him.

“Just a reminder, that the table is for eating. Nothing relating to ‘nightly activities’ is to be discussed. This will also give Master Danny time to enjoy his meal,” Alfred said sternly, with the Raised Eyebrow brought into play to bring home the fact that he was serious. Everyone at the table responded that they understood and watched as some of the tension Danny had been holding in his slim frame dissipated.

The resulting meal was enjoyable, if a little muted, by Bat standards, at any rate. No knives flew (Damian). No curses were muttered or screamed (Jason/Steph). No one got hugged (Dick). And no one grunted (Bruce). Danny thought it was absolutely wild that he ended up with THE BATMAN who was also the himbo Brucie Wayne (he was so totally going to owe Wes 50 bucks the next time he saw the ginger).

Eventually, the pleasant breakfast came to an end, and Danny latched onto Jason once again as he was led to another room. Danny was both impressed and not by Wayne Manor. He’d seen Vlad’s mansion in Amity and his castle in Wisconsin. He’d also been around Sam and her money. This Manor was both more lavish, but at the same time, more homely. It gave off the same types of vibes that Jason did. Jason settled Danny next to him on a small two-seater couch. The rest of the family filed in and took their preferred seat.

Danny took a fortifying breath and almost wished he could climb into Jason’s lap like he had last night. Jason must have sensed his newest brother’s distress and moved closer to him. Jason let the younger boy lean against him, even as Danny fidgeted with the pillow he’d pulled into his lap and picked at the threads of the cushion underneath him.

Danny took another breath, “Ok. Let me start with my pa…par…Jack and Maddie Fenton.” Danny took a moment to wipe the tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes. “They studied anything and everything related to ectoplasm. I think they even have some kind of degree in study of ectoplasm. They got it from the University of Wisconsin. Anyways. For my entire life, they’ve always been obsessed, and I mean the human version of obsessed, with ghosts. But, to them, ghosts were just evil, non-thinking balls of ectoplasm, incapable of thought or pain, that wanted to manipulate humans and take over the world.”

“A bit contradictory there, isn’t it? To take over the world, that requires thoughts and plans and so much more,” Tim asked around a sip of his third cup of coffee.

“Yeah, well, nothing about them ever made much sense. But for me, it was my normal. In college, they were working on their first Ghost Zone portal. It didn’t work. Quite literally blew up in the face of one of their colleagues. But that didn’t mean they gave up on trying to build a portal to the Ghost Zone. They wanted to prove that ghosts existed, and that they were right about ghosts.”

Danny took another deep breath and leaned a little harder on Jason. Jason allowed it. He could feel the boy beginning to tremble and wished that he could take away whatever was troubling him, but he also knew that in order to help him, the Bats had to know. “Last year, they finally finished working the full-scale portal. It was built in the basement of our house. That’s where their lab was. The day before my birthday they bragged about how they finally completed it. When they plugged it in, nothing happened.”

Jason watched as Danny gripped his left arm tightly. Now that he was paying attention, he could see faint Lichtenberg figures starting at his middle finger and racing up his palm. Didn’t those fade after a few days? Jason was going to be sick as a sudden thought occurred to him. Judging from the looks on the rest of the Bats, they had just caught on as well. Jason finally gave in to his urges and lifted Danny into his lap. Danny let his head thunk lightly against Jason’s chest while tears streaked down his face unchecked.

“The next day while my older sister was out, I snuck a couple of my friends down to the lab. I wanted to show them the portal. It…it wasn’t supposed to be working anyways. I took all of the necessary precautions. But I was dumb teenager, and the hazmat didn’t fit right. I was fiddling with something inside the portal, and on my way out, I tripped. I used my left hand to brace myself against the wall, but instead of bracing, I…I…found the primer button. The secondary ON button.”

Danny turned his face and buried it into Jason’s chest, heaving sobs. He’d never had to tell his story to anyone before. Maddie and Jack hadn’t given him the chance to explain; Jazz just knew he was Phantom, and Sam and Tucker were the day it happened. Danny vaguely thought he heard someone throwing up, but he didn’t care. What he did care about was the burning pain down his arm. It hurt. IT HURT. PAIN. SCREAMING. MAKE IT STOP. PLEASE. GREEN. MAKE IT STOP!!!

“Danny, you’re not there.” Someone was holding him and rubbing circles on his back. “Danny. I know it hurts. But you’re not there.” Danny’s arm was twitching, but the person holding him didn’t stop rubbing his back. When Danny finally calmed down, he realized that it was still Jason holding him through his apparent panic attack. He took the proffered tissue and blew his nose.

Danny knew that he had to continue to tell his story, so he took yet another deep breath to steady himself. “Near as me and my friends could figure, it was something between fifty and sixty thousand volts of electricity that ripped through me. But Ghost Zone is made up of ectoplasm. So, the electricity ripped through me, but so did the ectoplasm. At the same time. In an endless loop for a few minutes until the portal stabilized. The next thing I remembered I was laying on the floor of the lab with white hair, and green eyes, and my whole outfit had been inverted. About a month afterwards, ghosts started pouring out of the portal. I felt like it was my fault that the portal opened, so it was my responsibility to keep the ghosts from hurting humans.”

Bruce was going to be sick. Again. Even though he’d been around the Flash family to know that lab accidents could give people powers, the Flash family hadn’t DIED because of their powers. And logically, Bruce knew of other metas that had gained their powers in less than stellar conditions, even if they didn’t necessarily have the meta gene. On top of that, this child was left alone (There was going to be absolute HELL to pay once he was able to get back up to the Watchtower, which was his next priority) to deal with this shitshow.

“Last night I told you how I ended up in Gotham. But it wasn’t the whole truth. I had gotten careless. I have this form and my ghost form. I can’t show you my ghost form because it might bring the GIW to Gotham. But anyways. After a fight with one of my, I guess you would call them my rogues, I was hurt and tired and flunking my English class and all I wanted was my bed. I phased into my room and didn’t check if anyone was there before transforming back into Danny. Jack and Maddie saw me go from Phantom into Danny. They were convinced that Phantom had killed Danny and was using his body like some sort of sick meat puppet. But they were always more the shoot first, ask questions never. They didn’t even let me explain the halfa status.”

“But why Gotham,” Dick asked.

“Uh…because of you…well, not you as the Waynes. But you as the Bats and Birds. I knew Batman would flip shit if the Fentons and the GAV…”

“The fuck’s a GAV?” Jason snarked.

“Their Ghost Assault Vehicle. It got so bad when Jack was driving, that the local news station had a report on whether or not he would be spotted out driving it each day.” Several of the gathered vigilantes choked on their drinks. Bruce in his Brucie persona was a driving nightmare, but he was more liable to get speeding tickets than anything else. “Yeah. It was a whole thing. I also knew that the GIW wouldn’t dare to invade Gotham because of Batman. Besides, who would wear all white in Gotham?” Danny wasn’t the only one who snorted at the thought of someone wearing solid white in Gotham. “There was another reason. Gotham has a lot of ambient ectoplasm. It’s something I need to survive. Plus, Gotham has a lot of homeless kids. I’d just be one of many.”

That was…that was an incredibly well thought out plan. Danny had even mentioned something about a bug-out bag. And didn’t that just make everyone’s heart just ache. That he’d had to plan for his parents finding out and rejecting him so horribly that he’d been prepared to run. It was at that moment that they knew he was theirs. They kind of knew it last night, but this only cemented it.

‘New brother,’ Cass signed, dancing in place. Even Damian nodded. Danny just sighed in resigned acceptance.

-----------

“Commissioner,” Batman stepped out of the shadows by the Bat signal.

Commissioner Jim Gordon turned to where the gravelly voice had popped up. He did not jump. He didn’t. He thought about reaching for a cigarette, but he promised Barbara that he was trying to quit. But this new case was getting to him. The ones involving kids always did. He studied the Caped Crusader for a moment. “You’re not the usual Batman.”

“Nope,” the vigilante replied, popping the “p”. Gordon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He’s on urgent JL business. We found out about some serious Meta Protection Rights violations that were happening right under the JL noses. And the sooner those violations get taken care of, the better. Now, what can I do for you?”

“A missing kid,” Gordon hated cases like these, especially coming off the back of that meta trafficking ring the Bats had busted up just a few nights ago.

“Any details you can give me?”

“Teenager. Probably not any older than 16. Scrawny little thing. Got a mouth on him too. Black hair and blue eyes. Likely a meta too.” Gordon could tell Batman (this one usually went by another name, Nightwing) gave him a Look. “Don’t give me that look. He’s not one of the Wayne’s. What you call Prime Adoption Bait, though. But he’s one of ours…”

“One of yours??? You don’t have…”

“Not like that. I meant ours, as in GCPD. Kid’s been sleeping in the back of the patrol cars for a few months. Running from something. At first, he would rotate to make sure he wouldn’t sleep in the same unit. But once word got back to me, I made sure to put some of my better guys on it, and well, we kind of adopted him. He’s ours now. But now, he’s missing. He hasn’t been seen in three days, and that ain’t like him.”

Gordon heaved another sigh. He really hated cases like these. He knew that there was little chance that they would be able to find the little stowaway, or that the Bat would be able to help. But he also knew that there would be a riot if he didn’t try. A sound from the Bat caught his attention. Batman was fucking laughing at him.

“I’m sorry. I’m not actually laughing at you. We found your kid. The night of the trafficking ring bust. He phased into the back of the Batmobile and went back to sleep. Woke up when we got back to the Cave. Scared the hell out of B and the rest of us. Hood practically adopted him on the spot. B and the rest of us weren’t too far behind. In fact, that’s actually where the kid is now. He’s with B on that JL business I was just telling you about.”

Gordon groaned. At least he wouldn’t be facing a riot. His officers would be just mad as hell. That kid was their cryptid. Why did the Bats have to steal him? But that was unfair, he supposed. The trafficking ring had been busted up in the middle of the night, when the kid was usually asleep. If he had phased into the Batmobile, he’d likely done so in a blind panic. And Gordon knew Batman’s propensity for taking in orphans with tragic backstories; something that kid had in spades, especially if he was now involved in Justice League shit.

“I need a drink,” he said to empty air. “I hate it when he does that.” Then, he slunk back down into the station to face the angry almost-mob that was his officers. Maybe he could borrow Officer Grayson from Bludhaven to help spread the news of the boy’s adoption by the Waynes.

In the Clocktower, Oracle, otherwise known as Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon’s daughter was laughing at her dad’s plight.

Chapter Text

“Commissioner, can you come to the parking lot on 54^th between Maple and Elm? Oh, and try to keep this off the radar of the Bats?”

Commissioner Jim Gordon stared at his phone like it was going to explode. He’d been sleeping so good too. Detective Montoya wasn’t often known for throwing him for a loop, but she certainly had. “What’s this about, Montoya?”

“It’s nothing…serious…” Montoya hesitated, which caused the Commissioner to run his fingers through his hair. “It’s more something that you need to be aware of.”

“I’ll be over as soon as I can,” he answered and pressed the hang-up button.

What he didn’t know was how he was going to keep this off the Bats’ radar. The moment he left his house, Oracle (his daughter) would be well aware of his unusual movements. He could feel a headache building up as he pulled on his pants from the previous night and his rumpled shirt that hadn’t quite made it to the hamper. Maybe he could have Montoya or Bullock call in an alarm somewhere away from where he needed to be that would require him to be out of the house. That…wasn’t a bad idea actually. He sent a quick text to Montoya, and when the alert went off on his phone, he had a viable excuse to leave his house. Problem solved.

Once he was in his car, coffee cup in hand, he received the all-clear message from Montoya saying that it was a false alarm. But per protocol he still had to “investigate”. Perfect. Now, he could head to the real investigation site that he’d originally been called for. He deftly avoided the potholes in the road as he traversed the dark Gotham roads.

He pulled up beside, ironically, a donut shop and parked his old beater of a car. He heaved a sigh before he wrapped his coat around him and got out of his car. He saw Montoya first, who motioned him over to the side of the patrol car. Then, he noticed that, in addition to Detective Montoya, there were two uniformed officers. Great. Just fucking great. What in the bloody hell had Montoya pulled him into. He walked up to the car and heard the end of an argument.

“And I’m telling you, he’s gotta be one of them Wayne brats,” Officer Jiminez whisper shouted. As Gordon got within arm’s reach of the indicated patrol car, Officer Jiminez turned to his commanding officer as if the Commissioner could settle the argument once and for all. “Tell him, Commish. He’s gotta be one o’ them Waynes.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Jiminez?”

Montoya smirked at him but came to his rescue. “Take a look, Commish. But please don’t wake him up.”

Gordon did as he was told and immediately regretted it. That was a whole ass child, well a teenager from the looks of it, scrawny and underfed, but no less a child. “WHAT…” Montoya rushed to place her hands on her boss’s mouth.

“I swear to any gods that are listening if you wake him, me, Bullock, and five others will quit on the spot,” Montoya hissed, anger flaring in her eyes. Gordon nodded, and Montoya removed her hands from his mouth. “Kid’s running from something. Don’t take a genius to figure that much out. Ain’t a Wayne, neither, dipshit.” Gordon nodded again. From what he could see, he was taller than Damian (not by much), but shorter than Tim. And he certainly didn’t have Jason’s bulk or Dick’s litheness. Besides, Brucie hadn’t reported taking in another stray, and Gordon knew that both Robin and Red Robin had been spotted flying through the air just moment before he’d been woken up.

“Who is he?” Gordon asked instead.

“No clue. Just started appearing in the back of our cars a few days ago. Scrappy little thing too. Seen him take down two thugs that thought he looked like an easy target. Probably a meta too. Never hear the door open or close when he appears or leaves. Never appears in the cars that have someone back there. Never appears in the same unit. Always gone at the end of the shift. And there’s cold spots around him when he’s asleep. Oh, and sometimes, he flickers in and out of the visible spectrum. He’s got a bag, and Jones says that he’s seen the kid at the washateria.”

Gordon ran his hands through his hair in frustration. On one hand, the kid had probably chosen one of the safest places to sleep. On the other hand, he couldn’t exactly let the kid continue to sleep in the back of police cars. That had to be breaking some kind of law. Right? But on the other other hand, it kept the kid out of trouble and was one less person to worry about during one of the many rogue attacks that Gotham was so fond of. Gordon sighed, having made up his mind.

“Montoya’s right. He’s not a Wayne,” Gordon said out lout. ‘Not yet anyways. He will be once Brucie finds out about him,’ Gordon added in his head. “I’ve been around all five of the Wayne boys enough to know that he’s not of them. “Give me a few days to work out a permanent roster. If this kid is smart enough to work out that sleeping in the back of GCPD cars is safe, I’ll put some of the better officers in the area. Ones that we know won’t sell him out. Maybe we can stock blankets and stuff in the back of the cars that will be stationed in the areas where he will be sleeping.”

Montoya nodded. She knew there was reason she liked Commissioner Gordon. He hadn’t yet let the rot of Gotham eat at his soul. She handed him a list of officers that she knew would be willing and able to help keep the kid safe. Gordon pocketed the list, knowing he would review it and either add to it or take away from it. They had a plan; now they just had to make sure to keep the kid safe.

The next couple of months, various officers of GCPD had a very interesting patrol route. Not they told anyone. No. And if they had a passenger, well that was their business. Gordon made sure that those officers who were “housing” their unexpected guest didn’t have to respond to any emergency calls. And surprisingly, once word spread about the little meta child who was “Prime Wayne Adoption Bait” sleeping in the back of the GCPD cop cards, more officers volunteered to be on shift for “babysitting” duty.

Gotham City, as a whole, had their cryptid Bats and Bird, even if Gordon knew they were wholly human, except maybe Red Hood. Gordon wasn’t sure that Bat wasn’t something else, especially when the lenses of his helmet started glowing an eerie green. But the little meta kid, mouthy little fucker who didn’t take shit from anyone, belonged solely and wholly to GCPD. If Barbara knew about him, she hadn’t said anything about him to Jim. But somehow Jim got the impression that she didn’t know. Because with the kid being a meta(?), Bruce (Batman) would have swept in and taken their little cryptid away in a heartbeat.

----------------

“GODS FUCKING DAMNIT!!!” Gordon cussed. Several officers near him looked at him as if he’d just grown a second head. Detectives Montoya and Bullock inched closer to him.

“What is it, Jim?” Montoya leaned in closer to her supervisor, not wanting anyone to overhead their conversation. It had to be bad if the ever-unflappable Jim Gordon was cussing out loud.

“Black Mask and Scarecrow teamed up for a meta trafficking ring, and I have no choice but to send all available units to respond. Batman and his Birds are in the process of breaking up the ring as we speak,” Gordon responded in the same tone of voice.

“But Jim,” Montoya hissed.

Jim could only nod. He knew what that would mean. It would risk their kid. But he didn’t have any choice. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one,” Jim quoted. Sometimes, he really hated being Commissioner and having to make the calls like this. Montoya and Bullock threw him a hate-filled glare but climbed into their vehicles and sped towards the warehouse where Batman and his Birds had busted up the trafficking ring.

The three of them pulled up in front of the warehouse, and then it was a flurry of activity. Gordon threw himself into coordinating his officers and the other first responders so that the gang members could be appropriately taken care of. Some of them had been injured due to the bullets Red Hood had used (Gordon sometimes wished Hood could kill more of them, but damn morals and shit), and some of them had been injured due to their own stupidity because the quality of goons and hired hands in Gotham weren’t the best.

In the flurry of activity, Gordon lost track of which car the kid had been sleeping in. And in the aftermath, he was so exhausted he didn’t think to check to see if anyone had seen the kid. Montoya didn’t say anything, and neither did any of the regular officers assigned to “Adoption Bait Kid”. And then for the next three days, much to Gordon’s shame, him and his officers had been so busy processing all of goons and thugs that no one had missed their kid.

“Commish. A moment,” Bullock rasped out. Gordon took a moment from his paperwork to look at the shorter, stockier man. He cursed softly in his head. Bullock looked rough, like he hadn’t slept in a week. Gordon motioned for the Detective to come in and close the door. It wouldn’t provide them with perfect security, but it would dissuade others from simply invading Gordon’s office. “Our kid’s missing.”

What???

WHAT?!?!

“WHAT???” Gordon screeched, jumping up from his desk, slamming his hands down, making papers fly everywhere. Bullock winced. Officers outside of the office looked towards the commotion curiously, but when they realized that the door was closed quickly realized that it was none of their business and looked the other way. Gordon took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself. “Since when?” he hissed out.

“Since the trafficking ring bust. I’ve checked with all of the regulars. But nothing. It’s like he’s just vanished in the wind,” Bullock reported with a heavy heart. Gordon knew how he felt. That kid was theirs.

“I’ll tell the Bat.”

Gordon’s heart was heavy as he opened the door of his office and made his way to the roof to light the Bat signal. The subsequent conversation left Gordon feeling entirely wrong-footed. Batman was fucking laughing at him. The asshole. The absolute fucking asshole. And then Gordon’s heart nearly stopped when Batman informed Gordon that his kid was somehow wrapped up in Justice League shit that involved meta rights violations.

“I need a drink,” Gordon said to empty air. “I hate it when he does that.” Then, he slunk back down into the station to face the angry almost-mob that was his officers. Maybe he could borrow Officer Grayson from Bludhaven to help spread the news of the boy’s adoption by the Waynes.

Gordon just knew that his daughter was watching him from her high perch in the Clocktower. And was probably laughing her ass off. Gordon pinched the bridge of his nose as the frigid air of the station hit him. Bullock and Montoya were waiting for him to explain. He could see the anxious expressions of half a dozen other officers. Before Gordon could begin to explain that 1) their kid was safe and 2) that he’d been adopted or was about to be adopted by Brucie Wayne, there was a rather forceful commotion at the front of the station.

“By order of the US Government, you are ordered to turn over the ecto-entity PH-01, otherwise known as Phantom, to the Ghost Investigation Ward,” said a man wearing solid white with sunglasses, holding a blocky looking device and a weird futuristic cartoonish gun with silver and green accents.

“And who are you to demand anything in Gotham?” Gordon stepped forward, pushing through his officers.

“I just told you that we are the Ghost Investigation Ward, and I am Operative K. This is Operative O.  We are…”

“Get the fuck out of Gotham. We don’t like the government here. And we’re the nice ones. Gothamites will be even less nice, if they get their hands on you. Red Hood uses lethal methods, especially if you approach his territory,” one of the officers casually informed the so-called government agents.

Gordon felt pain blossoming in his head. He already knew that Red Hood had indeed received an anonymous tip regarding these agents and knew that bodies would need to be identified come morning. Gordon found that he didn’t particularly care. Somehow, he felt that the white-suited fucks (Who wore white in Gotham???) were after their kid, and he wasn’t going to take that sitting down.

But James “Jim” Gordon was the Police Commissioner, and a damned good one. He had role to play. “Batman won’t stand for you in his city.” He noticed one of his officers slip out to go and turn the Bat signal back on. “I would advise you to get out while you can. I will also advise you that GCPD will not be held responsible for your deaths, mauling, mugging, kidnapping, torture at the hands of the rogues, or other such evil that can and WILL happen in the single most crime-ridden city in America.” The two operatives put up more protests before they were removed from the station. Gordon couldn’t say they weren’t warned.

Not even twelve hours. That had to be some kind of record.

Gordon sighed as he watched two of the white-suited operatives being loaded into an ambulance. One of them was missing a hand, and the other was mumbling something the shadows having teeth and glowing yellow eyes. Or were they red? Gordon didn’t know, and this was Gotham, so it was entirely possible. The fact that they’d been attacked in Crime Alley, and Hood wasn’t responsible…well, his night just got that much longer. The two operatives weren’t the two who had marched into the station, but Gordon felt like there were more where they came from.

“I demand to speak to the officer in charge,” came a nasally voice.

Great. Gordon knew that voice. It was the one who had introduced himself as Operative K. “I’m Commissioner Gordon. You were warned that Gotham wouldn’t be nice to your kind,” Gordon said with a hard edge to his voice.

“We’re Federal Agents. We could arrest you for treason,” snarked Operative K.

“You try that, and they’ll never find your bodies.”

Gordon looked up at the heavily modulated voice. Oh great. Hood was here. Wasn’t he supposed to be with Batman and the kid? No, the other Batman never said Hood went to the super-secret Justice League base. FUCK. Hood had one of his pistols out, safety off. It was resting loosely against his thigh in Hood’s beefy hand, but Gordon knew better than most how fast Hood’s reaction times were. He did NOT want to add more bullet holes to the ceiling of his station, thank you very much.

The four Operatives looked between Gordon and Red Hood before storming off. Gordon heard them mutter something about Hood being an ecto-entity, and that they would be back. Gordon had no doubt that they would. He also knew that between Hood and Oracle, Batman would be well informed of this new development.

“I’m going home. I need a drink.” Gordon announced to no one in particular. Which, mood. Several of his officers clapped him on the back as he left. He didn’t want to be sober for what was coming to Gotham, even if he had to be.

Once again, he got the feeling that his daughter in her Clocktower was laughing at him.

Chapter Text

“Alright, Danny. How does this work?” Red Robin asked as he emerged from the changing room in full gear. Batman was right behind him, also in full gear. Red Hood came out behind them.

“You might want to close your eyes. My transformation can be a bit bright,” Danny informed the two vigilantes. He let his transformation rings wash over him. He heard a gasp and opened his eyes. He didn’t even realize he’d closed them. He looked at the vigilantes and was ready to bolt until Red Robin grabbed his hand, and Batman reached forward to touch his cheek. Phantom leaned into the touch.

“This doesn’t hurt your or anything, right?” Red Robin asked, making notes on his wrist computer.

“No, this is me. But you should know, while I’m Phantom, I don’t have a heartbeat, and I don’t need to breathe. There are a few things that can hurt me, but most mortal weapons won’t be able to touch me.”

Batman and Red Robin both seemed to have pinched looks on their faces. Phantom didn’t know if it was because he was talking about how he didn’t have a heartbeat or something else. Hood stepped up close to the halfa and swept him up in his arms. Phantom let out a startled squawk but wrapped his tail around Hood’s bicep and draped his body across Hood’s broad shoulders. Hood didn’t seem bothered by the extra weight, not that Phantom had much weight in Phantom form. Hood walked over to the zeta tubes, and that’s where Phantom balked.

“Nope. NO. Not happening!” He yelled as he flew up to the top of the Cave and perched among the bats that resided there. The three older vigilantes looked at each other, lost as to what was happening.

“Da…Phantom. What’s wrong?” Hood called.

But all three vigilantes noted that Phantom was too far gone in the throes of what appeared to be a panic attack. Batman was the first to react and shot his grapple to the roof of the cave close enough to Phantom to be within arm’s reach but far enough so that the grapple wouldn’t hit Phantom. Batman let the grapple pull him up and quickly used some of the tools in his belt to secure his position. It was awkward as hell as he hung there in a sort of sideways dangle, but he also didn’t have a lot to work with.

“Phantom. I need you to look at me,” Batman spoke softly as he noted that the ghost began hyperventilating, even after he’d just told them that he didn’t need to breathe. “Phantom,” Batman said a little more forcefully, biting back a flinch when toxic green eyes turned towards him. “I’m going to touch you now.” Phantom took a deep breath but nodded. Batman kicked off one of the stalactites of the Cave and swung forward to grab ahold of Phantom. Phantom whimpered at the contact but hid his face in Batman’s armor. Batman lowered the two of them back to the ground.

Phantom was shivering and sobbing when the two of them reached ground level, his face buried in Batman’s Kevlar armor. Red Robin and Hood looked helpless as Batman walked Phantom through his panic attack. It took another fifteen minutes or so before the half-ghost was calm enough to talk about what had triggered him.

“Sorry. Those tube thingys. They reminded me of the portal,” Phantom said breathlessly. The three older vigilantes looked at the ghost in horror.

“Would it help if you hid under my cape?” Batman offered softly. Phantom nodded, and then proceeded to wrap himself around Batman’s midsection underneath his cape. Batman suppressed a shiver as Phantom’s coldness dug into and through his armor. It wouldn’t do Phantom any good, and probably a lot of harm, if Batman gave any indication of discomfort or being afraid of his newest charge. Batman felt a heavy shudder rack Phantom’s form as the zeta tube activated and heard a faint sniffle coming from the boy under his cape. Batman hid a smile. It wasn’t the first time a protégé entered the Watchtower under his cape, and it likely wouldn’t be the last.

“Phantom, we’re here,” he said softly, while reaching down to pat the boy’s back. A shock of white hair peaked out from below his hair, and then the boy zipped over to the closest window. The boy’s ethereal glow got considerably brighter as he took in the view of the stars.

“We’re in SPACE!” He gasped out.

Red Robin sent an almost feral grin to his mentor, and Hood merely snorted, an odd sound through his helmet. Batman did not sigh. Nope. Nor did he pinch his nose. Not at all. But, Batman did indulge the ghost and allowed him to stare out the windows for a few minutes before signaling to Hood to grab him and pull him away. Phantom made a sound like a deflating balloon but went with Hood. As soon as the group got past the windows, Phantom reattached himself to Batman. They made an odd group as they entered the main conference room of the Watchtower. Batman nodded to the other founders of the Justice League. They returned the nod.

Constantine ran in, looking rumpled and smelling of three-day-old cigarette smoke and too much alcohol. He stopped dead in his tracks and glared at Batman. “Oi Bats. Why in the fuck do you have a Realms being attached to your cape?” He hollered.

This exclamation got everyone’s attention. Phantom peaked out from beneath Batman’s cape and then floated next to him. Constantine readied several spells to attack the ghost, but both Red Robin and Red Hood took fighting stances against the magician. Batman pulled out a batarang and held it defensively in front of the ghost. Constantine wasn’t sure if he would be able to take out the Realms being AND three Bats.

“BLOODY HELL, BATS,” he snarled.

“I was human, once. And my home is Earth. NOT the Realms,” Phantom snarked. Constantine’s head shot up in shock. That was NOT what he expected the ghost to say. And Deadman had never been powerful enough on his own to be visible or to speak without magic or without overshadowing someone. Constantine dropped into a chair and sunk his aching head into his hands.

“What are the Realms?” Hawkwoman asked.

“The Infinite Realms. The Realms between all Realms. Like the glue between universes. Every religion that believes in an afterlife is contained within the Infinite Realms, but also they are like the gateway between different dimensions,” Constantine said wearily.

“Uh, Bats, uh, want to explain your, uh guest,” Flash asked, looking warily between Batman, Constantine, Red Robin, Red Hood, and what Constantine had called Realms being.

Flash recoiled at the positively antagonistic glare that he received from both Red Robin (who had hacked the Watchtower’s logs and seen who had ignored the calls from Amity Park) and Batman. Flash held up his hands to signal that he meant no harm, but the glares from the other heroes didn’t recede. He grew more concerned when Kid Flash, all four of the Green Lanterns, Green Arrow, and Doctor Fate received the same glares.

Batman and Red Robin began their presentation (everyone shuddered at the thought of another PowerPoint from Red Robin). Their eyes grew wide when they realized just how serious the matter was. Hood kept fiddling with his pistols, which made everyone in the room, except for the Bats, even more nervous.

“Because of the GROSS INCOMPETENCE of multiple people of this League, we’ve failed this child…” Batman practically snarled.

“Now see here, Bats…” Constantine interrupted.

“SHUT UP, CONSTANTINE.” Red Hood growled and pointed a pistol at the man. Batman nodded at Hood.

“As I was saying, we’ve failed this child. We failed his entire town. We left him and his entire school at the mercy of what Constantine calls Realms beings. Because of our negligence, we allowed laws to be passed which declared his entire species illegal.”

Constantine sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, we’re fucked. If the Ghost King hears of this, he’d be well within his rights to invade and wipe off the map.”

“He’s already aware, but he’s trying to force his Council to NOT push for war,” Phantom informed the Justice League. Batman side-eyed the ghostly teenager because WHAT THE FUCK.

The Justice League erupted and devolved into chaos. Shouts and insults were tossed from one side to the other like a ping-pong ball. Batman tried multiple times to regain control over the meeting, but it was no use. Wonder Woman finally got tired of the yelling and let out a shrill whistle that pierced through yelling match.

No one was paying much attention to what Constantine was doing in his little corner.

Phantom let out a startled yelp as he felt a violent tugging on his core; Batman and Red Robin lunged for him, but he disappeared in a puff of toxic green mist, only to reappear in the center of Constantine’s summoning circle.

“What the fuck?!?!” Phantom demanded of the magician, rubbing at the center of his chest where his core lay. The rest of the League looked just as stunned as the magician.

“YOU’RE THE BLOODY DAMNED GHOST KING!!!” Constantine shrieked, his voice raising several octaves by the time he was done.

“That’s what happens when the previous Ghost King pulled my whole Haunt into the Infinite Realms and threatened the lives of my friends and family. What was I supposed to do. Let them die. Let him invade and enslave the rest of the world. The Justice League turned their backs on us. I wasn’t about to do the same. I didn’t WANT the crown or the responsibility, but the only other choice was a Lex Luthor wanna-be megalomaniac, and I’m not about to turn the Realms over to that fruit loop,” Phantom snarled.

Batman signaled Hood, who in turned broke the summoning circle and carried Phantom out of the meeting room. The other members of the League had gone pale at Phantom’s rant. By the time Hood and Phantom were in the hallway, Phantom had silent tears streaming down his cheeks, and his head was buried in Hood’s chest. Hood was rubbing circles on Phantom’s back as he carried the younger boy to an empty room.

Batman waited until they were out of the room, and the door had closed before rounding on the League. “This is why we have proper screening protocols. This is why there is an established helpline. But now an entire town has been placed in danger because of our failure. Now, an entire town has lost faith in the Justice League and what we stand for because of our failure. A corrupt government agency has locked down that town because of our failure. How many MORE towns has this happened to because of our failure?”

Every member of the League present would later swear that Batman had pinned them, personally and individually, with a glare from Hell. How he could glare at anyone with those white-out eye spaces on his cowl was anyone’s guess, but everyone present would swear he managed it.

“Batman. How many calls were received from Phantom’s town?” Wonder Woman asked softly. She knew her friend well enough to know that there was more to the story. She would make a point to ask him about it later.

“A total of 15 calls were received.” A deep silence fell over the League. “One of the calls originated from Phantom himself. Only to be told that ghosts don’t exist.” His voice was deathly calm, belying his own fury.

Wonder Woman shook her head in dismay. No wonder Batman and his partners were so upset. But Wonder Woman also felt that something deeper was at play. “WHO?” She demanded, fury sparking in her eyes. Everyone, except Batman and Red Robin, recoiled and shrank away from her.

Batman knew what she was asking and didn’t hesitate to answer. “Both Flashes. All four of the Green Lanterns. Green Arrow. And Doctor Fate.”

“I will PERSONALLY deal with them. This shall not stand.” Wonder Woman stood to her impressive 6 foot 4 inches and towered over most of the League. Righteous fury was radiating off her. She imperiously gestured to the aforementioned heroes to follow her. Batman could only hope that the Watchtower could withstand the fury of an enraged Amazonian. The chastised heroes stood and meekly followed after Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman left the rest of the meeting to Batman, knowing that he would want to review helpline call protocols to ensure that nothing like Amity Park happened again. Green Arrow and Green Lantern, John Stewart, both tried to talk to Wonder Woman, but she instantly shut them down. She was in no mood to talk. She opened another meeting room and took her place at the head of the table. She motioned for the other heroes to join her. They filed in, rather reluctantly, if they did say so.

“Flashes. You two will be joining the cleaning crew. However, I believe that regular cleaning materials won’t be enough for you. I’ve heard some of my coworkers at the museum tell their children to clean the bathroom with a toothbrush.” The Flashes gasped. Wonder Woman nodded. “Yes. The Bathrooms. For the ENTIRE Watchtower. 6 months. Minimum. And if I find you slacking, I will have to revisit your sentence.” (Superman leaned over to Batman and gave him an update to which both Red Robin and Batman had almost feral grin on their faces.)

“Doctor Fate. You will be helping to train the younger heroes, and we will be placing a lock on you that will prevent you from accessing your powers or magic.” Doctor Fate looked utterly affronted. Which. Fair. But also, he left an entire town to suffer ghost attacks regularly when he was part of Justice League Dark and knew about Deadman. (Once again, Batman and Red Robin received an update via Superman. This time, they couldn’t help the snort that slipped out.)

Wonder Woman’s Justice League communicator beeped, and she grinned at Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow. “Green Arrow. I think your punishment would be better served in Gotham. In fact, I think Wayne Enterprises has special position just for you. You will be reporting directly to Bruce Wayne and/or Tim Drake-Wayne. Of course, you’ll be expected to sign an NDA and a non-compete agreement, and anything you work on or see there will have to be kept confidential.” Green Arrow just groaned. Queen Industries and Wayne Enterprises had healthy competitions with each other, but there were some things that Wayne Enterprises were ahead of, and now that he was going to be able to see and touch and work on it…it wasn’t fair. Wonder Woman simply smirked at him.

Wonder Woman turned to the four Green Lanterns. She watched as they gulped in fear and let the silence in the room draw on. “As for the four of you, you will be sent to help clean up various cities, after rogue attacks, after major disasters, or just general cleanup, with the exception of Gotham, and you will do so without using your ring constructs.” The four Lanterns looked properly horrified. They meant that they would be doing manual labor. EWW. Wonder Woman gave them a rather evil smirk. She knew that they had gotten rather reliant on their rings, so cleaning dirt, garbage, debris, and other unpleasant things with their bare hands would do them good. (Batman and Red Robin both laughed when Superman informed them of the Lanterns punishment.)

“All seven of you will properly apologize to Phantom. He will decide if there will be any further punishment,” she said with a hint of finality.

“I wish to volunteer to go to Amity Park,” Flash, Barry Allen, piped up, guilt leeching into his voice.

“Phantom will be the one who decides who goes into Amity Park. And his decision will be final. The only other person with veto power will be Batman.” Her tone brokered no argument. She stood up and led the group back to the main meeting room.

Phantom let out a laugh as the semi-broken and thoroughly thrashed heroes walked back in. His eyes were still a little puffy and red-rimmed from crying, but he was definitely in better spirits (ha!). Most of the other Leaguers were asking questions about Amity Park and what needed to be done about the ghost problem there. They were taking the problem seriously.

“The biggest problem is the Fentons’ portal…”

“I’m sorry…did you say a portal…to the Infinite Realms. As in a stable, man-made portal?” Constantine asked, choking on a sip of something from one of his flasks.

“UH…yeah. The Fentons built a portal in the basement of their house. And while I know that one of my friends was able to shut it down before I was forced to leave Amity, I don’t know if the Fentons were able to repair it or get running again,” Phantom replied. Every single member of Justice League Dark blanched. Wonder Woman shot a dark look to those who had ignored the calls from Amity as if to say it was somehow their fault.

“I’m not sober enough for this shit,” Constantine grumbled.

Most of the other Leaguers nodded with him. They felt that in their very soul. The Fentons had managed what not even the most powerful of magics could do, a stable, self-sustaining portal to the Infinite Realms. And judging from the number of calls from Amity Park, a literal hotspot for other Realms beings to visit on a regular basis. Granted, Phantom had managed to contain the Realms beings to Amity Park and had managed to keep human casualties to a minimum, which was surprising since he had almost no support.

By the end of the meeting, Phantom had chosen a small team to go to Amity. The team consisted of Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Captain Marvel. But they would have to wait until Phantom could engineer some Spector Deflectors because no one wanted overshadowed heroes that had actual superpowers. This would also give Phantom time to warn the other vigilante still stationed in Amity.

Batman, Red Robin, Hood, and Phantom made their way back to the zeta tube. When they got to them, Phantom ducked back underneath Batman’s cape. Phantom shivered as the beam activated and once they were back in the cave, he was quick to fling himself onto Hood’s shoulders, much to the amusement of the older vigilantes.

“Ah good, you’re back. I take it the meeting went well?” Alfred asked bringing them some refreshments.

“It did, Alfred, thank you. But I’m ready for a nap or three,” Danny said as he transformed back into his human self. He wobbled a bit as he landed on his feet, but Alfred was there with a steady hand. Bruce and Tim were changing into their civvies while Hood was getting ready to head out into the murky streets of Gotham.

“Be safe, Jaylad,” Bruce called as Hood started his bike.

“Yeah, whatever, Old Man,” he replied with a wave as he rolled out of the Cave. Bruce shook his head. But at least there had been no cussing or fists flying. This time.

Too bad Bruce didn’t know what headache was waiting for him as Red Hood responded to a call about white suited idiots in Crime Alley.

Chapter Text

KingBoo: So…first of all, I’m still alive. Or half-alive

Mandragora: that’s not as reassuring as you think

IKnowYourSecrets: It really isn’t

TeenTherapy: You said that the other night. But again, damnit, Danny

Duulaman: What now? There aren’t too many cities with the same amount of ectoplasm available

ShootFirst: Who do I need to shoot?

TheBetterPhantom: I’m still in Guam, but I can cut through the Realms and be wherever you need me

KingBoo: It’s not that bad

Mandragora: What did you do?

Duulaman: Damnit, Danny. The Batmobile. Really?

Several people are typing…

IKnowYourSecrets: Is Batman Bruce Wayne?

KingBoo: I’m not answering that, Wes. But in other news Red Hood is something like a Halfa. I’m not really sure. His ecto is rank as fuck. But he for sure has a core. Also, Batman was really mad that the Justice League ignored the calls from Amity. Red Robin was kinda scary

IKnowYourSecrets: That means Tim Drake-Wayne is Red Robin

Duulaman: Danny…my man, you can totally get us some sweet Wayne tech

KingBoo: Still not answering that, Wes. But Batman is adopting me. And he’s taking me to SPACE

Mandragora: You’re such a fucking nerd

TheBetterPhantom: Wait. YOU’RE IN GOTHAM?!?!

TeenTherapy: Yes, Dani

ShootFirst: I swear to the Ancients if I have to deal with an overshadowed Superman, I will End you, ghost boy

KingBoo: Don’t worry. I plan to make some Spector Deflector before anyone goes to Amity. They also have a magic dept that may be useful against ghosts

ShootFirst: The Fruit Loop is apoplectically mad that you’re gone. Just FYI. I don’t think he thought things would go south like this

Duulaman: So far, he hasn’t realized you’re in Gotham. Just let Batman know. JIC

IKnowYourSecrets: Did Batman say WHY Amity was ignored?

KingBoo: He didn’t. He just said that there was a total of 15 calls, and he implied that people were in Trouble. I don’t think it was any of the Bats or Birds because they were all pretty mad when they found out

TeenTherapy: What did Tuck mean about the Batmobile?

KingBoo: So funny story…

Mandragora: Damnit, Danny

IKnowYourSecrets: Damnit, Danny

TeenTherapy: Damnit, Danny

TheBetterPhantom: Damnit, Danny

Duulaman: Damnit, Danny

ShootFirst: Damnit, Danny

Duulaman: Those are NEVER good words coming from you, dude. EVER

KingBoo: So, for the last couple of months, I’ve been sleeping in the back of GCPD police cars.

Mandragora: What the fuck Danny

Several people are typing…

KingBoo: Maybe not my brightest moment. But better than sleeping on the literal streets or sleeping in rat infested warehouses or Ancients knows where else

IKnowYourSecrets: He’s got a point. Gotham isn’t known to have safe spots for homeless people

TeenTherapy: Don’t deflect Danny

KingBoo: There was some kind of big gang bust. All hands-on-deck. I panicked. In my defense, I also wasn’t truly awake either

TeenTherapy: Oh little brother

Mandragora: So you climbed into the fucking Batmobile?!?!

KingBoo: I phased into it actually

Duulaman: That doesn’t make it better

TheBetterPhantom: It really doesn’t

IKnowYourSecrets: What they said. But coming back to Red Hood having a core. That totally makes him the second Robin, the one who died

KingBoo: oh. OH FUCK! Where did he get the rank ecto from I wonder?

IKnowYourSecrets: Probably from the League of Assassins. There’s a rumor that the leader uses these pools that can like kill the healthy but heal the sick or dying. If Hood is the second Robin, the second Robin died in Ethiopia after being beaten by the Joker and was

KingBoo: No more Wes. That’s his death and story to tell. You KNOW how ghosts feel about that

IKnowYourSecret: Right. Sorry.

KingBoo: Anyway…go back to the rank ecto…did you say there’s just pools of them? Like what the fuck???

IKnowYourSecrets: Right. The only reason that you guys even believe me as it is is because you guys know about my curse. The Curse of Cassandra. But the current Robin’s grandfather is some sort of quasi-immortal who uses this weird pool called Lazarus Water or Lazarus Pits to heal the sick and dying. Will also kill the healthy. I suspect they’re some sort of sewage run-off from the Realms. No idea why CW or your Council hasn’t told you about them before…

Several people are typing…

KingBoo: That’s…what the absolute fuck

Mandragora: And here we thought Danny won the award for the number of what the fucks

Duulaman: Danny will ALWAYS win. BUT. Wes comes in a close second. Because only in Amity

ShootFirst: Ain’t that the truth. Mad scientists who should have been placed on some type of terrorist watch list. Sorry Jazz and Danny

TeenTherapy: ‘S ok. Truth

KingBoo: Speak it girl

Duulaman: Those same mad scientists punching a hole in reality…Don’t you dare say that this was your fault, Danny

IKnowYourSecrets: Don’t forget the Lex Luthor level villain

KingBoo: When I go to space, I’m telling the Justice League about the fruit loop

ShootFirst: We’re forgetting about the ghosts. Batman would call them rogues.

KingBoo: True that

Mandragora: And just the general fuckery that is Amity Park

Duulaman: No one can forget that

KingBoo: I gotta go. Batman is about to take me up to Space. I’ll let you know how everything goes

-------------

KingBoo: I WENT TO SPACE!!!!

IKnowYourSecrets: Congrats, man

TeenTherapy: So happy for you little brother

Duulaman: Such a fucking nerd

Mandragora: But he’s our nerd

TheBetterPhantom: Damn straight

ShootFirst: And??? What did they say?

KingBoo: Batman and Red Robin are scary as fuck

KingBoo: Wonder Woman is even scarier. But on the plus side, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Captain Marvel are going to be the ones who go to Amity

KingBoo: Tuck I need you to send me the blueprints for the Spector Deflectors, wrist rays, a thermos, Fenton Phones, and what else?

Mandragora: Lipstick blaster. And a ghost shield

TeenTherapy: The Anti Creep Stick and the Boo-Staff would be useful too

IKnowYourSecrets: Umm, Danny, just how many weapons do your parents have?

KingBoo: Those are just the ones that I can easily recreate. They have a shit ton more that I can’t EASILY recreate and even more than that that are lethal to use. Once the Justice League fully takes control of Fenton Works, I plan to have more of their blueprints brought or given to me. Like the Fenton Fishing line for sutures and the ecto-dejecto for rapid healing

IKnowYourSecrets: HOLY FUCK DANNY

Mandragora: You should see the anti-ghost house defense system. And I know you’ve been in the Ops Center

Duulaman: The Ops Center. Such good memories. You gonna relocate the Ops Center to Gotham?

KingBoo: IDK. Haven’t thought that far

TheBetterPhantom: I’m gonna sign off for the night. I’m now in Seoul and it’s late here

KingBoo: I’m crashing too. It’s been a long day

TeenTherapy: Night everyone

ShootFirst: Night

Duulaman: Night

IKnowYourSecrets: Night

Mandragora: Night

Chapter Text

“We need to tell him!” Dick hissed as he pulled off his mask. This was the fourth night in a row he’d been dealing with white suited idiots claiming he was an ecto-scum and shooting at him. Their weapons didn’t hurt per se, but it was the principle of being SHOT AT. In Gotham.

“He’s still trying to settle in. He hasn’t even left the manor yet,” Bruce countered pulling off his cowl.

The rest of the Bats and Birds began arguing, with gusto, whether or not to tell the newest addition about the rather appropriately named Guys in White that had made their way to Gotham. Bruce wasn’t sure how they’d found Danny so quickly, but he suspected it had something to do with when he transformed into his Phantom form the day he went up to the Watchtower. Danny had confessed that he’d been careful not to use his more powerful powers since they would ping on the sensors of the GIW, but things like his intangibility, invisibility, and flight wouldn’t set anything off. Danny had also admitted that they would be looking for him in cities with high ambient ectoplasm, so Gotham was on their list of cities to investigate since his disappearance.

The argument got heated. Dick was close to screaming at Bruce, but that was nothing new. Tim was hiding in his chair at the Batcomputer, while Steph and Cass were watching the show, wishing they had popcorn. Damian didn’t know who quite to side with. On one hand, Richard had been his Batman for almost a year, while on the other hand Bruce was his Father. Duke just wanted to sleep.

No one paid attention to Jason slipping out of the Cave.

Jason made his way through the winding halls of the Manor, following the Pits like a homing beacon. He found Danny in the large library, on his stomach kicking his feet as he listened to some indie rock band and reading one of the many astronomy books that was on the library shelves. He had a look of pure bliss on his face. Jason hated to be the one to break that peace, but he put himself in Danny’s place and knew he would want to be told. Jason figured Danny deserved that same courtesy, regardless of what Bruce wanted. Because FUCK HIM and his high horse.

“Specter, need to talk to ya,” Jason called softly, hoping to get the boy’s attention. Jason’s breath hitched, and he froze for a moment as the boy’s toxic green eyes locked on him. The moment was quickly gone when a wide toothy grin broke on Danny’s face.

“Hey, Jay. Been meaning to talk to you too.” Danny hopped up and placed a marker in his book so that he could go back to his spot and followed Jason to the beanbags in front of the fireplace. Jason sank into one, and Danny quickly followed suit. Jason thought the boy looked like a cat the way he curled up and couldn’t help a snort. “What’s up?” Danny asked once he was fully encased within the confines of the beanbag.

“The rest of the idiots are downstairs fighting about whether or not to tell you. But I figured you have a right to know.” Jason leaned forward and placed a hand on Danny’s knee. “The last couple of days, we’ve been fighting some idiots in white suits.” Jason felt Danny tense underneath his hand. “I didn’t make the connection to you until tonight when they called me an ecto-scum and pulled out this weird looking gun with a man’s face plastered on the side of it. You look just like him, and that’s when I realized that they were the GIW that you warned us about.”

Jason felt it when Danny attempted to fly out of the beanbag. Jason clamped his hand down on Danny’s leg and brought his other hand to hold Danny’s hand in his. He could feel the smaller boy tremble. Jason held steady while the younger shook himself apart, but no tears fell. Jason thought that Danny might be all out of tears.

“I have to go. They’ll find me. You’ll get in trouble,” Danny said between heaving breaths.

“Kid, you ain’t going anywhere. You’re safe here. B won’t let anything happen to ya,” Jason said, still holding onto to Danny, afraid that if he let go, he’d never find/see his new brother alive/half-alive again. “’Sides, you’ve never seen a truly mad Dickwing. He’s a scary fucker, and nothing, and I mean nothing, gets him scary mad like threats to his family. Don’t even get me started on Timberlina. Kid’s the next supervillain in the making, and I’ll happily hand him the C4 to help him burn the world down. Because if he ever goes to the dark side, it’ll be because something happened to the ones he loves. The less said about the Demon Brat the better. But. He’s the product of a group called the League of Assassins. Kid has a body count near the hundreds before he was 10. Cass came from the same group. Steph may say she’s the fun one of the group, but don’t discount her. She fuckin’ chaos incarnate and knows fifty ways to torture a grown man without killing them. Duke…Duke likes to make people think he’s innocent when he’s just as likely to be in on torturing with Steph, especially with his powers. Then, there’s me. I’m THE RED HOOD. My reputation was hard earned. And B, well, as much as it pains me, but there’s a reason he don’t kill. Why that’s a line he don’t cross. And that’s just the core Bats and Birds. There’s also Batwing, Batwoman, The Birds of Prey, the Sirens, my Outlaws, the Titans, Young Justice, and now most of the Justice League and Justice League Dark. All of them are fighting for you Danny.”

“They don’t even know me,” Danny whispered.

“They don’t have to. But some members of the Justice League did you dirty. So, when Dickhead, who leads the Titans, and Timbit, who leads Young Justice, told their teams about what the proper adults did to you, a scared and ALONE 14-year-old kid, who died, and then had to deal with having their shit getting rocked, well…I just told you that both Dickface and Timbers can be scary shits. Well, let’s just say that there was nearly a revolt between the Titans, Young Justice, and the Justice League. Thank whatever god took pity on the fools for Wonder Woman, goddess that she is. I think B was about ready to let them have at each other’s throats for what they did to you. Martian Manhunter and Aquaman were right behind him. Dark wasn’t helping much either, although Constantine has always been a bit of an ass, either way. My point is, Danny, it’s not just you against the world anymore. B might not have officially adopted you. YET. But that’s just a matter of time. Time and paperwork. Even before those stupid acts get taken down.”

Of all the things that Jason had said, that was what it took to break Danny out of his spiraling thoughts. That there would be someone who would WANT him. Who would want despite everything. Who would be able to protect him despite his bullshit and fucked up life.

“You…you want me?” Danny whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

“We do. Hell, I’d take you myself, but I don’t have my foster license. I could get it, but that means it would put you in the system. Something we’re all trying to avoid. Bruce keeps his emergency foster license active just for cases like this. And since Duke was just placed about 8 months ago, B didn’t even need to do a home visit when he called the agency to tell them he was taking in another emergency placement.” Jason felt Danny tense again under his hands. “Don’t worry. The case worker assigned to Bruce is a League representative and is in the know about all this. So, B just gave her the very bare bones edition of why he needed to take you in. Didn’t give no details. Just that you had a bad home life. Told her that the League was involved.” Jason watched as Danny processed this new torrent of information and then slowly unfurled. “Now, you said you wanted to talk to me?”

“Oh, right. What…what do you know about ghosts?” Danny asked hesitantly, picking at the hem of his black hoodie that had the Milky Way galaxy printed on it.

“Not much really. Just the little bit you’ve told us,” Jason replied, finally letting go of Danny’s hand as Danny squirmed to right himself from the ball he’d been curled up in.

“Ok. Ok, I can do this,” Danny muttered to himself and took a deep breath. “So, all ghosts, even a halfa like me, have what’s called a core. A ghost’s core is their entire being, their heart, lungs, brain, but also their soul. It’s what gives a ghost their power. Also, cores can be elemental, but don’t necessarily align with the ghost’s Obsession. In my human form, I have all those squishy bits, but if I were to have an x-ray done or if Superman were to use his x-ray vision on me, my core would probably show up. I can also use most of my basic powers in my human form. With me so far?”

Jason nodded. “Got it so far. But can you give an example of cores?”

“Remember that first ghost I mentioned who wanted to be remembered?” Jason nodded again. “Her Obsession is being remembered, but she has a fire core. Box Ghost whole obsession is all things boxed shaped. Doesn’t have to be cardboard. But I think he either has a shadow core or an earth core. Those are just a few examples of cores. Obsessions are usually driven by how the ghost died, or what they wanted most in life. Unfinished business. It’s the one accurate thing from the movie ‘Casper’. A Core’s element is completely independent of the Obsession, and I couldn’t tell you how they develop.”

“Ok. What does this have to with anything?” Jason asked, confused.

“That first night, when you started purring. That…that was your core,” Danny said haltingly. It was Jason’s turn to tense. Jason felt his eyes turn green as the Pit Rage bubbled against the control he’d beaten it into a corner. It wanted to rage and snarl. It wanted blood. It wanted to punch Danny in the face.

Danny sent out a pulse of calm/peace/understand/likeyou from his core, hoping to get Jason to calm down. Jason gasped as the green faded from his eyes. He’d never come out of Pit Rage that fast or that easily. He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair.

“What was that?” Jason rasped out.

“I think you’re something close to a halfa, like me. But the ecto in you is…rank. Or maybe corrupted. I’m not sure. And because of that, it’s stifling your core. That’s probably why you such problems regulating your emotions,” Danny explained. Jason didn’t know what to make of it. He knew that when he came back, he came back wrong. “I’m not asking how you died. I would never ask that. That’s one of the biggest taboos among ghost-kind. But I do need to know if you know how you came back. That way I can figure out how to help you. Being around you, gives me headaches and makes me nauseous.”

Jason ran another hand through his fingers. He didn’t want to have this conversation. But. If Danny could GET RID of the Pit Rage, then. Well, Fuck. He was going for it. “I don’t remember what brought me back. I was dead for about six months. Woke up in my grave. Had to claw myself out. I was mostly braindead when I was found by this super shady organization…”

“The League of Assassins, right?” Danny asked, figuring that Wes was probably right. Again. Fucking godsdamnit. There went another fifty bucks to Wes.

Jason narrowed his eyes at the younger boy. “Where did you hear that name?” he hissed.

“One of my team members from Amity. He’s got this curse. He clocked me as Phantom right away. Then spent a few months trying to prove it. But no one ever bought it since Phantom is a ghost and technically dead, and well Danny is alive. But do you remember Cassandra from Greek Mythology?” Jason sighed but nodded. “Well, he’s a descendant of hers and that curse is very real.”

“Holy shit,” Jason breathed out.

“Yeah. Anyways. Once he was brought into Team Phantom, we learned about the Curse of Cassandra. But what that actually means is that he knows shit, but generally no one believes him. He’s pretty much got the entire Justice League clocked, but he knows that A) no one would ever believe him if he ever told anyone B) I, as the High King of the Infinite Realms could so MUCH WORSE than simply kill him if ever told any one and C) he’s part of my court so he has a reason not to tell anyone.”

“HOW DID HE EVEN PASS SCHOOL?” Jason exclaimed.

“School is simply parroting facts back to the teacher. It’s not secret keeping or trying to make someone believe you. But it’s why he could never be on a debate team or something.”

“Wow…just wow.” Jason sat there just breathing for a few minutes.

He took a good look at Danny. They hadn’t really gotten into his home life much, but the few snippets he’d let drop had damn near given the family headaches and aneurysms every single time. And he said them like he was reciting the recipe for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Jason knew right then that if ever saw Drs. Fenton, there would likely be a repeat of the duffle bag incident. As it was, he was itching to go back out and shoot the first white-suited fucker who dared to approach him and insult him and his intelligence.

Jason took a deep breath to redirect his thoughts. “Anyways, yes, I was picked up by the daughter of the leader of the League of Assassins. She brought me back to their base. They trained me, but I still wasn’t all there. Somehow, she convinced her father that a dip in what’s called a Lazarus Pit would be what I needed to heal me. Now, a dip in the Pit comes at a cost, what’s called Pit Madness or Pit Rage. For most people, this side effect fades within a few hours or a few days.”

“But not for you?” Danny asked cautiously.

Jason shook his head. “Not for me. When I first came back to Gotham it was really bad. Really bad. I damned near killed Tim because the daughter had brainwashed me that Tim and Bruce had replaced me as Robin. I attacked him in a very misguided fit of rage. I also found out that Joker was still alive. It wasn’t till much later when I found out that both B and Dickiebird did try to kill him. B tried to kill him, maybe a month or so after I was buried, but Superman resuscitated him. And Dickiebird tried to kill him after the fucker got his hands on Tim. I don’t know how the fucker came back to life that time.”

Danny got up from his beanbag and climbed into Jason’s arms. Jason didn’t seem to mind. “I’m so sorry. We didn’t ask for this,” he whispered as he snuggled into the older man’s arms. Jason huffed at Danny and ruffled his hair. “My friend theorizes that these Lazarus Pits are something like sewage run-off from the Infinite Realms. After hearing your story, and being this close to you, I’m kind of inclined to agree.”

“So, what does this mean for me?” Jason asked, still holding tightly to Danny. Neither one wanted to let go.

“I’m going to turn my hand intangible. It’s going to feel weird as hell, especially since I will be touching your core, which I just explained was like your soul. I should be able to siphon or pull out the corrupted ecto. But when I do that, I’ll have to give you some of mine. I can only do that since I’m a halfa and the Ghost King. A regular ghost couldn’t do this.” Danny’s voice wavered a bit at the end.

“Will it hurt?”

“It shouldn’t hurt you. Just feel weird as fuck. But. Once I start, I won’t be able to stop. Just let me know when you’re ready,” Danny replied, finally wriggling free of Jason’s hold to turn and face the older man.

In his desperation, Jason missed the particular phrasing that Danny used. But he was just so tired. Of being on edge. Of fighting his own mind for control. Of wanting to be touched by his family. Of NOT wanting to be touched by his family. Of the way Timbit still flinched if he moved to fast. Or how Timberly wouldn’t have his back to Jason. Of how he felt when the crash came after a bout of the Pit Rage. Of the fear of hurting an innocent. He was just so damned TIRED.

He looked down at the earnest, open, and truly honest expression on Danny’s face. Something he wasn’t expecting. Most of the Bats schooled their expressions or were emotionally constipated (No, Dick, you don’t count as being emotionally mature since you repressed your emotions just as much as the rest of them), so seeing someone who so openly expressed themselves was slightly jarring but refreshing at the same time.

Jason nodded. Danny turned his hand intangible, which was fucking weird. Jason could still see the boy’s hand; it just had this weird bluish outline to it. And then…It felt Jason just got dunked in ice. But WORSE. It felt like was in very bones. In his very soul. Jason clenched his jaw to bite back a scream and felt all of his muscles lock in place to keep himself from pulling away from the invading hand. But he watched in morbid fascination as Danny pulled this swamp green sludge from his chest. It looked like jello and smelled like a septic tank. No wonder Danny said it was making him sick. And OH GOD. It MOVED. Danny reached into his chest and pulled out…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK…WAS THAT A THERMOS??? Jason didn’t sign up for this shit, thank you very much…and sucked up the sludge into the thermos.

“Jay, I don’t feel too good. Gonna be sick,” Danny whined.

This prompted Jason to jump up, grab the nearest trashcan, and push it under Danny’s face before the boy promptly emptied his stomach of that night’s dinner. Jason rubbed circles on Danny’s back and secretly pressed his panic button as he watched green flecks begin to mix in with the contents in the trashcan. He pressed a hand to Danny’s forehead and grew even more alarmed when Danny felt hot underneath his hand since Danny usually ran cold.

It took exactly 2 minutes and 13 seconds before Jason heard a horde of thundering footsteps. That was 2 minutes too long. By the time Bruce had slammed the door to the library open, Danny had passed out and was in danger of asphyxiating from choking on the contents of his stomach still trying to make an exit. Jason had tried to roll the boy on his side; he’d also tried to clear Danny’s throat. But nothing seemed to work, and Danny had drawn blood when he’d bitten Jason’s finger.

“Jaylad, what happened?” Bruce rushed over to the pair. Dick, Tim, and Duke were right behind him. And Jason could see the rest of the horde out in the hallway.

Jason handed him Danny, and gritted out, “Get him to the Cave. NOW.”

Bruce swept the teenager up in his arms and made a beeline for the study. As he carried Danny, he realized just how small Danny actually was, especially since Damian had recently hit a growth spurt. Danny was now the smallest of the family members in both height and weight, even if Alfred was doing his damnedest to change that last fact. Bruce wondered, briefly, if Danny dying before he’d hit his growth spurt would actually prevent him growing taller. The elevator pinged, and Bruce shook his head as he raced over to the infirmary.

Alfred, of course, was already waiting for him. Bruce placed his newest child on the bed, and was once again struck by just how small Danny was. Jason came rushing in a moment later and choked back a sob. He took up residence at Danny’s side, carding his large hands through Danny’s hair.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I DIDN’T KNOW!” Jason sobbed.

“Jaylad, what didn’t you know?” Bruce asked, gently.

Behind them, Alfred worked. He managed to get a suction machine down Danny’s throat, and it had begun clearing the chunks that Danny hadn’t managed to expel. Alfred took Danny’s temperature, frowned at the reading, and then got an IV started on Danny and hooked him up to a blood pressure monitor as well as a pulse oximeter. Danny let out choked gasp once his airway was clear but didn’t regain consciousness. No one missed the Lazarus green flecks mixed with the contents in the suction machine.

“Jaybird,” Bruce prompted again.

“Danny…he…he said…said that…he could cure…cure…the Pit Rage. He…he said…said it wouldn’t…wouldn’t hurt. I wouldna done it if…if I knew,” Jason sobbed out.

“OH, Jaylad,” Bruce breathed out.

And then, as if Jason were still a 15-year-old Robin, before he’d been killed by the Joker, Bruce gathered Jason in his arms. Jason put his whole weight on Bruce, and Bruce took it, and let his boy cry himself out. Jason clung to his dad as if he were afraid the man would disappear, or Jason would wake up and this would all be a bad dream. Bruce held him until his sobs quieted. Alfred, always knowing exactly what was needed at the moment, handed Jason some tissues so that he could wipe his eyes and blow his nose. Jason pushed himself off Bruce and went back to carding his hands through Danny’s hair.

“Danny said that I was something close to a halfa. Something like him. He told me I had a core, and what that entails. But then he said that the ectoplasm inside of me was, and I quote, ‘Rank or corrupted.’ Then, we talked about how I was dunked in the Lazarus Pits.” Bruce sucked in a breath, and Jason conveniently left out the part about Danny’s friend knowing anything about the League of Assassins. “Danny said that he could fix the Pit Rage. I asked if it would hurt. And he said that it wouldn’t…OH FUCKING HELL!”

“Language, Master Jason,” Alfred calmly chided.

“What it is, Jaylad?” Bruce asked, gripping Jason’s other hand, the one that wasn’t running through Danny’s hair.

“He said that it wouldn’t hurt me. The little shit. He knew something like this was bound to happen to him.” Jason desperately wanted to pace, but at the same time, he didn’t want to move away from Danny.

“But did he get rid of it? The Pit Rage?” Tim asked from the doorway to the infirmary. All three older men’s heads snapped up and looked at the third Robin.

“Yeah, he did. He turned his hand intangible and reached inside my chest. When he withdrew his hand, this weird greenish black chunky slimy gunk came with it. Looked like jello, smelled like a septic tank, and the damned thing MOVED. He sucked it in a fucking thermos that was IN HIS FUCKING CHEST!!!” Jason ranted and gave into his urge to pace.

“Oh my,” Alfred startled at that.

“Then, just before he started throwing up, he put the thermos BACK IN HIS CHEST! LIKE WHAT THE FUCK!!!” The two other Bats stared at Jason in horror, and even the unflappable Alfred was utterly and completely at a loss for words.

Danny saved them all from things getting even more tense and uncomfortable by regaining consciousness. “Ancients, I feel like I went toe-to-toe with Pandora for a week in human form, and then had to fight Vortex again.”

“Danny, chum, we don’t know those names,” Bruce huffed at Danny.

Danny looked up at his foster dad with slightly unfocused eyes. “Pandora was my combat instructor before I fled Amity. And Vortex is the Ancient of Weather/Storms. When I fought him, I was basically forced to relive my death a few times before I kicked his ass.” Everyone hissed in a sympathetic pain response. Jason looked especially horrified.

Alfred was the first to recover. As usual. “Master Danny, does it hurt you to store things in your body cavity?”

“No, because it’s more like a pocket space within my body. It’s how I was able to store all my stuff that I didn’t want stolen when I living on the streets, my phone, wallet, and cash,” Danny explained. “I think it’s something unique to being a halfa.”

“Very good. My next question. Your vital signs are alarmingly low. Is there anything that I should be worried about?” Alfred walked over to the various monitors and indicated the ones which had him the most worried.

Danny took a look and shook his head. But then he took another look, and realized that by normal standards, his temp was fine, but by his standards he was running a fever. “My bp, pulse, and oxygen are normal. For me. My temp is really high. My normal is about 94 degrees. I have an ice core, so I run colder. Also, most meds, or at least over the counter meds don’t work on me. I haven’t been to a doctor since my accident.”

“Well then. We’ll keep you down here for observation and see if we can’t get your fever down. We’ll keep the IV line in because you were severely dehydrated. At least for now. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good. Sorry for worrying everyone,” Danny apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, can I have my phone while I’m down here?”

“I’ll have Master Tim fetch it,” Alfred instructed.

Danny laid back in the bed while the others filed in around him. He kind of floated, not really asleep, not really awake, just semi-aware of people coming in and leaving. Checking on him. His core purred at the thought. Jazz had been the only other person to check on him like this, and even she couldn’t be with him all the time. This was…this was nice. Just being able to be. To have others take care of him. Jason never went far. He came to when Tim pushed his phone in his hands. He murmured a soft thank you to the older teen. And told Tim he wanted to give him access to the Team Phantom server so the hacker could have access to Danny’s health file that Tucker, Sam, and Jazz had built. Tim lit up like a Christmas tree. Danny told the other that he would let him know when to reach out to Tucker.

--------

KingBoo: So…

Duulaman: What did you do NOW?

ShootFirst: Really, Danny? It’s not even been a fucking week

Mandragora: I can and will punt you into Gotham Harbor

TeenTherapy: Give him time to talk

KingBoo: Wes was right about Red Hood’s ecto. And I may have pulled it out

Mandragora: Damnit, Danny

IKnowYourSecrets: Damnit, Danny

TeenTherapy: Damnit, Danny

TheBetterPhantom: Damnit, Danny

Duulaman: Damnit, Danny

ShootFirst: Damnit, Danny

IKnowYourSecrets: WAIT!!! I was right?!?! HOLY FUCK!!!

TheBetterPhantom: What did it look like?

KingBoo: It was the grossest thing I’ve ever seen or smelt or touched in my afterlife. 0/10 do not recommend

Mandragora: What does that mean for Red Hood?

KingBoo: Well, once I got rid of the gunky ecto, his core should kickstart. Especially since I gave him some of my clean ecto to replace what I took from him

TeenTherapy: What aren’t you telling us, Danny?

KingBoo: Well…

TheBetterPhantom: Do I need to come break you out of ghost jail? I’m in Kyoto but I could come

KingBoo: No, I’m still in Gotham. I’m actually in the Batcave

Duulaman: The BATCAVE IS REAL?!?!

IKnowYourSecrets: Yes, Tucker

Mandragora: WHY are you in the Batcave? The only time you’ve been there was when you first met the Bats

KingBoo: Pulling out Hood’s corrupted ecto kinda sorta maybe made really sick

Mandragora: Damnit, Danny

IKnowYourSecrets: Damnit, Danny

TeenTherapy: Damnit, Danny

TheBetterPhantom: Damnit, Danny

Duulaman: Damnit, Danny

ShootFirst: Damnit, Danny

TeenTherapy: Oh little brother

KingBoo: So, Tucker, Red Robin, possibly Oracle or both may contact you for access to the server so they can grab the file we made about my health and stuff

Duulaman: EEEEEKKKKK!!!!! RED ROBIN AND THE ORACLE WILL BE CONTACTING ME!!!!! EEEEKKK!!!!! The only way this could be any better would be if Tim Drake-Wayne contacted me

IKnowYourSecrets: He IS Tucker. Tim Drake-Wayne is Red Robin

KingBoo: Anyways…I’m wiped. Running a fever. Night all

Several people are typing…

Chapter Text

“Commissioner, have you found our kid yet?” Officer Jones asked. For the twelfth time. In the last twenty minutes.

Commissioner Gordon refused to sigh. He knew exactly where the little stowaway kid was, but the moment he informed the rest of the GCPD. Well, there would be no stopping the inevitable bloodshed. And Gordon couldn’t arrest all of the officers. (He didn’t even want to either.) It didn’t help matters that the kid was hiding from those federal agents who had invaded Gotham with prejudice. And Gotham hated them. It didn’t HELP that those supposed agents had taken to shooting at the Bats and Birds. Even the Rogues took exception to that. No one went after the Bats and Birds. It was one thing for Gothamites to go after the Bats and Birds, but for outsiders to attempt to go after the vigilantes, while not illegal per se, it was cause for many of Gordon’s recent headaches, paperwork, nightmares, sleepless nights, even more paperwork, the constant heartburn, and have we mentioned paperwork. Half the force was threatening to go rogue just so that they could fight these GIW agents. And the other half refused to even call for EMS pick up once the locals got done with them.

But Gordon knew that something had to give, and soon, or Gotham would be embroiled in a civil war. And Gotham would win. And not even the Bats and Birds would be able to stop the Gothamites from ripping these agents apart “molecule-by-molecule” as those assholes liked to quote. In fact, if Gordon knew the Bats and Birds as well as he thought he did, Red Hood, Red Robin, Black Bat, and probably Red Hood’s little team, The Outlaws Gordon thought as well as Red Robin’s team, Young Justice would be right there among the Gothamites helping. Hell, Gordon wouldn’t put it past the fucking Rogues, Cartels, and Gangs to partner up just to rid their city of the menace that was the GIW.

“We want our kid back, Gordon.” This came from another officer. She was still new to the force, and Gordon hadn’t quite learned her name, but she was fiercely protective of those she deemed hers, and apparently the little meta kid counted as one of hers.

Gordon ran a hand through his hair. “Look, these GIW fucks are looking for him or someone he’s connected to. Batman has him in a secure location, and Batman and the kid are working with the Justice League to take them down and get them out of Gotham.”

“You mean to tell me that BATMAN has our kid!” Montoya snarled. A chorus of “What!!!” echoed throughout the station headquarters. Gordon finally gave in a pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. It was at that moment that Gordon knew he, or more importantly, the GIW was fucked.

“The night of the meta trafficking ring bust. The kid phased into the Batmobile. I don’t know what the kid told Batman. I know it was enough to get the Justice League involved. Right after that is when these GIW agents started showing up. I don’t know who this Phantom is, but it doesn’t take rocket science to put two and two together to know that our kid is connected to Phantom and that he’s running from the GIW.” A feral, menacing, fear-inducing growl ran through the gathered officers. Gordon held up his hands. “Look. I know what he means to you. I get it. But. Right now, what we need to focus on is that Batman told me about some laws that supersede the Meta Rights Acts. These laws called the Anti-Ectoplasm Acts directly affect our kid. And quite possibly most of the Bats and Birds.” This made the station go quiet.

Oh.

OH!

OH SHIT!

OH SHIT FUCKING FUCK!

The station never went quiet. Not like this. There was always some kind of noise. Inmate screaming in the cells. The officers or detectives working on cases at their desks. Ringing of phones. Something. It was so quiet Gordon could hear Bullock’s slight wheeze, the product of his sleep apnea and one too many donuts. Gordon could hear one of the pipes dripping in the corner. Gordon was pretty sure that he could hear the people in the cells two floors down shuffling around, sensing that SHIT HAD HIT THE FAN. There was even that one drunk who was a regular who was currently in his assigned holding cell who was normally a violently aggressive inmate every time he was brought in who had just plopped down on the bench; Gordon swore he could hear that too.

“What are we going to do?” This came from Higurashi. He’d been with the force for almost fifteen years and was a damn fine officer; one much like Gordon himself who hadn’t let the rot of Gotham seep into his soul and break him.

Gordon heaved another sigh. He realized that since this whole thing with the their kid started he did that a lot. “This absolutely didn’t come from me or anyone in GCPD. BUT. The residents of Gotham are doing a good job of giving them hell. If someone were tip them off that these idiots were violating the Meta Rights Acts, well then, we can’t be everywhere, now can we? I’ll talk to Batman or Nightwing and see if we can’t set up some kind of visitation with the kid. But that won’t happen as long as these fuckers are in the city. When I talk to the Bat, I’ll see if he can give me an update about how repealing those laws hurting our kid is coming. Sound good?”

There were several growls and grunts and “hell yeah” coming from the gathered officers. Gordon didn’t know what he’d just done. Or which was worse. But sometimes. Just sometimes. Morals had to be swallowed, and you just had to say, “Fuck it, we ball.” Gordon figured this was one such time. Batman may have his no-kill rule, but he knew that most Gothamites didn’t have such high standards, especially when it came to protecting Gotham.

“Just don’t get caught by the Bat. Most of the others will probably either help or look the other way. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and the Stabby Robin would probably help. Not sure where the others stand. Dismissed.” Gordon ran a hand through his hair as his officers filed out of the station.

Gordon made his way up to the Batsignal. He briefly wondered if he would get the original Batman or his stand-in. He didn’t have to wonder long before he heard the tell-tale cha-chink of a grappling, no wait, make that two grappling lines attaching themselves to some corner of the building. If Gordon didn’t know any better, he would swear he was developing a meta trait because he could suddenly hear a LOT better than he could hear before this whole shitstorm started. Then he heard two faint swish of capes flapping in the wind as they landed and walked over to where Gordon was waiting. He looked over and sure enough, it was the original Batman (he would recognize those broad shoulders anywhere) and standing next to him was the Stabby Robin.

“Commissioner,” Batman said in gravelly voice. For once, Gordon didn’t startle or jump at the voice. Because he’d heard them coming. And wasn’t that a trip.

“The GCPD wants to file a formal complaint,” Gordon started. He had a massive headache. Gotham was ripping itself apart. White suited fucks were shooting at anything that moved and claimed they were ghosts. The Bats and Birds had taken his kid. And he was DONE.

“Hn,” Batman grunted.

“The little meta kid. The GCPD wants him back. Or at least wants visitation with him,” Gordon said flatly.

“You knew he was there?!?!” Robin hissed.

“Of course. Assigned my good officers to his routes. Provided blankets, pillows, and occasionally clothes for him. He would take the clothes; leave the blankets and pillows. Every few days someone would wash/refresh the blankets and pillows. It wasn’t a perfect arrangement, but we made it work. Now, my officers are threatening to riot or quit if they can’t at least see him,” Gordon informed the duo, still in that flat tone of voice.

“Hn,” Batman grunted.

In all honesty, Batman didn’t know that Gordon had been providing for Danny. He didn’t think that Danny knew that Gordon was aware of him. After all, if it had been any other city, he’d likely been run out of the cars at the first chance. But this was Gotham, and well, weirder shit had happened, nearly every day, that a meta child sleeping in the back of random police vehicles didn’t even rank in the top 50 of weird shit. Probably not even in the top 100. Batman also noted that Gordon kept calling Danny a meta. So, at least Gordon didn’t know that Danny wasn’t a meta in the strictest sense of the word, although the Justice League was working on getting ghosts or ecto-entities added to the Meta Rights Protection Acts. But bureaucracy at its finest was stalling the process.

“I’ll talk to him. But as long as the GIW is here, it’s dangerous to move him out in public,” Batman finally informed Gordon.

“I’m well aware. All I’m asking is that we get the see the kid, on a regular basis. Besides, what did you expect us to do? Turn him over to you? ‘No metas in Gotham’,” Gordon quoted at Batman. He was not shaking in his boots for standing up to the Dark Knight. He wasn’t. And no one could prove otherwise. Well, maybe his daughter could. But that was beside the point. She would probably use this as blackmail against the Bat. But whatever. Gordon could have sworn he saw the Stabby Robin throw a glare at Batman.

“Hn,” Batman grunted again.

“He means that we’ll see what can be arranged.” And then Gordon heard the cha-chink of two grapples being fired, and the Dynamic Duo were gone.

“I hate it when they do that,” Gordon grumbled to the air.

---------------

Tucker was going to lose his shit. He loved Danny; he really did. They’d been best friends since kindergarten when Danny ate the sand from the sandbox. Danny defended him from the bullies and didn’t hesitate to throw himself headfirst into whatever threatened Tucker, even if it threatened Danny too. But this…This was too much. The idiot was going to get himself killed again. It was bad enough that Jack and Maddie had taken the reveal bad and were now somewhere IN fucking Gotham. Now, the dumbass had done something with Red Hood’s ecto, which according to Wes was sewage runoff from the Realms.

Tucker reached for the bottle of ibuprofen he kept on his desk, just for moments like this and opened it in one fluid moment. He knew the instructions on the bottle said 2 pills for a total of 400 milligrams, but due to his liminality, he promptly tossed back 5 pills for a total of 1000 milligrams. And even that would barely bring the blooming pain in head back within bearable limits. He turned back to one of his many monitors that were running code. He had to update the server yet again. Red Robin, or according to Wes, Tim Drake-Wayne, would be contacting him for the health file on Danny. Granted, Tucker had had Technus’s help building the server, but everyone on the dark web knew of Red Robin and Oracle’s hacker abilities.

A ping on the server alerted him to a new presence. Tucker squeeed for a moment. And then collected himself. He was the reincarnation of a powerful pharaoh. He could do this. “Go for Duulaman.”

“Red Robin and Oracle,” came across the line. Tucker squeeeed again. He may have even hyperventilated. Just a bit. For about 20 seconds. “What’s with the name?”

“Oh. I’m an ancient Egyptian pharaoh that’s been reincarnated,” Tucker blithely explained. Both Gotham vigilantes choked and sucked in a breath. “Yeah. I had no idea until ghost fuckery, and now he lives in my head. Imma warn you now. Most of Amity Park is like that.”

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” Red Robin exclaimed.

“Most haunted town in the world,” Duulaman quoted. “It used to be ‘A nice place to live’ before the Fentons opened their portal. Also, I know Phantom is working to equip whoever comes from the Justice League with anti-overshadowing tech, but I doubt he thought to tell you not to send anyone who is weak to magic. Ectoplasm and magic get wonky around each other. Mandragora can use her magic, but that’s maybe because she was liminal first.”

“Again, dude, what the fuck,” Red Robin snarked.

Duulaman just laughed. “Amity is on level with Gotham. Now, what can I do for you?”

“We were told that you have a file about Phantom for us?”

Duulaman (he was Tucker in that moment) because Danny/Phantom made his head hurt so FUCKING much. “Yeah. I was there the day the portal opened on top of him. It didn’t take us long to figure out that he couldn’t go see a regular doctor. So, me, Mandragora, and TeenTherapy have been compiling a file that has just about everything you should need to know about him.”

But something clicked in Red Robin’s head. “Did Phantom even go to the doctor or to the hospital for his accident?”

There was a pause on the line before Duulaman answered. “Mandragora and I panicked. We were only 14, and neither of us were trained in CPR or first aid. But we had just watched our friend die. And then he wasn’t dead. He was Phantom one minute, and then he wasn’t. We tried to call. But he smashed our phones, and then begged us not to. We didn’t even tell TeenTherapy. She found out on her own a few months later when she saw him transform.”

“Fucking hell.” Oh. That was Oracle.

“Yeah. And now, he can’t, legally, go to a doctor because of the Anti-Ecto Acts.”

The air hung heavy between the three hacktivists. But. The Gotham hackers knew of at least one doctor who would and COULD treat Phantom/Danny, and her records wouldn’t go anywhere. After all, she treated all of the Bats and Birds as well as most of the goons if they got injured and had been doing so since Bruce had taken up the mantle of Batman. This was, after all, why they were having this particular phone call.

“We have our personal field medic who can treat smaller injuries and sickness. We also have a physician on call if things get serious. This physician won’t say anything,” Oracle was quick to reassure the Amity Parker.

“Phantom mentioned he was running a fever. Can you give me specifics?” Duulaman asked in the silence.

“He did something to remove what we call the Pit Rage or the Lazarus Pit from Red Hood. Phantom thought it was corrupted ectoplasm. After he removed it, he started vomiting, and then spiked a fever,” Red Robin reported. This, he understood. It was no different from giving a report to Batman.

“What was his temp?”

Duulaman heard some clicking, and he thought he heard some speaking before Red Robin spoke again. “About five minutes ago, it got up to 98 degrees.”

“FIKU!!!” Duulaman swore, slipping into Esperanto. “Ok. That’s a problem. Phantom has an ice core. What that means is that he runs colder than normal. What could be considered as almost hypothermic. His normal is around 94 Fahrenheit. If he’s that hot, he needs to be placed in an ice bath. I’ll send the specs for what’s called the de-icing chamber. But it can also be used in reverse. Almost like putting him cryostasis except it won’t actually put him to sleep or freeze him over.”

“That…that’s…wow,” Red Robin mumbled.

“Welcome to my hell. I’ve been trying to keep that idiot alive, er, well half-alive, well less dying. Whatever. For the last year or so. With no training. Oh, and I gotta warn you. Most of us Amity Parkers don’t like the Justice League much. Phantom told us that Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and someone named Captain Marvel are coming?”

“Will that be an issue?” Oracle asked.

“No, Red Huntress and Mandragora will be part of the welcoming party. But you should be warned. There’s one member to Team Phantom. He’s a descendant of Cassandra from Greek mythology. He shouldn’t be a problem, but just warn them when they come that, he might get a little intense. Most of Team Phantom will be there to wrangle him. The only one who won’t be there will be Dani. Last we heard she was somewhere in Mongolia.”

“Wait, who’s Danny?” Oracle repeated the name.

Duulaman chuckled. “No, it’s Dani-with-an-i. I’m not going into too much detail. That’s for Phantom to tell you. But she’s his clone sister. And no, the Fentons DON’T know she exists. It’s also why she’s not here in Amity.”

The two Gotham natives spluttered. And they thought Danny was bad about trauma dumping. This was just as bad if not worse. “How did CADMUS manage to clone a half-ghost?”

“Who is CADMUS?” This caused the Gothamites to splutter even further. Before they could spiral even more, Duulaman spoke up. “Don’t worry about it too much. Phantom made sure to destroy the lab so thoroughly that it can’t happen again. A few of the Ancients put a fear of well themselves into the one who did it too.”

The three hackers exchanged a few more words before signing off with each other. Tucker code switched back to Tucker and let out a breath. At least now, the Bats had the file to care for Danny. Tucker stretched, and his back and neck let out several satisfying cracks and pops. He rotated shoulders to get them to loosen up. Once he felt like he was more normal, although he used the term loosely considering he’d been anything but normal since he was 14, he turned back to his wall of monitors. He tapped on one of his keyboards and got Technus’s attention. Together, they went over the link that he had created with the Gotham vigilantes to make sure that they hadn’t left anything behind. They found three bugs, which was expected. Technus was quick to destroy them.

Tucker hadn’t been lying when he said that Amity Park’s hatred for the Justice League ran deep. Just because Danny trusted them didn’t mean that the rest of Amity Park would. Valerie and Sam would play nice, but only because they were part of Danny’s court. Tucker had volunteered to keep Wes company. Tucker didn’t know how he was going to keep Wes’s mouth shut. Maybe he could ask Ember for a favor. Tucker yawned and glanced at his clock. He yelped a bit when he realized it had gotten late. He signed off with Technus and let the technology ghost continue his upgrades to the server’s security.

Chapter Text

“Danny,” Bruce called as he entered the Manor’s library. The teen was often ensconced in the library, reading astronomy books. Bruce deftly hid a flinch as Danny’s toxic green eyes locked onto his. But unlike Jason, there was no anger in those eyes. Just a quick show of unbridled emotion. Bruce watched as Danny placed a marker in his book and hopped up from the beanbag he’d been curled up in. He noted that Danny was still moving sluggishly, still not fully recovered from removing the Lazarus Pits from Jason.

Then the boy lit up, literally, his freckles looking like miniature constellations as he greeted his new guardian. “Oh, hey Bruce. What’s up?”

“I’ve recently been made aware of a…situation,” Bruce smiled fondly to himself thinking of his recent conversation with the police commissioner he’d had last night. Danny titled his head sideways just like a puppy. “Were you aware that the GCPD knew that you were sleeping in their cars?”

Bruce could see the moment when Danny bluescreened. “Uh…what?” The boy said out loud. This elicited a small chuckle from the Dark Knight.

“Last night, Commissioner Gordon called me to the top of the GCPD HQ. He said that the GCPD wanted to file a formal complaint. And then proceeded to tell me that not only did he know that you’d been sleeping the back of his cars, that his officers had taken to providing blankets, pillows, and clothes for you. Gordon had even assigned some of his better officers to where you’d be likely to find the cars. The complaint was that we, well the Bats, had taken you away from GCPD, and they want to set up visitation with you.”

“Uh…what?” Bruce chuckled again at the boy.

“You terrorizing my fellow undead, Old Man?” Jason snarked from the door of the library, leaning against the frame. Bruce looked up at Jason to see a lazy smile playing on his son’s face. It was an expression that Bruce had longed to see on Jason’s face but had given up on.

And once again, Bruce and now Jason, were treated to Danny’s freckles lighting up. “JAY! How are you feeling? Better?”

“Yah, Specter, I’m better,” Jason replied with a fond smile. He sauntered into the room and ruffled Danny’s hair. Danny squawked and batted Jason’s hand away. “You doin’ ok?” Danny flapped his hand in a so-so motion. Both Bruce and Jason frowned at this.

“Jay don’t blame yourself. I wanted to help you,” Danny said as he peered up at Jason through his dark hair. Jason huffed at his newest not-quite brother. Bruce was still waiting on a few legalities, mainly proving the Fenton parents weren’t fit to be parents of Danny so that they could have their rights revoked, but everyone knew that for all intents and purposes, Danny was a Wayne.

“I was just telling Danny here that GCPD wants visitation rights to Danny once we get everything settled,” Bruce said in the silence.

Jason raised an eyebrow at Bruce. “Huh. So, Gordon knew about the little stowaway?”

“Gordon has filed a ‘formal complaint’ and as I said wants visitation rights with Danny,” Bruce replied, watching Jason closely. His second son started laughing just as hard as he had the first night that Danny had appeared in the Batcave. The noise pulled in Dick, Steph, and Cass.

“What’s up, Little Wing?” Dick asked as he slid into the room.

“Oh! Oh! Gods! Batman received a ‘formal complaint’ from Gordon. GCPD wants visitation rights with Danny. They knew about ‘im the whole time,” Jason gasped out. Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This set off the others, which in turn drew in the rest of the crew. After yet another round of explanations, the entire clan of vigilantes were breathless from laughing. Even Damian had a small smile quirking on his lips.

“Gordon said that he wasn’t about to turn Danny over to Batman due to Batman’s ‘no metas in Gotham’ rule,” Damian informed the group, taking no mercy on his father. This information set off another round of guffaws at Bruce’s expense.

Damian liked being shot at even less than the rest of the Bats, because unlike the others, on the rare occasion when the shots connected, they left burn marks on him that were slow to heal. Damian didn’t know if any of the others were affected the same, although he suspected Todd and Cain were affected. Todd probably more so than Cain, and Damian would bet that it had something to do with their exposure to the Lazarus Pits. But then why wouldn’t Drake be experiencing the same effects? Unless he’d never been exposed to a pit? But Drake had been running from the League for a whole year, and he’d even lost his spleen in the process. So, he rather felt his father deserved to be laughed at.

“Danny, what would you like to do?” Bruce finally asked in the silence.

“I would like to meet them. At least to thank them. I didn’t even realize that they knew. Of course, my friends are going to give me so much shit about that. Not even my sister, who is somewhere in Russia, would do something like that,” Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck, a tic that most of the Bats had come to recognize as something he did when he was nervous.

“Wait. I thought she was in Mongolia,” Tim spluttered.

“She’s a free spirit,” Danny grinned, like the chaotic feral gremlin he was.

“You only have one sister on file,” Bruce said, curiosity lacing his voice.

“Oh, I mean, Dani-with-an-i, my clone-sister. An absolute fruit loop who wanted to kill Jack, marry Maddie, and have me as his son cloned me when he realized that none of that was ever going to happen. She shot me in the back, and then kidnapped me back to his evil lair because of brainwashing stuff. I managed to convince her that he was full of shit; together we kicked his ass; and well her Obsession is something between being free and traveling. Tuck has a program running that siphons money from the fruit loop since he got his money doing shady shit anyways. She checks in every so often, and we all make sure that she doesn’t end up in Amity, especially since the Fentons know about me,” Danny explained nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just dropped a nuclear bomb on the Bats.

“Is that what your friend meant???” Tim exclaimed.

“Well, that depends on what he told you,” Danny deadpanned at the older boy.

“He told me that he had an ancient Egyptian pharaoh in his head! And that Amity Park was on level with Gotham! What was I supposed to think?” Tim ranted.

Danny snorted. “Oh, he wasn’t lying about that. I already told you about the portal. The Fentons were notorious about not securing it or keeping it closed. Meaning that ghosts came through all the time. Some came through more frequently than others. It took me and my team a while to learn that, for ghosts, fighting or brawling is like saying hello. Although Pandora had a fit when she realized that as a halfa I didn’t come pre-downloaded or whatever with all of the basic ghostly instincts. It doesn’t help that I’m also considered a baby ghost by ghost standards. I’ve only been dead for a little over a year,” Danny said, both info dumping and traumatizing the gathered Bats all in one go. Most of the Bats winced at hearing Danny was considered a baby ghost. Just another reminder that this was a literal child who had died.

“Danny, how many ghosts have you fought?” Bruce asked with a tight smile. Every Bat knew that particular smile. It was the kind of smile that said Bruce was very angry, very upset (not at Danny), and at the same time very glad that Danny was now in his care, so he didn’t have to face those problems alone anymore.

“Uh, I kinda lost count after the first few. But Tucker should have sent the file to Tim, and that has all of the info,” Danny said, completely oblivious to the turmoil around him. “And after the Justice League basically told us to fuck off…” A collective wince went through the room. “…my team figured it would be a good idea to start compiling a list of all the ghosts I’ve fought what we think their power levels would be. It’s not…scientific…or anything, but we tried.”

-----------

“Gordon,” Batman grunted as he appeared out of the shadows. As usual. Gordon didn’t jump, but he did silently curse the vigilante out.

“Batman,” Gordon greeted the vigilante. “To what do I owe the pleasure? The Batsignal isn’t lit.”

“I’ve brought someone with me. We’ll be going down into the station,” Batman said in his gravelly voice.

With a gesture, Danny stepped out of the shadows. Gordon sucked in a breath and forced himself to blink back tears. That was his kid. He whipped out his phone and tapped out a quick message. He knew that most of the officers who’d been worried about the little meta kid were on shift. Gordon led Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood (who he knew would make more than a few of his officers nervous, but at the same time, would make the other officers happy), Red Robin, and the little meta kid down into the station.

There were over twenty officers waiting in the station when Gordon led the vigilantes through the door. A collective gasp went through the gathered crowd. Montoya was the first to notice the twink of a kid hiding partially behind and partially in Batman’s cape. She surged forward and dragged Danny from the shadows of Batman’s cape. Tears were running down her face as she cradled him into her chest.

“Oh, kid. We missed you,” Montoya breathed as she hugged Danny close. Danny melted into the embrace

“I didn’t know you knew,” Danny sniffled. “But Batman placed me with a good family. They’ve been taking really good care of me.”

From there, introductions were made, and Danny was passed around, like a strange game of bean-bag toss or keep-away, except they were quite literally just picking Danny up and passing him to the next person. Sniffles and tears were had by all. Gordon stood off to the side with Gotham’s vigilantes (yes, he knew that Nightwing technically belonged to Bludhaven, but he was the first Robin, therefore he was Gotham’s) as they watched the mayhem of his officers pass the kid around.

“He looks happy,” Gordon remarked.

“He’s thriving,” Nightwing chirped.

“Hn,” Batman grunted.

“A few more days, and the laws hurting him should be taken down. Clark and Lois Kent have been releasing multiple articles on the atrocities of the Anti-Ecto Acts, and how they violate the Meta-Human Rights Acts. They’ve also written a few articles about the GIW. The whole world is up in arms about this,” Red Robin informed the commissioner.

Gordon nodded. He knew the kid had been running from something big. And if those white suited idiots hadn’t shown up in Gotham, he would never have figured out what. Although, he was glad that he found a good family to take care of him. Gordon looked up as Danny’s tinkling laugh caught his ears. A smile plastered itself to Gordon’s face.

Every Bat in attendance stiffened as Danny’s ears twitched, and he tensed. The doors to the station whooshed open, and a soft churring noise filled the suddenly silent station. Danny looked up to track the noise, but before he could duck or move out of the way, he was struck in the head with a clunky silver boomerang with neon green highlights. Danny’s head began bleeding from the strike, but when he looked up, there was nothing but pure, unadulterated FEAR in his blue eyes.

The whole building SHOOK as the wall crumbled as a silver tank-like vehicle pushed its way through the now gaping hole. Gordon briefly noted that the vehicle had the same silver and green accents as the boomerang. A behemoth of a man dressed in an orange hazmat jumped from the driver’s seat; while a smaller woman in a teal hazmat suit jumped from the passenger side. A whole horde of those GIW agents flowed in around the hole that the vehicle had made.

“Danny, sweetie, come with us. We can save you from that nasty ghost,” the woman, Madeline Fenton, if Gordon remembered correctly, cajoled his kid. Gordon noted that several officers had surrounded Danny shielding him from both the Fentons and the GIW.

“Dann-o, that ghost scum is nothing but a parasite. Once we remove it from you, you can come home,” the male, Jack, boomed out. “Maddiekins, you’ve got the Jack-o-Nine-Tails, right?”

“I sure do, fudgecakes,” Maddie replied.

Danny whimpered and huddled closer to the officer he was hiding behind. The GIW agents pulled out guns in that same silver and green theme. But Gordon noticed that their guns seemed off, almost like the taser guns most of his officers carried on top of their regular issued weapons. Batman tensed beside him; Gordon knew that the Bat hated firearms. At the sight of the guns, Danny practically stopped breathing.

The vigilantes moved to attack. The GIW agents took their cue to open fire. The Fentons also began attacking. Gordon ordered his officers to protect Danny, not that they needed the order. They had all long ago decided that they would kill the person hurting Danny and then themselves if anything happened to him.

It was sheer and utter chaos. Shots were fired by both sides, only the GIW agents had switched to weapons that fired some sort of plasma beam. The shots didn’t hurt much, but they did leave a small burn. Shouts of “ecto scum” and “get it” were tossed around. The male Fenton added to the chaos by pulling out a…Gordon knew right then and there that he didn’t have enough whiskey in his cabinet…that was a fucking bazooka…Everyone scattered, and Gordon was looking at yet another hole in the wall of his station.

A scream shattered the chaos.

It was the sound of death. It was the sound of a mother being told she lost her child in childbirth. It was the sound of a child watching their parents die. It was the sound of a husband losing his wife far too soon. It was the sound of siblings forever torn apart. It was heartbreaking. It was despair brought to life. Tears of a different sort sprang out of the officers’ and vigilantes’ eyes.

Gordon looked up from where he had taken cover behind a desk to see that several of the GIW agents had switched back to their taser pistols, and they had all converged on Montoya and O’Hare who had been protecting Danny. The GIW agents had fired their taser pistols, and multiple shots had connected to Danny. What was worse was that the agents had activated the electricity arcing down the wires. Maddie Fenton had also launched what Jack had called the Jack-o-Nine-Tails, and it had wrapped around Danny; it was also sparking electrically.

Red Hood growled, low and menacing. Gordon heard the moment when he switched from rubber bullets to lethal rounds. Nightwing pressed a button on his escrima sticks that electrified them (they weren’t activated before), and Red Robin swiped a gun from Hood, collapsing his bo staff and storing it wherever he did. Batman looked like he was about to protest the carnage the vigilantes were about to rain down on the GIW, but then Gordon heard several other magazines being loaded. Gordon decided his best option would be to try and help Danny.

Hood, Nightwing, Red Robin threw themselves into the fray with fierce precision. Batman and Gordon made their way over to where Danny was limply laying. His breathing was ragged and shallow. Batman’s cape flared around them like some sort of bulletproof shield as the two adults worked to get Danny free of the sparking wires. Gordon vaguely noted the grunts of pain as various GIW agents fell to the vicious punches or shots from the vigilantes. The three of them didn’t hold back.

“I’m a federal agent. This is treason. YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!!” One of the agents screamed. Gordon seemed to remember that this one was called K or something.

In response to his ranting, Hood simply shot him again. This one landed in one of the agent’s butt cheeks. The agent screamed, but none of the vigilantes seemed to care. Batman didn’t seem to care too much about the destruction being caused by his partners. Batman was entirely focused on the kid, although Gordon felt like he should maybe stop calling him “the kid” since he had a name and all that.

Danny still hadn’t regained consciousness, and his breathing was still shallow. Batman had a frown on his face as he felt for a pulse. Gordon swore he saw the Bat’s breath hitch as he dug around for a pulse on his kid. Gordon didn’t care what anyone else said. That was his kid, damnit. Batman and Bruce Wayne be damned.

A final gunshot rang out along with a shout of pain. And then silence fell on the station. Gordon looked up to gauge the damage both to his officers and to the station itself. Gordon saw that all of the GIW agents were either bleeding or unconscious; the Bats didn’t hesitate to begin restraining them. The station itself bore a few more bullet holes, and other than the gaping hole, was no worse than usual.

“Batman to Oracle. Send the Batmobile to the GCPD HQ. Package has been severely hurt. Will be taking him to the Cave for care,” Batman called out as he scooped up Danny and cradled him gently against his Kevlar armor.

And then three of the vigilantes were gone, leaving Gordon to deal with the absolute clusterfuck that was the GIW. Gordon knew that he could hold the agents long enough for the laws to get repealed on charges for attacking law enforcement officers. The agents had no “proof” that Danny was this so-called Phantom that they’d been chasing, and Gordon was sure that Batman and his brood would help trump up other charges to ensure that these agents didn’t escape. Nightwing placed a hand on Gordon’s shoulder before following the others. His look told Gordon that this wasn’t over.

---------

The Batmobile roared into the Cave with three motorcycles following closely behind it. Hood was already off his bike and running for the Batmobile the moment he was able to get the kickstand down. Batman handed Hood the limp bundle that was Danny as soon as the Batmobile came to a stop. Hood raced over to the infirmary where Alfred was waiting for them. Alfred moved with swift efficiency in getting Danny hooked up to an IV, placing the boy on an oxygen mask, hooking him up to several vital sign monitors, and dressing the multiple wounds from the GIW agents’ weapons and that strange weapon that could only have been Danny’s dad.

Danny was eerily still as he laid on the bed; the volume on the monitors had to be turned off because they kept beeping their shrill warnings at the gathered vigilantes. Jason had taken the time to de-mask and carded his hands through Danny’s hair. Jason watched as small puffs of air moved through the mask that Alfred had put on Danny. It was about the only thing that showed that Danny was still alive. The heart monitor silently screamed as Danny’s heartrate sat at around 20 beats per minute, which was low even for him. His blood pressure was 80 over 40, again low for the boy, and he was only breathing about 5 times per minute.

The gathered Bats were absolutely terrified. They’d only JUST gotten Danny, and yet, somehow, he’d managed to wiggle so thoroughly into their hearts. Even Damian was smiling more and had grown attached. They watched as Alfred worked and flitted around the room, even though there wasn’t anything more he could do. No one was willing to leave Danny alone, just in case he regained consciousness. Jason or Bruce took turns sitting next to him, carding rough hands through sweat-damp hair. After all, Gotham couldn’t be without its protectors.

Three days.

Danny was out for three days.

 Jason was on shift when he heard a slight groan coming from the small boy on the bed in the infirmary. He had eye bags that could rival Timbit’s (most of the Bats did), but that didn’t stop him from jumping up and rushing to card his hands through Danny’s hair, an action both comforting and stressful. Danny groaned again, and his eyes fluttered open. Jason tapped his panic button three times in quick succession, a motion to let the others know that he needed attention, but that nothing was immediately wrong. Since everyone knew he was on Danny duty, it was only a matter of time before the whole family, minus Babs came running into the infirmary.

“Jay,” Danny rasped out once his eyes focused on the older man.

“Hey, Specter,” Jason gasped around his tears. Bruce, Dick, and Damian slammed into the infirmary. Tim, Duke, Cass, and Steph were right behind them. Babs popped up on the Batcomputer’s screen. Alfred meandered in at a more sedate pace behind his more unruly family members.

“Are you feeling any better, Master Danny?” Alfred asked as he moved around the room, detaching several of the monitors after looking at them and giving them his approval.

Jason helped Danny sit up and gave him a small sip of water before Danny tried to speak. “Yeah. Much better. Since my accident, I’m kinda weak to electrical attacks. Even a static shock will knock me out for a few minutes.” Danny’s voice was getting stronger by the minute, but he still looked wrecked. And he couldn’t hold his head or the cup of ice chips that Jason had fetched for him up on his own. Alfred left the IV line attached and the blood pressure monitor but unhooked everything else.

“Glad you’re better, chum,” Bruce choked out. Bruce took a deep breath to steady himself. “You’ll be happy to know that while you were out, the Justice League was able to get the Anti-Ecto Acts repealed and the GIW disbanded. The only problem is that the Drs. Fenton escaped.”

Danny had several emotions run through his face: grief, anger, despair, resignation, some sort of happiness, weariness. It was like he didn’t know which emotion to show so he decided to show them all. It was interesting to watch.

“Thank you. For everything. I never hoped to…anyways, I’m not honestly surprised that the Fentons escaped. Ancients only know how squirrelly they can be. I just…wanted…” And Danny broke down in sobs, deep heaving sobs with crocodile tears streaming down his face.

“Danny, chum, they didn’t…don’t deserve you,” Bruce whispered as he wrapped his arms around the sobbing child.

Alfred quietly cleared everyone but Jason out of the room while Danny’s heart broke into pieces. Somehow, he knew that his par…Jack and Maddie…would never truly accept his other form, but for them to so publicly attack him. It broke something inside of him that he wasn’t sure would ever be put back together again.

Once Danny’s sobs had faded into soft sniffles, Bruce and Jason exchanged looks, and Jason nodded. “Danny, chum, there’s something we want to talk to you about. I know Jaylad’s already told you how much you’re wanted in this family. I’ve already got the paperwork started for legal guardianship. But all of us here want more than that. My kids already consider you their brother, and I definitely consider you one of my children.”

Danny looked up at Bruce through his dark hair which had grown long enough to fall over his icy blue eyes. His eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. “You still want me? Even after…”

“Especially after,” Bruce said emphatically. “And for as long as you’ll have us.”

Danny’s core started purring at that. Bruce cradled Danny to his chest. Danny yawned, and Bruce began humming a nonsensical melody as Danny drifted back into oblivion. Bruce barely heard Danny whisper “yes, please, dad,” as he stilled in the man’s arms. Alfred took another set of vitals but was much happier since they had returned to Danny’s “normal”. Bruce laid Danny back down on the bed, reassured that Danny was well on the road to recovering.

Chapter Text

“Master Danny, it’s time for breakfast,” Alfred called as he knocked on Danny’s door. Alfred paused when the boy didn’t respond. He was one of the only residents of the Manor who didn’t skip meals. No, Master Tim, coffee and spite didn’t count. Neither did granola bars and energy drinks. NO, Master Dick, those abominations you call cereal certainly didn’t count with their too high sugar content. And the less said about Master Bruce’s habit…well the better. Master Jason was about the only person trusted in Alfred’s sanctuary kitchen. Masters Damian and Duke and Mistress Cass could be trusted under supervision. Mistress Stephanie could be trusted with waffles, and nothing else.

Alfred knocked at the door again, and when Danny didn’t answer, opened the door. The bed was empty, though it appeared newly vacant. Alfred heard noise coming from the bathroom and made his way to the door when he heard a rather alarming sound. He heard Danny fall and quite possibly hit his head. Alfred wasted no time pressing his panic button three times in quick succession. It would alert the family that he needed immediate attention but that he wasn’t in danger per se.

Alfred opened the bathroom door to see Danny sprawled in front of the toilet as if he’d made a mad dash to the bathroom and couldn’t quite get to the toilet before passing out. His head had hit the bowl of the toilet, and he had a nasty gash that was bleeding profusely onto the tile floor. Danny groaned weakly as he regained semi-consciousness and attempted to push himself off the floor. Alfred was instantly by the boy’s side, his heart breaking as the boy’s arms flailed. Alfred heard Master Bruce and Master Jason storm into the boy’s room and called for them.

“Alfred, what’s wrong?” Bruce questioned as he slid into the room.

“I’m not quite sure Master Bruce. Young Master Danny seemed to have been trying to throw up, but before he could make it to the toilet, he fell and hit his head,” Alfred reported.

“He seems to have a fever. Do you think it’s from what happened the other day?” Bruce asked worriedly, after pressing a hand to Danny’s forehead.

“Let’s get him down to the Cave so I can check him over. I’m not sure if they’re related or not,” Alfred replied.

Bruce leaned down to pick up the boy, but the moment Bruce’s hands made contact with Danny, Danny screamed. It wasn’t quite the same scream from the police station when he’d been attacked with electrified weapons, but it was a close second. Bruce pulled his hands away as if he’d been burned and looked at Alfred with a panicked expression.

Jason shoved Bruce out of the way and hesitantly put his hands under Danny’s limp form. The three men heaved a sigh of relief when a second scream did NOT accompany Jason’s attempt. He cradled the much younger boy to his chest as gently as he could. He noticed that Danny’s Lichtenberg figures were red and inflamed as if Danny had just received them instead of them being months old.

“B…I…I don’t think this has anything to do with what happened at the police station. Look at his arm,” Jason stammered out. Both his father and grandfather looked down at Danny’s arm and saw the same thing that Jason did. Bruce sucked in a breath.

“Master Jason, if you can get Master Danny down the Cave, we can begin our assessment,” Alfred stated. Jason nodded then stood up.

“J’y” Danny slurred as he was jostled while Jason practically sprinted through the hallways trying to reach Bruce’s study. Danny’s head lolled around on his shoulders. Jason’s heart clenched in his chest.

“Danny, what’s going on? Do you know?” Jason asked breathlessly. The elevator dinged as it opened. Bruce and Alfred squeezed in with Jason. Jason spammed the close door button. The damned thing was NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH.

“Date?” Danny croaked out.

“It’s a Thursday,” Jason replied soothingly as he laid the boy down on a medical bed. Danny shook his head. That’s not what he wanted. Jason scrunched his brows in confusion. “Are…are you asking what’s today’s date?” Danny limply nodded. “It’s February 12^th. Wait, isn’t today your birthday?"

Danny nodded and groaned at the same time. Jason reached for a basin in case Danny needed to throw up. “Berfday…Death D’y. In file,” Danny rasped out.

Tim was quick to move to the Batcomputer to pull up the folder that Danny’s friend, Tucker, had made about Danny’s health and powers. There in the folder, he found a file labeled “Death Days and What to Expect” and gods wasn’t that both depressing and ominous. Tim dreaded to open the file. Tim looked at it again and was shocked to find out it was an mp4 file.

“Great One.” Tim had to pause the video. That was a FUCKING YETI on the screen. The yeti was almost solid white with blue ice horns on top of its (no, he, the voice was distinctly male, although Tim was debating how a fucking yeti could even be male in the first place) head. He also had one arm that was made out of the same ice with bones visible inside the ice. He wore a blue cape and had a gold band around the non-prosthetic arm.

Tim resumed the video from the beginning. “Great One. Something that you need to be aware of. All who come to the Infinite Realms through death, or what you would call a ghost, have something that is called a Death Day. This day will be…Unpleasant. You will be forced to relive your death. You will likely suffer a fever, headache, nauseousness, vomiting, seizures, fluctuating heartrate that can vary from bradycardia to tachycardia to the point of your heart stopping at several times, respiratory distress, a great deal of pain, and a possible discharge of ice from your core. Your, what you call Lichtenberg scars, will also appear red and inflamed.

Unfortunately, Great One, I cannot tell you what symptoms you may suffer. Halfas, such as yourself, are so incredibly rare. Even the one called Plasmius does not qualify as a true Halfa since he did not fully die; he is just highly contaminated with ectoplasm, to such an extent that he can switch form like yourself. And your Mirror Born sister does not qualify as a true Halfa either. However, do not fret, Great One. If you can surround yourself with those you consider your Fraid, it should make things a little easier. Also, since you have an ice core, submersion in hot water bath will counteract your ice core and act as a muscle relaxant.

You must take precautions with this, however, because if you start seizing while in the water, you run the risk of drowning. You must also be careful not to overheat. I would recommend you do not stay in the water any longer than 45 minutes. If you have access to it, an oxygen mask would also be recommended. I am unfamiliar with your world’s medicines, so I am unable to provide you with any recommendations on which would work best with your physiology. But anything that reduces fever and relieves pain, especially if in prescription strength would be recommended, if available.

I apologize that I am unable to provide more for you, Great One. If you are able, please come to the Far Frozen. But I also understand that you have obligations to the Living Realms and that this may not be possible. I wish you well, Great One. Ever Your Faithful Servant and Trusted Friend, Frostbite.”

Tim was absolutely speechless. Just what kind of shenanigans had this kid gotten up to. Not that Tim, or any of the Waynes had ANY room to talk, but they were a whole ass team part of other teams, who in turn made up the larger Justice League. This was one single teenager. How in the hell did he know…NOPE, Tim was decidedly NOT finishing that thought. He knew exactly the kind of trouble/shenanigans a neglected teenaged superhero could get up to, especially one that was also some kind of interdimensional royalty. It was no wonder that Danny fit right in with the Bats.

Tim swiveled his chair and walked over to the infirmary where Alfred and Bruce were working on getting Danny stable. Jason was carding his large hands through Danny’s hair. “It’s something called a Death Day. There’s not much we can do for him, except to provide comfort care. I wrote down what we could do for him.”

Both Jason and Bruce looked like they were sucking on lemons at the mention of a Death Day. Tim handed what he wrote down to Alfred, who began working on what he could do. The butler/medic started an IV on the boy and removed the nasal cannula in exchange for a full-face mask. Danny seemed to breathe easier and relax a bit with the mask in place. Alfred then pushed through a high dose of both a pain reliever and a steroid to help with the inflammation. Danny further relaxed into the embrace of the blankets surrounding him.

“What exactly is a Death Day?” Bruce asked out loud, his voice more gravel than Bruce because he was in Batman information gathering mode.

“It’s basically exactly what it sounds like. It’s where those who have died and become ghosts, or in Danny’s case, a halfa, and I expect this applies to Jason as well, they relive their death on the death on the day they died. And since Danny’s already told us that ghosts don’t usually form under peaceful or happy circumstances, and he’s told us how he died, I can only imagine how much pain he’s in right now. The video also said that he’s likely to experience a lot of other symptoms synonymous with basically being electrocuted.”

If Tim thought Jason and Bruce were sucking lemons before, now they were sucking one of the candies that claimed to be the sourest candy in the world. Tim didn’t know if sour had a rating like the Scoville heat rating, but if there were, Jason’s and Bruce’s faces reflected that now. Tim kept his own face carefully blank. Tim knew that Alfred had been listening as he worked.

Tim turned as Danny groaned and pulled the mask off as he began throwing up into the provided basin. It was mostly green-flecked bile since Danny hadn’t eaten breakfast, and supper had been a long time ago. Jason resumed carding one hand through Danny’s hair and rubbing his other hand in circles down Danny’s back. Danny leaned into the touch.

“Easy Danny. It’ll be ok, Specter,” Jason said softly. Danny stilled and cradled into the other man’s arms. Jason pushed two of the beds together to make room for him to lay down next to Danny. Just like the first night when Danny and Jason slept next to each other, Danny snuggled up close to Jason. It was as if Jason’s mere presence calmed and soothed Danny’s pain.

Danny slept in fits and starts. Sometimes shivering, sometimes sweating, sometimes as still as death. His breathing remained ragged, even with the oxygen mask. His heart rate stayed almost consistently in the tachycardic range, or at least tachycardic for him. Everyone was worried how unhealthy this was for the poor boy, but no one knew how to bring it back down to his normal range.

He whimpered and groaned, and occasionally, his Lichtenberg scars would light up as though he were being electrocuted again. At least three times, he would start having a grand mal seizure, and then somehow come out of it. No one knew what that meant. But after each episode, his heart would stop for a few seconds, which in turn nearly caused those watching him to have heart attacks. At least metaphorically speaking.

Jason stayed by Danny’s side, while the others filtered in and out. Jason napped when he could. Every time Danny jerked in his sleep Jason would wake and attempt to soothe Danny. Sometimes it would, and sometimes not. When it didn’t, Danny would attempt to snuggle deeper into Jason’s arms, seeking the older man’s warmth. Jason would huff at the boy but allowed the contact all the same.

Jason could only pray to whatever god out there (not that he particularly believed in any; he’d been too dead and then revived for that shit) to listen and give Danny the strength to get through the day. From the sound of it, this was his first Death Day. In the back of his mind, Tim had a point. If this was how Danny felt on his Death Day, it would make an awful lot of sense for Jason to feel the same on his own Death Day. ‘What a fucked-up thing. Death Days,’ Jason snorted lightly to himself.

It was midnight was Danny groaned, and then pulled the oxygen mask off. He was warm, but in that snuggly, comfy, don’t wanna get out of bed way, not in the had a bad fever and now recovering way. He realized that he was locked in someone’s arms and wiggled a little to see who had him pinned. When he realized that it was Jason, he couldn’t help but giggle. This jolted Jason awake.

“Gods, Specter. You scared the shit outta us,” Jason rasped. He shoved out of bed and lumbered over to the sink for some water. He grabbed an extra cup for Danny, figuring that he could probably use some too. The boy took the cup and gulped down his water sending Jason a grateful look.

At Jason’s voice, Bruce and Alfred popped into the infirmary. Bruce looked like he’d gained several more gray hairs just in the time that Danny had been down in the infirmary. Alfred looked as unflappable as always. Jason could see the rest of the Bats just outside the door to the infirmary, all of them with varying looks of relief on their faces. Danny hadn’t been part of their family long, but he had certainly taken up room in their hearts.

“Master Danny, is there anything I can get you?” Alfred ask, while unhooking Danny from his monitors.

“Can I get some chicken soup?” Danny asked timidly.

“I would be happy to,” Alfred replied. He left after a final health check, leaving Bruce and Jason to get Danny back up to the Manor proper.

Jason practically swept Danny up in his arms in a princess carry with Danny weakly protesting the action. The rest of the Bats followed after the duo like little ducklings. They made their way to the dining room and took their usual spots. Alfred didn’t take long to make the soup for Danny and had light snacks for everyone else. The chatter around the table was light, and Danny was drooping halfway through his soup. He finished his bowl with a valiant effort.

Then he was swept up into Jason’s arms again. And in a repeat of his first night in Wayne Manor, he was brought to Jason’s room. Danny was given the opportunity to shower and change into clean clothes. Then Jason did the same. Danny was already sleeping by the time Jason crawled into the bed. And once again, Danny curled up next to his big brother, seeking Jason’s warmth and comfort and safety.

Chapter Text

Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Marvel landed the Javelin outside a billboard that said Welcome to Amity Park “A Nice Place to Live” and in big, bold, 3D blocky, neon green letters “WORLD’S MOST HAUNTED CITY”. Given what King Phantom had told them about Amity Park, the four of them knew the sign was meant to be taken literally. A whirring noise caught their attention. Two young women stepped out of the shadow of the billboard. One was dressed in a red and black mech suit with a green visor that shielded her face. The other was dressed in a black dress that looked to be made of living vines, almost like something Poison Ivy would have made. Her violet eyes were narrowed in distrust and annoyance.

The young woman in red spoke first. “Welcome to Amity Park. I am Red Huntress while in the suit. In time, you may get to know my civilian identity. We’ll see. This is Mandragora, also known as Samantha Manson. I will warn you only once. DO NOT DISCOUNT US BECAUSE OF OUR YOUTH.” Red practically growled the last few words. “Team Phantom has faced half a dozen world ending threats that not even the Justice League could handle. We’ve face ghosts, or what you would call Realms beings, on a near-daily basis since the start of last year. And every member of Team Phantom is also a member of his Court.”

The one called Mandragora placed a hand on her team member. “Easy Red.” Red huffed at her teammate, but quieted. “I will be your civilian guide while in Amity. There are currently three other members of Team Phantom in Amity, with a fourth traveling. I was given to understand that Phantom had given you Specter Deflectors?”

The four adult heroes nodded and held out their wrists. Phantom had zeta’d up to the Watchtower about a week ago to hand the investigation team these little gadgets that looked a bit like smart watches. Phantom explained that all Realms beings had the ability to overshadow, or possess, the Living, and that these gadgets would prevent that. It would give the Realms being something similar to a shock, but nothing as invasive or abrasive as the original Specter Deflector.

“Phantom did good. Not nearly as bulky as the original. And won’t actively harm Realms beings like the original either,” Mandragora commented while inspecting the Deflector on Wonder Woman’s wrist.

“Was that a concern before?” Wonder Woman asked, attempting to ask diplomatically.

“Hmm. The…Fentons…only believe that ghosts…” Mandragora spat the word “…aren’t capable of feeling pain. That they’re just emotions imprinted on ectoplasm. In some senses, they’re not entirely wrong. Realms beings ARE made up entirely of ectoplasm and emotion. But there’s more to it than that. The only organ a Realms being possess is their core. It’s like all of the internal organs of a human rolled into one organ, but also their soul, their very essence of who they are, and the source of their power.”

“The Fentons were the ones who opened the portal to the Infinite Realms?” Wonder Woman asked.

Red and Mandragora exchanged an uneasy glance. “The Doctors Fentons built the portal, and their lack of proper safety measures are responsible for continuous access to Amity Park. Someone else was accidentally responsible for its opening. Again, due to lack of proper safety measures.”

“Do you know who or how the portal was opened?” Wonder Woman pushed. She needed the full picture if they were to investigate.

“I do. But it’s not my story to tell. And that leads us to two very important rules for entering Amity Park. The first is Don’t Ask about a Realms being’s death. The second is Don’t Ask about their Obsession. Asking about either one is likely to end up with you getting your ass kicked, and getting it kicked hard. Team Phantom may have some power over the Realms beings. But. That power can be overridden if you ask one of those two questions. Now, if a Realms being offers the information up first, then it’s fine,” Mandragora said while dragging a hand down her face.

And suddenly, Wonder Woman had an inkling of an idea of how exactly the portal to the Infinite Realms had been opened, and she didn’t like it. She would have to confirm with Bruce once the team’s investigation in Amity Park was completed, but she knew that she was on the right track. It made her sick to think about. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs building.

“As Mandragora mentioned, there are three more members of Team Phantom here in Amity Park. You may or may not meet them. But we need to warn you about one of them. He’s…he’s not dangerous. BUT. He can get intense. He’s also cursed. We want to share this information with you, just in case one of us isn’t with him and you happen to meet him. His curse revolves around the fact that knows things, like who each of you are outside of the Cape, but that also means other than us in Team Phantom no one will believe him.”

Red watched as the heroes tensed when she told them that Wes knew their identities. But she would rather warn them than they be blindsided by the absolute fuckery that was Wesley Weston. It was something that Team Phantom had discussed in a separate chat that didn’t include Wes, and they had all come to the consensus that this was something that needed to be done. The heroes needed to be warned. True, Wes had gotten better about the whole outing of heroes’ secret identities thing, especially since the Fentons took Danny being Phantom so badly, but that wasn’t a chance that any of them were willing to take.

“Some more general rules while you’re in Amity Park. Don’t take the Specter Deflectors off. All Realms beings can turn invisible and have the ability to overshadow the Living. Seeing new faces here, especially since Phantom isn’t here to stop them, will be like a neon sign over your head. If a Realms being does come through the Fenton Portal, let one of Team Phantom handle it. Without proper tech, you won’t even be able to touch them. This next one isn’t so much a rule but a warning. Amity Park doesn’t like the Justice League. They let us down when we started calling for help. And since then, Amity Park has basically decided to say ‘Fuck You’ to any Leaguers who show up.  While we don’t think any Amity Parker will be outright hostile to you, you can probably expect them to be rude; to ignore you; to insult you; or to even verbally harass you.” Red looked at each hero to make sure that they understood her.

Once again, the two teenagers watched as the heroes tensed. For Wonder Woman’s part, she was used to walking into a situation where she might be treated warily. But she had never been treated in the manner that Red Huntress was describing. Apprehensive, confused, distrustful, and in the rare case, didn’t even know who the Justice League was. But this…this was a whole new experience.

As the adult heroes watched, Mandragora’s outfit began to retract inside of itself. Soon, they were staring a goth-looking teenager wearing a black and purple skirt with fishnet stocking underneath that ended in combat boots. Wonder Woman would bet that those were steel-toed boots. The girl wore a dark purple graphic band tee.

“Red, go ahead and finish your patrol. I’ll escort the Justice League from here,” Sam said with a sniff. Wonder Woman had to hide a snort. That was such a Stabby Robin thing to do. Red Huntress nodded and then activated a hoverboard and flew off leaving her teammate behind. “Follow me. Amity Park isn’t what you’d call a large city, but it’s by no means a small town either. The last official census before the portal opened had the population around 75,000 people.”

Sam led the heroes to a car. She gestured to one of the adults to get in the driver’s seat. No one questioned how she got it out to the meeting spot. It was a rather non-descript black sedan. It was neither high-end nor was it what could be called a beater. It was something in between. Wonder Woman took the driver’s seat. Aquaman took the front passenger seat. Leaving Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, and Sam to fill in the back. Sam solved the problem by sliding into the middle so she could give directions.

There were only a few hotels in the smallish city, but only one that would be acceptable (according to Sam, at any rate), but Sam had also offered her mansion for the heroes, stating that her parents would be more than happy to schmooze with the Justice League. A hotel would be more convenient for their investigation, but staying with Sam would allow them to be near Sam in the event that something happened.

As Wonder Woman drove into the city, she could feel the eyes of the people walking on the street as she neared the Mansons’ mansion. Most of the eyes weren’t openly hostile, like Sam had said, but neither were they curious or friendly. Wonder Woman hummed in the back of her throat but had opted for the mansion because Sam seemed to have the intel that they needed for their investigation, but also, she was their guide.

At least the Mansons’ property had avoided the wanton destruction that Amity park seemed to sport. Even Gotham wasn’t as bad as Amity Park. But then again, Gotham was funded by the Bruce Wayne, so its infrastructure was able to be repaired quickly and efficiently. Amity Park may have had a couple of multi-millionaires in residence, but it was clear that they did NOT put their money towards their city the same way Bruce did.

Wonder Woman parked the car where Sam indicated and then led the heroes into her house. Jeremy and Pamela were home. Because of course they were. Jeremy gave off stereotypical blonde prep-school vibes while also giving off new-money vibes. Pamela, a ginger-haired woman, gave off Stepford Wives vibes. Wonder Woman shuddered.

“Sammykins, who are your guests?” Pamela squealed, pinching Sam’s cheeks. Sam swatted her mother’s hands away.

“Mother, these are members of the Justice League. They’re here to investigate the GIW and the Fentons,” Sam practically snarled. “Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Captain Marvel.” Sam pointed to each one as she introduced them.

“Well, it’s about time. And I do hope they look into that boy, Daniel Fenton, too,” Pamela said snidely.

Sam rounded on her mother with a vicious glare. “DON’T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DANNY! HE’S BEEN FIGHTING AGAINST THE GHOSTS!” She growled out, breathing heavily. Wonder Woman stepped between the three of them, putting her hand on Sam’s shoulder.

Sam let out “tsk” sound, and once again, Wonder Woman had to prevent herself from snorting. That was such a Stabby Robin sound. The other heroes, who hadn’t spent as much time with the Bats, looked at Wonder Woman in confusion, while she was hiding her face behind her hands. Sam stomped up the stairs and indicated for the heroes to follow her. Sam led each of the heroes to their own room.

The next morning, knowing it would be safer for the heroes to drive, Sam led them to their first destination. Fenton Works. Sam had warned them that nothing about Fenton Works was OSHA compliant, but they were NOT prepared. Wonder Woman almost wished Bruce or Barry were here instead, but Sam had also warned them about saying the word ‘wish’ out loud. THAT had taken some time to unpack and process.

During breakfast, Sam had given the heroes a brief description of the ghosts, or Realms beings, haunting the city. It had infuriated Wonder Woman all over again. Knowing that Sam, an untrained…Wonder Woman wouldn’t call Sam a civilian, not if the girl was part of an interdimensional being’s Court…so, untrained teenager had been left to fend for herself all because of the gross negligence of her coworkers. And not just Sam. All of Team Phantom.

Sam found the hidden key to Fenton Works and let herself in. Wonder Woman had to wonder just how many times the girl had done that exact same thing in times past. She also wondered where the homeowners were. Sam quickly answered that question.

“If you’re wondering where the Fentons are, they’ve gone AWOL. They attacked Phantom with GIW in Gotham a couple of days ago but were forced to retreat when the Bats got involved. Pharaoh says they’re currently in Wisconsin with the fruit loop. Probably planning something. Again. Pharaoh is attempting to get into the fruit loop’s servers to see what they’re planning,” Sam explained as she gave the heroes a tour of the OSHA nightmare that was Fenton Works.

When they got to the basement, Wonder Woman thought she was going to be sick. Without saying it out loud, she knew that this was where Phantom had died. She sent out a quick message to Bruce to let him know to let Phantom know that Constantine would be needed in Amity Park. She drifted slightly nearer the portal doors, and the hackles on the back of her neck rose. She didn’t dare touch it. A child had died there. She turned to look at her companions and could see their grim faces. Captain Marvel looked even worse than the rest.

Bruce responded to her message that Constantine would be there within the next day. Sam proceeded to explain the rest of the basement lab, including the weapons vault, and chemical cabinet. Then, she led the heroes upstairs to yet another weapons cache and the house’s automatic anti-ghost defense system. Sam explained that both Fenton children had been exposed to ectoplasm almost since birth and that the house’s defense system had begun targeting both of them, especially Danny.

The final nail in the coffin was the UFO-like structure perched precariously on top of the house. Sam called it the Ops Center. She explained that it was a fully functional and detachable weapons system and could control everything in the house remotely. It could act as a blimp when needed. Wonder Woman didn’t often feel the need to cuss. But knowing that the Fentons had succeeding in punching a hole in reality, had built multiple vehicles to traverse that hole, should have been on several watchlists if not outright classified as rogues, were manufacturing weapons to harm and End the being that reside on the other side of the hole, how utterly and completely biased the Fentons were…Well, it made Wonder Woman want to release a stream of cuss words that would probably make Jason (Red Hood) proud.

What made it even worse was that Team Phantom, again untrained, unmentored teenagers, all had experience operating the various vehicles, sabotaging the weapons, and in the case of Pharaoh, hacking and tracking to keep everyone safe. They had a well-developed routine. It shouldn’t have been necessary.

Sam led the heroes to a diner called Nasty Burger for a break. This time, they walked. They received several jeers and catcalls of “go home, justice losers” or “you’re not wanted here”. Wonder Woman knew that the only reason things didn’t escalate was because of the young woman walking with them, but she could see that the people were holding makeshift weapons, and it wouldn’t take much to prod them into a mob-type mentality.

A red-headed teenager came bounding up to them, but before he could get a word out, Sam stomped on his foot. “NOT. A. WORD. Or I will tell both Phantoms, AND Fright Knight.” The red-head pouted at Sam but slank back to his vacated booth. Sam led the heroes over to the booth and introduced everyone. The teenagers at the booth gave the heroes carefully crafted blank stares and faces.

The four heroes attempted to order food, however the cashier, Val, according to her nametag refused to serve them. It wasn’t until both Sam and Tucker threw glares at Val that she reluctantly processed their orders. It left the heroes feeling distinctly wrong footed and reeling. Other customers in the small diner were also glaring at the heroes. The only one who didn’t seem to be under any type of open scrutiny was Martian Manhunter. Wonder Woman got the feeling it was due to his skin color, and immediately felt bad for thinking that, like it was discriminatory.

They had just received their meals when the door was slammed open, and several people in solid white suits burst in. Ah, Wonder Woman had been warned about these people. The Ghost Investigation Ward, or Guys in White. They had recently attacked a civilian boy under Bruce’s care, and if Wonder Woman was correct in her assumption, this was a mad dash for power before she and her team revealed them for the fraud and power-hungry agency they were.

The GIW agents had an assortment of hand-held devices that they were using to scan every person in the restaurant. Wonder Woman noticed that every member of Team Phantom tensed. Wonder Woman squinter and furrowed her brows. What were these agents, oh sorry, they called themselves “operatives”, looking for? Their handheld devices beeped steadily when they scanned Val, and the rest of Team Phantom, but the operatives made no move to remove the teenagers.

‘Pity,’ Wonder Woman thought to herself. ‘I was almost itching for a fight. Or maybe just to show the people of Amity Park that we are here to fight for them.’

Then the GIW operatives rounded on Martian Manhunter. They seemed absolutely and utterly convinced he was a ghost or “ecto-scum” even though he didn’t register on their scanners. AT ALL. When the GIW operatives pulled out weapons, the other three heroes wasted no time in jumping up to defend their friend and comrade. A squeak left the operative in front of the group as they realized that they were facing real life heroes. There was fear in their eyes.

“I would suggest that you do not do whatever is you think you’re about to do,” Wonder Woman said as she sauntered over to the group. She towered over the operatives, as most of them only came to her shoulders. Martian Manhunter was the only one of the heroes who was taller than her, but both Aquaman and Captain Marvel both stood over six feet. Together, they made quite the imposing image. ‘Take that, Batman. You’re not the only one who can scare others or use intimidation tactics,’ she thought to herself. Martian Manhunter smirked to himself. He must have caught the thought.

A chill ran down Wonder Woman’s spine.  She put on her best diplomatic face because she knew that if she didn’t, blood was about to be shed. Things were about to get ugly and fast. Somehow. Somehow, between her and Aquaman, the two heroes managed to talk everyone in the diner down from mob-mentality. If Martian Manhunter manipulated the crowd’s emotions…well, Wonder Woman certainly wasn’t telling anyone.

The four heroes spent the rest of the day in Amity Park. There were more jeers and catcalls. Some of them were quite…creative, to say the least. Most were along the same vein as “justice losers”. Wonder Woman was thankful that Red Huntress had warned them about the antagonistic behavior. A few times Wonder Woman caught the eyes of the townspeople glowing. Captain Marvel muttered about how uneasy this whole thing had made him feel from the moment they landed.

By the time they were in the Javelin, Wonder Woman felt an exhaustion pulling at her bones that she’d never felt before. She glanced over at her compatriots and saw that they were faring no better than she. She couldn’t get the Javelin up to the Watchtower any faster. She didn’t know how the Anti-Ectoplasm Acts had gotten passed; she didn’t know how the Ghost Investigation Ward had gotten enough funding to get formed; But she DID know that she had enough evidence to take them down. And she would make sure that they fell and fell hard. Maybe Bruce or Timothy could dig up dirt on the Congresspeople who had allowed this to happen.

Wonder Woman stalked through the halls of the Watchtower. She saw both Flashes on their hands and knees scrubbing a part of the hallway clean with a toothbrush and flashed (hehehe) both of them a toothy grin. The doomed heroes groaned, knowing that they were still in trouble with Wonder Woman. It helped to soothe and settle something in her heart. She sat down at a terminal to begin her report and sighed. It was going to be a LONG, LONG night.

Chapter Text

“Vlad, we just don’t know what we’re going to do,” Maddie sobbed as she drank yet another glass of wine.

“What seems to be the problem, my dear Madeline?” Vlad cooed, ignoring Jack’s blubbering in the corner.

“That ghost scum, Phantom, killed our baby. It’s been pretending to be our baby for a year now. And somehow, it’s convinced the Bats of Gotham that it isn’t evil. Who knows what it’ll do next? Convince the Justice League to take down the Anti-Ecto Acts?!?!” Maddie ranted as she began pacing.

Vlad just sat there, trying NOT to smirk. Now, he knew where Daniel had run to. Now, he could make his plans to reclaim the boy. He didn’t particularly like the fact that he was with Batman, but that was nothing a little overshadowing couldn’t fix. Unless the boy had already provided the vigilante with a version of the Specter Deflectors. That would be something that Daniel was capable of.

Vlad continued to hmm and respond, although his mind was no longer involved in the conversation in front of him. But he also got the feeling that he was missing something. If Daniel had already gotten to the Batman…Vlad suddenly sprang from his chair and ran to the tv and turned it on. Maddie and Jack looked at him as if he’d gone mad, but he paid them no mind. There on the tv was his worst fear confirmed.

Maddie and Jack crowded around him, their faces pale in consternation and horror. The reporter was rehashing the news that the Anti-Ecto Acts had been repealed through the combined efforts of the Justice League, the UN, and two Nobel Prize winning reporters, Clark Kent and Lois Lane-Kent. Vlad felt his eyes flash red for a moment at the news. His world was toppling in front of him. Unlike oafish Jack and his precious Madeline, Vlad had never discounted Daniel and knew what the boy was truly capable of.

Maddie started ranting about how those evil and vile ghost scum had tricked the world. How without the Anti-Ecto Acts the world would crumble into tyranny and anarchy. How only their inventions could save the world. And HOW DARE THEY DISBAND THE GIW!!! Vlad had to agree on that last one, if only because if the goody-goody Justice League really started following the money of the GIW, then they would see that some of their money came from him. And then that would lead them to some of his not-so-above-board other business practices. Strawberry shortcakes!

Vlad had once hoped to reveal his other nature to Madeline, but with how she took Daniel’s reveal as Phantom, he now knew that was no longer an option. He began to realize that if he wished to keep Maddie, he would have to seek a magician’s love potion or spell. Or seek something from within the Infinite Realms. This brought Vlad up short. He turned to look at Madeline. And felt an ache develop near where his core sat. He knew he wasn’t a true Halfa like Daniel, but he still possessed a core, or well a proto core anyways.

“Is something wrong, Vlad?” Maddie asked as she noticed Vlad rubbing his chest.

“It’s nothing, my dear. Perhaps some indigestion with this horrible news,” Vlad replied with a gesture indicating the news broadcast.

This had the intended effect of deflecting and redirecting Maddie’s attention back to the news report. Vlad continued to rub at the spot where his proto core was nestled. His mind was whirling at 100mph, making plans, and discarding them just as fast. He made contingencies for his plans and then made contingencies for his contingencies.

Without either of the Fentons noticing, Vlad made several duplicates as he finally settled on a plan. He quietly gathered the Plasmius Maximus, his small stash of Blood Blossoms, and several other pieces of equipment, and then he tossed them into a small pocket dimension. Vlad also had several vials of a strong, hospital grade sedative that he could use on Daniel once he had the boy in his grasp. He reassured Maddie and Jack that they would be welcome in his castle for as long as they liked. But.

BUT.

Vlad could practically feel the walls closing and collapsing around him. He decided that he WOULD NOT be at his castle when those justice do-gooders came knocking. He would let Jack, and, as much as it pained his core, Maddie take the fall. They would be the ones to open the door. And they would, undoubtedly, begin to spiel their anti-ghost prejudice and how ghosts would bring about the END OF THE WORLD. Or some such nonsense. Vlad could only hope that when those goody two-shoes knocked, he would be away retrieving Daniel. He hated to lose the castle, but his cabin in Colorado would have to do. He had a few other properties stashed away, and if all else failed, he could always retreat into the Infinite Realms themselves.

Vlad made some trivial excuse to Madeline and Jack about having to step out for a few minutes, knowing that they would never notice his absence. After all, they failed to notice their own son was the very thing they hated so much until he’d accidentally revealed it. At least, that’s what Vlad inferred from Madeline’s and Jack’s ranting. Vlad checked one last time that his lab was secure. No one should be able to enter, unless they were a top-notch hacker, but Vlad doubted that Daniel knew someone of that caliber. He didn’t believe that the dark web’s famed Oracle actually existed.

With one last look, Vlad stepped through his portal. He turned and watched as it closed behind him. He was just glad that his portal was more secure than the Fentons, and he wouldn’t have to worry about anything sneaking through it while he was away. The duplicate checked in with Jack and Madeline. And as suspected, they never noticed his absence. Vlad couldn’t understand why Daniel fought so hard against being his son with parents like that. Vlad himself could barely recall his own parents, and perhaps that was why the boy fought. But it was no matter. Daniel would be his in short matter.

-------------

Danny felt a shudder run down his spine. He looked up from the book he was currently reading trying to figure out why. His ghost sense hadn’t activated, and he couldn’t see any active threats. Jason’s head popped into the library’s doorframe just as he was about to turn his attention back to his book.

“You ok, Specter?” Jason asked softly.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched his nose. He thought about it for a minute before shaking his head. “I…I don’t know. Is Bruce home?”

Jason furrowed his own eyebrows at Danny’s uncertainty. But he knew that Timmy was working in the office today, and the Old Man was working from home. So, he told Danny as much. “Somethin’ wrong?” Danny shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he walked with Jason on the way to Bruce’s study. Danny’s admission had Jason pulling the younger boy into his side.

They knocked on the door to Bruce’s study and promptly heard a muffled “come in” in Bruce’s baritone voice. Jason pushed the door open, but Danny seemed to hesitate as if afraid that he was bothering the man that he was slowly starting to see as his dad. Bruce closed his WE laptop and walked around his desk and sat in one of the armchairs. Jason gently shoved Danny in front of him and maneuvered the two of them to the small loveseat across from Bruce.

“What can I do for you?” Bruce asked, looking at Jason to see if his second son could give him any information. Danny was picking at the hem of his shirt and looking down at the floor.

“Danny asked if you were here. I guessed he needed to talk to you, Old Man,” Jason said with a snort. Danny looked up at his older brother with a betrayed expression on his face.

“Danny, chum, you can talk to me. Whatever it is,” Bruce said in what he hoped was an encouraging voice.

Danny took a deep, fortifying breath. “I told you about the fruit loop, right?”

“You told us that this person cloned you, but you didn’t give many more details than that,” Bruce replied, leaning forward on his elbows.

Danny took another deep breath. “Ok. So, it’s a lot more than that. He worked with Jack and Maddie back in college on their first Ghost Zone portal. That proto portal didn’t work, and quite literally blew up in his face. It didn’t quite make him a Halfa like me. Frostbite, my doctor, says that I’m like the only true Halfa. But Plasmius…he has a human form and a ghost form; he just never fully died from the ectoplasm radiation poisoning. When Jack and Maddie disappeared from the police station last week, I have a feeling that they went to him.”

Both Bruce and Jason sucked in a breath. “Did…did you ever tell them about him?” Bruce was the first to break the silence.

“I…I tried. Jack couldn’t see the bad in him. That was his best friend, and how dare I say anything bad about him. And Maddie thought he was a creep but ultimately harmless. Didn’t matter how many times I showed them the bugs I found. Plasmius couldn’t have done that. And well, you already know how they feel about Phantom.”

“Danny, you keep referring to him by his ghost name. Who is he?” Bruce tried very hard NOT to drop into the Batman gravelly growl. Danny shook his head, his eyes blown wide in terror.

“I CAN’T! I CAN’T!” Danny started heaving ugly sobs. Jason’s hand on his knee was the only thing that kept him from fleeing.

Bruce hated that he caused Danny’s tears and sobs, but he needed to know. “Danny. Listen to me. The Drs. Fenton have likely already told this Plasmius that you were spotted with Batman, yes?” Danny hiccupped but nodded through his tears. “And unfortunately, at some point in time, when you’re seen out and about with one of my other kids, Dick or Tim or Damian, maybe even Duke or Cass, it’s only a matter of time before the paparazzi gets a hold of the story that ‘Brucie Wayne’ took in another one. Even if they can’t get a clear picture of you due to your ectoplasmic interference, the story will still come out. And then Plasmius will know that either the Bats and Birds are the Waynes, or he’ll know that Batman placed you with the Waynes.” Bruce heaved a sigh of his own. “There’s even a chance that Jason will get recognized. Though he tends to stay out of the limelight because he’s more associated with Red Hood. But that’s always a possibility.”

Danny was no longer heaving sobs, which was a good thing. His eyes were red and puffy, but Jason was walking him through some breathing exercises for a panic attack. Bruce was still leaning forward, waiting for Danny to get his breathing under control. Blue eyes met red-rimmed blue eyes. Danny was the first to look away.

“Vladimir Masters,” Danny whispered. “I…I’ll need to make more Specter Deflectors. For everyone. Jay probably won’t need one. It’s incredibly hard for a ghost to overshadow another ghost, even another halfa, but I’d rather make him one than not. I’ll need some more materials.”

Bruce and Jason nodded. At least, the boy was no longer panicking and was actually helping them. He began muttering about what materials he would need. Danny jumped up from the loveseat, and Jason was quick to follow. Bruce knew that he wasn’t going to be able to do any more WE work, so he shot off a quick email to Tim to explain what had happened. Tim replied back that he would be home in an hour. There was no way he was going to let his newest brother suffer through this latest upset without him. Besides, Tim had been the one to help Danny build the first batch of the Deflectors.

----------

“HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP!!!” Danny screamed as Plasmius charged at him with another round of his pink ecto-blasts. Danny was also in his human form as Plasmius had hit him with the Plasmius Maximus the first chance he had.

Somehow, during their shopping trip, Danny, Jason, and Tim had gotten separated. Which wouldn’t have been bad. Except for the small, tiny little detail that Plasmius had been waiting for that exact moment to strike. Danny rolled out of the way but came up short as Plasmius’s blast clipped his side. Danny let out a scream and held his side as he tried to run.

“Come now, Daniel. This doesn’t have to be difficult. Jack and Maddie have already disowned you. I am the only one who can provide you with the training you need and with the future that is appropriate for one such as you.”

Danny just scoffed at the older ghost. Plasmius stalked closer as Danny scrabbled away from the man. Before Danny could get any further away, Plasmius surged forward and grabbed him and snapped a device around his wrist. Danny screamed again as he felt another surge of electricity flow through his battered and beaten body. Plasmius smiled as the device locked into place on the boy’s wrist.

Plasmius grabbed the boy’s now shackled wrist and began pulling him towards a waiting black sedan. Daniel fought and yelled and kicked, but Plasmius merely huffed at the boy’s antics. He was simply throwing a temper tantrum. Nothing more. Plasmius felt it when the boy dug in his heels, but he knew that the young Halfa was weakened enough to not be able to fight him for long.

Both ghosts heard the sound of cracking wind. Danny didn’t even know it was possible for wind to sound like that. When he looked up, he saw Superman and a younger but punk version of Superman floating in front of the car where Plasmius was trying to drag Danny. Danny didn’t hesitate to reach inside his chest for the last two Specter Deflectors, bulky prototypes he’d first worked on before giving the final products to the investigation team that went to Amity Park. They would still work; they just weren’t as aesthetically pleasing as the finished products.

The two Supers caught the devices thrown at them with ease. Superman heard the boy whisper something about putting them before he passed out as yet another arc of electricity coursed through his small frame from the manacle on his wrist. Superman felt his eyes heat up as the boy crumpled to the ground. A moment later both Supers felt a slimy sort of niggling presence push against their minds, but they had already put the bracelets on.

The being that had been fighting the boy shrieked and held his hand across his chest as if he’d been stung. “It’s no matter! Daniel is MINE!” The being snarled.

Superboy didn’t hesitate to snap forward and punch the being. The black-haired vampire wannabe’s head snapped back, and Superboy could tell that he’d probably broken the being’s nose. The two Supers exchanged a look before beginning to wail on the being. By the time the being was a bloody and broken mess, both Supers were breathing a little harder, though they weren’t out of breath.

“I will never be yours, Plasmius,” the boy snapped weakly, having regained consciousness. He reached inside his chest, again (neither of the Supers knew what to do with that tidbit) and pulled out a thermos…WHY DID HE HAVE A THERMOS????? The boy unscrewed the lid, and beam of blue-ish white light shot out and caught the being, Plasmius, and dragged it back towards the thermos.

“Cheese crumpets!” the being flailed as the light sucked him up into the thermos. The boy all but collapsed back onto the ground. Superboy caught him before his head could make contact with the hard cement.

Tim and Jason, in civvies, came running up to the boy. Jason was cradling the boy to his chest, while Tim was on a call with Bruce explaining what had just happened. Both Supers could hear the near panic in Bruce’s voice. But Superman was kind of surprised; he didn’t know that Bruce had taken in another kid, much less one with powers. Tim ended his call with Bruce and turned to the Supers.

“Thank you for coming. Somehow, he managed to separate us from Danny. B says you’re both welcome back to the Manor. Also said that since you’re here, might as well do an article about Danny,” Tim said with a world-weary sigh, while looking at Superman as he said that last little bit. “Kon, can you get me? Supes, can you get Jason and Danny?” Both Supers nodded at Tim’s instructions.

The flight back to Wayne Manor was done is hushed whispers and an occasional pained moan from Danny. Danny was floating in that weird conscious-but-not subspace. Superman didn’t really struggle too much with the additional weight, but it was weird carrying the brick shithouse that was Jason “Red Hood” Todd-Wayne who was, in turn, carrying another teenager. Something about not letting anyone touch the boy because they weren’t sure if he would react to Kryptonian biology. Neither Superman nor Superboy knew what to make of that statement.

The group took one of the secret entrances to the Cave so that Alfred could hook Danny up to the Cave’s medical equipment in the infirmary. Danny regained full consciousness and grumbled about being in the infirmary. Again. Jason snorted at the boy’s grumblings as Superman set them both down just outside the infirmary, so Jason could lay the boy down on the waiting medical bed.

While Alfred bustled about hooking Danny up to the appropriate monitors (Alfred and Tim had made a set of monitors specifically for Danny since his vitals were way off baseline normal human), Tim got to work on the manacle on Danny’s wrist. Small shocks would emanate from the damned thing which would cause Danny to jerk and get close to blacking out.

“Fucking hell, Replacement,” Jason, now out of his red helmet and domino, growled at his brother as a fourth shock erupted from the damned thing on Danny’s wrist, causing him to cry out in pain.

“I’m fucking trying,” Tim bit out in frustration.

“Language, Master Jason, Master Tim,” Alfred scolded lightly.

“Sorry Alfie,” Both Jason and Tim replied in unison, thoroughly chastised. The two brothers looked at each other and sighed. Tim reoriented himself and was finally able to get the locking mechanism open. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The manacle clicked open with a small whoosh of air. Danny practically melted into the medical bed once the damned thing came off, and everyone gathered could see Danny’s healing factor kickstart.

“Specter, I say this with all due respect. And Alfie, forgive me ahead of time. But. WHAT. THE. ABSOLUTE. FUCK.”

Tim snorted, and both Supers looked at Jason with their heads cocked to the side like golden retrievers. But this had the bonus effect of setting Danny to laughing, however weak it was. Bruce popped into the infirmary at the sound of Danny’s laughter. Jason was already stationed on one side of the bed, so Bruce took the other.

“The better question, Jaylad, is what are we going to do with Plasmius, or Vladimir Masters?” Bruce asked as he carded rough hands through Danny’s hair. Danny looked up at his foster father with bleary eyes.

“Normally, when I fight my rogues, I would just shove them back into the Realms. But somehow, I get the feeling that’s not gonna fly this time,” Danny said with a flinch as the thermos rattled menacingly. “But also, since Plasmius is part ghost, unless you have anti-ghost tech installed on whichever cell you put him in, he can just overshadow a guard or something or use his intangibility and invisibility to escape.” The thermos rattled again.

“For now, we’ll contact Dark to see if they have containment wards. Danny, you already have the blueprints for a ghost shield. That can be your next project when you recover. How long can Plasmius stay contained?” Bruce asked in a clinical and calculating manner.

Danny cocked his head to the side, much like the Supers had done moments earlier, before he responded. “I’ve kept other ghosts in the thermos up to a month. But they were full ghosts. I don’t how different it will be for Plasmius since he’s a half-ghost. Probably shouldn’t keep him in there longer than a couple of weeks. It’s not very comfortable inside. Feels like being shoved into a straight jacket and then shoved into a sleeping bag and then shoved into a sensory deprivation tank.”

“You’ve been inside?” Bruce’s voice rose an octave at the question. Jason and Tim were just as horrified at the revelation.

“Yeah. Jazz has terrible aim. Thought she was helping but kept catching me instead of the ghost who was attacking at the time,” Danny replied, waving off Bruce’s concern like it just another normal Tuesday. The two Supers looked on in mild curiosity, although Superman was beginning to put the puzzle pieces together.

Superman coughed to interrupt. “Pardon the intrusion. But are you Phantom from Amity Park?”

Before Danny could answer, Alfred, bless him and true master of Wayne Manor, answered, “Master Danny should be resting. Tomorrow will be the time for questions and answers. Master Danny, you may go to your room, but you may NOT use your powers. Master Jason, if you will.”

“Yes, Alfie, I’ll escort the little ghostie upstairs,” Jason said and swept Danny up into his arms. Danny, loudly and vehemently, protested, but both Bruce and Tim knew it was more of a token protest, considering it was Jason who had picked up the younger boy.

“Clark, Kon, tomorrow. And you’ll get a proper introduction to Danny and you, Clark, will get your story. We need to make his presence here in Gotham official anyways,” Bruce said while leading the way to the elevator that would take them up to the Manor above the Batcave.

“I didn’t even know you took in another one, Bruce,” Clark said with a smile. He was so happy for his friend. His friend had been so gloomy and depressed with a large and empty house. And now that house was full, and his family was constantly growing.

“This was an accident. And not my fault. Besides, as you saw, he more or less imprinted on Jason. While, technically, I’m the legal guardian and soon to be legal dad, Danny definitely looks more to Jason for guidance and decision making.”

The elevator dinged and the three of them stepped out. Alfred was waiting for them and waved them off to their respective rooms. Bruce was thankful that he had enough people to cover Gotham. He didn’t know if he could patrol with Danny being hurt. Again. Bruce loved his children. He really did. But. He just wished that they didn’t have tendencies to turn his hair prematurely gray. This was especially true with the addition of one half-ghost. Although, he wouldn’t trade Danny for the world. He brought a light to the house that seemed to be missing, and he brought everyone together in a way that no one else could. Not even Dick.

Bruce got undressed and completed his nighttime routine. Before he climbed into his bed, he made his way to Danny’s room. He opened the door, and his heart clenched at the sight. Danny was sleeping fitfully, apparently in the thrall of a nightmare. Bruce debated for a moment before climbing into the bed with Danny. It was something that he’d done with both Dick and Jason when they were still small but had never gotten the chance to do with Tim or Damian. And now, they would all rather die (or in Jason’s case, die again) before admitting that they had a nightmare bad enough for Bruce to be in their bed, much less in their room.

Bruce stretched out on the king-size bed and began carding his hands through Danny’s hair. Danny began relaxing into the touch, and his breathing eased. His face lost that pinched look, and his fists and jaw unclenched. A shiver wracked Danny’s slim frame, and Bruce tensed as the boy shuffled closer to him, likely seeking his warmth. As the boy’s head settled on Bruce’s chest with his ear pressed against the spot where he could hear the older man’s heartbeat, Bruce felt himself lose the fight against sleep.

Chapter Text

As had become the new routine in Wayne Manor, Jason appeared at the breakfast table with Danny trailing behind him, latched onto Jason’s sleeve and still looking a little lost and unsure of his place at the table. His bruises from the day before looked slightly better. But he still looked a little ragged and tired. Bruce was already seated at the table in his usual spot at the head. Dick next to him at his right, and Damian at Bruce’s left. The rest of the occupants of the Manor were left to fill the table as they saw fit. Tim sat next to Dick.

Clark and Kon took seats in the middle of the table. Steph was out with her dad, and Duke was at uni. Cass had left earlier in the morning for a mission in Hong Kong. So, it wasn’t a full table. Alfred reminded them, yet again, that the breakfast table was for eating and not for discussing what had happened to Danny or for any discussions relating to their nightlife. Alfred raised a pointed eye at Bruce and Clark. Both older adults lowered their heads in submission which caused Dick, Jason, Tim, and Kon to cackle. Damian glared at the cackling young adults, and Danny just looked lost.

Breakfast was a pleasant affair. Bruce formally introduced Danny to Clark and Kon and included their hero identities. If the two Supers were surprised at this, they didn’t give it away. But then again, Clark was long used to Bruce’s particular brand of chaos. And Kon just took everything in stride since Clark didn’t make a fuss about it. After Alfred cleared the dishes from the table, he instructed the family to relocate to the sitting room where Clark could get his answers.

“As you noticed last night, Clark, yes, Danny is Phantom,” Bruce started while rubbing his hand down his face. He wished he could have a shot of whiskey, but it was only 10 in the morning, and Alfred would have his neck if he even tried to sneak a sip. Bruce was watching Danny carefully, but the boy had his eyes closed and was leaning against Jason. Bruce could tell that the boy wasn’t asleep, but he knew he was anxious about this conversation.

Bruce directed his next statement to the boy in question. “Danny.” The boy hummed and his green eyes glowed at him for a moment before the glow receded, and his eyes became blue once again. “As you know Clark, Superman, can be trusted. He wasn’t one of those who ignored the calls from Amity Park, and he and his wife have been working to get word about the Anti-Ecto Acts out in the world. And with their help, the Justice League was able to get them repealed.”

As expected, Danny looked up at Jason, who nodded. So, Danny cautiously launched into his tale. He left out the portal incident, only telling Clark that he’d had a lab accident at the Fentons’ and left it there. From there, he told Clark all about how he was the only one who could protect the humans from ghosts and ghosts from the humans. He told Clark (Bruce, Jason, and Tim were listening just as intently, don’t lie) how his team (God, Bruce was going to be sick again when he realized that Danny’s team was just a group of unpowered teenagers) had stood against beings more powerful than gods. And eventually, Danny told Clark how he ended up in Gotham and with Bruce. Dick, Jason, Damian, and Tim laughed at Danny, again, at the story of Danny sleeping in the back of the GCPD cars and how he eventually ended up in the Batmobile.

“And Commissioner Gordon was aware that you were there?” Clark asked, looking up from his notepad.

“Yeah, he said that he would assign his better officers to basically the area where I would be most likely to find the cars. Had the cars stocked with clothes, blankets, pillows, and sometimes things like granola bars and other snacks,” Danny informed the reporter while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Can you tell me about what happened yesterday?” Clark asked softly. Everyone in the room tensed. Bruce had gotten some of the details from Jason and Tim but not the full picture, and he didn’t dare go against Alfred.

“Yeah, that. That was Plasmius. Or Vladimir Masters. He’s…he’s like me. Like I told Bruce, he’s always had a thing for my…for my mother. When she wouldn’t divorce my dad, he tried to convince me to be his son. That didn’t work either. That’s when he kidnapped me and tortured me in his evil basement lab and cloned me. But Dani is cool. Last time we talked she had dropped down to Thailand.”

Both Kon and Clark looked at Danny with a mixture of curiosity and horror. Their relationship had, at first, been strained, but Tim had broken into Superman’s office on the Watchtower with a rather large piece of Kryptonite and told Superman exactly how much of ass he was being. Tim told Superman that if he could forgive his brothers for trying to kill him then Superman could forgive a child for his creation when it wasn’t the child’s fault he was created. That had shaken Superman up so much that when he went home that night he cried in Lois’s arms. Lois had basically told him the same thing. To see that this child had gone through something similar to Clark and had handled it so maturely, well, it gave Clark a lot to think about. But he was trying. And Kon had told him that he appreciated the effort.

“Wait a sec. Last time we talked about Dani, you said she was in Russia!” Tim shouted.

Danny flashed the older teenager a sharp-toothed grin. “And as I said, she’s free spirit.” All five of the Waynes groaned.

“You get along with your clone?” Kon asked in amazement.

“It took some time. And at first, we were claiming to be distant cousins. But that didn’t always feel right. And I’m only 15 so it really didn’t feel right calling her my daughter. Eventually, we settled on siblings. Biologically, she’s like 13. Chronologically, she’s somewhere between 1 and 2. But she has most of my powers, and we established a rule that she always lets us know where she’s at. Right now, she’s staying out of the US because of the Anti-Ecto Acts.” Danny once again found a way to both info dump and casually traumatize those listening to him. Both Bruce and Clark pinched the bridges of their noses, trying to stave off the impending Danny^TM headache. And Clark had just met him. Tim remained suspiciously silent.

“Fuck, kid. Do you ever just say anything normal?” Jason wheezed.

Alfred chose that moment to come in and refresh everyone’s chosen drinks. Coffee for Tim, Bruce, and Clark. A mango smoothie for Danny and a strawberry banana smoothie for Damian. Dick and Jason had opted for some lavender and chamomile tea, while Kon wanted just plain orange juice. Alfred had also brought in some scones and tea biscuits for the group to share.

The conversation drifted away from Danny and into lighter topics. Jason snarked at Tim and Kon, and Bruce and Clark were talking about their civilian jobs. Danny sort of leaned on Jason while the ambient noise sort of filtered around him and became background noise to him, and eventually Danny’s eyes grew heavy, and his breathing grew slower. Jason adjusted himself so that Danny could stretch out and use his lap as a pillow. Tim, the little fucker, immediately pulled out his phone and took several pictures. Jason flipped him off.

“Bruce, I didn’t want to say anything while he was awake, but his heart rate is alarmingly slow. Like he should be in the hospital or on the way to the hospital,” Clark whispered urgently trying to grab at Bruce’s sleeve.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. Again. Of course, Clark would have homed in on that. “Yes, Clark. I’m aware. But for Danny, that’s perfectly normal. He and his friends made a whole file for him. For now, he’s healing from the battle with his archnemesis. Danny’s only been with us a short time, and we’re still learning his unique physiology. Like I said yesterday, I’ve got everything I need to prove his biological parents are unfit, and I intend to go for full custody. His older sister has already graduated, and since he’s here, she’s planning on coming to Gotham. I’ve already offered to pay for tuition, but she says that she got offered multiple scholarships. Otherwise, I would be going for custody of her too.”

“And what of the clone?” Kon asked sharply. Tim kicked him; Kon grunted more from the impact than actually being hurt.

“I’ll have to talk to Danny. I know that Danny had said that they were siphoning money out of Masters’s accounts for her. But if she doesn’t want to stay here, I will do everything I can to support her. Tomorrow, I’m taking Dick, Jason and Danny up to the Watchtower to talk to Dark to see if there’s a way to confine Masters. Danny said that Masters will be fine in the containment device for a few days,” Bruce said wearily.

“Well, you can get him child abuse, if nothing else” Clark said darkly. There was a part of him that almost wished that he’d been able to get few more hits in on the man. Bruce couldn’t find in him to blame the man.

“PLEASE MOM! I’M STILL DANNY! I’M STILL ALIVE!” Danny screamed in the throes of a nightmare. He jerked and spasmed, and both Bruce and Clark watched as Jason gently attempted to wake him and remind him that he was in Wayne Manor and no longer in Amity Park or anywhere near his mom. Tears were streaming down the boy’s face, and his chest was heaving by the time Jason was able to wake him.

The scene broke both parents’ hearts. For Bruce, it was something that he wished he could have comforted Jason over when he first revived. But he wasn’t there, and then Talia had stolen him away and brainwashed him against Bruce and Tim. For Clark, it was a deeply rooted fear since he wasn’t human, and both Kon and Jon were only half human. Clark was so very thankful that his parents had been as open and welcoming as they had been; a trait that he had tried to pass on to both Kon and Jon, even if his initial relationship with Kon had been strained.

“Bruce, when do you want the article about Danny to come out?” Clark asked after Danny resettled against Jason. Clark listened as the boy’s heartrate went back into that too slow almost scary rate before prompting Bruce to answer.

“Ideally, I would want the article out as soon as possible. But the Doctors Fenton have already proven that they’ll attack Danny in public, and I’m afraid that if we publish the article too soon, they’ll attack again. So. With that being said, I’ve already told you I’m taking him up to the Watchtower tomorrow. I’m hoping to serve the Doctors Fenton the court papers for his custody the day after that, with the court case in two days. As bad as this is going to sound, I’m hoping to have the Doctors arrested for a multitude of things at the conclusion of the court case,” Bruce ran his hand through his hair.

“Three days from now, if things go accordingly?” Clark asked to clarify.

“Yes, but I’ll let you know for sure. This is going to be in Jason’s words ‘a fucking dumpster fire’” Bruce finished with a glance at his second son who flashed him a toothy grin. Even Danny had snorted at the billionaire himbo Brucie Wayne using such colorful language. Clark coughed at the words, and both Kon and Tim were covering their mouths with their hands.

“Tt. Really Father. Using Todd’s imbecilic words are beneath you,” Damian sneered.

“Indeed Master Damian. Well said,” Alfred noted as he came in the room with another round of refreshments for those in the room. His raised eyebrow was enough to chastise Bruce. Alfred held out his hand so that his son could put in the allotted money for the swear jar. Everyone tittered as Bruce grumbled and pulled out his wallet, but he still placed a five-dollar bill in the butler’s hand.

Eventually, Bruce and Clark, with input from Jason and Tim had a working plan. Danny didn’t care one way or another. He was anxious about meeting with Dark until Tim suggested that he and Danny could build a ghost shield, and that Dark would be able to provide a place to lock Plasmius away. Bruce offered to fly Jazz out before the court case which helped ease Danny’s anxiety about the court case.

Clark and Kon left, and then Alfred led Danny to the kitchen so he could inspect his wounds and bruises again. Most of the smaller wounds had healed. The worst one was the one on the boy’s side which still needed stitches and bandages, but Alfred deemed that the stitches would be able to come out before Danny left for the Watchtower. Alfred reassured the boy that he wasn’t trouble. That all of the young Masters and Misses, including Bruce, in the Manor had been just as badly, if not worse, injured as he. This prompted Danny to flash a small smile. Alfred figured it was a small victory. The boy was still learning what it was like to be in a family that actually cared for him. Alfred sent the boy to the Cave to man the comms with a cookie and another smoothie. Then he turned and cleaned the kitchen and began his own small routine before his family returned from their patrols.

Chapter Text

“Danny, chum, are you ready?” Bruce called from the doorway of the library. The boy was, as usual, ensconced within its dusty shelves, an astronomy book open in front of him.

“Hmm? Oh. Hey Bruce. Is it that time already?” Danny replied marking his spot and closing the book. Bruce shook his head fondly. At least another member of the household was getting use of the many books in the library. A part of Bruce couldn’t wait for Clark’s article, but Bruce also understood why it had to be delayed.

Bruce gathered his other sons, by this time it wasn’t just Dick and Jason going; Tim and Damian had decided to go as well, and somehow Cass and wormed her way into going too. Bruce had been a little surprised at Damian’s attachment to Danny, and it seemed that the attachment went both ways, although Danny was still fervently attached to Jason. Bruce supposed it had something to do with them both dying and reviving. Danny had told them that since he removed that rancid ectoplasm there was a high possibility that Jason’s proto core could fully develop into a full core. But if that happened, at least Jason would have someone on hand to help him through the changes. The entire Wayne family had reassured both Jason and Danny that Jason would have their full support. No matter what.

All of the vigilantes going up to the Watchtower were fully decked out in their tactical gear. They waited for Danny to transform into Phantom, and then once he did, he darted under Batman’s cape. The thought of facing the zeta tubes alone still nearly triggered a panic attack. Nightwing cooed silently at the ghost. Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin all snorted at their newest family member’s antics. But Batman would always allow his children to hide under his cape when they were scared. ALWAYS.

The zeta tubes announced their arrival on the station, and several heads turned when it announced Phantom’s arrival. Phantom’s white hair poked out from under Batman’s cape, and his green eyes looked up at Batman in wonderment. Batman reached down and ruffled the Boy King’s hair. He had to fight off a grin as Phantom muffled a giggle, but Batman did nod to indicate that he was the one who had added Phantom to the zeta tube authorization system.

Batman stepped out of the tube and felt a shiver go through Phantom’s small form as they stepped out. “Phantom, we’re on the Watchtower,” Batman whispered softly, knowing the boy would hear him. Phantom floated out from underneath Batman’s cape and over to the closest window. The gathered vigilantes let the boy gawk for a few minutes before Batman gave Red Hood a signal to pull the boy away. It wasn’t too dissimilar from their first visit to the Watchtower.

At least Phantom was brave enough to float next to Batman, even if he was holding onto the bottom of Batman’s cape. Batman’s other children were snickering at the older man and cooing at Phantom. Batman resisted the urge to sigh or pinch the bridge of his nose. They walked into the conference room. Constantine’s head snapped up, and his eyes zeroed in on Phantom. Phantom, the chaos goblin that he was, shot the Laughing Magician a shark-toothed grin. Constantine’s head banged against the table. All of the Batkids laughed. Phantom’s laugh sounded like the tinkling of bells.

“Bats. Yer Majesty,” Constantine grumbled.

“Just Phantom is fine,” he murmured while rubbing the back of his neck. The Batkids snickered at their brother, even if he wasn’t officially their brother. YET.

“Constantine. Zatana. Captain Marvel,” Batman practically growled at the magic users in his gravelly voice. “We need your help.” All three magic users straightened up. They knew if the Big Bad Bat was calling on them, then it was serious indeed. Batman indicated for Phantom to take up talking.

“We, um, need to make a ghost proof cell. Either that. Or we need one of you to make a portal into the Infinite Realms.” Constantine banged his head on the table again. Zatana paled, and Captain Marvel spluttered.

“What the bloody hell did you just say, mate?” Constantine ranted, pulling his hair.

“I said…”

Constantine interrupted Phantom with a wave, “No you twit. I heard ya the first time. I just didn’t think you were serious.”

“Forgive him. He’s just a little crusty,” Zatana interjected apologetically, hoping that the Ghost King wasn’t about to vaporize her colleague. The King just laughed. Zatana relaxed just slightly. “Why are you trying to get into the Realms?”

Phantom looked up at Batman, who thankfully, took up the explanation. “We’ve captured an unusual Realms being. He is what the Realms call a Halfa. They are very rare in the Realms. So, our options are exceedingly limited in how to contain him. Our first option would be to build a ghost shield around a cell at Blackgate or Belle Reve.”

“Excuse me, Batman, sir, but I’ve thought it over. And I really think it would be better for him to go to Walker’s Prison in the Realms,” Phantom half-whispered. Everyone in the room turned to look at Phantom, and his cheeks flushed a dark green. Batman motioned for him to continue. “The thing is Plasmius is very powerful, but also very smart. And while the ghost shield would contain him, any human guards who took him things like food or interacted with him in any way would need to wear the Specter Deflectors. All it would take would be for one guard to forget to wear it, and then he could escape.”

“Hn,” Batman grunted out.

“What, exactly, is a Halfa? I’ve never heard that term before?” Zatana asked curiously.

Phantom again looked up at Batman for direction. “They’re safe, if that’s what you’re asking,” Batman said as he placed a calming hand on Phantom’s shoulder. The thermos containing Plasmius rattled violently. Phantom encased the entire thing in his spectral ice, knowing that even if Plasmius somehow managed to escape the thermos, his ice was phase proof and unbreakable. The magic users looked at him in shock.

“Uh…” Phantom began, flushing dark green again and rubbing the back of his neck. Hood snorted and clapped the boy on the back. Phantom looked up at Hood like he hung the moon.

“What Specter here means is that this bastard attacked him in his civilian id. And before you ask, he’s a minor. The bastard what attacked ‘im is older than B. Me n Red Robin were out with Phantom, also in civvies, when he attacked. Caught us off guard. It took Big Blue and Superboy ta get tha rat offa ‘im.” Hood’s chest was heaving, and if the Bats didn’t know better, they would have thought his eyes would have started glowing green. But Danny had fixed that particular problem. Although the magic users were subtly attempting to raise shields and other spells. Constantine had seen Hood in a Pit Rage, while Zatana and Captain Marvel had only heard of what happened to a Pit Rage induced Hood.

“Anyways,” Phantom waved a hand to ease the rising tension. “A Halfa is a half-human, half-ghost hybrid. And before you ask, don’t. It’s rude to ask how a ghost becomes well a ghost. Causes them to relive their death and may cause them to act out, often and usually violently.”

“Phantom, if you send him to the Realms, will he still need things like human food?” Captain Marvel asked the boy. Captain Marvel’s heart went out to his fellow teenager with too much responsibility.

“Yes, but I have someone on that side who can make portals. I intend to get in contact with him so he can train me to make my own portals. I was in the process of learning when I had to leave my Haunt. But right now, my portals into the Realms and back out are super unstable. I could end up any where or any when.”

Batman once again looked at his newest charge like he’d grown a second head. Judging from the looks his other children were giving the boy, Batman knew that they felt the same. Nightwing made some sort of pained noise at the back of his throat; Hood was shaking his head; Red Robin threw his hands up; and Robin made a clicking sound with his tongue. Phantom merely pouted at his soon-to-be adopted family.

The rest of the Gotham vigilantes’ time was spent developing a plan for how to transport Plasmius to Walker’s Prison. How Plasmius would be contained once there. How food and other human necessities would be transported to him and how often. There was a part of Batman that desperately wished that he could have taken Vladimir Masters to a human court and have him tried for all the things that he did to Danny, but logically, he knew that Phantom had a point. All it would be one mistake, and the man would be free to try again. And unlike his own rogue gallery in Gotham, at least this time there was another option.

“Oh hey, Batman, that reminds me. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the one called the Joker,” Phantom said in the silence once all of the details about Plasmius had been hashed out. There was a sound of a metaphorical record scratch because WHAT.

“WHAT! THE! FUCK!” Hood practically snarled as he shook Phantom. Phantom laughed, an airy and bright thing as he phased out of his brother’s large, beefy hands.

“A couple of times when I couldn’t sleep and everyone was out on patrol, I got bored and went flying. I figured it wouldn’t hurt since the Anti-Ecto Acts have been repealed. I was invisible the whole time, and I was flying pretty high to stay out of range, just in case any GIW agents were still in Gotham. But anyways, a couple of times while I was flying over this weird prison like island. There was a not-quite ghost presence there. So, I went and investigated. To my surprise, it was the Joker. He's like Vlad. Not quite a Halfa, but not a Revenant either. Something in between. Which means that he falls under my jurisdiction. Since we’ve already made arrangements for Plasmius, I figured we could include Joker as well.”

Another record scratch.

“Specter, I say this in the nicest way possible, but what the actual fuck! You can’t just say shit like that,” Hood ranted at the younger boy. Phantom snorted. But no one missed the longing and barely concealed hope in his voice, even with the modulator on his helmet.

Thus, more plans were made, much to Batman’s reluctance and Hood’s delight. The removal of the Joker would cause a power vacuum, but Batman and his allies would be on hand to handle it. It was one of the few things that Batman and Hood could actually agree on when it came to the Joker.

A few hours later Joker appeared on the Watchtower held in one of the Green Lantern’s constructs. He was kicking and screaming. His hair was even more wild than usual. His orange jumpsuit was rumpled and torn in places. But the moment he spotted Batman, his entire demeanor changed.

“Why Batsy. All of this for little old me. I didn’t know you cared so much. I would have rolled out the red carpet and my best suit,” Joker cackled. Batman refrained from rolling his eyes. The only thing that prevented Hood from reaching for his guns was being surrounded on all sides by his brothers, minus Phantom.

“Jack Napier. Joker. Supposed Clown Prince of Crime. Kneel before your King and silence your mouth,” a voice filled with old radio static filled the air. The Joker dropped to his knees with a squeak. No other sound could be heard from the clown no matter how hard he tried. Batman and company turned to find the source of the new voice, fearing an intrusion.

It was…it was undeniably Phantom. But not. A blood red domino mask covered his eyes, however the green light spilled out from the lenses of the mask. On Phantom’s chest was a stylized DP, also in that deep red, not too dissimilar from Hood’s Bat symbol. He wore a red hoodie over his black jumpsuit that covered his glowing white hair. In fact, as Batman continued to look at the Boy King, he realized that Phantom’s entire look had been influenced, perhaps not intentionally, by Red Hood. A red hoodie, his red domino, the red symbol on his chest, the red pin stripes down the sides of his cargo pants. The only thing that wasn’t red was the under layer which was a dark midnight black, his fingerless gloves, and his combat boots. And of course, the green of the Boy King’s eyes. Batman didn’t even know that Phantom had been working on changing his look. It was a far cry from only moments ago.

Floating above the Boy King’s head was a crown that was made of fire and ice at the same time in a stunningly beautiful blend. It hovered over his head like some kind of halo. It was blue, green, and white. Batman didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so beautifully ethereal. On the Boy King’s right index finger was a ring in the shape of a dragon with ruby red eyes. Hood moved behind and to the right, almost as if in place of a Knight.

“Jack Napier. You have long since upset the balance between the living and the dead. You have tormented far too many souls, and have committed crimes so vast that you will never be able to serve the end of your time.”

“Phantom, we don’t kill,” Batman grunted out. He stilled when Phantom turned his luminescent green eyes towards him, even if he knew those eyes didn’t mean the same thing as Hood’s when they turned green.

“Worry not, Dark Knight of Lady Gotham. Killing him would only ensure he becomes a full ghost and would allow for him to cause even more damage to both Realms. But I have been given permission to lock him away in the Forgotten Deep, guarded by the Leviathan. None who have been guarded by Leviathan have ever escaped in the twenty millennia Leviathan had guarded the Forgotten Deep.”

“Will he not be going to the same place as Plasmius?” Nightwing asked in a strained voice.

“No. Plasmius’s only crime was against me personally. While it seems more severe, it does not disrupt the Balance between the Realms. Unfortunately. Jack Napier has caused a Butterfly Effect between the Realms. Thus, his punishment is more severe.” The gathered heroes nodded, even if they didn’t like it. Batman pinched the bridge of his nose through his cowl.

Constantine drew a summoning circle on the floor of the now cleared conference room. Then, he, Zatana, and Captain Marvel began chanting in a language that sounded like it should be Spanish but three steps to the left. Phantom used of his claws to slice the palm of his hand open and dribbled some of his ectoplasm into the center of the circle. The circle lit up, and a swirling, toxic green portal lit up. All of the gathered Bats went deathly still as it reminded them a little too much of the Lazarus Pits.

Phantom stuck his head through the portal and something that sounded entirely like static came out of his mouth. A few moments later a seven-foot-tall Knight in matte black medieval armor stepped out of the portal. Around his head and down his back were dark purple flames. Batman could see the pommel of a sword at his hip. The Knight bowed to Phantom. More of that staticky speech followed before Phantom turned to the gathered heroes.

“Fright Knight has agreed to take Plasmius and Joker to their respective prisons. He also wants me to give you this.” Phantom handed Batman a neon green envelope that was sealed with a wax dropping in the shape of a clock gear.

Open once back in Gotham was written in a neat cursive on the outside of the envelope. Batman carefully tucked it into his utility belt. Phantom pressed a button on the thermos containing Plasmius, and the man who was Vladimir Masters Plasmius spilled out. He took a look the Knight and squealed like a stuck pig. The Knight clamped his large hand down on Plasmius’s shoulder. The Knight frog marched Plasmius over to where Joker was being held and then scooped up the other captive. They disappeared back into the portal without further ado.

“Batman, can we go home now?” Phantom asked in a small voice.

Batman nodded and opened his cape. The Boy King flew under it and gripped the Dark Knight’s waist tightly. He nodded to his associates, and they swept out of the conference room and towards the zeta tubes. He felt Phantom shiver and heard slight sniffles come from under his cape. The group emerged in the Batcave, and Bruce shoved his cowl off. Danny didn’t waste any time transforming back.

Danny was trembling and pale, and Jason rushed to support him. “What’s wrong, Specter?” he asked his little brother softly since he had already taken his helmet off. Danny turned into Jason’s chest.

“I hate that. I never wanted to be king. I never wanted any the responsibility or the weight of the crown,” he sobbed.

“Let it out. You’ll be ok. You’re not alone anymore,” Jason said soothingly as he rubbed his hands down Danny’s back. Jason nodded to Bruce to let him know that he would take care of his brother. Bruce nodded in return. Eventually the boy tired himself out, and a soft snore met Jason’s ears. Jason shook his head.

“Master Jason, I will over the rule of no masks upstairs this once. But please make sure to wake him in a couple of hours to get something to eat,” Alfred said as he melted out of the shadows.

“Will do, Alfie.”

With that, Jason scooped up the younger boy. He was glad that in the few weeks Danny had been living at Wayne Manor he’d put on some weight. Danny sighed as Jason laid him down on the bed and pulled the covers around him. It was still early in the day, so Jason began calling his lieutenant in Crime Alley to make sure everything was functioning as it was supposed to be. He couldn’t have the Alley fall apart just because he wasn’t there, although he trusted his men to keep things from going that far. Now, he just had to wait for Danny to wake up or for a couple of hours to pass. Whichever came first. Jason could be patient. This time at least. He opened his well-loved copy of Persuasion and settled in. This might take a while.

To Gotham's Dark Knight and family,

Thank you for taking care of Daniel. It has been my sincerest wish that he finds family and happiness, and it seems that in coming into Lady Gotham's embrace he has done so among her Knights. In all of the time streams that I've seen, this is one of the better ones. One in which he is truly happy and supported.

-CW

Bruce turned the letter over in his hands. Alfred had informed him that Danny was asleep, but he would ask him about it later.

Chapter Text

“Jack, snookums, have you seen Vlad anywhere?” Maddie asked while tinkering with another ecto-weapon. The prototype for this one kept blowing up, and she couldn’t figure out why.

“I’m not sure, fudgecakes. He said that he was only stepping out for a few minutes. But that was…” Jack didn’t even know how long ago he’d seen Vlad. As per usual, both him and Maddie had lost track of time. Jack turned on the television to find out that more than three days had passed since they’d last seen Vlad. He was in shock. How could that much time have passed? Where was Vladdie?

A knock resounded on the front door of the castle. The two doctors exchanged looks with each other, wondering if they should open the door since Vlad wasn’t there and it was his house. Another knock. This was more insistent and louder than the first. Maddie put down her tools with a sigh and hesitantly wandered over to the door. There on the other side of the door was the Justice League. Maddie was so happy. She could talk them into getting the Anti-Ecto Acts reinstated. She began to practically vibrate as she invited them in. There were six in total.

Maddie recognized Batman, Flash, and Wonder Woman. They were founding members of the Justice League after all. The other three she did not recognize, although the two men the green costumes were giving distinctly ghosty vibes. Even if the Fenton Finder didn’t ping them as ghosts. Maddie didn’t know what to make of the blonde man in the worn and dirty trench coat.

Jack came bounding up to the door with his Fenton Bazooka in hand and aimed at the supposed intruders. “Oh. Hi Justice League,” he exclaimed. “Wait a minute. You sure you’re not ghosts?” He asked as he spotted Green Arrow and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and re-aimed the Bazooka.  

Flash darted forward and yanked the weapon out of the large man’s hands. Green Arrow had pulled and notched an arrow. Wonder Woman had her Lasso in hand. Batman held several batarangs while Green Lantern was preparing to build a construct from his Ring.

“Doctor Jackson Fenton, put the weapon down. We are members of the Justice League. We are not ghosts,” Wonder Woman commanded. Slowly, Jack lowered his weapon.

“Jack, dear, they are the Justice League. Of course, they’re not ghosts. They’re probably here to talk about reinstating the Anti-Ecto Acts,” Maddie said while laying a hand on her husband’s arm. Jack pouted at his wife.

Batman gave a signal for the others to surreptitiously surround the doctors. They weren’t on a house call, after all. Flash darted to an exit that they had mapped out on the other side of the castle. Green Arrow was hoisted into position above and back by Green Lantern. Constantine was readying a containment spell.

“Doctor Jackson Fenton. Doctor Madeline Fenton. We are not here to ‘discuss’ the Anti-Ecto Acts. Nor are we here to discuss your extreme prejudices against beings from the Infinite Realms. You are, in fact, under arrest. You are facing multiple charges of child endangerment, child neglect, multiple OSHA violations, including the improper storage of radioactive chemicals, illegal weapons manufacturing, illegal selling of said weapons, opening a portal into another dimension, reckless driving with multiple accounts of public endangerment, millions of dollars in property damage, and assaulting Gotham City Law Enforcement Officers.”

Batman was very proud of the fact that he was able to get through the list of charges without growling. Wonder Woman stood next to him, prepared just in case either doctor decided to attack. Wonder Woman knew that Batman had good reflexes; it just gave her some peace of mind to be able to stand next to him to be ready to jump to hi defense. But the doctors just stood there confused and flummoxed.

“Oh. You must be confused by that nasty ghost, Phantom. It must have tricked you. We’re the only things that can stop it,” Maddie patient explained to Batman and Wonder Woman. The two heroes exchanged a look as if to say, “Can you believe she really thinks like that?”

“We are not confused, Dr. Fenton. The Anti-Ecto Acts were ruled unconstitutional and against the Meta Human Rights acts which were passed well before the Anti-Ecto Acts. Everything you’ve done in regard to hunting Phantom, hurting your children, including Daniel, and working with the Ghost Investigation Ward are illegal,” Wonder Woman stated, after looking at Batman and seeing him clench his jaw and knew that he was fighting saying something else.

The doctors went slack jawed at this as if they couldn’t believe their entire life’s work just went up in proverbial flames. They spluttered, opening their jaws like fish out of water. The Justice League was supposed to be on their side, damnit. Things weren’t supposed to fall apart like this. Why? Why did that ghost scum have to RUIN everything? Maddie didn’t understand and just stood there as Wonder Woman and one of the green heroes locked her in special metal handcuffs and locked a collar around her neck. Jack suffered a similar fate.

Then they were led to a sleek silver plane. The two doctors were secured in place and promptly guarded by two of the heroes. Maddie’s mind was still reeling. Vlad was missing, and she and Jack were being arrested. Didn’t they understand that she and Jack and the GIW were the only ones standing against the evils of the ghost scum? Didn’t they know that once a ghost got its nasty claws in someone, it would never let go? Not without help from one of their inventions, like the Fenton Ghost Catcher.

As they were offloaded and given ugly green jumpsuits that were itchy and scratchy to change into. The heroes hadn’t talked much about where they had taken them, and Maddie’s mind was circling faster than ever. Jack was just sitting in a numb stupor. They just couldn’t believe their lives were crashing around them.

IT WAS ALL PHANTOM’S FAULT!!!!

--------------

“Danny, you know you don’t have to do this, right?” Bruce said as he, once again, walked into the library where Danny was, as usual, ensconced and reading yet another astronomy book from the shelves. The boy had dressed in dark gray slacks and a long-sleeve navy blue polo shirt. Bruce found that the boy didn’t like wearing short sleeve shirts because of his Lichtenberg scars running down his left arm.

Danny looked up at the man he was coming to see as his dad with a frown. He scrunched his eyebrows before heaving a sigh. “I know. But I think I need to go. I think that even though they’re my parents that I need to try one last time to see if they can still see me for me, you know,” he said softly.

And unfortunately, Bruce DID know. Jason, Cass, Tim, Steph, and even to some extent Damian, had all gone through something very similar. Jason’s biological mother had sold him out to the Joker. Tim’s parents had all but abandoned him, which was how he ended up in Bruce’s custody. Steph’s biological dad was a D-list Rogue in Gotham; he was currently serving time in Belle Reve. Again. And no one ever said Talia was going to win any parenting awards. Especially with the killing and cloning attempts she’d made over the years. And David Cain had practically broken Cass before Bruce had gotten hold of her.

The only child who’d had semi-normal parents was Duke, and then they had succumbed to Joker’s Venom and could no longer recognize their child when he visited them in the care facility. Dick had had normal parents until they were taken away by Tony Zucco. And then Dick Grayson turned into a tiny rage filled 8-year-old who was hell bent on revenge. It was all Bruce could do to train him to be the first Robin before the boy got himself killed. Babs, well, there was a reason she was the first Batgirl. After her mother left, her dad was drowning himself in his police work, so Babs had a lot of time to herself.

“Dad, will you and Jason be there?” Danny asked softly, hunching in on himself as if he were afraid of being denied.

“Of course, chum. I can have Dick wear the cowl. He makes a pretty convincing Batman when I need him to substitute for me,” Bruce replied, his heart melting at being called dad. None of his other children called him dad, except in rare cases when they were stressed or tired or really sick. Most of them called him Bruce or B. Damian refused to call him anything other than Father.

The ride to the courthouse was solemn and quiet with Danny trying to huddle closer to Jason the nearer they got to the building. It would be the first time he saw Jack and Maddie since they attacked him at the GCPD Station, and he had no idea how to feel about it. Jason was running a hand down his back to attempt to calm down his little brother. He hated this whole fucking thing. He knew that if he still had the Pit Rage his eyes would be tinted green. Alfred parked the car and opened the doors for his Masters.

They were parked on the side of the courthouse. By now, Bruce had his own entrance. He had fostered many kids over the years, even if he hadn’t adopted all of them. Jason got out of the vehicle first, followed by Danny, then Bruce. Bruce and Jason put Danny between them. Not that they didn’t think Danny couldn’t protect himself, but that he shouldn’t have to. Bruce had to take several deep breaths to fight down the deep seated almost-hatred he felt for the senior Fentons. He knew he wasn’t a perfect parent, but he was at least self-aware enough to realize that. And he was working on it with Dinah.

The Fentons, however, had hurt Danny in more ways than he could count. And weren’t necessarily going to change their thought processes that easily. Bruce had been speaking with Jazz, who had just moved to Gotham on a Wayne scholarship for Gotham University. Jazz had confided in Bruce that the Fentons were far more liminal than she was and were well on their way to becoming something like Vlad Masters. That bit of information had sat uneasily in Bruce’s stomach. Jazz had also told Bruce that she wanted to be at the trial against her parents. It was a surprise for Danny; Bruce had quickly agreed. He’d also flown out all of Team Phantom for the trial as well. He figured the more support Danny had by his side the better.

When they walked in, there was a small chorus of whisper shouted “Danny” coming from the gallery. Danny gasped and then dropped Jason’s hand as he ran for his friends and sisters. For a few moments, the group was a tangle of limbs and tears. Behind the group of teenagers was two middle-aged parents that closely resembled the boy in the red beret holding a PDA.

Bruce made his way over to the parents to introduce himself. “Hi, I’m Bruce Wayne. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Foley.” He held out his hand to the parents as they introduced themselves as Maurice and Angela Foley. They thanked him for taking care of Tucker’s best friend.

“We’ve known that boy since he was 6. Him and Tucker became best friends when they wrestled in the sandbox during recess in kindergarten. Sam joined their little group in third grade, and they’ve been thick as thieves ever since.” Maurice turned and started pointing out the other teenagers, since Danny was too lost in his friends’ embrace to do the introductions. “The girl with the red hair who has a death grip on Danny is his older sister, Jasmine ‘Jazz’. The goth looking girl with black hair is Samantha ‘Sam’ Manson. The red headed lanky boy is Wesley ‘Wes’ Weston. The girl in the yellow sweater is Valerie Gray. The boy in the red beret is our son, Tucker. And the girl who looks identical to Danny is his little sister, Danielle ‘Dani-with-an-I’,” Maurice said with a soft good-natured laugh.

“This is my second oldest son, Jason.” Jason stepped forward and shook the Foleys’ hands. “My eldest and third sons both had to work and were unable to get the day off. My youngest son had to go to school. But my daughter is supposed to be here, along with a couple of family friends. I think the more people here to support Danny, the better.” That wasn't a complete lie. Tim had a few board meetings at Wayne enterprises that he couldn't get out of, but Dick was here; he was just wearing the Batman cowl as a security measure. And Damian had had too many absences due to his activities as Robin that he couldn't afford to miss another day.

Maurice and Angela vehemently nodded. Bruce was glad that they agreed. At that moment, the bailiff called the court to order so that the Judge could enter. While Bruce had never personally worked with this Judge, he knew that this court representative had come recommended from his friend who he had worked with. This one was also assigned to the case by the Justice League.

A few moments later, the Drs. Fenton were brought in wearing their army green jumpsuits that they’d been given the previous day. Bruce watched Danny carefully and saw the boy tense his shoulders and clench his fists and jaw. Jack Fenton was the first to notice Danny sitting between Bruce and Jason. Bruce watched Jack’s eyes narrow in fury and disgust. And then in a show of Superman-like strength, Jack broke free of his restraints and charged at Danny.

Bruce was moving before his brain had even fully registered the threat to his son. Not Jack’s son. Not Maddie’s son. His. Bruce’s. Bruce tackled Danny as gently as he could, knowing Jason would go after the actual threat. Bruce covered Danny’s form and blocked Danny from seeing anything, even though Danny could possibly phase through him if he wanted. Jason, on the other hand, wasn’t holding back.

He rushed forward to meet Jack and used Jack’s momentum against the larger man. As Jason had once told Danny, they were used to fighting enemies larger and more powerful than them. Fighting a baseline human wasn’t too much of a challenge. For that matter, Jason had fought Killer Croc and walked away. Jack hit the ground hard. Jason stomped on his knee and heard a satisfying crunch. Jack screamed in pain. Several GCPD officers rushed into the room to corral Maddie and help Superman and Superboy restrain Jack. The two Supers had rushed in the moment Jason’s boot had connected with Jack’s knee

Maddie was thrashing against her guards screaming about how Phantom had killed her baby boy. Dick, as Batman, was guarding her since she didn’t seem to possess the same kind of strength that Jack had. Bruce nodded at Dick and looked down at Danny. Danny was clutching at Bruce’s jacket, his eyes wide and glassy, tears leaking from the corners. His chest was heaving, and Bruce’s heart broke for the boy. Bruce stood up, and even before Danny was off the ground, the other teenagers, what Danny had called Team Phantom, surrounded him.

It hit Bruce again that even though they were teenagers, they had been doing this sort of thing for over a year. Or at least Sam and Tucker had. From Bruce’s understanding, Sam and Tucker were there from the beginning. Jazz had come in a few months later, with Valerie and Wes joining towards the end right before Danny had had to flee to Gotham. But that didn’t make them any less formidable. They moved almost as well his team, and without training, no less.

The subsequent court case flew by. Danny was wrapped up in his Team but also laid against Jason. Bruce had provided a mountain of evidence against the Fenton parents. Jazz had provided some of her own for the child neglect and child endangerment charges to prevent Danny from having to testify, although Jazz…not happily…but steadfastly took the stand and laid bare her parents’ sins.

The jurors heard how the Fentons would leave ectoplasm samples in the fridge and what that would do to the food in said fridge. They heard about the horrible Christmas fights that turned into child abandonment cases. Bruce made a note of that so that when the holidays came around he could talk to Danny so as not to trigger him. They heard about the weapons triggering on both Danny and occasionally on Jazz. At this, both Maddie and Jack had jumped up and tried to claim that Phantom had killed Danny. But since no one in Gotham, other than the Waynes, knew who Phantom was, the judge and jury merely thought the Fenton parents had gone slightly delusional.

The Foleys both testified against the Fentons, as did most of Team Phantom. The only one who didn’t approach the stand was Dani, but Bruce could understand that. As a clone, she didn’t have a legal identity yet; something that he would have to ask her about once this whole debacle was over.

The whole thing was over in just a few hours due to the overwhelming evidence. When the Fentons were pronounced a resounding “GUILTY” for their crimes, most of Team Phantom cheered softly. Danny started crying; the tears he was holding back earlier flooding from his eyes. Dick contacted the Green Lantern Corps to come and get the Fentons because now they had to face Oa for their crime of punching a hole in reality.

“Dad, Jay-Jay, can we go home now?” Danny asked between his sobs, his face hidden in Jason’s chest.

“Sure, chum. Let’s go home. Everyone, Alfred will bring you to the Manor. We already arranged to have a van parked here to bring you back, if you’d like.”

The Amity Parkers all nodded. Jason scooped up Danny, and the boy didn’t even protest, while Alfred led the rest of the Amity Parkers out through the side door. Bruce watched as everyone slid into the van, while he ducked behind the wheel. Jason thought about going for the passenger seat, but Danny was still clinging to him like a cross between a limpet and a koala, so he had no choice but to take the back seat and let Bruce be the chauffeur for once.

By the time they had pulled up to the Manor, Danny was snoring slightly on Jason’s shoulder. Jason, for his part, just snorted at his little brother. It was official now. Danny was a Wayne. Bruce had slipped into the Family Court just before the criminal trial. Since Danny had already signed a notarized affidavit stating that he wanted Bruce to formally adopt him, and Bruce was a registered foster parent, and neither doubted that the Fentons would be found innocent in the criminal case, the judge had had no reservations about signing the necessary paperwork.

Bruce pulled the car into the garage, while Alfred pulled the van into the circular driveway. Bruce held the door for Jason as he squirmed out of the car. There was Tim with his camera because the little fucker was nothing but a stalker at heart. When Tim saw Jason emerge from the car with Danny cuddled up in his big brother’s arm, of course the little point-and-click stalker took a picture. Jason flipped him off, but everyone knew there was no heat behind the gesture.

Jazz wandered over to the large man holding her baby brother. “I’m so glad he found a family that wants him and supports him. I’ve never seen him so relaxed,” she said as she reached up and pushed a stray strand of hair of out Danny’s eyes. Danny seemed to melt further into his sister’s touch.

“We’re happy to have him. We would have been happy to have you too,” Jason offered.

“I know. But Danny insisted that I not put my life on hold for him any more than I already had. Insisted that he would be ok. If I had known that it would have ended up like this, I never would have left.” Jazz heaved a sigh as she walked next to Jason. She glanced at Jason, who didn’t seem to have any trouble supporting her brother’s weight. “He’s put on some weight. That’s good.”

“Alfred makes sure he eats all of his meals and often gives him snacks throughout the day. He’s been so scared to leave the Manor, but he hasn’t really been all that bored. We have a library, and all of B’s kids have gotten quite attached to him, me included,” Jason huffed with a fond smile as he led Jazz to the sitting room.

Jason sat on the larger sofa so that he would have room to rearrange Danny’s sleeping form. Jazz took the seat next to him. The teenagers from Amity Park, instead of choosing other seats in the room, chose to arrange themselves on the floor in front of Jason. He got the feeling that they were doing this to be closer to Danny. But Jason also realized that he didn’t mind all that much.

Everyone else filed in and found their chosen seats. Soft chatter and murmurs filled the room. About an hour later, Danny snorted and woke up. He rubbed the crust from his eyes and smiled warmly at his old Fraid and new Fraid that had gathered around him in solidarity. It was nice to see Danny joke and laugh with his friends and sisters. To see that so much of the tension he’d been carrying since he first moved into the Manor melt away. All of the gathered vigilantes felt their heart break seeing it. But at the same time, they felt reassured knowing that he was on the path to start healing.

Alfred served a wonderful meal before taking the elder Foleys back to their hotel room. All of the teenagers had wanted to stay the night since Bruce was going to host a press conference and gala the following day for Danny’s official announcement as the newest Wayne. The Wayne “children” and the Amity Park teenagers built a giant pillow and blanket nest in the living room. There was some grumbling from Jason and Damian, but Danny gave them his best sad puppy eyes which immediately shut them both up.

Bruce arranged for the Birds of Prey to cover Gotham; they were only too happy to do so when they heard about the new bird, especially when Bruce promised that he would bring Danny by soon for introductions. Bruce had also asked Clark to help cover. He stood next to Alfred as soft snores filled the room. Danny was snuggled between Jazz and Jason. Most of the Bat siblings were situated on the outside of the impromptu cuddle pile. Bruce smiled.

“Never thought I would see the day to see the Manor so full. Did you, Master Bruce?” Alfred whispered quietly.

“No, Alfred, I didn’t. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Neither would I, Master Bruce. Neither would I.”

Chapter Text

For the second time in as many months, Danny was walking into the GCPD main station. But this time was vastly different from the first time. The first time he was hidden beneath a vigilante’s cape and was shy and scared and came in through the roof access. This time he strode in through the front doors, head held high, confident and happy, as if he owned the building and nothing could stop him. Jason, as Red Hood, and Bruce, as Batman, walked in with him. Jazz was holding his hand. Dani, Tucker, Sam, Wes, and Val were slightly behind the sibling duo.

Detective Montoya was the first to spot the group. And just as she did the first time, she rushed forward and grabbed Danny into a tight bear hug. Her shout attracted the attention of several other officers, and soon word spread throughout the entire station that their little meta stowaway had returned.

And just like the first time, Danny was caught up in the game of Pass-The-Danny. Team Phantom howled with laughter, and Tucker made sure to get the whole thing on video. Danny’s face flushed a bright red as the many officers hugged him and patted him on his back. He flipped off his teammates, but this only caused them to cackle even harder. Commissioner Gordon came running out of his office with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Both Batman and Red Hood had to fight to keep their own faces from splitting into grins. At least Hood had his helmet protecting his visage. Batman had no such protection. It finally came time for Jim to get his own hugs in on the kid. The last time he had stood off to the side. He would be damned before he did that again. Gordon felt the kid’s arms snake around his back, and the police commissioner felt compelled to hold all the more tighter. Gordon swore he heard the shutters of several cameras going off and groaned internally. Plus, he knew that his daughter in her Clocktower was having a field day with this, although at this time of the day, she was in the library. But. Either way, she would still be having a field day.

Detectives Montoya and Bullock became Danny’s Tia Renee and Tio Harvey. Commissioner Gordon became Grunkle Gordon, much to his dismay and the snickers of the force. The rest of the officers became some weird amalgamation of cousins and stepsiblings. Danny loved it and was overwhelmed at the same time. By the time Danny got back to Batman and Hood, his core was purring almost double time and was certainly loud enough to rattle his slim frame. But no one remarked on it. They were just happy to have their kid back.

Batman quietly informed the Commissioner that Danny would be open to visitation, but he had school and other duties to attend to. Gordon startled a bit at that. It was the first time he’d gotten out right confirmation that one of Wayne’s kids would be participating in the vigilante lifestyle. Of course, Gordon knew how to keep his mouth shut. He’d known for a long time who was beneath the masks, but that sort of knowledge could get one killed.

“What about those ghost hunters who attacked before? The Fentons?” Gordon asked as he passed Danny back to another officer.

“They’ve been arrested by both the Justice League and faced a trial here in Earth’s courts for the things they did to him, and the Green Lantern Corp to take them to Oa for their crimes against interdimensional beings,” Batman informed the Commissioner. Gordon whistled lowly then nodded. It was the least they deserved.

Eventually, Batman led Danny and the others out of the building because they had another appointment to get to. Batman led Danny and the others to sleek black SUV that could seat up to ten people. Team Phantom filed in while Alfred drove. Red Hood and Batman didn’t get in the vehicle with them, but a few minutes later Alfred pulled over so Bruce and Jason could climb inside. Danny snort-giggled at their quick change.

Alfred drove them to the newly refurbished planetarium. Cass and Steph had taken the girls dress shopping (Steph had “stolen” one of Bruce’s black cards) while Dick and Jason had taken the boys suit shopping. It had been somewhat stressful since they were under a time crunch, but in the end, it had worked out, especially since the suit shop was well used to the Waynes just popping in and needing last minute suits. And because there was always a gala to attend, there was more than one dress boutique for the girls to go shopping at.

“We’ve arrived, Young Masters and Mistresses,” Alfred stated as he held open the SUV’s door and watched as his charges and charge’s friends piled out of the vehicle.

Danny yelped as the cameras essentially flashbanged him and then hid behind Jason’s back. This elicited a chorus of cooing from the reporters who were watching the scene. But thankfully, Team Phantom moved, nearly in unison, to put Danny in the center of a protective formation, and let Bruce and Jason lead the way into the planetarium. The rest of the Wayne children would already be inside waiting. They had planned according to everyone’s schedule. There were some grumbles as the paparazzi couldn’t get any more clear shots of the newest Wayne adoptee. Danny whispered that their picture wouldn’t turn out anyways. Team Phantom all cackled. Bruce and Jason both sported smirks because the only reporters who had ecto-capable cameras were Clark and Lois, and they had already gotten their photos. Clark, in fact, already had his entire story; he was just waiting for after the gala to publish it.

Brucie made his way up to the podium with Danny trailing behind him like a lost duckling. “Thank you for coming to this Gala on such short notice. Today, I would like to introduce you to my newest son, Daniel “Danny” Thomas Wayne.” Brucie motioned to Danny to join him at the podium.

Danny and Bruce had had a long discussion about Danny’s names. The only name he was really attached to was Daniel because he LIKED Danny. They went through a whole slew of middle names, but Danny’s core had violently rejected each one before Bruce had quietly offered up Thomas. Danny’s core let out of the loudest purrs and latched onto the name. Bruce had a dopey smile on his face for HOURS after that, and both Dick and Tim claimed that Bruce was broken. And Danny hadn’t wanted to keep any part of Fenton, like Jason or Tim had, so it had been dropped entirely.

At this announcement, the paparazzi practically started frothing at the mouth. They knew the significance of Danny’s middle name. They were circling like sharks out for blood, but thankfully, Bruce’s other children and Team Phantom worked like a well-oiled machine to keep the hyenas at bay. Danny gave a few statements about how grateful he was that Bruce took him in and how happy he was to have found his new family before strategically retreating and disappearing into the crowd like the ghost he was.

Danny had engaged Ember, Johnny, Kitty, Shadow, Lunch Lady, and surprisingly, Box Ghost as perimeter guards for this gala. Everyone knew that a Wayne Gala in Gotham just asking to be attacked. But Danny and Tucker had given the ghosts some Phantom Phones (formerly Fenton Fones). Ember had reported that some goons dressed in orange and purple had tried to break in. She had disabused them of that notion. Kitty, Johnny, and Shadow reported that other goons wearing some kind burlap sack on their heads had attempted to attack. Shadow had made quick work scaring them back to where they came from.

The vigilantes were surprised, to say the least, that no rogue or thug or villain had tried to attack. Or they were until they saw Ember holding onto her “Babypop” saying she was sorry for everything that had happened back in Amity Park. She explained that was why she was here playing guard to the venue. Same was said for the Biker with the greasy blonde hair, and the woman with the green hair standing next to him. The stocky man in overalls was introduced as the Box Ghost, and every Wayne present had nearly choked on their own spit. Because Danny had told them about Box Ghost when he first appeared in the Batcave all those weeks ago.

Once the gala was over, the vigilantes, vigilante-adjacent, and ghosts gathered in the Cave. It was like having an afterparty. Bruce was once again thrilled to have such a full space full of laughter. Danny hadn’t had much opportunity to laugh, but it settled something in all of the Bats and Birds’ hearts to hear the once broken boy laugh again. To see him light up with such unrestrained and unfiltered joy. It nearly brought tears to those gathered.

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A Broken Home, A Healed Heart

By Clark Kent

A few days ago, I called once again to the lustrous halls of Wayne Manor by my good friend, Bruce Wayne, to help introduce his newest child to the world. As I was escorted into the parlor, I noticed that Bruce was present, as was Jason and a younger teenager. The teenager was introduced as Daniel “Danny” Thomas Wayne née Fenton. At a quick glance, I could tell that the boy had come from a broken home. One that would tell me a heartbreaking story.

“So, Danny what can you or what do you want to tell me about yourself?” I asked.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck in what appeared to be a nervous tick. Jason leaned down and whispered something in his ear that sounded like encouragement to tell his story. The boy took a deep breath before answering. “Growing up, my sister and I were the kids of the town crazies. I finally dug up my parents’ actual degree. They had a PhD in Thanatology, a Master’s in Chemistry, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and a Bachelor’s in something called Ectology, which is the study of everything related to ectoplasm. But, somehow, they only focused on ectoplasm which in turn meant the study of ghosts.

That’s all my sister and I ever heard growing up. Ectoplasm and ghosts. They went hand in hand. But they wanted to study ectoplasm and ghosts. How they worked. You see, ectoplasm is much like oxygen and can be found just anywhere and is ambient in the air. My parents were crazy smart and figured out how to make ectoplasm turn into a power source. But the thing is ectoplasm is radioactive. Initially, they would keep the ectoplasm stored in the fridge in the lab, which was in our basement.”

“Danny, did you have access to your parents’ lab?” I asked horrified. I looked up at Bruce to see him clenching his fists on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck again. “Oh sure. One of my chores was to clean the lab on a daily basis. Don’t worry, Mr. Kent. I realize, now, that I should never have been allowed down there unsupervised. But back then, that was just my normal. Back to the ectoplasm. Once they ran out of storage in the lab refrigerator, they would store it in the food fridge. This had the unfortunate result of often bringing our food back to life. The hotdogs and the Thanksgiving turkey were the worst.”

“I can imagine,” I replied breathlessly. I exchanged another look with Bruce. From the look on the Wayne Patriarch’s face, this was not new information, but Bruce was still looking a bit green.

“As I said, Jack and Maddie were very obsessed with ectoplasm and ghosts.” At this point in the interview Danny stopped calling the Fentons his parents; instead referring to them by their first names. “This meant that my older sister was forced to grow up to take care of me. Don’t get me wrong. She was an awesome older sister. The best I could ask for. But I needed my parents. And Jazz, well, she was only 2 years older than me. Still a kid herself in many ways. The two of us watched as we became ‘ghosts’ in our own house. They often forgot we even existed.”

It was at this point that Danny had to take several deep breaths, and I watched as tears pooled in his eyes. I had to take a handkerchief to my own eyes as well.

“It must have been hard for you, Danny,” I said with as much empathy as I could muster.

The boy nodded. “What was worse was the bullying I endured at school, and the fact that I was the ‘stupid’ Fenton. Jazz didn’t just get all A’s in school. She got A+’s with extra credit. She was the class tutor, class president, and the smart one. So, she was exempt from the bullying. Jack and Maddie constantly asked why I couldn’t be more like her. Jazz tried her best to shield me from their favoritism, but when I could only bring home B’s and C’s, or when I would get detention for things that weren’t my fault, it just got worse.”

“Did that happen a lot? You getting blamed for things that weren’t your fault?” I asked, once again horrified, but this time horrified for the American Scholastic system and its supposed zero tolerance policy.

“All the time. My main bully was the star quarterback of the football team. The school would rather punish me, the outcast loser, than punish him. Afterall, the school had more to lose if they lost their star athlete than if they lost the kid of the town nutjobs. And he, the bully, you could always tell that he was going to be an athlete, even in middle school. All of the school’s administrators took his word over mine. Every. Single. Time. Even when my friends would speak up on my behalf. Eventually, we just stopped speaking out and just accepted the detentions.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair,” I remarked, heartbroken at the unfairness that Danny had experienced. I shared another look with Bruce, his face tight with grief, imagining the things his new son must have faced.

“It’s not. But my hometown wasn’t a big city like Gotham. It only had the one high school. But anyways, Jack and Maddie always ran around the town in this street tank thing. Which only made the bullying worse, you know. It didn’t help that they also wore nothing but bright, garish hazmat suits. As I told you, ectoplasm is radioactive. Their hazmat suits were lined with lead. I think. While me and Jazz were never offered any kind of protection.”

“That’s an OSHA violation!” I gasped.

Danny sighed, deeply resigned, as if he’d had this exact conversation a thousand times before. “I’m aware. Jazz and I both called the OSHA hotline to report them, especially since I was expected to clean the lab without access to any kind of PPE. When the OSHA Inspectors arrived…well, eventually it reached a point where they just gave up and started ignoring our calls. That’s the whole reason why Jazz and I ended up with as much ectoplasmic contamination as we did.”

“I’m so very sorry that the adults in your life failed you, Danny,” I said sincerely.

“It’s not your fault. But, now that I’ve found Dad…Bruce, things are starting to look up,” Danny replied with a genuine smile.

“Can you tell me about that?” I asked with a warm smile of my own.

Danny smiled brightly at me. “Living with the Fentons was getting dangerous. Some of their weapons and inventions would start auto targeting me. So, my older sister helped me emancipate myself. And one of my best friends helped me get to Gotham. It didn’t long to attract the Waynes’ attention. Once I told him my ‘tragic backstory’, Jason pretty much kidnapped me on the spot,” Danny huffed, with a fond look at Jason Todd-Wayne. Jason leaned over and ruffled Danny’s hair. The younger boy squawked and swatted his brother’s hand away. The scene was incredibly domestic and heartwarming. “And being here, gaining so many siblings it just felt right, you know. Bruce has been wonderful. He’s not perfect, but he tries. Which is far better than what the Fentons ever did.”

“May I ask about your names?” Glad for the lighter change of subject. Once again, Danny graced the room with a thousand-watt smile. “I was really only attached to Daniel, my first name. Jackson was my original middle name, but since that was Jack’s first name, I didn’t really want to keep that. And I definitely didn’t want to keep Fenton as my last name. So, Bruce and I had a long talk about what my middle name could be. After a whole list of names, Bruce suggested Thomas. I knew what that name meant to Bruce, but it made me so happy that he would offer it to me. Like he really saw me as one of his kids. And seeing me happy made Bruce happy. It was a win-win for both of us.”

And that’s how Bruce Wayne’s newest adoptee became Daniel Thomas Wayne. Bruce beamed at Danny, like the proud father he was, while Jason and Danny had devolved into a wrestling match. Hearing the noise, several more of Bruce’s kids rushed into the room and pounced on the two of them. There were cuss words thrown in, but there was laughter as well. Bruce just looked at him and heaved the most Tired Dad Sigh I have ever heard. The scene reminded me that for all that the world can be a dark and scary place at times, there is also light and joy in it as well.

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In a classroom across the country, a middle-aged, balding English teacher who also served as the Vice Principal of Casper High School had lost control of his class. And he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to regain control of it. He heard Paulina’s shrill screech of outraged disbelief and how “Fenton was a Wayne.” He heard Star and Tiffany attempt to comfort the cheerleader. He heard how Dash and Kwan ranted about outcast “Fenturd” couldn’t be a Wayne, and that the paper just HAD to be a hoax of some kind. Mickey, Nathan, and Lester were agreeing with Dash and Kwan. The only students who were being quiet about this whole ordeal were Daniel’s close friends, and those who had gotten closer to him before he’d supposedly run away. Samanthan Manson. Tucker Foley. Wesley Weston. And Valerie Gray. The four of them were snickering while reading the newspaper that sat ever so prominently on their desk.

Mr. Lancer tried to ignore the newspaper that also sat on his desk, but he couldn’t. Not when Mr. Fenton Wayne had talked so damnably about how he’d been treated at the school. Mr. Lancer felt tears pricking his eyes. He knew that the school had always had a blind spot when it came to the jocks and athletes, but he’d always prided himself to be above the accusations that had been lobbied against him by Mr. Fenton Wayne. But when he looked back on it, there was no denying it.

The entire class startled when Mr. Lancer’s cell phone rang. Mr. Lancer could have sworn he had his phone on Do Not Disturb, so for it to ring during class time…well, it mean that either an emergency had happened somewhere, which he refused to think about, or it was something else.

“Lionel Lancer,” he said with a brisk tone.

“Hi, Mr. Lancer. I just wanted to let you know that I never blamed you.” It was Daniel’s voice on the other end. Mr. Lancer sat upright which caused the class to lean forward as if they could hear what was being said. Mr. Lancer noticed this and decided that he wanted a more private conversation. He used his classroom phone to call Ms. Tetslaff to cover for him, and then he went to his office.

“Great Gatsby, Mr.  Fen…Wayne. I…I…” Mr. Lancer attempted to stutter out.

“None of that Mr. Lancer. I already told you I don’t blame you. I imagine your hands were tied. It doesn’t change the fact that I was bullied. But maybe, you can help change the school’s blatant disregard of its supposed zero tolerance policy going forward,” Daniel said with a breathless laugh.

“It would be my honor to do so, Mr. Wayne. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Mr. Lancer asked. He felt…relieved.

Daniel had always been a brilliant student. But something had happened to him during his freshman year, and his grades had taken a hit. And his eyes lost their shine. The boy always seemed to fall asleep during class. And then there were the constant ghost attacks, which would send the boy cowering away in fear. Mr. Lancer felt a wave of guilt overtake the relief had felt moments earlier. He should have done better for all of his students. Not just a select few. He should have…

“Mr. Lancer, there is one thing you can do for me,” Daniel’s voice interrupted his self-loathing and self-recrimination cycle.

“And what’s that?” He asked, glad for the reprieve.

“I’ll be enrolling in Gotham Academy soon. Can you send my records to Bruce? He wants to look through them with me before I enroll.”

“I would be happy to. And Daniel. I’ve never been more proud of a student as I am of you. Good Luck.”