#and we see Sam and Tucker going up to bat for Danny against.... Danny

[redflagshipwriter]

Mama Bat pt3 progress Post

Part 3 Progress

Batcount: Stephanie, Dick

“Danny Fenton, parents declared him dead and claimed they buried him,” Dick said, spinning around in the batcomputer batchair. Anxious, unhappy, too much energy because there's nothing to fight here. “He has an older sister, I think she knows he's in Gotham and she's covering for him. She'll be coming to Gotham University next semester, despite having accepted a better offer from Harvard last year.” 

Steph let out a low, long whistle. “Whatever's going on at home must be bad,” she commented. “No other contacts?”

Dick pulled up a grainy class photo. “He's part of a small friend group, but neither of them have made any unusual moves. If Sam Manson or Tucker Foley get a plane ticket we'll know, but for now?” He shrugged, eyes distant. “Seems like he ran off alone. But probably for really good reasons.” He switched tabs back to the unhinged Fenton works website. He all but vibrated: wanna go, want to run, look, see.

Steph squinted for a few moments, reading. “...We’re going to go see what crimes against nature they're committing, aren't we?” She sounded resigned to it.

Dick shrugged. “It's not ideal,” he said unhappily. “The town is too small for how we normally do our night work. But face out is a big risk.” 

“Maybe we should lean on a friend?” Stephanie suggested. “Someone who has a public role that wouldn't be a problem?” 

“We’ll have to ask Mama Bat.” 

They both turned to look at Cass, who was sitting on a desk. She arched an eyebrow at them. “We ask Danny,” she said pointedly. “He knows best.” 

Stephanie made a face that said she disagreed. 

Cass huffed. “He knows,” she reiterated. He had lived there. He knew the people. “We could make a mess.” She mimed sweeping the stack of Bruce papers off the desk surface and then an expression of exaggerated batdad horror.

Stephanie untensed enough to laugh. 

Cass considered that good enough. She jumped down and patted Dick as she passed. He let out an exaggerated sigh but he powered down the computer and followed her up. “I'm excited to get to meet the little guy,” he said. The lights turned off. All three of them hit the stairs and jogged up. Dick chattered away, tweet tweet tweet. “It's so sweet that Dami latched onto him like this. When I asked what Danny would like as a welcome home gift, he told me that I was a cretin and should not corrupt the baby.” He laughed, high and joyous. It was contagious. Cass found herself laughing with him.

Stephanie squinted at the back of Dick's head as the oldest brother bounded up the stairs. “Damian… likes him?” She confirmed. 

Cass beamed. Of course he did. Danny was a good baby. He and Damian were out now walking dogs at the animal shelter while Alfie did the big weekly shop. 

Dick shrugged. “He gets to be the mentor,” he pointed out. “He’s not the Babiest Bat anymore.” 

“Danny is older than Damian,” Stephanie protested. Cass glared at her. 

“He's baby,” she said firmly. End of conversation. 

[der-schweizer]

This is a little idea about the post of @proneterror204 make sure to hit them up for the og post.

Danny was somewhere between bored, tired (which he almost always was) and generally not okay. How his parents had managed to draw the attention of Wayne Enterprise and get invited to a Gala that Bruce Wayne himself was hosting, was beyond him.

Granted he hadn't even known about it until about three days ago. Honestly he should be used to getting utterly blindsided by his parents ‘Come on, Danny. We are going to drive for the next three days. It's going to be fun’-type of surprises.

They had just left him enough time to lock down the portal, something his dad should have done, grab his suit that Vlad had gifted him. (As much as he dislikes the Froot Loop, Danny wasn’t stupid enough to throw out a multi-thousand Dollar suit.) And then they were off.

He managed to sneak in a few texts to Sam and Tucker on the ride. So now he was here, halfway bored out of his head. He had already been talked to multiple times, and each time got mistaken for one of the Wayne kids.

Danny could see it honestly. Blue eyes, Black hair, decent build body and an air of exhaustion that hung around most of them like a cloak. It was probably the reason why they kept coming to him. Thankfully he managed to shake them off rather quickly.

He had finally found a quiet corner where he could lurk and eat some of the finger food that was laid out on the buffet. Going for thirds was tempting as everything was very tasty but sadly not very filling.

“Man, I could go for a burger.”

A snort came from next to him, which nearly startled him. The girl that had been in the corner before was putting a hand over her mouth in clear embarrassment.

“Uhm. Hi?” Danny gave an awkward wave, not knowing how he should talk to her. In turn she said a quiet “Hello” whilst also signing it. Danny of course immediately picked up on it.

“Sorry to ask but are you…” he gestured towards his ears, signing himself in case she was deaf. The girl looked at him with surprise before smiling softly. “No, I don't like talking.”

“Ah, perfectly understandable. I do know ASL, one of my friends is almost deaf but she got those fancy implants that let her hear everything.”

In lieu of the answer all he got was an “Mhh.” He went quiet after, having no fucking idea what to talk about. Danny quietly wondered what the fuck he could even talk about, the weather? Either rain or fog. The city? Rockbottom in every poll except for crime. Thinking about it gave him an idea.

“Say, who is your favorite Vigilante?”

The question got her attention, making her think for a moment before quietly saying. “Like Wing. Yours?” Danny mused for a second, humming loudly.

“Hmm, I think it's Orphan. I mean, have you seen her move? Just pure grace and elegance. I bet she is an immortal Vampire that simply got bored and decided to fight crime.”

He didn’t see how she blushed, “No.”

Danny just scoffed, “Are you kidding me? She moves with far too much elegance and grace to be mortal. Credit to the other bats but they move like mortals. She dances around both rogues and vigilantes!”

She turned away for a moment, trying to hide that she was blushing but it didn't really work. “Orphan. Is. good. What about others?”

“Oh, hmm.” Danny looked up whilst tapping a finger against his chin. “Well there’s Red Hood and Stabby Robin. Both are top tier, which should be a no brainer.”

She tilted her head in thought. “Why?”

“Well. Stabby robin practices the art of the sword, a forgotten art in modern times. And Red Hood shoots pedophiles! Who doesn't like that?” Danny set his empty plate aside, looking around for a waiter with drinks.

Her answer drew his full attention back to her. “Batman.”

Danny scoffed at the name. “Yeah, of course he doesn't like that. I mean have you looked at the costume of the very first Robin? Doesn't take much imagination why he dislikes Hood offing pedos.”

A crackle in her ear drew Cass’s attention away from him. “Red Robin here, Lantern and Superman are moving in to arrest his parents. Can you keep him distracted for a while longer?”

“Mmm. You still want burger?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah? Do you know a good place?” The question itself caught him absolutely off guard.

“Yes, take me out?” She tilted her head, giving him a cute look. Danny just shrugged, “Sure, my parents are going to take hours to explain everything anyway and they keep getting sidetracked whilst doing so. I fully expect to still be here tomorrow. Might as well spend the time with a cute girl.”

She blushed visibly, then stuck out her hand. “Cass, we date now.” He grabbed her hand, flushing a bit as well. “I’m Danny.”

“No, not Danny. You boyfriend.” She hooked her arm with his and pulled him along. Danny quickly went along with it, not saying no to it.

In Cass’s ear Red Robin spoke again. “Uh Cass? That wasn't the plan. You don't have to date him. Cass? Please don't make me explain this to B.” A click was heard as another com went to the same line. Batman growled out a simple. “Follow. Them.” before it went off.

Cassandra just put a bit more pep into her step as she pulled her new boyfriend towards her personal favorite Bat burger.

Nightwing clicked his comm on, “Found them. They are in the parking lot at main and fifth street.”

He spent a moment taking a picture of them. It showed them sitting on a concert divider, with Danny pointing up with his left whilst holding a half eaten burger in his right. Cass was sitting next to him,a bunch of fries sticking out of her mouth whilst she was grabbing a bunch more. She is also starring right at the camera. Her look perfectly said ‘if you ruin this date, i will end you’.

Batman's voice echoed in his ear, “Keep your eyes on Danny. He might have the same ideology as his parents. Oa and the lanterns are already moving in on the Ghostly Investigation Ward. We might have to take him into custody if things turn bad.”

Dick was just about to answer when Cass abruptly stood up, dranging Danny up and then away.

“Hold on, they just started moving again.” Nightwing got up from his perch and followed them quickly.

Tim worked on cutting through the strange rope, “Okay. Just to make sure I got everything right. Danny and Cass went to Batburger and had some takeout, then went for a walk in the park whilst you followed them, right?”

Dick who was trying not to wiggle, nodded. "Yeah."

“Then some weird ass shadow creature jumped you, tied you up and hung you from this tree, right?”

“You are forgetting the part where I described it as a lady from the eighteen sixties, and the part where she said to leave ‘the king of kings’ in peace. Other than that you got it spot on.”

“You know, I would make fun of you for that but considering that there is no knot in this rope and its tough as hell I will believe you.”

“Great. Do we know where they went after I lost them?”

Tim looked him right in the eyes. “Steph found them, and considering how red she was when she came back, it's best to wait until morning.”

Dick opened his mouth to ask why before it clicked in his head. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

Danny woke up groggy, his eyes were crusted over and his limbs felt heavy. For a moment he just laid there, then did a full body stretch, stretching from toes to fingertips.

After it he laid there for a moment listening to noises in the room. He could hear cars and their horns. Some shouting down the hall and the shower in the bathroom.

That prompted the memories of last night which caused the ‘i got laid’ grin. He let out a satisfied noise, before crossing his arms behind his head.

After a moment Danny wondered if Cass would be up to ‘share’ the shower only for him to freeze at the sight of the Batman in the room.

“Uuuhhh.”

“Daniel James Fenton.” Batman growled out. “You are hereby placed under investigation by the Justice League for potential violation of interdimensional rights. Your parents have already been arrested and are awaiting their trial. Do you have anything to say to that?”

[takumiraine]

Once upon a time chapter 10

<first> <prev> <next>

Danny slept more soundly in these two little cat naps with Sam and Tucker (and Jason) present than he had in the last couple of years. Really since the ghost shit started. His first awareness was Tucker saying “no dude, seriously, watch.” Right before Danny remembered to breathe.

“Freaky…” he heard Jason mutter.

Danny opened his eyes. “Technically dead, remember?” He yawned, stretching in a way that he had been told most people couldn’t move in.

“It’s still kinda weird man,” Tucker said without a hint of remorse, even as Danny swatted him. “But your food’s done.” That drew Danny’s full attention. He sat up, taking the plate that had been offered to him. Carefully, Danny blew on the rolls, before popping one into his mouth.

“P’f’ct” he mumbled through his bite.

Sam shook her head. “So is your big bat friend aware that we’re coming too, as Danny’s backup?”

“Yeah. I told him. He’s not thrilled but what can he really do. He feels guilty that he missed a chance to help adoption bait.”

“So he doesn’t think I’m going to go villain on you?” Jason shrugged.

“You had plenty of time and motivation to do so to me.”

Tucker’s PDA beeped. He looked down at it. Looked up at Jason. Looked back at it. Showed the results to Sam and Danny. “Does that mean…?” Danny looked back up at Jason.

“Dude. Is your fucking dad Batman?” Danny asked.

“How….?” Jason didn’t have a good answer to that because if he said no, then in like an hour max, Danny would learn of another lie, but if he said yes, it felt like some sort of weird betrayal against B. “What makes you think that?”

“Because Tucker needed to isolate the crack you guys made into the GIW before he could make sure they haven’t done anything about it and… I’m pretty sure the main location came from right where your house is. So it’s either your dad or your butler.”

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please be surprised when he tells you. And please let me be the one to tell the Replacement that some random guy followed his hacking trail on a goddamn PDA, and was able to deduce Batman’s identity from it. He’s gonna froth at the mouth and I need to be the one to cause that.”

“Who’s the Replacement?” Sam asked.

“The kid that became Robin after me. He and Oracle led the break in to that site.” Danny crunched another couple pizza rolls, while Tucker looked triumphant.

“Watch, they’re like a big creepy family of crime fighting rich people.” Danny nudged his friends between bites. Jason forced himself to laugh along.

“You might never know. B said he was the only one he was going to out tonight.” Jason hedged, trying to play up the mysterious vibe.

The trio shared a look as Danny finished off the rest of his pizza rolls. “Right. Anyways. You’re not going to like blindfold us right? We can just go in like normal people? Or is he going to come to us?”

“He’ll send a car when we’re ready. No blindfolds.”

“Good because I’m not doing kinky stuff with someone I haven’t even kissed yet.” Danny said through another yawn, stretching out obliviously.

Jason stared, open mouthed.

“What…?” Danny asked when he opened one eye mid stretch. He ran back what he just said, face turning scarlet. “I mean… fuck. You know what I mean.” He groused, purposefully not looking at the other three. “You try not really sleeping for five years and see where it gets you.”

Tucker and Sam burst into a fit of laughter. “Called it.” Sam announced, fist bumping Tucker and deftly dodging the swat.

“I can’t believe I’m still friends with you two assholes.” Danny grumbled, still red. “Let’s get this execution over with…”

Bruce sent Alfred in the town car to pick them up. “Master Jason, it is good to see you are making friends.” Alfred’s voice was genuinely caring beneath the dry delivery.

“Yeah yeah. A, these are Danny, Tucker and Sam. Three new people for you to feed.”

“Most excellent, I am always being told that I cook entirely too much.” Feeding a family of vigilantes that never seem to sit still requires a lot of food after all. He opened the back door gesturing for them to enter. “Sirs. Ma’am. Master Jason, I assume you will be taking ‘shotgun’?”

Danny, Tucker and Sam slid into the car, squishing Danny in the middle seat. Jason went around and opened his own door as Alfred closed the back. “Yeah. I’m not feeling like the trunk tonight.”

The ride to the manor was tense, even though Alfred did his best to settle it out by talking about different foods in the fridge that needed to be eaten if ‘you kids’ -Jason included- would be amenable.

For Danny, it was torture on two fronts. First, he had no idea what he was walking into. The second was that even after a pile of pizza rolls, Danny still felt like he had a black hole instead of a stomach. Was that due to the fact his family never seemed to have an adequate volume of non contaminated food, he was a man under 25, a halfa or just hadn’t eaten much recently? Not even he knew the answer to that. He was just pretty used to ignoring the feeling.

When the car drove through the manor’s gates, nobody seemed impressed. Which would have been concerning if Jason hadn’t remembered seeing the Mansons at galas before. Danny seemed like he was trying to melt through the seats, regretting his choice to come there.

“I swear to fuck if it’s Vlad here…” he muttered to the two other teens, so quietly Jason almost didn’t hear it.

“You’d feel it wouldn’t you?” Tucker asked just as quietly.

“Maybe? If it’s not his domain it might take longer…”

“Well do you feel anything now?” From Sam. Jason watched Alfred’s eyes in the mirror. He was listening too.

“No…. Not him. This is the domain of something, but I don’t know who or what.” Danny tried to look out the window, squinting through the glass to look for Jason didn’t know what.

Eventually he shrugged and sat back as the car pulled down the winding drive. It was only as Alfred opened the door to the backseat that something odd happened. Danny’s breath came out in a single puff of winter condensation, and all three of them tensed. Bruce was standing there, watching them, and all three got out, lining up against the back of the car. Danny seemed to be looking at something, distracted while B was giving them the typical welcome speech, and ushering them inside out of the cool night air. Though the other two didn’t seem to be able to see what Danny did, they gave whatever he was looking at a wide berth.

“D?” Tucker asked, hand on Danny’s arm. He just shook his head.

“Not violent.” He murmured back. “Been here a long time…”

That brought up more questions than Jason thought he’d be able to ask in one night. If Bruce heard the exchange he wisely chose to comment on it.

They all followed Bruce into the main sitting room, and the trio sat on the couch while Bruce took one armchair and Jason shoved another to be more lined up with the couch before flopping into it in a way that was sure to make B’s teeth grit.

“Has Jason told you why I’ve brought you here, chum?” Bruce said to Danny once Alfred had brought them all drinks and an assortment of snacks. Danny immediately set in on the food, eating in a way that was just controlled enough to seem bored.

Danny was about to answer when Sam elbowed him in the side. He finished chewing and swallowed. “He said you’d explain everything when we got here. I assumed it was because you thought we were dating and wanted to give me the shovel talk.” A pause. “We aren’t.” Another pause. “Dating that is. These are good snacks.” Danny’s eyes kept darting to something over Bruce’s shoulder.

Jason assumed it was to the portrait of the late Waynes. Those eyes had an uncanny habit of seeming to hone in on you wherever you went. Still, before Bruce could process, Jason put on his best terrible southern accent. “Aw, honey, no need to hide from my father. No doubt you’ll be able to win my dowry in no time.”

“Jason.” Bruce sounded constipated. Good. Serves him right for tormenting Danny. “No, I brought you here because I have something very important to reveal to you.” Bruce waited an appropriately dramatic amount of time, causing Jason to roll his eyes. “I am Batman.” There was a moment before the trio let out the fakest gasp he’d ever heard. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What? No way!” God their acting was terrible. Danny was even doing that little nervous laugh thing he did when the topic of families came up in class.

“You knew.” It was less a question and more of a statement, then Bruce turned slowly to focus the full weight of his gaze on Jason. “They knew.”

Jason waved a hand. “Don’t look at me. They figured it out the moment I said we hacked into the GIW. Turns out having one of the hacks originate close to the house meant they could figure it out since they had some basic common sense deduction skills.”

“I….” Bruce sighed heavily and grabbed his mug, looking for the world like he was regretting every choice he’d ever made leading up to that point.

Danny snorted a laugh but covered it with a really badly acted cough. Sam elbowed him and he made a sort of helpless gesture and gestured off to the side of the room. Interesting.

“Care to share with the rest of the class Danny?” Jason asked, watching him as well as he could without actually sitting up.

“Uh… well… it has to do with uh… my powers. The lady over there…” he gestured again to the side of the room, “just told uh…. Mr. Bat…? Mr. Man…? That it’s what children do, and she’s had to watch her “Little Roo” do that to her for years now.”

At the name, Bruce sat up stock straight, looking around the room. “What kind of trick is this?” He growled, defensive. “How did you know that name?” Danny immediately looked nervous, grabbing onto his friends.

“The woman told me. The one in the painting.” Bruce and Jason both turned to look up at the portrait of the Waynes and that was all it took for Danny and his friends to completely disappear.

“Danny, come back. He’s not going to hurt you.” Jason sat up now, trying to locate Danny in the room. He knew the younger man and his friends were still there, he could feel Danny close but it was clear he was trying to reassess the situation.

When Danny didn’t immediately appear again, Jason looked around for something he could throw at Bruce. There wasn’t anything of an appropriate annoyance level immediately handy so he grabbed the pillow off the couch Danny and his friends had vacated and flung it at Bruce, taking no small amount of pride in the resounding thud it made as the fabric connected with his father’s head.

Bruce looked over at him then. “Can I help you?”

“Me? Nah. But you could try to calm Danny down before he gets sick of our shit and ghosts us permanently. He’s hiding here somewhere.” Had he just made a pun??? He needed to spend less time with Tim.

It was only then that Bruce seemed to shake off his shock at what Danny had said to realize that he and his friends were unable to be seen. “Danny? Chum? Jay is right. I will not harm you. I was just…. Shocked by the fact that my mother’s ghost is still here…. And making comments.” There was another moment of silence before Danny spoke again.

“Oh… that being your mom explains a lot. Your dad is here too, but he hasn’t said much.” Slowly, Danny became visible again, floating in the corner with his friends, who seemed far too used to being grabbed and floated off with for their own good. He lowered them to the floor first, and fidgeted with his clothes until Jason reached out and gestured to the remaining food.

“Eat or Alfred will be disappointed.” Carefully, Danny let his feet touch the floor again, and became fully solid and visible. Only once Danny was okay did Tucker and Sam go and sit back down, grabbing a snack for themselves.

“Sorry…” Danny murmured to all of them, retaking his position between his friends.

“Not at all lad. I should be the one apologizing to you. Tonight is the night of unexpected it seems.” Jason noted, that while Bruce should be apologizing, he in fact had not said the words. “I wanted to let you know, personally, that you will be safe from those government stooges while the League still stands. You should not have to be afraid to exist and had we received your messages when they were sent, we would have helped then.“

Danny narrowed his eyes, pausing mid bite. “You’d help some kid you don’t know, just like that?”

Jason snorted then, cutting off Bruce’s response. “Danny, B found like five kids, all with black hair, blue eyes and a tragic backstory. You fit right in.”

Danny looked at Jason for a moment, considering, then at the two ghosts that had stayed in the room. Finally, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll trust you. For now.”

“Excellent. Shall I have Alfred make up a couple of guest rooms?” Bruce looked entirely too happy at the idea of having guests.

“No, I’ve got my own place. But thanks…” Danny said, trying very hard not to look worried at the invitation.

Jason texted something to Alfred, then stood when the butler entered the room with a large ziploc bag. Jason stood and took it, then dumped the rest of the snacks into the bag before pressing it into Danny’s hands.

“C’mon. I’ll bring you home. You look exhausted still.” Jason carefully, but casually positioned himself between Bruce and Danny. Not that Jason didn’t trust Bruce, but Danny had been through a lot and Jason wanted to offer any protection or comfort he could. Danny nodded, standing with his friends. Sam looped one of her arms through his.

“Thank you for the food and assurances of Danny’s safety.” Tucker said diplomatically as Sam pulled Danny after Jason.

[flamingpudding]

DPxDC Family Week June 21 (Day 4)

Prompt: Friends | Surprise

A/N: I hope this is not a hit and miss on the prompts but this came out when I thought about Danny and his friends. Also... I really wanted to get the Joker souped :D

AO3 Link: DPxDC Family Week Contributions

Bruce found himself with a rather particular problem as he faced the newest addition to the Wayne Family in the bat cave. Daniel James Fenton-Wayne, stood before him sandwiched between his more than obvious to best friends. The boy wasn't looking up but staring at the ground, shoulders hunched and drawn into himself, hair ash white, dressed in a hazmat suit and glowing green eyes that reminded him too much of his second eldest certain issue. His two friends on the other hand were standing protectively next to him clearly openly glaring at him well at Batman but that wasn't important.

He was pretty sure that Danny was supposed to be at the Manor the entire time getting used to his new room with the addition of his two friends that had accompanied him to Gotham to help him getting settled. Not come flying at the joker out of a vertical Lazarus Pit with his friends in tow. Behind him he knew that at least one of his other sons were fretting. They had yet to tell Danny about the family secret and this development was definitely a surprise to everyone as the three teenagers before him had mentioned that they know his identity at least.

A little earlier that day.

"Come on Danny let's explore the Manor a little. There is bound to be something hidden. Every big shot has their secret."

"Think we will find proof that Batman and Bruce Wayne have a thing for each other?"

"Sam! No!" The halfa groaned into the pillow of his oversized bed, Sam sitting at the edge while Tucker was curiously going along the walls, knocking against it every couple of meters to see if there was something hidden.

"Well what do you want us to do? The lab blew up and you got adopted by a rich guy, while Jazz got spared but she can't take you in at the moment."

"Yeah man, we are lucky it wasn't Vlad but I am not sure if Wayne is better given his public image."

"You know that could be a front right?" Danny muttered his chin resting on the pillow as he stared at his friends.

"Like Vald, he acts like a nice Mayor but is a total fruitloop."

"So you're saying Bruce's image is like that and he is in reality completely different?" Sam concluded crossing her arms as she mulled over that thought. "So the secret is he bangs Batman?"

"SAM!"

"Aha! Secret wiring!" Tucker cut in before, removing a piece of the wall to get to a wire, his PDA in hand and checking if he could connect the wire to it.

Danny's eye twitched. He loves his friends he really does but their conspiracies were not something he could get behind on right now. "Tuck you probably got the power cable of the lights there. Drop it."

"That, my friend, is a cable to a heat sensor."

"So what? Floor heating, we established already that Amity was way's behind in technology."

"Danny, if there is one thing I know about being rich, it's that nothing is as simple as it seems in old manors. Bruce Wayne is suspicious and we should-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Danny-"

"No."

"Look what we have here, camera wiring! Let's see what video feats I can get into…"

"No-Wait what?!"

"Told you that man is suspicious."

Danny glared at Sam's smug face while Tucker was completely engrossed in getting into the Manors network system. In the end he let out a sigh and let him get dragged along by his friends' antics with a fond smile. Ancients couldn't they just live with him here too? They wouldn't need to go back to Amity right? Better maybe he could just go back with them, but he knew he couldn't.

There was no longer a home to return to.

"Danny, hey Danny."

Blinking out of his thoughts he found both his friends by his room door urging him to come along. In a fluid motion he jumped off the bed and followed them. Tucker was the one leading them, having apparently gotten into the video feat and was now trying to find something specifically. Whatever his best friend had found, it had him convinced that there was a secret cave below the manor.

"I found a blind spot!" He suddenly declared making them stop by a corner of the hallway.

"Your turn, Danny. Phase us through the floor." Sam more told him than asked, eyes gleaming with mischievousness. With a sigh, followed by a head shake and a fond smile, he placed a hand on each shoulder. Taking them with him through the floor, still not believing his friends.

Only for them to really end up in a cave, a bat themed cave. They were standing in the goddamn bat cave!

Both Sam and Tucker started cheering about how they were right and how it was so badass to have a cave like that under your home and also that Bruce had to be Batman now. Completely forgetting that Danny used to have a lab below his previous home.

"Okay I give it to you guys. You were right but wha-" A breath of cold air left his lips and Danny whipped his head around. How had he not noticed a pool of corrupted ectoplasm? Ancients now that he was so close to it he could feel the stinking icky feeling power it radiated. Fuck did he end up trading a destroyed portal to the Ghost Zone for ectoplasmic waste dump of said realm?

"Guys!" Before he could say anything more a fucking hand, that was very familiar to him, reached out of the green pool of yuck and Danny of course being the closest got grabbed by it. His friends, ever so loyal, heard his yell grab him by the arms to pull him back only to get dragged with him through it.

"DANNY!"

-------

The Joker was on the loose again and Batman was in pursuit. Nightwing, Red Hood and Red Robin were attempting to cut off the escape route while Robin was with him.

Signal, Orphan and Spoiler were taking out some goons before they could join up with the rest of them.

The situation was getting dangerous. Whatever that mad man had planned it involved something that looked like a Lazarus Pit but it was in a Vertical position.

It was definitely grading on Red Hood's nerves.

They needed to do something and that fast. He couldn't let that mad man run loose any longer.

If everyone was additionally a little bitter and aggressive with the Joker because the rouge was preventing the entire family from spending time with their newest addition then that was not his problem to deal with.

-------

"FLY FASTER DANNY!"

"I AM TRYING TOO"

"HOW DID WALKER MANAGE TO DRAG US INTO THE GHOST ZONE! THERE WAS NO PORTAL!"

"WE GOT DRAGGED THROUGH A LEAKING GARBAGE DISPOSAL!"

"EW!"

Dodging the beams as best as he could while holding on to his friends Danny, in his ghost form, did everything he could to lose Walker while also trying but currently failing at not getting lost in the GZ. Maneuvering this place like this was definitely not easy. He recognised a way to Far Frozen but he couldn't take his friends there like this, so he took another sharp turn. Maybe if they could come across someone like Wulf, they could find an easy way to get back to earth.

"WATCH OUT!"

Making another turn he barely avoided a floating rumble as well as another blast from behind them.

"Guys we need a way out!" He all but screamed in desperation holding onto his two friends for dear life. All they did was explore the manor to find Bruce's secrets, they hadn't signed up for getting dragged into the Ghost Zone let alone get stuck without a clear way back.

"Over there is a natural portal!" Tucker suddenly pointed out and Danny took another sharp turn rounding more floating rock.

"Nu-hu! I am not taking my chances with that! What if we end up in Acients Egypt or Medieval Europe?"

"It's a natural portal, not a clockwork portal." Danny argued back, taking another turn. The portal was getting smaller.

"Sam! Come once we are out we can figure out the rest like always!"

"Okay, fine!" With a U-turn like stunt Danny course corrected and with an iron grip on his friends, rushing towards the natural portal that was closing.

Luckily they made it through before it could close on them, successfully losing Walker on the other side. But with the speed they had been going as well as the sudden return of normal gravity to his friends the three were not able to stop in time and once through the portal they ended up slamming into the body of someone, knocking them to the ground with them.

-------

The Lazarus pit thing was closing but right before it closed three teenagers flew right through it tackling the Joker to the ground.

"Are those teenagers?!"

"More importantly, aren't those Danny's friends?!"

One of his children screamed into the coms. This was not good at all. How did Danny's friends even end up here, what about Danny? If his friends were here, where was he?

Just as he was going to give the signal to move in to remove the three teenagers, the white haired one slowly got up and looked at who he had landed on and screamed bloody murder, alerting the other two teenagers.

"FREAKSHOW!"

"Danny!"

"Thermos!"

"TUCKER, YOU HAD THAT ENTIRE TIME?!"

"Not now, soup the clown!"

Stunned, the bat clan watched how the three teenagers stumbled off the Joker and pointed a thermos at the dazed clown. A light beam later and the clown disappeared from sight. The three teenagers slumped down leaning against each other.

"That's it, we are never going exploring in a billionaire's manor ever again." The white haired teen grumbled tiredly leaning against his two friends.

"Danny, you know we will do that again anyway." The boy countered, who Bruce recognised as Tucker. "Also you need serious therapy with that clown problem of yours."

"You can't scream 'Freakshow' everytime you see one." Looking at the girl between the three once again he recognised Sam. These were definitely his newest son's friends. And considering they called the white haired between them Danny, it could only mean that he was said, newest family addition.

-------

Back to the current situation…

Danny's two friends were still glaring at him.

"What are you planning to do with Danny now?"

"Nothing."

"Bull, we know you don't like Metas!"

It was good that Danny had such protective friends but Bruce was definitely out of his depths in this situation. He suppressed a sigh and held up a hand to placidate them for the moment. It already had been difficult enough to get the three back to the bat cave. When the three had realized their audience, Danny had looked ready to run while his friends and become very visibly protective. Overhearing the two friends whispering that a billionaire could never be trusted after all. It left him no choice but to drag them to the cave and get a somewhat unbelievable but apparently real, considering he saw the Joker get 'souped', statement from the three.

They had figured out his identity, Danny was a Meta with 'ghost' powers and apparently the Joker had died and gotten dipped into a Lazarus Pit often enough to be 'souped' in a specially made thermos.

"Since when?"

"Since when what?" Sam, apparently a very stubborn young girl, huffed back her arms crossed and holding herself like she was ready to throw a punch if needed.

"Since we know your Bruce? Dude, you left as alone in the Manor. We were bound to find some secrets." The boy, Tucker added now more relaxed and focusing on something on his PDA, Bruce wanted to confiscate just to make sure the teenager wasn't giving out his secret but was refraining from doing so.

Nightwing snickered behind him and he refused to look over his shoulder to glare at his oldest instead he let out a heavy sigh.

"Daniel James Fentom-Wayne." He felt a little bad at how the white haired boy flinched. "You and your friends got dragged by a ghost through the Lazarus Pit-" He ignored the boy muttering something about a garbage disposal leak. "-into what you called the 'Ghost Zone' also known as the Infinit Realms."

The three nodded, two still glaring at him. "The three of you then got stranded and hunted by the same ghost in the ghost zone. Only to finally escape through a natural portal to slam into the Joker."

Again they nodded. "You then proceeded to 'soup' him." He eyed the thermos Danny was still holding and had not yet handed over to him. "And it worked because he died as well as got thrown often enough into a Pit to count as 'ghost'."

"Well actually it's part ecto-entity -ow- Sam!"

"Ghost, yes he means ghost." The girl had just elbowed his son while the other boy took over talking. He could hear Sam hissing something along the lines of 'you don't do the talking we do'.

Bruce cleared his throat. "So the Joker is in this thermos now." It was a statement rather than a question. His second oldest whistled and he chose to ignore that.

"We can let him out, but I kinda want to give him over to Walk-ow-"

"He can be let out anytime." Once again one of his son's friends elbowed him while the other answered in his stead. They were very trying to protect something here and for now Bruce would let them.

"Since when were you a Meta, Danny?" He let out a sigh as he decided to change the topic. Clearly Danny's friends were stopping him from sharing certain information. He would have to try again later.

"Since-" Once again Danny was stopped from talking by his friends but this time he was giving them a light glare and whined. A second later two rings of light appeared around his middle and he changed back to the boy he knew.

"Magical girl transformation." One of his other kids snickered and once again Bruce choose to ignore.

"Since his accident." Tucker answered and as if reading his mind the boy continued. "Also the start of Danny's hero stick. Feel free to look up Phantom but I doubt you will get much without having ecto-infused equipment."

"If you plan on hurting Danny, Batman or not we will find a way to destroy you." Sam added glaring at him.

"Want me to lend you my tire bar?" This time he did look over his shoulder staring disapprovingly at his second oldest.

Turning back to the teenagers, he let out a suffering sigh, mentally noting down that he will have to look up what they mentioned later as well as probably contact Constantine. The three apparently took that as the sign that his questioning was over and started to talk among themselves again.

"So Danny, how does it feel knowing Batman is your new Dad?"

"Tucker."

"At least we know now that he doesn't bang billionaires. So Superman?"

"SAM!"

"Superman."

"TUCK!"

Bruce's eye twitched as he cleared his throat, gaining their attention again.

"Daniel, you're grounded." And after a moment of consideration in regards to the information he got from them and the conclusion he could draw from that. "You are also benched from any form of vigilante work you do until we had a talk about that."

[just-more-pr0mts]

Danny Phantom promt#3

Classic feild trip au with a bit more common sense

Danny loved feild trips, especially when they took the class out of town to look at things like astronomy towers or doing things like beach clean ups. It was an easy out from school, he got to do something helpful or see something new, and just not do work.

So when Mr Lancer had announced they were going on a feild trip. Danny usally would have been excited, but they were going to Fenton works. His house. And his parent were going to give demonstrations on thier work and 'equipment'.

_________

Danny was running late. Now this was a common occurrence, but when he was late for the trip to his own home...well that might have a bit of explaining to do.

_________

The entrance to Fenton works slammed open, and Jasmine 'Jazz' Fenton,Mr Lancer and class all turned to face the door with a start.

"Im so sorry im late sir" Daniel 'Danny' fenton in all his glory stood panting at the door way. "I forgot we wer- well you were coming here today. And i was in a rush and i didn'tget breakfastand i-"

"It's alright Mr Fenton" Mr Lancer cut in over the A-listers snickering and a heavy sigh from what soundedlike Sam "The tour has not yet started, why don't you go and get breakfast"

Relief washed over danny, "Thank you sir I'll try and be quick about it" he headed over towards the kitchen area dropping his backpack next to a couch which was occupied by some of the students in class. Just before he stepped in, he was cut short by a-

"Hey Danny wait-" Jazz exclaimed as she went and picked up a baseball bat leaning against the wall. "Here" as she tossed him the bat.

He caught it effortlessly "Thanks Jazz, your the best" and went to go and get himself some breakfast.

"What was that all about?" Paulina an A-listers asked from her spot on a couch. "Why does he need a baseball bat?"

"Oh our mom cooked meat loaf last night" Jazz said as if the most obvious thing in the world

Sam and Tucker winced. And the rest of the class along with Mr Lancer looked around in confusion. What does that have to do with anything? Was the question on their minds.

"Miss Fenton if you could please elaborate?" Mr Lancer asked.

"Oh! Silly me, you guys don't live here like those gremlins" she said gesturing toward Sam and Tucker. "Well you see-" she was cut off buy a scream.

"You alright in there?" Jazz said loudly "I found the meatloaf!" Danny screamed back. "Don't forget, dad went and bought apples" "Apples?" Danny questioned. "Yes they're-" "Behind the toASTER" his voice cracked and a clash was heard, things falling over and then silence.

Danny slowly walked out of the kitchen, his shirt singed at the bottom and a stain on his fright sleeve. His head hung low and hair a mess and his face sporting a cut near his hairline. "Hey Jazz.." he started off. " I'm hungry, I didn't have anything since lunch yesterday..do you" he looked up at her, she was heading over to a panel in the wall.

?

She pushed against it with her palm and it opened up. She grabbed a bandage, a bottle pf water and what looked to be a protein bar. "I have to restock again but here" she handed him the protein bar and water and dragged him over to an empty chair and wrapped head.

"It's just a small scratch" He mumbled. "That could get infected which is why I'm using these bandages"

All whilst this is happening the room full of people are looking on in alarm. Danny hasn't eaten for how long? Not because he doesn't have food bit because of what? He's parents must do something right? Why do they have a secret panel of food and first aid equipment?

[dannysdcxdpblog]

Danny was tired. The GIW was really determined this time around. Apparently, they did not learn their lesson from getting their ass kicked by an entire town. At least they were being discreet this time. They had disguises and were pulling the tourist of the most haunted town in Illinois card. They weren't half bad. But everyone knew, yet they all played nice. They were waiting for the first hit from the GIW. One beautiful day, everyone was going about their business. The ghosts were quiet for once. And that's when the plane landed a few miles out. No one could actually see it but they all felt the shift.

The residents of Amity Park tried to act normal, trying to not let it show they were bothered by the new cars driving down their street. The newcomers seemed to spread out. Phantom felt the threat lingering in the air become thicker. Danny tried not to let it show in his posture as the Bats walked into Nasty Burger. He glanced around and caught a few glances thrown his way, he could tell some were trying not to look at Danny. Robin saunters over to their table.

"Hello, we just wanted to ask a few questions about a local....villain." He settled on the word like he was unsure to use it. Danny stiffened. Tucker and Sam shared a look.

"Villain? We don't have a local villain. We've got a few local nuisances but they're not bad. Just a little distracting sometimes." Tucker says before their silence is too long. Robin seems to hesitate at this. Clearly, he looks uncomfortable with whatever case the JL and Batman's group are covering.

"Thank you for your time. I'll be going now." He walks out the diner, throwing a glance over his shoulder. It seems like the other vigilantes were trying harder to get more information than the kid was. Danny startles.

"Shit, they're asking about Phantom." He whispers harshly.

"Why? Do you think it has something to do with the GIW?" Sam glances around.

"Probably! Oh god, what are we going to do?" Danny faceplants against the table. A few minutes of silence pass.

Tucker inhales sharply, catching the others' attention.

"They called you a super villain. An enemy of the government." His voice is small and he looks sick just holding his tablet. Sam snatches it away from him to see for herself. She looks sick as she's reading it over. Tears brim her eyes as she reads more than just their correspondence with the JL.

Danny stands up. "I'm gonna go home." He says, darting out of the diner. He runs all the way home and tries to ignore the thrumming in his chest. When he gets home, he heads for the lab immediately. Hiis parents are there.

"Mom, Dad? The Justice League are here, the GIW contacted them and they want to capture Phantom. Under no circumstances are you to tell them that I'm Phantom or let them into the Lab. Better yet, don't let them in the house. I'm going to go in the Zone for a while." He manages to gasp out. His parents share a look before wrapping him in a hug.

"Be careful, baby. We'll be here when you come back." Maddie promises. He melts in the warm embrace of his parents for a second before he phases out of it and into the portal. He doesn't shift into Phantom yet, finding he can use his powers just fine without it. Some of the ghosts even prefer when he takes his human form in the Zone. They say it reminds them that they're allowed to be at peace with the living.

He finds himself outside Pandora's Door. He knocks.

"Danny! How wonderful to see you! Come in, come in!" She ushers him inside.

He makes himself comfortable in her 'living room' as she brings out a tray of biscuits and tea. "A new blend from Undergrowth. He's really brightening up the zone with his garden!" She shares happily. "But you're not here to talk about gardens. I can tell it's not your Kingly Duties. Something to do with the Living Realm." Her eyes solemn.

"The GIW has contacted the Heroes. They're here and they think Phantom, me, is a villain. They think I'm the bad guy and they're trying to find out as much as possible. Luckily, no one is talking and I doubt anyone will. But it's...."

"It's scary. You'll be ok, Danny. You have a whole bunch of Liminals on your side and a bunch of Ghosts on your side. If it comes down to it, we'll all stand by you and protect you. You're our King and you are much better than the last guy who had the throne." She rubs his back soothingly. He stays for a few hours, crying in her embrace for a little while before going around to hang out with his other rogues.

When he finally emerges from the Portal, he senses something off in his Haunt home. He carefully goes up the stairs. He opens the door and is met with nothing. He tiptoes into the living room, freezing when he hears voices outside the front door.

"We just want to help."

"By harming our only protector?!"

"It's not like that, ma'am. We just-"

"No! Where were you when the portal first started letting things out? Where were you when we were in actual danger? We called the hotline many times, not just us, but others too! And not a single one of you took us seriously! And now we're finally living in peace, we've gotten our misunderstanding smoothed out and everything is how it should be! Now get off my lawn before I make you! And never talk to my family again! Better yet, get outta town and take the terrorist group with you!" The front door bursts open and Maddie storms in, fuming, her husband behind her. He looks really proud, radiating pride.

The door is slammed behind them and suddenly Danny is being hugged tightly by his mom.

"Mom! Suffocating me! Might not always need air but I do right now!" He pats his mom's back. She gives one last squeeze before letting him go, not removing her hands from his shoulders.

"We'll sort this out, we'll get them to back off." She's determined. He just hopes that it's true.

(also posted on ao3)

The Justice League are asked by the United States government for help in apprehending an unknown meta:

Batman: This is Phantom. He’s a meta, wanted for crimes against the United States government. His crimes include destruction of property, robbery, and attempting to rip a hole in between realms. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Superman: He’s… just a boy.

Batman: And an asteroid is just a rock. In comparison to a planet or a sun, it is very small. But the destruction it can do is unfathomable. We can’t underestimate him.

Wonder Woman: What can he do?

Green Lantern: *flipping through files* His power set is… disturbing. I’m not sure how reliable these claims are but it appears he has ice and energy abilities.

Batman: I plan on looking into his power set before we attempt to apprehend him. We head out to Amity Park Illinois in three hours.

[ectokelpeigh]

No One Knows AU is so great for so many reasons but I have this one scenario bouncing around in my head and given today's DannyMay theme it seems like a good time to slosh it into the hellsite blender:

Phantom and Danny Fenton hate each other.

We're going with my favorite flavor: Sam and Tucker don't really know Danny Fenton and befriend Phantom separately/first. (Maybe the Fentons are new in town or something. Not important) Also @artistfingers's Undercover Phantom AU lives rent free in my head so if any of this looks familiar... yea

-Once Danny befriends Sam and Tucker as Phantom, he avoids them as much as he can when he's human. Less opportunity for them to make the connection, especially since knows he has the finesse of a baby giraffe in roller skates. Because Sam and Tucker are Good Guys I'd love to assert that "of course they'd see Danny sitting alone at lunch and invite him over!" or something. And I think they might! But it's not a given IMO.

-Anyway as Sam and Tucker bond with Phantom, it becomes more evident that there's some kind of connection between Phantom and Danny. Maybe something makes them suspicious of Danny. For example the Fentons come up in conversation and

Phantom: I'd steer clear of that family if I were you

Sam & Tucker: ok yeah if we were you we'd avoid the parents too, but the kids seem harmless? their son is actually in our grade and we can't tell if he's lonely or just tired

Phantom (because I love Danny but can be stoopid): No! Especially avoid their son!

Danny was trying to cover his own ass and they interpret it as Phantom being afraid of Danny and assume there's unsavory history.

-Sam and Tucker happen to ask their good buddy Phantom why he and the rest of the ghosts suddenly showed up in Amity Park one day when Danny happens to be in a terrible mood. Just had one of those days. His life is falling to shit because he's living two lives and even his two new friends can't support all of him, you know?

In canon he has a strong sense of duty to protect AP but IIRC they never make the connection to him triggering the ghost influx and any consequential guilt/blame. I think not having Sam and Tucker as a support system from the start would push this over the edge.

-So he's feeling down on himself. Inadequate. But he can't say exactly why he's requesting an 'F' in the chat for respeccs because it's all very human drama and he's not a great liar, so he just rants about his human self in the third person.

It's cathartic. Too cathartic. He gets a liiiiiiiiiittle carried away. He gets to admit to (perceived) responsibility without the pitying looks and cold comfort. Most people's automatic response to "I messed up" is "no you didn't!!", and sometimes that's not what you want/need to hear, you know?

-...remember how I said he gets "a little carried away"? By that I mean he reveals (as Phantom) that Danny Fenton turned on the ghost portal and let all the ghosts loose in Amity Park, and now he (Phantom) has been cleaning up his mess all by himself while Danny has done nothing.

-Of course the subtext here is that Danny feels like he's only useful as Phantom. He never felt particularly remarkable before the accident. Since then he's been struggling with grades more than ever, his family is worried because he's been distant, etc. And of course he finally makes friends but they don't like the real him.

We all know Phantom is also the real him, but to Danny the "him" that goes to school, lives with his family, has actual connections to society did not make these friends. And as you recall in this scenario Danny was actively avoiding Sam and Tucker once they became friends with Phantom. But. Y'know. Brains aren't always logical

-Back to the scene: Phantom barely lets Sam and Tucker get a word in through his rant, and then a ghost attacks and he has to fly off. That was... confusing, to say the least, and that's the last they see/hear of Phantom that day.

-So the next day at school Sam and Tucker sit at Danny's usual lunch table and Sam pokes him awake from his daily nap. They try to broach the subject with a smidgen of tact but of course Danny has a lot more context than they know.

-Danny's not sure how to deal with the situation he created for himself besides digging in his heels + it felt so good ranting the day before that he hardly hesitates before he (as Fenton) launches into a rant about Phantom.

-Even though he's technically dissing their buddy, Sam and Tucker actually walk away with some sympathy for the kid. They come to three conclusions: 1. Turning on the portal was an accident and 2. Danny's beef with Phantom is personal. He doesn't have his parents' animosity towards all ghosts and 3. He's... weirdly easy to talk to? It's like they already know him wow crazy ha ha ha hA hAH AHAH aha. (haha)

-Unfortunately this outburst happened in the cafeteria of a high school and people overheard this extremely juicy development wherein the local loner child of two mad scientists has a personal feud with the controversial town hero/menace. Word does not take long to spread because students and faculty agree that even in a town overrun with ghosts this is the most insane thing they've heard. And everyone has a theory. People spot Phantom patrolling the night sky and shout to him, asking if he'd like to comment on the latest rumor from/about Danny Fenton. Danny routinely forgets he can ignore them, fly away, turn invisible, anything other than dig himself deeper. But hey, it helps him keep his cover at least?

-Fun fact: Jazz knows they're the same person but Danny doesn't know she knows and she's freaking the fuck out over all this apparent self hatred but even she doesn't know where to start to break it down

-All the while Sam and Tucker have been making more of an effort to hang out with Fenton. Danny is... confused by this, to say the least. Figures they're taking pity on the kid since they triggered the blowup that made him look like even more of a freak, and/or they're mining him for more Phantom secrets. A small part of him is also petrified he'll slip and they'll find out he's been lying to them. But he likes them and self restraint has never been his strong suit. Even if they can't really like Danny (Fenton) that much they're nice to him and he has fun with them, and even if he has to keep track of which memories/info he should have access to as his human or ghost self it's nice to always have friends.

-If you want some extra layers of irony: Sam and Tucker keep it a secret from Phantom that they've been hanging out with Fenton, and they hide their friendship with Phantom from Fenton. But Danny can't call them out on it without revealing that he's been lying to them about being Fenton and Phantom. It's the Mexican standoff from the Ghost Zone hell.

-I'll let you all decide just how far the miscommunications go. Maybe Tucker lets it slip to Phantom that he and Sam are friends with Fenton now and instead of taking this prime opportunity to come clean himself, Danny panics and reacts hurt or outraged (and really sells it, even if the real fuel behind his distress is guilt). Orrrrrrr Danny loses track of the half-truths and references something Sam told Phantom as Fenton. Etc.

-Don't worry guys I'm all about the wholesome endings: One day Phantom is going off about Danny Fenton, and Sam and Tucker do their best to validate Phantom's frustrations, but Danny is totally blown away when they finally stick up for Fenton. To his face. They say that's it, they've heard enough, those two obviously have a complicated history but some of the things Phantom says about Danny are just unfair. As the only two people to know Danny and Phantom both personally, Sam and Tucker have concluded that they have the authority to declare neither are menaces, or useless, or have "stupid hair", thanks. ("Both your senses of style, on the other hand..." "Hey!") Opening the portal was an accident. Fenton doesn't need to be useful, he's a kid. A kid in a tough situation doing his best just like themselves, like Phantom, like anyone else. Sam and Tucker don't have powers, are they useless? No. And Danny and Phantom might even get along if they can just cool down (LOL) and talk it out. But he has to stop. Danny Fenton is their friend.

-Phantom's standing there with his jaw on the floor. They said everything he needed to hear, having no way of knowing it's what he wanted to hear. Quite the opposite, actually. His feet touch down on the floor, his voice has lost most of its haunting echo when he says, "I'm your friend?"

This confuses Tucker and Sam: yeah?? but that's not the point?? We're saying DANNY is also— OH FUCK

(Phantom just turned into Fenton)

[phantomrose96]

Fenton Fact

Danny leaned back against the red brick chimney of the Casper High roof, and he looked across the stretch of land rolling far off from the building top. For a place so off-limits, so hidden-away from the normal bustle of the school, the view really wasn’t anything special. Sure, the school was decently tall, but it overlooked the staff parking lot, and the empty Casper High tennis courts, and the back of a strip mall two blocks over with the recently-haunted laundromat.

Not that it mattered. It took more than tall-building-views to impress Danny anyway, even the nice ones. And he wasn’t up here for the view.

Danny let his eyes drift shut.

“Sup loner, room for one more?”

Danny startled, and it wasn’t Sam’s voice specifically that startled him. (He’d grown used to her bursting from his Fenton Phone earpiece during most nightly patrols.) He’d just lulled himself a bit too comfortably into the idea that no other human could follow him to the top of the locked rooftop of the Casper High building.

“Did I just surprise a ghost?” Sam asked. “Should I do it again with a ‘boo’?”

“Haha,” Danny answered with a fake chuckle. He blinked himself back to prickly awareness, drowsiness batted away like dust bunnies, and stared up at Sam. “I’m not surprised. I just wasn’t expecting anyone else to be on the roof. How did you even—”

Sam was a few steps ahead of him. In explanation, she waggled the Fenton-branded grappling hook gripped in hand.

Danny leaned back with a faux-exasperated sigh. “Since when do you even have a grappling hook?”

“Since I told your mom it would be a wildly cool line of gear to add to the Fenton brand.”

“Does this mean my mom now has a grappling hook too?”

“Yes. And your dad. And Jazz. And Tucker.”

“Great. When I go home and all the ceiling fans are torn down I’ll know why.”

A gentle silence lapsed over them, punctuated with the swell of fall wind.

“So…” Sam continued. “Can I sit here?”

“Huh?” Danny looked at her, anchoring his drifting thoughts once more. “Oh, yeah. I thought the ‘yeah’ was implied.” Danny shuffled a bit to the side, back still resting against the chimney. He patted the spot he cleared. “What am I gonna tell you? No?”

“Just making sure.” Sam stowed the grappling hook to the side of her belt and settled into the spot beside Danny, feet outstretched. “In case maybe you wanted some alone time.”

“’Alone time’ isn’t really something I get anymore. I’ve had about a hundred-too-many ghosts crash through my bedroom for that.”

“So why the roof?”

“Roof is more for uh…” Danny twirled his hand, “‘less adoring crowds’ time. ‘Less classmates ogling me’ time. You can stay so long as you don’t ask me to sign anything.”

“I was never interested in the parasocial or capitalistic value of celebrity signatures. Besides, you cross your ‘t’s weird.”

Danny replied with a half-hearted chuckle. His line of sight drifted into the middle-distance again, unfocused.

“Is it getting to be too much?” Sam asked.

“Hmm?” Danny answered, eyes shifting back to her.

Sam gestured broadly, hands and arms outstretched. “You know just. All this. Everything.”

“…Nah.”

Another small silence grew from the cracks in the concrete between them.

“Paulina and Star are looking for you. You know that, right?”

“Oh, are they?”

“Danny. You knew that.”

“Maybe.”

“…And you’re not interested in seeing what they want?”

“I figure Tucker is keeping them busy.”

“You’re unfortunately right.”

“Phantom Phacts?”

“Phantom Phacts.” Sam nodded. “I made him promise to leave out any embarrassing trivia from the trivia section.”

“Thanks for that,” Danny answered. “Is his presentation any good?”

“You think I’ve ever stuck around to hear it?”

“Fair.”

Sam pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and set her chin to her knees, staring forward.

“You’re really not interested in sitting with Star and Paulina for lunch?”

“Not really. Why? Is that bad?”

“No, it’s absolutely great. But I’m…” Sam shrugged, “surprised, I guess. I feel like usually you’d jump at the opportunity. And I kinda don’t think you’re refusing because you’ve suddenly recognized the banality of A-lister status.”

“Maybe that is what happened, you don’t know that. Down with capitalism, Sam.”

“Danny.” Sam tilted a fraction to face him. “I’m worried that this is all too much for you, and you just won’t admit it.”

Danny sat with the silence that followed. “I don’t think it’s too much. I’m just—I dunno. I mean. I’m just not feeling it.”

“…You can admit if it’s overwhelming, Danny. I’ll be the first to shut down ‘Phantom Phacts’ if it is.”

“Nah, nah let Tucker have his fun. He’s not the problem. It’s… I dunno.” Danny pushed himself taller against the chimney, upright now and unslumped. “It’s a little bit overwhelming, I guess, maybe. But it’s kind of what I expected. Maybe even a little easier than I was expecting. I thought I’d be dealing with a lot of Phantom-hate once everyone knew but, I guess that kind of died down a long time before everyone knew.”

“Valerie holding you at gunpoint in the cafeteria wasn’t Phantom-hate?”

“We’ve had a lot of good talks since then, okay?”

Sam let out a quiet laugh. “So then… why aren’t you sitting with the popular kids right now?”

“I just didn’t want to, I guess?”

“And why didn’t you want to?”

“It just didn’t really feel right.”

“Is it because of me?” Sam asked, another side-long glance cast to Danny. “Because you can sit with them. I’ll still make fun of you if you do, but you don’t have to… not sit with them because of me.”

“What? Huh—no. Nah, nah I mean I do care what you think Sam. But I mean if I wanted to be sitting with them then I would so. I mean. You don’t have to worry that it’s you.”

“So then what is it?”

Danny took a moment to answer.

“It’s just… it’s a feeling. I dunno. Like.” Danny spread his arms out. “The invitation is wrong? Or the invitation isn’t actually for me?”

“…The invitation is for Phantom instead?”

Pensive indecision set into Danny’s eyes. “That’s not totally it. Because I mean I AM Phantom. I’m not not me when I’m Phantom. Maybe I trash-talk a little more in ghost form but I’m not… not me. That’s still just me. You know that.”

“Right, yeah, no Danny. It just sounded like that’s what you were saying.” Sam let her legs slide out a few inches. “So what are you saying?”

Danny sat with the question. “When the news first picked up on Phantom, way back when—Inviso-Bill?—that wasn’t really anyone, you know? They made up some spooky icon to make the news about. Which was just like, whatever, not me. I didn’t even take ‘Inviso-Bill’ too personally because that just wasn’t me. And even when I stopped being an enemy and started actually being ‘Danny Phantom’… no one actually got it right, you know? They kind of came up with a character for me. Just some hero. I listen to the news and how they talk about me and I think, even now, I think ‘That isn’t me.’”

Danny pulled his knees in, a mirror to Sam, and stared down into his tattered jean fabric. “And when everyone learned I’m Phantom I guess I kind of expected them to be like ‘Oh it’s Fenton’ and then that fake version of Phantom would go away.” Danny raised his eyes to Sam, far more bothered than before. “…I think the opposite happened. They don’t look at Phantom and think ‘oh it’s Fenton’. They look at Fenton and think ‘oh it’s Phantom.’ I think Danny Fenton got put away. I think the person I was for 14 years doesn’t exist to them anymore. Whoever they invited to lunch isn’t me. He doesn’t exist. But I’m suddenly responsible for him. And it’s not even me.”

Danny paused. “And now I’ve been wondering like… how long until I disappoint them? You know? How long until I do something that makes them angry because I’m not doing the thing they expect ‘Phantom’ to do? How long until they start seeing there’s too much ‘Fenton’ in me and they start to hate me for it all over again? For them to really like me, I don’t think I can be me, and I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to be someone who doesn’t just disappoint everyone in the end.”

A long gust of wind swept between them, stealing away the seconds.

“…So now you’re hiding on the roof.”

“It was the easiest solution to my problem.”

“But not a lasting one, if you ever want to get down.” The wind settled, and Sam swept a lock of hair behind her ear. “…Do you care if you disappoint them?”

Danny shrugged. “I. Yeah. I think. I don’t—I don’t think I totally know for certain, but I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“Well, you’re not going to disappoint me, or Jazz, or Tucker—and if Tucker does act disappointed over any lost Phantom Phacts ventures I’ll whap him over the head. But I mean, we know who you are. We’re not going to be disappointed realizing you’re not ‘Phantom.’ The worst you can do is land right back where you started.”

“And what if I started acting like ‘Phantom’ instead. Would that disappoint you guys?”

“Do you want to act like ‘Phantom’?”

Danny paused. “…No. Not at all.”

“Then don’t. It’s that simple.” Sam stood, and she stretched until her back popped. “It’s not your responsibility to uphold whatever delusions people project onto you. I won’t hesitate to call them out on it. You know I’m good at being direct, and you know I’m even better at making enemies.”

“I don’t wanna be mean to them though when they’re finally being nice.”

“They’re not being nice, they’re projecting. If their niceness to you is conditional on you fitting to the box they created for you, that’s not nice, that’s manipulation, and it’s exactly the root of my ever-frothing disdain for popularity. It’s always some element about popular people that people latch on to, and they can fit the box that people give them, or they can reject it and find themselves wallowing amongst us outcasts. Don’t do that to yourself, Danny. Don’t live in their chains.” Sam tilted her head to Danny. “You spend all day trapping ghosts into tight little boxes and you can’t even recognize when it’s happening to you. I think you’d be better at spotting this.”

“It’s a cylinder, really. The thermos. It’s a cylinder. And don’t say ‘box’ so much. You might summon company.”

“You just said ‘box’ though.”

“I did say ‘box’.”

“Box.”

“Box.”

Sam laughed, noise trailing light on her lips. “…Feeling any better?”

“A little, I think… I still… I still think I... it's not as easy to just say 'I don't care if I disappoint them.' It's still scary. I don’t want to end up proving them right that they were right to hate me all along.”

“Are the opinions of Dash Baxter really the ones to be holding on a pedestal? Is his opinion of you really more important than what you think of yourself? You’ve been through this with the A-listers already. Don’t torture yourself again just because the door is wide open. I promise you Danny, it won’t make you happy.”

“So I should just do whatever makes me happy?”

“Every time.” Sam nodded.

"Even if I'm a total disappointing loser?"

"All the better."

"Even if I blow any chance I have with Paulina out the window?"

“Wouldn't have it any other way. Got any idea what you intend to say to her when she finds you?”

Danny paused. He pushed himself standing. “Maybe I could talk her ear off about NASA until she gets bored of me?”

“Excellent. Can I join? I have a lot to say about SpaceX and private capital encroaching on space exploration.”

“Does that apply to me? I’ve been to space. Am I private capital?”

“You’re not private capital.”

“Then what am I?”

“Annoying.” Sam locked arms with Danny, and dragged him along forward, her combat boots clunking against the rooftop. “And my friend. Come on. I’ll brief you on everything wrong with privately-owned space exploration while we’re rappelling down the side of the building with my sick and cool as hell grappling hook.”

“I can fly.”

“And I have a sick grappling hook. What’s your point.”

“It’s probably called a ‘Fenton Hook.’”

“Is that a Phantom Phact?”

Danny shook his head, and a smile pulled on his lips. “Nah. I think it’s a Fenton Fact.”

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Grabbing Smoke

As much time as Sam spent with her best friends, sometimes she enjoyed a little bit of time alone.

Tucker was helping his mother bake cookies for some kind of fundraiser for the hospital, and Danny was busy visiting Pandora for fighting lessons. Apparently they were using swords today.

As fun as it sounded, Sam opted to stay behind, it had been a while since she'd been down to the park to feed the ducks. She didn't get quiet moments like that very often any more.

There was an uncharacteristic skip to her gait as she walked to the park, a canvas tote bag swinging from her arm.

Living in Amity Park, and especially hanging around with Danny, gave her an eerie sense to when something was amiss. Nothing quite like Danny's ghost sense, but she'd learned to detect a particular chill to the air, a prickling at the back of her neck. It could easily be mistaken for a chilly breeze, but Sam knew better. The crunch of gravel under Sam's boots was the only sound permeating the still air, not even the trees were rustling.

She continued her walk through the park, past the wishing fountain and through a trail where the trees grew slightly more dense.

The trail opened up to a large pond, it wasn't anything especially picturesque, the reeds were a little overgrown, the ground was muddy, but there were a few simple weather worn benches by the path that looped around the water.

Sam took a seat, pulling out a bag of frozen peas. She opened it, tipped a few into her hand and tossed them into the water.

The ducks immediately sped across the pond toward her, fighting for the peas that the turtles hadn't already gotten to.

Instead of grabbing another handful, she held the bag out to the empty seat to her left, waiting for a moment before shaking the bag impatiently.

A green hand slipped into the bag, pulling out a handful of peas before tossing them into the water.

"How'd you know I was here?" Kitty asked, now sitting visibly on the other end of the bench as Sam poured out more peas for both of them.

"I have my ways." Sam smirked. "What I want to know is why you've been following me all week."

"You knew for that long and you didn't say nothin'?" Kitty huffed. "Damn, I gotta up my game."

A duck waddled up and nibbled on her boot.

"Alright alright, ya hungry little doofus." Kitty lowered a hand full of peas and cooed as the duck happily ate from her palm. "Aww these guys aren't shy at all, do you come here a lot?"

"When I can." Sam tossed a few more peas into the water for the turtles. "So why are you following me?"

Kitty sat back and pressed her lips together, thinking.

"Look it's just... I don't remember much from when I was livin', you know? It's all sorta grey and fuzzy, I can't remember what anyone looked like, except Johnny." she tossed some peas to a smaller duck at the back of the group. "But as soon as I showed up here in town and I saw your face, I thought I felt... I dunno, somethin'. Like I'd seen you before, or maybe you just reminded me of someone, but I can't remember who, it's like grabbing smoke."

She lobbed a few peas a little harder than was necessary at the water. The turtles sucked them up greedily.

"So you've just been following me hoping you might remember something else?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Kitty sighed. "But it's not working."

Sam swung her foot idly between a pair of scuffling ducks, splitting them up before tossing out some more peas.

"Maybe I'm related to someone you knew. Where did you grow up?"

Kitty frowned down at the water.

"I... I don't know." she said, deflating somewhat. "I didn't even realise I forgot that."

Sam couldn't help but feel for her, Danny had told her that ghosts would often forget things from their past, especially once they'd been dead for longer than they'd been alive. Somehow she had never really considered how terrifying that must be.

"You know..." Sam started carefully. "I could show you some old family photos. Maybe you'll recognise someone?"

Kitty looked up, eyes shining brightly.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Why not?" Sam shrugged. "If you were here to cause trouble you would have done it by now."

"Aw, I never thought you'd wanna do something like that for me." said Kitty, smiling brightly. "You always seemed like such a bitch."

Sam laughed.

"If you'd spent a week being someone that wasn't Paulina, I would probably have seemed like less of a bitch."

"So you guys are big rivals or somethin'?" Kitty asked, grabbing some more peas and giggling as three ducks tried to eat from her hand at once.

"It's more that we have... conflicting ideologies. She thinks that appearances and reputation are the most important things in life, just like my parents." Sam lobbed some more peas into the water, they both watched them disappear as the turtles quickly snapped them up. "It's shallow and stupid, and I don't get why they have to push that shit on everyone. I don't care what people think, I just want to be whoever the hell I wanna be without having to fight for it all the time."

Kitty's face turned contemplative as she tapped her nails on the back of the bench.

"I think... I was like that." she said, slowly. "I wanted to feel fun and exciting, but my parents..."

She trailed off, frowning.

"My parents... I didn't like them. They didn't like me bein' the way I was, I can't really remember why."

Sam emptied out the last of the peas and scattered them over the ground, she scrunched up the empty packet and shoved it back into her tote bag.

"You know, if we went to school together we would probably have gotten along." said Sam as she stood up, gesturing toward the path. "Let's go check out those photos."

Instead of floating invisibly behind, Kitty walked by Sam's side as they headed back to her house. She idly waved at people as they drove past, grinning when someone stared a little too long and almost ran a red light.

"You know, it's nice bein' able to walk around in the day." Kitty said, skipping a little. "Wish I could do it more often."

"What's stopping you?"

"What do you think?" Kitty's lip pulled up in disgust. "Any time I show up your dumb friend sucks me up in his stupid thermos. Only reason I can walk around right now is because I got you as my get out of jail free card."

"Danny doesn't care if you just want to walk around." Sam scoffed. "He lets ghosts wander around town all the time, he only gets involved when you start breaking things."

"Uggghhh but just walking around is so boring." Kitty pouted. "I mean yeah it's nice and I like it but it gets old real quick."

"Then you'll have to get used to getting tossed back in the ghost zone. Do not pass go, do not collect $200."

"Don't you ever get sick of his goody goody attitude?" Kitty asked. "I mean you and I aren't so different right? You're all about the rebel gig, don't you ever feel like keyin' some asshole's car, or takin' a baseball bat to some mail boxes?"

"Only if they deserve it." said Sam with a smirk. "But I feel like you aren't especially picky about whose stuff you're breaking."

They approached the door to the Manson mansion, Sam hopped up the steps and stuck the key in the lock. She touched the mezuzah on the doorpost without a second thought before opening the door and standing aside to invite Kitty in.

The ghost stared up at her warily.

"I can't get past it."

"Past what?" Sam asked.

"The mezuzah, it keeps me out."

"What?" Sam frowned. "It hasn't stopped other ghosts from getting in."

"Well it stops me." Kitty insisted. "I think it's got somethin' to do with what we believed in when we were alive. I haven't got a problem with churches but when Johnny tried to ride his bike through one he couldn't get in. His mom raised him Catholic, he says he doesn't believe in any of that stuff, but I think he still does, deep down."

"So does that mean you were Jewish?" Sam asked, smiling curiously.

"I AM Jewish." Kitty crossed her arms. "Bein' a ghost hasn't changed that, it just... means that we got a few things a little wrong."

Sam thought about that for a moment, before stepping aside and gesturing toward the door again.

"Well, if you've been invited and you're not going to cause any trouble, then I don't see why you shouldn't be able to come in."

Kitty climbed the steps slowly, fingers reaching out and cautiously brushing over the mezuzah, she didn't feel anything unusual, no zap or burn or pain. She took a step through the doorway and passed the threshold without issue, no invisible force or barrier like the last time she tried to follow Sam inside.

"Well, what do you know." she said, grinning.

Sam lead her into a large, open planned kitchen and dining area, the tiles were bright white save for the specks of mud Sam's boots tracked through the room. The decor was minimalist, the atmosphere bland and sterile, she could smell some kind of citrus surface cleaner.

The back wall was all windows, leading to a patio surrounded by perfectly trimmed grass. As they approached, Sam turned, heading towards a door to their right.

The next room felt a lot more friendly, it was full of bookshelves and red tones. The lounges looked soft and inviting, a fireplace sat cold and empty against the back wall, but Kitty didn't have to try hard to imagine it roaring to life, filling the room with its warm glow.

"This is basically my Grandma's part of the house." Sam informed her, voice low. "Her bedroom is just through there, she's usually napping around this time of day so try not to make too much noise."

Kitty slipped off her jacket and laid it over the back of the lounge, already feeling at home in the cosy little room. She looked over the books as Sam fussed around some kind of large ornate chest.

"Here it is." She hefted a large photo album from the chest, carefully closing and latching it again. "Let's see if you recognise anyone in here."

Kitty sat down beside Sam as she opened up the pristine book, the outer cover was beige with the name Manson inscribed in golden cursive on the front. The first page was full of old faded photos, in greyscale or sepia tones.

"Ugh, I'm not that old." said Kitty, flicking ahead a few pages.

The pictures were colourful now, but still grainy, there was a young blonde boy in seventies style jeans leaning casually against a Chevrolet.

"Wait hold up," Kitty pointed at the boy. "Him, I feel like I've seen him before."

"That's my dad." said Sam, surprised. "His name is Jeremy, did you know him?"

Kitty hummed a little, gently tracing a finger over the picture.

"Jeremy... Jeremy, I'm not sure," she frowned. "But he definitely looks familiar."

They continued through the book, when suddenly Kitty slapped her hand down roughly on a photo of a pair of young women.

"Her! I know her! She was a mega bitch!"

"Shhh keep it down." Sam hissed.

"Sorry," Kitty pointed to the blonde girl in the photo. "That one! I don't know how I knew her, but I definitely knew her. She was a total brat."

Sam slipped the photo out of its sleeve and read the neat cursive on the back.

"This is... my Aunt Caroline, in 1985. She's my dad's sister." Sam looked up at Kitty, amused. "I can't believe you had beef with my family."

"Your family are snobs." Kitty sniffed. "Carrie was such a ditz, she thought she was sooo bitchin' because her daddy bought her a Mercedes."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sam grimaced. "Did you guys go to school together or something?"

"Maybe..." Kitty took the photo from Sam's hand, staring intently. "I'm pretty sure I skipped school a lot, I hated it there. It was a private school, we had to wear uniforms, barf."

"I would never have guessed you were a private school kid." Sam shook her head. "But most people would say that about me so it's not like I can judge."

"You went to private school?" Kitty asked, "How'd you end up in that Casper High dump?"

"Got myself expelled." said Sam, voice thick with pride. "Elementary, middle and high school, got kicked out of all three."

"Damn, you're good."

Sam grinned, slipping the photo back in its sleeve and continuing to the next page.

Kitty pointed to a few other photos, remarking on their familiarity, but not quite able to grasp how she knew them, the memories only flickered in her periphery.

"Wait," Kitty whispered, fingers brushing over a polaroid containing three people. "This is..."

The picture looked as though it were taken at some kind of party, a man and a woman faced the camera, each with a glass of champagne raised in their hands. The woman's other hand rested on the shoulder of a teenage girl with auburn hair, pulled into a tidy braid. She stared glumly at the camera.

"That's Katherine." Sam said, pointing to the girl. "She was my dad's cousin, but she got hit by a car when she was-"

Sam paused, looking over at Kitty's wide eyes and then back to the photo.

"Noooo way." Sam pulled the photo out of the sleeve. "Is this you?"

Kitty took the photo in trembling hands.

"I... I forgot I used to look like that." she fiddled with a lock of her green, teased hair. "I remember this party, I didn't want to go but mom and dad threatened to take away all my records and cassettes if I didn't."

Sam stared at Kitty, mouth agape.

"You're Car Crash Katherine?! My dad talks about you all the time! He always told me about the shit you used to get up to, he'd tell me that any kind of 'rebellious behaviour' was a slippery slope to 'dying on the back of some delinquent's motorcycle'." Sam put a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "You were my bad influence role model."

Kitty's red eyes shone with tears, photo still in hand, she wrapped her arms around Sam.

"This is majorly wicked! My legacy lives on! Corrupting the youth from beyond the grave!" Kitty laughed. "My parents would go totally mental."

She stopped laughing, her face turning forlorn as she drew back from Sam and stared down at the picture.

"Are they still alive?" she asked, a tremble in her voice.

"Yeah..." said Sam. "They live in a retirement home in Florida. They don't come around very often."

Kitty traced a finger over their faces.

"I wonder if they miss me." she said quietly. "Or if they were glad to be rid of the family embarrassment."

Sam didn't answer, she had wondered the same thing herself, if her parents would even care if she died. They hadn't given her a lot of reason to think they would.

She rested a sympathetic hand on Kitty's arm.

"Oh, you have a friend over bubbeleh?" a croaky voice spoke from the bedroom doorway.

Sam and Kitty both turned to see Ida Manson shuffling into the room, cleaning her glasses with her sleeve.

"Sorry Grandma, we didn't mean to be too loud." Sam apologised. "This is my... um, friend, Kitty. Kitty this is my Grandma Ida-"

"Ida?!" Kitty shot to her feet, staring in shock at the old woman. "Aunt Ida?!"

Ida squinted at Kitty, before quickly setting her glasses back on her face.

"Well as I live and breath, is that you Kathy?"

"Oh my god this is getting super weird." Sam whispered.

Kitty leapt over the ottoman to wrap Ida up in a tight hug, the old woman was surprised for a moment, but held her warmly in return.

"It's me Aunt Ida! Not really living or breathing but it's me!" Kitty laughed breathlessly.

"Oh my goodness, when all the ghosts started showing up all over town I wondered if I would ever see someone I knew." She rubbed comforting circles on Kitty's back as the ghost choked on a few sobs. "It's good to see you again Kathy."

Ida pulled away and wiped a tear from Kitty's face.

"And I'm so glad you aren't stuck wearing what your parents buried you in."

Kitty couldn't help but laugh through her tears.

"Let me guess, it was that putrid blue dress, wasn't it?"

"The dress wasn't nearly as bad as what they did to your hair." Ida snickered, patting Kitty's hand. "It had little ribbons in it and everything."

"I almost forgot you." Kitty placed her palm gently against Ida's face. "You were the only one in the family who ever loved me for being me, and I almost forgot you. I'm so sorry, I should have come to find you sooner but I just-"

"Shhhh, it's okay bubbeleh." Ida grasped her hand tight. "I think being dead is a pretty good excuse for forgetting a few things."

Sam stood beside the lounge, watching the two in shock, she wasn't entirely certain whether or not to intrude. Whatever she had been expecting to discover with Kitty today, it certainly hadn't been this.

Though in hindsight, it did explain Kitty's familiarity with Sam, people always said she had taken after her Grandma.

Ida let go of Kitty and hobbled over to the photo album still sitting on the lounge.

"Oh you don't want to look at that album." she said, as she shoved it onto the coffee table. She wandered to the other side of the room and began rummaging around in a small cupboard. "You want this one."

She pulled out a book with well worn, peeling edges. Pieces of the plastic sleeves had cracked off and crumbled away. It was old, and weatherbeaten, it was obvious that Ida had looked through it many many times.

"Here we go." she sat down in the middle of the lounge, gesturing for the two girls to come sit beside her. "These are the forbidden photos."

She opened the pages, the photos inside were entirely different from the 'official' album, there were no perfectly poised, prim and proper photos of people in nice, presentable clothes. They were all candid shots, people in the middle of eating or laughing, some were stumbling around blind drunk, a few were smoking joints. There were pictures from parties and protest rallies, in backyards and drive ins.

There was a picture of Jeremy as a young boy, grinning with one of his front teeth missing and grass in his hair.

"Only in this family would losing your baby teeth make a photo 'unsavoury'." Ida grizzled as she continued through the album. "I saved so many pictures that my husband would have thrown out otherwise."

"Ugh, Uncle Peter was such a prude, he wouldn't even let me in the house if I didn't have my shoulders covered up." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"He used to be so much more relaxed when we were young." Ida sighed. "He changed when he inherited his father's business, he forgot how to have fun."

A few pages later Kitty squealed in excitement.

"Oh my god! That's Frankie! She was my best friend, we used to do everything together!"

The Kitty in the photo looked far more like the Kitty Sam knew. Her hair was teased up, and she was wearing a crop top and a miniskirt. The other girl, Frankie, had short curled hair and a leather jacket. They each had an arm around the others' shoulder and grinned wildly.

"I love this one." Ida smiled as she pulled the picture out of the sleeve. "That was the night I gave you a lift to that concert."

"Oh that show was sooo good! I got my nose pierced there! It got so infected, Mom grounded me for a month." Kitty laughed.

"Man, and I thought I was cool for skipping school to go see Circus Gothica." Sam grinned. "I'm gonna have to come home with a tattoo next time."

"I can't believe I forgot about Frankie, I can't believe I forgot about all of this." Kitty held the photo close to her chest, a few tears running down her face. "I'm so glad it's not gone for good."

She kept the photo in hand as they looked through the rest of the album. There were many pictures of Ida, all of them with other people of all walks of life.

"Oh this was when you took us to that pride parade!" Kitty smiled. "You made Frankie so happy, and you knew a lot of the drag queens there, like a LOT."

"Grandma took me to a drag show when I was 10," said Sam. "Even took me backstage to meet them all, my parents thought we went to the theatre to see Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh I have photos from that." Ida flipped through the pages, getting closer to the end of the album. "Here we are, oh Evelyn just LOVED you."

Sam looked at the picture of Evelyn, frowning slightly.

"Oh weird, she kinda looks like Mr Lancer's sister, he keeps her photo on his desk..." Sam paused as she processed what she just said. "That's not his sister is it?"

"You probably shouldn't bring it up." said Ida gently. "Teachers can get in trouble for associating with this sort of thing."

"That's so bogus!" Kitty cried. "I really thought this kinda stuff would be better in the future!"

"It is," Ida assured her. "But we're a long way from perfect."

Ida flipped back through the album, searching for more pictures of Kitty and Frankie. There were a good few of them, each one Ida pulled out and passed over for Kitty to look at and hold onto.

"Oh woah, is that Johnny?" Sam pointed to a picture of Kitty sitting on the back of a motorcycle with a blonde boy. "He looks exactly the same, just a little less pale."

"Oh, did Johnny come back as a ghost too?" Ida asked.

"Yeah! We've been together all this time, in sickness and in death." Kitty beamed. "Mom and dad blamed him for everything I did, even if he wasn't around when I did it. They said him and Frankie were 'corrupting' me."

She rolled her eyes.

"I bet they blamed him for my death too. They'd be so mad if they knew we were still together."

"Just goes to show they had no chance of keeping you two apart." Ida said. "Not even death could do that."

Kitty held the photo tight in both hands, her shoulders began to shake slightly.

"It was my fault you know." she said with a trembling little giggle. "Funny huh? My parents always blamed him for everything, but in the end it was my fault we got hit. We were havin' a fight over somethin' stupid and I distracted him-"

Ida wrapped an arm around Kitty, patting her head comfortingly as she laid it against the old woman's shoulder.

"I think you're being too hard on yourself bubbeleh." Ida whispered gently into her hair. "It was raining, the truck that hit you was running a red light, the driver was charged for both your deaths. Even if you did distract him, you weren't the only card at play that night."

She gave Kitty a light shake.

"And don't think I didn't see the way Johnny used to drive that thing, he was reckless. I have no doubt that he wasn't paying as much attention as he should have been." She placed a kiss on the girl's forehead and squeezed her tight. "It's not fair to hold all of that responsibility on yourself, even if you both did everything right, that truck still would have run that red light, it still would have been raining. It was just pure rotten luck."

Sam had never heard a ghost talk about their death before, even Danny didn't like talking about his accident, and asking about it was incredibly taboo. Sam had been pushing her luck earlier just by mentioning the car crash.

It said a lot about Kitty's love for Ida that she chose to open up about it. Sam couldn't say she was surprised, her Grandma had always been like that. Never anything but an endless well of love and support, and the occasional kick in the pants if you needed it.

"Johnny's always had rotten luck." Kitty sniffed. "Follows him like a shadow."

"Literally." Sam snorted.

After a few more moments, Ida pulled herself away from Kitty, she got up and began rooting through the cupboards, muttering to herself.

"Aha, here it is."

She brought over an empty photo album, it was roughly the size of a small pocketbook, containing only one photo sleeve per page.

"I meant to fill this with photos for Sam to keep." Ida admitted as she shuffled back over to the girls. "But I don't think she'll mind donating it to a good cause."

She winked at Sam, who nodded back.

"Here," Ida pressed the little album into Kitty's hands. "Memories are a fickle thing, but photos are forever."

"I can't take these!" Kitty insisted, pushing the album back. "They're your memories too!"

"Oh my god you're both so old." Sam laughed, "Dad has a printer/scanner. I can make copies."

As Sam took the polaroids to her dad's office, Ida and Kitty pored over the rest of the album, Kitty picking out more photos to copy. She chose a few of Ida and Sam, and even one of Carrie.

"She was a total loser and I hated her but I don't hate remembering her, you know? I want to remember everything, even the bad stuff."

She took a photo of her parents, just one.

When Sam came back with the last batch of photos, Ida finished slipping them into the little album.

"There's still a few sleeves left." Sam pointed out, holding up her phone with a smile. "We've got room for a couple of family reunion pics."

The two girls squished up against Ida as Sam snapped as many shots as she could. Ones where they smiled, ones where they laughed, ones where they laid haphazardly across the lounge together.

Then Sam took a few candids of just Kitty and Ida, as they looked through the new album they'd just made together. Capturing Kitty laughing at something as Ida looked at her with a soft, loving smile.

Kitty clutched the album to her chest as she gave Ida a long, drawn out hug.

"Thank you so much." she said, her voice thick with gratitude. "It's like I can see my life in colour again."

She left the house with the assurance that she would always be welcome back, at any time, and a promise that she would always be looking out for her 'new favourite cousin'.

Sam flicked through the photos she took on her phone, she would have to make sure to have copies printed by the time Kitty returned to visit.

She knew Kitty coming over regularly was going to make things complicated, her apparent newfound protectiveness over Sam could potentially backfire in many spectacular ways, she was petty and troublesome when in the right mood.

But then again, so was Ida, and so was Sam.

At least she had better things to do now than beat up strangers' mail boxes, Danny was certainly going to be glad to hear that.

[currentfandomkick]

Honestly? Add more fuel to the fire.

The Fentons think that Danny was kidnapped by an ecto-entity (Talia) and enchanted their baby boy like Ember can, in some attempt to replace a child of hers who moved on.

Danny is under a thrall and must be saved!

The fentons can even pull in Uncle John if you want to add Constantine, as ecto-entities can include varied beings that are ghost adjacent that are more his speed.

Sam, Tucker and Jazz joined in. As have Val (as red huntress and ghost hunter) and weirdly Wes (boy has Cassandra’s curse and keeps saying that’s Danny’s bio mom ma’am. Good luck getting him back.)

They keep missing Danny.

John put together the Cassandra Curse on Wes and just, asks if Danny is still with his bio family.

Wes: well his father has him in Gotham now and gives off vampire vibes.

Crew haul ass to Gotham and start looking for Danny, while John just tells Bruce a kidnapped ghost hunter’s son is in his city and possible vampire or undead involvement.

Bruce is annoyed but busy getting his first bio kid to integrate into the family and working out why this son’s heart beat is optional to deal with the magic in the city.

If you want Tim to put it together and ask Danny what his foster parents were like (ghost hunters and inventors. Hey, what are the chances i can go back to Illinios?) and finds out they are the Fentons. Looking for an undead adjacent in possession of their son.

And the Bats do pretend to be cryptids…

Tim cackles, and gets Cass to help him return Danny to his folks and friends, with the condition of meeting up on occasion with the Wayne Clan.

Danny just wants to go home and rolls with it.

Talia gets him (again) but this time agrees to let hik remain with his fosters so long as he keeps up his training. She assigns him someone in the League to re-train him.

It is one of Tim’s spies. Who keeps Tim and Talia up to date on danny’s combat skills and notes Danny is intelligent but struggles in school and is prone to sleeping in class.

Tim smells Vigilante Involvement.

Talia sees her son neglecting his health and lectures him about that (in the caring guilt-trip way) and shows up in Amity to Danny taking out Skulker using ghost weaponry as Fenton. He denies everything.

Talia gifts him books on magic and sends a tutor to him. Sam and Tucker join in on these lessons, while Val begins to crash his sparing classes with Jazz.

Wes is seen covering for them.

Talia cooes that her son made his own team of supernatural defenders (not incorrect but not all involved are Team Phantom) and set up the Fentons as researching the properties of ghosts in a more digestible format to science minded individuals (they dis that before he came around).

Talia is now helping hide Danny’s little team from Ra’s as she finds it cute and notes Danny is protecting the barrier between two dimensions from one another, a great feat worthy of her son’s time.

Tim is just. Cackling as every one of Bruce’s kids is a vigilante. And form a team they lead (except Jason, his team has no clear leadership from Tim’s POV) and Danny is clearly using Talia’s support to his advantage.

If Tim takes up a grudge against Vlad after misunderstanding the Dani situation and makes taking out Dalv co’s contractors a personal mission, so be it.

Bruce is not aware of any of this. Danny is shoving it into a metaphorical closet and hoping it doesn’t burst

So there are a lot of Demon Sibs fics out there and they're a lot of fun, but I just realized I don't think I've seen one where Danny runs into the LoA first. Lots of fics of Danny running into various Bats and/or Waynes (I've written my fair share), but what if he's just out and about for some reason (field trip, summer vacay, a non-Wayne gala) and a shadow out on a mission recognizes him? Or Talia? or Ra's himself? I think that could be interesting.

So many options: does Danny even remember being an assassin or does he have amnesia? Does he go along to keep the LoA from attacking his new family and friends or does he try to resist? Depending on who finds him first and how at odds Talia and Ra's are, is there a counter kidnapping attempt by whoever doesn't have him? (You've stolen what I've rightfully kidnapped)

Add in Tim having spies within the LoA but maybe they don't have all the details. He just gets informed some random teen got kidnapped, maybe he even has a vague description (black hair, blue eyes, white-boy???) and that doesn't bode well. Time to go on a rescue mission! (Does he inform the other bats or does he gather The Team for this?)

Ah! I'm having so much fun imagining this. How stressed can we make Danny? >:3c

[dragonsdomain]

Lair

“Well that explains why you’ve never been to your lair,” Ember said, smirking. “You didn’t even know it existed.”

Danny laughed before turning his attention back to the oddly familiar door in front of him. “Well I do spend most of my time in the human world. And I don’t even usually pay much attention to these doors. There are so many. How’d you find it?”

“Ectosignature, silly,” Ember said, rapping a knuckle on the wood. “Don’t you know anything about ghost culture?”

Danny looked away, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

“Er, sorry. I guess that was a dumb question,” Ember said. She gestured to the door. “Well here you go! There’s your lair. You can… ya know… explore it and stuff.”

Danny moved to open the door but let his hand hover over the knob, strangely apprehensive. “What was… what was inside?”

Ember’s eyebrows flew up. “You think I went inside?” She sounded dumbfounded. “Even if lair doors weren’t locked until the owner of the lair first opens them, Don’t you know how- I mean…” She corrected herself. “It is super rude to enter a ghost’s lair uninvited.”

Danny’s mouth formed a silent “O”, causing Ember to perform a facepalm. That did explain some of the encounters he’d had in the Ghost Zone.

“Well, uh…” Danny’s attention fell back to the door in front of him. “Do you at least have some idea of what I might find in here? I mean… what’s a lair usually like?”

“Eh, I don’t know exactly how it works,” Ember said, leaning back in the air thoughtfully. “I think sometimes they’re connected to your obsession. Sometimes they’re just like, where you’d be happiest or thrive the best.” She shrugged. “I dunno, I’m no scientist.”

Danny exhaled a puff of air. “Okay. That doesn’t sound so bad.” He placed his hand on the handle of the door. He hesitated. Why was he so nervous?

Vaguely ominous notes began strumming from behind him. Danny turned towards the girl behind him who was currently plucking out the foreboding background music on her guitar with a mischievous half-smile on her face.

“You know, you’re not helping,” Danny said in slight exasperation.

Ember stopped playing as she stifled a snicker. “All right, all right,” She said, feigning offense. “I’ll take my leave. Don’t die in there!” She said before speeding off into the foggy expanse of the Ghost Zone.

“Still not helping!” Danny called after her before turning back to the door.

Danny put his hand back on the handle. He hadn’t noticed taking it off. Perhaps because of curiosity, perhaps because of some unidentifiable anxiety, he paused before opening the door to examine its exterior. It looked familiar somehow, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on where he’d seen it before. It was something he knew he should know, but the recollection of where the door was from escaped him.

He sighed. Come on. Just open the door. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

He opened the door.

And he suddenly remembered where he’d seen that door before.

Behind the door lay a perfect replica of his own bedroom. He looked around in puzzlement as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Every detail was the same, all his model spaceships exactly where they should be, the little glow-in-the-dark stars arranged on the ceiling as close to the night sky as he’d been able to get them, everything precisely where it should be all the way down to the math homework laid out on his desk which he’d only gotten that morning.

Danny looked behind himself at the door, an eyebrow raised questioningly. Had the door just taken him to his own bedroom? His own house? Was the ghost lair of a halfa just his own home?

He looked back at his room and let out a laugh, changing back to human form. He felt a little disappointed that his adventure had simply led him back to where he went every day, but mostly relieved. He’d been afraid he’d find… well, something… in his lair that he didn’t want to find. His lair simply being his own bedroom was a bit underwhelming, but far from the worst it could have been.

In fact, he thought as he looked back at the oh, so familiar door, it was a little convenient that he’d been dropped off straight at home. He’d had his little adventure, and now he could commence his evening again right off the bat.

As Danny opened the door, he was pleased to see that it opened to the hall of his house, not back into the Ghost Zone. Yep, he was back at home.

“Danny, come down for dinner!” his mother’s voice echoed up the stairwell.

“Coming!” Yep, very convenient that he’d been brought straight here. He didn’t want to make his parents suspicious by missing dinner again.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and was promptly greeted by his parents and sister, all sitting down at the dinner table.

“Hey,” Danny said as he sat down, looking around dubiously. “...Why are we all eating dinner together? What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing, Danno! Except that your mother and I thought it might be nice to have family dinners more often,” Dad explained.

“We know you’ve been having a bit of a rough time with school and, well, everything, and something’s obviously going on with you that you’re not telling us,” Mom began.

Anxiety spiked in Danny’s gut. Did they know? Were they going to figure it out? How did he mess up enough to tip them off to that fact? They couldn’t figure out his secret; they’d hate him if they knew that he was a-

“...But we just want you to know that we love you no matter what. And nothing could ever change that.”

“We wouldn’t even stop loving you if you became a ghost!” Dad bellowed jovially. Mom rolled her eyes at him but smiled at Danny in silent agreement to the statement.

Danny sat back, stunned. Did he hear that right?

Jazz looked as surprised as he was. “Did you just say you’d love him even if...?” Her question trailed off.

Mom cocked an eyebrow. “...He was a ghost? Of course. He’d still be our Danny.”

It was too good to be true. Danny still almost couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Tears pricked his eyes. “Thanks. That’s… good to hear.”

At the sight of the tears Mom wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Oh, sweetie, was that what you’ve been worrying about? Why you always look so scared when we talk about ghost hunting?”

“It’s just that, the way you’ve been treating Phantom…”

“Oh, we actually just made a truce with him this morning.”

...Wait. What?

Danny glanced at Jazz in confusion. She was grinning at him, but stopped when she saw his confusion. What? She mouthed.

Danny’s eyes dropped to the table in puzzlement. Something was wrong here. That hadn’t happened. At least not to him. Was there a ghost impersonating him or something? He really needed to get Jazz alone to talk about it.

Just when he was about to speak, something beeped loudly down in the lab.

Mom and Dad’s eyes met. “Jack, did you forget to-” Mom started.

“Yes.”

At that, they both rushed down the stairs.

“...Perfect timing.” Danny muttered to himself. He looked at Jazz. “I didn’t make a truce with Mom and Dad this morning.”

Jazz frowned. “But you told me about it during lunch. It happened during first period, remember? You missed that chemistry test to go fight Skulker? And you told me about how you were worried that was going to make you fail chemistry but I told you your grades were great even if you couldn’t retake it?” Danny looked more confused by the second. “You don’t remember any of that?”

“Jazz, since when have my grades been great?”

Jazz raised an eyebrow, pulled out her phone, and showed him his grades on it. He stood up and walked around the table to get a better look. Straight A’s.

Danny stumbled back. That- he didn’t have straight A’s, what- something wasn’t right-

“Jazz, where are Sam and Tucker?” Danny asked hesitantly.

“I think they said they were going to be coming over any minute now.”

At that exact moment the door burst open. Sam and Tucker entered, looking too happy, too healthy, much too carefree. Oh no, not them too.

“Danny!” They called out, rushing to give him a hug. Danny returned their embrace stiffly.

“Hey guys. You look like you’re doing… really well.”

Sam snorted, pushing him away. “Well you sound weirdly disappointed about that. What, do you miss all the ghost fighting we used to do?”

“Used to do?”

Jazz looked down at Danny in concern. “Are you okay, Danny? Don’t you remember all the truces you made with the ghosts? You’ve hardly had to fight anyone for weeks.”

“...I…” Was he in some kind of alternate timeline? How did he get here?

He suddenly remembered something Ember had said about ghost lairs: “Sometimes they’re just like, where you’d be happiest or thrive the best.”

Of course.

“...This isn’t real…” Danny whispered.

“What?” Jazz asked.

“It’s not… you’re not real!” Danny stepped back and glared at the things that looked like his friends and sister.

“Dude, of course we’re real,” Tucker said, reaching out a hand in concern.

Danny slapped it away and stepped back again. “No, you’re all just figments of my imagination or something.” He stepped back again and found his back against the door. “This isn’t real. It’s all just… fake.” He wasn’t really talking to the people in front of him anymore. He slid down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. “Why would Mom and Dad actually make a truce with me? Or be willing to accept me? Of course it’s not real.”

A hand rested on his shoulder. “Danny-” Jazz began.

Danny flung her hand away and phased through the door behind him, ignoring the shouts of surprise from those in the room. He found himself back outside his lair, in the Ghost Zone. A glance over his shoulder revealed the door, which looked like his bedroom door again, still shut. No concerned voices leaked through. Nothing thrust the door open to search for him.

He stared at the door numbly. It had been nice while it lasted, to have a dinner with his family, to have his parents not plotting his murder for once, to see Sam and Tucker without injuries stemming from his folly. Even if it wasn’t real.

A wry chuckle escaped his lips at the same moment as tears began to well in his eyes.

Of course it couldn’t be real.

[five-rivers]

Loved 6

Written for Dannymay 2021 Day 15: Nature

.

“Danny,” said Sam, “what’s wrong?”

The question was, really, far too vague. Many things were wrong all the time, especially with Danny. Part and parcel of being what he was, living where they were, and doing what he did. Although she was more comfortable with it all than Tucker, she could acknowledge that things were… bad. That the world was messed up. That, although people could be horrible to each other on their own, the monstrous beings lurking under the fabric of reality did not help.

But Danny had been in especially low spirits for the last few days. She’d almost say he was depressed, but she was hesitant to apply mental health disorders to someone who wasn’t even entirely human anymore. He’d also been unusually quiet, but he had admitted some time ago that he was having progressively more difficulty ‘finding words,’ so that could be the reason instead.

If she could find out why he was upset, maybe she could cheer him up. Or at least support him.

He made a face, one hand covering his mouth as he talked. “You remember that time, um, when Clockwork… The gifts?” He touched his wrist.

“Yes?” said Sam, prompting him to continue.

Danny glanced down the otherwise oddly-deserted school hallway. “It’s… He had me eat with him. Sort of. Ever since then, my teeth have been…” He paused his hand now firmly pressed to his face.

“Weird?” suggested Tucker, voice low.

Danny nodded. “I had – I was venomous, in the Dream, I don’t—” He faltered.

“Do they hurt?” asked Sam.

“Mhm.”

“Do you think biting into something might help?” asked Sam as she swung her backpack off her shoulder and rummaged in it.

Danny’s eyes seemed to glaze over as he considered the question. Finally, he shrugged.

Sam found what she was looking for. “Here,” she said, holding out the shiny red apple. “Try this.”

Danny examined the apple, careful and silent. The fruit was reflected, vividly, in his eyes. Once. Twice. Three times? No. Danny had two eyes. Two perfect, insightful, soulful eyes.

Delicately, he took it. He still didn’t remove the hand over his mouth.

“We’ve seen worse, man,” mumbled Tucker.

“Not when I’m being human,” protested Danny. Gingerly, he removed his other hand from his mouth and brought the apple to his lips.

When his lips parted, Sam could see what he was talking about. Those were definitely, clearly, fangs. Sharp, smooth, and white. They sparkled even in the flat overhead school lights. Something bluish and clear glistened at their tips.

Was Danny venomous?

(Why did that excite her?)

They crunched into the apple. Danny held it there, still and tense, for a few seconds before his expression melted into absolute bliss.

“Feel better?” asked Sam.

“Mmmhmm,” said Danny, eyes half closed.

“Guys?” said Tucker. “We should probably go now. Before they kick us out.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the end of the school day. School’s been out for half an hour.”

Sam frowned. Was it? She… Did she… She did remember going to all her classes. She shook her head, dismissing the momentary lapse.

Danny regretfully disengaged from the apple, blinked, and swayed. His outline wavered. Sam grabbed his wrist, and a jolt ran up her bones, making her teeth hurt as if she had just bitten down on ice. He stabilized again.

“Thank you,” he said.

He did not notice that she had taken the apple.

.

She set the apple on her desk, and the color stood out vibrantly against the dark-stained wood and her black, goth-themed knickknacks. The color, which was a different than what it had been when she had given the apple to Danny.

The neon blue skin was cold enough to gather condensation and smooth under her fingers. There was otherwise little evidence that Danny had bitten into it. The holes had sealed over, leaving only small depressions.

She knew what she wanted to do. She knew what she shouldn’t do.

Danny said she couldn’t die. That he had destroyed her death, among others. She trusted him.

But it was always good to be prepared.

She set up a text on a timer. If she wasn’t able to cancel it in the next ten minutes, it would go out to Danny and Tucker.

The bed would be the best place to do this. She sat down on the edge, feet firmly planted on the floor.

She bit into the apple.

For a few seconds, she was disappointed, but then.

Then.

She let herself drop back onto her bed, the springs creaking slightly and the covers gently fluttering. She exhaled. Inhaled. Exhaled. Blinked. Closed her eyes. Opened them again.

Everything. Everything.

It was like seeing for the first time. The world was as thin as rice paper. The light was shinning through. It’s true nature.

And all the people. Everywhere. Everyone. Connected.

She—

Everyone.

Beyond the rice paper they could see and touch and feel, the false veil above the truth they couldn’t look at directly, but Danny could and, oh.

Was this what he saw all the time? Was he always filled with this sense of—

Of charity? Of- of—

What could she call this? Care? Empathy?

Could she call it love?

(She could. He was. Because he was loving. But his understanding of love was overwritten and subsumed by his understanding of Love. There could be no other way.)

(To love was human. Love was divine.)

If everyone could feel like this…

Sam knew how much people could hurt each other. She knew how terrible the world was.

(Her grandfather had only died a few years ago. He’d been born in Germany.)

She knew how stressed Danny was about hurting others, even when it was his mere existence that was harmful – And Sam wasn’t so sure that it was harmful. If Danny hadn’t just internalized the vitriol and hate that his parents practically consisted of.

If everyone could feel like this…

They’d had a conversation, back when they’d connected the others to cults, about whether or not cults were a natural result of the others’ presence, or if they were actually encouraged by the others. Maybe it was a combination of the two, but Sam now had good evidence for the former.

This. This was natural. This was right.

And she would work hard to make everything else right, too.

The feeling faded after another few… minutes? Hours?

Minutes. It had to be minutes. Otherwise, Danny and Tucker would be here.

The timer.

She fumbled her phone open just in time to cancel the text.

.

Sam was tempted to take another bite of the apple, but she knew that she had to be careful with her resources. She had her vision. Her goal. Her plan to make the world a better place.

It started here.

She leaned on her shovel and checked the depth of the hole in the ground. Good. Good. Room enough for the apple and room enough for the fertilizer.

She used her fingernails to slit open a bag of the latter and then placed the apple reverently on top of the small pile. A shadow passed over her. It didn’t seem like quite enough, did it?

Perhaps… an offering? She emptied the contents of her pocket. Coins. A six-sided die with a bat in place of its ‘one’ pip. A caramel and a strawberry candy her grandmother had given her that morning. A small picture of herself, Danny, and Tucker. A safely pin.

She arranged them carefully around the apple. The safety pin gleamed in the light.

Staring at her. She stared back.

Maybe…

She picked up the pin and squeezed it to free the sharp end. Then, before she could hesitate, before she could have second thoughts, she drew it over the ball of her thumb. Blood welled up from the small wound, and she let it drip on the soil surrounding the apple.

.

The tree grew into a sapling overnight. The next day, it was taller than Sam. On the third, the trunk was thicker than both her wrists together. By the end of the week, it had burst into bloom.

Sam made sure to water it every day.

Danny, meanwhile, continued to have problems with his teeth. He spoke less, his words slurred and lisping around his still-growing fangs, but that didn’t matter to her and Tucker. After the years they’d spent together, they could read each other pretty well.

Sam maintained a constant supply of apples for him to bite down on. Most of the time, he ate them afterwards, which she couldn’t really begrudge him, but sometimes he’d leave them on his desk or on the table or just out and Sam would put aside her next afternoon for experimentation.

Before she knew it, the tree was bearing fruit. Rose-red and perfectly shaped, not a trace of scale or insects. Sam knew exactly what to do with them.

.

“Hey,” she said, as her parents walked in, “I made an apple pie. Tell me if it’s any good.”

[murphy-kitt]

Shadows - Day Ten

(Part 2 of Memories) (tw: swearing)

Maddie knew her brother was a mama’s boy.

If her mother Mary-Rose, was anywhere, then Daniel wouldn’t be far behind. Perhaps it was because he was the only son of the Walker’s, or because he was the oldest.

Which was why Daniel’s death had the hardest hit to their mother. Maddie’s mother had shut down completely — quickly becoming a frail old woman with wispy hair that sat in a darkened room.

Admittedly, Maddie and her sister Alicia had thought that one day they’d mother would pass on, to be with Daniel and out of the sad trance that her life had become. But somehow, the woman clung onto her plastic bag of a life, as if, as if Daniel wasn’t gone.

And it was confirmed enough, wasn’t it? Maddie thought as she stared as Phantom quickly flew off, legs dissolving into a ghostly tail. A mask of confusion supplied his face — maybe his memories were still mixed.

Oh God. Her brother.

It all seemed to hit Maddie like a truck, and she barely managed to stop herself stumbling down the pavement, feet now numb with shock.

He was back. He had been this whole time, telling them he wasn’t evil, and how could she forget the familiarity that sparked in his eyes?

As she made her way back into the house, Maddie giddily pressed the key into the door, opening it and looking into the kitchen. Danny was sitting at the table, a blank look of confusion on his face.

She’d have to tell the kids, eventually. They deserved to know about Daniel after all this time. Maddie hadn’t wanted to tell her children about Daniel until she’d found his ghost.

“I’m going to the lab, sweetie.” Calling out, her son nodded drearily.

“Okay mom, I’m going to the Nasty Burger with Sam and Tucker anyway.” The teenager propped up his head with his palm, and the huntress swore for a second that a glitter of green danced in Danny’s irises.

“Have fun!”

Infront of her, she unlocked the door to the lab (couldn’t have any of the kids stumbling through the equipment and getting injured), and was instantly bathed in the darkness of the eerie lab.

As she crept down the metal stairs, hoping to find the switch at the bottom of the stairs, memories begun to play in her head like a record.

“Come on Daniel, I want to see what Mom and Dad are doing!”

“Okay! Okay Madzer.” A hearty laugh. “Give me a chance to put my HAZMAT on.”

“Why do you need one of them? It’s not as if we’re actually doing anything in there but looking.”

“Well, you never know. Lab safety is always important—“

That was still number one of her oaths. Yet, somehow she’d managed to break both pledges.. first her brother, then Vlad, and now Danny. Would it ever end?

She knew how the next part went, and Maddie held back her tears as she went down another step. One step.

“Alright. Why’s it so dark? I’m as blind as a bat in here!” The nine year old Maddie waved her hand sporadically in her face, as if to emphasise, then approached the lab wall hesitantly. There, just a few centimetres to her left, was an open fuse box of wires and other electricals.

“Look, over here. Maybe we’ll be able to see something if we do something with these.” Maddie pointed to the display.

“Well, it’s worth a shot!” With a smile on his face, her older brother approached the fuse box, blue eyes curious.

He reached out to grab a wire—

A flash. He screamed.

She was startled out of her stupor by a muted glowing suddenly appearing at the bottom of the lab, and the woman froze.

Phantom.

Without saying anything, the ghost turned, the virulent green of his irises lighting up the shadows of the lab.

“I came here for answers.” Stated Phantom, mouth drawn in a firm line as he approached the woman, “I have no clue what you were talking about on the street, but you’re not overshadowed.”

“Of course I’m not!” The ginger haired woman protested, her hand slamming harshly against the wall.

Within seconds, the whole lab was lit up and the two stared at each other for a minute or so.

Maddie stared at the ghost scum— her brother, who now folded his arms, pouting as he looked at her expectantly. She badly wanted to snatch him up and hug him and never let go.

He doesn’t remember Maddie, one step at a time.

“Well then?”

“I guess you won’t remember.” Maddie started, “But you remember parts of it. Killed in a lab accident right?”

If Phantom’s wince was anything to go by, that was a yes.

“How do you know that?!” The ghost accused, pacing back slightly, “How did you find that out?”

“I was there.”

“Y-you what?!” He blinked in disbelief. One. Twice.

Maddie recoiled. She knew as a ghost, his memories would be jumbled, but he had recognised her, there was no denying that. Yet his reaction was not what she’d be expecting. Phantom — Daniel — looked utterly lost.

“If you were there… then that would mean you’ve known the whole time!” The ghost exclaimed, seemingly coming to a realisation.

Now it was Maddie’s turn to be confused. Know what? Know that she was his sister? But, he didn’t understand what she was talking about, and he didn’t answer either question about his sister or mother.

“I was there, yes.” Maybe by confirming that she was there at his death, it would help lead her out of this wrangle of confusion.

“Is-is that why you asked me if I remembered my mother?” The green-eyed ghost’s voice trailed off into a whisper, and he approached Maddie warily, considering she’d had an ectogun to his neck barely an hour before, she couldn’t blame him.

“Is what, why?”

Suddenly, Phantom turned away, the locks of white hair facing her as the ghost considered their conversation for a few seconds.

After what felt like an eternity, the ghost turned back.

“You don’t know what I’m talking about. I think we’re on two different trains of thought here.”

Well, if they were, it was all the ghosts fault for confusing her. Was this her brother's revenge now?

Making her feel guilty, pushing her to the brink of all she was able? Perhaps hidden mirth sparked in his eyes, he would be enjoying this—

“You stop your meddling now, Daniel!” She snapped, grabbing the ghost fiercely by the collar and pulling him off the floor. Phantom cried out as the floor left his feet, green eyes pleading into hers, to stop this — this was him.

But Maddie couldn’t take it. It had been too long.

“Now you listen here, and listen good. I’ve been searching for you my entire life, this whole ghost hunting career was to find you and I can’t fucking take it Daniel! You played your pranks and have your revenge by taunting me like this, please, can you just stop!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Seriously!” The ghost cried as she dug her nails into his collar, barely able to suppress the spring of tears that flowed. Maddie couldn’t look him in the face.

God she was so fucking sick of Phantom. She just wanted her brother. She just wanted Daniel.

Without thinking, the huntress raised her hand.

Slap.

Her actions didn’t register until the ghost— her brother — clattered into a tray of scalpels and dissection tools, sending them ringing all over the floor. The ghost whimpered, a bright red splotch now blazed on his left cheek.

“I don’t know. I really, really don’t know. And I want to help, but—“ The ghost hiccuped lightly, sliding to the floor, arms wrapped around his legs, tears drizzling down virulent eyes.

Guilt and horror came crashing down, as Maddie fell to her knees, staring at him. What had she done?!

Wiping back tears, she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself of the anger that blazed deep within her.

“I just want my brother back.” She murmured.

Phantom’s bewildered gaze was her only answer.

Something told her that she never would.

—

One day late but it’s here! Haven’t started working on Midnight yet, but I will tonight. I was considering crossposting my fics on AO3 to here — how would people feel about that? I’ve only got one fic that I would cross post currently.

Murphy

[currentfandomkick]

Part 2–posted a draft under wrong account and decided to go less goofy and more characters. Will probs do a part 3 eventually.

UPDATE: part three here, will likely be mostly plastic man winning GZ fam’s approval and from there wherever the plot bunnies go tbh

The problem was, Jazz was going to move into Gotham for her internship. The egregore of Gotham liked her and she’s an “acceptable” type of liminal. The fact she’s going there as a fuck you to the guy her parents stole DNA from and help her ‘not my brother but got fucked over by Batman/Bruce’ guy.

She’s not sure how to see Jason just yet, or any of Bruce’s brood. They need therapy and someone who sees B’s bullshit.

Problem: Danny isn’t safe in Amity and not just because the GIW are terrible shots. No, she went to the lab and saw how the portal was set up.

The switch to make it work was inside the portal. Even in the schematics.

And they told the Danny to hang out with his friends in the lab if they wanted.

It wasn’t an accident.

It wasn’t an accident.

It wasn’t an accident.

She had to get Danny out and warn his friends.

This would be a lot easier if Gotham wasn’t so against Danny’s existence.

—

Danny was… processing. He didn’t like it. At all.

He… can’t go to the Realms—parents are still living so no legal action there. And if he left for the Infinite, Jazz would be the prime suspect in his disappearance and presumed first death.

So. So his parents tried to kill him and Sam and Tucker, but the proof was locked up and he. He needs advice. From a person…

Plastic Man should be finishing up patrol now. Maybe he has an idea where Danny should go? Tucker and Sam agreed to avoid his house and his parents and just.

Its a lot.

One portal later, and he found Plastic Man almost done with patrol. He was a mess of tails where his limbs should be. Ghost anxiety… or upcoming death day.

His rogues have been quiet so maybe they’re working out presents for the days after again.

“Hey kiddo,” Plas stretched up to him. “What’s eating you up?”

“Uh, personal stuff but I need living perspective on this, as ghost brain is funky on this stuff.”

“Alright, my HQ or starside?”

Danny’s fangs bit into his lip. “Cujo’s with my clone this week.”

“Say no more, Gemma’s cocoa, your gramps cookie stash and my backup apartment starside stat. Listen to the stars and count constellations, or don’t and eat Manhunter’s cookies at your own risk.”

Danny huffed at that, hair shifting to moonlight. “I learned my lesson the first time. Steal Supes cookies and swap them for bats and let them fight it out while eating the goods.”

Plastic man tried to ruffle his hair.

“Don’t worry, we got this okay little buddy?”

Danny nodded and portalled to Patrick’s space in the watchtower. He had a window view ever since Flash pointed out he’d caught Danny floating in space giving the lanterns heart attacks a little too often to be a prank. He didn’t intend for the pranks, and its not his fault Space calls for his attention, whispering for him to play among the stars.

He debates the merits of playing the with animals ghosts and robot egregores of yore anyways.

But he can’t. Not today at least.

But soon.

The rush of Space shifted his form as he filled the room. His core stayed up high as he let himself go nebula-eldritch.

His eyes stayed on the window. Claws floated by the door, just in case there was another attack. It hadn’t happened Clockwork rewound time and undid it, but still. Better safe than sorry.

Plastic man appeared before he got to the dwarf stars.

“So, Serious Stuff or fun first?” Plastic man stretched the goods and himself between Danny’s claws and up to his core, holding up his offerings.

Danny pulled himself into an eldritch mass of galaxies and stars, with more of a proper face than before. Claws tipped in starlight and moonlight hair stayed mostly in place—at least the ice breath wasn’t fogging up the windows this time.

“Serious or I run from my problems… and I don’t think I can run from this one without my big sis being blamed for my death.”

Danny watched Plastic man fall into being Patrick at that.

“Well shi—shoot. How bad?”

Danny twisted into something smaller, more coiled like a snake. “You know how i’m not fully dead or undead like most ghosts? Parents made a,” Danny winced as the memory electricty crackled over and through him. Deathwail ringing in his ears. “A portal to the Infinite Realms and well, my sister thinks they were trying to kill me and my friends to make it work—some magic portals rule of a bound guardian for safe passage is Sam’s theory—but we can’t prove any of that but it… makes sense with their history and stance on clones and—“

Plas held up one finger. “They have a stance on clones?”

It hit Danny he hadnt brought up that fact. “You know my Slade? He was their best friend and still is.”

Plasticman twitched at that.

“And uh, well, he used their data to clone my dead ass when they used DNA that I dont want to explain it but questionable means was how they got it, and used the guy becuase he was smart before head truama and the adoption addiction kicked in. Anyway my sister was test tube baby 50-50 but I was like 90% that guy 10% my mom by their choice. And they sort of never did the parenting thing, that was always my big sister and were only three years apart and you see the problem?”

“Yep,” Plastic man stretched to meet Danny’s half hidden face. “a big one. Please tell me this is a ‘how do i escape’ conversation.”

Danny shifted again, smaller but not by much. Plas put his hands to good use by running his hands through Danny’s hair.

It was calming.

“I can’t let my godfather get custody as he’s my Slade, but my sister is going to this city who’s egregore finds me, and I quote “a usurper of the highest degree” and she’s gave up so much for me already and deserves to have this for herself but—“

“But you don’t have anywhere to go.” Plastic man frowned, rubbing his chin with his foot.

“Not if I want to do this legally… granted I can trick them into signing most things but I also have my clone who’s been debating moving in with us which was great until we realized they may have been trying to kill me and even then Jazz said its criminal neglect we grew up with and stray weapons and getting to my room being an obstacle course and dodge ball combined in the worst ways and—“

“How do you feel about my city again?” Plastic man interrupted again.

Danny frowned, noting he’d ended up in a Plastic Man too many loops arm hug. “It’s nice not to be incharge or alone. Red is fun to work with now but we both have school and patrolling Mammoth is weirdly chill.”

“And you got your portals under control?”

Danny nodded, brow furrowed.

“So, Penny and me may have been talkng and were working out if you wanted to stay more permanently than your usual couch crashing for a while now.

Danny stared at him, phantom dropping leaving Fenton in the flesh.

“Are, are you sure?”

“We were planning to drag your sisters if you wanted. Wait, sisters or sister and sibling, i want to use the right pronouns.”

Danny laughed wetly. “She’s Dani with an i, or Ellie. We’re working on who she wants to be so her proto-core can start forming properly.”

Plastic man hummed, running a hand through Danny’s hair.

“Are you sure?”

“Is Cujo the goodest boi?”

Danny laughed wetly at that. “Of course he is!”

“Then its settled—I’ll call Penny and we can get our ducks in a row.”

—

Patrick texted Penny the news—Danny was game for staying on a more permanent basis, and did want to keep patrolling Amity mostly solo like before.

“Uh, i’ll call my slade to forge the papers.”

Record scratch.

Patrick turned to Danny slowly.

“I may not be the best legal expert kiddo, but i don’t think that’s the best idea.”

“Oh, by Infinite Realms law, he has to pay child support to my sisters and me and the other clones he made from me who i really have to work on stabilizing one of these days… Pandora and Clocky offered to help and Frostbite has them in stasis since they’re ecto

First and mortal second…”

Patrick nodded along. “So your slade, i’m going to have words with him in his human form.”

Danny huffed at that. “You can try. He’s just going to do paperwork becuase if he doesn’t i can sic fifteen different courts on him for child abandonment, neglect and even abuse on top of endangerment of liminal citizens of the Realms.”

Patrick whistled at that. “Infinite does take child ghosts pretty seriously.”

Danny shrugged at that. “We’re rare, and ghost children are given a lot kore slack since we run on 90% more instinct and only exist for our Anchors and Obsessions… speaking of which, why can’t i just play with the dead astro animals?”

Patrick grinned at that. “Tell your ecto gaurd and then you can.”

“Ugh.” Danny flopped backwards, eyeing his hot cocoa at last. “Frighty will just hover there and scare them off. Again.”

“How about you make boxy and lunchbox tagalong while i handle the paperwork and play phone tag with this…”

“Vlad,” Danny grumbled. “Seriously messed up fruitloop.”

“And somehow still you favorite thing to put in milk.”

“Only after crushing my enemy into dust and drinking the remains.”

Patrick hummed at that. Ghost brain things, he’d come to learn, are best accepted at face value with minimal examination. Even if the League hadn’t gotten the hang of it yet, he did.

Mostly.

Patrick copied Vlad’s info and began a game of email tag while Danny and Boxy argued over their future joint ‘give the astronaut animals and robots the love and attention they deserve’ playdate with little lunchbox, some ellie and youngblood.

“Hey kiddo? I’ll be back in a bit just need to bug the big bad bat about legal stuff for your address and league stipend, okay?”

Danny hummed in response, absorbed in… doomed(?) he thinks, and his own text tag.

Patrick slipped out easily enough, and further messaged Jazz asking when she wanted to help Danny move in while they finalized the story and such.

He ran into the better bird for the job, even if he didnt know it quite yet.

“Heya Red,” patrick stretche dhis head over to meet him. “any idea where big bat is?”

Red Robin frowned. “Off world, why?”

“Damnit, uh, just wanted to pick Bat’s brain on the legal side of things and pros and cons of wardship or adopting since its all new.”

Red stopped and turned to Plastic man. “Elaborate.”

“After Phantom’s slade stops arguing about visitation rights—he’s on the hook for child support.”

Red Robin blinked owlishly. “He’s what?”

“Infinite Realms has a big cultural thing about ghost kids. Like, massive affinity for communal raising and there are a lot of legal things applicable everywhere in the realms if you go after kids or mistreat them.”

“That explains nothing.”

“Phantom is legally a child by the Infinite’s laws, but he’s mortal so earth communities have primary custody. His slade violated known Infinite realms rules and regulations and now he’s on the hook for child support for a lot, and i mean a lot, of kids. Phantom is one, and i’m making this guy handle legal fees for the paperwork as part of his.”

“… are, are you adopting Phantom?”

“If he or his siblings want, the offer is open. First making sure we get basic legal custody and—“

“One moment. Agent A? Can you send me the Guy’s info? Need it for a friend—yeah Danny finally put together reanimated sandwiches is not a good sign. Thanks!”

Patrick tried not to startle as the new contact appeared in his phone.

“Do you guys just like to spook a guy?”

“You are going to be living with a spook.”

Patrick grinned at that. “Yeah. I am, huh?”

EDIT: Next part here

As always, if someone isn’t tagged feel free to tag them—hope i didn’t miss anyone

Tag list:

@alinmenttreasure @stealingyourbones @sophistryandsophisms @im-totally-not-an-alien @akikoyuii @idek618 8 @satanicritualspecialist @thefanficcup p @ekat @secretdestinywerewolf f @dannyphantomphan @forgottenac3 @avery-isastupid-name @jadedragon1903 @naluforever3 @akikkobara @the-church-grimm @pheonixqueen @fisticuffsatapplebees @thewondersoflebanon @dontfightmecauseillcry @please-dont-see-me @onyxlightdragon @kyrianclawraith @treepainting @allulily @andsatisfactionbroughtmeback @depuffstuff @shorterthanadverage @notmuchtopost @ghosty-pal @vellichor615 @dulceringo @09shell-sea09 @halfblackwolfdemon @thecatchat @maribatshipper @im-totally-not-an-alien-2 @legallyspawned

The Justice League had been a pain in Dannys side the last few weeks. They insisted that Danny needed a mentor, someone who could help him right in his ever growing list of abilities and whatnot. Danny snuck into one of the JL meetings in the watchtower to find out the real reason and discovered they saw him as a massive powerhouse that needed to be brought into thier side so his power "doesn't fall into the wrong hands". Ick.

Phantom was also pretty sure this had something to do with the bat be it contingency plans or adoption papers that guy is never too far from the top of Dannys list of "people I want to punt into the abyss for the weekend"

Its not that Danny doesn't want the help, he just knows how the League would eventually view him. He is of Lazarus. He is part monster. He has been ever since he died. Danny no longer thinks like a human does, he's "too violent" "obsessive" and "impulsive" by League standards.

Unfortunately, Danny is wired like that. His people are a part of the Infinite Realms immune system and play a key role in its overall ecosystem. There are legitimate biological reasons hes like this, ones that keep him from fading. The League doesn't seem to understand and he can't explain it in further detail without revealing his own weakness and the weaknesses of others like him.

So he just keeps refusing thier help...until he finds someone who the League also don't "agree" with which was strange since he was on thier team.

Plasticman was an ex criminal who has temptations towards money and has a hard time resisting. The stretchy guy also could turn his body into any shape and stretch any length he wanted and had no regard for the human form. Danny was in awe but the moment he heard the guy make a funny joke he made a decision.

If he had to choose a mentor from the JL roster than he picked this guy.

He announced his decision at the next JL meeting sending the place into an uproar.

Alternatively: Danny gives no warning and Plastic man just gets surprised when this glowy kid and his green puppy appear in front of him smiling happily and introduced himself as his new sidekick.

[camels-pen]

Furry Paws and Achy Jaws

DannyMay Day 21 - Teeth

Summary: Tucker has an orthodontist appointment and he's decided to go the safe route and opt-out. His friends, however, have other plans.

Inspired by @the-stove-is-on-fire's Werewolf Tucker post

Ao3 Link

~

“I’m not letting go.”

“Tucker-”

“I’m not going. You can’t make me.” He dug his claws in deeper, pressing himself further against the wall.

“Can’t we just give it up for now, Sam?” Danny asked around the ice in his mouth. “You know how he is with doctors.”

“Danny, he literally has to go. His parents wouldn’t have asked us to help track him down if it was optional.” She kicked at him from where she was using her full weight to pull at Tucker’s waist. “Quit snacking and help me.” He shrugged and set down his bag of ice cubes.

Rubbing his palms, he let his transformation partially take hold and white gloves covered his human hands. Danny grabbed Tucker’s waist just above Sam’s arms and held tight.

“On three?” She grunted. “Okay, one, two-” They heaved with their combined strength. Tucker’s claws dug even further into the wall as he was yanked down a few inches leaving deep claw marks in the old red brick.

Sam dug her heels into the ground and a white outline glowed around Danny’s gloves as they yanked again. This time he nearly lost his grip and, in a fit of desperation, a large brown tail burst through the back of his pants and slapped both of his friends in the face.

They yelped and cursed and released him, Sam rubbing her cheek with a wince while Danny gagged and spit out a furry ice cube from his mouth.

Recognizing the opportunity, Tucker leapt off the wall and ran as fast as his feet would let him. When he looked back and noticed both of them hot on his tail, he sped up and jumped over a giant log, shifting to all fours as he landed.

Tucker tore through the forest as fast as he could, paws scratching against the well worn bike trail and the trunks of upturned trees as he searched for his special place.

“Tuck, give it up! You can’t outrun a ghost!” He turned back to see Sam yelling at him, Danny flying a good few meters ahead of her and picking up speed fast. Glowing yellow eyes darted from burrow to bush to tree roots as they headed deeper into the forest.

There!

He skidded on the uneven ground and tore off to the right at full speed. He could see it. So close. It’s right there-

Tucker squeezed into the small cave opening at the bottom of a large hill, rushing to push the small pile of rocks at the entrance to cover up the hole. He scooted to the back of the cave and held his breath.

“What the hell?” He could hear Danny land and shuffle his feet around in the leaves.

“Danny!” Sam’s voice yelled from far away. “Did you find him?”

“He disappeared somewhere!” His ears pinned down at the sound of something kicking at his hiding place. “Doesn’t even make any sense. He’s a wolf not a bat.” Tucker covered his mouth with his paws to cover his snickering. His friends continued looking high and low for him while the werewolf laid back, relaxing into a pile of blankets and pillows.

They’d keep at it for a while, but he would wait patiently. Through the night if he had to.

He was not going to the orthodontist.

---

Hours later, Tucker woke up to the smell of bacon cheeseburgers wafting in through the cracks of his barricade. His stomach rumbled and drool started to pool in his mouth.

He gulped.

It was a trap. Something to lure him out. But he wouldn’t crack; he wasn’t some dumb mutt. He wouldn’t allow himself to get traumatized for one measly burger.

The smell became thicker and combined with the smell of french fries with that special blend of spices.

Crazy Fries from Nasty Burger.

Oh no.

He took in a big whiff of the smell and his stomach rumbled louder. Paws rubbed in slow circles in a fruitless attempt to quell the sounds. The last time he ate was breakfast that morning and the last time he checked the time was around 2pm. At least an hour or two went by since his phone died, probably.

His furry muzzle came out on its own and took another whiff. He sighed and let out more fur under his clothes, turning into his full werewolf form.

Slowly, as if in a trance, he crawled to the rocks blocking the entrance. He moved a few away to peek through the cracks and nearly tore down the entire barricade at the sight of the several open takeout bags with burgers, fries, and a large soda spread out on a blanket.

Tucker restrained himself and scanned the area. Once he noticed the coast was clear, he took down the wall of rocks and quickly scrambled to grab all the food and take it back into the cave.

The coveted meal was stuffed in his hoodie pocket and in his arms, but as he turned to run back, he heard a snap.

The feeling of the blanket rapidly being pulled up around him got him to yelp in surprise and drop his spoils. He struggled to claw his way out of the fabric, paw pads catching on the thick rope net suspending him in the air.

“Told you it was that easy.” Finally, Tucker managed to take off the part of the blanket covering his head and stared down at his friends from his prison, tail wagging in agitation from where it was squished against his back.

“Tuck, no.” Danny said, handing Sam a five dollar bill. “You’re smarter than that, dude. I’ve seen you hack into things trained federal agents can’t.” He swung slightly as he continued to claw at the net.

“Betrayal,” he hissed at them, glaring with his ears pinned back. “We’re supposed to be ride-or-die and you do me dirty like this? With Nasty Burger?”

“We are ride-or-die which is exactly why we’re taking you to the orthodontist.” Sam nudged Danny and he flew up under the net.

Something twisted in the werewolf’s gut and he paused his escape attempts as Sam’s words finally sunk in. “But I missed the appointment; mom said it was 11am.”

The goth shrugged. “She lied.” Tucker started to struggle with renewed vigor, even trying to bite his way through the rope, but pulling back when pain spiked through his jaw. He rubbed his aching cheek and watched as Sam walked behind him to where the rope holding him up was tied to a tree.

She pulled out her phone and waved it at Danny. “I’m gonna text his mom.” Tucker’s fur bristled and he grabbed a section of the net, pulling it taught and trying to break it with all of his might. She untied the rope and Danny caught him, grappling with Tucker as he flailed.

“Just accept it, Tuck. You’re not doing so hot.” The half ghost unceremoniously dropped him in a human-sized pet carrier made of ice. “Pun not intended.”

“I’m fine!” Sam scoffed.

“Right, because keeping your fangs retracted when you’re eating is a totally normal thing that werewolves do.” She pat the side of the carrier. “Take him away, Danny.”

As his icy cage was lifted from the ground and his face was stuffed with a mouthful of burgers and fries, Tucker couldn’t help but curse his weakness for fast food.

[kinglazrus]

Dead Man Walking

Phic Phight | AO3 | FFN

Submitted by @syrren: Instead of making him half-dead, the portal accident makes Danny unable to die. This....changes things.

(or: how canon changes if the accident leaves Danny with deadpool-style regeneration abilities to make for a horrifyingly self-sacrificing vigilante, or with some kind of reset ability every time he dies to equally horrifying implications)

Summary: The accident changes Danny in ways he never thought possible. Sam and Tucker watch him fall from the portal dead and burnt beyond recognition, but he doesn't stay dead for long. He never stays dead. Of all the things Danny expected to happen when he walked into that portal, getting unlimited regeneration wasn't one of them, but now that he has it, he's going to put it to good use. Deadpool AU.

Word count: 3606

The first time Danny dies, his friends bear witness. They will never forget the ominous whirr of the portal as it turned on, the warning crackle of electricity, the final throat-tearing scream of their best friend. There are other things, too, that burned into their minds that day. How his body hit the floor of the lab with a thud, burnt beyond recognition, burnt so bad there wasn't any blood. How it smelled, to their horror, not so different from charred barbecue.

They like to pretend that part never happened. It's easy when all they need to do is call his phone and hear his voice, unaffected by the savage electrical heat that brought him to ruin that day. When he doesn't stay dead, it's not hard to pretend he never died at all. It took minutes for his body to fix itself, blackened skin overtaken by fresh pink muscle, which then sprouted new skin, perfectly unblemished.

Even the scar he got when he was fell off his bike at six years old disappeared.

"I liked that scar," Danny says, pouting when he finally notices its absence three days later.

"I don't think that's the right thing to get hung up," Sam says.

"But it looked like a spaceship!"

"I always thought it looked like an upside-down nine," Tucker muses.

"Or six," Sam says.

"Upside down nine is more fun."

They proceed like this for three weeks, mentioning the accident only in the lightest of terms, joking about their new, shared trauma. They are content to move on with their lives, forget it happened, go on as normal high schoolers. Until Danny dies again.

—

"What do you mean you don't want to hunt ghosts?" Jack exclaims. He gapes down at the trio, wholeheartedly baffled by this confession.

"I'll stick with tech, thanks," Tucker says, holding up his phone.

"Ghosts just aren't cool anymore," Sam says.

"Can I go back upstairs now?" Danny asks. At his question, Sam and Tucker fall silent. None of them make eye contact, and neither do they look toward the portal innocently humming only a few feet away. Danny is very aware that this is his first time in the lab since the accident. The same thought runs through Sam and Tucker's minds.

Jack doesn't notice the sudden change in mood. "Nonsense, Danno! You love ghosts. Why, I remember when you were just a tyke, you wanted to be a ghost when you grew up." He clenches his fist. "It was unacceptable. But that's okay! You can hunt them instead!"

He turns his back on Danny and his friends, eagerly going over the array of tools laid out on the counter. Ghost detectors, ecto-guns, protective shield, and an empty space where a thermos should be. "I forgot the best part! Wait right here, kids." Jack charges upstairs, leaving the kids alone.

Danny glances at the portal, unable to suppress a shiver. "You think he'd notice if I snuck away?"

"Nuh-uh, if you go, we go, too," Tucker says.

No one gets to go. Two sets of slimy green tentacles poke through the portal, probing the empty air. Their soft bodies soon follow, revealing a pair of ghostly octopuses.

"Holy shit ghosts are real." That is all Tucker has time to say before the ghosts attack. They launch themselves forward, shrieking in excitement. One goes for Sam and the other charges Tucker. They try to jump out of the way, but the ghosts are faster. The ectopuses tentacles wrap around them, pinning their arms down.

"Danny!" Sam shouts.

In retrospect, a smarter person would have gone for the ecto-gun lying on the table, freshly loaded and ready for a demonstration. Or, they might have shouted for his father, a ghost hunter who has trained his entire life for this scenario. But Danny acts faster than he thinks. He dives toward Tucker, the closest of the two, and digs his fingers into the ghost's tentacles. It screams as Danny's nails dig into its flesh.

The ghost's body goes translucent. Tucker slips out of its grasp, dropping to the floor in a heap, but Danny's hold stays firm. The ectopus panics, thrashing and tugging, its flailing limbs cutting through Tucker over and over without harming him. No matter what the ectopus does, it can't shake Danny loose, and his nails are starting to cut.

"Dude, you're doing it!" Tucker says, too soon.

As it flails, one of the ectopus' tentacles smacks Danny in the face, making his head snap back. At that moment, he and the ghost have the same realization. If he can touch it, it can hurt him back. The ectopus gives another shriek and its remaining seven tentacles surge forward. They wrap around Danny's arms, his chest, curling so tight his bones ache. The last one closes around Danny's throat.

His throat, weak like the ghost's flesh, crumples in an instant. His air disappears. No sound leaves his mouth, not even a wheeze, and his eyes bulge as panic sets in.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker scream. Sam struggles against her captor kicking and gnashing her teeth, but her boots can't reach its body. Tucker grabs Danny, tries to pull him away, to bat off the ghost’s grip, but it is no use. The ghost is too strong, and Tucker can't touch it in this state.

Danny loses focus of them, then. His brain goes fuzzy, everything blurring around him while his face grows hot. All he can feel is the burn, the ache, the need to breathe, breathe, breathe damn it! The haze of the ghost looming over him fills his vision, slowly overtaken by red, then black spots.

As everything goes dark, Danny's last thought is this:

I guess I'm dead after all.

—

He hears the sobbing first. It starts off quiet and distant, but quickly grows louder, great hiccupping coughs scattered between heart-wrenching cries.

"Mr. Fenton!" someone screams. It happens fast, after that. Thundering steps, a deep cry of shock and pain that cuts him to his core. A piercing whine followed by two quick blasts.

The ectopuses' retreating shriek cuts through Danny loud and clear. His eyes snap open and air rushes into his lungs, a hoarse, wheezing breath that he holds for a moment. Then he takes another, and another, and he's breathing again, and he's not anymore.

Sam and Tucker, kneeling at his side, cry out as one. They throw themselves on him, blubbering messes the both of them. Danny's father, facing the portal, turns disbelieving eyes on him.

Danny's gaze drops to his father's hand and the ecto-gun clutched in it. "Oh, right." The word scrapes against his throat. He swallows, twice, until speaking doesn't hurt and says, "I forgot we had the gun.

"Danny!" Jack dashes toward them, dropping to his knees beside Danny. Sam and Tucker scramble back, giving him room. "Are you alright? What happened? You looked..."

Dead.

Because he was. Again.

"I'm fine," Danny assures him. "Lost consciousness, that's all.

"Danny, your face was blu—" Tucker yelps when Sam punches him in the shoulder, cutting him off mid-sentence. He rubs the spot, shooting her an offended look, but Sam's eyes are only on Danny.

Danny nods, just enough that she can see, a silent thanks.

"I think you kids should go upstairs now." Jack's voice trembles. He raises his hand, about to run it through his hair, but stops when he sees the gun he's still holding. "I'll take care of things down here. Call your parents and all that."

For the first time, Danny notices the green splotches littering the floor and the wall. Probably from the ectopuses.

Sam loops an arm around Danny's shoulders, hoisting him up. He stumbles when he gets to his feet, bracing himself against her as the room spins. It settles after a few seconds, but he still feels a bit lightheaded. A side effect of choking, maybe?

Tucker helps from Danny's other side. They go up to Danny's room in silence, their steps thumping up the stairs. Only once they're safely behind his closed door, and Danny is lying on the bed, does Sam speak.

"You died again," she says.

Danny touches his throat. "Yeah." Pressing gently, he feels is no lingering pain. Just like before, he healed without a trace. "Can I just not die now?"

"More like you can't stay dead," Tucker says.

"Tucker!" Sam hisses.

"What? It's true! Sorry that I'm not handling seeing my friend die twice very well!"

"Be quiet!"

Danny cuts in before they can devolve into shouting. "Let's just leave it at two, okay?"

Sam and Tucker share a glance over Danny's prone form and nod. The weight of that action is lost on Danny, whose only thought is that he wants to sleep for a very long time.

—

The knives don't kill him. They hurt like hell, but they don't kill him. He sees them flying toward him and leaps out of the way. Something strikes him in the gut, a solid punch that blows the air from his lungs and knocks him back into the walls. He thinks one of the frozen steaks got him, but when he looks down, he sees the handle of a kitchen knife sticking out of his stomach.

He stares at it, stunned, not feeling anything at first. Then, his body jolts, like a shock of electricity is running through him, and his nerves scream, heat building, until every little twitch sends a jolt of pain so deep coursing through him that he can hardly breathe.

"Danny, look out!" Tucker, or Sam, he can't tell which, so lost in his pain, cry out a warning. Danny doesn't move in time and two more knives bury themselves in his body, another in his stomach, and the other through his chest. The Lunch Lady cackles with glee as Danny gurgles. The last knife got his lung, and he can feel it slowly filling.

The pound of Sam's boots on the tiles reaches his ears. She shouts something, but he doesn't hear it. Trembling, Danny grips the handle of the knife in his lungs. In first-aid, they tell you to leave whatever object stabbing you in. It keeps the wound plugged, stops you from bleeding out. But Danny's instincts cry out against everything he was ever taught.

Take them out! Take them out!

He braces himself, then yanks. It hurts so much worse coming out, now that he's aware of the pain, the sharp edge searing as it rips the wound wider. He drops the knife and goes for the next one. All three fall to the floor beside him with a clatter, their blades shiny and red. Danny can't breathe, can barely think through the pain. He presses a hand against his chest, feeling the wound beneath his shirt.

It stitches itself together beneath his fingers. The searing pain retreats, replaced by a dull ache. By the time Sam reaches him and rips his shirt open to see his wound, his chest is healed.

"Technically, I didn't die," Danny croaks.

Sam sobs, covering her mouth with her hand. There's relief in her eyes, beneath the horror, and she makes a noise that might be a laugh, choked and garbled as it is.

Danny dives back into the fight with renewed vigour. Twenty minutes and one Fenton Thermos later, the ghost is gone, but not before half the student body saw some bloody idiot fighting it bare-handed.

"Did you see who it was?" Dash whispers to his friends.

Danny, clean of blood and wearing his gym t-shirt, slumps against the wall nearby, listening. Someone called the police when meat started flying through the hallways, and they apparently called Danny's parents. Ghosts are real and everyone knows it now, but Danny doesn't care about that at the moment.

"No, man. I wasn't close enough," Kwan answers Dash.

"Whoever that was, he totally just saved us all," Paulina says. She clasps her hands together and leans against Star. "He's such a hero."

Hero. The word resonates with Danny. He can't explain it, but it pulls at him. A hero. The school is in chaos, the yard covered in raw meat, the hallways hacked and slashed, but everyone is safe and unharmed thanks to Danny.

"More like a dumbass," Sam mutters from Danny's left.

"Semantics," Tucker says.

Between them, Danny only grins.

—

Jack paces in front of the portal, a tub of fudge cradled in the crook of his arm. Every few steps, he grabs a square and pops it in his mouth, chewing furiously. Between bites, he mutters.

"I'm telling you, Mads. He must have been some kind of ghost," he says.

"I don't know, Jack." Maddie, staring at the computer screen, tilts her head. They managed to grab a few stills from the school's security footage of the figure who fought off the ghost, but they didn't come out right. The surroundings are a little grainy, but no more than a standard security camera, so they know there's nothing wrong with the film itself. The ghost, who called herself the Lunch Lady if Maddie remembers correctly, is little more than a green haze in the image. They expected this. Ghosts don't interact with most technology well, not unless it is designed to interact with them.

But the smaller figure is distorted, a twisted shadow obscuring their form. Not ghostly, but not human either.

She clicks to the next image, getting the same results.

"Are you saying it's a human?" Jack asks without breaking stride.

"It's humanoid, but I don't think it's human, either. Yet it bled, so it's not a ghost. And look at this." She closes the files, revealing a folder full of pictures, all of them taken over the past couple of weeks as ghost sightings increased. "They show up at most fights and leave lots of bodily fluids behind." Jiggling the mouse, she circles a series of four images with the courser, all pictures of significant blood splatters. "But the samples..."

As one, she and Jack turn to the sample tray sitting on the far counter. Where the blood is deep red in the pictures, the samples they took have slowly turned to a dark, murky brown, like thick mud. The oldest sample from the first sighting is black.

Jack grabs a handful of fudge and shoves it in his mouth. "Not to mention," he speaks around the chewy squares, "what does it do with the ghosts?"

The lab door squeaks as it opens. Maddie and Jack fall silent, gazes turning toward the stairs. A pair of red sneakers appears on the top step, creeping down, until the wearer slowly reveals themself. Their son, Danny, with what looks like a thermos clutched in his hand.

"Sweetie, are you only just getting home?" Maddie asks.

Danny yelps in surprise. He jerks the thermos behind his back and swivels to face his parents, freezing on the step. "Oh, hey. I didn't think you guys would be here..."

Maddie narrows her eyes. "What did you do, young man? You were supposed to be home from school an hour ago."

"Nothing! I just got held up." Danny tugs the collar of his jacket.

That's odd. Maddie doesn't remember him leaving with a jacket this morning. The sleeves drape over his hands, down to his knuckles, and he has the collar turned up to cover his neck. It must be cold outside, even though September is only just ending. "What held you up?"

"Uh, that's kind of why I thought you guys wouldn't be here? There was another ghost fight. It got pretty bad." He shifts, pressing his arm against his side. Is his jacket darker there, against his ribs?

"Another ghost?" Jack exclaims. He slaps the fudge down on the closest surface, rattling the test tube samples. "Mads, we gotta go! There might still be some evidence!"

Maddie's eyes widen. "Oh, shoot. You're right! We need fresh samples." They race to grab their equipment, snatching up sample gathering packs from their desks, and charge up the stairs.

Danny presses himself against the wall, offering them a nervous smile as they go. "Stay safe!" he calls. The front door slams as Maddie and Jack make their exit, leaving the house in silence. Still, Danny doesn't relax until he hears the rev of the Fenton RV and the familiar squeal of its tires against the pavement. His shoulders slump and he breathes a sigh of relief.

"That was close." Taking his hand out from behind his back, he looks down at the Fenton Thermos. "Now let's get you taken care of."

As he empties the thermos back into the Ghost Zone, his gaze wanders to the computer screen, still open to the photo evidence. Danny reads the title of the folder. "Challenger?" He snorts. "That's lame." As he skims the photos, a couple jump out at him. In most, he can barely make out the shape of his own body—something he tries not to think about—but in one or two, he can recognize the colours of his clothes beneath the distorting shadow.

Danny slaps the cap back onto the empty thermos before moving closer to the computer, frowning at the screen. "That might be a problem."

—

Danny stands in front of his friends, fists resting on his hips, and shows off his new look. "Well? What do you think?"

Tucker looks him up and down, body shaking as he suppresses his laughter. "Is that a paper superhero mask? Did you spray paint your hair white?"

Danny's hands rise to his head. "It's a spray-on dye! I thought it was cool!"

"Ten bucks says it's super crispy."

"Don't be mean," Sam admonishes Tucker. "I think he looks pretty good. For a discount Jack Frost."

Tucker snaps his fingers. "Emo Jack Frost! The real one would never wear this much black."

"We are no longer friends," Danny says, turning away from them.

"Come on, don’t be a spoilsport."

"Nope, too late. I'm already dead to you."

Sam and Tucker share a confused glance. "Don't you mean we're dead to—" Before Sam can finish the sentence, Danny turns and throws himself out his bedroom window. "Danny!" They scramble after him, falling against the sill as they lean outside, peering down to the alley below.

Danny lies face-first on the pavement.

"Are you dead?" Tucker asks.

Danny raises his arm and gives them a thumbs up.

—

Valerie holds back a startled shout when the metal suit crashes onto the sidewalk next to her. She is not scared, but anyone would be surprised if two tons of metal suddenly fell from the sky. A scream, rapidly increasing in volume, drawings her gaze upwards just in time for a black-clad figure to plummet inches from her nose and land with a sharp crack on top of the suit.

This time Valerie cries out because holy shit, is he dead? Her panic sputters out when she peeks at the possible corpse and gets a good look at exactly who, or what, came falling after. A human figure dressed in all black with poorly coloured hair. It looks crispy as hell.

Valerie sneers. What kind of cheap dye did they use?

She recognizes the Challenger on sight. By now, more than half of Amity Park can, although Valerie can't account for the sudden style change. Maybe they realized how lame their regular t-shirt and jeans are and decided to switch things up. This isn't much better, though. Black hoodie, black pants, black boots, no style.

No one knows their name, but the moniker the Fentons gave them seems to have stuck. Valerie thinks it's a little on the nose, though.

Something wriggles in the corner of her eye and she looks to the Challenger's fist. It clutches a bright green blob, with stubby limbs and a wide mouth.

"Let go of me!" The blob beats its penny-sized fists against the Challenger's thumb. "You are my prey!"

The Challenger groans. "Can you shut up for a second? I think my neck broke." They squeeze the blob until it squeaks.

"Hey. Watch where you're throwing this stuff around." Valerie kicks the arm of the metal suit. "You nearly crushed me!"

The Challenger jolts. Their head whips up, accompanied by a loud crack, and they lurch to their feet. A mask covers their eyes—cheap like the hair dye, probably from a costume stored—but judging by the way their eyebrows shoot up, they look at Valerie with wide eyes.

"Uh, hey, Va—citizen." Their voice drops a solid octave. "Sorry about that! I'll watch out next time." They are about to say something else when a loud squeal interrupts up, the signature sound of the Fentons' approach. The Challenger pales. "Sorry, gotta go!"

They dash into the nearest alley before Valerie can get another word in, leaving her with the empty metal husk and the sound of the Fentons from two streets away. She gapes after them, unsure what to make of the brief exchange.

"Actually, wait a second." The Challenger pops back around the corner, leaping over the ghost's suit to reach Valerie. They grab her shoulders in a cold grip. "Are people really using that dumb name for me?"

At a loss for words, Valerie nods.

"Ugh." The Challenger groans and lets her go in favour of rubbing a hand down their face. "Stop that. It's so boring. Just call me... Phantom. Okay? See ya!" They spin away, too fast, and trip over the metal suit.

Wow, Valerie thinks as Phantom scrambles around the corner once more. We have the lamest superhero ever.