The Summoner

So the Ghost Zone counts as its own domain right? Then I propose foreign exchange student Danny Fenton.

He's very quiet and very smart but more importantly, he's pretty dodgy about his country or origin. He's never given a straight answer about where he comes from. Only saying things like "oh we're big on combat sports" or "technically we're a monarchy but there hasn't been a king since the last one was locked away for being a tyrant". It's to the point where students have made a running bet to see who can figure out Danny's country of origin first. And Tim plans to win that bet.

Danny's Daycare Part 1

      [Master List]

  Danny liked to believe he was a good person, with a good heart, but even he knew he’d decided to do this more out of boredom than anything else. There were a lot of places and people he could help with his powers and wealth but there were only two reasons he’d agreed to help Lady Gotham. The first being; she’d asked. Who was he to turn down a city spirit who’d come to ask his help? What reason could he have for turning her down? Well, he was busy with his kingly duties, but that was exactly why he had to do it. He was bored.

            Having graduated with his bachelor’s in the previous semester and the realms being completely calm and peaceful for the first time in a few thousand years, he’d grown bored. He’d honestly been considering finally dealing with the GIW on a more official basis (though he wasn’t sure he would be able to without overturning the Anti-Ecto Acts) but had ruled it out. He’d banned ghosts from Amity Park years ago and had discovered the GIW wasn’t doing too well for itself anymore.

            So….

            He’d agreed.

            Of course Lady Gotham had been entirely ambiguous with her request and thus he’d decided to take certain liberties in the way he chose to help. If he was being honest he thought his ideas were much more helpful than what she may have been expecting. He’d hung up his metaphorical cape and retired Phantom shortly after high school. As king, he was still Phantom, but he didn’t plan on ever flying around as a vigilante again.

            He wouldn’t have agreed to help if it meant he’d have to pick up his old mantle again.

            Teen hero Phantom had died on a dissection table and there was no amount of Ectoplasm strong enough to bring him back.

            Only a bit of research told Danny all he needed to know about Gotham and how he could best help. The birds and bats had rogues covered, they didn’t need Phantom anyways. But the thing that led to so many people becoming goons? To dealing drugs? To taking up crime? That was something neither the birds nor the bats were handling.

            So using an infinitesimal amount of his disgustingly vast wealth, Danny bought a decent sized building in the middle of the Bowery, bought and apartment building nearby, and packed his things. Moving wasn’t difficult considering his handle on opening portals to the infinite realms and the fact that he was currently living in his keep.

            Jazz had been… confused. She thought he was throwing away his freedom, shunning her hopes that he’d go for his PhD, but after he’d explained what he was doing  she was more than happy to help in any way she could. After all, she was interning as a psychologist at Arkham Asylum while finishing her PhD at Gotham U. Anything that got her little brother to spend more time with her was a win in her books.

            Getting the building ready for Danny’s plan was the most time-consuming part, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He took all the necessary precautions, had the building inspected and fumigated, installed heating and air conditioning, replaced the worn-out plumbing, and had Tucker create the best security system known to man- or ghost. He did all the same in the apartment building he’d bought (he also lowered the rent a fair bit without telling any of the current tenants).

            Once the building wasn’t literally collapsing, he had the carpeted floors replaced (there was no saving the blood crusted carpets) with hard wood floors and colorful area rugs. At this point people had begun to notice all of the work going into the building, they didn’t ask questions though, that would be very Gothamite of them. Danny had spent every waking moment working on the building, hadn’t stepped outside more than a handful of times, and certainly hadn’t met any of the neighbors.

            That was kind of the opposite of his intentions.

            So he’d looked around for soup kitchens in the area, found one that served dinner at a time that fit in his schedule, and started volunteering. A few days after contacting them about volunteering he got a call that he was cleared to start whenever, and he agreed to come the next evening.

            He arrived a bit earlier than they’d suggested but the woman in charge didn’t seem to mind too much.

            “I’m Molly, you’re early.” A woman much taller than Danny with broad shoulders and biceps thicker than his head, crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. “I assume you want to work?”

            He nodded, dumbstruck.

            “Good. This way.” He followed her without a second thought. He found himself in a large kitchen filled with the sounds of chatter, chopping, and music. A couple of the volunteers were singing to the music while cooking. It was overall, really pleasant. “You know how to chop vegetables?” Molly asked.

            He felt… condescended a bit but brushed it off. “Yeah I can chop.”

            “Good, Les! You’ve got a new chopping buddy. Lanky, take a break.” Molly shouted orders to the rest of the staff while Danny took over chopping from Lanky, apparently.

            A young woman -he assumed she was Les?- handed him the knife Lanky had been holding and pointed to a large sack of potatoes. “Chop all of those, then put them into the pot to your right.” She brushed a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and continued chopping carrots.

            The two chopped in relative silence, the sounds of the kitchen washing over them, until he finished the sack of potatoes he’d been working on. Danny was a lot slower than Les but she had more carrots than he had potatoes, so he finished first. “Done.”

            She looked up, finished what she was doing, and wiped her hands on her apron. “Good. Can you finish these carrots while I move the potatoes and see what else we need done?” He got to work on the carrots while Les ran around making sure everything was running smoothly. By the time she returned he had finished the carrots as well.

            “Good,” There was approval in her voice, and he fought off a blush. “Dinner is starting soon. We’ve plenty of people working on the food, you up for serving?” He nodded, wiping his hands on his own apron before following her away from the kitchen.

            “Wash up here.” She gestured to a sink beside the door leading to the eating area. While he washed his hands she explained what he’d be doing. “You’re just serving one dish, so it’s not complicated. One ladle-full per tray, no seconds, there won’t be leftovers as it is. Be kind and respectful, we have people if anybody gets rowdy so don’t try to be a hero.” It was a strange warning but… well, it was Gotham.

            He nodded obediently and followed her to the pot of stew that was already made which he’d be serving from tonight.

            “Service starts in ten minutes; we’ve already got quite a line. Someone will come to relieve you for a break in two hours. Dinner last four hours- I assume you’re here for the whole night?” He nodded again. “Good, you’ll get a twenty-minute break to eat and rest before going back to give someone else their break, understand?”

            It was a relatively easy job- though he tried not to think too deeply about some of the people he served. You can’t save everybody, Danny. Jazz’s voice echoed in his mind as he watched two young boys get food, refusing to make eye contact with any of the volunteers. The older boy muttered a quiet ‘thanks’ before dragging the younger boy away and finding a spot in the corner away from everybody else.

            He tried to put them out of his mind as he continued to serve the everybody else. He couldn’t. Danny found himself glancing towards the corner every few minutes to watch out for the boys, something about them reminded him of Jazz and himself- though he wasn’t sure why. Other than the overprotective older sibling thing, there wasn’t much to compare. Still, he felt a sort of… pull towards the boys.

            It wasn’t ectoplasmic, they just… clearly they needed help- two kids wouldn’t be in a soup kitchen if they didn’t but- You can’t save everybody, Danny. And you’ll kill yourself fully trying to. Jazz was right, like usual- of course he’d never tell her that but-

            “-nny? Hello?” Someone tapped his shoulder, his head whipped to the side, startling the newcomer. “Sorry man, just trying to send you on your break. You good?”

            Danny nodded, setting down the ladle and moving aside for the other man. He needed to clear his mind.

~~~

            He painted the walls. Pale colors that complimented the even more colorful posters he hung over top and went nicely with the rugs. He considered tuning it down a bit when it came to the furniture, but what was the point? Colors were fun- kids liked colors, right? So the plastic tables and chairs were yellow and red and green and blue and purple and any other color you could think of.

            And once the furniture was moved in he was able to buy toys. Toy boxes were filled with various brand new and colorful toys, shelves were packed with unread books in perfect condition, and crayon boxes with coloring books were laid neatly on each table. The cabinets were stocked with Sam-approved snacks, the first aid kit was over-stocked, and the closet was filled with a wide range of clothing for kids who might not have hats, gloves, coats, or anything else they might need. He'd buy more when he finally had kids to buy for.

            Lady Gotham hadn’t said a word about his plan, but she’d nodded resolutely, thanked him, and went on her way, and that was enough encouragement to continue.

            On one of the last days of constructions, Danny received a visitor.

            “So this is where you’ve been, eh babypop?”

            Looking up from the paperwork Danny had been poring over, he smirked. “I guess I missed living in a haunted town.”

            She rolled her eyes and sauntered closer. “So you’ve- what? Traded your throne for a plastic rainbow chair?”

            “I didn’t trade anything. Lady Gotham asked for help, and I had time. It’s not like I’ll be here forever. Just until Gotham is faring a bit better. Maybe I’ll find someone I trust to give this place to sometime down the line.”

            Ember leaned her hip against his desk and crossed her arms. “And you’re doing this alone?”

            He shrugged. “Jazz is in school and interning at Arkham, Sam’s in San Francisco with Val and Tucker, and who knows where Dani is.” He frowned at something on the paperwork before shrugging again and writing something down.

            “That wasn’t what I meant, kid.”

            “I’ve gotten really good at the whole duplication thing recently so, yeah, I was going to do this alone. Who else would help me? I mean, maybe I’ll hire some help down the line, but I’ve got to be established first.” Danny knew full well that his current plan would have him exhausting himself on a daily basis. Working long days, by himself, while duplicating himself enough to take care of an unknown number of kids would drain him.

            A hand grabbed his pen away before he could keep working on his paperwork and he looked up to try and snatch it back. Ember was leaning into his space, holding the pen away from him. “I was offering to help, Babypop. Actually, I’ve talked to a few people who are offering to help.”

            Frowning, Danny searched the desk for another pen. “You do realize this isn’t like the Infinite Realms, right? You can’t duel a kid, you can’t mind control children, you aren’t allowed to fuck shit up here.”

            “Wow, is that all you think I’m capable of?” The hurt in her voice was feigned but he wondered if there was a tiny bit of truth behind it.

            “That’s not what I meant, Ember. I- just- who wants to help?”

            She smirked.

            That was how Danny found himself surrounded by ghosts, going over rules and expectations if they wanted to help. Lunch Lady, Ember, Dora, and a few others he didn’t know as well, listened as he laid down the law. The safety of the kids came before all else. It came before their own safety, it came before Danny’s identity, it came before everything. If they were going to do this, they would be doing it the right way.

            “There is also the matter of the birds and the bats.” Danny sighed, leaning against his desk and facing his friends? Subjects? Fellow ghosts.

            Ember scoffed. “I don’t need that talk from you, babypop.”

            “No no- not the birds and the bees. The birds and the bats. Gotham vigilantes.” The ghosts nodded in understanding. “They are not to be messed with, understood? The Anti-Ecto Acts are still very much in play, and I cannot tell you what side the birds and bats will be on but presumably, the governments. Batman founded the Justice League so not only does he work for the government, but they failed Amity multiple times, I do not trust them.

            “First and foremost; Batman. He’s the leader of the birds and bats as far as I can tell. He’s been around for over twenty years, the world’s greatest detective, and keeps up with heroes like superman, avoid at all costs. His sidekick is Robin, a kid in green, red, and yellow, he has swords, and we all know that despite his age, he is probably pretty dangerous.”

            “Okay we get it; you beat all of us while you were a scrawny fourteen-year-old.” Ember scoffed.

            “Everyone else is listening quietly, Em.” He glared pointedly. “Anyway, next is Nightwing- he’s technically Bludhaven’s vigilante but he helps around Gotham on the regular. Wears black and blue, my understanding is he’s generally pretty friendly, but I don’t want to take any chances. Then there’s Red Robin, he’s said to be a tech genius and considering Tucker’s obsessed with him, I’d say that’s probably true. Despite that, he’s not chump, I’ve seen some videos, he can fight, and he fights dirty. He wears black and red.

            “Red Hood wears the bat emblem, but he works mostly on his own in Crime Alley. He wears a red helmet- I know, he should be wearing a hood, but whatever. Hood is the only one that I’ve heard a good deal about, I’ve heard whispers of him in the realms, spirits who are grateful to him for avenging them like to call him the avenger of the dead. I have a great deal of respect for him. That being said; Red Hood kills, he is the only vigilante in Gotham that carries guns- not dangerous to you, but still, avoid him at all costs.”

            “I don’t see the importance of such a warning, we cannot die.” Dora frowned.

            Danny nodded in agreement. “No, you’re right, you probably don’t need to be all that concerned. However, if they find out about us and what we are, there’s no telling if they’ll get their hands on ghost tech from my- from the Fentons.” Ember gave him a sympathetic look at his slip. “I don’t want them learning anything about us or the Realms for all of our safety.

            “Signal is the daytime hero, he wears bright yellow and my understanding is he’s also super friendly. I found a video of him teaching street kids how to do a backflip. I’ve also seen him punch goons into next week so again, dangerous. Spoiler wears purple, she’s a badass any way you look at it. She’s quippy, flippy, and intense. More intense though is black bat, who wears all black and doesn’t speak.” He took a deep breath and made sure he’d said everything already. “I think that’s everyone. Questions?”

~~~

            The daycare was almost entirely finished, Danny had been spending more time there than at his apartment, and he’d had Tucker craft fake identities for everybody who wanted to help out. With how stressful things had been Danny felt the need for an extra-large, extra caffeinated, heart attack inducing coffee. There was one coffee shop he loved in the Upper East Side that knew him well. He’d come by for a coffee every morning since moving to Gotham five weeks ago and the barista’s had quickly began recognizing the man who got a black coffee with seven shots of espresso and a disgusting amount of syrup. He imagined not many people got that kind of drink. (He hoped).

            Jesse smiled when Danny approached the counter and began typing his order from memory. “How’s the construction going, Danny?” They asked.

            Offering his own tired smile, Danny nodded. “Construction’s done, just finishing up some stuff on the inside and paperwork.”

            “That’s great!” Jesse accepted Danny’s card, swiping it through their register. “My uncle lives in the Bowery and he has a little girl. The daycare could really help a lot of people.” Their voice was warm and slightly sad at the same time. “I hope it works out.”

            Taking his card back and their words as a dismissal, Danny gave a nod and moved towards the hand-off plane to wait for his drink. He checked his phone; Jazz had been blowing it up with more ideas for his egregious wealth could benefit the people of Gotham. She’d mentioned a lot of ideas that were… well they weren’t bad per se, but Danny already had a lot on his plate with the Daycare opening in just under a week.

            He wrote each suggestion down in his notes app anyways. A lot of them were things Gotham already had; food banks, homeless shelters, etc. but some of them were more interesting. A mechanic who fixed up cars for free, a tutoring program for kids who weren’t in school but wanted to go back, classes on how to combat different kinds of gasses and poisons (specifically fear gas, Poison Ivy’s different toxins, and Joker Venom), first aid programs, and a whole lot more. Danny hoped to implement a lot of Jazz’s ideas at some point, but for now, he was just one guy.

            One guy who barely saved himself.

            Jesse handed Danny his drink and waved as they turned to help another customer. Moving towards the exit, Danny narrowly avoided crashing into a bigger man who clearly didn’t have special awareness but in turn crashed into a much smaller man.

            “Oh shit!” Danny’s drink spilled all along his front and onto his shoes and he cringed at the painful heat coming into contact with his sensitive scars. “I’m really sorry.” He sighed, looking over the other man to see he hadn’t actually spilled any of his drink on the other man. Thank Ancients.

            The other man, who was only slightly shorter than Danny, was pressing napkins into Danny’s shirt. “Don’t worry about it. Are you okay? That looked really hot.”

            Danny nodded, taking the napkins from the other man and wiping away what he could without rubbing his scars. “Yeah… it was. I’m just glad I didn’t spill it on you.” He froze. “I didn’t, right?”

            The other man shook his head. “I’m fine, thanks. Let me buy you another one- it was kind of my fault anyways.”

            “We both know I crashed into you.” Danny raised an eyebrow. He didn’t need anyone to buy his coffee, he was disgustingly wealthy, if anything, he should be buying the stranger his coffee as an apology for crashing into him.

            “Whatever, let me buy your coffee as an apology anyways.” Danny shrugged, following the man up to the counter. He was going to buy a replacement anyways; he might as well let this stranger buy it for him.

            Jesse raised an eyebrow at the duo. “Oh god. I was hoping you two would never meet.”

            Danny and the man looked at each other strangely before looking back at Jesse. “Why?” They asked in unison.

            “Two large hot coffees with seven shots of espresso and fifteen pumps of vanilla?” They raised their eyebrow, looking between the two men judgmentally.

            Danny turned to the stranger, who in turn did the same, both looked at each other before promptly bursting into laughter. “Oh my Ancients, you too, huh?” Danny pretended to wipe away a tear as the other man ran a hand through his hair.

            “A man of taste.”

            Jesse swiped the man’s card. “I’ll have them in a minute, Tim, Danny.” They nodded to each of the men dismissively and they took their cue.

            They took a seat near the hand-off plane and Danny realized he’d never introduced himself properly. “I’m Danny, sorry about almost dropping my coffee on your very expensive looking suit.”

            The man -Tim apparently- waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m Tim, sorry about making you dump boiling hot coffee all over yourself.”

            “Better my t shirt and jeans than your Armani suit.”

            “I save the Armani for special occasions.” Tim smirked. “So what could you possibly be doing that requires a level of caffeine that could kill an elephant?”

            Danny rolled his eyes. “Jeez, you sound like my sister. I’ve spent the last five weeks renovating a place in the Bowery and turning it into a daycare. Only a few days before it opens, and I’ve already got a couple of kids signed up, so I imagine I’ll be drinking this every day for the rest of my life. How about yourself? You must have a crazy job to be drinking that much coffee.”

            Tim looked surprised briefly before masking it. “I’ve got some business meetings today I’ve been putting off for a while. I usually drink a few coffees a day to get through all the bullshit the board likes to pull.”

            “You must be pretty high up to be dealing with a board. I know how much those meetings suck. I usually just fake an emergency- of course they start to catch on when you do it every single time- but you know- I don’t really care.” He chuckled thinking about the last council meeting in the realms when Frighty’d almost had an aneurysm from Danny’s antics.

            Tim’s head tilted. “Where do you work?”

            He hadn’t anticipated this question which was stupid because he was the one who’d brought up dealing with his own board, Danny was saved by Jesse. “Tim!” They called from the bar. Two identical coffees sat on the hand-off plane and the men moved in unison.

            Drink in hand, Danny turned to Tim. “Well thanks for the coffee, Tim. I’ve gotta get back to the daycare but it was nice meeting you!” He smiled, offering a hand to shake.

            Tim took it, holding his own coffee in his other hand. “You too, Danny. I’ll see you around?”

            “Unfortunately!” Jesse called from behind the bar.

~~~

This is a fic on AO3 but thought I'd post the parts here separately for anyone who wanted to read them on Tumblr

AO3 Link

Original Prompt from @glow-in-the-dark-death

Next

Just a warning, this au strays a bit close to NSFW territory in that it does talk about Sex Workers, but it does not mention or describe anything specific, mostly just discussing how they operate and some dangers they may face working in Gothem.

So, we all know that Tim would do a lot for the mission right? More than most people would. I mean, just look at Brucequest or the fact he came back after his 16th birthday or his first few months as Robin when he was basically Bruce's nanny. He also has many false life's he can slip into at the drop of a hat such as Alvin Draper or Caroline Hill. So why not add one more to those personas? A woman named Jane Doe, a sex worker who works just outside Crime Alley who everyone knows and knows everyone, but no one truly knows her nor have they ever seen her face, if she even is a woman as she uses all pronouns to get just a little more mystery added to them. Their outfit is constantly changing but also very specific, a short and highly attractive dress that doesn't look cheap and a full face mask in the style of Venetian Carnival Masks, Volto design specifically so that it covers his full face but shows striking blue eyes. Those he has colored contacts that he switches around constantly.

The reason that Tim does this is simple. Information. While Jason may be able to ask the sex workers under his protection questions, they wouldn't be as open with him as they would another sex worker. Tim can get information from them, the clients, the shop owners of the area, the homeless, anyone and everyone who is often on the street or connected to it that none of the other Bats would ever be able to get. And through his... services he gets a lot of information about up coming things thanks to a special discount everyone knows about. If you tell Jane a secret they don't already know, you get 10% off his services. Tell him 2 and you get 20%. So on and so forth, but it has to be things that Tim didn't already know and he's more than happy to hear about which rouges are hiring at the moment and when they stop hiring, after all, what easier way to predict when they are gunna do stuff than by when they get new henchmen?

A lot is known about Jane Doe, yet also nothing is known. Jane doesn't keep any of the money he makes, giving it to the other girls and often extra as well. No one knows where she keeps getting 100s of dollars to just *give* them but she does. Jane has three brothers, a sister, and a father but no mother. They don't know their names, simply knowing them as N, H, C, R, and B. Whoever they are, they're a well off family but they aren't good to Jane, bad enough that Jane feels safer on the corners of Gothem than the comfort of her home. They know from "funny" stories he tells about his family or via them asking about scars he forgets misses when he covers himself in makeup (there are so many, what have they done to you child?) And him always telling something close to the truth.

They know that N is his oldest brother and the only one who cared about him for a long time, who helped him and was the first person who ever made him feel truly happy. They also know that N took something very precious from Jane Doe without Jane's permission and shattered their trust in N. Tim never told them what was taken or that it was Robin, but in a profession like the one he shares with them, they all come to the same conclusion about what was taken and why Jane might seek comfort in this line of work.

They know that H is also his older brother and has hurt Jane often. They know that the slight scar on his neck he covers with a choker or makeup was made by H, as was the bullet scar in his leg. He laughed about that one, telling his friends how H had set down one of his guns after cleaning it, R picked it up and accidentally fired it, and it bounced twice before going clean through Tim's leg. He laughs about how mad H was at both of them and how he yelled at them to not tell B or else, using a mocking tone and laughter that only causes the others to glance at eachother in worry over their friend. Tim makes sure to reassure them that he got to the blood before it dried so it wasn't to hard to clean up. Tim may have read it as anger in Jason's voice when he said to not tell, but actually it was panic and worry about Tim's wound and how Bruce would react.

They don't know much about C, only that she managed to escape the hell hole known as Gothem and lives in another country. Sometimes she comes back for visits and Jane is always very excited when she does.

The other Sex Workers don't like R. They know that R has either threatened Jane with sharp objects or actually harmed her with them many times but has never gotten in trouble for it. Any time Tim has some left over injuries from patrol, he plays it off as either R or H getting agressive with him again and tries to calm them by saying, "oh come on. Both of them have only tried to *actually* kill me twice! It's fine guys, they won't seriously injure me." While having 5 stitches in his arm.

Jane doesn't talk about their Dad much, always getting quiet and looking away when he's brought up. They ask if B has ever hit him and Jane says, "he doesn't hit me anymore." And all of them want to kill him. They want to kill all of them (except maybe C) and bury their bodies where they'll never be found.

Of course, none of the Bats know about Tim's other nightly activities and where he gets his info from, simply shrugging and moving along. Tim is terrified of any of them accidentally finding out. But unfortunately that day could be coming soon as one of the workers goes to The Red Hood and grabs him by the jacket saying, "you're supposed to protect us right? That's what you promised us, isn't it? Saftey? Well one of the others, Jane, is in deep trouble. Their family is gunna *kill* them. Do whatever you need to do to keep Jane safe from those monsters, we'll tell you what we know, but stop them before she's just another dead body in Gothem Harbor. Do we need to pay you? We'll pay you however much it takes for you to make them pay."

This does remind me of a few fics that go over Tim's "Caroline" identity combined with the idea that Bruce was worse to Tim during his Robin years. Some fics do go into Tim having to go so far as actually having sex with people while some don't.

There are also a few fics of Tim going undercover in Crime Alley as a stripper, cocktail server, sex worker, or other when Red Hood finds out and loses his shit.

The idea of Tim using a fake identity to vent about his family issues is a really cool concept! It would allow him to see how the actions done against him were shit and not okay. He may have the mindset that his trauma is fine because it happened to him, but the separation of identities may help start that realization process. I'm also all here for the identity shenanigans of someone trying to save Jane from her family and accidentally going to one of the people who's hurt them. Lovely amounts of mixed emotions there.

This fic/AU would need to be careful to address both the trauma of Tim selling himself at such a young age as well as still treat sex workers with respect, individuality, and care. It would also be cool to see how the inner workings of the sex industry may be affected by Gotham (such as rogues, toxins, corruption, wealth disparity/poverty, etc).

But yeah! Lots to explore in this AU. I wonder if Tim, in this one, cares about pronouns or gender identity. Does he enjoy crossdressing, does he experiment with his gender identity, and does he make distinctions? I think it would be cool to indicate he's closer agender but is fine with whatever. I like to imagine, in this AU, that he simply doesn't care what gender identity he's perceived as unless that identity needs a specific gender.

Anyways, I am curious about how Red Hood reacts to his characterization by Jane. I wonder if she seems to be wary or distant from him before he finds out that's Tim. Hopefully, Jason tries not to take Jane's hesitance personally. Just because Red Hood is established as a protector doesn't mean that Jane would trust him. They may have their own reasons/experiences not to that has nothing to do with the anti-hero.

Danny's Daycare Part 1

      [Master List]

  Danny liked to believe he was a good person, with a good heart, but even he knew he’d decided to do this more out of boredom than anything else. There were a lot of places and people he could help with his powers and wealth but there were only two reasons he’d agreed to help Lady Gotham. The first being; she’d asked. Who was he to turn down a city spirit who’d come to ask his help? What reason could he have for turning her down? Well, he was busy with his kingly duties, but that was exactly why he had to do it. He was bored.

            Having graduated with his bachelor’s in the previous semester and the realms being completely calm and peaceful for the first time in a few thousand years, he’d grown bored. He’d honestly been considering finally dealing with the GIW on a more official basis (though he wasn’t sure he would be able to without overturning the Anti-Ecto Acts) but had ruled it out. He’d banned ghosts from Amity Park years ago and had discovered the GIW wasn’t doing too well for itself anymore.

            So….

            He’d agreed.

            Of course Lady Gotham had been entirely ambiguous with her request and thus he’d decided to take certain liberties in the way he chose to help. If he was being honest he thought his ideas were much more helpful than what she may have been expecting. He’d hung up his metaphorical cape and retired Phantom shortly after high school. As king, he was still Phantom, but he didn’t plan on ever flying around as a vigilante again.

            He wouldn’t have agreed to help if it meant he’d have to pick up his old mantle again.

            Teen hero Phantom had died on a dissection table and there was no amount of Ectoplasm strong enough to bring him back.

            Only a bit of research told Danny all he needed to know about Gotham and how he could best help. The birds and bats had rogues covered, they didn’t need Phantom anyways. But the thing that led to so many people becoming goons? To dealing drugs? To taking up crime? That was something neither the birds nor the bats were handling.

            So using an infinitesimal amount of his disgustingly vast wealth, Danny bought a decent sized building in the middle of the Bowery, bought and apartment building nearby, and packed his things. Moving wasn’t difficult considering his handle on opening portals to the infinite realms and the fact that he was currently living in his keep.

            Jazz had been… confused. She thought he was throwing away his freedom, shunning her hopes that he’d go for his PhD, but after he’d explained what he was doing  she was more than happy to help in any way she could. After all, she was interning as a psychologist at Arkham Asylum while finishing her PhD at Gotham U. Anything that got her little brother to spend more time with her was a win in her books.

            Getting the building ready for Danny’s plan was the most time-consuming part, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He took all the necessary precautions, had the building inspected and fumigated, installed heating and air conditioning, replaced the worn-out plumbing, and had Tucker create the best security system known to man- or ghost. He did all the same in the apartment building he’d bought (he also lowered the rent a fair bit without telling any of the current tenants).

            Once the building wasn’t literally collapsing, he had the carpeted floors replaced (there was no saving the blood crusted carpets) with hard wood floors and colorful area rugs. At this point people had begun to notice all of the work going into the building, they didn’t ask questions though, that would be very Gothamite of them. Danny had spent every waking moment working on the building, hadn’t stepped outside more than a handful of times, and certainly hadn’t met any of the neighbors.

            That was kind of the opposite of his intentions.

            So he’d looked around for soup kitchens in the area, found one that served dinner at a time that fit in his schedule, and started volunteering. A few days after contacting them about volunteering he got a call that he was cleared to start whenever, and he agreed to come the next evening.

            He arrived a bit earlier than they’d suggested but the woman in charge didn’t seem to mind too much.

            “I’m Molly, you’re early.” A woman much taller than Danny with broad shoulders and biceps thicker than his head, crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. “I assume you want to work?”

            He nodded, dumbstruck.

            “Good. This way.” He followed her without a second thought. He found himself in a large kitchen filled with the sounds of chatter, chopping, and music. A couple of the volunteers were singing to the music while cooking. It was overall, really pleasant. “You know how to chop vegetables?” Molly asked.

            He felt… condescended a bit but brushed it off. “Yeah I can chop.”

            “Good, Les! You’ve got a new chopping buddy. Lanky, take a break.” Molly shouted orders to the rest of the staff while Danny took over chopping from Lanky, apparently.

            A young woman -he assumed she was Les?- handed him the knife Lanky had been holding and pointed to a large sack of potatoes. “Chop all of those, then put them into the pot to your right.” She brushed a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and continued chopping carrots.

            The two chopped in relative silence, the sounds of the kitchen washing over them, until he finished the sack of potatoes he’d been working on. Danny was a lot slower than Les but she had more carrots than he had potatoes, so he finished first. “Done.”

            She looked up, finished what she was doing, and wiped her hands on her apron. “Good. Can you finish these carrots while I move the potatoes and see what else we need done?” He got to work on the carrots while Les ran around making sure everything was running smoothly. By the time she returned he had finished the carrots as well.

            “Good,” There was approval in her voice, and he fought off a blush. “Dinner is starting soon. We’ve plenty of people working on the food, you up for serving?” He nodded, wiping his hands on his own apron before following her away from the kitchen.

            “Wash up here.” She gestured to a sink beside the door leading to the eating area. While he washed his hands she explained what he’d be doing. “You’re just serving one dish, so it’s not complicated. One ladle-full per tray, no seconds, there won’t be leftovers as it is. Be kind and respectful, we have people if anybody gets rowdy so don’t try to be a hero.” It was a strange warning but… well, it was Gotham.

            He nodded obediently and followed her to the pot of stew that was already made which he’d be serving from tonight.

            “Service starts in ten minutes; we’ve already got quite a line. Someone will come to relieve you for a break in two hours. Dinner last four hours- I assume you’re here for the whole night?” He nodded again. “Good, you’ll get a twenty-minute break to eat and rest before going back to give someone else their break, understand?”

            It was a relatively easy job- though he tried not to think too deeply about some of the people he served. You can’t save everybody, Danny. Jazz’s voice echoed in his mind as he watched two young boys get food, refusing to make eye contact with any of the volunteers. The older boy muttered a quiet ‘thanks’ before dragging the younger boy away and finding a spot in the corner away from everybody else.

            He tried to put them out of his mind as he continued to serve the everybody else. He couldn’t. Danny found himself glancing towards the corner every few minutes to watch out for the boys, something about them reminded him of Jazz and himself- though he wasn’t sure why. Other than the overprotective older sibling thing, there wasn’t much to compare. Still, he felt a sort of… pull towards the boys.

            It wasn’t ectoplasmic, they just… clearly they needed help- two kids wouldn’t be in a soup kitchen if they didn’t but- You can’t save everybody, Danny. And you’ll kill yourself fully trying to. Jazz was right, like usual- of course he’d never tell her that but-

            “-nny? Hello?” Someone tapped his shoulder, his head whipped to the side, startling the newcomer. “Sorry man, just trying to send you on your break. You good?”

            Danny nodded, setting down the ladle and moving aside for the other man. He needed to clear his mind.

~~~

            He painted the walls. Pale colors that complimented the even more colorful posters he hung over top and went nicely with the rugs. He considered tuning it down a bit when it came to the furniture, but what was the point? Colors were fun- kids liked colors, right? So the plastic tables and chairs were yellow and red and green and blue and purple and any other color you could think of.

            And once the furniture was moved in he was able to buy toys. Toy boxes were filled with various brand new and colorful toys, shelves were packed with unread books in perfect condition, and crayon boxes with coloring books were laid neatly on each table. The cabinets were stocked with Sam-approved snacks, the first aid kit was over-stocked, and the closet was filled with a wide range of clothing for kids who might not have hats, gloves, coats, or anything else they might need. He'd buy more when he finally had kids to buy for.

            Lady Gotham hadn’t said a word about his plan, but she’d nodded resolutely, thanked him, and went on her way, and that was enough encouragement to continue.

            On one of the last days of constructions, Danny received a visitor.

            “So this is where you’ve been, eh babypop?”

            Looking up from the paperwork Danny had been poring over, he smirked. “I guess I missed living in a haunted town.”

            She rolled her eyes and sauntered closer. “So you’ve- what? Traded your throne for a plastic rainbow chair?”

            “I didn’t trade anything. Lady Gotham asked for help, and I had time. It’s not like I’ll be here forever. Just until Gotham is faring a bit better. Maybe I’ll find someone I trust to give this place to sometime down the line.”

            Ember leaned her hip against his desk and crossed her arms. “And you’re doing this alone?”

            He shrugged. “Jazz is in school and interning at Arkham, Sam’s in San Francisco with Val and Tucker, and who knows where Dani is.” He frowned at something on the paperwork before shrugging again and writing something down.

            “That wasn’t what I meant, kid.”

            “I’ve gotten really good at the whole duplication thing recently so, yeah, I was going to do this alone. Who else would help me? I mean, maybe I’ll hire some help down the line, but I’ve got to be established first.” Danny knew full well that his current plan would have him exhausting himself on a daily basis. Working long days, by himself, while duplicating himself enough to take care of an unknown number of kids would drain him.

            A hand grabbed his pen away before he could keep working on his paperwork and he looked up to try and snatch it back. Ember was leaning into his space, holding the pen away from him. “I was offering to help, Babypop. Actually, I’ve talked to a few people who are offering to help.”

            Frowning, Danny searched the desk for another pen. “You do realize this isn’t like the Infinite Realms, right? You can’t duel a kid, you can’t mind control children, you aren’t allowed to fuck shit up here.”

            “Wow, is that all you think I’m capable of?” The hurt in her voice was feigned but he wondered if there was a tiny bit of truth behind it.

            “That’s not what I meant, Ember. I- just- who wants to help?”

            She smirked.

            That was how Danny found himself surrounded by ghosts, going over rules and expectations if they wanted to help. Lunch Lady, Ember, Dora, and a few others he didn’t know as well, listened as he laid down the law. The safety of the kids came before all else. It came before their own safety, it came before Danny’s identity, it came before everything. If they were going to do this, they would be doing it the right way.

            “There is also the matter of the birds and the bats.” Danny sighed, leaning against his desk and facing his friends? Subjects? Fellow ghosts.

            Ember scoffed. “I don’t need that talk from you, babypop.”

            “No no- not the birds and the bees. The birds and the bats. Gotham vigilantes.” The ghosts nodded in understanding. “They are not to be messed with, understood? The Anti-Ecto Acts are still very much in play, and I cannot tell you what side the birds and bats will be on but presumably, the governments. Batman founded the Justice League so not only does he work for the government, but they failed Amity multiple times, I do not trust them.

            “First and foremost; Batman. He’s the leader of the birds and bats as far as I can tell. He’s been around for over twenty years, the world’s greatest detective, and keeps up with heroes like superman, avoid at all costs. His sidekick is Robin, a kid in green, red, and yellow, he has swords, and we all know that despite his age, he is probably pretty dangerous.”

            “Okay we get it; you beat all of us while you were a scrawny fourteen-year-old.” Ember scoffed.

            “Everyone else is listening quietly, Em.” He glared pointedly. “Anyway, next is Nightwing- he’s technically Bludhaven’s vigilante but he helps around Gotham on the regular. Wears black and blue, my understanding is he’s generally pretty friendly, but I don’t want to take any chances. Then there’s Red Robin, he’s said to be a tech genius and considering Tucker’s obsessed with him, I’d say that’s probably true. Despite that, he’s not chump, I’ve seen some videos, he can fight, and he fights dirty. He wears black and red.

            “Red Hood wears the bat emblem, but he works mostly on his own in Crime Alley. He wears a red helmet- I know, he should be wearing a hood, but whatever. Hood is the only one that I’ve heard a good deal about, I’ve heard whispers of him in the realms, spirits who are grateful to him for avenging them like to call him the avenger of the dead. I have a great deal of respect for him. That being said; Red Hood kills, he is the only vigilante in Gotham that carries guns- not dangerous to you, but still, avoid him at all costs.”

            “I don’t see the importance of such a warning, we cannot die.” Dora frowned.

            Danny nodded in agreement. “No, you’re right, you probably don’t need to be all that concerned. However, if they find out about us and what we are, there’s no telling if they’ll get their hands on ghost tech from my- from the Fentons.” Ember gave him a sympathetic look at his slip. “I don’t want them learning anything about us or the Realms for all of our safety.

            “Signal is the daytime hero, he wears bright yellow and my understanding is he’s also super friendly. I found a video of him teaching street kids how to do a backflip. I’ve also seen him punch goons into next week so again, dangerous. Spoiler wears purple, she’s a badass any way you look at it. She’s quippy, flippy, and intense. More intense though is black bat, who wears all black and doesn’t speak.” He took a deep breath and made sure he’d said everything already. “I think that’s everyone. Questions?”

~~~

            The daycare was almost entirely finished, Danny had been spending more time there than at his apartment, and he’d had Tucker craft fake identities for everybody who wanted to help out. With how stressful things had been Danny felt the need for an extra-large, extra caffeinated, heart attack inducing coffee. There was one coffee shop he loved in the Upper East Side that knew him well. He’d come by for a coffee every morning since moving to Gotham five weeks ago and the barista’s had quickly began recognizing the man who got a black coffee with seven shots of espresso and a disgusting amount of syrup. He imagined not many people got that kind of drink. (He hoped).

            Jesse smiled when Danny approached the counter and began typing his order from memory. “How’s the construction going, Danny?” They asked.

            Offering his own tired smile, Danny nodded. “Construction’s done, just finishing up some stuff on the inside and paperwork.”

            “That’s great!” Jesse accepted Danny’s card, swiping it through their register. “My uncle lives in the Bowery and he has a little girl. The daycare could really help a lot of people.” Their voice was warm and slightly sad at the same time. “I hope it works out.”

            Taking his card back and their words as a dismissal, Danny gave a nod and moved towards the hand-off plane to wait for his drink. He checked his phone; Jazz had been blowing it up with more ideas for his egregious wealth could benefit the people of Gotham. She’d mentioned a lot of ideas that were… well they weren’t bad per se, but Danny already had a lot on his plate with the Daycare opening in just under a week.

            He wrote each suggestion down in his notes app anyways. A lot of them were things Gotham already had; food banks, homeless shelters, etc. but some of them were more interesting. A mechanic who fixed up cars for free, a tutoring program for kids who weren’t in school but wanted to go back, classes on how to combat different kinds of gasses and poisons (specifically fear gas, Poison Ivy’s different toxins, and Joker Venom), first aid programs, and a whole lot more. Danny hoped to implement a lot of Jazz’s ideas at some point, but for now, he was just one guy.

            One guy who barely saved himself.

            Jesse handed Danny his drink and waved as they turned to help another customer. Moving towards the exit, Danny narrowly avoided crashing into a bigger man who clearly didn’t have special awareness but in turn crashed into a much smaller man.

            “Oh shit!” Danny’s drink spilled all along his front and onto his shoes and he cringed at the painful heat coming into contact with his sensitive scars. “I’m really sorry.” He sighed, looking over the other man to see he hadn’t actually spilled any of his drink on the other man. Thank Ancients.

            The other man, who was only slightly shorter than Danny, was pressing napkins into Danny’s shirt. “Don’t worry about it. Are you okay? That looked really hot.”

            Danny nodded, taking the napkins from the other man and wiping away what he could without rubbing his scars. “Yeah… it was. I’m just glad I didn’t spill it on you.” He froze. “I didn’t, right?”

            The other man shook his head. “I’m fine, thanks. Let me buy you another one- it was kind of my fault anyways.”

            “We both know I crashed into you.” Danny raised an eyebrow. He didn’t need anyone to buy his coffee, he was disgustingly wealthy, if anything, he should be buying the stranger his coffee as an apology for crashing into him.

            “Whatever, let me buy your coffee as an apology anyways.” Danny shrugged, following the man up to the counter. He was going to buy a replacement anyways; he might as well let this stranger buy it for him.

            Jesse raised an eyebrow at the duo. “Oh god. I was hoping you two would never meet.”

            Danny and the man looked at each other strangely before looking back at Jesse. “Why?” They asked in unison.

            “Two large hot coffees with seven shots of espresso and fifteen pumps of vanilla?” They raised their eyebrow, looking between the two men judgmentally.

            Danny turned to the stranger, who in turn did the same, both looked at each other before promptly bursting into laughter. “Oh my Ancients, you too, huh?” Danny pretended to wipe away a tear as the other man ran a hand through his hair.

            “A man of taste.”

            Jesse swiped the man’s card. “I’ll have them in a minute, Tim, Danny.” They nodded to each of the men dismissively and they took their cue.

            They took a seat near the hand-off plane and Danny realized he’d never introduced himself properly. “I’m Danny, sorry about almost dropping my coffee on your very expensive looking suit.”

            The man -Tim apparently- waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m Tim, sorry about making you dump boiling hot coffee all over yourself.”

            “Better my t shirt and jeans than your Armani suit.”

            “I save the Armani for special occasions.” Tim smirked. “So what could you possibly be doing that requires a level of caffeine that could kill an elephant?”

            Danny rolled his eyes. “Jeez, you sound like my sister. I’ve spent the last five weeks renovating a place in the Bowery and turning it into a daycare. Only a few days before it opens, and I’ve already got a couple of kids signed up, so I imagine I’ll be drinking this every day for the rest of my life. How about yourself? You must have a crazy job to be drinking that much coffee.”

            Tim looked surprised briefly before masking it. “I’ve got some business meetings today I’ve been putting off for a while. I usually drink a few coffees a day to get through all the bullshit the board likes to pull.”

            “You must be pretty high up to be dealing with a board. I know how much those meetings suck. I usually just fake an emergency- of course they start to catch on when you do it every single time- but you know- I don’t really care.” He chuckled thinking about the last council meeting in the realms when Frighty’d almost had an aneurysm from Danny’s antics.

            Tim’s head tilted. “Where do you work?”

            He hadn’t anticipated this question which was stupid because he was the one who’d brought up dealing with his own board, Danny was saved by Jesse. “Tim!” They called from the bar. Two identical coffees sat on the hand-off plane and the men moved in unison.

            Drink in hand, Danny turned to Tim. “Well thanks for the coffee, Tim. I’ve gotta get back to the daycare but it was nice meeting you!” He smiled, offering a hand to shake.

            Tim took it, holding his own coffee in his other hand. “You too, Danny. I’ll see you around?”

            “Unfortunately!” Jesse called from behind the bar.

~~~

This is a fic on AO3 but thought I'd post the parts here separately for anyone who wanted to read them on Tumblr

AO3 Link

Original Prompt from @glow-in-the-dark-death

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reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something