DPxDC - Missing Persons

DPxDC - Missing Persons

also on AO3

It started so quietly no one really noticed.

People were disappearing. A veteran from the mountains, a firefighter from the city, a surfer from the coast, and on and on. All gone without a trace. The local authorities investigated, of course, but they never found any leads. After some time, the people were simply written off as missing, and their communities moved on. They remained forgotten until the Justice League got involved. Their systems flagged the uptick in disappearances, and once a Bat took a look, they were immediately suspicious. It took another Bat before the link was finally found. And it took Red Hood disappearing to confirm it. The missing people all had previous close calls with death. And so the League followed protocol – they announced an investigation.

The disappearances stopped.

It was a relief at first. There were far too many people who fit the profile, and none of their analysis could discern a usable pattern from the previous disappearances. But as time stretched on, they got nervous. Surely whatever this was wouldn’t just stop once noticed? What was going to happen next, and when? Justice League Dark got involved. Only once John Constantine started poking around did they find a lead, and even then only thanks to dumb luck.

When Constantine was finally dragged to the town where one of the early disappearances occurred, he zeroed in on an old woman living in a care home. As it turned out, she was mildly magically sensitive. Apparently her grandmother was a witch or something of that sort. But crucially, she had suffered a nearly fatal heart attack almost a decade ago. And she was all too happy to talk about the ‘nice young man’ from her dream who offered to take her away.

She granted Constantine permission to dive into her memory to learn more. Whatever he learned did not make him happy. He said he’d be back after a quick trip to Hell and disappeared, much to Batman’s irritation. But true to his word, surprising some, he returned with slightly singed clothes and a book.

So here he was, chalking sigils onto the floor. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern watched him work in silence, likely trying to wrap their minds around the fact that there was a so-called Ghost King who they were about to request an audience with. Constantine finished up his work and stood at what they all assumed was the front of the circle he had just drawn.

“I do all the talking, yeah? These ones can be tricky.”

Without waiting for a response, he waved his hand, magic glowing at his palm. The circle responded in kind, pulsing white then fading into a harsh, vibrant green. A large black, green, and red elaborately-decorated sarcophagus rose inside the circle, appearing to phase straight through the floor.

“Dramatic fuckers, eh?” Constantine muttered.

A thick fog billowed out alongside it, quickly surging out past the boundary of the circle. It spread upward, threatening to fill the entire room. Constantine cursed to himself and waved an arm, clearing out the fog around them even as it thickened throughout the rest of the room, obscuring the view of the ceiling and walls save for the door directly behind them.

A deep voice echoed through the room with no discernible source. Everyone tensed.

“Who would dare wake the sleeping tyrant?”

A pair of bright green slits appeared from the depths of the fog and widened into eyes.

“Eugh, it’s you.”

The voice lost its echo. It sounded annoyed but entirely human and...young? That didn’t stop Constantine from clenching a hand into a fist, charging magic and preparing for an attack. The eyes moved closer, revealing a pale face and snow-white hair that floated in an unfelt breeze.

“Peace, Hellblazer.”

A lanky figure stepped forward onto the sarcophagus from where they were floating. They wore all black save for their white gloves, white boots, and previously visible head. With an audible thunk they plopped down on the foot of the sarcophagus, one leg bent upward to rest their chin on and wrap their arms around.

“I mean you no harm.”

There was a pause as the others waited to see how Constantine would respond.

“We met?”

“No, but I know of you. And I must admit, I’m disappointed to see you working with the likes of them.”

They gestured to the others in the room.

“Yeah, well,” Constantine relaxed his fist but lost none of his tension, “Don’t meet your heroes.”

The stranger scoffed.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I just enjoy seeing demons annoyed.”

There was another tense pause as the stranger lazily looked over all those present. Constantine broke the silence again.

“Who might you be, then?”

The stranger slowly dragged their gaze away from Wonder Woman and back to the magician. After a pause they spoke.

“You may call me Ambassador.”

“Ambassador to ghosts?”

“If you’d like to think of it that way.”

Constantine straightened his posture.

“We would like to formally request an audience with His Majesty The King to discuss what we suspect is ghost activity in our world.”

The ambassador stared back in silence with squinted eyes before sighing and thumping their forehead to their knee.

“Where to even begin…” they whispered to themselves.

“Okay, let’s start with this.” They slapped the side of the sarcophagus and looked up. “What part of ‘sleeping tyrant’ wasn’t clear?”

“I was under the impression His Majesty was recently crowned and well-respected?”

The ambassador pinched the bridge of their nose and groaned.

“Ancients...”

They hopped to the ground without warning, causing everyone to flinch into defensive stances. If the ambassador noticed, they gave no indication.

“The king is a tyrant, he is trapped in forever sleep again, and I’d like to keep it that way this time.”

Constantine opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted before he got a chance.

“Speaking of which, how’d you even summon him?”

“Summon?” Constantine choked out, clearly surprised.

The ambassador walked toward Constantine, making everyone save for him slide backwards a step. They looked down at the chalk marks on the floor.

“Ancients, this is archaic. Where’d you find it?”

After a few seconds of silence, the ambassador looked up at Constantine.

“Well?”

“Ah...Merlin.”

The ambassador raised an eyebrow.

“What? It’s bloody true!”

The ambassador huffed out a laugh and walked back to lean against the sarcophagus and cross their arms.

“Can’t fault his demonology, but this circle is Bad. I suggest you lose it.”

Constantine opened his mouth to speak, but was once again interrupted, this time from an unfamiliar voice echoing through the room.

“Lord Phantom.”

Everyone flinched as a set of black armor coated in purple flames stepped into view from the fog.

“’Sup Frighty?”

“The dark one is marked.”

The ambassador flicked their eyes to Batman and stared for several tense seconds.

“So he is. Just like the other one, but actually concealed. Must be barely contaminated.”

The ambassador squinted and tilted their head.

“Sure enough. It’s weak, but there’s a family bond there.”

Batman clenched his fist.

“Where is Red Hood?”

The ambassador straightened their head, unflinching and unblinking.

“Safe. And being cared for.”

Before Batman could respond, yet another voice echoed from the fog.

“These are the ones?”

The ambassador turned their back to Batman and groaned.

“Is anyone not coming?”

A giant, four-armed, blue-skinned, armor-clad woman stepped out of the fog with two sets of crossed arms. She had the smallest smirk on her face.

“Apologies. I wished to see those who would obstruct our evacuation.”

Superman and Green Lantern perked up and shared a short look of confusion. The woman turned her head to Wonder Woman, her smirk replaced with a grimace.

“I am disappointed to see one of my kin among them.”

“I thought she might be, but I wasn’t sure.”

Wonder Woman stepped forward.

“My Lady, I –”

“You were not asked to speak, Child.” The woman snapped.

Her voice shook the floor underneath them. Wonder Woman flinched and stared up at her with wide eyes. The heroes tensed for a fight. But to their shock, Wonder Woman slowly raised her arm to press a fist over her heart and bowed her head in deference.

“I will make my displeasure known,” the woman growled, voice still angry but no longer violently.

“Take Dora with you.”

“Do you think me unable to fend for myself, Little One?” Her mouth curved up into a fond smirk again.

“I know better than to doubt you,” they briefly smirked back, “but given my limited experience, I don’t hold them in high regard.”

After a pause they tacked on a “no offense”.

“None taken.”

The woman stepped backwards and faded into the fog. Superman took a step forward, eyeing the armor cautiously.

“Ambassador, my apologies for our unpleasant first meeting.”

He waited until the ambassador gave him a slight nod.

“May I inquire what your companion meant by ‘evacuation’?”

“Exactly what she said. Our kind are being hunted, and we are trying to save them.”

“In that case I must apologize again. We were not aware of this unfortunate situation. Had we been provided an explanation, we would –”

“Typical,” the ambassador scoffed, “your primary patron government is committing a genocide, and yet we’re at fault for not properly informing you.”

Superman was smart enough to bite back his standard “we’re independent” retort. Green Lantern stepped forward instead.

“If I may, Ambassador, my name is Hal Jordan. I am a member of the Green Lantern Corps. We are a wholly independent organization dedicated to peacekeeping across the galaxy.”

The ambassador looked him up and down slowly before turning their head away dismissively.

“I don’t talk to cops.”

The heroes were stunned to silence. The ambassador turned to the floating armor.

“Prepare the Keep. I’ll ward against this circle once the sarcophagus is back in its place.”

“My Lord.”

The armor bowed its head then faded into the fog. Batman stepped forward.

“We have no involvement in the violence against you or your kind.”

The ambassador turned to stare at Batman for several seconds, squinted eyes glowing brightly.

“You’re an excellent liar, Batman.” The fog crept forward and wrapped around their legs. “Unfortunately, I know you’re full of shit.”

“What points you to that conclusion?” Batman kept his voice neutral and steady.

The fog had risen to the ambassador’s chest. They scoffed.

“There are photos of you with Amanda Waller.”

Batman’s fist clenched harder.

The ambassador turned to look at Constantine as the fog enveloped them, leaving two glowing green spots.

“I suggest you not push this any further, Laughing Magician. There are some things in this universe that trump even your luck.”

The glowing green eyes closed, and the fog faded away, leaving an empty summoning circle and untouched room. After several seconds of silence, Wonder Woman finally raised her head and spoke.

“I must return to Themyscira, perhaps for some time. If that was who I believe it to be...something has gone very wrong.”

Superman glanced over the others, who were all still silently processing the encounter. He turned back to Wonder Woman to give her a nod, and she quickly walked out of the room.

Constantine reached into his coat and pulled out his flask. He unscrewed the cap with a heavy sigh and downed whatever was left. He looked tired and annoyed, same as he always did. But Batman could tell he was shaken.

He looked away from Constantine and back to the empty circle again. There was a lot of concerning information to process, but one key thing did slip through. The knight had called the stranger ‘Phantom’. He had come across that name once before. One of three legible words on a burnt piece of paper in an abandoned and destroyed facility. A facility that stank of a classified government cover-up. A facility Waller had sworn up and down she knew nothing about. But he had a lead. The other two words. Amity Park. A small town that only existed if you looked at paper maps printed several years ago.

He had to act quickly.

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10 months ago

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11 months ago

Amity Parkers moving to Gotham for college. Sam and Paulina pooling their trust funds together to buy an abandoned hotel and fitting it as apartments for everybody. They all train together in the courtyard to keep their skills up and just because it's fun. Suddenly an influx of super competent self-trained (or maybe ghost-trained) young adults.

Everybody having their little niches and suddenly they all have more free time that's not being taken up by ghost attacks so many of them started different YouTube channels with info they found out from the ghostly residents of Amity. Star and Paulina running a history of beauty channel going over makeup, hair styles and fashion, special guest Sam when going over alt fashions. Dash and Kwan running one on the history of sports. Wes and Mikey running a conspiracy theory podcast. Valerie running a martial arts channel. Danny just info-dumping about space and spacecraft in videos that range from 45 minutes to four hours. Tucker running a how-to channel for fixing tech and coding. Sam running a combination true crime and witchy channel. The Trio running a Let's Play channel.

Ghostly things happening in all of the videos and everybody guesting on everybody else's channels leads to everybody thinking it's all an elaborate ARG. Danny just floating through the walls half-asleep with a glowing shaker bottle in the background. Some of them when they're in the middle of a rant seem to forget to take a breath or their eyes or freckles start glowing. On a livestream Paulina snaps at somebody off screen and her eyes are suddenly glowing green. Danielle pops in during a charity livestream that the Trio are running and calls Danny-Daddy, Sam-Mom, and Tucker-Dad and is just floating on the back of the couch. Danny doing a stream to watch a rocket take off and suddenly a robe and crown flash and he disappears in a flash of green and the stream is just dead space until the rocket's about to take off and Danny comes running in and jumps over the back of his chair to watch it and cheer.

10 months ago

Every couple years or so, the Bats are required to take a group photo to update the JL website (idk why, they are required to take a vigilante group picture), and Jason consistently refuses to show up. So this year, Tim just draws the lines of the Red Hood helmet on a bright red balloon and then floats it between him and Nightwing. They absolutely refuse to acknowledge that it isn't Jason. They put it up on a billboard instead.

Jason finds out about it when he drives back into Gotham and the highway going into the city has a 'Keeping Gotham Safe' billboard and it's a picture of the Bats looking extremely serious with the Red Hood Balloon floating behind them.

10 months ago

DCxDP Fanfic Idea: Catnip for Heros

Danny Fenton gains a particular reputation in Amity Park for being a "Catnip for Heros."

It started in Freshman year. Phantom was seen coming and going from his house at odd times. It wasn't a very well-kept secret- neighbors would see the glowing teenager in broad daylight.

The ghost hunters who owned the house were the only people unaware of the ghost flying out of the third window on the second floor—Danny's bedroom. At first, they thought it was a one-time thing.

Maybe the ghost wanted to have a little bit of fun now that he was stationed back in the human world? Fenton was rather good-looking when he cleaned up and could be charming when he wasn't dodging his responsibilities.

The A-listers started a rumor that Danny Fenton was relatively easy if all it took was Phantom saving him once. Still, the rumor never gained traction since Fenton seemed flustered at the most minor compliments. Instead, he seemed to jump out of his skin whenever anyone hinted of being interested in him- romantically or friends with benefits.

Never mind when his nighttime rendezvous with Phantom was brought up. Boy looked mortified to have it even suggested, as in burst into tears right then and there.

Even the A-listers weren't that mean. (Some think it was more due to their respect for Phantom than anything.)

Then Fenton was spotted flying on the hoverboard of Red Huntress, clinging to her like a damsel in distress. It would have been a simple rescue that the hero was known for doing, except she often carried him about without a ghost.

It became customary to hear her board humming through the air, Fenton either holding tight to her suffering stance or being carried in her strong arms. As usual, Red Huntress's face was completely covered, but her body language was open and friendly, curved toward Fenton as if he were the sun to her flower.

Red Huntress slowly but surely became more visible in public sight. Unlike Phantom, she normal vanished as soon as a fight was done. People speculated that she was human, but no one could prove it.

Once Dash Baxter was able to film Fenton literally kicking his feet and giggling as Red Huntress hovered in the air, one arm under his knees and the other on his back in a classic princess carry. She had bought him a street hot dog, and Fenton was acting like it was an engagement ring.

The video spread like wildfire through Casper High, and soon, people whispered that Fenton and Phantom had ended. Then two days later, a new video of Phantom flying out of Fenton's room at two in the morning was passed along by two jocks that had been out doing an extreme workout run through the city.

Students of Casper High wondered if Fenton was daring enough to two-time the town heroes. Wes put a stop to the accusations when he flagged down Huntress and asked her about Fenton's relationship with Phantom.

Of course, Wes meant that Fenton and Phantom were the same person (he was crazy like that), but everyone knew it was more about possible cheating. She shattered the thought with, "Phantom and I share Fenton," and flew away, leaving everyone with their jaws dropping.

However, what got Fenton his nickname was the day the Justice League arrived to ask Phantom for help against an invading paranormal force. It was a whole, saving the world; you're our last hope scenario.

People in Amity watched the battle updates from various news outlets. It seemed a bit touch and go for a while, but thankfully, Phantom and Batman could pull through and push back the undead. The streets of the small town flooded with cheering citizens who were overjoyed their town hero did it.

Red Huntress even flew over the city throwing "Phantom #1" foam fingers. It was cute how excited she was for her boyfriend. Fenton was notably absent during that time, but she said it was fine, so people let it go.

It put Amity Park on the map. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know about Phantom and his exploits. News crews, reporters, and even celebrity gossip rags were scouting the tiny town, looking for anything on Phantom besides "He's really old. Really powerful. Dead."

One Jimmy Olsen managed to get the most giant scoop of Earth's newest and hottest hero. It was of Phantom, leaning awfully close to a flustered-looking Fenton. One tilt of his head and their two lips would have been brushing.

Olsen took the shot, forgetting about his flash, and watched Phantom fade out of sight. Fenton looked horrified and raced away before Olsen could ask him questions.

Undeterred, Olsen spent a whole day searching for Fenton and nearly gave up until he happened to find the teenager in the local park, sitting on Red Robins's lap as the hero played with his hair. Shocked, Olsen snapped the photo, watching the two for a while, getting more and more footage. They fed each other ice cream at one point and raced back to the hotel to show Lois.

She excitably jumped on the idea of a plain civilian boy with heroes, especially after some digging showed his connection to Phantom and Red Huntress.

They decided they needed proof before pitching the idea back home, and Fenton was caught in similar positions with Orphan, Superboy (the clone on Red Robin's team), Inpulse, Blue Beatle (the younger new one), and Supergirl. All in a month.

"He's really going through them, huh?" Olsen muttered while the story was posted. The header read, "Danny Fenton: Teenage heartthrob that is Catnip for Heros!"

It's an overnight hit sensation.

Miles away, hiding his face in his hands, is Danny Fenton, surrounded by all the young heroes laughing so hard a few nearly break a rib.

"My Obsession is Protection and Love. It's not my fault I need cuddles from those I care about to function!" The teen cries after reading the somewhat scandalous article and pictures of himself.

"We know Danny," Tim assures him, tucking the boy under his chin. "Getting high off of love is a medical condition."

"Wait, does he actually get high?" Kara asks. "I thought he was just getting giggly 'cause he's cute like that."

"Nope. The emotion humans- and Kryptonians, I guess- release when love- any form of it- causes Danny to get high. Blown pupils. Seeing streaks of lights. Laughing silly. The whole sha-bang." Kon laughs, reaching out to pat Danny's shoulder. The teenager half-buried his face more in his hands with a muffled cry. "He once got so high after Bruce told him how proud he was of him that he created a duplicate and had a staring contest with it to see who had the right to the last bag of chips."

Jaime holds up the tablet, pointing to a photo. "It's the one that started this whole catnip thing. Also, how honored I am to be included in the harem? My popularity had never been higher."

"Stop!" Danny cries. This isn't funny. How am I supposed to protect my secret identity when the whole world thinks I'm "Making my way through all the young heroes?"

"You could marry me," Bart offers. "No one will expect you to run off with a speedster ironically."

"You have to go through Bruce first," Tim tells him; though there is a smile on his face, his eyes are ice cold. "And the rest of my family. Danny is destined to be a Wayne."

"Bruce can't adopt me; I have parents."

"I meant marry in love."

"Tim, now is not the time to state a claim." Kara sighs and then narrows her eyes. "Danny is going to marry into the El family."

"Not if we Allens have anything to say about it!"Bart shouts.

Kon and Jaime watch as Danny slips to the floor a smile slowly blooming on his face as various heroes start yelling at each other. "Should we tell them he's getting high right now or-?"

"Nah, it's fine."

11 months ago

Dimensional traveling Prince!Danny Fenton & Obsessed but still somewhat sane and logical! Damian Wayne

Just a random DeadSerious prompt I thought of at like 2am :>

Clockwork stumbled upon a peculiar universe where a group of humans had been engaging in bizarre activities. Recognizing the need for investigation, Clockwork assigned the newly announced Prince Phantom, a 14-year-old named Danny Fenton, to venture into this realm. It was a training opportunity for Danny, preparing him for his future role as King. Through a portal, Danny found himself suspended above the Lazarus pit, with Ra's al Ghul standing below him. Fortunately, Danny was dressed in his regal attire, which inexplicably aged him to 18 years old, sparing him from too much embarrassment. Ra's began questioning him, leading to a discussion about the potential dangers of the pit.

During his stay, Danny crossed paths with Damian, who was in the midst of his training. The 8-year-old assassin-in-training wasted no time in challenging Danny to a duel. As expected, Danny emerged victorious, leaving a lasting impact on Damian. Danny revealed that he too was an heir to a throne, possessing strength, power, and a tolerable personality, as Damian had previously remarked. These qualities managed to thaw Damian's cold and unyielding heart, finding a special place within it. From that moment on, Damian began courting Danny using the rituals he had learned from secret books in the league's library. He showered Danny with small gifts, heartfelt letters, acts of service, and even presented him with his second favorite knife.

In the meantime, Danny had been well aware of the situation right from the beginning, and he wasted no time in creating distance between himself and the child. Forget about it! Sure, he might be clueless at times, but he's not foolish! When a child hands you a thornless Rose and affectionately calls you 'Habibi', 'Rohi', 'Hayati', 'Albi', and/or 'Ya Amar'—even though he may not fully understand the meanings behind those words, he definitely knows what 'Habibi' means—you can't help but have doubts, you know?! So Danny tried his best to keep the kid at arm's length, not wanting to give him false hope. After all, the kid was only 8 years old for crying out loud! But you have to give it to the kid, he was incredibly stubborn and persistent.

As time went on, two whole months flew by, and Clockwork finally informed Danny that there was no longer any need for him to investigate or keep an eye on the pit. When Danny asked for an explanation, the old man, true to his cryptic nature, simply delivered a mysterious message and left, much to Danny's annoyance. All he could do was leave a letter of explanation for Damian. Damian's heart shattered into a million pieces when he read the letter, realizing that he would never be able to see or even meet Danny again, as they belonged to different dimensions.

Time flew by and it was finally the moment to reveal his secret identity to his parents as Phantom. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and he ended up being captured by the GIW, strapped to a surgical table for three days. After escaping, he made a quick exit from home, promising his friends and sisters that he would keep in touch. Clockwork then whisked Danny away to another dimension, sensing that he needed a change of scenery. Dropping him off in a crime-ridden city with just a backpack of essentials, including a dagger from Damian. As he transformed back to his human form in Gotham, he pondered his next move. Suddenly, a young vigilante? Hero? appeared and whisked him away through the city with a grappling hook. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse!

Damian, now taking on the role of the vigilante Robin, was out patrolling alone. His father wanted him to gain more experience on his own. As he made his way through the city, he noticed a faint but distinct bright light coming from one of the nearby alleys. Curiosity piqued, he decided to investigate.

To his surprise, he saw his beloved from years ago emerging from a strange green portal. Gone was the royal attire Damian was accustomed to seeing him in. Instead, he was clad in a black and white HAZMAT suit, with a symbol in the center. And astonishingly, he even held the second favorite knife that Damian had given him all those years ago.

In a matter of seconds, his beloved transformed into what Damian believed to be a Wayne adoption bait. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards them, landing in front of them and carefully assessing the situation. In one swift motion, he slung his beloved over his shoulder and shot his grappling hook, swiftly taking off with them.

Damian wasn't sure what he would do next, but one thing was certain - he would never let his beloved out of his sight again. He had lost him once, and he refused to lose him again. His possessiveness over the things and people he considered his had grown stronger.

Perhaps he would find a way for them to sign marriage papers, or at least become engaged, despite their young age. Of course, it would only happen if his beloved, Danny, agreed to it. Consent and trust were crucial in any relationship, after all. If Danny disagreed, Damian would resort to the courting rituals his mother had taught him. The conventional methods from books hadn't worked, so he would try his mother's unique approach. Granted, he was technically kidnapping him, but it was only a few steps ahead. Damian was determined to win his beloved's heart, no matter what it took.

10 months ago

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

10 months ago

A demon twins au that I have been thinking about for a while

Danyal and Damian find out that Ra's intends to have them fight to death for the title of heir so they decide to have a duel during a mission and fake the loosers death. This way the stronger one gets to have the title, just like how Ra's wanted, but they wouldn't have to kill eachother. They don't want to disobey their grandfather, but surely this would have the same result without unneeded tragedy.

Damian wins so he claims that he killed Danny for being weak. They promised to never try to contact eachother so the league would not find out. They wouldn't know eachothers situations from the outside after all. They couldn't risk it. After years Danny knows that Damian is Robin in Gotham but doesn't know if hes out of the league or not. Damian has no idea where Danny is and never told the batfam.

Then some magican tries to kill Robin by summoning his dead brother to exact revenge. Damian is sure that the summoning will not work because Danny should be alive and well, only to be devastated to see the ghost of his brother appear from the summoning circle.

Additional thoughts. They have their own code made up of sign, gestures, and body language they can use to communicate hidden meanings behind their words or just completely different things. They have mastered the art of having a private conversation while to outsiders it looks like they're verbally ripping eachother to shreds. I can see them using this to figure out how to deal with the situation while keeping up the ruse. Maybe the bats come in and deal with the mage while Damian and Danny are "arguing" and "antagonizing" each other. While in reality Damian is convincing Danny that the bats can be trusted and Danny is debating if the risk of revealing everything is worth it, and if its already too late not to. And when they agree on dropping the act the bats get whiplash from the arguing turning into a tight hug in a second.

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joebyron100 - Just_alittle_feral
Just_alittle_feral

Any pronouns Mainly reposed of things I like

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