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.
Part 1 + 2
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So! Danny is not the Ghost King.
But he still has a good relationship with a LOT of Powerful and not-so-powerful Ghosts in the Zone. So much so that they have given him their Summoning Circle's with a blanket permission to Summon them any time. Not like they have much else going on...
This all leads to a hilarious situation where Danny can't use his Powers for whatever reason and is forced to Summon his friends for help. In front of a group of Heroes.
He has to explain everything to them, but accidentally convinces them that he has Summoning Magic and the Ghosts are all on his Contract. He also mentions Saving people from Ghosts and the JLA realize that he is a child Hero.
They ask him if he wants to join Young Justice, and Danny hesitantly agrees.
Now Danny is on Young Justice and the entire team thinks that he is a Hero with Ghost Summoning Magic.
And his name isn't Daniel "Commit to the Bit" Fenton for no reason.
I fucking love cats 🐱
Party time
what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?
would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?
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.