#thodf

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Chapter 6 Part 2

materpost (no edting/concrit pls. did you know 8+ moderate-sever migraines in a month are too many? ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ)

“Oh, you’re a real freak of nature, aren’t ya?” Constantine said as he looked Danny over.

Danny grinned at Constantine like a wolf grins before it rips something’s throat out. “Yep.”

The weird thing was, Constantine actually looked a little afraid. “They know what you are?”

“Okay,” Dick said as he moved between the two. He wasn’t afraid to push either of them back a little. “Yes, we know that Danny is a half ghost, but that’s not actually the important part here.”

Constantine blinked at Dick. “Say what, bruv?”

“I know, we had it backwards at first ourselves,” Dick said. “But if everyone will just sit down for a moment, we can talk through it.”

Constantine looked like he was actually going to argue before he took the chair next to Zatanna with an exaggerated huff. Bruce, who’d of course been standing off to the side, swept over to a seat himself. It was the signal that everyone else needed to sit. Dick took the head of the table with Danny nervously to one side and Wally flanking the other.

“As the Justice League knows, our Flash disappeared while on a solo investigative mission a little over three months ago. Initial investigations by both the Titans and the Justice League found nothing. During that time, the Flash managed to make contact with Danny Fenton,” Dick explained with a little motion towards Danny.

Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. “As Nightwing said, I’m Danny Fenton. For a few years as a teen, I was a local hero known as Phantom in Amity Park. The usual lab accident origin story gave me my powers. I’m half ghost. It’s along story and not actually important. Mostly these days I’m just a psychopomp; sometimes I get visited by ghosts and I make sure they move on.

“I assume that’s what Flash was once he showed up, but he also felt wrong right away. He also caused seizures if he touched me, which wasn’t great. That had me reaching out to Miss Wilhelmina Aleshire. She’s a local oracle and friend I made through the pyschopomp mess. After trying a tea she gave me, I was able to make clearer contact with Flash. He gave me a message to take to Titan Tower.”

“And caused a heart attack,” Wally said, guilt heavy in his voice.

Danny just shrugged. “Not the first time my heart’s stopped. Anyways, once I was awake I checked myself out of the hospital, came here with the phrase, and got in contact with the Titans.”

“They called me in,” Barry picked up, “and we worked on using Danny’s connection as an anchor to isolate Flash’s reading. Main players were Danny, Raven, and myself. Obviously once we got Flash to the point that we could see and hear him, he helped also.”

“Obviously, not dead,” Wally said. “I’m trapped in the Speed Force. Unfortunately, my existing and using Danny as an anchor is continuing to cause health issues.”

“Which is fine,” Danny said with a little glare, “but when we got the signal as clear as it seemed to get, meant rethinking things. It’s when I realized that I’m not able to see Flash and serving as his anchor because of being a psychopomp. He’s right, he isn’t dead. One of my… mentors in the Infinite Realms is a being known currently as Clockwork. He’s basically a god of time. We call them Ancients there. He’s been pretty determined to take me under his wing. There might be some powers at play, but I’m certain that the bigger reason that I’m able to be Flash’s anchor is because I have a medallion of time as part of my being.”

“Wow, more of a freak than I thought,” Constantine said, squinting at Danny.

“Says the man with mince meat for a soul,” Danny snapped back.

“I can slap him for you, if you want,” Zatanna offered calmly.

Danny smiled sweetly at her. “Would you?”

“Ow!” Constantine squawked as Zatanna backhanded him right in the sternum. He rubbed at the spot with a pout. “We’re teammates, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I’m your teammate, but when you’re being an idiot I’m not on your side,” she said with a viciously pleasant smile.

“Anyways,” Dick interrupted. “Because we want to make sure that Danny survives—or at least revives from this process—we called in you all. Flash and Batman to continue to help us refine the signal isolation machine, Constantine and Zatanna to try and safeguard things from a magical perspective, and MM to keep a track on things mentally. Obviously our Flash, Cyborg, and Raven will continue to help. We have a medical team standing by. It’s my opinion that we should expect Danny’s heart to stop.”

“Nightwing… might be right about that. I seem to have an annoying habit of it,” Danny said with a little shrug.

“He’s also annoyingly unconcerned about it,” Wally added with a sigh.

“What exactly is the plan?” Bruce asked, finally speaking.

Dick gave him a nod. “We will set up in the reinforced training room and the connecting observation room. Danny will transform into Phantom and remove the medallion. Flash will make contact with both it and Phantom. We believe that while he’s doing so, his signal will become stable enough for us to isolate and lock into this timeline. Luckily, that’s science that we’ve done before for different reasons.”

“We have to expect a large amount of electrical discharge from that,” Wally added. “Which won’t effect me, but will Danny.”

“Lessened because I’ll be Phantom, but none of me gets along with electricity much. It’s likely to snap me back into this form which is where the heart stopping might occur,” Danny said.

“So, as soon as Flash is locked, we need everything can to protect Danny from the effects and then medical in there the second the secondary effects have died down,” Dick stressed. “Anything that we can plan in to help Danny, we need to plan in. We’re not making an exchange here. I expect both of them to be just as alive at the end of this as they should be. Understood?”

With a course of agreement, the teams split up into magical, medical, and science to brainstorm. There would need to be a lot of cross talk, and some like Raven and MM would jump between a few groups, but it was a place to start. Dick would play leader. At least it was a roll he was well used to.

Bruce slowed his steps to hang back from the science group and walk with Dick. “You care about him.”

“Danny? Yeah. Wally developed quite a crush on him, which I get. He’s kind, smart, funny—lots of things. We’re going to go on some dates once Wally’s solid enough to do so,” Dick said. “I don’t know if I’m gone like Wally, I’ve been more focused on getting him back, but that’s what dating is for, right?”

Bruce hummed in agreement. “But?”

Dick sighed. “But he has to survive, and I’m worried about that. There’s also some things that the Titans or the JL need to look into about ghosts. Danny has been through some shit and that’s with him only alluding to it as he tried to brush it off. I don’t know, I just… Wally has been isolated for months. Danny has anxiety about being a lab rat and for this to work we have to make him into one. I’m worried about both of them coming out of this aright.”

“You’ll be there for them,” Bruce said.

“Of course, but will I be enough?”

Bruce was silent for a bit, watching the group in front of them. “Maybe not. But the Titans are there too. As are the Wests. As your family is.”

Dick couldn’t help but smile a little. “Yeah, you going to explain polyamory to Damian?”

“I’ll make Tim do it.”

Dick snorted. “You just want to make Tim realize his own bullshit.”

Bruce just smiled that Bat smile of his and increased his pace to catch up with the rest of the group.

[clockwaysadmin]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

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Status: Hopeful

Ship: ??Danny/Wally or Danny/Dick/Wally

CW: additional tags to be added, panic attacks/anxiety, self esteem issues, mild horror, mild body horror?

Danny Fenton was being haunted. Annoyingly, that wasn’t at all unusual. Danny was sadly used to being haunted. One could even claim, if one was being pedantic, that Danny haunted himself. Sure, since Danny had moved away from Amity Park and the mess his life had been there, the haunting were a lot less frequent, but they still happened from time to time. The thing was, is this haunting was different. Different in a way that made Danny worried about the ghost and their well-being.

All parts are being posted here on Tumblr in their first draft version.

All things related to this fic can be found in the 'thodf' tag on @clockwayswrites. Major links are below.

Ch 1: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Ch 2: Part 1, Part 2

Ch 3: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Ch4: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Ch5: Part 1, Part 2

Ch6: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Ch7: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Ch8: Part 1, Part 2

Side fic: Tim's PowerPoint

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[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 7, Part 3

masterpost it's 11am and it's already been A Day

Danny turned Clockwork’s medallion over in his hands. He’d taken it out again for the MRI. He didn’t know if things inside of his ghost body could react to the giant magnet, but he hadn’t wanted to find out be destroying a very expensive medical device.

The design was slightly warped now, like it had been melted on the one side, and the once bright gold was tarnished. Danny was pretty sure that the tarnish was from his blood and ectoplasm.

Fourth time dying and still not the charm.

Which Danny was damn glad for, of course, but it was still his fourth time dying. Fifth, if alternate timelines counted.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Mina said as she set down the tray of tea.

Danny eyed it.

“It’s just normal tea,” Mina assured him with a little huff. “Early grey, to be specific. You like it with honey and milk.”

Danny smiled slightly. “I do. And thank you for having me over for it. I needed to just not… be busy with tests and people worrying and… just not there. Does that make me horrible?”

“Of course not!” Mine said. She set the honey pot down a bit forcefully. “Danny, you’ve been away from home for weeks and weeks now. You had to drop out of your classes this semester. I know there’s probably a new job or two you missed. It’s totally understandable that you need a break from that.”

“Okay, okay good,” Danny sighed. “I was just worried? I mean, I’ve basically been doted on by my boyfriends for weeks now, that should be good.”

“Boyfriends who you started dating under extreme stress.” Mina passed Danny his cup and a hard look at the same time. “Besides, you’re not Penny, you don’t fall for someone and become inseparable. You still need your own space.”

“They’re both so cuddly, Mina,” Danny whined. “And I love it! But also sometimes I just need a little bit of space.”

“You’re allowed to be overwhelmed, especially after dying.”

“Again,” Danny added.

“Again,” Mina agreed. “Since you’re half ghost! And never told me!”

“Oddly, does not come up much in normal conversation,” Danny said.

“As if we’re normal,” Mina pointed out.

“Never,” Danny agreed. He took a long sip of the tea. It was good, even if maybe he had tea trauma. “But I could maybe use a little bit of normalcy.”

“Go back to your own place,” Mina said, “get used to your hearing aids, and take some time to breathe. Read a book or something.”

Danny arched his brow over a pointed sip of his tea.

Mina rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, play a video game. Point is, relax and just let yourself recenter. I’ll send you home with a crystal.”

“You know those don’t do anything,” Danny pointed out.

“Yeah, but they’re pretty,” Mina said with a little sigh.

Chuckling, Danny shook his head. “Okay, fine. But before I go to find my zen or whatever, tell me about the latest fortune telling drama.”

Mina leaned forward with an eager smile that promised a good story. “Oh my gods, Danny, you’re going to love this…”

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 7, Part 1

masterpost

“Locked on!”

“—stable!”

“—not me! Danny—”

“Don’t you let go!”

“But—”

“Don’t—”

“—have him!”

“Secure!”

“Go—”

“Medical!”

“—anny! Danny!”

“Clear!”

“Danny!”

Words became noise became a high pitched whine became silence—

—then a beep.

No, rhythmic beeps.

Slow, rhythmic beeps. Slow, soft breathing near his ear. Against his neck. The rise and fall of someone’s chest pressed close against his back. The soft hiss of oxygen into his noise.

Danny batted a rubbery hand against the nasal canals. A warm hands wrapped around around his. Danny whined. He hated oxygen tubes.

“—leaving that on until the doctors say otherwise, Danny Horatio Fenton,” the person connected to the hands said.

“‘s still not middle name,” Danny mumbled. His tongue tasted like sawdust.

“At this rate, it’s going to be,” the voice said. Danny struggled to place it as muffled as everything sounded. “There will be no checking yourself out against doctor’s orders this time, not for you or for Wally.”

“…Wally?”

What was wrong with Wally?

Wally was supposed to be safe.

“…Wally’s suffering some side effects from his time in the Speed Force. There’s some malnutrition, dehydration, and muscle atrophy, but we expect a full recovery,” the voice explained as if on route. No, not ‘the voice’, Dick. That was Dick. Why then…

“‘old me before?” Danny guessed. He tried to pry his eyes open, but they refused to cooperate.

“Yeah, honey, a few times. I don’t think you’ve been fully awake yet.”

Danny huffed. Maybe if the words were less muffled he could remember them. Danny managed to get a hand free of the comforting grip to rub at his ear. It didn’t help. The whine he made sounded pitiful even to his broken ears.

“Danny? What’s wrong?” Dick’s fingertips brushed just barely against Danny’s temple.

He leaned into the touch with another whine. “Ears all… wrong. Harda hear.”

Danny felt the rumble of talking from the person behind him, but he couldn’t make the low voice out.

“It’s okay, Wally,” Dick said. “I’m just going to call a doctor up to check over Danny.

“—anny?” Oh, that was Wally.

“‘alls?” Danny finally managed to pry his eyes open only to squeeze them shut tightly again. The world was just a swirling blur of white. It was too much.

It hurt.

“Danny?”Hands Danny had never felt before cupped Danny’s cheeks. The fingers were gentle as they brushed away Danny’s tears. “Hey, Danny, breathe. We’re here. We’re both here…”

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 5, Part 2

masterpost (please no editing, still sick and now with migraine!)

“We can’t be stuck,” Danny said. He knew he was pouting, but he didn’t care. They couldn’t be stuck. Maybe his pout wasn’t even that obvious with how he was laying upside down on the couch, his legs flung over the back of it.

“Saying that again won’t solve anything,” Raven said.

“Might stop people from giving up,” Danny muttered.

Next to him, Wally sighed. “No one is giving up, Danny. We’re just… being realistic.”

Danny snorted. “Ah, yes, a carnie, two emissaries of time, a demon witch, and a half ghost sit around a room, trying to be realistic.”

“We’re not ‘emissaries of time’—wait, half ghost?” Barry asked, cutting himself off. “What do you mean half ghost? How are you a half ghost? Wait, why are you a ghost? Ghosts aren’t real.”

“Barry, you’ve worked with Deadman,” Dick pointed out, almost absently. All of his very focused attention was on Danny.

It made Danny want to squirm. “Ah. I have I not mentioned that before? I know I’ve said I died in a lab accident.”

“And that it made you a psychopomp,” Raven said dryly.

“Well, it did. I can talk to ghosts. I’m just also sorta… half one. I came back because I was killed by electricity and revived by ectoplasm at the same time. But because it was ectoplasm, not all of me came back alive. It’s complicated.”

“That… actually explains so much about the way that you feel,” Raven said. She was looking at Danny like he was a whole new puzzle to study. He didn’t like it. Immediately she gave a little shake of her head and the expression cleared. “Sorry. I would never study you without your permission. None of us would.”

“Shit, kid, of course we wouldn’t,” Barry said, sitting up from his slump. “Has… I mean…”

“Your parents are ectobiologists,” Wally said slowly, horror dawning on his face.

Danny sighed and twisted around on the couch to sit up. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “My parents never learned what I am, at least not in this timeline. But they pretty regularly hunted my hero form. I’m human like this, and I’m a ghost when I’m Phantom. There were some close calls. And my godfather, who’s like me, cloned me, so there was that whole mess. And there used to be this government organization, the GIW who were intent on studying ghosts… just it was a whole mess. There’s a reason I moved all the way across the country once I could.”

“Is the GIW gone?” Barry asked, “Because if not, I’ll bring it to the League.”

“And what about the clones? Are they somewhere safe now?” Dick asked.

“And your parents…” Raven started, softly.

Danny held up a hand. “The GIW went defunct; no results, no funding. There might be a few zealots out there still, but they don’t have any real power anymore. My parents and I… look, there’s just a lot that we don’t talk about. And the two clones that are around—the rest… destabilized—they’re actually the responsibility of my godfather. He had a… change of heart, you could say. I don’t love the guy or anything, but I trust him with them. And if he fucks up, I know they won’t just take it. Things are… they’re settled enough. It’s just how they are now.”

“Okay. But if shit hits the fan again, you let the Titans or me know, okay? I’m not kidding, I’ll bring it to the League if you need protecting,” Barry said seriously.

It was warming, really, to have an adult say that. Sure, Danny was an adult now, but like, an adulter adult. He never had that before.

“Thanks,” Danny said, eyes on the ground rather than the group of people who had quickly become his friends. “That means a lot really.”

“Okay,” Wally said after an uncomfortably quiet moment, “but what did you mean about timelines?”

“Oh, one of the Ancients, ah, think of them sort of like god or demigod ghosts, is of time. Clockwork is what he goes by now days. He likes to meddle in stuff, sends me bright green post-it notes about the fate of the world and such. The last one I got was actually warning me about my seizures,” Danny said with a little snort. “I wish I had figured that out before I had the first one.”

“Why?” Wally asked with a tilt of his head. “I’m not exactly fate of the world stuff.”

“You’re my world,” Dick cooed, hands on his heart and batting his eyes.

Wally snorted, but he had a fond look in his eyes.

Danny did his best not to laugh at them. “Dick aside, you are a Titan. You being around could be the fate of the world. Or maybe—oh.”

Everyone else in the room exchanged a look, but Danny hardly noticed. His attention was hung up on a tangle of a thought.

“…oh?” Dick prompted.

“What?” Danny shook his head. “Oh. Just ‘two emissaries of time’. It’s what I called Barry and Wally.”

“Yeah, but I told you that we’re not,” Barry said.

“Yeah, but you don’t eve believe in ghosts and I’m sitting right here,” Danny said with a dismissive wave. He got up with a little stumble and started to pace. It helped to move when he was trying to untangle things. Sure, he was a little lightheaded, but he’d deal. “It makes sense that you don’t see the Speed Force as the entity that it is.”

“He never has,” Raven said.

Danny spun and pointed a finger at her. His world tilted dangerously. “But you know what it is.”

“Danny, honey, why don’t you sit down,” Dick said.

When Danny tried to start pacing again, Dick reached out and snagged Danny by the waist. A simple little tug was enough to unbalance Danny and send him tumbling down into Dick’s lap. Obviously please with his capture, Dick wrapped his arms around Danny and rested his head on Danny’s shoulders. Danny gave a a little huff of air, but leaned back against Dick’s chest.

Raven was smiling, just barely. “I know the Speed Force is something beyond my understanding.”

“Sure, but it is something and that something is related to time,” Danny said. As he talked, he started to lean forward again. “Clockwork’s whole thing is about time! He has rewound time at least twice just for my bullshit! It makes sense that him and the Speed Force have a connection. Which means I’ve had this all wrong!”

“Danny, Danny, don’t fall off my lap,” Dick said with a tightening grip. “You can stay right here and tell us what you had all wrong.”

“This was never about me being a psychopomp!” Danny exclaimed, words slightly breathless. Dick held him a little tighter. “This is all about Clockwork being convinced that I need to be his apprentice! That’s why I can see Wally! It’s not about death, it’s about time!”

“Hey, Danny, hon, take a deep breath for me,” Dick urged. His palm tapped a rhythm against Danny’s sternum. Danny grumpily followed along, but it did help the tightening feeling in his lungs. Once Dick was satisfied with Danny’s breathing, he asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Danny said, “that Wally isn’t dead.”

Wally just looked bemused. “I’ve been telling you that.”

“I know, but it didn’t make sense. Now it does! Wally’s not dead, and because Wally isn’t dead,” Danny continued, “I’m not his anchor because I’m half ghost and a psychopomp. I’m his anchor because I’ve got one of Clockwork’s medallions inside me!”

Dick’s hand twitched as if he wanted to hold on to Danny’s very being. “Inside you?”

“Ghost thing.” Danny patted Dick’s hand reassuringly. “I have a cellphone in there too. And maybe a fork still? It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it matters,” Dick grumbled.

“What matters,” Danny continued blithely, “is that I know how to unstick us.”

---

AN: Barry: This is my new nephew Danny. If anything happens to him, I'm declaring war on the government and his parents.

Rest of the JL: ???

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 7, Part 2

masterpost I am not a doctor lol

“And look up,” the doctor instructed before pulling away the pen light.

Danny blinked back the after images that it left. The eye exam certainly didn’t help, but the overwhelming feeling of seeing was better. Everything was still on the blurry side—too soft, too bright, too white—but it didn’t make Danny want to hide from the world anymore.

“Well, the good news is, your eyes are dilating and have no issue with movement. They’re just far too dilated. We’ll need to get you to an ophthalmologist to be sure, but I suspect that your vision will return to normal as the side effects of the event fade.”

“‘kay,” Danny rasped. He took a grateful sip from the cup Wally passed him before he tried to continue, “Same on the hearing, or…?”

Danny didn’t much like the way the doctor frowned.

“It could be,” the doctor said. It was clear the effort she was putting in to speak loudly and articulately enough, “but hearing doesn’t bounce back the way eyes can. I think it would be good to at least be braced for bad news. The good news, even if it’s bad news, is that you seem to still have some hearing in both ears, so you should be a good candidate for hearing aids.”

Danny rubbed at his face with a shaky hand. “Right. Thank you. What do we think about the hand tremors?”

“Another wait and see. But we’ll start you on some physical and occupational therapy. You and the Flash can be be PT buddies,” the doctor said with a little smile. She really was doing her best. “I also want everyone to watch for signs of seizures, especially more minor ones. Like a lot of the cases here, you’re a one off, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t do everything that we can to take care of you.”

“Thanks, really,” Danny said. “I think I’m just here for right now, so whatever works for those appointments? You can let Nightwing know when they are if I’ve crashed again or not remembering or something.”

“The memory issues should go away as you stay awake and get oriented, but I’ll make sure that Nightwing knows of all appointments also. I know it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re healing.” The doctor stood and rolled her gloves off. “Make sure to eat and hydrate while you’re awake, but rest when you need and keep the oxygen in when you’re resting. Flash—stay put and keep that IV in.”

“Yes ma’am!” Wally chirped as Dick showed her out.

Wally hooked his chin over Danny’s shoulder and pulled him back against his chest. Danny let himself slump back into the hold with a sigh. He found the straw to sip at just so that he didn’t have to say anything right away.

“Alright!” Dick said with a clap of his hands. “Food! As long as Wally drinks his smoothies and stays on that IV, we’re not on a restrictive diet, so Danny, what are you thinking?”

“Trash,” Danny decided. “Nuggets and fries and like a shake or something. Just salty trash.”

“Deal! Shake flavor and dipping sauce?”

“Strawberry I guess and like, honey mustard? Honey something. Surprise me.”

“Can do,” Dick said complete with a little salute. “I’m going to to let the others know you’re awake awake and get their food order too, okay? But I’ll keep the horde away for now.”

“Thanks,” Danny said with a grateful smile. He liked the all the Titans, but he really just couldn’t right then, not with his senses all off. Two was just enough. After Dick left, Danny leaned a little more firmly against Wally. “Nice to be able to finally touch you.”

Wally said something then cleared his throat and said more clearly, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though… just… some of those things might be permanent,” Wally said, voice almost dipping too long a few times.

“Yeah,” Danny sighed. “I really hope the vision isn’t. I’d like the tremors not to be too, you know? And the seizures would suck if they’re as bad, but I bet there’d be medication for that at least.”

When Wally sighed, it was with his whole body. “You’re so calm about it. I—Danny, you got hurt bringing me back, maybe for good. That… doesn’t that make you mad?”

Danny played with Wally’s fingers as he thought about how to answer that. “You’ve had to have been hurt as Flash.”

“I heal fast,” Wally pouted.

“Okay, lucky guy,” Danny said with a little snort. “But you have or Dick has. You know it’s part of being a hero.”

“You’re a civi right now. You’re a civi and I’m not. I know that even heroes can need rescuing, but you shouldn’t have been hurt because I fucked up!”

Ah, that was it.

Danny brought up Wally’s fingers and kissed them lightly. “Everyone fucks up. And part of me will always be that stupid teen who was a hero. I’ll deal with what this got me just like I deal with the aches and pains I already have. I don’t blame you.”

“You should.”

“I don’t,” Danny insisted. “And you have to respect me enough to know that I went into this willingly and with open eyes. If you can’t do that, then our date when we’re free from here needs to be a friendly dinner instead. I’m not going to be with someone who doesn’t respect my right to decide.”

Wally left out a huff of air like he was deflating. “Sorry. I didn’t mean too… just… hero guilt.”

“I get it, really I do,” Danny said. “But shove it aside, okay? Because both of us are here and alive and I think that’s a damn good outcome when dealing with unknowable forces of the space time continuum.”

“Nerd,” Wally teased.

“Oh like you aren’t.”

“No, I totally am,” Wally said, “but now I have someone to curl up and watch Star Trek with. I love Dick, but he’s an absolute pop culture heathen. He swings between cartoons and reality tv.”

Danny held back a laugh and nodded wisely instead. “Well, we’ll put on ‘The Voyage Home’, and he can fall asleep to the dulcet whale songs.”

“Perfect, as soon as you can hear better,” Wally promised with a soft kiss to Danny’s temple.

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Chapter 6, Part 1

masterpost (please no editing, head hurt, throat hurt, words hard)

“Danny, no,” Dick said, again.

“Danny, yes,” Danny said back, again.

Gar leaned over to Wally and whispered loudly, “You like the stubborn ones, don’t you?”

Wally sighed and buried his face in his hands. That would have worked better if his hands weren’t still slightly transparent.

“Black hair and blue eyes too,” Victor added.

“What an observation, you’re a real genius,” Donna said with a roll of her eyes.

“Uh, yeah, I actually am a genius,” Victor pointed out.

“Inappropriately positive,” Kori said with a tilt of her head as she watched Dick and Danny argue.

Gar blinked at her. “What?”

“Like… they are positive even when they should not be positive about the situation. They are… no, they pretend to be optimists,” Kori explained.

The rest of the gathered Titans looked at Dick and Danny thoughtfully.

“Yeah, no, you’re right. Inappropriately positive,” Gar agreed.

“Recklessly self sacrificing,” Raven added, to agreeing nods and murmurs.

“So smart they’re stupid.” The Titans turned to look at Mina, who just gave a little shrug. “It’s true.”

“So true. Can we keep you?” Gar asked.

Mina laughed and shook her head. “Sorry, I’m not hero material, I’m just an oracle. But if you ever need a reading, you just have to give me a call!”

Gar perked up like a puppy even without transforming. “Oh! Can you do one while you’re here?”

“Focus, Gar,” Raven said.

“Ugh. ‘Focus’, as if there’s anything we can do while they argue!” Gar said with a gesture towards Wally’s boyfriends.

“Who do you think will win?” Donna asked.

“Danny,” Wally answered. He pulled his face out of his hands and shrugged when his team (plus Mina) all looked at him. “At the end of it, they both want me back. Either Dick gives in now, or he gives in when things feel hopeless, but he’ll give in.”

“But at the risk of Danny?” Kori asked.

Wally bit back comment about how she didn’t know Dick, not like she thought she did, but that would have just been lashing out with his own frustrations. Dick and Kori’s breakup was ages ago, and Dick’s wounds had long scarred over. Besides, he never did let Wally fight for him, even when he needed it most.

“Danny’s been a hero. Rules are different for heroes,” Wally explained. “At the end of the day, Dick will trust that Danny understands the risk. He’ll let Danny make the final call.”

Raven gave a little nod. “And he will hate himself for it the whole time.”

“Yeah,” Wally agreed with a sigh. “Danny?”

The argument cut off with both of them turning to blink at Wally. It would be adorable, the way they moved in sync, if things weren’t so serious.

“Give me the over under on this,” Wally said. “Treat it like you’re proposing an experiment. What the risk something happens to you? What’s the risk we can’t undo it? And what’s the risk if we don’t do it?”

Danny set his hands stubbornly on his hips. “The risk is you never get back!”

“To you, Danny, what’s the risk to you,” Wally said, almost pleaded.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? What yeah?” Gar asked, unable to help himself.

“The yeah is, that I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone that being Wally’s anchor is effecting my health,” Danny said. He crossed his arms. He looked smaller for it. “Is my plan putting myself at risk? Sure. I would say about an eighty percent chance that something serious is going to happen to me.”

“Which is too high,” Dick pleaded.

Danny sighed. “But Wally’s point is, if we do nothing? It’s a hundred percent chance that something serious happens to me. This isn’t sustainable.”

“Oh…” Dick said after a beat. “Yeah, that’s an oh.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. He took a breath and turned back meet Dick head on. “I guess I wasn’t making that part clear enough. This is a risk, I know that, but we can do it as safely as possible. I can be surrounded by heroes in a state of the art medical facility. Sure, I’m already weaker than I was, but I’m still strong enough to do this. I’ve bounced back from worse; I believe in my chances. And at the end of the day, it’s my risk. So please, believe in me too?”

Dick was silent for a long moment, searching Danny’s gaze, but Wally already knew what Dick was doing to say. He wasn’t surprised at all when Dick sighed with a slight slump.

“I believe in you,” Dick said, “but there will be precautions and fail safes in place first, so we’re not doing it right this instant.”

“That’s fine,” Danny agreed quickly.

“And we’re bringing in some of the Justice league.”

“Sure, not a problem.”

Dick snorted. “You say that, but you haven’t met Constantine yet.”

“Who?”

--

AN: Wally loves his stubborn idiots and he's going to try to protect Dick from his own guilt if he can. Danny... he's just trying to trust Danny.

(While I love Kori as a character, I hate how that whole event was written and the victim blaming of it. So sometimes I have to let myself be a little salty about it.)

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 6, Part 3

masterpost (Danny... Danny honey.)

“How sure of this are we?” Wally asked. His freckles scrunched up adorably when he was worried.

“Sure enough for Nightwing to give the okay,” Danny said. “You know he’s checked with every group at least three times before he even let the big planning start.”

Wally didn’t look at all relieved about that.

“Flash, it’s been weeks,” Danny said. He dropped his voice to a soft murmur between them. “We need to do this now, Walls, before I can’t anymore.”

Wally rubbed at his arm and glanced away. “I don’t want to be why you die.”

“I was dead before you knew me, time boy,” Danny teased. “Trust your team to bring me back.”

Wally gave a wet sounding chuckle. “You’re never afraid, are you?”

“Plenty, but not about death, I’ve walked with it too long,” Danny said. “So no tears for me, okay? Start planning our date instead. You have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I still can’t believe he got to kiss you first.”

“You get stuck in the timeline, you lose,” Danny said. “Now are you ready? You can’t hesitate.”

Wally searched Danny’s gaze for a moment longer before he squared his shoulders and nodded. “Ready.”

Danny turned and gave two thumbs up towards the observation room.

A moment later, Dick’s voice rang out over the comms. “We’re go then. Danny, time to show us Phantom.”

Danny backed up from Wally, hands held out to his side. “Cover your eyes!”

The world went white, then dark, and then was washed faintly in green as it always was as Phantom. Wally stood out like a beacon, as if glowing under black light. Danny drifted up and around him in a circle. “Well, that is fascinating…”

“What is?” Nightwing asked.

“What? Oh, sorry. Flash is practically glowing for me,” Danny said. He pushed off the ground so he could hover at the same height as the observation room. “As is the other Flash, though not as bright. Best as we ever figured, I see things different as a ghost, like how insects see in infrared or all the mantis shrimp craziness. I think I’m seeing an effect from their timey wimey stuff.”

“Timey wimey stuff,” Constantine muttered.

Danny just smiled serenely back. “Raven, Constantine, and Zatanna have a glow too, but in different ways. That’s expected with them being magic users. Ghosts and magic aren’t that far apart and there are ghosts who actively use it. But that the Flashes having the effect, well, I think that just reinforces the theory that we’re going with.”

“Good, because if it went against it, I would be calling this,” Nightwing said.

Danny laughed, aware how the sound echoed on itself and swooped over to the window. “Calm, Nightwing. The plan is solid.”

“There’s still a high risk of death for you.”

“That’s the wonder of it, I’m already dead,” Danny said with a fanged grin. “Any issues with the readings or calculations?”

“Everything looks good,” Barry!Flash answered. “Your transformation hasn’t cause any issues with the readings. We’re still locked on to Flash.”

Danny nodded and floated back just a little from the window before he dug around in his chest for the medallion. He ignored the noises and reactions he got for reaching into himself like that. It was convenient. Besides, without it they would have never found Wally.

“That caused a spike,” Barry!Flash said, voice a little tight. “Give us ten to adjust.”

“More support to the theory though,” Danny said, mostly for Nightwing’s benefit.

“What all do you keep in there?” Nightwing asked with a little tilt of his head.

Danny placed his hands over his heart. “Aw, Nightwing, that’s third date sort of information.”

“Ghosts,” Constantine muttered.

“Oh, like you can talk, laughing magician,” Danny said with a more vicious baring of his fangs.

“Gentlemen,” Batman admonished.

“But to give a real answer,” Danny said to avoid picking a fight reight before he (probably died again, “things I always want on me like the medallion or things I only need as a being of the Infinite Realms. I have a phone that works over there, for example. It was more of a thing when I was an active hero.”

“Okay, Phantom, can you move around with the medallion?” Barry!Flash asked. “I want to make sure that we’re tracking it right.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Danny said. He made some slow, easy loops of the room, making sure to change elevation as well.

“That’s solid,” Barry!Flash said. “Nightwing?”

“Alright, stage two,” Nightwing said. “Flash, remember you have to hold the medallion with both hands. Grab it quickly and tightly. Don’t let go until you’re given the all clear.”

“Understood,” Wally said seriously as Danny landed lightly in front of him.

“Take a breath,” Danny said. “It will be alright. We have to believe that.”

Wally did as he was told, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Right.”

Danny held the medallion out, gripped tightly in both of his hands. Wally took another breath before he reached out and grasped the medallion just like he had been told.

The world light up with lightening—brighter than it ever was as Phantom. Bright as it had been when Danny had died in the portal. And died again.

It felt like dying again.

Was he?

Probably.

Ah, well, he’d know the risks.

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Chapter 5, Part 1

Masterpost (pls no editing. am still sick. *cough cough*)

Over the nexts few weeks, the team worked tirelessly. They played with the laws of science and magic and things unknown to try and bring Wally back. With every adjustment to the machine, Wally’s signal got stronger.

Danny got sicker.

His spirits stayed strong. Danny was clearly driven by getting Wally back, even at the expense of himself. Dick did what he could to help. He brought the team food, lured Danny away to rest, and carried him to bed when he fell asleep in the lab, yet again. It was hard to watch Danny destroy himself, but it wasn’t something that Dick could stop. Selfishly, he also didn’t want to; he needed Wally back.

That day, though, felt like a turning point. That day, Danny suggested himself that he take a break instead of having to be gently bullied into taking one.

“Drink this,” Dick ordered as he passed Danny a bottle of electrolyte drink.

Danny eyed the purple concoction dubiously, but eventually broke the seal and took a sip. “That’s nasty.”

“Yeah, but it’s good for you,” Dick said. He ran his fingers through Danny’s hair, knowing how much the other liked that. “Are you up to eating something?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Danny said with a dismissive little wave.

Wally huffed. “You are not fine!”

“Wally,” Danny sighed.

“Don’t Wally me!” Wally snapped back. “You aren’t fine! We can all see that you’re not fine!”

“Any what do you want me to do about it?! This is how we get you back!” Danny motioned, the purple drink splashing. He cussed softly and wiped at his hand with his the sleeve of the flannel shirt he wore (borrowed from Wally’s closet). When he continued, he sounded so defeated. “This is how we get you back. I wanted you back before, sure, but how I know you, Wally. I know kind and funny and caring you are. I know how much you mean to everyone. We have to get you back.”

“It’s hurting you,” Wally pleaded.

“Yeah,” Danny said with a worrying shrug. “But lots of things do. I’m broken, Walls, I have been since the first time I died when I was fourteen. And sure, at the time I could ignore most of it. I had the power of youth on my side and the drive of being a teen hero. Y’all know how it is. But I’m not a teen anymore. And I’ve died again. And I guess a third time now too.

“Going to the grocery story hurts me. Stressful classes hurt me. My stupid closet of a room hurts me! At least with this I’m doing something good. I get it. I know that this might make everything worse long term. I know that I’m risking myself, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take to get you back, okay? Can’t you just respect that? That this is my choice?”

Wally slumped into himself, rubbing at his own face. “Dick, give Danny a kiss on the forehead for me, okay?”

“Dick’s not going to—” Danny started and then promptly shut up when Dick leaned over and pressed a long, soft kiss to Danny’s temple. “Oh.”

“I’m pretty sure that I know if my boyfriend is willing to kiss the cute guy I’m crushing on,” Wally said with that smug little note to his voice that Dick was so fond of.

Danny startled. “Wait, boyfriend? Crushing on? What?”

“I think you’re cute and sweet and pretty damn wonderful, even if you’re a reckless idiot,” Wally said. He crouched down so that he could meed Danny’s eyes. “But reckless idiot is a little my type.”

“Hey!” Dick protested with a laugh.

Wally just shot him an innocent smile before he focused back on Danny. “Dick and I started date in an open relationship. We were young, he was still figuring things out and exploring. It worked. So, once I’m back and you’re feeling alright, I’d like to take you out on a date. If you want to date me, I mean.”

“Us,” Dick added. “If you’d want to date us.”

“Us?” Wally repeated hopefully.

“Us. I think that you’re pretty amazing too, Danny. And…” Dick paused for a moment as he thought of how to phrase what he was feeling. “Well, at this point of where Wally and I are, I think that I’d much rather add someone to our relationship, rather than have a separate one going on. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to try an us.”

“I, um, that’s—” Danny stopped to clear his throat. His face was flushed an adorable pink. (Dick always did like blushers.) “You two know how to make a guy feel special, don’t you? I, yeah, I’d like to try. But also I get it if once Wally’s back you two change your mind or something, like there will be no hard feel—”

Dick leaned in and shut Danny up with a kiss. His lips tasted of purple and ozone.

“Hey! No fair!” Wally whined. “I found him first, I should have gotten to kiss him first!”

The kiss dissolved into giggles and Dick cheerfully flicked Wally off as Danny buried his face against Dick’s neck. “Your kisses are toxic.”

“My—no! Okay, I mean, not me kisses specifically! Danny, don’t listen to him. As soon as I won’t cause you a seizure anymore, I’ll show you what real kissing is like,” Wally pleaded.

Danny just continued to laugh. He was leaning heavily into Dick now, who leaned back against the arm of the couch and just let Danny drape over him.

“It’s okay, Wally,” Dick said. “I know you’re a good kisser. You’re also very good at—”

“Okay! Thank you Dick!” Wally interrupted. He was still a little staticy in appearance, but Dick could tell that Wally was blushing. (Dick really did love blushers.) “We’ll save that sort of talk for after a few dates, okay?”

“Sure, if you want. I think it’s a good selling point though,” Dick said innocently.

Wally rolled his eyes and and flopped down on the couch. Parts of him were going through the couch, and he had to stay carefully away from Danny, but it was so good to see Wally sitting there in the living room relaxed and nearly solid. It gave Dick hope, and hope was a dangerously wonderful thing.

Dick played with the short hair at the base of Danny’s scalp. “So, no food right now?”

“You’re the one who laid down,” Danny pointed out through a yawn.

Dick gave a noncommittal hum. “How about I see if the others want to order in and we can all eat when it shows up. Maybe Indian?”

“Indian is good,” Danny agreed. He sounded half asleep already. “Get me… buttered chicken and naan. Lots of naan.”

“We’ll have naan for days,” Dick assured him. He kept up the light petting until Danny went lax with sleep.

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 4, Part 3

Masterpost, (pls no editing or concrit. I am still ill, editing is hard)

“Go deep sea fishing, mother fucker!”

Well, that was sure a phrase to wake up to. Danny wasn’t convinced that someone in the room had actually said it. Maybe he was having a lingering dream. The hand in his hair was nice though.

It was nice to be touched.

So many of that Titans were easy with their touch. Kori was constantly hugging people or draping herself over their shoulders. Nightwing was the same, but he’d also just touch people as he passed them, like he was taking count. Gar loved to sit on a couch with people as an animal. Cyborg was big on high-fives and Donna clasps on shoulders. Raven wasn’t a toucher, but somehow Danny knew that she was reaching out to her teammates in her own way. He wondered how Wally would be, once he was back. He looked like a hugger.

Danny’s pillow shook with laughter. Not wanting to actually be awake yet, Danny turned his face further towards the darkness with a little mumble of noise. The hand scratched satisfyingly against his scalp.

“Is he awake?”

“I don’t really think so,” Danny’s pillow said, “but I think it’s going that way.”

“Good timing, pizza will be here soon!” Another voice chirped.

“You have to make sure he eats.” That was Flash. He could tell by the static hum.

“We will,” the Pillow said. “Gar’s been good about that.”

“Course I have,” replied who must be Gar.

Gar… gar gar gar, gar fish! Beast Boy. Beast Boy had been feeding Danny. His food was pretty good and the vegan stuff was easy on Danny’s stomach. He’d been nauseous on and off since Flash showed up to haunt him.

“Wally,” an accented voice said. Oh, Kori, right. Who was Wally? “It is still your turn.”

“Yeah, but my acting hands are a little busy.” Oh. Oh. Flash was Wally?

Wally.

That fit him, Danny thought. Wally. Cheerful. Also dealing with him has been a real ‘where’s Waldo’ sort of thing. Danny’s own bad joke made him laughter. The snicker was smothered by his pillow.

“Everything good over there, Dick?”

“Probably!” the Pillow said. The Pillow was named Dick?

Danny rolled over enough to peer up at the person he was resting on. It was Nightwing. Or Nightwing without his mask. Unmasked Nightwing was called Dick?

‘Nightwing is a real Dick.’

Really?

“Really?” Danny asked out load. He twisted until he could see Flash. Wally. Whichever. Sure, he as looking at Wally upside down, but he still tried for a scowl. “Really? You secret code to get me into the tower was a joke about his name?”

Wally shrugged. “What? Knowing a hero’s secret identity is a big thing and you didn’t even know you knew. I thought it was pretty prefect, and besides, it worked!”

“I can’t believe you,” Danny said.

“No, this is peak Wally,” Raven interjected dryly. “It’s very much a thing he would do.”

Danny blinked upside down at the rest of the crowd. All of the Titans that had come to support and wait for the Flash were gathered around, sitting on stools and pillows in a semi circle around several pile of cards.

“Are those Uno cards? Aren’t you playing Go Fish?”

“Super Mega Ultra Go Fish!” Gar said, complete with jazz hands.

“Right, what is—no, wait!” Danny spread an arm out, stopping himself. He slipped a little, though Nightwing made sure he didn’t fall, bless him. “Knowing a hero’s secret identity is a big deal! Why are all of you using real names?”

Nightwing—Dick—shrugged and Danny shifted with the motion. “Because we trust you and wearing a mask all the time sucks.”

Danny blinked up at him. “What?”

“You were a hero too, Raven likes your vibe, you nearly killed yourself to help Wally, and you’re kind,” Dick said like that explained it. “We trust you.”

“Oh. Okay?” Danny still didn’t get it, but what else was there to say? “Now what the fuck is Super Mega Ultra Go Fish?”

“You have to do the jazz hands,” Raven said.

With her usual deadpan tone, Danny didn’t know if she was joking or not.

He did the jazz hands anyways.

“Super Mega Ultra Go Fish—” Gar did Jazz hands “—is the Titan’s special version of Go Fish. It’s been developed over many years of friendly games, brutal arguments, post battle insomnia, and one very boring abduction by aliens. We add a new word each time it goes through a major shift, so this is version four!”

“Right,” Danny said, drawing the word out. “And there are Uno cards?”

“And flash cards!”

“Trivial pursuit cards if you’re unlucky.”

“Candy Land—”

“That explains the monopoly board, I guess,” Danny mumbled.

“—and one of Raven’s old oracle decks if shit gets really weird.”

“Y’all are way too proud of yourselves,” Danny said. After a beat he added, “and are so teaching me how to play.”

“Yes!” Gar cheered. “Super Mega Ultra Go Fish has a new player in town!”

“After food,” Dick said, looking at his phone. “Pizza is here. Danny, do you think that if we all move upstairs that Wally will stay around?”

Danny tilted his head in thought. “I think so? It’s always been about his proximity to me, right Fl—Wally?”

“Yep. It’s like you’re my focus point. I don’t know if the machine expands that though based on its location. We can only figure it out if we try though,” Wally said.

“Okay, I missed a lot of that,” Cyborg said. “Translation?”

Danny paused in sitting up. “Huh?”

“Wally is staticy to us. We don’t get every word of what he’s saying,” Dick explained as he reached out to steady Danny.

“Oh that’s… huh. Something to look into. Um, I’m Wally’s focal point but the machine might expand things to you all. We won’t know what the anchor is, me of the machine, until we try,” Danny explained. “Or that’s basically it.”

“But if he disappears, we can get him back?” Kori asked.

Danny nodded and finished sitting up with a little waver. “Yeah. He won’t really disappear, I’ll be tied to him, it will just be y’all's perception of him.”

Kori nodded back. “Okay, then we try.”

“Then we try,” Wally agreed and came to stand by Danny.

If he could have taken Wally’s hand, he would have. Instead he walked out through the door, to the elevator, and rode it up. Everyone else watched Wally so intently that he started to fidget.

They reached the personal floor.

The elevator dinged.

Wally was still there.

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fention Chapter 4, Part 2

pls no editing or con crit. I am still sick and this is not edited. i keep choking on air. or my tongue. not fun either way... ANYWAYS!

Dick watched Wally pace back and forth, talking to himself. After Danny had fainted, the static interference had gotten worse, but at least Wally was still there. Dick couldn’t talk his eyes off his boyfriend.

Wally was still there.

Dick brushed his hands through Danny’s hair. They were on the couch, Danny asleep across Dick’s lap. A couch that had been shoved in a corner early on in the sciencing to try and make Danny take breaks. It seems they didn’t do a good enough job.

“Wally,” Dick tried. When he didn’t get through he tried again, louder. “Walls!”

“Yeah Da—Dick! Dick, holy shit,” Wally said and dashed to kneel in front of the couch. “I keep forgetting that — hear me and see — I can hear you! Dick, babe, god I missed you so damn much!”

“Yeah,” Dick said, almost choking on the lump of joy in his throat. “Yeah, I missed so much too. We’ll find a way to get you back out of there. I promise you that we will. Well, I mean, the other’s will mostly unless you need a daring, acrobatic rescue.”

“Hey,” Wally said, voice so soft it was hard to hear over the static. “Never — to a — cue from you. You’re my knight in —. Always.”

“Always,” Dick agreed. He let his head fall back against the couch. “Fuck I need to take this domino off before I fill it up with tears.”

“Even though—” Wally motioned to Danny.

“Yeah. It will be easier if we stop caring about hiding. Besides, daddy Bat looked Danny up, he really was a teen hero. If anyone can understand it, he can,” Dick pointed out. “Raven gave him the okay too. He does just want to help.”

“Wants to — much!” Wally ranted and threw his hands up into the air.

“Yeah, he does doesn’t he? He’ll fit right in with that,” Dick replied. At Wally’s glare he just laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. We’re all horrible. If we weren’t, you wouldn’t be stuck in the Speed Force.”

Wally’s face immediately fell at that. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you were doing what you do, being a hero. I’m just glad that we have a real shot at getting you back,” Dick said with a little shake of his head. “The others will tattle on me and how much I’ve not been okay, I’m sure.”

“You’ve got to — of yourself, Dick,” Wally said. “I need you to be — when I get back.”

“I will,” Dick promised. “I have been been trying to, it’s just been hard. And I’ll make sure to look after this idiot too. Though I’ll need your help, you seem to be able to sense how he is in a way that we can’t.”

“— been watching him for months. Also, Speed Froce,” Wally said. “He — help. He’s… a good person.”

“And someone you’re fond of, right? No, hey, don’t look ashamed. Sure, it’s been a while since either of us did anything with anyone else, but it’s not like we ever closed the our relationship up.”

Wally still glanced away. Rubbing nervously at his arm. It would be cute if it wasn’t a little heartbreaking. They’d had an open relationship because of Dick. Wally had dated a few other people and joined in the occasional threesome, but nothing like Dick’s clubbing hay days. This was maybe something they should have talked about once Dick had started to settle down more.

“Just — only person I could see and hear. I — and I guess that —” Wally tried to explain.

“Walls, I’ve been dating you for how long? I know what you look like when you’re crushing,” Dick said. “And it’s okay.”

Wally cleared his throat and tried to pretend like he wasn’t blushing. “— blame me? He’s — black hair and blue eyes and is compassionate and smart! — my type, like you should know!”

Dick just laughed. A warm, deep laugh like he hadn’t been able to do while Wally was gone. God it was so good to have him back, even if it wasn’t all the way yet. “Okay, well, Danny sees absolutely out of it, so how about I call the others down so that they can see you? They might stab me if I keep you all to myself.”

“Yes!” Wally agreed so eagerly that Dick had his phone out in and instant to message the other Titans, weird glitchy picture of Wally grinning wildly included.

[clockwayswrites]

Danny: *says concerning health things casually*

All of the Titans:

Wally, unseen and unheard by everyone: *motions dramatically* SEE?!? THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO LOOK AFTER HIM! HE'S A DISASTER. DICK, BABE, CUDDLE HIM!!

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 3, Part 3

masterposts. no editing pls. be kind. am sick *cough cough*

“Daniel Horatio Fenton!”

“Horatio?” Danny repeated, a small smile on his face and phone head away from his face due to the shouting.

Dick leaned over and pressed the speaker button, which got him a bemused look, but Danny set the phone down on the coffee table.

“Well, I don’t actually know your middle name,” the voice on the phone admitted with a huff. “It was just the first thing that came to mind! I can’t full name you without a full name and I need to full name you because I just came to the hospital to visit you only to find out that you checked yourself out against doctor’s orders!!”

Danny scratched at the side of his face. The medical bracelet was bright on his wrist. “Mina—”

“Danny!”

“Look, Mina. I promise you that I’m safe. I’m actually in the in the safest building in San Fran, I’m pretty sure.” Danny glanced at Dick, and at Dick’s nod continued. “I’m actually at Titan’s Tower.”

The silence was heavy. Then, “Danny Horatio Fenton!”

“Still not my middle name.”

“Why the f are you at Titan’s Tower?!” Min shouted. Another pause, then, “Oh gods, the reading! The Tower! I knew that reading didn’t go right. Your ghost is a superhero? They messed with my reading?!?”

“The Flash, and I’m sure he thought he was helping, Mina,” Danny said.

“Helping?!” Mina screeched. “Maybe if he had let me do the reading properly we could have figured this out before you had a heart attack! Which was also his fault! And your seizures!”

“Mina, none of us could have know my heart would stop like that,” Danny said. “And Flash was very worried about me. I’m sure he’s sorry.”

“I’m sure that he’s blaming himself too,” Dick said.

“And who are you?”

“Nightwing, Miss Mina, and Flash is my best friend. He’d hate that he’s caused any sort of harm to Danny,” Dick said. “I’m sure that he’s blaming himself more than anyone else. But don't worry, the Titans are determined to help both Flash and Danny. In fact, Raven wants to talk to you about that tea and anything else that you might have gotten a sense of.”

“Yes, of course. Anything I can do to help out. Oh, and make sure Danny eats, he's bad at that sometimes,” Mina said.

Danny groaned and dropped his head into his hands. “Mina.”

“And sleep! He's really bad at that one.”

“Mina.”

“Really bad. Okay, pass me to Raven so we can talk shop. Danny, behave or I'm coming for you!”

“Love you too Mina,” Danny grumbled.

Dick waited until Raven had taken the phone and turned it off speaker to talk magic to look over at Danny. “So, when was the last time you ate?”

Danny sighed. “I can't believe I'm being mother henned by Nightwing.”

“Oh. He's the worst mother hen,” Gar said. He hopped up from the couch and transformed into a chicken midair.

They watched him cluck around on the coffee table.

“So, last time you ate?”

“Breakfast at the hospital, what I could manage of it,” Danny said with another sigh.

Dick smacked his hand against his legs before he stood too. “Right! Lunch time then. I'm thinking chicken nuggets.”

Gar squawked loudly.

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 4, Part 1

masterpost am still sick. no editing or concrit please. *sad coughing*

Wally had already known that Danny was smart, but watching Danny work with Barry, Victor, and the others put Danny’s intelligence in a whole other category. Danny was science smart.

The swift progress from everyone working together making a way to communicate with Wally using readings from Danny was encouraging. What wasn’t encouraging is how Danny seemed to fade a little more every day.

“—take a break, Danny,” Dick said. He’d taken his role of mother hen seriously, as he always did.

“Yeah, one sec,” Danny mumbled around the screwdriver in his mouth. “Just let me finish these wires. We’re almost ready for another test.”

Dick hummed before agreed, “Okay—after the test—eating and taking a nap.”

“N,” Danny whined.

“Don’t N—,” Dick replied. “Flash wouldn’t—killing yourself to save him.”

“Damn right I wouldn’t!” Wally agreed, even if no one would hear him. Everyone else might still be a little static sounding, but he knew Dick well enough to know what he was saying.

“Already died,” Danny grumbled to himself as he kept working on the wiring.

Dick chose not to respond to the aside, which was probably for the best, and settled back against a wall of the converted bio lab instead. Wally leaned next to him.

“I know that we both know that letting someone stay involved is important for mental health, but you have to be willing to ground Danny when the time comes,” Wally said, just to be able to say it. “I can feel him getting weaker. I’m worried that it’s an exponential thing too, and who knows how much it will worse when the sensors are working.”

Dick sighed next to him. Wally nodded along as if Dick had been agreeing. In the background, Danny, Barry, and Raven were talking.

“I know, he’ll be suborn about it. But you could always point out how he’s the only way to get me back,” Wall shivered as a sudden wave of cold passed over him. “We’ll know that’s not why, but if it works, it works, right?”

“Wally?” Dick asked his name in such an absolutely wrecked way that Wally spun and was reaching out before he remembered that Dick couldn’t see him.

Except that Dick was looking right at him.

Wally could tell, even with the lenses.

“Can—can you see me?”

Dick nodded slowly.

“And—and you can hear me?! You can hear me!” Wally reached for Dick.

His hand went right through him.

Oh.

Small steps.

“It’s hard to hear you,” Barry said, over to Wally’s side in a rush. “It’s like Danny has said, you’re all static. Visually too. It’s like the channel isn’t turned right. But! We can work on refining that until we’ve locked onto the right frequency and then we can work on pulling you out of there! Your aunt is going to strangle you as soon as she can touch you, so be ready for that.”

Wally barked out a teary laugh. “Yeah, she would. I’ll take that. I’ll take being touched just about in any way right now. I mean, just talking to you all! I didn’t know if…”

“Never,” Dick said admittedly. “We’ll always come to get you. And luckily you were smart enough to find Danny.”

“I think that was all luck, nothing smart about it. I’m just glad that—Danny?” Wally looked over to Danny, who was leaning against the equipment, and just knew that things were about to go badly. “Barry! Catch him!”

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 3, Part 2

masterpost (pls no editing or concrit, my words have been a mess but I'm trying!)

Dick took the corners of the halls at reckless speeds, careening around the corners in a way that only his Robin training saved him from smashing into walls. Speed was more important than safety.

Wally might be here.

“Verdict?” Dick heard Gar ask.

“Your vegan macaroons get a ten from me, could eat way too many,” a voice that Dick didn’t know said. “Though I still don’t get why you’re feeding me.”

“Dude, your heart stopped a few days ago. Cookies are in order after something like that!”

Who’s heart stopped?

Why?

Dick made himself to slow down a little from his panicked sprint as he entered the room. He scanned the space instantly: Victor, Raven, Gar, and the mystery person all settled on the couch. The news played silently on the TV.

“N.” Cyborg set the device he had been fiddling with down and stood. “This is Danny.”

Danny stood and spun around. He almost looked like he could have been an early Wayne with the black hair and blue eyes and weight he carried on his shoulders. “Flash sent me here. He said to tell you that you’re a ‘real dick’, but he said it fondly or like it was a joke!”

“Yeah,” Dick choked out. Even though Victor had told Dick the message, it still took him out at the knees to hear it from this stranger. “He would have.”

“I don’t know why that phrase works on all of you, but, I, um,” Danny grabbed a spiral bound book off the coffee table. “I also have a drawing I did of him after the first time that I got to see him clearly, if that also adds to what I’m saying. It’s him without his mask.”

Dick was torn between rushing over or going slowly in case that the image shattered their hope. He was there before he had decided how to proceed, taking the sketchbook.

Wally stared back at him from the page.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Danny asked, voice almost impossibly gentle. “He says he’s trapped in something called the Speed Force.”

“It’s him,” Dick said after clearing his throat. It didn’t help the mixed feeling of tears and relief clogged there. He brushed his fingers over the dotted freckles of the drawing. “And he would get trapped by his own powers. Idiot.”

“Why don’t all sit down!” Gar said with forced cheer and a clap of his hands. “Danny can explain things now that you’re here and then we can figure out how to rescue W—Flash!”

“I even have drinks, since someone abandoned me as soon as he had cookies,” Donna said with a pointed look towards Gar as she entered from the direction of the kitchen. She passed out the armful of sodas to everyone as they sat back down. When she got to Dick, she took the drawing from his hands (he resisted the urge to grab it back) and replaced it with a ginger ale.

It was the same drink Danny had gotten.

“Explain from the start. From before Flash,” Raven instructed, which sounded foreboding.

Danny turned the drink between his palms. “Like I said, I’m a psychopomp. Ghosts and I—death and I have a pretty close relationship with each other. Have since I was fourteen and I sorta died in an accident in my parent’s lab, which I really don’t want to get into. But they’re ectobiologists, they study ghosts.”

“And one lab accident later you can talk to them?” Victor said. “Sure you’re not a superhero?”

“You joke, but I was, at least as far as my home town is concerned. Seems to come with having a fucked up lab accident, you know?” Danny asked, his smile crooked.

“Yeah,” Victor rumbled. “I know.”

“Anyways, I was never anything big, and I’m okay with that. It doesn’t really matter now anyways, dying comes with a pretty limited lifespan for a superhero sort of body,” Danny said with a wave, as if that would be the end of that conversation. “But the talking to ghosts stuck around.

“Outside of my home town, most haunted place in America, they’re pretty quiet and pretty incorporeal. They don’t bother me often, but sometimes there’s one strong enough that needs help moving on—willing or not. It’s usually not a problem to do it around my work and college, but then your Flash shows up and he’s not like the other ghosts.”

“How quickly could you tell that?” Donna asked.

“Pretty much instantly. He feels like… you know when you’d put a hand up against an old TV or CRT monitor? And you could feel that static hum? He feels like that,” Danny explained. “I couldn’t see him or communicate with him either. There was no sort of… Ancients this is hard to explain. There was no resonating vibe with him. It didn’t—doesn’t mean that he’s not dead, though he’s sure he’s not, but I knew he wasn’t a normal ghost right away. And that was before the seizures.”

Nightwing rested his head against the cold can of ginger ale. “…the seizures?”

Danny hummed. “Whenever Flash gets too close—touches me, I think—I have a seizure.”

“Dude! And that doesn’t concern you?” Gar shouted, bits of macaroons flying.

And Danny just shrugged, like it didn’t! “Well, I mean, I’ve already died? Twice. Well, three times now if my heart stopping counts.”

“Yeah,”Dick mumbled, “I think that counts.”

“Anyways,” Danny continued guilelessly, “the seizures basically put me in a state where I could have contact with Flash. I could see him, at least. There were only a few anyway before I tried the tea. The tea worked enough for me to talk to him. He gave me the messages, and now I’m here.”

Victor leaned forward. “I want you to take us through what Flash told you as best as you can remember.”

“And I want to know what was in that tea,” Raven said.

“And I want to know if you have your medication!” Gar chirped. Everyone turned to him and he deflated a little. But he continued gamely on as he always did, “Dude still has a hospital bracelet on! He might have come right here. See! Look at that face! He came right here.”

Danny did look pretty guilty with how he was rubbing at the back of his neck and pointedly wasn’t looking at any of them.

Dick sighed. He might not have Wally right then, but it did seem like he had another overly thoughtful idiot to look after in the mean time. “Did you come right here?”

“I had to let you know about Flash!” Danny said. “I know how long he’s been hanging around me and who knows how long it took him to find me. You all have to be worried.”

“Your medication?” Dick asked.

“It’s being filled?”

“Right. We can have Kori grab it on her way. She was finishing a thing up with the Outlaws,” Victor said. “We’ll just need your full name, birthday, and pharmacy where it’s being filled.”

Danny took a long breath and then took a decisive nod. “Right. I can do that. And then I’ll call Miss Wilhelmina Aleshire, so brace yourself for that.”

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 3, Part 1

masterpost, please no editing or concrit! This is a first draft only and it is a sleepy, headachy day.

Danny rung the doorbell (buzzer, whatever) on the monolithic side of Titans Tower.

Nothing happened, of course.

Danny glared at the spot where he though Flash might be. Approximately. It’s where the buzzing was at least.

“You're going to get me arrested,” Danny complained to thin air.

Somehow he was certain he'd gotten a little ‘go head' sort of motion back to his words. He couldn't see Flash still, not outside of seizures at least. It was more like how one knew someone was looking at them. It was a sense of movement.

Danny rang the bell again.

Then Danny pulled out a notebook, leaned against the building, and started sketching. He set a reoccurring timer to go off every two minutes. When it did, he rang the buzzer again. Then he got back to sketching.

Fifteen times into ringing the buzzer, some hidden speaker hummed to life.

“Dude, you know, there's a tip line you can use, right? And we don’t give autographs.”

Danny scrambled against his aching body to stand up straight and spun towards the door. “I, um, know. I saw the sign. But I don't have a tip, I have a message.”

The bored sounding person on the other side of the speaker sighed. It sounded like static. “What's the message?”

“It's from the Flash, I think,” Danny said. “And, trust me, I can't believe I'm saying this either, but he wants me to tell Nightwing that ‘he's a real dick’ but said, like, in a fond way.”

The silence was unbearably heavy.

“Okay then. Right. Please don't have me arrested, I'm just the messenger,” Danny said and started to back away.

The TV static of Flash hummed against his back.

“I tried, okay?” Danny hissed at him. “We’ll come up with another idea and—”

And one of the double doors to Titan’s Tower slammed open by a large green gorilla that quickly morphed into a small green man.

“What did you say?!?” Beastboy shouted breathlessly.

“Someone I'm, like, eighty percent sure is your guys’ Flash told me to tell Nightwing that he's a real dick.”

“Holy shit. Holy fucking shit,” Beastboy repeated, really drawing the words out. “Inside, now!”

Danny blinked at the sudden acceptance. “Not to arrest me, right?”

“What? No!” Beastboy exclaimed and started to basically pull Danny into the building. “We have to get Nightwing!”

“Okay.” Danny hoped that was true.

Danny got the feeling that Flash was right along with him as Beastboy herded him (literally as a sheep dog at one point) through the lobby, into the elevator, and up the tower. The room that they walked out into was clearly a personal space. There were abandoned cups, a smattering of plants, and several discarded pieces of clothing about the room.

The Titans lounging in front of a massive TV were pretty telling too.

“Gar…” the goth of the group asked as they stood. “…who is this?”

“This is—” Gar started enthusiastically and then deflated like a popped balloon. “Um, I don’t know actually? No, Raven, wait! No attacking! Just, dude, just tell them what you told me!”

Danny tried not to tense up at the dark power swirling around one of Raven’s hands. “Flash sent me to tell Nightwing that ‘he’s a real dick’, but Flash said it in a fond way.”

“Oh, fuck,” Raven breathed.

“Where is he?” Asked who could only be Cyborg.

“Here…ish,” Danny said with a gesture to where Flash was. “He said he’s trapped in the Speed Force. He’s not exactly on this plan of existence. Very small chance he’s dead, and I can only talk to him because he’s a ghost but Flash says he’s not but sometimes ghosts are like that?”

“…sometime ghosts are like that,” Raven repeated.

Danny scratched at the back of his neck. “Yeah… I’m kinda a psychopomp? But if it’s any comfort, Flash is really insistent that he’s not dead. He doesn’t feel like normal ghosts either. I think he’s actually right that he’s not dead, especially since he didn’t get any more clear when my heart stopped the other day.”

“When you’re heart what?!” Cyborg practically shouted.

It was a bit of an over the top reaction for hero, Danny thought. They put themselves in danger all the time.

“Yeah. So because Flash isn’t a normal ghost,” Danny said, slightly bewildered as Gar urged him over to the couch to sit down down, “I can’t see him or talk to him like I normally would. It’s been mostly seizures before, which wow I do not recommend, but a few days ago I too some tea to help my powers open up and the added ability to interact was too much for me I guess and my heart stopped.”

“Well,” Raven said with a little frown and a wave of her hand. “That explains the medical band.”

Danny blinked down at it. “Oh. I meant to take that off. Yeah, sorry, I sorta checked myself out against doctors orders to come here.”

“Dude, why?” Gar said, sitting down next to Danny. His face was incredibly expressive and Danny felt like those big, worried eyes might give him another heart attack.

“Because… because you deserve to know where your friend is,” Danny said honestly.

There was a long beat of silence before Cyborg slapped his hands against his leg with a clank. “Right. I’ve alerted Nightwing and the others. Gar, help…”

“Danny.”

“—help Danny settle in. Raven, watch Gar.”

“Hey!” Gar exclaimed with a pout.