fruitycaake

[fruitycaake]

Sometimes I forget that I can draw anything.

And then I remember

[fruitycaake]

Jeweled Rage

Danny knew he had been staring too long at the guy, judging by the suspicious glances from him and the two he was with. But really his mind was kinda stuck on how the guy had managed to get some kind of supernatural jewelry stuck in his chest.

It didn’t feel exactly ghostly but he knew it was on the dead spectrum. He just knew that this was the reason Clockwork had given specific (if cryptic, like always) instructions when he was going to meet Jazz in Gotham.

He inwardly groaned as the trio made their way over to him, deciding to confront him for staring.

“Is there a reason you’ve been staring at me?” Jason said aggressively.

Danny grimaced. “Yeah… I have absolutely no clue how to start this conversation but I can already tell you it is not heading in the direction you think it is.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s not any less suspicious than before.”

Danny sighed. “Look, I was given specific instructions before I came to Gotham by a guy who is cryptic up the wazoo but knows basically everything. I’m supposed to tell ‘the one with the Jeweled Rage’ that ‘The Hellblazer is the answer to ending the Rage.’ And since you are the one with the Jewelry problem, that is your message.”

Dick blinks, turning to look at Tim. “Jewelry problem? Did I miss something while I was working out today?”

Both Tim and Jason look just as confused, turning to look skeptically at Danny, with Tim asking, “What Jewelry problem are you talking about?”

Danny frowned. “You mean you don’t know about the piece of supernatural Jewelry stuck in his chest?” He says, pointing at Jason.

The three freeze before Jason bursts out, “If there was something stuck in my chest how wasn’t it seen by an x-ray?! I know I’ve broken my ribs more than once over the years!”

Danny deadpans. “Unless it was a supernatural x-ray the chances of seeing it is microscopic. Supernatural shit is weird.”

Dick suddenly reaches out, grabbing Danny’s wrist. “You are coming with us while we get this figured out.”

Danny gives a bare minimum of resistance, face resigned, already knowing something like this would happen. “I better be fed while being held hostage or I will ensure you have the worst minor inconveniences for a month.”

[fruitycaake]

Phantom, the newest addition to the Justice League, pulls Wonder Woman aside.

He has...a strange request.

He's nervous, flustered, fading in and out of the visible spectrum. It's clear that what he's about to ask of her is important to him, and even though she has an uncomfortable voice in the back of her head telling her this young hero is about to ask her out, she resolves to listen before she jumps to conclusions.

She's glad she did.

"Can...can you put a grave for me in Themyscira? I know it's just for women, but it's the safest place I can think of for it! I just...I don't have a grave, and Clockwork says it's starting to stunt my growth as a Ghost, and I have too many enemies on American soil, so. It's okay if you say no, though, I'll figure something out, it's fine."

Diana lets him ramble to the end, already knowing what her answer is going to be.

"We would be honored to host your grave, Phantom. Do you have any remains I can take home? Do you require a funeral service?"

Phantom looks...he looks beyond grateful. Close to tears.

"No, no remains. A symbolic grave is fine, it just. It has to have my real name on it, my mortal one." He says, looking hesitant. "Please don't reach out to my family, Wonder Woman. They don't know."

With that, he hands over a small slip of paper, torn from a notebook and clearly folded one too many times.

She takes it as though he were entrusting her with the rarest diamond in the world. She wants to, but she does not ask how they could not notice the death of someone so very bright.

Instead she nods, tucking the paper away.

Phantom will get a grand grave, one worthy of a friend to the Crown of Themyscira. She will ensure it.

[fruitycaake]

Jason "can't, I died" Todd VS Danny "can't, I'm dead" Fenton

[fruitycaake]

Bruce: oh how was patrol?

Danny, thinking about blob ghost: only ran into a few things

Tim, who watched Danny eat said ghosts: Danny lowkey ate em up

[fruitycaake]

Fashion Summoning Roulette

Danny is the new High King of the Infinite Realms!

But he is...very not intimidating.

His rogues take offense to this.

They demand that when he gets summoned to other worlds his summoning outfit be different than his hero outfit. He must look intimidating!

They would be so fucking embarrassed for cultists to know that they got their asses handed to them by not only a baby, but a baby that couldn't be bothered to get an actual hero suit.

So they workshop it and bully Danny into agreeing.

Each of his rogues gets to design a "High King of the Infinite Realms" outfit, and when they've all had a go then Danny gets to choose the one he likes best.

Every time he gets summoned, he's wearing a different outfit.

Some of them are creepy, some of them are frightening, some of them are actually pretty bland, and some of them are...dumb. But Boxy looks so fucking hopeful Danny can't say no. Some of them make him look like he's draped in stars, and another uses colors unseeable to mortal eyes.

It seems like a pretty solid deal.

But they also want feedback from the cultists.

This leads to things getting a little awkward.

Like cultists kidnapping renowned journalist Lois Lane and fancy Gotham idiot Billionaire Brucie Wayne to offer them to the High King of the Infinite Realms because they heard he's super into fashion, and who better than a journalist and a man richer than god to give him pointers?

Lois keeps pointing out she's not from a fashion magazine.

Bruce quietly mentally acknowledges that yeah, he actually pays attention to fashion more than she does. He won't say it, though. Not when she can hear him.

@simplestoryteller

[fruitycaake]

Sleepy King Nanenna Masterpost

The original post is getting a bit long so I'm posting this here to make things a little easier. Less scrolling for returning readers at least.

This boy can fit so much eepy Branch Original Post (long post) This Meeting Could've Been an E-mail This Phone Call Could've Been a Text This Phone Call Could've Been the Start to a Beautiful Partnership This Stream of Consciousness Could've been an Epiphany This Group Chat Could've Been a Meeting This Montage Could've Been a Beach Episode This Blind Panic Could've Been a Q&A Session This Migraine Could've Been an Intercom Announcement This Conversation is Exactly as it Should've Been A Brief Look from a Different Angle

BAMF Fenton Parents Branch Original Post (long post) A Bit of Detective Work Detective Work on the Other Side Meeting the Mayor The Best Laid Plans Jeez Louise This is a Mess Let's Wrap this Up, Folks

Now hosted on AO3 for those who prefer to read it there.

[fruitycaake]

This Conversation is Exactly as it Should've Been

Sleepy King AU Masterpost

Slight change in chapter title because with this brand new POV we finally have someone being reasonable!

🌟✨💖✨🌟

Duke was in the middle of his midday patrol when he got B's alert. “Come to the Watchtower, O will brief.”

Ominous, but not overly so. Nothing about the message said it was super urgent, so Duke turned back but kept an eye on the streets below as he switched to Oracle's channel.

“Hey O, what's the sitch?”

“Oh boy, do I have a story for you!”

Two attempted muggings and one long explanation later…

“So B wants me up there… to be the Ghost King's welcoming committee?”

“You guessed it!”

“What.”

“B thinks Danny will be more comfortable with another teenager, once you're up there just guide him to the hangar and wave as he and whoever's on the craft leave.”

Duke switched out his helmet for a domino, it would help not hide his age, and got into the zeta tube, “And where is this guy?”

“Let me patch you into the team's channel.”

Duke set his comms to listening only, he knew how B operated.

“Kal,” came B's deep voice, “where is Danny right now?”

“Why?” Superman asked. 

“So we can have someone nearby to guide Danny.”

“Wouldn't I be the best option?”

“No.”

There was an awkward moment of silence before some else spoke up. “Danny did run from you.”

“I have contacted an associate closer to his age, he's ready to go meet Danny.”

Superman sighed, “Of course you did. Anti-possession charm?”

“It's part of our standard equipment.”

That was news to Duke, he should ask about that later. Superman rattled off a floor number and directions to a storage room. Duke obligingly followed the directions.

“Danny spotted, he's out of the closet.” 

Duke couldn't help snorting at O's joke. “Good for him!”

“Shush, he's heading towards you, just keep heading down the hall. And remember, play dumb.”

Duke could do that. He rounded a corner to see a brightly glowing mass of shadows shambling down the hall. The figure themself was a slightly greenish white, like a glacier put through a color filter, hair face and all. Their eyes were two neon green flashlights, like the Lazarus pits or kryptonite. Their whole body glowed, like they'd been dipped in glow-in-the-dark paint. Their aura was dark shadows, writhing around them. There was a jagged blackhole floating over their head.

Duke blinked and instead found a pale teenager with black hair, intensely blue eyes, and wrapped up in Batman's cape with pale fingers clutching it closed.

“Oh I was not the best choice for this,” he muttered under his breath. He shook his head to finish clearing his vision, then smiled at the guy now standing a couple yards away, eyeing Duke warily. He pasted on a bright smile and waved, “Hi, I'm Signal.”

“Signal?”

“Yeah, I work out of Gotham. And from the looks of it so will you.”

“Huh?” The guy, presumably Danny, looked down to where his slippered feet were poking out the front of the cape where it parted to drag behind him on the floor.

“Batman's cape, looks like the adoption craze has struck again. B keeps bringing home new kids, there's like half a dozen of us.” Duke laughed along with the polite titters on his comms. Then he stepped closer to Danny and stage whispered, “Half of us have black hair and blue eyes, so you'll fit right in.”

Danny looked at Duke skeptically, “Do you?”

“Sure do.”

Danny didn't seem to know how to react to that.

“So, where you heading? I know the Watchtower can be pretty confusing at first.”

Danny's eyes grew big as saucers, “I'm on the Watchtower?!”

“Yeah, want a tour?”

“I… I …” Danny nodded eagerly, then hesitated. “My ride’s here.”

“Oh cool, where they at?”

“The uh… the hangar?”

“I can show you where it is.” Duke started walking, Danny fell into step next to him, still clutching B's cape. Duke let the silence sit for a minute because… 

“Marvel, Danny’s parents are ghost hunters,” B’s voice came over comms. Duke had no idea what was going on on Marvel’s end, O likely had him separated on that front.

“Are we sure sending the Ghost King home with ghost hunters is a wise idea?” Wonder Woman asked, trust her to ask the real questions.

“Yes!” Someone else said with heavy exasperation.

“They seem to have recently had a change in heart, they’ve denounced all their old work as flawed and outdated.” There was typing to go with O’s voice, likely showing everyone else said announcement.

It seemed the peanut gallery was calming down, so Duke turned his attention back to Danny. “So, you an orphan too?”

“No!” Danny sounded aghast.

“Ah, not as much a requirement as one might think. My sister, Orphan, still has both her parents, ironically enough. So does Spoiler and Batwing and Robin.”

Danny looked confused again. “Um… I'm pretty sure my ride is actually my parents.”

“That's cool, it's good to have supportive parents.”

Danny flushed, super obvious against his pale skin, but smiled happily. “Yeah.”

Danny seemed content to let the silence sit as they entered an elevator that would take them directly to the hangar. Duke wasn't done teasing yet. “So I told you my name, what's yours?”

“Oh um…” Danny looked down, “Danny.”

Duke raised an eyebrow, “Not got a code name yet,”

“No, I d- uh…” Danny's lips thinned. “Nope, just Danny. I'm not doing the whole,” a hand extended from the cape to gesture up and down Duke, “costume thing.”

Well that was an odd response, maybe Danny was the one steering the body after all. Then again, they had very little idea what Phantom looked like, and whether he considered himself a hero or was just being territorial.

“Well you don't have to if you don't want to. Lots of people with powers just lead normal lives.”

“Who said I have powers?” Danny asked defensively.

“Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. It's still true though, as metas become more common it's going to be less common for them to go into cape work.”

“Yeah well, I don't even wear a cape.” Danny looked away with another blush.

Interesting.

Duke nudged Danny with his elbow, “You're wearing a cape eight now.”

Danny looked down and blushed all the more. “Fine, I guess I am.”

“But good choice, I don’t wear a cape either. Capes are cringe.”

Danny cringed at that, the blush coming back. So Danny does have a code name, is wearing a costume, and that included a cape at least for a little while.

The elevator slowed to a stop with a ding. The door opened into the hangar, where a small, unfamiliar craft sat in the middle of the otherwise cleared off runway. There was Captain Marvel and some people Duke didn't recognize standing near the craft. The strangers, one of whom was waving around a safety green baseball bat, seemed to be scolding Marvel, who had his hands up in surrender. Danny let out a relieved sigh as he stepped out of the elevator, quickly heading for the group.

“Danny!” One of the group said. Everyone’s attention turned to him, most of them smiling.

“Danno!” A large man in bright orange grinned and waved cheerfully. “We’ve been worried about you!”

“Hi, Dad, Mom, Jazz, Sam, Tuck,” Danny said in quick succession. “Sorry about that, I have no idea what’s going on or how I got here.”

The woman in teal turned her attention to Marvel, “Well someone was about to explain the whole situation to us, weren’t you mister champion of magic?”

Marvel grinned sheepishly, “Of course, ma’am.”

[fruitycaake]

This Migraine Could've Been an Intercom Announcement

Sleepy King Masterpost.

Warning for this chapter: intentional italics abuse, some angst. Like the whole point of this was to be cute and silly and fluffy, but the competing POVs and misunderstandings have always leaned a bit on the dark side even if we, the readers, know there's literally no danger. It's just now that Danny's awake it's his turn with the angst. UwU

✨🌟✨🌟

Clark may not be Detective Chimp, but it didn’t take that much to connect a magically appearing tracking boomerang and a magically appearing unknown craft. It seemed the mother hens had arrived, and Clark thought it would be best to have the chick ready to hand over ASAP. “Should I go find Danny? His heartbeat is pretty distinct.” He stared in the direction the boy had run through the wall, also looking through the wall.

Bruce grunted in the negative. “When chased the instinct is to flee, let’s give him a moment to calm down.” He started stalking towards the command center, where with any luck someone was likely already making contact with the unknown craft. J’onn should be on his way as well, and judging from Danny’s clothing he was their best bet to get the boy to agree.

“Status,” Bruce demanded as he power walked into the command room, making an aborted motion to control the cape he wasn’t wearing.

“We can’t get them to respond,” Hal said grimly as his hand danced over the console. “They may not be able to, we don’t even know if they can receive our communications.”

A grim silence followed, everyone around Clark thinning their lips or furrowing their brows as they absorbed that unfortunate news.

“I vant to dwink yur blüd!”

Clark snorted, trying desperately not to dissolve into helpless laughter. It seemed Danny just realized whose cape he’d run off with. While the others gave Clark odd looks, J’onn floated up from the floor then landed gently to come join them next to Hal.

“If we can get the craft and the boy into the hangar that should solve everything,” Clark offered. “Just send one of us out there to guide the craft.” He would offer to go himself, but he was still keeping an ear on Danny, who seemed to finally be calming down from his earlier panic.

“I’ll go,” Captain Marvel eagerly volunteered, then quickly left before anyone could comment.

“J’onn?” Diana asked.

“Yes, though I believe a more human standard attempt at communication will be less startling for the boy.”

“While telepathy may be startling, it will also allow Danny to feel your sincerity,” Bruce said grimly.

J’onn simply nodded. Everyone else politely remained quiet as they waited for him to make contact with Danny. J’onn made a pained noise as a hand came up to cradle his head, stumbling back. Dianna reached out to gently take his elbow, helping to steady the man. Clark cringed as he distantly heard Danny making a similar pained noise down in the bowels of the Watchtower.

“Are you alright?” Dianna asked with worry.

“What happened?” Hal asked, placing a steadying hand on J’onn’s shoulder.

“Sounds like their minds are incompatible,” Clark offered.

“Yes,” J’onn agreed weakly.

“Here, sit down.” Hal guided J’onn into the seat he’d vacated when the Martian first reacted.

“Sorry about that, mate,” Constantine said grimly. “Anything that relies on physical brain matter is useless on ghosts, being nothing but spirit. I thought since the kid was somewhat still alive it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“This is all unprecedented,” J’onn said with a weary wave of his hand.

The comms came to life. “Alright, I managed to get them to follow me, we’re almost to the hangar,” Captain Marvel said cheerfully.

“Now we just need to get Danny there,” Clark said hopefully.

“And keep whoever’s in that thing from just coming out and storming into the Watchtower proper,” Constantine grumbled pessimistically.

“I suggest one of the mundane human methods of communication,” J’onn said with his usual dry humor.

“A station wide announcement over the intercom,” Bruce said darkly.

Hal, leaning over his console, was already pressing buttons. “Who should make the announcement?”

Bruce gave one of his usual smirks, “J’onn, of course. Danny is a big fan.”

🌟✨🌟✨

Danny groaned as he sat up, leaning heavily on one arm as the other hand gingerly pressed against his pounding head. He managed to find the nearest wall and leaned against it, glad for the darkness of the room and the coolness of the wall and floor. “Ow,” he groaned, still not quite ready to start thinking yet. But he needed to.

What was that?! Was it an attack of some kind? Some sort of anti-ghost weapon? If it was it wasn’t any kind his parents had ever even dreamed up. Then again he was pretty sure at least two of the people he’d seen before running knew magic. Captain Marvel definitely did, and he had no idea what else the tophat lady would even do. So that was something he had no idea where to even start. What could magic even do against ghosts?

A lot, apparently.

Between that head splitting attack and that magic crystal Freakshow had used to mind control Danny… well, he was kind of scared. What could he even do against something like that?

Danny groaned and leaned more heavily against the wall, one foot stretching out as he slumped. The foot brushed against thick fabric. Oh right, Batman’s cape. Danny leaned over and blindly felt around until he found some corner of it, then pulled the thing over himself as he went back to resting his head against the cool wall.

The cape was heavy, heavy enough it was basically a weighted blanket. Jazz had talked about getting him one in the past, they were supposed to be good for anxiety or something. Danny didn’t know, he had tuned her out. But, well, he was feeling pretty anxious right now he guessed. And he needed a minute right now, one he still seemed to have thankfully. No one had come looking for him yet so far as he could tell, unless that’s what that attack was.

Ugh, Danny didn’t want to think about it! But he needed to. He was all alone with the Justice League and he had no idea what they knew or why they had him, but they had just attacked him for some reason. Danny felt the booo-merang still tucked into his pants’ waistband, a reminder his family was coming to find him. He just needed to stay hidden until he heard the sounds of chaos that always came with his parents.

There was a short chime, followed by a slightly staticy voice. “Attention Mr. Danny Fenton, your ride has arrived,” an almost familiar, lightly accented voice said pleasantly. “They’re waiting for you in the hangar. You can ask any of us to lead you there, or make your way there on your own if you prefer.”

Why was that voice kind of familiar? It must be someone from the Justice League, had he heard anyone that sounded like that in the videos?

“Is that Martian Manhunter? Holy shit! Martian Manhunter knows my name!”

[fruitycaake]

This Blind Panic Could've Been a Q&A Session

Sleepy King masterpost

-----

Clark was disappointed, to say the least, that they were giving up on Danny so quickly. Whether the Ghost King was Pariah Dark or Phantom didn’t change much, the poor boy had still been stolen from his bed in the middle of the night and had an unknowably powerful being stuffed into him. It was a comfort, small as it was, to know that Phantom likely would be just as horrified at the situation as the rest of them and likely would do his best to save Danny. But that’s all it was: a hollow comfort.

Still, the decision had been made and it wasn’t as though there was much Clark could do in this situation. It’s not as if he knew much about magic, even if he did decide to spirit Danny away there wasn’t anything he could do to actually help the boy.

So back to the town that was magically hidden from everyone it was.

He tried not to sigh as he led their strange little procession through empty hallways towards the zeta tubes. Well, mostly led, Constantine and Raven had enough of a lead on them that Danny didn’t seem to smell their demon blood. It was them both stopping short and spinning around that alerted Clark to something happening, barely having time to halt himself before something simply appeared out of nowhere near them and flew at Danny.

“Ow!”

Clark looked down to see Danny picking up some kind of… was that a boomerang?

“Guess Jazz got imp-... uh… what?” He looked around at them, fully awake and clearly confused.

“Well, it’s a good thing we were just taking you home then, right?” Clark asked with a nervous chuckle.

Danny looked at the group of heroes around him, then down at the strangely glowing boomerang. Clark reached forward, ready to get back to guiding Danny towards his home.

Danny ran.

Clark reached for the boy, but he seemed to slip right through his fingers and then right through a wall.

“Shit,” Constantine said loudly as he hustled up to the startled group. “Congrats, the Ghost King is awake and loose on yer fancy space station.”

Diana frowned and Clark frowned along with her, they’d both heard him talking about his sister before fully realizing where he was and who he was with.

“Look, there’s still a chance we can take care of things peacefully if we can find the little bugger and get him back to his egg before the council of mother hens shows up. And trust me, no one wants a bunch of angry gods looking for their missing godling.”

“I recommend asking J’onn for assistance,” Bruce suggested.

Clark nodded along, he seemed like their best option.

Everyone’s comms pinged, “Unidentified vessel approaching the Watchtower.”

✨🌟🌟✨

Danny stopped when he felt like he’d put some space between himself and flipping SUPERMAN! He took a moment to try to get his heaving breaths back under control as he looked around the room he’d ended up in. It was pitch black, no lights on, no windows, the door shut tight. It didn’t mean much, what with Danny’s ghost eyes. A gentle green glow reflected in the cramped space of what seemed to be some kind of storage. Okay, time to take stock.

Danny looked down to find himself still in the clothes he’d gone to bed in: an old, stained T-short and the ragged Marian Manhunter pajama pants someone had given him for his 12th birthday that he’s technically since outgrown but keeps wearing because do you know how hard it is to find Martian Manhunter merch?! So that means Superman and everyone else in the Justice League saw him wandering around in a stained T-shirt and pants so short they were half way up his shins. Great. He also had a couple new additions: namely a pair of plain white house shoes and some kind of… blanket?

Danny held up the dark cloth he’d grabbed on instinct when it started to slip from his shoulders during his blind panic. It was… well it was dark. And strangely heavy. He tucked the booo-merang into his waistband so he could use both hands to spread out the blanket(?) and get a better look at it. It was kind of shaped like a half circle, but with these spiky edges on the round part? And it had a kind of dip? In the center? And… latches? What?

Danny flipped the blanket? Shawl? Poncho? Whatever it was so it sat over his shoulders like he’d been wearing it earlier. It settled comfortably, hanging down around him and pooling on the floor by his feet. Heh, with how well it sat and how dark it was he kind of felt like a vampire. Danny grabbed an edge and held it up, “I vant to dwink yur blüd!”

Holy shit, this is Batman’s cape!

Danny threw the cape on the ground and tried not to panic. He was pretty sure the guy in all black with the little devil horns standing near Superman had been Batman, and he definitely didn’t have a cape. There had also been others, like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel and some lady dressed up to do magic tricks at Vegas or something.

Danny kicked aside the cape and started pacing furiously in the small space. “Okay, focus. What do I remember?” What did he remember? It was all kind of blurry, he’d been half asleep and not really paying much attention. He’d been lost? But Dad and Pandora were there? Trying to find a way home? Except he hadn’t seen either of them after he got smacked by the booo-merang. And it was pretty clear he was somewhere with the Justice League and they’d said they were taking him home. That was a good thing, right? He was starting to feel kind of silly for panicking and running away.

But then why had he been hit with the booo-merang? That meant his family was looking for him, so did they not know where he was? And the way it’d hit him it had to have come through a portal, which means they’d thrown it in the Infinite Realms, which means they really, really didn’t know where he was and were trusting it to lead them to a portal. So they didn’t know the Justice League had Danny? Did… did Danny get kidnapped by the Justice League?

Danny wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Well, first things first was to get home and find out what he’d missed. If the Justice League came after him again at least he’d be awake and have his family backing him up. Now, he just needed to know where he was. Considering how canned the air smelled he was probably underground, so up it was. He was about to start flying and phasing through floors when he was hit upside the head by an incredibly loud sound, like being attacked by static that stabbed straight into his brain.

Danny collapsed to the floor, clutching his head in agony.

[fruitycaake]

This Montage Could've Been a Beach Episode

Sleepy King AU Masterpost

Sad Danny Hour is finally receding enough I can get back to the more fun and light hearted stuff. Hope you all enjoyed the angst, there's absolutely none anywhere in this fic, I promise! ;D

-----

Diana grew tired of her team arguing in circles. “Stop, all of you. We’re getting nowhere.” She glared the gathered magic users down as they all looked to her. “Young Danny has been up on the Watchtower for several hours now, it’s highly unlikely whoever made this god egg doesn’t already know where he is. I cannot in good conscience let this boy leave without at least attempting to get the Ghost King out of him.”

Constantine tossed the earpiece Danny had used earlier at Diana, who caught it easily. “Clever bit of necromancy, that earpiece. Necromancy, luv. The Ghost King.”

“Nevertheless,” Diana said firmly, “now that we know what’s causing the block, can you work around it?”

Constantine sighed deeply, but the others paid him no mind.

“There are a few spells,” Zatanna said hesitantly.

“A few tricks to get a look, at least,” Dr. Fate agreed.

“Wonder Woman said he has blessings,” Raven said quickly. “They’re likely from trials Phantom has passed.”

“Yes,” Dr. Fate agreed. “It still wouldn’t hurt to look into them, they may be affecting how Phantom interacts with Danny.”

“Before you go,” Constantine interrupted as the group turned to head back. “The first rule of god eggs is you cannot let anyone inside know they’re inside one. The chick especially.”

“That is good to know,” Diana said with a nod.

“Make sure other two know as well.” Constantine shoved his hands in his pockets and let his shoulders slump as he spoke, as if he had no faith in that fact changing how Batman and Superman would act.

Diana could understand that attitude, it likely wouldn’t.

Diana’s communicator made a noise. She pulled it out to check it.

Superman: Danny is asking for someone named “Puhdora,” we think he means you.

Ah, now Diana truly knew how Clark felt. This boy, who doesn’t even know the danger he’s currently in, has mistaken her for someone he trusts. Well, if it will help keep him calm until the matter is resolved she will do her best to be this Puhdora person.

The group quietly filed back into the kitchenette, Zatanna, Marvel, and Fate quickly making themselves some more tea while Diana leaned down to murmur Constantine’s warning in Bruce’s ear. From the way Clark’s head was tilted he heard her too. She then moved her chair around to sit on the other side of Danny from Clark. She gently brushed some hair behind the boy’s ears.

“Pindoa,” Danny drowsily mumbled, hard to hear with his mouth pressed against a mug.

“Hello again, Danny,” Diana said gently with a smile, though her thoughts were spinning. Had he just called her Pandora? As in the titaness who guarded a chest that contained many great evils? That was incredibly concerning, if the beings who created the god egg included a titan she shuddered to think who or what else were working with her. She pulled out her communicator.

Wonder Woman: He has mistaken me for the titaness Pandora. Cpt. Marvel: Well that’s not ominous Dr. Fate: At least we now know the general power level of the beings who made this god egg. Zatanna: What is a titan doing looking after the Ghost King? Constantine: Oh great a bunch of angry bloody titans

Diana was distracted as Clark pushed a tablet in front of her. As she took the device she glanced over to see Bruce tapping away at his wrist computer. How kind of the man. And the device was already open to Phantom’s file, truly Bruce was very thoughtful. Diana angled the tablet so Danny wouldn’t be able to read the screen and started reading over everything Bruce had collected so far.

The pressure in the room began building again. She could feel the energies swirling around them as the magic users began casting their spells once more. She glanced over at Danny from the corner of her eye, he was yawning again. Ah, so he felt it too. As should be expected, even if they weren’t entirely sure how aware Phantom was of the situation.

The most important thing right now was to find out how entwined the two were after that cult’s summoning ritual. Constantine had stated that the boy had died and the Ghost King was the only thing keeping him alive, that likely his mind would be ripped asunder by the tyrant when he woke. Would Phantom be the same? Would the shredding happen on its own or was it a choice? As Diana skimmed through the information Bruce had gathered on the new king she couldn’t help thinking surely if it were a choice Phantom would do all in his power to protect young Danny. Time and again the young spirit had put himself in harm’s way to protect the people of Amity Park. Yes, he stumbled from time to time, everyone does. It was quite clear to Diana that this god egg wasn’t a series of trials for a tested hero, but rather a playpen for a young child.

A weight leaned against her side. Diana looked over to find Danny had switched from leaning against Clark to leaning against her. She tenderly brushed his hair from his face again and smiled down at the boy, who sighed in contentment.

If only gods didn’t view mortals as little more than play things. Phantom may be a small child in a playpen, but children were rough on their toys and mortals were so very fragile. There had miraculously been no deaths due to Phantom’s trials, she sent up a silent plea that Danny wouldn’t be the first.

The group chat, which was minimised in the corner of the screen, started moving. Diana expanded it to see what was going on.

Zatanna: I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Dr. Fate: It’s likely part of Phantom’s trials, to find a way to get out without hurting the boy. Cpt. Marvel: Assuming it’s actually part of the trials and not an accident. I doubt Phantom getting summoned is part of the god egg. Wonder Woman: Judging from the information Batman has been gathering, Phantom has a rapport with the children of Amity Park and will likely do all in his power to not harm Danny. Constantine: Sending the kid back to where the adults can keep an eye on him would be best Batman: If you’re all in agreement.

Diana glanced over to see Bruce frowning down at his wrist computer. She did not like the conclusion any more than him, but there was only so long they could risk a titan’s wrath, let alone the wrath of wherever else was working with Pandora.

Clark scooted his chair back, took a deep breath, then slapped his hands on his knees, “Well.”

Danny scrambled to chug the rest of his hot cocoa and distractedly put the mug down so he could stand with Clark. Diana couldn’t help smiling as she serenely stood to keep pace with them. Despite having rushed, Danny stifled yet another yawn and blearily shuffled after Clark as the man considerately kept his pace slow for the sleepy boy.

Diana sent out a quiet prayer he would be well.

They must have made quite the procession as their group headed for the Zeta tubes: Constantine and Raven well ahead of them, Clark, Danny, and Diana clustered together, followed shortly by Batman, Zatana, Dr. Fate, and Captain Marvel trailing after. Quite the escort for one single teenager who was basically sleep walking through the Watchtower.

“Ow!”

Diana startled and looked to the side just in time to see Danny bending down to pick up what appeared to be a boomerang, his other hand rubbing absently at the side of his head.

Danny heaved a great sigh, “Guess Jazz got imp-... uh… what?” He looked around at them, fully awake and clearly confused.

“Well, it’s a good thing we were just taking you home then, right?” Clark asked with a nervous chuckle.

Danny looked at the group of heroes around him, then down at the strangely glowing boomerang. Clark reached forward, likely to try gently encouraging Danny to continue down the hallway, towards where Constantine was staring at them in open mouthed shock.

Danny ran.

[fruitycaake]

This Group Chat Could've Been a Meeting

Sleepy King AU masterpost

Yeah... don't expect me to keep churning these out. I was just excited to share "god egg" lore with y'all. UwU

-----

Batman made no comment as Clark sat down next to him, angled ever so slightly so he could read his screen. Diana, likewise, was leaned over so she could read the group chat Clark had started to keep everyone in the loop. Batman was already archiving the transcript of their conversation.

Young Miss Fenton’s frustration and apparent determination to do things herself were a little worrying. Amity Park was currently an information black hole to them, they had no idea what she thought she could do. Perhaps it was youthful naïveté, perhaps the girl actually had something up her sleeve. Either way they could only hope the JLD came to a solution before she became an additional issue.

Danny tilted, slumping gently against Clark’s side. Clark looked guilty as he gently patted Danny���s head with the hand the boy wasn’t leaning against.

Batman could understand, this situation was incredibly stressful. They could only hope the boy would be understanding and forgive him for this deception after they found a way to pull out and banish the Ghost King without killing Danny in the process.

“Oh my god,” Dr. Fate hissed faintly, “it’s a god egg!”

Batman had no idea what a god egg was.

From the way Zatanna and Marvel tensed they did know. “You can’t be serious,” Marvel whispered harshly.

Batman glared at them and held a finger up to his mouth. Clark was doing likewise before he turned and reminded Danny to keep eating. Batman typed out a quick message.

Batman: Use the group chat. Batman: And define “god egg.” Constantine: The hell you mean god egg? What?@

Batman held up a hand as everyone save Clark had held up their communicators. He cleared his throat and added a glower to get their attention, then pointed at Fate. He had brought up the term, it was up to him to explain. Fate typed a message as a different kind of tension filled the room.

Dr. Fate: It’s a slight misnomer as it’s not just gods, but rather any being with god-like powers. Dr. Fate: But when a mortal is about to Ascend or a godling is about to mature into their powers, sometimes their elders will seal off an area to isolate the would-be god. Dr. Fate: This can be to protect a child from threats while teaching them to use their new powers, or it can be to give the would-be god trials and keep them from “cheating” with outside help. Dr. Fate: Often it’s both, so the child or mortal don’t get given trials they can’t possibly overcome on their own. Dr. Fate: Amity Park is a god egg, and this boy is the chick. Dr. Fate: THAT is the block preventing us from being aware of Amity Park until now, and continues to block all attempts to look into it.

Zatanna frowned down at her communicator before she furiously tapped out her own message.

Zatanna: Shouldn’t the chick be Phantom? Constantine: Bloody hell you can’t be serious! Zatanna: He’s the one who’s photos won’t show up on the internet no matter what. Constantine: If this kid is the chick of a god egg we need to get him back down there yesterday. Cpt. Marvel: How were we able to find any information on Danny if he’s the chick? Dr. Fate: I don’t know, I just know what I could scry. Constantine: It don’t matter! Zatanna: It seems odd for Danny to be the chick when we could find so much information on him but not Phantom. Raven: Are we sure it’s Danny and not the Ghost King who’s the chick? Dr. Fate: There is a high chance it’s the Ghost King, yes. Constantine: We need to get this chick back to it’s egg before a bunch of angry gods come looking for their godling! Cpt. Marvel: Are we sure we want the Ghost King to Ascend? Isn’t he already a tyrant?

Batman bit back a groan as the chat sped up. While he liked being kept in the loop, this was getting to be a bit too much like his own family’s group chat. He got Diana’s attention and nodded towards the door. She nodded back and stood up, herding the magicians out of the kitchenette.

Batman got up and started the eclectic kettle, then went looking through the cabinet, finding the instant hot cocoa mix. Once the kettle finished heating up the water inside, Batman made a cup of hot cocoa, which he handed off to Clark, who gave it to Danny, before sitting back down.

It was just the waiting game now, it was up to the magic experts to decide what to do with this new information. For his part, Batman set about updating the mission file as well as the personal files of all beings involved. This included starting a new one on Phantom, since Zatanna had brought up a good point.

He was beginning to suspect far, far more had been going on than they had assumed, even more so than just a whole town in distress no one had known about. After all, they had images of Pariah Dark, and the entity they’d seen last night didn’t match that description.

They also had no description of Phantom, though what few bits of information they’d found on him described the ghost as appearing to be a teenaged boy. Oracle had found one particularly poetic fan of the ghost boy who described him as having “hair made of starlight” and “piercing peridot eyes” that could describe the entity they’d seen last night. Batman got Clark’s attention as he went back to the currently silent group chat.

Batman: Are we sure Pariah Dark is still the Ghost King?

Clark’s eyes grew huge as he read the message. He whipped out his own communicator and tapped out a message he didn’t send, but held up the screen for Batman to read. “It sounds like at least one of them choked out there.”

Batman nodded, it was the base assumption this whole fiasco was hinging on. But if Pariah Dark had managed to escape from and be sealed back into the Sarcophagus of Eternal Slumber without a single magic user being the wiser, was it not also possible he lost his crown in the process? And if the new king, likely Phantom, hadn’t been officially crowned yet even if the title had passed on, again how would anyone know? And if he is in fact the chick of this god egg, could not that simply have been one of his trials?

Wonder Woman: There is a strong possibility that Pariah Dark lost his crown to Phantom, who is the actual chick of this god egg. Wonder Woman: That does not change that he is currently asleep in Danny and can’t be removed without killing him. Batman: Since Phantom wasn’t in the Sarcophagus of Eternal Slumber, are we sure he was asleep? Constantine: It doesn’t matter! Constantine: We need to return the chick to it’s egg. Constantine: I’m sorry for this danny kid mate Constantine: I really am Constantine: But we can’t risk a bunch of gods being pissy about a missing chick. Cpt. Marvel: If I remember the brief earlier, isn’t Phantom a good guy? Cpt. Marvel: I doubt he’d want to hurt Danny if he can help it. Batman: We don’t have enough information to draw any conclusions on Phantom.

Clark held up his communicator with another message tapped out but not sent. “They’re doing a vote and a debate right now, half are for just sending Danny home and half want to find a way to get the king out of Danny.”

Batman sighed then, the dangers of having an even number of people in a mission. Sadly neither him nor Clark were knowledgeable enough to be taken seriously as the tie breaker.

[fruitycaake]

This Stream of Consciousness Could've Been an Epiphany

More Sleepy King AU HERE

Can you guess what days of the week I usually have off LOL

-----

Danny isn’t entirely sure what’s going on. He feels like he should be more worried about that, mostly because of how weird Dad had been acting all morning. He’d been so… quiet. Calm, quiet, soft, gentle. Not that Dad wasn’t always gentle. Sure, his hugs and back slaps could pack a punch, but Dad knew he was big and strong and tried hard not to do anything too hard. Danny’d seen what Dad’d done to walls, the way he hugged was downright delicate in comparison. And Danny was a lot tougher now, he could take Dad’s bone crushing hugs easily. So yeah, gentle for Dad was usually still too much for normal people.

But Dad was also usually excited, loudly excited! He was being really quiet today, and it was kind of weird.

Maybe Danny should be a bit more worried about being lost?

But surely if he should be worried Dad would tell him so. Dad knew now, had for a few weeks. In that time alone he and Mom had set about reinforcing the portal so no one could get through without permission. Danny had even taken them on a couple trips into the ‘Zone to introduce them to friendly ghosts. It was embarrassing to introduce them to Frostbite, but also kinda necessary so he’d sucked it up and done it. So Dad knew that Danny has powers, knew just how strong he was. If Dad were worried he’d want Danny to know so he could help.

But still, Dad was acting weird. Nervous. Danny couldn’t figure out why. If he didn’t trust these strangers they were just hanging out with he wouldn’t have left Danny alone with them, right? Then again maybe he felt it was safest to not talk to Jazz in front of them. To keep Danny safe from ghost hunters they’d all agreed it was best to keep it secret, so if Dad and Jazz were talking about him as Phantom it made sense he’d want to step away.

Danny nibbled on his poptart, still trying to puzzle through it. He looked around at the strangers and well… he knew some of them at least. Dad had called the dark one Batman, everyone knew who Batman was. He remembered his parents debating whether he was a ghost or a cryptid, a huge debate that they couldn’t come to a conclusion on. Unlike Santa, that one could crop up at any time. Unlike Santa, this one wasn’t so divisive, guess his parents were less invested or something.

So the woman next to him… looked a lot like Pandora wearing a human disguise. She looked at him and smiled, then reached forward and nudged his mug. “Drink it while it’s hot,” she said warmly.

Yeah, she sounded a lot like Pandora too, something about the way neither were actually speaking English. Danny nodded and picked up his drink, if Pandora and Dad thought they were okay, if they both trusted Batman and the other people dressed weirdly then Danny would too. Even if they smelled like ozone and lab cleaning solvent.

The smell kept getting stronger too, there was a pressure in the room. It had stopped suddenly when Jazz called, but it was picking up again. It was weird, like being in a bubble getting dropped in the ocean. At this rate his ears would pop, or the whole room would implode like that one sub going to visit the Titanic. Kinda ironic, waaaaaaay more people have died exploring the bottom of the ocean than space. Technically, no human has ever died in space, the closest was the Challenger disaster and they didn’t make it to space before the explosion. That was so sad. But it was still pretty amazing no one had died going to the moon, not even Apollo 13! No one had even died in the Justice League, so far as Danny’s heard. Not even a cop-out “technically died in space” while actually fighting bad guys on an alien planet technicality.

“Jazz was just checking in on us, I told her we’ll see her at dinner tonight.” Dad sat down next to Danny, peeking over at whatever Batman was working on as he did so.

Danny nodded and hummed in agreement. That was good, it seemed Dad thought they’d be home by dinner despite being lost right now. That was good.

It was weird though, he hadn’t called her “Jazzypants” like normal. In fact, Dad hadn’t pulled out a single nickname, not even “Danno.” So was Dad worried about them being lost or not? Danny couldn’t figure it out.

The pressure was building again, Danny yawned, trying to make his ears pop. It didn’t help. It hadn’t the last two times either. Or was it three?

Dad nudged the plate with his poptarts on it, Danny picked up his half eaten rectangle and started nibbling again. Chocolate wasn’t his favorite flavor, he kinda wondered what happened to the strawberry from before. It would go nicely with the hot chocolate, a nice contrast of flavors. There was just something about artificial strawberry flavoring that Danny really liked.

Danny slumped over, his body leaning against Dad. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, if he should be worried or not, but Dad was there so everything was going to be okay.

Kinda wished Mom was there instead though. He had no doubt she could easily kick Batman’s butt if he did need to be worried though. But Pandora was there, even if it was a new human disguise he’d never seen before, so that was just as good. Pandora liked him, she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

The pressure suddenly stopped again. Danny yawned, his ears still didn’t pop. It was so annoying.

“Oh my god,” the guy with a metal bucket on his head hissed, “it’s a god egg!”

[fruitycaake]

This Phone Call Could've Been the Start to a Beautiful Partnership

Sleepy King AU Masterpost

-----

Clark couldn’t help fussing over the sleepy boy as Danny zombie shambled into the kitchenette. Between the dimmed lights and the scents of various teas brewing the small room felt cozy, almost warm and inviting despite the austere sterility. Once Danny was seated, Clark sat between the boy and Bruce, having already handed out the meagre breakfast the others had silently offered.

The boy was so thin, he knew Ma would long to cook him a good hearty meal.

He could see the magicians gearing up for a spell of some kind, and he was still on distraction duty. It was easy enough, food and drink made for a good distraction, throwing in a few basic questions, anything to keep him from noticing the growing tension in the room despite everyone’s best efforts to make it calming.

There were three gasps from the magicians as what was clearly a phone’s ringing came from Danny. It was odd, they were sure the boy had no pockets on his well loved star patterned pajama pants and plain white T-shirt. The phone rang again, Danny’s hand already slowly raising to his ear. Clark watched wide eyed as an earpiece appeared at Danny’s touch, a slim line of light that traveled down the attached arm to reveal a neon green mic at the end.

“... ‘llo?” Danny mumbled, still slowly chewing his mouthful of toasted pastry.

Clark whipped out his own communicator and quickly started a group chat, ready to transcribe the whole conversation. Batman was already furiously typing at a keyboard he popped out of his tablet, so Clark focussed on just what Danny and his caller were saying.

“Danny?” A feminine voice asked quietly. With the volume set that low the boy must have very sensitive hearing for a human, meta perhaps? “Where are you?”

“‘M lost,” Danny mumbled sleepily.

“What do you mean you’re lost? Lost where? Are you in the ‘Zone?”

“... no, not the ‘Zone. S’okay, Dad’s here.”

“Dad’s there with you?”

“Mmm…” Danny nibbled some more of his pastry.

There was a soft sigh from the other end. “I wish they’d remember to tell the school about sick days,” the feminine voice grumbled before speaking up. “Danny, let me talk to Dad.”

“‘Kay,” Danny slurred, then he plucked the earpiece from his ear and blindly held it out to Clark.

Clark took the earpiece with a strained grin. “I’m just… going to take this out into the hall, wouldn’t want to be rude to everyone else. You’ll be okay by yourself for a minute?”

Danny made an agreeing hum, nibbling more on his pastry.

Clark carefully stood up and kept an eye on Danny as he moved out into the hall. Once he was out of line of sight he zipped further down, to where Constantine and Raven were waiting around a corner. He stuck in the earpiece and kept his communicator in hand, continuing to transcribe the conversation for the rest of the team.

“Hello?” Clark asked, wondering if he should keep playing at being Danny’s father.

“Who is this?” The voice asked suspiciously.

Clark took a deep breath, but decided this was for the best. “Superman, who’s this?”

“Superman?!”

“To whom am I speaking?” Clark insisted, he’d really like to know, even if he already had a guess.

“Why is Superman answering my brother’s phone?! Why did he call you our Dad? What’s going on?!”

Ah, it is the sister. “Well Ms. Fenton, it seems there was a bit of confusion on that part. He mistook me for your father and we decided that to keep him calm it was best to let him continue to believe that.”

“What’s going on?!” Jasmine Fenton yelled, clearly distressed.

“I’m afraid it’s a bit of a delicate situation, but rest assured we have our best and brightest working on a solution,” Clark reassured.

“Danny was missing this morning, did the Justice League seriously kidnap my little brother from his bed in the middle of the night?!”

“What?” Was faintly heard in the background of the phone call, clearly Jasmine wasn’t alone.

“We did no such thing,” Clark said in his most soothing voice. He wasn’t sure how much he should tell her, the situation really was delicate, and on top of that despite her having turned 18 recently Jasmine was not Danny’s legal guardian or parent. “We rescued Danny last night, but unfortunately there were some side affects from his kidnappers we’re currently trying to reverse before we send the poor boy home.”

“Superman says Danny got kidnapped last night, got rescued, and currently has side affects they’re trying to fix?” Jasmine said uncertainly. There was a hushed conversation after that, one the comm didn’t pick up. Clark despaired over technology being fine tuned to such a limited range. There were a few snatches of almost words he could catch, but nothing worth noting down. Then finally Jasmine and whoever she was speaking with seemed to come to a conclusion, “Where is Danny?”

“He’s safe.”

“Where?” Jasmine insisted firmly.

“He’s at a Justice League facility, where he’s being treated.”

“Treated how? He was able to answer his phone, even if he sounded half asleep still. What’s wrong with him? What are the side affects? Why weren’t our parents called?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to tell you any of that,” Clark winced as he said that. It felt like such a cop out.

“Why weren’t our parents informed?” Jasmine asked again, voice hard as steel.

“As I said, the situation is very delicate.”

“But why weren’t our parents informed.”

“It’s a time sensitive situation, we’re working to solve it as quickly as possible.”

“This is ridiculous, give the phone back to Danny.”

Clark winced again, “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“What?!”

“As I said, the situation is very delicate, we can’t afford to stress Danny out until the affects have been removed.”

“And what even are these affects you keep speaking of?!”

Clark hesitated, looking down to the chat he’d been transcribing the conversation into, then over to Constantine and Raven, hoping desperately for some advice. All he got was a sloppy shrug. What did he tell her? What would they tell her family if they weren’t able to remove Pariah without killing Danny? “It’s… magical. In nature.”

“Forget it, you’re clearly no help.” The line went silent, the call ended.

Constantine held his hand out, Clark removed the earpiece and handed it over. “What is it?” He asked tiredly.

“According to Z it was a clever bit of necromancy she’d never seen before.”

“Necromancy?” Clark asked in confusion, couldn’t that only raise the dead? He’d never heard of necromancy doing anything else.

Constantine ignored him, already huddled over the earpiece with Raven as both muttered spells over the tiny thing.

Clark’s communicator beeped, it was a message from Bruce. “The sister goes by Jazz.” Right, he needed to know that if he was going to continue pretending to be Danny’s father.

He sighed, but plastered on a smile as he stepped back into the kitchenette. “Jazz was just checking in on us, I told her we’ll see her at dinner tonight.”

Danny just nodded his head and made a humming sound of agreement. Hopefully that’ll buy them a bit more sleepy time before the tyrant Ghost King woke up.

[fruitycaake]

This Phone Call Could've Been a Text

More Sleepy King Here

-----

Batman moved to sit at the table in the kitchenette, his hand absently moving to adjust a cape that wasn’t there. He pulled out a tablet and brought up the camera feed for the bedroom, the audio from the bugs he’d planted in his ear. Nearby the JLD had finished agreeing on their plan and were setting it in motion, it seemed Dr. Fate was the first to go cast spells at the boy.

Diana came into the room. “The boy has several blessings.”

That caught everyone’s attention. “What kind of blessings?” Constantine asked warily.

Diana shook her head, “I couldn’t tell, I just know he has several blessings from powerful beings.”

“The boy or the king?” Raven asked.

Diana shook her head again.

“Something else for us to look into,” Zatanna said with a tired sigh. Discussion between the JLD members picked back up, kept carefully hushed, as if afraid the boy (or the king sleeping inside him) would somehow hear.

Diana came and sat down next to Batman, he changed the angle on the tablet so they could both watch. That’s all either of them could do right now, sit and watch.

Diana sighed, “He looks content.”

Batman turned his attention from Dr. Fate casting his spells to Danny, seemingly dead to the world as magic flashed over him. “He does.”

“I hope it stays that way, I hope we are able to find a solution before he wakes.”

Batman simply nodded, he hoped so as well.

Dr. Fate finished with his spells and quietly made his way back to the kitchenette. There was a brief discussion from the group, then Zatanna was taking her turn.

Their discussion continued even after the Sorceress Supreme left, Batman catching brief snatches of magical jargon. He technically knew the definitions of the words he heard, but he knew his understanding was surface level at best.

Dr. Fate approached their table. “Wonder Woman, you said the blessings were laid by powerful beings?”

Diana nodded, “Yes, quite powerful.”

“Can you describe how powerful?”

Diana’s brow furrowed as she thought the matter over, “I believe they were on par with the gods, though it didn’t feel divine.”

Dr. Fate nodded, then returned to the huddle to discuss the matter further.

Batman and Diana watched as Zatanna finished her round, then conceded to Captain Marvel. They expected him, as the champion of magic, to have the most insight, yet when he walked back into the room he looked quite disappointed as he shook his head. “I fear the wisdom of Solomon has failed me.”

“Is it perhaps the same block that has kept us from noticing Amity Park?” Diana asked, standing up to join the JLD in their huddle.

“Most likely,” Zatanna agreed. “I couldn’t even get a read on the blessings you spoke of.”

“Was there anything you could scry?” Diana asked.

While their discussion continued, debating whether it was better to figure the block out or attempt to blindly work around it given their unknown limit, Batman kept his eye on the feed of Danny’s room. Clark leaned forward, the blankets shifted, then Danny was sitting up while yawning and stretching.

“Danny’s woken up,” Batman said.

The room fell silent.

Constantine sighed and nudged Raven, “C’mon, luv, let’s get outta the way.” He waved a hand and the lights dimmed. “Remember, keep him half awake as long as possible. And try to look like you’re here for a reason, make a cuppa or something.”

There was a mild flurry in Constantine’s wake as the others bustled about making a quick cup of tea or popping off-brand toaster pastries into the provided toaster. Not a bad plan, it’ll make the room smell homier and would give the magicians an excuse to be there.

Diana placed a half full glass of water near Batman, sitting down with her own steaming mug. The kitchenette now smelled of warm tea, toasting pastries, and ozone. Batman closed out of the surveillance and switched over to a note taking app.

Clark eventually entered, gently guiding Danny along. The boy had Batman’s cape over his shoulders but it was dangerously close to slipping off one, Clark fussily rearranged the cape as the bleary eyed boy shuffled slowly into the room. Danny hadn’t even seemed to notice his audience as he slowly made his way to the table and plopped gracelessly into a chair.

Marvel handed off the quickly plated pastries to Clark, which he gently placed before Danny. Zatanna offered a steaming mug, which Clark also gently placed in front of the boy.

“There we are, Danny, you hungry?”

Danny mumbled something as he absently picked up his pastry, chocolate this time, and began nibling it.

There was an exchanging of glances between the room’s occupants, as if unsure how to proceed. Then Zatanna and Dr. Fate both lifted a hand each, inscribing runes into the air.

“How are you feeling now, champ?” Clark asked awkwardly.

“Mmm… better,” Danny mumbled, crumbs tumbling from his mouth. He followed it with a yawn, yet again moving his hand as if to cover his mouth and missing far and away too much to hide his sharp fangs.

Clark glanced down at the mug, then nudged it closer. “Have some hot cocoa.”

Danny hummed in agreement and reached for the mug, just holding it in his hands.

Batman glanced back at the magicians. It seemed Zatanna was having difficulty with whatever spell she was attempting, and from the similar expression on Marvel’s face he was in the same situation. Or perhaps all three were attempting a combined spell.

Danny slowly lifted the mug and took a careful sip. “Hmmm… s’good.”

“That’s good,” Clark said with a gentle smile. “Eat up, you’re a growing boy.”

“Still growing,” Danny mumbled, but did as he was told. He held his pastry back up and nibbled more.

Batman felt the hairs on his arms raise despite being covered head to toe, the tension from the three magicians’ combined spell clearly filling the room.

The tension broke suddenly with a gasp at the same time a faint jingle played in the room. Batman frowned, unsure what had caused that. From the wide eyed stares from Marvel and Zatanna, they weren’t sure either. Or perhaps they knew exactly what was going on and were shocked.

The jingle played again, this time Batman placing it as coming from Danny’s direction. He watched as Danny absently reached up to touch his ear, a white ear piece with a little arm and neon green mic on the end simply appeared.

There were choked gasps, Batman spared a quick glance to find all three magicians reeling back in stunned shock.

“... ‘llo?” Danny mumbled.

[fruitycaake]

This Meeting Could've Been an E-mail

Sleepy King (Nanenna ver.) Masterpost

---

Diana, along with several other members of the JLD, were sitting in a meeting room. John had stood at the head of the table, having just finished outlining the situation for them, and it was grim. She knew if worse came to worse they may have to sacrifice the boy to keep the Ghost King from emerging into their world and wreaking havoc on a scale only Darkseid had managed before, but she prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

“Would not the boy also smell my father’s blood?” Raven asked.

“Unfortunately. You an’ me are gonna stay back and help plan based on what everyone else reads from the boy.”

Diana nodded along, likely that was also her role.

Bruce, in full Batman gear, came stalking into the room.

“About bloody time,” John said with a huff.

“I would hope you have brought them all up to speed on what you know of Danny while waiting.”

John made an annoyed sound, then moved to sit in a chair near the head of the table. “`Course I did, just waiting on you now.”

Bruce stood in the spot John had just vacated. “Oracle.” The room dimmed and the holo-projector  in the table whirred to life. A picture of a small family standing in front of what appeared to be some sort of business run out of what used to be a family home (something fairly common in America, Diana had learned) took center stage. Obviously it was part of a website, Diana could see the web bar with several tabs across the top of the projection, but it was zoomed into the photo.

“This,” Bruce said, pointing to the teenaged boy in the photo from behind, “is Daniel “Danny” Fenton, the boy used in the ritual last night.”

Everyone leaned in closer to look the boy over. There was nothing remarkable about him, a bit thin perhaps but that could be due to the lankiness that comes with growth spurts.

“He’s from Amity Park, Illinois. The town advertises itself as the most haunted city in America, and from what we’ve gathered they earned it. Most pertinent is that last year they were under attack by the Ghost King.”

Oracle must have clicked to the next tab, the family picture was replaced by an online newspaper article titled “Ghost King Thwarted! Is Phantom a Hero?”

“I’m sorry, what happened?” Zatanna asked incredulously.

“There must be some mistake, there’s no way Pariah Dark got free without a single person feeling it,” Dr. Fate insisted.

Oracle scrolled down the page to show several blurry photos taken of a being that looked nothing like what they’d seen last night, alongside a sketch of the being. “Either this was well researched, or somehow this whole event was cloaked,” Bruce said grimly.

“Considering this wasn’t even the most recent attack on the town and a few of them sound like JL level threats,” Oracle’s modulated voice came from the table’s speakers as she quickly tabbed through a few more news articles before coming back to the one on the Ghost King, “I think it’s more likely something is blocking the whole town from us.” She scrolled down more to show several missing or broken photos. “Especially this Phantom person that keeps showing up in every article about ghosts. Even using the way back machine there’s not a single photo of him anywhere on the internet.”

“If the Ghost King has been out,” Captain Marvel asked, “where did he go? I doubt he’s spent the last year just hanging out in a small town in middle America.”

“According to this news article,” Bruce said, “Phantom, along with help from the whole town, managed to get the Ghost King back into the Sarcophagus and sealed him away again.”

John whistled, “That’s quite the feat, even with help.”

“Are you saying Danny was chosen as Pariah’s anchor because he’s from Amity Park?” Raven asked.

“Not just because he’s from Amity Park, his parents are also self proclaimed paranormal scientists and ghost hunters.”

Oracle tabbed to a few different pages, each one with a different picture of one of Danny’s parents proudly holding ominously glowing green weapons or with vials of glowing green goo. Sometimes one in the background of another.

John squinted at the photos, “Is that pure æther?!”

“How?!” Captain Marvel and Zatanna both asked incredulously.

“They call it ectoplasm,” Bruce stated.

John scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Ectoplasm is a word scam artists in the 1800s made up to steal money from grieving widows.”

“Nevertheless that is what they're calling it. Especially of note that the Fentons run their research out of their home.”

“Where their children live?” Diana asked, horrified at the implications.

“How are they still sane?” Captain Marvel asked incredulously.

“We're not sure they are,” Batman said grimly. Oracle tabbed to a street view of the Fenton home, easily identified by the large sign on the side. The strange addition to the home's roof was an… interesting choice.

The other attendees of the meeting were becoming agitated, several of them shifting in place as they got ready to speak.

“Before this goes any further,” Bruce stated firmly, “all this to say the cult that kidnapped Danny Fenton did so with intention. Amity Park certainly needs a full investigation, but it will have to wait until after this crisis with the Ghost King is dealt with.”

“Æther exposure might explain why the kid could handle being Pariah’s anchor.” John sighed then stood up. “Alright, if that’s all the info you got…”

Bruce grunted in acknowledgement.

“The clock’s ticking.” John left the room, the others all following after.

Diana hung back to speak with Bruce. “We’ll find a solution.”

Bruce just hummed to show he heard her. She knew he wasn’t handling the situation well, a child’s life was at stake and he had to hand the situation over to others. There was only so much she could reassure him, so she chose instead to go see the boy for herself.

The JLD members that had attended the meeting were all gathered in a kitchenette discussing logistics. Diana left them to it for the moment and simply went down the hall to the room she knew the boy was sleeping in. The lights in the hallway were already dimmed, thankfully, so she simply quietly opened the door and poked her head inside. Clark was sitting on a chair next to the boy’s bed. His posture was a relaxed sprawl, but his face was furrowed in concentration. He looked up and smiled when he saw Diana.

“How are you?” She asked at barely a whisper, knowing he’d hear her just fine.

“Guilty, now that I know he mistook me for his father.”

“Sadly this is an ask for forgiveness situation.” She gently pat Clark’s arm, trying to console him.

The boy himself looked like any other teenager, dead to the world while tucked safely into bed. She only hoped they would find some solution and tomorrow he would be tucked just as safely into his own bed.

[fruitycaake]

Sleepy King

The Justice League Dark caught wind of a cult trying to summon the Ghost King. A being with power so terrible and great, that all of the chaotic Infinite Realms feared him. A true tyrant. Long ago it took the effort of ghosts equal to gods to seal him away into a permeant slumber.

And now this cult wishes to wake him and bring him to the living realm. It was a race against the clock to find the ritual site and all members were called on board, magic or not. Even Constantine looked stressed.

They did find the site.

But it was too late, the ritual was completed. The entire inner circle of runes glowed before being swallowed in a column of green light. The air filled with static and a ringing that made Supergirl crumble to the ground.

The light dissipated, but there was no great figure or being of pure evil. Instead there was a boy, a teenager. He laid on the ground curled up in his sleep. He was a ghost no doubt, dressed in regal clothing.

Despite this when he stirred, everyone froze. It seemed the cold hard ground woke him up. He got up slowly and yawned, revealing his sharp fangs. Once sat up he opened his bleary eyes to look around. He looked confused and tired, really tired.

"Where am I?" He mumbled. "I was trying to get some sleep." Constantine internally screaming, latches onto that last sentence. He glances over to Batman. He caught that last part too. Batman approaches calmly and crouches down in front of the boy king. Hardening his resolve, Batman takes on a gentle tone.

"Hey kiddo, sorry we woke you. Lets get you back to bed yeah?" The boy nodded in agreement. He pulled himself to his feet before looking around in a circle. "Where did my blanket go?" He asked rather sadly. Batman is quick to shed his own cape and drape it over him. "You can borrow my cape until we get you a new one." He nodded again, pulling the black fabric around himself.

John quickly summoned a portal door, while Batman led the King through it. John threw looks around at everyone. Everyone could tell he was mouthing the words. 'Find me a fucking blanket now'

Running on the logic of getting the king away from Earth, away from graves and the undead, that could give him power. The portal led to the Watch Tower.

Batman took advantage of the King's bleary state to send a base wide alert for all noncritical members to evacuate immediately. With a priority that death adjacent members leave first. "The stars are pretty." Bruce looked at the boy staring out the window in wonder. He almost looked like a normal kid, almost.

"Yeah they are, it's pretty late so we should get you back to bed." He nodded, going along with Batman's gentle coaxing.

He takes the boy to an unused bedroom. Making sure the room isn't dusty and that lights are dimmed. He glances back to see about a dozen different leaguers all holding blankets, one thought to bring extra pillows. The bed was pretty barren with only a single pillow and a thin bedsheet. So Bruce took a thick duvet, one of the fluffier blankets and a second pillow from his team before shooing them away.

The boy ended up keeping his cape, mumbling how it was warm. He tucked the boy in, before quietly exiting the room and turning off the light. He was pretty sure the King fell back to sleep before he even reached the light switch.

After the door shut, he made direct eye contact with John. "Constantine." They needed to figure out what the hell was going on.