#Danny is going through some stuff

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCxDP Fanfic idea: The Fib

Danny Fenton has told many lies to conceal his secret. It was hard at first, considering Danny had never been good at lying, but over the years, he improved.

In fact, he got so good, he couldn't stop letting fibs fall from his mouth anymore. Sometimes he wasn't even sure why he lied, since it had nothing to do with Phantom.

It was almost a natural response whenever he felt nervous or stressed. Or whenever a stranger asked a question about himself, and suddenly, Danny was two minutes into a hilarious story that never happened. He heard himself, but he couldn't stop.

At one point, Danny found himself lying awake at night, mentally reviewing every conversation he had had, wondering why he had said what he had said. He started to worry when he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.

It seemed most days, when he spoke, it was about an entirely entertaining memory he wanted to retell, only for Tucker to cut in, confused. "That never happened."

Danny would grow quiet, generally confused, staring at his best friend with wide eyes. "Sure it did. Don't you remember?"

But Tucker didn't. Neither did Sam, and the phrase "That never happened" became a staple in their conversations. So did eye rolls, scoffs, mocking smiles, and short, tried frowns.

They didn't like that he lied so often, and soon they didn't believe him. No matter what Danny chatted about, he could tell that his best friends found fault in nearly all his conversations. Little by little, Danny's lies piled and piled until he forced himself to not speak.

If he didn't speak, then he couldn't lie. It seemed foolproof.

Until he found that he rarely spoke, and now his friends eyed him with worry instead of exasperation. The dread that grew in Danny's stomach was so overwhelming that more and more lies burst to life in his chest, smothered by his forced muteness.

Tucker and Sam were pulling away. Or it felt like it. Like a wall was being built between them, while a clock counted down to the little time he had left with them. The more he noticed the distance, the larger it seemed to grow, and soon he felt a twig of unease at the idea of Tucker or Sam asking to spend time with him outside of school.

He would find any excuse, any fib, about having to go straight home as soon as the dismissal bell rang. Danny would race home without letting them get a word in, desperate to escape everything and everyone.

Locked behind his bedroom door, Danny finally felt like he could breathe. He would often wander out of his room to deep clean the house, sometimes with music blaring from the speakers, and to grab meals, but most of his time was spent in his room.

His parents were happy he was taking his chores so seriously, to the point he would even do Jazz's until she moved away. Jazz felt pride when she caught him buried in textbooks, desperately trying to smother out the little voice whispering in his mind.

Liar. Liar. Liar, liar, liar.

It was easier to block out that voice while studying. His grades improved dramatically as a result, even when he had to rush to fight a ghost.

When he caught up with his studying, he stumbled across Jazz's fantasy books. Stories of faraway lands with heroes who never buckled under any daunting circumstances. He felt comforted by their stories, and the hours passed as he flipped page after page.

Soon, Danny followed Jazz to the local library, searching for more and more novels. There wasn't a second that Danny didn't wish he weren't reading something, even when he was with Sam and Tucker.

Then Jazz showed him a website where fans wrote stories of their favorite books, movies, or comics. All accessed from the library computers or from home computers.

She called it fanfiction. He couldn't get enough of it.

In those small moments, Danny wasn't lying. He wasn't panicked over something he couldn't pinpoint. He wasn't watching his every word, his every action, or the room. He wasn't cleaning or studying like he was being held at gunpoint.

He was happy. He was safe.

He was also sinking further and further into a shell. Now he searched for corners of the rooms, for places that provided internet access, and for bags that allowed him to carry books and journals.

Having the controllable urge to lie turned out to make one an excellent storyteller, and Danny was trying his hand at his own fan fiction from his favorite book series.

Danny's friends still tried to pull Danny away from the corner of the room, away from his phone screen, which was the only thing keeping him calm among the crowds. Crowds now scared Danny in a way he's never encountered before.

Not even when fighting ghosts. Those were easy fears. He just had to punch them hard enough. But the way his stomach dropped when he noticed how many people were in the room was much harder to deal with.

His bullies didn't seem to care that Danny was getting worse. In fact, ever since he got an award for being one of the top scorers in the overall grade, they doubled down. Danny had just been a dork before, but suddenly he became smart.

Brighter than any of them. That seemed to be a personal insult to the other students. How could they lose to a loser? Now, it wasn't just Dash hurling insults or stuffing him into a locker; instead, the entire school seemed to grow hostile.

Sam and Tucker snapped and sneered at anyone who insulted Danny, still supporting him in both his civilian life and his ghostly existence, even if it felt like they were closer to each other than he was, but it wasn't enough.

His parents were starting to worry, asking him day after day if anything was wrong, but Danny couldn't put into words where and how it all went wrong. So he started snapping. Growing defensive.

Practically hissing when his mother or father so much as made an inquiry about his day. Nevertheless, it ended in numerous screaming matches and multiple groundings.

Two years passed, and Danny wasn't showing any signs of approval. He didn't really talk to Tucker or Sam outside of school anymore. They were friendly, but only in class and during breaks, because Danny hadn't put in the necessary effort to keep their friendship as strong as it once was.

He had burned the bridge between them, and Danny wasn't sure how to begin rebuilding it. Life had become dull, with reading and writing being the only sources of joy.

Everything else felt like a chore. School. Friends. Parents. Ghost duties. Something he had to do but didn't really enjoy. It worried him, just as his lying did.

Why was he like this? Why couldn't he feel as happy as he was when he was a kid? He no longer wanted to work with NASA. Or anywhere. He didn't have dreams or hopes for the future like he had when he was fourteen. Where had all of that gone?

He approached Jazz about it when he turned sixteen. His sister was away at university, working on her degree in psychology, and figured she had a better chance of understanding what was wrong with him. She had gone away sooner than he had thought, as she passed the exam to skip a few grades and started college earlier.

Jazz had been one of the few awarded a full-ride scholarship to Gotham U, the best school in the country for Psychology. He'd been so proud of her.

His stories online had grown both in quality and following. It felt like it was the only level of validation and happiness in his bleak life.

"I think you're in a rut," Jazz had said. " A change of scenery would do you good. Have you thought about my offer?"

A couple of months ago, before Danny's junior year started, his sister had placed a folder on his desk. It contained bank statements for an account she started for him, titled "Danny's education," and information for the same scholarship she had gotten.

Wayne Scholars were for the university or for Gotham Academy (the high school for the rich and elite that would eventually become Gotham U). She wanted him to try for the scholarship and moved to Gotham with her.

Got out of Amity Park, away from the ghosts and the bullies, claiming now that their parents had taken down the Ghost Portal as ordered by the Justice League Dark, Danny didn't have a reason to stay.

Danny breathes deeply. "Okay. I'll go to Gotham."

He got the scholarship. Tucker and Sam had congratulated him with a cake in the school parking lot- it was the wrong flavor. Danny hadn't liked strawberry cake since he was fifteen. He preferred chantilly cakes now, and they seemed relieved when he declined going out to eat to celebrate.

There really wasn't anything left for him here.

It was easy enough to move into the dorms that Mr. Wayne had built for his scholarship awardees; Jazz lived in the neighboring building as a college student. The city was large, with a whole lot more to do than Amity Park ever did.

Jazz seemed to make it her goal to show him everything in the first month, and he found himself breathing more easily with each passing day. His sister, now more mature and confident in herself in a way she hadn't been back at home, became his rock.

She listened to him babble about his fanfictions for hours, came over to watch movies, and talk about cute boys or girls. Jazz had come out as bisexual, which surprised Danny, if only because it started making him think about how he tended to have similar thoughts to hers when it came to attractive girls and boys.

He became close to Jazz, just as he had been with Sam and Tucker, and it didn't take long for him to realize he had finally found a best friend again. He hadn't told a lie in a long time. His grades were still high even if he wasn't the top anymore; the material was much more complex than Amity's, so he wasn't number one, but he was up there, and he wasn't losing himself in fantasies as often anymore.

Kids at Gotham Academy seemed content to ignore him, so Danny had no bullies. His sister helped him get a makeover at her girlfriend's fashion boutique. Gone were the baggy clothes that he used to hide behind and find comfort in, and in which the trendy outfits were pieced together to make him stand out.

Sally, Jazz's girlfriend, knew how to make someone feel good in their own skin, having studied fashion and worked as a personal style assistant.

Life was starting to gain color again. He was feeling good.

Until he ran into his first ghost.

Thankfully, the ghost wasn't the violent sort, but she did seem excited to be seen. Danny had learned from Jazz that, outside of highly potent ectoplasm locations, such as Amity Park, most ghosts could not be seen, heard, or felt.

It's why his parents weren't able to find proof of ghosts despite moving to the most haunted city in the USA until the portal came into play. Gotham, with all its death and danger, surprisingly had very low levels of ectoplasm, but Jazz theorized it was due to another force smothering the natural ectoplasm.

She claimed Gotahm was cursed and that he was stealing natural resources like ectoplasm. Danny had yet to find proof of this curse, and he didn't exactly believe in it.

The only reason Danny or Jazz could see ghosts at all was due to the years of exposure from their parents' experiments, as well as the few years they spent bathing in the Ghost Portal's residue. It was easy to tell them apart from other people.

They had all the characteristics of the ghosts Danny was familiar with —oddly colored skin, a glow around them, and dressed in odd outfits —but the ghosts formed in low-level ectoplasm areas lacked powers beyond the top three.

Invisiblity, flight, and intangibility.

Jazz advises him to not react to them, otherwise people would think they were crazy, just like Amity Town once called his parents the town freaks. Neither of them wanted to relive that particular part of their childhood.

"I just want my son to know about the safe I hid in Old Gotham, inside the Seven Ring Hotel. It's in room 209, behind the wall in the bathroom. It's still there, I check on it every day, and he must get to it before they take down the building next month! Please, please pass on the message. " The ghost follows after Danny as he scrambles to get to class. He made the mistake of making eye contact with her, and now she wouldn't leave him alone. "Please, I swear I'll leave you be afterwards."

Danny struggles to keep his face even as she flouts near his locker, attempting to block his view of it. He grabs his books, stopping only to adjust his uniform blazer in the locker mirror, and catches sight of one of his classmates staring at him in the reflection.

Throughout his transfer, a solid five months in, with summer break fast approaching, he had noticed that the guy was always watching him. He isn't sure what he did to grab Jason Todd's attention, but the rumors flying around school didn't paint a good image of him.

He was the ward of the man paying for Danny's education, but there were rumors of him being involved with street gangs and other crimes while he was on the streets. Whispers of Bruce Wayne only taking him in on the suspicion that Todd was his bastard, after his mother had overdosed, only to find the boy stealing tires and running drugs.

Danny didn't mind the rumors too much, but Todd was a year younger than Danny and thus didn't share any classes together. They only passed by each other in the hallway.

He glances over his shoulder to give the kid a nod. Todd practically leaps out of his skin at the acknowledgment, throwing his locker door closed and racing away, flushed at being caught staring.

The ghost at his side, a beautiful blond woman, gasps. "That was him! My son! Oh, Jason looks so smart in his uniform. I wish I could tell him how proud I am. I never got an education, you know. I fell into drugs and ruined my chances, but my boy. He's got out of Crime Alley. I wish I could hug him. "

Danny pauses, closes his eyes in defeat, and turns to run after the fleeing kid. He doesn't quite think of what he was going to say once he caught up to him, but he couldn't just ignore Catherine anymore. Not when her voice wobbled like that.

"Hey! Wait up!" He calls, causing a few people to turn to him, but once they realize he's speaking to Todd, they look away. Though many are obviously eavesdropping, and that causes a familiar stone to drop in his stomach.

It's been five months. He hated how quickly it came back.

"Yes?" Todd says breathlessly as Danny just stares at him.

Suddenly, words vanish from his mind, and Danny feels old habits spring up before he can stop himself. Words burn on his tongue, and a fib flies off of it before he can figure out why. "Are you free this weekend? I heard the Seven Ring hotel was going to be torn down. Want to go on an exploring date?"

"What-um-yes hello." Todd gasps like he's choking on the words. "Wait, a date, like a romantic date?"

"Yeah. If you swing that way. I've been captivated by you for some time, ever since I saw you reading the Lock Down Series." Danny smiles, his face and body relaxing as if he hadn't been screeching on the inside.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. What are you even saying?!

Catherine makes a noise of disapproval. "Now hang on a minute. Jason is too young to date."

At the same time, Todd lets out a nervous little laugh, "I do swing. That way, I mean. I swing many ways. I love going on dates. I'd be happy to go on a date with you. I'm Jason."

Danny's smile grows wider, a little amused that someone else is as adept at social interactions as he is. He glances at the clock, ignoring the fuming mother, to notice he's only got a minute before the next bell rings. "Great, I have class now, but I'll meet you on Saturday at five in front of the Gotham Horse statue? I'm Danny."

"Yes! I'll be there!" Todd calls towards his back, prompting Danny to raise a hand lazily over his shoulder. The second he sits at his desk, he has a panic attack.

"What have I done!?"

"That's what I want to know!" Catherine sneers, but Danny ignores her in favor of sending a panic text to Jazz.

Hopefully, his sister has advice on how to handle his latest fib.

[quadrantadvisor]

Even after learning their secret identities, the hero community always insisted that there was something inhuman about the bats. No one doubted that their intensive training had a lot to do with it, but it never quite explained how they could evade a Kryptonian's super senses, how they could melt into shadows, how they could function so long with little food, little rest, little oxygen if need be. Most people dismissed their uneasy feelings, but there was something strange about the bats, something uncanny, something that made them different from the arrows and other vanilla human members. And, slowly enough that no one really noticed, it was getting stronger.

Until one day, during a diplomatic meeting with the ruler of the Infinite Realms, when High King Phantom turned to Batman and his brood and literally brightened. "Oh! I didn't know you had liminal members!"

Or: through a variety of factors (proximity to death, their own death/near death experiences, exposure to the Lazarus Pits, the favor of Lady Gotham, immersion in Gotham's own cursed ambient ectoplasm, being a close knit group who continued to expose eachother, etc.) the batfamily have been becoming liminal/ecto-contaminated without noticing. The powers they're developing have been subtle, and align with the skills they expect to have, so no one brought it up when they started being able to hold their breath beyond human limitations, or got so sneaky that they literally seemed invisible, or had a lucky miss when they expected a bullet to go right through them. And they always exuded an unsettling aura of fear, so no one else thought anything was out of the ordinary either. By the time they meet Danny, Gotham counts as one of the most fiercely defended ghost haunts on the planet, with so many territorial liminals patrolling the streets.

[stealingyourbones]

Y’all really like OP Ghost King Danny and I’m a sucker for Kaiju like battles.

How would you think a fight between Danny and a Monitor end up? Bonus question: during Infinite Crisis on Infinite Earths, what would Danny’s part be in defeating the Anti-Monitor and how would he end up?

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 171

Danny would like everyone to know it was a complete accident. Look, normally he was really good at not altering the timeline! He was! 

But the dude was definitely not in the right Time, and he had to get his trust which took so long, like damn he thought he had anxiety. Seriously though, kevlar in the 1700s? Yeah that wasn’t right, and Peepaw always complained about the messes that the speedsters caused, so he was trying to prevent a mess by tugging the dude away and helping him out. 

Falling in love maybe a little, was not in the plan. But honestly the man had a worse sense of self preservation than he did as a teen and was also straight up adorable, in a wet cat  who could kill you sort of way. 

So maybe he helped the dude grab a child that was going to be drowned. It wasn’t like anyone else saw them! Even if similar situations might’ve happened a few different times. 

Still, no one saw them! 

So why is there now a small cult who worships the Shadowed one and Radiant one, aka his companion (who would not give his name save for B, which, fair, probably didn’t want to accidentally wreck the timeline either) and well, him?! At least they worship them as guardians of children, but uh. Should he maybe, perhaps, fix this…? 

[imminent-danger-came]

There is a distinct difference between "something good with flaws" and "something bad that's almost good" me thinks

[methoughtsphantom]

ah yes my box side project that i handcrafted to be the Fenton Portal (it’s literally the side of a box, not—not a side project, though now that I think about it it should’ve have been, this literally was my final project)

[merge-conflict]

🔫 FREEZE this is a STICKUP

gimme 5 great lines that you wrote (whether you’ve posted them or not) and 5 great lines someone else wrote (whether published or fanfic) and nobody gets hurt!!

🙌

‼️okay!! I am complying!! :3 Going to start with great lines someone else wrote, and I've used published authors because it is so much easier to just open up my kindle bookmarks on some recent books and pick out lines from some of my favorite books:

"The problem with sending messages was that people responded to them, which meant one had to write more messages in reply." - (Arkady Martine, A Memory Called Empire, Chapter 6)

"I said 'I need to check the perimeter,' and managed to turn and leave the crew area in a totally normal way and not like I was fleeing from a bunch of giant hostiles." - (Martha Wells, All Systems Red, Chapter 2)

"Emil could seem astonishingly harmless, but he did not look harmless at that moment." - (Laurie Marks, Fire Logic, Chapter 16)

"I mean, if I were thirty years younger– if I were twenty-five years younger– if I were eighteen years younger – God, if I were just ten years younger– if I were a year and a day younger– If I were a month younger– if you'd asked me just five minutes ago, four and a half even, if I'd just picked up on the first ring instead of the third, I'd transition." - (Daniel Lavery, Something That May Shock and Discredit You, Interlude XVI: Did You Know That Athena Used to Be a Tomboy?)

"I already pictured this sweet and mediocre girl saying something uninteresting like Oh, nooooo, oh my God, and I already knew part of me would be looking at her and thinking: You've never murdered for me." - (Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Nick Dunne: The Night of the Return)

and now some of the lines i've written that i like >.<

"Privately, V thought he might sound less bitter if he ate something, but the sudden influx of calories had imparted her with the newfound sense of patience and wisdom not to mention this out loud." – (the damn things overlap, syn,syn-ack,ack)

"There are springs digging into his ribs, and the wheezing air conditioner feels more like the fan in an oven, but Kerry falls asleep almost as his head hits the pillow and wakes to the bright gleam of the moon through the curtains and the sound of quiet conversation." (fleeting fits of reason, as long as we stay in this bed)

"She doesn't want to be this way, but she is." (thread-safe, four of swords: iamundernodisguise)

"No V, no Hand, just him." (the damn things overlap, old devils)

"His body staggers to the window as he drifts somewhere behind, lost, bewildered by the strange feeling his corpse has a mind of its own." - (let me die on stage singing the last song I know)

[t4tdanvis]

so ur telling me a gay coded this guy?

[jmkho]

Day 109 of trying to get @gretavanfleet back

[leafyeyes417]

Venting

The GIW had gotten on his last nerve. Danny wasn’t at all worried about them actually managing to catch a ghost they were just that bad. But when their pure incompetence managed to mildly injure 12 people and seriously injure another 5, with one in the ICU and no confirmation on them ever coming out of the coma, Danny felt his patience fraying.

After getting the cryptic okay from Clockwork, he enacted his plan to get rid of the jerks. Death by debt. As in, their funding wouldn’t be enough to keep them afloat and they would be disbanded. He started by getting Tucker to locate all their bases, and had Sam work on creating a sedative (using plant products, because she would kill him if he used chemicals).

Once the bases were located and gas canisters were prepared, he was off. All the agents were knocked out, removed from the building, and all weapons taken. After that was Tucker getting into their systems and taking all the data, then wiping it. Then was setting all paperwork on fire and destruction of the building completely.

Watching it crumble gave him so much satisfaction. He stuck around invisible to watch the agents wake up and have a meltdown about their clothing before even noticing the destroyed building. He only barely made it away before nearly dying of laughter.

Luckily this all happened during the summer, his parents had decided to go on a convention road trip, so he was free to leave the state and destroy more bases. He ended up in Gotham and was shocked the Agents had managed to even step foot in the place. It felt like the air itself would stain their white suits.

Shaking off the feeling and sending out a ‘I’m a guest here to remove some pests’ to Lady Gotham, Danny moved towards the base in what was a well oiled system by now. He had managed to knock all the agents out and was moving them outside when he heard a cough behind him. Turning he saw one of the Bats, Red Robin.

“What exactly are you doing?” RR asked with mild curiosity.

Danny glanced down at the agents then back up to RR. “Teenage venting through destruction of government property?”

They stared at each other silently for a minute before RR broke out in a grin. “Can I help?”

Danny smirked. “Sure! You go inside and bring the rest of them out. I’ll search them for weapons and stuff.”

RR was about to walk away to do as asked when he saw Danny taking off the shoes. “Are the shoes weapons too?”

Danny snickered. “Nah. They have this thing about getting their white suits dirty and it fills me with glee to make their white socks dirty too.”

Danny swore he could hear someone howling in laughter through RR’s coms.

[phiniusandjelly]

Vaguely inspired by that one post where Danny gets summoned by the JL and keeps throwing his shoes and stuff at them bc HE might not be able to leave the summoning circle but his clothes sure can!

I think the twist for that was that the circle doesnt effect him at all because hes a halfa and he was just goofing with the JL.

But imagine if the summoning and containment WORKED.

Like, he gets summoned and its startling, but once he realizes hes been summoned hes mostly annoyed.

Its a school night! He has work to do! Sure he wasnt DOING it, but it was still a possibility!

And hes trying to banter with the JL. Which for him just means being vaguely-obnoxious-but-somewhat-charming.

But then he tries to leave.

Maybe hes worried about his friends reaction to seeing him disappear.

Maybe the JL are saying some anti ghost/demon/whatever they think he is nonsense.

Maybe he changed his mind about doing that homework.

But either way, it doesnt work.

He drags his hand along the edge of the spell. It doesnt give, and he realizes hes not sure what this spell is supposed to do.

Its all along the floor beneth him, he cant fly through the floor.

He tries to get away from the walls and floor, worried whatever spell makes up the container can be triggered to hurt him or brainwash him or SOMETHING.

Its not his best guest, but he has never been summoned before, at least not with this type of barrier, and he doesnt know what to expect.

He barely gets a few feet off the ground when he hits the spells invisible roof.

And he is trapped.

And now this fourteen year old child is caged in a room with clearly dangerous adult strangers.

After hes been more or less kidnapped.

He’s suddenly regretting insulting them.

And its not his first time beimg kidnapped. Or his first time being in danger in general (obviously).

but its usually some ghost! Or Vlad “Loser, I hardly know her!” Masters!

Both of whom explain literally everything they plan in long ass evil monologues! It usually takes danny five minutes tops to learn their entire life story Dr Doofenshmirtz style!

He knows most of them personally! They hang out sometimes! Heck! even the local ghost hunters are either literally related to him or someone he’s dated!

He knows their powersets, their strengths, their weaknesses.

Most importantly, he knows their goals

But now hes trapped. In a room of clearly superpowerd strangers. With magical abilities strong enough to trap him for real.

And has no idea what they want

And Danny just freezes up

This could be super angsty if the JL were told that he was evil and think his panic + young features are only done to manipulate them.

You can also add angst with a language barrier/translation issue

I imagine the JL would be trying to get information about ghosts/ are trying to get someone to fight a villain they can’t defeat

Its going to scare the shit out of Danny either way- like imagine fourteen year old you gets kidnapped by strangers and they start asking you about your weaknesses or say they will only let you out if you agree to fight this monster.

And if Danny doesnt know this villain or how tf hes going to fight them he might feel like hes being sent off to get his ass kicked.

I can just imagine Danny being told he has to fight this supervillain and being like “…if i like..die…trying to fight this guy…what are you going to do with my body? Like will you send me home? Cause my family will freak if my corpse is teleported into the living room”

JL would not be happy about any of his responses.

Im begging someone to write this please have a nice day

[mutable-manifestation]

aiobuvu;nj I have stared at this for several nonconsecutive hours since I was @'ed Minji

I love this idea so much. Just lemme- yeah here we go:

~~~

In the midst of it all, a light of hope amidst the chaos, there is: Tucker.

Tucker Foley knows what he's about. Tech. He's about tech. His first priority after entering an entirely new version of earth with who knows how many differences to temporal placement, sapient populations, flora, and fauna?

He wants to know if his PDAs still work.

He checks Sandra first, of course.

Miraculously, she works fine.

Next up is the modded ones - he skips straight his one true love: Helena.

Helena had been with them from the beginning - the first PDA, the one true PDA, with every mod and upgrade tested over time. They'd cracked open many a GIW facility together in the past - among other things.

And. It seems Desiree was feeling generous? Helena connects to the internet just fine, and her scans all come back clean. He'd set his other loves up to scan while he was waiting, but of course Helena finished the fastest, unparalleled as she was in her might as in her beauty.

So next up was research time.

And Tucker is about tech, but the first article about heroes has him distracted.

So of course he has to know more.

The first search, ghosts, doesn't really net anything.

The second for a more general "powers" leads him to an article about "metas." He only skims a few sentences before moving on.

Finally, he searches "magic."

A hero named "Captain Marvel" pops up. Guy claims to be magic instead of a meta. It's not a LOT, but it's a possibility. Tucker's gonna have to hunt the guy down. Because if magic is a real, genuine thing in this new world?

Tucker wants magitech. Badly. The things Helena could do with a magical power boost...

Well, he doesn't really know, but he wants to.

But first, time to be a good friend and help Danny (and all of Amity, really) Triple G their way into this new world.

~~~

Kon is so, so grateful he can hold his breath for a long time.

It took thirty minutes for them to arrive to the newly-existing town in middle-of-nowhere-Illinois thanks to the logistics of "the entire internet and US government just got several thousand new people as if they were always there except they clearly weren't and it's causing Issues (TM).

(Mainly, the issue is paranoia - is this another invasion, is this a trst version for a mass-brainwashing, etc etc).

Kon spent the next twenty minutes watching Clark trying and failing to get a word in edgewise.

The maybe-hero's no one's ever seen before hovering above the definitely-town that wasn't there before very politely roast Clark's costume before, essentially, dismissing him out of hand.

Then they'd gone back to squabbling. There'd been a few stray lasers from the maybe-hero's aimed at each other accompanied by pouting or protest, but they were few and far between and all very carefully aimed away from the onlooking crowds below - almost the whole town from the look of things.

And then.

And then.

Some kid in a beret waves the three down - all of whom obediently descend.

Well, the probable-siblings descend obediently. Red grumbles a bit before following - utterly ignoring Clarks "If we cou-."

Clark stared after them, dismayed, as Kon diligently kept from vibrating in place behind him.

And then, of course, Kon hears what beret-guy is saying.

There's magic in this universe, he tells them.

And, well, at least that one thing confirmed.

The four - and a nearby goth girl - grin as one, saying as one: "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss?"

"Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss," Beret grins back.

Kon is so glad he doesn't have to breath that often.

Clark begins to descend.

"I'll get Lance on it- if- " Goth hesitates.

Beret nods. "Yep, everything's greenlit. Thankfully. I'll update the city-only page with deets - make sure he checks it before he goes live."

She nods before away, taking out a phone as she goes.

~~~

The maybe-hero trio squabble a bit more, with the boy groaning and rolling his eyes when he sees Clark's approach before grabbing the other two and dragging both into the ground.

Beret and the onlookers seem unconcerned.

Clark doesn't let it phase him, calmly allowing the three to slip away in favor of talking to the unmoved Beret, who had yet to look up from his...

Phone?

Maybe???

"Young man-"

"Sean." Beret boy cuts him off with a polite nod.

"Ah, Sean then, I have few questions for you-"

"Who???"

"You-"

"Uh, my name is Tucker," Tucker shoots back, raising a brow. And yet. His eyes still do not leave his...device? At first he'd thougt... but the more Kon looks the less it seems like a phone.

No. It isn't a phone.

Maybe it never was.

"But- you said it was Sean?" Clark asks, voice politely confused, if a bit distressed.

"I thought you were Sean. Isn't that was the 'S' stands for?"

"...No, it-"

"Spencer, then," Tucker says, finally putting away The Device. "Listen. I'm sure you're wondering "who are all these people" and "how did you get here" and "there wasn't a town here like five minutes ago how could this have happened." I gonna level with you - so is the federal government, probably. And now that the Notice-Me-Not curse afflicting our home for generations has finally been lifted-" Clark opens his mouth, but Tucker barrels on "-we kind of need to deal with that. So if you have questions maybe just watch the news. Or least go away for a minimum of five business days."

"Son-"

"We're literally not related, our town was literally isolated from the outside world by a curse for ages."

"We know you're from a different universe."

"What, Amity? Why would you think that?" The boy feigns confusion.

Kon notices a variety of people in the crowd recording them on an eclectic mixture of flip phones, Just Cameras, and oddly old-looking touch-screen phones.

"I heard you talking to your friends-"

"From that far away?" Tucker's eyes flicker doubtfully to the sky.

"I have super-hearing-"

"Then you heard wrong. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"I heard you perfectly well-"

"Uh-uh, and just how does this "super-hearing" work, exactly," he asks, and he puts the power in air quotes. And Kon is holding his breath without too much effort but he can't quite subdue the tears bubbling up as a result of suppressing his laughter at this. "If you even-"

"It's global-" Kon spits out, his desperation to know what Tucker will say next allowing him to subdue the chuckles just long enough.

"What, just everything? All of the time?"

Kon nods. Clark works his mouth wordlessly, unsure how to proceed with the odd change of topic but upbringing forbidding him from being rude just because the other person is being difficult.

"Dude, do you have any idea how many people talk about alternate universe stuff all the time? It's, like, nerd 101. And you, what, picked out one conversation? Out of billions? And don't think you might've confused any of the numerous same or similar voices throughout the world with mine?"

Tucker shakes his head pityingly.

"You heard wrong, my guy. It happens to the best of us. And speaking of the best of us," he says, pulling out another buzzing not-a-phone-and-maybe-never-was, "It seems like Monica needs some quality time with the TF."

He caresses the side of the machine and turns to leave.

Clark stares after him as the crowd moves to disperse. Among them, a girl glances at him and tells her friends, "Dios mio, all the fashion in this place had better not look like that."

A tear rolls down Kon's cheek.

'Don't. Laugh.'

You know... >.>

My Dad always used to tell me, if I get a Genuine Genie(tm)? Get a lawyer first. Before I make my Wishes(tm), so they can help me word them correctly.

Obviously, a human lawyer would not be foolproof... BUT! What about a Ghost Lawyer?

Like? Obviously Desiree would be PISSED. How DARE you twist HER wish twisting! Her THING is "what you believe is your heart's desire always comes at a terrible cost" which is what she DIED to learn.

So obviously she would NEVER, willingly, bend her Obsession for ANYONE. And you'd have to make a DAMN good case to that Lawyer for why he ISNT breaking the law by helping you. Probably some "you can: save the life of an unconscious person against their will/shove an unobservant person OFF the train tracks, even if they get hurt, to save their life" clause.

Like? Using a ghosts Obsession against them? Bad. Illegal.

Using it against their will, to save OTHER ghosts, who are in immediate danger? Not illegal, but they will be PISSED. Still not great though, you will want to apologize and fast.

So like??? Reality Bending Power. Patrick Star Method of "what if we MOVED the city... somewhere else?" Considered at 1am. Team of Ghost Laywers, acquired.

Amity and all Limnals are REMOVED from the DP-verse.

Wish worded juuuuust so. Any ghost that forms there? Yoink! Instantly removed to the Zone. Natural Portals? Cut off. Let the whole Reality fade out at an accelerated rate, as no NEW energy is fed into the system. Entropy will do, what entropy does. Exactly as they wished it.

They hated Death so much, they speed up the heat death of their ENTIRE universe by Eons. Congratulations, you guys "Won". Enjoy the wildly more fragile flora, fauna, and general ecosystems. Now that none of you have that ambient Ectoplasm strengthening your bodies. Yeah, the things you used to shrug off? Those are gonna maim or kill you now.

Doesn't MATTER if you "learn your lesson" though! Cause this is WAY past that point! This is "cutting off the tumor before it kills us" territory, and buddy? Amity ISNT the tumor. Go forth a grow, just like you wanted.

They won't be here to fix your messes anymore.

Because Danny got himself a dictionary thick "I Wish..." contract. Which was worded, as it needs to be, in one loooooooong run on sentence. Shouted "I Wish what's written on THIS, as it is currently, and without any form of editing or negotiation!" As fast as he could. Yote the document in Desiree's direction. And Flew like an INCANDESCENTLY pissed off Genie was trying to set his everything of fire.

Which she was.

Thankfully, Paulina came in clutch with her History of all things Jewelry, world fashions, and Make-Up knowledge. That, coupled with the Power Of Rich Friends(tm)? (Sam. Her mother was THRILLED to take her Jewelry and clothing shopping for something other then blacks and dark purple. They went on a jet setting whurl-wind tour. Sam actually kinda liked a some of what she found.)

They have Apology Bribes.

They shamelessly HIDE behind the mountain of Apology Bribes, while they explain themselves. Is Desiree HAPPY? No. But those bracelets are magnificent and she DOES deserve nice things. Those silks will really bring out her eyes. And she... DOES... admit...

Maybe...

That things are not... SAFE. Any longer. Danny TRIES. Everyone else can see it. And he's made incredible strides! Even convinced his lunatic parents. Though they're still not quite POPULAR. (WAY too pushy and invasive with their questions, for most people.) But the fanatics in white?

They nearly killed Box Lunch. If her father hadn't BEEN there...

And the poor man will have that scar on his back for the rest of his afterlife. Desiree can see why Danny is pushing. Does she LIKE it? No. But...

She supposes she will content herself with the suffering of the Fanatics in White and all who support them. THEIR wishes, twisted. Their ugly heart's desires.

Fine.

"SO YOU WISH IT. SO IT SHALL BE!"

And? The ghost town of what WOULD of one day grown into Amity, had the witch's there not been found by those they had fled from, which sits in long rotted ruins, amongst the trees in nowhere Illinois? Poof! Two "Towns" are switched.

The roads out of town coming to a clean line stop, meeting not even goat paths. Just trees. Old growth.

But it's not ALL of Town, is it? Faces missing. New, confused, faces from every corner of the map, taking their place. No Limnal left behind. No supporter of the GIWs genocide, brought along. Family's kept together where they could be. But by the few, scared and upset, green flashing eyes of children in the crowd?

It seemed for some, it was easier to fear and hate, then love their children.

Already they were being gathered up by school teachers and PTA parents. As everyone tried to figure out what had happened. Concerned, quite muttering a dull roar as everyone tries to coordinate.

Red Huntress joins Danny and Dani in the Sky. She doesn't get a word in. Wanted to know what the HELL was going on. She was with her dad in Chicago! Dani was in Taiwan! Literally! As in, sitting in a SUBWAY station one second, the next? Outside!

But they don't get to demand those answers. Because there is a sonic boom on the horizon. And then? Floating... weird... not ghosts?

Uuuuuuhhhh?

Hi?

That much blue... sure is a Statement. Like the cape and... bloooomers? Shorts. Bikini bottoms? It.. it's a Cool Look, dude! No, really. They are being VERY supportive here! If YOU like it? That's the only thing that matters!

Red Huntress smacks the Danny/i's Repeated upside their heads and demans to know what the Not-Ghosts are doing in their airspace.

Oh YEAH. Good point! What she said! And can it WAIT? They're kinda going through A Thing right now...

Kon? Wants it on record he loves these guys. They're hilarious. The LOOK on Clark's FACE?? He wishes he could frame it. Preserve it for future generations. Thing is? There was NOT a town here a second ago.

Well, bout 30 minutes or so, but you get the idea. One moment? Tree noises. Bam! Thousands of people! Obviously the checked it out. Only to be met with two... three maybe? Heros who have NO IDEA who they are.

Clear Reality warping shenanigans. Might be time travel or multiverse. Question is... are they STAYING? And if SO? What now...

@hdgnj @ailithnight @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe @dcxdpdabbles @mutable-manifestation @hypewinter

[demon-at-peace]

DC + DP

Danny found it rather hard to discriminate, most ghosts did, they were rather wild. Claws, glowing skin, most weren't human. So really he learned to ignore the large teeth, the glowing skin, the creepy voices, and the other inhuman buts about people. He was also immune to the way they scarred people, the way you instinctually avoided them, winced when you saw them.

Not Danny, he'd smile at you ask you out for coffee, really he didn't seem to notice the monterous aura of demons and such. So supernatural beings liked him, they liked his laughter, they like his smile his quick-witted tongue. So Danny had a rather odd group of friends.

Really though most of them were villains, it wasn't really a surprise since other than with Sam and Tucker the only time he went out was with Dan or Jazz. As such it was either a bunch of therapists of villains. And sue him he'd sooner blow up the world than go to therapy.

The group was chill, most of which not rich evil people simply because neither Dan or Danny could stand them. Vlad was more than enough to deal with. So crimelords, demons, a plant lady and other assortment of people.

Dan had friends out of the group that Danny met, but for the most part it was just them. Danny also mi-ght have had a criminal record. I mean he had one before, for existing, shoplifting and property damage. But only the shoplifting was on his civilian ID.

Now he also had arson, property damage, and assalt of police officers. But honestly only the first two were that bad.

Acab for life, cops sucked ass. Unfortunately the officers were suing and he was now being hunted down by some infernal thing called the Justice league.

Honestly who would call themselves that? It was so pretentious! He though darkly as the lady with the W on her outfit went after him again.

pretentious aside why were they all dressed in lingerie type stuff. Like the spandex show everything, and the woman’s uniforms were a bit more than revealing! Seriously was this universes Heroes all into kinky stuff?

a couple weren’t so revealing, the one in black with the child (except the child was in a leotard?) the one with the arrows, and some of the magic ones, like the trench coat man! He at least had changed out of the hazmat suit at first chance!

anyhow really he should get out of here, except whoopsy daisy that laser vision just hit him. He landed pouting! “Really I burned a shed down! An empty shed! And like the officers were being racists dicks!”

“You also bulldozed through a wall!” One of the decently dressed heroes tells.

“yeah and? Y’all get away with public indecency I can get away with a bit of property damage!” Danny pouts.

“Public indecency?” The S dude asks.

“duh, like I can see everything! You might as well just paint your skin! I don’t need to see your pecs it ain’t even that hot out!!” He crosses his arms indignantly.

“you still need to pay for property damage!” The guy dressed in black scolds him.

“fine! when you stop dressing a child without pants! They are a thing you know! Besides he doesn’t even have armor!” Danny scowls.

“my costume is a tribute to my dead parents!” The kid bites out.

“and mine was a tribute to my death!” Danny rolls his eyes. “Just please add some pants!”

“Fine!” The kid agreed grudgingly, glaring at Danny.

“Shake on it?” Danny asks holding out his hand. Robin shakes his hands and Danny vanishes.

Robin doesn’t get pants. Danny doesn’t pay his bills. Years later after Tim is Robin, and Robin has pants Dick gets an email. Sure enough Danny payed his bills.

—-

huh it’s fluff? Also I updated my demon twins fic finally!!

Bye ✌️

[clockwayswrites]

Dead on MAYn 25 Day 3:

Trope | Eldritch horror Danny/Monster Fucker Jason

Word | Contract

Situation | The Batfam learn about Jason's boyfriend by accident.

Dialogue | "You may belong to Gotham, but this one belongs to me."

cw: blood, demonic cult, off screen screen torture

The noise that Jason made when he hit the ground was worryingly wet. Wet with the sound of blood and wounds and tortured flesh. Tim kept Duke pushed behind him until the old steel door clanged shut and the latch had scraped into place with a rusty finality.

“Okay, okay, I think that maybe it’s past time to act,” Duke hissed as he rushed to Jason’s side.

Tim didn’t rush over, instead he searched Jason’s discard jacket for supplies. It wouldn’t be enough, not with how heavy the scent of blood was, but Tim knew that Jason always had some medical supplies on him. “We can’t.”

“We can’t?!” Duke asked.

“Timbo’s right,” Jason said. His voice was clear at least, though he needed Duke’s help to get sitting up. “Can’t expose things.”

“Dude, you’re insides are getting exposed! I think we’re past that!” Duke’s voice was laced with all the dangerous anger of the same kid that had led ‘we are Robin’.

Jason sighed. “Duke—”

“No, don’t Duke me! What about when they drag Tim out of here next? Will you stop it then?”

“Duke,” Tim snapped. He tossed the vacuum packed bag of bandages at Duke. “Enough. We pressed our signals, help is on the way.”

“You’re assuming the signal can get out of this pit they tossed us in!”

“Not a pit, old tunnel construction that got abandoned,” Jason said. “Trust the tech.”

Tim squinted at Jason, trying to figure out why he sounded off. Was it just blood loss? Had he been drugged? Or—oh, that was Jason’s voice for soothing victims. Right, Duke hadn’t been abducted like this before, not for being a Wayne. Maybe Tim should tone down the bite a little. Duke hadn’t grown up being taken for ransom like Tim had.

“It will work, Duke. They’re on their way. We’ve all been through worse,” Tim said. He pulled his knife from his boot and cut swiftly through what was left of Jason’s shirt. They could use it to wipe off the worst of the blood at least. “And right now they don’t seem interested in you.”

“I’m not worried about me, jackass,” Duke said. “They’re obviously racist fuckwits, of course they don’t want my blood. I’m worried about what they’re going to do to you! Or that they’re going to grab Jason again.”

“Hey, Duke, we can handle ourselves—”

“But you won’t!” Duke snapped, cutting Tim off. “That’s the problem, you won’t.”

“Hey, bleeding here, can we argue later?” Jason interrupted. His voice was sounding a little breathless, so Tim was inclined to set aside everything else.

Besides, patching up wounds was always a good distraction. It gave the mind time to work through facts and data without so much emotion in the way.

When Jason at least wouldn’t be bleeding out as quickly (all of their shirts sacrificed to the cause), Tim asked, “What has your so scared about this situation, Duke?”

Duke balled up the last of his t-shirt and tossed the bloody thing aside. He frowned seriously. “Y’all can’t see what I can see. There’s something actually magical or… or otherworldly going on here. I think that someone in this cult actually knows what they’re doing. That’s a different thing. Magic isn’t what we do.”

“‘snot what you do,” Jason slurred from where they had propped him up in the corner. “Well. I mean, you do do someth’n, what with the light stuff. Still only me and you.”

“What do you mean him and you?” Tim asked with a frown at Jason. Sure, it was maybe a little unfair to press Jason when he was obviously a little blood drained and unusually chatty, but chances like this didn’t come often

“You know, the…” Jason waved an arm around like he was holding something.

“No,” Tim drawled.

“The All-blades and the…” Jason froze. His eyes widened. “Oh fuck.”

“Jason?”

“They, um,” Jason collapsed back into the corner with a giggle. “See, they used m’ blood for a summoning circle.”

“Right.” Tim exchanged a look with Duke. “That’s pretty standard demonic cult bullshit.”

“Yeah. But,” Jason dropped his voice to a whisper as if he was telling a secret, “they dun know what my blood will get’em.”

“And, um, what will your blood get them?” Duke asked.

Jason giggled again. “Danny.”

“Right,” Tim drew the word out. “And who or what is Danny?”

Jason opened his mouth to answer but before he could a scream broke the silence. Jason’s smile turned vicious. “That is Danny.”

-

Jason was a big guy in way that Tim never would be and that Duke wasn’t (yet). It meant that making their way from the old machine room they had been locked in towards the commotion was slow going. Jason was obviously trying not to lean on them too much, but he didn’t really have much choice with how his leg was minced. And they certainly weren’t going to leave Jason behind.

They were, though, going to stay out of the way of whatever the fuck was currently decimating the cult.

Hands—what Tim could only describe as hands were reaching out from what was now a void of space in the floor of the center of the room. The white spindly limbs would grab a cultist, ignoring blades or bullets, and then drag them back and down into the void. Usually with a horrible scream.

“That’s a lot of eyes,” Duke whispered in awe from the other side of Jason, clearly seeing something that Tim couldn’t.

“The more to look at you with,” Jason joked, still acting a little giddy. Being upright didn’t seem to agree with him much.

“That’s… that’s Danny?” Tim asked.

There was something more moving in the void. The surface rippled and churned and then exploded out into a spray of light and colors like a supernova. The being—and if held at gun point Tim couldn’t actually explain was he was seeing—pulled themselves free of the void and with a few reaching grasps, across the floor to them.

“Jason,” they purred, the word a rumble that Tim could feel in his bones.

Of course, that’s when Batman, Robin, and Nightwing came crashing into the abandoned tunnel.

Before Tim could even blink, the being—Danny—had wrapped themselves around Jason like a giant snake. All the eyes that Tim hadn’t been able to see appeared. All glaring at the heroes.

“Let him go,” Batman ordered. “The cult had no right to offer him as sacrifice. The all belong here.”

The being curled themselves further around Jason and growled out, “You may belong to Gotham, but this one belongs to me.”

“Shush, Danny, no, hush. They’re family,” Jason slurred while trying to pat the being’s cheek and missing entirely. “No devouring the souls of family.”

The being indulgently moved their head so that Jason got what he wanted. “I would not devour them. They stink like Gotham, and the Lady would not abide it.”

“Be nice,” Jason said.

“Despite the blood loss B, er, Batman,” Tim started. “Jason really does seem to know this being.

“Danny,” the being cooed.

“Who’s name is Danny.”

There was a shriek behind them as another cultist was lifted from some boxes they had been hiding behind and into the void.

“We’re alone now. We can talk,” Danny said. “They’re your family?”

Jason hummed in agreement and pressed a kiss to the sometimes bony face. It still wasn’t clear what Danny was. Tim tried not to look too hard.

“Brothers,” Jason waved loosely around the room and then pointed to Batman. “Dad.”

Danny sighed, the noise a weird sound like the hydraulics of a bus stopping. “You couldn’t have warned me this was a meet the family thing?”

Jason shrugged despite the eldtrich horror draped over him. “Didn’t ‘spect to be sacrificed. Didn’t think about how my blood might summon you.”

“Of course your blood summoned me. I wouldn’t let it summon anyone else,” Danny said, clearly offended as the voice took on an increasingly human note. The mass of whatever shifted and shrunk until a humanoid about Tim’s size hung, floating, off Jason’s shoulder. He pressed a kiss to Jason’s lips. “Like I said, you belong to me. I’ll always come when called.”

“Holy—you’re dating Jason! You’re his, what, eldifriend?” Dick asked with a wide grin. “Guy’s, Jason is dating someone!”

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“My little bird is all grown up!” Dick cooed.

Jason flipped him off. “Dating or romance isn’t part of growing up. Way to insult aros, dickhead.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Boys,” Bruce tried.

“So, Danny, Jason lost a pretty good chunk of blood,” Tim said, ignoring everyone else in the room. “We should really get him some medical care.”

“Shit, yeah, absolutely,” Danny said, deflating until their white shoes—since when did they have legs?—touched the ground. “Can I come? Technically Jason did summon me and so I’m around until I pay some sort of favor—”

Jason reset his chin on the top of Danny’s white hair with a salacious smirk. “I know a certain favor that you can—”

“Okay!” Tim said loudly and clapped his hands together. He did not need to know what his brother got up to with an eldritch horror. “Blood loss, remember? Deal with that later. You two can pile in the Batmobile with Robin and Duke. I’ll ride back with Nightwing.”

“Good plan, baby bird! And you’re totally staying for dinner, Danny,” Dick said. “We have so many questions.”

For a powerful cosmic horror, Danny looked pretty frightened by that prospect.

[radiance1]

Danny has been reincarnated.

Which was an odd thing to realize, it wasn't even a slow one he just... snapped into it one day. One moment he was staring at a wall out of boredom the next, well, he was staring for an entirely different reason.

It was a task for his now young -he thinks around three years old?- mind to work its way through the memories, but it wasn't like he had much else to do honestly. So, what does he know?

His name is Danny, like, his actual name and not just a moniker. He was once a halfa and he already knows he's going to be missing invisibility and intangibility. He, well, died. For like, a second time which actually makes sense because reincarnation-

Anyways.

He was a clone of two people from this thing called the Justice League which, weird name but probably some government or activist group. Wonder Woman and Superman. Which were pretty weird names to name your kids but eh.

He doesn't really remember much besides that from this life, or the one from before but he's an adult! He'll figure things out once he gets out of this containment tube thing.

Did he mention he was in a test tube? He's a tube baby now. He thinks? Or maybe it's more like he's being contained.

Whatever.

So he breaks out. Thank you apparent superstrength that he has no idea why he has but he's not going to complain! He then wandered around all of the other test tubes, able to remember just enough of English to see that yea, they're dead.

He probably was too, before he had memories zapped into him. Or a vegetable.

He then finds this really big container, checks it out, then opens it because the clone inside isn't dead!

'Project Match' it said. He'll just call him Match.

Was he thanked for helping him? Nope. You would think that he would be thanked or at least somewhat respected for saving this guy but nope!

He was, quite literally, held up by his leg and dangled in the air. Who dangles a three-year-old?! Well, he was technically and adult but still! The next few things were a blur but after pulling off the old Fenton charm he found him and Match outside as he tried to stop him from attacking random people.

Luckily the charms and privilege of the youngest (he's assuming he's the youngest, because he's physically three) was more than enough to get through to him. Sure, the guy couldn't form words, really aggressive for literally no reason, really weird but also absolutely cool looking eyes. But he worked around the first issue by developing their own personal language from like grunts and stuff, the second he once again used his youngest privilege to boss him around and the third a pair of sunglasses easily fixed.

He just had to steer Match clear of those random S crest mark thingies. Which was a weird thing to hate but hey, he's not there to judge.

[five-rivers]

Little thing inspired by various Justice League summons Danny posts I've seen about.

.

Interdimensional travel was hard.

It was a true statement, and one that, in retrospect, was obvious. Of course interdimensional travel was hard. It was reaching out of your reality and into one that had an entirely different set of rules. However, having an interdimensional portal in one's basement tended to skew one's understanding of these things. That was why it took Danny so long to realize that the Observants were actually worried about him.

"Wait," he said, looking up from the (admittedly very passive-aggressive) report the crowd of Observants had just dropped on his (already crowded) desk. "You want to change my summoning ritual because you think other dimensions might hurt my human half?"

"Some of them certainly will," said one of the Observants, testily.

"I didn't know you cared about that," said Danny, still somewhat stunned.

"We normally wouldn't," admitted the Observant, "but although the position of Ghost King is, politically, a figurehead, you are metaphysically vital to the Realms as a whole. Damage to you is to be avoided, when possible."

"Uh huh," said Danny, looking back down at the summoning ritual change paperwork. Although, through a combination of Danny's own nature and the nature of time across dimensional barriers, Danny still looked fourteen and spent a great deal of his time going to school in Amity Park, he had years of experience interpreting the Observants' paperwork under his belt. "Yeah, it's just that I don't think this is the best way to, like. Do that."

"It is the best way to protect you!" said the Observant who had, apparently, been selected as the group's spokesperson.

"Maybe," agreed Danny, who wasn't entirely sure that was true. "But I feel like some of these modifications would kind of be a problem for wherever I wound up."

"Then they ought not to summon you."

While Danny agreed with that sentiment in spirit (getting summoned was almost always inconvenient and annoying), in practice, he wasn't so sure. "I don't think there's any way to communicate that to the guys who are summoning me. Like, some of them get me with old Pariah Dark rituals. And most of them don't really care if their mistakes screw over other people, so..."

"Next to the well-being of the Realms, that is a minor concern."

Danny didn't disagree with that, but he wasn't about to waste time arguing with the Observants about it. They just didn't get it. He tapped his finger on another section that was bothering him. "Also, this seems to keep me from getting out of the summoning circle at all. If someone is summoning me to ask for help, that's going to keep me from doing much."

"It will also keep you from inadvertently exiting into a hostile environment."

"Even in my home universe?" asked Danny, pointedly. "This seems like something more geared to imprisonment than protection."

The Observants were silent.

"Oh, come on, guys, really? Again?"

The Observants scattered.

Danny sighed and picked up the paperwork. He didn't think it was all bad ideas, honestly, but he needed a second opinion that hadn't tried to stuff him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep Mark 2.

Maybe Clockwork would look it over for him.

.

"It isn't an entirely terrible concept," said Clockwork, "except for the obvious drawbacks."

"The whole being trapped in the summoning circle bit," said Danny.

Clockwork nodded. "To be fairer than they deserve, there is no way to modify that portion of a summoning ritual in some types of universes but not others. Not from our own side of things, in any case."

"And I mostly can't get at the other side," said Danny with a groan. He perched on the back of Clockwork's chair. "I do want to make sure that I, I don't know, fit with other universes enough that I won't completely demolish them just by existing."

Clockwork hummed. "There are some ways to do that. There are drawbacks, however."

"Bigger drawbacks than accidentally nuking a planet because my radiation is different than theirs?"

"It depends on your perspective, I suppose."

Danny sighed. "Go ahead and tell me, then."

Clockwork picked up a pen. "You are a shapeshifter. You have multiple forms, one of which cannot be harmed through any normal means and which similarly would have little negative affect on the environment unless you acted to cause negative effects. Change the current ritual so that a summoning puts you in that form, and then further change it so that you cannot leave the circle unless you are in a form that will not automatically cause harm or be harmed by the laws of that universe."

"You mean my Ghost King form."

"All your forms are your Ghost King form."

"You know what I mean."

"I do," said Clockwork, smiling.

"It freaks people out, though."

"Your current form might, as you say, freak people out," said Clockwork. "If your summoners were, say, ants."

"Is that likely?"

"Not particularly. But consider the multiverse. Not all of your summoners will be human."

Danny crossed his arms, frustrated that there wasn't an easy solution. "I guess I could always shapeshift into something nonthreatening after. Hard to see if it's something safe without running into

"You can do more than that."

"I can?"

"Yes," said Clockwork, setting the pen to paper. "Let me show you."

.

The summoning circle shimmered and shivered as Constantine and Zatanna recited the chant, their voices rising and falling. Batman and other members of the League stood by, watching, waiting.

This, this ritual, wasn't their first choice. It wasn't their second, third, or fourth choice, either. But nothing else they had tried worked, and the entire world was at stake.

They were summoning the King of All Ghosts. An eldritch monstrosity that had once tried to conquer all realities. But the alternative was worse. Much worst. At least, with the King of All Ghosts, there was a chance that they could negotiate and that it'd want the Earth more or less intact for the sake of conquering it. At least, with this kind of summoning, they could offer a sacrifice, a bargain, a deal.

And if Constantine was good at anything, it was deals.

The lines of the summoning circle flared green, then pure white, and, without any other fanfare, the King of All Ghosts was there.

It filled the circle with starry darkness, struck with nebulae and aurorae. The clouds rippled as a star died near its heart, fiery cataclysms spreading throughout the being. A crown like the accretion disk of a black hole burned around its highest extremity.

Something like a voice, echoing and many-layered, emanated from the being. "Nghftùsh phlarûm âzgûm (1)." It paused, and the League felt it examine the area more closely. "Ko wgâ âzgûm nghftùsh derza. Ko gok hubhûfh fhtù gâh mglwnuh...(2)"

Constantine swore. "Oh, bollocks, I don't know that one. Would it be too much to ask that one of these things speak English? Just a little?"

"Nghftùsh ak. Ko ngngi. (3)"

"Zatanna," said Batman, "could a spell let us understand one another?"

"Kù-nghînku bùr fùmúu umni snîgûrip. (4)" It seemed to bend closer for all that it didn't move. "Nghftùsh laglúfhâk krîk ko phlî ak phlorza. Chthe nî hîhnâ, ka. (5)"

"I think I understand a little," said Captain Marvel, raising a hand. "I think it understands us just fine."

"Hagthu. Nghftùsh ngngi ùk nî chthe kûmpù nû gâ. (6)"

"It wants to get out of the circle," said Captain Marvel.

The veils of green light that shrouded the being rippled. "Dal phlù. (7)"

"Not without an agreement in place, you're not," said Constantine.

"Gagthashîzgathg. (8)"

"God," whispered Flash, "that hurts my throat just hearing it."

Batman shot him a glare, then stepped forward. They'd prepared a list of demands. Most of them were negotiable, but it was better to start something like this with things you were willing to remove or throw away. It took several minutes for Batman to read the whole thing.

"Ku. Chthal lohúfhâk hagthu. Fhta nghftùsh kâk phlorza ko thru. (9)"

"What did it say?" asked Batman.

"I'm... I think it said it'll do it, but it needs something from us in return."

Batman nodded. They'd expected something like this. Whatever it asked for, it would, without a doubt, be exorbitant. Then, they'd go back and forth, reducing each of their demands until they'd reached a deal both sides hated, but could accept. Constantine had bet that, at minimum, the King of All Ghosts would want the entire population of Earth as slaves.

"Nghftùsh kâk hû ko mglwno nî phnglâ gho-lobi. (10)"

"Uh," said Captain Marvel. "I think he said one of our lives."

"Hik! Rlo phlarâk kruk nîk ghû. (11)"

"Not just any of us," said Marvel. "It has to be someone who's a parent."

A tension fell over the room. They'd known they'd have to sacrifice something. A single life wasn't much, but for the King of All Ghosts to specify a parent...

"But are you sure it's just one?" pressed Constantine.

The King of All Ghosts gave off a sense of... exasperation? "Úzg, hû. (12)"

"One," said Captain Marvel. "Just one."

"And just us, not our kids or anything?"

"Nghftùsh ngngi ùk e nghuu. Gù phlarâk fush ko du? (13)"

"No, it doesn't want children. They're... wrong, somehow?"

"And it's not a sex thing?" Constantine sounded... strangely hopeful.

"Hik! Fhtùl! (14)"

"No," said Captain Marvel. "And... something about fat, maybe?"

"Oh, we're definitely getting eaten, then," said Constantine, with forced cheer. "I volunteer, then. It's not like my kids are sitting up waiting for me or anything."

"Hik nuk. Ngngi ko. E hâta phlarâk lerzaolûm. (15)"

"Not you, there's... something wrong with your soul."

"Oh, he's a picky eater, too, huh?"

"Let's not antagonize him, okay?" said Flash. "He's kind of-- He's kind of looming, right now."

And so it was. Somehow. Without moving.

"Who will... satisfy you?" asked Batman.

The entity did not move, but it managed to indicate Batman anyway.

"Very well," said Batman, before anyone could even attempt to talk him out of it. After all, his life for the lives of everyone in this universe was a very good deal. "Take me."

For the first time, the King of All Ghosts moved, all that darkness, all that light, rushing towards Batman.

There was a burst of blinding light.

When everyone opened their eyes again, a boy with black hair, blue eyes, and a jawline that bore more than a passing resemblance to Batman's was stepping out of the summoning circle.

"That's much better," he said, stretching. "No offense, dude, but you kind of suck at Ghost Speak." He turned to Batman. "What I was asking for was a template so I could exist in your universe and do what you want without accidentally blowing it up because of incompatible physics, but whatever. Not sure how you guys got me eating you out of that."

"You wanted a human appearance so you could better conquer this world?" asked Batman.

"Uh, no? You've got a pretty strong clause against conquering the world in your paperwork there. You're probably thinking about Pariah Dark, but he's old news." The boy smiled widely. "Let's get started on your problem, okay?"

I've been summoned.

You haven't summoned me before. You have a nice space station here...

I can. You can't.

Inter-dimensional language differences are so annoying.

I hope you can do something. This will be difficult, otherwise.

Good. I don't want to be in this circle forever.

Close enough.

Figures (literally, 'certainly').

Okay. That sounds good. But I need something from you.

I need one of you to be my template (literally, life-pattern).

No! It's like being a parent.

Yes, one.

I don't want your children. What is wrong with you?

No! Gross!

No way. Not you. You're crazy (literally, your soul is cracked).