#Independent Amity Park

[nelkcats]

Amity break the silence

What? what made this city so special?, the Justice League wanted to understand

After years of unsuccessful investigation, the Justice League managed to contact the reluctant people of Amity Park, who took themselves as independents, claiming that they did not need heroes since they had defended themselves long before the League existed and the government accepted their political independence in exchange of giving them nothing.

The League did not understand this, why were they forbidden to pass? Why did all their reconnaissance missions fail the second they entered? (Amity is a small town after all, they do recognize each other, this was never going to be helpful) after years of trying to ask the government itself the League was offered a bit of information.

The villagers invited them to see a tradition in the town, something private, just so they could understand a little what was happening. They forbade cameras and information release but they were advised to bring a magician and a curious enough member to the event, of course they were refused to interfere in everything that happened.

The League was surprised by this information but they agreed; when they got to the place Constantine was almost hysterical by the amount of death aura everywhere, the Amity Parker's denied and motioned for him not to say anything. This was directly the veil to the afterlife after all.

In the center of the city, 91-year-old Dash Baxter was smiling, and saying goodbye to his family, the League tensed at this, but the old man only dismissed their concern "It's my time" he whispered affectionately, and smiled at everyone who was reunited "I shouldn't keep him waiting so long."

Slowly and calmly, the old man sat down in one of the armchairs in the old park, right next to a flower-filled but nameless memorial grave, with a smirk he looked at the teenager who had appeared next to him the moment he moved closer to the grave "Did you finally come for my Fenturd?" He questioned mockingly.

The League was shocked at the suddenly emergence of a brilliant teenager, his appearance screaming "other world" but his demeanor calm and humane ; with a sad smile and a hand extended to the old man the boy spoke "We've had our good times Dash, but time always runs out, you're the last of us right?"

"Yeah, it was a good life you know? Even if I had to see Kwan and Pauli holding your hand first" the old man commented looking fondly towards his grandchildren, who were holding back tears "Do you know where I'll go now?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd tell me, but wherever you're going, I know I'll walk you there" the teenager stood up from the bench, taking the old man's hand gently.

"Yeah, I guess so, Kwan and Star are waiting on one side and Pauli on the other?" He questioned sadly, as if he was torn between impossible decisions, which he probably was.

"Yes, Paulina is beyond where I can reach her, will you go with her or will you come with us? Even if you decide to stay, you'll see her again when you fade away, so don't be so quick to decide, ¿eh? I know you're impatient."

"I don't know, it's still a pretty tough call, but before that" he looked at the League and then at the teen, assessing "I need to say, you're a good hero Phantom"

"Uh, that's something you haven't told me in years, back when you were a fan" the boy blushed a bright green, ignoring Dash's mutterings about remaining a devoted fan "Why bring it up now?"

"Because the new heroes need to learn that there are moments where it's not just about saving, but also saying goodbye, their circumstances aren't the same, but even they will have to say goodbye to their cities at some point" he sighed, his exhaustion was easily visible, reflecting in the old age of his face.

"You're being a bit harsh Dash" Phantom chided, though not entirely disagreeing "I was only given the privilege of accompanying you all, I don't think they will get the same treatment"

"Maybe I am, but you could have not done this you know? You always had the choice to run away from Amity, say goodbye, never look back; instead you stayed behind all the years, watching everyone you knew go extinct, how everyone ages while you continue the same until of your acquaintances only I remain, and even with the pain that everything causes you, you took the hand of each one of us, you accompanied us, you met our children, you were part of the lives of our grandchildren, always the first to arrive and the last to finish crying"

"Maybe it was out of selfishness, maybe I wanted to follow them to the other side too, hoping to find a peaceful end."

"Maybe, that doesn't mean that you never left Amity to her fate, even with all the threats to the world everywhere, you stayed here and I think that no one deserves a rest as much as you but you refuse to do so"

"Maybe Amity is all the world I need," Danny shrugged, "and rest would take it off my hands when I'm not ready to let go yet."

"Always the humble" the old man sneered "fine, have it your way"

Very few of the League guests could hear the conversation, but Superman seemed on the verge of tears as they watched as the old man closed his eyes satisfied with his last words, his breathing slowed and his heart stopped beating.

Slowly the teenager bent down to kiss the old man's forehead, keeping their hands together as a feeble spirit rose from the aging man, Phantom took the newly formed shadow's hand and motioned for it to come forward to his side, with an endearing expression in his face.

The last thing the heroes could see were the guiding lights illuminating Amity Park houses where both spirits were passing, until both simply faded from view.

"Oh" for the first time, Constantine seemed to be at a loss for words "That's why you didn't want us here" if anyone had paid attention, they would know how touched he was.

"That was Phantom" the old man's daughter smiled, wiping away the tears that had stubbornly remained in her eyes "Amity's first ghost, the only hero, who accompanies each one of us until the end"

"He lives in Amity?" Constantine questioned, still in shock.

"Yes, you could say, he lives in both Amity's" the woman replied with a small laugh "On the other side of the veil, where all the spirits that once inhabited this place are, and here, protecting us from everything, is a good boy"

"But, he's just a boy" Flash whispered, wanting to deny the existence of anything like ghosts, but Constantine's sad appearance or Zatanna's gaze didn't help his case.

"Don't let his appearance fool you" denied a girl next to the woman "Phantom has existed long before the League, when heroes were dangers and children dreamed of reaching Mars, did you want to know why we stay here? Why did the government agree to leave us alone?" She pointed to the spot where Phantom and the spirit vanished "For him, they put a bounty on his head long ago, so when they begged for help with their strongest threats, he refused."

"Why would they ask him for help?"

"Because he was the first hero, but he preferred to save Amity before the world" pride could be heard in the girl's voice "He made a deal with the government more or less, they leave us alone and in exchange if a universe level threat falls right here, he will take care of it"

"I don't know how helpful a kid would be," Flash muttered, still hesitating, but he was heard.

"Don't underestimate it, your strongest enemies are nothing more than mindless thieves to us" a boy from the crowd crossed his arms "to him, they are like children playing with plastic weapons"

"I understand" Constantine ended the conversation "thank you, for letting us see- all this, it's beautiful; someday do you think he will also take hands with someone from out of town?"

"I don't know, but if you die here after staying with us for a while, well, maybe he'll agree to accompany you too" the old man's daughter spoke again, the woman's eyes were warm, gentle even to him, a damned soul. "He already thinks you are good guys, or the barrier wouldn't have let you in"

"Was there a barrier?" Zatanna was in shock, she hadn't even felt a bit of it, it was impossible.

"Yes, all over the city, but that doesn't matter, are you satisfied with your information?"

"We are, we'll stay away from Amity" Constantine nodded, paying no attention to the protests from the paranoid heroes behind his back or the complaints about having more help on planetary threats.

"Thank you, and Constantine? You're one of the good guys too, remember not to forget that; when the time comes for the veil to part for you, I'm sure the Ghost King will pray for a peaceful end to your soul."

[heyheyitsstillgay]

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 2:17

Everyone stfu, I'm a genius, I'm an innovator, I was born before my time, this is the first step in achieving world peace imo. Are you ready? You're not ready.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 2:23

I'm gonna start sending all my parcels. In hamster balls. Their spherical coloured plastic will confuse & disorientate the box ghost. No one will steal my mail again. I'll have the fastest postage of any company in Amity, even Alvazon.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:27

AHSJFHAHFISJHDUSUHDKAHFSJSK HELP

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:30

The fucking hamster ball ghost reading this over my shoulder. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 8:31

HES SO SWOLE TOO AND FOR WHAT??? SO HE CAN CRUSH MY DREAMS BETWEEN HIS THIGHS?? STOP STOP IM ALREADY GAY

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 9:26

I have negotiated a truce with the hamster ball ghost. He's gonna work at my pet supply shop in exchange for hamster balls ayyyy. Nobody hit on him he's trying to do his job n I have dibbs.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:06

Oh god he found the storage room behind the break room. There's so many fuckin hamster balls everywhere you guys.

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:07

Listen,, I have deliveries to make today. I'm about to change ghost town life as we know it. You'll get your fair share of balls big guy dw :)

Nish @AmityPetStoreGuy 10:39

He took all the hamster balls and left! Come back my ghost boyf blease I cannot simply write off that much stock 😭😭😭

[janetbrown711]

If willow doesn't get a single moment for herself that isn't at all related to hunter or amity in these final specials we ride at dawn

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCxDP fanfic idea: Big Fish in Gotham Pond

Based off of @saphushia art found here. . I just loved the idea of Tucker not knowing his skill level because he grew up in the boonies

Tucker gets scouted by Wayne Enterprises after he fixes a kid's computer game while in Gotham visiting Danny.

See, Tucker always known he is passable at tech- one has to be when a technology theme ghost is consistently harassing one's best friend- but to be good at something in a small town like Amity Park didn't mean much .

It's a big fish in a small pound sort of deal. That's why he's never put much thought into it. If Tucker were ever to rank himself in terms of school grades, he would say his computer skills were about a C-.

B+ if it was just coding.

His parents also don't think much of his obsession with his PDA or phones. They thought he waste too many hours on them like the rest of his generation.

It didn't matter that Tucker's technology was about five or more years behind his classmates.

The Foley were hard-working people who barely scraped enough for bills. They were never below the property line, but they danced on it often enough that Tucker knew never to ask for unnecessary purchases.

For as long as he could remember, his parents have always worked long and hard hours. He never blamed them for missing so much of his childhood, in fact he was grateful that they worked so hard to keep the roof over his head, but he did miss them.

That's why Danny's house became a haven for him. He was always at the Fenton's place because the loud, wacky family was much better company than the home silence.

Tucker knew that his family's financial situation didn't change how Danny or Sam viewed him. They had his back through tick and thin just as he did for them, but as they got closer to graduation the difference between them became jarring.

Sam had easy picking of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. Her parents were so overjoyed that she wanted to go to a university that they didn't even argue about her wishing to major in botanical biochemistry.

She had started house hunting in Star City midway through senior year. Her parents would gift it to her as a graduation present. Sam would live there for the next eight years to finish her degree.

Danny's parents, while somewhat eccentric, were also certified geniuses. Between the two of them, they had five PHDs and were often freelancing for companies when not doing ghost research. They too could send their two kids to college States away with housing not being a issue.

Jazz went to Metropolis to study Physiology. She lived in a small apartment but was doing well off her scholarships and parent's funding. Last he heard, she had a part-time job at the Daily Planet as a research assistant to gain some independence.

Danny wanted to go to Gotham for their engineering program. He, too, had an apartment of his own, with scholarships and equal funding from his parents. He also worked at Wayne Enterprises, but he was a receptionist. He hoped that once he graduated, he could apply for their engineering program

Not Tucker. His family could only help him get into Community College near Amity. He also couldn't afford to move out so he stayed with them, picking up a part time job to help out when he could.

Tucker is a first-generation college student so even though it wasn't much, he loved to see how his parents glowed when telling others their boy was futhering his education. He wanted to do something that paid well- and after years of patching up Danny- he figured nursing would do the trick.

Tucker would do all his basics in the community College, take a break to save up some money and then move on to the bigger schools.

The day of the graduation felt bittersweet. Team Phantom was finally adults, finally starting out in the real world, but while Danny and Sam moved on to bigger and better things, Tucker knew he would be left behind in little no-where Amity Park.

He never brought it up, but he felt a small dosage of envy the last day of summer before his friends finished packing and left.

Despite both being gone, Tucker had little to no social life even though they called, texted, and emailed often. His days blurred between class, work, and home. Even then, classes were long and tedious, work often ending with one or more customers screaming in his face to try and get free food.

His parents quickly started to nag that he should find a wife as they had married young. They couldn't figure out why he didn't want the same, even though he had no social life again.

Life became dull.

Tucker's only sparks of joy were playing online with Danny and Sam - when they found the time to log in or re-coding his old tech to try and salvage it whenever it broke down.

Soon, it became apparent that Tucker was slowly lacking motivation when he started skipping classes to sleep in and started feeling anxious when he needed to clock in for shifts.

It leads to him barely getting out of bed.

He felt horrible about it, thinking his parents sacrificed so much for him only to have him throw away the opportunities they gave him, and the cycle of not being able to get out of bed would start all over again.

It was Danny who caught on, and all but begged Tucker to come to Gotham for a weekend. He even sent money over for the plane ticket.

Tucker couldn't have gotten on that plane fast enough. He arrived early on Friday since the tickets were cheaper- and Uber over to WE headquarters to pick up Danny's keys as they agreed.

That way, Tucker could sleep and rest in the apartment while Danny worked.

Danny would finish his shift and have the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday off to spend with Tucker. When he arrived, Danny was helping a school check in for a field trip, so Tucker sat down to wait.

Next to him, a kid was growling at his laptop, frankly typing and moving his fingers over the computer's touch mouse. Tucker accidentally glimpsed his screen when the kid started swearing in a different language.

It looked like a shooting game but his lag was bad. By the time the boy pressed the buttons to have his little drone move the other flying things he was chasing were flipping though the air and out of his shooting rage.

It sucked when that happened, and since he was using WE free wifi for guests, it was probably the game. The graphics were badass, though. Seemed almost real.

"Hey try updating the system" He tells the kid after seeing the boy once again lag so bad he missed his shot.

Green eyes swing to him drenched in rage. Which yeah, Tucker knows how frustrating that could be.

"Did I ask for your help!?" The boy snaps, his words lined with an upper-class accent. Made sense since he was wearing a Gotham Academy uniform like the rest of the large school group. "Why are you even looking this way, peasant?"

"No, sorry. I just noticed the lag." Tucker raised his hand, slightly amused at the peasant insult. "I thought I could fix it for you."

The boy's face spams, "You believe you have the ability?"

"Ugh sure? I can try?"

"Here. Be quick. The fate of this city's air defenses depend on it" the boy turns his lap top to him and Tucker blinks.

Okay. So fix the game. He can do that.

And he does, quickly opening the code, analyzing the control and commands , he gets it running properly in less then twenty minutes. The boy seems utterly shock but he quickly takes control of the game and shoots down all the escaping ninjas from the sky.

"Thank you." The boy says with no more tense in his shoulders. Then he closes his laptop and dissappears with the crowd of students.

Tucker thought the kid was a cute.

Danny hands him the keys not long after and he leaves.

Never was he aware of the Boy being Damian Wayne and that the game was not a game but a actual defensive drone system that was fighting off the League of Assassins.

He only finds out how important those two facts are when Danny gets a call from Tim Drake asking if he could pass along Tucker's information because the CEO wanted him on staff as soon as possible..

Both nineteen-year-olds lost their minds after getting the call, screaming at each other in ghost shrieks of glee. They called Sam to let her know- and have her lawyers look over the contact Tim Drake sent just to make sure it wasn't a big-time company trying to screw him over.

He went to an interview three days later. He faced Tim Drake, the current seventeen-year-old CEO, Leo Noir, the current head of HR, and Jessica War, the current head of computer services. They asked him many questions about himself- some of which he felt he had answered terribly- then had him take a computer test.

Tucker thought it was busy work, so he quickly breezed through it. He fixed the problem in many of the coding for various programs, adding his flare to the final product, and after thanking them for their time, went out into the lobby.

He hadn't even reached the door before Jesssica ran after him, offering him the job. Apparently, the first two problems they had him do was the busy work. Tucker had thought they were the ones to let him get comfortable with the coding program.

Like a tutorial in video games.

The other seven were actual issues; many of their latest cellphone products failed. Tucker had solved them in an hour, which had taken the actual team of coders about a month.

"Nitey one dollar and thirty-five cents an hour," Tim tells him tapping the hiring contact. "It would be eighty hours every paycheck. You can work here or at home. Full Benefits. What do you say?"

Tucker's jaw drops. "When do I start!?"

He calls his parents to tell them he will be staying in Gotham with Danny. He tries to explain what had happened but it was all so fast that he can only babble about certain parts.

They tell him not to worry about explaining because they understand how much this means to him.

His parents help pack everything for him and when he flies back for it they, offer him hugs and support. Tucker is so glad they aren't mad.

"I sort of knew it was coming," His dad laughs. "You and that Fenton boy have always been inseparable."

"I did the same thing, you know," His mom says, wiping tears from her eyes but smiling all the same. "I moved with your father states away with little to no plan when I turned twenty too. Drove your grandfather mad."

He loves them both so much. He promises to send money- disregarding their denials- and flies back to Gotham, where Danny has opened his apartment until he gets enough for his own place.

He plans on renting a house with three bedrooms, one for him, one for his office, and another for Danny, as soon as he can. He wants to pay his friend back for everything he did and Danny deserves a bigger living space.

And for once, he'll not have to worry about money!

For once, life is looking up!

(What Tucker is unaware of, is that his parents think he moved to the big city to be with his childhood best friend turned recent lover. They don't know that the money he is sending home is from his own payroll and not Danny's. They think he's a stay-at-home husband.

Tucker is also unaware that the Bats are closely watching him in case he goes rogue. They have been slowly "causally" running into him in the city and breaking into his place to check for supervillain activity.)

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPXDC prompt. AU! Ultimate Enemy + Justice Lords = ?

As a child, Danny adored Superman. A super-strong hero who is also alien? It was a dream come true. Fenton did not understand paranoid adults who did not trust a stronger creature to protect themselves. Of course it was only a matter of time.  Phantom had to learn to understand them.

While standing at the Justice League welcoming meeting, the ghost can’t help but feel a tension. The alien can’t shoot lasers out of his eyes if they’re ripped out, the alien can’t hurt Valerie if he’s killed.

Everyone seems awfully friendly. And it hurts. Because he knows what they’re capable of and can’t return the favor. Can’t trust them, can’t go wrong. Because he promised himself he wouldn’t let history repeat itself.

"So, Superman or Phantom, who’s stronger?" Flash is smiling and clearly trying to break the ice.

Ectoplasm isn’t kryptonite but it’s something even more poisonous and dangerous. Danny perfectly remembers how easy it was/will for Dan to separate a head from alien’s body with one sharp motion. His new.."colleagues"..should not know too much about it yet. In case of unexpected circumstances in which Master of Time cannot help.

Danny shrugs and pretends to laugh sheepishly, exchanging glances with Kal-El. I would win. 

~~~~~

Dan Phantom was Amity Park’s nightmare, that’s true. But still, as strange as it sounds, he was the least of their problems, and he remained their protector even though he became a villain.

Amity’s government had to give a lot of money every month to pay for the damage from fights between Red Huntress and Dark Phantom but the residents were more than willing to pay taxes for it. Because out there, outside the city and the ghost shield, the Justice Lords ruled. It’s funny how the most haunted city in just ten years has become the safest from the "justice" of former heroes city.

~~~~~

The site of the Nasty Burger explosion is never empty, so citizens tend to avoid it so as not to anger the grieving ghost. The only exception to the rule is these days when the Justice Lords try to challenge their city’s independence. Many people gather near the site of the tragedy then. Fentons, though not always successful, tried to protect Amity, so their son, or rather what is left of him, always brings the bodies of the defeated enemies to their monument, showing that he's still in a family business. 

Danny Fenton was entitled to mercy on his enemies, but for Dan Phantom it's a luxury that might cost too much. Phantom is not a hero anymore but, whatever he is, it is enough for them.

[bloggerspam]

Danny Phantom Masterlist

I realized I've accidentally become a Danny Phantom fic writer and I don't know what to do with this information...other than make a masterlist, i guess.

I add on parts via reblog, so I will put the lastest date when i update the link in MM.DD.YY format! (*) denotes completion, for now. Extras (ie. ** or ***) denotes bonus updates I hadn't planned on!

============================================

Magician!Danny AU - 9.27.23*

Danny learns sleight of hand and goes through Hijinks and Shenanigans. There are some DC offshoots where Zatanna is involved, with some inevitable angst from another user.

In the Interest of Medical Attention Addition - 10.02.23*

DCxDP - Red Hood goes missing. Danny, an eldritch horror tourist, just wants to be helpful. These two things are, unfortunately, related.

De-Aged Danny Angst Addition - 10.06.23*

DCxDP - Danny, having been capture and experimented on, gets de-aged with memory loss and some...physical complications. One of the Bats finds him. Dad!Dick Grayson implied.

Booo-merang Trouble Addition - 10.10.23

DCxDP - Jason gives off an ecto-signature, and tries to find a runaway/hiding/injured Danny in Gotham.

Baby Danny vs. The Joker Additions - 10.16.23*

DCxDP - De-aged Danny in a bat onesie wreaking havoc on the Joker for Funsies, and sort of getting adopted by Jason. There are a plethora of other reblogs that aren't included in the link, but this is where I've mentally stopped the AU at (personally). Highly recommend going through them for the fanart!

Candy Crush AU Additions - 10.31.23*

DCxDP - Additions written for @long-live-astronerd-ghost-king's Candy Crush AU. Dead on Main. LOTS of other reblogs that aren't included in the link, but this is where I've mentally stopped the AU at (personally).

Luck Rush AU Additions - 12.02.23*

DCxDP - Additions written for @virgamsysxvolumes's Lucky Rush AU. Please go read it, it's so good!!! I've also designed some stuff for this AU, but Vivi has released some official art for the AU in the masterlist too!

Phantom Siblings and the Batfam - 12.05.23*

DCxDP - Prompt fill: Danny and Ellie are de aged. Dan and Jazz are co-parenting as the older siblings. Completely unrelated, half the batfam are flirting independently at Jazz/Dan, and the other half are dealing with the chaos gremlins.

Super Strength Shenanigans - 12.10.23* [AO3]

DCxDP - When Danny gets an internship in Gotham, concerned for his and his identity's safety they figure out he has super strength he can't control for human-standard fights. Shenanigans ensue.

Horror Movie Child!Danny AU - 12.18.23* [AO3]

DCxDP - Danny is adopted into the batfam having a coming of age movie, whilst the Batfam are going through Summer Horror Special.

Puppy!Danny AU - 12.28.23* [AO3]

DCxDP - Danny is Ace the Bathound AU! With Bonus Dan as Titus, Dani as Haley/Bitewing, and Jazz as Sparky and Dog. There have been multiple tags for this, so please be warned you WILL cry at part 3. Now with meme post. Any additional non-story posts will be under "phantom pups" tag!

Villain!Jazz AU - 04.07.23* [AO3]

**Disclaimer, NOT Jazz centered and heavily DP leaning** After lots of thought this AU will be exclusively updated on AO3 from now on! Please subscribe to it on AO3 instead of following it here :)

He’s fine… right..? - 02.05.24** [AO3]

Two-shot psychological horror based off some fanart of Danny crying melty tears.

Casseroles and Confrontations Additions- 03.10.24

DCxDP - Batman sends a few of the Batfam to Amity Park to investigate the ghost sightings. When they get there, however, Jason refuses to step into the town due to some instinctual feeling he has. Check "#casseroles and confrontations" tag for non-story lore!

NOW WITH AMAZING FANART by @animal-123-crazy

MORE CUTE FANART by @jamiethebee

Kon-El and the Phantoms - 02.07.24

YJxDP - Young Justice, specifically Kon-El, meets their newest member, Phantom's clone. Who just so happens to be a big fan.

Mama Canary AU - 04.23.24 [AO3]

JLxDP - Suddenly de-aged Danny meet Black Canary and accidentally ghost-wails at her...except all it does is push her back a couple feet, and make her think he's the cutest lil' canary in the world.

Preschool Teacher Danny AU - 02.18.24 [AO3}

JLxDP - Clark comes across a meta-teacher with a class of seemingly meta toddlers. He asks if there's any room for Jon. Not sure if I will continue on Tumblr or continue on AO3, or both. Will update when I decide--this will probably be mostly ongoing as Naynay gives me more stories of her gremlins!

Sunshine and Stardust - 02.16.24 [AO3]

YJxDP - Danny is a clone of Superman AU, but he's a failure, a test dummy. Amidst the days of pain and experimentation, he hears another clone is being made.

Teen Titans and the Lost Boy Addition - 04.11.24

TTxDP - "After being on the run for a long time, Danny somehow stumbles his way into the middle of a fight. This leads to him joining the Teen Titans (much to his confusion)."

Thoughts about Death - 03.27.24*

"Do you ever think about how sacred life must be for Danny?" Oneshot.

Grunkle John AU - 04.23.24

JLxDP - Batman finds out that John Constantine is basically Danny Phantom(high level threat, ghost king)'s weird uncle. I tell you the story of how that came to be.

Phic Phight Phics:

Forgotten Fire: A little bit on who Ember McLain was, when she was alive. Complete.

Open Secrets: Everyone knows AU. (except, Danny doesn't know they know). Ongoing. 04.20.24

[phantoms-world-and-more]

Tim is either a cousin to Danny or they are god brothers. Janet and Maddie are sorority sisters who made each other god parents to each other kids or they are actual sisters.

-Tim is younger then Danny

-Tim spent time with the Fentons in the summer, because while Janet and Jack could justify leaving Tim home alone with just a housekeeper during the rest of the year because of school. He spent his summer vacations in Amity Park. This still happens after Tim becomes Robin

-Tim knows all about Danny being Phantom and ghosts and vice versa with Danny knowing about when Tim becomes Robin

-The Drakes and the Fentons are not bad parents they just get really involved with their specialties and are big believers in raising independent children. (Also a reveal gone right)

-Also when Jack finds out about Tim being Robin, he calls Fenton for advice. After the talk Jack allows Tim to still be robin but with more ground rules and the Fenton's make him gadgets

-Tim doesn't actually have to invent an Uncle to dissuade Bruce from adopting him or making him live with him. While the Fentons would love for Tim to come live with them they understand the Gotham is his home and help him set up his own place. There are also promises to still have summer visits.

-Tim get family support when the Bruce goes missing in the time stream and Dick takes away his mantel of Robin and gives it to Damian

-Danny and the others help Tim come up with a new identity other than Red Robin. Danny takes Tim into the GZ to have his new uniform made (making it magic resistant and more durable than other mortal material).

.

[luxaofhesperides]

For the ghostlights drabbles: “Say my name” with a favor being called in?

Duke had saved Phantom years ago, back when he was just out of high school and working to take down a branch of the government that was kidnapping and experimenting on people, targeting magic users and metas. Phantom had been working on his own to take them down, and they met in the middle, trashing a lab and freeing as many people as they could.

They had managed to shoot his back, knocking him down and making him bleed a glowing green. Phantom couldn’t move, protecting two kids with his body, and Duke couldn’t reach them in time before they were taken away by another swarm of agents. 

He was able to go after them in time, free Phantom and the kids, and evacuated the victims before Phantom rained hell down on the facility.

At the end, standing in the background as they watched paramedics treat the victims and take them towards the nearest hospitals, Phantom had turned towards him and thanked him.

Or rather, he thanked the Signal and offered him a bracelet with a rounded orb of ice, glowing faintly in the dark. If you ever need me, he had said, Hold this, and call me name.

Phantom vanished once the last of the victims were transported to a safer location, and Duke hadn’t seen him since.

He’s kept up with news about Phantom as best he can, but from what he could tell, Phantom is based primarily in Amity Park, Illinois, and the town is fiercely protective of their hero. News rarely leaks out of there, and with them running on their own servers and independent internet, it was nearly impossible to get in from the outside. 

Phantom remained a curious and distant figure in Duke’s life. He holds onto the bracelet still, guarding it carefully and sometimes running his fingers over the ice that never melts.

But he doesn’t call in that favor. He’s never to.

At least, not until now.

Sucking in a breath, Duke prepares himself and holds the orb of ice in the palm of his hand. He’s in civies, unable to hide his identity for this, and closes his eyes. “Phantom,” he says.

For a moment, nothing happens. Duke blinks his eyes open and frowns, mind already forming new plans to contact Phantom. Then the ice goes bitingly cold, almost painful, and the temperature in the room drops dramatically. The ice lifts up from his hand, floating in the air, then cracks open.

White-blue light spills out of it, growing brighter as it seems to swallow up the room entirely. Duke hurries to back up, an arm thrown up to protect his eyes. His breath mists out before him and he shivers as the sound of ice cracking fills the room.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, the light disappears and the cold fades away like a bad dream. 

Slowly, Duke lowers his arm and looks up at Phantom, floating in the middle of his living room with a crown made of ice, engulfed in blue fire, hovers above his head. He looks older, more regal, holding his head high. 

He regards Duke carefully for a minute, then tilts his head and says, “Signal?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Man, I’m so glad you came.”

“You… need help with something? You’re calling in your favor now, right?”

Duke nods. He understands Phantom’s confusion; being in the hero business means that favors like these tend to be used only during the most hopeless of times, when the world is close to ending, when the chances of getting out of a situation alive is close to impossible. It’s exactly the kind of thing Duke was expecting to call Phantom in for.

Not the kid sleeping on his couch.

“You’re a ghost, yeah?”

Phantom blinks at him. “Ghost king, now. Why?”

“Well…” Duke rubs the back of his neck, nervously. “I didn’t really know who else to call, and I can’t do this on my own since I’m not a ghost. But this kid got attached to me and won’t leave, so now I’m taking care of her and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I don’t know why you think I have any experience with kids but—”

“She’s a ghost.”

Phantom stops short. “Ah. I see.” He floats down until his feet touch the floor, and then he’s standing like any other person. “Where…?”

Duke looks past Phantom’s shoulder, and Phantom turns to follow his gaze. Chelsea, the ghost girl, looks to be around nine years old and is fast asleep on the couch, curled up under Duke’s softest blanket.

“Signal,” Phantom says quietly, “What, exactly, is the favor you need from me?”

“You can say no,” Duke starts. “I get that this is a lot. But I need help raising her. And since you’re a ghost, I figured you could help me learn about the ghostly side of things. You don’t have to raise her with me or anything! Just… I would appreciate any help you’re willing to give me.”

Phantom doesn’t say no. He doesn’t say anything. He just stares down at Chelsea, an unreadable expression on his face. 

On the couch. Chelsea shifts in her sleep, brows furrowing as she makes a choked noise in the back of her throat.

Moving on autopilot after so many nights of this routine, Duke kneels next to the couch, fishing one of her hands from beneath the blanket. He gives it a few reassuring squeezes, keeping it a slow rhythm to pull her gently from her nightmare. She settles down in just a minute, brow smoothing out as she continues to sleep. 

The silence grows and Duke is all too aware that his heart is the only one beating. 

He doesn’t hear Phantom move. Doesn’t realize he’s right next to him until he sees Phantom’s hand reach out towards Chelsea. When Duke looks, Phantom is sitting on the floor next to Duke, looking at Chelsea with something soft and devastated in his eyes. His hand hovers about her head for a long moment, then slowly lowers to rest on her head. 

The touch looks gently, barely putting any pressure on her head, but it’s enough to make Chelsea’s eyes snap open, suddenly wide awake. She stares at Phantom with wide eyes, then sits up and looks between him and Duke.

“Who are you?” she asks in a small voice that makes Duke want to stand against the world to keep her safe. 

Phantom smiles. It’s casual and charming and makes him look like anyone else, as if he’s not a powerful king from a realm unreachable to humans. “Hi there,” he says, “I’m Danny. I’m a ghost like you. Signal called me and asked me to meet you.”

The Ghost King is good with kids. Who would have thought?

Chelsea looks at him for confirmation and only relaxes when he nods. “I’m Chelsea. What do you mean ghost? I’m not dead.”

Both he and Phantom tense, carefully keeping their expressions neutral. She hasn’t told him much at all, just that her parents were gone and forgot her and she got hurt, so she wanted to stay with ‘Mr. Signal’ because he’s a hero and heroes keep people safe and he was the only one who was Black like her. Duke hadn’t had the heart to say no, and began searching for her family, only to find that her parents had fled the state, and likely the country, after killing their only child through neglect and a dangerous environment. 

It was then that he realized that her powers were not because she was a meta, but because she was ghost.

It still hurts to realize how young she is, how much of her life had been stolen from her in an instant. Duke hadn’t been brave enough to broach the topic with her, instead choosing to let her grow comfortable in his presence, get them both settled into a routine now that he was her primary guardian. 

“I know it sounds scary,” Phantom says, “And you may not want to believe me, but it’s true. I’m sorry that you died so young, but that just means you get to hang out with me and other ghosts from now on!”

Chelsea crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. “I am not dead,” she says.

“Cici, I’m sorry to say this, but you are,” Duke cuts in. “That’s why I called… Danny. You have new powers as a ghost, and he can help you get used to them.”

“I’m not dead!” she says again.

“Kid,” Phantom begins, but Chelsea shakes her head hard and hops off the couch.

“I’m not lying! Watch, I’ll prove it to you!” She closes her eyes and scrunches up her nose, concentrating. Her hands curl into tight fists by her sides, and the glow around her grows dim. Two faint, stuttering rings of light appear around her waist. They flicker and wobble in the air, as if weak and uncertain of their own existence, then split apart, one moving up towards her head while the other falls to her feet.

Beside him, Phantom sucks in a sharp breath, but Duke can’t turn to see what’s wrong when he’s trying to take in the sight of Chelsea suddenly full of vibrant color, looking more solid that he’s ever seen her, very much alive.

“See?” she says proudly, lifting her arms and doing a spin to show off her right she was. “I told you I’m not dead!”

“No, you’re not,” Phantom agrees, sounding shell-shocked. When Duke is finally able to look away from Chelsea to check on him, he looks awed. There’s the smallest smile on his face, just the slightest upturn of his lips, but it makes him look softer.

Duke turns his attention back to Chelsea before he can be caught staring. “Cici, can you come here for a second?”

She goes before he’s finished speaking, crossing the space between them in a single jump, then grins up at him. Her hair is a bit of a mess, the two buns he managed to get her hair into falling askew. He makes a note to visit the old aunties in the Narrows later to ask them to teach him how to do hair. For now, he holds out a hand and Chelsea drops an arm into it.

It seems to good to be true, having her be alive, but her pulse is steady and strong when he presses his thumb against the inside of her wrist. 

“Well,” he says, leaning back and letting go of her arm. “You certainly proved us wrong.”

Chelsea doesn’t have much time to look smug before PHantom quietly says, “You’re like me.”

“What?”

“You’re like me,” he tells Chelsea. “A halfa.”

She tilts her head to one side. “What’s that?”

“Someone who is half human and half ghost. Both dead and alive.”

Duke blinks, taking in the words, then turns to face Phantom so quickly he’s worried he might give himself whiplash. Halfa, he said. Like me, he said. 

And sure enough, two rings of light, bright and strong, appear around Phantom’s waist before splitting in half, moving over his entire body. 

Gone is the Ghost King, all powerful and adorned in dark clothing with a crown of ice above his head. In his place is a guy who looks to be Duke’s age, eyes a deep blue and his black hair messy, feet set solidly on the floor. He looks completely normal, completely human, and no longer an impossibility.

“You still up for learning how to use all your new powers?” Phantom asks.

Chelsea grins. “Yeah!” And then, with a quick flick of her eyes going from Phantom to Duke that he almost misses, very innocently asks, “Are you going to stay with us then?”

“I… don’t know?” Phantom looks to Duke for an answer.

Already, Duke can see this going two ways. The correct way forward, the normal one, has Phantom popping in every so often, taking Chelsea out for a few hours to work on training her and her powers. It’s easy and routine and they can keep their boundaries uncrossed and be professional. 

The other path is what Duke wants most that he shouldn’t impose onto the literal Ghost King. He could have Phantom living with them while he’s on Earth and out of Amity Park, having a place at the table, a section in the closet for his own clothes, a quietly domestic night together while Chelsea sleeps where they can get to know each other more, get to know each other outside of news reports and texts on a screen.

“You can stay with us if you want,” Duke offers, casually, “It might keep my apartment safe from her powers acting up on their own again.”

“Are you sure? I could always just fly in on the weekends or something.”

“I’d appreciate having you around. So you can help Cici.”

“If you don’t mind,” Phantom says, looking away. Like this, fully alive with a beating heart, it’s easy to see the blush steal away across his cheeks. 

“I don’t.”

“I don’t either!” Chelsea pops in, looking far too gleeful by their awkward conversation.

Duke can’t help but laugh, feeling lighter than he had in ages. The relief of knowing that Chelsea is alive, for the most part at least, eases the guilt of thinking he had been too late to save her, that there was no chance she could have made it out and had a future, makes him feel weak. All the exhaustion of the past few weeks hits him all at once and he wants nothing more than to collapse in bed and sleep for twelve hours.

“Alright, squirt,” he says, reaching out to pat her head. “It’s late. We can talk more in the morning, so go to bed. In your actual bed this time, not on the couch.”

Chelsea stands up taller, ready to argue, but Duke gives her a Look™ and she quickly shuts her mouth, nods, and drags her feet back to her room (the former guestroom he can never give any of the other Waynes ever again, once they find out about her). 

Sighing, Duke collapses onto the couch once he hears the door shut behind her. Phantom joins him after a few seconds, sitting tentatively on the edge of the couch. The cushion moves beneath his weight, another reminder of how solid and alive he is right not.

Duke wants to touch him, to reach out and feel for himself his pulse, the warmth of his body, his chest lifting with each breath. 

He doesn’t move. He stays where he is, hands carefully still, and tries to think past the dizzying thoughts of she’s still alive, I’m not too late, he’s still here, he’s alive.

“Rough week?” Phantom asks, voice purposefully light.

“Something like that.”

“You should get some sleep too.”

“I don’t think I can. Not after everything. My mind’s too loud right now.”

Phantom shifts closer to him, hesitant in a way that Duke has never seen before in him, and asks, “Want me to stay with you until you mind quiets down some?”

“Yeah. I’d like that. Thanks, Phantom.”

“You know, if I’m going to be around so often as Chelsea’s halfa mentor, then you might as well call me Danny.”

Truth be told, Duke didn’t think that was his real name. He’s glad to know it’s not. 

“Then call me Duke.”

“...Are you sure? You could still hide your identity from me.”

“Nah, I trust you. A name for a name, yeah?”

Danny smiles. “Duke,” he says, testing out the name, and it’s never sounded better than when it falls from Danny’s mouth.

“Danny,” Duke returns. He belatedly realizes that they’ve leaned towards each other, drawn together like gravity, stuck in each other’s orbit. It feels natural. It feels like this is where they’re meant to be.

Maybe he should be more cautious. They’ve only meant once before, after all. But he’s read all he could on Phantom and has seen how Amity Park loves him. He’s stressed and exhausted and trying to figure out how to look after a half-ghost child that’s already been dealt a bad hand in life. He should be keeping Phantom at a distance, watching over him carefully to ensure he isn’t a threat to Chelsea.

But Duke saw how he acted with Chelsea, so gentle and understanding and kind. That’s all he needed to see.

He may not know much about Danny, but he knows this: he is trustworthy.

Enough to entrust his identity to him.

Enough to entrust Chelsea to him.

It’s more than a favor; it’s a promise to walk this road together. 

There’s no one he’d rather do this with. 

“Thanks,” he says again, “For all of this. I know it’s a lot.”

Danny shrugs. “I don’t mind. Really. It’s nice to know there’s another halfa out there, no matter how she came to be one. Makes things feel less lonely.”

“Will you tell me more about halfas?”

“Later. Once you get some proper rest. We’ve got time, haven’t we?”

“We do,” Duke agrees, affection settling warm in his chest. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

Learning how to control her new powers won’t be easy for Chelsea. Learning how to take care of her won’t be easy. Learning how to do things together, as Duke and Danny rather than the Signal and Phantom, won’t be easy. But Duke knows with a certainty he feels in his bones that they’re going to be fine.

So long as they’ve got each other, they’ll be fine.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

DPxDC prompt #10: Vicki Vale will roast Vlad alive

[Props and credit to @starry-songs-canvas for creating this idea (sorta) which can be seen and read here... Which I then created the inverse of for this prompt thing... Enjoy!]

After the latest story she published, Vicki Vale of the Gotham Gazette needed to lay low. Preferably somewhere that wasn't Gotham City. She knew that she was provoking retaliation by reporting on Gotham's crime families and their latest involvement in city hall, but she didn't care. The truth needed to be known, and her own personal safety was just a small sacrifice that she was more than happy to make for it.

However, the Gotham Gazette couldn't risk having their star reporter getting mysteriously (but suspiciously) killed in one of Gotham's many, many dark backalleyways. So until the heat died down a little, they decided to assign her to a story out of town where she would undoubtedly be safer.

So that's how Vicki Vale of the Gotham Gazette ended up in Amity Park. She was supposed to be working on a fluff piece. This city had apparently been dealing with one hell of a ghost infestation for a while now, and the Justice League had done practically nothing to help this city deal with this problem. The article was supposed to be about the Justice League and underserved Midwestern cities dealing with unusual problems that only the Justice League could solve. So imagine her surprise when she arrived to town and started digging, only to find a few independent parties actually already dealing with the city's ghost problem, containing the ghosts, and keeping this problem from spreading elsewhere.

Foremost, there was a scientist husband and wife duo who were ghost hunting specalists and inventors. Out of everyone dealing with ghosts in the city, they surprisingly seemed to be the best prepared and had the best equipment for the job. In fact, all of the other major ghost hunting groups and individuals seemed to be using technology based off of their designs... (Certainly there was a story there and someone was probably breaking patent laws, but that would have to be a story for another day.) Secondly were the Guys in White- A little known government organization that specialized in the search and study of ghosts and other possible supernatural anomalies. She had been acquainted with them before, however the task force assigned to this city seemed... Less competent than most... Third was an individual ghost hunter dressed all in red who was known to have a particularly personal hatred for ghosts. She would ride a kind of rocket board over town, and rumor had it that she was actually a teenage girl who was attending the local high school and did the ghost hunting on her hours off from school. Out of the groups of ghost hunters in town, she seemed more interested in destroying ghosts rather than capturing and studying them like the other ghost hunters in town. And last, but certainly not least, was the local ghost boy celebrity hero- a ghost who looked much like a teenage boy who was previously known to the town as "Invis-O-Bill" before it was stated on the news that his name was actually, "Danny Phantom." No one knew why the ghost boy had such a keen interest in capturing ghosts and, according to the rumors, returning them to the place from whence they came, but his efforts were well-known throughout the town, and he was largely adored by the city for it- Especially by the younger crowd.

Vicki had decided to do her due diligence and interview these different groups of ghost hunters before writing this story off entirely. The interviews were interesting, but offered very little for her story. There seemed to be a consensus. While the number of ghosts that needed to be captured could be overwhelming at times, and while the time commitment to hunting ghosts absolutely destroyed the possibility of them having any free time, between the Fentons, Phantom, and the anonymous ghost hunter in red- Whom Vicki had decided to dub "the Red Huntress" for her story (a name that the red-clad ghost hunter seemed to like)- they largely had the problem covered. Sure, backup from the Justice League could be helpful and appreciated, but they didn't really think that the Justice League would be well equipped for their specific problem, and they mostly had it handled. In fact, the Fentons and Red Huntress alike seemed to have a particular passion for ghost hunting that they had no interest in giving up for anything!

As for the question of why people outside of Amity Park thought that this was a problem, while the people actually living there didn't... That yielded a more interesting response... For their part, the Fentons and the Red Huntress didn't know where this perception that they couldn't handle the job was coming from (in fact, the Red Huntress seemed to take particular offense to this idea)... But the Phantom offered a very curious response.

"I don't know... Maybe Vlad's keeping the press from talking about it...?"

"Vlad...?"

"Uh... Yeah! Vlad Masters? The mayor of Amity Park...?"

"You think that he's keeping the news from reporting on the successes of Amity Park's ghost hunters?" Vicki asked it as more of a statement than a question.

"Well, I know that he pays off the local papers to make him look good and for me to look bad, so... I guess it's possible...?"

Vicki thought that was interesting. Very interesting indeed. She thanked the ghost for his time and watched as he flew off, doubtless to find other ghosts menacing the population of Amity Park to defeat them.

She let out a heavy sigh. It looks like this fluff piece about how the Justice League wasn't doing enough to help this community was going to be a bust. The ghost problem was largely covered, and she had suspicions that the Justice League knew this and therefore felt no need to interfere. That wasn't a bad thing. And it certainly wasn't enough of an actual problem to be reported on.

As a reporter, Vicki knew when to trust her gut. And right now her gut was telling her that there was something much more interesting going on in this town other than a little bit of neglect from the Justice League. She pulled out her phone and called her editor-in-chief.

"Hey there, Mr. Ito. Yeah, I'm still in Amity Park, laying low. Think that it's safe for me to come home yet?" She listened to her boss reply over the line. "Oh no, no, that's not a problem at all! I just wanted to call because I think that the current piece is a bust... However... I think that I've come across something even better! Think you can get me some info?" She waited for her boss' response. "Of course, of course! I just wanted to check in with you first. But if you wouldn't mind, could you get someone to help me with digging up as much dirt as we can on Vlad Masters, the current mayor of Amity Park? I just got a tip that he may be paying off the papers here. And from what I've seen, I think that there's something more... Suspicious about him. For now it's just a hunch. But there's something here. I just need to find it."

[stealingyourbones]

Submitted Prompts #158

Sorry if this isn’t the right place, I have only recently discovered this tumblr and am slowly working my way backwards through your dpxdc tag.  I think it might be an injoke here so uh, behold poor Yorick, totally not the human skull of Tchaikowsky fullfilling his actor dreams postmortem.

One of the posts in the tag was a dpxdc trope writing challenge. So I’m not sure if you’re interested in seeing blurb turned fic summary but here:

Nightwing learns of a travelling circus, Circus Gothica, that claims to have ‘The Real Flying Graysons performing from the beyond the grave’. Alternatively furious and hopeful he discretely goes to investigate, and finds himself overshadowed by one of Ringmaster Freakshows ghostly workers, stuck performing as an acrobat for the circus. As Nightwing struggles with his posession and reunion with seemingly the supposed ghosts of his parents, he finds an unlikely ally in Killer Croc/Waylon Jones, who had been kidnapped on his travels back to Gotham after having tried and failed to settle down in Swamp Things swamp.

Unfortunately the pairs cooperation ends shortly after freeing themselves and the completely unneccessary fight allows Freakshow and his assosciates to escape. Nightwing is determined to solve the case himself (and get justice for his dead parents and himself) causing tension between him and Batman who noted his disappearance.

Batman independently investigates,leading him to the Guys in White. Identifying them as an anti-meta group, he brings it to the attention of the Justice League in hopes of organising a legal solution - Superman takes it personally when one of the primary funders is revealed to be Lex Luthor.

Meanwhile Nightwing has tracked Freakshow to a bolthole/lair, where he comes across Val, a woman in a red jumpsuit, who had been following the trail of a different individual - a villain she calls Vlad Plasmius . The pair work together, Val freeing the ghosts in Freakshows control including the Greysons and Nightwing getting a cathartic takedown of both Freakshow and (with borrowed tech) Vlad.

Their partnership and the greater plot behind the villains actions goes over Nightwings head as he recognises 'not his circus, not his monkeys’ and opts to leave it to his new friend.

Meanwhile Clark Kent has discovered an odd exchange of info/money/tech between the GIW, Lex Luthor and a strange inventor who loudly proclaims that he is Technus. The end goal seems to be to create suits that will be secretly under Lex Luthors control capable of rivalling heroes, so as to supplant heroes as beloved protectors of the world, as a step in ridding the world of independent metas like superman and getting him his own private world army.

Also meanwhile Batman has continued to investigate GIW/Freakshow leading him to Amity Park, where he witnesses young adult Sam Manson inadvertently vitalise plants during a local eco protest. When persistent digging leads to learning about the overgrowth incident, Batman reaches out to Harley for her thoughts on how mentorhip might positively/negatively effect her struggling but mostly reformed partner Poison Ivy. Batman uses his Brucie Wayne persona to assist in organising an eco activism initiative (and plant meta power mentorship) with the Mansons, with Sam taking a guiding role.

Supermans battle against Lexs + Technus mediated ghost/meta power suits goes poorly and he calls in for rescue. Recognising the issues from his research in Amity, Batman 'borrows’ tech from the Fentonworks before going to the rescue.

With the day saved Batman returns to update his records on ghosts and store his new tech, finally leading to Nightwing explaining a bit of his experiences to add to the records.

The story ends on the cliffhanger of Danny getting screwed over by Batman’s improved antighost protections when he went to try track down and collect the stolen weapons.

I had fun with this : )

[dannyphantom-justiceleauge]

The Fenton's powering the town via a portal to all times and dimensions is underused for eldritch town purposes. What if Sam's parents got replaced by a relative from the 60s and no one remembered? What about traits changing and no one commenting? People moving away only to have never considered moving a week later? And maybe only Danny and other ghosts notice.

This itches part of my brain in a good way. It also makes me think of nightvale and gravity falls as similar eldritch areas/hubs for the weird.

I've seen plenty if scenarios where amity is weird because of ambient ectoplasm leaking from the portal. Connecting ectoplasm to the power grid is just gonna speed that leak up. Pair this with amity canonically surviving both an apocalypse (via dan) and a trip to the zone (via pariah dark) due to the advanced ghost sheild it has. And mix in the headcannon the the giw pulled a massive coverup and basically wiped amity off the map and prevents people from contacting the outside world with tech. Maybe run with the amity is hard to find or leave due to dimension/ghost/magic. And we have a lovely little horror town.

Amity park, a place that is entirely paranormal, out of time, and technologically independent. A place that can survive virtually anything with its sheilds. A place where ghosts attack so regularly that the school has drills on how to react. A place that's been attacked by multiple gods in a short period of time. A place where the weatherman reports ghost attacks and if a specific person is going to be driving that day. (Asside the amount of visable crimes we see jack do, not just in driving but osha violations, assult, and property damage is making me wonder if he has some sort of diplomatic immunity. Why is he not in jail?)

The point is amity is absolutely a place where if you're driving late at night and your car breaks down, you find that you're not in kansas anymore. They have immaculately created an environment that sets of 'somethings not right here' vibes. And thats without looking at the physical effects of having an interdementional portal running the city's energy grid, the actual ghost attacks and the weird shit from that. I like to imagine that after undergrowths attack there are still parts of the city that haven't been reclaimed from plant hell. Gravity probably doesn't work right consistently. There's just pools of ectoplasm around from fights and there's a chance that if you poke those pools with a stick, the pool will come alive. There is a cooked turkey living in the alleys and gathering an army of living hot dogs. The teenagers all have been trained to fight and use weapons. There's a military presence trying to hush things up and attacking civilians.

Amity has so fully embraced being weird! i need more stories of normal people, or outside heroes, recognizing that this place is messed up and basically feeling like they're in a horror movie. Meanwhile everyone in amity is perfectly polite and adjusted to the weird. Crime is at an all time low, reparing property damage has been reduced down to a science, and a little common sense can get you out of most situations. All else fails just wait for Phantom.

Anything can be normal if you live in it long enough. But that doesn't mean the unprepared aren't right to be afraid

- hestia

[sagaduwyrm]

I know it's a classic trope of danny phantom x dc crossovers that the Justice League or the Batfam finds out about Amity Park and immediately starts an investigation, but honestly, that doesn't really make sense in world.

Like, there are ghosts in Illinois. Whoopdeedoo. There are aliens in Metropolis, assassins in Star City, metas in Central, and every type of crazy imaginable and a few that no one would ever think of in Gotham. The DC world is a very weird place.

More than that, I think it kind of misunderstands what the Justice League originally was. A lot of the time fanon and canon both treat it like some kind of centralized superhero organization with the main group as the bosses. This isn't really how it started in the comics though, from what I understand. At first, the Justice League was a bunch of independent supers with their own independent territories who occasionally talked to each other. They would get together if say, there were aliens in Star City and Green Arrow needed advice on how to take care of them, or if there was a worldwide threat they needed to work together to address, but for the most part each hero had their own jurisdiction and they were not fond of people intruding in that territory. Local problems were dealt with by local heros, and if there wasn't a local hero? Just wait a couple of weeks, the police can handle it until someone pops up.

My point is that the League is really unlikely to try to swoop in and completely figure out Amity Park's situation, or even to really care about it once they realize that they already have both Phantom and Red Huntress. At most they might invite them to a few get togethers for networking.

I bet Batman wouldn't even care that much. I know he's the king of paranoia and contingencies, but he focuses almost all of that on people he knows are threats. He doesn't have time to care about a couple small town heros with small town problems, the Joker just got out of Arkham and he's going to kill hundreds of they don't catch him fast. (This isn't to say I think B would look down on small timers, but he would probably see them as little leagues, because he has no reason to suspect that it's that important. People with the power of the Justice League aren't just crawling out of the wood work, and it makes far more sense for him to assume that the problems in Amity Park aren't particularly powerful. Like how non Gothamites never believe that normal human rogues could actually be that dangerous.)

Crazy stuff is everywhere in the DC world, and unless you make it their problem, most supers assume that it's taken care of.

That said, it would totally be awesome if the Justice League was throwing a get together for lesser known less powerful heroes and just didn't realize what they had invited until it smacks them in the face.

[space-dreams-world]

Get what you wished for

First time writing a prompt: DP X DC au “get what you wished for”

Au where Danny is the blood daughter of Batcat is between Dick and Jason's age. Selina gave up Dione Luna Wayne as she help she is unable to raise her and Bruce would paint a target on her daughter's back. As a memento, she left two stuffed cats, a letter and a bat toy to remember her by.

How the Fentons got Danny:  Gotham is full of supernatural energy, with the Lazarus pits under it. The Fentons trying to find a place to create a bigger portal with LP juice,(experiments can fuck you up reproductively. Jazz was a struggle to birth.)

Jasmine comes across Baby Dione and duckling imprints on her. The Fentons don’t realize the baby was abandoned and named him Danny, not realizing the wrong gender( they never do), no claim to the baby, ours now.

The Fentons take some LP juice to find more LP juice, which in amity park, there is a bunch(uncorrupted) and the ley lines are weak there. (finds house over direct access to an unclaimed Lazarus pit, and builds a secret third basement to get more ectoplasm to fuel their obsession. LP is ectoplasm btw.)

Danny is genderfluid but presents themselves as FTM Trans.

Portal time!: Danny shows his friends, Sam and Tuck his parent's third child, the portal. Peer pressured by their only friends, Danny goes into the plugged, malfunctioning portal, only to get zapped where their soul and body are fused as one being, unable to separate. (Danny sort of blames his friends for their death but appreciates that they are sticking by them. But later realizes they are their ticket to excitement.)

 Jasmine notices right away that something is wrong with Danny. (Jazz is much closer to Danny in this au)

Danny is more independent in this au. (make more friends with ghosts, help them than enemies)

Danny by extension is an atlas of the Infinite realms and Earth, is pretty much op. Picking up skills and powers like nobody's business, (immortality? maybe, BAMF? definitely) Clockwork as ghost parent, Ellie, Dan, the other clones and Jazz as their sisters/brothers/ children and being High Eldritch sovereign of the Infinite realms. ( Fuck u, Vlad, everyone can see ur evil corrupt ass, creepy and fake)

Dual Obsession is space and peace/protection, has a multi-core and is blessed by the zone itself.

Amity Park is in a time/paradox bubble where the events of Danny Phantom occur. (in all 3 cannon seasons, they have never celebrated a birthday, I‘ve noticed.)

How Bat fam meets Danny: It’s been a few years, Danny reveals to their parents his status they are excited and can’t wait to figure out how he survived.  The GIW has bugged their home and raided their house as their want also figure out how Danny survived, and make Super-Soldiers. (tipped off by Vlad)

Danny and Jazz take this as a worst-case scenario and book it to Gotham by Danny's suggestion because their bio-fam lives there and Gotham energy fuck with ectoplasm readings. Danny starts to look for his mom Selina, but when the civilian bat fam sees them, they look like a young Martha Wayne. Jazz starts working in Arkham internship for her Psychology degree and Danny goes to Gotham U for College. Some of Danny’s Ghost friends follow them, i.e: Desiree.

Angst time: Bruce's wish vs. Damian's wish 

Bruce's wish: "I wish I knew you earlier in life to protect you..." 

 Bruce is given Dione at a very young age and does his best at trying to raise her.

Dione is clueless about her family's trade secret. She is a civilian and sort of grew up alone. (Bruce was busy being batman and CEO of WE, Tim drake situation, baby alone in a big empty house.) 

Bruce still adopts Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Steph, Damian and Duke. (Damian and duke after the event) 

Loves what Bruce does for Gotham, doesn't like that Wayne Enterprise takes most of his time away from the family, and hates Batman because of the ouroboros he creates in Gotham. (Endless cycle of crime, rehab, corruption, murder{Thank you, xmarksthespotonthemilkyway for Supervillain DAD! lex Luthor}) 

Dione has many hobbies to pass the time while she waits for her family, mainly she paints, writes and spends time with Alfred who she considers her real father instead of Bruce. (Being Batman has downsides, people!) 

Selina visits her daughter at the manor and is pissed at Bruce for treating their daughter like a rotting bird in a cage. (Expect it to be there when he returns, to see it leave or die because you took too long to cherish it.) 

• ANGST+: After Jason's death and resurrection, The sibs try to get Jason to come to the manor to show Dione that he is alive, at first Dione doesn't believe him or them, but he convinced her otherwise. This is where she learns that their vigilantes. (Jason and Dione were friends that get along like a house on fire, but the house exploded and Dione felt something missing in her life.)

Bruce and Jason as Batman and Red Hood have a huge fight in one of the manor rooms destroying some property and shit. Turns out it was Dione's painting room, where she was secretly working on a portrait painting of the whole family (including the late Jason Todd) for Bruce's birthday, and it gets ruined.

Dione berates them for destroying her work and declares that she fucking hates this family and what they put her through all the time.

Decides she wants to stay with Selina instead. During this time, Dione realizes a way to end the ouroboros cycle and decides to kill the joker in a quiet way, for all the hell he put her and her family through. (Lures joker to an unmarked hill location away from people to a hole in the ground with a wooden casket and fires five rounds at him. He falls in gets covered and is buried alive as he slowly dies from gunshot wounds. She can't have what she wants, and neither will he.) 

Dione, later reveals to the family that she killed the joker after he doesn't return to Arkham and can't be found.

Bruce sends her to jail. 

The sibs are pissed at Bruce for doing that, while at the GCPD, Dione is taken advantage of and raped by corrupt cops. 

The sibs try to get her out and get her to tell them where Joker's buried, but she takes as the cycle is still continuing and commits suicide in Jail. (In her letter to them, she tells her final wish is to be buried on a hill with a clear view of the night sky with a big tree in an unmarked grave, so she can be forgotten as a part of her family, but not Gotham.) 

Bruce feels fucking guilty that he pushed his daughter to this point, Selina and Alfred are at an end with him telling him I told you so and feel that Dione should not have been born into this life. (distraught, but once Damian and Duke enter the picture, they treat them better as a family.) 

Dione is fully dead and becomes a ghost. 

Batman and co. meet the new ruler of the Infinite Realms, and Recognize the ruler, Dione chose to let go of her past and forget them as they have done to her.

Damian's wish: "I wish you were never our sister..." 

This is technically the Canon bat fam x DP timelines, but with a few twists. 

• Dick is the one holding the fam together. He is more tired and stressed than before, maybe graying early..? (stressed and secretly depressed.) 

• Jason is more angst and vengeful than normal and fucking hates Bruce. (Jason is like kill the serial to end the cycle, avenge me, Bruce.) 

• Tim despises Damian more so than usual and tolerates Bruce. (baby brother attempts to murder, gets light punishment and the victim is not okay.) 

• Stephanie isn't really part of the bat family, goes by spoiler, and is studying to be a nurse. (quit being robin earlier, distant self from negative influence, dated Tim, now Cass.) 

• Cass, while mute doesn't communicate well with the rest of the family, which leads her to be quiet more often. (not expressive.) 

• Duke, the newest to the family, has a hard time understanding the rest of the family's issues with each other, fearing the family's reaction to him being a meta. ( Batman is more strict with no metas rule, Duke still becomes signal. ) 

• Alfred is still Canon, but more strict than normal. (Put up with this shit Alfred, but loves his adopted son and grandkids.)

Bruce is still Canon. Mostly negative, hard on himself, the family and everyone he interacts with, and wears a mask (not a physical one) to hide his emotions. Is more Batman than Bruce Wayne. (grunts don't meet clear communication Bruce!!!) 

• Damian is still Damian in this verse with his pets but loses his friendship with Jon. (no metas in Gotham, Bruce tolerates Superman.) 

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC X DP Fic idea: Retired-Rouge.

Danny gets into making teddy bears. He didn't start that way; honestly, he was mostly trying to fix Bearbert Einstein after his mom accidentally burnt him with a misfired ray gun.

Jazz had broken down into tears, and it had ripped apart his heart and his core to see her so distressed. He went to the local- and only- fabric store in Amity Park to find materials and try to repair his sister's beloved teddy bear when his mom's attempts to fix the bear only made him look worse.

Just his luck that the only fabric shop for miles around was Weston Fabrics and that the person manning the cashier was Wes himself. The other boy had nearly thrown him out when Danny walked in, but thankfully his older brother Kyle had talked Wes down and helped Danny find fabrics for Bearbert.

Surprisingly, Wes had even helped him set up one of their sewing stations to get started on Bearbert.

The strange part was when Danny turned the machine on and found his hands moving independently. As if he had been doing it for years, he expertly put together the bear and even went through the other fabrics to make him new outfits. Wes had watched the whole time, raising a brow when Danny got up to pay.

"Thought you didn't know how to sew?"

"I thought so too. Must be a ghost thing." Danny replied then smirked as the redhead glared.

"A ghost thing?" Wes all but sneers. He still trying to expose Danny as Phantom and had yet to get proof, even with Danny teasing him in the open. As it were, Kyle, who was unpacking new needles rolled his eyes behind the red hair teenager.

"Yeah, since I have a protection core as Phantom, it sometimes transfers into my human side. Do you know how teddy bears guard children at night against bad dreams? Same thing"

Wes pauses, then slowly blinks; he whispers with a small baffled smile, "That's kind of adorable. A teddy bear to keep you safe through the night."

And Danny? He didn't mean to, but he found Wes sort of hot at that moment. Not the Wow, that guy is a celebrity hot but a Be careful who you call ugly in middle school because Puberty made them delicious over the summer break hot.

He will admit that he returned to Weston Fabrics to flirt more with Wes and made so many teddy bears as a disguise. The good news was that all his works were a hit, and even some kids at school started asking for special commissions when word got around about the special Nightmerica teddy bear he made for Sam's birthday.

He makes money, gets a boyfriend, and when he donates the teddy bears to a local hospital, he discovers a new power. Through items he made himself, Danny can send waves of comforting energy to the people around the item, like a miniature zen distributor. The patients that have his toys start to show greater rest from both nightmares and lower anxiety, depression, and general sadness.

He lets Wes name this power, which later becomes the name of his teddy bear business- Phantom Relief. After dating for two years and graduating, both boys agree the spark had been lost but remain good friends. Danny takes his thriving teddy bear-making skills to his new college in Gotham while Wes leaves for Star City.

In Gotham is where things get....stranger. See, Danny knows someone new to the city will never truly understand a city's problems. But the rapid amount of homeless kids is so shocking he starts making clothes and blankets to try and give them out because they shouldn't be out there freezing like that! He even tries passing along some teddy bears to them, hoping to soothe their pain with some Zen waves.

The key word is tries.

Gotham kids do not trust or like free handouts. Danny burst into tears when a thirteen-year-old asked if he wanted the kid to use his hand or mouth in exchange for the new blanket. The street kid seemed surprised when Danny was horrified by the question. No one else found it strange, the kid said, wrapped in a Superman blanket that Danny made only a day before, it's just how things are done around here.

The worst part is the homeless thirteen-year-old is right. Everywhere he looks, Danny finds more people needing protection- physically, emotionally, and mentally. Gotham is just filled with people suffering. He couldn't keep up. It's tearing him apart trying to help everyone.

His core feels like it will burst from all the overloaded cries of help it can pick up. One night Danny can't take it anymore, so he shifts into Phantom and flies out to the old Drake manner, abandoned since Janet Drake's murder, where the cries are muffled, and dials Wes' number with shaking hands.

His ex picks up listens to his sobs and tells him "You can't save people who don't want to be saved. But you can try to reach them in a way they understand."

It's precisely what he needs to hear.

Ancients, but he misses the man sometimes. Why did Danny ever let Wes Weston go? Well, as they say, Right person, wrong time. Maybe that was why.

So Danny decided the only way to get to Gotham was to be like Gotham. And who were the people that dramatically changed the city with every random plot? With every random heist?

Gotham Rogues.

So all Phantom had to do was become one, which shouldn't be too hard since people in Amity Park still debated if he was good or not years later. He fixes up his Phantom suit to something more Gotham villain, keeping the colors but removing the jumpsuit and adding a suit and vest alongside a mask and two giant needles.

He appears in Crime Alley- because that's where the most cries come from- and just challenges everything and everyone to take the area from him. He fights off so many gangs- even Red Hood, who puts up a great fight- but after the dust settles, he now runs the place.

He then starts- fixing the place. Starts sending out clothes for the homeless, starts fixing up buildings, gives Phantom Reflief out-teddy bears to kids, fake emulates to adults, starts sending the gang kids back to school, forces landlords to lower the housing, and illegally makes everyone get along.

He spreads his tyranny to the rest of the city, fighting the good and bad sides of the law. The bats give him one hell of a challenge, but Danny beat the Ghost King when he was an untrained brat. This is nothing. Batman gets better with every fight, and so do his associates.

Things look good until the Joker tries him too much when the clown somehow gets to Wes. Has the love of his life tied to a bomb with enough Joker Venom to fill half the city, and Danny sees red.

When he comes to, it's to Wes holding him in his arms, whispering reassurances, and Joker nothing but a smear on the ground. Danny can't live with what he's done; he runs away, shifts into his human side, and vows to never be Phantom again.

After four years of peace due to Phantom's hostile takeover, Gotham mourns the loss but doesn't fall into so much crime now that the ghost crime lord is gone. Danny thinks he's done his job and chooses to melt into the background. He opens a little shop for fabrics and custom-made teddy bears.

Wes finds him, agrees to try and rekindle their love, and a year later agrees to the marriage.

All is well until seventeen-year-old Tim Drake strolls into his fabric shop. Clutching a superboy teddy bear, he gave a shivering fourteen-year-old the first week as Phantom Gotham Villain with a stern look in his eye.

"Phantom- I need you to help me find Batman, who is lost in time, or I will expose your secret identity to the rest of Gotham."

Well, shit.

[shamelessly-lives]

In Amity Park, the shadows dance, because of all the ecto imbued in everything and anything.

They have no regard for the light, their owners' positions, or the time of the day.

The only rule is, that the human shadows' feet must not leave their humans.

Ghosts can duplicate so they do not need shadows, and Danny's shadow can fly around independently, since he's not fully human, but in the end always returns.

Objects' shadows show the opposite of what the object's doing. A fridge is closed? Well its shadow's door is open. The curtains are moving because of the wind? Well their shadows aren't gonna move a millimeter now. A musicbox is simply existing on top of a surface? Well it's shadow is gonna move like it's being played.

So, like, this could go many ways, but i can only think of 2 now.

1. The GIW are known to be untrustworthy because their shadows are following all rules of normal shadows.

2. A family moves from Amity and the child is super freaked out by all the unmoving shadows.

[fox-sama97]

Chapter 4 is here! Sorry about the long wait, I got really distracted by pokemon. Don't really expect another update this month, going to be playing the new zelda game: Tears of the Kingdom.

Anyway, here's an except for the new chapter under the read more.

Life wasn't the same, would never be the same, after her baby died. Pamela's entire world had been destroyed. She loved her daughter. Everything she'd done was for her daughter, her Sammiekins. She hadn't always known how to love her daughter, they'd butt heads more often than not when Sam became a teenager and started figuring out who she was, becoming more independent. Growing up.

At first, she thought it was just teenage rebellion. It'd blow over, she'd drop her goth phase and go back to being the sweet little girl who loved going to balls with her mom and wearing pink, poofy, princess dresses. By the time she realized she was suffocating her in high society expectations, well, Sam got her stubbornness from her mother. Pamela always had to be right, and she knew, thought she knew, who her daughter was and what was best for her. Sam was, had been, the same way.

It took almost losing her for Pamela to swallow her pride and let her daughter decide for herself how she needed support. Sam had been about to run away, only restless sleep had let Pamela see her daughter about to slip out of the house, backpack bulging at the seams with everything she cared about. All at once, she'd been hit by the very real threat of losing her daughter. Maybe not permanently, she'd probably have gone to her friend's house and stayed there, hopefully just for a few days, but Pamela knew how stubborn her daughter could be. If she had walked out of that door, she wouldn't have come back, no matter how much Sam and Pamela both would have regretted it.

She hadn't yelled; her voice had barely been able to make it past her lips through the sudden fear and loss, and she thanked the Almighty that he quieted her voice and gave Sam pause. Her daughter gave her another chance to be the mother she should have been, to support and love Sam how she needed.

She and Jeremy had grown closer to their daughter in that month than they'd been in years. They'd helped in her greenhouse, cooked vegetarian meals together, and learned so much more about who their daughter was becoming. She was so proud of her daughter, of how independent she was, how intelligent and compassionate she was. That she always stood up for her beliefs. It helped to ease a fear she'd long had, long tried to prepare her daughter for.

The world was a terrible place; she only had to think of how her mother and Jeremy's parents had barely escaped the Camps, to know this. She'd been afraid since the moment she first held Sam that the world would try to rip her baby from her arms and destroy her. But her daughter was, had been, strong. So strong and fierce in her belief in justice that she had taken it upon herself to fight the restless dead when the Justice League had ignored them.

She'd almost lost her daughter, built their relationship back stronger than ever, and then a mere month later she was murdered trying to do the Justice League's job when they refused to.

They killed her baby.

The Justice League's negligence was tantamount to murdering Sam and everyone else in Amity Park who lost their lives.

They had as good as murdered her husband. Jeremy was barely there now; the death of their daughter had broken him, turned him into a shell of a person.

Ida, her mother, who'd always been so lively despite pushing eighty, now spent most of her time pouring over photo albums and praying. She'd survived so much and now she was forced to outlive her granddaughter too.

There was no justice in this world unless you made it.

She was going to make damn sure that the Justice League were brought to justice. And that started with Bruce Wayne. Batman.

She'd known the man, maybe not well, but they'd been acquainted. They'd been to bar mitzvahs and weddings together, he'd even gone with them to synagogue once or twice. She thought there'd always been an understanding between them, subtle shows of support anytime other members of high society had given pushback for the galas or fundraising done on their holidays, for their holidays and communities. They'd traded commiserating looks when other members of high society inevitably had something antisemitic to say.

While Bruce had never acted quite so naive or scattered with them or the other Jewish families, she never would have guessed he was the infamous Batman. In that, she couldn't help but compare him to her Sam. Both were passionate about justice, about making the world a better place. But, where Sam had stuck to a more local level, where she could make change and make sure it was done correctly, Bruce had let hubris overcome him. Let himself believe that only his oversight would make a better world when he couldn't even manage the problems of one city, let alone the world. He had created and funded a global police force and let it grow fat and content to sit upon its laurels. He gave them the tools and the ability to determine who was worthy of their protection while effectively neutering any other response.

When Amity Park had called, had begged them for help, the Justice League had turned them away. They hadn't even picked up their calls or launched an investigation. There was no alternative. The Justice League had become their judge, jury, and executioner.

And so Amity Park died. Most of the people may have survived, technically, but they were all a little closer to dead than any living person should be.

They still weren't sure how many other cities had met the same fate under the uncaring eye of the Justice League.

That infuriated Pamela. Despite how much access they had to the Justice League's systems, they still didn't know how many places like Amity Park, how many people like Sam, had been condemned to death because the Justice League didn't feel like helping them. Didn't deem them worthy of an investigation or even a token effort. There wasn't any documentation about it, just silent blank spaces in the records.

She could feel her heart racing, hot fury bubbling up from her stomach, and a tingling in her nails that she'd come to associate with her liminality, as she stared at the door to the holding area in the former Amity Police Station. They'd had to find somewhere to hold the Waynes and the few Ghost Investigation Ward goons that had come poking around.

She didn't have to speak to Bruce. It wasn't necessary. The Justice League would probably be launching an attack in the morning or sometime tomorrow. They didn't need any information from Bruce, they just needed him out of the way so the rest of the Justice League would panic and rush into things, just like Bruce and his kids had done.

But she wanted to, needed to. She needed to look the man in the eyes and make sure he knew what his actions had cost her, and had cost everyone in Amity Park.

She just needed to make sure that she only yelled at him and didn't claw his face off with her bare hands. She took several deep breaths, slowly exhaling them as she felt her heart calm, her stomach settle, and her nails settle back into human nails instead of ghostly claws.

Turning the knob, she entered the holding area, eyes darting past the soundproofed cells holding agents K, M, and P, until she saw the Wayne family. Timothy, Stephanie, and Richard were all still unconscious and handcuffed to their beds. Bruce had awoken about thirty minutes ago.

His eyes immediately looked to her, calculating and attempting intimidation. Unfortunately, intimidation was a little difficult when you're handcuffed to a bare bed in nothing but your boxers.

A small part of Pamela was embarrassed about the situation, but it was ruthlessly squashed under pragmatism. Leaving the Batman access to any of his gadgets was a recipe for disaster and they had no way of ensuring they gathered all of them. So stripping him, and the other bats, down to their undergarments and handcuffing them to the beds it was.

She kept her steps measured and her face blank as she approached his cell. The first rule of high society her mother ever taught her, and the first she'd taught her daughter: only show them what you want them to see. Stopping before his cell, she waited. His face was just as blank as her own, though his pupils were a little too dilated, and his neck muscles would spasm ever so slightly around the four taser marks spaced around his jaw. She'd have to talk to Paulina again about the appropriate length of time for the hand taser.

Bruce examined her, analytic eyes flicking over her quickly, cataloging everything about her before stopping on the hole in her black dress torn above her heart, briefly pulling his eyebrows down before it was masked again. A hot flash of anger sped through her body. She didn't need his pity.

She counted thirty seconds before Bruce tried to speak to her, mouth forming "Mrs. Manson," though the soundproofing prevented her from actually hearing it. Slowly she lifted her arm and pressed the intercom button on the cell.

"Bruce," she said, voice carefully blank, only allowing a hint of aristocratic disdain to filter through.