#it means i can have danny's name literally be jason but it was changed to danny by his parents bc he refused to give them his name

[britcision]

Gonna try and sneakily post after dnd let’s see how fast I can yeet this up 👀 new chapter!!

(I was kinda considering pushing out the porn parody to push me over one million words on AO3, but I have to be in the mood to write good smut, whereas I’m damn near always in the mood for crack, so here we are

The porn parody has been started though, and the first chapter is edging its way to completion. I will be starting an entirely new taglist for the porn parody though, so do say in the comments here if you would like to be tagged in the first chapter of that!)

I got to use a little of my actual real life work knowledge for once in my life, instead of my unending stash of random knowledge 👀 it’s a bold new world and I bet you ANYTHING Bruce never documents his code

Eleven million backup plans for if marshmallows take over the world, but someone else sits to debug the batcomputer? Zip. Nothing. Fuck them if they can’t read Bruce they aren’t authorised to touch it

As may be rather obvious… We’re right up in the bats again this chapter, and Bruce is going to make some Inadvisable Decisions 😈

I’m sure this will have absolutely no consequences whatsoever! This chapter also came in a little short, since there’s not quiiiiite enough space left to squeeze in our next scene, Danny Attempts To Make Jason Kill Him In A Motorcycle Accident

This means we should not brick ANYONES’ tumblr! (Like that’ll happen, my poor mobile using fellows)

Note: there is a reason why I’m choosing when to use our various vigi’s human names while they’re masked, I didn’t miss one on the “edit” that is formatting this mess for Tumblr 😁

First Chapter and AO3 link:

Previous Chapter:

——————

One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night

About twenty minutes after dropping Danny off at his dorm, Jason was suited up and ready to go.

Well, he’d stayed outside until he’d seen Danny shut the door behind him first. Jason had some fucking manners, though if pressed he couldn’t name who’d taught him them.

It was a habit older than the streets, watching to be sure his friends got to safety.

Danny’s dorm was about fifteen minutes from one of Jason’s better safe houses, as it happened. Jason had never been to a dorm, but from Danny’s stories?

A step below Teen Titans’ bunks, and those had sucked. Less privacy, smaller rooms, and more people? Who weren’t even part of the same team?

Maybe next semester Jason could offer to let Danny move in. He didn’t need need the safe house.

Red Hood could always buy the building. There were other apartments and while they weren’t luxurious, they beat half his other spots. The neighbourhood wasn’t bad either.

It’d be nice to pay Danny back a bit. Not have him closer. Just. Repay some of the debt by giving him a place to stay, rent free.

And maybe, just a little bit, the part of Jason that enjoyed the romanticism of his period novels kinda liked the idea. An estate for the king on your lands was a big deal back then.

A slightly more modern part of him thought being a landlord for his ruler would also be pretty funny. He figured Danny would enjoy that side too.

And it wasn’t like the guy could complain, since he’d literally given Jason back himself. Yeah, Jason was gonna pull that one out if Danny tried any familiar “oh I can’t accept this” on him.

Fixing his core was pretty damn god level on the favours spectrum. Jason could do whatever the hell he liked and Danny would just have to deal with it.

It cheered him up a little more, kept him in a good mood on the ride back to his safe house. It was more time where he couldn’t help Cass, but seriously?

Danny could change in a matter of seconds and be at her side not much slower. Walls, cars, goons, Jason had this feeling that none of it would slow Danny down.

And yeah, knowing that helped, but there was still a piece of him that only unknotted as he slid his helmet on and headed to the window.

“Hey, Black Bat. Busy?” He asked as the comms switched from earpiece to helmet display.

Of course he wore both. People kept trying to steal his damn helmet. That was also what the internal explosives were for.

The others all piped up when they heard him, Harper and Steph calling cheerful greetings around an ongoing conversation.

“Shit, Hood’s in, this mean I can go back to bed?” Bluebird teased. Spoiler cut her off immediately.

“Hell no, it can’t be a school night, Robin’s here! Great timing though Hood, we’re planning Red Robin’s eulogy and you have some experience there,” Spoiler chirped brightly, and Jason hesitated.

Sucked in a breath. He wasn’t gonna judge anyone else’s coping mechanisms until they got past “heads in a bag” levels.

Best to ignore it, since she wasn’t actually trying to set him off.

What the hell had Tim done since they’d left the manor?

Shaking his head, Jason settled into Red Hood and hopped onto the fire escape, scaling easily to the roof.

“Black Bat?” He repeated instead of answering, and half smiled when Spoiler groaned dramatically.

Black Bat answered in the considerate group pause.

“Not busy. Why?” She sounded amused, not even particularly tired, and Jason relaxed enough to slip all the way in.

“Thinking of going a little out of my way tonight. Wondered if you’d mind a tagalong?” Red Hood asked, hoping he sounded casual.

It wasn’t like he’d been planning to patrol the Alley anyway; his guys had already been told to handle it. He’d have to run around tomorrow night to keep the creepers scared, but he could have a couple off.

The tiny pause before her answer didn’t quite feel like judgement, but Jason muted before blowing out the sigh as she did. It wasn’t like the others needed to know he’d been stressing.

“Sure. Meet at library?” She’d had his tracker up. Hood nodded, turning and running for the edge of the roof.

“Sounds good.” And they’d probably wound Spoiler up enough, she’d start plotting vengeance for being ignored soon. “So what the hell did Little Red do?”

“Brought Too Fine to the Bat Cave,” Spoiler told him with relish, not noticeably put out by the delay.

Not necessarily a good sign, since she was also this enthusiastic while actively plotting against him.

Wait.

Too Fine was Tucker’s hacker name.

“But he doesn’t know about us,” Red Hood said with a frown, catching an outcropping and swinging on.

“Oh, now you tell me,” Tim groused while the others snickered, “what a shame you didn’t think to when it’d have actually been helpful!”

News to Hood that he was on, probably still in the cave.

“He knows now,” Nightwing chimed in brightly, probably also travelling from the slight strain in his voice.

Hood paused for a moment, letting that sink in before attempting the next jump.

“Is he on comm?” He asked warily, because if Tim brought Tucker to the bat cave, it was entirely possible that they were all outed.

And that Tucker might tell Danny he was Red Hood.

Shit, he still had to text Harley. Resolving to do it once he hit the library, he set back to running, throwing himself across another street.

Black Bat would probably take a little longer to get there.

“He’ll be back, he’s in the bathroom,” Tim explained with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “It’s not all bad, he’s given me the full story on what happened in Amity Park. Witness account and all.”

“From a witness you let down to the bat cave~” Spoiler sang sweetly across the air.

Red Hood could hear Oracle rolling her eyes as she cut in.

“Tone it down, Batgirl. Bluebird, if you’re still thinking of heading in, could you swing past one last site on your way?” She said firmly, then lightening her tone for their current guest.

“Batgirl who? I’m Spoiler,” Spoiler grumbled, but didn’t push beyond that. None of them did when Oracle invoked the name she’d had before any of them masked up.

Bluebird snickered at her before answering the question, a hint of exertion suggesting she was on the move too.

“I’m not actually in a rush to go home, O, I got all dressed up so I might as well enjoy one last hurrah.”

Right, because she’d be going back to school probably when Danny did.

Harper had always been a damn good hero in Jason’s books, but she valued her retirement and none of them really wanted to ruin it. Unless, apparently, seven bats just had to stalk Jason’s new friends.

Hood would have apologized, but frankly if she’d said no, some of the others couldn’t have come to the gala to be a pain in his ass.

And then he couldn’t have had so much fun fucking with them.

Fine. One cool fruit basket for the Row household, and some rainbow cupcakes for Cullen. He needed practice on frosting roses anyway.

Although that also reminded him.

“Hey Bluebird, have the others filled you in on Phantom?” He asked, cutting off some more background chatter from Spoiler and Tim.

Nightwing and the girls had had hours by now.

“What, your new boyfriend?” Bluebird asked sweetly, and Hood rolled his eyes.

Probably hit the important shit then.

“Sent you a picture?” He asked instead, decidedly not entertaining that question.

Nightwing and Spoiler snickered. Hood flipped off their general directions, settling himself comfortably on the roof of the library to wait for Black Bat.

There was a short pause, the others now wondering what he was getting at. Good.

“In and out of suit,” Bluebird agreed, curiosity tinging with mild suspicion. Being out of retirement clearly wasn’t good for her.

Hood nodded, pulling out his phone and shooting Harley a quick text. It might be moot now, asking her not to mention Red Hood shit in front of Danny, but he might as well.

He still had to ask if Waylon knew. Might as well ask. And see if Tucker knew when he got back.

“I know you’re outta the game, but keep the light show to a minimum if you see him around, okay?” He asked, scanning quickly over the list Danny’d cleared for public discussion.

He didn’t know if Tucker would have mentioned it, but he might as well. Cause of death was good, but Jason personally would veto “and the effects it may have now”.

Because fuck Bruce and his need for everyone to show him their weaknesses.

Bluebird definitely sounded curious now, and possibly like she was punching someone.

“Oh? He not big on the electricity?” She wondered aloud, and Hood grimaced.

Because if they were both at Gotham U in engineering… there was actually a chance Harper and Danny would run into each other.

Danny was older, but Harper skipped a couple years and he had no idea what year Danny was in. Fuck, they might be in the same classes. He couldn’t believe he’d never thought of that.

“Not exactly. You mighta seen him around actually, he’s an engineer too. But he’s not a fan of the electricity flying around,” he explained, Nightwing making background noises that told Hood he hadn’t put the pieces together either.

Good. At least he wasn’t alone.

Bluebird made an interested hum, and probably a finishing blow considering the satisfaction when she spoke next.

“I thought he looked familiar. But then, he’s total Wayne-bait. Yeah, I can keep the good stuff under wraps if I see him around. Gonna guess he’s had some bad shocks in the line of work?”

Hood hesitated and in exactly the same instant Black Bat landed on the roof. Sam had given them all the warning about talking about a ghost’s death, so he could leave it at that.

But…

The way Danny had looked when he explained about Vlad. Yeah, he’d rather they took this seriously. He didn’t want any of his family to hurt Danny, even by accident.

“It’s how he died. He won’t spontaneously combust or anything, but it’s a bad memory.”

Silence reigned while the others absorbed that particular detail, Black Bat crossing to crouch on the roof beside him. Hood leaned over enough to bump their shoulders together.

He could almost feel concern radiating off her, which was an extra weird experience after literally feeling all of Danny’s emotions half the day.

Guess that was where Cass’s liminality was going. It made sense, kind of; despite her occasional trouble speaking, she was pretty much the clearest communicator in the family.

Having another back up way to make herself heard would only fit.

On a whim, he tried projecting comfort back to her. Black Bat didn’t seem to notice, though whether that meant more on her part or his was the question.

She leaned in and bumped him back, her expression unreadable between the full face mask and the shadows.

“Heard and understood, Hood,” Bluebird agreed after a minute, her tone unusually solemn. Hopefully Dickie would take it to heart too.

The odds of Danny running into Nightwing weren’t great if he stuck to Blüdhaven, but Dick was a nosy bastard and there was always one “emergency” or another.

Better than the odds of running into Bluebird, although Harper would almost definitely look him up at school.

Maybe Jason should warn him.

“Maybe you could build him a faraday suit,” Spoiler mused, and Red Hood snickered.

“Handy, but then we couldn’t contact him,” he reminded her and she groaned loudly.

“Hey, if we’re both techies he’ll probably have his own idea. I’ll look him up out of costume, it’s my turn to say hi,” Bluebird decided, and Hood shot Danny a quick text.

Just a heads up.

A picture of Harper, captioned “beware of sibling. May be looking you up in class”. Black Bat giggled beside him, head cocked to watch the screen.

Harper wasn’t technically one of the Waynes, but if Waylon counted she definitely had to, and it wasn’t like Bruce picked his family. Asshole.

A few minutes later he got a message back from Danny.

‘DannyP: !!!!! I know her! 😳😳🤯 She does the cool nanobots! Half our year is betting if she’s a rogue or a vigi 👀 inside info??’

Which was fair, since just knowing Jason wouldn’t be much of a hint either way.

“He knows you,” Black Bat reported to the others, Bluebird immediately bitching that she’d been ratted out.

Red Hood mostly ignored her, texting Danny back.

‘JTodd: Neither anymore. She was a vigi, but she’s retired and getting her degree. No idea if she’ll come back after.’

“Odds you’ll change sides and go rogue, Bluebird?” He asked into a pause, and very much enjoyed the momentary stumped silence. “Apparently there’s a hefty bet.”

Momentary, because everyone had an opinion on that and had to share it. Everyone except Bluebird herself, who seemed to be thinking it over.

“What’re the odds for rogue?” She asked thoughtfully, immediately defending herself as the group booed. “What! I have student loans!”

“You are my villain arc, Red Hood,” Spoiler declared as solemnly as she could through laughter.

“I’m my own villain arc thank you so much, go find your own,” he refuted with a half grin.

“Ask Phantom,” Black Bat advised Bluebird in the meantime, which was probably fair. They weren’t good at staying on topic.

She then gave Hood another gentle nudge, probably for the same reason. Flicked off her comm for a moment.

“Wanted to talk?” She asked, and yeah, they probably should get back to it.

He gave a shrug, hauling himself up and holding a hand back down to her. Definitely not feeling guilty.

They’d tell her before anything became relevant. It just.

Well.

They were a family of fucking detectives, who could never leave well enough alone, and Jason really didn’t want them questioning his humanity.

Just once, he’d like to know something about himself before anyone else did. To have time to understand and come to terms with what he was before Twenty Questions.

Cass was very good at not asking questions though. And Black Bat turned off her comm first. Tim was distracted, probably with Tucker coming back because he’d been quiet.

No better opportunity was likely to come up.

And really, she deserved the same courtesy. Knowing about herself before the others did.

Maybe she’d have some ideas on how to tell them.

Making up his mind, Hood tapped his comms and hauled Black Bat up with his other hand.

“Hey O, gonna be offline for a minute. Text if you need me or BB, we gotta be radio silent.” There were enough possible reasons for that, he didn’t bother giving one.

Just so long as they knew.

Usually he’d just turn the comm off and swear at her if she turned him back on if he wanted peace and quiet, but… well, it was nice to hear the background chatter.

Nicer when the big Bat himself wasn’t in the field to tell them to focus.

“I always need you, baby!” Nightwing called just before he clicked off, and Red Hood rolled his eyes under the helmet.

Dramatic bitch.

He looked back to Black Bat, wondering where would be the best place for this talk. She was watching him patiently, not moving.

It had been her patrol.

“Is there anywhere on your route we can talk privately?” He asked softly, a little surprised at himself. He’d been the one who wanted to wait.

But that just made it his call who he decided to tell what, and when. And Cass… he trusted Cass.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was liminal. It’d give them something to think until he was ready.

Black Bat regarded him for a moment longer, then nodded and made her way to the edge of the roof.

“Follow.”

**

The night was wearing on, but Bruce was darkly satisfied that they were finally making progress.

Constantine’s pacing (replacing his smoking; Bruce may not have bothered arguing in the cave, but even Constantine knew better than to light a cigarette in space) had finally slowed.

Something terrible had happened in Amity Park, but even the magician was grudgingly admitting it was probably over. Left permanent scars, but getting no worse.

Unless it was on a cosmic level and would be a slow seeping problem for millennia, but Alfred had Opinions about Bruce concerning himself with issues on that time scale.

There was only so much they could do in the moment.

Another survey of the city was required, and in person since even the League’s best couldn’t take clear pictures of Amity Park.

A fact which didn’t seem to have stopped the Amity Parkers from photographing and sharing pictures of each other, according to his children. Constantine hadn’t actually argued when Bruce compared it to background radiation, so it must be close enough.

He also hadn’t done more than grimace when Bruce asked if he wanted to undertake the survey personally. That was as good as an enthusiastic agreement.

First, though? First they needed to call a meeting of the Justice League, primarily the heroes located in North America.

They had been horribly uninformed of what was going on right under their noses, and if Constantine was right… Amity Park’s problems had begun to spread.

To Gotham.

To his children.

Constantine’s grumbling that it was the miasma of death that hung over the city drawing them in had not inspired confidence, and Bruce resolved to have Zatanna over at her soonest convenience to explain.

Helping Constantine put together a report on Amity Park itself had more than convinced Bruce not to ask Constantine, even if he could have done it today. The man was…

Well. Bruce wasn’t looking forward to having to run him through the JL’s classification system again. Maybe one of his children would want to go and handle the technical side.

All he had to do was finish preparing the presentation, call the League, and he could rest. It would likely take a day or two to put a full meeting together, but he could at least fill Clark and Diana in tonight.

He could sleep in between. Just for a little while.

Right after he showed Constantine how to configure the alerts from Amity Park to direct to the Justice League Dark, not the spam folder. They hadn’t sent one in years, but he was determined not to miss any changes.

That should have been the easiest part of this whole mess. It was just a simple form, with a basic test button to ensure it worked.

Nothing too complicated even for a man who’d decided “no reply needed” meant the same thing as “too dangerous for anyone but JL Dark”.

Fine. It was fine.

Bruce loved making training videos to highlight the most basic functions of a system and ensure that people actually understood what the various controls meant. Wonderful.

It meant that they could work in parallel for a while, Bruce on the presentation for the League, Constantine to fix his mistake. In a blissful silence, even.

It couldn’t last.

“It’s not working, Bats,” the magician declared, pushing back and away from his computer. Probably to pace again.

Bruce closed his eyes, breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, and made his way across to frown at the monitor.

“Did you save your changes?” He growled, doing his best not to let the irritation show. It was getting harder every time.

Constantine rolled his eyes, definitely not helping, and pointed at the screen.

“See for yerself. Look, JLD Top Priority, like ya said. And then ya hit the top button to save, and the red button to test it, and nothing happens.”

He waited impatiently while Bruce clicked through the buttons, seeing it for himself.

Constantine wasn’t wrong. That was unexpected.

Brows furrowing under his cowl, Bruce checked the deleted requests. Three test messages from “Amity Park”.

“Hn.”

“Someone’s fucked ya system,” Constantine commented dryly, sounding unduly pleased that it wasn’t his fault.

Something other than his haphazard filing had apparently been causing some of their problems. Bruce… just didn’t have the time tonight.

He nodded over to his screen instead, pulling up his wrist computer to send a private message to Tim in the cave. How long could a tour take?

Tim could find what was going wrong long before he’d have the time.

“I’ve compiled most of the presentation on creatures of the Realms. Is there anything important I should add?” He asked gruffly and Constantine sighed dramatically and flounced over.

Bruce firmly ignored Steph’s voice in his ear.

Not because he didn’t agree, whatever a “woobie” was.

He just needed Constantine’s once over to confirm he had all the pertinent information, and then he could call Clark and Diana.

Head home.

Get to bed.

“Looks fine. I should check yer damn revenant some time soon too though.”

Bruce froze, finger just above the send button on that tech request to Tim.

His fucking what.

**

Black Bat led them easily across the city, along what was probably her normal patrol route. Taking her cue from Red Hood, she didn’t rush, but soon indicated that they turn off into a small alley between two warehouses.

Hell, not even a proper alley. A gap where the buildings hadn’t quite smushed together.

Red Hood recognized the area from Nightwing’s bitching; there’d been a bust here last week, and something had cloaked the whole block from surveillance.

These days, he was almost tempted to check what Danny knew about it. Ghosts fucked with technology in ways none of the bats would find.

Black Bat stopped them half way down the gap, feet braced against one wall and her back to the other, leaving her “sitting” about twenty feet off the ground.

Hood matched her a little further down, grumbling a little at the crush. Almost a foot taller, it wasn’t exactly a comfortable position for him, but he’d held worse.

They were stable, and damn near impossible to observe. This was as good as they’d get.

“So,” he began, and immediately realized he had no fucking clue what to say.

Black Bat’s flat, expressionless mask was not helpful.

Hood wished he could pull his helmet off, just to run his hands through his hair. But they were on patrol.

Black Bat just waited, silent and patient while he wrestled with himself. Finally he decided to just spit it out.

“Danny died, and came back,” he said in a rush, glancing over to her.

Black Bat nodded.

“Like you.”

“Like us,” Hood corrected, groaned, and switched off the voice modulator. Actually, fuck it, he had his domino on.

He pulled the helmet off, balancing it in his lap. He could shove it back on if it came time to go.

Black Bat was beside him now, almost close enough to touch. Close enough to lean in and bump their shoulders together.

“One main difference,” she noted thoughtfully, then tapped her chest, “no skin change.”

Which, yeah, Jason had been hoping to emphasize before any of the family got too far down the right track.

“Right,” he agreed, leaning back to stare blankly into the smog of Gotham above them.

Fuck. How do you even say it? How do you tell someone they’re not fully human anymore?

Someone like Cass, who’d been raised to believe she’d never been human, by force. Just a weapon.

Her hand was in his now, and he couldn’t be sure if he’d reached out or she had. He stared down at their laced fingers instead.

“You know how people get when they spend too long around the pit water,” he began slowly, trying a different path.

Cass had been raised around the League of Assassins. She knew.

And took the change of topic fully in stride, nodding and giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Erratic,” she mused softly, her face tilted to the wall across, “unpredictable, especially if they went in.”

No one was going to say Ra’s Al Ghul was an unstable mess of a man, but no one had to. Still, how controlled he was was impressive, especially after you saw what mere exposure to the fumes did to other people.

Red Hood nodded, sighing softly.

“Danny’s parents kept it in the fridge. He was… exposed long before he died,” he explained quietly.

If he was talking about himself, he’d say “contaminated”. Hell, it was the word Danny used when explaining it to the bats.

Jason just couldn’t use it about Danny. It just wasn’t right.

Black Bat stilled, almost enough to be mistaken for a statue instead of a living being. Was that her liminality too? Or just her training?

Red Hood couldn’t stand it either way, giving her hand a gentle tug.

“He told me… being around it too long can change a person, even if they never get dunked,” he said slowly, trailing off again.

“We got dunked,” Black Bat said quietly, her hand curling more tightly around his. There was no hint of emotion in her voice, and Jason hated it.

Pulled her closer, doing all he could to project comfort-sorry-concerned-love you. Wishing he’d asked Danny to teach him to do that first.

Neither of them had really considered he’d need it, since Danny was so good at reading him. But he needed her to know she wasn’t alone.

Her shoulders hunched suddenly, body tensed to spring until her head snapped round to focus on him.

He could… he could feel surprise from her. Maybe it was working.

He gave a graceless half shrug, grinding his shoulders against filthy bricks.

Tried to project yeah it’s weird for me too, but wasn’t sure how well it came across. Anything beyond pure feelings was a little tricky for him to push, though he could usually work out what Danny was saying.

“We got dunked,” he agreed quietly, resolving instead to wrap her in love-protect-safe-safe-safe, “and sometimes… that changes you even without a flashy transformation.”

It was an awful explanation and he knew it, could practically feel her eyes darting all over his face, his posture, reading things he probably wasn’t aware he was showing.

Then she relaxed all at once, settling in and leaning part of her weight on him as well as the wall. He braced automatically to take it. He wouldn’t let her fall.

“He called it being “liminal”,” he explained softly, working an arm around her shoulders above the wall to coax more of her weight onto him. “I don’t know what it means for you yet, BB. But nothing bad. He was sure it wouldn’t be bad.”

Black Bat made a soft humming sound, obediently shuffling so he could wrap his arm around her. Looking down at their still twined hands.

“Can feel you,” she said softly, hand rising to tap gently against the red bat on his chest. “Big brother.”

It startled a bark of laughter out of him, because… well, yeah. A good way to sum up everything he’d wanted to tell her without words.

Felt a quick rush of satisfaction from Black Bat, and tried to answer it with relief-agree-protect.

“Yeah, that’s the fuckin’ weirdest part,” he agreed dryly, almost felt the rush of her giggle more than he heard it. “Apparently some liminals get this… aura around them. Sharing what they feel. I didn’t know if you would…”

What? If she’d notice? If she’d be able to feel the same things?

Black Bat nodded, head tipping up to meet his gaze once again.

“Robin? Batman?” She asked, and Jason hesitated.

He couldn’t talk to either of them about it. Not yet. Bruce would fucking push, he always did, and wouldn’t stop until he tore the secrets out of him. Damian would just run to Bruce.

But it was a valid question. And they did sort of deserve to know just as much.

For now he took refuge in what he knew, shrugging it off.

“Danny thinks they’re liminal, but… not as far along as we are.”

Not as close to death. Not as close to not being human, although technically they were both legally non-sentient, so that was fun.

“D’you really think either of them have the emotional bandwidth to share?” He tried to joke, covering the moment.

Black Bat just stared at him until he fell silent. Then nodded.

“Should tell them. No rush,” she added almost before Jason could tense, leaning back in and resting her head on his shoulder, “have been for a while, yes?”

Jason paused a moment longer, shook his head, and snickered.

“Cannot believe I ever doubted you’d be able to do the whole “emotional telepathy” thing,” he grumbled good naturedly, and Black Bat glowed with gentle amused.

“Better than you,” she told him archly, sounding for a moment like Steph when she was teasing Tim. Jason gave her a squeeze.

“Don’t I know it. But yeah, it’s not a new thing, and won’t mean anything to anyone unless one of us dies again.” Which he wasn’t going to think about.

Shit, someone said Robin was out tonight.

Nope. Not thinking about it. Robin had been patrolling for years, and as much as he whined about his solo patrol route, he never deviated.

Not after Oracle had highlighted his route on his wrist computer for him and proved she could see every footstep. She wouldn’t necessarily tell Bruce, but she’d always know.

Black Bat nodded, resting against him for a moment longer before sitting up again.

“You want to wait.” It wasn’t a question, but he felt compelled to answer.

Picked up his helmet, turning it over slowly in his hands. But of course she’d understand. She always did.

“I want to know what this means to me before I have B poking and prying into every part of my life,” he said quietly, staring into the eye slits of the helmet.

Black Bat ruffled his hair.

“Can wait,” she agreed gently, switching her position to have a hand and foot on either wall. Ready to move on. “No rush.”

Red Hood pulled his helmet back on and matched her, the pair climbing quickly out of the crack between the warehouses. It almost wasn’t worth saying, but…

“You can tell the others if they ask. I just…”

“Don’t want questions,” Black Bat agreed lightly, flipping up onto the roof. “Can ask Danny when the time comes.”

“Yeah,” Red Hood agreed, crouching beside her. “Mind if I stick with you on patrol tonight?”

He sort of hoped she’d think it was unrelated, but another moment of stillness passed across her as she regarded him.

“Until we die again,” she repeated his own words, and Hood was pretty happy she couldn’t see his face anymore as he grimaced.

Not that it mattered, another shot of amused shooting between them, followed by a much softer appreciated.

At least she wasn’t judging him for being a mother hen.

“Understand.”

**

Tim and Tucker had made quick work of the interview, and Tim was pretty much running out of questions when the batcomputer pinged with an incoming message.

Tucker gave it a longing look and Tim chuckled softly, wheeling himself over.

“Hang on. Might be one of the others out on patrol,” he explained, right clicking to pull up the monitor that tracked the bats’ various dominos out and about.

Tucker stared up at it politely, diverting his attention from what Tim was doing on the other screen, no matter how curious he was. Showing trust and all that.

It was actually really cool too; he’d not really seen a map of Gotham, and having one superimposed with little glowing lights of the various heroes on patrol was really cool.

It wasn’t really zoomed in enough to tell if Bluebird was actually in a fight, but the little blue dot seemed to be the only one standing still, so Tucker assumed she was.

How cool would that be? Watching just normal human vigilantes fight and take down bad guys?

Although off the top of his head, he could already think of a couple of things to add to the monitoring program. They might already be there, he hadn’t clicked around, but like.

Vitals were all well and good, down in the corner next to each hero’s name and the colour of their dot, but just the heartbeats? That wouldn’t tell you enough.

Tucker preferred brainwaves, because then you could tell if they’d been hit with something or overshadowed.

Although maybe it was because he’d spent his time keeping track of a guy who pretty regularly did not have a heartbeat. And it also gave him more data points for some of his cooler side projects.

Understanding the different brainwave patterns an individual made in different situations was a key part of neural mapping, and adding it to the bat’s routine would get him a ton of data.

And then they could really play Mariokart.

He’d have to ask Tim if they tracked any of that later. Not all the bats wore helmets or cowls that would support the electrodes, apparently. Although if Danny could get his hands on a domino…

Tucker was snapped back to the here and now as Tim pushed back from the batcomputer, a wry grin on his lips.

“Actually, I think this might be something you could help with, Tucker. If you don’t mind a little work on your night off?” He teased, back to Tucker’s complaints about a night of fun and tech.

Like getting to play on the batcomputer did not absolutely count as fun and tech.

Tucker beamed, excitement welling up in him and cracking his knuckles. It’d be pretty cool to assist a human vigilante too. And on a tech problem!

Gotham was fucking great. If Tim really meant it about getting him an internship, Tucker might have to see about switching schools.

MIT was great, but it wasn’t Wayne Enterprises, personal meetings, or personal tech demonstrations with Tim Drake Wayne!

“Sure! What’s going on?” He asked, shuffling over to look at the other screens now that he had permission. Making sure it was obvious he hadn’t been looking.

Resisting temptation had been hard. He deserved credit.

Tim nodded to the screen, and that? That was a message from Batman. Bruce Wayne. Batman.

Tucker scanned the message, eyes widening even as Tim spoke.

“Wanna help debug the Watchtower?” Tim asked, and Tucker clutched at the back of his chair as his heart leapt, swooning just a little.

The Watchtower. The actual Watchtower. In space. Oh he was shoving that in Danny’s face for not telling him he was friends with the Bats!

There was only one real question left.

“Will Oracle be here?” He asked eagerly, looking around the rest of the screen.

A soft chuckle played from a speaker in the bottom corner, and Tucker jumped half a mile as a masked voice spoke.

“You boys have fun with this one, I’ll keep an eye on the city. If you finish early you could walk me through that server of yours?”

Oracle.

The Oracle.

They were real, they talked to him, they wanted to talk about his locked down servers! Tim lunged to catch him as Tucker collapsed, knees giving out under the swell of emotion.

All of his dreams were coming true, all at once.

He’d never been happier.

**

Danny was having a pretty quiet night in. That didn’t used to be unusual while he was in Gotham; having time to himself was still pretty much a novelty, and he wasn’t exactly a party boy.

Of course, it was a night in with some of his parents’ inventions and recently one or two of his own, so the actual “quiet” part was negotiable.

Quiet enough not to piss off his dorm mates, but luckily most of them were engineers too. They may not always know what he was doing, but they were usually interested.

Tonight, he was alone, most of the floor still being home for the holiday. That had been one of the things he’d looked forward to most about staying behind, but…

Well, after his noisy and action packed few days… he was lonely.

He wished he’d asked Jason to stay. Just because he’d said he was going to bed didn’t mean he had to do anything of the sort.

It was just that Jason had been… tense. He’d not even gotten off the bike when they arrived, just pulling over and chatting for a minute before heading out.

Like he wasn’t fully comfortable going into Danny’s place, which was kinda fair. Unlike Jason’s apartments, Danny’s dorm was a communal space.

Even if most of his dorm mates weren’t home, there was still a chance one of them might turn up. And then Danny would have someone else bugging him about his “boyfriend”.

Nope.

Besides, he’d see Jason again at 11am (he had this horrible feeling Jason might be a morning person), so it wasn’t even all that long. He should probably just go to bed.

He should check his class schedule, actually. Work out what days he’d have free, work out when he and Jason could skip to the Zone for fight club.

Wait.

Would Jason be free.

What the hell did Jason do for a living? He’d have to ask at some point, Danny mused, logging in and taking a screenshot of his class schedule for the new year.

For now, it was probably best just to send Jason the picture so he’d know when Danny was free, and then Jason could work out a good time for them to go and it wouldn’t be Danny’s problem.

Excellent. Sheer genius.

Humming happily to himself, Danny pulled up Jason’s number and sent the picture of his schedule, with the caption:

‘Let me know when ur free for field trips 👊🏻💥👻’

Eyes closing for a moment, Danny let his awareness drift out across the city. It wasn’t something he’d done a lot; Gotham wasn’t his haunt and he didn’t want to step on any toes.

Usually he’d just expand his conscious aura if he was looking for someone, but knowing how much Jason didn’t like it… well, his passive aura covered most of the state, so reaching through the same city couldn’t be all that hard.

Right?

Frostbite could find anyone, anywhere in the Far Frozen with little more than a thought. And was convinced Danny would be able to do that with the entire Zone, some day.

Danny was a little less convinced. Past the background awareness that he was no longer in Amity Park that had taken months to fade, he’d never really paid attention to his passive aura.

It’d be too tempting to feel out the rogues, or at least react to the sudden surges of aggression and danger. But he hadn’t had anyone to protect before, and he knew Jason would feel better knowing Danny could.

That was kinda why Danny hadn’t mentioned how theoretical this particular ability was, although he had no doubt he’d recognize Cass’s energy if she came close to death.

Which meant he should totally recognize it while she was alive, well, and had more energy, right?

He had no idea where she was, which parts of Gotham fell on her patrol route, but that kinda helped. It meant he couldn’t trick himself by focusing on a particular area.

Surprising precisely no one though, he found Jason first. The other halfa almost glowed when Danny was focusing on his energy, a bubbling little ball of yellow and red.

He… was maybe with Cass? Danny’s brows furrowed, nose scrunching as he tried to focus without changing his aura.

He was definitely with one of the liminals. And that quiet little light, almost blue, felt sort of like Cass. When he forced himself not to be distracted by Jason’s brighter glow.

Eyes snapping open, Danny’s concentration broke and he frowned up at the ceiling.

Well, that explained why Jason was in a hurry to get going. He was no expert in Gotham herself yet and had no idea where the two of them were, but if he tried again he could probably work it out.

Did Jason still have a suit? Or did he call Cass in, find something he could do as a civilian to have her help?

Shrugging to himself, Danny dismissed the question and hauled himself up. Might as well get to bed; they’d be back together in the morning and he could always ask.

**

Tim was scrolling through the code for the alert messaging system itself while Tucker went through the sections that pertained to Amity Park specifically on his PDA when the other boy made a sudden, startled squeak.

Tim considered pretending he hadn’t heard, but there was a chance he’d found the answer. So he glanced over.

“Any luck?” He asked, noting Tucker’s sudden strained expression. Maybe the guy needed the bathroom actually. They’d been down here a while.

Tucker laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So… uh… what exactly does the bug we’re looking for do?” He asked in a small voice, looking more embarrassed than Tim had ever seen.

Which… was not a proportionate response for that noise. And a question that they both probably should have thought of sooner.

He’d meant to mention it, since they’d have to explain it to the Amity Parkers at some point.

“So… remember how the Justice League never responded to an alert from Amity Park?” Tim asked not a little sheepishly himself.

Tucker nodded, not actually looking any less embarrassed himself either. That was definitely a great sign.

Tim sucked in a deep breath and forged ahead.

“So, it turns out there’s a bug in the Watchtower’s systems, where anything coming in from Amity Park gets marked as spam and funnelled straight into trash. We fixed the marking as spam thing, which I guess was user error, but it’s still-”

“All going to trash,” Tucker finished with a sigh, grimacing and shaking his head, “aaaaand I think I know why. But the timeline doesn’t make sense?”

That… that wasn’t even on the same continent as what Tim’d expected he’d say.

“The timeline?” He asked, brows furrowing, sliding over to peek at Tucker’s screen.

Tucker shook his head again, angling it so that Tim could see… a section of code that shuddered faintly in and out, almost disappearing entirely every few seconds.

That.

That was not a thing that should be happening.

Tim would have loved for it to be a simple screen glitch, but it was only that one small section of code. The lines above and below were fine, and Tucker could move the flickering chunk up and down.

“Yeah, this is your problem,” the Black man sighed, wiggling the section demonstratively, clearly aware of Tim’s shattered hopes.

Heartless man. Genius man.

“You’ve had ghosts in your back end. Probably wouldn’t even show up on an uncontaminated device. Which, by the way…” he trailed off, and Tim shook his head immediately.

“Not tonight. No changes to the batcomputer without Bruce’s say so,” Tim said firmly, since he’d already fucked up once. Might as well limit the damage.

Tucker shrugged and nodded back to the section of code.

“Okay. But this… this was definitely Technus. And that makes no sense? He’s a spirit of technology, we’ve fought him a bunch of times, but if he got into the Watchtower’s code he wouldn’t just… hide,” he tried to explain, adjusting his beret fussily.

It totally wasn’t adorable.

Tim did his best to keep up though, nodding along and thinking back over everything they’d been told about ghosts so far.

“You think we’d have noticed?” He asked, and Tucker snorted.

“He likes making giant robot bodies out of toasters, you’d definitely have noticed him on your space station,” he agreed dryly, then sighed.

Frowned down at the tablet again.

“I mean, Danny could make him do it and behave himself now, but if these changes were active during the whole Pariah Dark thing… I dunno, Technus should have been a way bigger problem. He’s not subtle.”

Tim frowned, thinking about what Tucker had said and then pausing.

“Danny could make him behave now?” He asked and Tucker pulled another face. Like he hadn’t meant to say that.

“Well, yeah, Danny’s miles out of Technus’ league now,” he tried to brush it off with a laugh, “the guy knows he’ll lose any fight so he’s really not a problem anymore. We have hackathons,” he added and Tim really wanted to know more about that.

There was just. Something off about Tucker’s answer. Not the content itself, just the way Tucker clearly wasn’t saying something.

That was a problem for future Tim though. Present Tim had a job to do.

“So can you fix what he did?” He asked the important question, and Tucker made another face.

“Dude… whoever or whatever made Technus do this, will probably notice if we fuck with it,” he said warily, and Tim shrugged.

“Whoever or whatever made Technus do it couldn’t do it themselves. How would they know?” He shot back, and Tucker chewed his lip.

Shook his head.

“Lemme text Danny. He’s the ghost expert, he’ll know how much we should worry about this,” he explained quickly, pulling out his phone and shooting off a short message.

Tim gave him his very best deadpan expression.

“How much we should worry about technology ghosts getting into space and fucking with Justice League HQ. I have the feeling the answer is “a lot”?” He offered sweetly, and Tucker snickered.

“Yeah, well, we’ll see. Might actually be alright, if this is all he touched. And, since you won’t let me juice the big computer, we’d have to scan the whole thing through my PDA. Every line of code,” he added, like Tim wasn’t already dreading it.

Tim sucked in a slow breath, weighing his options.

Touching the batcomputer? Ultimate no-no. But Tim’s personal laptop… it had access to the Watchtower’s systems, and was under Tim’s personal control.

And would let Tim go through the sensitive data himself, which the core code of the Watchtower was full of. The question was, did he trust Tucker not to install anything dangerous?

That question had been answered the second he asked Tucker to help him debug though. Clearly the guy could already put what he wanted, where he wanted, and with their current tech?

None of the bats would ever know. At least if Tim’s computer got the update, he’d have a chance at spotting ecto-infused code.

There were other computers they could use of course, old or unnetworked computers that Bruce would probably insist they start with.

Which wouldn’t be able to access the Watchtower’s servers, and couldn’t hold the whole thing to be able to run a useful check.

The answer really was kinda obvious.

Tim looked to Tucker, who’d been texting away while he thought things through.

“We can’t do the batcomputer, but is there anything you could do for my laptop tonight, or do we have to wait on Danny still?” He asked, deeply regretting that they’d gone to video games instead of the tech upgrade.

At the time he’d been planning on having a burner laptop done though, so it probably wouldn’t have been as useful.

Tucker shrugged cheerfully and slid his phone into his pocket, cracking his knuckles.

“Well, I can’t give you the full infusion to let you open Amity’s encrypted data, but I can write you a little something that should expose Technus’s code even without it,” he offered, and Tim brightened up.

“How long?” He asked eagerly, wondering if Tucker would let him watch. It’d be fair if he didn’t, Tuck had been cool about not looking when Tim played on the batcomputer, but…

Tucker smirked, flicking open a new screen on his PDA.

“How long will it take you to get the laptop down here?” He asked smugly.

Tim booked shit to the elevator.

**

Private Chat: DannyP & TooFine

2:15am

‘TooFine: Danny when tf did u have Technus hack the JL’

‘DannyP: ……. 👀 u cannot prove i did that 🚫🚫’

‘TooFine: I’m helping Tim debug the Watchtower’

‘TooFine: double fuck u for not telling me about Batman btw’

‘TooFine: someone sent all the Amity alerts to trash’

‘TooFine: if we keep talking about this I might accidentally send something to the group chat 🤨’

‘DannyP: FUCK FINE DONT TELL SAM 🏳️🏳️🏳️’

‘DannyP: after the pd thing’

‘DannyP: cw called’

‘DannyP: they hadnt been reading the messages anyway i just’

‘DannyP: shitty people track the jl y’know? and i didnt want em knowing about us’

‘DannyP: let em all think its a joke and then no one else comes an tries to use our portal to harness the realms and blow up superman or whatever’

‘TooFine: dude u fucking told me to tell them what actually happened??’

‘TooFine: pretty sure anyone tracking the jl will work that out now’

‘DannyP is typing’

‘DannyP is typing’

‘DannyP is typing’

‘DannyP: ok so maybe i didnt think that through 😔😔😔’

‘TooFine: no shit. I’m fixing the code in case any new alerts come through but it’s not like they’ll bother to call’

‘DannyP: not like they need to, frighty’s got em covered 🗡️🗡️🎃’

‘TooFine: yeah yeah. I’ll set it to ping u too’

‘DannyP: ur the best tuck 🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♂️’

‘TooFine: better than u deserve’

**

Across the city, Red Hood and Black Bat had stopped for smoothies. Patrol was quiet, and word on the street was that Bluebird was mostly to blame.

Nobody wanted to know why she was back and taking no prisoners, so even the docks were almost deserted.

Then again, with Riddler and Waylon snapped back off the streets, Penguin lying low in fear of Harley, and Batwoman making Two Face’s life a personal hell?

Yeah, no wonder the smaller players were lying low.

Hood had pulled his phone out to check in on the Alley in case they’d be more useful there when he noticed a message from Tucker’s private chat app.

It was from Danny.

Danny had sent him his class schedule. Told Jason to let Danny know when he was free. Like class was the only thing that’d stop Danny from wanting to see him.

Jason was so lost in staring at his phone, utterly swamped in the implications, that he didn’t even notice Black Bat finish her smoothie and swap out her empty cup for his.

Danny wanted to see him again.

He’d have to work out a proper schedule of his own.

**

Bruce was having a Bad Day. An extended bad day, one that was fast approaching 48 hours long.

As if everything with Amity Park wasn’t already bad enough, both in the past and the present, now Constantine believed there was something wrong with Jason.

That his son wasn’t fully human anymore.

Now, Bruce’s best friends weren’t even a quarter human between them, and no matter what everyone seemed to think he was perfectly happy with meta humans.

So long as they kept themselves safe.

Preferably where they wouldn’t be mind controlled, kidnapped, or held hostage every few days. Frankly being a meta was probably stressful enough even in a normal city.

But he’d keep Gotham’s metas as safe as he could, just like Duke.

But Jason… Jason had been born human. Had lived as a human, died as a human, and Constantine seemed so sure he’d come back as something else.

“Revenant” the man had called him. An animated corpse that haunted the living, powered by rage.

Bruce might even have believed it two years ago, when Jason first returned. Jason had been so angry, intent on destroying Tim when the other was just a child.

When Jason was little more than a child.

But… that wasn’t all he was. He was himself, truly Jason Todd in ways Bruce hadn’t wanted to believe. He’d fought his rage and won every day.

Most days.

And being around Amity Park, being around Daniel James Fenton, might be enough to push him back over. To drag Jason closer back to death.

Halfas could act as psychopomps, bringing lost souls safely to the other side.

Jason had only just become himself again. They had only just begun healing the rift between them.

Bruce couldn’t lose him again.

They had to keep him away from Amity Park. It was as simple as that really; something in Jason’s resurrection had gone wrong and they all knew it.

Even Jason himself wouldn’t argue with that. Something about his death clung to him, poisoned him with that violent green rage.

His children’s reports told him that Danny was claiming to help with the pit rage because he had also been exposed. But what if he was just helping the pit?

Even if he didn’t mean to, exposing Jason to that much power that closely tied to death couldn’t be good. Constantine hadn’t exactly said as much, but Bruce could read between the lines.

Death magic was contagious between those who’d been infected. Who’d died and come back.

That wasn’t fun to know. Not with how many of his children, his friends had all died before.

Even he himself had. He’d have to investigate Amity Park personally. Take the risk himself, to keep it from the others.

Tim and Duke could help, but they were both so busy with their own lives. He would have to wait and see.

His meeting with Clark and Diana hadn’t gone well either. They’d both been gratifyingly concerned with what he’d learned and had recognized the threat.

Clark had promised to keep an ear out for Jason, to listen in on his heartbeat and make sure he was okay. Bruce would have been grateful, if Clark hadn’t also told him that Jason’s heart was noticeably slow.

Easy to pick out, even if they hadn’t spent much time together.

Just how close was his boy to dying again?

Diana had advised caution. Wanted to speak to Danny herself, see the hero who had shouldered the burden of this small town. See if he had turned under the pressure.

Pressure that should never have been his. Pressure they should all have shared, protecting the child and the town together.

It would be his fault if Danny had broken. Had given in to whatever in the Infinite Realms had stolen a whole town away.

Bruce knew that with a leaden certainty, felt the weight of it settle in his chest. The same way he knew he was responsible for most of his rogues.

He could see the wisdom in letting Diana talk to the man first. She was wiser than most of the League, and a good judge of character. Even without her lasso, it was hard to lie to her.

But if what Constantine said was true, he didn’t want to tip their hand. Zatanna and Shazam had both agreed to attend tomorrow and give their own opinions.

They could afford to wait one night. Perhaps two, if Danny couldn’t be found tomorrow.

Just about the only thing Bruce wasn’t worried about was Danny running. If he had ill intentions, he wasn’t the sort to give in and disappear so easily.

He’d threatened Bruce to stay out of things between him and Jason. And certainly wasn’t afraid of a fight.

Bruce was also quite sure that he and Diana could take the boy if it came to it, even with the abilities Constantine ascribed to the realms. He would find a way.

But not tonight, he reminded himself firmly as he strode into the zeta tube. Tonight he would go home, update his children, and get some sleep.

Maybe waiting a day or two to speak to Danny directly would help. This concussion had passed frustrating and was beginning to affect his decision making.

Shaking his head to clear it, Bruce hit the button to send him home. Soon he could rest. At least for a little while.

**

A gentle buzzer went off in the cave and Tim yelped like he’d been stung, clutching at Tucker’s arm in an entirely unmanly way.

“SHIT he’s back hide the candy canes!”

Tucker stared at him wide eyed, but to his credit the other man didn’t hesitate to sweep the pile of different flavoured canes off the desk and into the front of his shirt.

“Where?!” He asked, and Tim hesitated for half an instant.

The zeta tube was down by the cars. Bruce would be up in less than a minute. Spinning Tucker by the shoulders, he shoved him towards the infirmary.

“Get in there! Don’t come out til I say!” He hissed, already hearing the zeta tube’s door whoosh open.

Tucker obediently scurried away, and thank fuck he was quick on the uptake enough to drop his voice below a whisper.

“What?! Tim, what?! Am I not supposed to fucking be here?!” He hissed, and Tim pulled the infirmary door almost shut before darting back to the table.

He’d cleared it with Bruce, had texted about giving their guests a tour, but since it turned out that Tucker hadn’t already been in the know… well, he wanted to prime Bruce with the good news first.

The tube only pinged once though, so Constantine hadn’t come back with him. That was probably good. Bruce would be less cranky.

Tim wasn’t exactly back in his seat by the time Bruce reached the batcomputer, but he was close enough to watch him note the second chair.

Tim didn’t let him ask.

“I have a first hand witness account of what happened in Amity Park.” That was the important thing, right? That they had answers.

Bruce stared at him for a long moment, eyes narrowed and the whiteouts narrowing with them. Tim stared him down, refusing to look away.

He’d fucked up just like, a tiny bit. But he’d gotten results. Better results than anyone else. So was it really a fuck up?

He watched Bruce’s eyes widen as he realized, and was a little surprised when the man’s shoulders slumped. He dropped gracelessly into the swivel chair, elbows propped on the table and his head cradled in his hands.

Tim was growing a little alarmed now, hurrying forward to Bruce’s side. Was he injured? Had something happened?

His hand was just reaching out to touch when Bruce sighed and sat back up.

“Tim. Who did you bring to tour the cave?” He asked in a tired, heavy voice, and Tim’s brows furrowed.

What? He’d said, hadn’t he?

“Tucker Foley?” He said cautiously, wondering if he should call Alfred. Maybe switch out Bruce and Tucker and get the big guy into the infirmary.

Bruce was very still. Tim forged ahead, hoping to get to the good news.

“He was a vigilante back in Amity Park, part of the support team. I have his statement going back to the beginning of the ghost attacks, and he’s already answered most of our questions.”

Leaning past Bruce, he hit a couple of keys and brought up the sound file of Tucker’s interview.

Bruce was still a little slow as he turned to look, but it seemed to hearten him. Which was when Tim realized.

“Wait. Who did you think I was bringing?” He asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

Bruce shot him a sidelong frown, pulling off his cowl.

“Not a stranger,” he growled, though his heart clearly wasn’t in it. He just sounded tired.

Tim carefully patted him on the shoulder, still thoroughly confused.

“What? But I said…” he paused, pulling out his phone and staring at the texts.

Nope. No he didn’t.

Oops.

Groaning, Tim let his head drop.

“Ah fuck, and I thought we were doing so well!” He sighed heavily and Bruce made a grunt that might have been a laugh. “Alfred’s going to be unbearable.”

That shut Bruce right up, as it should, and then Bruce sighed again. They were moving past it then. Probably for the best, since Alfred would lecture them both on the importance of communication later.

At least it wasn’t only Tim’s fault. The only person who wasn’t a stranger or a bat had been Harley, and he wasn’t actually sure if Harley had cave privileges.

Well. She did now. Since that was what Bruce must have thought he was asking.

Then Bruce straightened, eyes determined and steely.

“I have new information from Constantine. The risks of the Infinite Realms.” It definitely heartened him to talk about, skipping straight to the debrief part of the day.

Maybe they could just skip right over the Tim-fucked-up-and-brought-a-stranger-to-the-cave.

“I need you all to keep away from the Amity Parkers until I know more.”

Ah.

No then. Nope, not skipping over it, because Tucker was actively still fucking in the cave. It was for the best that they’d hidden him then.

Tim shook his head firmly, hoping that if he seemed certain that would help.

“That’s not gonna work, Bruce. I couldn’t have fixed our Watchtower problem without Tucker, and we can’t look at any of the Amity Park data without an Amity Park device.” It was the theory they’d been running with, but they’d had it confirmed now.

Never mind that Tucker had already downloaded most of what was publicly available for them. Bruce would always want a primary source anyway.

Tim pretended it didn’t affect him when Bruce’s head jerked, eyes narrowed as he scowled at Tim.

“You let him into the code for the Watchtower?!” He exclaimed in a hiss. Which was interesting, since Tim had kinda figured the bat cave thing would be more personal.

Then again, the Watchtower could compromise more than that.

“Bruce, read the report on Tucker. We literally couldn’t stop him if he wanted to hack in, because his tech runs on levels that slide right past ours. Tech he’s already sharing,” he added sharply, reaching behind him without looking to hook his laptop forwards.

Bruce, mouth already open to argue, quieted at once. Yeah, new toys always helped. Tim nodded to the batcomputer.

“The update’s ready to go live, but I waited because you need to see this. Open the third window,” he nodded over, pulling up the corresponding section of code on the laptop.

Bruce’s expression pinched but he did as requested, clearly not willing to put another step between himself and the answer. A quick glance up to confirm, and Tim nodded to himself.

Fuck, he needed a laser pointer.

“So it all looks good up there, right?” He pushed and Bruce frowned, but nodded, eyes scanning quickly across the screen.

“Is this your update?” He asked but Tim was already shaking his head, pushing his own laptop towards the man.

Bruce’s eyes widened at the glitching sections of code. Tim nodded, satisfied he’d gotten Tim’s point.

“Tucker Foley wrote me a program so that I could access this ghost code. In half an hour. From scratch,” he added for emphasis, and yeah, he could already hear the lecture about “compromised tech”.

He tried to shut that one off too, pointing up at the screens.

“That? That’s apparently the work of a ghost. One called Technus, who likes to possess technology, and now Tucker and I are going through every line of the Watchtower’s code looking for changes.”

Bruce’s lips thinned to a tense line and he gave a short, harsh nod. He very obviously didn’t like it, but the presence of a bigger threat did wonders for calming him down.

Tim patted his laptop.

“We’re waiting on you to upgrade the batcomputer, but we’re gonna need to check every program on that too. Everything, Bruce. These ghosts could have been rewriting everything. And we’d never know if I hadn’t asked Tuck to help me with the Watchtower.”

Honestly, Tim was just hoping none of their rogues had made any ghostly connections. The implications made his head spin, but he stubbornly kept himself on track.

They needed Tucker’s help. Never mind that the ghosts themselves were reportedly allergic to subtlety and would always go big over going home; that was a tendency, not a guarantee.

Hell, if Tim had a say, he’d get Tucker’s upgrades for the ghost code, improved firewalls, and Danny’s ectoplasm into all his own gear by tomorrow.

He wasn’t going to, Bruce’s paranoia being what it was, but he was already uploading Tucker’s program to his suit’s wrist computer. It wasn’t like there’d be any hidden malware.

Tim had watched over his shoulder as Tucker wrote it, direct on the PDA. And watching him work had been… it was just…

He so rarely got to talk to anyone that was actually on his level. Rarer still that they weren’t a direct member of the family.

And Tucker, for all he currently had a tech advantage? He’d invented that advantage himself. All on his own, he was incredible. Maybe even better with some aspects of software than Tim himself.

The things they could do together… even the internship was pretty much a formality at this point. Just get Tuck through college and see if he’d accept a job at WE.

Hell, if he wanted to found his own company Tim would invest. That kind of brilliance deserved everything it needed to grow.

He had to wrench himself back to the present moment, the “introduce new genius to Batman” step still looming large, but honestly? Tim wasn’t worried. Bruce would see the potential.

Here and now Bruce’s gaze had gone distant, and Tim could easily have kept going, but he stayed quiet. Let the man absorb new information, stop and think.

And if he still wanted to make dumbass decisions, well, Tim could argue with him literally all night. They’d all picked up Bruce’s stubbornness too.

**

It was hard to focus on the screen through the throbbing of his head, the lights too bright even at their lowest setting. He’d checked.

Luckily, it was an issue he’d been dealing with for years, and Bruce pushed it aside with the resigned acceptance of long practice.

He’d pay for it later. That night of sleep was probably going to be a day of sleep at this rate, but he’d get at least six hours. More if Alfred caught him.

For now… Tim felt very strongly about this. Had good reason to, if he was even half right about the scope of the problem, or Tucker’s uses as a solution.

After hearing from one member of the Justice League Dark, Bruce was desperately hoping Tim was right. They sorely needed an ally, one they could trust to guide them through these dangerous waters.

Of course, Fenton and Foley were close. That may skew his judgement, but it could be accounted for. Wasn’t worth more than an ally whose skillset Bruce understood, and could trust.

Tucker Foley was a tech expert, which put him above any occult master in Bruce’s book. Magic had no rules, not that could be relied on, and Bruce wouldn’t touch it if he didn’t have to.

And Tucker’s tech would work with his own.

There’d be a review period of course. He’d have to meet Tucker himself, speak to him a little, get a sense of the man. See how far his opinions would be based in fact, not feeling.

Tim’s vouch was a good first step. As little as Bruce liked that Tim had brought an outsider down to the lab. And then let him use Tim’s computer.

And honestly, it certainly wasn’t Tim’s fault that Bruce hadn’t asked. He’d been lax, not checked properly, and it was that damned concussion slowing him down.

He needed sleep. His thinking was dangerously clouded. But one thing was always true: he trusted Tim’s judgement. Probably more than he trusted his own at the moment.

They could review the situation in the morning, come up with some suitable punishment and protocol to introduce new vigilantes to the cave (which they’d never needed, because other heroes usually came through the League and were already vetted).

A thought struck and Bruce almost smiled. It would be a fitting solution on three separate sides. Maybe the punishment would be easy after all.

“Alright. I’ll need to speak to Foley first. And you will be writing out fresh protocols to address when a new hero but not a league member can be introduced to the cave,” he added, and Tim groaned loudly.

Bruce ignored him. That was just the start of his troubles.

“You will also be responsible for running John Constantine through the full reporting system, and updating the training materials so this doesn’t happen again.” It was a weight off his shoulders, really.

And a fitting punishment, because Tim would definitely think twice before pulling this stunt again. The man himself threw both his hands into the air.

“What?! Bruce! You said you fixed it!” He whined, and Bruce resisted the urge to smile.

“And I fixed Amity Park. But I highly doubt this was his only error, so the two of you will have to review every case he’s reported on before you go back on patrol.”

It was probably several hundred since they’d had the new system alone. Tim groaned like Bruce was sucking the soul from his body.

Bruce levelled him with a stern look.

“I take the secrecy of the cave seriously, Red Robin. This will not happen again.”

“Because I’m gonna die of old age sitting at a desk with Constantine,” Tim grumbled, folding his arms and scowling.

It wasn’t even something he could write a program to fudge for him; every case would need Constantine’s personal input to be sure it was filed correctly.

Bruce was quite pleased with this solution. But he made sure to hide the smile from Tim, who wouldn’t appreciate it right now.

“Tucker Foley may end up working out for us all, but that’s no guarantee a future mistake won’t be fatal. And Tim…” even if it was a formality at this point, he had to ask. “Do you trust him?”

The answer was obvious, this was Tim’s personal laptop, this was the Bat Cave, and as expected Tim nodded immediately, the sulk from his punishment vanishing.

“He’s a good guy. He’s even made a clean set of Amity Park data you can look through until Danny fixes the batcomputer.”

Ah. And there was the problem. With a solution wrapped around it though, so Bruce focused on the cleaned set of data.

If Tucker was anything like Tim, it’d be extensive enough to keep him busy until the Justice League came to a decision.

Until he could speak to Danny. Speak to Jason.

He was so tired.

Bruce nodded, leaning back in his seat.

“Alright. Tucker Foley is exempted, but I need you and the others to stay away from the rest, and particularly Danny Fenton until the League has made a decision.”

It was just a little heart breaking watching Tim’s face fall from hope and happiness straight back into worry.

“But Bruce… he’s helping Jason with the pit, he might need to see him,” he argued, arms folding again.

Bruce shook his head. That was exactly what he was afraid of.

“I know… and I know how Jason feels about following orders. I’ll tell him myself, tonight.” Luckily he was still in the batsuit, if not the cowl.

Raising his wrist to his face, Bruce activated his secondary comm on the group channel. He’d turned both off when his children headed out, fully aware Oracle would override it if they needed him.

He didn’t need to be distracted by the noises of a normal night.

“Everyone, return to the cave before heading in please. There have been developments I need to update you on.” Nothing to worry them, but hopefully interesting enough that Jason would still drop in.

No talk of protocols or anything. No, that was Tim’s future.

Tim, who was looking at him oddly.

“Who told you Jason went out tonight?” He asked, and Bruce frowned. Looked up at the batcomputer, and realized that the tracker screen wasn’t open.

That could be a problem.

“Didn’t he?” He asked, really not looking forward to asking Dick to ask Jason to drop by tonight. If Jason was actually home, actually sleeping…

But Tim shook his head, that odd expression still on his face.

“He never said he would, but he called in after taking Danny home. He’s out with Black Bat,” Tim added, and Bruce frowned.

Why even bring it up if Jason was out? What did it matter?

Tim, clearly seeing and understanding his confusion, groaned and tugged at his hair.

“Bruce. Please, just… listen to me. Danny isn’t the threat here. He’s been nothing but helpful. He’s the one who picked up the ball when the League dropped it, who dealt with all the ghosts we can’t. He saved that town-”

“We don’t know that, Tim,” Bruce cut him off, shaking his head sharply. “We can’t take that risk.”

He could see Tim getting frustrated, temper flaring, and in an odd way, it made him feel better. Calm. In control.

“Bruce, you stubborn… so what? We just tell Jason to keep away from the only person who makes him feel better?” Tim asked sarcastically, and Bruce could see exactly how he’d missed the point.

This was what he’d have to watch for with Tucker Foley. But the technical advantages would be worth it.

“We don’t know that he’s making the pits better,” Bruce said darkly, and fuck it felt good to even voice the thought aloud.

Made it feel real, less like paranoia.

Tim gaped at him, but didn’t argue.

Bruce raised a hand, counting the points off on his fingers.

One.

“None of us heard anything about him a week ago. Not even a few days. Fenton has been here over a year and only just ran into Jason?” It wasn’t possible.

It didn’t make sense. Gotham was a large city, sure, but for two people apparently so closely linked? No.

A second finger rose.

“Danny himself claims that he is helping with the pits.”

“Jason agrees,” Tim cut in, clearly looking to break his train of thought. Bruce silenced him with a stern glare.

“Danny claims he is helping with the pits. Jason claims to have noticed the same thing, but we already know the pits affect his mind. He may not understand what’s being done to him.”

That? That made perfect sense. The pits had driven Jason into those uncontrollable rages, made him do things he’d never have wanted to.

Who was to say they couldn’t have a more subtle influence? More dangerous? More like Ra’s himself.

Even Tim couldn’t argue with that, and Bruce nodded his satisfaction at the boy’s silence, raising a third finger. This… he wasn’t looking forward to this one.

But its weight had been sitting in his chest since the possibility came up, and he didn’t want to hide anything from his boys. They deserved to know the risks.

No matter how much he’d rather protect them from it.

“The little f… Constantine believes there is a chance that even being close to Danny may have dangerous side effects for Jason, purely accidentally.”

Tim’s eyebrow rose at the aborted description, and Bruce was glad he’d clamped down on it. Couldn’t quite meet the boy’s eye as he continued to explain.

“Danny’s connection to… his death,” the words were hard to even speak, another child lost, “is what gives him his power. It’s strong, and may have radiating effects Danny doesn’t even know about.”

Because that was kind of the worst part. There was a chance that Danny truly meant everything he’d said in earnest. That he was Jason’s friend, wanted to protect him.

Wanted to help Jason come back to himself and be free of the pit rage. That they did truly care for each other, and wanted to make each other better.

And none of those good intentions would matter if Danny’s mere presence risked Jason’s soul.

He could see Tim realizing it too, eyes widening and the aggression slumping from his shoulders. But he’d decided to be honest.

Clear, open communication. They could try.

“The way Jason came back… we still don’t know how it happened, or why. But anything half living and half dead can have side effects on the world around them, especially for those who have already died.”

Danny might be here to take Jason away. Back to the dead.

He’d meant to say the words, to lay it bare, but in the end he choked on them. Couldn’t even face the thought.

Tomorrow. After he slept. If they still needed convincing, he’d try again tomorrow. Which did neatly bring them to point number four.

Steeling himself, Bruce shifted his gaze back to Tim, raising his pinky finger.

“And if you are right, if Danny really is helping… it’ll only be for a few days. I meet with the League tomorrow. Zatanna and Shazam will both be there to give their opinions.”

Suddenly Bruce just felt tired. Tired of arguing, trying to make people see things his way. All he wanted was a couple of days. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

Tim raised an eyebrow again, shifting slowly to lean against the other chair.

“Then why will it be a few days? Why not tomorrow?” He asked cautiously and Bruce chuckled.

Of course Tim knew him well enough to know there would be something else.

“I’d like to talk to him myself first. Perhaps have them meet him directly. Just to be sure what his intentions are in the city.”

“And with Jason,” Tim put in flatly. Bruce just nodded. The boy was right.

“With the city and with Jason,” he agreed, looking back up at the large screens of the batcomputer.

Pulled up the location tracker for his bats and birds, watching their little trails of light run across the city. He wouldn’t let any of those lights wink out.

Tim sighed and shook his head, coming to lean against the back of Bruce’s chair instead. Not quite tall enough to rest his chin on the top of Bruce’s head, and not likely to grow much more at nineteen.

“I still think it’s a bad idea,” he said bluntly, eyes tracking the Red Hood dot in particular. “You’ll only push Jason further away by trying to control who he sees.”

Bruce shook his head, leaning back just a little more into the presence of his son.

“I don’t care if Jason hates me for the rest of his life, so long as it’s a long and healthy one,” he said softly, and Tim snorted.

Pushed away from the chair, and for a moment the distance ached.

“Yeah, well. When it blows up in your face, I told you so. Did you wanna see Tucker tonight or tomorrow?” He asked, and Bruce’s head snapped suddenly around, scanning the cave.

“He’s still here?”

**

Shaking his head, Tim made his way across the cave to the infirmary, pulling out his phone where Bruce couldn’t see it. He shot off a quick text, not looking down.

‘J. Don’t come back to cave. B has mega bitch face just let him cool down’

**

Across the city, the message flashed in the corner of Red Hood’s helmet visor. Groaning to himself, Hood kicked a goon’s gun into Gotham bay and waved to Black Bat.

“You good? I gotta send a text.” He called, deeply offending the eight goons still standing, armed with knives and fucking pipes, and tussling with Black Bat.

Which only got worse when she shot him a quick thumbs up, sat on a particularly tall goon’s shoulders before throwing herself back so far the guy toppled, twisting them in the air so she still somehow wound up on top.

Hood nodded, pulling out his phone one handed.

“Hey! You can’t just text! We’re not done!” A goon protested, rushing in at Red Hood.

Who pulled his gun and shot him in both kneecaps, sending him sprawling to the slick planks of the dock.

This was why he always took out their shooters first. Batman could preach hand to hand all he liked, it was way safer when the bad guys had holes in their hands and no guns.

“Anyone else?” Hood asked rhetorically, pointing the last gun on the dock at the remaining goons in turn. In unison, all six focused their attention solely on Black Bat.

Not because they thought they’d win, but well. She didn’t have a fucking gun.

“Yeah, thought so,” Hood grumbled, sending a quick message back to Tim.

Paused to take a picture when Black Bat actually got three heads at once into a leg lock, because that had to be a record.

‘Is it to do with your big fuck up?’ Cuz honestly, what else could B be pissed about?

The answer came back though, fast and weird.

‘As hard as I also find it to believe this, no. Magician’s got him all twisted around about Phantom. Wants to forbid us all from seeing him.’

The phone creaked in Jason’s grip as he read the last words, a low rumbling growl spilling from low in his chest.

The remaining standing goons whipped around and exchanged startled looks.

That. That definitely wasn’t fucking good. No way.

Black Bat took another to floor as they paused, and the last three fled. Didn’t quite make it to the door.

Jason didn’t notice until her hand landed gently on his shoulder, concern radiating off her. His head whipped round, and he was suddenly glad the full helmet covered his face.

Couldn’t see the way he fucking snarled at her.

Black Bat didn’t move, her head cocked to one side as she regarded him.

“Eyes. Glowing,” she told him carefully, reaching up to touch the side of his helmet.

Jason jerked back in shock, but he could already feel the green rushing away. Receding until his vision purely his own again.

He hadn’t even noticed the green haze.

Black Bat inspected him again, then nodded, going on tiptoes to pat him on top of the head.

“What’s wrong?”

Red Hood sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment to recenter. He’d never felt the rage come on that fast, from nothing to all consuming before he even felt it.

Even thinking of the messages made angry green tides again.

We will not be kept from the King!

And it was talking to him again. Lovely. Why couldn’t that part have been his imagination?

Shaking his head, he focused on Black Bat’s question instead.

“Just B bein’ an asshole again. I’m gonna pass on the cave tonight, tell him I went to bed.” It was about as much as he thought he could talk about it without screaming.

Almost forgot that Black Bat could read him too, her aura still soothing and open to him as she nodded. Rested a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Go now. Rest,” she told him firmly, turning back to the downed and groaning goons.

Red Hood hesitated, looking around the dock. It was getting early, nearly time to turn in anyway, and they were done here. Just a routine drug shipment.

The last lot too dense to be cowed by the mood on the streets, or counting on the hour to mean the bats went to bed. Cuz that went so well for them.

He nodded and moved to help her, flipping the biggest goon over and zip tying his wrists to his elbows, and then his ankles.

“After I help you wrap your presents,” he agreed, heard Black Bat let out a soft huff of laughter.

One of the still conscious goons shot him a glare.

“Y’could at least pretend to take us seriously,” she grumbled, then yelped as one of her fellow goons kicked her in the shins.

Clear message: do not push the crazy bat.

Red Hood snorted.

“I’ll take you seriously when you’ve fuckin’ earned it,” he told her, going for the next biggest body.

Black Bat could take every one of them out of the fight, but bagging and tagging a dead weight was much less fun for her. He could handle that part before turning in.

He had a big day tomorrow.

**

Private Chat: DannyP & TooFine

4:30am

‘TooFine: dude Tim just shoved me in a closet I don’t think Batman knows I’m here?????’

‘TooFine: dude’

‘TooFine: dude wake tf up I might need emergency evac 🚨🚨’

4:35am

‘TooFine: that fucking Constantine guy’s put a bug in Batman’s ass’

‘TooFine: told u we shoulda hunted him down 😤’

‘TooFine: and after all I did to help!! Ungrateful bat!!’

4:46am

‘TooFine: okay Batman fucking hates u specifically ur screwed 😳’

‘TooFine: I’m good tho 😇’

‘TooFine: I think he likes me now 😏’

‘TooFine: he wants all my sweet tech upgrades’

‘TooFine: they’re gonna let me play on the batcomputer!!! 😳😳😳’

5am

‘TooFine: u are missing vital updates bitch’

‘TooFine: he’s gonna fucking ground Jason from hanging out with u’

‘TooFine: AH SHIT HE KNOWS IM HERE ABORT ABORT ABORT’

8am

‘TooFine: u may have been right going to bed early man this shit sucks’

‘TooFine: didn’t even get to see what happened’

‘TooFine: they sent me to bed like a naughty child! 😤’

‘TooFine: I’m changing all his ring tones to Funky Town’

10:59am

‘DannyP: okay miette’

11:02am

‘HalfBitch: OKAY IM SORRY TUCKER AT LEAST TAKE THE MAGIC MIKE THEME OFF’

——————————

Next Chapter:

Tag List: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @perfectwastelandcreation @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion @redamancyardor @lyra689 @itsparadoxlacuna @alcorbearson @asphyxia778

[arzuera]

Reality hits Jason when he realized he’s gonna be a king (of the gz) because he’s with Danny who is laughing in a corner.

It had begun with small things.

With the newly made connection that Jason made with Danny, he was able to see ghosts that couldn’t be seen before. It wasn’t like when Danny went invisible, these ghosts just didn’t have enough power to be seen by the mortal eye. The halfa had warned that there may be some changes with his liminality when they decided to take their relationship to the next stage. This new ability was unnerving but it wasn’t too bad.

Patrols would get easier because of random ghosts coming up to him and giving him hints about the rats scurrying around in Gotham’s underbelly. With that information, Red Hood had started making a name for himself, and crime in Crime alley was at an all-time low. They didn’t know how he found out about the many secretive things lurking in the dark but he had busted enough deals, drug rings, and prostitution rings that people were starting to rethink what they were doing with their lives. However, those instances didn’t just stay when Jason was in costume.

Ghosts began approaching him while he would walk about town or do mundane chores. Some ask for help, others stop by just to say hi. It didn’t happen too often at first but kept growing as time went on and the weirdest thing about it was… they all bowed to him.

Without fail.

During every ghostly interaction, Jason was either greeted with a curtsy or a bow before the conversation began. Older ghosts started referring to him as ‘my lord’ and if it wasn’t for the fact that he was used to Alfred calling him ‘master’ all of the time, Jason would have probably gone off on the undead people. He just didn’t understand where it was coming from. Jason wasn’t a lord. He wasn’t some sort of royalty. He was just an undead sap who was engaged to the Ghost King… wait.

No.

No way.

There was no way in hell (literally) that this was a thing.

“Hey, babe.”

Did that mean… did that mean he would become a royal? A king no less?!

“Baaaabe.”

The king title wasn’t a guarantee. Danny was the king. Can there be two kings? Does that make him a prince consort? What the fuck, was he a prince?

“You hunkalicious tank of a man, notice me.”

What did that mean for him? If he was a king of the Ghost Zone, did that mean he had to go to galas and such? It was bad enough when Bruce tried to rope him into those things but now he might be obligated too. There was no way that he would leave his fiancee hanging.

“Ancients, you are beautiful but why must you have such a thick skull? BAAABE!”

Wait, what responsibilities would he have? Jason didn’t know anything about politics in the Ghost Zone other than you can rule it by beating the previous king in trial by combat. What would he be in charge of? Sure, he helped ghosts when they asked but only when it was within his power. There was only so much that he could do.

“JASON SEXY ASS TODD! LOOK AT ME!”

Jason threw the person that had touched his shoulder across the room. A man with black hair and blue eyes sailed, a little too easily, over the kitchen counter and lightly smacked into the corner wall. The twenty-four-year-old man slid to the floor while looking at Jason with eyes full of surprise. There was a brief awkward pause before Danny smirked from his spot on the floor and said, “Does this count as spousal abus-”

“AM I A KING NOW?!” Jason blurted out before his fiancee could finish. He had to know or else the thoughts were going to plague his mind.

Danny blinked at him owlishly before a wicked grin made its home on his face. “Um… yes? Well, king is a part of the title. I’m the king but you’ll be my king consort or queen consort if you prefer. If you don’t want to use gender-specific terms we could go with royal consort. Why are you so surprised…” the halfa’s grin grew wolfish as Jason turned red from embarrassment. “Wait… are you just now realizing this?”

“YES!” Jason exclaimed as he threw his hands into the air. “It’s not like you told me?!” Danny absolutely loses it. The halfa clutches his sides from laughter as Jason’s expression just continues to become more flustered. “Stop it! This isn’t funny!”

“You’re right! It’s hilarious! You yeeted me into the kitchen wall!” Danny yelled right back, amusement dancing behind his icy blue eyes as his shoulders continued to shake from laughter. “Because that big brain of yours just NOW figured out that marrying a king makes you royalty! We’ve been together for three years!”

“I have read enough period novels to know how the right of succession and all of that works! I just didn’t expect to actually become one! I mean look at me!” Jason gestured to his entire body, black tank top, boxers, and all, to Danny. “Do I look like king material to you?!”

Danny gives his lover an appreciative once over and smirked. “You’re right, king’s consort probably won’t work. How about being the king’s treasure instead?”

The anti-hero’s mind stopped for a moment until his face was as bright as a tomato. “That’s it. We’re over. I’m not yours anymore, take the ring back.” Jason grumbled and made a show of taking the engagement ring off but not actually trying.

“But making you mine would be my second crowning achievement,” Danny whined, making his way over to Jason and draping himself across the strong man’s shoulders.

“Okay, we really are done now.”

The halfa chuckled and nuzzled into Jason’s neck, placing a kiss at the spot where the shoulder connected with a small hum. His hand moved to cover Jason’s ringed one. “I know you are a bit freaked out… and that it’s a lot. I won’t lie that it will probably be a bit overwhelming but… you don’t have to learn everything right away and you aren’t alone. You have me, Jazz, Sam, tucker, your siblings, Alfred, and as much as you don’t want to admit it, Bruce. All joking aside, I think you would make a wonderful king. You are just and fair and when someone goes too far, you aren’t afraid to put your foot down to protect those who need it. You won’t let someone use you or walk over you and I need someone by my side who will help rein me back in if I go too far. With all of those things considered… you are actually overqualified.”

“Hn…” Jason squeezed Danny’s hand and leaned back against him. “Are you sure?”

“If a guy who can’t die right at a young age can become the Ghost King, I think a badass partially dead anti-hero can become a king too.”

----------

Did I read Danny flirts with Jason? That’s what it looked like to me.

[smolbeandrabbles]

Sway Pt.3 - Danny Rayburn x Reader (Bloodline)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Here / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6  / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

Author’s Note: This is more...  set up... than anything. This was only meant to be the start of Part 3, then I had to split Part 3 into Part 3 & 4... So they’re meant to be read together... Really. Uh, The car picture is literally cuz I needed another picture, having said that your car does get an unprecedented amount of attention in this chapter. ALSO, did anyone else realize that I’ve written 2 parts to this supposed romance, but haven’t written a kiss yet!?! Let’s change that!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but “You” (Well, not you!) and my OCs. I know nothing about restaurants. Jason can now do a bit of everything because I said so. Whilst your age is never really stated I have ‘you’ at late 20s/early 30s in my head... Probably as many years between you and Danny as there is between you and Nolan (?) You’ll notice sometimes the restaurant is closed at odd times... I think Danny would sometimes choose to have half days, or days when it was open in the evening only, etc...

Premise: You get a surprise introduction to Nolan Rayburn... Danny takes you for a lunch date... I finally write an actual kiss scene! That’s it, that’s the part

Word Count: 6613 

Warnings: None? The usual Rayburn family drama... Casual swearing? Sex is mentioned fleetingly?

Someday we're gonna blink twice Say it happens like that How much money we saved up For the time that we gave up Well, it'll all just be math

I know I'm only human Don't know how many sunsets I got left And I don't wanna ruin This moment by wondering what comes next I just want to love you Like it's all I'm living for Hold you close, enjoy you more And spend a little less time keeping score

----

So can I dance with you And take a chance with you Maybe start a running through the rain romance with you Baby, catch our own little winning streak, you and me

Wednesday, 12:30pm - Viva Caputa, Miami

Javier whistled as the sleek silver Porsche rolled into the Viva Caputa parking lot; "Oy! Danny!! We’ve got company. And by company I mean biggggg spending company…!" Javi could hear Danny laugh from the kitchen "What!?" "I mean someone just pulled up in a Porsche 911…!" Javier continued cleaning glasses, lunch today wasn't slow it was just everyone in his section seemed content. The front door opened and he looked up.  She was in a casual blue and white shirt with short, but not a shade off modest, shorts. Her sandals had a small wedge heel and the bag slung over her shoulder was designer. “Amorcita!” Though true Javier had only seen her once, he felt like he knew enough about her from Danny’s constant chatter to address her so informally. It was rare Danny's love affair ever looked anything less than immaculate and even casual today was no exception. She smiled at him and leant across the counter “Hi... Is Danny in?” He whistled. “Did you just ask for Danny!? You're lucky lunch time isn't that busy today... Lemmie check!” he turned “Hey! Danny! It's been a hot-hot minute but I guess you were right! She is asking for you!” This was clearly a conversation you had missed as Danny poked his head curiously out of the kitchen window; “Y/N...! Y/N, Y/N, Y/N... Just give me two seconds...” You sat down at the bar “Am I missing something?” “No... But I am. Are you seeing each other now!?” Javier looked from the bar to the kitchen, eyebrow raised You tilted your head with a mysterious little smile “And what if we are?” “Well DAMN!” Javier put his hands on his hips “Like a serious thing? Not like a Danny thing?” “No... Like... A serious thing.” Not that you knew what a ‘Danny Thing’ was… “I thought so... The second he came in that Saturday talking about you I knew it was either going to never happen or be a serious thing. It was the WAY he talked. I've never seen Danny like that about anyone... It was nice to see...” That at least made you proud of yourself. “I’m Javier. I think you knew that… You’re clearly Y/N… It’s good to meet you… again.” You returned his greeting as he looked expectantly out of the door, and then craned around the bar you were sitting at with a huff; “What’s up?” “So, this Porsche 911 pulls up in our lot, I just want to see who's spending all the money here today. At least that’s what we’ll be hoping for.” “Oh!” You laughed “Well, you’re talking to her.” He stared at you for a good ten seconds before blinking fast; “Sorry!? What!?” He shook his head “How!?” You sighed, “Because… My last name is Ervin? I guess?” “Ervin!? Ervin! – Only a name you see on nearly every street in Miami. With the way you speak Spanish!?” “Well, it’s my dad’s mom who is Argentine. His dad is American.” “…His name is Jack.” Javier was clearly brushed up on the lofty heights of the Prime Movers in Miami real estate. “No… To blend in with his Miami high rise living his name is Jack, Jack is an adaption of John which in Spanish is Juan.” You smiled “His birth name. My mom is half-American half-Puerto-Rican. Maria Velez. Very Hispanic.” “…How come the Harrison part?” It was Danny that voiced the question, joining Javier behind the bar. “J. Harrison? He’s one of my dad’s best friends and essentially helped him build the business – his first investor. He’s responsible for the property development part. We were just going to be real estate.” “...So... not really by himself.” Danny folded his arms and his smile proved his point. “Okay, Smart-ass. But Jorge was never actually a part of the business. My dad put his name in in honour of him. So. Actually. By himself!” “EY! Like Danny and this place!” Javi jogged his friends’ shoulder “Yeah, hardly of calibre Javi, but a guy can dream!” Danny turned to you “Shouldn’t you be at work?” “I was accounting and auditing for my dad this morning. I’m heading to work after this I just wanted to stop by and say Hi. I haven’t seen you since… Last Monday.” “Hah. You’re lucky I got back alive from the Keys after that!” You leant on your elbows and smirked; “So I’m causing you trouble now?” “Well. Darlin’.” He too leant across the bar “You’re the kinda trouble I could get into.” You had a sneaking suspicion those were song lyrics. In which Javier almost burst out laughing; “God! Will you two get a room!” **

Saturday, 9pm  - Your Apartment, Uptown Miami

Thinking back to the previous Monday night almost had you in stitches. And as you recounted the scene to Amanda and Evelyn one night over glasses of wine at your apartment it all came flooding back. Amanda still lamenting, but secretly proud, that you were now indeed confirmed to be dating Danny Rayburn and Evelyn finding it hilarious that you had broken your one golden rule, but she did add ‘on a good choice.’ It had been eventful, politely so but you knew the undertones of that politeness were far from nice. Every question fielded to you and Danny were accusations, harsh, like you should both feel guilty about what you had. Even though, your parents were always quick to jump in to field them right back, you were thankful for their 12 years of experience.

John was the nicest, he wanted to know more about you, considering he’d heard a lot. It was strange, almost like he was the oldest instead of Danny, you got the feeling he was really testing if you fit well for his brother. By his tone of voice, you assumed he’d concluded you’d passed the test. His family were also the best thing about the evening. His two kids, Ben and Janey, literally wanted to know everything. But every line of questioning from them was innocent, everyone else on that table had an agenda. By no means were you treated as harshly as Danny was; which is why you started answering for him. You got the feeling they were niggling at him to make some kind of mistake. Or, for him to say something you might not like, but no one was perfect. It irked you that they would treat him like this.

When you weren’t the centre of attention and you could really focus on him, it was like the noise was completely drowned out. You were half paying attention to the conversation and followed all the cues, laughing in the right places and saying all the right filler words... But you were looking at each other more than at who was speaking. You watched his reaction to everything that was said. He could tell you a lot of things he didn’t like about his family, but his body language would have said it all for you. He was always studying you, you knew that. You weren’t sure why, you looked like you came from the same place - you guessed you just didn’t end up in the same place. There was an unspoken reason why... You would leave it to Danny to choose when would be the most appropriate time for that. At more than one point he caught your legs between his, pulling your feet to rest up on his knees he ran his fingers nonchalantly across your skin; it relaxed you, and it felt good to have that physical contact with him again.

He’d answered a bunch of your parents questions the night before, and he’d seemed to have a genuinely good time. Heck, he’d even dressed up for the occasion and brought your mom flowers and your dad a good bottle of wine from the house. It was enough. You’d all been sat there talking way into the night and you couldn’t help but think your parents might actually adore him. They told him a lot of stories about you that got almost too personal, sending you into more fits of embarrassment that had you covering your face and him laughing and taking your hands again.

Tonight, Danny was asking questions of your parents. They were good, well thought out questions you felt he’d likely been preparing nearly all day. But none of them were anything less than respectful and your parents enjoyed answering them. Keen to turn all of Danny’s talking points into conversation - and successfully - you knew then that they indeed adored him. Danny didn’t come from nothing but he had built from nothing, as they had. Your father had admiration for that and had already began to make plans concerning frequenting the restaurant. Clients of your father’s there? Danny could be no more grateful. When dinner was over and the three of you were leaving, Danny caught you by the door again, this time with a real goodnight kiss. “I’ll likely be heading off earlier than you tomorrow. So have a safe trip back.” “Yeah, and you!” You embraced him tight to you, trying to get the feeling of last night one more time. “I’ll call you, when I get back and we’ll go out...” He pondered, “doesn’t have to be a restaurant... maybe I’ll take you a little out of Miami one weekend...” “A weekend getaway? I could go for that...” “Believe you me, me too. And my staff will be more than grateful for another weekend without me!” He grinned “It’ll be good for all of us.” “Okay! I look forward to your call.” “Aw, well. I look forward to making it...” *** It wasn’t more than a few weeks later that you were sitting at home, legs swinging from a bar stool, studying some work documents on your laptop -  with Danny. He had a day off, and had finally made the trip across town (in his own car no less!) to your apartment. You could only remember him being here once before. And you remembered bringing him up here. The way he had eyed everything with more than just a little hesitation. How he’d stood by your front door for at least 5 minutes taking everything in. You understood that, you were finally introducing him to your world. Corporate city girl in her uptown Miami high-rise apartment, college degree, good job and parent’s money. Although, you yourself tried to make a good honest living on your own back, and not through your parents… It wasn’t always easy; your friends were nearly all from this fantasy land because those were the circles your family moved in. Which is why you liked places like Little Havana, and why you loved being with Danny… and his friends… who brought you back down to Earth. But you already understood that he had many years on you and all that experience… and yet his apartment was barely a third of the size of yours.

He was sat across from you drawing up some other plans for his restaurant. You’d heard him mention expanding before, but you weren’t sure how serious he was. Suddenly something in one of your work documents made you look at him; “Danny.” “Yes…” His eyes met yours, clearly grateful for conversation. “Are you Danny or Daniel?” His look said Danny… Obviously, so you clarified. “No, I mean. On your birth certificate. Were you born Danny or Daniel?” “…Daniel…” The suspicion in his voice let you know he wondered where this was going. “Daniel Rayburn… That still suits you…” “No it doesn’t.” He was dismissive. “I LIKE Daniel.” He narrowed his eyes at you, “I love Danny too! I just don’t know what is wrong with it.” He pondered this for a minute “No one has never really called me Daniel before, not even when I was in trouble… It’s strange to me…” “Daniel. It’s nice.” You tried it out again. His expression changed and you knew he was trying desperately hard not to smile; “…Well… I like the way you say it…” You looked back to your laptop with a giggle “Alright. Smooth talker… Daniel what? Daniel… Rayburn… What is your middle name?” He hesitated and his face fell… He bit his lips together and you knew that he wasn’t going to be forthcoming with the information. You guessed that could mean one thing; he was the eldest son. If his family was as super traditional as you guessed they were, then that would mean his middle name was his father’s name. And from what you knew about his relationship with his father, he would rather forget it. “What’s your middle name?” His question threw you off, but you still told him no hesitation. “… Y/N… M/N… Ervin.” He nodded, but it wasn’t in satisfaction – he was asking just because you had, you supposed. “…It’s your dad’s name. Isn’t it?” Part of you didn’t mean to say it out loud, but you had. “Daniel Robert Rayburn.” He sounded bitter as he looked to the table. You took a breath, determined to get that smile you loved so much back; “So…. Danny.” He looked back to you, to that look in your eyes that said the conversation was over. Period. “Yeah. So, Danny... but who knows...” and he smiled that beyond adorable crooked smile he had “...Maybe I’ll let Daniel stick.”

 ***

Friday, 3pm - Viva Caputa, Miami “So what do you think?” Danny had his hand poised over the piece of paper, permanent marker held purposefully in his left hand. “You need to stop asking me about your restaurant.” “I just… the menu needs sprucing up and YOU’RE the business woman!” “You’re the chef!” “Yeah so…!” He waved his hand at the dishes he’d just made you try “…Make some executive decisions, I’ve DONE my work!” “Well, shouldn’t it be based on what you like…!” He sighed and put his head in his hands “Yeah, I like it all. That’s why I made it. You’re the customer, which ones.” “All is off the table then?” “Y/N! I asked you because I expect you to be able to tell me which ones are best, you can certainly tell me when you don’t like it!” “Well, I like all of these.” “If you HAD to!” “I’m not even sure I’m your optimal audience.” You weren’t sure if you liked the next look he gave you or not, he took a sharp inhale of breath; “I don’t know. Young professional, 30-something, brunch-time, female. Good group of friends. Good family life. GREAT social life.” He pointed his pen at you “BETTER sex life.” “My god.” You almost turned away from him at that. “Actually has a decent set of taste buds – will you just CHOSE!” “Are all these young professionals also in a relationship?” “…Oh…” he folded his arms and leant back against the kitchen counter “Is that what this is!?” he raised an eyebrow expectantly. “Don’t you DARE Daniel Rayburn!” “Oh god! Now I’m in trouble!” He sent his eyes heavenwards “Daniel… Honestly…” “Damn right you’re in trouble…” You smiled and turned back to the set of meticulously thought out dishes in front of you… He knew you weren’t good at deciding, so you weren’t even sure why he wanted you to do this. You were also big on sweet things… and Danny wasn’t really that kind of cook. “…Okay… Let me think about this from a menu planning stand point…” “Finally she’s talking my language…” “What are we taking off?” “Anything similar or isn’t selling well.” “What in this establishment doesn’t sell well!?” “Oh there’s a few things I can cut in favour of these.” “What if these don’t sell well.” “Guess I’ll have to fire my consultant.” He smiled across at you. You stared at each of them hard in turn and Danny tapped the pen against the paper again in anticipation. “Okay. These.” You pointed four out and then looked to him to see if he agreed with your decision. His smile was teasing and he still hadn’t put pen to paper yet; “Are you sure?” “DANNY!” “I mean are you reaaaaally sure?” “STOP IT!” He laughed, and began writing; “Geez, when this restaurant goes under I’m going to look right back to this moment…” You smacked his arm as he continued laughing and began writing out menu descriptions “…Fancy my consultant killing my business…” “Girlfriend.” You pouted; “Well.” He lent across the counter and leant on his hands “I’m starting to think she’s a little more than that…” “Danny…” You could felt yourself heat up again as he stared at you, and that crooked little smirk happened across his face “Don’t worry Y/N I’m not about to get down on one knee or anything!” That only made your cheeks flush more. He shook his head and closed the gap between the two of you with a sweet kiss; “Dammit you look so good when you get all flustered.” “Well you can only thank yourself!” Your eyes were still wide at the thought of Danny EVER proposing to anyone, let alone you. “I do on multiple occasions, you just don’t always hear it.” He winked, looking proud of himself, before he kissed you gently again. And then you both heard the restaurant door open – which you thought was odd because no one was due in until Danny started up for dinner tonight.

 “DAD!” “SHIT.” Danny pulled away from you suddenly and a look crossed his face you didn’t quite understand; “Shit. I forgot. Shit. God…” He started towards the doors quickly, then at the last second he turned back “Stay here!” This all happened very fast and left you blinking and trying to get a grip on what was going on… DAD!? You waited a few seconds, before curiosity got the better of you and you’d deal with Danny’s potential anger later. Hopping off the stool you padded over to the kitchen window – the door was of course just out of sight – which is where they were both talking; “…So I figured you’d be here…” “Yeah, I… I’m sorry I forgot. It won’t happen again.” “Yeah, I’m sure mom would love that.” “You didn’t TELL her?!” “No. I came straight here… I tried calling though.” “Dammit. My phone’s in my locker.” “You don’t open for hours. What are you doing here?” “Putting together new menu pieces… actually.” “Why? What’s wrong with the menu?” You looked to the kitchen door… deeply curious. That was not the voice of some little kid either. You walked over to the kitchen door and pushed it open gently. Maybe you could be inconspicuous about this… You nearly rounded the corner to the main restaurant when you realised Danny was facing away from you. Stopping just short, you poked your head around the corner. He was a lot older than just a kid, possibly a high school teenager. Black hair, piercings, jewellery, black jeans and over-shirt over shirt (Well. He probably got that from his father.) – Danny had a son? Why had Danny never told you this?! Was it an age gap thing?! You got caught up in your own worries just watching this kids’ interactions with Danny. “…You’ve got keys to the apartment; just go back I’ll finish up here and come back. If you’ve got home work...” “Well, I could just wait in the car… It’s a bit of a trek, Dad.” “…Yeah okay… Sure… I’ll have to get my car keys… It’ll take me about 10-20 max. I’m sorry, I should have been there… I really should have…” “It’s okay… It happens, I knew you’d probably be here when you didn’t answer the phone and…” The teen trailed off as he realised you were standing there… His eyes went wide and his mouth made the OH! that didn’t actually come out. Danny turned to see what he was looking at and for once, for once in his life he actually looked scared – it was a flicker and it came and it went but he looked scared – then stoic, then his kid started up; “Oh-! Oh-! I uh-! I- I can leave--!” “NO! NO!” Danny was on it, quick as a shot “NO! Nolan! You’re not going anywhere! It’s okay! It’s not--! I just--! Give me a second here to explain! I just---!” he put his hands on Nolan’s shoulders “Just, please, just wait a second…!” He turned back to you, now looking between them. You were making a lot of guesses about what young Danny would have looked like based on this teen. No doubt he was Danny’s son. He looked back to Nolan “Just. Wait here. Please.” “O-Okay…” Danny kept his hands on him for a few more seconds and once he was assured Nolan wasn’t going anywhere, he crossed back to you – grabbing your arm he pulled you back around the corner forcefully; “WHAT DID I JUST SAY!” No doubt he was angry, because he’s SCARED! you realised, he wasn’t shouting at you either “You told me to stay where I was.” You pointed behind you “That’s hardly the point Danny! Why didn’t you TELL me!” “Because you’re going to do EXACTLY what everyone else does!” “…” you dropped your accusational stance and almost took a step back “…Oh…my…You think I’m going to LEAVE!?” You kept your voice to the same whispering level he was at. “… Well, yeah, at this point I kinda expect it.” “Well then none of those girls was any good for you!” Upon realising you had actually taken a step back you took one forward again and took his face in your hands “Danny I DON’T care!” “You’re saying that NOW.” “No. I’m gonna mean it, I’m not saying it’s not going to take time…” You leant so you could just about see around the corner… Danny followed your lean. Nolan had seated himself nervously at one of the tables, tapping his foot and biting his lips together. See, he even had his father’s nervous habits. “…What happened?” “Y/N…That is a long story I don’t want to drag you into.” “Tough. I’m in it… His name is Nolan?” “Yes.” “Well, I’ll say this is a bit of a shock for both of us…” “Probably.” You flicked your eyes back to him; “And you’re scared we’re both about to walk out that front door.” “That’s my life.” You hated the way he said it; guilt flooded his voice & his eyes like every bad thing that had ever happened to him was his fault. “…I mean I knew you had something… All those moving boxes in your apartment told a story… I’m just not sure this is what I expected.” You pushed your head gently against Danny’s chest and wound your arms around him; as if to prove you weren’t going anywhere “…We can talk about this later… But…Danny…” You waited for him to wind his arms around you too, still watching his kid; before turning back to you at the sound of his name. You leant up, and brushed your lips against his; “…That’s going to stop being your life. Right now.” You untangled yourself from him and walked back out into the restaurant with purpose; “Y/N!!! Wait--!” He placed his hands over his face; he couldn’t watch! Oh God! What had he done!? You approached the table with confidence and a smile. Although, by the time he looked up you were pretty much at it; “Hi...! Nolan, right?” He looked at you with shifty eyes, never quite actually looking at you... “Yeah...” It was a start. “I'm Y/N... It’s nice to meet you!” You held out your hand, whether he decided to take it was up to him but you were determined to make all the right moves. He was a teenager, and like you, he'd clearly just met someone he didn't know about nor was intended to be met (at least for the time being). He took it, but he still wasn’t looking at you. “Do you mind if I..?” though, you weren't sure what you were going to do if he said No. He nodded, so you took a seat opposite him. Things were quiet for a minute, to his left was a pile of school text books, which piqued your interest. But you would leave that for a moment. You folded your hands in front of you “I'm sure this is about as strange for you as it is for me...” You gave a shrug, “Maybe it’s better to be thrown into it. Though…” You gave a warm smile; “Ah. The days of high school.” He squinted at you like he wasn’t sure of your game plan. “I can’t wait to leave.” “Trust me, we all say that until we do…!” God knows you’d wanted to leave school, only to give anything to be back once real work started… You looked back to his books; “Music? Aha! You inherited the creative gene! That’s good!” He still seemed confused by your voice, because you sounded genuinely interested in him. “…Yeah – My mom is a singer… so…” “Really!?” “Yeah, she has an album…” Danny…! Danny!! “That’s really cool!” You didn’t care if he appreciated your enthusiasm or not, but nothing about it was fake. You wanted to know as much about Danny’s son as you could… and that was really cool. “Do you play? Does she…?” “She does… I don’t, yet… Guess I could learn.” Then he tilted his head “Do you?” You laughed; “I was not really blessed with too much creativity. I mean I tried, back in high school… I have more of a… business logic!” “Oh?” He made the same face Danny made when his brain started piecing the picture together. But that tone let you know you weren’t what he expected. Maybe that was your age… or the way you looked? Kevin had already made comment enough to make you think Danny was into younger women… Maybe he was also into a certain type of woman? Didn’t you exactly fit the bill? “Yeah. Consultancy…” You gave a shrug like you were talking about boring adult stuff and leant into the conversation “Do you cook too?” “Oh. No, we don’t learn that.” “Guess you don’t need school to teach you!” He looked a little unconvinced of that… So, you nodded back to his books; “Spanish though… Are you forced to take that or did you choose to?” His eyes widened. Ah-ha! Wasn’t expecting the language change up. “OK – I didn’t understand half of what you just said but you���re-!” “Quarter Argentinian, Quarter Puerto Rican. Yeah! Interesting Mix!” You smiled “You’ll understand in no time!” “Showing off, are we?” “He’s taking Spanish. I figure I’d make myself useful..!” You winked, welcoming Danny to the conversation. Nolan looked across to his dad; “So, are you dating-dating?” Danny nodded “Yeah…” “And where did you meet her?” “Uh… on a dancefloor… In Little Havana.” The teen rolled his eyes like that was typical, then looked to you; “Well I’m sorry.” You tilted your head as a question; why? He grinned, then laughed “That you’re dating my dad!” That made you burst into laughter too, and Danny just sighed; “OH yeah. You two will get on just fine!” ***

 Tuesday, 1:30pm - Downtown Miami

Three days after you’d been introduced to Nolan you got a single word email. “Lunch?” You raised an eyebrow. Couldn’t he have text you that? After you told him that’d be nice he gave you a time and place and you drove down to the little cafe. “A lunch date Mr.Rayburn? I’m honoured.” “And not in my restaurant!” He was leaning with one arm over the back of his chair “Are you impressed?” It was a bright sunny day, and he had seated you outside. “Surprised!” You smiled, pulling out a chair you sat opposite him. You received an up and down look to your figure-hugging pencil skirt, high heels and shirt; “Stripes?! Again? You do know other patterns exist in this world Y/N?” He tapped out his cigarette “... not that you don’t look great! Of course you do!” “Are you calling me out?” “Why? Is that your wardrobe?” “Yeah Alright Mr.Button-Up-Shirt-Over-Shirt. You don’t see me complaining.” Well, that is what he was wearing. He laughed “Ha… Yeah… Well that’s… Ok.” He smiled “Never say anything about a girls fashion sense… huh?” You winked “Something like that.”

Placing your bag over the back of your chair you flicked through the menu “The email was a nice touch… Very 1999. Couldn’t you have just text me?” He rolled his eyes at your jab, but was confident he was about to get another; “Aw. Naw. I don’t text. It’d take me 45 minutes!” He waved the flip phone in your face, making you laugh “Yeah. I still can’t believe I’m calling something from the middle ages! Get on the level Danny!” You indicated to your smartphone. “Well we aren’t all wealthy heiresses driving Porches!” “Please!” You folded your arms “I hope my parents leave me with nothing! They deserve to spend it all! …And your family isn’t exactly broke.” He snorted “HA! As if I’m seeing a penny of that…!” He leant around the table to study your outfit again, taking the opportunity of the waiter taking your order to change the subject “…Anyway… What is it that you do to get dressed up like that?” You leant on your hand and smiled, “Manage a team. It’s consultancy… Mostly financial, not always. My dad asks me to do a bunch of his financials, for example. Sometimes it’s just advice.” “Oh. Business consultancy, I see.” You could see the small smug smirk at how he’d called you his consultant back at his restaurant and you actually were one. “Yeah. And I got this without help, CV and interview like everyone else… Could have worked for my dad. Decided against it.” “Sure the name didn’t hurt.” “Maybe. But the point is – I still got it the old fashioned way…” “Didn’t fancy going more science based? Like your mom?” “No. Too much of a business head apparently. And creativity. No kind of logical sense… And I panic too much! I’d be no good at that.” “Does she work at Mercy?” “Occasionally now. She used to. No, she’s at a drug rehabilitation clinic. And she’s GOOD at her job. You should hear some of those stories.” You figured they’d rival Danny’s “…From time to time she helps my dad when it gets real busy…” You gave a shrug, that was your family “…So, anyway, why invite me for lunch!?” “I just wanted to apologise.” “For what? You’re buying me lunch to apologise?” “For Nolan.” Then he re-clarified “Well not FOR Nolan... for not telling you about Nolan.” “Don’t worry. I get it. I’m glad I met him, he’s a nice kid.” You were quick to wave off his apology. “You think?” “Yeah.” His question was pointless, you knew Danny knew that. The three of you had spent hours talking before the restaurant opened, and then when Danny had to start work you stayed to talk to Nolan, including starting some basic Spanish tutelage. You thought maybe he might like you a little too… But he was a teen, so goodness knows what was going on in his head really. “How often do you see him?” “Uh... well... when I can.” “You don’t have an arrangement?” “I’m not very good at that. The only reason he turned up Friday is cuz I forgot about picking him up, see? I’ve had pretty bad arguments with his mom... like not speaking for two years arguments ... there’s no arrangement, I’d screw it up.” “Well. If ever you decide otherwise. I think it’d be pretty cool to see him again and hang out.” He laughed at your enthusiasm, but marvelled at your insistence, you genuinely wanted to get to know his kid...Hell, not even his family really knew Nolan existed... If only he could guarantee they’d all react like you. He already knew how his parents felt, and that was enough for him not to try. With you though, he would – and he had a feeling from what Nolan had already told him, that his son was more than willing to try with you too.

*** You had a spare few minutes between clients and would be passing near enough past Viva Caputa as it was, so you decided to pay Danny a quick visit. Since you’d been taking clientele there – you trusted Danny and his team with your literal livelihood – and your parents had also swung by a couple of times, you’d got to know the team pretty well. Javier always insisted on dragging you into his section, when Nolan wasn’t working… Because occasionally Nolan would pop up at the restaurant, and you took this opportunity to get to know him better. Jason was like Danny’s right hand man in the kitchen and when Danny was with you, Jason kept everything running straight. He was vastly upgraded from being the pâtissier he was supposed to be, but flat out refused to be called the sous chef. Often accompanied by the phrase C’mon Dan! I’m not good enough to be your right-hand man and you know it! When you pulled up today, Jason and Danny were in the lot already on smoke break. You rolled your eyes – that could have been a good thing, however, as that meant you wouldn’t have to go inside because Javi would keep you talking for hours… “Hey Darlin’! Lunch on us again!” Jason joked, stepping forward to hug you; “G’damn would you look at this?! How much did that set you back!?” He studied your car “No. I’m between clients; this is a whistle stop visit. But when I’m drivin’ by there is no way I CAN’T pull up to see you guys... And more than I’m willing to admit! It’s just so I can pull up at clients and look like I make that much…” He raised an eyebrow like he wasn’t believing your explanation for either thing; “Yeah yeah... I know what you’re really here for!” He grinned and turned back to Danny, who was leaning against the wall watching you “…I mean I don’t begrudge you that. But I saw him first!” “Oh! Is THAT how it is!?” You smacked the top of Jason’s arm playfully “What? Do I have to fight you for him now?” “Oh! No! Only for his affection!” Jason winked “I mean, you can have him to be honest, I’m not sure I could stand much more than I already get!” He said it loud enough for Danny to chuckle; “Alright asshole! Back in the kitchen!” “Awww! Danny!!! C’mon!” Danny indicated to his cigarette “You’re done. Back in! Before it becomes chaos!” Jason took one last drag before laughing and stubbing it out, turning back to you “Or I’ll trade Danny for your car…” he squinted at the vanity plate “Ervin 911? Were the other 910 taken!?” He snickered to himself, making you roll your eyes. He knew it was a 911, so the joke was pointless; “Well my dad has every version going. Ervin 1, Ervin II – Roman Numerals – and even E-R-V-1-N… Think I should have joined a police academy really…” He laughed at your joke this time, “Alright! Good one…!” then looked back over his shoulder at Danny, who was looking a little impatient, tapping his foot against the wall; “…It’s good to see you, if only for a fleeting moment! Don’t be a stranger!” “Never!” You hugged him back, “Say Hi to Javier! But not right away or I’ll never get to my next meeting on time.” “Or you’ll just NEVER get there… Danny would be ok with you sticking around though. Distracting his staff!” You faked shock; “I do not!” “Yeah, we get told off for it too!” “Jason!” He pointed back at Danny’s call as if to prove his point, then walked back towards the doors, adding before he headed inside; “…Danny, the kitchen IS always Chaos!” “…Organised Chaos!” Danny called after him and you heard Jason’s laugh “Is that what you call it!” He stepped away from the wall, cigarette in hand “You couldn’t have timed this any better! Do you really only have five minutes?” You checked your watch “Could stretch it to 8…? I guess… I’m not too far away. But I do like to be prompt!” He gave a small shrug and put the cigarette to his lips “Can’t say I don’t try to make you stay. No, it’s good of you to come see us!” “I love seeing you guys. They are GREAT guys.” “I got very lucky with all of them… Absolutely…” He looked to the ground for a minute, thoughtful “I mean… I got lucky with you too…” “Danny…” “No honestly…!” He stopped you, “You have no idea.” You folded your arms and bit your lip, almost bashful. That just made him smile. “You’re doing it again… You keep hiding yourself from me. I don’t know why… We’re not in the Keys anymore.” You let yourself smile but looked to the floor, twisting your fingers together as you unlocked your arms; “The Key’s was YOU.” “Baby girl…” He made your shiver as he said it, “The Keys was my family. I’d much rather be up here with you and you know it. Besides, if your parents were makin’ the case… I think I’m pretty good.” “Good? My parents LOVE you. I’ve never seen them like this over a guy before…” He laughed “Never thought I’d hear that from anyone… let alone the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Miami.” You hushed him, whether it was true or not your father never acted that way. He refused to. He might have had a plethora of vehicles… buildings he owned… investments he’d made in a million different kinds of things… But your parents lived in a humble house in a good neighbourhood. And you had always asked them NOT to give you money. Because you wanted people like Danny in your life, and if you had been any different, you dreaded to think what you would be missing out on. “…My background doesn’t matter. ALL I want is you… And I don’t want anything else to matter but that.”   He dropped his cigarette and put it out with one swift movement of his foot. You had to go, he knew that. But you still stood for a few moments more in silence. So he became decisive and grabbed your hand, pulling you into him he placed his lips on yours and wound his arms around you. He tasted like smoke and cooking spices. You took a breath, he smelt like cooking, like home, and a billion memories of both your childhood with your mom and your time spent with him; each one of them good… But the undertone of that was his cologne - Danny didn’t bother with that often, he wasn’t that kind of man – left over on his skin probably from your last date night. Everything about him when he kissed you screamed summer night; as the sunset and the day just started to cool off. You could see it in your head vividly, because that was the exact scenario you wanted to be in with him every moment he had his lips on yours. He left you slowly, letting the kiss linger, his intense eyes burned into yours “…Ace that meeting.” He left you breathless. Every. Single. Time. Your voice mimicked that of the first time you’d called him soft and almost timid and that was all him; “…I will now…”

---

@stcphstrange - Just gonna tag you in all of these now 😊😉

[studentsofshield]

A Hypothetical Mapping of Marv Wolfman’s Teen Titans Run Into Omnibuses

I tried to figure out what would be decent cutoff points for New Teen Titans omnibuses based on the size of the three new editions released/solicited. This also doubles as an abridged chronicle of the run.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 1 - already released DC Comics Presents 26, New Teen Titans Vol 1 1-20, Tales of the New Teen Titans 1-4 The big kickoff to one of the best superhero runs of all time. All Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Introduction of Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Deathstroke, and more.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 2 - coming in February New Teen Titans Vol 1 21-40, Tales of the Teen Titans 41, Annual 1-2, Batman and the Outsiders 5 The main developments here are Brother Blood and Starfire's Tamaran connections. Terra and the Vigilante get introduced.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 3 - coming in July Tales of the Teen Titans 42-58, New Teen Titans Vol 2 1-9 The Judas Contract, shit goes to 11 for the Teen Titans, Terra, Deathstroke. Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing. Jericho is introduced as a new core member. The series gets so popular that it gets the Baxter treatment. Which means getting printed on nicer paper with less ads. Which came with a renumbering I guess. The opening of that volume seems to resolve Raven's plotline (which was also the genesis for the team in the first place). The Titans defeat her father and she disappears.

George Perez also ends his continuous run as penciler for the series with Vol 2 #5. Most of the major plots up to this point are resolved. These are the only solicited volumes right now. So this is actually a good jumping off point.

So what might come next?

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 4 New Teen Titans Vol 2 10-25, Annual 1-2, Teen Titans Spotlight 1-6, Omega Men 34-35 Classic DC artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez follows up Perez for a short stint. Kole is introduced. But then quickly killed alongside Aquagirl and Dove in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Which will impact some Titans history for a while. Starfire is forced into a political wedding, which pushes away Dick. Roy Harper discovers he has a daughter with the villain Cheshire. Among all this chaos, Donna Troy tries to assemble mismatched pieces like Jason Todd to lead the Titans.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 5 New Teen Titans Vol 2 26-49, Annual 3-4, Infinity Inc 45 Eduardo Barreto is now the consistent artist on the book. The team finds Raven again and defeats Brother Blood again. They encounter the Wildebeest Society, which will factor heavily into the book as time goes on. An annoying kid named Danny Chase joins the team. They help out Dial H for Hero and Red Star.

Besides those JLGL issues and a few major plot points for characters, this chunk is a valley rather than a peak, but it’s not really bad. Wolfman has claimed in interviews that he was suffering from writer’s block for a few years. So there are some repetitive plots.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 6 New Titans 50-69, Annual 5-6, Batman 440-441, Secret Origins Annual 3 Eduardo Barreto is gone. But who better to replace him than the return of George Perez? The side effects of the Crisis are really starting to be felt across the DCU. First on the docket is to fix Donna Troy's continuity for the second time in the Who is Wonder Girl story. She becomes Troia. The next issue addresses some Titans West stuff. Then the Secret Origins Annual recaps and fixes the entire Titans continuity post-Crisis. Perez drops off from drawing the book and then from co-plotting. He's still writing Wonder Woman and gearing up for the War of the Gods crossover, so maybe he was too busy. Bat fans should recognize those issues as half of A Lonely Place of Dying, which handed the Robin mantle to Tim Drake.

Again, another stopping point. Perez is now 100% done with the Titans besides drawing the cover for the final issue of the series. The stability of the book is about to be all over the place too.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 7 New Titans 70-92, Annual 8, Team Titans 1-3, Deathstroke 14-16 Two huge controversial storylines here. Tom Grummett (Superboy, Robin) is now the artist, with a more cartoony but also 90s style. The original Titans Hunt featured the Wildbeest Society hunting the Titans. Spoilers for a 30 year old story, but Jericho is revealed to be leading them. His father (Deathstroke for the clueless) kills him and helps the Titans in the finale. Some D-listers like Red Star, Pantha, Phantasm, and Baby Wildebeest join the team. Raven and Cyborg are constantly changing. Titans Tower is destroyed. Then right after that insanity, a team of weird Titans from a future timeline appear. One of them seems to be the long dead Terra. They want to kill Donna Troy because allegedly her baby is basically the Anti-Christ. Turns out that's not true and these alternate future peeps just stick around for a while.

Depending on who you ask, Titans Hunt and Total Chaos are 90s trash or an exciting uptick in the history of the Titans with a blockbuster story and lots of status quo changes. However, past this point the book officially devolves into standard 1990s fare and loses a ton of focus. 

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 8 New Titans 93-114, Annual 9-10, Sell-Out Special, Showcase 94 11 The book is kind of shit now, but not absolute shit for some of this. A major editor left and Wolfman is running out of ideas. Roy Harper comes back and becomes Arsenal. Nightwing and Starfire get engaged, only for their wedding to be absolutely ruined by Raven. Tom Grummett leaves and is replaced by a very 90s nobody. Everyone you care about leaves the team at the end of this.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 9 New Titans 0, 115-130, Annual 11, Deathstroke 48-49, Green Lantern Vol 3 65, Darkstars 32, 34, Damage 16 And we reach the end of the journey with the final volume. With a broken team and Zero Hour allowing for soft reboots, Arsenal assembles a new one. Featuring characters you like such as Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Impulse, Damage, and Terra (the fake one). Or at least you liked them if you were still reading comics in 1995 for some reason. That shitty 90s artist is even gone and replaced by someone tolerable. But it's totally lost the flavor that made the book so genius 10-15 years before. Fans were completely burned out from the direction and the industry at large, so the book was canceled.

My divisions are based mostly on natural cutoff points and also shooting for similar sized volumes. The three existing volumes all sit around that 24-27 issue mark.

So depending on what kind of Titans fan one is, the options would be 1-3, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, or 1-9. It seems like each omnibus is about 3 trades, with some wiggle room.

Addendums:

Teen Titans Spotlight is a 21 issue spinoff series created so that Titans related characters could have solo stories that wouldn't work in the context of a team book. Wolfman only wrote 1-6, an arc about Starfire dealing with South African apartheid and a Jericho arc. No other issues are really integral to the main plots. So these are the only ones that make sense in these collections, if at all.

Other semi-significant Spotlight stories though: -7-8 - Hawk in the period after his brother's death but before Dawn Granger pops up -9 - Changeling (Beast Boy) doing some more reconnecting with his Doom Patrol past -10 - Aqualad, technically does continue from a main series plot, but who cares -13 - JMS' first comics work on a Cyborg vs Two-Face story -15 - picks up on some Tamaranian plots, but effectively a minor epilogue to the 80s Omega Men series -21 - a Silver Age throwback issue from Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle 

Team Titans is the book starring the alternate future characters that no one cares about besides Terra. First three issues are part of Total Chaos. The damn book somehow lasted 24 issues though. Wolfman was involved in the writing of the first half. There is really no reason to include those other 9 issues. And the series is totally pointless and bad.

New Titans ends in 1996. Also when Wolfman's other ongoing Titans work ends. That being Deathstroke Vol 1, which lasted 60 issues. Giving the Terminator his own book was majorly inspired by the success Marvel was having with the Punisher. The first 34 issues are all drawn by the same artist, Steve Erwin. Past issue 40, Slade is framed for murder and all kinds of DCU characters try and take him down. His daughter Rose is introduced here.

Just like the main Titans book, sales were lagging hard near the end. So they did some stupid thing where Slade literally walked out of an explosion a changed man. He was de-aged, had amnesia, a dumb new color scheme, and a new artist. It was stupid and didn't help sales.

DC has been reprinting this Deathstroke series alongside New Teen Titans. They're up to four volumes, getting to #25. The early half of this run is actually good and a decent companion piece to Titans. And obviously people are digging Rebirth Deathstroke now. Wolfman did a major plot with Batman before Christopher Priest. Avoid all N52 Deathstroke junk.

Marv Wolfman's Titans run is just over 15 years. A couple years short of Claremont's legendary X-Men run. Though Claremont also wrote and maneuvered around a wider line of closely related spinoffs. Claremont also maintained a higher average. Those first five years of NTT with Perez can rival the heights of Claremont though. Maybe blasphemous, but I find Perez more interesting than Byrne. Then there are occasional highs for another seven years or so.

For comparison, Claremont's complete original X-Men run sits at a similar 10 oversized hardcover volumes or so. Though they're a little larger on average. 1. UXM Vol 1 2. Vol 2 3. Vol 3 4. Eventual Vol 4 5. Mutant Massacre/uncollected gap 6. Fall of the Mutants 7. Inferno Prologue 8. Inferno 9. Claremont and Lee Vol 1 10. X-Tinction Agenda/Claremont and Lee Vol 2

[junker-town]

TITLELESS: 16 NBA teams who were robbed of a championship

Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, and Mike Bibby were an iconic trio for the Kings.

Enjoy this eclectic mix of NBA What Might Have Beens.

The cover art for our final Titleless division is meant to be taken figuratively, not literally. Some of these 16 teams were unjustly “robbed” of their chance to win a championship. Others were thwarted by unforeseen circumstances: injuries mostly, but also their own incompetence and other bizarre factors. They were “robbed” in the sense that cosmic forces conspired to destroy their title dreams or cut short potential dynasties.

Enjoy this eclectic mix of NBA What Might Have Beens.

16. 1996-97 Detroit Pistons

ERA: Young Grant Hill

RECORD: 54-28

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in first round to Atlanta Hawks (3-2)

KEY STAR(S): Grant Hill

COACH: Doug Collins

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Joe Dumars, Lindsey Hunter, Otis Thorpe, Terry Mills, Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie, Grant Long, Michael Curry

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

With the Bulls struggling late in what proved to be his final season in Chicago, Doug Collins moved Michael Jordan to point guard and refashioned the Bulls’ offense. (Dan Devine of the Ringer has a wonderful summary of how that happened, why it didn’t continue, and how it was the precursor to the point forward movement of today.)

Years later, Collins found a new young star more willing to play along in Detroit, at least initially. He put the ball in Grant Hill’s hands and asked him to run the team as he saw fit. Hill, an often reluctant attacker in the past, thrived in his new role. Collins surrounded Hill with shooters and role-players, opened the floor for Hill to attack, and watched him emerge as a potential new face of the NBA. Detroit got off to a fast start and won 54 games before losing in a tight five-game series to a terrific Hawks team.

Alas, the run was short-lived because Collins’ grating got on Hill’s nerves the same way it got on Jordan’s. The Pistons fell apart the next season, and depending on who you believe, Hill either asked Collins to be fired or declined to endorse him. Two years later, Hill suffered the ankle injury that would forever change his NBA destiny.

15. 1990-91 Golden State Warriors

ERA: Run T-M-C

RECORD: 44-38

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +1.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in second round to Los Angeles Lakers (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin

COACH: Don Nelson

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Mitch Richmond, Sarunas Marciulionis, Mario Elie, Rod Higgins, Alton Lister, Tom Tolbert, Tyrone Hill, Jim Petersen

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1991-92

Meet Run TMC, one of the NBA’s all-time cult favorites. With Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin forming a high-scoring trio, the Warriors upset the second-seeded Spurs in four games, using a funky strategy that involved stationing their center as far away as possible so David Robinson couldn’t provide help on their scoring studs. (Remember, this was the illegal defense era.)

They fell to the mighty Lakers in five, but not before stunning them in Game 2 behind a torrid Mullin and nearly winning Game 4 at home.

Unfortunately, Run TMC was short-lived. The Warriors inexplicably traded Richmond to Sacramento for rookie forward Billy Owens, the No. 3 pick in the 1991 draft. Golden State actually won 55 games the next year, but were smashed by the underdog Sonics in the first round. The next few years were kinda bizarre, but let’s just say they did not go as planned.

14. 2000-01 Milwaukee Bucks

ERA: “Big 3” Bucks

RECORD: 52-30

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +3.8

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Philadelphia 76ers (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Ray Allen

COACH: George Karl

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell, Lindsey Hunter, Ervin Johnson, Tim Thomas, Jason Caffey, Scott Williams, Darvin Ham

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

The “Big 3” Bucks of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn Robinson were an annual tease except for one memorable 2001 playoff run. The Bucks finished with the second seed in the dilapidated East and nearly knocked off Allen Iverson’s 76ers in the conference finals. That series featured some, ahem, curious refereeing decisions, including a potential missed goaltend on Allen’s game-winning tip attempt in Game 5 and a surprising league call to upgrade a common Scott Williams Game 6 foul to a flagrant, thereby forcing him to miss Game 7. Allen essentially said the series was fixed without officially saying it.

Soon, the Bucks went back to being perennial teases. Milwaukee swung a big sign-and-trade for Anthony Mason that summer, thinking an upgrade up front was the missing piece. Instead, Mason threw off their chemistry and they missed the playoffs entirely in 2002 after a late-season collapse.

13. 2017-18 Boston Celtics

ERA: Brad Stevens’ Celtics

RECORD: 55-27

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +3.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Kyrie Irving (injured in playoffs)

COACH: Brad Stevens

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward (injured all season), Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

Classifying these Celtics was challenging because of all the dominoes involved. Gordon Hayward shattering his leg on opening night undoubtedly set the Celtics back, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown may not emerge so quickly otherwise. Kyrie Irving’s late-season knee injury killed their championship upside … or did it, based on the evidence of 2019’s dysfunctional season and 2020’s good vibes with Kemba Walker in Irving’s place? What’s the point of comparing 2020’s Celtics with the 2018 version, since Al Horford’s not walking through that door? And how can we possibly quantify the degree to which Tatum’s 2020 superstar emergence relates to the flashes he showed in the 2018 playoffs?

I dunno, man. Let’s just put them here.

12. 2008-09 Portland Trail Blazers

ERA: Roy-Oden

RECORD: 54-28

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in first round to Houston Rockets (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Brandon Roy

COACH: Nate McMillan

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Joel Przybilla, Sergio Rodriguez, Jerryd Bayless, Channing Frye

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

What might have been if Greg Oden only stayed healthy? Would the trio of Oden, Brandon Roy, and LaMarcus Aldridge really have dominated the league for years to come?

We’ll never know, but the 2008-09 Blazers are the closest we’ll ever get to an answer. After missing his entire rookie season, Oden stayed relatively healthy and showed dominating flashes in 21 minutes per game behind reliable Joel Przybilla. With Roy emerging as a superstar in his third season and Aldridge becoming a burgeoning sidekick in his second, Portland won 54 regular-season games and looked to be ahead of schedule.

Portland’s run ended that year with a disappointing first-round loss to the Yao Ming-led, Tracy McGrady-less Rockets, who stole Game 1 on the Blazers’ home court and beat them in six. Oden reinjured his knee in December of the following season and played just 23 pro games thereafter.

11. 2018-19 Philadelphia 76ers

ERA: Post-Process

RECORD: 51-31

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in second round to Toronto Raptors (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler

COACH: Brett Brown

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Tobias Harris, J.J. Redick, Wilson Chandler, Mike Scott, T.J. McConnell, Greg Monroe, James Ennis

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2017-18

The post-Process 76ers era is far from over, but maybe 2019 will end up being their best shot to advance deep in the playoffs. What happens if one of the 700 bounces on Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beating, series-ending game-winner goes in a different direction?

Do they beat Milwaukee, a team with whom they matched up well? Does Jimmy Butler stay instead of leaving for Miami and throwing thinly veiled shots at Brett Brown’s coaching? Does that mean the 76ers don’t make the mistake of signing Al Horford in the ensuing offseason? We have nothing but time to play the what-if game.

10. 1988-89 Cleveland Cavaliers

ERA: The team Jordan always beat

RECORD: 57-25

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in first round to Chicago Bulls (3-2)

KEY STAR(S): Brad Daugherty, Mark Price

COACH: Lenny Wilkins

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Ron Harper, Larry Nance, Craig Ehlo, Hot Rod Williams, Mike Sanders, Darnell Valentine

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1991-92, 1992-93

Before the Cavaliers became the franchise Michael Jordan tormented, they were a burgeoning young powerhouse propped up by the league itself. Ever heard of the Ted Stepien rule? It’s named after the despicable former Cavaliers owner who, among many other worse things, kept trading first-round picks for nobodies in the early 80s. The NBA eventually blocked him from trading first-rounders, but when that didn’t help, they forced Stepien out, even awarding Cleveland compensatory first-rounders to prop up the franchise’s value to potential buyers. They eventually found one in Gordon Gund, who restored normalcy to the franchise.

With the first rounders Stepien surely wanted to give up, Cleveland drafted key pieces like Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper, and (via a draft-day trade) Mark Price. A fifth future stud, Kevin Johnson, was traded for veteran Larry Nance. That young core stunned the league in 1989, finishing with the NBA’s second-best record behind Detroit. Because they were in the same division as the Pistons, though, they got the East No. 3 seed and a matchup with Michael Jordan’s Bulls. The rest is history.

Cleveland traded Harper just seven games into the next season for the rights to Danny Ferry, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1989 draft that refused to show for the Clippers. Ferry never lived up to the hype, and Cleveland was never quite the same.

9. 1987-88 Dallas Mavericks

ERA: Post-expansion Mavs

RECORD: 53-29

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4.4

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Mark Aguirre

COACH: John MacLeod

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Sam Perkins, Roy Tarpley, James Donaldson, Brad Davis, Detlef Schrempf

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1986-87

Even by this section’s standards, the rise and fall of the 1980s Dallas Mavericks was bizarre. The diverse cast of characters included outspoken owner Donald Carter, general manager Norm Sanju (who endorsed a Process-like rebuild before it was fashionable), talented but drug-troubled center Roy Tarpley, and the nice-but-not-superstar young core that included Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, and Sam Perkins. But the two most notable ones were superstar Mark Aguirre and longtime coach Dick Motta.

Take the criticism Carmelo Anthony received during his career, amp it up a few exponents, and you get Aguirre. An undersized forward with remarkable scoring skills and an equally remarkable ability to leave you wanting more, Aguirre eventually wore out his welcome the year after Dallas finished one game short of the Finals. “Today should be an all-day party because he’s gone,” said Perkins on the day Dallas traded Aguirre to Detroit. Ouch!

(Related tangent: Aguirre has not had his jersey retired by the team. He was supposed to speak at Derek Harper’s ceremony in 2018, but no-showed. Fast-forward to this year, when now-owner Mark Cuban honored the late Kobe Bryant by declaring that no Maverick would ever wear No. 8 or No. 24 again. Aguirre’s number? Twenty-four.)

Calling the Aguirre-Motta relationship “combustible” is kind. For some reason, Motta decided the best way to reach Aguirre was to ride him constantly. “I’ve said things to him that I wouldn’t say to my dog,” Motta said during the 1982-83 season. (Motta later said the quote was taken out of context, supplying this odd defense: “I did cuss my dog out last night. I’d like to go on record saying that. He wet the floor … I’ve never kicked my dog once, and I’ve never had a player die on the floor from overwork or abuse. And my dog still likes me.” OK!)

Somehow, the two co-existed until 1987, when the 55-win Mavs were upset in the first round by the Sonics. Driven by his volcanic relationship with Aguirre, Motta abruptly quit after that season.

Aguirre initially welcomed veteran replacement coach John MacLeod and turned in his best season in leading Dallas to the West Finals, but after a few postseason benchings and a strange summer, he asked to be traded early in the following season.

Dallas fell apart thereafter and slowly turned into a joke of a franchise before Cuban purchased the team in 1999.

8. 2007-08 Houston Rockets

ERA: Yao and T-Mac

RECORD: 55-27

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4.7

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in first round to Utah Jazz (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Yao Ming (injured for playoffs), Tracy McGrady

COACH: Rick Adelman

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Luis Scola, Bonzi Wells, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head, Carl Landry, Dikembe Mutombo

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2006-07, 2008-09

Talk about duos destined for star-crossed careers: Meet Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady! This remarkable guard-big star tandem missed a combined 179 games from 2004-2009, which is more than two full seasons! Their best shot to go deep in the playoffs together was in 2007, when they lost Game 7 on their home floor to the Jazz.

The 2007-08 team, fueled by a remarkable 22-game winning streak, was the best of the bunch. Twelve of those wins came before Yao suffered yet another stress fracture in his foot, which kept him out for the rest of the season. Houston won 10 more in a row with aging Dikembe Mutombo in Yao’s place, but were running on fumes. In the end, McGrady alone didn’t have enough to avenge the team’s 2007 playoff defeat to the Jazz.

7. 1985-86 Houston Rockets

ERA: Twin Towers

RECORD: 51-31

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +2.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in NBA Finals to Boston Celtics (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): (H)akeem Olajuwon

COACH: Bill Fitch

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Ralph Sampson, Rodney McCray, John Lucas, Lewis Lloyd, Robert Reid, Jim Petersen, Allen Leavell, Mitchell Wiggins

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

But for a fleeting moment in the 1986 playoffs, the Twin Towers Rockets were more a theoretical dream than a coherent basketball team. Whoever picked “The Greatest Team That Never Was” for Grantland’s giant oral history of the 80s Rockets deserves a raise, because that was always their destiny.

Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon were never going to be a seamless on-court fit. The laid-back Sampson and drill sergeant coach Bill Fitch were never going to see eye to eye. Fitch’s hope that point guard John Lucas would stay sober was never going to pay off. Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins were always threats to be the ones that’d get the book thrown at them to crack down on its players’ drug use. Sampson was never going to be the same physically after his scary fall late in the 1987 season.

But it’s fun to dream, isn’t it?

6. 2003-04 Indiana Pacers

ERA: Pre-Malice at the Palace

RECORD: 61-21

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.8

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Detroit Pistons (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Jermaine O’Neal

COACH: Rick Carlisle

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Ron Artest, Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, Jamaal Tinsley, Jeff Foster, Anthony Johnson, Austin Croshere, Fred Jones

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

5. 2010-11 Chicago Bulls

ERA: Rose and Thibs

RECORD: 62-20

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Miami Heat (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Derrick Rose

COACH: Tom Thibodeau

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Keith Bogans, C.J. Watson, Omer Asik, Kurt Thomas

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2011-12

Had I known Derrick Rose’s career would be forever altered by one knee injury, I’d have spent much more time appreciating his 2011 MVP season instead of grumbling that the award should’ve gone to Dwight Howard or LeBron James. Rose might have been a tad overrated statistically, but he was an incredible thrill to watch and an inspiring foil to the hated Heatles. Looking back on it, I should have appreciated how Rose’s production and the Bulls’ combination of defense and depth complemented each other, rather than use those forces to argue against Rose’s MVP case. Live and learn.

These Bulls fell short because a pissed-off James put Rose in a straight-jacket in crunch time of Miami’s five-game East Finals victory. With nobody else there to help him score, Rose was powerless to stop the Heat.

4. 2004-05 Phoenix Suns

ERA: 7 Seconds Or Less

RECORD: 62-20

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.1

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to San Antonio Spurs (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire

COACH: Brian Hill

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson (injured in WCF), Quentin Richardson, Jim Jackson, Leandro Barbosa

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10

Picking the best Suns team of the Steve Nash era was difficult. The 2010 team was a delightful surprise, the 2006 team inspired one of the best basketball books of the millennium, and the 2007 team got hosed most obviously. But the original 2004-05 version is still — Hot take alert! — the most thrilling and revolutionary basketball experience the league has seen since … ever? Let’s go with ever.

It’s easy to forget how many skeptics the Suns had while zipping through the league that season. They ran, ran, and ran some more instead of positioning themselves into set plays the coach diagrams. (I loved this Mike D’Antoni quote from a 2005 SI story: “I don’t know how you script against something when the offensive team isn’t even sure what it’s doing.”) They took threes in transition when nobody else did. They played “small” by moving Shawn Marion to power forward and Amar’e Stoudemire to center. They built their entire team around the spread pick-and-roll. They were the first to do so many things we take for granted today. But despite winning more games than anyone in the league, they were never seen as favorites and were often derided for promoting a style that wouldn’t hold up in the playoffs.

Those skeptics got the last laugh, but with mitigating circumstances. Everything changed when Joe Johnson fell face first on the floor after Jerry Stackhouse fouled him on a fast break in Game 2 of the Suns’ second-round series with Dallas.

Johnson missed the rest of the series and the beginning of the conference finals against the Spurs with a fractured orbital, only returning as a shell of himself after San Antonio took a 2-0 lead in the series. By then, it was far too late.

Why was this a bigger what-if than the controversial suspensions that doomed the Suns’ 2008 season? Well, Suns players say so:

”We should’ve won it all that year,” Marion said. “If it wasn’t for that (Johnson’s injury), I think we would have.”

The controversial suspensions to Stoudemire and Boris Diaw during the 2007 conference semifinals are the most cited bad breaks of that Suns era, but the Suns think Johnson’s bad break was worse, especially to lose his defensive option on Tony Parker.

”There’s no way you can tell me we wouldn’t have been NBA champions if I hadn’t got hurt,” Johnson said.

And I believe them. Before Johnson became known as ISO-Joe in Atlanta, he was the glue that held the Suns’ fragile ecosystem together. He shot 48 percent from three that season on four-and-a-half attempts per game. His non-stop running kept Phoenix’s transition attack going. He defended the toughest guards that Nash couldn’t. If the Suns’ main attack broke down, he provided the supplementary playmaking. We all love Boris Diaw’s game, but he was never as important as Johnson was to the Suns.

About that. Annoyed by Johnson’s salary demands, the Suns dealt him to Atlanta that summer and got Diaw back in the sign-and-trade. It wasn’t quite the James Harden trade, but it had a similar effect. Phoenix stayed in the mix for the rest of the decade, but in hindsight, the summer departure of Johnson, combined with Stoudemire’s microfracture surgery, doomed their title hopes forever.

3. 1994-95 Orlando Magic

ERA: Penny and Shaq

RECORD: 57-25

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.1

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in NBA Finals to Houston Rockets (4-0)

KEY STAR(S): Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway

COACH: Brian Hill

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Horace Grant, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott, Donald Royal, Brian Shaw, Anthony Bowie

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1995-96

You already know about Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, the 1995 win over the Bulls, the four missed Nick Anderson free throws, and the unceremonious end to the Shaq era the next summer. If not, watch the 30 for 30.

So let’s talk about the move that turned the young Magic into serious title contenders: the 1994 free-agent signing of Horace Grant. Cue Michael Buffer, because … let’s get ready to lawsuuuuiiiiitttttt!

In the summer of 1994, Grant, the critical third piece of the first Chicago Bulls three-peat, was a free agent. Tired of doing the dirty work without receiving enough credit, Grant wanted to leave and yearned to join up with Hardaway and O’Neal in Orlando. There was just one problem: Orlando didn’t have any salary-cap space to sign him. Kinda an issue.

But Grant and the Magic designed a clever, mutually beneficial way around this dilemma. First, Orlando traded point guard Scott Skiles and a first-round pick to Washington to open up Skiles’ $2.1 million salary slot. Then, they signed Grant to a six-year, $22 million deal that included a first-year salary of just over $2 million (fancy that!) and an opt-out provision after the first year. Left unspoken: Orlando would invite Grant to exercise that option and give him a much bigger contract thereafter. Convenient and successful. Everyone got what they wanted and nobody got hurt.

Unfortunately for the Magic, salary-cap circumvention was a growing concern for the NBA. The league tried to prevent the Blazers from doing a similar move with Chris Dudley the previous summer, but lost in court. Buoyed by the ruling, other contenders, most notably the Phoenix Suns, inked quality veterans for below-market contracts that were either for one year or contained opt-out clauses like Grant’s. (This is how Phoenix got perennial all-star Danny Manning to sign a one-year, $1 million deal.) Using evidence of a reported five-year, $20 million offer from the Bulls as proof that Grant signed below his market value in Orlando, the NBA voided Grant’s deal, along with two other giant new contracts for Toni Kukoc and A.C. Green signed one summer after agreeing to miniscule short-term deals from the Bulls and Suns the previous summer.

The Magic sued the league, and the case went before the same judge that ruled in the Blazers’ favor for Dudley. This time, the judge sided in favor of the NBA, making Grant a free agent again just weeks before training camp. (He did not do the same for Kukoc and Green because it would violate the precedent set in the Dudley case. Oddly, the Manning deal was allowed to slip through, as was a similar Magic one-year deal to bring veteran point guard Brian Shaw in to spell Hardaway.) The league said they’d allow Grant to sign with Orlando if the opt-out clause was after the second year instead. Two weeks later, the Magic and Grant agreed. That’s how close Orlando’s “missing piece” signing came to falling apart.

The epilogue to this story shouldn’t surprise you. Though O’Neal left Orlando after the 1996 season, the Magic still gave the 31-year-old Grant a new five-year, $50 million deal, even though he was coming off a devastating elbow injury. After all of that, they still successfully circumvented the salary cap. Glad the lawyers got paid, though. (Shaw, by the way, got a one-year, $9 million deal after the 1995 season, while Manning inked a six-year, $40 million deal with Phoenix despite tearing his ACL. These teams were not subtle!)

2. 2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder

ERA: Pre-Harden trade

RECORD: 47-19 (58-win pace)

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +6.2

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in NBA Finals to Miami Heat (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden

COACH: Scott Brooks

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Eric Maynor, Daequan Cook, Reggie Jackson

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2010-11

We’re still waiting for the tell-all book or documentary that explains once and for all why the Thunder traded James Harden to the Rockets. We have many theories and circumstantial explanations, but no absolute truth. All I know is that these words from Andrew Sharp, published on our website on Oct. 28, 2012, were prophetic.

“So if you want to say the Thunder chose long-term flexibility over a short term shot at a title, that’s fine. Just don’t overlook the second part of that sentence. If basketball is a business, there’s a good chance this was a bad business decision. Because what happens if KD and co. aren’t good enough to win it all in the next few years? Doesn’t OKC end up spending to compete with the best, and eventually paying the luxury tax because of somebody else? And it may not work. There are no guarantees at finding a core that clicks on the court the way last year’s did.”

Every word of that paragraph came true, including the prediction that OKC would end up going over the luxury tax for a worse player than Harden. What might have been, indeed.

1. 2001-02 Sacramento Kings

ERA: The beautiful game Kings

RECORD: 61-21

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: “Lost” in West Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Chris Webber

COACH: Rick Adelman

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, Scott Pollard

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04

Just watch this video.

[thejustinmarshall]

Jason Bonham Brings the “JBLZE” to The Borgata

Interview by Danny Coleman

“As you get older and the distance and the time goes away, you realize that they might be just people but in reality they are, “Led Zeppelin.” I remember saying to those guys in a rehearsal; do you know who you are? You’re Led Zeppelin! They laughed a bit and asked when I became such a fan and my response was; too late! Without realizing it; I had been too close to it at the beginning to notice.”

So said a laughing Jason Bonham as he discussed those first rehearsals with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones; preparing to take the seat his revered father John had occupied as the drummer of whom many consider to be the greatest rock band of all time, Led Zeppelin.  On this occasion it was for a reunion of the super group, a reunion which garnered much attention and had even a young Jason seemingly pinching himself as he soaked in his role in this momentous event.

Performing as a member of Led Zeppelin and filling in for his father who is considered to be one of  the greatest drummers in rock ‘n’ roll history spawned an entire new appreciation for his dad’s talent and the band’s place in music history. So much so that between solo projects and stints with artists such as UFO, Paul Rodgers, Foreigner, Heart and currentlySammy Hagar; he assembled the, “Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience,” now known as the, “Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening” and Jason will be bringing it all to The Music Box inside The Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ on November 23 for a 9 p.m. show.

So how does one go about forming the quintessential tribute band while maintaining the authenticity, distinct sound and style of the original? Technology of course and Jason used exactly that to recruit the members of the group.

“I was told about a site called, “Virtual Zeppelin” and that’s where I listened to James(Vocalist Dylan) and literally was like, no way! So I actually flew him down to my house and got him to come and sing but at the time he was kind of a different guy back then and I told him, you know you sound like it but you’re not rock ‘n’ roll enough, he said with slight laugh.“Literally about a year later he called me up and we spoke again and we kicked it off and I never imagined it going past the time we had at the beginning; I thought it’d be maybe a couple of tours if that but it was amazing from the moment we started. The weirdest thing was that the bass player we had, Michael Devin got the call from Whitesnake after the first tour and I remember saying to him, take it because I might not do this anymore. Fortunately, last year after he found the bass player to replace himself with, a wonderful guy named Dorian Heartsong; Dorian couldn’t do the time last year so Michael came back for a tour and then this summer Michael was in Whitesnake so it was a great fun tour to be had. So finding them all came into place really but the biggest thing is, you’ve got to be a fan and that’s all it is really. When my guitar player of many, many years, Tony Catania decided that he wanted to get off and do his own thing, I was kind of like; what am I gonna do? Fortunately enough, somebody said to me, you’ve got to give this guy a listen, you’ve got to try him out and it kind of brought a new lease on life to the band. It made us go back to some of the original live stuff from the earlier and different versions of recordings; Jimmy Sakurai is his name, he goes by the name, “Mr. Jimmy” and he is just phenomenal. Alex Howland on keyboards and guitar, I’ve been very fortunate, these guys are very, very good, we give it 200 percent when we’re up there because I’m representing the family; so I always say that this is the hardest gig that I play.”

With what appears to be a lengthy touring schedule at hand, Bonham explained that it’s not as large as one might think; timing his tours with the “JBLZE” around the spring and fall.

“We don’t work as much as people would think. I’m very fortunate, if anything, since we’ve added those summer shows; we usually only do around 20 shows around May and 20 shows after Thanksgiving, that’s what we usually do. So 40 shows out of the year, if that’s all I’m working well that’s OK. I’ve got my other projects with Sammy Hagar and The Circleso that gives it space, so I’m fortunate. I don’t have a nine to five, I still really, really enjoy playing, I feel very lucky that I can do this and pick and choose when we do it. So it might look like we’re always working and sometimes it feels like it and just lately I had two weeks off and when Sammy is working and wants to work roughly at the same time; it’s like” and as if to elaborate yet leave the thought open-ended he continued after a short pause . “I literally did a festival in Mexico in Monterrey with Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake, Wolfmother, The Circle and Garbage which was great fun and after that I flew to Jacksonville to start rehearsals for this tour with JBLZE and we’ll work into December and have a few weeks off and then Sammy has started to add shows in January because we’ve got a new album coming out. Yeah, I mean there were times when I wasn’t doing anything so I can’t complain (laughs).”

Being the son of a music icon, especially one as influential as John Bonham can be a blessing or a curse; when asked if this has ever affected him in any manner, Jason was forthright yet sentimental with his response.

“Maybe in my late 20’s; I was just like, enough already, I know, I know,” he explained. You know, when you kind of want to be your own self but then you realize that he is the most influential; every drummer I’ve ever asked, every drummer that I’ve ever read about, their top three always has John Bonham in there. The other two drummers might change but everybody I’ve ever asked and most drummers I’ve ever read about say this and that’s just phenomenal that he had that much influence on the drumming world. Somebody asked me the other day; what do you love the most about the show? I said, the conversations that I have with my father in my head while I’m playing. If I do something pretty good, I mean I’m playing the gig and I’m saying in my head; hey check that one out dad. You didn’t do that one until, “ZOSO” and then I’ll have a moment where I’m watching him do something in my head and he’ll turn around and say, you didn’t think of that one; did ya? Yeah you’re right,  you’ve always been a master; what am I thinking? It’s kind of cool to have those kind of moments, like when I’ll do something from, “Presence” in a, “Led Zeppelin II” song and I think, see I did that in a “Led Zeppelin II” song and you didn’t even think of it until, “Presence” (laughs). I try and imagine what he’d be playing like now, that’s kind of where my head goes. I think of the very fundamental fills, the triplets, the iconic stuff that he used but it’s trying to get his subtleties and his space and just that groove, that is way more my focus now than any fill. His pocket, I was listening to “The Song Remains the Same” version of, “Dazed and Confused” and oh my God, that is such an amazing version live. That to me is, that is it; drop the mic. I mean the drum sound and just everything about it; all of the jam sessions within it and then when they go into, “If you’re going to San Francisco,” the drum groove that dad starts playing with the hi-hat, the hairs on my arm are standing up just talking about it.” 

“The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening” is an outstanding recreation of the music of Led Zeppelin; so how do the three remaining members of the band feel about what Jason is doing?

“I went to Robert’s show and his keyboard player came up to me and said; “You know he watches the clips don’t ya? He’ll never tell you himself and he always asks the fans; did anyone see Jason’s show last week?” “Apparently Robert said one night, “If you want to hear how it sounded back in the day, you go see Jason’s band and if you want to hear how it sounds now, you come and see me;” that was the greatest compliment that I’ve ever been given. I haven’t heard anything from the others but there’s a lot of bands out there; it’d be terrible if they thought it was wrong when there’s how many other bands out there doing it, it’d be horrible to think that. We did an interview one time and the DJ tried to get Robert to react to me doing it and in the end it bit the DJ in the ass because Robert turned around and said, “Excuse me, he’s John’s son; do you understand that? He is the best living drummer that can play that music and he does it so well; so why can’t he do that? What is your point? ” “I was like, wow and then he said, “It astounds me how much time he puts into what we did such a long time ago and sometimes I wish he would have his own thing,” and I had to butt in and I said, but I do Robert, I have two other bands with original stuff (laughs) and he said, “See? He’s ready!” “Robert and I speak more than anyone else and we call each other every now again and I try and see him whenever he’s around; there’s big love for that. Jimmy and I, whenever we see each other or any of us see each other it’s like we had just seen each other the day before; there’s no awkwardness, it’s just pure love and respect.” 

With the tour finishing up in December; what will 2019 and beyond bring for the band and Jason himself?

“The Evening,” as we call it now will always have a place in my heart and passion but as far as planning next year; we’re not too sure yet. I want to give Sammy 100 percent for the new album that we’ve done together, so I’m leaving it pretty open. I’m sure we’ll do our regular 20 or 40 shows next year and usually I like touring this time of year, the winter time and I like touring in May. So if something happens in between in the summer; there’s talk of “JBLZE” going out with another act, a very big act and if that comes to play then I’ll be a very happy man. As far as anything planned now, we’re going to finish the shows this winter and then I’ll be promoting the new, “Circle” album with Sam and as I said, don’t be sad, I’ll still be doing 20 to 40 shows sometime next year.”

Fans of Led Zeppelin will enjoy what Bonham has assembled as the music is timeless. Generation after generation has discovered and been influenced by the band as their legacy lives on and will for generations to come; to discover more about Jason Bonham, The “JBLZE” or obtain tickets to the remaining shows; please visit www.jasonbonham.net.

Danny Coleman (Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.)

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[britcision]

Alright, not a lot for you this WIP Wednesday, I have been doing a lot of spring cleaning! But here you go, just a lil Jason getting out there to keep an eye on his family

Featuring Harper Row for the first actual time, cuz she’s great and she deserves to be here!

First part of chapter 13, the rest is, as always, in the tags. Title is subject to change

———————

Hello Crime Lord My Old Friend

About twenty minutes after dropping Danny off at his dorm, Jason was suited up and ready to go.

Well, he’d stayed outside until he’d seen Danny shut the door behind him first. Jason had some fucking manners, though if pressed he couldn’t name who’d taught him them.

Danny’s dorm was about fifteen minutes from one of Jason’s better safe houses, as it happened. Jason had never been to a dorm, but from Danny’s stories?

A step below Teen Titans’ bunks, and those had sucked. Less privacy, smaller rooms, and more people? Who weren’t even part of the same team?

Maybe next semester Jason could offer to let Danny move in. He didn’t need need the safe house.

Red Hood could always buy the building. There were other apartments and while they weren’t luxurious, they beat half his other spots. The neighbourhood wasn’t bad either.

It’d be nice to pay Danny back a bit. Not have him closer. Just. Repay some of the debt by giving him a place to stay, rent free.

And maybe, just a little bit, the part of Jason that enjoyed the romanticism of his period novels kinda liked the idea. An estate for the king on your lands was a big deal back then.

A slightly more modern part of him thought being a landlord for his ruler would also be pretty funny. He figured Danny would enjoy that side too.

And it wasn’t like the guy could complain, since he’d literally given Jason back himself. Yeah, Jason was gonna pull that one out if Danny tried any familiar “oh I can’t accept this” on him.

Fixing his core was pretty damn god level on the favours spectrum. Jason could do whatever the hell he liked and Danny would just have to deal with it.

It cheered him up a little more, kept him in a good mood on the ride back to his safe house. It was more time where he couldn’t help Cass, but seriously?

Danny could change in a matter of seconds and be at her side not much slower. Walls, cars, goons, Jason had this feeling that none of it would slow Danny down.

And yeah, knowing that helped, but there was still a piece of him that only unknotted as he slid his helmet on and headed to the window.

“Hey, Black Bat. Busy?” He asked as the comms switched from earpiece to helmet display.

Of course he wore both. People kept trying to steal his damn helmet. That was also what the internal explosives were for.

The others all piped up when they heard him, Harper and Steph calling cheerful greetings around an ongoing conversation.

“Shit, Hood’s in, this mean I can go back to bed?” Bluebird teased. Spoiler cut her off immediately.

“Hell no, it can’t be a school night, Robin’s here! Great timing though Hood, we’re planning Red Robin’s eulogy and you have some experience there,” Spoiler chirped brightly, and Jason hesitated.

Sucked in a breath. He wasn’t gonna judge anyone else’s coping mechanisms until they got past “heads in a bag” levels.

Best to ignore it, since she wasn’t actually trying to set him off.

What the hell had Tim done since they’d left the manor?

Shaking his head, Jason settled into Red Hood and hopped onto the fire escape, scaling easily to the roof.

“Black Bat?” He repeated instead of answering, and half smiled when Spoiler groaned dramatically.

Black Bat answered in the considerate group pause.

“Not busy. Why?” She sounded amused, not even particularly tired, and Jason relaxed enough to slip all the way in.

“Thinking of going a little out of my way tonight. Wondered if you’d mind a tagalong?” Red Hood asked, hoping he sounded casual.

It wasn’t like he’d been planning to patrol the Alley anyway; his guys had already been told to handle it. He’d have to run around tomorrow night to keep the creepers scared, but he could have a couple off.

The tiny pause before her answer didn’t quite feel like judgement, but Jason muted before blowing out the sigh as she did. It wasn’t like the others needed to know he’d been stressing.

“Sure. Meet at the library?” She’d had his tracker up. Hood nodded, turning and running for the edge of the roof.

“Sounds good.” And they’d probably wound Spoiler up enough, she’d start plotting vengeance for being ignored soon. “So what the hell did Little Red do?”

“Brought Too Fine to the Bat Cave,” Spoiler told him with relish, not noticeably put out by the delay.

Not necessarily a good sign, since she was also this enthusiastic while actively plotting against him.

Wait.

Too Fine was Tucker’s hacker name.

“But he doesn’t know about us,” Red Hood said with a frown, catching an outcropping and swinging on.

“Oh, now you tell me,” Tim groused while the others snickered, “what a shame you didn’t think to when it’d have actually been helpful!”

News to Hood that he was on, probably still in the cave.

“He knows now,” Nightwing chimed in brightly, probably also travelling from the slight strain in his voice.

Hood paused for a moment, letting that sink in before attempting the next jump.

“Is he on comm?” He asked warily, because if Tim brought Tucker to the bat cave, it was entirely possible that they were all outed.

And that Tucker might tell Danny.

Shit, he still had to text Harley. Resolving to do it once he hit the library, he set back to running, throwing himself across another street.

Cass would probably take a little longer to get there.

“He’ll be back, he’s in the bathroom,” Tim explained with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “It’s not all bad, he’s given me the full story on what happened in Amity Park. Witness account and all.”

“From a witness you let down to the bat cave~” Spoiler sang sweetly across the air.

Red Hood could hear Oracle rolling her eyes as she cut in.

“Tone it down, Batgirl. Bluebird, if you’re still thinking of heading in, could you swing past one last site on your way?” She said firmly, then lightening her tone for their current guest.

“Batgirl who? I’m Spoiler,” Spoiler grumbled, but didn’t push beyond that. None of them did when Oracle invoked the name she’d had second.

Bluebird snickered at her before answering the question, a hint of exertion suggesting she was on the move too.

“I’m not actually in a rush to go home, O, I got all dressed up so I might as well enjoy one last hurrah.”

Right, because she’d be going back to school probably when Danny did.

Harper had always been a damn good hero in Jason’s books, but she valued her retirement and none of them really wanted to ruin it. Unless, apparently, seven bats just had to stalk Jason’s new friends.

Hood would have apologized, but frankly if she’d said no, some of the others couldn’t have come to the gala to be a pain in his ass.

And then he couldn’t have had so much fun fucking with them.

Fine. One cool fruit basket for the Row household, and some rainbow cupcakes for Cullen. He needed practice on frosting roses anyway.

Although that also reminded him.

“Hey Bluebird, have the others filled you in on Phantom?” He asked, cutting off some more background chatter from Spoiler and Tim.

Nightwing and the girls had had hours by now.

“What, your new boyfriend?” Bluebird asked sweetly, and Hood rolled his eyes.

Probably hit the important shit then.

“Sent you a picture?” He asked instead, decidedly not entertaining that question.

Nightwing and Spoiler snickered. Hood flipped off their general directions, settling himself comfortably on the roof of the library to wait for Black Bat.

There was a short pause, the others now wondering what he was getting at. Good.

“In and out of suit,” Bluebird agreed, curiosity tinging with mild suspicion. Being out of retirement clearly wasn’t good for her.

Hood nodded, pulling out his phone and shooting Harley a quick text. It might be moot now, asking her not to mention Red Hood shit in front of Danny, but he might as well.

He still had to ask if Waylon knew. No reason not to do both, just in case. And see if Tucker knew when he got back.

“I know you’re outta the game, but keep the light show to a minimum if you see him around, okay?” He asked, scanning quickly over the list Danny’d cleared for public discussion.

He didn’t know if Tucker would have mentioned it, but he might as well. Cause of death was good, but Jason personally would veto “and the effects it may have now”.

Because fuck Bruce and his need for everyone to show him their weaknesses.

Bluebird definitely sounded curious now, and possibly like she was punching someone.

“Oh? He not big on the electricity?” She wondered aloud, and Hood grimaced.

Because if they were both at Gotham U in engineering… there was actually a chance Harper and Danny would run into each other.

Danny was older, but Harper skipped a couple years and he had no idea what year Danny was in. Fuck, they might be in the same classes. He couldn’t believe he’d never thought of that.

“Not exactly. You mighta seen him around actually, he’s a techie boy too. But he’s not a fan of the electricity flying around,” he explained, Nightwing making background noises that told Hood he hadn’t put the pieces together either.

Good. At least he wasn’t alone.

Bluebird made an interested hum, and probably a finishing blow considering the satisfaction when she spoke next.

“I thought he looked familiar. But then, he’s total Wayne-bait. Yeah, I can keep the good stuff under wraps if I see him around. Gonna guess he’s had some bad shocks in the line of work?”

Hood hesitated and in exactly the same instant Black Bat landed on the roof. Sam had given them all the warning about talking about a ghost’s death, so he could leave it at that.

But…

The way Danny had looked when he explained about Vlad. Yeah, he’d rather they took this seriously. He didn’t want any of his family to hurt Danny, even by accident.

“It’s how he died. He won’t spontaneously combust or anything, but it’s a bad memory.”

Silence reigned while the others absorbed that particular detail, Black Bat crossing to crouch on the roof beside him. Hood leaned over enough to bump their shoulders together.

He could almost feel concern radiating off her, which was an extra weird experience after literally feeling all of Danny’s emotions half the day.

Guess that was where Cass’s liminality was going. It made sense, kind of; despite her occasional trouble speaking, she was pretty much the clearest communicator in the family.

Having another back up way to make herself heard would only fit.

On a whim, he tried projecting comfort back to her.

—————

Tag list: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @perfectwastelandcreation @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion @redamancyardor @lyra689 @itsparadoxlacuna

[arzuera]

I posted 358 times in 2022

That's 120 more posts than 2021!

47 posts created (13%)

311 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rainbowchibbit

@dandelion-witch

@dokudoki

@im-totally-not-an-alien-2

@captain-krow-drozdov

I tagged 132 of my posts in 2022

#dp x dc - 83 posts

#danny phantom - 69 posts

#danny phantom crossover - 32 posts

#damian wayne - 29 posts

#arzuera - 24 posts

#dc x dp - 18 posts

#batman - 16 posts

#tim drake - 15 posts

#danny fenton - 15 posts

#jason todd - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 85 characters

#what if the lazarus pit has the same effects as a very concentrated eatable on ghosts

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Happy DP x DC WEEK!

195 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#4

Reality hits Jason when he realized he’s gonna be a king (of the gz) because he’s with Danny who is laughing in a corner.

It had begun with small things.

With the newly made connection that Jason made with Danny, he was able to see ghosts that couldn’t be seen before. It wasn’t like when Danny went invisible, these ghosts just didn’t have enough power to be seen by the mortal eye. The halfa had warned that there may be some changes with his liminality when they decided to take their relationship to the next stage. This new ability was unnerving but it wasn’t too bad.

Patrols would get easier because of random ghosts coming up to him and giving him hints about the rats scurrying around in Gotham’s underbelly. With that information, Red Hood had started making a name for himself, and crime in Crime alley was at an all-time low. They didn’t know how he found out about the many secretive things lurking in the dark but he had busted enough deals, drug rings, and prostitution rings that people were starting to rethink what they were doing with their lives. However, those instances didn’t just stay when Jason was in costume.

Ghosts began approaching him while he would walk about town or do mundane chores. Some ask for help, others stop by just to say hi. It didn’t happen too often at first but kept growing as time went on and the weirdest thing about it was… they all bowed to him.

Without fail.

During every ghostly interaction, Jason was either greeted with a curtsy or a bow before the conversation began. Older ghosts started referring to him as ‘my lord’ and if it wasn’t for the fact that he was used to Alfred calling him ‘master’ all of the time, Jason would have probably gone off on the undead people. He just didn’t understand where it was coming from. Jason wasn’t a lord. He wasn’t some sort of royalty. He was just an undead sap who was engaged to the Ghost King… wait.

No.

No way.

There was no way in hell (literally) that this was a thing.

“Hey, babe.”

Did that mean… did that mean he would become a royal? A king no less?!

“Baaaabe.”

The king title wasn’t a guarantee. Danny was the king. Can there be two kings? Does that make him a prince consort? What the fuck, was he a prince?

“You hunkalicious tank of a man, notice me.”

What did that mean for him? If he was a king of the Ghost Zone, did that mean he had to go to galas and such? It was bad enough when Bruce tried to rope him into those things but now he might be obligated too. There was no way that he would leave his fiancee hanging.

“Ancients, you are beautiful but why must you have such a thick skull? BAAABE!”

Wait, what responsibilities would he have? Jason didn’t know anything about politics in the Ghost Zone other than you can rule it by beating the previous king in trial by combat. What would he be in charge of? Sure, he helped ghosts when they asked but only when it was within his power. There was only so much that he could do.

“JASON SEXY ASS TODD! LOOK AT ME!”

Jason threw the person that had touched his shoulder across the room. A man with black hair and blue eyes sailed, a little too easily, over the kitchen counter and lightly smacked into the corner wall. The twenty-four-year-old man slid to the floor while looking at Jason with eyes full of surprise. There was a brief awkward pause before Danny smirked from his spot on the floor and said, “Does this count as spousal abus-”

“AM I A KING NOW?!” Jason blurted out before his fiancee could finish. He had to know or else the thoughts were going to plague his mind.

Danny blinked at him owlishly before a wicked grin made its home on his face. “Um… yes? Well, king is a part of the title. I’m the king but you’ll be my king consort or queen consort if you prefer. If you don’t want to use gender-specific terms we could go with royal consort. Why are you so surprised…” the halfa’s grin grew wolfish as Jason turned red from embarrassment. “Wait… are you just now realizing this?”

“YES!” Jason exclaimed as he threw his hands into the air. “It’s not like you told me?!” Danny absolutely loses it. The halfa clutches his sides from laughter as Jason’s expression just continues to become more flustered. “Stop it! This isn’t funny!”

“You’re right! It’s hilarious! You yeeted me into the kitchen wall!” Danny yelled right back, amusement dancing behind his icy blue eyes as his shoulders continued to shake from laughter. “Because that big brain of yours just NOW figured out that marrying a king makes you royalty! We’ve been together for three years!”

“I have read enough period novels to know how the right of succession and all of that works! I just didn’t expect to actually become one! I mean look at me!” Jason gestured to his entire body, black tank top, boxers, and all, to Danny. “Do I look like king material to you?!”

Danny gives his lover an appreciative once over and smirked. “You’re right, king’s consort probably won’t work. How about being the king’s treasure instead?”

The anti-hero’s mind stopped for a moment until his face was as bright as a tomato. “That’s it. We’re over. I’m not yours anymore, take the ring back.” Jason grumbled and made a show of taking the engagement ring off but not actually trying.

“But making you mine would be my second crowning achievement,” Danny whined, making his way over to Jason and draping himself across the strong man’s shoulders.

“Okay, we really are done now.”

The halfa chuckled and nuzzled into Jason’s neck, placing a kiss at the spot where the shoulder connected with a small hum. His hand moved to cover Jason’s ringed one. “I know you are a bit freaked out… and that it’s a lot. I won’t lie that it will probably be a bit overwhelming but… you don’t have to learn everything right away and you aren’t alone. You have me, Jazz, Sam, tucker, your siblings, Alfred, and as much as you don’t want to admit it, Bruce. All joking aside, I think you would make a wonderful king. You are just and fair and when someone goes too far, you aren’t afraid to put your foot down to protect those who need it. You won’t let someone use you or walk over you and I need someone by my side who will help rein me back in if I go too far. With all of those things considered… you are actually overqualified.”

See the full post

256 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

#3

Hey i got the funniest, cutest mental image for Robin's Egg that I had to immediately share with you. Once Danny gets out of his core he is very, very protective of Damian for the first few days because Damian took such good care of him, he needs to return the favor. However when they are suddenly surrounded by people that Damian claims are friendly but Danny doesn't actually know, he turns his legs into a tail and basically coils himself around Damian. Danny is full on circling him and constantly looking between Bats and Birds to try to keep everyone in view so he's basically curled around Damian's neck and looped all over his body in a clearly Extremely Protective Way as Damian simply talks to his family like there is a stranger coiled around him and threatening to bite Dick when he got to close.

That is a hilarious image. I had to make this at work XD

306 notes - Posted September 7, 2022

#2

Danny thought his most bizarre experience is being summoned by cultists as the Ghost King. Turns out his current predicament beats it by flying colors as he is currently bound as sacrifice for his own summoning circle.

He knew that his luck was bad but he didn’t think that it would be THIS bad. Dozens of cultists circled the raised ritual table and he was beginning to wonder if there would be an opportunity to free himself or not. Was it possible to die in his own summoning circle? Or would it just create some sort of endless paradox of life and death as he arose in his ghost form only to be sacrificed in his human one? This was something that had never been encountered before. There was no one to ask. Clockwork might know the outcome but unless it horrendously affected the time stream, odds are the ancient wasn’t going to interfere. So that left Danny with only one option. He had to get out of this himself.

But how was he going to do that without outing his alternate identity?

Just as he was pondering on using some of his ghostliness to freeze everyone in place, there was a loud explosion that shook the entire room. Several of the cultists scattered but the core ones remained in their spots so that the ritual wasn’t broken. The circle had begun to glow an ominous green as the ritual began to enter its beginning stages. Shouts and flashing lights followed as the newcomers stormed their way up the stairs toward the summoning. Danny sighed to himself in relief.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to do anything after all.

“Alright, you bloody show ponies. Step away from the circle and no one gets… Oh, bloody hell.” A familiar blonde man in a trench coat knocked anyone who tried to stop him out of his way. Only to stop when he saw the circle and the sacrifice who rested upon it. “Don’t you think this is a bit much? If you wanted to get my attention you have my fucking cellphone number for Christ's sake.”

Danny gave the man a wicked grin. His eyes lit up at the newest arrival. “But you know I have a flair for the dramatics, Constantine. Someone has to shake things up once in a while.” This was too good. The halfa flopped his head back against the table and wiggled in his restraints. “Please, save me! I am just a poor innocent young lad about to have his life cut short too soon to bring upon the end of the world.”

Constantine rolled his eyes at the theatrics. “Only one of those things is true and here I was calling these guys the show ponies. Hang on, your majesty. I’ll get you out in a minute.”

“Your majesty?” One of the cultists in the circle looked at the magician as he spoke. Only to be blasted off the circle by a fireball.

“Yep. I was told someone was trying to do something stupid and when I get here I find that they are trying to sacrifice someone stupid.” The magician sent several more of the cultists sprawling out of their positions with the lights of the summoning circle began to dim. “How did this even happen?!”

Danny hummed to himself as lights of magic flashed around him with the screams of cultists following soon after. “Well, it’s kind of a funny story actually. You see I was on a field trip to one of those ancient catacombs… you know… the ones where they have the bodies in the mass graves under the city?”

Another cultist was knocked out of place and the circle’s power diminished further. “Yeah, the Catacombs de Paris? Didn’t know that they did field trips to places like that.” Constantine walked up to Danny and waved his hand over the restraints. The ropes loosened and the teen sat up rubbing the spots where the skin was rubbed raw.

“Yeah, that place! And what did you expect from a school trip for Amity Park students? Our town is literally a portal to hell at this point. Why not see what other creepy places have to offer? We gotta broaden our horizons somehow.” Danny said and wiggled his toes. He ducked his head when a cultist went to grab him and Constantine sent another fireball sending them flying.

“Okay, and how does that lead you to become a sacrifice for your own circle?” Constantine asked once the last cultist was no longer within earshot. He grabbed the kid and started chanting a teleportation spell to get them to a nearby safe haven.

Danny allowed himself to rag doll in the adult's grip with a chuckle. “Oh! Well, apparently I give off a massive death aura when I come into contact with sites that contain a lot of death and tragedy. Some of the culty guys here were able to pick up on that and long story short… I’m posing pretty for you on a cool Gothic table.”

With a brilliant flash of light, the two were transported to the roof of a nearby hotel. Constantine released the boy, who fell to the ground with an ‘uff’, to pull out a cigarette and take a long drag from it. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you if they had succeeded?”

“Honestly? No. In all of the Infinite Realm's history, there has never been a halfa as king. So there has never been an instance of mistaken identity like this before. However, thanks for the save. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of that without revealing who I was and it’s not like I could kill them.” Danny gave a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. That was a lie. He could kill them easily. But that was a line that he wouldn’t cross if he couldn’t help it.

Constantine remained quiet for a moment. Just allowing himself to finish his cigarette before speaking again. “So do you need me to bring you back to your class or…?”

“Oh no! No no! I don’t think the teachers even noticed I’m gone. So I’ll just pop back into my hotel room.” Twin rings of light washed over Danny as he spoke and he gave the magician a bright smile. “And don’t worry, now that I know this can happen, I’ll have a plan to escape for next time. C’ya later, Constantine!” Turning invisible, Phantom flew off using the GPS in his phone to take him back to his hotel.

Sam and Tuck were going to be so mad about this.

646 notes - Posted November 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Conner isn't a clone of Luther and Superman,but Danny phantom and Superman.

Phantom looked at the monitor in the med bay dumbstruck. Several other leaguers were in the same situation. How could this have happened? WHEN did it happen? Sure during the early years of crime fighting, Danny hadn’t been the best at keeping his blood in his body but he had grown by leaps and bounds since then. With GIW and his parents trying to figure out how to take him out, it had become instinctual to make sure that he didn’t leave much of a trace wherever he went. Yet, somehow it had been leaked.

And to Lex Luthor no less.

“I don’t understand. Phantom wasn’t even a part of the league when the Cadmus project was in operation. So how could this be?!” Flash stated as his eyes scanned the results over and over but they remained the same.

“I’m… I’m just as confused as you are.” Danny admitted still feeling overwhelmed by this new information. When Cadmus was in operation he had finally appointed as the King of the Infinite Realms at the age of 21. He didn’t join the Justice League until a little over a year later when some idiotic cultists had thought it was a good idea to try and merge the death realm with the living. Now, going into his second year with the League, Danny was finding out he had been cloned.

Again.

Batman grunted as he leaned back in his chair. “The results don’t lie. I’ve run them about ten times and it has all come up the same. The records on Cadmus had stated that Superman and Lex Luthor were the donors in creating Connor. However, Phantom’s DNA is a perfect match.”

The halfa looked to the teenager who was lying on a bed in the other room unconscious. While out on a mission, Superboy had taken several nasty hits and was severely injured. He had needed a blood transfusion and the poor kid had a horrible reaction when Manhunter tried to use an IV of Luthor’s blood which was supposed to have been a match. (Superman donated his blood as needed. It's not that he didn’t want to help but it was really hard for him to give blood with his body the way it was. Most needles just bent out of shape when they tried to pierce the skin.) It was touch and go but it appeared that Danny’s was a perfect match in more ways than one. Phantom pulled out his cell phone and started texting Jazz. She was not going to believe this.

“Phantom, what are you doing?” Batman asked when he saw him pull the device out.

“Texting my sister.”

Flash, finally, peeled his eyes away from the monitor. “Why?”

“Because, apparently, I have a long lost son who I didn’t even know about and she is going to flip that Superboy is her nephew,” Danny responded with a smirk. He wished he could have delivered the news in person. Oh! He also needed to get a hold of his other sister. Dani was going to be so excited to learn that she was no longer the only clone in the family.

Thoughts were swirling inside of his head. Conner currently lived at the base of the Young Justice team. Mainly because he didn’t have anywhere to go. Would the boy mind if he took him home with him? His castle in the Ghost Zone was massive and a lot of the rooms were unoccupied. Conner could pick as many of the rooms as he wanted for all he cared. So long as he was happy. Danny’s apartment was a lot smaller but he could probably upgrade so that Conner could have his own space. Money wasn’t really an issue anymore. It would probably do wonders for the teen’s mindset if he had a proper home to come back to instead of the reminder that the one person who was supposed to care about him didn’t.

“You are taking this awfully well,” Batman said as a statement but Danny could feel the questioning gaze of the bat when he put his phone away. “I would have thought you would be mad.”

“Oh, I’m livid all right.” Phantom replied and what he said was true. “I just found out today that I have a son because the boy was put into the hospital due to the severity of his injuries and he had existed for at least two years in this world without my knowledge. Two years that were filled with an unprecedented amount of physical, emotional, and mental trauma as he tries to figure himself out and separate his identity from the man who is supposed to be his other father and mentor. Only for that man to have treated him as an abomination for existing in the first place.” The room temperature dropped to the point that the breath of the other Leaguers showed. “To be honest, I had already low-key adopted him because of that fact but now that I know I’m related there are going to be some changes.”

Flash and Batman exchanged a look seeing the green eyes of the ghost king flare for a few moments before settling into a soft pulse. Both were thankful that Superman was off-world, at the moment. Clark would have probably said something that would have set the man off if he had been there for the startling revelation. Superman cared about Conner. He did but he was having a hard time overlooking the fact that he was cloned without his consent. So Conner’s life was basically denied by the one person he wanted to be acknowledged the most.

Superman would have to be told before he came back so that he would be prepared for when Phantom was going to come at him. Hopefully, enough time will have passed so that Phantom will have calmed down and had a chance to figure out what he wanted to say. Regardless, it wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. For now, Batman nodded to the halfa and turned back to the monitor. “Why don’t you go check on Conner? He should be waking up soon and this news might be what he needs to hear.”

“Maybe he won’t see himself as a villain anymore because he shared DNA with one.” Danny nodded and flew into the teen’s room trying to think of a good way to tell him. How was he going to react? What was he going to say? Would he accept Danny as a father? It didn’t have to be a father role right away, maybe even a cousin or brother. Whatever the boy felt most comfortable with. After all, it didn’t matter what Conner picked in the end because he was family.

And he would never be fighting through things alone again.

1,036 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

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