#neglectful maddie and jack

[one-thousand-and-one-fandoms]

Based off of this post.

Headcanon that back in college Jack and Maddie weren't dating yet, and maybe Vlad had drunkenly confessed to loving Maddie to Jack, but being drunk Jack didn't remember (or did he?) and after Vlad got hospitalized and they drifted apart, Jack married Maddie and they had two children.

So, after "abandoning" him and seemingly getting together, Vlad felt hurt and betrayed by both, but still loved and missed them dearly and wished things had happened differently.

Therefore, he tries to reconnect with both before the reunion in Canon and they get back in touch. Maddie and Jack don't apologize or even acknowledge that they hurt Vlad, something he grows to resent deeply.

As such, Vlad meets Jazz and Danny earlier at a younger age, way before the portal was a thing and Danny became a halfa. Vlad decides that the best way to get back at Maddie and Jack is through their kids, because what parent doesn't care for and love their child?

However, as Vlad gets closer to try to turn the kids against their parents, he realizes that he doesn't have to try that hard at all. Maddie and Jack are so focused on their ghost research that they often neglect their house and their kids. Vlad starts coming around more often, partly because he still wants revenge but also partly out of concern for them.

As Uncle Vlad becomes closer to Jazz and Danny, Vlad realizes that Maddie and Jack really are clueless buffoons and that they haven't got a clue about the consequences of their actions. It makes it harder to hold a grudge even if it hurts like a bitch because they should notice when their loved ones are hurting because of their actions.

But they don't. So Vlad helps Jazz with her schoolwork, not that she needs it, and listens to her psychobabble and listens to Danny go on and on about space and being an astronaut and Vlad really grows to love them both.

Then the portal happens, and Danny half-dies, and Vlad immediately notices that something is wrong because this 14-year-old kid died and no one seems to have noticed.

Vlad then decides to reveal his ghost self to Danny in an attempt to help Danny feel less alone, less isolated and less afraid because he lives with ghost hunters who'd love nothing more than to dissecr him for science.

This Danny knows Uncle Vlad, and trusts him, and allows himself to be mentored by someone he sees more like a father than his own.

[moonlight-stalker]

# Dc x Dp 157

Bruce gets a call from CPS late at night telling him that he has a son who's 2 years old and is in the hospital if he can go to Amity Park so he can get custody of him.

On his way there he learns that Daniel has been electrocuted in his parent's lab and his 5-year-old sister Jazz was the one to call 911. When responders got there they found both children in the basement where a home lab was, the responses could not find either of the parents in the house. Both children were being treated for their injuries and malnourished.

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: Loser Baby

So the thing is, tonally John Constantine is probably not a great match for Danny in lighter funnier fics

Don’t get me wrong, John can have his lighter moments, especially in crossovers, and he’s got a sense of humor

But

Hellblazer lore is dense and weird, but more importantly it’s DARK

Like, extremely

John is a deeply traumatized man, people around him get hurt, he spent three years inpatient at a psychiatric facility. There’s a story line where he’s a homeless alcoholic who makes friends with a rent-boy and shows a grim reality of life on the street, substance abuse, addiction, and sex work. It also ends with John’s demon blood eating the face off of the King of Vampires who happens to look like James Dean

That’s not even getting into the serial killer plot or the multiple trips to hell

Sins of the Father involves John being forced to confront the soul of his father in hell, a man who was terribly abusive and blamed John for the death of his mother who died while giving birth to him, which given information revealed during this comic turns out to be very misplaced.

However, makes him a good fit for a “Jack and Maddie are Bad Parents” fic, and/or a dissection fic

And it would basically play out like “Loser Baby” from Hazbin Hotel

Because it is a shitty situation. Coming to terms with neglect, the trauma of them rejecting him for an aspect of himself he can’t change Phantom Planet does not exist and the emotional and physical trauma of a dissection, and then being homeless and having to find a way to survive on his own

But John can empathize and understand

His own trauma may be different but he gets it, can relate to it, and can say “mate, situation is fucked to all hell but you don’t need to be alone because of that”

And that’s not even getting into the trauma of dealing with supernatural weirdness, which frankly they would both understand pretty well

Just two traumatized people bonding and saying “yes, we may be damaged goods, but we’re not broken and we aren’t alone”

[plutoshaunted]

The Fentons are so busy arguing, they don't notice their turkey came to life and tried to kill their children, so Jazz had to beat the ghost turkey with a broom.

Insane how at 6 or 7, Jazz was already looking after Danny and protecting him instead of their parents. Last episode we just got this whole storyline about how Jazz feels like the only responsible one but she's just a kid too. Her entire life she's been looking out for her little brother and cleaning up after her parents. No wonder she seems more like a parent to Danny at times than their parents do. And now she has to keep him safe from their parents shooting at him!

[bronzeflower623]

dcxdp idea where Danny's family ends up moving to Gotham bc of all the ambient ghost energy, and Danny's parents want to study how it's different from Amity Park's ambient ghost energy

(bonus points if part of the reason for the move was because either Jazz or Danny opted to go to Gotham University, and their parents want to make sure they're safe)

[too-much-tma-stuff]

The Drs. Fenton Crash a Funeral

This is a deleted scene from Neither Gone Nor Forgotten where Jack and Maddie aggressively crash Danny’s funeral. I decided it didn’t fit the vibe I wanted.

-------

“We’re here today in remembrance of Danny Phantom, a brave young man lost to soon in the line of duty. He never should have had to-“ Batman started before he was interrupted by a loud crash. Before he could think he had a weapon in his hand, and to his shock so did both Jazz and Valerie, what looked like a taser and gun pointed towards the sound.

“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?! I didn’t tell you this was happening for a reason!” Jazz insisted and Batman felt anger flare in his gut, as if he wasn’t already angry that they’d BROKEN ONE OF THE ANTIQUE STAINGLASS WINDOWS WHEN THERE WAS A PERFECTLY GOOD DOOR!

“Eat lead ghost!” Jack said as the weapon in his hand made a sound like it was charging. Batman blinked and tensed more, ready to dodge since the weapon was pointed at him!

“Technically it’s not lead but-“ Maddie started to correct before Jazz and Valerie both jumped into action. Jazz sprinted forward shoving the fun down so it was pointing at the floor and shocked her father who made a comical sound and collapsed, Jazz kicked the dropped weapon away from him. At the same time Valerie swept Maddie’s legs out from under her, she wasn’t expecting it and fell, her eyes widening behind her goggles as Val planted her feet and levelled the gun at her.

“Get out! Go home! I didn’t tell you about the funeral how did you even find out?! You-.. Did you bug my phone!?” Jasmine demanded of her mother.

“We just wanted to make sure you were safe sweetie and it’s a good thing we did! Danny is our Son! Our boy and if his body was found it should have been returned to us right away!” Maddie insisted while Jack was still laying on the ground dazed.

“No! He didn’t want that, he left instructions for his body and he didn’t want it to be burned which is why I didn’t invite you! I knew you’d pull something like this! Because your obsession with ghosts always outweighs out wellbeing!” Jazz yelled.

“Sweetie, that’s not fair! We-“

“NO! You listen to me! Your obsession with science is all encompassing and Danny and I always got lost in the shuffle! You  just wanted us to be ghost hunters like you and you never cared about who we actually were. You never should have had kids and congratulations! Now you don’t! Because Danny is dead,” her voice choked up, she finally blinked and it sent tears down her cheeks. “Danny is dead and this is my last straw! You didn’t come to morn your son you came to steal his corpse so you could fuel your fucking obsession! I’m not coming home for Christmas now, lose my number I never want to hear from you again. Now GET OUT!”

The heroes had been about to intervene when the two girls stepped up and it seemed they’d unanimously decided to hang back to let Jazz say her piece. Now that she was done a Superman moved in, grabbing them both by the collar of their shirts and dragging them up before Jack (who’d finally recovered enough to try and speak) could get any words out. Maybe some day they would realize what they’d done and what they’d lost, but apparently it wouldn’t be today.

[terrestrialnoob]

You know, Danny was probably exactly like Jazz before the accident. He probably also had straight A's, and did his chores, and was as perfect as he could be with the only difference being Danny had two friends more than Jazz. But after the accident, he started "slacking off", not doing homework or chores anymore. And his parents, in canon, write it off as "boys being boys". You know? He's got two whole friends, with one being a girl to impress, of course he's going to be irresponsible and distant from his family. If he slips too much, they'll give him a talking to and it'll put him back on track.

Except of course, we know they don't know how much he's slipping, and they don't know why his grades are falling or his chores are going undone. They think he's like his dad and just letting things go undone until someone else gets annoyed enough to force him to do it or do it for him. They think his priorities have shifted from Family to Friends, not Family and Friends to Entire World.

[jollydreams20]

Controversial phandom opinion:

A well done crackfic taken seriously trumps over angsty fics any day.

[tofuingho]

Danny was 100% one of those kids that didn't go to bed until midnight.

Lord knows Jack and Maddie probably weren't putting him to bed, so I'd bet Jazz was probably the one that had to do it.

After a while she'd just give up on trying to make him sleep and just started dropping him in his room and going to bed herself.

Especially since Danny loves space. I bet he'd stay up to look at the stars and then fall asleep by the window.

[necesito-mas-cafe]

It's not my skin, it's not my flesh

Ao3 Spanish ver.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings,Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

His parents had dedicated his life to that piece of metal and technology.

They forgot to eat, they forgot to sleep, and above all, they forgot their children. As soon as they crossed the door to the laboratory it was as if that portal were the most important thing in the world.

And when his project failed, it was as if everything had finished for them.

They went from reclining in the laboratory to be reclived in their room, and despite the best attempts at Jazz, they just did not come out.

Before they made an effort to stay alive and have the energy to continue building the portal. Now nor that came..

Danny waved his head and stopped his thoughts there, his gaze directed towards the portal, the large metal duct was darkened by leftovers, swallowing dry, and gathering all its value, ventured into the tunnel.

Guiding with a hand resting on the wall, trembling with nerves, he barely felt when something sank under his palm.

The portal immediately collection, illuminated with a strong green light that blinded him. 

He was not prepared for what 

He was not able to form a single coherent thought, too busy trying somehow not to die.

It hurt

Hurts

Hurts

Hurts

Hurts

Hurts

Hurts

As soon as the electricity released it, he fell out of the door off, trembling. He could feel the spasms that were still going through his body.

His parents opened the laboratory door with a strong rumble, attracted by the cry of his son, and hurried him.

He could not see them well through the tears that overshadowed his vision, but they seemed... worried.

He released a sob of relief, and waited for his mother to embrace him, or that his father will comfort him.

They passed from he.

Jazz low, behind his parents, and knelt in front of his little brother, without knowing if it was safe to touch it.

His sister began to shout behind him. The sound echoed in his ears and rushed him in his head.

The green came back black when his vision darkened.

###

He spent a week a week at the hospital after that.

His parents had convinced the doctors in some way to a miraculously that he would be better at home.

Even in some way convinced them not to call social services.

What a joy

Even if he was terribly pale and trembled at a small breeze of air. His muscles felt rigid, and still had spasms, he felt frankly horrible. He left the hospital in a wheelchair.

They barely returned their parents were submerged in the laboratory again, and they left Danny to take care of jazz without addressing him another word.

They had lost too much time in the hospital.

A waste of time.

If he did not hurt him so much, he maybe he would throw things through the room, or maybe he would cry on the floor.

But he could not.

Jazz helped him climb the stairs.

His knees creaked and protested before the movement.

It hurts

Unfortunately, Jazz could not take care of him all the time.

Danny scratched the palm of his hand anxiously.

Jazz was not much older than him. And yet it was independent and very intelligent, she did not need to waste time on someone like him.

The feeling of tingling on his skin increased.

Jazz was doing what he could to take the family forward.

God, he had so much itching.

He had made her neighbors to ask for food when the refrigerator was busy with radioactive green samples.

Continue scratching. The dry and crude sound was replaced by a more sticky and humid sound.

Jazz had not yet returned, why did it take so long?

His whole body was numb.

He looked through the window of his room, between shadows and blurry figures, Jazz was not in sight, where could he be?

His muscles hurt and creaked, and itching turned ardor.

Everything hurt a lot lately

His skin began to burn, it was as if he were dying again.

It hurts

His skin began to burn, it was as if he was dying again.

Hurts

He does not want to go through this again.

Hurts so much

He can feel his heart beat. He can feel the blood stream in his veins.

Danny began to scratch his chest.

His hands tremble terribly.

He need to release the pressure. He need to make it stop hurting. He continued scratching.

The palpitating pain was rolled on his chest, scratched and pulled the skin and muscles, breaking his ribs.

Now without major obstacles, Danny was able to see the familiar brightness emanating from her interior.

His vision was flooded in green, and the blood began to drip through his nose.

He needs to be released. 

He continue to fit in your chest, letting go strong moans of pain.

Steps

Someone was climbing the stairs.

Take the bright thing in a fist and throw it across the room, splashing green everywhere.

And then everything vanished into darkness.

A blink after, he felt relief. It did not hurt anymore.

He felt comfortable on his own body for the first time since the accident. He felt floating drift.

The door of his room was opened hard in a kind of Déjà vu.

His parents looked at something behind him with horror.

They have in their hands a small machine that did not stop bite and summarize. Danny tilted his head without understanding.

Not even in front of them, his parents looked at him. He do not ask to avoid growling while turning to see what his parents had so stirred.

Ah

A great puddle of blood was driving on old wood, touching his shoes and making a sticky crunch in when he came over.

In the center was he.

Or rather what was once.

His body was full of bouncled and bloody hives, his skin was cracked and fell to pieces. Black and putrid spots stretched for what was left.

In his chest there was an irregular hole, his heart was exposed, completely made pieces aside.

A trembling voice pulled away from everyone's corpse.

-Danny!?

Jazz had returned.

[elvesandlanterns]

Wanting to kill your best friend because he got with the girl you like and then married said girl- —- boring, gross and pathetic.

Falling in love with both of your best friends and growing murder resentful after they refused to visit you in the hospital after you got hurt... in an accident they made, never apologized for AND they got married to each other! —-

Iconic and understandable

[one-thousand-and-one-fandoms]

[Part 1]

Vlad tensed up with his hand up to knock. There was a ghost around his people. His hackles rose. How dared they?! Who dared?!

In a move that was instinct than choice, Vlad turned himself invisible and walked the perimeter. He couldn't find whoever or whatever it was that triggered his ghost sense, but he still felt uneasy.

He returned to the door, fixed his hair and knocked. Jazz opened the door with a smile and gave him a hug. From the basement came loud, indistinguishable sounds, but those were indication enough that Maddie and Jack were down there. Vlad looked around for his little badger, but didn't find him.

"Where's your brother?" Vlad asked. Jazz stiffened at the question and looked uncomfortable, and Vlad's uneaseness grew, "Jasmine, where is he?"

"He's in his bedroom," Jazz said and looked nervous, "he's not feeling well today."

Vlad raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is he sick? Does need to go to the doctor?"

Jazz huffed, exasperated, "I've been trying to convince him to go for days, but he won't listen! The only people he talks to now are Sam and Tucker ever since-"

Jazz stopped herself and looked at Vlad with wide eyes. Clearly, she didn't intend to say something that had slipped out.

"Since when, Jazz?" Vlad asked, concerned.

"Mom and dad said we didn't need to worry you," Jazz replied, instead.

"Let me decide if whatever happened is worth worrying about by myself," Vlad snapped, losing patience. Jazz seemed taken aback by it, but cowed enough to spill the beans.

"Danny had an accident down in the lab a few days ago," Jazz confessed. Vlad froze. Of course Danny would have an accident the week he couldn't be there. Worry gnawed at him.

"What kind of accident?" He asked.

"We don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"No one was home when it happened. My parents finished their stupid portal but it didn't work. Or so we thought. When we came back it was working but Danny wouldn't come out of his room. It wasn't even him who told us something happened, but Sam," Jazz ranted and her worry was evident.

"And what did your parents do?"

"Nothing! Said he must be fine if he was able to walk up to his room! I tried to talk to him but he won't talk to me," Jazz replied and tears formed in the corner of her eyes. Vlad hugged her briefly, hoping to comfort her. He didn't know what was going on. The portal shouldn't be working at all, so he'd have to threaten Technus again, but that was after he found out what really happened to Danny. Vlad was hoping for a laceration that could be stitched up.

"I'll go see him. Maybe he'll talk to me."

Jazz huffed, but agreed, "Maybe."

Vlad walked up the stairs and stood in front of Danny's door. The hairs on his arm stood on end, and his ghost core flared up. Something was wrong, it screamed at him. He knocked. No answer.

"Little badger?" Vlad asked as he knocked again. This time he heard a rustling sound, but the door didn't open and Danny didn't call out. "Jazz told me what happened. I'm worried about you. Can I see you?"

"Uncle Vlad..." Danny's voice came from the other side, muffled, but Vlad was happy to get any verbal response, "go away."

"No can do, Little Badger. I want to make sure you're ok."

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

The door was yanked open, and Vlad had to stop himself from reacting outwardly. Danny was most definitely not fine. He had deep, purple bags under his eyes, which were bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled as if he hadn't bothered with it for days. And he probably hadn't. Not when he had more pressing matters to attend to; matters that now Vlad knew because his core resonated and told him that there was another ghost in front if him.

"See?" Danny said with a glare, "I'm fine. Now leave me alone."

Danny went to close the door but Vlad wasn't above using his extra strength to push through anyway. Danny yelped, clearly surprised. Vlad rounded on him, seeing red. His core didn't like a strange ghost near his people, but it didn't seem to realize that the ghost was one of his people, yet.

"Uncle Vlad?" Danny asked and he sounded scared. It echoed some long buried memory of waking up in the hospital, afraid and alone, forgotten and abandoned.

"What have they done?!" Vlad exploded, unable to help himself. Danny closed the door quickly, as if that could muffle Vlad's voice, or as if Jack and Maddie could hear all the way down to the lab and give a fucking damn.

"What are you talking about, Uncle Vlad?" Danny asked and Vlad couldn't decide if the boy was trying to play dumb or if he was genuinely confused.

"Don't lie to me, Daniel. What happened in the lab?" Vlad demanded, though he already had an idea.

Danny flinched. If Vlad was calling him Daniel it meant trouble.

"Nothing!"

"Don't lie to me," Vlad repeated.

"What makes you think it's their fault anyway?" Danny deflected.

Because it always is, Vlad thought, but said, "Because this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened!"

"And what does 'this' mean, exactly?" Danny replied, crossing his arms and attempting a glare. But Vlad recognized the bait for information for what it was and felt a vein pulse on his forehead.

"That's not how it works, little badger. You want information? Then tell me the truth. All of it. And then I'll tell you what I know," Vlad said. Danny clammed up. Vlad noticed his fists clenching where they were crossed. Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to take a deep, long breath. Then another one. And another one. Until he felt he wouldn't blast Jack and Maddie Fenton to Mars if they knocked on the door right then.

Then he looked at Danny, who seemed to have realized that while Vlad was angry, furious really, it wasn't at him. Now, Danny just looked scared, and a bit lost.

"Danny, I want to help you," Vlad said, struggling to push his anger away to be dealt with later, "and I know you must be scared. However, I also know something happened to you, something that changed you, so lying is only wasting both of our times."

Danny met Vlad's eyes, only to turn away. The crossed arms in front of him turned from a shield to a hug to himself as Danny drew in on himself. For the first time, Vlad was seeing how Danny really felt and his heart went out to the teen.

"You're going to hate me," Danny said, and turned away from Vlad.

"Oh, little badger," Vlad said and took a step towards Danny with the intention of doing... something: a hug, a comforting pat on the shoulder, something, but Danny recoiled and flinched and Vlad stopped with his hand still hovering in the air, "I could never hate you."

"Your best friends are ghost hunters," Danny spat, and then paled, as if he had said something he shouldn't. If Vlad was someone else, perhaps, but as it was, Vlad thought he knew exactly what was wrong.

Vlad realized that demanding answers would get him nowhere with Danny. Neither would intimidation. Danny was scared and probably wanted to feel safe. If Vlad wanted Danny to trust him, Vlad had to show Danny that he could.

Vlad sat on Danny's bed and tried to make himself look as unthreatening as possible.

"Do you want to know why I stopped ghost hunting?" Vlad asked. The question took Danny by surprised and intrigued him.

"Why?"

"Twenty years ago your parents and I went to college together," Vlad answered, "we began working then on a prototype for the ghost portal your parents are so obsessed with today."

"Twenty years ago?" Danny asked, flabbergasted.

"Twenty years ago."

"But they didn't succeed."

"They kind of did," Vlad reluctantly admitted, "I want to clarify that I'm not saying this so you'll think bad of your parents Danny, but so that you understand. What happened then was an accident that could have and should have been prevented with the right safety measures, and it makes me furious that in the twenty years since they haven't improved in that regard."

Danny uncrossed his arms and sat down next to Vlad. Vlad could tell he was listening intently.

"There was an accident," Vlad continued, "and I received a lot of ectoplasm and radiation to my face. I spent the following months in the hospital, but I had... changed."

Danny kept his eyes on Vlad when he asked, "Changed how?"

"I became this," Vlad said and transformed into Plasmius in front of Danny. Immediately, Danny transformed into a ghost, too. Whether it was the resonance of their core or a voluntary transformation was unclear.

"You're a ghost, too?" Danny asked, his voice whispy and small.

"Half ghost," Vlad clarified, "what happened little badger?"

Danny's eyes teared up and he looked away, but he answered this time, "It was a dare."

"A dare?"

"The portal wasn't working. It was supposed to have failed! Sam dared me to go inside and I thought it would be okay because their inventions never work but..."

"But this time it did, didn't it?"

"It was so stupid! Who even puts the on switch on the inside of the machine?! I tripped over something and turned it on and then... and then..."

"Oh, Danny," Vlad said and brought Danny close. This time Danny allowed himself to be held as he began to cry and sob.

"It hurt, Uncle Vlad," Danny said, "it hurt so bad, but I couldn't tell my friends, or Jazz, or my parents. My friends already felt so guilty, and Jazz would only worry, and my parents... they would want to... to... I'm scared, Uncle Vlad."

"You are allowed to be scared, upset and angry. Just know that you don't have to do this alone, okay?"

Danny was quiet for a moment, sniffled, and then quietly said, "Okay."

"Can you change back, now?"

"I-I'll try..."

"Focus on your core, Danny, and will it to hide," Vlad said and tried to be encouraging.

"I don't know what that means."

"Close your eyes," Vlad said and Danny did so, "is there a part of you that feels hotter or colder than the rest of you?"

Danny's brow furrowed as he focused, and then he nodded.

"You're going to give it a little push, just enough so that it hides and lets you revert back to human," Vlad continued.

Danny's face scrunched up, and soon the familiar rings of light washed over Danny and he was human again. Danny opened his eyes in awe.

"I did it!"

"You did," Vlad agreed, feeling pride welling up in his core, "for the record, I am sorry this happened to you, Danny. This is in no way your fault, and I'll help you through this."

"Can I go live with you?" Danny blurted out.

"I wish you could, but I believe that would arouse more suspicions than we want at the moment."

"But my parents..."

"They won't touch you, okay? I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe," Vlad interrupted.

"But you aren't here half the time... you were gone one week and now look at me!"

"I know, and I'm sorry Danny. I'll try to come by more often, but even if I'm not here, I'll make sure you have the means to get away if you feel in danger, okay? I'll also give you a key to my house, so you know you always have a safe place to land on," Vlad insisted.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. How about we go out for dinner, then? I think we deserve it," Vlad said with a grin.

"Burgers?" Danny asked in return with small smile of his own.

"Deal."

@akikoyuii @aikoiya

[spectral-tentacle]

Grades

D. D. F. C-. D. C+. F.

It was surprising how seldom Jack and Maddie Fenton talked about their son's grades now. Throughout elementary and middle school, Danny had been a mostly B student, with As in some of his stronger subjects, and a C or two in his weak areas. He was no genius (not like Jazz! her grades were certainly something to talk about often, trot out as much as possible in casual conversation, glowing with pride) but Danny's grades had been solid and respectable.

Now...his quarter and semester grade reports, since starting high school, were abominable. He had okay grades in one or two subjects, was failing others, and avoiding failing by the skin of his teeth in most. If something didn't change, Danny wouldn't graduate on time.

Assuming he graduated at all. But the Fentons certainly never whispered a hint of that possibility, on the rare occasions they discussed their son's academic prospects. But what was there to do? The boy just wasn't that bright, clearly. Sure, Maddie knew, they theoretically could have him tested and moved to special education classes. Then his grades would improve, once given coursework more appropriate for his intelligence level and needs, but it was too much to ask of her. For both of them. Two geniuses, self-made and successful, pioneers in their field, and their eldest child on track to attend Harvard—and they were supposed to have a child in remedial, special education classes?

No. Danny would just need to try harder, and do the best he could in regular classes. That's what she had told Mr. Lancer and the guidance counselors, when they suggested testing. And she was not going to budge on that.

[Also available on Ao3]

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Back with my minibang fic chapter 2! Don’t know how I forgot to mention my marvelous beta @wsoupofpain in the last post, but shout out to her!!

(Ch. 1) (chap 3) (chappy 4) (ch five) (six)

BREAKING: NASA Lands Earths First Manned Spacecraft on Mars!

A tragedy following the wake of Danny's disappearance and the strange set of circumstances revealed between five points of view. But how did he get caught in the first place? And where did he go?

Chapter two: Broken Spirits (Read it on AO3)

[TW: unethical science and experimentation, neglectful/bad parenting, asphyxiation]

If the timing is suspicious, the doctors Fenton don't think anything of it. Shortly before Danny's disappearance, agents from the Ghost Investigation Ward came to interview Jazz for an internship she applied for, hoping to further her research in ghost psychology before college in order to be taken more seriously. A mere six days after their son goes missing, the G.I.W. agents return to confirm her internship acceptance and approach her parents about a consulting position in their agency.

Apparently, the G.I.W. managed to get their hands on an exciting and unique new test subject, and though all information about the subject is confidential, they believe the Fentons will be able to provide invaluable assistance during the experimentation phase. Despite the strenuous predicament they find themselves in, it's an opportunity they simply cannot pass up, especially not after the government promises to allocate additional resources to finding their missing son.

Besides, being able to work so closely with their daughter is no small comfort after the disappearance of their other child. After the G.I.W. sets them up with a fully equipped ghost science lab, Jazz wanders in from time to time, a relief every time they see her face. She asks questions about their work which they're more than happy to answer in great detail. If it's odd that she's suddenly taking an interest when she never has before, her parents don't think so.

Although they are brought in as consultants specifically because of the new specimen, the Fentons are never allowed to be in the room while the G.I.W. scientists run tests on it, and the closest they ever come to seeing it are the peculiar samples that get delivered to their lab every few days. The ectoplasm samples collected from the specimen are uniquely pure and powerful, but even more intriguingly, the government scientists have somehow been able to collect blood samples from the specimen.

Obviously such a discovery rocks the Fentons to their cores and they waste no time analyzing the blood samples. In them, there are microscopic ectoplasm molecules, invisible to the naked eye, but nonetheless contaminating every cell. Their instruments show that the ectoplasm has corrupted the DNA until it is unrecognizable as fully human blood and no distinct genetic markers can be identified.

"So you can't tell who this person is?" Jazz asks, and her parents laugh a bit at the idea that their daughter might consider a ghost to be a person.

"It's not a 'who' anymore, sweetie," her mother says. "It would have been interesting to study a ghost's genetic markers, but in the end, it doesn't really matter who it was before it became a monster." If she doesn't seem satisfied with this answer, her parents are too distracted to notice.

The agents and science officers of the G.I.W. ask very different questions. "You're sure this is accurate?"

"Of course," Maddie answers. "I designed these instruments myself, and I have no reason not to trust the data they give me."

"What sort of data do these instruments provide?" asks Dr. H, and when Maddie explains, he asks. "Can you make a similar device for me to use in my own lab?"

She says yes, of course.

"Can you make me a device which can see through a ghost's core, for examination purposes?"

Jack is fascinated by the prospect, and readily agrees.

"What materials do you need?" Dr. H asks.

"Can you make me a scanner that can read the spectral equivalent of brain waves? What sort of data do you lack to design such a device?" Such a tricky request when ghosts don't have actual brains, but Maddie is enticed and enthralled by the challenge. She needs to run tests, experiment on her own terms. "Yes, we can provide you with undamaged test subjects. Work quickly."

"Can you create a vacuum capable of containing ghosts?" Not only can they, but they already have. Proudly, the Fentons show off their ghost weasel and all its amazing functions, capable of sucking up and containing vast numbers of ghosts, completely inescapable. "Not that kind of vacuum," Dr. H interrupts. "I was thinking more along the lines of a vacuum chamber. A closed capsule that mimics the lack of atmospheric conditions on, say, the moon."

"Ooh." Jack and Maddie both grow giddy at the implications.

"You're testing the new specimen's potential status as an extremophile! How absolutely marvelous!" Maddie remarks.

"We have observed at least one ghost going into space without a protective suit or space ship, the one who called himself Plasmius," Dr. H agrees. "It's a line of study that has intrigued us."

"But it stands to reason that this new subject might not be able to survive in the vacuum of space as we have observed other ghosts being able to do, depending on how different it is to standard specters." Dr. H nods, but Maddie has already turned away from him, searching for a pencil to start sketching up designs while her husband grabs their sketchpad of blueprints off a countertop. Whatever else the G.I.W. has to say about the Fentons, they certainly work fast. "We can absolutely make a vacuum chamber that can hold a ghost. We'll get started immediately."

Dr. M is a different kind of scientist than Dr. H, and asks very different questions. She's more focused on ghost theory than getting her hands dirty with ectoplasm samples. "I understand that ectoranium is something of a ghost repellent, and it nullifies most of their uncanny abilities."

"It also causes ghosts immense pain to touch the substance, and releases chemical fumes which weaken them and cause them intense discomfort," Maddie adds, only for the notoriously stern Dr. M to shut down her claims.

"It is the opinion of the Ghost Investigation Ward that paranormal entities such as ghosts are non-sentient and not capable of experiencing pain," she says. "Please reserve such foolish postulations as they will be summarily disregarded, and are thus a waste of time."

"Whatever you say," Maddie responds with a knowing smile, shaking her head. She is sure that the G.I.W.'s official stance on whether ghosts can feel pain is wrong, but they likely stand by it out of legal obligation, so she doesn't bother to dispute it.

"Now, after substantial research," Dr. M continues, "I've concluded that ectoranium either does not occur naturally on Earth, or if it does, no naturally occurring source has, of yet, been discovered, however it can be found on certain comets and asteroids. Would the presence of ectoranium deposits affect a ghost's ability to survive in space?"

"I do not believe so," Maddie answers. "My husband and I have observed that ghost Plasmius in exile inhabiting the surface of an asteroid with a confirmed presence of ectoranium. Our research shows that while ectoranium vastly decreases the efficacy of a ghost's more dangerous abilities, like flight and gravity resistance, intangibility, and telekinesis, it's more innate abilities, like functioning without oxygen or maintaining a consistent shape will remain.

"We've discovered certain other stimulants which can cause a ghost to lose the ability to maintain a consistent form, causing it to dissolve, or become amorphous, however we have not found any way to negate a ghosts ability to function without breathing. That seems to be an immutable fact of their existence. Finding a way to suffocate a ghost is one of my husband's pet projects, I'm sure he'd be willing to enlighten you, if you asked."

"That's quite alright, thank you," Dr. M refuses. "I have more questions for you at the current time."

"Ask away!"

"Do you believe it is possible for a human to somehow gain some of the abilities of a ghost?" Maddie lights up at the question.

"Not only is it possible, my husband and I have seen it happen before!" Running to the computer, she enters her password and searches for the appropriate files, certain that Dr. M will find value in them. "A while ago, in Amity Park, there was an outbreak of ghost flu at the local high school, spread by disease carrying ecto-mosquitoes. Now, ghost flu is utterly amazing as a condition because one of the unique symptoms of ghost flu is exhibiting ghost-like abilities."

"Elaborate," Dr. M requests, as if Maddie wouldn't expound unprompted, though she is already planning to before Dr. M asks.

"Victims of ghost flu were able to use at least one ghostly power, intangibility, gravity resistance, duplication, spectral body manipulation—it's unlike anything I've ever seen, even among ghost related afflictions like ecto-acne."

"Do you think it's possible to synthesize a compound that would elicit that kind of reaction without the illness?" Dr. M asks. "A serum of sorts, or perhaps some kind of device, which could give humans ghostly powers?"

"My husband and I have been working on a few theories about that, using controlled ectoplasm exposure in lab rats. Slowly introducing purified ectoplasm—free of the impurities which cause illnesses like ghost flu and ecto-acne—into their bloodstreams, and analyzing the results.

"I can give you the experimentation logs, but so far we've had limited success. Our working theory is that it has something to do with the rate of ectoplasm exposure. Introducing it slowly, the rats' bodies fight the ecto-infection too quickly for it to take effect. The next stage of our experiments is to increase the dosage. We've tried a few times, but found that too high of a dose kills the rats instantaneously. Although it does create ghost rats, it does not create living rats with ghost powers.

"We put the experiments on hold when we came to work in this facility, but now that I'm on the subject, I'm curious to see if we can further this experiment with the information gleaned from the new specimen's blood samples."

"I encourage you to further these experiments posthaste, and report your findings," Dr. M says stiffly. "The G.I.W. is most interested in such experiments. If you require anything to effectively conduct these experiments, do not hesitate to ask."

"Of course!" As with every other question and request, Maddie is more than happy to carry out Dr. M's suggestion, and when she brings it up to her husband later, he enthusiastically agrees. If Dr. M's intentions are worrying, the Fentons don't concern themselves with them.

"Excellent," Dr. M says, and starts to leave.

"Wait!" Maddie stops her. "I know it's not really your department, but do you know if the investigators have made any progress in finding our son?"

"That's not my department," Dr. M says. "If you wish, I can request that the appropriate staff member be directed your way to answer any questions you may have about the investigation."

"Yes please, that would be wonderful," Maddie agrees. "My husband and I will resume the experiments we were talking about right away!"

"Affirmative." With that, Dr. M leaves the lab and Maddie walks over to the workbench they've designated for anti-ghost weaponry to talk to her husband about the experiments to give living creatures ghostly abilities. Just as she suspected, her husband is thrilled at the prospect of returning to those particular experiments with the full support and financial backing of the government.

They waste no time in procuring rats to use as test subjects and working on a way to combine pure ectoplasm with the contaminated blood sample. With the both of them working full time on the compound they synthesize a test dose by the end of the day, and inject the first rat to see the results the next morning.

The following day they're excited to see that the rat's once-brown coat is pure white, and its eyes glow yellow, though there is no corpse in the cage. When the agent comes into the lab to report to the Fentons about the investigation regarding their son, Jack is testing the Rat's reaction to the ghost proof cage and Maddie has just taken the first blood sample and is diluting it in a test tube.

"Agent Q!" Jack's booming voice announces when the man walks through the door. "Any news about our boy?"

"Yes," Agent Q reports, stone-faced and emotionless as always. "It is with regret that I have come to inform you that your son's body was found dead on the shores of Lake Eerie." His monotone voice cuts through the air in the lab like a scalpel and the Fenton parents can only stare in shocked silence. "There was evidence of him being attacked by wild animals, before reaching the lake, but the coroner has determined the cause of death to be drowning. There is no evidence of foul play. It appears the incident was a... tragic accident. Your daughter has agreed to go to the morgue to confirm the identity of the body so as not to take you away from your work, but we are quite sure it is your son. He has the same birthmark."

The silence of the lab is broken by a distant scream in the direction of Lab '05-∆Φ, where the new specimen is undergoing experiments. It sounds like Phantom's ghostly wail, like the screams of a dying child. They can't help but wonder if their boy—if Danny screamed like that before he died. And if the story is unlikely, the parents are too distraught to question it.

A teardrop drips from Maddie's face into the test tube she's holding, and the solution bubbles over. With a gasp, she lets it go, and it plunges toward the ground.

When she drops it... it shatters.

[jinjeriffic]

DPxDC and OOC

I've had a couple of posts cross my dash recently where people lament that a lot of the dpxdc fandom writes characters very OOC and how we're proliferating these characterizations among each other. I figured I'd add my own two cents.

I think the fundamental discrepancy comes from trying to reconcile two canons with vastly different tones.

Danny Phantom is a comedy superhero show operating on cartoon logic. Why do ghost experts Jack and Maddie never realize their own kid is a ghost? Why is the status quo restored at the end of every episode? Why does Danny shoot an ectoblast out of his butt that one time? Because it's funny. It's cartoony action fun where the plot is resolved in 22 minutes, there's never any lasting consequences and it's aimed at kids.

DC meanwhile wants to be taken Seriously. Heroes get beaten within an inch of their life, traumatized, killed and even the good guys do messed up things (often to each other). Yes there's action and puns, but also horrific violence, actions have consequences and it's (mostly) aimed at adults. When a main character dies the comics show their family and friends mourning and things are very dramatic. Even though at this point we, the audience can pretty much expect every death to be undone within 2-5 years of publishing, but I digress.

So how do we, the fanfic/fanart creators reconcile these differences when we make our crossovers? We either make DP more serious and somber, or we make DC more comedic.

Suddenly we have a DP verse where the Fentons' bumbling obliviousness is elevated to serious neglect or outright abuse. The GiW are no longer a minor annoyance, they are a serious threat with genocidal plans and a desire to vivisect the protagonist. When actions have consequences, we imagine Danny as dealing with serious PTSD from having to be a solo superhero and witnessing his family's death that one time (and maybe also getting vivisected). Danny is not just a teen superhero, he's now the Ghost King with serious responsibility on his shoulders.

On the flipside, if we make DC more comedic we tend to exaggerate character traits for comedic effect, focus more on the interpersonal dynamics (especially the Batfam) and have the characters act more casual and silly. Suddenly the Batfam goes from a group of seriously messed up individuals who have trouble communicating with each other and fight all the time to Batdad "Kids if you don't stop killing criminals you won't get dessert ffs" Bruce. Violence is played for laughs instead of taken seriously. Yeah they fight, but they still Love Each Other.

And THIS IS PERFECTLY FINE. It's transformative work! And trying to reconcile these disparate fandoms is hard! Fandom is a labor of love. We do it for free. We do it for our own entertainment. And no one is forcing you to read fics you don't like. DLDR and all that.

[r3ynah]

Extended Family

DCxDP

An Au where, Maddie is Damian and Danyal, Biological mother besides Talia, Basically Talia and Maddie(+Jack) both grew up in LOA and were very best friends(lovers?? at some point including Jack). Talia wanted a natural birth for her son, as she was not really fond of the idea of a test tube baby. so she asked Maddie a favour to become a surrogate. which Maddie happily accepted. because of her experience with Jazz and Danyal's birth, Talia was sure Maddie can give birth to her son safely.

This was approved by Ra's Because he deemed Maddie as someone that could be trusted due to her becoming one of the most strongest and smart assassins in the LOA(He was fond of her, like really really fond.) So he accepted his daughter proposal for Maddie to become the surrogate.

And then Damian was born, Jazz and Danny basically loved Damian and would not go anywhere but the baby's side. Jack loved taking care of Damian due to Maddie and Talia not knowing how to take care of a baby with physical affection.(basically house husband behavior,).

As the kids grew they become closer through the years until you know, it wasn't safe for them in the LOA anymore so they helped Damian escape first to his Bio dad's place(They did let him pick though, if he wanted to stay with the fenton-nightangles or go to Bruce, he chose the latter because if something happened to them he'll have connections.) and then Maddie and Jack escaped with their children in a random town named Amity park. which turns out was a hotspot for Lazarus pits or Ectoplasm. (They decided to change the name cause everytime Jack hears the word pits he started laughing).

The children of course never severed their communication throughout the years. And Bruce never asked about his life at the LOA so he never introduced his half siblings.

Damian hated his older brother, Danyal with all his might. if you asked him to choose between his Half-sister Jazz or Danyal. He'll choose Jazz in a heartbeat.

He hated him, because of his foolishness and absolute neglect of his surroundings, making him a easy prey amongst people who wants to take advantage of him. He disliked Danyal's poor choices in life especially now.

The youngest wayne stood in the middle of one of the many hallways of his highschool as he stared at a certain, black haired and blue eyed girl, who was waving at him ecstatically, he contemplated if he should fight the girl head on or just run and escape.

Obviously in this situation he would pick the most desirable option to make sure his day wasn't ruined by his older brother, so he picked the latter. Damian dashed through the hallways, making sure to lose the girl before the third period started. He slowed down as he looked warily at his surroundings his back against the storage room incase he needed a hiding place from that test tube spawn.

When suddenly a pair of arms phased through the door embracing Damian as he tried to escape.

The girl giggled as she kept her hold on the older boy who tried to get her off him. "Hi uncle Damian!"

she greeted as she finally let go making space for the boy to take a step back.

"Danielle. Why are you here, Did Danyal send you to pester me?" He glared at his niece, as he kept his guard up.

"Kind of, mama sent me here to check up on you." She explained "You kinda went MIA when you stopped answering his texts and calls."

"This is absurd, I can take care of myself. him thinking something happened to me for not answering his calls is offending, I am not like him." Damian stated as he finally lowered his guard. And started to walk away expecting for Elle to follow to which she did.

"Eh.. You know him, His just paranoid he always is" Elle exclaimed as she looked at her schedule. "What's your next class Uncle?"

"Math."

"Ooh Yey! We're classmates, let's sit together!"

A groan left Damian as Elle chuckled and continued to look at her class schedule beside him, Peaceful quietness welcomed the two as they walked to their shared class.

——

"Do you have a apartment nearby?" Damian asked as he stood up from his table waiting for Elle as she packed her notebooks, only filled with doodles from both party.

"Nope, Mama requested that we move here for easier transport but i didn't wanna bother with all the moving stuff." Elle explained as she finished tidying up. "Beside I can just fly back and forth, what's the use of my powers if I can't abuse em."

"Your logic is as worse as Danyal." Damian exclaimed as they both headed out the door. "Follow along. you'll be staying at my manor this week."

"Why?" Elle asked suspiciously

"Because, It is a tiring job to use your flight ability for something so stupid." The boy explained.

"Is that really all?"

"Ofcourse not, As your uncle it's my job to keep you energized and unbothered, But as your mother's brother its my duty to annoy him for thinking i was in danger. so I'm basically taking you hostage at the manor." Damian grinned, as he took his niece's hand to make sure she doesn't get lost through the maze of hallways

"So basically kidnapping? I'm in."

——

"Master Damian, welcome home." Alfred greeted as he opened the front door. "And who might you be?"

"Hello Alfred, This is Danielle your Great-granddaughter." Damian said, making Alfred raise his eyebrows slightly before returning to his relaxed state.

"Well, nice to meet you Lady Danielle" Alfred greeted with a smile, as he shook her hand.

"Please call me Elle, Alfred" Elle brightly smiled

"Very well then Lady Elle." Alfred chuckled.

"Is father home yet?" Damian asked

"No not yet master Damian, you two may go to the living room as I prepare the guest room for Lady Elle." Alfred exclaimed as he headed to the kitchen to finish what he was doing.

Elle looked at Damian, Damian looked at Elle.

"I can feel my phone vibrating from my bag." She laughed. Her mother Danny was certainly going to be sad that his little brother kidnapped his daughter for a Uncle and niece Hangout.