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owch
Danny decided he needed a vacation. He had recently gotten shapeshifting powers in his ghost form, because ectoplasm could be molded and stretched. The only thing that needed to stay the same was his core. He decided to become a puppy, and live out a few years with a good family. Unfortunately, he got involved in a dog fighting ring, and to keep his cover, had to go along with it. But that didn’t stop him from sending messages to the local bats. He’s rescued along with all of the other pups, and Batman had taken a liking to him. He’s named Ace and brought home with Batman. Bruce quickly found out that Ace (Danny) was scarily good at reading people, and after Ace had broken out of a locked cage and saved Batman more than once, that he now had a sidekick that was his dog. Danny was having his best time being a crime fighting dog.
They know instantly.
I want Danny, in king Phantom form, to meet Billy, in his hero form, and for them both to immediately know that they other isn't the age they present themselves as.
They then proceed to troll the whole League into believing that they've been friends for eons.
ITS GREAT LAKES AWARENESS DAY!!!!!
On this excellent day, be aware that this is the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world, covering over 95,000 square miles and reaching depths of over a thousand feet. They are beautiful freshwater seas.
Also when you die in these lakes, the very cold, oxygen-poor conditions at the bottom preserves you perfectly for all eternity. You will not rot and nothing will eat you. You will exist for as long as the Great Lakes do. Many shipwrecks still have the crew on board. Be Aware.
Tim: Every day, my joints are shocked and disgusted that i would use them for their intended purpose.
I love it when there's choas that most associate with Dan, Dani, and Danny.
___
Dan, Dani and Danny just finished a meeting with the Justice League (with the YJL on the side lines just being nosey) to talk about alliances between the League and the Phantoms.
Superman: Phantom.
Dan, Dani and Danny: Yes.
Flash: Wait, you're all Phantom?
Dani: Yeah, it's our family name, duh.
Superman: We prefer to work with the eldest Phantom-
Danny, who still looks the same age he died but is actually 15: That would be me.
Everyone is shocked.
Dan, scoffed: We're ghosts, our physical age doesn't reflect our actual ages.
Kid Flash: Wait, how old are you guys?
Dan: 4 years old.
Dani: 6 months old.
Dan: Baby-
Dani just stuck out her tongue.
Danny: I'm 15.
Robin: But you show up throughout history?
Danny: I do odd jobs for the ghost of time.
Green Latern: We'll circle back to that later. So, how are you guys related?
Dan: We're the same person.
JL + YJL: Wha-?
Dan: Me and her are variations of that one.
Batman: Elaborate.
Dan: I'm from another timeline that doesn't exist anymore.
Dani: I'm his clone!
Danny: And I'm just Danny.
Flash: Didn't you call her your cousin? Wouldn't she be your daughter?
Danny: It's interchangeable, we change what we call each other everyday. Sometimes I'm their brother, cousin or parent. Which one depends on the day.
Dan: We honestly don't care.
Flash: Since you're from a destroyed timeline, wouldn't she also be your clone too?
Dan: Naw, it's a little more complex than that.
Dani: He's actually combined ghosts of Danny and Plasmius combined with Danny's memories. In hindsight, that makes him their child. Which means we're actually full siblings.
Danny: Which is weird since Plasmius is actually an old man with an unhealthy obsession with my mom and me. He was my parents' college friend and is my godfather and arch nemesis.
Kid Flash: ... There is so many things wrong with that statement.
Danny: And that's why we call him a fruitloop.
Aqualad: There seems to be an issue with archnemesises cloning their hero counterparts.
Dani, squealing: THERES ANOTHER CLONE!!
Superboy: Hi.
Dani, suddenly in Superboy's face: Mom, look! He can pass off as one of us.
Robin: That makes no sense, he has blue eyes and black hair, you have white hair and green eyes.
All three Phantoms, with an inhumanly large and toothy grin, turned human: You sure 'bout that?
Batman: You have human disguises?
Danny: Sure, we'll go with that.
Dani, on Superboy's back: Can we keep him?
Dan: He'll fit right in.
Danny: Superman is his dad-
Superman, bristling: Its not my son.
The Phantoms just stare at him:...
Danny: No.
JL: ??
Dan: I won't make a mess.
JL, confused: ??
Dani: I'll help with clean up.
JL, concerned: !?!?
Danny: No, now help me convince Superboy to join our fraid.
Scarecrow: I am the master of Fear!
Danny: Look, dude, I don't care what you and my knight get up to in the privacy of your bedroom, but you keep that to yourself.
Scarecrow: A wise guy, huh? Let's see how many jokes you can crack after my latest creation.
Danny: Agh! Did you just spray me with your cheap cologne?
Scarecrow: You shall know fear.
Danny: I shall know a shower to get this smell off me. What is that? Citrus? Gross.
Scarecrow: Why aren't you screaming in horror!?
Danny: Oh, I've experienced horrors alright. I have a meeting with Fright Knight after this. I won't be able to look him in the eye later.
Red Robin: This isn't what I was expecting when I used the emergency summons Constantine gave me. I thought it would bring him here not, who ever you are.
Danny: I forgot about my summoner. Hold tight, I'll save you now.
Danny to Scarecrow: Look, dude, normally I would beat you up, stuff you into a thermos, and wash my hands of it. But seeing as you're Fright Knight's lover, I'll just steal the human boy and give you a warning instead. Sound good?
Scarecrow: You shall not!
Red Robin: Wait a minute!
Danny snapping his fingers to open a protal: Shush human sacrifice. We must leave.
Scarecrow: Don't you dare! Hey!
Danny: Okay byeeeeeeee!~ *protal closes*
Batman: *crashing through a window* Scarecrow where is Red Robin!? What have you done with him!
Scarecrow: He got kidnapped by a being that feels no fear.
Batman: I will make you talk.
Scarecrow: I know I'm crazy but that's actually what happened, I swear.
I found and read this cute story on AO3, about Frostbite being Danny's legal parental guardian. In the story Bruce Wayne runs into Frostbite (in his full yeti glory no disguise) who is setting up for school bake sale. Got me thinking about what if Danny's past rogues took turns filling in and doing parental stuff especially at school functions. Like Frostbite does the bake sale, Pandora shows up for his games, Ghostwriter goes to all of the PTA meetings, Clockwork goes to teacher meetings, so on and so forth.
Ohhh, that sounds good! I'll get it a read when I have some time. Thank you for the rec!
Danny Fenton is one of the lucky few who have a very involved household. His various family members would always sign up for any school event the boy needed support in. It didn't mean that the boy won everything, but as a teacher for nine years, Emily has come to learn how much it mattered to just have someone show up.
She had seen students whose entire faces light up after spotting someone in the crowd in the same amount she saw a student's hope crumble after they scanned the room.
Danny was a polite young man, a bit on the shyer side, but kind and not a troublemaker, his previous school had her believe. If anything, he seemed to struggle with fitting in, but no students blatantly disliked him.
The general opinion of Danny matched, as her students would say, "I know him from class, but I don't really talk to him. He seems cool though".
Maybe that's why so many people were supposed by his family to march into the auditorium during Danny's talent show. Seeing him wave at the row before starting his gymnastic act had been such a surprise.
Now, Gotham wasn't a close-knit community, not with the size of their city and the millions of people living within it, but everyone would have noticed that Danny was adopted.
After all, he was the only one that wasn't glowing or a large humanoid animal. They cheered the loudest among the crowd; uncaring Danny got bronze- having lost to Joey's tapping dancing for second and Damian's spectacular multi-instrumental cover of a meme song for first place- and Danny beamed back at them.
Gotham was known for not being meta-friendly, but that was only due to a few mean people who shouted the loudest on media outlets. Many of Emily's students were meta, had family that were meta, or knew someone meta. It wasn't a common enough trait one would encounter a meta on every outing, but you would see them in Gotham well enough.
Everyone knew, but no one said it out loud. In the same way, she knew which students' parents were in the country illegally but worked harder than anyone else. Saying anything would help the cops, or worse, the rich running Gotham.
Even the most prejudiced Gothamite would rather be spat on then give them aid. And those who were so prejudiced to help the poor man's enemies, well, Emily has lived here long enough to know they vanished rather quickly. The smart ones kept their mouths shut.
No one could forget what happened to that guy who accidentally insulted Penguin. His grandmother had been an illegal immigrant on his mother's side.
No one messed with that side of the family.
"Hello, Mrs. Jackson." Danny's adoptive father, Dr. Frostbite said, ducking down to avoid banging his head on the door. On one of his shoulders was a box of hotdog wieners; on the other were multiple bags of bread. "I'm here for my snack bar shift."
Emily tilts her head back to look the Yeti in the eye. He had been shocked the first time they met, but she could admit that Dr. Frostbite was a relatively gentle and wise soul. "Welcome aboard. The girls are just about to take the field. You can put that down by the crock pot over there."
The mountain of white fur brushes by her with the grace of a king as Dr. Frostbite does as she says. There were no customers at the window, so she leaned on the counter and offered him a smile. "Did you enjoy the game?"
"Yes. I was saddened our team did not win, but Danny hit a home run." Dr. Frostbite's sharp smile could have been frightening if he wasn't oozing parental pride. "I caught it all on video."
Emily opens her mouth to respond when a hand lands loudly on the counter with a loud crack. Her heart leaps, and she looks into Danny's Ember. She isn't one of Emily's students, though she does appear to be a teenager in appearance.
You know. If it wasn't for her hair made of fire. Or her blue skin. Or her glow.
"I set a boy on fire," She announces with a cackle.
"That's so?" Dr. Frostbite gently rips open the box, taking out the hotdog packages. With one large claw, he rips a hole into it and lets the few weiners slide into the crockpot with a gentle splash. "What did he do?"
"Tried to slap me on the butt." She huffs, rolling her eyes, but her smirk doesn't lose an edge of smugness.
"Well done." Dr. Frostbite praises placing the lid back on. It always surprised Emily to see such careful actions from the large creature. "I assume you did so out of Pandora's line of sight?"
"Naturally. I don't want her lecturing me in front of the whole community." Ember scoffs, crossing her arms. Behind her, the top of Pandora's head can be seen swinging side to side over the dugout, keeping an eye on the ball.
She was the best volunteer referee because even the parents knew not to shout insulting things when she was present. Emily doesn't think she has had such peaceful games in a long while. Hopefully, Danny will try out again for baseball next year so the woman can return.
"Oh hey, you're Danny's English teacher, right? Mrs. Johnson?" Ember asks, leaning on the counter to give Emily a curious look.
When the blond nods, holding out her hand for a shake. "That's right. It's nice to see you again, Ember."
The girl's hair flairs a little as a grin grows on her face. Her hand is ice cold to the touch, but she's got a firm grip that her husband would appreciate. "Likewise. I got a message for you from Ghostwriter. He sent the notes for the last PTA meeting to you and the revision playwright for the musical you two were working on."
Emily's mood brightens up. "That's wonderful. Could you tell him I'll check it out when I get home and get to my laptop since my phone broke in the last Two-Face attack?"
Ember's hair flickers in the wind when she nods, but Danny bounces right up behind her just as she opens her mouth to speak. He's wearing his Gotham Acadamy Baseball uniform with pride despite them losing. "Hey, Frostbite, can I go with Tim and Duke to get Peoeria Pizza? We'll be back before the girl's game ends."
"Only if you take Ember with you," Dr.Frostbite says, nodding to his daughter, who looks alarmed to be included. "She needs more friends."
"Hey!"
"Sure. Come on, Ember, you'll get along with Duke. He likes old-school rock."
"It's not old-school!"
Emily laughs, watching the two siblings bicker as they stride away, blending into the crowd with no one batting an eye at the glowing girl anymore. How blessed that boy was.
"I'm glad Danny has gotten comfortable here. I always worried he never was going to have a normal childhood." Dr. Frostbite confesses to swirling the hotdogs around in the water to ensure each one is cooked.
"I think you and the rest are doing a wonderful job. You're a great father." She assures him, thinking wistfully of her William. He's been on deployment for a few months now and will likely miss the holidays again, but his contract is almost up. They may try for a child when he gets in the reserves. "How are things at the clinic?"
"Oh, wonderful. I'm grateful that Mr. Wayne has allowed the expansion of Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic. Dr. Thompkins will be covering the east side of Gotham while I help those on the west. It's much more fulfilling than working in some hospital that demands funds for the silliest things. Back home, that would have been illegal. The people would have burned me at the stake if I had allowed anyone to pass away due to greed."
"My kind of people." She laughs. A sharp crack sounds from the field as the bat makes contact with the ball, and the crowd goes wild. It's a wonderful day.
Its a terrifying scene. The camera angle revealing parts of a science lab straight out of hell. Kitchen knifes and scalpels lay dripping on a table.
On the dissection table- because thats all it could be- lays a small child. Small but noticable gills on the neck, the occasional fleck of scales and webbed fingers mark them as merfolk.
Viewers watch on in horror as the table is bloodied. A steady incision made in the left leg. The Justice League had been contacted but there was no indication they would make it in time to help.
A large Bang! went off in the background of the video, clearly catching the duo off guard. The man turned to his (wife?) with a weird moniter in his hands going off the charts and with an excited yelp they both took off running up the steps that were just barely in frame behind them.
A few long moments later, two teens sneak into the lab. The boy rushed over to unchain their parents 'test subject' while the girl kept watch.
Freshly released limbs had bloody wounds rubbed into the pinned down areas and quiet whispers of empathy were only just picked up by the audio. One of the viewers pointed out that the boy himself had scars in similar places.
The boy picked up the kid and the trio quickly slipped away out of camera view. Soft thuds mark their escape from the house, seemingly unaware of the Livestream their parents were apparently trying to make.
--------------------------
The story makes international news and leaves everyone on high alert. Government agencies scramble to prove they had no connection to the couple, the GIW undergos mass arrest when their names Maddie and Jack Fenton come up on their payroll. A channel is made to document any sightings of the kids.
The first one is posted after a day. It's security footage from a fast food restaruant. Four teens- the two from before plus a goth and someone named ''Tucker''- along with the comparitively tiny Mer sit in a booth. ''Tucker'' and "Sam'' argue about possible dietary restriction before seemingly ordering one of everything. There is soup, and a burger, the largest cup filled with water they could find in the back, chicken tenders and salad.
When the server goes to deliver everything, the four watch them like hawks, understandable given the previous day.
(Did any of them even know Half the world knew what went down? )
(Did any of them know how Aquaman was taking the news of one of his subjects being injured like that? )
( Did any of them realize that their choice to protect the kid was one of the main reasons war hadn't been declared yet on the human race?)
Jasmine is heard softly encouraging the tiny Mer to eat something, anything and eventually the soup is downed and apparently liked enough that she gets up to order more.
Right before they leave, while under the relative safety of a roof, they swap the bandages wrapped around most of the kids leg and arms and slowly tell them about future plans despite the fact that they probably can't understand the language.
(Jasmine points at a laptop screen filled with a view of the ocean. "We" she circles the group with her pinky "are going there to get you home." The atlantian can't speak english but the way their eyes light up and they relax further into Sams side shows they understand the basic message)
(The sight- of the child definitely scared but trusting them enough to get so close- helps calm the atlantians with access to the internet. Somewhere Aquaman finds himself able to breathe slightly easier.)
this is a sequel to this.
The hoodlums and nightlings: @skulld3mort-1fan, @satanicrutialspecialist, @terzatheunderscorerima, @autumnwulf, @jaggedheart11, @froartuck,
Danny is panicking.
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