I've seen a lot of Danny being Ellie's dad but where is the Pariah Dark adopts this sassy ghost child that beat him in a duel and is now prince because why not adopt the overpowered child. Which leads to the JL fighting Danny for whatever reason and when he calls for help he calls his new dad and oh shit is that the Ghost King
Danny was with Sam and Tucker in the Ghost Zone when three seven-man squads of ghost knights found him. They had found an empty island near the portal that they had made into a makeshift training ground so he could safely practice his powers.
The most recent fights had shown him that he was only winning because of his quick thinking and adaptability that tricked his enemies, but he needed to get better if he ever wanted to prevent an incident like the ones at Axion labs from ever happening again.
He couldn't afford to create another arch-nemesis. Plus his good luck and clever mind could only get him so far if his body couldn't keep up.
He was in the middle of shooting the rays from the various drones Tucker set up when the knights landed on his island. Their metal clacking with each step they took, marching away from their skeleton winged horses.
At once, Danny flew between the ground, feeling more than seeing his friends scrambling for their weapons as he raised his fists.
"Who are you?" He demanded, watching the other squads surround them. Tucker and Sam spun around, each pressing up against his back in a makeshift triangle.
The hum of their ghost guns echoed through the air as the knights continued their marching until they had formed a circle around the three.
I don't like this. Danny thought felt his own ecto-ray heating up in his palms. They look oddly familiar. Where have I seen those armors?
The knights all, simultaneously, dropped to one knee, surprising the three teenagers. They bowed their heads, and even the winged horses followed suit,
"Prince Phantom." The one right in front of Danny said, "We have come as your formal escort to your Father's keep. He demands your presence."
"My Dad?" Danny repeats, voiced, laced with doubt. , "My Dad sent ghosts to escort me home? Do I look stupid to you?"
"It is not your sire, Jack Fenton, I speak of," The Knight explains, voice still respectful even when staring at the ground. Danny can't see his eyes or any of the other knights, as they are hidden in the shadows of their helmets. "I speak of the Ghost King, Pariah Dark, who has chosen you are his Heir. You are summoned to complete the adoption process."
"Yeah, that's going to be a no from me." Danny deadpans, even if his insides have turned to ice. Pariah Dark was resealed, Danny personally made sure of that, so why was this guy speaking as if he was back?
"Apologies, my Prince, but you do not have a choice," declares the other, and almost as if that was a cue of some kind, the other knights rise from their knees. They descend on the trio faster than Danny was expecting.
He ducks and waves as three different fists fly to his face, reaching down to aim an uppercut at the one on his right. It lands with a clack and a sting in his knuckles as the helmets odd shape as some protection to the chin
Shaking out his hand, Danny is not prepared for the kick to his side that sends him flying.
He lands in a heap but is quick to get back to his feet as rope is lassoed around one of his wrists. He gapes at it as another knight, quickly throws on to his other arms and suddenly he's being tugged in two different directions.
Summoning his ice, Danny has it travel down the ropes towards the knights, who drop it just as the ice would have encased their hands. Freed, Danny, leaps back as a flying kick paces mere inches from his face and has to quickly raise his hands to block an ecto-ray to the chest.
"Do not harm the Prince!" The leader barks "Capture the humans, he will go willingly if we have hostages!"
Danny swings his head towards Sam and Tucker, who have been forced up against a wall, shooting desperately at the advancing knights. Their shots are being knocked away by flowing swords, and it was obvious their movements were slowing down.
Despite the many fights they have helped in a fight, neither Sam or Tucker could outlast a ghost. Their stamina was superior, and sadly, it seemed these particular ghosts also had training under their belts.
"No!" Danny moved to help but just as he turned his eyes away from the Knight Leader, a bubble of ectoplasm exploded in his face.
"I told you not to harm the Prince!" Someone roars over the sound of ringing in his ears. Hands fell on all his limbs holding him down, even if he weakly tried to shake them off. Everything is spinning, though, and his vision is blurring in and out of focus. He sees Sam fall to the ground with Tucker screaming something he can't make out before Danny is left up and dragged away.
There is a weight around his wrists and ankles, indicating he's been tied up, but Danny can barely keep his head from bobbing to the side. He had no energy to attempt to break his bonds.
He knew no more as he was thrown into a carriage, the block dots in his vision taking over completely.
Three years later, Danny is overlooking the development of a ghost colony in a far-off corner of King Pariah's empire. This colony was made entirely of former slaves whom Danny fought his adoptive father tooth and nail to free.
Pariah moods were odd. He controlled everything Danny did, but he also wanted Danny to take his own stances on how the empire should be run. The Ghost King's control had expanded to nearly all corners of the Ghost Zone, breaking and tearing apart any resistance they found.
War had broken out as ghosts from various tribes and kingdoms fought desperately to keep their freedom. Pariah saw no challenge in their attempts, crushing anyone that stood in his way.
His aim was to once again rule all over the dead, and later, once every ghost bowed to his whim, invade the living world again but this time there would be no Halfa child to stop him.
Said Halfa that was now heir of the tyrant. Everyone knew about the kidnapped Prince, as his tale was told in resistance meetings both in pity and in rage.
Prince Phantom's iconic white hair and green eyes were just as widely known as his golden collar was. It was created by King Pariah, to keep the prince in the area by an invisible fence he set up. Should Prince Phantom attempt to fly or walk out of those areas, the collar would turn into flaming chains, yanking the prince back. It wouldn't burn him, thankfully, but it would drag him roughly.
It didn't help that the collar stopped Prince Phantom from accessing his powers. It was almost like he was a full human, except he was trapped in his ghost form and in the Ghost Zone, which meant his options were far more limited than normal.
He was more of a royal hostage than an actual heir.
Even out here, while overlooking reports and listening to testimonies, Prince Phantom could not leave the tower of the newest colony. At all times there was two guards that followed him and limited his movements too.
Despite his position, the Prince did everything he could to protect the people, tales of him jumping to a servant's defense against his father, advocating for the abolishment of slavery, and even offering to serve any punishment for any ghost child. The people loved their prince, and all wanted to one day see him free as well.
Rumors had it that the leaders of the main resistance were two humans who were desperately trying to free Prince Phantom, but since everyone in the rebellion's army's identity remained secret, no one knew how true those rumors were.
Danny unrolls a scroll, sighing at the numbers. "If nothing is done about the harvest, the people will starve come winter. We need to start rationing. Take whatever you need from my own supplies before we start applying it to the people."
"My Prince, we couldn't possibly ask that of you. Already, you granted us freedom and a home. ," Started the mayor of the colony, only to stop at the sight of a large magical circle forming around the prince. Danny's eyes widened as well, feeling his collar start to glow as whatever it is attempt to yank him away.
He feels it start to crack as the magic overpowers the collar's settings. Hope flares in his heart as his guards leap to their feet. Before they can so much as come near him, the mayor throws himself at them with a roar. "Run, my Prince! I shall buy you time!"
Danny is swallowed by light before he can respond, the collar left behind to clatter against the floor. He is flung through a portal made of multiple colors, so bright and blinding he has to close his eyes and hold his hands in front of his face. He lands with a startled yelp, but his hands fling to his neck.
When all he feels is flesh, tears burn his eyes sight as he sobs. He's free. He's finally free.
"Well, this isn't what I was expecting when I offered a piece of my soul" An accented voice hums, drawing attention to a group of oddly dressed strangers. A man in a trench coat lights a cigar, the glow casting his face in a dim light as he stares down at Danny with a detached appraisal glint in his eyes. "Tell me, why did my spell bring me a child when I asked for a champion to overthrow the Ghost King?"
Danny's ice core starts to slowly freeze the room over, his breath visible as his eyes harden. "It brought me here because I am going to kill my father."
"Prince Phantom" Trench coat man identifies with some relief. "A pleasure to finally meet you. This is the Justice League and they like to lend a hand in your parricide."
Danny makes a small mistake that spirals out of control three years later. It starts on a fateful day while working in Clockwork's Tower, covering for the Time Lord. He had pushed for the man to take a break after hearing he hadn't been on vacation since the death of dinosaurs.
It was also recommended by Frostbite. Apparently, the stress of his job was causing Clockwork to lose grip on his age shift. Much like a human grinding their teeth in sleep due to stress, Clockwork's core was rapidly shifting him through his ages, causing aches along his core. When Danny met him, the way he went from child to middle-aged man and finally old adult was just physical proof of Clockwork's stress.
His shifting got under control after they defeated Dan, but that didn't mean his muscles had a chance to relax. He was a little better off the second time Danny saw Clockwork, but when Danny asked if he could return to his parent's college days, Clockwork's form quickly started shifting again.
Danny felt horrible about it, but he was fine taking over for the ghost to relax on vacation. It wasn't even that hard. All he had to do was watch the various timelines and record large catastrophes and bursts of hope. He also had to watch hourglasses that indicated the natural flow of time in multiple worlds. Sometimes, the sand would get stuck, so he would need to stir it with a large spoon, careful to not let anything else touch the golden shine of the time sands.
It helped that the Tower was semi-sentient. It overheard him making up lies about what he was doing on a call with his parents. Danny had told his parents that this summer, he was going away to work as a summer camp counselor, while Clockwork had selected a timeline that was moving at a different speed.
One month in Danny's home dimension was a hundred years in the one Clockwork was relaxing in. When Danny's school started again, his friend would have a lovely four hundred years to enjoy. Of course, this was a tiny break for a being like Clockwork, but Danny promised to take over every summer until he graduated.
The Tower had created a room that looked a lot like a log cabin whenever his parents attempted to video call. It even created a paycheck with actual funds directly deposited into his teen account that his parents had access to.
Their doubts about Danny lying vanished when "Camp Kronos" placed a rather generous amount of money under his name. His dad was even proud of Danny going out of his way to earn his own money. It's been a long time since his Dad sounded like that when talking about his accomplishments.
Clockwork had told him the Tower spoke to him mentally because it was his Haunt, but since Danny was only Haunt sitting, he was directed to a chalkboard that the Tower could use to write messages to him. That's how he knew it was the Tower's doing that his cover was safe back home.
Danny thanked the Tower by cleaning it from top to bottom. When he asked it what its name and pronouns were, the Tower requested to be called "it" and to stop using a capital T when referring to it.
Danny tries, but he still mentally changes tower into Tower since that is its name in his head. The tiles shake in irritation whenever he accidentally says it out loud.
Besides that, the Tower didn't really interact with him. Danny made his own food, did his own laundry, and did his work. There was never a clock in and clock out; the only time he wasn't attending the timelines was when he took short breaks to sleep, eat, bathe, and clean.
But the only time he wasn't watching the time was when he was asleep, and that was because of Tower. It somehow found a way to throw the timelines in his face whenever possible.
He did enjoy using the large tub to soak in bubbles, but Tower shifted the bubbles to reflect different scenes of the timelines he was watching, causing them to flout like the tower was blowing bubbles while Danny sat in the water. If it went that far to ensure that Danny was constantly working, he could see why Clockwork had such a hard time with the core shifting.
Then, one day, while soaking, he closed his eyes, ignoring the shifting tiles and the slight rumbling of the walls as Tower grumbled. He told it that he was taking a short break and it could wait until he was done. He would rest his eyes, no matter how important it was for him to watch.
He couldn't have them close for more than a minute, but that was all the mistake needed. At that time, one of the bubbles' timelines shifted because someone in it was being an idiot and messing with time, and it started to glow with new times and forming.
Sand that Danny accidentally touched when the bubble popped right on his nose. Tower was throwing a fit, shaking everything like an earthquake as the sand fell into the soap water.
He blinked open his eyes, startled, and much to his horror, came face to face with the sand, forming a miniature window into that timeline. A human teenager was staring right back at him, jaw dropped with a healthy building flush rising on his cheeks, as the time sand danced around his eyes, though he seemed unable to look away from Danny.
Windows were often granted to specific individuals favored by Clockwork, causing them to become Seers. It was not a common blessing because, more often than not, mortals could not handle future knowledge.
Even ghosts long dead struggle with the power. The only reason Danny was able to cover for Clockwork was because his brain was both dead and alive at the same time. Madness cause time couldn't touch him because, technically, he was already crazy.
Tower shook again, the stone groaning under its disapproval as Danny became uncomfortable, aware that the only thing protecting his dignity was the white foam low on his stomach. With a yelp, he sank further into the water, his hands covering his important bits out of habit, and he waved his hand to close the window.
The teenager moved his mouth in a silent plea, but he vanished in a swirl as quickly as he appeared. It was only a few seconds. Not even ten. Surely nothing could come from that?
A mistake he pushed to the back of his mind.
Surely, not paying attention for just a tiny amount of time could not have caused anything to be too bad.
_____________________________________________________________
"Hey dude? You okay?"
"I just....I just saw an angel...."
"What?"
"An angel. He warned me....showed me....I have to tell Mr.Wayne!"
"Wait! Where are you going!? Tell Mr. Wayne what?!"
"His son is going to die next week!"
"What!?"
"Jason Todd! The angel showed me! I have to warn them!"
_____________________________________________________________
Tower didn't tell on him, and Danny didn't bring it up. Clockwork returned in mid-adult form when the summer ended, looking far more relaxed and no longer shifting forms so rapidly.
He apparently spent four hundred years on a small paradise island, sipping coconut and dancing with locals who thought him a god. He hugged Danny, another large bonus for his paycheck, and sent him on his way.
The following summer, Danny completely forgot about the little accident and never bothered to check on that timeline. Clockwork was unaware there was a major shift in it, so he assumed that the world was moving as it should, though he complained that he had to unclog it a lot more because of a Seer who often opened too many Windows.
It was a testament to how much he needed that vacation for Clockwork to forget he never chose that Seer, despite the young human proving he had the will to handle his visions.
\Danny never realized that Seer was the same teenager he saw back then until one day three years later when Seer was an established fortune teller working as a consultant with some hero society and had used some of the said heroes to try and contact Clockwork.
"Danny." Clockwork started watching the young human set up an altar. "Why is a human attempting to use himself as a virgin sacrifice for me?"
"Ummmm"
"Danny, why does my Haunt claim you gave him the Sight."
"Well....."
"Danny why is Timothy Jackson Drake, who fated to be the third Robin in this time line, now a mere consultant who use his power of Sight for money gain? He's not a hero, did you know that? He merely lives next door to one of that world's greatest heroes and is obsessed with finding his Angel"
"I may have....made a mistake when I was fourteen."
"Danny," Clockwork's faux-friendly tone grew sharper as his form shifted from the three stages of age. "What did you do?"
"I can fix it!"
"How."
"I'll....enter that timeline and set it on the right path? I can answer his summons and convince him to become a hero with the Bats?"
Tower shook as if laughing at him.
"How." The hiss that came from the Time god was almost incomprehensible, with the amount of rage crammed into one syllable
"I'll-I can-Honey pot him!" Danny whimpered, cowering under the withering death glare Clockwork was aiming at him. "I can convince him that being a vigilante is cool and hot, so he'll be Red Robin, and the timeline can be saved?"
Clockwork's eyes darken. "You better not fail me. Send him away, Haunt"
Tower- the traitor- moved instantly. It shifted its stones to drag Danny to Red Robin's cluttered hourglass. It flung him in before he could protest, using Danny to unclog it. He is nearly down in the sinking sand, scrambling for purpose before he falls flat on his bum, and the sand vanishes.
A soft gasp has him looking up. Standing before him is the Seer Tim Drake, who looks beyond happy.
"It's you! My Angel!"
I love this series. It is amazing but I hope that if it updates there will be a Tim x Danny x Ryan poly because Karma loves drama let us be honest. I really hope that Ryan loves Danny.
For anyone that wants to read it:
It is the first Master Post under "Danny and Fan Blog"
God danny taking pics at the gala and tim just being enthralled by him while danny is completely oblivious to the fact that this is his birdie
When Danny reaches the podium, he realizes he doesn't have a speech ready. He doesn't even have a topic on what he should be speaking about. He barely knows what kind of art this charity funds.
Is it painting? The theater? Writers? Digital? Music? Who knows, not Danny. He just knows that it was for kids.
He is also still holding Ryan's hand, so the other man is forced to walk up with him. He didn't mean to cling to the overwhelmed ex-waiter, but Danny was really nervous right now, and he forgot his strength when holding on. So, despite Ryan's few frantic tugs, Danny's trembling fingers locked his plam in an iron cage.
A sea of faces is aimed at them, people who make thousands a day, waiting for Danny to open his mouth and deliver a speech on a donation that he supposedly made.
In the front row, Danny can spot Oliver Green and Bruce Wayne, who each recently gave five million to the art programs. Danny knows this because there was a joke online that the two were trying to outdo each other. It was a game to them, yet somehow, Danny Fenton is the name that appears with the most money donated.
The bright spotlight is blinding, to the point that Danny feels like he is going to sweat through his suit.
How much did Lady Gotham donate?
Rayn nervously shifts on his feet, his hand also starting to get sweaty in Danny's hold. He gives the other man what he hopes is a comforting smile and only receives a bewildered, nervous grimace in turn. Danny wishes he could offer to comfort him, but with the very little Gala training he has from the Ghost Nobility Meeting, he knows he can't afford it.
He turns to the crowd, leaning towards the mic with a crooked smile. Danny swears that whenever he had to uphold the duties of his title, it felt like the transformation of Phantom overtaking his body, covering every inch until the uncool nerdy Fenton was gone. All that remains is the High King Phantom.
"Good evening. I am Danny Fenton, and I just want to thank Mr. Wayne for organizing such an important event for the arts. What is art? Art is everywhere- the melodies of our music, the design of our clothes, and the wonder in our stories, movies, plays, and books. Even the shelter of our homes has art. It's proof of humanity, for it was the first way humans ever recorded their existence, and we used it to change our reality."
He smiles at the crows, using one hand to gracefully gesture to the ceiling that Mr. Wayne's family has tastefully decorated with wood carvings. "It's this wonder that we are now offering to our youths so that they may one day look up at a similar world and fine the wonder in it"
He has no idea what he's going on about. Public speaking has never been his strong suit, but thankfully, he has enough regal to make it appear he does.
Danny's articulation has smoothed out, turning each word into a hypnotic, soothing rumble that washes over the party. He knows it's working because the people's expressions have now shifted, looking both surprised and captivated as more and more phrases fall from Danny's tongue.
If you were to ask him how he knows this, well, he would mention that Sam had once taken a video of him while he was practicing his King's address, and he had been stupefied that Phantom had always sounded so confident, sass, and in control. He never raised his voice, but his words were sharper, and an accent from the high class appeared in his tone.
It had been enough to make Phantom look like a King since the start of the human race, and Danny was grateful that, like invisibility, it could pass along to his human side without a full transformation.
It felt like an out-of-body experience—he knew he was speaking, he could see the absolutely enthralled audience, and he could even feel Ryan's hand and the heat of the light, but for the life of him, Danny could not understand what he was saying.
If this was a movie, it would be the montage of a slow pan over the people, dramatic, inspirational music playing in the background to draw out whatever he was saying, and only the visible of Danny dramatically talking, but not actual speech was heard.
It was Lady Gotham. She had taken over his body and set it to autopilot. He knew because Clockwork had once done it to him when Danny was unsure about the move to Gotham.
At least she stepped in when he needed her the most.
"Thank you for your time," Danny finishes, feeling Phantom's confidence melt away as the roaring round of applause echoes through the ballroom. Slowly, he feels the control of his limbs return to him as he pushes away from the podium.
"Wow," Ryan gasps, staring at him with wide shining eyes. He looks like his breath has collapsed in his lungs. Danny feels his face heat up as the handsome man continues to stare. "That was the most beautiful speech I've ever heard. You're... incredible."
"Nah, man, I just really like...the arts." He fumbles. "Like taking photos 'cause I have...a camera." Danny shutters, gesturing to the thing hanging around his neck. "It got lens and everything."
Ryan blinks at him. "Are you nervous?"
"Yeah"
"Why? You just gave the most impressive inspirational speech I've ever heard."
"It's because you're hot and you're talking to me, and I'm not good with people," Danny tells him honestly, dropping Ryan's hand to rub at his neck. I also really want to take the Waynes' photos and be gone, back to the streets."
Ryan laughs, throwing his whole head back and trying to cover his mouth with his hand. Danny's eyes widened, utterly shocked by how bright he seemed now. "You, Danny Fenton, are the strangest man I have ever met, and I've only known you for an hour!"
Danny's face turns hotter. "Yeah...I ugh...I get that a lot."
There is a moment of silence, during which the clicking of people's wine glasses and the slow mutter of voices wash over them. Ryan considers him with a critical eye before he holds out his hand once more. "Do you care for a dance?"
"Dance? With me?" Danny repeats, but at Ryan's answering smile, he feels himself melt. Retaking the hand, he held through the long speech, Danny grins, "I love to. But only one song. I have to find the Waynes afterward."
"Why?"
"I'm on a job, actually. My client hired me to take photos of them."
"That's an odd request," Ryan comments, bringing Danny in close to sway to the music that plays. Danny shrugs his shoulders, carefully following the steps Princess Dora had taught him.
"She's an odd lady."
_________________________________________________________
Across the hall, Jason is watching the pair with intensity. Tim can understand the urge to figure out the new player because he knows who Danny Fenton is and where on earth he had hidden his wealth until this sudden splash.
However, that was mostly due to Tim's upbringing and current CEO job. What made Jason so focused on him? His brother usually never even blinked on any new money or old money.
He thought them too annoying and only came to galas to keep the civilian image up.
"Something on your mind, Jay?" He asks quietly, leaning on the wall and sipping his sparkling water.
"That's Ryan Aetos. One of my...employees."
Ah, a Red Hood Goon.
That could mean two things: Aetos needed more money for whatever reason and took a legitimate part-time job when not making rounds with the rest of the gang, or he was going rogue and planning on betraying Jason.
He was going to break one of Jason's rules, likely where they don't target the crazy rich because the crazy rich could buy the law and bring down it's wrath until the gang's territory.
In Tim's experience, it was seldom the first option.
"Do you think he'll do something?"
"I don't know. He seemed genuine when he spoke about his sick sister- she's why he's been trying to make a quick buck to pay for her medical bills- but he also has a reputation."
"What kind of reputation?"
"Manipulating and one hell of a Romance scammer." Jason grunts. "I've seen him trick three people into funding his lifestyle by batting his eyelashes. I've let him be since he never targeted anyone who didn't deserve it, and it was one less corner boy I had to worry about. But if he's pulling that now on Fenton...."
"Then Fenton may not react very well when he finds out. And we don't have enough information on him to know what he would do to Aetos." Tim finishes turning now to also observe the couple. Fenton is a flustered mess, seeming to be rambling and far too interested in the man wearing the waiter outfit.
Aetos, for his part, is smiling down at him with a content little grin and an adoring expression. It's hard to say if it's an honest one, though, because whenever Fenton glances away, hunger bleeds into Aeto's face.
Is the hunger of a man attracted to another man?
Or the hunger of a man attracted to greed?
Crude.
"What's your call?" He asks Jason since it is his employee. Betrayal or not, Jason has always cared deeply for those he considered his, including the men and women in his gang.
Jason watches for three more songs in silence before sighing. "Separate them. I'll take Ryan and see if I can figure out his plan. You find out more about Fenton. Maybe it is just New Money falling in love with a man down on his luck who's trying to care for his little sister."
"Sounds like a Hallmark movie," Tim jokes, pushing away from the wall. "I've always hated how cliche those movies are"
Alfred: May I help you?
Danny: Yes, you can. I need to talk to the master of the house. I'm Bruce Wayne's illegitimate son.
Alfred: Oh?
Danny: Normally, I wouldn't bother him, but my mom recently passed away, and I have nowhere to go. Here is a letter she wrote to him.
Alfred after reading glowing green paper: I'm afraid Master Bruce is out at the moment, but you may come in and wait for him in the main sitting room. I'll make you some tea in the meantime.
Danny: Trying to gather a DNA sample, I see. That's fine. I wouldn't believe a random kid that showed up on the doorstep either.
Alfred mildly suprise: I assure you, I merely wanted to offer you a warm drink after being caught in the rain.
Danny: Right, and the firearm you have tucked up your left sleeve has nothing to do with me breaking through the front gate security to get to the door.
Alfred smiling:*cocking gun* You may be Master's Bruce's after all.
Danny smiling: *Powering up ray gun* And you may earn your place at a Fenton dinner table. So....Tea?
Alfred: Is Earl Grey alright with you?
Danny: Of course. It's the only tea that is worth drinking.
Alfred: Wise words. Right this way and do remember, I'll put a bullet between your eyes if you're a threat.
Danny: I'll fry you alive before you can even pull the trigger. *Ray gun crackling with electricity*
Alfred mentally: If this lad isn't Master Bruce's, I'll adopt him myself.