Dp X Dc - Blog Posts

Progress of Alice In Gotham. I've written bits of chapter 6 and chapter 5 is done.

I haven't even extended chapter 1-4 for ao3 yet. Slightly afraid of how long this 10 chapter book is gonna get. Oh well. Still gonna write more. But it's gonna a while before I publish it all.

Alice In Gotham Pt 4

Final Part (for Tumblr)

While clean up was happening along with evidence, Orphan sat off to the side with Scraps sleeping away in her arms. She was able to examine their face closely now. She had caught glimpses before, but hadn't been able to determine the true causes of all the scars on their face mid fight. Part of that was the fact that Scraps was wearing a bit of makeup. Robin brought Orphan a pack of wet wipes and sat down next to her as she cleaned off Scraps’ face. They both wanted to examine the same thing. The scars they'd noticed during the invites and the fights.

“...muzzle…” came softly from Cass as she traced scars from Scraps cheek, over the bridge of their nose to the other cheek. There were more along their jaw line, prongs in the bottom of the muzzle.

“And a collar… a shock collar most likely,” Robin tilted Scraps' head up ever so slightly. Revealing the rings of cuts and burns that decorated Scraps’ neck below the collar of the dress. The lichtenberg scars were still white but now they had some pink irritation around them. They managed to show ever all of the other scars, they were the most prominent on Scraps’ left arm and neck.

“... tortured…” Orphan couldn't remove the bracelets with the green glow, but below them saw the marks of cuffs on their wrists and upper arms, “New sibling.”

“Obviously. Their skills in battle are acceptable and their stealth is impressive with their abilities. We can train them to be stealthy without their powers. I'd personally rather have them as a comrade than a rogue,” Robin agreed, knowing his father would adopt Scraps anyway, “They need treatment, I'll get the paramedics.”

  Scraps started to stir as Robin left. Cass smiled below her mask and gently started coating her fingers through thick black hair. Soothing Scraps back to sleep, they needed more rest. Electrocution again so soon after the first was agony, they had all felt it. Cass knew Red Hood felt it the most for some reason. For now, she needed to focus on helping her new sibling feel safe and comfortable while they recovered.

—

It was quickly found out from the evidence that Tetch was planning a mass takeover of Gotham. The trap hadn't been set up yet, the supplies was down in the basement. Crates containing several cheap Alice costumes that had been stolen from Party City deliveries. His mind control chips were being produced by a machine hidden in the staff break room and hostages who were freed before the basement fight had started. Then one crate held diadem’s like the one Danny wore, were being made. There was one for each invitation and two more. Hatter was hoping to use Batman’s brood against him to over power Batman and take Gotham.

  Interrogations proved Tetch only risked it because of Scraps’ sudden appearance. Having a meta Alice had lead him to believe he could. The only thing unaccounted for were the last 2 invitations. It was unlikely the 2 extra diadem didn't serve a purpose outside of backup.

—

Danny's head ache horribly. It throbbed and swam in a way that was distantly familiar. The last time it felt this way, he woke up on top of a running train while one of his best friends was falling. However there was another feeling nearby. Someone was holding him, gently coating their fingers through his hair. His body was aching, he was electrocuted again… Why? The stinging on his face was a cut, from what? Who did he fight again? Everything is fuzzy… Why was he even fighting? None of his rogues had followed him- ah… right… the leprechaun. Memories slowly started making themselves clearer.

“Fuck…” Danny groaned as everything from the last 24 hrs ago came back clearest, but not as clear as he’d liked.

“She's waking up,” a voice to Danny's left answered.

“Her heart beat is still too low.”

“We can't do much until we know her physiology.”

  Immediately he tensed and noticed the feeling of a heart monitor clipped to his finger and an IV in his arm. He heard the beeping of his heart rate pick up and his blue eyes shot open.

“Hey, it's okay, it's okay!” He was surrounded by people in blue scrubs.

  Danny ripped the iv out of his arm and pulled away from the hands trying to grab him. He pulled off the clip, going intangible, and backing up until he was far away from them near some wooden crates.

“Scraps, it's okay. They're paramedics, they're trying to help you,” a familiar man in a black suit with a blue bird on the front of it, Nightwing.

  Danny hissed at him, well more like he said to back off in ghost speak but it came out like a hiss.

“I warned you the kid is feral,” Red Hood spoke up behind Nightwing and moved his shorter, but older, brother out of the way, “Hey kid, can I patch you up?” Hood crouched  down in front of Danny. Danny was tense, very quietly growling like a feral kitten as the large vigilante held up his hands in surrender, “You don't trust the paramedics, right? I've got a first aid kit. They won't touch you, okay?”

“... I'd rather do it myself,” Danny answered quietly, untrusting eyes scanning the area. Everyone was watching him… He needed to leave.

  They were still in the basement. Orphan was near the paramedics. He couldn't see her expression but he could feel her aura of sorry- mistake- trying to help- safe. She must have been the one who was holding him before. She didn't look hurt, he knew he could get aggressive with nightmares sometimes…

“Okay, can I watch to make sure you're doing everything right? Don't want you bleeding out because of a loose bandage,” Red Hood pulled out a small first aid kit from his belt. Safe- worried- coming from Red Hood. Danny could feel a sort of corrupted anger in the back of his mind. Right, this was the revenant he sensed. Danny's growling stopped, he didn't need another ghost fight right now. Danny was surprised when Hood opened the first aid kit and nothing made for an ecto entity was inside. All for humans, the kit was useless.

“That won't work,” Danny didn't take the kit, “My blood will dissolve it.”

“Shit, okay. Will it hold for a little while? I have your stuff in a safe house. You had a first aid kit in there, that one's special isn't it?” that made Danny tense again, they'd gone through his stuff. Nothing that could give him away was in there, but he could have his first aid kit at least. He'd kept the ecto-dejecto in a secret compartment in the first aid kit only Team Phantom knew about. Huh, he'd hidden something from the bats without using his pocket dimension. Bragging rights acquired.

“It'll only really hold for five minutes at most. I'd rather just,” he coated the open tear in his skin with his frost and only now noticing the blood was eating away at the skirt of the Alice cosplay he was in. He saw the red blood, and reminded himself it was from giving first aid to Batman. First aid… right. Signal had already seen his bigger first aid kit. All the Bats probably already knew about his pocket dimension.

“That works,” Hood waved off the annoyed paramedics who were trying to get close again, “Can you let someone else check over your burns and bruises?”

“Why?” Danny's left hand subconsciously rubbed at the center of the scar on his chest. He may have been asleep for the month he spent recovering but the memory of the pain was still fresh. It wasn't like that was the only injury he sustained in that basement.

“To make sure you're not dying. Your heart rate is low, as in you should be in an ICU low. Your temperature is hypothermic but we're not sure how much of that its your ice and how much is your health,” Hood answered, unknowingly emitting worry- concern- safe over that background anger that remained.

“If it's any lower than 50 bpm I'm actually dying. 55 to 60 bpm Is normal for me. Higher than 70 is not good,” Danny answered with a tone of irritation, “And I'm normally this cold. I'm fine. I have shit to do, can I leave?”

“No. We need you to answer a few questions,” Batman approached, his voice gruff as he narrowed his eyes at Scraps. He couldn't just let such a powerful unknown loose into his city, “Then we'll find you a place to stay before finding your guardians.”

  Danny’s heart rate picked up. He had bled in front of the bats. His blood was now green in his human form. They’d seen him use his ghost powers… Gotham wasn't safe anymore…. Panicpanicpanic- not safe- leave- runrunrun! Danny's eyes zeroed in on the collar attacked to Batman's utility belt. Panic was getting harder to control. Danny recalled the fight in how Batman had tried to collar and cuff him. Batman was going to turn him in, he'd be back on the lab table in the Fenton Works basement or worse, given to the GIW.

“Batman back off,” Red Hood had picked up on the panic quickly, he was standing between him and Danny, “They're scared, now isn't the time for questions.”

“She is an unknown who knows the Themyscira fighting style and has powerful meta abilities. She is dangerous to leave alone. We need to know a better way to handle the situation,” Batman glared. Danny still focused on the collar on his utility belt… a thick collar.

“Father if you attempt to collar them I will stand in your way,” Robin stood next to Red Hood, providing cover as Danny was beginning to spiral and could only think about planning his escape while having flashbacks of the lab. His green blood pooling at his knees on the ground. His arm sore from the injections of ecto-dejecto. The collar which would shock him and injection him with various drugs.

  Orphan approached quietly and knelt down to where Scraps had begun curling in on himself. She held out her hand and gently touched their knee, “Orphan, she/her.”

 Confused- wtf- Danny looked up from his panic attack, completely throw off by Orphan’s sudden introduction. He wasn't calm, but more focused on what Orphan was doing than the arguing behind them. He wasn't in the lab.

“Orphan,” she repeated, keeping Scraps’ focus on her, “She/her,” then she pointed to Scraps. Danny realized she wanted an introduction.

“... D… Danny,” his voice was shaky, his left hand was trembling. Orphan placed her hand over his, calming the trembling, “h… he/him…”

Orphan nodded and Spoiler quietly came up behind them, fully visible with a small plastic bag.

“Nice to meet you Danny. I brought you a change of clothes. They're Robin’s old clothes, they're the only ones that looked like they would fit you,” she handed the bag to Orphan who held it out for Danny.

“...It's fine, I'll… I’ll give them back… when I get my stuff,” Danny started taking deep breaths like Jazz had taught him. Jazz! “H… How long have I…”

“About a week and a half,” Red Robin answered as Nightwing finally got Batman to back off and Robin had cut the collar in half before kicking it away.

  Another deep breath, “... fuck…”

“Will you let one of us check for injuries? Mad Hatter isn't nice to his hostages. There are things we need to check for,” Red Robin spoke up.

“For your health and safety. Let someone, please?” Nightwing continued as they split off again.

  Danny considered his options. He knew Red Hood was a revenant, a sick one from the angry ecto he had. Robin and Orphan were liminal, they could sort of emphatically communicate with him. Red Hood, Robin, and Orphan were the only ones emitting protect- safe- friend… to him… Though every once in a while he would feel protect baby- from Red Hood. Which, rude. Danny was not a baby. He was technically a toddler ghost, not a baby.

“...Robin can do it… if he's trained too,” Robin had cut the collar in half. No one else made a move for it, but Robin did. That, but also something about him reminded him of Sam. Maybe it was how he was rebeling against Batman with that same dramatic flare Sam had.

“I am trained in first aid. I will do the examination quickly. I understand this makes you uncomfortable,” Robin ignored the order from Batman to stay near him and he took Danny to the other side of the crates for privacy. If they went upstairs Danny would end up being surrounded by cops and other freed hostages and both teens would rather not deal with that.

Danny checked the pocket of the apron as he recognized the faint ecto signature within it. He pulled out a batarang he'd pocketed while half mind controlled. A melancholy smile snuck its way onto his face.

“You shouldn’t have that. It's dangerous,” Robin reached for the batarang and Danny pulled it out of his reach.

“No, fuck off its mine. I'm keeping it,” Danny responded, backing away when Robin persisted.

“It's a weapon. Not a souvenir,” Robin glared, “Return it.”

“Well it's got my blood on it and it's radioactive so I'm keeping it,” Danny quickly stuck the batarang into his chest. He grinned and stuck out his tongue, “And now you can't take it even by force.”

“Why…” Robin was both curious and horrified that Danny could just put things into his body without a care.

“My body is a pocket dimension,” Danny shrugged, hand still rummaging around, “It's convenient.”

  The only seemed to cause more curiosity as there was another power to add to the growing list on Danny’s file.

  All is as it should be, right Clockwork? They didn't seem to know about his pocket dimension yet, but Signal was most likely already telling them. Danny felt something unfamiliar and pulled out two envelopes. One was checkered red and black, Harley Quinn, the other was covered in a leaf pattern, Poison Ivy. Invitations…

“I think you need these, for evidence,” Danny handed them over to Robin.

“We do, thank you,” Robin took both envelopes and put them away, “I can look away while you change,” Robin offered as he turned his back to Danny. Not commenting on how Danny said his blood was radioactive, but still adding that information to Danny's file.

“Wouldn't it be easier if I was undressed?” Danny opened the bag and found sweat pants with a shirt that had a paw print over the pocket. There was both a packet of women's and men's underwear. Danny gratefully opened the package of boxers and phased off the cosplay completely. He pulled on the boxers quickly. Danny felt the tug of guilt as he'd forgotten the array of scars which decorated his skin, Robin was a kid who was going to see them. He should have picked Red Hood.

“It would make it faster, yes,” Robin answered, listening to be sure Danny didn't escape. Batman had wanted to collar him because he was a flight risk. Damian didn't care, Danny would never have to wear a collar or restraint again if he could help it.

“Just, don't freak out… it's still sore… you can check now,” Danny's voice became softer as anxious- sad- betrayed- hurt- waved from him, “Or trade with Red Hood. My scars are… a lot…”

“I assure you, scars will not be a problem. I've seen the ugly side of humanity plenty,” Robin's breath stilled for a moment as he turned. He hadn't known the extent of the torture Danny had endured… His desire for justice burned more than ever at the sight.

  No, Danny was an empath, he needed to calm down and stay professional. Still, Danny flinched at each touch. Feeling justice- rage- how dare they- protect- safe here- stay from Robin helped keep Danny’s focus off the memories that were starting to echo on his mind again.

—

“What the hell is your problem old man?” Red Hood could feel Danny’s sorrow, guilt, and fear as he was with Robin, “That kid just went through hell. I don't care how much you want to know everything he is my case. I will handle him, and that means no interrogations.”

“You are compromised Red Hood-”

“No,” it was a strong clear statement from Orphan that caught their attention as the fight was starting again, “No interrogation. Danny… tortured... Shock collar, muzzle, restraints. NO interrogation.”

“Fine,” Batman couldn't go against Orphan’s judgement, especially not after that tidbit of information of Danny’s past had been revealed. Orphan could read anyone better than all of the bats, her word on behavior was always final.

“Hood, you said Danny showed up about two months ago?” Nightwing spoke up.

“Yeah… He must be in Gotham to hide. Lots of homeless kids, he blended in well, no one would notice his scars as anything special. He made crime alley somewhat cheerful fixing expensive equipment for practically nothing,” Red Hood answered.

“Orphan, there's something else isn't there?” Nightwing asked. Batman had gone quiet and brooding. Listening as Cass explained.

“Panicked when guardians were brought up. Guardians tortured him or handed him over. Doesn't like paramedics. Heart monitor and IV torn out in fear. He doesn't trust medical procedures or personnel. Trusts younger adults and teens more,” Orphan sighed as she reviewed the short amount of time she'd known Danny’s behavior. She could be more detailed in her report tonight than a verbal explanation, “Recognized Red Hood while aggressive and calmed down. Danny trusts Red Hood, but only a little.”

“He can stay with me,” Red Hood said, still feeling Danny's anxious energy, “He's not gonna go back to the Batcave. I can keep him in one of my safe houses for a while and see if he wants to talk. But I'm not gonna interrogate him either. Danny can share what he wants to. As much as I'd love to shoot whoever tortured a kid, I'm not going to force that information out of him.”

“It's worse… Oh it's so much worse,” Oracle spoke quietly in coms, “Robin's mask feed… this poor kid…”

“Littlewing?” Nightwing placed a hand on Red Hood shoulder as his eyes were glowing green, “Deep breaths.”

“I'm fine, just want to kill the assholes who hurt him,” Red Hood started taking deep breaths, counting in his head as he pushed the green back. He'd review the footage when he was around some good punching bags for stress relief.

“We are finished,” Robin came back, holding Danny’s hand with the cosplay shoved into the plastic bag. The women's underwear pack unopened and clutched in the other hand. Oracle sent a picture to the family chat. Damian willingly holding someone's hand was a rare sight. After getting dressed Danny hadn't wanted to leave his hiding spot, he wanted to disappear as so as he was alone. Robin offered his hand to give Danny some comfort, they couldn't have Danny disappear on them again. Offering a hand was a suggestion Alfred had made for the hostage protocol for Robin, it was proving useful.

“Can I just go get my stuff?” Danny didn't want to be around any of the bats anymore. He felt groggy, and sluggish. He wanted a nice shot of ecto-dejecto and to sleep for a week. They hadn't mentioned the GIW yet, but whose to say they weren't already on their way. He'd have to hide out in the ghost zone for a while before trying to join Jazz in a few months. He'd be fine in the ghost zone, “And find a place to burn this.”

“Yeah, you can stay with me,” Red Hood approached them with a laughed, “Your stuffs already at a safe house of mine.”

“I'm just gonna get my stuff and leave. I've got my own place-”

“Does your place have food, a shower with hot running water, and a bed?” Red Hood asked. Safe- protect baby- care for- safe- trust was wrapping around Danny from Red Hood. All while safe- trust- protect were coming from Robin and Orphan.

  Danny sighed in defeat as he realized the damn revenant was not going to leave him alone now that they had an empathic connection. Danny hadn't accepted it yet, but he could feel the curious sense of a potential fraid bond from Hood. It wasn't as strong as when Clockwork, Pandora, and Frostbite bonded with him. More like with Ellie, or Ember. Great, a sibling…

“Fine, mostly for the shower. Lucky Charms was a creep,” Danny answered reluctantly.

  Jason burst out laughing, Nightwing and Spoiler soon followed. Robin smirked once he connected the dots. Batman pinched the bridge of his nose as he stayed back. The kid still had a sense of humor at least, but he had no where to go now. It didn't seem like Alfred needed to ready another room just yet. He needed to regain Danny's trust first.

“Come on, let's go,” Red Hood signaled for Robin and Danny to follow. 

“I can stay with you, if that gives you comfort,” Robin whispered, not enjoying Nightwings cooing over his phone in the background.

“Yeah… thanks…” Danny squeezed his hand a little as his lichtenberg scars ached a bit. He'd had so much adrenaline earlier he had been ignoring the pain. Danny added frost to the scars, the cold helping the ache.

“Can you take standard pain medicine? We have some made specifically for metas with a higher tolerance,” Robin reached into his utility belt and found his own small first aid pocket and pulled out a pill packet.

“This doesn't really work for me. I have some medicine in my first aid kit. I need two hands though…” Danny stopped they reached the lobby. Signal was guarding the hostages near the other paramedics.

“Over here,” Robin pulled Danny to a chair off to the side and let his hand go.

“What's wrong?” Red Hood followed them as they diverted from his lead.

“I forgot I had this,” Danny reached into his chest, startling Red Hood, and pulled out the same large first aid kit as before.

“What the fuck…” Red Hood stared at Danny as he opened the kit and pulled out a bottle of pills and mini thermos.

“Pocket dimension,” Danny answered before taking 2, very much glowing, blue pills and drank out of the thermos’ straw.

“That's not fucking fair.”

“It's convenient, are things organized?” Robin asked, getting a peak at the label of the bottle. It was written in a language he didn't recognize. It looked like runes.

“Mhm…” Danny took both pills and chugged the rest of the ecto in the thermos. It wasn't ecto-dejecto but it helped with replenishing his energy. Thank you Frostbite, he thought as he put away the ghost equivalent of ibuprofen. He even had ghost morphine in this kit. Frostbite was the best for giving him this first aid kit after the whole ice power development, “It's kinda categorized in my mind. Mostly I just reach into what ever body part I shoved something into to pull it back out.”

“Why is so much of your shit glowing?” Red Robin was behind them now. Danny didn't answer. Instead he shut the case and stuck it back into his stomach. “Why-”

“That's enough questions,” Hood was quick to pick Danny up in one arm, ignoring the ache in his back, before they left through the back door and began grappling through the city, back towards crime alley.

Danny felt scarily light in Hood's arm. Robin followed close behind. If Danny wanted Robin around, it was fine with him. Demon brat could use a new friend anyway. Danny quickly got down once they stopped on a fire escape.

“One more thing,” Danny tied off the bag with the Alice cosplay and tossed it up in the air before firing an ecto blast at it, cause it to burst into ashes on impact, “I feel better.”

“That's one way to burn a dress,” Red Hood wanted to ask questions, but ignored the detective side of himself in favor of Danny's trust. Besides, Danny was too light. He was absolutely going to feed the kid as much as possible.

“You should rest now,” Robin gestured toward the open window as Danny watched to be sure he didn't accidentally set something on fire. When it was all clear, he climbed into the apartment window after Red Hood. Robin followed him, also avoiding asking questions that would possibly trigger Danny.

“Here,” Red Hood handed Danny his folded clothes and a towel, “You should go wash up. I'll figure out dinner. Your stuff is by the bathroom door.”

“Thanks…” Danny went ahead to start showering. He wanted nothing more than to be clean, and then pack up to leave.

  With the privacy of the shower, he pulled the phone from his leg. Unlike before, he'd learned his lesson and kept the phone on silent most days. It had been on in his body, he was receiving messages from Team Phantom. GIW was leaving Amity park, fuck. And Jazz was annoyed he hadn't called yet, double fuck. He didn't have a lot of time. They wouldn't want him in the shower too long, there might even be a camera around.

—

Clueless1: Can't check in. Red Hood is a revenant and it's trying to fraid bond with me. I think he imprinted on me.

Nightshade: Ha! That's ‘cause you're a baby ghost!

Also, where the fuck have you been all week!

Pharaoh-Tech: Dude, ever since Ember found out you were a baby ghost she's been dooting on you. Now Red Hood is gonna baby you too. What about the rest of the Bats?

GhostGetter: Danny! You made a new friend! I'm so proud. Batman would be a good ally to get the Anti-ecto acts taken down. Use the connection.

Clueless1: Yeah, I don't trust the guy who wanted to collar me for being a dangerous meta. I'll catch you guys up when I get away from this situation.

And Tuck, Robin and Orphan are liminal too. So far they seem okay.

GhostGetter: He what?! I'm packing the creep stick 3.0.

Nightshade: I thought you already packed the creep stick?

GhostGetter: I packed the original creep stick. I'm gonna need the metal one for Batman threatening my baby brother.

—

“Danny, you okay in there?” There was a knock on the door.

“Yeah, just messing with the water temperature to get it right,” Danny quickly turned the heat down when he realized the room was steaming and it would be too hot for him.

“Okay. Use whatever soap you want,” Red Hood’s footsteps were heard walking away.

—

Clueless1: I've got to go. They're getting suspicious. Updates as soon as I get back to my workshop.

—

Danny shoved the phone back into his leg and got into the lukewarm shower and was a little grossed out to see the water turn brown as it ran out of his hair.

“Gross…” he spent 20 minutes washing his hair three times and scrubbing his body. The cut on his cheek and arm had healed without scars. He smelt food as he finished getting dressed in clothes that fit him and Sam’s sweater. He also checked his scrambler and signature dampener to ensure they were working. The GIW wouldn't be able to track them so he would at least stay in the land of the living.

“Feeling better?” Red Hood asked, he and Robin were around the table with three new guests…

“We brought food!” Spoiler cheered as she gestured to the bags of takeout from Batburger on the table. There were six bags total… why?

“These fools had the same idea and failed to communicate to one another,” Robin sighed.

“I wanted to check on Littlewing. We got launched pretty far into those crates,” Nightwing answered, “And the Night-Wings from Batburger are delicious.”

  Danny didn't approached until Orphan gently gestured for him to sit besides her. He liked her, she didn't try to interrogate him and was way better at speaking emphatically than the other two. She handed Danny a bag as he sat down. Spoiler pulled out a six pack of sprites and passed one to each person. It was a sealed can, that gave Danny some comfort. He opened his bag after everyone else and the burgers, various fries, and other items were piled into the center. Except for two burgers labeled vegan, those were handed to Robin.

“We have plenty of food. Eat as much as you want,” Red Hood grabbed the largest wrapped burger for himself. Nightwing was opening a box of chicken wings.

Danny pulled the items put of his bag. Wings, fries, and a burger. Everyone was eating around the table, no one really focused on him as a discussion about watching a movie quickly started. It was nice, he wasn't the focus.

Orphan tapped his shoulder, “Eat? Hungry?”

“...right…” now that he was somewhat aware of his memories and body, Danny recalled Lucky Charms feeding him regularly until today. He was starving, ghost fights always made him hungrier. Using his powers in human form alway had drawbacks.

  Everyone was sharing, he didn't smell any poisons or sedatives. Vlad wasn't here to slip blood blossoms onto his food. Nothing was coming back to life so far… It was okay to eat… Danny took a bite of the burger still wrapped in the paper, he wasn't going to waste anything.

  He heard a soft chuckle from Orphan as he took another bite, “Not the paper. Open, like this.”

“I knew that…” Danny was being taught how to eat a burger… Still, it was a waste. Trash kept him fuller than regular food did. He could eat less if he ate few wrappers. They'd just be tossed anyway.

“It's okay, being new to earth must be hard,” Spoiler spoke up, “You've only been here two months, right?”

“New to…” Danny blue screened for a moment, “Wait, what do you think I am?” Do they not know I'm a ghost? I don't have to leave? 

“It was hypothesized you might have been an alien, your powers are too vast to be a human meta. Please correct us if we are wrong with our theories,” Robin unwrapped his burger and opened his soda.

“Huh…” Danny didn't really know how to feel about that, aside from relief that they didn't know he was a ghost, “Well I've lived on earth my whole life.”

“But are you an alien?” Nightwing asked, “Our friends the Superboys are aliens. My girlfriend Kori is too. Knowing your species would help us find you a home.”

“I'm half human. That's all you get to know,” Danny growled and Robin glared at Nightwing.

“Let the kid eat or I'm turning on Pride and Prejudice,” Hood threatened as he reached for his second burger.

“You have an obsession with that movie,” Nightwing remarked.

“I can appreciate art, unlike you Dickwing,”  Red Hood remarked.

“Movie?” Orphan asked Danny who was still eating the paper around his burger.

“ParaNorman?” Danny suggested, he liked that movie. It displayed ghosts as the complicated species they were. Not just hostile and dangerous, but also peaceful and wanted to carry out their undead lives.

“Para-what?” That caught their attention.

“It's a good movie… This kid can see ghosts. His uncle tells him a witches curse is gonna come true and so he has to help her ghost move on to stop the zombie uprising on the town,” Danny fiddled with the box of wings as he explained. None were moving to attack or grow teeth suddenly, “I like it. It shows that the undead aren't all evil.”

“I wanna watch that,” Spoiler raised her hand. Orphan did the same.

“That movie sounds like it has an unseen perspective on the paranormal. I'd like to watch it,” Robin answered.

“Zombies, ghosts, and witches huh?” Red Hood found the movie on a streaming service and hit play.

  Danny proceeded to eat a chicken wing whole, bone and all like it was a chicken nugget. No one said anything. However Robin did insist he stop eating the paper and containers. Danny only half listened. He had no idea when he would eat again. He even froze a burger to keep in his pocket dimension. Frozen meat was no where near as good as frozen fruit but he wasn't going to waste anything. Jazz never complained about Danny's food hiding habits. She even got herself a mini fridge for her room to hide more food in for the two of them at some point. Sometimes it was nice to not fight your dinner.

  Nightwing and Spoiler were summoned to the bat cave halfway through the movie. Everyone but Danny and Red Hood had stopped eating for the most part by that time. Danny managed to hide another burger before they finished off the pile of fries that was left.

After the movie, the vigilantes changed into comfortable clothes, leaving their domino masks on. Red Hood decided to read a book instead. Robin and Orphan seemed content to continue watching TV after Danny had rejected the idea of going to bed. He was exhausted but he didn't want them to hear what he might say in his sleep. He'd fallen asleep talking on the phone to Sam and Tucker a few times. Waking up to their words of comfort enough time to know he wasn't the quietest sleeper right now. It would only make them want to dig into his background and then they'd hand him over. He didn't have enough energy to try and portal back to the ghost zone to hide if they did. So Danny had to stay awake to keep him from another tireless sleep. He doesn't deserve another nightmare. He needs a dream instead.

  Danny hadn't been winning the battle to fight sleep. He was leaning on Orphan who’d purposefully made sure he was on most of the couch. She could easily run her fingers through his hair if he let her. He still flinched a little when she'd tried about ten minutes ago. This time, he leaned in a little more. Robin handed her a pillow and she was able to get Danny to lay down fully as his eyes shut. Falling asleep surrounded by safe- rest- heal- safe. Cass continued gently petting him as Red Hood covered him with a blanket and move the backpack to lean against the couch so he could see it if he woke. They'd all noticed Danny took occasional glances towards it.

  It was only another minute before they noticed. It was quiet, only heard when it was completely silent. Robin heard it first and was immediately curious. Danny could purr. What other species was Danny that he could not only growl and hiss, but also purr. His behavior was like that of a feisty cat. He was apprehensive, and protected himself with his instincts. He'd been abused, and was displaying behaviors of it. Hiding food for later, eating trash to keep full for longer. Not wasting anything what was safe for consumption… How long was he starved? He was so thin, yet still held enough strength to rival wonder woman.  Danny knew her fighting technique well. It wasn't perfect, and his swordsmen ship was above Robin’s expectations, however the brute strength is what Danny relies on. He said he was half human, but never answered about his hybrid half. Was he experimented on because of his race? It completely violates the Meta Protection Laws.

“Robin, what do you know?” Red Hood spoke up, noticing how Robin had tensed.

“We shouldn't talk about this near Danny. You'll want to be somewhere you can hit something,” Robin answered.

“Listening,” Orphan pointed to her coms, “I'll stay.”

  With that, Red Hood and Robin left to the closest safe house without neighbors.

“It's unforgivable,” Robin spoke up as soon as the room was secure.

“Robin you examined him. What did you see?” Hood took a seat and waved for Robin to take one as well.

“He was starved long before two months ago,” Robin couldn't unsee the sickly pale color of Danny's skin or the obvious way his skeleton threatened to poke through the small layer of flesh he had, “His body was covered in scars. Some looked like they were burns, from a type of laser or small blast. Others were cuts made at random or medically… He'd been… He's been vivisected. Same scar as you.”

  The green felt overwhelming as nothing but rage and hatred for that monster to cut open a kid surged through him. Hood got up and punched the wall, easily tearing through the drywall. Robin was right, it was best to have this conversation far from Danny where Jason could hit something. He pushed the green back, grounding himself before waiting for Robin to continue.

“Another thing I noticed was on his left leg and right arm, he had a thick scar that circled the whole of his limb. Under that scar there were no other scars or very few. It suggests he may have… regrown those limbs… the cut on his face and his arm were also healed. No scars left behind this time. He has a healing factor, a powerful one for how long he's survived.”

“I can not let those assholes live. Who ever was responsible to treating him like a fucking science experiment. I'm going to kill them,” Red Hood snarled, taking his anger out on the wall. Robin silently agreeing that these people deserved death if only to be a mercy from his wrath. 

—

“Bruce,” Tim looked back towards the man reviewing the footage from Robin’s mask which Oracle had recorded, “Danny needs help…”

“Hm…” Batman agreed, disgust and disbelief that someone would hurt a child that way, “We need more information.”

“I do have this,” Red Robin pulled the vile of green front his utility belt. Robin had slipped it to him before they left, “Robin got a blood sample during the fight. We can run an analysis on it. According to Oracle the only information they got Danny to admit was that he was half human, but nothing else so far.”

“Run an analysis and we'll go from there. Robin and Orphan will get us information over time. This situation is more delicate than anticipated.”

“Yeah,” Tim responded, starting an analysis immediately.

—

  Jason and Damian returned to find Cass had cleaned up and was resting on the recliner while Danny was still sound asleep, the purring had stopped when Cass left his side but he wasn't showing signs of struggling while sleeping. It was one of the few nights he didn't have nightmares. And the first time since he'd been found out that he'd had a nice dream. Red Hood stayed in the living room for the night while Robin and Orphan slept. It wasn't just Danny who'd gotten a peaceful rest that night.

  Danny woke to the smell of food. Recognizing the ecto signature which was starting to fade, he'd have to thank Nocturn one day. At some point in the night he'd pulled the still rolled up blanket from Jazz to keep in his arms. He'd been doing that more often. He quickly put it away and found his bag with a new toothbrush and toothpaste on top.

“Sleep well?” Danny recognized the voice coming from his left in the kitchen. Red Hood was standing at the stove with a frying pan, and cooking.

“... Yeah…” Danny answered before quieting down, “No nightmares…” he whispered but Hood hear it. Orphan heard it too.

“We're eating buffet style. Grab a plate and serve yourself as much as you want when you're ready,” Hood instructed.

  He had noticed Danny was more willing to eat from the piles of food in the table than the single bag he was handed. He was going to do what ever let Danny eat more comfortable. The kid needed to eat, he was so frail looking for someone who'd managed to kick their asses into a crate. It made sense when he said he was half human. It still left the question of what his other half is. There was even a bet on it now in the family chat. Damian stayed out of it. Tim and Dick were betting on Martian. Barb, Cass, and Steph bet he was a new species they hadn't met yet. Jason and Duke had yet to place a bet. Yet, the way Danny had pinned him as undead… Jason made a bet: Danny was half supernatural entity.

  That'll caused the others to disagree in the chat because it seemed ridiculous, until Duke agreed. Raven was half demon, maybe Danny was too.

  Danny came back from brushing his teeth and washing his face before grabbing a plate and cup. He'd never gotten to eat his fill more than once before. Vald's one good trait was he always fed Danny as much as he wanted when he kidnaped him. He filled his plate with mostly pancakes. He froze and hid a few. Hood frowned a little as he noticed from the corner of his eye.

“Eat up kid,” he placed 2 fresh sausages from his pan onto his plate. 

  It happened in a second. Danny went still before the dull dinner knife stabbed into both sausages with enough force to split them both in half and break the plate. Danny suddenly took in a breath, the green in his eyes fading back to icy blue and he realized he'd just acted out of instinct. He let go of the dinner knife which was stuck deep in the wooden counter…

“Sorry…” he whispered before starting to pick up the broken pieces. He used intangibility to free the dinner knife.

“You okay?” Orphan asked. She was still in comfortable clothes with a domino mask on, “Don't like sausages?”

“N-not really,” Danny sighed, the adrenaline coming down making him feel tired again, “They're incredibly aggressive when reanimated,” Danny shuttered at the memory of the food wars fridge of Fentonworks.

“What?” Robin stopped eating and simply stared at Danny.

“Danny… What the fuck are you talking about?” Hood stopped cooking and sat down with his own plate and a cup of coffee.

  Fuck… Danny had forgotten food only reanimated in their fridge or the ghost zone. They were all liminal but they weren't radioactive enough to reanimate food. Everyone in Amity already knew food could come back, especially food near Fenton Works. Danny did not need them asking questions. He should just leave.

“I'm just gonna go,” Danny started getting up only for Robin to grab his arm.

“You haven't eaten yet and are recovering. You should stay here to rest,” Robin started clearing away the broken plate and Orphan replaced it.

“I'm not staying if I'm going to be interrogated,” honestly, Danny really wanted to eat the pancakes hot instead of frozen. The more real food he could steal, the better. 

“So long as you eat until your full,” Red Hood placed a Massive pile of steaming pancakes onto Danny's new plate. Then an omelet on the side and a bottle of syrup.

  Danny ate quietly. Actually, everyone did. It was comfortable silence. Content hummed from all four of them as they drifted from breakfast to lounging a bit. Eventually Robin and Orphan had to leave. It was just Danny and Hood. Hood broke the silence after finishing his book. 

“Danny,” Hood called him, “I want you with me from now on.”

“What?” Danny hadn't expected that. He thought he'd be dragged to the batcave eventually if he didn't leave soon. So far each time he tried to leave he was told no and to rest.

“I'm not leaving you on the street. You can stay with me most of the time,” he repeated.

“Are you asking me to move in with you? Why?” There was no way Danny was trusting him.

“I don't think sugar coating this would convince you, so I'm going to be blunt. You look like shit, like a breeze is going to knock you over. Then there's Robin's report on your injuries. I want to keep an eye on you. Not just for your health. You are powerful as fuck and I would hate to have you as a rogue and I'm going to make sure that is not a path in your future,” Danny internally winced at the memory of Dan. That future was always haunting him… “Danny, you're a smart kid. We could put you through school, give you a chance reach for whatever goal you want.”

  Hood waited quietly for the kid to respond. Something in him didn't want to let Danny back out of the streets. He needed Danny near by so he knew he was okay. Still, he couldn't force Danny to stay.

“No thanks,” Danny got up and grabbed his bag. He was still barefoot, “I'm gonna go. Thanks for breakfast.”

“Danny, I know you're scared of something. Of someone. That's why you're in Gotham, right? You're hiding,” Hood got up, blocking Danny’s way, “We all want to help. I want to give you space to be safe.”

“It's none of your business,” it was better they didn't know. They could just hand him in. He still had a high bounty thanks to Vlad. 

“You're scared to trust anyone, I get it, but I'm not leaving you alone out there. Someone hurt you, and they're still after you. You don't have to tell me anything, but if you change your mind I'll help you. Until then, you stay with me. We'll move to a bigger safe house, you are going to learn how to cook and take care of yourself, and I'll give you a warehouse to yourself for whatever machine you want to build. We can even get you specific materials. Give some people jobs by delivering scraps to you and getting you your little handyman jobs. All I want is you sleeping here at night and eating when you're hungry. Sound like a deal?”

  Danny sighed as he felt the gentle nudge against his core. The fraid bond was formed, Hood had claimed him as a fraid member. He had completely imprinted on Danny as it was probably his first encounter with a young ghost. Nothing Hood said had been with malicious intent, he was being genuine when he offered Danny his own warehouse for a workshop. Danny felt his core throb in excitement at the space he'd have for tinkering… The revenant was at risk with the GIW anyway, Danny should probably make him a scrambler bracelet. Robin and Orphan may not ping their sensors but Red Hood would. He couldn't just leave him like this. Being near Danny would help filter out that gross ecto over time anyway… and that warehouse deal… not to mention he'd love to know how to cook without the side effect of necromancy.

“Fine…” Danny sighed in defeat, “But I'll have to move my stuff.”

“So you did have a home base. We've been wondering where you disappear to when you aren't criptidly lurking around, scavenging trash like a raccoon, or fixing someone's ac,” Hood smiled before removing his domino mask.

“Oh, I was not expecting an identity reveal,” Danny quietly spoke to himself as Hood stood up.

“We're going to be living together, might as well get it out of the way early. It's proof I trust, even if you don't trust me. And it’ll piss off Bats when he finds out,” Hood answered, “My name is Jason.”

“... Okay…” Danny nodded. He just stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next.

“Let's go get your stuff. We can move to the next safe house tonight,” Jason answered, having already reset this safehouse.

—

  In the Bat Cave, Tim had disassembled the diadem while he ran an analysis on the microchips he found. They had an eerie green glow, the same glow Danny's blood gave off. Mad Hatter had infused Danny’s blood directly to the chips. Why? Was that how he got a hold of Danny? Why did he use so many microchips? Why was Danny so difficult to mind control that Tetch had to go so far?

The analysis finished…

“What the hell…” it was bizarre… Not even a trace of Martian DNA. He had a fully set of human DNA and it was delicately intertwined with another set the computer couldn't read completely. Danny had quadruple helix DNA. It was something that sometimes occurs in sections of human DNA of cancer cells or mutation areas. However Danny’s entire DNA structure followed the quadruple helix neatly and completely. The base components on half the sets were similar to Lazarus water. The pit water was similar in color, but Danny’s blood had a brighter glow and was thicker, more like a slime than water…

 Tim pulled up the scans of Danny’s scars. It was still a bit blurry but it was the clearest pictures of him they had. Especially when his face wasn't in frame. He had puncture scars in his right arm under the ring of regrowth scar. Not like a regular injection. No, it look like he'd been stabbed several times with a metal boba straw. Still… It was obvious Danny was an experiment of some kind. A half human hybrid, someone made him, then experimented on his body for results. Had he lived his whole life as a test subject? According to Orphan's mask feed, he didn't know he wasn't supposed to eat trash. 

“Master Timothy, it's time for bed,” Alfred shut his computer, Alfred's words were final in this case. Tim had been sucked into investigating after he and Batman searched the Botanical Gardens for more evidence of the trap and found nothing.

  Tim surrendered, after all, if Danny spent his whole life in a lab there was most likely no evidence he existed outside that lab. Tim would need to get information out of Danny to figure out who it was. He left his theories in a separate document for now.

—

“The fuck?!” Jason stood where Danny told him was the safe spot. Jason was only listening because every project looked like it had the potential to blow up with their eerie glow, “Danny… You a fuckin’ mad scientist?”

“I mean, nothing in here is a doomsday device if that's what your asking. Everything I built is essential to my survival. I do have some weapons, but only for my protection,” Danny slipped on a wrist ray bracelet and activated it.

“You got a gun to fit into a tiny ass bracelet?” Jason wanted to shoot it. How much power did it pack?

“Yup,” Danny deactivated it. Some blob ghosts were hanging around as usual. His main concern was the condenser he'd made out of an abandoned refrigerator. He opened the door to see exactly what he was hoping for. Ectoplasm, three 2 liter soda bottles of it. Each bottle was coated in layer of frost to keep the ectoplasm from dissolving the plastic. In the glass jar at the end, a concentrate was slowly brewing. An inch of it from the overflow of the liters cycling through a secondary condenser.

“Danny… I need you to tell me what that is,” Jason’s tone went serious. He had gone stiff when Danny opened the condenser to access the bottles.

“Jason, have you never seen ectoplasm before?” Danny took out one if the bottle and replaced it with an empty one, “Don't leave the safe zone,” Danny growled a bit as Jason tried taking a step forward, “Please…”

  Jason hadn't said anything about the blob ghosts, and they stayed pretty clear from him. Odd, they normally crowded around friendly, more powerful ghosts. 

  Jason took a deep breath, “You called that ectoplasm? What is it?”

“Exactly what I said, ectoplasm. It exists everywhere in every realm of the universes in varying densities and concentrations. This machine condenses it from the atmosphere,” Danny answered before taking a sip, “This is more potent than usual…”

“I know I said I wouldn't ask questions, but I have some serious concerns,” Jason couldn't tell if the green in his vision was the pit or the room. That shit looked like Lazarus water. It was deeper green when he looked at the bottle Danny brought closer. It was a different consistency. And Danny just drank it like it was a bottle of water. Yet, he felt more concern than rage. He took a deep breath, he could ask Danny questions when he earned his trust. The kid was still a flight risk. Even though this shit looked like Lazarus water, it wasn't the same. Danny needed it to live, Jason could get over it, “You need all this to live? How are you doing a week and a half without it?”

“I'll do better after drinking this throughout the day,” Danny shoved the bottle into his chest, “I don't need to bring the machines with me. So long as I can visit a few times a week I can survive away from it all.”

“Okay. Sure. Pack up what you're bringing home,” Jason had so many questions… it was then that his phone buzzed. The girls had won the bet according to the results of a DNA test Timbit ran without Danny's consent. Of course he did.

  Danny had put a few things into his mostly empty backpack. He just stuffed everything else he was bringing into his pocket dimension. Danny was probably going to have to explain the phone at some point… Or build a second one and lie some more.

“I'm bringing a project to work on,” Danny had a feeling it would be a few days before Jason went out as Red Hood again. Deal or no deal, Danny was well aware he was a flight risk to them since they knew his base powerset.

“Do you ever run out of space?” Jason watched as Danny shoved three discarded phones with broken screens into his chest.

“Hm?” Danny paused to think of everything in his pocket dimension. He had gotten lucky and snagged a car engine last month. He was planning on building a larger specter speeder to serve as a kind of mobile home, “I don't think so…? I've got some cool stuff though.”

“Huh…” Jason watched as Danny tore out some wires from a box and grabbed a laptop in a condition that would have Tim in mourning.

They left after Jason okayed Danny taking a smaller portion of ectoplasm for his project. As uncomfortable as Jason was, Danny needed it. They arrived at a two bedroom safe house and Jason gave Danny the master bedroom since he'd be here full time and had more stuff he needed access to. 

“You're allowed to decorate,” Jason spoke up as Danny sat in the mostly empty room. He'd already put away the things he'd brought with him.

“... Sure…” Danny glanced at him, “... You're really not going to ask?”

“I want to. I have a lot of questions, but I'm not going to ask,” Jason answered, “You seemed okay when I asked about the pocket power you have.”

“...You already knew about it. And I'd never considered having limited space before,” Danny answered.

“Hey, you always have the option to pass when someone asks and you don't want to answer yet,” Jason placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, “But there are some questions I want to know just to be sure I'm taking care of you right. You need ectoplasm, you said you had to visit your workshop a few times a week. How often?”

“It fluctuates sometimes, but I estimate two to three times for the next week before it balances out. Then I'll just have to go once a week,” the halfa sighed, he'd spent a week and a half using his powers without replenishing with ectoplasm. His core was hungry to replenish his energy. Not to mention, until last night he'd felt like he hadn't slept in a week. Did mind control sleep count as sleep? It didn't feel like it.

“Okay, sounds like a plan. It's because of that condenser right? Maybe we could eventually move it here,” Jason suggested.

“That would expose you to more radiation than you should be exposed to but…” Danny squinted, sensing the sickly feeling of Jason's revenant ectoplasm, “Maybe that'd be good for you…”

“It can't collect from inside a lead box,” Jason had to line that whole wearhouse for Danny with lead.

“No, but so long as we put a lead casing around the collection bottles there shouldn't be a problem. Can't risk exposing humans carelessly if we move the machine,” Danny had already found a solution. It was a simple fix honestly. Not all the Bats were liminal enough to carelessly be around ectoplasm.

“So long as it works, I'll get you a lead case,” Jason sent a message to one of his contacts for the case, large enough to fit 4 bottles, 2 liters each, “Come on, it's dinner time, you're learning to cook.”

“Fine,” Danny got up to follow. He'd actually been looking forward to cooking lessons. Jazz's food was edible, but he wanted to enjoy food that wasn't just burgers, milkshakes, and the Casper High cafeteria food, “I kinda need that life skill. And you're the best cook I know.”

  Jason learned a few things while they made dinner. Danny was mostly wary of chicken, not as afraid of beef, and had no problem with vegetables, fruits, and carbs. Dairy seemed to make him a little anxious. Still, nothing like his reaction to sausages at breakfast. He'd have to keep his shopping mostly vegetarian for Danny. Sausages and hot dogs were banned from the safe house. Danny was as good with a knife as he was the sword. And his aim had incredible accuracy when he tossed vegetable scraps into the stock pot. Danny was kind, genuinely kind. He was still cautious around Jason, But it was to be expected. When the cooking was done and Danny saw his work, Jason saw him smile for the first time. It was small, and melancholy, but he was happy. Sure, some things were a little burnt and it wasn't meticulously arranged like Alfred would do, but it was great for his first time.

“Good job,” Jason patted his shoulder, “Don't let your hard work go to waste, dig in.”

“I'm not wasting a bite,” Danny had a wider smile now, a bit mischievous. He quickly shoved a large bite into his mouth. His canines were more like fangs. And one of them had punctured the metal spoon in his hand. He was testing Jason's reaction, the revenant noted.

“If you're gonna eat my spoons I'm reducing you to wooden ones,” Jason sat down to eat his own portion.

“I'll try not too,” Danny continued eating, proud his own cooking could taste so good. Jazz was gonna be so proud.

“Sure kid,” Jason made a mental note to buy a box of silverware on his next shopping trip, just in case.

—

  Danny didn't sleep that night. He didn't want to have a nightmare. Last night was lucky. Still, it was nice laying on a mattress that didn't reek of mold and dust. It wasn't comfortable without the green glow of his machines. He took out one of his lucky treasures from dumpster diving. A small lamp. He'd used a thumb tack and sharpie to draw the constatations and allow light to make the stars shine. He infused the bulb with ectoplasm so it wouldn't burn out. Then connected it to an ecto battery in the base of the lamp where the wires used to be. A green night light. A portable map of the stars. He kept it on as he started separating the components of the phones. Setting them up in piles to choose from later.

He'd finally caught up Team Phantom on what happened. Jazz was happy he finally found someone to stay with. Of course everyone was wary about trusting someone. Sam and Tucker were less prickly about it than Valarie since They were more familiar with ghost empathy from Danny. Though, Danny didn't tell them Red Hood had revealed his identity. It wasn't his secret to share.

  Sighing, Danny looked out his window to see a patch of smog had cleared… the moon and tiniest hit of stars peaking through. Danny’s eyes and freckles lit up, chasing the first glimpse of starlight in months. He was stuck in that basement for one.

  As the gap shrunk to only show the moon, a figure appeared. Familiar brimmed hat, and elegant gown of shadows. Jason was asleep on the couch out in the livingroom. Danny had already checked before tinkering. He transformed into Phantom and left the room silently and unseen.

“Ḧ̷͕é̶̩l̶͖̀l̶͖̅o̷̠͑ ̴͍̿l̴͓̄i̸̟͛t̸̙̓t̶̜̂l̸̡͂e̷̛̜ ̸̨̂K̵͈̓i̸̩͗ņ̷́g̴̑͜,̶͍̉ ̵̭̎I̶̡̋ ̴̧̂s̵̢̈́ḛ̶̑e̶̲͠ ̴͍̂ô̵̝n̶͎͊e̸̜͝ ̸̏ͅo̶̹͗f̷̢͐ ̵̪̔m̵̨̕y̶̪̔ ̴̫̓K̶͖̐n̸̫̾i̵͎̎g̶͉͑h̸̳̽t̵̰̿s̷̫͌ ̵̳̐h̸̘̽a̴̹̅s̷̖̍ ̶͓̄ẗ̸͚a̴͍͛k̴̐ͅe̶͖͠ň̵̪ ̵̲͘ỹ̸͚ò̷͉u̴̹͝ ̸͙̾h̸̻͝o̵̹̍m̸̫̊e̸̡̋.̸̼̈́ (Hello little King, I see one of my Knights has taken you home.)” Lady Gotham smiled as Danny arrived in the only moonlit space around them. Danny and Gotham bowed to each other, the image of a small boy and massive entity together would have baffled the bats on patrol of they could see them.

“I'm not sure how much I want to tell him. But I'm willing to accept him giving me a place to stay and teaching me to cook. I can't rely on someone forever. Especially when everyone I rely on will eventually grow old and I'll still be here, like this,” Danny sighed, feeling sorrow- safe- trust- from Gotham.

“Y̷̧͈̪̬͗͠o̷̲̩͍̾̃̃̔͗͆͝ŭ̸̫͙̈́̆͂̿̄͋r̷̛̟̗̯͒̀̑͂̚ ̸͙̘̺̖̩̌H̷̤̼̾͑i̷͎̘̞̜̜̱͙̒̓g̵̞̈́͂̑h̵̛͖̲̰̉̊̃̈́̍ǹ̶̪e̴̛̠̗͍̻̭̓̊̈́̐̚͘s̸̡̹̯͖̰̦͗͜s̸̏͂͋̆̽͜ (Your Highness),” Gotham spoke sternly before speaking the clearest Danny had heard from her, “M̵y̴ ̴k̸n̵i̸g̴h̵t̴s̸ ̸c̴a̶n̶ ̸h̵a̸n̵d̷l̴e̵ ̸t̴h̶e̷ ̴G̶I̴W̵.̵ ̵I̸ ̸u̴n̴d̶e̷r̶s̶t̶a̷n̶d̸ ̴y̷o̶u̸ ̶n̷e̸e̶d̷ ̷t̴i̵m̷e̴ ̴t̷o̷ ̷t̵r̶u̶s̷t̴ ̴t̸h̷e̷m̷.̷ ̸B̵u̷t̶ ̶l̴e̸t̴ ̷t̴h̷i̴s̶ ̶b̶e̵ ̸a̷ ̸s̶i̴g̴n̴ ̵t̷h̷a̷t̴ ̴y̴o̸u̷ ̴c̵a̸n̴.̵ ̶C̴l̵o̵c̷k̶w̴o̶r̶k̸ ̶a̵n̷d̷ ̶N̶o̴c̵t̴u̷r̷n̴e̵ ̶m̴a̷d̷e̷ ̶t̶h̷i̶s̷ ̵j̸u̴s̸t̴ ̸f̶o̸r̷ ̴y̶o̵u̴.̴ (My knights can handle the GIW. I understand you need time to trust them. But let this be a sign that you can. Clockwork and Nocturne made this just for you.)”

“For me?” Danny took note of the box in her hand. He hesitated, Clockwork was his mentor but Danny also knew that man wouldn't hesitate to laugh at his pain. Nocturne, he was a little less certain of. He hadn't caused trouble since he put Amity Park to sleep. Every once in a while Danny would feel his energy pull him to sleep when he'd been up for three days straight. Suddenly becoming King apparently made Nocturne the manager of Danny's sleep schedule. And last night he'd even had a nice dream of hanging out in Tucker's attic with Team Phantom, and Wolf.

“T̵h̸e̴y̵ ̵c̴r̴e̴a̵t̴e̴d̷ ̶i̵t̴ ̸s̴o̸ ̸y̸o̷u̵ ̷c̴o̴u̵l̵d̸ ̸s̶l̵e̸e̵p̷ ̷p̵e̴a̸c̴e̴f̷u̸l̴l̸y̶ ̵f̴r̷o̷m̶ ̶n̴o̸w̷ ̵o̵n̸.̷ ̴N̷o̶c̵t̸u̷r̷n̴e̵ ̶c̷a̵n̷n̷o̸t̴ ̸r̸e̵a̷c̸h̶ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̴s̷o̶ ̶e̶a̵s̵i̴l̸y̷ ̶s̷o̶ ̸f̶a̷r̶ ̷f̷r̸o̶m̷ ̶a̴ ̶p̴o̷r̶t̶a̷l̷.̴ ̴H̷e̵ ̵w̸o̶r̷r̷i̸e̶s̵,̸ (They created it so you could sleep peacefully from now on. Nocturne cannot reach you so easily so far from a portal. He worries,)” Gotham chuckled, amusement- emanating from her as she pushed a shadow into the box before handing it to Danny, “C̸o̶n̶s̶i̵d̴e̴r̶ ̴i̵t̵ ̴a̷ ̴t̷o̶u̴c̷h̶ ̷f̴r̶o̴m̶ ̴m̵e̴ ̷a̸s̶ ̷w̴e̸l̴l̴.̴ ̴S̸l̴e̸e̸p̴ ̴w̷e̴l̸l̶ ̴f̷r̶o̷m̴ ̷n̷o̴w̶ ̸o̶n̸,̴ ̵L̷i̷t̵t̷l̷e̵ ̴K̴i̸n̸g̴.̴ (Consider it a touch from me as well. Sleep well from now on, Little King.)”

  Danny was alone under the moonlight now. He opened the navy colored box and found a pendant. It was made from a silver metal, with a 2 inch stone. Deep blue, almost black, with white glimmering speckles, it was like looking at the stars. The stone was called blue gold stone, but this wasn't a normal stone. Over the stone on the bottom left side there was a cog like Clockwork's symbol and silver strands in a web pattern. A dream catcher. Danny could feel both their ecto signatures and Lady Gothams as well. He clipped on the pendant and it glowed. Dark shadows pouring from it before a cloak formed around him. A black exterior with the inside a green void like that of the ghost zone.

“Cool, a costume change where Sam didn't have to kill me,” Danny smiled, then grimaced as he realized he'd technically died the same way twice.

  He returned to his room, Jason was still asleep and hadn't moved from his spot on the couch. Danny changed back to human form, the cloak returning to the pendant with his transformation. Danny smiled before tucking it into his shirt. The sun would be rising in two hours. The pendant was supposed to help with his nightmares, then he may as well see if it works.

If it didn't, at least he got a cool cloak out of it.

  And well… of 3 ancient beings of immeasurable power were insisting Danny could trust Jason, then he could live with the revenant for a while.

~~~

Master List

Part 3

Absolutely loving your Scraps/Alice!Danny AU

I love how you’ve written Danny’s skills and powers and specifically the Bats reactions to them lol <3 when he switched to Amazonian fighting style and they were all like “brooo fr????”

Oh! And Danny delivering the message to red robin and glueing it to his chest when he took too long was great. And Idk meta human tends to have a lot of variety in dc so I was a bit surprised that they were that freaked by his temp when they knew he had ice abilities, oh but I guess the addition of his low resp and pulse make it overall a more concerning picture so that’s fair

They best not try and send Danny home, my gods he won’t handle that well

And jazz and the others expecting weekly check ins like!!! Yikes. Either they’re gonna track him down or be very worried when he does get in contact

Oh oh! And Jason feeling Danny’s aura and going “a baby??” XD

Duke knows he’s using his body as storage space so I wonder how the others are gonna take that info lol

Do you think you’d consider posting it on ao3 as well? I’ve got the posts bookmarked on my browser for future rereads but having it on ao3 would allow me to subscribe for email notifs instead of coming back to check occasionally lol. Def no pressure tho! Love this fic:D

I do plan to post on Ao3 eventually. I wanted to test ou the story here on Tumblr first. I was kind of stuck on if anyone would like to continue beyond the Alice arc. I have more ideas to further the story.

I also know, that I can get excited and bite off more than I can chew so I don't want to post the full story on Ao3 until it's done. I plan to add the future link to the Master List as well.

Alice In Gotham Pt 3

“Oh, it's such a lovely party tonight, Alice,” Hatter was overjoyed, gently dancing with Alice. Only twirling Danny gently, not to hurt him, treating him like a fragile flower. They had a small tea party, Hatter and his 2 Alice's. Now they were dancing the evening away, “Did you eat enough?”

“No, this body required more sustenance than the average human,” Danny’s soulless voice responded.

“Oh dear, then you must stop this dance and eat until your stomach is satisfied,” Hatter stopped the dance and March Hare returned with a fresh tray of small sandwiches, cut fruits, pastries, and other tea party foods. Alice began to eat slowly. Hatter was determined to keep his Alice alive and healthy for as long as possible, “Very good. When you finish your meal, go to bed. You need rest to recover. I still have two more people for you to invite. They will be guests of honor to celebrating you joining me.”

  Alice nodded and continued to eat silently. Hatter had began sending out his goons distract the Bats from his base. Nothing specific other than drawing their attention. Hatter had a larger table to invite their next guests tomorrow night. He needed more than one decoy Alice, lest Batman steal his porcelain doll.

—

“Bad news,” Oracle spoke up as the plan was starting to move into action, “Girls are starting to be kidnapped for their blue eyes. Good news, we have a lead on Mad Hatter's hideout since it's his goons taking them instead of Scraps. Which means he wasn’t in the botanical gardens so that trap is likely still there.”

  The sound of Red Hood cracking his neck and knuckles echoed in the wind and he geared up in one of his safe houses where he brought Scraps stuff. The fact that Scraps was no longer being spotted was more than worrying now that they knew what the kid's vitals looked like.

“Send me the coordinates,” Red Hood pulled on his helmet and left the safe house on his motorcycle. He had a set of buck teeth to punch out of a perverted redhead.

“Sending them now,” Oracle was heard aggressively typing on her keyboard, “How does the facial scan keep failing? I can't get anything on the kid. It's like they don't exist outside of 2 and half months ago. I still can't track their path home, they just disappear with their abilities.”

“That's the problem I've been having with Scraps. When we free ‘em from Hatter Imma set them up somewhere safe. Other kids said they have an accent and are weirdly nice. My guess it, they aren't from Gotham. We might be able to get ‘em home if they were stuck here for some reason,” Hood answered.

“Sounds like Mad Hatter erased that accent for now. Poor kid talks like a robot from the recordings we have,” Nightwing responded.

“Coordinates have been sent. Looks like a standard rescue mission for now,” Oracle spoke up again, “Robin, Spoiler, and Nightwing are clear for distraction. Orphan, Red Hood, and Red Robin will focus on rescue. Get Scraps and the other girls out of there.”

“We will,” Hood rode off into the night, following the location Oracle had sent him with less than legal driving.

“Tsk,” Robin responded, moving towards the coordinates. Unsatisfied in his role as distraction but  following orders regardless.

“There's a disruption nearby. Mad Hatter's goons are going wild,” Oracle spoke up, “It only just started and there aren't many.”

“Signal and I will manage the disruption,” Batman quickly readjusted the plan, “Everyone else, stay with the original plan.”

  Men in white rabbit hats were running around causing chaos as the members came closer. Nothing specific, or uniform. Some broke windows for the sake of breaking them. Others chased people, some stole, others shot their guns at random. They were being mind controlled but given no clear instructions. Some were putting masks over random civilians to increase their numbers. Others forcing bows onto women who began walking towards the same building. A hotel on the smaller side, all of the windows had been covered up. Following as planned: Spoiler and Nightwing made their entrance into the hotel known.

“Hello~ any rooms available tonight? I need a place to dream off to wonderland,” Nightwing burst in and sure enough, the entire hotel was filled with employees who all had tophats.

“That was terrible,” Spoiler commented as she quickly started taking hats off employees, freeing them and directing them to a space in the lobby to wait for police and medical.

“Yeah, not my best,” Nightwing responded as Robin moved past the lobby. 

Orphan, Red Hood, and Red Robin snuck in through the rooms on the top floor. Girls were asleep in the beds, but it was an unnatural sleep. They quickly removed the clips from their hair, destroyed the clips, and moved on, checking room after room. Only 8 rooms with 1-3 girls in each and 3 floors. Almost 40 women and girls were hostages, excluding the staff which were also being freed.

Outside, Signal was using the shadows as tangible tendrils to pull the masks and hats off hostages. Something wasn't right, it was too easy. Mad Hatter wasn't known to team up with other rogues often, but it was still a possibility.

“You are interrupting,” a familiar monotone voice appeared behind Signal. He turned to find Scraps, standing behind him.

“We can't let Hatter kidnap people and force them to do his bidding. How about you let me free you,” Signal tried again to grab the wig only for the shadow to be grabbed, frozen in a layer of ice and, shattered with only one hand, “Okay, didn't know you could do that.”

“Scraps is outside and engaging with Signal,” Oracle announced to the others.

“The tea party is tomorrow, please wait until then,” Scraps’ aura flared and began gathering in their chest and hands. Eyes completely ice blue and glowing, “You will only get one warning.”

“Sorry, but we have to crash the party. You need a hospital like yesterday,” Signal turned his vitals scanner on to check. Scraps’ vitals hadn't gotten better, but they weren't lower so they still had time. But their temperature was dropping even lower.

It took only a second but Signal was a distraction as Batman approached from behind with a meta suppression collar. Before he could put it around Danny's neck, he received a swift kick to his arm sending the collar flying and Batman back onto the asphalt.

“Scraps is getting aggressive,” Signal blocked, but was still sent back when a punch was aimed his way, “Add enhanced strength to the list.”

“Why the hell does this kid have so many powers?” Nightwing responded.

“Ice manipulation, floating, invisibility, density shifting, and enhanced strength? We need to keep this kid on our side,” Red Robin commented as he hacked into all the security cameras of the hotel, “Eyes on Hatter, he's in the basement.”

“Dibs!” Red Hood began racing Orphan down to the basement, leaving Red Robin and the distraction team to deal with the hostages' release to the police. Most were still in their civilian clothes, it was a good sign, they had acted early into Hatter's plan.

Outside, Batman's cape was frozen to the street, the collar which had been discarded was picked up by Alice and examined. It was only for a second, but their normally blue eyes flashed green. The collar was snapped in half at the hinge and frozen into a block of ice before it was tossed aside. Vibrant blue eyes turned to Batman who had unclasped his cape to continue the fight. Spears of ice were fired his way, each one missed would either penetrate the ground or dissolve before hitting a civilian. One lucky shot struck Batman's side as a civilian prevented him from fully dodging.

“So, that meta collar just pissed off Scraps,” Signal announced, noticing the kid had just gotten way more aggressive than they were before. Still, not once did they hit another civilian. They had such control over their power to only target Signal and Batman. They somehow managed to keep surrounding destruction from their ice attacks to a minimum.

“They've clearly had experience fighting,” Batman didn't even need to bandage the wound. There was a layer of frost keeping him from bleeding out, “Not a single casualty has been caused by Scraps.”

“That's odd. Hatter has never cared about casualties unless it involved a particularly favorable hostage. This could mean the mind control isn't as complete as we thought. Tetch is known for killing his Alices’ yet he's kept Scraps much longer than usual, probably because of their meta abilities,” Oracle reviewed the information they had gathered, “Batman you were hit by a spear and that section of your suit reads its colder.”

“Hm. They covered the wound with frost at the moment of impact. Not as cold as other ice samples Red Robin has observed but enough to keep the pain and bleeding at bay. They don't want to hurt us, even if Hatter is forcing them to attack,” Batman responded, “Your theory seems accurate Oracle, Mad Hatter doesn't have full control over them.”

Signal was off catching the last of the mind controlled civilians outside while Batman continued to try and catch Scraps. He wasn't slowed down much with his injury thanks to the frost. It was when they had backed up, closer to the hotel that the fight became more challenging. Signal rejoined the fight to weaken Alice in order to get the wig off them. Scraps startled by a mist of blue escaping their lips before looking around, then down. It was faint in his mind controlled state but Danny felt it. Rage- protect- children in danger- protect- angry! It stirred a part of him as his core wanted to respond to the undead it felt nearby.

  Using the distraction Signal caught Scraps in his shadows, Batman attempted to cuff Scraps only to find the kid had slipped out of their grasp again and gotten behind him and struck hard enough to knock Batman unconscious. Though it would only be temporary.

“Enough,” Scraps encased Duke’s arms in frost and grabbed the same cuffs Batman was attempting to put on them before. With Duke handcuffed, the fight was over. Grabbing both vigilantes by their suits, Scraps dragged them both back into the hotel before sinking them into the basement where they were met with another battle. One Mad Hatter was losing, and becoming desperate. The last of his goons and about 5 other Alice hostages were in the fight. Hatter had a busted lip and his buck teeth were now one broken tooth and a gap, courtesy of Red Hood.

  No one noticed their sudden appearance in a secluded area. Nightwing lead the freed hostages out towards the main floor. Red Hood and Robin were focused on disarming the goons. Spoiler and Red Robin focused on the hostages. Where was Orphan?

“Remain quiet and I won't have to tape your mouth shut,” Scraps whispered, too low for Duke’s active com to pick up. 

  Signal nodded, he needed to focus on picking the lock on the cuffs and freeing himself from the ice. He would only distract the others if he called out now. He observed instead. Scraps didn't behave like a mindless zombie anymore. Not to mention their aura was starting to flicker brighter than before. It had happened so suddenly outside. That blue mist caused their entire aura to flare bright enough to temporarily blind him. Signal’s eyes were still recovering, but he could tell it was flickering. Something was going on, and their behavior was changing. Scraps reached… into their chest?! -And pulled out a metal tool box with a green cross on it. It read first-aid underneath. They opened it and pulled out latex gloves after removing the ones they were wearing before. There were some odd silver bracelets with a green stripe on each wrist below the white gloves. Where they a part of the mind control tech? Did those need tk be removed? Scraps sterilized their hands, a needle, and Batman’s wound after removing the frost. It was slow to bleed, the frost had been helping it clot and prevented swelling.

“What are you doing?” Signal asked quietly, observing as Scraps thread the needle and began stitching Batman’s wound without any form of anesthetic.

“Batman requires first aid. I am providing it,” they answered, already half way done. Their stitches were neat, and the wound was hardly bleeding. Not to mention they worked almost as fast as Alfred! Batman wasn't responding to the feeling. The cold must have completely numbed the area or he was out colder than Signal thought he was.

“Why?” Signal began an interrogation as quietly as he could with the fighting on the other side. Still, they spoke loud enough that his com was picking it up.

“I know how. And I had supplies,” Scraps was answering questions. That wasn't something they'd ever done before. The control was slipping.

“Why do you know how?” Duke knew Scraps was too young to have ever studied medicine. They only looked 13 at the oldest, but they also looked malnourished. These stitches were done perfectly, something from lots of practice.

“I have to.”

“Scraps,” he was free from the hand cuffs and caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows, “Why do you have to know?”

“...” They stopped responding and simply packed away the first aid supplies after wiping the blood off their gloves on the apron and setting the bloodied gloves into a pocket. Now that he caught a glimpse inside, there were way too many glowing materials and tools in that first aid kit. Scraps shoved the kit back into their chest and stood.

“Noo!” Mad Hatter shouted, “You're ruining everything!”

“You're mind controlling innocent civilians for your own enjoyment. As if we would agree to allow that to continue,” Robin snarled as  he captured Hatter and cuffed him.

“No, where is she? Where is she? Alice!” Hatter called, Scraps followed the shout quickly, leaving Signal and Batman behind. Hatter gave a nasty grin as his perfect Alice approached with red blood on her apron. That put everyone on edge except Hatter, “Alice, stop them! They'll destroy our tea party. We need them alive to celebrate.”

“Leave the civilians out of this,” Robin growled as he secured Hatter in favor of rejoining the fight.

 Duke was the only one to notice the snowball appear in Danny’s hand. It had an eerie green light inside it. He was still stuck in ice but he could look a few seconds into the future. He was struck with a migraine as a bright light burst into view. 

  The snowball was tossed in the air, it drew everyone's attention. An innocent snowball tossed up carelessly. The snow sparkling in the basement lights as it reached the center of the room.

“GET DOWN!” is shouted just as a green light bursts through the snow and shards of ice scattered across the entire room. The shards shattered on impact, only leaving a small scratch, the problem was the frost growing from each hit. It left a 5in area on the body or surface stiff and immobile. The frost covering the hostages quickly melted as the explosion came to an end. They were completely unharmed. Hatter, oddly, wasn't untouched like the hostages. Hatter’s legs were frozen and stuck to the gound, he'd been hit with the most frost out of everyone.

“Was that a fucking ice grenade?!” Red Hood was both amazed at that and also hated that he was on the other end of it.

  Ice was coating the floor in patches. The inconsistent surface would make fighting more difficult. Duke and Batman were covered in snow instead of frost. The automatic heaters regulating their temperature noticed the cold and turned on. Duke was having no luck escaping the ice, even in his shadows.

“Signal, report,” Red Robin ordered as he noticed Signal and Batman had been captured.

“Scraps got fed up in the fight and took Batman in a single blow. Then provided him with first aid. Something drew their attention in the fight. A blue mist came out of their mouth and it caused their aura to flare. It started glitching after that. I think the mind control device is starting to fail. They'll answer some questions but not all of them. Scraps is becoming more independent. You might be able to talk them down at some point,” Signal reported, still focusing on getting out of the ice. The repeated flashes from looking at Scraps was giving him an unbearable migraine. He couldn't help much like this, so he's guarding B instead.

“I hope that wig is malfunctioning. This has been one of the most annoying cases with Hatter because of Scraps’ powers,” Red Robin sighed, “I'm going to try remotely hacking into the device. You guys keep Scraps from disrupting me and try and get either a collar or cuff on them to try and grab the wig anyway.”

“If we can even get fucking close,” Red Hood growled through his modulator, something about the pit felt weird. It was making him angry, but when kids were being taken hostages any one of the Bats would be angry. What was weird was the pit was also yelling at him to keep Scraps close, they were needing protection. They were a baby- Why a baby? They're at least like 13? Why do they feel baby?

  It happened again. As Red Hood approached while the others continued to deal with the hostages. Alice hadn't really moved after the snowball grenade. A blue mist escaped their lips and they turned to see Red Hood, who's eyes were green but not hostile. Scraps tilted their head, it was less subtle than it was before.

“Undead?” That caught everyone's attention, Scraps had just called out Red Hood's undead status.

“How do you know that?” Red Hood growled again, noticing the green in his vision.

“Littlewing,” Nightwing jumped between them, “Deep breaths, you're looking kinda green. We don't know anything about Scraps, we don't know specifically what that means for them.”

“I know that,” Hood snapped, backing up from Scraps a bit and taking some breaths to calm down.

“Hey now, how about we get that wig off of you, Scraps? Blonde is not really for you,” Nightwing reached out but didn't step closer.

“Alice what are you doing, fight the-mph!” Orphan had gagged Hatter and gave a thumbs up to Red Hood and Nightwing.

“Understood,” Scraps took an offensive pose. Their eyes kept glancing towards the escrima sticks on Nightwing’s back. Their scarred left hand trembled slightly. It was then that Red Hood, Orphan, and Robin felt a sensation of awake?- Where?- scared! 

“Empath?” Orphan called out, missing the wig as Scraps turned intangible.

“Feels like it,” Red Hood responded.

“I don't feel whatever you guys are feeling,” Nightwing dodged a punch and tried grabbing Scraps only for them to dodge again, “The density shifting is a real pain-Agh!”

 Scraps knocked back Nightwing and Red Hood into creates nearby. A sheet of ice suddenly appearing on Hood's back kept them from being seriously hurt. It disappeared just as quickly. Robin was next to go after Scraps. They exchange blows, dodging each other mostly. It was then that Robin decided using his sword may be the best choice when Scraps started using small arrows of ice against him and other Bats within range. The ice only left small cuts in their armor but it continued to spread frost on contact. Watching as Robin deflected arrows with his sword, Scraps took a different stance. A sword of ice appearing in their right hand, and a smaller shield in their left.

“No fucking way,” Red Hood would recognize that fighting stance of his favorite Justice League Member anywhere.

“Finally, someone who can go against my blade,” Robin smirked and their swords wasted no time colliding.

“Are we seriously fighting a meta Amazonian right now?!” Nightwing groaned, pushing broken wood of the crates off him and Red Hood, “Great, we're fighting someone with no convenient weakness.”

“Okay well we're not doing Batman's contingency plan for Wonder Woman, that would kill Scraps,” Oracle spoke up through coms, “We do have the possibility that she has a weakness to electricity if her reaction to Nightwing's weapons are anything to go off of.”

“I don't want to electrocute a kid,” Nightwing groaned as he got up with a wince. His ribs were bruised but not unbearable. Red Hood was in similar shape.

“Robin might be able to tire them out- Oracle did you switch to she/her for Scraps?” Red Hood watched as the sword fight continued and the last of the hostages were just about free.

They were sword fighting while Alice not only dodged Orphan’s grabs at them but also stray bullets being shot around the room. The fact that Alice was mostly unharmed aside from some tears in the dress’s frilly skirt only displayed what a good battle sense they had.

“I was thinking more she/they. Only women live on Themyscira and can learn the fighting style. Men are strictly forbidden. But it's weird, Wonder Woman said there are no children on Themyscira. So someone had to have trained Scraps outside of Themyscira or brought them in. It looks like she's been learning the fighting style for a long time If they're keeping up with Robin.”

“Red Robin, how's hacking going?” Nightwing moved to help keep stray ice shots and bullets off Red Robin. Spoiler needed to focus more on civilians.

“I've managed to sabotage all of the other wigs in this building except for 10 of them. They're signals are jammed so close together and something is keeping me from shutting them down the same way. I'm trying what I can, but I don't know which one of these is controlling Scraps,” Red Robin answered, angrily typing away at his wrist computer, “Oracle can you use my position to isolate the chip controlling Scraps?”

“Working on it now,” Oracle could be heard typing away in their coms as the fight between Robin and Scraps continued. So far, it seems Scraps was able to back Robin closer to an isolated spot. His beloved sword was half coated in frost along with a part of his torso. Spoiler only had 2 hostages left to free, both with guns. She threw 2 batarang to disarm them before grabbing the rabbit helmets off them.

It was only a second, the batarang flew towards the wall after disarming the hostage. It hit, at an -oh so convenient- ricochet. To hit Danny. A blonde chunk of hair was on the ground as the battle suddenly halted between him and Robin. It grazed his cheek and the blade was stopped by the diadem under the wig; it had only cut a third through the band. Just a little interference… A white gloved hand touched the cut to see green blood. It was corrosive and slowly eating at the cloth glove. He reached up and pulled the batarang out of the diadem with little effort and examined it. Danny could sense a familiar energy from it. 

  Robin had frozen. A stray batarang had just landed in the head of the hostage they had been trying to save. They were dead- or not? There was no more than a small smear of… blood? It was green, and glowed a little, and so did the cut on their skin. It was their blood. Scraps was not human… That didn't matter, Robin still needed to free Scraps and get them somewhere safe. Mad Hatter needed to be locked up in Arkham, though Robin always thought that was too light a punishment for him. 

  Robin was able to get closer while Scraps was focused on the batarang. Examining it with calculating eyes. The wig now had an uneven cut, but it revealed that the wig wasn't the problem. Getting close enough to grab them, Robin did so. Scraps’ eyes were flickering, bright blue, to dim blue, and an occasional flash of what had to be green. Lazarus pits… No, their blood was also green, do not draw conclusions without all the evidence. Robin could get a sample at least. He snuck a vial from his utility belt and touched it to the cut, getting a small gush of blood and seeing the metal band which had been cut partially. Scraps hadn't moved, frozen into a deep stare… Taking advantage, Robin used a solvent to melt the wig glue and remove it. Revealing the band to everyone along with fluffy and matted black hair. Then the band sparked from the cut.

That seemed to have snapped Scraps out of their daze as they grabbed Robin’s arm and covered him in a net of ice that kept him from moving again before jumping back. 

“RR, I don't think you'll like this,” Oracle spoke up, “Three of the chips are flickering in and out of function but it looks like all ten of them are on Scraps.”

“Fuck,” Red Robin cursed as he was having the same result on his screen, “It must all be in that band around their head. Nightwing-”

“Yeah, I know,” Nightwing took a breath before splitting off from Red Robin.

  Spoiler had tried approaching Scraps in the meantime. The ice sword had disappeared along with the shield. It was a short fight, one where Scraps was clearly distracted, and still, it ended with Spoiler frozen in an ice net, much like Robin. Red Robin would have jumped into the fight next, but found he'd been frozen to the beam he was perched on. Red Hood found his boots had been frozen to the ground. It was up to Nightwing and Orphan.

Scraps jumped away as Nightwing got close again, it was obvious they were avoiding fighting them. Red Hood, Robin, and Orphan felt it again can't stop- don't fight- help- hurts- hurts- please…

“Tsk!” Scraps flinched as the diadem sparked.

“Four chips are offline,” Oracle reported, “A fifth started flickering.”

“Come on , Scraps. Lets get that off you,” Nightwing slowly approached, “You don't want to fight, right?”

“... … no…” their voice was just above a whisper. Their real voice, with that slight midwestern accent. Another spark made them flinch.

“Right,” Nightwing gave a soft smile as he reached out a hand.

  Scraps eyes still flickering between blue and green. They moved quickly, past Nightwings hand and grabbed one of the escrima sticks. Jumping back again, Scraps stood on a defensive stance, trembling left hand holding onto the taser end. Red Hood couldn't focus as all he felt from Scraps was scared-hurt-stop-resistresistresist! 

“Nightwing,” Red Hood spoke up, the feelings from Scraps were starting to become overwhelming. Stop me- please- gonna hurt- hurting- please… “They want you to do it…”

“It's gonna kill them…”

“... Sh… ort… cir-cuit… please…” Scraps was flickering, internally fighting between avoiding the pain and being intangible and being solid to take the shock, “...I’ll… be… … o…kay… …”

With a shaky breath Nightwing leapt forward and activated the stick before Scraps could shift away. It was the worst scream that had erupted from them. A wave of pain!- painpain! - dying- hit every one of the bats. The windows cracked and the lights flickered out, a few bursting sending sparks and hot glass over them.

It went on, mostly because Scraps refused to let go. It was a full minute before the lock on the band shorted out and it slipped off. Hitting the ground as Scraps fell. Orphan was quick to catch them, they were unconscious now.

“That was terrible,” Nightwing sighed. He had just zapped the kid they were trying to save. The kid who already had dangerously low vitals.

“The frost is weaker now,” Robin had finally broken himself free from the cold prison.

“My head is killing me,” Signal, free from the ice and snow, managed to get Batman to wake up.

“Batman, Mad Hatter has been apprehended and the hostages have all been freed. Scraps still needs medical attention,” Nightwing was the quickest to recover, but that scream was still haunting him. His focus now was making sure Scraps didn't die.

“What was that?” Red Robin rubbed the sides of his head as he was freed from the beam. Ice all around the room was defrosting. Slippery surfaces were disappearing, not even puddles of water left behind.

“Empath,” Orphan answered, running her fingers through Scraps's hair, “Felt their pain.”

“Let's just get the kid some medical attention,” Red Hood stood closer to Scraps. He couldn't feel anything apart from the quiet humming of hurts- in pain- free- comfort… as Orphan continued to gently pet Scraps. They seemed comfortable with the touch, for now.

“I'll grab a spare outfit for them,” Spoiler left, she had a less bubbly mood than usual.

“Hm,” Batman grunted, as the team started to split up again. His head was still throbbing, he likely had a concussion. Signal and Red Robin left to fill in with the police, but not before grabbing the diadem for examination later.

  For now, the fight was over and all that was left was the clean up here and at the Botanical Gardens.

~~~

Master List

Part 2

Part 4

Alice In Gotham Pt 2

  The Bats had been on edge that last 2 months, to put it lightly. Oracle was sure she heard movement above her in the clock tower. She had assumed it was one if the Bats but none of them moved that sloppily unless hurt. And yet, all their vitals looked fine on her monitors. She called Spoiler to check it out since she was the closest. What they found was nothing at all. Except the dust was unnatural. No foot prints or evidence of crawling. Like something had been dead there for a long period of time, then suddenly scrambled awake and disappeared. The way some of the dust was still settling when she got there was eerie and sent chills down the purple bat's spine. They set up a camera and motion detector to monitor the space, and after 2 months nothing came. Still, for Oracle’s sanity and Batman's paranoia, they left the camera there as a precaution.

Other than that, Gotham seemed to have less attacks, or crimes in general, than usual. Even crime alley, things were actually running. According to Intel, some homeless kid called Scraps was fixing things for small businesses and people who simply couldn't afford to replace things in exchange for food or pocket change. Sometimes he even did it for free if it was urgent. Not only that but apparently the kid could defend himself. Had saved a couple of the night girls from people who didn't understand the word “no”. They'd give him treats when he came by once in a while. Simple things like a lollipop or a granola bar. Concerningly though, they also said he'd eat it with the wrappers still on. Kid was eating actual trash to survive. That, meant Red Hood had to try and keep an eye on him. The problem was the kid kept fucking disappearing. No one knew where he was living, or if he even slept. Sometimes he'd be around early morning, or late at night. The kid had no schedule except for Sundays. When no one was watching the dump, he go and steal broken tech or salvage tools and other scraps. It was the only time Hood managed to get a glance at the kid. Didn't even need to be close because damn those blue eyes were bright, even under his hoodie. Fuck, that was adoption bait and the others were going to go nuts. Tying to follow Scraps back to his hide out was another loss, he completely disappeared around a corner as if he was never even there.

“Hold on, you said this kid works with tech but you can't catch him?” Red Robin asked.

“Nope, couldn't even find anything through the power grid. He might be working on something but he's not even using electricity for it. Or he somehow managed to get it while staying off the grid,” Red Hood responded. Red Robin was the last person he wanted to ask for help, but it had been 2 months, and this whole week not one person had been able to confirm if Scraps was around. No one had seen him since he said he had a job. Not Hood or Jason had been able to make contact since he first popped up in crime alley. At this point he was going to break his TV and hire the kid just to make sure they were okay. Kids disappearing was never a good sign. No one fucked with kids on his turf.

“Jason… what does the kid look like?” Red Robin sighed while working on the batcomputer to check crime alley more thoroughly.

  Taking a deep breath and sighing he spoke up, “Adoption bait.”

“We can not let B know about him,” Tim groaned as he drank out of a nearly empty coffee mug.

“B is not taking another kid to put into a suit. The kid’s mine to keep an eye out for,” Red Hood growled below his helmet before taking a breath, “Besides, with how smart the kid is, he'll probably get a scholarship to some school out here and end up at Wayne Enterprise anyway. He can wait a few years to meet him.”

“Hey boys,” Oracle chimed in from the Bat computer, “I've located the kid, he tends to make camera a little fuzzy around his face but those eyes are recognizable. He was spotted a week ago in the warehouse district. The same place we have a lead on scarecrow’s fear gas.”

“Fuck,” was all Red Hood said before getting back on his bike.

“Red Hood is going to investigate. Anything else you can find on him? Maybe a facial scan so we can get him back to his family?” Red Robin began going through the warehouse cameras to find which warehouse he went into, “Damn it, the same night as that storm? We can't get any good views after he entered Warehouse 56.”

“I'm going to check it out now,” Red Hood responded, “Keep B off my back. I don't want him involved, Scraps is my case.”

“I'll try, but you know he still makes mistakes with boundaries,” Oracle responded, “Should I call in Nightwing for you?”

“No, not yet. But fill him in. Something doesn't feel right about this. Red Hood out.”

—

  It took four days and about 24 renewed microchips for Hatter to keep Danny asleep. It frustrated him to no end that the chips kept wearing out after four hours. Eventually he decided some hypnosis was in order and asked the kid directly why It wasn't working.

“Regular tech doesn't respond well to my presence,” he answered soullessly.

“Really? How can you get it to work?” Hatter was surprised his Alice understood what was going on and how to fix it.

“It needs to be infused with my blood,” he answered a half truth. While under control his subconscious need to keep everything ghostly a secret somehow still came through.

“Is that all? That's so simple… Go back to sleep Alice. When you wake you will be perfect,” he ordered and Danny's eyes shut.

  Danny wasn't in anything impressive at the moment. A white night gown, plain and simple, while laying in a bed. They had moved from the warehouse to Hatter's hideout where he had access to all the tech he needed. Hatter wasn't happy to see the scars over Danny's body. His poor Alice had be hurt, been held captive by the looks of the marks on his wrists and ankles. A scar hidden in his freckles on the bridge of his nose along side others, Hatter could hide them with make up but still he felt distaste for who every damaged Alice’s face.

 In another day's time, Hatter had created a diadem with multiple chips throughout it's construction as a failsafe. All, infused with Danny's oddly green glowing blood. When it came time, his Alice was properly cleaned by the March Hare and her now finished dress was applied, along with the waterproof silver diadem. It locked into place, no simple tug off from Batman or any of the birds would work. It had to be completely unlocked to be removed. His Alice, harmed by someone else's touch was too precious to lose. It was a hard battle to get her fully under his control after all. He wasn't going to risk anything. He skin was already pale, pale like a porcelain doll. That was what this Alice was for. A doll to admire from afar for her beauty alone. Dressed in her sky blue dress with her white apron. Her puffed sleeves and white gloves to cover the scars on her wrists. Bloomers for added volume to the ruffle skirt, and of course the thigh high white socks with mary jane's shoes. A long blond wig with bangs to hide the diadem was placed on her head, another chip in the wig before the wig was glued down, as he didn't want to risk damaging her precious skin more than it was. instead Of a headband, A ribbon was tied into her hair instead. A porcelain Alice, one Hatter would keep by his side so as to not lose her.

His perfect Alice.

—

Staking out the warehouse didn't find Scraps, but they did find a surplus of fear gas being manufactured by scarecrow with what was the most efficient assembly line these goons could have put together. It was an easy take down when Nightwing and Spoiler joined in for a takedown to stop the plan to gas the city before it started. The goons were hardly a challenge, and Red Robin would be able to make a new antidote for the rebreathers incase there was another warehouse like this one. The one thing that caught their attention was a gutted microwave on display on a side table. Evidence Scraps was here. Fuck.

“What did you do to the kid?” Red Hood growled, grabbing one of the few conscious goons who had been ziptied.

“What kid?” Spoiler hadn't been let in on the Scraps case.

“Kid?” the goon looked confused.

“Scraps. What did you do to Scraps? He fixes tech to make money. You guys had him here. Tell me what you did with him or yours knees are going to bend in reverse,” Hood snarled and the guy pales.

“We hired him to fix the assembly line. Told him it was for screwing tops on bottles. Paid him and fed him. He pulled the microwave out of thin air, and used it to fix the motor or something. He left into the storm after we paid him,” the goons caved and Hood tossed him towards the pile of them where they were waiting for the police.

“So the only evidence of Scraps is a microwave he pulled out of thin air? How does that even work, it's a microwave. You can't just hide that thing. That's not even a little one, that one looks like it was built into the wall originally,” Nightwing looked at the microwave and used some light dust from his bag before brushing it away, “There's fingerprints all over. Mostly large ones, how small is Scraps?”

“Little smaller than Robin,” Red Hood answered.

“Red Hood, Nightwing, I have eyes on Scraps with Mad Hatter,” Oracle chimed him, and the tension in the warehouse rose, “3 days ago he's spotted leaving warehouse 64 with the March Hare and Scraps following.”

“Fuck,” Hood punched one the machines, as he processed the information. Scraps was pretty androgynous looking. Hatter usually preferred natural blonde but those glowing blue eyes probably drew his attention. A wig would be an easy fix, “Scan everywhere you can Oracle, if Hatter has him we’re on a time limit.”

“Littlewing,” Nightwing placed a hand on Hood’s shoulder, “We'll find Scraps. She- they can't be gone for long. Hatter never stops with just one Alice, he'll leave a trail and we'll follow it.”

“Red Robin, Oracle,” Hood spoke into his com, “Do you have any other leads to Hatter’s location?”

“No yet, but we'll keep searching,” Oracle answered.

“Can I get in on this Scraps case? The tower ghost is coming up dead,” Spoiler asked and Nightwing left to talk with the arriving officers who took the goons into custody.

  Red Hood sighed. He'd like to keep crime alley business out of the rest of Gotham, but this kid could be anywhere in Gotham now. He needed to keep an eye on Crime alley too. He needed more eyes, as reluctant as he wasn't to accept it, “Fine. You and Orphan are in because I know you will tell her anyway. Keep Robin and Batman out of it. Kid looks like adoption bait. Goes by Scraps on the streets, their real name is unknown.”

“Sound like so are their pronouns,” Spoiler laughed, “Well keep our eyes out for them. Send the case file to me and Orphan. I'll fill her in about tonight. Should we tell Duke?”

“No, not yet,” Red Hood answered, “He can't keep a secret from B if he thinks it’s serious. We might have to if we can't find any leads to check if he can see something we can't. Scraps’ eyes are blue, like they're glowing. It’s hard to miss.”

“So, their a meta in hiding?” Spoiler asked as she walked away.

“If they are, Batman is gonna be pissed,” Nightwing responded on come.

“B can fuck off. It's not like people chose to be metas, kid probably didn't even know and has no where else to go. I'm checking out warehouse 64,” Hood left, riding his bike to warehouse 64 where he found a mostly empty lot.

  There were a few forgotten things. Evidence of a tea party and a few discarded headbands. Timbit would be able to look at them later. What pissed Hood off to recognize the edging of green in his vision, was a discarded backpack, and clothes that had long since been hung to dry.

“I found Scraps personal belongings. He was here during the storm. His clothes are hung over a banister to dry. And his bag was left behind,” Hood opened the bag, two different tool boxes inside along with smaller parts of tech. Some snacks- a frozen apple?

“Spoiler might be right about this kid being a meta,” Hood spoke up.

“Really? What gave it away?” Spoiler responded through coms.

“I found an apple that's been frozen solid in a layer of frost in their bag along with tools and tech. They're an ice meta of some kind,” Hood examined the apple. The frost was intricate like lace and beautiful as it glistened in the moonlight. No evidence of melting at all. It was freezing to touch even through his reinforced gloves.

“But they left 3 days ago. How hasn't it melted?” Nightwing asked.

“Don't know but it's still cold. The kids got a bigass first aid kit in here too. Not even a water bottle. A frozen apple, three granola bars, and the rest is all tech or tools. He carries his work more than his survival supplies. He's got a place to stay somewhere but I haven't found it yet,” he put everything back into the back pack along with his clothes.

  For now, it was a dead end. They needed a new trail, a clue, but they'd have to wait. Still, the idea of a child younger than Robin in the hands of the Hatter, it made Red Hood’s stomach churn something ugly as he fought back against the pit. When they found Jervis Tetch, he'd have first dips on punching the guy so hard he'd have to get replacement buck teeth.

—

Alice was still odd to Mad Hatter. She was under his control and the chips were no longer dying out. However there were small things she did. He complained about the temperature of the room being too high, and suddenly the room cooled while her eyes glowed even brighter. He never ordered her too, she did it on her own. She wasn't programed for that. He mentioned finding another girl to dress up  Alice disappeared from his side and reappeared 20 minutes later with an unconscious woman in her arms. Blond hair, and blue eyes. Again, he never ordered her to do so. And yet, Hatter only felt glee as he realized his Perfect Alice could do more than his henchmen ever could in a very fast amount of time. But the best part was when he asked her to disappear for two minutes and she turned invisible right in front of him. His buck toothed smile was mad as he had a tool he'd never had before. A silent Alice who was as skilled in shadows and she was in the light. An Alice the bats couldn't follow back.

“Alice, my wonderful Alice, you are more than I have imagined. We are going to send some invitations soon. So for now, go rest in bed. Your mission will be ready by tomorrow night,” Mad Hatter grinned, “I have a Tea Party to plan for a special guest!”

---

  A girl was reported missing, blonde hair and blue eyes. But no evidence of a break in what so ever. No locks were touched, only the bed where she had been sleeping was touched. Nothing on the camera aside from the quality being fuzzy. Odd, those should be updated cameras. This one may have to be replaced, or there was someone altering the feed. Oracle has yet to find evidence of tampering with the cameras. By appearance alone, one suspect on Batman’s list was Mad Hatter. He'd have to keep track of other kidnappings of women with similar appearances to be sure.

With nothing left to examine at the scene, Batman moved on. Robin following close behind, annoyed at the lack of evidence he'd managed to find. Not even a finger print, the culprit was wearing gloves. Most criminals wore gloves, it wasn't unusual.

The Batman came to a sudden halt, “Robin, we have confirmation Hatter is involved with the case.”

  Robin landed besides his father and saw a blonde dressed in a blue frilly dress with an apron. It wasn't the same woman taken from her apartment. This was a child, probably a little younger than Robin, himself. She was alone, on a rooftop. Scanning the area there was no one else around. Just this child dressed as Alice, trapped under mind control.

“I shall remove the wig,” Robin approached.

“Oracle we have an Alice, send medical and alert the police,” Batman ordered as Robin slowly approached the hostage.

“B, are their eyes glowing?” Oracle asked.

“Oracle, does this have to do with Hood, Nightwing, and Spoiler’s sudden team up?” Batman asked, voice gruff with annoyance and frustration with their lack of reports from that event.

“Yes. The kid is called Scraps, and is suspect to be an ice meta. They had a frozen apple in their belongings. According to Hood it hasn’t melted yet. Kid went missing a week ago. We had a lead that revealed Mad Hatter is the one who took them,” Oracle gave a short report, and Batman grunted in return.

“Mad Hatter has invited you to a tea party,” a soulless voice suddenly came from the child as Robin was closing in.

  The child was now holding out a green envelope. Masked eyes studied the arm holding out the letter for a moment, something made Robin stiffen subtly, Batman nearly missed it. Robin took the envelope and then tried to grab their wrist only for Alice to pull free and jump back. Now standing on the ledge towards the open street. 

“Come forward, you will fall standing there. I mean you no harm,” Robin held out his hand to Alice.

“You are not permitted to touch me. The invite was delivered, goodbye,” With that, the Alice stepped back and fell.

Robin jumped after them, shooting his grappling hook to catch the wall only to find the Alice was gone. Batman had run after the child as well, both splitting into a silent search of the perimeter to find nothing. No sound of foot steps, nothing but the cars and people below. The Alice was gone, and no trail to follow them with.

“Nightwing, Spoiler, Red Hood, Batcave. Now,” Batman motioned for Robin to follow, clicking his tongue as the mysterious child escaped.

“Father, we still have the invite,” Robin handed the green envelope to Batman as they were returning to the manor. Only a quick pause to check the letter for trackers. The only thing inside was coordinates, a time, and the date two nights from now.

  At the cave, Batman was forced to wait for the trio to appear. Nightwing arrived first, then Spoiler. No surprise Red Hood was last and took as long as possible.

“Report,” Batman ordered, sternly. Eyes narrowing at his children who yet again hid something from him.

“Scraps was taken by Tetch during the storm. Red Hood started the case a week after Scraps went missing. We want to find this lost meta kid and get them into a safe place or back home. Hood’s area says they has an accent so they might not want to be in the city,” Spoiler answered, “They work as a handyman, fixing up anything. A tech nerd like RR.”

“Tech nerd? The kid had garbage in his backpack. Broken everything and mangled parts that should have been considered unsalvageable. How the hell are they gonna build anything from that?” Red Robin groaned, getting Batman's attention, “Shit.”

“Anything to report, Red Robin?” Batman glared as another one of his children was in on the withholding of information.

“The kid makes cameras glitch out or just fuzzy sometimes. We can't get a facial scan no mater how much we try and salvage the images or the cameras themselves. Scraps does something to them that we haven't managed to bypass,” and that made a sad piece click into this new case.

“We just ran into an Alice with vibrant eyes. They jumped off the roof after giving us a set of coordinates, a time, and the date 2 nights from now. I went to catch them but they disappeared. No sound of the landing, just silence,” Robin spoke up.

“These coordinates?” Red Robin took the paper from Batman and found the location on Gotham’s map.

“Hm,” Batman replied, looking up at the screen. A trap, but there was time to prepare.

“I shall prepare a guest room, then,” Alfred appeared behind them with a trolley of sandwiches and tea for an after patrol snack.

“No, we are not bringing Scraps to the manor,” Red Hood argued, although it was pointless to argue with Alfred.

“So you say Master Jason. I just like to be prepared,” Alfred left as quickly as he came.

“Scraps looks like adoption bait,” Nightwing sighed as Orphan came in with a smile.

Bruce just sighed as he removed his cowl, “If this hostage is a meta, we'll need to focus on trying to free them from the mind control. We night need to use suppressor cuffs, or a collar. What ever we can get on them temporarily to avoid injury. We will prepare in the mean time. Hatter uses mind control, we will be fighting civilians, keep that in mind.”

“Father, there was an observation I had when I was close to the hostage,” Robin spoke up again, “When they held out the invitation with their left hand I could see lichtenberg scars traveling up their arm. But instead of being pink and irritated, they were almost pure white. Along with several other smaller scars on their arms. They felt cold for the second I grabbed them.”

  Lichtenberg scars… They fade after a few days, which meant the kid was recently electrocuted… But why were they white? Red Hood took a breath, counting to 10 before focusing again.

“I need to know what happened to that kid and who's ass I need to kick,” Red Hood growled, after setting his empty plate back on the trolley.

“We’ll find them, now that we are all keeping an eye out. Tomorrow we patrol as normal, then we send a team after Hatter.”

—

Signal had been having a good morning patrol. He was quickly filled in on the Hatter situation and to try and follow the meta Alice if they came into contact. Signal was having a pretty normal patrol. Stopping a car jacking, a convenient store robbery, a mugging, and a purse snatcher. Nothing he couldn't handle on his own. Finally, a glimpse of shimmering sky blue caused Signal to stop in his tracks.

“Hey, there,” Signal turned to find the Alice, and just as described, their eyes were glowing. But so was the rest of their aura, it was flickering in an odd way, “Are you lost?”

“No,” they responded, and the aura began to fade a little more.

“Okay, you need me for something, right? Are you going to invite me to your team party tomorrow night?” Signal slowly approached. He just needed to be distracting enough that he could use a shadow to grab the wig.

“You do not have permission to touch me,” Alice turned transparent. The aura flared just as the shadow fell through them, missing the wig completely.

“Okay, I won't touch you,” Signal reached up to his com and spoke silently. Of course he didn't know Alice could hear him anyway, “Contact with meta Alice. They can density shift. My shadows passed through their body.”

“See what else you can learn about them. So far Meta Alice doesn't seem hostile,” Oracle responded, “If you can free or follow them back we might get a lead on either the trap or Hatter's base.”

“Copy,” Signal nodded, keeping the com on and recording the conversation for later. Alice was deathly still but their clothes and hair were flowing as if gravity and the wind had no effect on them, “Can you tell me what you need from me?”

“Has Robin read his invitation?” Alice tilted their head slightly, a habit Danny still maintained.

“Yes, was it just for Robin? Batman thought it was for both of them,” Signal hadn't actually seen the invitation himself, just the report about it.

“Just for Robin. Batman isn't invited,” their monotone voice continued. They lifted their left hand and held out a yellow envelope, “Mad Hatter has invited you to his tea party, Signal.”

“Okay, thank you,” Signal approached and took the envelope. Through Alice's gloves and his own, Signal felt a cold chill up his arm and down his spine.

“Goodbye,” they spoke before jump off the building, much like with Robin.

“Wait,” Signal tucked away the letter and followed Alice as their aura flared again. They never landed on the ground. Instead they were invisible on the physical plain and floating away slowly. Unfortunately the aura he followed soon disappeared with Alice all together, “Alice went west before disappearing from my vision. I'm attempting to follow. They can float, apparently. And go completely invisible, even hiding their aura. They're hard to track but if I can get another glimpse of their aura or find them with some light manipulation I can follow.”

“So definitely a meta,” Oracle was typing again, probably updating Scraps’ file, “Use the cuffs if you can get close, Signal. Scraps also causes camera to go a bit fuzzy when nearby, I'll let you know what areas I notice they might be in because of the glitches.”

“Still heading west as far as I can tell,” it wasn't an exciting chase since the hostage floated away at a jogging pace, but that didn't mean Signal wasn't having trouble. It was as if Scraps was using their aura like breadcrumbs for Signal to follow. Eventually, Scraps’ aura stopped appearing, they were gone, “I lost Scraps, I'm going to check the area incase I was lead here for a reason. We can pin the coordinates for later.”

“Already on it. Looks like you're pretty close to the coordinates on the invite,” Oracle responded, “Mad Hatter might be leading us to his base. Its obviously a trap, he must have confidence to be so careless.”

“My invite has the same coordinates as Robin's,” Duke looked in the general direction of the coordinates, the Botanical Gardens.

“Keep an eye out, we don't know where Scraps may next appear,” Oracle signed off and Signal moved on with their patrol.

—

Orphan was the next to receive an invite. It was the first time a civilian noticed her while blending with the shadows.

“Orphan, Mad Hatter has invited you to a tea party,” Once again holding out an envelope for the vigilante, Scraps stood unmoving until the letter was taken.

  Orphan attempted to follow, listening for breathing or foot steps, once again no one could follow them.

Spoiler was invited, and she tried and failed to grab the wig before Scraps disappeared.

Even Nightwing received an invite. Although his attempt to free Scraps was as fruitless as with the others. He did notice when he made a pun that Scraps had a habit of tilting their head to the side. A hint of a personality trapped inside.

Red Robin followed, but didn't immediately take the invite. His theory was Scraps would only leave after the invite was taken. It had been five minutes now. While he couldn't remove the wig, he was taking a few scans of Scraps.

“Shit,” Red Robin cursed as he scanned Scraps' vitals, “Scraps’ heart rate is dangerously low and is hardly breathing. Their temperature is insanely low at 90°F. They're hypothermic.”

“Please take the invite,” it was the first time Scraps has said anything since offering the invite and telling Red Robin not to touch them.

“I will, but can I get you to a hospital first- Hey!” Red Robin was quickly cut off by an ice shard suddenly flying his way.

Scraps was fast, slamming the letter roughly into his chest and freezing it to his suit before disappearing.

“RR what happened?” Nightwing spoke up on coms.

“I was trying to negotiate, and Scraps didn't take it too well. Fired an attack and now I have an envelope frozen to my chest,” he wasn't going to mention how that same push forced the air out of his lungs and bruised him.

“We can't wait for tomorrow with their current vitals, Scraps is going to die if we don't get them into a hospital. They need an ICU in that condition. Hatter is going to kill the kid at this rate,” Red Robin spoke up, trying to pull the letter and the ice off. The ice wasn't melting or breaking at all. Not even a scratch when he tried to use a bird-a-rang to pry it off, “What the fuck is this ice made of? I can't get it to budge. Can't even scrape off a sample.”

“You couldn't even get a sample off the apple,” Red Hood responded.

“This ice has an edge to pry under, the apple is solid all the way around. I thought if maybe… ha!” the entire chunk of ice along with the envelope came off in one solid peace, “I finally have a sample I can work with.”

“Everyone return to the cave for a debrief. We'll be infiltrating the tea party tonight,” Batman ordered his brood who wrapped up their current tasks to return to the cave.

It was time to crash a Tea Party.

~~~

Master List

Part 1

Part 3

MasterList:

Alice in Gotham:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

I will let you know when the whole story eventually gets posted on Ao3. I'm still deciding on whether I should flush out the first 4 chapters in the full version or leave it as is. For now, I'm aiming to do around 10 ish chapters for the full story or so. When it's ready I'll add the link here.

Alice in Gotham Pt 1

  It had been 3 months now. 3 months since Danny escaped the examination table in the basement of the brick house he used to call home. 3 months since Sam, Tucker, and Jazz found him in the basement and freed him and he left with a go bag.

  He used 2 canisters of ecto-dejecto to keep his flight stable. Searching for any space with a heavy amount ambient ectoplasm to recover. He found his way to a dark city covered his heavy clouds. Maybe a storm was on it way? Outside was the worst option for recovery either way. Making his way to a clock tower with would be out of range of most GIW scanners on the streets far below, he slipped in with his last burst of intangibility. He found himself in a crawlspace where there was no clear entry point without a saw of some kind. Setting his bag down, Phantom collapsed silently. Tears without so much as a sniffle steaming down his face as he curled up, his bandages keeping his stitches under a comfortable pressure despite the pain. The last thing he managed to do was slip his phone put from him bag, send a message to Team Phantom that he was going to sleep before he shut it off and hid it within his leg.

He slept for a month straight, regrowing the organs and bones that had been removed after the skin on the surface sealed itself together again. At least his limbs had grown back by the time Team Phantom freed him. Green ectoplasm blood that had spilled was slowly reabsorbed. To redistribute the energy into healing. He woke up groggy, and still weak. He was more ghost-like now than he'd previously been. His ears pointed with his wild white hair that had barely grown with the energy focused on the largest wound he'd ever received. Green eyes struggled into focus, and for the first time in a month and a half, his stomach growled. His human half was starving, despite him spending a month in his ghost form. He needed to eat before he could change back. He rubbed the heavy sleep from his eyes, his suit back to its usual black and silver like nothing ever happened. His bag, untouched and settled with dust. Grabbing it, he found the fresh fruits Sam had packed him that he had covered in frost. Not even dissolving the frost, he bit into an apple. It was cold, but hadn't rotted, like it was frozen in time. He forced himself to eat slowly. The ectoplasm from the frost helping his ghost side as the apple itself was quickly being dissolved is his newly grown stomach and sending nutrients through his core to his human half. Danny didn't even leave the apple core, he ate the stem and seeds leaving nothing behind. He did the same for the other fruits he had in his bag. As well as a granola bar, plastic wrapper and all. He couldn't afford to be picky. It wasn't as if this was the first time he'd eaten plastic, he once swallowed a spork whole after all. It wasn't like he was fed while in the lab…He only stopped when he heard a sound above him. Quiet footsteps normal ears wouldn't be able to hear, but his enhanced hearing was even stronger in his ghost form. Quickly, Danny checked his bag for other missing items. Nothing was gone, all of it was there. He quickly shoved his entire backpack into his chest, a convenient pocket dimension he'd only just started using. His fight with Dan may have been why he discovered it but he really didn't like using it for a long time. Going invisible and flying out of the dusty crawl space, Danny just missed Spoiler taking a peak into an empty space. An empty space with a single area that lacked dust where it looked like a body had been for a long time…

Danny didn't return to the clock tower. He found an area of this city, which looked so familiar but he couldn't remember why, that had lots of homeless people sleeping around or walking. A perfect place to blend in. He found an abandoned building where the stairs from the first floor were unstable to the point of collapse with just a step. he floated up to the 2nd floor, covered the windows with tattered cloths he found and returned to human form. He felt sick and weak, changing forms after his injury was healed. He found one of the rooms had a broken vanity, his clothes from his old life still looked mostly clean. However, they were torn and scorched in some areas. He looked even thinner now, and when he lifted his shirt he felt sore. The injury was healed but the bruise was still there. The stitches weren't, which wasn't weird since his body had a habit of absorbing the stitches from the ecto-line over time. But still, even when he looked like he was starving, which he was, he still looked the same… Same face, same height, same clothes even, from when he was fourteen. But there was more of an uncanniness to him now. His heart faltered a bit as he noticed fangs… Fangs in his human form… Vald didn't have fangs while human…Tears pricked his eyes as he looked back at the cracked mirror and he pulled his shirt back down, it'd taken the Fentons 3 years… 3 years to notice Danny hadn't gotten any taller while Jazz was as tall as Jack. 3 years to notice he still had his baby face… 3 years to figure out he and Phantom were the same…

Looking away, Danny pulled his back pack out of his chest and set out all of his supplies. He had 2 first aid kits, and stuffed the largest one back into his pocket dimension. The other only had one vile of ecto-dejecto and had some supplies for normal humans, so it was safer in his bag that the kit with 6 viles and two rolls of fishing ecto-line. He kept simple things that could be hidden on his person, like the wrist rays which looked like a simple bracelet. And other weapons went into the pocket dimension alongside the space blanket Jazz must have smuggled in, as it had her head band wrapped around it to keep it from unrolling. He left his bag with one first aid kit, and most of the food he had. He kept a few reserved in his pocket dimension, just in case. He found Tucker, his wonderful friend, had left him a basic tool box. And in a bat themed wallet he shoved into his leg, was money from Sam. He had such amazing friends… Sam even left a large black Hoodie inside for him. They had stuffed this bag with so much supplies, it looked so small. It would be perfect for carrying anything he needed. And it was purple with a small keychain of saturn on one zipper, and a ghost keychain on the other. Sam had to have been the one to buy it. He took a steadying breath, and pulled his phone out of his leg before turning it on. There was a fury of buzzing as messages it had received over the past month- had he really been asleep for a month?- came flooding into his phone. He read through all of them. Messages of how Red Huntress distracted the Fentons long enough for Jazz to erase all the data they had on him. That Sam had been working on that go bag since last year when they realized Danny hadn't grown at all and went to visit Frostbite for the confirmation. Messages from Tucker explained that there were 2 usbs in the toolkit for Danny, one with every invention ever created by the Fentons, and the other with their own personal files. Danny would have to build himself a computer for this soon. And Messages of how they miss him and are worried since he hasn't answered in weeks.

—

Clueless1: Just woke up. Didn't know I could sleep for a month straight. Everything is healed, but still sore. Not fully dead yet.

Nightshade: Danny! You scared the shit out of all of us! You seriously just slept for a whole month!?

Have you eaten yet?

Where are you?

Clueless1: I ate, not sure where I am. I woke up from my nap in the crawlspace of some clock tower. I found a new place to crash for now. Not sure what city I'm in yet.

Pharaoh-Tech: Dude, that's a coma, not a nap.

GhostGetter: DANNY! Are you sure your injuries are healed?! I'm glad you could rest but you tend to say you're okay when you really aren't.

Clueless1: Yes Jazz, I checked. Just a bruise is left and I'm sore. Nothing that won't go away in a few days.

GhostGetter: So long as you're sure. Now find out what city your in so we can send you supplies. I'm sure you need more ectoplasm.

Clueless1: Wherever I am, it has a ton of ambient ectoplasm in the air. If I can build and hide a condenser with a scrambler I'll be able to collect my own ectoplasm here for a while.

Pharaoh-Tech: You memorized so much of their tech I felt like the flash drive might be pointless.

Clueless1: Still appreciate it. I'm gonna go scout the area and figure out where I am. Then I'll find a place to get scraps to build a computer and condenser.

GhostGetter: And there better be weekly or at least bi-weekly check-ins from you from now on.

Clueless1: And I will check in weekly.

Nightshade: Don't get into anymore trouble Ghost Boy.

Pharaoh-Tech: Sam, he might be feral but trouble usually comes to him.

GhostGetter: What they mean is be safe little brother. When you find out what city you're in, my gap year will be over. I'm not leaving you alone forever.

Huntress: Nice to know you're still haunting this realm Phantom. Keep yourself hidden, the GIW hasn't left Amity yet and the lock down means your interdimensional phones are the only form of communication we have for now. I'll keep you updated on their movements.

Clueless1: Thanks guys, I'll keep myself out of trouble.

—

Turning off his phone again, Danny sighed and fell back onto the dusty couch which had been eat at by moths and rats had probably burrowed in. He stuck the phone back into his leg before opening his bag and taking out the tool box. He found both USBs and stuck them into the pocket dimension as well. He was exhausted again, so soon after just waking up. He didn't care, he fell back asleep with the hoodie Sam gave him wrapped around him. 

  Danny woke up hours later instead of days. Hungry again, he went out to explore. His ghost metabolism was going to be a problem. Dispite being 17, Danny new his appearance would most likely stop him from getting a legal job. He didn't want to stop to crime, but he may not have a choice. His obsession was going to need to be satiated somehow. Wondering the streets, Danny found himself entering a dark alley. His ghost sense startled him and he looked around. He didn't have the energy to fight, so he hoped the ghost wasn't hostile. The shadows around him grew darker than before, devoid of light in a void of endless darkness. The alley had no clear escape route anymore as it now seemed like an endless hall. Before him, the tendrils of shadows converged into a figure. A dark dress of shadows on her figure. Her skin a sickly grey with piercing yellow eyes looking down at him from behind a vile that flowed from the brim of her hat. Her hat was large, and feather stuck out of the brim. She smiled, too wide for it to be human, and too many narrow sharp teeth to be comforting.

“Ÿ̵͎̹̚o̵̖͝ṷ̴̢̓̀r̸̟̫̂̓ ̵̧̥̈́M̸̦̌͜ȁ̸̙j̷̥̈ę̸͑̓s̶̯̯͊ẗ̷͙̪́̒ẙ̵̪̥͋,̴̪͘ ̵̲̦͑y̵̝͕̚ò̵̘̠ű̷̦̟̓ ̶͉̘̈̚a̴̟̽̚r̷̢̙̀́e̶͍͂ ̴̙̎r̴̺͗̏e̷̝͕̓̑c̷̘͊ö̷̤̔ṽ̵ͅè̸̙̇r̵̜͛î̵̬̂n̵̹͓̒g̷̻̑̓ ̷̘̻̾͑w̶͕͈̌͝é̷̲l̸͚̣̆l̴̤̓,̴̬́͝ ̷̞̂͝Į̶͔͝ ̷̳͕͌s̵̘̓ȅ̵̗e̵̖͋͊ͅ.̴͇͊̓(Your Majesty, you are recovering well, I see.)” The spirit bowed to Danny who kept a tight grip on the strap of his bag. Danny bowed back and she chuckled, amusement emanating from her to Danny, “L̶̦͌͂̐i̴̛̫̰͌t̸̰̀̍̓t̸͔͐l̸̙̓̓̚ë̵̻̼́͑̐ ̷̫̽K̷͔̮̆́i̵̤̬̾̂͒n̵̙̈́̉g̵̨̩̑̌͊͜,̷͚̝̆̇̒ ̴̯̘̒̋͘y̴͈̣̪͊̏͐ö̸̩̖́͌u̶̬̓ ̶̡͙͌d̸̰̏͋̅o̷̠̓͜ ̴̯̋̓͂n̸͎̪̬͆o̷̼̟͒t̴̺̝̣̔̒ ̷͕̬̊̇̕n̵̠̰̈́̎͘ḙ̸̖̭̈͘ė̶͖̣̘́̃d̶̝̟͆͒ ̸̝͈̺̀̓̀t̴̛͍̥͙̓o̴̳̙̥͂̓ ̴͖͝b̴̧̦̘͐o̵̩̞͒̑̚w̵̮͗ ̴̱͎̀t̶̰͜͝o̸̤̿̂͘ ̸̥̫͈̄̏m̴͇͆́è̵͈̾͊.̶̜͌̚͝(Little King, You do not need to bow to me.)”

“Sorry,” Danny raised his head, “I wandered into your haunt to recover without asking for entry.”

  He felt a wave of emotions from her - amusement - sorrow - safe - stay here? Danny looked up at her then to himself, safe? - hurt - alone - sorrow - betrayed - stay? came from his own empathic projection to her and she nodded.

“Y̷̫̕o̷̞̊u̶̠͛ ̷̪̉m̷̙̀a̴͝ͅy̷̛̼ ̵̞̍s̷͓̉t̷̕ͅa̸̪͐y̵̙͠,̶̰̅ ̵̯̕L̴̳͂ȋ̸̤t̴̤̽t̷̟̍l̶̲͒e̷̙̽ ̵̧̈́K̵͙̚i̷̳͂n̸̙̈́g̵̰̊.̶̭̋ ̶̡̑Ṁ̸̗y̷̦̔ ̶̨̊K̸͖͂n̷͙̋į̵̓g̵̹͝h̸̛̬t̴̗̃s̶̡͝ ̶̥̇w̵̻̓i̸͎̿l̸̩̎l̷̲̍ ̶͇̑p̷̲̑r̴͇͂o̸̫͗t̷̗͌e̷̘͋c̸̙̿t̵̫͌ ̵̥̕ỷ̵͕o̵̘͋u̷̯͗.̷͈̈́ (You may stay, Little King. My Knights will protect you.)”

“Your Knights? Forgive me my lady,” Danny quickly bowed again they hadn't even introduced themselves yet. His mind running through all the royal training Dorthea and Pandora had put him threw. It was clear this spirit was old, ancient and powerful. He wouldn't stand up to a fight if he pissed her off. His core fluttering worry - messed up - sorrysorrysorry - fix this- “I failed to introduce myself, I am Phantom.  I'm afraid I don't recognize you.”

  Not angry - small child - care for - stay - safe here - amusement. She chuckled at him again, reaching down and gently moving his hood ruffling his hair with just a finger, “I̸̬̅ ̸̮̀a̵̢͗m̷̲̐ ̶͈͒L̴̙͐a̵̹̅d̶̫̓y̶͚͒ ̸̘͒G̶̱̈́o̴̖̔ẗ̸̺́h̵̢̀ä̴̰m̶͉͐.̴̮̓ ̸̬͗Y̶̪̿o̴̝̚u̴̲̓ ̷͙̔m̴̖̎a̷̮͝y̴̩͂ ̶̼͝s̸̹̒t̴̞͘a̶̢̐y̴͉͐ ̷̱̍h̴̳͒e̴͂ͅṙ̶̼e̷̹͝ ̵̠̃y̴̤͝ò̸͖u̶̺͒r̶͙͛ ̸̯́M̶̛͙a̴͕͠j̷̻̅e̴̼͗s̸̞͗t̷͉̊ȳ̸̧.̸̲̾ ̴̳͗Ȋ̶̯'̸̞̊d̴̲̓ ̴͎̍k̵͇̋ȩ̸̓e̶͈͑ṕ̴̱ ̴̩̕y̴̝͆o̸͂͜u̸̗̿ ̸͙̏i̸̟͋f̸̘̎ ̵̰̈Ï̶͕ ̸͙͊c̷̬̅ö̶̮́u̶̢̚l̸͔̉d̶̻̓,̸͍̈́ ̵̧͝ḇ̶̑u̸̪̍t̷̀͜ ̸̦̍I̸̗͑ ̶̘͐k̶̙̍n̶͇͗o̴̢̚w̶̩̃ ̷̙̐y̵̧͒ọ̴̔ū̸̩ ̶̪̀w̷̼̓ĩ̴̺l̶̙̑l̷͕̇ ̸̩̚b̷̭͊e̷̞̍ ̴̯͝t̵̲̅o̴͓̒ó̸̞ ̴͉̏p̸̀ͅơ̷̱w̴̫̏ę̶̉r̸̫̆f̵͉̀u̴͎̓l̸̗̒ ̷͉͗f̸̂͜ȏ̴̤r̶͚͒ ̶̥̈t̶̳͘h̸̡̅ả̴̪t̵̟̕ ̸̛̰w̶̡̒h̸̺̄e̷̬̾n̷͚̕ ̴̙͛y̷̰̓o̵͕͝u̵̮͝ṟ̷̽ ̶̛͈s̵̨͒t̵̪̄r̵̀ͅẻ̷̟n̷̺̈́g̵̣̍ṯ̷̚h̶̜́ ̴͉̔r̵̖̆e̴̮̒t̸̲̄u̵̳̅r̴͎̿n̴̬̏š̴͇.̷̼͒ ̶̱̔F̴͕̎o̵̢̅r̸̖̓ ̶̪́ǹ̷̡o̵͇̽w̵̭̚,̵͇̒ ̷͖̎y̵̦͂ò̵̢ų̷̅ ̵̅͜á̷̤r̶̬̿e̷̫͛ ̸͚͠m̷̡̀i̸̝̐n̷͉͗ê̸̼ ̷̯́w̴̤̋h̵̟͑í̴̜l̸̢͝è̷̝ ̶̯̾h̵̘̀e̸̘̓r̴̯̔ẽ̵̘.̶̙́(I am Lady Gotham. You may stay here your Majesty. I'd keep you if I could, but I know you will be too powerful for that when your strength returns. For now, you are mine while here.)”

“Thank you,” Danny let her ruffle his hair a while longer before he felt something with his core. She had fraid bond with him now. Though is was more distant than the parental bond Clockwork, Pandora, and Frostbite had on him. More like an aunt, than a siblings like he was with Ellie.

“R̸e̴s̴t̷ ̷w̵e̷l̸l̷,̸ ̷L̶i̶t̵t̶l̴e̵ ̶K̵i̴n̵g̶.̵ ̷I̴ ̶w̴i̷l̴l̵ ̶a̴l̵w̸a̵y̷s̷ ̸b̸e̵ ̷n̸e̸a̴r̸.̴ (Rest well, Little King. I will always be near.)” Just as she appeared, Lady Gotham was gone. The alley now returned to its normal amount of dark, gloomy, and creepy. 

  It didn't take long for Danny to fall into a routine after that. He found a burger place he would occasionally steal invisible meals from. Seriously though why is one burger $15 there?! He would take from all the big corporate stores for food and supplies. He'd sneak into gyms to shower and collected coins for laundry. Simple things. But his favorite thing, was to go to the dump. All kinds of discarded tech for him to scavenge and bring back home. Since his bag was usually empty, he could fill it up with pieces of what ever he needed. Anything bigger, and he could either carry it, or open his pocket dimension outside of his body to bring it back to the house he had made into his base. He even scored some new tools when a rogue attack caused the wall of a hardware store to break down. Not that he needed it too, but the preloaded electronic kits were right there. He knew batman was close by in a fight, but he took the risk and swiped the biggest kit he could carry in his bag. Over the next month, he'd built his condenser and started on the computer. Using ectoplasm in his tech meant it didn't need wifi or service to run. It would work anywhere in either dimension, just like the phones. In addition, he also made a wearable scrambler and ecto signature suppressor as a matching bracelet set. With no way to take them off without phasing them off. He wasn't risking the only tech that let him use his powers without the GIW finding him. He might not be able to change into Phantom without an emergency, but he wasn't going to be helpless if in a ghost attack with no weapons around. Danny made a mental note to make a wrist ray that could only be phased off next. Vlad somehow always found a way to short out his powers. At least he'd still have a weapon of he could make it only work with his specific signature. He definitely needed Tucker to help him Vlad proof his tech.

 Danny continued to check in weekly, lest Jazz hunt him down with a boo~merang and kill him again for forgetting. Once they found out he was in Gotham, Tucker kept pestering him to find Oracle which Sam shot down repeatedly because that would risk the GIW finding him. Sam and Val both told him to keep off the Bats and Birds radar, which Danny agreed with. Jazz was happy to announce receiving a full Scholarship to Gotham academy and would be moving next year. Surprisingly, Vlad offered to pay for her tuition and housing, which was quickly rejected because he'd bug the place again. However Knowing he'd only be on the streets for a year was reassuring. He just had to wait for Jazz. Danny felt more hope than he had in the last 2 and a half months. 

  Then, one day, Danny was at the laundry mat. He had 2 sets of clothes now, and would alternate washing them. The owner's ac had stopped working and everyone was sweating with the dryers running.

“Stupid thing!” He punched the boxy unit, and sat back down with the only working fan at his desk.

  Danny didn't have anymore new projects since the computer, scrambler, condenser, and ghost shield protecting his base. He'd been itching to do something more and raiding the dump was tomorrow's task. Plus, he was running lower and lower on cash. With a breath, he pulled pull his tool box and walked over.

“I can fix it,” he spoke quietly, he hadn't talked to other people in a long time. Most people ignored him outside of insults for being homeless.

“You? What do you want if you can?” He grumbled. In crime alley nothing came without a price.

“Either food, or some cash… but I can fix it,” Danny repeated more confidently the second time. Ac units were simple, it would be an easy fix.

“Fine. I'll buy you something if you can get it working,” he waved Danny off who quickly went to work on the unit. Within 20 minutes, it was working better than when it was new out of the box, “Shit kid you really did fix it! Damn. Here,” he held a $20, “Get yourself something to eat, keep the change to use it here next week.”

“Thank you,” Danny took the cash and grabbed his dried clothes before going back to his base.

  Word spread quickly about the bright blue-eyed boy who could fix anything in exchange for cash, food, or even unwanted tech. He'd earned the name Scraps by the next week. Need the fryer to work but don't have the money to replace or fix it? Ask for Scraps. Need your phone fixed? Ask for Scraps. Need to prank your friend by hiding a speaker with a battery that lasts all week? Surprisingly Scraps will make you one.

  Danny may have stopped a few muggings or assholes harassing night workers while he wondered around like he was patrolling, but never got more involved. He stayed away from gang fights or anything to do with crimes outside of his need for basic survival. Not that he needed to steal as often with the tech people brought him to fix. Everything was going great, and he even had a crime free under the table job. While Danny was still lonely, if he kept himself busy with projects his mind didn't drift back to the lab. If he kept busy, talked like he was normal, like he was human, no one would notice a thing. No one would notice how broken he felt when ever he had a glance at that Y which now scarred his chest.

  Now, 3 months of living in Gotham, Danny had gone out to the warehouses for a job. Someone needed a machine fixed, they didn't specify what kind, but they did offer him a lot of money and even some of their unused power tools if he did it. Danny would be able to use them, or at least their parts anyway. He wasn't about to turn down parts. He had three ecto condensers around the area now. One at base, the dump, and the cemetery. Each with their own ghost shield and ecto scrambler to keep off the GIW's radar and to keep shades from stealing his ecto. He had a been using old jars or even his ice as storage for it. With the money he'd earn, he was going to by a set of beakers and proper storage for it. Then he can start making his own supplies of ecto-dejecto, ecto fishing line and more. Jazz wouldn't need to send him anymore via cujo, and the Fenton Portal could officially be shut down for good. It wasn't like Danny was going to be locked put of the realms forever. While he has still adjusting to the power, he was learning to make portals to and from the zone. They didn't need a permanent portal for now. If they ever did in the future, he'd make one, with the on button on the outside this time. Never making that mistake again.

He arrived at the warehouse with a no longer moving assembly line. The job was simple, one of the machines wasn't work no matter how many times it was calibrated, disconnected and reconnected, and even their usual mechanic couldn't figure it out. They were behind schedule for a “shipment” of some kind. Whatever the machine was manufacturing, not a single product was in view now. It took a few hours, 3 burgers - wrappers still on, a milkshake and the cup, and broken down microwave –no one questioned when Danny manifested it out of thin air– for parts before it was fixed. This particular machine was for screwing the tops onto bottles, so the microwave motor was part of the fix. Though it wasn't a permanent fix, they'd need a new one anyway, it would last until they made their shipment and got the money for a new one. Danny was happily paid, and even given a little extra for the microwave “party trick” before he left. Outside, however, was pouring fucking rain. Danny was soaked even if he was intangible. Stupid ecto contaminated rain, just like Amity. At least that annoying part felt like home, somewhat. And the rain would be collected by the 2 out door condensers and separated into 2 liquids. One side for ectoplasm, the other for purified drinking water. So he could handle being soaked for a while to get home. However the rain and wind made it difficult to see, and it wasn't going to let up anytime soon. So, Danny took shelter is a dark, hopefully empty, warehouse nearby. He was never that lucky. There looked to be some weird ass tea party going on.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Danny flinch when all eyes turned to him, “Just wanted to get out of rain.”

  It was an odd collection, but nothing like fighting ghosts. A Leprechaun at the head of the table. A woman dressed like rabbit was next to his seat on the right with an empty space to his left. The rest of the table had people wearing rabbit masks. If Danny wasn't used to creepy he might have felt a chill.

“Oh my…” The Leprechaun stood up and walked over to Danny, his view completely fixated on the brilliant icy blue eyes that so vibrantly glowed no matter the lighting.

“I can leave, this looks like a private party,” Danny started to turn back as the Leprechaun reached out his hand.

“No need Dear,” he smiled, a face peaceful smile as the rest of the party members stared. The Leprechaun was quick to pick up that the child had no recognition of their group what so ever. He didn’t know to run from Mad Hatter, “Let me introduce myself, I'm am Jervis Tetch. We were having a tea party but hadn't started yet. Let's get you something to dry off with and you can join us. We have plenty of food to go around,” Hatter grinned as Danny slowly nodded, keeping an eye on the characters around the table.

  He didn't feel anything much from the Leprechaun in front of him other than glee at the moment. The others were a little too far for his empathy to fully register. Unlike in Amity where everyone was at least a little liminal, in Gotham he actually needed to be within a radius to feel others emotions. The warehouse was massive, and if he got closer he'd feel their emotions in just a few steps. He'd feel it easier if he focused or stopped repressing his energy, but he wasn't going to risk it. He kept things pretty tight with the revenant, Red Hood, around crime alley. Didn't need to alert him of his presence, no thanks. Red Hood was a known hero in the ghost zone for Gotham spirits. Danny had heard stories, and he didn't need to hear much to know not to fuck with that guys territory.

As he approached, he felt no tension from anyone. They were relaxed, content even. No malicious energy or desire to fight. Although Danny half expected that with his permanent appearance. He followed the man with wild ginger hair to the back room where Danny was given a towel, and a fresh shirt that was way too big for him, and pants that held onto his waist with a draw string, hopes, and dreams. Still, it was better than nothing since he left his change of clothes back at the base.

Mad Hatter, on the other hand, had prepared a small black headband for the child with the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. His Alice.

“Thanks for the clothes. Can I hang mine to dry somewhere?” Danny emerged from the room.

“Of course, anywhere is fine dear Alice,” He smiled again.

“Alice? Oh, my name Danny,” he corrected.

“This is a costume party, Danny. We're all playing characters from a story, Alice in Wonderland. I am the Mad Hatter,” as far as Danny could tell, he wasn't lying, “We have the March Hair, and his fellow rabbits. You, my dear, have blue eyes just like Alice. He handed Danny the headband, “I don't have a full costume for you as an unexpected guest, but this will do. You are now Alice.”

“Oh,” Danny examined the headband, plain black with a bow. Nothing glowing, no buzzing sound for electricity, just cloth on a metal stick, “I guess I could wear this. I still get to eat right?”

“Of course! It's a tea party,” Mad Hatter smiled again, “We had planned it already when the storm hit. Now we're just waiting out the rain, just like you are. If you enjoy your time here Alice, you can join us again for the next one.”

“Sure,” Danny slipped on the headband.

~~~

Master list

Part 2

So... Alice in Gotham is coming along nicely. One problem.

I don't know how to stop! It already like 30,000+ words and 6 chapters long and I keep thinking of the plot holes I need to fill and how it would extend the story. But I'm not sure how committed I'm gonna be and I'm afraid to abandon the project.

For reference the most Batman information I have is from the movie and reading Wayne Family Adventures.

Where as I rewatch Danby Phantom regularly.

So, I've decided I'm going to post the first chapter (maybe first 3?) On here to see the response before deciding if I'm going to expand the plot and make it more like a 10 chapter fic or if I'm going to leave it with an open ending for a potential sequel or updates in the future.

I will be posting chapter 1 soon. Maybe I can figure out how to do that Masterpost thing people do. It's a super helpful feature.

Short story incoming!

Alice in Gotham!

(Might change the title idk)

Anyway this is a short story I'm almost does writing. It's 5 chapters long right now, might get longer or not, I'm still in the writing phase but since I'm almost done I figured I should let you guys read the summary.

The Mad Hatter has a new Alice, one none of the bats haven't been able to catch or track down. She’s kicked their asses enough times that they think she's a meta. If only they could just pull off that headband and free her mind from Hatter's control. However they may find it's just not that simple.

---

  Being homeless wasn't too bad for the ghost boy on the run. He had a pocket detention now, so he didn't have to worry about important things being stolen from his backpack. He made some cash by being a handyman for people in crime alley, and selling things He made from the scraps he frequently stole from the dump. That was until it started to storm. He found a wear house to take shelter for a while, and there he met a short man who looked like a fucking Leprechaun. What happened after he offered to get Danny a fresh set of clothes… well he's not too sure.

It could also be angsty if no one knew Danny was immortally 14.

Damian and Danny reunite while still in high school and over time they realized Danny isn't aging.

Bruce is freaking out because Damian is about the same height as himself now and Danny is still the same as when they met. (And maybe they don't know about Phantom because the GIW is still active in amity park.) So Bruice tried everything but somehow keeps failing to get/keep DNA samples from Danny viable. They just keep eroding or reading as corrupted when he finally gets a sample.

-Damian has tried reaching out to Danny to see if he knows what's going on but Danny is avoiding the topic and only gives vague answers.

-The lack of answers if driving Tim up the wall since he hasn't been stumped thus hard in ages. (The pictures of Phantom are blurry so they can't properly see how old he is unless they meet him in person.)

-then when the plot forced the batclan to finally meet phantom, Damian is the one where the puzzle piece clicks first. Now Danny is annoyed that the pity eyes and treats from his Gotham family have gotten more intense as they figured out he died and is phantom.

-Constantineoccasionally giving Danny space related gifts anytime Danny gets pissed off about the paperwork over his soul is the only nonpity gifts he's gotten. Don't anger the immortal kings, bribe him with his ghostly obsessions instead. Danny is fine with it cause at least he's not making sad eyes when he hads over a 3000 piece DIY model rocket set.

Dc x Dp Promt:

Danny and Damian are siblings (twins or no twins) however Danny is now immortal after the accident. He is forever 14 in both forms. Damian has aged physically, so imagine his shock when Danny and him reunite only to still see the kid of a brother still in his baby face.

This could be angst/Fluff/comedy. In a few ways.

- Damian depressed his brother can't physically grow up. Danny getting sick of pity eyes from not just Damian but the entire bat fam. Tucker and Sam don't give him pity eyes anymore, too used to ghost shit but they are still kinda sad on the inside.

-Danny, cause he's a little sh't some times, will occasionally abuse his puppy eyes to get what he wants. This trick surprisingly works more than it should cause he's adorable and kinda ethereal.

- Danny also getting mad when he's treated like a kid over serious topics (protection obsession and he's op af ghost king).

-Brucie subconsciously taking it as a chance to try and raise Danny a little while trying to remember he's older than her looks.

-Danny still acting like a child when he feels safe and comfortable and finally gets a break from Kingly duties. Cause he can.

It would also be funny is Constantine was terrified of Danny when ever he's with the JL while other hero's forget he's not a sidekick but a lone hero.

Dp x Dc: Fear Gas

Dp x Dc Prompt: Fear Gas

Scarecrow gasses the city while Danny is in Gotham. Danny doesn't cower like the rest of the gas victims. He has the instincts of a fighter, and he's not going down easily:

The fear gas hits hard and he's hallucinating GIW agents for his capture. Instead of cowering in fear he starts to get aggressive. Goons are being taken down when they try and approach. Danny is silent aside from some growling and emineting that he is dangerous and will attack. The Bats swoop in and start providing rebreatgers while taking down scarecrow, how ever none of them can even keep a hold of him.

They have to either wait for the gas to wear off (this could take a while if he need to breathe less than normal humans) or manage to get the antidote in him someway.

I could imagine if Tucker / Sam / Jazz were there they might be able to talk him into taking the medicine.

Or

Danny is with Tucker and Sam and goes into immediate protection mode. Sam and Tucker are terrified and he will not let anyone goon or bat get within range. And even as a human Danny is a hard hitter. Now they have to try and separate him to give his friends the antidote cause he's not listening.

And when unprotected by Danny in the distraction, Tucker and Sam aren't as defenseless as the seem and their fight kicks in. Ectoweapons always at the ready hidden on their person as always. They put up a decent fight before getting the antidote.

It takes them grabbing and calming Danny to get him to take an antidote reluctantly as his scary eyes faded back to blue.

Either way, the Bats have an incredibly powerful "meta" in the Gothem and Batman has no idea how to make a contingency plan.

Dc x Dp Promt:

Danny and Damian are siblings (twins or no twins) however Danny is now immortal after the accident. He is forever 14 in both forms. Damian has aged physically, so imagine his shock when Danny and him reunite only to still see the kid of a brother still in his baby face.

This could be angst/Fluff/comedy. In a few ways.

- Damian depressed his brother can't physically grow up. Danny getting sick of pity eyes from not just Damian but the entire bat fam. Tucker and Sam don't give him pity eyes anymore, too used to ghost shit but they are still kinda sad on the inside.

-Danny, cause he's a little sh't some times, will occasionally abuse his puppy eyes to get what he wants. This trick surprisingly works more than it should cause he's adorable and kinda ethereal.

- Danny also getting mad when he's treated like a kid over serious topics (protection obsession and he's op af ghost king).

-Brucie subconsciously taking it as a chance to try and raise Danny a little while trying to remember he's older than her looks.

-Danny still acting like a child when he feels safe and comfortable and finally gets a break from Kingly duties. Cause he can.

It would also be funny is Constantine was terrified of Danny when ever he's with the JL while other hero's forget he's not a sidekick but a lone hero.

Closest fic I could find to this promt I still haven't found:

Green Flecks

By: Playedcrowd5610

Some post on TikTok talked about a fic/promt os Danny being immortal and physically stuck at 14. He decides to follow around Red Hood to be his "side kick" because he feels like he needs an adult around. Haven't been able to find it, anyone know the promo or any fanfics that has a similar plot? (Or any fanfics with immortally 14 DP pls)

Some post on TikTok talked about a fic/promt os Danny being immortal and physically stuck at 14. He decides to follow around Red Hood to be his "side kick" because he feels like he needs an adult around. Haven't been able to find it, anyone know the promo or any fanfics that has a similar plot? (Or any fanfics with immortally 14 DP pls)

DP x DC Prompt

Tiktok

Your honor, they were bored #booktok #books #fyp #writing #tropes #fypシ

This, but it's because their flight home was canceled due to Gotham's airport being destroyed. And they didn't want to drive all the way back.

The reason it all started was because Tucker was really bored and was getting a bit frustrated when he couldn't get past one of WE's many firewalls. He had already skimmed through everything else and concluded that Gotham's Brucie Wayne was a literal angel sent from heaven to one the worst cities in the world because he committed a crime so horrific that not even God could look him in his pretty little face anymore and that firewall proved it!

So to cool his head off, he decided to hack into a bank. Banks were pretty easy, right? Almost anyone could do it with just enough knowledge and the proper equipment. What he DIDN'T expect was just how EASY it was to do so. Laughably so, to the point it made him cry.

Did Gotham's rouges or Gothamites in general not like money? Not even the small-time rouges? Because he KNEW those operations that they try to pull off cost money. Shit tons!

So when his laughter became so disturbing that his friends and even his frenemies got concerned, all he had to do was show them what he found out. Which sent them spiraling into laughter as well. Like, c'mon, even Amity Park's bank was more secure than that and they only had fucking GHOST CRIME!

As the tears began to dry, and the laughter turned to giggles, one of the girls suggested something.

Star: Why don't we, like, rob it or something?

The hotel room went silent and Star started to fidget. Then she started to ramble.

Star: I mean like, we don't have to. It was kind of a joke anyway, since their security's so bad ya know, and I'm pretty sure we're gonna be here for a while and-

Dani: Star, baby, sweetie, honey. Why are you justifying yourself when we were all probably thinking the same thing, right?

Nod and hums of agreement filled the girl with relief.

Wes: Besides it's not a class trip unless we cause some trouble right?

They all then pilled into the bed and around Tucker as his finger flew across the keyboard.

Tucker: So, where are we hitting up first?

Because Floral suggested I do this- Have some Fic recs!!!

@floralflowerpower

The Apprentice of Thanatos: DP/PJO https://archiveofourown.org/works/29169744/chapters/71614422

Ghost in the NYC: DP/Marvel https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045206

The ColdHands Project: DP/Rise of the Guardians (2012) https://archiveofourown.org/series/1364842

Uncle John: DP/John Constinie  https://archiveofourown.org/works/33598900

Wattson Wraith: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/26186578/chapters/63723802

Ectoplasmic Educational Employment: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/33500500/chapters/83231269

Spooky Monochrome Vigilantes Gotta Stick Together: DP/Venom https://archiveofourown.org/works/32941786/chapters/81756826

Something’s Wrong With Danny Fenton Vol. 1: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/33428749/chapters/83039059

To Breathe: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/28947537/chapters/71029983

College Shenanigans: DP https://archiveofourown.org/series/2231343

Fangs or No Fangs: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/30890915

Furry Paws and Achy Jaws: DP https://archiveofourown.org/works/31449242

Rebel Nation

The bats are a breakaway sect of the royal family of a new rebel nation. The revolution was a long time coming: the country had been full of corrupt leaders, bribery and theft, crumbling with rot from the inside out. It was ruined to the highest levels and there was simply no hope for reform.

So the rebelled with everything they had. And they won.

They won, and now they're the new kings. And by God they're not going to let it go to waste.

They have their hands full, too. Between securing their independence, reconstruction, trade agreements, and creating policy to navigate their growing power on the international stage, they're almost always busy.

But it's still slow coming.

In some ways, really slow.

The only thing they're lacking is... well, actual recognition. As far as they've come, as much change as they've made, the older countries still won't see them as anything more than a child's rebellion. A mistake to be fixed in time.

It makes everything else harder. No one wants to trade with a rebel group, or recognize their borders, or ally with them, or allow inter-country civilian travel. Everything gets put in slow motion because of that one little lacking piece: legitimacy.

It's annoying. It's irritating. it's demeaning and belittling and downright incorrect. But it still does so, so much damage and there's no much they can do but work with it.

Except, when a faraway, powerful nation offers a trade agreement in exchange for one of the children's hand in marriage. A rich warrior nation with a relatively new king was looking for a trade foothold and a bride.

(This is a misunderstanding. They thought that the bats would demand it to help their legitimacy, and the bats thought they were demanding it to have a true-blooded royal marry into their warrior nation's family.) (Which is basically both of them thinking the other wants to marry them for recognition reasons which is funny but anyway lol)

And Bruce opposes it. Oh, he tries to tear up the official letter more than once, especially after his kids start to really consider it. It was ridiculous!

But it was true, that they worked so hard for this. Their people trusted them and counted on them. This trade would stabilize their economy and the marriage would give them power and legitimacy, everything they wanted.

It was all in the palm of their hand. Everything. Everything.

All they had to do was... well.

Put on a ring.

Alternitive!

What if Danny needs to get married, for whatever reason and really doesn’t want to so he just makes a nigh impossible puzzle box and puts it in a place no one will ever find it.

Tim finds it cuz the energy/magic readings on the box and manages to solve it after a couple weeks, excited to see what he gets he moves the last piece only for there to be a random guy in front of you dragging his hands down his face groaning because of something called the "Danny luck"

Congrats Tim! You get married!

Everything, including the bride. WAIT, BRIDE?!

Pariah Dark had, much like in the afterlife, had been a tyrant ruler when he was alive. He ruled with an iron fist and despite having many trophy concubines (from conquests and others) he wanted his actual partner to have some intelligence. So he set up a magical puzzle box and whoever solved it would have the honor of being his 'Queen'.... That was all before he died of course and later forgot about the box when he set his conquering sights on the Infinte Realms.

But some things from the living can still count even in death.

So when Tim Drake found the box at his first and only archeologist dig site he was brought to with his parents and solved said box after sneaking off with it he unknowingly became the Ghost Kings 'bride'.... Unknowingly he dodged that huge bullet when years later Danny Phantom beat Pariah Dark in rites of conquest and gained everything under Pariah's name...

Including his future 'bride.'

DP x DC prompt - Villainess AU

Hey! So I found this promt and just had to write something with it!

https://www.tumblr.com/kuroishuuha/714717053010984960/dp-x-dc-prompt-villainess-au?source=share

Prompt

-Danny is transported into a novel/game where he is the villainess fiancé of the male lead.

Knowing that only death awaits him at the end, Danny tries to end the engagement (who knows if death will stick this time - Danny is not gonna risk finding out)

Meanwhile, Jason finds himself as the male lead of a novel/game he never read/played

The system in his head is telling him that the only way to get back home is to have a happy ending with his fiancé

So we have Danny who is desperately trying to end his engagement and a Jason who is trying to woo his fiancé (and cursing the original male lead - because the guy must have done something horrible for his cute and nice fiancé to be desperate to break up with him)-

Story

Danny was so over this. He thought this would have been easy, maybe not on his parents part god knows they don't give up without a fight, but his fiance has shown nothing but disdain for him his whole life (even if he wasn't here for 90% of that life) He thought he'd only have to tell his fiance that he didn't want to marry him, his fiance would be ecstatic and run into the sun with Ophelia and he'd get the weight off his shoulders and wouldn't have to worry about dying anymore and yet...

"No."

Danny just looked at him with horror "What do you mean no?" He practically yelled.

"No, I won't break off the engagement."

"Why not!? You hate me! You've hated me since the moment we met! I know you want to be with ophelia!"

Jason looked like he was trying to read his face which makes no sense, if anyone should be trying to read the other's face it should be him!

Danny grabbed Jason's shoulders and shook them, he knew he wasn't acting like a proper gentleman, but his life was on the line! "Have you lost your goddamn mind? What in the world is wrong with you?" He paused, took a breath and let go of the teshis shoulders. He was sure this had something or the other to do with politics, he just couldn't wrap his mind around it at all. He took another step back, he had to appease Jason somehow. "Look, neither of us wanted to get married and neither of us really knew what we were getting into when our parents signed the agreement and had us agree to this, my parents won't back down but from what I know of your parents they'll let you back out of this no problem. My parents will be pissed but that's neither here nor there. There is really no reasonable excuse for why we shouldn’t break off our engagement." Danny said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. There was no way Jason could deny all of that.

-

How could Jason deny all of that?! He was acting completely out of character, which was funny because he hardly knew what his character was like at all besides from second hand accounts. When he was told he just had to get a happy ending with his fiance he had thought this would be a piece of cake, he had brushed everything else off and took this as a really weird miny vacation, how hard could it really be to marry your fiance? Everything was already set up, it couldn't fail.

Except for the fact that apparently he was a dick and hated his fiance and she was done with all that, which he would have cheered on the fiance any day, get rid of that dick 100%. But now he was here in that dick's place and having to deal with his stupid problems and his fiance wanted to divorce him! How was he ever going to get a happy ending out of this? He did eventually want to get home no matter how annoying Bruce could be at times.

His fiance huffed drawing his eyes to him, he really was very pretty, he had no idea why Damian seemingly hated him. Sure he was being annoying as hell right now but really that was all Damian's fault.

"look i don't know why you seem to be fighting for this, it seriously seems like you just forgot everything!"

Jason froze, should he go with that? It really would be rather convincing seeing as he really didn't know Damian at all.

Danial paused, his eyes widening as he fixed on Jason's hesitance, seemingly picking apart all that he was and assessing him not adequate.

"You really don't act like Damian at all..."

He froze again, was that a good thing? Was this gonna be what gave him away?

"Did you hit your head or something? Temporary amnesia?"

"Y-yes!" Was he messing this up, would Danial believe that?

"Then why are you fighting so hard to keep the engagement? You don't know me at all."

Shit. shit what did he say? How did he convince Danial to keep the engagement if his other self hated him and this self didn't know him?

"I-I heard how wonderful you were from my parents and- and fell in love!"

Danial backed up with a distured look on his face, fuck he shouldn't have said that. "Love? After just hearing about me? That’s… kind of creepy."

“I just want to get to know you!”

Danial looked at him, his shoulders slumped and he looked resigned as he said "fine we'll keep up the engagement for now.” yes! “But when you get your memories back, we're breaking it off.”

Not great, but at least he knew that wasn’t going to happen. 

 He turned around to leave, oh wait. "I haven't told anyone else I've lost my memories so could you keep that one to yourself?" He asked, turning back around.

Danial looked at him suspiciously. "Why haven't you told anyone else? Not even your family?"

Fuck again! Why couldn't he just get this right? "Of course my family knows!" He really hoped Danial never met them because they absolutely did not. "but no one at this school does, i don't want them to treat me like i'm made of glass like my parents." Not completely off base, they've been tiptoeing around him all summer, probably because he was acting so weird.

"that makes sense." Danial sighed, he looked suddenly like the whole weight of the world was upon his shoulders. 

Jason screwed up his face, he had definitely been the one to place it there. He wanted to go over to him and tell him that they could break off the engagement after all but he really couldn't do that. "I'm sorry." He settled for instead.

Danial looked surprised. "You’re apologizing?"

"Yeah, I've made this so much harder for you than it really had to be. And you don't really know me anymore and I really don't know you."

Danial looked at him with something akin to empathy. "It's hard being thrust into a world that's unfamiliar to you isn't it? No one you trust or know around you and having to be something your not."

Jason looked at him in genuine shock. "H-how?"

Danial looked panicked for a second before he gave a light laugh. "I may not have amnesia but I do have expectations from everyone around me." He rubbed his arm. "Everyone says you're way out of my league and that I'm lucky to have you." This time his laugh was bitter.

"If anything you said about the old me was true it was really the opposite."

Danial gave a snort that Jason couldn't help feeling was the prettiest thing he's ever heard. "oh believe me i down played it."

Jason looked at him aghast. "Downplayed it!? Just how bad was I??"

Daniel gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and a smirk, "Now that, my friend is a talk for another time. Danial moved past him brushing his shoulder, what felt like a shock passed through him and he went stiff. When he finally came to his senses he was all by himself, What had just happened?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46553788

Here you go

DP x DC Prompts

So I was reading "The Misadventures Of Cosplay Man" by Shynnohwen(really recommend it), and I though "What if Danny was cosplaying after villains?".After that I was unstoppable.

Okay, it will get more angsty or if you want more comedic degree feel free to change it at your liking.

I want it to get in more dark turn?Yeah, something like that.

*Danny's life went to shit.Nasty Burger exploded as if he didn't tried to get ride of this turn of events.But this is where everything goes worse.To this horrific scene comes GIW, but less to help and more to capture Danny(you can come up with a reason of how they connected that Phantom is Danny).

There comes months of experiments and eventually, they tried to damage his core, to pull away his core for later examination, but Danny's body, core reacts and he Wails.Something that he wasn't able to do because of cuffs and collar that would suppress his powers.With that he tooks off flying.

But Clockwork was waiting for opportunity like this and opens a portel to his Tower and Frostbite patches their little king up.Then Clockwork sends him to a new universe, telling him that he would be safe there.

And with that Danny ends up in Gotham(you could choose other cities, it's just in my head it's more dp x batman than anything, but as I said you can change it at your liking).

Danny's core was damaged, not in Dan's like destructive but his obsession was twisted(you can come up with explanation).Now his core wants to spread pain and despair to everyone and Danny can't refuse to it.So what he does?Spreads his destruction towards villains that deserves it while cosplaying as them.

So 1.villains would though Danny is a follower and would let their guard down.And 2.he didn't cosplay as heroes bc he doesn't want their reputation to go down.And most importantly 3.to left his identity unclear.

With it he starts his adventures.

* While in the heroes side everyone goes nuts.

Batfamily finds new criminal activity in their city and starts investigating.But they're surprised to find a literal kid fight off villains while cosplaying as them.So they're trying to find more information about this villain? vigilante?anti-hero?

They get to see his battle against (insert villain) and saw his disturbing amount of skills and experience he has.They wasn't able to talk to him because he took off running.

After this they get to encounter more and more and they grew attached to this kid and they were sure this kid also was growing attached to them.

Batfamily was sure this was some very sick kid that has to fight against villains for personal reasons or for someone else.

After the most destructive villains have been reduced to a state of complete inability to do anything bad, he disappears.

Batfamily is worried but then they hear story from (insert JL memb) that there were someone who was cosplaying as their enemy and took them in the fight with ease.Batman shares his encounters with him(I need to seriously come up with a name to Danny) and everyone in JL keeps an eye on him.

Every superhero is worried abt this sick kid fighting against evil without help and villains is scared abt being his next target while Danny is oblivious to all of this.

Prompt for dc x dp crossover

Danny’s in Gotham for whatever reason be it school, work, or just for the weekend. His core by this point is fully developed and just projects calm & safety constantly cause he is constantly in a hero position back in Amity and both help him deal with people and ghosts. (Working doubly so for ghosts/ectoplasmic creatures cause they tend to need to feel it strongly for it to work on them). Anyways he comes across one of the batkids affected by the pits (Jason, Damian, Cass) who is currently very growly and violent and just yoinks them up by the back of their shirt/jacket/whatever like a disgruntled kitten.

The situation goes from a step away from violence to immediate confused and relaxed calm. Vigilante children go completely slack because WOW do they feel safe and calm right now.

Danny is too tired to notice anything other then the fact that: ghostly -> anger -> fight -> something he has to deal with

So once the area feels calm he just places whoever he grabbed gently on the ground pats their head and continues on his way. No context and by the time the bats get their heads in working order he’s already gone.

It is now a hunt to find this dude while Danny barely misses running into them by complete coincidence. He has no idea what he started and doesn’t even really remember the event cause he’s done that exact thing to calm situations down so many times in Amity that it doesn’t even register as something important to remember.

The batkids are actively pulling all the stops and just failing to find this guy. Bruce is not even involved it’s just the kids.

Danny and Damian are friends (also known as: Damian has a crush on Danny) PART 16

Author's notes: My boss was out of town today and things at the office were kinda slow so I took the oportunity and finished this chapter! Please enjoy and Happy Holidays guys!

masterpost part 15

“You all should be ashamed.” Alfred sternly tells to his young – and not so young – wards as all of them are kneeling on the floor, the elderly man quickly understanding what the group was doing as soon as he actually looked at the scene. “Master Dick, you are the eldest, married even, same for you master Jason and miss Cassandra, you are to be your older brother’s sense when his fails so gravely, I cannot believe that you would still partake on this type of behavior.”  Aldred sighs in annoyance. “Master Damian trusted you all to behave during this dinner and you all have stepped on that trust, shame on all of you.”

Now that makes everybody flinch and groan, Cass even makes a little puppy whine.

“What is happening here?” Bruce makes himself known as he approaches alongside Selina and Woodlock to the room.

“I think they were busted while spying on the pup and the kitten, love.” Selina purrs with contained laughter.

“They wouldn’t do that.” Brucie says as he looks at his children like a scandalized old money lady, but Bruce knows very well that his children, especially Dick, Cass and Jay, would do it because they adore love stories the most.

“Oh, Daniel confessed?” Woodlock says with some surprise impregnating his voice.

“Wait, he reciprocates?!” Jason exclaims with wide open eyes but the glare Alfred directed his way makes him hide behind Dick.

Woodlock giggles at what he sees. “Well, he does reciprocate the romantic feelings but my boy is a bit slow reading his own heart and hasn’t realized that he is attracted to young Damian.”

“So, his heart knows but his head doesn’t.” Duke reasons aloud.

“Exactly.” Woodlock agrees as he nods his head once. “But if young Damian has already confessed then there is a good chance that Daniel will realize how he truly feels… but then again, there is also the possibility that Daniel panics, punches Damian on the face and runs away to never talk to Damian again, he is dramatic like that.”

“Dude.” Tim mumbles as he squints his eyes at Woodlock.

“I hope it’s the first one.” Dick says. “I don’t think Dami could handle well being rejected by Danny.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen him behave like this before.” Steph adds. It’s just how Bruce behaves with Selina. She thinks.

“Then I guess all we can do is hope for the best.” Alfred wisely says. “And all of you are banned from cookies and pastries until I say otherwise.” The elderly man states as he pointedly looks to his young – and not so young – wards.

The siblings collectedly groan, which makes Selina and Woodlock giggle while Bruce fondly sighs.

                                                         ***

“I like you… romantically I mean. I… would you go on a date with me?”

Damian’s heart is pounding so loud he feels like he is in a concert, right in front of the speakers as the merciless beat of the bass makes him feel like there is an earthquake happening inside of him. He feels himself turning colder as the seconds – eternal seconds – slowly go by.

Danny on the other hand feels how his heart cannot decide between completely stopping beating or stuttering like the wings of a hummingbird.

I just realized that I like-like him! I’m not ready to answer that yet!! Danny inwardly panics. And then Danny locks his eyes with Damian vibrant green ones, Damian is making the sweetest puppy dog eyes as his elegant eyebrows scrunch. Oh, no, I’m weak! Danny cries inwardly. You know what, fuck it. And with a swift movement Danny grabs Damian by the shoulders and kisses him on the lips.

Damian certainly wasn’t expecting that. First his eyes open wide in surprise and then he feels Danny soft, cold lips over his as his hands instinctually land on Danny´s waist as Danny moves his hands from Damian’s shoulders to Damian’s face.

The kiss is quick but grounding, nervous but strangely reassuring.

When Danny pulls away Damian still has his lips slightly pucked out, eyes wide and heart beating so fast Damian fears he might become a speedster right there and then.

“I-Is that a yes?” Damian stutters without blinking, the cold feeling of Danny’s lips on his own spreading all over his face leaving a trace of warmth.

“Yeah.” Danny answers and then bites his bottom lip. Damian puts all of his attention on Danny’s mouth at the act and a beehive goes crazy in his chest and stomach. “I-I also like you… for a very long time I thought I only admired you but I-I think that I’ve always have had a crush on you.” Danny says as he realizes that he indeed has been pinning after his friend for a very long time.

Damian’s forehead gently lands on top of Danny’s and both boys lock their gazes, Damian holds Danny’s cheek and sweetly pushes him into another kiss.

You know how... world leaders can't just? SAY stuff? Because when they DO it's the Offical Stance(tm) of their Country?

That makes their Fuck Ups(tm) all the more serious. It's WHY they have press teams.

But!!!

WHAT IF?

They said something, PUBLICLY, on LIVE TELEVISION, that? Can not be taken back? Full on "masks off, behold the horrors you have payed for" moment?

Sure, they could SAY "that wasn't me" and "I was brainwashed" etc etc. But? If it's BIG enough? UGLY enough? TRUE??? People WILL find it. Dig and dig and dig like termites in the walls. Hunt like bloodhounds.

Riot in the streets.

Because? All it would TAKE? Is ONE half ghost, a few too many long nights trying to balance college classes and his internship, a bigotry filled call from back home, and staring down that empty fridge with just one box of moldering take out, because he's been too busy and stressed to remember to get GROCERIES AND-

Ah.

So this is what "so stressed you feel calm, I have run out of Fucks too give" feels like. Neat. *picks up phone* Hey, Sam? You still at that protest? Outside the presidential speech? Neat. Don't move.

One Phone Line Express later. SAM is telling him to breathe. Maybe... maybe calm down. Think about this. Others around her can see the same "spark of madness" glint in his almost zen like smile.

It Fiiiiine, Sam.

He's just here to Talk.

He disappears. Sam's freaking out. President stumbles but catches himself on the way to the mike. Up in the watch tower, various Magic users choke on their lunches, because a ghost just possessed the United States President.

ON LIVE TELEVISION.

He taps the Mike, smile, leans in real close like he's gonna Tell You Folks A Secret.... Aaaaand~

"The second you Die, you no longer have human rights. Doesn't matter how brief. Heart stops? You're sub-human scum! Non-sentient by American law. We here in the United Stares PROUDLY desecrate the bodies and graves of the dead. Tear apart the immortal souls of the innocent. And condemn you to oblivion crying, begging, and screaming for mercy! Why, obviously, is an act. Because souls don't have the RIGHT to feel fear or pain!

And YES. We do mean EVERYONE'S. Atlantian, Kryptonian, Martian. Canadian, Mexican, Russian, AND Chinese! I could keep going! Once you die? You belong to the United States to experiment on as we see fit! You're PROPERT now! So turn your nonrights having, nonsentient self in to the nearest GIW! For the good of AMERICA. Ectoplasmic Scum!"

*drops mic*

Jaws are on the floor. This was VETERANS DAY. Dead military Heros and smile for the cameras. A cake walk. Do a patriotism, rah rah. There.... there are DIPLOMATS in the crowd. Sure as SHIT, were more then a few foreign nationals WATCHING. Religious leaders looking on in fury, grief, and horror.

Reporters. Oh sweet Jesus the reporters.

The press secretary faints.

PANDEMONIUM. The president, still dazed and confused from being possessed, gets PUNCHED on live television be his VP, a deeply religious if moderately shady man. Take bribes? VP is cool with that. Bootstraps, peasants, and all that. But how DARE you fuck with the Souls of the dead. How DARE you!

Phones are blowing up, questions are being shouted, the JLA Dark FEEL like they should tell somebody about the ghost kid... but also this feels VERY "Call for help-y" so they might throw their weight around instead and pretend they know nothing. World leader are meaningfully staring at their Dear Beloved Dead Grandmother's photos as they send LIVID assistants to hound the American into answering the DAMN PHONE-!

And Danny?

Danny feels calmer now. He has stolen like....700 bucks from secret security's various wallets. He's going to buy himself BOUGIE groceries. Some...some NICE take out. Maybe a little cake. Yeah~ Cake for Danny~

If anyone needs him? No you don't. He needs to go do some shopping, eat, lie on the floor of his shower and just... vibe for a bit under the spray. In the dark maybe. Sleep for a week. Have his food. Yummy little treats.

Or he's gonna fuckin LOSE IT, man.

(Tucker is actively hacking his college schedule as they speak. He KNEW it. Called it! Too many classes! But does Mr "I can handle it" listen? Noooooooo! Now look what happened! Holy SHIT, Danny!)

@hypewinter @hdgnj @ailithnight @nerdpoe @the-witchhunter

The Justice League have a problem, one that needs some level of knowledge and expertise of a being from the Infinite Realms to give them a better chance of actually solving this problem.

However.

Every ghost they have summoned, without fail, took one look at Constantine. Squinted (yes, squinted). Then decided to go back to where they came without a word.

This. Would have been useful, nice even. If it was a situation where they needed the summoned being of a cult to head back to where they came without a fight.

But alas, that is not what is happening.

The Justice League, obviously, ask him why the ghosts keep fleeing back to their Realm at the sight of him, but Constantine can't answer because he genuinely has no idea why they keep leaving when getting a proper look at him.

So they keep trying and they do find some success in it. They summoned a boy, most likely older than he physically looks yet it still puts some of them off because of, well.

You know.

A boy with white hair and toxic green eyes. The boy stops short, as if not expecting to be randomly transported to somewhere else, takes a look around the room, then the Justice League. His eyes settle on one person.

Constantine, in particular.

He squints (Why do all of them squint? Nobody knows) and then a sudden looking of realization passes on his face. Different from the looks of vague fear and genuinely want to not involve themselves any further, his face held slight disgust and a heavy amount of disappointment.

Thankfully, he didn't leave immediately after that.

Constantine asks what's with the look on the ghost boy's face, the ghost boy in question squints even further. Stares at Constantine for a moment or two, buries his face in his hands and brings his knees to his hand and groans out.

"He could've done so much better."

DCxDP Fic Idea: Lex Luther's annoyance

Vlad Masters is....a pain. Not in the usual elite way Lex is used to. Not the empty-headedness of wealthy men like Bruce Wayne or annoyingly humanitarian like Oliver Queen.

Masters was annoying in the confusing kind. He was new money who danced around Lex's manipulations as if they were mere flies. He never gives Lex a reason to take him out but always leaves the bald man feeling weary.

Unsettled. Unsure.

The effect Masters had on him was irritating. Lex Luthor doesn't get unsure.

Luthor's family money came from his father, but it was Lex who turned the moderate company into one of the biggest powerhouses in the world. He was ruthless, always three steps ahead of his peers, using his clever mind to his every advantage.

Lex prides himself in being the danger in plain sight. He charmed kings and politicians alike, carefully placing a controlling hand on the back of their necks with each casual joke or helpful investment. Wherever Lex went, it wouldn't be long before he gained control of the floor and moved his pieces on the board to his liking.

That was if Vlad Masters wasn't in attendance.

Masters rarely join in high-class events- why should he? He was wealthy, of course, but nowhere near Lex's level. He just didn't run in the same circles- but whenever he did, it was like a rock being thrown in Lex's clam river. No matter where he was, Lex found his eyes tracing the underwhelming cut of Masters's suit (Easily one of the cheapest ones there) or catching the man's gaze that hid barely concealed amusement.

That was another thing. All social rules and etiquette indicated that Masters should be chasing after Lex's attention and approval or, at the very least, feel nervous in his presence. Masters acted like Lex was a part of the background, never impolite but never dazed or impressed.

Equals in a way that made Lex's stomach lurch in anxiety.

He has met some people who thought themselves better than Lex through arrogance, but none have taken one look at him and deemed him unimportant. It was as if Lex were just another man walking down the street who was only worthy of getting a passing greeting.

As if the man had a presence at all. Lex was often the man of the hour, and Masters was the guy nursing a drink by the wall, watching the crowd with a calm, nearly detached expression.

Masters was known for being a rather dull wealthy man, only seemingly interested in conversations if it was about his precious football team or random scientific discoveries. Seeing as he made his wealth through scientific discoveries, it was understandable that he knew an awful lot about them.

However, besides being a fantastic investor and stock buyer, Masters didn't have a single social bone in his body.

Lex had witnessed him flout through galas, parties, art galleries, and political rallies without a hint of displeasure or pleasure. Always engaged in conversations, but only if someone approached him first. He would often be seen admiring the decor, as though he was visiting a museum rather than networking or losing himself in a vice-like alcohol or bed partners.

It was almost as if these grand events that others killed to get an invitation were mere walks in a lovely garden for him. A break from whatever hectic life he lived.

Except that after having his people look into it, Masters didn't have a hectic life. He barely had one. No matter how much Lex dug into his background, besides that one accident that landed him in a hospital in college, Masters's life had been a pretty average rise from rags to riches through his hard work and intelligent mind.

A wealth that would likely only be passed down two generations with no hints of wanting to raise it like Lex had. No hints of ambition for something greater. No hints of nefarious schemes or back-alley deals. No hints of any sort of crime.

Just a man who wasn't amazed by Lex's world of wealth.

Lex hated how utterly boring he found the man and yet, how his eyes always followed him through the room, fascinated by how Masters didn't make any sesne. It was irritating how Masters didn't even have to do anything to grab Lex's attention; just walking by had him nearly tripping over his own two feet to watch him.

He didn't even know why he wanted to watch Masters. He wasn't even that handsome! His long silvery hair tied in a perfect tail, his slightly dry-looking skin, the dark circles under his eyes, and that teeth-gritting accent of his.

He didn't even know why Masters sounded like an upper-class British man. He was born in Wisconsin!

What did he take voice acting lessons to craft an accent? (Lex's checked. He didn't. Masters is just like that. It made his heart beat like Superman was about to burst into his office. He called his doctor to check if he's developed a heart condition)

The worst part was the way Master lingered in his mind, sitting at the back of it with inane questions like: What was he doing? Does he like chocolate or vanilla more? Why has he tried to buy the Parkers from Green Bay ninety-five times?

It made him look like a fool. No one made Lex Luthor look like a fool.

In a fit of madness, Lex had ordered Mercy to blacklist Masters from any parties they would host. He could not stand to have that man throw him off his game a second longer.

It worked for about three months, and Lex did not have to suffer from stomach twisting or heart hurting due to the sudden increase in heart rate. Then he ran into Masters at a Wayne Gala of all places where the man was dressed like an idiot with his pure black-on-black outfit only to throw on a Packer's scarf.

It looked so stupid that Lex had to hide in the men's bathroom for an hour after spotting the man chatting quietly with Wayne's butler. He could not describe why that stupid green and gold scarf had nearly brought him to his knees.

According to Mercy, who had eavesdropped, Masters' mother was from England, which explains his odd accent. She didn't quite judge him openly, but Lex could read the subtext of her stare as she reported everything Masters did at the gala.

He danced to one song with Bruce Wayne. Lex had nearly broken his hand when he punched the way to the bathroom.

The night after Waynes' gala, Lex lifted Masters' ban because he missed the rather dull man's presence. This gala had been the season's highlight, and compared to the other various parties, Lex had found himself feeling something besides boredom or contempt.

The next time Lex saw Masters was at a charity five months later. Once again, Masters was wearing his black suit, but this time, he had a silver undershirt and a ridiculous red bowtie. Lex had spent five hours changing outfit after outfit, trying to find the most flattering one, and Masters had the audacity to wear a red bowtie.

"He looks good," Lena says, eyes drinking in Masters, leaning on a wall with a blue drink in hand and gazing over the dancers. Lex felt like hurling up when Masters' lips twitch up into a grin as a man stumbles by with his unimpressed dance partner. "You should ask him to dance."

"No," Lex bites out, feeling sick. "Why would you even say?"

Lena shares a look with Mercy before muttering, " It's almost pathetic how he doesn't know how to handle his feelings."

"What was that?"

"You're pathetic," She says with an eye roll. She grabs Mercy's hand and drags her to the dance floor, though his bodyguard sends him a look, asking for permission. He waves his hand, knowing his sister would bite his head off if he stopped her from dancing with her girlfriend, even if she was currently on the clock.

" I'm not pathetic. I can make a living clone with my own DNA." He grouches, glaring at her as she twirls under Mercy's arm.

"You can?" The familiar accent has Lex jumping a foot in the air. He spins around only to look down into Master's blue eyes. Lex had always noticed that he was a head taller than the other man, but it was one thing to know on paper and another to see in person.

He felt like Masters' blue gaze had grabbed him by the throat. "What?"

"You make clones?" Masters repeat, eyes alight with delight. "I've dabbled in that technology myself. I have a daughter, thanks to it."

Lex stares, feeling off-footed. "You're married?"

"Oh no, no." Masters laughs, though Lex can pick up a hint of anger from the curve of his jaw. "I'm a single father. My daughter happens to have some characteristics of her DNA donors, but she's mine entirely."

"I see." Lex suddenly feels like every social skill he's ever developed has evaporated. Or, at the very least, all of his brain cells because why else would he have blurted out, "I have a son. He's my clone with another man."

"Oh, congratulations. You and your husband-"

"No! I'm single. I mean, I'm not married. I was never married. In fact, it's been a long time since I've been in a relationship. So long I think I forgot how they are supposed to go." Lex cuts in, nearly spilling his drink as he shakes his hand. Masters' fae clouds with amusement, and Lex realizes he's been talking for too long.

"Well, it's hard to date while being a single parent." Masters hums before smiling, and Lex feels like Superman has just punched him through a wall without wearing his power suit. "Science is a wonderful thing, isn't it? To allow us to have our children."

"I suppose"

Masters ponders something before he holds out a card. "My daughter has always wanted to meet others like her. Would you and your son care to join us for dinner if it's not too much trouble?"

Lex thinks he makes a sound of confirmation, and just as he appears, Masters vanishes. He walks into the crowd, disappearing from sight, taking his mind-numbing, amused eyes and his stupid bow tie.

It takes him a moment to realize the card has Masters' phone number. Lex stares at the seven digits, feeling like he's freefalling and he's seconds away from being sick. He stumbles to a chair, falling into it without his usual grace.

Mercy is at his side in seconds, eyeing him wearily as Lena touches his shoulder. "Lex? You okay?"

"I have...to make a call." He hears himself say, stumbling for his phone. With shaking hands, he taps on a contact, bringing the device to his ear and listening to it ring. It takes five rings before it's picked up, and a voice bites out.

"What?"

"Conner." He starts, hands still shaking slightly. "Are you free this Friday?"

AHHHHH MY HEART THIS AMAZING

OH MU GOD THEM THIS IS SOOO CUTE

Talia screaming into her pillow at the end, the two of them being so awkward, the NICKNAMES

*slams head on desk*

*muffled* oh my gooooddddd

Their so adorkable and I love it

Fem!Damian (Talia) x Danny, PART 3.

PREV/NEXT MASTERPOST

The ride back to the manor has been spend in tense silence so far. Jason has crossed his arms over his chest as he looked out of the car’s window while Talia, who is sitting on the back, is glaring unblinking daggers to her second oldest brother.

“Those are some lovely flowers, miss Talia.” Alfred casually comments during the third red light.

The young girl finally blinks and looks at Alfred with a calmer gaze. “Daniel gave them to me. Do you think that if I plant them in the garden they would stick?”

“We can try.”

“Thank you, Pennyworth.”

“And what about you, master Jason? Do you not have anything to say to your sister?”

“In my defense, Dick told me to do it.” Jason, faster than any speedster, throws his older brother under the bus.

“Tt, and now you listen to Richard’s every word.” Talia growls.

Alfred sighs in disappointment. “It seems I’ll have to talk to master Richard too.”

“Don’t you think she is too young to have dates?” Jason asks Alfred.

“I’m fourteen!” Talia exclaims.

“I think that by far miss Talia has shown great emotional development, she also told me exactly where she was going to be and with who, never trying to mislead me in her endeavor, unlike some other fourteen years old that have been under my care.” Alfred answers Jason as he directs a significant stare to the younger male in the car.

“Urgh, fine. My bad, sorry Talia.”

“You are not forgiven and you and Richard better be prepared for my vengeance.” Talia answers him and then twists her face away from him like the brat she is.

When they arrive to the manor Talia walked off right to her room, not before slamming the car’s door that is, the small bouquet Danny had given her secure in her grasp.

Alfred and Jason stay behind. “Very well, master Jason, I hope you have not forgotten what follows?”

“Oh, come on! Don’t you think I’m little too old to kneel with my arms raised up?”

“Do you prefer to be in hand stand until patrol time, then?”

“I’ll go kneel at my usual spot, thank-you-very-much.” Jason starts walking up the stair when he suddenly stops and turns to look at Alfred. “Do I still have cookie rights?”

“Not until miss Talia forgives you.” Alfred says as he walks pass Jason on the stairs.

“Damn it!”

______________________________________________________________

“Hey lover boy~.” Elle (previously known as Danielle) greets her now nephew as he walks into the apartment with rosy cheeks, blown wide pupils, wobbly smile and core purring like a content cat. “How was your date with, *sigh*, Talia~.” She mockingly does a dreamily sigh and bats her eyelashes at Danny.

Danny goes from happy purring kitten to grumpy old cat as soon as he locks gazes with Elle, the older female moving her eyebrows up and down, waiting for the details as a Cheshire cat smile blooms on her face.

“It was good… she was gorgeous as always.” Danny sighs in love. “But then one of her older brothers pop out from thin air and decided to join us.”

“What?!” Elle exclaims scandalized. She even planned to take the Saturday shift at work to leave Danny and his date on their own!

“Yeah, it was the second oldest, the one that died.” Danny tells her as he walks further into the apartment and takes away his hoodie. “I know I’m not supposed to judge revenants, but he is probably the one that smells the worst out of all the revenants I’ve met.”

“Pfff, you have only met Grundy, baby boo, and I guess now this other one.” Elle says as she rolls her eyes in amusement. “But you know why that is, right? It’s because of the negative emotions that feed the ecto that brings them back.” Elle says as she flops back on the couch. “As he heals and his core settles the smell should go away little by little.”

“I’m glad he’s healing, but did he had to crash on my date with Talia?”

“Like you’re any better; do I have to remind you my last date?”

“I know.” Danny acknowledges his bad habit of turning into an overprotective gremlin whenever someone tries to date his mom or his aunt. “That’s why I get it and didn’t mind it that much. In the end we had a lot of fun though and I got our improvised chaperon to take some pictures for us. Wanna see them?”

“You know I do.” Ellie straightens and sits up, patting the now free space next to her on the couch so Danny could sit with her.

“Op, wait, Talia is calling me. Will have to be later.”

“Yeah, yeah, go to your girlfriend. We’ll talk later.”

“Thanks Elle!”

And just like that Danny is off to his room.

______________________________________________________________

Right after Talia closed the door of her room, she takes her cellphone from her bag while she walked to her desk and, as she clicks over Danny’s number to make the call, she puts both her bag and flowers over the desk.

“Hey, Talia. You home already?” Danny asks as he answers the call.

“Yes, we arrived minutes ago, actually. It’s just-Daniel I’m truly sorry for what happened.” Tt, so embarrassing!

“And I already told you that it’s ok, Talia. Actually, I think it was karma biting my ass back.” Danny says. “Whenever my mom and my aunt Elle have a date my uncle Dan and I get pretty intense, we also follow them and try to intimidate their dates.”

“So, are you the jealous type?” Talia questions with teasing voice as she sits on her bed.

“I like to think that I’m the protector type.” Danny defends his case.

Talia smiles as she allows her back to land on the soft mattres of her bed. “Would you protect me then, oh mighty warrior?”

“Yes.”

And there is a confidence in his words, such certainty in his voice, not doubt, no fear; Talia feels her heart skip a beat.

“W-well, maybe I am the one that will protect you.” She tries to fight back. She is The Robin, gods damn it, Blood of the Bat, The Demon Head’s Heir, a master assassin since the age of six! Pull yourself together woman! She thinks.

“We can protect each other then. Be the ultimate team. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.” Talia softly says as she hugs a pillow to her chest.

“Perfect.” Danny sweetly echoes and Talia melts a little.

“I-I was thinking.” Talia speaks again. “Since my brother disturbed our date I’ll make it to you, so I’ll be the one to plan and take you someplace for our next one.”

“Talia, you don’t have anything to make up to me.”

“I insist. For our second date it is my duty as your girlfriend to also take you to nice places.”

“Oh… a-are we… I mean-am I-boyfriend?” Danny stutters and it is then that Talia realizes what she just said.

“W-well…” Talia’s face is so red she might actually turn into a tomato. “Yes!” To hell with it. “We are boyfriend and girlfriend; it is only natural.”

“I-yes, r-right!” On his side of the phone call Danny literally floating over his bed and glowing like a rave green glowstick.

“Then I’ll call you later, azizi.”

“Y-yes, take care, starlight.”

And as soon as Danny finished talking Talia ended the call, she took a pillow and smothered her gleeful scream against it.

This is actually so cute and I need more of this, how would Talia’s family react? How would Bruce react since he’s known about Danny and his family situation for years? Literately have a scenario in my head where Talia brings Danny home with her brothers still there after a date,

*Talia holding Danny’s hand as they walk into the manner with drinks*

*Tim suspicious and confused* “uh- what do you have there Talia?” 🤨

*Talia sips drink still holding Danny’s hand* “a smoothie”

*Talia walks away with Danny to a separate room*

*Tim still confused* “…since when did Talia have a boyfriend?”

Fem!Damian (Talia) x Danny

I discovered that there is a canon female version of Damian Wayne, whose name is Talia Kane… and so I was hit by another Dead Serious idea. For this I’ll take a lot of creative liberties, so be warned, there will be some ooc-ness.

First of all, from the batfamily everyone stays the same except for Talia (fem!Damian), and I guess Laurel (canon female Jon) will also be here. And second, Danny will still be male too.

Now, the story; here is where things get a bit messy.

Danny, Jazz, Dan and Ellie come from another dimension. Danny was de aged in the last battle against the G.I.W. now with Jack and Maddie included, before this Dan had already been rehabilitated and with Ellie for some time had been living in Amity Park as distant relatives of Jack’s (Ellie was supposed to be Dan’s daughter). When shit hits the fan Dan and Ellie are the ones protecting Jazz and the now baby Danny, while Sam, Val and Tucker run away from the city along side the few survivors of the military attack that the government launched against Amity Park. Now there is only one way out of the city and is the portal in Fenton Works basement. Jazz, Dan, Ellie and baby Danny jump into it and from the inside Dan manages to destroy it, none of them knowing the destruction that blowing up the portal caused to Amity Park.

Dan takes his sisters and baby to Clockwork who explains to them that what happened to Danny cannot be reverted and that from now on they will have to rise him from scratch.

After checking which timeline was best for baby Danny to grow up, Clockwork finds out about an earth where ectoplasm in abundant despite its slightly cursed state, but nothing a healthy core cannot clean, so the ancient of time sends the four Fentons to Gotham city, the place with most ambient ecto in that world. Before sending them to that world, Clockwork gave them money from the royal vaults, so when Jazz, Dan, Ellie and baby Danny arrived to Gotham they could forge good quality fake papers and buy a small apartment in Old Gotham. They are now Jasmine Nightingale, her brother Dante, her little sister Elle and Jazz’s baby son, Danny (they might have used some ghost magic too). Constantine and Zatanna feel when they come into the realm and fearing an attack from the Infinite Realms they appear before the wounded family… Jazz tells them what happened and that please let them stay since they don’t have nowhere else to go, Batman of course appears right then and allows them to stay as long as they don’t cause any trouble and Constantine and Zatanna monitor them, Dan is not happy but after thinking about the safety of his family he accepts.

Danny grows up protected by the Metahuman Safety Acts, knowing that he is a half-a-ghost and in contact with the supernatural, been Frostbite his family doctor and primary medical caregiver, but his mom, uncle Dan, aunt Ellie, Connie and Zatanna always tell him to not tell anyone the specific kind of meta he is, for many do not believe in ghost or evil magic users could try to kidnap him and use him as a weapon. Danny doesn’t know he technically is the High King of the Infinite Realms, but he does know that he has ghost powers and Zatanna sometimes teaches him some magic. Jazz manages to finish college and becomes a Doctor at Arkham. Dan has a small bar in the corner between the City’s Hall District, Diamont District and Fashion District, nothing big or fancy but with good ambiance, descent food and really nice drinks. And Ellie, is an art student at Gotham U, she is on her third year and also works part time job at a cafeteria near campus. They also work as informants and consultants for the JLD, all of this without Danny knowing.

Many years go by and Danny meets Talia (fem!Damian) at Gotham Academy, everything is very shoujo manga like:

In the hole of one of the many trees that surround the campus a fourteen years old Talia Wayne finds a female cat that had recently given birth a to a batch of four kittens. Since she had already taken a family of possums to the manor that week, she couldn’t risk take the family of felines there in fear of both getting scolded by Alfred and been benched by her father, so she had taken to care for the felines until the kitties grown up a bit to be moved to a shelter, it would only be a couple more days until she found the perfect shelter for the animals. Two days pass and the third day of Talia taking some food to the feline family a voice from above her says:

“Huh, so it was you who has been giving them food.”

Talia reacts by throwing sharp pencils to the stranger on the branches, how come she didn’t realize someone was there already?

“Ancients woman, chill!” Exclaims the black-haired boy who has successfully dodged Talia’s improvised projectiles.

“Who are you?” Talia coldly questions.

“Easy there, I come in peace.” He says and then jumps down the tree branches. “I’m Danny Nightingale, from the science program. You’re Talia Wayne, right? You’re quite infamous in the whole school.”

“You better not be trying to harm these defenseless creatures, Nightingale.” Talia seethes.

“What?! No! I would never! Also, defenseless? I can show the scratches on my arm if you want.” He jokes. “I was just about to move them away. Yesterday I asked my mom if I could take them home and she said yes, so I was gonna take them and hide them in my locker for a bit until it was time to go.”

“Was it you who gave them the hoodie?” Talia inquires as she remembers the Martian Manhunter hoodie she found with the family not so long ago.

“Yeah.” He smiles, Talia manages to catch a glimpse of fangs.

“And does your home cover the necessities of the family?”

“Oh, yes. Yesterday my aunt and I went to buy all we would need for them; we even asked a vet and everything.”

“I see.” Talia says a little sad, she really wanted to take the cats herself, but if Nightingale already had everything necessary…

“Uhm… would you like to help me move them to my locker? And I can show you pictures of what I got and you could tell me if I’m missing something?” Danny suggests her, she clearly did not want to part from the cats.

“That sounds adequate.”

And that is how Danny and Talia met each other. Later that same day they exchanged phone numbers.

At first Danny only send pictures of the cats (he named the mom Asteria, and the four kittens were Orion, Andromeda, Cosmos and Nebula) and Talia send pictures of her own pets and other animal rescues. Soon Danny joined her in volunteering at shelters and rescuing animals from the streets. Talia learned that Danny was quite the activist and had a whole ecological program for the future of Gotham, it was actually this project that got him not only the scholarship into the school but also the attention of both Lucius Fox and Timothy (Tim doesn’t know what Bruce knows about Danny… yet). Talia learns of Danny’s love for space and his hopes of one day work at the JL’s Watchtower in space, the more she learns about him the more she falls for him.

Danny also falls for Talia. He falls for her love for animals, for her fierce demeanor and no-nonsense attitude, for her rightful and just nature, at school they call her the Ice Queen but Danny learns that Talia has a warm smile, a warmer heart and the sweetest of souls, so one day he arms himself with all the bravery he could muster and asks her out.

“You… you’re asking me… on a date?” Talia cannot believe her ears.

“I mean… if you want… you can say no! I just… I think you’re pretty and cool and I thought that maybe…”

“You think I’m pretty?” And Talia hates the incredulity she is feeling. She knows she is pretty, she is the blood daughter of both Talia Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne, of course she is pretty, beautiful even. Many have told her so, but when Danny says it, she cannot help the giddiness her heart feels.

“I-Yeah.” Danny admits, his cheeks tomato red and his eye-blue eyes looking at the floor. “You are the prettiest person I’ve ever met.”

Talia’s smile is shy as she too looks at the floor too.

“So, do you w-wanna?” Danny asks her again, the boy all nerves and uncertainty. He is risking a lot in here, who knows if Talia still would want to be his friend after this!

But then! Then Talia takes his hand and with the sweetest smile she tells him. “Yes, Daniel. I do want to go on a date with you.”

Prompt: Gotham Baby Switch Mystery (DCXDP)

Gotham City is in chaos. Major breaking news has just surfaced: a nurse or doctor (your pick) has been involved in switching the identities of nearly 200 babies over the course of their career. Gotham PD, working overtime alongside other police departments, has been investigating the swaps. The authorities now have a list of affected families, and the shocking implications are that the child you’ve cared for, loved, and raised with all your heart may not actually be yours. Worse yet, the child you buried may also have been someone else’s.

Among the families affected? The Wayne family. And, understandably, the Batfamily is freaking out. The questions are piling up: Does this mean we have a brother or sister out there in the world? Why hasn’t Bruce told us about this? Chaos ensues.

Bruce Wayne, however, is left with only one certainty: the child he and Talia al Ghul had together, a baby born prematurely. The child spent days in the ICU, and the doctors were hopeful, but ultimately, the baby passed away. That tragic event had driven a wedge between Bruce and Talia, and she cut ties with him. When she became pregnant with Damian, Talia did everything in her power to ensure that her second child would survive to term, determined not to lose another baby like their first.

Faced with the turmoil of this new revelation, Bruce does the only thing he can think of: he calls Talia. He tells her about the baby swap scandal and asks if, given the news, she’d like to meet the child who might be their lost son or daughter. Talia, understandably, is furious. Her emotions boil over. The trauma of burying her child, only to now be told that the baby may not have been hers at all, is too much to bear. Her first instinct is to kill the person responsible for causing this pain.

Still, Talia decides to take Bruce up on his offer. If the League of Assassins and Batman work together to gather information, she wants to know the truth. And of course, Damian has just discovered that he may have an older sibling—and he’s determined to meet them first. He’s not going to let anyone else in the family get to them first, calling dibs on being the first to see the once presumed-dead sibling.

Two months had passed, and there was still no new information about where in the world Bruce and Talia’s child was. However, since the news had broken in the U.S., many of Bruce’s friends had stepped in to help. Lex Luthor and Oliver Queen suggested that Bruce's child might have taken a DNA test, as it was becoming increasingly popular among adopted or orphaned individuals who wanted to find their birth parents or potential siblings—whether through sperm donation or other means.

That’s when they discovered that a 14-year-old kid from a small town in Illinois had done a DNA test. This was how Bruce, Talia, and the Bat family found out that their lost sibling—whom they all assumed was a boy—was alive. The confusion had arisen because, when she took the test, Danny had used her nickname, Danny Fenton, rather than her full name, Danielle Fenton, which led everyone to assume she was male. In contrast, Jazz, her older sibling, had written her full name—Jasmine Fenton—on her own test. So, when the Bat family found the results, they expected a boy but were unaware that Danny was, in fact, a girl.

However, Danny and Jazz’s parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, had never opened the letter containing the letter explain the whole affair. . It had been sent to the Fenton household, but it was discarded as junk mail, with the Fentons assuming it was another complaint about their family, specifically Jack and Maddie’s eccentric, often controversial, scientific endeavors. No one realized the importance of the letter until much later.

The test results showed two key revelations that shocked both Danny and Jazz. First, the two were not biologically related at all. They were not sisters by blood. Second, the test revealed that one of Danny’s biological parents had Middle Eastern ancestry. This was a detail that Danny hadn’t known, nor had she ever suspected.

Meanwhile, as Danny was undergoing a strange and painful transformation, gaining her ghost powers and becoming a half-ghost, she unknowingly shared this moment with a significant event taking place far from Amity Park. On the other side of the world, John Constantine was battling demons. During one such fight, a particular demon expressed an intense fear, saying, “Are we really going through with this? I thought Lady Gotham would never agree to it. Hell, most of us demons don’t want to deal with her wrath.”

Constantine, intrigued, asked, “Why would a demon like you be afraid of Lady Gotham? I’ve met Batman and his insane family, and honestly, half the time, I don’t even believe they’re mortal. But what does Batman have to do with you? He doesn’t even know you.”

The demon paused, clearly shaken. “There was an event where Cronus ( Clockworks) called together all the demons, all the powerful beings, into the infinite realms. During that meeting, Cronus ( Clockworks) revealed one truth: the Ghost King will wake from his slumber. And only a warrior—not from the land of the living, nor from the Infinite realm—will be able to defeat him. This event will happen in every timeline Cronus has seen. But the parentage of the warrior changes with each timeline. This time, the warrior’s parentage is what scares us. Nobody wants to see the wrath of Lady Gotham.”

Constantine narrowed his eyes, sensing the gravity in the demon’s words. “What are you talking about?”

The demon continued, fear lacing its voice. “The decision that was made—bringing this individual, this warrior, into the fight—has caused a ripple effect across the ancient realms. Some of us, those who are eternal, those who have never known death, have already overstepped. Even some of the observers—beings who are supposed to remain neutral—have meddled. Now we have to deal with the consequences of our actions. And it’s not just us. It’s the entire infinite realm. We’re all doomed. Let us pray, Constantine, that the Ghost King never awakens. For when he does, and the warrior defeats him in single combat... that will be when all of our fears come to fruition. It will be the beginning of the end.”

Constantine’s stomach turned as the weight of the demon’s words settled in. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” he muttered under his breath.

“Deadly serious,” the demon replied. “What they’ve done… is beyond repair. And the worst part is, they didn’t even realize it. The actions of the living—specifically Lady Gotham and her vigilantes—have overstepped a boundary. The warriors of Gotham, the protectors, the police, the citizens—even the Joker—are all unknowingly playing a part in this colossal mistake. It wasn’t Darkside, or any of the other cosmic threats or even Supernatural threats that you and those Heroes have faced, that will bring about the end. NO It’s this one misstep. One moment of carelessness. One action, and now it’s too late.”

Constantine stood there, his mind racing. “This prophecy... It’s not just about one person, is it? It's about the whole damn city, the whole damn world.”

The demon nodded grimly. “Gotham is the key. And once the warrior rises, once the wrath of Lady Gotham is unleashed, nothing will stop it. Cronus himself is holding an emergency meeting about this, trying to figure out how to deal with it. And let me tell you—things are not looking good for anyone.”

Constantine cursed under his breath. He realized that the situation was far worse than he could have ever imagined. If the demon was right, and this prophecy was truly tied to Gotham, then they were all in serious trouble. And what terrified Constantine the most was the thought of Batman finding out that someone—someone he loved—was being manipulated, consciously or not. Batman didn’t care about the methods or the reasons; if anyone he cared about was caught up in a scheme like this, the consequences would be catastrophic.

“God help us,” Constantine muttered, more to himself than to the demon. “Because if this gets back to Gotham… none of us are getting out of this alive.”

So if this post gets a lot of likes I will make a part 2 continuing the story. Because this is something that has been stuck in my mind I just want to share it.

Do you guys know any DC x DP stories where Danny is summoned as the ghost king by the JL but to them he appears as a baby/toddler/little baby man?

I can't find them anymore and I'd like to read some good stuff that makes me laugh please

Jazz x Jason Ghost Zone Wedding- DP x DC Worlds Collide Fan Zine Contribution

My piece for the @dpxdc-worldscollide zine!

This was thee most challenging piece I've worked on for the year (2024) but it was worth it! This was my first time participating in a fandom zine and I'm excited to be a part of it!

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Please check out all of the amazing art and fiction from the other artists and writers. There's so much passion and skill in this fandom!

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Worlds Collide FanZine

The time is finally here! cover art is created by the amazing @finemeal Thank you to everyone who was involved in this project for all yo