It Be What It Be

Alien: Jerry those power cells are supposed to last for months, there's no way this ship has gone through five this week!

Human Jerry: idk what to tell you, man. *glances at another power cell and it immediately shuts off*

Danny completely alters his phantom appearance with the ghost shifting he finally mastered, removing the full coverage mask from his hasmat suit and creating a proper super suit.

Danny travels, helping whoever he comes across and portaling shades, ghosts, demons, etc, to their proper dimensions as harmlessly as they let him.

...

"Y'know, I never hear you whistle." Red Robin froze, holding still on the rooftop.

There'd been no warning before the voice spoke up, no shift of gravel as footsteps approached, no displacement of air to signify a flier. Just... one moment, Tim was alone on the rooftop, listening as his family communicated in that secret language that he was excluded from. The next, someone was behind him.

It took him a moment to decide what to do, before shifting so he'd be half-facing the potential assailant.

"Which is weird, since all the others do." There was a man floating, cross-legged, over the roof. "What do they mean, by the way?"

Tim stared at the man, potentially an alien - there were no humans with eyes like that, without some serious mutations. Even then, Tim has only seen aliens with eyes like that. The green seemed to draw Tim in, like a moth to flame - unlike a moth, however, Tim had the intelligence to know fire burned.

He glanced back the way he'd been staring at another whistle, but it wasn't one he recognized through trial and error as a call of danger. "Batman doesn't appreciate having metas in Gotham, particularly ones with such... distinct fashion." Tim gave the man a once over, clearly indicating the superhero-esque uniform the other wore.

"Ah, well, good thing I'm not a meta, then." The other shrugged, lounging backwards with his arms propped as if he were sitting cross-legged on the ground instead of the air, with his hands holding him up. "Can't do anything about my fashion choices, though, unfortunately." There was a bitter amusement written across the alien's(?) face, before it faded back into curiosity, "you didn't answer my question. What do the whistles mean?"

what they are very put off by is the social behavior. they’re mostly lone predators who will pair-bond with a mate or a small group to raise young, but not any more than that, so the concept of humans hanging out in groups that are hundreds strong is very odd

it’s not even that the desires for companionship and touch are weird. many species have domesticated some of their planets’ wildlife for the same reasons humans got dogs and horses, so they’re familiar with friendliness as a trait, but they’re used to it in animals that are, for fear of sounding rude, kinda dumb

They were two classmates that went missing that year. They only found the body of one and the other one was never seen again. In the end all day became more haunted stories for the school to tell.

But in reality it turned out to be a lot more complicated than that. Klarion had one friend when he went to human School. That one friend was killed by the children.

Pesky little things that they swear are innocent and should be protected. Of course he was pissed he despised the fact that they were able to get away with it. Losing someone he found endaring was the worst feeling in the world.

So every year in memory of his lost friend he would return the day he dies to cause the utmost pain. To all those "popular" students, the ones that they believe could get away with anything. They did not deserve rest until they paid for their crimes.

Yet every year the adults would do nothing to change their attitude. Instead they would continue to indulge them. Saying that those kids were the best and brightest and nothing could go wrong.

Klarion despised that.

Well he decided to return this year. Yet something was off. There was a lot more energy of death in the air than there usually was.

Ghosts were present not exactly for the human eye but enough for him to see. Whoever activated such high levels of magic needed an applause. But he was going to save that for another time as he saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"Hello Dexter."

"Kal?! You can finally see me!"

Oh how he misses that smile. It seems that his friend had been watching him for quite some time. Now that they can see each other the party can fully commence this year.

Danny is alone and depressed after the loss of his family and friends, so to avoid Vlad he fakes Daniel Fenton's death in a house fire, destroys his parents research/lab/portal, and hides everything important to him in Phantom's Keep before he goes and joins the Justice League to occupy his time(and to hopefully stop him from becoming Dan should the need arise). But this a sad, depressed, and maybe even angry Danny who never wants to love anything again, so as Phantom he always comes off as sort of nonchalant, strict, and cold or even sometimes aggressive.

Plasmius team's up with Cadmus/Lurthor to make his Danny clone. With Luthor/Cadmus' help "Dani" comes out completely stable, still deemed a "failure" because shes female and Vlad is a d***, but stable.

But when Young Justice bust in and meet "Kon" and stuff, shes still a baby, they haven't aged her up because they deemed her a failure. So now, the Justice League has an angry Superman clone, and a baby Ghost clone, and they're really nervous on how Phantom is going to react.

Phantom is very cold most of the time, and he can be very angry and agressive at times. Seeing how Superman reacted, they're nervous to let Phantom know. But, they have to tell him, its his right to know he'd been cloned.

Everyone is in the room when Phantom is presented with the clone baby. His face is impassive as he listens to Batman's explaination, everyone in the room is tense, ready to step in if he gets agressive, his head tilts as Batman talks, green eyes searing into the sleeping kid. Nobody knows if thats a good thing. And then, green energy surrounds the infant, and shes pulled from Batman's arms forcefully, everyone tenses further. Phantom doesn't speak as he studies her, flips her around in the air to judge her every angle. She starts giggling, and then Phantom stops, removes the green energy and let's her fall. Flash runs forward to catch her, but its no use, shes floating. Its shaky, not as controlled as Phantom's, but shes floating, and giggling for a few seconds, before she can't hold herself anymore and she drops again, only to again be caught by Phantom's energy. This time, be actually holds her, poking her cheeks and dodging her outstretched hands before he pokes her in the sternum, and a tiny, delicate white ball floats out of the babies chest. Phantom stares at that ball for a number of minutes, before a smile splits across his face.

Everyone is startled by what they're seeing. No one has seen Phantom smile, not even mockingly, he just always seems to have a scowl on his face. But now, his smile is kind, loving even. His usually sharp, rigid form is now soft around edges, playful in how he lets her chase his fingers once that ball is back in her chest. Its a side of Phantom unrecognized, but it wasn't unpleasant.

In Danny's eyes, the little clone was perfect. She wouldn't die, couldn't double die without his parents weaponry, which could no longer be crafted. Even if her human half one day failed, her perfectly formed core meant she was guaranteed to become a full ghost, so they could still be a family. She wouldn't leave him alone.

This is all great til the jl somehow ends up there, Danny recognizes that they as re not regular players, but keeps up the creepy act, and follows them with occasionally ominous comments until they get out, ending with "you should try the game when you're back to the human realm, Id just *love* to play with you all for real~" and when one of them, probably flash, actually tries the game, instead of the usual opening message all players get their first time playing, he gets "ooh, you came back! I promise it will be much more fun from the real world, but I cant promise I'll play nice, even if you are a hero"

This got long, I thought on this too much, just Danny making a horror game where he is the monster, partly for fun partly for money and partly because he needs to let a but of his eldritch side loose every once in a while or it starts to bleed over a bit, and then the jl ending up there, him acknowledging that they aren't players, and then greeting them when they play the game in the human realm.

Also unconnected, but I feel at the start it would let the player type some messages when in dialogue with "the monster" while most of the game is preset dialogue but there are moments where you can chat freely without preset dialogue, and Danny responds in kind, which in turn make players even more confused, because how does he have a response for anything???

Tldr: Danny big horror monster, jl enter game, Danny knows they arent players, jl go home and are freaked out.

Holy shit.

...

Backstory stuff.

Danny escapes the GIW into the internet. He gets bored and hungry so he starts hopping into live service games but the connection isn't personal enough to feed off the other players emotions.

Bruce Wayne would deny it.

He would deny it to the grave.

If confronted, he would deny it with the same stubborn determination he used when facing alien invasions, ancient curses, and the occasional god.

He was not attached to Danny Fenton.

Not at all.

The fact that he had rearranged his schedule to be available on Thursday evenings had nothing to do with Danny.

The fact that he knew Danny's favorite toy was the stuffed Bat he had gotten him was irrelevant.

The fact that he had memorized the baby's feeding schedule was simply good situational awareness.

The fact that he had spent three hours researching infant developmental milestones was—

Actually, he didn't have a defense for that one.

"Father has an adoption problem."

Bruce looked up from the Batcomputer.

"No."

Across the cave, Tim didn't even glance up from his laptop.

"You absolutely do."

"No."

"You brought home a Kryptonian."

"Clark was an adult."

"You adopted Dick."

"Dick needed help."

"You adopted Jason."

"Jason needed help."

"You adopted me."

"You needed help."

Tim finally looked up.

"You adopted Damian."

Bruce paused.

"...that was complicated. and its not adoption when its biological."

Tim pointed triumphantly.

"My point exactly."

Bruce returned to his work.

"I have not adopted Danny."

From somewhere behind them came Jason's voice.

"Yet."

The problem was that Danny liked him.

For some incomprehensible reason.

Most babies were afraid of Batman.

The cowl was intimidating.

The voice was intimidating.

The overall presentation was intimidating.

Danny apparently thought it was hilarious.

The first time Bruce babysat, Danny had spent twenty minutes trying to poke the bat ears.

The second time, he'd fallen asleep on Bruce's chest.

The third time, he'd discovered the utility belt.

That had been a disaster.

"How did he get the grappling gun?"

Bruce asked calmly.

Very calmly.

The kind of calm that indicated imminent panic.

Jazz looked at the baby.

Then at Bruce.

Then at the grappling gun in Danny's tiny hands.

"I don't know."

Danny giggled.

The grappling gun fired.

The hook shot across the room.

Wrapped around a lamp.

Pulled it over.

Bruce caught it before it hit the ground.

Danny applauded.

Bruce closed his eyes.

Despite moments like that, Bruce kept volunteering.

Jazz had noticed. and had quickly figured out who was under the mask. when she told him he denied it for a week before finally giving in. Then he showed up even more frequently both in and out of gear.

She just wasn't sure why. but she had her suspicions Danny is an adorable little grubber after all.

"Are you certain?" she asked one evening.

Bruce looked up from where Danny sat in his lap, happily stacking blocks.

"About?"

"You've babysat four times this week."

Bruce blinked.

"Have I?"

"Bruce."

"Hm."

"Bruce."

Danny placed a block on Bruce's head.

Bruce allowed it.

Jazz stared.

The Batman was letting a baby use him as furniture.

Nobody would ever believe this.

The real problem began when Danny started recognizing the Batfamily.

Not just their civilian identities. or their Vigilante identities

Just them.

Danny had apparently decided they were all his people.

The first victim was Nightwing.

Dick had arrived at the manor after a long mission in Blüdhaven.

He'd barely stepped through the front door when a green blur launched itself across the room.

The blur attached itself to his face.

"Danny?"

The baby squealed happily.

Dick laughed.

"Well, hi to you too."

Danny immediately stole one of his escrima sticks.

Nobody knew how. But the panic was real.

Jason was next.

Jason claimed to hate children.

This was a lie.

Everyone knew it was a lie.

Jason knew everyone knew it was a lie.

He just continued pretending anyway.

Danny exposed him in under ten minutes.

Jason was reading on the couch.

Danny crawled over.

Climbed directly into his lap.

Curled up.

And fell asleep.

Jason froze.

Completely.

Utterly.

Motionless.

The room went silent.

Dick slowly raised his phone.

Click.

Jason looked up.

Murder in his eyes.

"Dick."

"Aw, look at you!"

"Dick."

"You're cuddling."

"I will end you."

Tim suffered a different fate.

Danny discovered coffee.

Specifically, Danny discovered that Tim drank coffee.

Lots of coffee.

Concerning amounts of coffee.

Danny became fascinated.

Tim became concerned.

"Don't let him have any." Jazz warned

"I'm not."

Danny reached for the cup.

Tim moved it.

Danny reached again.

Tim moved it again.

Danny frowned.

The coffee cup vanished.

Tim looked down.

Danny was holding it.

Across the room.

Nobody knew how he'd gotten there.

Tim screamed. The chase was on Danny simply floated out of reach any time Tim got close.

Damian was the final challenge.

Everyone expected Danny to bother him.

Everyone expected Damian to be annoyed.

Nobody expected Danny to decide Damian was his favorite.

It started during one of Jazz's classes. It was running late and Danny was at the Manor.

Bruce was watching Danny.

Damian happened to be nearby.

Danny crawled over.

Looked at him.

Then held up his arms.

Damian stared.

The room waited.

"Absolutely not."

Danny's lower lip trembled.

Damian immediately looked horrified.

"Do not."

The lip trembled harder.

"Daniel"

Tiny sniffle.

Damian looked like he was facing death itself.

Thirty seconds later, Danny was sitting in his lap. Chewing on Damian's fingers.

Victorious.

From that day forward, Danny followed Damian everywhere.

Like a tiny ghostly duckling.

Damian hated it.

Or claimed to.

The fact that he carried baby snacks and teething rings in his pockets said otherwise.

One evening, Bruce found Damian asleep in the library.

A book lay open beside him.

Danny slept against his chest.

One tiny hand tangled in Damian's shirt.

Bruce paused.

Something warm settled in his chest.

A feeling he recognized all too well.

Family.

He'd spent years building one.

Sometimes intentionally.

Sometimes accidentally.

Sometimes through sheer stubbornness.

And somehow, a half-ghost baby from Illinois had slipped into it without anyone noticing.

Bruce sighed.

"Don't even think it."

Alfred, standing behind him, looked innocent.

"Think what, sir?"

"You know exactly what."

A pause.

Then Alfred smiled.

"Master Bruce, if it helps, I wasn't thinking adoption."

Bruce relaxed slightly.

"Good."

"I was thinking guardianship."

Bruce groaned.

Behind him, Alfred's smile widened.

Because everyone in Wayne Manor could see the truth.

Even if Bruce never admitted it.

Baby Danny had already claimed his spot in the family.

And there was absolutely nothing Batman could do about it.

to bad He forgot about one very important detail ....Jazz.

Jazz discovered two things during her first week at Gotham University.

First, Gotham students were weird.

Second, Gotham students were completely unfazed by weird.

Which was fortunate.

Because her son was Danny Fenton.

The first incident happened on day three.

Jazz was taking notes during Introduction to Psychology while Danny sat in a carrier strapped to her chest.

The professor had been discussing infant development.

"Children around six months begin showing signs of object permanence—"

Danny vanished.

The entire lecture hall fell silent.

Jazz sighed.

Without looking up from her notebook, she reached into the empty carrier.

Her hand disappeared up to the elbow.

She grabbed something.

Pulled.

Danny popped back into existence.

Holding a glowing green rubber duck.

The professor stared.

Jazz adjusted Danny's blanket.

"Sorry."

The professor blinked.

"...was your baby invisible?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

The professor continued the lecture.

Nobody questioned it.

Because this was Gotham.

The second incident involved the dorms.

Technically, family housing.

A tiny one-bedroom apartment provided by the university.

Jazz had expected noisy neighbors.

What she hadn't expected was the crime.

Specifically the fact that someone attempted to mug her while she was pushing Danny's stroller.

The mugger stepped out of an alley.

Knife in hand.

"Wallet."

Jazz stared.

The mugger stared.

Danny stared.

Then Danny frowned.

The knife suddenly froze solid.

Then shattered.

The mugger blinked.

Danny blew a raspberry.

The man's pants froze to the pavement.

Jazz pushed the stroller around him.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

The mugger started screaming for help.

Danny laughed the entire way home.

Word spread.

Not about Danny being a half-ghost.

Nobody knew that.

Just that there was apparently a terrifying baby living near campus.

A baby who made criminals cry.

A baby who accidentally froze a vending machine because it wouldn't give him crackers. His mother had told him no because he didn't have enough teeth to eat them.

A baby who once sneezed and created an ice sculpture of the university mascot. In his defence the baby had been fasinated with the mascot for weeks and even had a stuffed plush of it.

Students began leaving gifts.

Stuffed animals.

Baby toys.

Cookies for Jazz.

One student knitted Danny a tiny sweater.

Danny immediately phased through it. It was itchy.

The student made another one. Softer this time.

By the end of the month, Gotham University unofficially adopted Danny.

Professors held him during lectures.

Students volunteered as babysitters.

The campus café knew Jazz's order before she arrived.

Life was...

Good.

Surprisingly good.

For the first time since the accident that had made Danny half ghost, they were happy.

Then Batman showed up.

Jazz was walking home after an evening class.

Danny slept peacefully in his stroller.

The streets were quiet.

Too quiet.

Years of living in Amity Park made Jazz immediately suspicious.

Then she saw him.

Standing on a rooftop.

Watching.

A dark silhouette against the night sky.

Batman.

Of course.

Because apparently Gotham couldn't let her have one normal semester.

She kept walking.

The silhouette continued watching.

Danny opened one eye.

Looked up.

Saw Batman.

And smiled.

Batman's posture somehow became even more rigid.

Danny waved.

Tiny little hand flapping enthusiastically.

Batman stared.

Danny giggled.

Then teleported.

One moment he was in the stroller.

The next he was sitting on Batman's shoulder.

The scream that came out of Jazz was unlike anything Gotham had ever heard.

"WHAT THE HELL, DANNY?!"

Batman froze.

Completely.

Absolutely.

Frozen.

Because there was suddenly a six-month-old baby on his shoulder.

The baby was attempting to eat one of his cape clasps.

Batman looked genuinely unsure what to do.

Jazz was running toward the building.

"DANNY!"

Danny laughed.

Batman carefully removed the baby from his shoulder.

Like he was handling a live grenade.

Which honestly wasn't inaccurate.

Jazz finally reached the rooftop.

Panting.

Mortified.

"I'm so sorry."

Batman looked at the baby.

Then at Jazz.

Then back at the baby.

Danny grabbed Batman's nose.

A shocking feat considering the cowl.

Batman allowed it for exactly three seconds before removing the tiny hand.

"Your son is unusual."

Jazz laughed so hard she nearly cried.

"That's one word for it."

Batman studied her.

Then Danny.

Then her.

His expression didn't change.

But something clicked behind the white lenses.

A detective noticing details.

Too many details.

The unexplained abilities.

The exhaustion in Jazz's face.

The way she reacted like this wasn't new.

Dangerous observations.

Jazz recognized that look.

And immediately hated it.

Batman was investigating.

Across Gotham, in the Batcave, the computer was already processing a name.

Daniel Fenton.

Amity Park.

Ghost attacks.

Unexplained phenomena.

Missing hero sightings.

And one battle that had occurred only months ago.

Bruce Wayne leaned back in his chair.

The file displayed a picture of a fourteen-year-old boy.

Black hair.

Blue eyes.

The same eyes as the baby who had tried to chew through Batman's glove.

Bruce stared at the image.

Then at the security footage from tonight.

Then back again.

"...well."

For once in his life, Bruce Wayne had absolutely no idea what was going on. But he could guess.

The battle was over.

The Ghost Zone was quiet.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Pariah Dark had fallen.

Danny should have felt victorious.

Instead, he felt cold.

Very, very cold.

"Danny?"

Jazz's voice sounded distant.

The world tilted.

He remembered Tucker shouting something.

Remembered Sam catching his arm.

Remembered his parents staring at him in horror as the green rings flashed around his body in front of everyone.

His secret.

Gone.

After years of hiding.

Then he remembered Pariah Dark's final attack.

A desperate blast fired after Danny had already won.

One last cheap shot.

One last attempt to hurt him.

The attack had hit.

And now Danny could feel something inside him unraveling.

His ghost core flickered like a dying lightbulb.

"Danny!"

Jazz was screaming now.

Danny tried to answer.

Instead, everything went white.

Six hours later.

The Fenton household had never been so silent.

Jack and Maddie sat on the couch.

Sam and Tucker occupied the opposite side of the room.

Everyone stared at the tiny bundle sleeping in Jazz's arms.

Danny.

Or what was left of Danny.

A six-month-old baby.

Round cheeks.

Tiny fingers.

A shock of black hair.

The occasional puff of icy breath when he dreamed.

Nobody spoke.

Until Jack finally broke.

"We'll fix it."

Maddie nodded immediately.

"We can reverse this. We can raise him until we do."

Jazz looked up.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

"No."

The room froze.

Jack blinked.

"What?"

"No."

"Jazz—"

"No."

The word cracked like a whip.

Danny stirred.

Jazz immediately softened, rocking him gently before glaring at her parents again.

"No."

Maddie frowned.

"Sweetheart—"

"No."

There was a terrifying calm in Jazz's voice.

"The answer is no."

Jack looked confused.

"What are you talking about? We're his parents."

Jazz laughed.

Nobody liked the sound.

"Parents?"

"Jazz—"

"You dissected him."

Silence.

"You strapped him to tables."

Silence.

"You called him a thing."

Jack looked away.

Maddie's face turned pale.

"You spent years hunting him."

Jazz's voice shook.

"And now that he's helpless, now that he can't defend himself, suddenly you want to be parents?"

"Jazz, we're trying—"

"I don't care."

The words landed like gunshots.

Tucker quietly slid his chair closer.

Ready to intervene if necessary.

Jazz stood.

Danny sleeping peacefully against her shoulder.

"You had your chance."

"Jazz..."

"You screwed up raising me."

Jack flinched.

"You screwed up raising Danny."

Another flinch.

"You are not getting a second chance."

Maddie's eyes watered.

"Please..."

"No."

The room fell silent.

Then Tucker stood.

"I already talked to my parents."

Everyone looked at him.

He adjusted his glasses.

"And a lawyer."

Jack nearly choked.

"A WHAT?"

"A lawyer."

Tucker pointed at Jazz.

"She's eighteen."

Then at Danny.

"He's legally her dependent until this gets fixed."

The room exploded.

Three weeks later.

Jazz Fenton became the legal guardian of Daniel Fenton.

Jack nearly fainted during the paperwork.

Maddie cried.

A lot.

Jazz remained unmoved.

Danny spent most of the proceedings chewing on Tucker's finger.

Two months later.

Acceptance letters arrived.

Most colleges immediately became impossible.

Single motherhood tended to do that.

Jazz wasn't surprised.

She'd already begun planning alternatives.

Then one morning an envelope arrived.

Jazz stared.

Read it once.

Then twice.

Then a third time.

Tucker nearly tackled her.

"What does it say?!"

Jazz handed over the letter.

Tucker read.

Then screamed.

"OH MY GOD."

"What?"

"JAZZ."

"What?"

"YOU GOT IN."

Jazz blinked.

"Okay?"

Tucker pointed violently at the page.

"FULL SCHOLARSHIP."

Pause.

Another pause.

Then:

"GOTHAM UNIVERSITY."

Jazz sat down.

Hard.

Danny giggled from his highchair.

Apparently finding the entire situation hilarious.

Three months later.

Jazz stepped off a bus in Gotham City.

One suitcase.

One backpack.

One stroller.

One baby.

Danny sat happily chewing on a rubber ghost shark.

The Gotham skyline loomed overhead.

Gray.

Dark.

Slightly threatening.

Danny immediately sneezed an icy blast at it.

A nearby pigeon froze solid.

Then thawed.

Then flew away screaming.

Jazz sighed.

"Please don't start."

Danny laughed.

The baby had somehow inherited all of his chaos.

A fact that terrified her.

Tucker had already promised to visit.

Sam had promised to call every day.

Her parents were back in Amity Park trying to rebuild what remained of their relationship with their children.

As grandparents.

Not parents.

Exactly where Jazz intended them to stay.

Danny grabbed her finger.

Tiny hand wrapping around it.

Trusting.

Safe.

For the first time in years, Danny wasn't carrying the weight of the world.

He wasn't fighting ghosts.

Wasn't saving cities.

Wasn't dying every other weekend.

He was just a baby.

And Jazz intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Even if it meant juggling college classes, midnight feedings, diaper changes, and whatever fresh insanity Gotham would inevitably throw at them.

She looked down at her son.

Danny looked up.

Bright blue eyes full of absolute confidence.

Then he burped.

A tiny green ectoblast shot into the sky.

A streetlight exploded.

Several people screamed.

Jazz closed her eyes.

"...it's going to be a long four years."

Danny giggled.