THE GHOST WHO NAPS FOR MILLENNIA (aka: Young Justice accidentally adopts a sleeping eldritch cuddle-god)
Danny has recently discovered an unfortunate side-effect of becoming half-ghost: he can stay awake for weeks⌠sometimes months⌠but when the exhaustion finally hits?
He has to sleep for one to three thousand years.
No exaggeration. Thatâs the actual number.
Clockwork and Danny eventually figure out why. See, Danny once shoved the Time Amulet directly into his core (long story, very âteen hero makes choicesâ). His coreâstill growingâdecided it was a snack, and started absorbing its power. His main core is still ice, but now itâs also merging with temporal energy.
Results: ⢠Danny becomes basically immune to most time weirdness ⢠His core gets a huge upgrade ⢠His body needs absurdly long ghost-form rest cycles or he destabilizes
And Danny, being a family-oriented menace, refuses to lose centuries every time he goes down for a nap. So he and Clockwork come up with a workaround.
Whenever Danny is due for his big Sleepâ˘, Clockwork sends him to a dimension where time runs differently. Danny gets a hidden bunker made of timeless materialsâpillows, blankets, everything enchanted to never rot.
Also? They repurpose some of Pariah Darkâs Skeleton Army as caretakers. They tidy him, clean the bedding, set out snacks for when he stirs, and defend the room. Very respectful undead valets.
Unfortunately⌠the locals of that dimension eventually find the chamber.
They immediately start a cult.
They carve a hole in the ceiling to drop offerings down. The Skeleton Army allows it because the offerings include food and comfort items (âofferingsâ = âcaretaking suppliesâ). All is peaceful.
Until the cult throws Bart Allen down the hole.
Directly onto Dannyâs bed.
Intended as both a sacrifice and a living alarm clock.
When Wally finally arrives (ready to scoop Bart up and yeet them both to safety), he finds the Skeleton Army tryingâvery gentlyâto pry Bart out of Dannyâs arms.
Danny, deep in his thousand-year coma, has adopted Bart like a teddy bear.
Wally: ââŚUh.â
Bart, whispering: âI think theyâre trying to save me? I guess the god cuddles?â
Wally: âWhy donât you just phase out?â
Bart: âWhat if I wake him up and he comes looking for me?! We need a replacement snuggle item!â
Cue Wally, sprinting around the world, bringing back armfuls of giant stuffed animals. None of which Danny accepts.
Bart, meanwhile, is having a surprisingly decent time. The Skeleton Army feeds him. The cult tossed video games down the hole. The bed is Top 10 Comfiest Surfaces In Known Reality.
He texts the Young Justice group chat.
And thatâs when the chaos truly begins.
Young Justice decides that they will find a stuffed animal worthy of replacing Bart. They fail. Repeatedly.
Eventually they create a rotation system.
One member at a time becomes the Official Cuddle Substitute while Danny hibernates. They bring in a TV. Training equipment. Half-finished inventions. Snacks.
Dannyâs sleeping chamber becomes an unofficial Young Justice hideout.
And then, one day, Danny wakes up.
Not dramatically. Not godlike.
Just⌠gets up.
The member on cuddle-duty is actually asleep, curled against him. Danny slips out carefully, follows the smell of coffee to the makeshift kitchen, and shuffles in like a grim reaper who hasnât had his morning brew yet.
He gets handed a mug.
They chat.
It takes TEN FULL MINUTES before anyone realizes:
âOH WAIT. Youâre⌠awake?? Youâre NOT supposed to be awakeâ?
Danny: âWhy is my bedroom a teen superhero clubhouse?â
Young Justice: âOkay but listenâ
Readmore















