#skulker

Plenty of times, this led him to leaving out his window in the middle of the night only to return at the break of dawn or not at all. But while neither of his parents seemed to notice his escapades, Jazz definitely did. She didn't push, not much, considering when he came back, he seemed lighter than when he left. Once she confirmed it wasn't anything too illegal or dangerous, she let him have this.

Despite staying up most nights, his core was kept fed and it was enough to keep him up. But even that could only get him so far.

Since they were kids, Jazz was always the one to take care of Danny. Their parents tended to get so caught up in their own obsessions that they forgot all of their other responsibilities. Sure, it was worrying that Danny barely slept outside of mid class naps. But he was still eating and looked pretty healthy if not more so than before. She could only hope that Danny wasn't getting into trouble. Jazz knew hovering over his shoulders wouldn't help him, but she would be there for when he needed her.

Between his school life and hero life, Danny found himself wandering more. Finding himself on roofs or in the park, just staring up at what stars he could see. For now, it was plenty enough for him to satisfy his obsession. He had his books and star maps, and a well loved telescope, but there was something missing. It wouldn't be till his first time in the Ghost Zone that he would find what it was.

That weightless feeling. Sure he felt weightless when flying or floating just above the ground, but in the zone, somewhere as infinite as space, the experience felt new all over again. He was pretty sure that all the emotions in the realms were affecting him more than he thought. But it wasn't like he was complaining. Not when it came to space.

It turns out, even outside of the Infinite Realms there were ways of recreating the feeling of being untethered to the world around him.

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The first time after the portal incident that the Fentons went on a vacation to the beach, he felt that familiar pull of his core. It wasn't often Maddie and Jack put down their current project for family bonding, but at the request (guilt tripping) of Jazz they agreed it wouldn't hurt to take time off for the summer.

So the odd family found themselves on a long awkward road trip. Despite their promises, there were a few gadgets and gizmos in their luggage, but it could've been worse. Not everything went as planned- awful traffic, running out of gas, getting a flat tire- it ended up being a long two day drive.

In the end it was worth it.

The whole idea of a vacation started to look up when they found themselves in Maine looking over the horizon of the coastline. It had been a few months since Danny half died. By now he came to accept that fact. He had mourned his short life despite somewhat being alive still. He had better control over his ghost form and the powers that came with it.

He enjoyed the time off. Both during the day and night. But at night, there was much less light pollution here than in Amity Park. He could see more stars in the sky than he had ever in his life. The view was enough to reignite his obsession with space. And at night, when he went out back to the beach to stare into the abyss, Danny found himself floating once more. Drifting not too far from shore. Staring at the stars above for hours till it was like he too was floating aimlessly with the stars and planets themselves.

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The following morning, Maddie woke up to find Danny already out on the beach. It wasn't horribly early when she got up, so she just assumed he hadn't been out for long. And that was good enough for her. Though, she did seem to be happy with how much Danny was enjoying himself.

Maddie swore she hadn't seen him this happy for what felt like forever. He was as happy as the night Danny got his telescope, stars in his eyes and all. Perhaps this was what the family needed. It brought back the look of child like wonder that she loved. One she wished she had been the cause of, though seeing it again all but made up for that. Maddie was just happy to have found something they could bond over.

Watching Jack pick Danny up over his head and toss him in the water only to be followed by the laughter of both her kids and her husband was enough to make this part of their norm. Yeah, she loved every bit of her work life, but she loved her family more. No matter how many things she forgot to do or how many responsibilities she neglected in the process. In the end, she loved her family more than anything.

The sentiment was shared with Jack, who beamed at getting to have this much fun with his family. He was a little disappointed that neither Jazz nor Danny was this happy when it came to ghosts, oh but look at them! Even if Jack wasn't the most (emotionally) intelligent person ever, he could tell Danny had been down in the dumps for a bit. But look at him now, he was so happy!

Both Jack and Maddie had the same thought, "maybe they should do this more often."

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On the second night of the oddly relaxing get away, Danny ventured a bit father than the night prior. relaxing to the point he felt one with the waves. He found himself lucky he didn't exactly need to breath anymore.

After some time, he started to sink into the watery depth, feeling his core expand to match the vastness of the briny deep. He hadn't even realized he went ghost up until then. The other thing he failed to notice was just how far he had floated this time. At least being this far from shore he didn't have to worry about getting caught by ghost hunters, his parents or otherwise.

He was already out this far, he might as well explore while traveling back. So in all his new massive forms glory, he allowed himself to sink further down. To his surprise, while he was still close enough to see the the massive light house from the shore, he was also far enough to come across a small pod of whales, along with many other schools of fish.

For a brief moment it felt like he belonged there. Remoras deemed him good enough to try to stick to him while still tangible. Like he was just another whale or shark they were hitching a ride on. The smaller of the life around him startled at him movements and the push of the water around him.

After minutes? Hours? of swimming, his core tug once more. Deeming the spot he had come across the perfect spot. To take in the surrounding wild life, the small groups and schools that found their way to him once he rested. It was deep enough to where the moon illuminated the water above him, yet, where he sat remained quite dark. Though, maybe that was from his shadow. Casting over the sand and drop offs.

If he had to describe what he was feeling, it would be at peace. He may not be in space, but he felt just as weightless, save the pressure of the water. It was the closest thing he could find that felt like floating in the great beyond. Not like he actually knew what space was like, though if he had to say, it would be like this but better.

If he thought more on it, if he did get the chance to go to space, he was unsure if he'd ever come back down. Not only would he get this feeling and the view, both would be at the very least ten times better. He'd end up so entranced that he would never come back to earth or lose track of time. Knowing himself, he might forget that he's still half human and end up accidentally fully dying in space. Had to wonder how that development would turn for his ghost half, dying in the one place he dreamed of going to. The same place the became a part of him in the form of an obsession.

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Case and point, time passing only registered to Danny as he watched the sun cast a brighter light over the water above. He hadn't even noticed the moon setting, let alone the sun beginning to rise. Once time made sense to him again, Danny was off back to the hotel. On the fly in the direction of the light house, he grew conscious of his new form and reverted back to his normal Phantom self. And what was left in his resting place were some few Atlanteans with bated breaths. Because What, the FUCK, was that?! A fucking Leviathan??? But it was small??? Only the size of a whale. Was it a baby. Oh gods it would get bigger! Was it dangerous? Did they have to fear the Leviathan, or would they be fine if it was left unbothered.

And it kept happening. After the first siting, the (probably baby) Leviathan came back. Always at night, the left in the morning. It barely even noticed them. It acknowledged the fish swimming around it and it was aware of how its movements sometimes made the fish shrink back and flee. To the few Atlanteans that decided it was better to understand the infant Levi than fear it right out the gates, it was almost endearing that the giant tried so hard to not disturb the ecosystem much. The thing was just so curious, even with its deep reflective eyes, they could see how taken it was with how the (in comparison) small fish reacted. And like the day before, it would "play" with the fish then grow still looking up to the surface, and at the break of dawn it would snap out of the trance and leave.

It would be twice more, making it a week, till the babe Levi didn't come back, leaving only the spot it laid. Nothing else was left behind but the imprint of it. But the few days it was watched, it painted Leviathans in a different light. It was young and curious, just as an Atlantean's young would be. Nothing from its actions painted it as a fearsome predator, nothing beside the sheer size of it. Not when it paid so much mind to the smaller life forms. It was as sentient as any other being of the sea was. Judging from its size, it was new to the world.

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Danny didn't think anything of it. For the remainder of the Fenton's vacation, the family got on surprisingly well. No one was accused of being a ghost. Hell, Maddie and Jack both agreed to leave the gadgets and gear in the hotel room when they went into town for sight seeing and for meals.

The family ended up with tons of photos of their stay that Danny was sure to show off to Sam and Tucker when they went back. Speaking of which, the family were packing up preparing to go back home and back to their norms. It kinda bummed Danny out that they had to leave, but with Jazz's support of the idea, they asked if they could do this more to the delight of their parents.

This was a win for everyone. Jazz would get to enjoy more of her time as a kid, not worrying about her little brother. Danny was happier than ever, exploring during the day, spending time with his family with no mention of ghosts or getting torn apart molecule by molecule. Plus, Danny got pretty good at changing/controlling the change of his form. Jack got to have one on one time with both of his kids and his wife. And Maddie didn't drag Jack out of any trouble while also getting her baby boy back in the process. Even if it was brief due to this only being a week long trip. Point was, everyone had a blast. With the exception of the Atlanteans who had a heart attack or two when he first showed up. But he didn't even notice them.

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That night, the same brave Atlanteans that observed the baby Levi waited for some time after nightfall for its arrival. Tonight would be the night they tried to get closer to nab a sample. One problem. The Levi never showed. Same with the next night and the one after that and the one after that. Soon the encounter was shrugged off as a one time thing. Was this just a thing that Leviathans did at a young age? Find a safe, secluded, place to rest then move to a new area? It was hard to tell for sure since this was the closest any of them had been to a Leviathan for an extended length of time without being in danger.

Yeah, it was disappointing that it left, but there wasn't much to be done about it. On the bright side, it was such a mellow subject. One could only wish that their young would be that calm. Pretty soon the Leviathan would once again be off the radar, the possibility of it returning was low in the opinion of the few that got near it. They had to assure that to plenty of people plenty of times. And plenty of times Aquaman had to assure the League that no harm was done.

After it's first appearance, Aquaman was understandably warry, giving a heads up to the League in case this took a turn for the worse. But worse for worse never came. From what was observed, it was an infant. Harmless to everything that came near it. He never tested whether or not that would be the same with him or his citizens since it payed no mind to any of them, choosing to not interact or it truly just didn't know they were there. Given how it was gentle to the fish-dozens of times smaller than it- he could only hope and assume it would act the same with them. Cause in the following days it was gone. Like it wasn't nesting outside of the kingdoms walls.

It remained gone for nearly a year before someone spotted it once more. Almost the same size as before, although worryingly small for it being a year older now, which raised both more questions and new found concerns. Was this poor Levi Calf not eating? Come to think of it, where had its mother been. A youngling that small should still be near its mother, but given it had barely grown since the last encounter, the possibility that it was abandoned or it's mother died was concerning. Not being taught to be a predator due to the death of its parent could explain its mellow actions and the lack of growth. But that also meant it wasn't taught to hunt nor defend itself. Poor thing.

Then that raised the concern of if there was something nearby that was big or strong enough to hunt and/or kill a full grown Leviathan. The thought was far more concerning than a harmless youngling that wandered a bit too close to the kingdom. As complicated as the subject was, for precaution sake, Aquaman had to inform the Trinity as a bare minimum. It was better for them to know to be ready to offer what help they could if needed and having their assistance might help with gaining a better understanding of the "small" Leviathan. Telling all of the JL immediately might cause a minor panic, but keeping it secret would likely be seen as withholding information.

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Although he was still on the fence about spilling so soon, it was better to have the league on his side. That was the point of his appearance at the bi-weekly meeting. Arthur would have shown regardless of if he decided to tell or not. It was better to get it out of the way. Gods know how pissy Bruce would get if he wasn't aware of a giant ocean monster, more so if Bruce found out Arthur knew and didn't tell them. Man, B would tear him a new one.

Arthur, otherwise known as Aquaman, was sat around the table, mulling over how he was to tell the group. If he should run it by B first then tell the rest. Hell if he was supposed to know. Either way, his fellow heros would be made aware of the baby Levi's circumstances. He'd send his regards to that poor child who would soon be smothered with contingencies and monitoring until the heros were certain and satisfied. In the end this would prove to be the better choice. For everyone.

With the vaguest idea of a plan in mind he would inform the other members at the end of the standard meeting. If he wanted to tell Bruce first, he should have done so in advance. If he told him now, who knows, maybe Bruce would leave to do his own investigation and have Nightwing tag in for him. If not Nightwing, then one of the other members of his brood. That possibility couldn't be risked now.

All that was needed of him at the time being was to inform and assure that it would be handled accordingly. Not that he could stop Bruce's contingencies in the end. So long as the Levi remained calm and no blood was shed, he could consider it a win.

It wouldn't take much for any of the leaguers to act. Even the most sensible of them could be rash and impulsive, when it came to getting the job done and protecting their people.

Once the Zeta tube announced the last arrival, and the small talk and idle chatter was out of the way, the meeting would start. It was the basic stuff- tying off loose ends on incarcerated rogues, reports on the localized crime, how they could've done something better or worse- the usual. Only some minor setbacks in a bust, notes here and there for improvement. Then came Arthur's time to speak up, fill the rest of them in about the (potential) 'situation'. A low-stake, docile, seemingly parentless, infant Leviathan. He pulled from the reports of the last time it was spotted on the outskirts of Atlantis, time lapsed recordings of it doing nothing but resting and allowing the creatures around it to do as they pleased. On the occasion it would move, it did so slowly, seemingly conscious of its affect on the things around it. The youngling was considerate in that aspect. That was all it did, from night fall to sunrise, for a few days to a week at a time, then it left till the next summer came. What little was known about the Leviathan was that it deemed Atlantis safe enough to lower its guard to rest then migrated to a new place. The Ocean was a big place. Plenty of dark, secluded spots to hide and rest. Regardless of that, it returned for that week, then again a year later.

Finally was the consideration that no parent was spotted anywhere near the Calf at any point. When comparing the video from a year ago and the newer ones from the Levi resurfacing, it was painfully obvious it didn't grow much. If at all. They were sure it was the same one too. The chance that something killed its parent was at minimum concerning. Leviathans were always seen as aggressive predators, but this one seemed to be enough to disprove both parts of that sentiment. It wasn't aggressive and certainly no predator. If anything, at this state it was the prey to something else. Something bigger or simply more dangerous.

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Nearing the end of the meeting, a live feed from where the baby Levi would sleep was playing, an Atlantean citizen was finishing putting the camera in place. It was coming up on the time it usually showed up. Once in place, the Atlantean swam off, and there was nothing for a few minutes. Then there was movement in the back. Far enough that it was just a blur. But sure enough it was the Leviathan, just something was off. It was acting sluggish, moving much slower than normal.

When it was within a few meters of it's resting place, it became clear that it was injured. Green liquid with splotches of red was pouring out of its side, mixing in with the water. The Leviathan's oddly humanoid hand was covering the injured side. Small chirp-like-gasps vibrated in the water, like it was crying out for it's mother.

Danny had come from a surprise encounter with Skulker, the latter getting the drop on him on his way out past the lighthouse. The rest of his family were already in bed when he was attacked, he was far enough that the attack wouldn't wake them either. But the league wouldn't know that. All they knew was the docile baby Leviathan was hurt bad, enough that it's blood was swirling idly in the surrounding waters. Bad enough that the baby was calling out for a parent that wouldn't show. For now though, they were operating on animal planet rules. Observe, don't interfere. But watching as something suffered was fundamentally against everything they, as heros and as protectors, stood for. They could do something, they could offer help, they could find what attacked it. But then what? Have what ever it's predator was go after them? How could they even help it when they didn't even know anything about it.

Were they really just going to let nature take it's course, yeah, Leviathans were dangerous, but everything that's dangerous doesn't deserve death. Causing danger and being dangerous weren't the same thing. It was only a baby that had done no harm.

Leaving the Levi to suffer would be no better than killing it themselves, it would sit just as heavy on their conscious if it were them killing it. Even with nothing said aloud, the decision was made. Making contact would be easy in theory, if Aquaman couldn't communicate with it with his marine telepathy then maybe Martian Manhunter could communicate telepathically or read its mind. In theory. But that only worked if it stayed calm while being approached and if their assumptions about it retaining a conscious mind was correct.

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Those that could spare the time and resources returned to Atlantis with Arthur. They only had a few hours before the Leviathan, if it followed it's pattern, would leave. If it decided to do so, they had no way of stopping it. As planned, J'onn accompanied him, along with Barry and Bruce.

Equipped with flippers and oxygen masks, the three joined the Atlantean king to the Levi's resting place. It was in the same position as it had been last seen on the live feed. Curled into itself, making the same pained chirping sound. The liquid assumed to be it's blood started to settle around it's body, drifting with the movements of the group swimming closer.

Being this close, Arthur could see the Leviathan closed its eyes, lowering its guard even as it bled. In all it's time resting near Atlantis, it remained alert enough to watch the animals around it or gaze up to the surface. But it was too caught up in its own pain to keep its eyes open.

Arthur spoke to it first, alerting it of their presence. His voice reached the young spooking it at the suddenness of it. It became further startled seeing who was speaking to it. Regardless of its own agony, it jostled back away from the intimidating form.

How odd it was that something dozens of times bigger than them found the Leaguers to be intimidating. It was clear, in the reflective eyes of the Leviathan that it was scared. Perhaps that wasn't the right word. It felt unease at their presence. Something completely natural from a being that had been injured and didn't know who or what to trust. Given the sluggish movement observed earlier, it could probably barely stay conscious. But it didn't trust them. And that they couldn't blame it.

With the suggestion for Barry and Bruce to stay back for a moment while J'onn and Arthur tried to calm it, there were a few minutes of silence between the group as the latter two eased forward, lifting their hands in a surrendered motion. The moment of reasoning began with Arthur explaining that he was the king of the kingdom the infant rested by on the occasion. Then J'onn offered the explanation for them approaching making sure to specify to the baby Levi that they didn't intend to hurt or scare it.

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Danny thought that being far enough away from Amity Park meant the ghost attacks wouldn't be as bad. Actually, he thought he could get a few days with no ghost business at all. Of course he had to jinx it. On the third night of their second family vacation, a year and a half after he died, Skulker had tracked him down. Still clearly dead set on completing his hunt, the fight would have been like any other if not for the new surroundings. With the stars above on full display and Danny being on the move to his new normal resting place, Danny wasn't as aware of his surroundings as he should have been.

He'd done this plenty of times. Going to the depths to float while getting lost in his obsession. Driven by the vary same obsession, he was distracted and Skulker used that to his advantage.

Skulker's attack landed, however, he didn't expect the halfa to grow in size seconds after hitting the water. This unexpected discovery would only act as fuel to the flame with Skulker's hunt. On top of being a prey that gave him meaningful fights and being half ghost-half living boy, he also held enough power to alter his physical form. Now that was a prey worth hunting.

Skulker followed Danny's trail for a few miles out till he lost him. Seemed like the Halfa could cover much more ground (or in this case sea) in a much shorter amount of time at this size. Too bad.

It took longer for Danny to reach his safe place, his adrenaline wearing out a block out from safety. Gradually his movements became sluggish like he could collapse at any moment. And he almost did once he was finally safe.

Danny found himself curling into a ball, pressing his enlarged hand against his side. This had been a closer call than any other attack made by Skulker. Way closer to a second death than he ever wanted to get.

There was movement near him, he assumed those blobs in his blurry vision were the usual life that found their way to him. Although, this time around they looked off. Bigger maybe. Moved more like people swimming. For all Danny knew, his head could have been hit during the altercation and he was seeing things as a result. Those human looking blobs were in the distance, by the top of a drop off behind some rocks and hadn't moved any farther or closer for the next fifteen minutes.

Danny wasn't actually sure how much time had passed. He was just taking a wild guess.

Those long fifteen minutes passed and in that time his eyes finally closed. He needed to heal. To focus. There wasn't any ecto near to use to heal. All he had to heal off of were his emotions: pain, panic, relief at getting away; The creatures-around-him's emotions: curiosity, hunger, but also worry and panic, which was odd, though possibly cause by him moving too fast and freaking them out; And his own obsession.

It wouldn't take long for Danny to figure out why he was feeling odd emotions from the surrounding creatures when one spoke to him. He didn't have that ability? He couldn't speak to animals, so why was one talking to him?

As his glossed over eyes opened, he was face to face with a human! No. That's not right. He was breathing under the water. He could hear it. That couldn't be a human.

Danny's eye began to focus as he saw long blonde hair flowing in the current and a yellow/green suit. He blinked once. Then twice.

Holy shit- Is that Aquaman?! This could not be happening. Oh Ancients- Did he do something? He could hear Aqua man speaking to him in a gentle tone. Okay, so he wasn't mad. Not out right. That's good.

Aquaman was introducing himself, saying he had been resting near his kingdom. That was an enough for a existential crisis by itself. Then there was a second voice and Danny's eyes couldn't widen any more, it was the Martian Manhunter. THE Martian Manhunter. Danny's all-time favorite Super Hero. Oh Ancients, he was using his telepathy on him! He could die for a second time happy now. Wait. Not the time. Did Martian Manhunter just say the Atlantean's had been keeping an eye on him since last summer?! At least the hero confirmed he wasn't in any trouble and they weren't going to hurt him. Nice to have that cleared up. Wait, if Danny was thinking this, could MM hear it?

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J'onn could, in fact, hear his thoughts. And to his shock, the baby Leviathan knew what the Justice League was. Not just that, the Levi had favorites. J'onn felt slightly flattered.

The Leviathan being aware of them, enough so to have a favorite, meant it was much more sentient than initially thought. It was confusing. How could a young ocean predator know about the Justice League. Knowing about Aquaman and Atlantis would be one thing, but as it's eyes focused, it recognized each of them. It's thoughts were all over the place, it's emotions switching from excited at meeting them, concerned about having met them, and over all confusion.

It was almost worrying that the Leviathan knew about his powers. Knowing enough to worry if they were effected by it too. That displayed some intelligence. If this was just a baby, that could suggest that Leviathan as a whole weren't given enough credit. This young calf alone displayed actions similar to elephants returning to sources of food and water and taking migration routes. It being able to show favoritism was just even more fascinating, showing to be more human in the sense than that of Avian, Mammals, or any other Primates.

J'onn was getting distracted. He had to remember they were there for a reason. This first contact was important. J'onn introduced himself to the Leviathan, giving his proper name in place of his hero one seeing the calf already knew that one. He also happened to mention the uniqueness of the situation at hand, showing remorse to the calf for not having a parent. Now knowing that the calf was sentient, MM was more hesitant to go further than needed into it's mind. Therefore, until it was necessary, he would stick to using his telepathy as a means of communication.

Even in the mind, there could be mistranslations if a language didn't have a word for something in another language. The dialect of a Leviathan, however it was, was unknown to anything but a Leviathan. Contact with one was rare in and of itself, but communication was even more so. Encounters in the past had never been so bloodless. Well, this one wasn't exactly without blood either, but it wasn't from combat with the Leviathan and them.

From the quick dip in the Leviathan's mind, it was indeed young, only reaching sixteen in age. For a human, that was young, but a Leviathan, a creature that could live hundreds, if not thousands of years. This Leviathan shouldn't've been without a parent for another decade. When he took that quick look, he could hear the Leviathan telling him to stop. To get out.

The baby could feel him inside of his head. It's awareness was impressive. Yet worrying. J'onn apologized for the invasion, and with the help of the Levi's seeming favoritism, the apology was accepted.

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So not how Danny thought his night would go.

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