#superpham

For those that might be less familiar with this timeline, the period in which Superman dies and is seen replaced by four other Superman (one of which is Superboy, or Kon-El, the clone to Kal-El and Lex Luthor) is known as "Reign of the Supermen" and consists of a number of comics.

I won't get into the specifics of all these Supermen, but Clark comes back to life after roughly six months. [Taken from the DCAMU movie "Reign of the Supermen", in which the prologue reveals that the battle to the death between Superman and Doomsday was 6 months ago.]

So it took roughly 6 months for Clark to fully recover. Yet for Danny it took, probably, 5 seconds for the whole thing to be said and done. Which could possibly explain why he's so powerful, beyond the mixture of ectoplasm in his system for this AU.

On the other, other hand, there are many headcanons surrounding how ectoplasm functions on a more scientific standpoint. One of my personal headcanons is that ectoplasm feeds on the electromagnetic waves that humans emit through emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more ectoplasm pools together. Hence, when a person dies, all that ectoplasm pooling together and imprinting on said ectoplasm creates a ghost. [This headcanon is first discussed in chapter 28 of LL's Ascent.]

But we've already established that Kryptonians can be revived through ion radiation. So what is ion radiation? In simple terms, ion radiation is "a type of energy released by atoms that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves (gamma or X-rays) or particles (neutrons, beta or alpha)." But... didn't we just say that ectoplasm likely isn't the reason Superman came back to life? Especially since the Phantom Zone hampers Kryptonians' powers?

That is very true, and if you think about it, this would mean ectoplasm and Kryptonian biology exhibit a lot of the same characteristics. What would be the difference then? Ectoplasm retains the electromagnetic waves, hence how it maintains ghosts' personalities and memories.

However, hampering with these electromagnetic waves could explain why ghosts lose themselves over time, and might give headway to how anti-ecto weapons harm ghosts. But that is a topic that requires more research, and will have to be left for another day.

So ectoplasm retains electromagnetic waves, what about Kryptonians? They can't do the same. Once they are cut off from sunlight, or any form of ultraviolet rays, their powers go with it. Common headcanons for ghosts determine that they can go for some time without continually feeding on ectoplasm, although they gradually grow weaker the longer they go without a source.

But ectoplasm does not emit electromagnetic waves of their own. Perhaps ghosts could filter their ectoplasm and make this possible, maybe that's how they give people the creeps when they intrude on their territory. But otherwise, plain old ectoplasm won't do this. But do you know who does emit electromagnetic waves, according to this logic?

Kryptonians do.

Their emotions emit these waves, and when traveling to the Phantom/Ghost Zone, that would mean all the ectoplasm around them would feed on their emotions. Unfortunately, there is no source of sunlight in the Ghost Zone, which means not only are they cut off from a main source of nutrition, they are constantly being leeched off on from ectoplasm.

This could mean that going to the Ghost Zone, for a Kryptonian, might just be a death sentence. Which makes Dru-Zod's exile to the Phantom/Ghost Zone that much more grim and cruel. We know from the Flashpoint Paradox timeline that Kryptonians will slowly wither away and quite possibly die without any source of ultraviolet rays.

So what would this mean for a half-Kryptonian Danny AU? Well for one, it would explain why Danny is so powerful. His dual nature as half-Kryptonian and a halfa means that all the weaknesses he has from his Kryptonian biology is canceled out by his nature as a halfa, and vice versa.

This wouldn't entirely strip Danny of weaknesses. In some ways it could even compound his weaknesses depending on what's used against him.

Dani chilling in space, floating around a red dwarf, enjoying the light, taking pictures for Danny (who’s busy with kingly duties), when the JL zooms past in a ship. She watches them swerve around and stop, then Clark comes out and invites her into the ship. It’s space, so they can’t talk, but Dani offers her hand and when he takes it, her powers let them talk to one another. 

He asks if she’s Kryptonian. The mark on her chest, and the suit, look similar to Kryptonian stuff. She says she’s a Denizen (as in, a denizen of the Infinite Realms) and he mistakenly believes that to be the name of her species. He asks where her planet is, what she’s doing out here all alone. She tells him she’s out exploring, just having fun, and Clark laughs because that sounds really wonderful, actually. He asks if she’d like to come with him inside the ship and meet his friends. If she wants, they could probably give her some star charts, if she’s looking for places to go next. Dani is super into it and comes along. 

They have a break from the trip back to Earth, and they chat for a while. Dani tells them a bit about herself, and her “species”, including that exploration is part of her Obsession, and explains what an Obsession is, see below. After some talking, they offer to bring her with them to Earth, for her to explore. Batman is against it but she’s just like, “You do realize that even if you kick me out of your ship, I’m just gonna follow you, right?” “This ship can do Mach 3.” “And I can do lightspeed. I win.” Batman is upsetti-spaghetti but has no choice but to agree. 

Dani likes the Watchtower and says her brother would’ve loved it. (They interpret this to mean that her brother is dead, because would have is past tense.) Clark offers to give her a short tour of Earth, and Dani is super into it. After the tour, it’s obvious that she doesn’t really want to leave just yet, so he offers to have the League make an identity for her and have his civilian persona “foster” her, then she can live on Earth for a while and as long as they tell people she’s home-schooled through online school, she won’t be under too much scrutiny for not attending school and stuff. She takes the night in her room at the Watchtower and thinks it over, but agrees. She has dinner with the Kents (Clark, Lois, and Jon), and they’re more than happy to have her with them, for however long she chooses to stay. 

She spends a few days exploring Metropolis and getting familiar with it. It’s really similar to her dimension’s Earth but weirdly different too, in so many small ways and loads of huge ways too. It’s fascinating. She gets to meet Kara. She suggests a big family dinner and assures Dani that everyone will love her. That evening, they all meet up in Smallville at the Kent farm. The elder Kents welcome Dani with opens arms. Connor arrives; he and Clark are frosty, but everyone else is cool with Connor. Dani asks Kara why, and Kara explains, since it’s no use hiding it. Dani had started feeling like Clark was a part of her fraid (her chosen family) but this completely shatters that. She stomps into the dining room and yells at Clark; if he really hates Connor that much for something he has absolutely no control over, then Clark should definitely hate Dani too, because guess fucking what, she’s a clone too! And surely, Clark couldn’t possibly want a dirty, disgusting clone in his family, so she’s going to do him the favour of leaving on her own, and if he comes after her, he will find out exactly how much stronger than him she is, when she snaps every bigoted bone in his old ass body. 

Connor goes after her, and finds her in the Sahara, building a sandcastle. They talk for a while, trading tragic backstories, and Connor offers for her to stay with him for a few days instead, to cool off, then maybe they can all talk about all this. It’s probably time for him and Clark to really sort themselves out too, and actually talk about things. She loves Connor’s apartment and the awesome view, but they also have great conversations and she feels like he can really understand her; especially the struggles of being a clone in search of their own identity. 

A few days later, they go to the Fortress and have a talk with Clark. Clark explains that when he first found out about Connor, it was a violation; these crazy people had stolen him and tried to mould him into something else, and it was hard to accept that. And then, Connor tried to initiate a family situation but Clark hadn’t even begun to process everything and that made him lash out, and since then, he’s just been so ashamed of himself he hasn’t addressed things with Connor, but he really is trying to be accepting and he has processed his emotions (with Dinah’s help). He’ll always be mad that Luthor created this situation and violated him in that type of way, and at one point, he did partly blame Connor for the situation, but he has definitely moved past that and has come to realize and accept that Connor is in no way to blame for anything and he is innocent in all of it, and it’s not his fault that he simply exists. Connor explains that he never felt any true, deep familial way with Luthor, he’s more just there and Connor has to live with it, but Clark? Clark was it, you know? He was the first image of family that Connor found, and when Clark rejected him? It destroyed him. Yeah, Ma and Pa, and Kara, and Lois and Jon, they all came to accept him in their own time, but Clark? Connor never recovered from that. 

After they hug it out, Clark gently asks if Dani wants to come back, but he understands if she’s not ready for it. He trusts that she will be just as happy with Connor, though it will entail some changes in her papers. She tells him about her fraid and that it’s going to take Clark a long time to earn back the trust it takes to become part of the fraid. (It’s not necessarily something she can control or decide, it’s like an instinct, her very soul has to feel it, and right now, she isn’t feeling it.) Clark is sad but accepts it. He pledges to do everything he can to earn her trust like that again, and all he asks is that she give him the chance to do so. Maybe they can start with having a look at the Fortress’ star maps? Dani is very happy with that plan. 

The change in the papers for Dani’s ID go through a few days later, and as soon as they do, Lex shows up at Connor’s door to inquire about his new granddaughter. Dani has heard a lot about Lex and she already hates him. He tries to bribe her to like him, but she Does Not. Lex endeavours to get her to like him, because if anyone is going to be the World’s Best Grampa, it’s going to be him. Not any of those worthless Kents. 

Jon invites Dani to come along for a playdate with Damian in Gotham, and she readily agrees. Connor escorts them to the manor. Damian is wide-eyed the moment Dani lands but quickly acts like normal again. They run around the manor going wild and playing with Titus. They talk about fighting and it ends with them going down to the Cave to spar, and Dani, having been taught by Pandora and others, kicks Damian’s ass, putting him on his back. Damian is blushing when Dani lets him up. They play more, then Bruce arrives. He’s curious about Dani’s species and asks if he can ask her loads of questions about her and her physiology and stuff. Dani says yes, but reserves the right to not answer questions if she doesn’t want to. She won’t say where her “planet” is but she says that they call it the Infinite Realms. When he asks why, she says it’s because they’re immortal, basically. They’re infinite. They had a tyrant king for several millennia before he was defeated in single combat and locked away in an eternal prison by the new king who is much better. He’s still getting used to being king and all that, it’s only been about two years after all, but he’s doing well and he’s making their home a much better place. He’s really young too, so that’s part of it as well. They ask how young and she says he’s sixteen now. They wonder how a fourteen-year-old could defeat a millennia old king, and she explains that there are certain individuals among her people who are infinitely more powerful than the others, usually because of how old they are, that are called Ancients, but this particular boy was born as an Ancient. If he wanted to, he could destroy the galaxy with a snap of his fingers, but he won’t. Bruce questions how she can know that. She says it’s really taboo to talk about but part of his Obsession is protection. Protecting everyone, that is. He’d never willingly hurt anyone, it goes against his very deepest essence to do so; he didn’t even intend to fight the previous king, really, it was more like an accident. It’s complicated to explain, but that’s the way it is. Bruce has a lot to think about so the kids go back upstairs. Dani offhandedly mentions her love of maps at some point. 

Dani and Connor are having dinner together, when there’s a knock at the door. Connor gets it and brings back a delivery with Dani’s name on it. When she opens it, it’s a framed map along with a letter. Connor is a little sus about Damian giving her such an expensive gift, but helps her hang it up in her room. He later calls Tim and asks about it. Tim checks the auction records and sees the map was bought for twenty-thousand dollars; Connor almost faints. Tim agrees to look into it because yeah, Damian is being Weird. 

“Dear Dani, Father recently attended a charity auction and I was dragged along. This map was being sold by a private collector. I recalled you mentioned your love of maps, and as the proceeds would go to a good cause, I decided to purchase it for you. I hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, Damian Wayne.” 

Connor and Dani hanging out with Luthor, who is also being weird but mostly because he’s trying to impress Dani with his company and money and shit. Finally, Dani’s like, “Dude, I’m a princess. Your money isn’t gonna impress me.” And just tells Luthor to like, be himself. Dani doesn’t give a shit about his money or company. If Dani’s gonna like him, she’s gonna like him for the person behind all that stuff. This whole front, it’s not doing him any favours. Instead, Luthor asks what she wants, what can he do for her, with her. She shrugs, and tells him that “Well… I like learning new stuff? Like, exploring and learning about new places and people and all that?” Luthor thinks for a moment, then tells her to come along. They go to a department of the company where they process satellite images for online maps, like Google Earth and shit. He finds an empty desk and brings up their image database; Dani immediately gets lost in scrolling through the images. She stays for three whole hours before they tear her away to go to dinner. The whole time, she talks about the images and asks questions about the satellites and so on, and Luthor answers every single one to the best of his abilities. 

Dani and Damian hang out in Gotham. He shows her around the city and they both get a little blushy, but hold hands in the end while Damian walks her to the train station to go back to Metropolis. When she gets home, Connor asks how her day was, and she blushes again. Connor senses something hinky and calls Tim again. Tim checks the city surveillance and is Shook about them holding hands. Connor is dismayed, because he just got his baby girl and she’s already getting into her boy phase. Connor snitches to Clark, who also freaks out because that’s his niece!!! 

Another Kent family dinner. Lois casually brings up that she heard about Dani becoming friends with Damian Wayne. Everyone gets to see Dani blushing about it. Dani gets a text from Damian right on time, inviting her to spar again (which is basically a courting move in ghost-culture) so she throws her phone and squeals, because that’s what it means to her but he definitely doesn’t mean it like that because that’s not a human custom thing so she’s being stupid over nothing but he’s just so cute and such a good fighter and she’d really love to fight him again! Clark texts Bruce about it and Bruce freaks out too because his youngest baby is interested in a GIRL!!! Once they get home that evening, Connor sits Dani down and gives her the Talk. Dani is supremely embarrassed but also sort of appreciates the hints about human customs and culture and stuff. 

The next day, Damian formally asks her out on a date. They hold hands a lot. There’s a lot of blushing. At the end, Dani kisses Damian on the cheek. He turns bright red. 

Dani spends time with Luthor. She likes hanging out in his big fancy office while he’s working, looking at atlases and maps and stuff. He has a business trip coming up over the weekend, to somewhere in Europe, and invites her and Connor to come along. Luthor will have to do some work stuff but they can spend the rest of the time exploring the city they’re in. Dani begs Connor to go and he’s weak so he agrees. 

They spend the weekend in Barcelona. Dani sends loads of pictures to Damian, and Jon. Damian suggests several places for her to visit. They visit an auction house and Dani begs Luthor to buy this really cool antique sword for her. He folds and buys it. Dani sends Damian a text teasing that she bought him the perfect souvenir. Damian asks to see it, but Dani refuses to show him, teasing that he’ll know once she’s back in the states. The little family go on a private jet back to the US. Dani sleeps cuddled up to Luthor, hugging a Spanish atlas he got for her. 

The day after they get back, Dani takes the train to Gotham and goes to the manor. Damian is very touched about her gift. She kisses him on the cheek, and is like “Of course I got it for you. You’re like, my favourite person.” Damian blushes like crazy and says “You are my favourite person, as well.” Dani is invited to stay for dinner, and the family interrogates her a little. 

Connor is making breakfast when Dani crawls out of bed. He serves pancakes. She says “Thanks, Dad,” and Connor freezes for a moment. Then, he smiles and kisses her head, “Any time, baby girl.” She realizes what happened after the meal when she goes to her room to get dressed, and that’s when she starts panicking. She’s lying to everyone and she’s made a right mess of everything, but how could she tell them the truth now? She’s in way too deep! They’ll hate her if she tells them! The best thing she can do is just leave quietly. Connor leaves for the Watchtower. Once he’s up in space, Dani packs her bag and writes a letter to everyone. She also sends a text to Damian (You’re my best friend, Damian! I just wanted to say that. Have a good day at school, maybe we can hang out this weekend!), then bolts into space. Out of sight of surveillance and such, she opens a portal and goes back to the Realms.

LETTER:

Everyone, I have loved living here on Earth, with all of you. I really have. And you all feel like family to me. I wish I could stay longer, but I’m needed at home. Everything is okay, I promise, I’ve just been gone a bit longer than planned so I’m sure people are getting worried! I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit again. I hope I can visit again. I really did like it here. 

Ma and Pa, I love you guys, and I love the farm! It’s the most relaxing place I’ve ever been, in all my travels. You’re a big part of what makes it such a great place. You’re both so warm and kind and welcoming, and I loved every moment I got to spend with you! 

Clark, you’re a great guy. I know we had a bit of a scuffle there for a minute, but after we talked, I could understand where you were coming from. You’re a good person and you’re trying your best, every day. Sometimes, things get a bit messy, but whether it’s your fault or not (most often, it’s not), you try your best to help sort things out. I really admire that about you. 

Lois, I didn’t get to know you very well, but you’re going to be a role model for me for a long, long time! You’re the most badass woman I think I’ve ever met. As a girl, I think that was an important thing for me to see. I’m going to try to emulate your confidence, and I hope I do you justice! 

Jon, you’re the best cousin anyone could ever ask for! Eat your veggies, do your chores, and listen to Lois! I don’t know about Clark, but Lois, for sure. Nah, I’m just kidding! You’ve got a good set of parents, Jon. They want the best for you, so try to at least hear them out, even if you don’t always like what you’re hearing. You’re going to be an amazing hero one day. 

Kara, I’m going to miss out girl dates! I’ve never gotten my nails done before, or had a Frappuccino! Get one for me too, next time you’re out, will you? 

Damian, you’re my best friend. I’m not sure if I know exactly what the romantic sort of love feels like, but I think what I feel for you might be it. I’m going to cherish the memories of our time together, and the map you gifted me. It’ll have a place of honour in my home, always. 

Lex, Grampa, I’ve never had a grandparent before so I don’t know much about how they’re supposed to act. I think you did a good job, though. I think you can be a good person, if you try. Could you please try? For me? I know it would make Connor happy too. He doesn’t like fighting with you. Please try. I’ll miss you, Grampa. 

Connor, Dad… I’ve never had a dad before, either. Even then, I know you’re good at being a dad. You’re good at being my dad. I think I’ll miss you most of all. I love you, Dad. 

Connor coming home and finding the letter. Collapses on his knees and chokes his way through a call to his dad, because Luthor is his dad despite it all. Luthor comes over straight away and reads through the letter too, and comforts Connor while also crying just a little bit, quietly to himself. After Connor has caught his breath, he makes a group call to the whole Kent family and tells them the news. Finally, he flies to Gotham and lets Damian read the letter. He sees the hurt in Damian’s eyes but Damian is quick to shut it away and kick Connor out. Damian snatches the sword down from its place on the wall and almost throws it on the floor, but stops himself, not only because it’s a beautiful, valuable antique but also because it was a gift from Dani. Bruce comes knocking at the door, having been brought up to speed by Connor, and gently comforts Damian. 

In the Realms, Dani mopes around the castle. Everyone can tell she’s very sad and upset. Danny and Jazz try to get her talking about it but nothing really works. After a while, Clockwork comes to see her. He suggests that it’s not always bad to be a little selfish, to do some things just for yourself. Dani is allowed to find a home for herself. If that place, that family, is what calls to her as home, then why not follow that call? Why not allow those people to love her as she deserves to be loved? Why not allow them to offer her the home she so desires? Dani promises to think it over. Another few days pass, and Danny comes to talk to her too. He gives her the last push she needs to go back, also giving her his permission as king to reveal information to the League about the Realms and suggesting friendly relations. 

Dani packs her bag and goes back. She ends up in front of Connor’s door and knocks. He’s so relieved he cries when he sees her. He calls out for Kara, Clark, and Jon; elsewhere in the city, Clark breaks down crying at his desk and Jon falls out of his chair during class. They call around to the farm and to Lois, and Luthor, who rushes over immediately. He literally swears off all his nefarious stuff as long as Dani promises she’ll never leave like that again. Dani laughs and gladly promises. They have dinner together. The next day, Dani goes to Gotham and asks to see Damian. Damian is relieved to see her but also still upset that she left in the first place. She explains herself, that she never really had a true home so when she started feeling like this place was home, she got scared and couldn’t handle it. They make up. 

Dani requests a meeting with the League because there’s a lot she needs to tell them about her home. Connor is a little confused, but agrees and asks for the meeting. Three days later, they have the monthly meeting and at the end, Dani is allowed to join them and confesses that there was a misunderstanding way back when she first met all of them; it was easiest to let them believe what they wanted to believe, since she figured she wasn’t going to stay long enough for it to really matter anyway, but now that she has decided to stay long-term, it’s only fair that she tell them the truth. She explains all about the Infinite Realms and about her being a halfa, and finally, that her template/brother is the king. There’s loads of questions and she answers them the best she can. At the end, she summons Danny and he appears in his scary, kingly visage, only for Dani to punch him and tell him to knock it off, he’s scaring the meat-bags. Danny laughs and chills out, and hugs her, congratulating her for finding her fraid and her haunt.