Chapter Text
Vlad was NOT having a good time. Daniel had disappeared without a trace four months ago. He’d heard some rather disturbing rumors, but he didn’t really want those to be true. The only way that he was going to get to bottom of it was (a violent shudder racked his body at the thought) going to go and talk to Jack and Maddie. He was not opposed to speaking with his dear Madeline, but the thought of enduring that boorish oaf, Jack, was not a pleasant thought. He took another look at himself in the mirror to make sure his gray hair was impeccable before he left his castle via portal and opened another portal near Amity Park.
He trekked into the quaint little city and immediately noticed several things. First, the people were…happier…Yes, they seemed to be happier about something. Second, there was a distinct lack of white kidnapper vans and people in glaring white suits tromping about. Third, there were no ghosts. This normally wouldn’t have been cause for alarm, but to Vlad, it raised his hackles. There were ALWAYS ghosts, even if they were the cute little blob ghosts floating around. Vlad couldn’t sense ANY of those around.
He made his way to the familiar FentonWorks house. The monstrosity of the UFO-like contraption was still sitting on top of it. The sign was still lit up and blinking. Everything about the house was as familiar as it could be, but as he got closer, Vlad couldn’t help the cold chill the crept up his spine. Something unsettled him, and in the deepest depths of his mind, he admitted that it took a lot to unsettle him. After all, there were few beings more powerful than him, Daniel notwithstanding.
Vlad knocked on the door, and no one answered. That unsettling feeling crept deeper into his bones. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him, and then he phased into the house. It was empty. That was unusual. He took his time. He knew that Jasmine was off at college, but Maddie and Jack wouldn’t dare to go too far from their precious portal. He made his way down to their lab and found it abandoned as well. He went to their garage, and then his heart sunk. The GAV was gone.
Vlad made his was back into the main streets of Amity. The celebration was still going on. He stopped someone to see what was going on.
“Oh, Mister Masters. We’re celebrating the downfall of the GIW. Here, you can read all about it,” said the random citizen that Vlad had stopped.
He shoved a newspaper article in Vlad’s face. It was a Daily Planet article. It talked about how Jack and Maddie had attacked the UN Summit. Vlad felt a pit form in his stomach. Oh Ancients! Surely, surely, they wouldn’t have been that stupid. He reread the article. But it continued to say the same thing. The Justice League had somehow found out about the Anti-Ecto Control Acts and the GIW. The UN had voted to repeal the Anti-Ecto Control Acts and disband the GIW. The GIW were being investigated. But due to their actions at the UN Summit, Jack (and Vlad couldn’t care less about Jack) and Maddie had been arrested and were being held, pending several investigations.
“Fudgesicles!” Vlad exclaimed.
If the Justice League began investigating the GIW, they would see that at one point, he was one their primary backers. Granted, he hadn’t been since Daniel had disappeared, but still. His hand gripped the newspaper tight as he fled back to his castle. He knew that he didn’t have much time. He raced through his castle and began panic-packing. He knew that he would have to find a place in the Infinite Realms. He split himself into multiple duplicates and began throwing his most important things into boxes. While his duplicates were frantically packing, he reread the article for the umpteenth time. And then he read the full article. And saw the picture. There, staring at him, mocking him, in all their glory, was Daniel and Danielle. They had been adopted by that himbo Brucie Wayne. But how had Daniel convinced that nincompoop to adopt him? And Drake? Like Jack and Janet Drake? Vlad knew of them, if only barely. Vlad reread the article. Again. Daniel was…Daniel was NOT his precious Maddie’s. How was that possible? No, that couldn’t be. He took after Jack. But…He looked again at the picture. There smiling up at him was indeed Daniel and an older boy. The caption said that the boy was one Timothy Drake-Wayne.
‘Hmm, an older brother, perhaps,’ Vlad thought to himself. According to the article that was exactly what this Timothy was claiming to be. Wayne was a big name. If Daniel was claiming to be part of the Wayne family, then he would have had to agree to a DNA test. But Daniel wouldn’t have done that. Because the Anti-Ecto Control Acts were still in place when he must have found his so-called brother. Vlad frowned at the headache forming. At the same time, Vlad knew that Daniel wouldn’t stoop to overshadowing the boy or Brucie Wayne. So, he must have done something else to ingratiate himself into their family, and then convince Danielle to go along with it.
Vlad finished his packing, and then looked around his Packers memorabilia infested castle one last time. He got an intruder alert on his CCTV system. “Butter brickle!” Vlad shouted. He thought he had more time before those goody two shoes from the Justice League showed up. Coming up the driveway was none other than at least one Green Lantern and a Flash.
Vlad and his duplicates flitted down to his portal in the basement of the castle with his stuff. He flung his things into the portal and then set the portal to self-destruct as the doors closed behind him. Vlad felt the destruction of the portal as the doors slid closed behind him. Now, he just had to find somewhere in the Realms to hide and then he could fetch both Daniel and Danielle.
‘Don’t worry, Little Badger. We’ll be reunited soon,’ Vlad thought as he dived deeper into the Realms.
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“Hey Hood,” Phantom called. He and Hood had teamed up with each other for a patrol.
“Hey Casper,” Hood called back with a cheerful wave. “I’m surprised Red Robin and Penny One let you out of their sight.”
“I was going a little stir crazy. I promised not to get into anything too crazy. That’s why I’m with you,” he replied.
“You do realize that Karma’s a bitch and will laugh at you for saying something like that, right?” Hood looked at Phantom like he’d grown a second head, facepalmed and then sighed. Didn’t he know that this was GOTHAM? Saying something like that was practically a guarantee that something fucked was going to happen.
And right on time, their communicators went off: Arkham Breakout. The Joker was loose.
Hood waited for his vision to be flooded with green rage as it usually did whenever the Joker was mentioned, but the only anger was the usual anger at the thought that his killer was loose. Again. Phantom looked at his brother curiously. Hood shook his head in awe. He still couldn’t believe that Phantom had gotten rid of his Pit Rage.
“Alright Casper. Other than Scarecrow, this is your first Rogue. And it’s your first Rogue as a Bat. Or well, Bat-Adjacent. So, I’m going to need you to listen to what I say.” Phantom nodded.
Hood raced away on his bike, and Phantom floated beside him. Oracle had informed them that Joker was headed to a warehouse close to the docks near Crime Alley. Hood growled. Crime Alley was HIS, and that clown fucker DARED to intrude. By the time they reached the appropriate warehouse, Batman, Spoiler and Black Bat were waiting. There were several goons milling about on the outside of the warehouse, and thermal imaging showed them that there were at least twenty more inside, plus at least 3 hostages. The Joker was inside an inner office.
Batman gave a signal to the others, and they began moving in. Whatever Joker was planning they couldn’t wait for much longer. Phantom would take care of getting the hostages to safety, and then he could come back and help once the hostages were safely away. Batman, Spoiler, Black Bat, and Red Hood would take out the goons. Phantom went invisible and intangible as he phased into the building.
The first steps of the plan went off without a hitch. But then, somehow, things go sideways. Because of course they did. The goons were the first to notice the hostages were gone, so naturally they had to make some noise. This alerted the Joker.
“Batsy! So glad you could come to the party,” The megalomaniac intoned.
Hood tensed at hearing Joker’s voice, but the green stayed away. Batman, Spoiler, and Black Bat were similarly tensed. And then, the clown lifted his handy, dandy, trusty crowbar. Then, it was nothing but a flurry of movement as the goons clashed against the Bats. Joker himself weaved in and out trying to rush Hood. All of the Bats are too busy to get to Hood’s side to help him. No one noticed the temperature in warehouse started to plummet.
There was a sound. A screech. A Wail.
Batman would later describe it as something closer to Black Canary’s Cry. The windows in the warehouse rattled, and all of the goons were stunned. Most of them were frozen in place. Literally. Batman and the other vigilantes were similarly stunned. Joker, however, was not, even though his ears were bleeding. He took full advantage of Hood’s distracted stated and attempted to swing his crowbar at the back of Hood’s head.
There was a second screech, but nowhere near as powerful as the first, and Joker went flying backwards and crumpled into a jumbled heap against the wall.
“STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU ASSHOLE!” Phantom screamed as he faded back into visibility. Phantom could feel the fear roiling off of Hood which was what had prompted Phantom to react. Phantom’s form began to flicker and twist into something more…eldritch. There were too many teeth that were way too sharp; eyes that could see into the depths of the soul; Phantom grew two onyx horns and an additional two arms; and the shadows were filled with stars while also being impossibly dark. He stood over Joker’s unmoving form and growled; a low and menacing thing that sent shivers up the spines of everyone present.
Hood cautiously approached Phantom and laid his hand on the eldritch godling’s shoulder. “Phantom. It’s fine. See, I’m ok,” Hood said lowly, in a calming tone. Phantom turned and hissed at Hood, but Hood didn’t flinch or waiver, just kept reassuring Phantom that the other vigilantes were fine; that the goons were all tied up; and it was safe for him to come back. After a few minutes, Phantom flickered a second time and began shrinking into himself and was finally back in his original form.
He turned to look at where he power-punched the Joker and let out a startled eep. “OH SHIT! PLEASE DON’T TELL ME HE’S DEAD?!?!” Phantom cried.
Spoiler looked up at him from where she was examining Joker, “He’s not.” Phantom sighed in relief. “He’s got quite a few broken bones, and likely a spinal injury. He probably won’t be breaking out of Arkham for a very long time. That is if he recovers. You pack quite a punch there, Ghost Boy!” Spoiler said, like a proud mother.
“Phantom. What happened?” Batman grunted out.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d rather report back at base, if we could.”
“Hn,” Batman grunted in reply. The vigilantes wrapped up turning the goons and Joker to the waiting police and other first responders. Commissioner Gordon didn’t comment on Joker’s state, although a ghost (ha) of a smile could be seen playing on his lips as he was wheeled into the ambulance. Both Batman and Gordon knew that news of Joker’s demise would reach Gotham’s streets within hours.
“Alright, Casper, what the hell was that at the warehouse?” Jason asked once they had all gathered in the training area and had had their showers. Even the family members who hadn’t responded were gathered.
“I think it was a mini-Wail,” Danny replied.
“A what?” Tim asked.
“My Ghostly Wail. But like a mini version of it. I honestly didn’t know I could do that,” Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Danny, what do you mean you didn’t know you could do that?” Tim asked his brother in shock.
“So, I kinda hate clowns. Back in Amity Park, there was a circus that came through called Circus Gothica. The Ringmaster was this creep called Freakshow. He had a staff that could mind control ghosts. Me, being a half ghost, fell under the spell of the staff. Freakshow was using the ghosts to commit crimes, like bank robberies and jewel heists, in the towns that the circus went through. When he came through Amity, I got caught. He almost killed my friend Sam. Eventually, my friends managed to break his staff. I was able to defeat him. When I saw Joker standing behind Jason and felt his fear, I kinda freaked out.” Danny explained.
“Yeah…I get that. But what does that have to do with you not knowing what you could do?” Tim asked shakily.
“When I first got my powers, I was getting a new one like every few days. Even Frostbite, my ghost doctor, says I may never stop developing new powers.”
“How many powers do you have?” Bruce asked.
“I…don’t know?” Danny phrased it as a question.
“HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW?” Tim yelled in exasperation.
“So, all ghosts have basic powers. Flight, invisibility, overshadowing, and intangibility. Then, after that, each ghost has their own set of individual powers. Mine that I can remember are: Super strength, super hearing but not like on par with Superman, healing factor, durability, speed again not as fast as the Flash family, ectoblasts, ghost shields, ghost sense, cryokinesis, electrokinesis, pyrokinesis, photokinesis, telekinesis, and my Ghostly Wail.”
“Holy shit,” someone breathed out, probably Steph.
“Yeah. Although the electrokinesis, pyrokinesis, and photokinesis are very weak. Especially the pyrokinesis since I have an ice core.
“And you said that what you did in the warehouse was a mini version of your Ghostly Wail? What even is that?” Jason asked.
“It’s basically a sonic blast built of my ectoplasm. I usually use it as a last resort attack because it drains so much of my power that I fall unconscious afterwards and that causes me to de-transform. But, like I said earlier, I kinda freaked out when I saw Joker behind Jason. I also kind of instinctually knew that if I used my full Wail that it would cause the warehouse to implode, killing everyone inside. So, new power I guess,” Danny finished with another neck rub and jazz hands.
“Danny, you’re killing me. Again,” Jason snarked. Granted, the snark was probably due to the adrenaline wearing off, so Danny didn’t pay it any mind.
“You could have been really hurt,” Tim said with a shaky breath.
Danny looked at his family in confusion. And then, it hit him. He wasn’t used to people worry for him. Sure, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker worried about him, but they’d also been around him long enough to know that he could tank just about anything. In the last few months, their worry had started to fade into the background. And Ancients knew that the Fentons certainly hadn’t worried about him that much, especially once he got old enough to care for himself. He looked at each member of his new family again. And yep, they were each radiating that same sense of worry.
“Umm. You do realize that there’s not much that can actually hurt me, right?” His family looked up at him in shock. Apparently, they hadn’t considered that. “I mean yes, there are things that can. The weapons that the Fentons invent, obviously, can hurt because ectoplasm can hurt ectoplasm. There’s also a special space rock called ectoranium that comes from one of Saturn’s moons. Rarer than even Kryptonite. And the last one is an extinct flower called Blood Blossoms. Those can actually kill me all the way. They’re supposed to be extinct. Yet somehow the Fentons and the Froot Loop seem to have some on hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sad trench coat man managed to get some, either. Occultists like him always manage to find the weirdest shit.”
‘Uh oh,’ Danny thought. ‘I think I broke them.’
“Daniel James Drake-Wayne,” Tim began, practically growling the name out.
“OH SHIT! HE JUST GOT FULL NAMED!” Steph cackled.
“You’ve been living in Gotham for four months. And up till you got kidnapped, how did you deal with the craziness that is Gotham? You can’t tell me that you didn’t get mugged, robbed, or held up at least once, and if you say that then you’re a lying liar who lies,” Tim said in a dangerously low voice.
“Um, usually I would turn parts of myself intangible. Kept my wallet and phone phased into either my chest or thigh. Sometimes, I would turn the weapon intangible. Sometimes, I would fly to work. My baseline powers weren’t enough to pull in the GIW, especially with the high level of ambient ecto that Gotham has.”
“Sometimes, Danny, you scare us. And I was raised to be the prince an assassin cult,” Damian said flatly.