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twigg96 · 7 months

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Where’d ya hear that at?!

Daddy! Daryl X Reader

Era: Alexandria

Warnings: Fluffy Wholesome Fluff, Daryl being a dad, Kids being kids,

POV: Daryl

Pronouns: You

Summery: When Daryl takes your little family for a walk he watches his youngest daughter Lillian play while you try and teach your eldest two (Phoenix and Beau) some basic survival skills. Daryl plays along with his littlest's antics.

A/N: Inspired by this video XD

Walking slowly along the dirt path Daryl watched as his youngest hopped playfully from puddle to puddle wet and muddy from the past rain storm. You were a little farther behind, he could hear your soothing voice informing his eldest of what berries were safe to eat before scolding his son for chasing a frog down the path and refusing to pay attention. It was quaint moments like this that felt so surreal in the world they lived in.

"Poppa." Lillian's sweet voice cut through the fog of his mind. Looking down at her he smiled. "Yeah, baby?" He asked. Lillian smiled up at him walking over from the puddle she had been jumping in. It had long since run dry from her splashing and left nothing but thick mud for her to play in. Holding out her hand for him to take she smiled widely. "Can I go jumps in the big one now?" She asked pointing with her free hand to a rather large, deep looking puddle farther down the path. Instinctively, Daryl scanned the area, taking his daughter's tiny hand in his own. "Course baby girl." He muttered walking with her, glancing back at you, Phoenix, and Beau to make sure you were all safe.

"Poppa." Lilly whispered, pulling on Daryl's arm. "Do we need to hide?" She asked, worry filling her eyes. Daryl felt himself wince at the toddler's question. He hated that his children needed to be so vigilant. Hated that they needed to know where they closest shelter was or what to do if he and their mother was no where to be found. It killed him inside. Looking down at Lillian's sad, scared eyes Daryl tried to swallow the lump in his throat, kneeling down. "Not right now." He muttered, but the fear was still evident on his little one's face. "Ok." She whispered, kissing Daryl on the nose. "I love you, Poppa." She whispered, hugging his head tight. Daryl couldn't fight the chuckle tearing through his throat at his daughter's sweet actions. "Love you too munchkin." He muttered, watching her wander off towards the puddle.

"Poppa!" Lilly called over her shoulder as she took the first leap, giggling loudly when muddy water splashed up all over her. "Watch me, Poppa!" She giggled. Standing fully Daryl chuckled through his nose. "I'm watching, baby." He said proudly. Stepping out of the puddle Lillian rounded it for another go, this time jumping in at a different angle. Giggling loudly as she was splashed once more, she began to stomp around wildly singing to herself joyously. "Mary had a little lamb!" She started singing, giggling as the splashing matched her voice. Daryl smiled scanning the forest around them. "I am the Queen! Queen of all of Alexandria! My name is Lillian and you will listen to me!" She switched up her song next giggling as she made up words to her song. "Queen of Alexandria huh?" Daryl teased, playing along with his daughter. A round of fitful giggles filled the air and more splashing came as Lillian kicked wildly. "Yeah! I am!" She squealed. "Don't think your uncle Rick would like that much if you took over Alexandria." He teased, laughing as Lillian squealed and ran all around the puddle. "Well... well... then I'll just be the princess!" She squealed defiantly. Daryl nodded smiling at his daughter. "Ah... ok."

The kicking slowed down a bit and fell back into a type of rhythm. A sly grin slid across Lillian's face as she kept looking to her father making sure he was watching before she began to sing again. "Hi! I'm Ethan and I'm fourteen!" She chimed to the beat of her feet. Daryl cocked a brow but stayed quiet. "Slaying girls with my massive Pe-" Daryl froze staring at his daughter in disbelief, fighting the urge to laugh all at the same time. "Lilly!" He barked, making the little girl freeze in place. "Where'd ya hear that at?" He asked, staring down at the three year old. Tears welled in her large dark eyes and her lip jutted out as she stared up at her father. Pinching the bridge of his nose Daryl sighed. Kneeling in front of her he scooped her up, ignoring the mud that covered her. "I ain't mad at ya... I just wanna know where ya heard that at?" He whispered, bouncing her on his knee soothingly. Clinging to his neck, Lilly sobbed but nodded. "B-Beau..." She sniffled. Why was he not surprised...

Standing with Lilly still in his arms he rubbed her back shushing her lovingly. "It's ok. Calm down. You're not in trouble. Just don't say stuff like that..." He whispered kissing her temple. "Matter o' fact... just don't repeat what Beau says at all." He muttered. "Ok, Poppa." She whispered. "How about we head home? Get you washed up for the night?" He asked, glancing to the darkening sky. Walking towards you he gave you a reassuring smile watching as his two eldest played. Well... more like Beau was chasing Phoenix around with a snake he found trying to get her to hold it. Lilly nodded squeezing him tightly yawning sweetly. "Ready?" You asked, standing on your tippy toes to peck Daryl's lips. Daryl hummed nodding with a sigh as you both started on the path towards home. "Beau..." He called. "We gotta have a talk when we get home..."

#the walking dead #twd #daryl dixon #twd daryl #the walking dead daryl #daddy daryl #kids being kids #daryl dixion x reader #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl x reader #daryl fanfiction #daryl twd #daryl x you #daryl dixion imagine #daryl x y/n #daryl drabbles #Did I use lyrics from a tictok thing? Yes #Inspired #Jacques the whipper

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icepopstar5105us · 1 year

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Old dpxdc. Decided I’d post it here because this is a thing now.

It’s also on AO3:

THE HAUNTING OF THE ASYLUM

“Hey.” The guard grabbed the boy’s arm, “Who let you out?”

The boy looked up at him with those dead eyes as the hallway darkened, and things started flying around the room, as if a tornado had hit. His eyes flashed green before he replied, “i CaN nEvEr GeT oUt. ThEy tRaPpeD mE ThErE.” He pointed at the wall, eyes flashing green again, “I aM nOt MeAnT tO eXiSt, sO tHe GuArDs LeFt mE tHeRe.” He pulled his hand through the shocked guard, “ThEy ThOuGhT i WoUlD dIe, BuT i WaS aLrEadY dEaD.” A sad look crossed his face, as everything stopped, flying, “Life is a fiddle thing.” He said bitterly, “My parents never should’ve messed with it.” With that he walked through the wall. Nobody approached him for years after that, though the Inmates saw him often. In fact, the second person to approach him was Robin when both boys appeared to be 8.

The Boy Wonder snuck around a corner, curiously exploring, when he saw him, “Hi.” The bird chirped, and the other jumped a foot in the air, “How are you?”

The boy turned around with a confused expression, “I am..” He trailed off before deciding, “sad.”

“What are you sad about…?” Robin trailed off, looking for a name.

“I’m Phantom.” The boy looked down, “I’m sad, maybe a little angry, because I died with my family, but somehow still exist.” He frowned, “Then I couldn’t control my powers, and I was brought here. The guards left me in my cell while they built walls around it, and no one came looking for me.” He frowned, “I can control my powers, but I was never discharged, so I can’t leave.” A tear fell down his cheek, and Robin hugged him, shocking the boy.

“The rest of my family died a year ago.” Robin told Phantom solemnly, “And I was adopted by Batman, but, while we love each other very much, it’s not the same.”

“At least someone cared.” The Arkham Ghost said bitterly, “No one has ever cared about me.”

“I care.” Robin stated.

“W-What?” The raven haired boy gasped.

“I care.” Robin repeated, as he removed the inhibitor collar, “Because now I’m your friend.”

“Thanks…” The ghost boy paused, “What’s your name?”

“Robin.” The boy wonder paused, making sure he remembered his new friend’s name, “You’re Phantom, right?”

“Call me Danny,” Phantom smiled, “And thanks Robin.”

“What are friends for?” Robin smiled back, “Do you wanna play tag?”

“Sure.” Danny grinned, so the boys played tag until They heard Batman’s worried voice calling Robin.

“Here’s a card with my prison cell number, name, and how to call me if you need a friend, or any help.” Danny held out a card with some writing.

“See ya.” Robin grinned.

“See ya,” Danny smiled, and then he faded into invisibility, and left his next word hanging in the air, “Friend.” Robin turned around, stuffing the card in his pocket, just as Batman, and the Commissioner came running into the room.

“Robin, Arkham is a dangerous place for anyone to go in alone, especially a boy as young as yourself.” The Commissioner stated.

“But I wasn’t alone.” Robin frowned, “Danny was with me.”

“Danny?” The Warden came up, “We don’t have any current staff members, or patients with that name.”

“The kid’s got an imaginary friend.” The Commissioner smiled, “Good for him.”

“It is nice to see him act like a kid for once.” The Warden said gingerly.

“Next time, don’t run off with ‘Danny’.” Batman sounded fatherly for once, and the other two adults watching were shocked at the soft tone used, “I know you can handle yourself, but if anything ever happened to you, you know I couldn’t stand it.”

“I know, dad.” Robin smiled, “That’s why you trained me; because I was going to follow you either way, so you trained me. That way I’d at least be prepared for Gotham.” The two Adults, became even more shocked when Robin hugged Batman, and Batman hugged back.

“Thanks…” Batman said in a slightly less gruff voice, “Son.” Robin smiled as Batman picked him up, and carried him out. The two adults stared at where they left in surprise.

“I knew Robin was important to Batman, but…” The Warden trailed off.

“He truly is a Boy Wonder.” The Commissioner grinned, not noticing the pale boy with white hair in the corner, his face confused, but happy. A patient woke up as the adults walked away, and stared at the intruder. The boy put a finger to his lips, before he, too, left the area.

Three Months Later….

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit.” Robin chanted, reading the card, and Danny appeared in front of him.

“Hey.” Danny smiled, “I almost thought you forgot about me!”

“I would never.” Robin grinned, putting the card back in his pocket, “I was just waiting for Batman to take me to Arkham again, since you said you can’t leave.”

“Oh, thanks.” Danny blushed.

“Can we play something else?” Robin asked, “Preferably something where I won’t get in trouble.”

“Alright, how about… Go fish!” Danny pulled out a packet of cards made for the game, and Robin grinned at the idea.

Batman once more came back, and Danny went invisible before the man could see him.

“I was playing Go Fish with Danny.” Robin grinned, then turned to Batman, “He says that Go Fish is his favourite game, because he and his sister, Jazz liked to play it when they were younger.”

“Ok. Say goodbye to Danny.” Batman told his son.

“I already did,” Robin smiled, “He heard your footsteps, and left.” Batman’s brow furrowed, “Robin, where did Danny go?”

“I don’t know.” Robin shrugged, “He kinda just teleports, but he comes whenever I call him.”

“Uh huh.” Gordon grinned, shooting Batman a look, “What does Danny like to do?”

“He says he likes to steal pudding from the kitchen, and look at the stars.” Robin looked at them happily, “He wants to be an astronaut, and he knows all the constellations.”

“That’s cool.” The warden chuckled, “Why don’t you tell Batman all about them on the way to the Batcave?”

“Okay!” Robin grinned, and with a blink of the eye, the two vanished. The remaining adults shook their heads, and walked away.

-----------------

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit.” By now the ten year old Robin, or Dick Grayson, had memorized the card, and only kept it for memories in a hidden floorboard that you had to move his chest of drawers to access. He also knew to keep Danny a secret. He had even told Danny his identity after Danny saved his life multiple times during a breakout.

“Dick!” Danny cheered, “You’re here!”

“Yeah,” Dick grinned, “What’s up?”

“Oh you know, creeped out another wing of inmates on accident, again, and painted another constellation with my homemade paint.” Danny sighed, “What have you been doing?”

“I hacked the pentagon again, and played a prank on KF.” Dick frowned, “But I need something new to do.”

“So do I.” Danny groaned, “I just do the same routine every month. Get food, make paint, accidentally scare inmates, and paint a new constellation or star.”

“Dude.” Dick laughed, “You need to get a half - life.”

“True.” Danny chuckled, then got an idea, “Do you wanna see my cell? I’ve painted a lot of constellations on the ceiling - and the walls - and I’ve scratched tallies into the floor since I was five. There hasn’t been a door since the remodel, but I have a few holes in the ceiling so don’t worry about oxygen-”

“Dude,” Dick smiled, “I would love to see your home.

A thankful smile crossed Danny’s face. “Hold on.” Danny instructed, grabbing Robin’s arm before going intangible, pulling Robin through the wall.

“Whoa.” Dick said as they landed on the other side, “Your room is cool.”

“Really?” Danny asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” Robin grinned, “It’s better than any of the other cells, I guess that’s because you were younger, though. You’ve made a skylight, and the ceiling is really realistic. The tallies you’ve made with the ecto-beams remind me of those cool movies about the people who are kidnapped, but escape, and save other people. Plus, it’s like a secret hideout. Pretty sweet if you ask me.”

“Huh.” Danny shrugged, “I never thought about it that way.”

“So uh…” Dick hesitantly asked, “What’s today’s tally?”

“2,044.” Danny sighed, “AKA five years, seven months, and six days.”

“You actually added it up?” Dick was stunned.

“What do you think the tallies are for?” Danny asked, “They help me keep track. I circle each one that marks a year, and a box for every month. This way, I know what day it is.”

“Smart.” Dick’s smile faltered as the timer on his wrist computer went off, “I gotta go.”

“Grab on,” Danny smirked, “Goodbye, by the way.”

“Goodbye.” Robin said, and grabbed Danny’s hand. Danny invisibly flew him through the wall, and Robin quickly shut off the timer. He walked towards the Commissioner’s office, and sat in the chair outside of the office. Batman came out, and they left.

“Where were you?” Batman asked as they got into the Batmobile.

“I know where I can, and can’t go.” Robin started, but faltered when he saw Batman’s worried gaze.

“I wasn’t doing anything dangerous.” Robin told him, “There’s no need to worry.”

“That’s what Roy told Ollie before he was arrested for doing drugs.” Batman said seriously, “Are you doing drugs?”

“What?!” Robin shouted, “No!”

“Then what is it?” Batman sighed, “You disappear every time we’re at the most dangerous place in the city. I have a right to be concerned.”

“I just like to wander, that’s all.” Robin huffed. Batman knew he was lying, but let it go.

----------

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit!” An 11 year old Dick dressed as Robin cried out.

“Hey Dick!” Danny said cheerfully. Dick hugged Danny, and cried quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked, sounding concerned.

“Batman {sniffle} told me {sniffle} about what {sniffle} happened to you.” The famous Robin sobbed, “I {sniffle} didn’t real- {sniffle} -ize how horrible {sniffle} those guards {sniffle} and agents {sniffle} were to you!”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Danny comforted, “I’m fine. I’m still half alive. The security footage they found isn’t as bad as it looks. I lived. All they did was knock me out with a punch. You’ve been knocked out before, it’s not half as bad as it sounds. There are only two reason I’ve stayed here, and one of them is I’m still waiting to find out whether or not I’ve been discharged.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve gotten information on {sniffle} whether you’re discharged or not.” Dick sounded confused.

“I didn’t want to take advantage of our friendship.” Danny said solemnly, “I also didn’t want you to know… because I was worried how you would react. I didn’t want you to treat me differently…” Dick hugged Danny tighter, and there was a peaceful, silence, one full of forgiveness.

“Danny?” Dick pulled out of the hug, wiping away his tears, “What’s the other reason you stay here?”

“You, of course.” Danny smiled sadly, “If I left, I might never see you again.”

“Danny…” Dick paused, “You shouldn’t stay here because of me.”

“I’m not staying here because of you.” Danny smiled seriously, “I’m staying here because I want to be here to be your friend.”

“What’s the difference?” Dick asked curiously.

“Well, the first one states I’m not staying for me.” Danny shrugged, “And the second states I’m here because I want to be here so I can have our friendship.”

“You sound like a wise old man.” Dick joked, “You definitely got the hair for it too.”

“Well this old man is gonna tag you!” Danny smirked.

“Come and get me, ya old geezer!” Dick laughed, running away.

“Oh, it is on!” Danny laughed, and flew after Dick.

——————

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit!” Robin, or Dick was 12, and his face was split into a grin. He had two other heroes beside him.

“Uh… Rob… what are you doing?” Kid Flash asked.

“Hey! Robin!” A voice said chipperly, and the other two jumped as a boy materialized beside them.

“Whoa!”

“Who are you?”

Robin facepalmed, “KF, Speedy, this is Phantom. My first and best friend. He is also known as the Arkham Ghost. Phantom, this is Kid Flash, and Speedy.”

Danny grinned, “Hi! You’re Green Arrow and The Flash’s partners, right? That’s sooo cool! I wish I had someone to teach me how to control my powers! Being a hero must be so cool… though I’m sure it comes with downfalls.”

“Yeah…” KF laughed nervously, “So… Phantom, how did you meet Robin?”

“He had snuck off, and exploring. He surprised me, and I guess we got talking.”

“You mean, I scared you?” Robin teased.

“Not cool, Rob.” Danny blushed. Robin just cackled.

“Wait… so Robin scared a ghost?” Speedy sniggered, “Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”

Danny blushed, “I really don’t mean to scare people… except when they try to hurt me or anyone else…”

KF grinned, “Cool. So… Arkham Ghost… what does Bats think about this?”

“Uh….” Danny exchanged looks with Robin, “He doesn’t?”

Speedy started cackling, “Oh my god! Someone’s in trouble!”

“What?” KF said, panicked, “What do you mean?”

“Shh!” Robin hushed them, “Batman doesn’t know.”

KF paled, “That’s… terrifying. How’d you manage that?”

Danny snorted, “No one’s going to expect a dead kid to be haunting their son.”

“I don’t think you can call this haunting.” Robin laughed, “I found you.”

Danny shrugged, “Let me correct myself. No one expects their son to be summoning a dead spirit.”

“Dead?” Kid Flash made a face.

Danny smiled, “Yeah. I was in an explosion, and then I got murdered!”

Speedy blinked, “You sound way too happy about that.”

“I like to think I’m pretty chill about it, nowadays.”

KF snorted.

Footsteps could be heard, and Danny went invisible. The door opened.

“I suggest you encourage your friends to lower their voices, Master Dick. Your friends have a… ghost of chance of getting punished, but I would still encourage keeping your voices down.”

“You’re not telling Batman?” Robin asked, confused.

Alfred smiled, “Why would I? All I see are a few young friends - whom you invited into this house - conversing.” He winked and walked out.

Danny came back into view, looking terrified, “He knows.”

“Dude, Alfred knows everything.” Robin shrugged, “If he says he won’t tell Bats, he won’t. We’re good.”

“Phew.” Danny pretended to wipe sweat off his forehead.

---

Everything Dick knew had been turned inside out. Batman, his mentor… his father… had been playing him this whole time. He had lied about the Watchtower… what else was he lying about? To make things worse, Roy had left. Roy, his friend… his brother in all, but blood, left. Dick had a feeling things would never be the same.

He was angry and frustrated, so he roped Aqualad and Kid Flash into going after a suspicious government organization - Cadmus. Now he was being electrocuted in some pod and the Cadmus scientists were going to clone him. When the other scientists left the room, Robin had an idea. Through the pain, he screamed a few words.

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit!”

“What -” Aqualad’s face scrunched in confusion alongside the pain.

Suddenly, the room cooled and the machines shut down. Moments later the pods released the superhero sidekicks.

“How did you do that?” Aqualad asked, surprised.

“He didn’t!” Danny grinned, appearing in front of Aqualad.

“Who -”

There were loud sounds from outside the door, and a teen Superman clone broke through the door. He paused, “Oh. You got yourselves out.”

“Hi!” Danny waved, “We’re going to escape? Wanna come?”

“Yes.” Superboy grunted.

An alarm went off and Robin huffed, “Better start running then! Danny, can you still go intangible? Like when you showed me your room?”

“Yep, but I can only take two people at a time!”

“Great!” Robin said, “We’ll find a place to hide then you can take two trips.”

“Got it!” Danny nodded.

“Until then, we’re going to have to wing it.”

“Wait -” Danny said suddenly, “I can distract them. You guys get to a safe place, then summon me. Deal?”

“Deal!” Robin nodded.

“Stay safe! Don’t want you joining my lifestyle anytime soon!”

Aqualad looked after Danny, confused, “What will he…”

“Trust me, if anyone can hide and distract, it’s Danny.” Robin said, “Now let’s go!” The group started to bolt out of the room.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Superboy growled, before running after them.

---

Danny remained invisible as he caused chaos - breaking machines, pulling down pants, lowering the temperature, and knocking stuff over.

“What is going on?” The lead scientist scowled

“We don’t know - it’s like we’ve incurred the wrath of some spirit!”

Danny used his ice to puncture a pipe above the nervous scientist who yelped as cold water pelted him from above.

“Ugh. Where is the maintenance crew?”

“You had us experiment on and kill them, sir.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Do you think their spirits are haunting us?”

“What? No. Don’t be so foolish. Ghosts don’t exist -”

Danny let out an eerie giggle. His voice echoing in the room, “Are you sure about that?”

“Who’s there.”

“I am known by many names. Wraith, Ghost, or Nightmare, but you can call me Phantom.”

“Why are you here?”

“I hate people like you. Murderers. Always sending more to their death. Though, with the all the spirits you’ve angered… it almost makes me pity you. Almost.” His voice turned vindictive, “Because people like you deserve what’s coming. For the ones you’ve hurt to tear you to pieces and throw you into the abyss - a worse fate than anything you could ever receive in this realm.”

“I will ask again… why are you here?”

“To warn you. You are going to suffer unless you change.”

“I’m okay with who I am.” The lead scientist scoffed, “And you can’t stop me.”

The other scientists nodded shakily in agreement.

Danny smirked, “Then suffer.”

He frosted the pipes, making them exploded, and had hail begin to pelt from the ceiling. The scientists started screeching.

---

“Qui vocat medium exspiravit!” Robin whispered.

Danny appeared, “They should be occupied for awhile, but we need to get out of here.”

They heard screams and an announcement echoed throughout the building, “Everyone to the 42nd Laboratory. Everyone to the 42nd Laboratory.”

“Dude.” Wally snorted, “What did you do?”

Danny smirked, “Tell you later.” He grabbed Wally and Aqualad and took them through the ceiling. He returned a few minutes later, grabbing Robin and Superboy. All four were soon outside the building - just in time to see the sunset.

“Wow.” Superboy said quietly.

“Never seen a sunset?” Robin asked, surprised.

“Never been outside.” Superboy huffed.

Danny grinned, “I remember when I first went outside of Arkham after years of isolation… It was pretty amazing.”

“Arkham?” Aqualad seemed startled.

Danny smirked, bowing dramatically, “Danny Phantom, Arkham Ghost and best friend of Robin at your service.”

Aqualad seemed stunned before he shrugged, “It’s been a long day.”

Danny snorted.

“What’s that?” Superboy asked as he pointed at a dot on the horizon.

Danny looked up, paling, “Aw man, secret’s out Rob. Supes spotted me.”

“You mean the league doesn’t know? Wouldn’t Batman -”

Superman touched the ground, “The League doesn’t know about what?”

The rest of their mentors showed up and the teens all winced.

Robin sighed and turned to Batman, “Dad… meet Danny. The Arkham Ghost.”

Batman’s eyes narrowed at the boy, “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“I…. I guess you just didn’t believe me at first, and then it was too hard to tell you.”

Batman looked tired, and annoyed, “And who is this?” He gestured to Superboy.

“I am Superboy. Cadmus’s clone of Superman.” Superboy said angrily.

Superman froze, but he turned away. Superboy looked hurt at this, but no one said anything.

----

As the other four teens started to explain everything to their mentors, Danny started to walk away, but Batman put a hand on his shoulder, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m not needed here. You’ve got your partners. I was only here, because Robin couldn’t contact anyone else. I don’t really even know the whole story.”

“We have some questions.” Superman said with a frown.

Flash nodded, “Like why haunt Arkham?”

“I was a patient.” Danny shrugged, “The guards tried to kill me when I was discharged. Most people seemed to forget I was already mostly dead.”

“Mostly dead?”

Danny looked down, and a dimly glowing white ring appeared around his middle. The group watched as the ring split and started to travel in opposite directions. As the rings traversed, they revealed a new form of the boy. His skin turned paler, and his white hair turned black. He was now wearing jeans torn at the knees and a ripped, filthy shirt. The League watched as he looked up with ice blue eyes.

“I’m Danny Fenton. The only half dead being I know of.” Danny huffed, “I was partially killed in the -”

“Amity Park Explosion at four.” Batman finished, “And then brought to Arkham to control your new abilities.”

“Yes.” Danny confirmed, “The Amity Explosion was caused by my parents lab. They were trying to make a portal to the Infinite Realms. Unfortunately, they used too powerful a generator of ectoplasm and… it blew up. I was in the kitchen - right above it. I got caught in a blast of pure ectoplasm. It started to kill me and then bonded with my DNA - basically saving what life was left.”

“Making you half ghost.” Batman finished.

“Yeah.” Danny nodded.

Flash frowned, “What’s with the rags?”

Danny shrugged, “You try living in a blocked off cell for 10 years with no resources. See how you look.”

“Fair enough.” Flash nodded

“Can I go now?”

Superman crossed his arms, “Do you have a place to go?”

Danny scratched the back of his neck, “Ahhh… Arkham?”

Flash snorted, “You think we’re going to just let you continue to live in a cell you shouldn’t even be in?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Well, we’re not.”

��Then where am I going?”

There was silence, before Aqualad spoke up, “Well, we were going to start a team of our own - whether you liked it or not. Maybe, if you gave us the opportunity…”

Batman scowled, “Fine. Give me three days. Until then, I can take Danny to the commissioner. He’s going to need his records updated.” He glanced at the boy, “And some better clothes.”

“Sounds good!” Flash grinned, “Kid Flash, I’ll call your mom to see if Superboy can stay over a few nights.”

“Okay!” Wally nodded.

----

Danny, dressed in Robin’s old clothes, awkwardly watched Batman from the back of the Batmobile. He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent.

“Gordon has been guilty over your death for years.” Batman said suddenly.

“He has? Why?”

“He was the one to get you discharged at the time. Figured no kid should grow up in Arkham regardless of their abilities. Ever since your… disappearance, he’s been trying to eliminate the corruption in Gotham.”

“Really?” Danny sounded surprised, “That… means a lot. Actually. I thought no one mourned me. That no one cared.”

Batman huffed, “We’re here.”

“Ok.” Danny got out of the car, “Um… Don’t you normally meet him on the roof of the station or whatever?”

“Yes, but I don’t want you flying around and accidentally scaring civilians.”

Danny huffed.

“Batman.” Gordon said as he walked up, “You better have a good reason for this -” He saw Danny and paused, “Who’s this?”

“Daniel Fenton.”

Danny bit his lip, “I go by Danny, actually.”

Gordon froze, getting choked up, “You mean…”

“Yes.” Batman nodded, “He survived. Lived right under all our noses as the Arkham Ghost… and Robin’s secret friend.”

Gordon paused then snorted (but he was still teary eyed, Danny noted), “I can’t believe we didn’t catch that.”

“Batman says I need documents. Since there’s no reason not to do this legally, he wanted to ask you.” Danny paused, “And… it sounds like you’ve done a lot to prevent what happened to others from happening to me.” He gave Gordon a soft smile, “I appreciate that. It means a lot that you mourned at all…. That you cared enough to make change and save others… it’s more than I ever could’ve hoped for.”

Gordon looked ready to break down in tears of happiness, and he ruffled Danny’s hair, “Thank you, kid. I… I needed to hear that.” He looked at Batman, “Do you know where he’ll be going?”

“He’s going to be in the custody of the Justice League.” Batman said, “We will make sure he gets a life outside of Arkham. Since he’s apparently friends with Robin, you might be seeing him around more often.”

“Is… this your way of telling me he’s becoming a hero?” Gordon huffed.

Danny shrugged, “Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and superman’s teen clone are starting a team…. So yeah.”

“Under League terms.” Batman reminded.

Gordon smiled, “I won’t tell… What’s your hero name?”

“Phantom.” Danny smiled, “Been going by it since the patients at Arkham coined it.”

Gordon huffed, “I can’t believe we didn’t figure that one out.”

“It's good that the new team will be recon.” Batman said, "It must be his specialty."

"Oh," Danny laughed, "You have no idea."

THE END