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luxaofhesperides · 5 months

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For the ghostlights drabbles: “Say my name” with a favor being called in?

Duke had saved Phantom years ago, back when he was just out of high school and working to take down a branch of the government that was kidnapping and experimenting on people, targeting magic users and metas. Phantom had been working on his own to take them down, and they met in the middle, trashing a lab and freeing as many people as they could.

They had managed to shoot his back, knocking him down and making him bleed a glowing green. Phantom couldn’t move, protecting two kids with his body, and Duke couldn’t reach them in time before they were taken away by another swarm of agents.

He was able to go after them in time, free Phantom and the kids, and evacuated the victims before Phantom rained hell down on the facility.

At the end, standing in the background as they watched paramedics treat the victims and take them towards the nearest hospitals, Phantom had turned towards him and thanked him.

Or rather, he thanked the Signal and offered him a bracelet with a rounded orb of ice, glowing faintly in the dark. If you ever need me, he had said, Hold this, and call me name.

Phantom vanished once the last of the victims were transported to a safer location, and Duke hadn’t seen him since.

He’s kept up with news about Phantom as best he can, but from what he could tell, Phantom is based primarily in Amity Park, Illinois, and the town is fiercely protective of their hero. News rarely leaks out of there, and with them running on their own servers and independent internet, it was nearly impossible to get in from the outside.

Phantom remained a curious and distant figure in Duke’s life. He holds onto the bracelet still, guarding it carefully and sometimes running his fingers over the ice that never melts.

But he doesn’t call in that favor. He’s never to.

At least, not until now.

Sucking in a breath, Duke prepares himself and holds the orb of ice in the palm of his hand. He’s in civies, unable to hide his identity for this, and closes his eyes. “Phantom,” he says.

For a moment, nothing happens. Duke blinks his eyes open and frowns, mind already forming new plans to contact Phantom. Then the ice goes bitingly cold, almost painful, and the temperature in the room drops dramatically. The ice lifts up from his hand, floating in the air, then cracks open.

White-blue light spills out of it, growing brighter as it seems to swallow up the room entirely. Duke hurries to back up, an arm thrown up to protect his eyes. His breath mists out before him and he shivers as the sound of ice cracking fills the room.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, the light disappears and the cold fades away like a bad dream.

Slowly, Duke lowers his arm and looks up at Phantom, floating in the middle of his living room with a crown made of ice, engulfed in blue fire, hovers above his head. He looks older, more regal, holding his head high.

He regards Duke carefully for a minute, then tilts his head and says, “Signal?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Man, I’m so glad you came.”

“You… need help with something? You’re calling in your favor now, right?”

Duke nods. He understands Phantom’s confusion; being in the hero business means that favors like these tend to be used only during the most hopeless of times, when the world is close to ending, when the chances of getting out of a situation alive is close to impossible. It’s exactly the kind of thing Duke was expecting to call Phantom in for.

Not the kid sleeping on his couch.

“You’re a ghost, yeah?”

Phantom blinks at him. “Ghost king, now. Why?”

“Well…” Duke rubs the back of his neck, nervously. “I didn’t really know who else to call, and I can’t do this on my own since I’m not a ghost. But this kid got attached to me and won’t leave, so now I’m taking care of her and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I don’t know why you think I have any experience with kids but—”

“She’s a ghost.”

Phantom stops short. “Ah. I see.” He floats down until his feet touch the floor, and then he’s standing like any other person. “Where…?”

Duke looks past Phantom’s shoulder, and Phantom turns to follow his gaze. Chelsea, the ghost girl, looks to be around nine years old and is fast asleep on the couch, curled up under Duke’s softest blanket.

“Signal,” Phantom says quietly, “What, exactly, is the favor you need from me?”

“You can say no,” Duke starts. “I get that this is a lot. But I need help raising her. And since you’re a ghost, I figured you could help me learn about the ghostly side of things. You don’t have to raise her with me or anything! Just… I would appreciate any help you’re willing to give me.”

Phantom doesn’t say no. He doesn’t say anything. He just stares down at Chelsea, an unreadable expression on his face.

On the couch. Chelsea shifts in her sleep, brows furrowing as she makes a choked noise in the back of her throat.

Moving on autopilot after so many nights of this routine, Duke kneels next to the couch, fishing one of her hands from beneath the blanket. He gives it a few reassuring squeezes, keeping it a slow rhythm to pull her gently from her nightmare. She settles down in just a minute, brow smoothing out as she continues to sleep.

The silence grows and Duke is all too aware that his heart is the only one beating.

He doesn’t hear Phantom move. Doesn’t realize he’s right next to him until he sees Phantom’s hand reach out towards Chelsea. When Duke looks, Phantom is sitting on the floor next to Duke, looking at Chelsea with something soft and devastated in his eyes. His hand hovers about her head for a long moment, then slowly lowers to rest on her head.

The touch looks gently, barely putting any pressure on her head, but it’s enough to make Chelsea’s eyes snap open, suddenly wide awake. She stares at Phantom with wide eyes, then sits up and looks between him and Duke.

“Who are you?” she asks in a small voice that makes Duke want to stand against the world to keep her safe.

Phantom smiles. It’s casual and charming and makes him look like anyone else, as if he’s not a powerful king from a realm unreachable to humans. “Hi there,” he says, “I’m Danny. I’m a ghost like you. Signal called me and asked me to meet you.”

The Ghost King is good with kids. Who would have thought?

Chelsea looks at him for confirmation and only relaxes when he nods. “I’m Chelsea. What do you mean ghost? I’m not dead.”

Both he and Phantom tense, carefully keeping their expressions neutral. She hasn’t told him much at all, just that her parents were gone and forgot her and she got hurt, so she wanted to stay with ‘Mr. Signal’ because he’s a hero and heroes keep people safe and he was the only one who was Black like her. Duke hadn’t had the heart to say no, and began searching for her family, only to find that her parents had fled the state, and likely the country, after killing their only child through neglect and a dangerous environment.

It was then that he realized that her powers were not because she was a meta, but because she was ghost.

It still hurts to realize how young she is, how much of her life had been stolen from her in an instant. Duke hadn’t been brave enough to broach the topic with her, instead choosing to let her grow comfortable in his presence, get them both settled into a routine now that he was her primary guardian.

“I know it sounds scary,” Phantom says, “And you may not want to believe me, but it’s true. I’m sorry that you died so young, but that just means you get to hang out with me and other ghosts from now on!”

Chelsea crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. “I am not dead,” she says.

“Cici, I’m sorry to say this, but you are,” Duke cuts in. “That’s why I called… Danny. You have new powers as a ghost, and he can help you get used to them.”

“I’m not dead!” she says again.

“Kid,” Phantom begins, but Chelsea shakes her head hard and hops off the couch.

“I’m not lying! Watch, I’ll prove it to you!” She closes her eyes and scrunches up her nose, concentrating. Her hands curl into tight fists by her sides, and the glow around her grows dim. Two faint, stuttering rings of light appear around her waist. They flicker and wobble in the air, as if weak and uncertain of their own existence, then split apart, one moving up towards her head while the other falls to her feet.

Beside him, Phantom sucks in a sharp breath, but Duke can’t turn to see what’s wrong when he’s trying to take in the sight of Chelsea suddenly full of vibrant color, looking more solid that he’s ever seen her, very much alive.

“See?” she says proudly, lifting her arms and doing a spin to show off her right she was. “I told you I’m not dead!”

“No, you’re not,” Phantom agrees, sounding shell-shocked. When Duke is finally able to look away from Chelsea to check on him, he looks awed. There’s the smallest smile on his face, just the slightest upturn of his lips, but it makes him look softer.

Duke turns his attention back to Chelsea before he can be caught staring. “Cici, can you come here for a second?”

She goes before he’s finished speaking, crossing the space between them in a single jump, then grins up at him. Her hair is a bit of a mess, the two buns he managed to get her hair into falling askew. He makes a note to visit the old aunties in the Narrows later to ask them to teach him how to do hair. For now, he holds out a hand and Chelsea drops an arm into it.

It seems to good to be true, having her be alive, but her pulse is steady and strong when he presses his thumb against the inside of her wrist.

“Well,” he says, leaning back and letting go of her arm. “You certainly proved us wrong.”

Chelsea doesn’t have much time to look smug before PHantom quietly says, “You’re like me.”

“What?”

“You’re like me,” he tells Chelsea. “A halfa.”

She tilts her head to one side. “What’s that?”

“Someone who is half human and half ghost. Both dead and alive.”

Duke blinks, taking in the words, then turns to face Phantom so quickly he’s worried he might give himself whiplash. Halfa, he said. Like me, he said.

And sure enough, two rings of light, bright and strong, appear around Phantom’s waist before splitting in half, moving over his entire body.

Gone is the Ghost King, all powerful and adorned in dark clothing with a crown of ice above his head. In his place is a guy who looks to be Duke’s age, eyes a deep blue and his black hair messy, feet set solidly on the floor. He looks completely normal, completely human, and no longer an impossibility.

“You still up for learning how to use all your new powers?” Phantom asks.

Chelsea grins. “Yeah!” And then, with a quick flick of her eyes going from Phantom to Duke that he almost misses, very innocently asks, “Are you going to stay with us then?”

“I… don’t know?” Phantom looks to Duke for an answer.

Already, Duke can see this going two ways. The correct way forward, the normal one, has Phantom popping in every so often, taking Chelsea out for a few hours to work on training her and her powers. It’s easy and routine and they can keep their boundaries uncrossed and be professional.

The other path is what Duke wants most that he shouldn’t impose onto the literal Ghost King. He could have Phantom living with them while he’s on Earth and out of Amity Park, having a place at the table, a section in the closet for his own clothes, a quietly domestic night together while Chelsea sleeps where they can get to know each other more, get to know each other outside of news reports and texts on a screen.

“You can stay with us if you want,” Duke offers, casually, “It might keep my apartment safe from her powers acting up on their own again.”

“Are you sure? I could always just fly in on the weekends or something.”

“I’d appreciate having you around. So you can help Cici.”

“If you don’t mind,” Phantom says, looking away. Like this, fully alive with a beating heart, it’s easy to see the blush steal away across his cheeks.

“I don’t.”

“I don’t either!” Chelsea pops in, looking far too gleeful by their awkward conversation.

Duke can’t help but laugh, feeling lighter than he had in ages. The relief of knowing that Chelsea is alive, for the most part at least, eases the guilt of thinking he had been too late to save her, that there was no chance she could have made it out and had a future, makes him feel weak. All the exhaustion of the past few weeks hits him all at once and he wants nothing more than to collapse in bed and sleep for twelve hours.

“Alright, squirt,” he says, reaching out to pat her head. “It’s late. We can talk more in the morning, so go to bed. In your actual bed this time, not on the couch.”

Chelsea stands up taller, ready to argue, but Duke gives her a Look™ and she quickly shuts her mouth, nods, and drags her feet back to her room (the former guestroom he can never give any of the other Waynes ever again, once they find out about her).

Sighing, Duke collapses onto the couch once he hears the door shut behind her. Phantom joins him after a few seconds, sitting tentatively on the edge of the couch. The cushion moves beneath his weight, another reminder of how solid and alive he is right not.

Duke wants to touch him, to reach out and feel for himself his pulse, the warmth of his body, his chest lifting with each breath.

He doesn’t move. He stays where he is, hands carefully still, and tries to think past the dizzying thoughts of she’s still alive, I’m not too late, he’s still here, he’s alive.

“Rough week?” Phantom asks, voice purposefully light.

“Something like that.”

“You should get some sleep too.”

“I don’t think I can. Not after everything. My mind’s too loud right now.”

Phantom shifts closer to him, hesitant in a way that Duke has never seen before in him, and asks, “Want me to stay with you until you mind quiets down some?”

“Yeah. I’d like that. Thanks, Phantom.”

“You know, if I’m going to be around so often as Chelsea’s halfa mentor, then you might as well call me Danny.”

Truth be told, Duke didn’t think that was his real name. He’s glad to know it’s not.

“Then call me Duke.”

“...Are you sure? You could still hide your identity from me.”

“Nah, I trust you. A name for a name, yeah?”

Danny smiles. “Duke,” he says, testing out the name, and it’s never sounded better than when it falls from Danny’s mouth.

“Danny,” Duke returns. He belatedly realizes that they’ve leaned towards each other, drawn together like gravity, stuck in each other’s orbit. It feels natural. It feels like this is where they’re meant to be.

Maybe he should be more cautious. They’ve only meant once before, after all. But he’s read all he could on Phantom and has seen how Amity Park loves him. He’s stressed and exhausted and trying to figure out how to look after a half-ghost child that’s already been dealt a bad hand in life. He should be keeping Phantom at a distance, watching over him carefully to ensure he isn’t a threat to Chelsea.

But Duke saw how he acted with Chelsea, so gentle and understanding and kind. That’s all he needed to see.

He may not know much about Danny, but he knows this: he is trustworthy.

Enough to entrust his identity to him.

Enough to entrust Chelsea to him.

It’s more than a favor; it’s a promise to walk this road together.

There’s no one he’d rather do this with.

“Thanks,” he says again, “For all of this. I know it’s a lot.”

Danny shrugs. “I don’t mind. Really. It’s nice to know there’s another halfa out there, no matter how she came to be one. Makes things feel less lonely.”

“Will you tell me more about halfas?”

“Later. Once you get some proper rest. We’ve got time, haven’t we?”

“We do,” Duke agrees, affection settling warm in his chest. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

Learning how to control her new powers won’t be easy for Chelsea. Learning how to take care of her won’t be easy. Learning how to do things together, as Duke and Danny rather than the Signal and Phantom, won’t be easy. But Duke knows with a certainty he feels in his bones that they’re going to be fine.

So long as they’ve got each other, they’ll be fine.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dc x dp fic #prompt fill #my writing #thought a lot abt what the favor could be but i could not resist the idea of surprise co-parents once i thought of it #here's a kid who clings to someone she knows is safe bc she is scared and alone!!#heres a stressed out hero trying to take care of a kid with no knowledge of how to do that!! and the kid is a ghost!!#heres a ghost king expecting to be used as a weapon and called in for a big battle suddenly finding another halfa!!!#so much going on here. so much to think abt with this!!!!!#i do love found family like this where they all kinda stumble into it and do their best to make it good #also could not resist making yet another oc. chelsea has my whole heart i love her <3 shes my daughter first #the bats dont know abt chelsea yet!! bc she can go invisble. its all been instinct every time they pop over to visit duke #soon she'll be able to control it and meet them properly #by properly i mean dukes gonna go over for sunday brunch and a little girl is gonna pop out from behind him like 'hi! im new!'#they will all love her of course. they will be shocked but happy!!#and a little less happy abt the GHOST KING duke has been hiding in his apartment that hes co-parenting with #sorry for the long tags im obsessed w this idea i want to Expand on it #maybe one day... with my other wips out of the way...

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mj-iza-writer · 2 months

Text

Whumpee came in carrying the mail and looked through it so they could separate it the way Whumper liked.

Whumper came in angrily and grabbed Whumpee's arm and pulled them aside.

"Who said you could go outside?", Whumper hissed.

"Mas-Master please, you-you're hurting me", Whumpee winced as Whumper squeezed tighter.

"Who do you think you are?", Whumper shoved Whumpee causing them to fall.

"I-I'm sorry, it's been one of my duties for a long time to retrieve the mail and separate it for you", Whumpee looked up from the floor.

"You still have to ask permission to leave this house, why all of a sudden today you don't ask. Regardless if you are doing a chore or not", Whumper frowned, "are you getting bold? Do you think you don't have to ask anymore? Are you to comfortable?"

"No, please Master", Whumpee panicked, "it only slipped my mind today. It won't happen again. Please forgive me."

"Trust me, I know it won't happen again. I'll give you something to remember this by", Whumper grinned.

"Please Master, I didn't mean to go against you.... I'm sorry", Whumpee bowed lowely to the floor, "please, I'm begging have mercy on me."

Whumper reached down and grabbed a fistful of hair and started to drag Whumpee through the house to the living room.

Whumpee grimaced as the struggled behind Whumper.

"I've been waiting for you to mess up", Whumper suddenly chuckled, "now I get to use my new toy."

Whumper gave one more harsh pull, causing Whumpee to fall forward to the floor. Their face bumping into the couch.

They quickly got up and cowarded away.

"New... new toy", they eyed an open box on the couch, "Master, you're making me nervous."

"Good", Whumper sat down on the couch and pulled the box closer, "come here."

Whumpee gulped. It took every ounce of their strength to crawl to Whumper's feet. Their limbs shook as they looked at the floor.

Whumper pulled something around their neck and tightened it in the back. Whumpee heard the sound of something being locked.

"Master, wh-what are you doing to me?", Whumpee felt it suddenly difficult to swallow.

"Come with me", Whumper stood and started to go to the back of the house.

Whumper pointed at the door.

"Walk through that door, go outside now", Whumper grinned.

Whumpee backed away, "no please", Whumpee sobbed, fully knowing what was about to happen. Metal prongs dug into their neck as they sniffled some snot up their nose.

"I said go out that door", Whumper commanded "don't make me throw you out."

Whumpee swallowed hard, they took small steps toward the door.

"Go ahead", Whumper ordered.

Whumpee took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway.

They realized as they stood on the other side that nothing happened.

They turned quickly and gave a weird look to Whumper.

"Nothing happened because you had my permission to go out... got it", Whumper grinned, "that collar is, in fact, a shock collar. You will be shocked if you leave this house without my permission, I have to manually turn it off before you go out. I can also remotely shock you."

Whumpee felt nauseated from the fear they had just went through.

"I think I'm going to be sick", Whumpee rubbed their stomach, "that was cruel, this is all cruel."

"Do you want to be zapped?", Whumper frowned as Whumpee quickly shook their head no, "that's what I thought."

Whumpee looked down at the ground.

"Get back in here", Whumper commanded, "get back to work."

Whumpee quickly came back in.

Whumpee had a hard time getting use to the collar, it was fitted too tightly. It was thick and hard to move in, and the metal prongs dug into their skin.

Whumper came in to see them scratching underneath the collar.

Whumpee mumbled something before turning and jumping when they saw Whumper.

"You care to repeat yourself?", Whumper frowned.

"No", Whumpee said with a note of frustration.

"Check your attitude", Whumper took a closer look at the collar and Whumpee's irritated neck.

"Come here, I guess I did make it too tight", Whumper frowned, "I know it's uncomfortable, but you'll get use to it."

Whumpee took a frustrated sigh, then wiped a tear away.

"This much fuss over the shock collar? I don't even have it in a big setting", Whumper frowned.

"It's not just the collar. It's everything. I'm frustrated, can't you fu... freaken get that", Whumpee yelled, "I'm held here against my will. I slave over this entire house without so much as a thankyou or some sort of reward. I make one mistake, and now I'm wearing a freaken dog collar with the threat of getting shocked. I'm frustrated. You hurt me today, not a physical hurt either. It's deeper than that."

Whumper listened. They felt a little guilt twinge at their heart.

"You do freaken realize today is.... no, never mind. I'm not going to ask you for sympathy. Just let me calm down... please", Whumpee almost stormed off, "am I dismissed?"

Whumper stepped aside and let them through.

Whumper quickly went to their calendar.

"What the heck did I forget.... oh", Whumper frowned, "birthday and their anniversary of being here. I'm an idiot."

Whumper rounded the corner and saw Whumpee watching out the open front window.

They heard tiny sobs coming from Whumpee.

"Whumpee I'm going to go out for a bit. Try to relax a little", Whumper's guilt was eating them alive, "I won't be long."

Whumpee just nodded. They wiped another tear away.

Whumper now stood in front of the books. They already had a cake, ice cream, and a few other things in the cart. They had hopes of making it up to Whumpee.

Yes, Whumpee was held hostage and used as a slave, but everyone deserved to enjoy their birthday.

"I know they like to read, they're constantly looking at the magazines when they come in", Whumper looked over some of the covers, "but what the heck do they like to read."

They finally picked out two books they thought may be interesting. They then made a stop in the toy aisle.

"Whumpee often looks at these when they come to the store with me", Whumper looked over the stuffed toys, "this one looks good", Whumper looked one over.

Whumpee had calmed down enough to start cleaning again.

"At least they aren't here to bother me", Whumpee whispered, "I knew they'd forget, I don't know what I expected."

Whumpee frowned, "hey you've been here long enough. It's your birthday. Let's go back to your family", Whumpee mocked their thoughts and dreams, "I really miss my family, I wonder what we'd be doing right now? I wonder what they're doing right now."

"Whumpee I'm home, cover your eyes", Whumper called from the door.

"Great, now what", Whumpee groaned as they covered their eyes.

They heard some bags shuffle by as Whumper walked past.

"Don't come into the kitchen until I tell you to", Whumper had a laugh in their voice.

"Okay", Whumpee sighed.

After a few minutes of hearing rustling in the kitchen, Whumpee turned toward that part of the house with a glare.

'Now you're going to make a mess', they complained to themself.

"Whumpee you can come in now", Whumper called.

Whumpee cautiously walked into the kitchen and saw the cake and even some food from their favorite restaurant.

They gave a shocked look at Whumper.

"I am a jerk, I'm well aware. I did forget your birthday and anniversary was today", Whumper frowned.

"I kind of figured you would", Whumpee made a small grin.

"To make it up to you for the rest of the week, just have like a birthday week or something like that. Everyone deserves to enjoy their birthday, and since we have a late start, let's just enjoy the rest of today", Whumper smiled, "I'll take off the collar as well, just make sure you ask before going out of the house."

"Okay", Whumpee glanced at everything again, "everything looks so good."

"I didn't have time to wrap things but these are all for you", Whumper handed a plastic bag to Whumpee before they went to remove the collar, "you can open them now if you like, then we'll have dinner. How does cake and ice cream sound?"

Whumpee rubbed their neck happily, "it sounds good", they started to rummage through the bag.

They pulled out a bottle of lotion.

"I thought it might help the irritated parts of your neck", Whumper started to pull out plates, and watched Whumpee open the lotion.

"This feels so nice", Whumpee sighed in relief.

Whumpee then pulled out the stuffed toy, "aww this is so cute", they squeezed it tightly.

"You look at them a lot when we go out, I thought you would like one", Whumper nodded.

"Thankyou", Whumpee smiled as they hugged it again.

Whumpee looked into the bag and saw the two books.

"This one was a struggle because you seem to like to read, but I didn't know what. I hope those are okay... they looked interesting", Whumper looked down, "I'm sorry I forgot, I hope this makes it up to you. You don't have to tell me, I already know I'm a jerk."

Whumpee nodded with a grin, "a big jerk", they said sarcastically.

Whumper frowned and looked down.

"But I appreciate you trying to make it up to me, and these gifts are so nice", Whumpee smiled, "thankyou."

Whumper smiled, "you're welcome, I am sorry about the collar too, I probably went a bit too far with that. Just make sure you follow the rules. I won't put it back on you."

Whumpee nodded, "I did forget today, honest... I was just thinking about my birthday, and it slipped. I think for some reason, I was hoping for a birthday card or something like that."

Whumper smiled and nodded, "I'll try to be better at showing appreciation as well. You do take care of this place, so thankyou."

Whumpee nodded with a smile.

"Well, enough eith this sappy soft crap. Let's eat", Whumper picked up the food, "I got your favorite."

Taglist. As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all. @villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived @sacredwrath @porschethemermaid @monarchthefirst @generic-whumperz @bloodyandfrightened @freefallingup13 @notpeppermint @cyborg0109 @idontreallyexistyet @thebejeweledwatercat @painfulplots @whumpbump @everythingsscary @skittles-the-whumpee @expressionless-fr @theforeverdyingperson

#whump community #whumplr #whumblr #whump writer #whump writing #whump stuff #whump ideas #whump #whumper #regretful whumper #carewhumper #whumpee #dog collar #shock collar #forgotten birthday #whump scenario #oc #caretaking

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