Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The espresso machine roared as Danny pushed open the door to the café. The low lighting was warm and gave the space a cozy atmosphere. It was a quiet little spot on a well-lit street, not too far from campus, and right next to the business district—which meant it was plenty busy during the day but stayed open late as a haven for night owls like himself. Danny was hoping it would be a good study spot from now on.

Not that he couldn’t study in his dorm—but he couldn't study in his dorm. There were plenty of ghosts haunting the historic dorm he was privileged enough to stay in—thanks to the Wayne Scholarship. Specifically, the ghost that haunted his small room—a frat guy from the ’80s named Brock—did not take well to Danny encroaching on his haunt.

“Bro, you cannot be serious—this is my dorm. My dad paid for me to not have a roommate!”

“BRO—” Danny countered exasperatedly, “You’re literally a ghost. Your dad hasn’t paid for anything since your Hell Week incident.”

“Hazing is all a part of the brotherhood, lil’ man. I have no regrets—my final keg stand was the stuff of legends!”

Danny facepalmed. It took promising that he’d swing by a frat party soon—and the fact that Danny had literally nowhere else to stay—to convince Brock.

“Alright, bruh. You go to a party, become my honorary brother—you can hang. The brotherhood doesn’t turn down their bros who need to couch surf!”

“This is my assigned dorm room. I’m using the bed,” Danny replied flatly.

And that was how Danny ended up getting his first college roommate. It seemed to go well the first few nights. Brock made himself scarce—usually visiting the frat house or other communal haunts around campus. Until Danny sat down to crack open his biology book, and Brock appeared in a flash—moaning about how studying harshed the vibe of his haunt, and refusing to let Danny ruin that while he stayed there. This was apparently some ghostly trigger, it seemed—so Danny couldn’t fault him too much. But it didn’t stop him from grumbling as he hauled his heavy backpack down the street.

Walking the dark streets of Gotham just to study wasn’t his best choice, but he had a pop quiz tomorrow! It wasn’t his fault he’d procrastinated all day under the false assumption he’d be able to study in his dorm. Then, like a lighthouse guiding him home—the neon sign for Gotham Grounds caught his eye. Hark! He was saved!

Now, as he made his way through the café, with only a few patrons sprawled about, he decided to take a whole table in the front for himself. Perfect! Now he could spread out a bit, grab a little coffee, and dig into his assignments. He was determined to make Jazz proud this time around—get the best grades he could, prioritize school, so he could have a strong career in whatever he ended up wanting to do (he still wasn’t sure yet…). After all, college isn’t cheap—and if he wanted to keep his scholarship, he’d have to be way more committed to his studies than he was in high school.

As he walked up to the counter to place his order, he came to an abrupt stop when a new patron came speeding through the door. The guy in question—tall, dark-haired, wearing a stunning suit—would’ve been handsome if he didn’t look so utterly sleep-deprived. His eyes, framed by dark circles, popped wide open when he realized his hurried and abrupt entry made him cut Danny off in line. He let out a brief, “Oh, sorry—you go!” and ushered Danny forward to order first.

“Thanks—” Danny’s soft reply hitched in his throat when they caught eyes. Mr. Handsome Stranger smirked a bit before Danny shook his head and turned his focus back to what was important right now—caffeine! He wrestled through the bi-panic to remember his coffee order.

“Uhhh, I’ll have a medium red-eye.” The barista looked aghast, and Danny at least had the self-awareness to look a bit sheepish.

“A red-eye at 8 p.m.? Are you sure? That stuff’ll wake the dead…”

Danny mused that it was nice the barista seemed to care enough for his well-being to double-check.

“Oh yeah,” he quickly tried to laugh it off. “Lots of studying to do tonight, and it really doesn’t hit me that bad.” The barista reluctantly rang him up and gestured to Mr. Handsome behind Danny.

“What about you, sir?”

Sleepy Beauty blinked slowly and yawned out, “I’ll take a black-eye…”

“A black-eye ? Geez, what’s with all these hardcore coffee orders this late?” The slack-jawed employee was absolutely peeved as he rang up the next order. “You want that to-go as usual, Mr. Drake?”

The guy—Mr. Drake, apparently—glanced at Danny, who quickly looked away.

“I’ll take it for here, actually. I’ve got some work to do as well.”

“All right—two death-by-coffee’s coming up… you freaks.” The surly man chuckled as he fired up the espresso machine and got to work.

Danny was already back at his table—staring very intently at that biology book that had seemed so important ten minutes ago.

“Sorry Jazz, I’m weak,” he thought to himself.

If this was the rate he was going at, he might not make it through the semester. He noticed this Drake guy had picked a table adjacent to his at the front. Danny could see him out of the corner of his eye as he pulled a sleek laptop from his bag.

After a moment, the barista sauntered over to their tables with their orders. Danny looked up at Mr. Drake and chuckled.

“That’s so funny we both got pretty much the same order—that guy thought we were nuts.”

“Hey, it’s always good to meet someone with superior taste in coffee,” he laughed back. “I’m Tim, by the way.”

“Danny!” he replied with a crooked smile.

They raised their mugs to each other in solidarity before hunkering down to their respective tasks.

And from then on, they worked in comfortable silence. Only the sound of soft jazz pouring through the radio, the espresso machine, and the murmur of the few other patrons filled the air. The night eventually wore on, and about an hour later, Tim left. Danny’s eyes trailed him on the way out.

“It was nice to finally meet someone who wasn’t a ghost,” he mused. “I wonder if I’ll see him around?”

Unbeknownst to Danny, Tim was hurrying back to the Nest to suit up for the night. He couldn’t believe he’d wasted a whole hour of patrol over coffee and a brief moment of bi-panic! But then again, it had been nice to take a moment to breathe. A busy day at the office followed up by what was sure to be a long night out—he couldn’t fault himself for wanting to stop for a minute.

He was going to be thinking about those blue eyes all night…

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

“Jazz, for the last time, I’m fine. I like Gotham, I like school, I like my classes so far. I really don’t see what everyone’s talking about- Gotham isn’t that scary.” Danny was hustling across campus. It had been a hectic morning filled with tests and group projects, but he’d had time to pick up a call from Jazz at the end of his lunch break. Jazz was currently studying psychology in Metropolis- and while Danny appreciated having her closer than Illinois, he was glad she was at a far enough distance to keep badgering at a minimum.

“Famous last words Danny,” Jazz bluntly nagged. “Gotham isn’t like Amity- living there isn’t going to be cakewalk. Even with your powers.” He could hear the concern in her voice, but he couldn’t stop the long sigh that he huffed out in frustration.

“Jazz- I promise you, I will be just FI-AHHH–” Danny yelped as he faceplanted into the pavement. “What the hell?” He looked down toward his leg- and discovered it was somehow cinched by a vine. Uh oh. 

“Jazz- I’ll call you back..”

Danny quickly ended the call and whipped his head around looking for the source of the unexpected foliage. He wasn’t shocked, but he was disappointed to see the notorious villainess- Poison Ivy a few yards away. “Oh boy, I’m gonna be late for class.” 

Glancing around, other unsuspecting students were also being grabbed and yanked by slowly encroaching vines. What would make Poison Ivy attack the quad? Did she get an F in a botany class or something? 

There was a common joke among Gotham U students - usually muttered or shrieked when their academic career was facing annihilation. Phrases like, “Well if I fail this class, I’ll just start my villain era and go work for [insert major relevant villain].” There really was an ideal for every school of study- psychology students got the obvious ones like Harley Quinn (a notable alumni) or Scarecrow (bonus points if you ever had a class with him when he was teacher). Law students would say Two Face; engineers often had a favorite in Mr.Freeze; english majors of course had the Riddler for their go-to; and business majors often dejectedly mentioned working for the Penguin- though that was more a grim possibility for them depending on their student loans. Danny heard the Penguin has a decently paid internship for accounting though. Then there was the obvious one for anyone in biology or environmental studies- the one currently commanding plants to take over Gotham U. To be honest- Danny thought she’d be a decent boss, if he had to pick one. 

Dr. Pamela Isley was definitely Sam’s favorite of the Gotham rogues. Between her eco-terrorism and wildly cool plant powers, she and Sam would have a lot in common. Danny phased through the vine trapping his leg- and watched as it flailed for purchase. “Ivy would love Undergrowth- I hope they never meet.” Quickly, Danny went to a few of the kids closest to him- yanking them from their vines (subtly phasing them out) and encouraging them to run for help.

Then he sprinted closer to the action. Not because he wanted to insert himself into the fight- but he was trying to decide if charging through would be worth it to make it to class on time… Just ahead, he could hear Ivy's sultry laugh -shouting taunts and jibes. It looked like she had managed to snag a certain Bat in the largest vine- one connected to the main roots. Classic mistake , Danny thought. Sure enough, he saw the Batman- having wrenched one arm free, throw some kind of smoke bomb towards the roots of the plant. It landed, sharp spikes deploying to latch onto the plant, and releasing an odd green toxin. 

Danny could see Ivy jolt- as if she could feel the bat-made herbicide in her own veins. The plant grew large brown spots- that quickly spread upwards through the vines. It began to shrivel up. All of the vines must have been connected to the same root system, as across the entire campus, the once violent foliage halted and slowly began wilting.

Ivy’s face contorted with rage as she screamed “DAMN BAT, always in my way!” 

“You’re hiding something Ivy,” the Dark Knight barked back. “Stealing lab equipment is just a piece of the puzzle.”

“You always stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.” She sniped, dodging his probing remarks. She pulled her hands behind her back, reaching for something. “This ought to keep you occupied…” In a whip, she flung her arm out, and poisonous thorns speared toward the ground at Batman’s feet. The thorns deployed long cage like vines, and rapidly growing roses that seemed to spew an unsettling purple perfume. “Why don't you stop and smell the roses big boy.” Batman quickly donned a gasmask, and began to cut away at the vines- but the extra time gave Ivy the out she needed. She took off running, turf and weeds growing in her wake.

While the Batman worked diligently to free himself, Danny returned to his goal of heading to class. Most of the students near the action were still ducking for cover- or running from the slowly spreading mysterious pollen. Danny figured- whatever effect that purple miasma might have- he could easily avoid by just making himself intangible and not breathing. Glancing at his watch, it read 2:00 pm. It was officially time to panic. I’m totally late! Thus he charged forward down the path to the lecture hall- where his weirdly strict music history teacher was probably beginning roll call.

As Danny was running through this agricultural mess of a battlefield - the Batman had just freed himself from the vines. The masked hero launched himself in quick pursuit of Ivy’s trail, only to jolt as a wave of freezing cold arrested his senses. His thoughts and awareness blanked for a moment- in what he could only describe as a sensation similar to a brain freeze. The Dark Knight stumbled as if he’d been shoved, despite the fact he didn’t feel anything hit him. 

“Whoops sorry man!”

Batman whipped his head around to see a skinny kid- likely a freshman- sprinting at full speed through the wreckage. Part of the vigilante paused- worried he’d get caught in Poison Ivy’s fumes. But he quickly realized the kid didn’t seem to be affected at all- despite running and likely breathing in large amounts of it. Strange. Batman returned his focus to pursuing Ivy, and deployed the batcycle to regain lost ground.

Meanwhile- having finally made his way across campus come hell or live foliage- Danny skidded into his music history class just as the roll call was finished. “Oh No…” Danny cringed. He only gets three allowed tardies for the whole semester! He couldn’t start off college like this!! 

His teacher- a pudgy gray haired man- shot him a disapproving glower from the center of the lecture hall. This guy. After the first day of class- in which the professor announced a randomized seating chart, strict attendance, and a syllabus of weekly essays and pop quizzes- every student in attendance realized this class was gonna suck. Danny could not fathom why someone teaching a subject as “fun” as Rock and Roll history would go to such great lengths to make the experience unenjoyable. But then again he also knew ghosts like Walker and Ghostwriter, so not too surprising.

He could see the teacher was about to say something-likely a long condemnation of tardiness- when all of a sudden his eyes rolled to the back of his head- and his entire body seized. What the? Then, his teacher lurched forward- hands fumbling on the desk blindly before fully grasping the attendance sheet.

“Daniel Fenton?!!!” His teacher’s voice shrieked all of a sudden- piercing the dead silence in the hall. Danny was so caught off guard, at first he thought he was gonna get kicked out of class. But then… he noticed the eyes, and it clicked.

“Present!” Danny yelled back.

His teacher then made a check on the attendance sheet, and suddenly started shaking his head. His body- which was stiff and tense- slowly relaxed to its usual slumped posture. Then, what no one but Danny could see, was an impish frat ghost slinking out of the professor’s body with a wild grin.

Brock floated past as Danny proceeded to take his seat and pull out his notebooks. Extending a spectral fist- Brock punched through Danny’s arm playfully. 

“Bro’s look out for Bro’s!” Brock chirped. “I knew this schmuck back in school-well I knew his girlfriend, if you catch my drift.” Danny snorted as quietly as he could.

And with that, Brock made his swift departure from the lecture hall. “ Well ,” Danny laughed to himself, “- how unethical is a little overshadowing between ghost bros?” Then he paused, and realized he’d need to make it clear to Brock that cheating on tests would be unappreciated. Danny shuddered at the thought.

——————

Later that night, in the cavernous lair of the Batman…

Said dark knight was hunched over the bat computer, it had been a surprisingly long day.

While he worked primarily at night, his investigation of recent lab break-ins had necessitated following a lead during civilian hours. But now after being awake for a solid 24 hours, the man was ready to finish his reports and call it a night.

Poison Ivy had managed to give him the slip. He hated that the stake out escalated into a full incident in broad daylight- but he hadn’t been expecting Ivy. His investigation hadn’t involved any labs that the notorious eco terrorist would target, nor did he see any evidence of her usual work (leftover plant matter & drugged security guards). This was important to note- maybe this string of break-ins were her, but they could also have been another player. One that just so happened to have eyes on the same lab as Ivy. He noted this in his report as he reviewed the last of his bodycam footage from the day. “Damn Bat!” Ivy’s enraged shriek echoed through the batcave. As he watched- he noticed the quality of the feed begin to deteriorate. 

“That’s odd” Bruce hummed. He had paid for very expensive cameras afterall. Just as his pursuit began, the static overtook the video and the audio began to screech like a banshee. Bruce quickly hit mute. “Very odd…”

Chapter Text

Danny woke up from a fitful sleep. Once the toxic green of his nightmares faded, he realized he was completely alone in the dark. His eyes adjusted to the night, catching the glimmers of his breath frosting up in the air. Quickly he sat up and realized his dorm was completely iced over.

He whipped out his phone and called Sam.

The phone rang 3 times before the sleepy goth picked up and yawned, “Did you pull another Elsa?”

“Yeah.” Danny replied flatly. He felt bad calling her so late, it was almost 3 am. Sam never made him feel bad though. She’d told him once that she never wanted him to feel alone if she could help it. A real best friend, even with their ups and downs, they always came back to being best friends.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, I don’t even remember the dream this time. I just still feel it.” Danny whispered the last sentence. He felt the nerves on his back crawling in agitation.

“Well,” Sam began, “we know what the easiest fix for that is. You don’t have an early morning tomorrow do you?”

“I don't, but Sam…” Danny hesitated. 

Same quickly cut him off, “You’re in totally new territory, Danny, I get it. But you’re gonna be there for the next four years. Might as well get used to it! Not everyone in Gotham has the advantage of being able to turn invisible ya know.”

“That’s true…” Danny admitted. He wasn’t able to come up with any reason as to why she wouldn’t be right. His head was so tired, but his whole body was awake. He’d be alright, he just needed to get out there and blow off some steam afterall. “Okay. You’re right. It always makes me feel better, and this is my new haunt. I can’t be afraid of exploring it.”

Sam yawned again, and he could hear her laying back down. “That’s the spirit , Danny. You go ghoul.”

He let out an unexpected chuckle at that. Once they both said good night, Danny clambered out of bed.

—----------

All in all, it was a quiet night. The Red Hood was perched on a discreet fire escape in Gotham. He’d been patrolling his territory since 8pm; stopped a few muggings, followed a lead for an ongoing case, and made his evening report to Oracle early. Now he was considering going to bed early; but as always, the back of his mind felt like something was bound to happen.

He decided to just do another wrap around, before calling it a night. Sure, even crime slept sometimes, but usually with one eye still open. He launched himself off the fire escape, deft footsteps pattering on old city rooftops, making his way down the alley. Maybe he should grab some french fries on his way home…as a lil treat.

10 minutes later, Jason was on the roof of the Bat Burger. He’d just thrown a $20 to the cashier, through the special vigilante’s ordering window (a broken hole in the roof that health inspectors never noticed, and management refused to fix) when a call from Oracle patched through.

“Hood, I’ve got sight of what looks like someone on a rooftop. The camera is weirdly blurry, but I can definitely tell it’s a person just sitting up there- for about the last half hour. You’re the nearest, are you able to go do a visual check?”

“I’m on it, send me the coordinates.” Jason replied. Checking his comm, “Geeze that’s a high up rooftop,” Jason thought.

It was such a high roof, the security footage Oracle spotted him with was pointed up at the blurry figure. The building itself was a sleek luxury apartment, with smooth glass sides and no easy way up. “H-here’s your order sir, have a-ah-a Bat-tastic night.” Warbled the meek cashier as he nudged the vigilante’s order onto the roof. Jason grabbed the warm bag as he considered the best course of action for getting that high up.

After scaling a couple adjacent buildings, and pulling out his binoculars, Jason finally had a good view of the figure on the roof. It was just a kid, maybe around Tim’s age. He looked to be in his PJ’s, an oversized nasa shirt and some sweatpants, no shoes though. Jason hoped he just lived in the apartment building, and knew how to access the roof. Still concerning, but he seemed calm enough to approach. “Oracle, I have eyes on the target. Looks like a civilian, late teens to young adult. No apparent threat, will approach to perform a mental health check before leaving.”

Jason pulled out his grappling gun, and made his way to the roof from behind. He thought he’d landed pretty quietly, but the kid startled right away. “Sorry to spook yah.” Jason’s modulated voice called out. “I just dropped by to say hi.”

The kid was quiet, frozen and tense. Now Jason was actually worried this was a jumper. But maybe he just isn’t a fan of Red Hood, most people that lived in nice high rises weren’t familiar with him. “You’re not in trouble, just wanted to check in on why you’re up so high.”

The kid blinked, “Oh I’m not-uh-this isn’t-“ he stuttered a bit. He took a deep breath, “I’m just getting some fresh air.” He was glancing everywhere but at Red Hood.

Jason felt for the kid. He may not have the same rough life as the people he protects in crime alley, but that doesn’t mean his individual struggles weren’t worth empathy. Anyone can end up on a roof after all. “You hungry kid? Like burgers?” Jason lifted up his still warm BatBurger sack. He saw the kid’s eyes widen a bit.  “I accidentally bought too much, we can share.” Jason didn’t admit he’s absolutely the kind of guy that likes eating two burgers. Sue him.

Finally the kid seemed to relax just a bit. “Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good right about now.” Success , Jason cheered in his head. The vigilante swaggered over to sit next to him on the edge of the roof. Pausing, only for a moment, Jason removed his helmet. His roof buddy’s eyes bugged a bit. “Oh wow. Oh yeah I guess you can’t eat with that on your head.”

“Definitely not.” Jason replied as he pulled a burger out of the bag. Now without a big menacing helmet or voice modulator, he’d be able to connect with him a little better. “What’s your name kid?”

“Uh, Danny.” He handed Danny a burger and one of the fries, before unwrapping his own. Danny was still looking at him, so he decided to say, “I’m Red Hood, in case you didn’t know.”

“You work with the bats?” Jason snorted at that.

“Sort of.” Was his short reply. No way was he getting into that. They may have made up for the most part, but he still wasn’t used to his crime lord persona being known as an official Bat . With that tidbit of context, Jason asked the obvious question between his bites of burger. “You’re not from Gotham are you? New in town?”

Danny started with the french fries, pulling out a couple at a time to munch on while they talked. “You guessed it, just having trouble adjusting is all. I’ll be honest when I first saw you up here, I thought you were a ghost.”

Jason chuckled at that a bit. “A ghost huh? Hah-I’ve heard that one before.” Mostly from his own family, if only this kid knew. “Gotham really that scary to you?”

Danny laughed too, but nonetheless doubled down, “Not scary per say, but I will say this place is mad haunted. Ghosts absolutely everywhere around here.”

“Damn straight kid” Jason didn’t really think too much of it. Whether he was being serious or poetic, it didn’t really matter to Jason. As they kept eating the conversation turned to what brought Danny to Gotham- of course it was school. Jason decided to give Danny a few tips only a Gotham local would know. Classic ones like follow the Oracle on your socials, since they give out the most up to date public alerts (often faster than law enforcement). As well as more niche advice, like which mob run pizza places are the best (Bertanelli’s is the most likely to be shot up but the best tasting- so always order to-go; and Maroni’s Italian cafe is good for their super cheap student discount).

“Last big piece of advice,” Jason said as he crumbled up the fast food trash, “Don’t loiter on rooftops too often. Especially at night- you never know what criminals or vigilantes are gonna be running around.”

“That’s fair,” Danny said. “I should know better, but the view from up here is really calming.” 

“Can’t be much better than the view from your apartment here.” Jason laughed, thinking about some of the fancy apartments Bruce leased around the city. “Are you on the first floor or something?”

“Oh I don’t live here.” Now that stopped Jason in his tracks. And Danny could see he messed up, though he tried to school his features back to normal.

“You don’t? How did you get up here then? This is like over 40 floors up.”

“Oh ya know…” Danny stuttered. “I uhhhh, I’m just visiting a friend for the night. They work here, so they had keys to the roof. That's it.” That’s not unreasonable- though he couldn’t fathom why Danny would be acting so squirrely about it. At the end of the day- the kid was wearing PJ’s- and it’s not like he could fly up here . And if it was just a simple case of sneaking up to the roof without permission- he couldn’t fault the kid for that.

“That’s neat. Well, Danny, it was nice to meet you. But we both ought to pack it in for the night. You don’t want your friend to worry.

“Likewise Hood.” Danny smiled. “Thanks for the burger.” Danny waved as he sauntered over to the maintenance door on the roof. Jason couldn’t really put his thumb on why, but something about this kid that just seemed to set him at ease. He pulled out his grappling hook, and glanced for his next landing spot. And when he looked back, Danny was still there by the door. Just watching him. Kid’s new to Gotham, probably just wants to see the vigilante grapple away.  

He decided their talk was positive enough, Danny didn’t seem like he’d hurt himself if Jason looked away. He’d still make sure to fill out an incident report when he got back home. The Bats didn’t try to keep tabs on civilians to an obsessive degree, but they did have a follow-up protocol for cases of personal crisis. Jason knew he was probably too casual when approaching these kinds of situations, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

As soon as Jason landed on a lower roof his comm crackled to life. “Hey Oracle,”

“Jason where have you been? I was about to send out a search for you.” Oracle demanded.

Jason was taken aback. “What do you mean? I was with the civilian you spotted on the roof. We had burgers and talked.”

“Did you deactivate your comm or something? Even then I should have had the residual trace active. You completely disappeared off my system.” Now that is weird. “I was worried I sent you to a random assassin or something.”

“That’s weird.” Jason mused. “No I didn’t shut it off, I went up and had a normal civilian interaction. Maybe there was some kind of satellite or something up there blocking my feed?”

Oracle convinced him to go back up to test it out, to see if his theory held. But it didn’t. “What? You can still see me? Hear me? Everything?”

“Everything appears to be working…” Oracle hummed, more to herself than Hood. “I’ll run diagnostics in the morning, but make sure to mention this in your report.”

“That kid couldn’t have been it.” Jason denied. “He was wearing pajamas for christ sake.”

“Regardless, it happened around him, on that day, time,and location. Just add the unexplained tag and tech error tag to the report. It’s not actually that big of a deal. If I find something in my diagnostic, I’ll update it.”

“Fine.” Jason conceded as he silenced his comm- God forbid he not tag his reports correctly. The many type A’s in this family wouldn’t let him hear the end of it. Well, the good mood he had going from burger time with Danny was gone now. Time to head home and crash for the night.

_______

Danny had only one plan after his late night call to Sam. Fly.

Transforming into his ghost form was one of the only ways he felt right after a nightmare. And flying helped relieve the tension he felt build up on his ghostly side.

He’d flown through the city, looking for landmarks he remembered from his few stints away from campus. He’d only been floating for a good 15 minutes before fatigue resettled in his bones. Even in ghost form, he couldn’t escape human weariness. He perched himself atop a highrise and changed back. Looking down on the city, it almost glittered like the stars. 

He’d lost track of time while sitting there with his thoughts, letting the cool night breeze settle his nerves. Then that familiar puff of icy breath escaped his mouth, and suddenly there was a presence behind him. “Sorry to spook yah,” said a bulky figure with a round, bright red head. Danny remained alert, ready for a fight to break out between him and the ghost. “I just dropped by to say hi.” The closer Danny looked- the less this guy seemed to put off "ghostly" vibes. No floating, no flying, no glowing. No threatening him with random acts of ghost on ghost violence.

That's when he realized, this was a vigilante of Gotham- Red Hood. Was there another ghost around then? What triggered his breath? He was distracted from those frantic thoughts by Hood’s sudden offering of food. Danny could smell the fries- and he could feel his stomach growl. Well it’s not Nasty Burger, but it’ll do. And to be honest, it really did help. The lingering blues from his nightmares faded away in the face of warm food and decent conversation.

But the longer he sat with the hero, making small talk and trying convince him that he wasn’t suicidal, the more he felt that supernatural presence. That niggling in the back of his head told him, there was something about this Red Hood. He definitely didn’t seem like a ghost. But he did seem to have a strong connection to the infinite realms- to death. Seeing the white tuft of hair along his head, Danny knew it had to be it.

Danny was sent crashing back into panic mode when he realized he had to pretend he had a good reason for being on an inaccessible private rooftop- without the answer being “I floated up here thanks to my powers as a half ghost!”

Thankfully he seemed to play it off easy enough. But as he flew home- all he could think about was how serendipitous it was, that he wasn’t the only walking dead in town.

Chapter Text

“You found out the zoo misgendered the gorilla? How does that even happen? Who runs a zoo and can’t figure that out?” Laughter from their little table in the back of Gotham Grounds echoed off the walls and mingled with the roars of the steaming espresso machine. 

“I know- I know! How exactly does a ‘C’ average highschooler figure that out before actual zoologists? Must be the fucking midwest I guess- haha.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “All I can say- It got me the ‘A’ I needed.” He leaned over to show Tim a photo of the newspaper clipping on his phone. 

“No way,” Tim said, grinning. “That’s insane. Unreal.” They both cracked up over the picture of awkward teen Danny and the Gorilla in question. Tim was having the best time- hanging out with Danny over the last couple of weeks was quickly becoming his favorite pastime. 

If anyone asked Tim- he’d laugh it off and say it was nice just having a “normal” friend for once. But honestly- Tim knew Danny could definitely be considered an oddball. If nothing else- the most refreshing part of hanging with Danny was the fact that they could ‘click’ over them both having the most random stories. Tim could complain about the antics of the Gotham elite at galas and school, Danny would counter with funny stories about the weirdos from his hometown. Tim could mock Gotham heroes and villains, and Danny would laugh- totally picking up on what he meant. All without Tim needing to even mention his night job.

Danny never pressed for too many details or got unduly concerned for his welfare; he took Tim’s life for what it was- or rather, for what little he was willing to share- without forcing him to hide his true self. With Danny, he could be as authentic as he wanted, and his boundaries were always respected. 

They’d been meeting up for weeks now- always at Gotham Grounds- usually staying till well after dark. Danny would go to study there after school, and Tim would slip in after his day job. They’d chat, drink coffee, and work while the sun set and the city lights began shining. At night, warm yellow light filled the seedy little cafe, clashing with the cold blue from their laptops, making the sage colored walls glow faintly around them. 

Or at least that’s what Tim would dreamily rationalize whenever Danny laughed- and his eyes shimmered with a soft, green hue. Regardless, Tim was too happy to really take note of it, which was certainly out of character for the compulsive sleuth. As for Danny himself, he was too caught up in having made his first friend in Gotham to realize said friend was a part of the most notable and recognizable family in Gotham. But then again- Danny had never been the best detective.

Tim clung to that anonymity. He knew it couldn't last forever- but it was nice to know Danny didn’t have a preconceived idea of him when they talked. The weeks they’d been getting to know each other had progressed slowly and casually. To any other customers- they looked like two regulars that had grown friendly. To the tired barista making their espressos- he could see the extreme slowburn taking flame before his eyes. Tim had never been a sit down customer before Danny rolled into town- it didn’t take a Sherlock sized IQ to deduce the rest.

After their initial chance meeting- the two awkward teens began meeting up pretty regularly. Danny had made this his go-to study spot- unofficially claiming a decent sized table in the back by the window, with good lighting and a power outlet. When Tim occasionally popped in- he’d not so subtly find a table close to Danny (and tried not to get caught staring). They shared a handful of decent conversations before eventually swapping phone numbers- and after that, Tim felt no shame about pulling up a chair at Danny’s table and working next to him.

Danny was well into his Freshman semester- Halloween was only a week away now. It was bad enough the ghosts were stirring up in response to the season- but he’d read that Gotham crime rates usually get worse too. He wasn’t sure whether to make plans for Halloween or hunker down. As their laughter petered out- Danny got the bright idea that maybe he should ask Tim what he was doing… NOT that he wanted to do something with Tim specifically- nothing like a date for sure- but Tim was a local, so maybe he’d have some good ideas. 

“Tim.”

Tim had just gone in for a sip of his red eye, and grunted back a “Hmm?”

“Do people in Gotham actually do anything for Halloween? Other than bar their doors of course.” Now that almost made Tim do a spit take. 

“Pfft,” He sputtered and coughed, “God, you're not far off with that guess.”

Danny’s eyebrows raised, “Seriously? That bad?” A town cursed to never actually enjoy Halloween sounded kind of bleak.

“Wellllllll,” Tim began, trying to find the most delicate way to explain the convoluted mess Gotham was. “Historically Gotham stopped trick or treating sometime in the 60’s- some kind of candy themed serial killer was on the loose back then.”

“Yikes- sounds sticky.” Danny muttered.

“You could say it left celebrating the holiday in poor taste. Lots of people travel over to Metropolis for trick or treating or costume parties. For me, I’ve always spent the night watching movie marathons. Pretty low key way to avoid Gotham’s particular brand of Halloween fun.” 

As the words left Tim's mouth- he found himself frozen with anticipation. There’s always some kind of Bat Business™ on Halloween- but spending the night with Danny proved to be a very tempting idea. Was Danny about to ask if they could hang out that night? Could Tim really commit to that on one of the busiest nights for vigilantes? Surely the team was big enough now that they wouldn’t need all hands on deck.

“Movie nights are the best- my friend Tucker and I used to watch monster movie marathons after trick or treating.” Danny laughed and quickly glanced into his coffee cup, as if it held the answers to the universe, while the visible pink across both their cheeks said more than either could voice.

Oh, but Tim really wanted to say it. It was on the tip of his tongue. Was he ready to let this guy in? Sure, Danny knew he was rich to some degree- he'd shrugged that off with a tangent about his other rich friend, Sam. But the idea of letting Danny any closer felt like some unrealized illusion was bound to break.

“Would… would you..” Tim could barely get the words out, his initial attempt was barely a whisper.

“I’m actually going to see Tuck this weekend!” A proverbial record scratch echoed through Tim’s head.

“What?” He peeped, not sure of his voice.

Danny carried on, unaware that Tim’s face had turned tomato-red. “Yeah, since Halloween's on a Friday this year I’m gonna use it as an excuse to meet up with Tucker. He’s over in Metropolis- studying computer science. He totally refused to go anywhere near Gotham during Halloween- and based on what you said I probably can’t blame him that much.”

Tim felt like a popped balloon- after all that worrying, Danny wouldn’t even be in town. Relief should have followed, but a tepid disappointment lingered instead. The night went on- and Tim’s embarrassment at realizing how much he liked Danny hardened into renewed determination. As they both began to pack up for the night, Tim made his move.

 “Can I walk you back to your dorm?” Danny's blue eyes startled, catching that green light again.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way- especially this late at night.”

“It’s no trouble,” Tim assured. “I actually have a driver I can call on- so I’ll just have them pick me up from there.” Danny acquiesced, and waving goodbye to the barista they both headed out into the dark Gotham streets.

“You have a driver?” He asked- disbelieving. “You really are rich huh?”

“Pfft- it’s more like I’m a privileged city kid who never needed a driver's license.”

Now this blew Danny’s midwestern mind. “You’re kidding- you don’t have a license?" 

“I’m working on it!” Tim defended himself. “I technically own several cars- and I do know how to drive - I just don’t have the license bit. There was too much going on when I turned 16 to really care about that sort of thing.”

“Hey, I get that.” Danny smiled as they walked. “My parents refused to shell out money for driver's ed. They taught me how to drive in the family RV. Now that was stressful.” 

Tim had to bite his tongue to keep from sharing that he learned how to drive in the Batmobile.

The pair made their way out of the financial district, and the tall skyscrapers gave way to historic university buildings. The campus wasn’t as well lit as the city streets had been- and Tim wondered how Danny was brave enough to walk through here every night. His vigilante senses had been on high alert since leaving the cafe. Not that he wasn’t used to Gotham at night- but being out of uniform made him feel naked.

Danny seemed entirely nonplussed as he pointed out buildings where he had classes and casually mentioned having seen Batman chase Poison Ivy through the quad a few weeks ago.  Tim couldn’t help but grin at how at ease Danny was in the dark;  it’s a wonder he hadn’t been mugged yet. Speak of the Devil- a group of strangers rounded the corner of a building, heading their way. Oh boy.

The group was laughing and talking, probably drunk from the way they swaggered along. Tim gently took Danny’s arm to place himself between the gang and his friend, hoping the rowdy bunch was having too much fun to mind them. As they passed, a couple of the men eyed them- wary and aggressive- but otherwise they passed without incident. Tim breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Danny, who was staring at Tim's hand- still on his arm.

He dropped his grip immediately.

The rest of the walk was fairly quiet. When they did speak it was just to quietly muse about the unseasonably warm evening, unusual for a city as far north as Gotham. The deserted paths of the college were covered in wet, brown leaves that crunched under their feet. They finally arrived at the stoop of the historic dormitory, and Danny pointed out a window in the left tower that was his.

“Thanks for walking me home, Tim. It was nice to have some company.” Danny’s smile almost took his breath away. 

“Yeah, it was good to stretch my legs. I should join you more often- safety in numbers and all that.” Tim winked. “Maybe I’ll start parking over here instead of the office. The extra steps would do me good.” He started walking backwards as he made his exit.

“Park? I thought you said you didn’t have a license"

Tim made a face of mock-innocence. “I don’t need a license as long as I don’t get pulled over!” 

Danny huffed a laugh, and cold mist escaped his mouth. Danny’s expression sobered a bit as he waved goodbye. “Night Tim, text me when you’re home.”

With a sharp wave, Tim made his way to the parking lot on the other side of the building. He’d texted Alfred for a pickup when they left the cafe, so he ought to be there by now. Turning the corner of the dorm, he startled for a moment. Shadows covered this side of the building, and at the very end, he swore he could make out the shape of a person. The figure was just standing there, and for a moment- Tim felt like they might be in some kind of standoff. But then the figure slipped behind the building and vanished. Odd…

Tim continued with caution, focusing his senses to pick up on any signs of potential ambush. As he reached the end of the building, there was no one to be found. On the wall was a fresh graffiti tag- had that person left it? The building was old and pristine except for the bright green spray paint that formed a strange symbol- some kind of rune perhaps?  He took a picture of the symbol with his phone- he’d look into this. Maybe it was just graffiti, but something about it wasn’t sitting right with Tim. He’d log it in his files- try to identify the symbol. His investigation concluded when he heard the growl of Alfred’s Bently pulling up, and turned toward the parking lot.

“Good evening, Master Tim.” The stately butler drawled as Tim settled into the passenger seat. “Did you leave your car at the office this evening?” 

Tim gave an innocent shrug, “Oh, it just seemed like a nice night for a walk.”

This made the butler grin, “Indeed? Well, I suppose this family is rather partial to moonlit strolls.”

Chapter Text

“YOU DIDN’T ASK HIM OUT?”

The static on the phone almost shorted out Tucker's wail- and Danny flinched at the volume.

“I KNOW, I KNOW- BUT LIKE- We’ve never really met outside the coffee shop! It seemed insane to just invite myself over to his house!”

“Bro, remind me to send you home with my copy of Flirting for Dummies. I think you could use some obvious pointers.”

“You really kept that?” Danny scoffed as he turned the corner of the Student Union building.

“It was a valentines day gift from Star!” 

“She told you to use it to find a different date, man”

“There were some good pointers in it!” Tucker protested, and Danny couldn’t hold back his laugh.

Making his way through the free speech area, he braced for all the random petitioners yelling and handing out flyers. There were even more than usual today, the Friday of Halloween. Sorority girls were dressed in costume for a ‘haunted’ bake sale, a dj was busking their own EDM mix of the monster mash, and the campus health and safety office was handing out condoms and whistles. There were also about a dozen different religious factions protesting different facets of the holiday.

“Oh Boy, Tuck. I’m gonna have to let you go- it’s about to get loud. I’ll see you tonight though?”

“See you then spooks!” Danny hung up and quickly stashed his phone, as he muscled through the crowded courtyard. Waving off pamphlets, he politely declined about 20 different people before he finally made it to the end of the courtyard. With a heavy sigh of relief he was ready to rush off to his psyche class when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Turning around, he came face to face with a student in a black hoodie. Their face was ghastly pale, and their eyes were heavy with smudged eyeliner and dark circles- which Danny could only assume were from late nights playing fortnite on max brightness. Even worse, they smelled like the worst combo of cigarettes and incense. Hands that bore black painted fingernails forcefully pushed a flyer into Danny’s hand, as they leaned in and muttered, “You look like someone with the right energy to join us.”

Danny had to stop himself from reeling back, lest he offend this scene kid. “Us?” He asked, bewildered. I mean, Danny considered, I also paint my nails black- maybe he’s right. Danny took a look at the flyer he’d been offered, it was purple copy paper covered in stars and gothic imagery he’d seen Sam use on her canva account. In bold Amstrong lettering the flyer read: “HALLOWEEN SEANCE MIXER- WAKE THE DEAD.” Now Danny just felt called out.

“We’re the Occult Studies Club.” Hoodie guy stated matter-of-factly. “We’re a group of students mostly from the history and literature departments- it's a real mix of paranormal and true crime enthusiasts. We’re having a Halloween event in the old University Chapel to promote the group.” 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Danny half heartedly replied. “I uh- have plans, but maybe I’ll catch the next one.” 

As he quickly hustled off, he could have sworn he heard the guy mutter, “If there is another one…” 

YIKES. I wonder if I need to report that to campus police? Danny wondered as he picked up speed to put as much distance between him and the occultist. A bunch of college kids playing with the paranormal was the last thing this halfa needed to deal with. He gets enough of that between his parents and Sam.

Now Danny was a little more on guard- looking around him to make sure nothing else snuck up on him. He knew the hoodie kid was probably a harmless goth, but something about that encounter left a niggling feeling in his chest- he almost felt like he was being watched…

“Danny?”  The Ghost-boy whipped his head around- looking for the voice. A few yards away- he spotted a lanky guy holding a camera. Now focused on the mysterious photographer- Danny could hear the camera’s soft “click” as they took another shot. “Cheese!” They cheered, dropping the camera from their face.

“Tim!?” Danny smiled, immediately walking over to greet his friend. “What are you doing here?”

Tim was grinning, and the sunlight shining through the trees made him look as bright as his current disposition. “It was too beautiful a day to spend indoors! This good weather isn’t gonna last much longer.” His caffeine confidant was dressed in smart fall attire- a cozy brown sweater over his usual cream button down and tie, with camel brown slacks that were expertly pressed. Danny thought he looked downright dapper. If it wasn’t for the modern camera hanging around his neck, he could easily have mistaken him for one of the academic ghosts that haunted the campus. “Our walks to your dorm left me a little inspired, to be honest. I never really explored much of the university, outside of one or two tours here during high school."

“Now that’s surprising!’ Danny laughed, “The self-professed ‘best urban photographer’ in Gotham hasn’t explored this hot spot? Even my friend Sam goes ga-ga for the historic architecture on campus.” Danny waved for Tim to follow him- so he could still make it to his next class on time, and they set off through the grass. “Did you take off from work today?”

“Oh, well” Tim sheepishly rubbed his neck, “Wayne Enterprises has a very strong health and safety culture. So for most employees at the Gotham branches, Halloween is an unofficial day off. Everyone either takes the day to themselves or works from home if they can.”

Danny blew an impressive whistle, “Wow, that’s pretty nice. But it makes sense- can’t exactly entice people to work in Downtown Gotham if they're gonna walk into danger."

“Exactly!” Tim affirmed, illustrating the point with his index finger. “But it was such a nice day out- I figured I’d make use of it- it’s been a while since I’ve gone out with my camera like this.”

As they walked Danny asked Tim more about his outings in Gotham. If he had a favorite spot, what subjects he captured, was he more partial to sunrise lighting or sunset? Tim expressed that he really enjoyed the challenge of night photography. Capturing visuals in low lighting was something that required repetition, strategy, and good tools- and uncovering what lurked in the darkness of Gotham was a thrill all its own.

“Damn Tim! I didn’t realize you were a secret badass. Urban photography at night in one the most crime ridden cities in America? How often do you get mugged? Be honest.” Tim couldn’t help laughing, because he knew it sounded pretty ridiculous.

“I was a pretty rebellious kid- probably to a stupid degree. But to answer your question- more times than I’d like to admit to.” Especially if you count crime fighting. Chasing after vigilantes in Gotham certainly wasn’t normal teenager behavior. Tim definitely lucked out on being naturally stealthy- blending in at Gotham galas came as easy to him as disappearing into dark alleyways. 

What Tim hadn’t revealed to Danny was the real reason he was here. That night they’d walked home- he couldn’t put the graffiti he’d seen out of his mind. He’d walked Danny home twice more since that Monday, and each time he’d noticed the graffiti in a new spot. Always a different rune, but always in that same green paint. Now Tim knew plenty of weird stuff was bound to happen in Gotham- but for it to happen near Danny? He was new to Gotham- he didn’t know how bad it could be yet. Tim didn’t want to take the chance that his new friend could fall into something scary.

He resolved to use his daytime before halloween to catalog as many of these tags as he could find on the campus. So far he’d found a total of four, and was marking them on his GPS as he went along. Running into Danny was a happy surprise- one he’d secretly been hoping for. It would have been easy enough to hack the university records system for Danny’s class schedule, but Tim was committed to not overstepping. No background checks. No invasions of privacy. Not until it became necessary.

For now, he was content in getting to know Danny like a non-paranoid, non-vigilante civilian. Enjoying walking side by side with him, as the crisp fall breeze littered their path with golden leaves.

—-----

They were getting close to a crop of buildings- which Danny pointed out as where his next class was. Tim was kind of bummed to lose his friend already- especially since he wouldn’t see him all weekend. As they passed by a campus trash bin, Danny attempted to toss a scrap of paper as they passed. Of course, the second he let go- the crumpled paper managed to catch the wind and missed the can entirely.

Tim, with his bat-like reflexes, deftly snatched the paper before it could fly too far down the sidewalk. “Oh nice catch Tim!” Danny applauded.

Tim gave a mock bow, “Thank you, uh thank you.” Tim was about to shove it in the can when its contents caught his attention. “Now what’s this- a halloween party on campus?” His eyebrows rose.

“Uhg tell me about it.” Danny moaned. “Some weirdo in the free speech area cornered me to talk about their weird cult club.”

Now that sounded concerning, “Cult Club?”

Danny tried to play it off, “Yeah- I like a party as much as the next guy, but it didn’t really seem like my scene.” In fact it seemed a little too much like my scene, he thought nervously. “Moreover, the whole idea of a halloween occult party sounded like a Gotham trap™ if I ever saw one. I’ve got a personal goal of making it through the school year without getting into trouble.”

Now that made Tim snort. “That’s a pretty lofty goal Danny. Were you a big trouble maker back home?”

“Ha- yeah definitely. I swear the trouble would find me most of the time!” 

They’d finally made it to the entrance to the old psychology building. Tim could swear this building was haunted by people’s nightmares- he’d only been here when investigating Scarecrow. The villain had left such a mark there that today’s students had a tradition of rubbing the nose of a bat statue before entering. The statue had been added to the front of the building to commemorate his removal from the campus. The university denied that being the reason for the statue’s installation- citing it as a part of the public art budget for campus- but everyone knew otherwise.

Tim hung back, as Danny continued toward the door, and took a shot of his friend as his hand passed over the bat’s nose for luck. His head was turned to smile back at Tim as he yelled, “See you later! Happy Halloween!”

Tim smiled and waved back, “You too! Have fun in Metropolis!” 

Danny looked like he was about to go inside- but he suddenly stopped, his face looked almost serious now. “Hey Tim,” he yelled from the door, as a few other students muscled past him.

“Yeah?” Tim wasn’t sure where this was going, he held his breath.

“Uh.. Next week, we should uh, hang out. Maybe we could do a movie night or something?"

OH MY GOD. Tim kept his face as cool as possible. Danny didn’t say ‘date’ or anything- NO NEED TO GET WORKED UP.

“Yeah!-” Oh god my voice just cracked. “I- cough- I’d like that!”

“Sweet!” Was Danny’s perky response. “I’ll text you!”

And with that, Danny was out of sight. Tim’s mind was racing- and he was sure his cheeks were blushing like crazy. Taking a deep breath- he tried to relax. I need to lock in, or else it's going to be a long night in Gotham. 

He glanced back down to the crumpled paper in his hand- a cult club huh? Now Tim wasn’t usually someone to make assumptions too early in the investigation- but maybe all the graffiti was just graffiti. Maybe it was just a bunch of kids messing around. That made him feel a little better at least, if that was the case- then it was probably nothing to get too worried about. 

Tilting his camera- he clicked to preview the picture he took of Danny- it was bound to be a good one. Instead- Tim was shocked by the warped colors. Danny was grainy at best, but the vibrant fall colors seemed heavily desaturated. That could have been explained by a few things- the exposure settings maybe, but nothing would explain the shock of color that was there. At the base of the bat statue was another rune- which seemed to glow in a shocking sort of green. Tim looked up at the statue- there was the rune, but the paint seemed normal. Like all the rest he’d seen.

Tim quickly flicked back through his photos- he saw the same thing, grainy and desaturated surroundings with a much brighter green rune in focus.

Quickly- Tim hustled to get back to where he’d parked his motorcycle. He needed to get to the batcave for the night- he only had a few hours to do some cursory research on these runes.  Additionally, there was a certain halloween party he needed to add to his patrol route…

Chapter Text

For a vigilante who was used to wearing a costume on the daily- Dick could say the novelty of dressing up for Halloween had worn off some. Sure he’d enjoyed it during college- going to parties with friends in a group costume was always fun. Back in the day, some of his favorite “Brucie Wayne Adventures” included their matching costumes for the annual Halloween charity gala. They’d go as the Blues Brothers, Bill & Ted, Maverick & Goose, to name a few. 

This year- he’d settled on a simple black cat outfit, for the handful of casual parties he’d found time to attend. Nobody found it as hilariously ironic as he did though- Bruce had responded to his picture with an unimpressed emoji. Babs had taken one look before declaring it “Gross.” Tim asked him why he was dressed like Dan & Phil- Dick wasn’t really sure who they were, but he’d made a note to Google it later.

All in all, it didn’t really matter what he wanted to wear for Halloween, because, like the rest of his family, Halloween was a working holiday. The only costume that counted was the domino mask that covered half his life.

He arrived at the cave early that night- ready to do some research on expected hotspots. It was late in the afternoon- almost early evening- and he could hear the actual bats of the batcave beginning to wake, their shrieks and peeps softly bounced off the cavern walls. At the bat computer, Red Robin was already dressed and furiously typing away.

“Hey Redbird, I should have expected you to already be here!” Tim was the only one that could rival- possibly exceed Bruce- in obsessive work habits. Even Oracle practiced better self care than they did.

Tim didn't bother glancing away from the screen, “You’re early for someone with a commute from Blüdhaven.” He stated matter-of-factly. 

“Wanted to beat traffic- figured if I got here soon enough, maybe I could get dibs on the better patrol routes.” Parking his bike, Dick relieved himself of his leather jacket and started putting his stuff away. Faintly he could hear Tim’s hands flying across the keys. It would be a while before Bruce came down to kick Tim off the big monitor, so he was probably trying to figure something out before that happened.

Dick got himself suited up and ran through a few warmups before heading back to where Tim was working. He sat himself down at the first desk of smaller monitors when Tim's typing came to an abrupt halt. Startled- he turned to find his brother’s eyes hesitantly peering at him.

 “Hey- uh- do you know what Zatanna’s up to?” Tim seemed barely able to get the words out.

Now this was interesting. Tim didn’t work with Zatanna as often and Dick did- and they certainly weren’t as familiar with each other personally. At least- not as far as Dick knew. Tim preferred handling his cases alone if possible- even when he knew an expert contact was only a text away.

“Tonight? Or just in general? You having some kind of magic problem?”

“No!” Tim protested. 

“No?”

“Okay kinda. I’m honestly not sure yet.” He conceded, dragging his palm across his face, miserably.

Not sure? Now that’s not something Tim said very often. “Well, I’ll give her a text. See if she’s in the neighborhood.” He whipped out his phone, and sent the message.

“Thanks Dick.” Tim sighed over the computer. Not that he’d show it, but Dick was beaming with satisfaction. They weren’t as close as they used to be, so it was reassuring whenever Tim asked him for help. The first Robin swaggered over to the Batcomputer to see exactly what Tim might need to consult a magician about- and it was immediately clear. 

On the screen were a handful of strange runes, with the analysis program stating ‘INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS’. That wouldn’t be so strange- mysterious symbols and hidden codes were common in detective work, but this was something Dick had never seen before.

“Is the batcomputer broken?” Dick blanched. Indeed, the screen appeared to severely glitch and warp around the runes- obscuring their shape. In all of his years of using the batcomputer- he’d never seen it like this, barring the exceptionally rare cyber attacks from villains. 

“It’s not the batcomputer’s fault- whatever is going on with these runes affects our tech. Anything that visually depicts or stores those symbols all at once. Watch this-” Tim went through the process to permanently delete one of the runes from the batcomputer. The minute the action was processed- the screen snapped back to normal. Dick could clearly see all the other runes now, as well as the other screens of the computer.

“Now, that is spooky,” He muttered. “You found these around Gotham U?” Tim nodded in the affirmative. Dick’s phone buzzed from Zatanna’s response.

Taking a quick snap of the screen in front of him, he sent back his reply.

“I stumbled upon the first ones a few nights ago,” Tim went on to elaborate. “I decided to look around for more with my camera today. Didn’t really think much of them at first, figured it was just graffiti. But then the glowing thing happened on my camera- and that was kind of a red flag.” He went on to pull up a map with points marking where each rune was found- it formed an almost perfect circle around the campus. Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, Tim smoothed it out on the desk for Dick to see. “And then- I found this, a party at the historic chapel. And where is that? Right here.” Tim gestured back to the screen and added another pin on the map- right in the middle of the circle.

“This is all very blunt. This couldn’t really be criminal could it?” Dick asked while scanning the flyer. “Are we sure this isn’t an overly elaborate party trick? Something weird college kids would do for fun?” He took a picture of the map as well and sent it to Zatanna as well.

“I hope that’s all it is.” Tim sighed. “Gotham is weird enough without adding magical cults to the mix.” Dick shuddered, that was something most of the bats would readily agree with. None of them were strangers to the supernatural at this point- but it was usually a huge pain in the ass. Serious threats were unpredictable and hard to plan around, and their ‘experts’ in Justice League Dark were often too mired in their own troubles to be reliable. It made Dick thankful that he and Zatanna were at least decent friends, and that she passed through town so regularly. Speaking of- his phone buzzed with her flurry of replies.

“Welp, Timmy- looks like it’s bad enough Zatanna is gonna drop by to help us figure it out.”

Tim let out a long exasperated sigh, “Oh good. Researching magic is fun- but not on the fly.” He smoothed out the purple Halloween poster again, and switched tabs to his research on the GU occult studies club. “I already went through the people who run the club- and barring any unforeseen cults- I think the most likely candidate is the current club president Rowan Goulsby.  From what I can see- no known criminal affiliations, no obvious malicious intent. Could just be a kid in over his head, planning a weird party with a flashy magic trick.” Dick sure hoped that was the case. 

The Batman himself finally made his way down to the cave, followed intermittently by the rest of the crew; Black Bat, Robin, Signal, and Spoiler. Like clockwork, they set to work prepping for the long evening ahead. Agent A made his appearance bearing a pot of coffee and a plate of festive pumpkin muffins. Dick and Tim had just briefed Bruce on the summoning situation, when Zatanna finally arrived in a dazzling flash of light. Everyone in the cave paused to greet her, barring Damien who was characteristically unbothered by the new addition. Batman dismissed everyone to their individual warm ups and briefings.

“Alright Tim,” Zatanna clapped her hands resolutely. “Let me see that final rune, and maybe I can figure out what we’re dealing with here.”

“Okay… Here goes nothing.” Tim hesitantly reached for the USB where he stored the photos, and went to plug it into the batcomputer. Bruce, Dick, and Zatanna all leaned in, taking a collective breath in when they saw the instantaneous effect of the magic- causing the computer to take on a sickly green aberration. Tim opened the files to view all of the runes, which caused further aberration and pixelation. Zatanna quickly pulled out her phone to look at the map Dick had sent. The three bats held their breath as Zatanna’s eyes flicked back and forth between the screen and the map. The longer she stared, the more they understood the severity of the situation.

“I knew these runes were a big deal-” she began softly. A deep sigh wheezed out of her, as she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “But I was really hoping they didn’t actually know how to set the spell up correctly.” Her groan was full of irritation.

“Only an idiot would try to summon a being from the infinite realms- let alone the Ghost King.”

Chapter Text

“GHOST KING- I SUMMON THEE! BEHOLD! MY OFFERING OF THE DOOMED III EXPANSION PACK!”

Danny couldn’t help the snort he let out while listening to Tuck’s voice chat. He’d had his phone on silent during class and had just noticed the surplus of messages from his friend. Tuck was over the moon excited to finally hang. Despite Gotham and Metropolis not being too far from each other- having lived in the same town for most of their lives- they were both feeling the side effects of their long-distance friendship.

Danny didn’t have a car, and flying long distances in the human realm was pretty draining. Tucker did have a car- and they’d had a great road trip from Amity Park to Metropolis back in August. But after he dropped Danny off at school, Tucker’s parents made him swear to never drive his car through Gotham again- for the sake of their insurance rates. That left public transportation as the only option: a two-hour train ride between cities, with an additional hour on the subway or a bus to get to the respective campus.

So, all their plans of meeting up on weekends during college quickly dissolved into phone calls and online gaming sessions. Which was probably for the best, considering their freshman weed out classes were pretty demanding. Time management was more important than ever- and time itself even sought to remind him of that. Danny woke on the first day of school to see a leatherbound planner had appeared on his nightstand, topped with a bright green sticky note that read, ‘Make the most of your time.’

Ominous bastard. 

It was a really nice planner, though.

It’d been a busy first semester, and he couldn’t believe it was halfway over already. Midterms had been a grim warning for the special kind of hell finals week was to promise him. But for tonight, he was free. No homework, no essays, no studying- just him, Tucker, and Halloween candy. If only Tim could join, too…

Seeing him on campus today had been such a nice surprise, and Danny was looking forward to hanging out with him next week, outside the coffee shop, no less. As he stepped out of the lecture hall, he basked in the cool autumn weather that was making its home in the city. Danny had to admit he was starting to feel at home in Gotham as well.

༄˖°.🍂.ೃ࿔*:･

A two hour train ride later, the setting sun was casting its purple hues across the skyline of Metropolis, and his best friend was standing along the tracks of the train station, hoisting a sign that read ‘WELCOME GOTHAM REFUGEES!’ 

“Oh my god,” Danny shouted as he disembarked. “You are so dramatic.”

“Didn’t want you to miss me when you got off,” Tucker winked. “C’mon,” he said, grabbing Danny’s backpack and slinging it over his own shoulder. “We’re hitting my dorm, ordering pizzas, and absolutely wrecking the final boss.”

Danny snorted. “Tuck, it took us six tries last time.”

“Yes,” Tucker said solemnly. “But this time I have snacks.”

It was a pretty entertaining subway ride towards campus, with plenty of happy go lucky Metropolis citizens dressed up for the holiday. Plenty were dressed as the hometown hero- Superman, but just as many were Batmen and Wonder Women. Danny simply marvelled at how chipper the crowd in Metropolis was compared to Gotham. Hell- Danny had gotten so used to Gotham having a ghost on every corner, Metropolis somehow felt emptier for it.

They were almost to Tuck’s dorm when Danny spotted a figure streaking across the sky. “Whoa- is that?” His heart skipped a beat at the shock.

“Superman?” Tucker smirked without even bothering to look. “Yeah, he’s a pretty common sight here.” 

Danny shouldn’t have been so in awe. He could fly after all! He’s seen plenty of ghosts fly, too! But Superman seemed to carry a presence that was so physical. The way he flew- with his cape and limbs whipping in the wind- experiencing the physics in a way Ghosts simply did not.

“I kind of like seeing him so often- reminds me of high school- watching you battle ghosts every other day,” Tucker laughed. “Feels like home.”

“Not me anymore!” Danny laughed in protest. “Phantom is officially on a hero hiatus.” 

Tucker scanned his student ID and held the door open for him. The dorm common areas were just as busy as the subway- with plenty of excited freshmen wandering around in costume, ready for a night out.

As they skirted around the crowd, Tucker asked, “How’s that actually going for you?” They passed the elevators, heading for the empty stairs. “Gotham is so haunted and crime ridden, I thought for sure you’d fold by now.”

Danny thought about how nervous he’d been when he first moved. The scholarship he’d gotten was so good, he hadn’t bothered with a campus tour before making his decision. Little did he realize Gotham was overwhelmed with spirits and shades- he thought he’d made a huge mistake. There was no way he’d be able to focus on school if he had to be Phantom.

“It’s actually been pretty easy so far.” He replied thoughtfully. “I know it was a little freaky at first, but the ghosts there are really different from the ones in Amity.”

They reached Tuck’s floor, and he pulled out his Superman lanyard, crowded with a few keys and what had to be ten different novelty keychains. The whole thing looked like a college kid's version of a morningstar. 

“Different?” Tucker asked as he pushed open his door. “Like, instead of fighting you, they welcome you to the neighborhood with homemade brownies or something?”

“No, nothing like that.” Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Nice dorm by the way, wow!”

Tucker had backlit almost everything in his room with LED strips. They bathed the dorm in a slow rainbow pulse, illuminating his already bright desk, which carried a precarious stack of twinkling consoles, monitors, and a tricked out PC. Peg boards from Ikea lined the walls; organized with everything a busy student needs- pencils, a calendar, and calculators. As well as a few things only an Amity Park ghost hunter would have- like a thermos, spectre deflector, and an anti-creep stick. The cramped little command center juxtaposed the other half of his room that was the epitome of cozy- a plush bed set piled with blankets and pillows, waiting to be turned into Danny’s cot for the night.

“Thank you very much!” he preened. “Team Phantom may be on hiatus- but you never know when you’ll need tech support! Always good to be prepared.”

He tossed Danny’s backpack onto the bed and saddled up to his desk, booting up his computer, and pulling up several pizza options for them to consider for the evening. Tucker had, of course, compiled a spreadsheet of the pizza places he’d tried out all semester- and proceeded to walk Danny through his top five.

“Does that literally say Coffee pizza?” Danny asked.

“Yes, but don’t let the name fool you. This pizza actually slaps so hard.”

“But it has coffee grounds on it?”

Tucker clicked to place an order for it. “You gotta trust me, man- we’re absolutely getting this one. It’s got coffee, honey, three different kinds of cheese, and spicy salami.” 

“That sounds like something Tim would go wild for,” Danny mumbled without thinking.

“Tim???” Tucker’s head whipped around to look at Danny. Oh no, Danny thought. Here comes the interrogation.

“Is that the name of Mr. Tall Dark Cup of Coffee you told me about?” Tucks grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re planning to see him again, right?”

Danny groaned, “Yes- I actually saw him on campus today, funny enough. I took your advice and asked if he wanted to hang out next week.”

Tucker pumped his fist in the air, “Danny!!! Look at you! Gonna have your first college date!”

Danny covered his face with his hands, "It's not a date- we’re just hanging out.”

“Close enough,” Tucker laughed. “There’s no way he can be as oblivious to feelings as you are. I bet you twenty bucks he makes the first move. Actually, I should text Sam- we have a similar bet going already.”

“Should I be concerned about you and my ex-girlfriend placing bets on my current love life?” Danny asked as his friend whipped out his phone to start texting.

Tucker looked up and gasped, “You’re right! I’ll throw it in a group chat- Val is gonna want in on this.” Danny just flopped on the bed and started groaning.

They decided on three different pizzas from Tuck’s list, and retrieving them from each restaurant was like an expedited tour of downtown Metropolis. A few hours later, they were lying out on Tuck’s bed-  two of the pizzas eaten, the final boss in Doomed III beaten, and they were now flipping through channels in search of a movie marathon. They stopped when they found a channel in the middle of playing Beetlejuice.

“It’s been forever since I watched this one,” Danny said, reaching for a slice from the third pizza. 

“Yeah, I love Michael Keaton in this-” Tucker agreed. “Way better than that other movie he did with Tim Burton.”

“No way!” Danny protested. “The superhero one? That’s a classic!”

“Sure, it’s a classic- but it doesn’t play every Halloween, does it? Plus, they’ve rebooted that franchise a dozen times since. Beetlejuice is iconic.” Tucker doubled down. 

Danny threw his hands in the air when the Maitlands looked through their Handbook For The Recently Deceased. “What I wouldn't have given for some ghost instructions back in the day!” He screeched. “I’m starting to regret watching this- all the inaccuracies are seriously irritating.” 

Tucker just laughed at him. “At least you aren’t trapped in your parents’ house for Eternity, man! Think of the bright side- you’re only half-dead!” He clapped Danny on his back and grabbed a KitKat from the candy bowl. 

The movie went on, and despite being natural night owls, they were both overworked college students who were getting a bit sleepy. Tucker sought to remedy that- he rolled off the bed and started rifling through his mini fridge for a soda.

“What time is it Tuck? Danny yawned.

“About midnight,” he replied, checking his watch.

“Geeze, I shouldn’t be this tired. I stay up way later than this all the time.”

Tucker cracked a diet coke open. “Don’t sweat it, man, you had a long train ride to get here. That would wipe me out, too. Nothing a little caffeine can’t remedy.” He shined his phone light into the fridge, “We’ve got Coke, Diet Coke, Baja Blast, and a few Celci’s.”

Danny turned to take a look- when suddenly every muscle in his body tensed.

The sound of thunder echoed from the TV as Beetlejuice crooned, “It’s showtime…”

“Ack!” Danny grunted, contorting on the bed as his body spasmed against his will. His eyes flashing bright green.

“Danny?!” Tucker shouted; he’d only seen this once before. “Is it happening again?”

“It is!” Danny managed to hiss through his teeth. Two familiar rings of light appeared around his middle. “I can’t stop it either. F̛̓ro͋͛s͍ͬṯ̑͟b̹iͪͤt̗̉̿ẽ͒ sa̞͘idͧͧ I͠’̱̿d b̥̰̈́ẽ͕ͣ ab̾ͦ̈l̞e̳̘̬ t̜o̻̳ sͧ͡t̡͎̀ỏ̱p͖͈͝ i͘ṱ̃!͛” He was starting to panic a little, desperately trying to hold off the transformation. 

“Don’t worry, Danny!” Tucker tried to reassure his friend. PDA now in hand- his shaking fingers desperately fumbling with the buttons. “I’ve got the fenton finder locked to your coordinates- wherever you end up, I’ll try to get help! I promise!” He handed Danny his phone as he continued to writhe. “And you can call me if you end up stranded! I’ve got a car and the whole weekend to kill- don’t worry!”

Danny was happy he wasn’t alone at least. He wanted to try and think calmly, but he worried that the minute he relaxed that the spell would overtake him. He tried to hone in on the feeling, as Frostbite said. It was jumbled, but he got the inclination that wherever he was going was close- that’s a comfort. He’d hate to ruin his weekend with Tuck.

As the rings overtook his form and Phantom took his place, the rainbow LEDs flickered erratically from all the wayward energy in the room. Danny began to dissolve into green light, crumbling as if his own form were a portal. The last thing Tucker saw was Danny’s worried face as he whispered, “I̎͐͂’m̓̏ͥ͂̅ s̠̮ͭoͪrr̤͌ͮͨy,̹̪̪ͥ ma̬ͥ̂n.̰̱̙̳͑”

In a bright flash, Danny was gone, and the room was plunged into total darkness.