Chapter Text
Jazz fusses with Danny's crown, much to his annoyance.
He's a Big King, he doesn't need his sister to dress him.
Heedless of his pouting, she gives him one last look-over, and pulls him into a hug. "Call me if anything happens. I swear to god I'll punch Superman in the face"
From Danny's view over Jazz's shoulder, he spots a blush making its way across Jason’s cheeks. Sam sends the man a grin and pretends to swoon, unbothered by the playful shove she gets in return.
Danny rolls his eyes, "It's a Peace Treaty Jazz. Emphasis on the peace."
“More like a, “sorry we let the US government dissect you and then were super rude to your face, please don't kill us-treaty.” Tucker mutters with a grimace.
“It was vivisection, actually.” Jason corrects, absently, “I was dissected, but Danny was still alive.”
“Only technically.” Dani and Danny quip at the same time. They turn to each other, matching shit-eating grins on their faces.
Danny’s eternally grateful that Dani is discovering parts of herself that don’t involve the things she was programmed to mimic. Watching her grow into her own person is amazing, but every so often, they’ll share a brain cell and it fills Danny’s chest with warmth.
Jazz sighs loudly, "Okay, enough with the death jokes. Danny, use your Fenton phone if anything happens. Even if it's Batman, I use the Creep Stick indeterminately."
Jason’s expression somehow softens even further. Danny cannot watch this any longer. He has places to be that are not here at this exact moment.
“Stop flirting before my interdimensional treaty meeting!”
“Danny-” Jazz cries, scandalized, face as red as her hair an distinctly not looking at Jason, but Danny doesn’t let her start.
“We’re leaving now!”
Danny swirls his hand into the air, grabs the fabric of the universe, and pulls . A green portal opens in front of him, guided by him stretching the edges until the swirling ectoplasm is big enough for Jason’s Ghost form to fit.
A ring of light surrounds Jason’s body, fading to reveal an inverted version of his Red Hood costume plus the medieval knight aspects, that looks cool, yeah, but gives Jason away as a massive nerd.
The two of them take a deep breath, share a meaningful look, and step through the portal.
The room they enter is much more impressive than the room Danny met the Justice League for the first time.
There’s a wall of monitors, flicking through images Danny doesn’t have time to investigate. His attention catches for a moment on 3 large tubes with metal doors obscuring what’s inside.
Danny tries very hard not to think about the Ghost Zone portal and his unfortunate demise. This is the Justice League. They have access to some of the most technologically advanced stuff on the planet. Whoever designed whatever those tubes are, probably wasn’t negligent enough to put the ‘on’ button inside.
What he really wants to look at though, are the large windows of the surrounding sky and oh Ancients, that’s earth. He’s in space. On a space station. Surrounded by stars. This is an observation deck.
It takes considerable effort to tear his eyes from the view, but he has Important Things to talk about, so he directects his attention to the center of the room.
A long table seats what Danny thinks might be most of the Justice League. He spots Superman right away, along with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Nightwing. Danny smiles faintly at Shazam, who waves back with a grin. He’s always liked the guy and it’s nice to see a friendly face.
There’s other heroes he vaguely recognizes, but he really doesn’t want to take a headcount. Public speaking was never his strong suit and he’d rather not know how many people he’s gonna be talking in front of.
Danny glances at Jason for reassurance, but his Knight’s gaze is firmly locked on Batman. Oh, whoops. Did they tell the Bats about Jason’s rise to knighthood? Tucker set up cell connection with the Living Realm as soon as Danny knew he had a lair, so they could have sent the guy a text.
…or not. Jason’s complicated relationship with his family is his problem.
A guy in a trenchcoat catches Danny’s attention. He’s not someone that Danny recognizes even a little bit, but something about him feels… familiar.
“Greetings your majesty,” Green Lantern stands with a respectful nod of his head, “You can call me Hal. I speak on behalf of the Justice League-“
Danny tunes the man out immediately. He’s heard this song and dance way too many times and it never gets more interesting.
He’s got better things to ponder. Like why something about Trenchcoat feels like it’s reaching out to Danny. The problem is, Danny’s pretty sure he’s never seen this guy in his entire existence.
“I understand that the previous experience you had with the Justice League was not a good one-“
He’s got a pretty good recall of faces but Trenchcoat isn’t ringing a bell, so it's gotta be something else. There’s a hint of magic that lingers whenever he moves, like a particularly sentient after-image, so he’s definitely not an ordinary human.
“We formally apologize for-“
Maybe it's the guy's signature? Though Danny’s having a hard time placing it, Trenchcoat’s soul is in the worst shape Danny’s ever seen…
"We are ready and willing to do whatever we can to-"
Holy fuck, his soul.
"Oh my god, you're Tax Evasion Man!" Danny exclaims, totally interrupting Hal’s formal apology, but Danny’s so excited that he doesn’t even notice.
In the sudden silence of the room, Danny can hear Jason facepalming.
Tax Evasion blinks, an expression of pure bewilderment and a bit of exasperation on his face.
Danny's very familiar with that expression. He seems to bring it out in people.
"…pardon?"
"We've been trying to reach you about your soul's extended tax fraud," Danny says gleefully, snapping his fingers to summon the list of soul fragments and their current owners. It’s a very long scroll. Comically long. The end of it hits the floor and rolls toward the gathered heroes.
Constantine just stares at him, gobsmacked.
"You’ve done so much soul prostitution." Danny continues, “Like so much. The Observants have it out for you. They have an entire room full of paperwork for you when you die. I hope you like sorting!"
“You owe part of your soul to King Shark ?” Flash exclaims, horrified from where he has the end of the scroll in his hands.
“I forgot an anniversary. That’s not the point here.”
The Flash looks like he very much thinks that’s the point here, but Constantine speaks over him.
"What exactly are the Observants?"
"Ghost government workers.” Danny says, tucking his feet up and sitting cross-legged, midair. “Like the afterlife IRS. They suck and I do my best to annoy them as much as possible."
Jason sighs audibly. “Do you, or do you not, know how to be formal?” He murmurs under his breath.
Danny smirks at him.
"The public would be very interested in a ghost society.” Superman says thoughtfully, “It would put many people's minds at ease if they knew where their loved ones went after-.”
"Nope, no. Gonna stop you right there.” Danny waves his hands as if batting away the words, “Part of this treaty? A large part, actually, is that you keep quiet. The last thing we need is more people digging around in our biology looking for "everlasting life" or trying to blow holes into the Zone.”
Shizam’s goes wide-eyed at that, and Danny holds back a snort. If only they- oh shit they probably pulled the GIW records. They did know. Danny doesn't have the energy to unpack that situation, so he plows on before any questions can be asked.
“Plus, not everyone who dies becomes a resident of the Realms. I don't need every amateur ghost hunter in the world trying to break in looking for their dead grandma or moment of glory on TikTok.”
Is that last bit a little harsh? Maybe, But it’s true and gets the point across. The Zone is dangerous, even for powerful ghosts. An unprepared human poking their noses into it recreationally wouldn’t make it 5 minutes. If a ghost didn’t go after them for trespassing in their haunt, the atmosphere’s toxicity to other beings could be detrimental to their health.
There’s a reason that the older Fentons built the Spectator Speeder and practically used their hazmat suits as a second skin.
Not to mention the political mess it would cause.
The moment the government passed the anti-acto acts, was the moment when they opened up the real possibility of going to war. And when they began to hunt his race for the purpose of dissecting ‘non-scient beings’?
Danny's not really an eye-for-an-eye guy, but he sure would love the right to exist without fearing for his existence.
“That’s acceptable,” Batman confirms, “We’ll keep whatever knowledge you’re willing to give us in highly encrypted files located only on the Watchtower.”
Danny’s shoulders relax a fraction. For all the trouble the Justice League caused him, at least Batman seems to be on his side.
One less guy for Jazz to hit with the Creep Stick.
“Great! I'm not one to stand on formalities for too long, so just to be clear, you guys destroyed the GIW and got the Anti-Ecto acts repealed. Thank you for that. In exchange for your assistance, I’ve gotten my council to agree not to raze this reality in revenge for the wrongdoings against my people. Capiche? Sweet!"
There’s more than a few sighs of relief from the assembled heroes. Danny feels a little bad. He didn’t actually want to lead an undead army onto earth, most of the population didn’t even now his people existed, much less that were being stripped of their rights and experimented on. But he hadn't really gotten the chance to say that last time, and well. Results are results.
“Our signal to Amity Park was restored the day after the GIW disbanded,” Wonder Woman informs him, “Which means we’re now able to receive requests for support if you need it.”
“Yeah,” Shazam adds in, rubbing the back of his neck with a sympathetic smile, “We’re sorry you had to do everything on your own.”
Danny always knew Shazam was cool.
“Is there anything we can do to support you now?” Batman asks, attention mostly on Jason, who glowers.
Danny hums consideringly. When he was first moonlighting as a vigilante, figuring out his powers, he would have taken any help available. Good or bad. But he’s gotten significantly more powerful since then and trusting what's essentially a super powered militia is not something he’s particularly comfortable with.
“If there’s a problem, I'm probably already on top of it, but I have a group that I could ask about becoming a sort of ambassador team that could be called in case of an emergency on your end.”
“What would constitute an emergency?”
“Anything involved with the Infinite Realms. You have an issue with a ghost? I’ll be there ASAP. If there’s a world-ending threat you’re having a hard time managing, I’m alright with being a last resort. I sorta like haunting this planet, would hate to see it blown up.”
“And who will we be contacting?” Green Lantern asks.
Danny glances at Jason, who gives him a nod.
“This is my Fright Knight, though you might know him better as the Red Hood.”
Jason gives a little wave, but Danny’s attention is on Batman, whose gaze is drilling a hole in the side of Jason’s helmet. Nope. No. Not Danny’ circus, not Danny’s monkeys. He will be minding his business on this one, thank you very much.
“He’ll be the main contact if you need to get ahold of me.” Danny glances pointedly at Tax Fraud Man, “Don’t try to summon me, I don’t know what books you have, but if you pull Pariah Dark out of the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep, so help me.”
Tax Fraud nods, looking suitably nervous. Good. Danny will lose his absolute shit if he has to shove that tyrannical asshole back into his containment coffin. Sure, Danny’s significantly more powerful than the last time he fought Pariah, but it was not a fun fight, and Danny’s not sure he can keep the ‘little to no deaths’ streak he has going if the guy has a chance to roam the Living Realm.
Things would be so much easier if he could just banish the guy to the Nightmare Realm. Actually, Jason probably wouldn’t hesitate if Danny asked him to shoot someone.
That’s a scary thought.
Danny claps his hands, gaining the attention of everyone in the room and clearing his head. “Great! So if all that’s agreeable, and you hold up your end of the deal, we’ll be good.”
“We can do that,” Batman agrees, nodding solemnly.
Danny lets out a sigh of relief. Ancients, he’s glad that went well. Now he can go home and let the beanbags swallow him whole. He’s not coming out for at least a month. Danny deserves a month of video games and sleep. He’ll bite anyone that says otherwise.
A loud mechanical voice announces one of the cylindrical tubes beginning to glow. It’s gold, not green, and the light shoots out in radiant beams, not swirling like the portal Danny died in, but even still, it takes a moment for Danny to process what the words meant.
“Zeta B-04 Robin”
A figure emerges from the light, silhouetted by the gold. As the machine powers down, Danny recognizes a red, yellow, and green-clad figure, a cape flapping behind him, and then Robin is rushing Danny.
Holy shit. He’s about to get attacked. Danny went to a peace treaty and is about to get attacked. By his own fucking brother.
Danny automatically scans for weapons, shifting into a fighting stance and watching the rapid approach with a wary eye. There’s a sword handle on Damian’s back, a katana, a belt of pouches of various sizes, holding who knows what, and Danny would bet that there’s sheathes in the armbands and boots. Dami isn’t reaching for any of them though. In fact, the way he moves is eerily similar to the 8 year old version of his twin that Danny last saw.
Short cropped hair, swept up and to the side, running with the speed and grace of one trained by the league, bronze skin in the same tone Danny’s was when he last saw-
“Robin, No!” Someone, maybe Batman yells, but he’s too late and the two teens collide with an audible oof.
There’s a moment while they just stare at each other, at a loss for words as they take in the differences caused by time and wildly different upbringings.
Danny moves first, wrapping his arms around his twin, and tucking his face into Damian’s shoulder.
Wow, Damian’s got some serious gains. If Danny wasn’t actively holding back tears, he would comment on it, but as is, it’s all he can do to breathe against his twin.
Dami stiffens for a moment, and then he’s returning the hug with just as much fervor, holding on with clenched fists like when they were little and had snuck into the other’s room in the quiet of the night, terrified for the day they would inevitably be seperated.
That day had come a lot sooner than either of them had expected.
“Brother.” Danny chokes out in a broken whisper, automatically reverting to League Dialect, and not particularly wanting to be understood by the heroes inevitably listening in.
“I thought you were dead.”
Danny laughs bitterly, “I am.”
The arms tighten around him, “Do not jest with me, brother.”
“Sorry, that was insensitive.”
Damian sniffs in disdain, but his grip doesn't loosen.
“I can’t believe you’re Robin.”
“Says the King of the Infinite Realms.”
Danny laughs, “I missed you.”
Damian doesn’t respond, but Danny doesn’t need him to. He knows the feeling is mutual.
. . . .
Jason’s shutter sound on his phone camera goes off, abruptly shattering the moment.
Shit, he should have checked his volume. Well, too late now.
The twins turn in unison, matching glares on their faces. Well, damn. Maybe they do have one expression in common. Count Jason impressed.
“Quit the shining impression, I promised Jazz I would take a pic of the twins dramatic reunion”
Out of the corner of Jason’s eye, he watches Bruce go very, very still.
“Twins?” He asks, voice slipping dangerously out of Batman, and into Bruce The Emotionally Constipated Dad, territory.
Jason turns to him with a shit-eating grin. “What's wrong, B? You look like you've seen a ghost.”
+ OMAKE +
Danny uses every ounce of teenage dramatics he has in him to flop onto his favorite beanbag, detransforming, and sighing loudly just to make his point.
“God, what a bunch of fruit loops.”
He’s so glad that’s over.
“That bad, huh?” Jazz asks, sounding equal parts amused and concerned. Danny tilts his head lazily, just in time to catch Jason shooting Jazz a reassuring smile.
Ick, they’re nauseating.
“It went fine. The treaty is in place and all that, Danny’s just being a little shit.”
“Hey, I take offense to that.” Danny whines. He doesn’t. Danny’s dramatics are a finely honed skill and he wields them with precision and grace.
“Speaking of fruit loops, anyone seen Vlad recently?”
“Tucker, no.” Sam groans, “Speaking his name is taboo.”
“He’s probably hiding out planning something stupid, and now he’s gonna come crawling out of his vampire coffin just to annoy us.” Dani agrees, though she doesn’t seem too put out for a chance to acquaint an ecto blast with her creator’s face.
What a mood.
Jason clears his throat and suddenly seems very interested in the floor. “Totally unrelated, but hypothetically how would one go about uhh… fishing someone out of the nightmare dimension after they were hypothetically shot in the chest during a fit of rage?”
Danny perks up, suddenly interested, and Jazz drops her head in her hands. “Hypothetically, would that person be Vlad?”
“I’m not answering that without a lawyer.”
Sam grins looking absolutely delighted. Fuck, Danny knew introducing her to Jason was a bad idea. They get along like a house on fire.
“How long has he been in there?” Tucker asks.
“I think you know.”
Danny waves a hand flippantly, “He can wait, it's not urgent.”
“Danny.” Jazz chastises.
“What?! It's his own fault! If he didn't want to get stuck in Jason’s Soup Jail, he shouldn't have pumped Blood Blossoms into my bloodstream. That’s very impolite. He deserves a time-out.”
“The Nightmare Dimension is in no way shape or form like Soup Time.”
“How would you know?” Danny grumbles, “You've never been Souped.”
“What do you think he’s seeing?” Sam ponders gleefully.
“Maddie getting married to Jack over and over.” Dani replies without missing a beat.
Ancients, Danny loves his mirror sister.
Jazz’s lips twitch, “Maybe we can leave him in there a little longer.”