Chapter Text
Dan Phantom has spent years within confinement. His anger has festered. It fizzles out and sparks back to life in an endless cycle. Like a prank candle that refuses to be put out. He squirms constantly, angry at what the world has put him through. He bangs on the walls desperate for some space.
The world got what it deserved.
He is getting what he deserves; he killed innocents.
He wants to be free so he can do it all over again and this time no one will be able to stop him from destroying humanity.
No, he just wants his family back. Why is he so angry all the time? It bubbles under his skin like some sort of infection. It always has, ever since he was wrongfully pulled out of his human half... or was it when Vlad's ghost half came into the mix? Either way. Part of him wonders if having his human half once more would curb his bloodlust.
Many years pass like this. It could be a millenia. He flip flops between desperation and anger over and over again. There is no one here to bargain with. Phantom would be naive enough to want to work something out with him.
Sometimes he is so desperate for fresh air that he'd be willing to lose his powers for it.
One dark day- the days are always dark -Dan is let out of containment. He does not know who has done it or why. There is a flash of light, perhaps a portal, and he simply wakes up in an unfamiliar place as one of many clones. Young boys all with the same short dark hair, honey toned skin, and their eyes remain blessedly closed. Some clones vary in completion. However young they may be, he can tell they are close to young Daniel’s age.
His first thought is that someone has released him from the thermos for some sort of sick power grab. Anyone with a brain would know Dan is uncontrollable. A force of nature akin to an earthquake, a volcano, or more like an extinction event level meteorite. No big bad leader has made themselves known, however. Just scientists, observers, and people in ninja robes?
Second thought is that this is some kind of test. Whoever sent him here must want him to prove himself in some way. To prove he is worthy of freedom most likely. Clockwork does not seem foolish enough to attempt that.
Having a human half again is so strange. According to one of the scientists, he is defective amongst the group as he has striking blue eyes. Ancients, he hasn't seen his own blue eyes ever since he went back in time to assure the timeline he exists in plays out. Some higher up in the cult following, the scientists call her Talia, is displeased with how he has turned out. He keeps quiet most of the time to gain his bearings once more. The scientists need order from the boss if they are to waste time and resources investigating what might have gone wrong with his creation.
Talia is displeased and ends up commanding Dan to follow her. Being the lead on this project, he can understand why she might be displeased at needing permission to do anything, but this works in his favor. It can buy him more time to get his bearings. No one will be able to analyze his halfa DNA. Ever curious, he follows her orders. The two of them weave through hallways and past a training area where Dan can now see that this is an assassin base, based off of the weapons on display and the brutality of their training.
The leader sits at a throne, overlooking a disgusting pool of rank ectoplasm. Dan can barely keep his expression schooled being in the same room as it. The smell alone would make him lose his lunch had he eaten anything. He could find a way to purify it. Whatever use it serves this king would be nulled upon purification.
Talia wants to know what went wrong with the cloning process. Probably probe him open and use his body like a lab rat. No one will be given the chance. Dan will simply disappear and plot his revenge. Whether that revenge is against Phantom or this assassin cult remains to be seen.
The kingly man, with dark but graying hair and neatly trimmed facial hair-
Reminiscent of some generic fruitloop
-wants to move his plans forward. “One defect among dozens means nothing, send him in,” he demands, leaving no room for argument.
Talia nods in agreement, but Dan can clearly see she wants to argue. She might be plotting his downfall behind the scenes.
While Dan has no idea who Damian is, he is given a clear instruction to kill Damian Wayne regardless. Refusing to speak, he nods curtly and follows whoever he needs to get the job done. Some of the cult members drag him along one of the most boring and longest journeys ever. Flying himself would have been so much faster. Their final stop is a city called Gotham, but he has never heard of Gotham before. It is too big and established for it to have popped up in the time he has been gone from the world. He hopes, at least. He has a few theories, but he will need to do research to narrow anything down.
Two of the cult followers trail behind him, hidden in the shadows to see if this clone can complete the job. Shaking them off is easy with his intangibility and invisibility. He even lingers to relish in the way they step out in the open where he once stood, postures exuding confusion. They are dead in the dark before they even know what hit them.
When he sees how young he is in the reflection of a poor storefront display window, he feels the urge to investigate. Sure he's killed entire populations, children included, but he cannot understand why anyone would want to kill a young boy with his own likeness. Cloning material is too expensive for such a menial task.
Ironic
Yes, that may be, but this is a human boy. Whether or not he has powers remains to be seen.
Dan goes to the library to find any clues on Damian Wayne's whereabouts only to see the boy is one of the fruitloops. The nickname is distasteful on his tongue and yet he cannot shake the habit. Being such a public figure, Wayne Manor is easy to find. A librarian approaches him before he can search anything more. Like where Gotham is geographically, when it was founded, or its history. All he has is information on Damian Wayne and the current year. When he notices her, he wipes the computer history. Niggling in the back of his mind, he knows there are ways around that, but he's not tech savvy enough to completely wipe his trace.
Tucker would know how
She mistakes him for Damian, calls him as such. Dan inwardly curses at not grabbing a mask, but he cannot keep up the lie. He has no idea how Damian acts let alone how he would be able to hide his eye color. Ignoring her, he gets up to leave. She grabs his arm. No one has dared to touch him since he started his tirade, but he cannot bring himself to retaliate. That fiery red hair mocks him.
"What's wrong with you today? You're not usually so dismissive," she investigates with her soft and steady voice.
He meets her gaze head on. A flicker of recognition. A spark of fear. He knows fear well. Instead of letting go, she tightens her grip. Fight, instead of flight it seems.
"Who are you?" She hardens her voice to demand the answer out of him.
"A poor imitation," he replies. "At least, that's what the cultists thought, because my eyes turned out blue," he gives her a wide smile that doesn't quite reach those said blue eyes.
"You're not like the others," she determines, though her gaze still holds suspicion. So they have already seen other clones. That makes this easier.
"I was curious why they were wasting such expensive technology to kill some fruitloop." Damn, he said it again. His face grimaces slightly at the slip up. Maybe he should just accept it at this point. "I mean, there are so many ways to kill a child. The younger they are, the easier it is. Ask me how I know."
Barbara, that's what her name tag says, is trying to conceal her horror at his statement. He rolls his eyes wishing she would let go. While he could slip free at any moment, he is touch starved, missing human and ghost social interaction, and has nothing better to do with his time.
"I need to call this in," she states after a moment of processing the enigma in front of her. "Will you stay willingly or will I have to subdue you?"
Dan startles a laugh. She has no idea what he is or what he is capable of. Without ghost-proof technology there is nothing that can contain him. Not to mention she is in a wheelchair. Even with training that would be a hard feat to accomplish. Flinching at his sudden laughter, she keeps her hold and her gaze on him steady. Oh, she is serious. Dan's laughter comes to a stop, and he lets his posture slump into something more laid back.
"Whatever you want. Until I get bored, I suppose." He shrugs. Barbara sizes him up, obviously unsure if she should trust him. She is right not to, but probably not for the reasons she should be.
Without releasing her hold on his hand, she pulls out her phone and calls someone who might be more equipped to handle a killer clone situation. "B, there is a league clone at the library. I have him detained, willingly. He's not like the others."
Whoever B is, he gives orders for her to stay safe and keep the clone detained until he gets there. Dan plays oblivious, like he cannot hear everything on the other line with his enhanced hearing. There is an interesting amount of cameras hidden around here.
"I'll be careful, but please hurry," she responds. They end their call and Barbara drags Dan along to the front desk.
"Who is B?" Dan breaks the silence.
"Batman," she responds in full seriousness. Dan still thinks she is joking, but with no further elaboration he has to accept the truth.
"What?"
"Batman? Gotham Vigilante? Do you have any important information programmed in that brain of yours?" she stops at the library's front desk to toss an incredulous look his way. Nothing has been programmed into his brain. Even if those scientists had tried, his overtaking of this body might have removed all of it. He does not need it regardless.
Dan scoffs at her jab. "How dare you insult my intelligence," he snarls. The sound of metal clicking has him blinking away his anger. He looks down to see Barbara has handcuffed him to her desk. He gives it a weak little tug to see if she really just did that. If he really wanted he could snap the chain or break the desk with the amount of force he could put into one tug. Hell, he can turn intangible and really throw her off her game. For now, he wants to keep his cards close to his chest and see how this all plays out.
"I'm not going to be the one to interrogate you. Batman can be the one to figure out what you do or do not know."
"Well, I know how to get out of handcuffs for one," he raises a judgmental brow in her direction.
"Please don't," she smiles sweetly and gets to whatever kind of computer work librarians do.
Thanks to all the cameras he cannot use ghost powers yet. With no chair, he slides to the floor and lets his back thunk against one of Barbara's wheels, just to make sure he's being as obnoxious as possible. Based on the way she stills, he can tell she is startled at his sudden movements, but says nothing. Being down here reminds him he could also lift the leg of the desk to pull the other half of his handcuffs free. Breaking the desk would be more fun. Snapping his teeth through the chain would be hysterical.
Minutes pass, Dan listens to the sound of Barbara tapping away on her keyboard, suffering in complete boredom until something large and dark finally enters the library. Whoever they may be, move silently despite their size. Dan looks up to see a man dressed in all black armor, a large cape draped over his shoulders and flowing behind him like some sort of shadow. The bat on his chest makes it clear this is the Batman. Pointed ears on his head are wholly unnecessary, but Dan knows if they weren't there at all the man would look bald. Batman is almost as bad as some of the ghosts from back in Phantom’s vigilante days. Like Box Ghost. They really like to stick to a theme.
Dan doesn't laugh at the sight of him. He's a bit too bored to care at the moment, being chained to a desk in a library with no book offered to him in the meantime.
"You took your time," Dan is the first to break the ice in the midst of a bat-glare. "You really went all in with the bat theme, huh?"
"You were right," Batman rumbles to Barbara, completely ignoring Dan. The dismissal rubs him the wrong way. Only dead people ignored him, and he’s not talking about the people that turned into ghosts. "The clone's behavior is abnormal from what we have seen so far."
"Dan."
Batman's posture tenses as he meets Dan's gaze once more. "Pardon?"
"I have a name," he can't use the name Phantom in case that good two shoes is still doing the hero thing. "It's Dan."
"Thank you for informing me," he states, though Dan can hear a trace of confusion in his tone.
Batman kneels gracefully to undo half of the handcuff. For a moment, Dan thinks the cuffs are being removed entirely before Batman moves to grab his only free hand. Dan pulls his hand away, feeling quite miffed. After he's been so compliant they still want him in chains. He just escaped his soup prison only to be put in a new one? What kind of test is this?
"Look, you oversized furry. I've done everything the nice little librarian has asked of me. I'm going with you willingly for questioning. Do you really need me to wear handcuffs that I could break out of within a second?"
Batman holds his gaze steady as if adamant that the innocent clone belongs in handcuffs. Well… innocent until proven guilty.
Barbara clears her throat for some attention. Both men turn to look at her. "You referenced killing babies earlier," she unhelpfully tacks on.
Anger spikes as Dan’s fists clench with the need to beat something into submission, or death. Batman flinches.
Butter biscuits
Dan’s eyes might have flashed red.
Dan takes a steadying breath to ease his nerves and offers his other hand up for confinement. Batman, the smart cookie he is, clasps both of Dan’s hands in handcuffs. He is even blindfolded on his way to their next location. Not that a piece of cloth will stop him from learning where he is. All he needs to do is fly high enough to find out where he is geographically and he can come back whenever he chooses. Their secret identities will never be safe with him around. Dan still can’t believe he got caught by vigilantes within a few minutes of arriving in Gotham. How was he supposed to know they had librarians in their back pocket? Now that he thinks about it, it really is clever. Librarians are so good at gathering information.
When the car finally comes to a stop, Batman is surprisingly gentle while guiding Dan out the door. Though, it would have been preferable for the blindfold to come off at this point. And the handcuffs. Or for Batman to carry him to the next location. Dan really misses flying. Based on what he can hear around him, bat squeaks, dripping water, another breathing human somewhere in the bat’s roost, a metal projectile being thrown through the air in his direction- wait a minute…
They stop, and there is a sudden shift. Batman has caught whatever was thrown in their direction, seeing as Dan has not been pierced.
“Father, what is the meaning of this?” A young enraged voice erupts amidst the quiet.
“You were told to stay clear of the cave tonight. This is dangerous.” Batman growls. Dan smirks at the boy's misfortune, getting in trouble with such a grumpy old man.
“That is why we are meant to kill the clones on sight! It is not just me it is a threat to, it is anyone who might stand in its way,” Damian hisses succinctly, because Dan now knows this is Damian. The boy he was sent to kill.
Being called ‘it’ reminds Dan of the way ghost hunters and government officials would refer to him. Like he was something not sentient enough to have a gender. Dan might end up killing Damian for the attitude problem instead of for the sake of following orders.
“Hm,” Dan cuts into their argument. “I am a threat. Maybe you should stop bickering and give me a chair to sit in before I feel like proving it.”
Batman nudges him forward to do just that. Behind them, Damian lets out a noise of protest. Hurried footsteps trail behind them. The boy is so eager to prove himself capable. Just like young Phantom. Pushing boundaries, and begrudgingly achieving the impossible in the process.
“Stand down, Robin,” Batman orders, a door clicks open. They must be at the interrogation room now, and the door clicks shut behind them.
“No, let him join. Perhaps it will be entertaining,” Dan insists even as he is being led to sit in a chair. Instead of a response, his hands are forced forward where his handcuffs are connected to what he imagines is a table in front of him. The blindfold comes off and sure enough, he is at a table in a generic interrogation room. No cave vibes to be seen here.
“You know I know more ways to break out of a pair of handcuffs than you do?” Dan playfully splays his fingers out to marvel at how pathetic their attempts at containing him are.
“Then why haven’t you?” Batman sits down in the opposite seat, straight to business. He makes a good bad cop, but what is a bad cop without a good cop?
Dan shrugs, “I’m bored, and you people actually want to talk to me. Keeping quiet at the league was so exhausting. I was one second away from destroying the place and running away to wherever my co- heart desires,” he hopes Batman did not catch on to his slip up, but the odds are not in his favor. Evidence suggests that Batman has no powers, but is powerful in other ways. Money. Intellect. If Batman became a halfa he would be unstoppable.
“You said your name is Dan. Why? Who gave it to you?”
Technically a trio of kids that ruined his life gave it to him, but it stuck. He has rejected name after name before that. Danny, Vlad, Plasmius, and finally Phantom after getting his butt handed to him by his younger self.
“I am a clone, more sentient than any of the others, but a clone nonetheless, that has been sent here to kill your child,” Dan stresses his point with a pointed look, “and your first question is about the name I picked out?”
“We need to investigate your thought process, what you might know, and your threat level to determine next steps.”
Laughable. If Batman has a scale for threat levels, Dan would reside at the very top.
“You have no idea what you have let into your home, Wayne. Tell me, is your secret lair in your basement too?” Dan taunts with a devilish smile. Batman keeps quiet, waiting for his question to be answered. Dan can only assume he hit the nail on the head. Fruitloops are so predictable. “My information could be wrong. As a clone, I came out wrong. The fiery librarian interrupted my research before I could confirm what I might know.”
“There is something else. You’re hiding something,” Batman accuses.
“Of course I am, smart cookie. You’ve caught on. The clone in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by hostile people, is keeping secrets.”
“Ra’s would have never let you go if he knew you had powers.”
He can only assume Ra’s is the cult leader. “What powers?” Dan plays dumb, poorly so with a showy tilt of his head.
“I saw. In the library. Your eyes flashed red when you got angry.”
“And yet I have used none of my powers. Even accidentally. Are you seeing things in your old age?” Dan tilts his head and pouts in mock worry. Batman remains impassive. The halfa is having way too much fun with this interrogation.
“You have full control. You are trained. You allowed us to drag you here, and yet you have made no move to kill anyone.”
Dan rolls his eyes. “Been there, done that. No one can order me to do anything. Do you guys have burgers? Very rude to bring company over and not offer any refreshments.”
“Who have you killed?”
“Since I came to life?” Dan hedges. Well, half-life really, but he leaves no time for Batman to clarify his question. “Just two league members that were trailing me to see if I would get the job done. Obviously, I have no plans to. I’d be more likely to kill Ra’s before Damian. He’s a real fruitloop.” Dan mutters the last part to himself, but Batman still catches it anyway.
“Fruitloop?” He rumbles out. Dan snickers at the way he says it.
“Crazy people, typically of the rich and powerful variety. You and your children qualify.”
Batman pauses, Dan barely suspects what the vigilante says next. “You could qualify.”
Danny would certainly call his evil future self a fruitloop if given the chance during their fight. Not for being rich, no. Dan never had any use for riches when he began taking over the world. For being crazy? For being part Plasmius? Absolutely.
Blue screening, Dan cannot help the unbecoming drop of his jaw. Was that meant to be a jab at the idea of adopting him into the family?
Am I cursed to be fruitloop's adoption bait-
It must be karma for pushing so hard to make Daniel my son
Dan has built up a lot of bad karma in general for everything he has done, but this is such a bizarre punishment.
Damian must agree with him, seeing as the young boy bursts into the interrogation room with a look of fury. He is still dressed in his vigilante uniform. Too much color for Dan’s tastes. He wonders what his ghost form looks like now that he is a halfa once more.
“Father, you cannot be serious!” Damian scowls at his father, hand still splayed on the door he just slammed open.
Batman glares. Clearly Damian was not meant to be listening to the interrogation, but no one is available to stop the little gremlin.
Dan quickly interrupts when Batman intakes a breath to berate his son. “I agree! Toss me to the wild. But if you are going to scold him, please leave,” he points toward the door in exhaustion. Twin stares of confusion land on him. “I am also not kidding about the food. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Needing sustenance is such a chore.”
Feeding on ambient ectoplasm is so much easier. If he could tear his ghost half out of his human half once more, he might do it, just at the prospect of not needing to eat.
“I’ll be back with some food, and a blood draw,” Batman declares.
“No,” Dan shakes his head adamantly. No one will be pulling his blood or any DNA samples to discover what he is. He had no time to discover if the GIW is still active here before Barbara swooped in. If a vigilante caught wind of it, Batman could easily hand him over without hesitation. Though Robin would be the first to step up for that role, Dan imagines.
“No, to the blood test?” Batman tilts his head, curious that he has finally struck a topic that has garnered response from an uncooperative source.
“Says the experiment, lab grown in an assassin cult,” Dan clarifies with the best excuse he can give. Batman might not even have the necessary equipment to read his DNA, but Dan cannot take any chances. Batman will grow more wary if a simple blood test breaks his machines.
“Tt. You make it sound like you are afraid of needles,” Damian scoffs, looking down on a tyrant that has nearly successfully destroyed the world. “Unbecoming of a warrior.”
“Oh no!” Dan mocks surprise, he would try and bring his hands to his face, but the cuffs clatter up and down when he tries. Finding his movement is still restricted pisses him off and makes the rest of his delivery less sarcastic sounding and more infuriated. “I accidentally let my one weakness slip. I have always feared being ripped apart molecule by molecule in a lab,” he trails off actually getting kind of annoyed at the reminder, grumbling incoherently about stupid mad scientists.
Batman steps out of the interrogation room with Robin in tow instead of staying to question him more about the sarcastic remark that has some truth to it.
Why is he doing all this again? For a little attention? These people only want answers. They do not want to get to know him as a sentient being.
Dan tugs up on the chains as he debates phasing through them. Up and down his right wrist goes. Cling, clang, cling, clang.
Clattering noises do not stop until Batman comes back with a burger in hand like Dan had jokingly asked for. A bad idea in hindsight. The smell of it makes him nauseous. Reminds him of everything wrong with him. Grease and flames. A family and his teacher tied to a containment unit for explosive sauce. Months of depression. Danny and Vlad’s poor decisions in the midst of his grief-
Oh, Ancients. Everyone is dead
It also reminds him of blurred memories of two best friends smiling in a shitty fast food location in their middle of nowhere town. The three of them against the world. Literally. Humans and ghosts alike, and yet protecting both of them. So foolish. Has Vlad ever enjoyed a good burger? Not that Dan can recall.
Batman pauses with the plate in hand a few steps away. Dan must be making a face. He is giving too much away.
“Not a fan of burgers?”
Dan can hear the judgment in the man's tone. Wayne must have even more questions now. Burger related ones that Dan will not want to answer. Where did he learn about burgers? Why does he already have such a negative reaction to them? Etc.
“They are such a classless food group,” Dan eyes the grease trap with trepidation. “It was a joke. I did not think you would have them on hand. Why go out of your way to make one for me?”
“I thought you wanted one. The league would not have given you any. What would you actually like?” Batman replies honestly and even offers to make something else. So Batman is going to take everything he says to heart. Good to know for future reference.
Only, Dan has no clue what he wants to eat. He has not had the need for food in years. Nothing sounds good anymore. Scientists in the lab simply gave him gross rations with all the sustenance he would need for the day. He was only fed to keep him alive long enough to be sent off to kill Robin. Before that he was a ghost. He cannot even remember what his last meal was when his ghost halves were still that. Half human. It seems so long ago now. Danny was too depressed to really keep anything down. Vlad was too drowned out in his work on those damn gloves to eat a proper meal.
“Anything without burger meat in it. Or explosive sauce,” he tries to tack on as a joke, but his following grimace does not sell it. Next thing he knows, Batman might try to seriously ask if the league fed Dan explosive liquids.
Batman takes his leave, the burger goes with him. When he comes back he has the child-friendly food known as PB&J and a small sealed bag of potato chips. Wayne releases his chains from the table so the clone can feed himself. Dan goes for the chips first. For optimal crunch and annoyance factor.
Something is placed onto the interrogation table. Dan can already tell what is inside the container.
“I said no,” he bites out followed by a harsh crunch into one of his chips.
“You said yourself you are a defect among the clones. We want to test your stability.” It is the easiest excuse in the books, but Dan knows about clones. The whole process. And he feels absolutely fine. The scientists that made him made no mistakes.
What Batman really wants to look for is abnormalities. To prove himself right. That this mysterious clone has supernatural abilities that need to be studied and subdued.
“That excuse means nothing to me. I know I’m stable.”
“How?”
Dan taps a finger to his temple, “I have all the knowledge on how to make clones up here. If I were unstable I would already be experiencing chronic pain or the beginning stages of my vital organs melting. Even if you wanted to help me, which you really shouldn’t entertain the idea, I can’t imagine you have the tools necessary to stabilize a clone on such short notice in a bat cave of all places. It is too unsanitary here.”
“Why would they program you with knowledge on making clones?”
“That sounds like a question for the programmers,” Dan drawls cockily, crunching down on another chip.
“What about a cheek swab?”
Oh, the big bad bat is bargaining.
“So you can come back around later to press for a blood test? We both know those are more accurate.”
“Hn,” Batman grunts, and leans back in his chair, arms folded.
Dan finishes off his chips, but thinks better of going for the unsealed sandwich. They might try to drug him, only to be surprised when it has no effect on his halfa constitution.
“You know there are ways around drugging sealed foods, right?” Batman states like he knows exactly what he is thinking.
“Did you drug my poor potato chips? Smart cookie,” Dan giggles, obviously not believing the detective is that desperate. Batman says nothing. Dan squints in suspicion. “I hope not. We were having so much fun. It’s like you want to foster unhealthy eating habits in a child,” he accuses.
Letting my inner Jazz show
He cannot be bothered to chastise himself for the reminder.
“I did not drug your food.”
“But you will eventually drug something of mine? Drugging peanut butter or jelly does seem easier,” Dan sneers at the sandwich that has been left to dry out. “You are terrible with children. All you’ve done is ask me questions I cannot answer and try to give me an eating disorder.”
“Perhaps we should take a break,” Batman honest to Ancients, sighs! His breathing is near silent, but Dan can hear it.
“In here, with no bed? I might destabilize out of spite if I have to sleep in a metal chair,” Dan snarks, fully willing to fake his own destabilization with some good theatrics and excess ectoplasm.
No, Batman does not leave Dan in the interrogation room. The old man must be tired if he is cutting his interrogation short, but Dan is moved and left in a holding cell. Very clearly being observed with cameras, but Dan has had a long day, or was it two days? Either way he has not slept and his human half demands rest. Escape can wait until later. Anyone after his blood will not be able to sneak up on him anyway.
Mercifully, his cuffs are removed before he is let loose in his room for the night.
May Nocturne be kind tonight
This will be his first time sleeping since he became a full ghost. There are no blankets or pillows around, for the lone cot in the corner of the room. The mattress simply has an extra lump in the form of a pillow substitute.