Chapter Text
Billy opened the door to his and Danny’s apartment carrying the groceries. Billy looked around. “Danny?” Billy dropped the bags by the door, “Danny are you here?” Billy heard sobbing from deep in the apartment. He followed the sound to Danny’s door. He lightly knocked “Danny can I come in?” More sobbing. “Tell me no if you don’t want me to.” Just more sobbing “I’m coming in.” As Billy opened the door a wave of cold hit him. His breath appeared in a light cloud in front of his mouth. It wasn’t cold enough for ice yet. It was just cold enough for Billy to feel a chill through his hoodie. The first thing Billy noticed was Danny’s binder on the floor, the second was Danny laying face down shirtless on his bed sobbing into his pillow. The scars on his back rippling the lichtenberg figures the main event “Danny what's wrong?” Billy sat on the edge of the bed. Billy couldn’t make out all the words but he could make out ‘hurt’s’. Chest sensitivity was a common occurrence during pregnancy. The temperature dropped another two degrees. Billy’s breath was easier to see now. He had to calm Danny down before Ice started forming or they would have problems with their neighbors. “Here,” Billy took off his hoodie, “put this on.”
“What?” Danny’s red rimmed eyes stared at the hoodie. Billy shoved the hoodie towards Danny.
“I won't look.” True to his word Billy turned away when Danny sat up.
“Its on.” Danny spoke in a light voice. Billy looked back and had to hold back laughter. The hoodie was big on Billy. It had been cheap because the store had ordered it in too big of a size. He bought it so he could have something to wear as Captain Marvel to cover the suit. It had been big on Billy, it swam on Danny.
“I think it's a little big.”
“You don't say.” Danny smiled. Billy flipped up the hood. “Hey!”
“You look like a puppy caught in a sheet.”
“Haha very funny,” Danny leaned back into Billy, laying his head on his shoulder. “It smells like you.” Billy blushed a little as Danny closed his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Hey, what are friends for?” friends that word sent a little shiver of sadness through Billy but he didn’t know why. So he watched as Danny curled against him fully encased in his hoodie. It fully masked the rise and fall of his chest. But ever so often Danny would give a little snore reassuring Billy that he was still half alive. The sound lulled Billy to sleep as he moved his back against the back board careful not to disrupt Danny.
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Danny woke up his head against a hard warm pillow that moved ever so slightly. He slowly cracked open his eyes. Billy held him. Billy’s arm wrapped around him, keeping him warm. Danny breathed in Billy's slight ozone scent. Usually the scent of ozone would have Danny running in the other direction but on Billy it smelled nice. Danny stared at Billy. Stared at how his loose hair fell on his forehead. How his eyes moved around when he was in a deep sleep. Danny bit his lip. The marriage had been an accident but his half life had taken a better turn ever since that day. Sure he was nauseous to high heaven, his chest hurt, he was hungry and emotional all the time but coming home to Billy made him smile. Danny was content to sleep against his friend's warm shoulder and listen to his breathing and heart beat for a little while.
All good things must come to an end it seems because only a little while later Danny shot up to phase through the bathroom door to empty his stomach Billy rubbing circles on his back.
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Captain Marvel called in to the meeting. It wasn’t uncommon for heroes called in Flash himself had done it on many occasions, but it was for Marvel.
“Marvel, are you in need of assistance?” Batman asked when Marvel appeared on screen. The world around him was colored green and the wall behind him seemed to glow.
“What? No, I'm fine, Phantoms in a meeting that’s running late so I called in.”
“Where are you?” Hal asked.
“Oh here,” Marvel turned the camera around, “I’m in Phantom’s keep.” It looked like the interior of a medieval castle had been fully space themed. “I’m no longer allowed in the meetings so I’m just wandering around.”
“Why are you no longer allowed in meetings?” Flash wanted to know more. They knew next to nothing about their undead friend.
“Because they can’t have two people who have a point now can they?”
“I guess not?”
“Any way-”
“Can we have a tour?” Nightwing interrupted.
“We have a meeting today.” Batman cut down the idea.
“Aww come on B we have this meeting every week we don't have a chance to tour a ghost keep every day.”
“Not that you have to give us a tour.” Superman cut in.
“Oh it's no problem but it won’t be much due to the fact that I don't always know where I am. This place is shifty.” The camera started moving, “So right now I’m in the hall, don't ask where all the doors go, the answer is I don’t know.” Marvel kept up the commentary as he walked around. “This is the library, it has every book that exists in every universe,” He picked up a book from one of the tables. “This is one of Phantom’s favorites.” The book was titled "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” “He’s working on reading every version of it.” Marvel pans the camera upwards to the ceiling to where a room sized model of the solar system hung. “ He likes to read books on Saturn's rings.” A roar rang through the room causing the shelves to shake and the planet's to sway. “Hmm, it seems like Phantoms meeting almost over.” Captain Marvel left the room to find a main hall. “See this is what I’m talking about, this wasn’t here before.” He moved the camera around tapestries hanging from the roof illuminated in a neon green light “So this is the main hall. Each one of these tapestries depicts a moment in Phantom’s life.” He walked around the throne to a door behind it. Light cut off as he entered, dropping Marvel and the camera into an inky blackness. The heroes watched as Marvel creped deeper into the dark corridor. Turning blind corners. A burned and blackened face jumped out in front of them. Flash did not scream and you can’t prove he did.
“Phantom what the heck.”
“Hey Mar.” The blackened and burned flesh morphed back into light cobalt skin broken only by green scars and star freckles. “What ya doing?”
“I’m showing the JL around.” The camera bobbed up and down signaling that marvel had jesterd with it.
“Hello people with no free time.”
“So how'd the meeting go?” Marvel asked Phantom as they continued moving.
“The eyeballs want me to resign their head Observant’s punishment.”
“Still soup?”
“Yep he’s still going to be soup.” Flash shared a glance with Hal.
“Does Phantom eat his subjects?” Hal whispered.
“ I never asked.” Flash whispered back.
“That would be a weird thing to ask. ‘Hey Phantom do you eat your subjects when they don't behave?’”
“Phantom did say Ghosts consume ectoplasm and that Ghosts are also made from ectoplasm. Maybe ghosts are naturally cannibalistic?” Flash put that down on the things he didn’t know about Phantom list ( which is steadily growing) and his list of things about Phantom that terrify him ( That list is so long that to anyone who didn’t really know Phantom would find it embarrassing.)
Marvel entered the Main hall again. “Come on, I just left here.” Marvel nearly whined.
“The keep works in strange ways.”
“Phantom, would you mind telling us about the story behind those tapestries?” Wonder Woman asked.
“Well let’s see there’s obviously my fight with Pariah Dark that's above the throne." A heavily stylized tapestry of the league's little ghost boy completely overshadowed by the silhouette of a giant man wearing a crown and a ring. “Most of them are the same fights and wins” Phantom floated up to rifle through the tapestries like close in a closet. “Me burying myself,” Flash did a spit take. Hal started coughing. Many of the other heroes looked a little queasy.
“You buried yourself?” Superman managed to squeak out.
“Yeah I mean who else was going to do it,” Phantom was so nonchalant as he said this, continuing to flit through the tapestries.
“Your parents?” Never had the man of steel sounded so weak.
Phantom slightly flinched before going back to his memories . He pulled one of the pictures moving away so the horrified heroes could see it better “Oh this is my friend being burned at the stake during the witch trials.” The picture had a black and purple girl tied to the stake and fire licked at the wood under her. “Over there there's a picture of her when she became under growth's successor. Speak of the devil.” Phantom locked on something behind the camera. He waved “Hey Thorn!” Marvel turned the camera around to show a girl wearing a goth version of Poison Ivy’s outfit. Pure green eyes framed by heavy spiked under eye liner. A spiked leather collar around her neck vines wrapped around her arms. Her pony tail floated above her head unconnected to her head. She had vines trailing behind her a man trapped in them as she dragged him. Thorn gave Phantom a nod before continuing on her way.
“She’s going to feed her plants.” Phantom explained as Thorne disappeared, “She has the most impressive collection of man eating plants on this side of undergrowth.”
“Oh,” Flash mentally put Thorn on his do not mess with list.
“Over here is my friend becoming pharaoh-”
“You were friends with a pharaoh?”
“Still am.”
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Clark sat on the roof on the roof Lois right beside him staring at the sky.
“He’s just so young. He couldn't have been more than 14. And now it turns out he buried himself.” Clark’s chest felt heavy for Phantom.
“Maybe it's for the best.”
“You don’t get it when I asked about his parents he flinched no one should flinch like that when asked about their parents.”
“Maybe he misses them?”
“I thought that at first but then I watched his hair. I don’t think he’s noticed but his hair moves with his emotions. It slicked down like he was afraid and was trying to make himself smaller.”
“Some people make me sick,” Lois stuck out her tongue. That sat in silence until Clark broke it.
“You should have seen his hair around Marvel. Moving like crazy like it does when he's happy. He loves Marvel so much it’s adorable.”
“I bet. Batman calmed down yet?”
“A little I think his kids talked him down and reminded him that he has befriended heroes and witches burned at the stake. I bet eventually he’ll accept that Phantom is old enough to make decisions for himself.”
“I’m pretty sure not even Nightwing has been able to make a decision for himself.”
“I think you're right,” Clark laughed.
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Bruce, Dick, and Tim watched the video again. “This could be a problem B.” Tim started “Marvel might not be able to leave if he wanted to.”
“Phantom’s a good guy I bet he’d let Marvel out the minute he knows that Marvel's 16.” Dick smiled.
“I hope you're right.” Burce sat back in his chair, fingers tented.
“If not we call Jason.”
“We call Jason.” Dick nodded.