Chapter 3: You Gotta be Joking

While Danny was in the Ghost Zone to deliver Aragon back to Queen Dora and his sister Jazz was covering for him, their parents were receiving an unexpected visitor. "May we help you, Mister…" Maddie asked, having no clue to who that visitor was.

"Kerr." The visitor replied. "I'm new in town and I've heard you and your husband are the local ghost experts. I'd like to buy something that I could use to defend myself from ghost attacks."

"Mr. Kerr, you came to the right place!" Jack eagerly said.

Meanwhile, Tucker Foley was web-chatting with Velma Dinkley when he heard his mother calling him. "Tucker, your friend Sam is here." Mrs. Foley said. "And she looks mad but it could be just some goth thing."

"I'll call you later, Velma. Bye." Tucker fearfully said. He couldn't believe he forgot about Sam's crush on Danny.

"Bye, Tucker." Velma replied and ended the conversation.

"Tucker, did you know Danny was at the airport when I arrived?" Sam asked while barely containing her fury.

"You told him but not me?" Tucker asked while faking sadness but hoping that was the case and she didn't know he talked Danny into entering a dating service.

"Actually, he was waiting for somebody else." Sam answered. "A girl named Barbara Gordon. I presume you already know her."

"Actually, I haven't." Tucker truthfully answered, hoping it'd save him from Sam's wrath.

"Well, you must have at least heard of her since they were introduced to each other through a dating service Danny entered because of you." Sam glared at Tucker while making that comment.

"Sam, you have to understand." Tucker pleaded. "We needed something to do and neither of you ever confessed any feelings for the other. Did you think he'd be waiting forever?"

Sam was about to punch Tucker for that comment when they heard their Fenton Phones. 'Saved by the bell.' Tucker thought. "Danny?"

"Tucker, it's Jazz." Danny's sister called. "Something horrible happened to my parents and Danny still didn't return from his journey to send Aragon back to Dora's kingdom."

"We're on our way." Sam replied, surprising Jazz.

"Sam?" Jazz asked.

"She's just letting me know she and her family already returned from Europe." Tucker explained.

While Tucker and Sam were going to Fentonworks, Danny finally returned and they tried to make sense of what happened. An ambulance then arrived. "Where are the patients?" A paramedic asked.

"Over here." Jazz answered while pointing at Jack and Maddie Fenton.

"What's with their faces?" The paramedics asked in horror.

"They look like victims of Joker's toxin." Tucker commented.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tucker." Jazz replied with a frown.

"He's not." A new voice replied and, to everyone's shock, it was… the Batman!

"Batman? Here?" Tucker asked with glee. "May I have your autograph?"

"Tucker!" Danny, Sam and Jazz shouted at him.

"An informant back in Gotham told me the Joker was coming into this town so I've brought anti-toxin for this occasion." Batman stated.

"Not so fast." Jazz demanded. "How do we know you're really Batman?"

"The bat jet is hovering outside." Batman answered and Tucker quickly ventured outside to check.

"YES! YES! It's the bat jet!" They could hear the techno-geek shouting in joy.

While everyone else was shocked, Batman injected the anti-toxin and the Fenton parents recovered. "What happened?" Maddie asked.

"You and your husband were infected with the Joker's toxin, Mrs. Fenton, but I've already injected the antidote for the both of you." Batman explained.

"Thank you, Batman." Maddie replied and then realized what she'd just said. "Batman?"

Jack then woke up. "Bruce Wayne?"

"Mr. Fenton, you still haven't completely recovered from the Joker's toxin." Batman explained. "I'm Batman."

"With all the money you spend on crime fighting equipment, you must be a…" Jack started explaining until Maddie interrupted him. "There's no time for your crazy theories, Jack." She said and then turned her attention to the paramedics. "Thanks for coming but I'm already better."

"Me too." Jack added. "You can go now."

"Actually, we must examine the both of you first." One of the paramedics explained.

"But why would a criminal come from Gotham City to harm my parents?" Jazz asked.

"He said he wanted ghost-hunting equipment." Maddie answered.

"Gotham City is one of the towns Danny Phantom has been seen at these last days." Jack stated. "Could it be connected?"

"The Joker's girlfriend Harley Quinn is one of the villains Danny Phantom captured back then." Batman answered. "He must be seeking revenge."

"I should've known it's that evil ghost's fault." Maddie frowned.

"Is it my fault when my enemies target other people to get back at me?" Batman asked with such a glare Maddie backed off.

"N-n-no, but it's different." Maddie fearfully argued. "You're a superhero and he's evil like all ghosts."

"Mrs. Fenton, have you ever heard of a man named Boston Brand?" Batman asked.

"He was a former circus trapeze artist who performed under the moniker 'Deadman' until a murderer sabotaged him." Maddie answered while wondering why Batman brought it up.

"Until I solved his murder, his ghost roamed the world and couldn't pass on to the afterlife." Batman explained.

'A ghost named "Deadman"?' Danny thought. 'It'd be funny if we weren't talking about a murder victim.'

"My sympathies for a murder victim even if he became a ghost but the desire for revenge makes people as evil as those they seek revenge against." Jack argued.

Remembering how Sidney Poindexter labeled Danny a bully, Team Phantom begrudgingly understood Jack's point.

Batman then received a call. "Batman, the Joker and his accomplices are robbing a bank." Batgirl said.

"I'm on my way." The Caped Crusader told her and then addressed the others. "Batgirl found the Joker and I must go."

"Wait!" Tucker pleaded. "You still didn't give… never mind." The Bat-stare made him afraid of insisting on the autograph.

"Cover up for me." Danny whispered to his sister and his friends.

"The bathroom?" Jazz loudly asked, making the other Team Phantom members roll their eyes. "Sure, Danny. We'll keep watching over our parents!"

'I miss the days I thought she didn't know my secret.' Danny thought and then left to go ghost. He then became invisible and caught up to Batman's jet. "You can show up now, Phantom." Batman stated.

"How?" Danny asked in shock.

"My heat sensors detected a human-shaped lack of heat so I knew it had to be a ghost." Batman explained. "What did the paramedics say about your parents?"

"They didn't say anything before I…" Danny answered until he realized what Batman implied with the question. "Batgirl told you, right?"

"No." Batman answered. "You did. I only suspected until now. Fenton and Phantom? I bet the only reason your secret remains a secret is because people think you're an actual ghost instead of a human with ghost powers."

Danny wanted nothing more than to change the subject. "So, anything I should know about the Clown Prince of Crime?"

"His weapons might look harmless but don't underestimate him." Batman said. "His flower squirts something more dangerous than water."

As they arrived at the bank, Danny became invisible and intangible to evaluate the situation. 'What?' He thought. 'The clown girl is at large again? Arkham does live up to its reputation as an easy to escape from place.'

After seeing everything Danny needed to, he reappeared to Batman. "The Joker and that clown girlfriend of his are holding everyone there as hostages. She has a tommy gun and he has a Fenton Ghost Weasel."

"A what?" Batman asked.

"It's a ghost containing device." Danny explained. "If he manages to make me stop long enough…"

"How does your intangibility work?" Batman asked.

One explanation later, Danny phased himself and Batman inside the bank. "Batman!" The Joker exclaimed in horror. "Shoot him!"

Harley eagerly wasted all her ammo on Batman but it was in vain. "Impossible!" The two clown villains exclaimed.

"Intangibility." Danny smugly replied.

"First you send my girl to Arkham and now this?" The Joker was furious. "I'm losing my marbles!" He said as he dropped real marbles on the floor.

'I guess that, behind his infamy, he's just a crazy human after all.' Danny dismissively thought and then flew towards the Joker.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Batman screamed, expecting the marbles to be more dangerous than they looked.

Two marbles exploded upon touching each other under Danny. Had it been like during his date with Alex, when he knew there was a bomb, he could've turned himself intangible on time but now he was totally unaware and got caught, allowing the Joker to trap him into the Fenton Ghost Weasel. The Joker then threw another "marble" on a wall, making a hole through which he and Harley escaped.

The two clown villains ran towards their getaway car only to see a pair on unconscious goons. "Mister J, what happened?" Harley asked the Joker.

"Do we answer your question?" They heard Robin ask and saw Batgirl was with them.

"Ha ha." Harley sarcastically replied. "Very funny."

"Give him a break, Harley." The Joker told her. "He's not bad for a replacement Boy Blunder. Of course, by giving him a break, I mean break his legs."

"You're crazy!" Danny exclaimed.

"Congratulations!" The Joker declared. "You're the millionth person to realize that!"

Meanwhile, Batgirl was fighting Harley, allowing Robin a chance to approach the Joker but the Clown Prince of Crime spotted him. "Nice try, bird boy, but you're no Batman."

"He's not but I am." Batman replied before punching the daylights out of the clown.

"Puddiiiiiiiiiing!" Harley screamed in terror, allowing Batgirl a chance to knock her out as well.

"That closes the case." Robin commented.

"Not so fast, Robin." Batman replied and then picked up the Fenton Ghost Weasel. "Phantom, do you know how I can get you out of this weasel thing?"

Later on, Danny was telling his sister and his friends about this adventure. "So, your first adventure with other superheroes ended up with them saving you?" Sam asked with disappointment. "I know it's Batman but still…"

"Actually, he already met quite a few heroines." Tucker replied. "Kim Possible, Supergirl, Invisigirl, Batgirl and Starfire."

"What kind of dating service was that?" Sam asked in amazement.

"Actually, he met Supergirl because Skulker found some Kryptonite and decided to hunt her and Batgirl when he went to Gotham to meet Barbara and decided to go ghost while she looked for a payphone to call for the cops."

"A payphone?" Sam asked. "Don't you find it suspicious she didn't have a cell phone?"

"Actually, I myself have used that excuse during some dates in order to go ghost." Danny explained.

"And Batman, Robin and Batgirl now know your identity?" Jazz asked.

"Batman and Batgirl know but I'm not sure about Robin." Danny answered.

"It's obvious they told him." Sam commented. "You would tell us if you knew their identities."

"Yeah." Tucker agreed. "He told me about Diana."

"Diana Lombard is a paranormal investigator and that makes an exception to the 'not my secret to tell' rule." Danny argued.

"Kids, come here!" They heard Jack Fenton calling. "V-Man is on the TV!"

They saw Vlad in front of North Mercy Hospital. The Mayor was announcing the hospital's reopening, claiming the extra expense as something necessary due people getting hurt by ghost attacks and "reckless drivers".

"And now, let's show some random examples of reckless driving." Vlad Masters said and Jack (sort of) recognized the vehicle from the first random example. "Look! That Ghost Assault Vehicle looks like ours! And that one! And that other one! Those reckless drivers must be fans!" Jack happily said while oblivious to the others' looks of disbelief. "That guy even looks like me!"

"That guy is you, dear." Maddie explained to her husband.

"Oh, right. I remember those accidents." Jack sadly commented. "Yesterday wasn't one of my best days."

"That's debatable." Jazz whispered to the other teens.

"At least they didn't show the worst part." Jack commented, making Team Phantom worried. They then returned to Danny's room to keep discussing Bat-matters.

"So, why does Mr. Fenton think Batman is Bruce Wayne?" Sam asked. "Wayne's just a billionaire playboy."

"To be fair, Bat-foe Egghead once abducted Wayne and two other Gotham billionaires under the belief Batman's one of them." Tucker argued. "Sure, he ended up concluding neither of them could be Batman but…"

"I thought Egghead was Ant-Man's foe?" Sam commented.

"Elihas Starr isn't the only villain using that moniker, just the most known." Tucker explained.

"Either way, we'd better stop discussing that crazy theory before we start believing the web rumor about Batgirl being a brunette using a wig to protect her secret identity." Jazz asked.

"Now that's something I can believe." Sam stated.

End chapter.

Answer to Leonardo (guest): Obrigado pelas sugestões. Não planejo fazer outros spin offs. Já consertei o título. Não sei se Barbara descobrirá.