Note: This has been changed a bit.

Hello everybody and welcome to Chapter 5!

I would like to thank you all, the readers, for your kind comments so far!

'Fanreader26', I'm glad you liked the fire scene. You want to use it in your story? I say GO FOR IT! Especially let me know if you do draw it. I would love to see it!

Dang it! 'DP-Observant69', you definitely fulfill the "observant" part of your username… either that or I'm too predictable. Hmm, maybe a combo of both. Yeah, Danny's now in Gotham, BUT he doesn't meet Batman nor Nightwing. Plenty of other characters though…

To the rest of the readers, those from before and newcomers: I'm glad you all like the last chapter and the bits like 'The Princess Bride' reference. I'm stoked that you all are enjoying this story so far. I've always considered writing as a weaker point for me. Drawing and basically any other arts/crafts were more my speed and I started this account to broaden my horizons and to try something new.

I've noticed that for a majority of DP/YJ crossover stories, they all have Danny being captured by the GIW and tortured before he's rescued by the Team. Geez, you people like torture or something! Besides, this is SOOO overused. There are so many possible ways on how Danny could meet the team that doesn't involve cutting open the ghost boy like a frog!

Oooh, here's a possible story idea:

This would take place after the episode 'Boxed Up Fury' for Danny Phantom.

Danny spends time with Pandora after helping her get back her box. Eventually Pandora decided to introduce Danny to some of the Amazonian warriors, this because she considered them sisters. Amongst the Amazonian warriors is Wonder Woman. After getting to know the youth, Diana eventually becomes Danny's mentor. He gets training for combat and all sort of weapons and they could possibly go out to get ice cream after sparring sessions.

Imagine this: Vlad does his whole 'join me' speech after abducting Danny. Diana finds out and goes all mama bear on the fruitloop and yeets him back to Wisconsin and then some. Meanwhile, Danny's just watching all this with a smirk.

"This pleases me."

Wonder Woman at one point introduces Danny to the team, thinking it would be nice for Danny to make some friends that are of similar circumstances to himself (fellow superhero teens).

Note to self: I definitely should post this under 'Collision Course'.

If any of you like the idea for a future story, feel free to use it!

A little note to some of the readers: I get that some of you don't like Sam and I understand the reasons. I don't hate the character, I'm more disappointed of the lack of development that she needed and deserved… that all the characters deserved! I hope to give that development to her and others in this story, so please don't shoot me down!

I've kept you waiting long enough, here's chapter 5.

…~~~oOo~~~…


The bus pulled to a stop at the station, gothic-looking buildings towering over the public transportation. Several people pilled out: an older African man, a young couple, a portly, mustached man, a woman with twins… and one Danny Fenton.

It has been some time since he was last at Washington DC. Since then he had been jumping around different cities, spending a few days in each place. Some of his stops included Philadelphia, New York City, a city called Happy Harbor, and other places.

On his travels, he ran into Lobo twice, with both times the teen besting the galactic bounty hunter. The last encounter was actually in Happy Harbor at a beach by a mountain. Danny had scrapped the bike after the fight, leaving the bounty hunter fuming and spouting threats in his foreign tongue.

Danny may not speak… whatever the language was called, but he assumed that it was very likely something like "resting his pelt at the foot of his bed." …Maybe that was just specifically Skulker's thing. But then again, the bounty hunter was swiftly becoming the ghostly hunter's replacement.

Why did Danny get the weirdos that wanted to hunt him?

While Danny's original course was to head to a place called Central City, the run in with Lobo convinced Danny to change his route for unpredictability… okay, he got a little mixed up in his directions. Hence why he now found himself in… Gotham city.

On the first day in the city, the teen can already tell that the place was messed up. He came across all sorts of criminals, from shoplifters to the more… aggressive kind. Some idiots tried to abduct Danny, their windowless van waiting nearby for a speedy getaway. Keyword being tried. Danny had knocked the men out and managed to spring their other captives that were held in the van.

It made the teen uneasy to think of what those men had possibly planned to do with those people.

It was early evening, that point when the sky starts to turn into those shades of gold, orange and beep blue with the occasional tint of pink. The sky greatly contrasted with the towering, gothic skyscrapers. Gargoyles could be seen on many of the buildings, keeping a diligent watch over the Delphic streets. Danny was absolutely sure that Sam would've love this city, minus the crime rates.

Danny caught sight of his reflection on one of the windows. There was no doubting that he looked pretty scruffy. The only clothes he owned were the ones on his person, and they were pretty worn. The jeans had holes in the knees and other places. His T-shirt remained fairly decent. His hair was a messy mop of tangled raven locks. His backpack looked the worse: before this whole dimension-hopping scenario, the backpack was already worn due to it being a hand-me-down and the previous ghost adventures its current owner had gone through. Since then, it had taken quite a beating. The same could be said about his sneakers. On the small upside, Danny didn't look dirty or anything as the teen took whatever opportunity to clean his clothes and his person via restroom sink. It may not be ideal, but at least Danny didn't feel or smell like Dash's sweaty socks.

Danny rubbed his bare arms as he walked down the busy street, ducking past pedestrians and keeping his distance from shifty-looking individuals. He wore his backpack on the front of his person: he had remembered reading a travel article that this was the suggested way to wear a backpack to deter theft or something. Either way, it made keeping an eye on his possessions much easier, though it felt odd.

He turned down a more sequestered street, most of the small businesses closing up for the night. That reminded Danny that he had better find a place to shelter down.

*THUNK*

Danny jumped back as a shuriken impaled itself into a power line pole, about a meter away from his head. He swiveled to the origin of the thrown blade, gaping at the sight of several hooded figures chasing a smaller one.

"Okay, first Robin Hood and his not-so-merry men, then the evil robot of doom, Hobo the galaxy's worst hunter and now ninjas. This dimension keeps getting better and better!" The teen snarked, eyes flashing green.

The smaller person leaped from roof to roof, putting distance between them and their pursuers and dodging the thrown, deadly blades. The smaller person was soon cut off from their escape by more of the hooded assailants.

"Lady Shiva wants you back."

"Never!" The smaller figure, a female by the sound of her voice, retorted.

She pulled out a sword, moving to engage the attackers. Dispatching three of the men, she then dueled a fourth. Pulling out some pellets, she threw them to the ground, smoke covering the entire area. A few thuds were heard, the smoke clearing to reveal the girl had taken out the men.

She then sprinted across the roof, attempting to disappear before she was found. She then narrowly ducked a shuriken aimed at her head. A few more assailants appeared and attacked the girl.

While she fought valiantly, she was eventually subdued.

Two of the assassins held the girl as she squirmed in their grip.

The larger of the men closed in on the girl. The man was tall and rather imposing. He was clad in gray cargo pants and a light brown tank top, with heavy boots, a leather belt and leather bracelets. The man was bald and had an earring in the left ear. He drew a knife.

"Let me go!"

"Impudent little girl. If you won't learn to keep your trap shut, then let me solve the problem permanently."

A green blast of energy shot the knife out of the man's hand. The group swiveled to where Danny now floated, his right fist alight with an ectoblast.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The man scoffed at the teen. "Like you? You're a shorty."

"Yeah? Well you're ugly, and I'm due for a growth spurt."

The man growled, pulling out two daggers and charged at the teen. With an unimpressed expression, Danny turned intangible, causing the man to tumble straight through the teen. Unfortunately for the man, Danny was near the edge of the building, so he ended up tumbling over the edge. With quick reflexes, the man grabbed the ledge.

Not waiting for the ninjas to regroup, Danny charged through the group, grabbed the girl and flew off, turning them both invisible. His first and main concern was to get the mysterious person to safety.

Startled by the sudden rescue, the girl let out a surprise squeak and clung to Danny's neck.

"Woah, easy- uh, Miss…" Danny said, now noticing that the person he rescued was female. Her hood and mask obscured her face, and she was dressed head to toe in dark armor. "I'm not going to drop you, promise."

The girl eventually settled down, relaxing her death grip around the halfa's neck. They eventually landed in an alleyway.

"Okay, I think we're good," Danny muttered, setting the girl down. He then noticed some of the cuts she had received from the ninja dudes. Most of them were on her arms, one on her left calf and one right where her right eyebrow would be. "We better take care of those. Wait right here for a moment."

The girl tilted her head inquisitively as Danny ducked out of sight. Once he was sure the girl hadn't followed, Danny reverted to his civilian side and began to rummage through his backpack.

"Thermos, no… Wallet… I have no idea what this is- AHA!" He exclaimed, pulling out the first aid kit. Transforming back to ghost form, he then returns to the girl. Seeing the first aid kit, the girl stripped off the protective gear on her arms and legs, rolling up her sleeves and pant leg for easy access.

Danny and the girl worked in comfortable silence as wounds were cleaned and bound. The girl studied the halfa's face as he worked.

"There, those are good…" the teen then regarded cut on the mystery girl's face. He then handed her the kit. "You can take care of the one on your face, I'll keep watch."

Danny figured the girl wanted to remain anonymous since she kept her face covered.

He soon felt a tap on his shoulder, turning to see the girl handing him the first aid kit.

"Thanks. I'm pretty sure we weren't followed." Danny scouted out the quiet streets before turning back to face his companion. "So I think we-"

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

Danny blinked in surprise, looking in all directions before shaking his head.

"Ninjas…"

He didn't see the girl watching him in curiosity as he flew off.

…~~~oOo~~~…

Jazz sat alone in the empty house, her soft breathing sounding loud in her ears. Her parents were out getting supplies, so she was left to her thoughts and the hardback of 'Pride and Prejudice' that she had decided to reread.

Jazz let out a sigh. It has only been an hour and she was barely past chapter 1.

"Lady Jasmine?" A soft voice called out, causing the red-head to jump. She swiveled to see Dorathea, the princess ghost dragon.

"Dora! What brings you here?" Jazz asked, setting her book aside.

"I had found something that may be of interest to you. Is the rest of your kin available?"

"No, Mom and Dad are out. Why?"

"For what I'm about to show you we would need to head into the infinite realms. I may have a way to locate Sir Phantom."

Jazz had a contemplative look on her face before it became steely with determination. "… let's go."

~~~𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓅 𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝓎 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝒸𝓀𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀~~~

Jazz was starting to regret her life choices that led up to this moment. She now found herself screaming more than her usual capacity as she rode on Dora's dragon form, the princess weaving through a malevolent section of the Ghost Zone. Twisted, gnarly tree-like structures stood deathly still… at least until you came within striking range. The evil tree things attempted to knock them from the green atmosphere.

For what seemed like hours, the two finally arrived at a cavern where the Ghost Writer and one of Frostbite's kin where waiting for them. Dora landed at the entrance, Jazz sliding off to allow the princess to revert to her normal state. The three ghosts and lone human strode into the cavern. At first the cave was unremarkably bland, but Jazz's confusion instantly morphed into awe when the quartet entered a chamber the size of the Roman Colosseum completely studded with glowing crystals of infinitely varying colors and sizes.

"Where are we?" Jazz asked in wonder, her hand brushing the surface of a prism larger than herself. The crystal was a wonderful shade of lavender with swirls of teal shifting in its core.

The Far-Frozener, a fierce warrior called Verglas, made a sweeping gesture to the cavern. "Sister of the Great One, what you see before you is a rare formation of Videum crystals. Ghost Writer had procured knowledge of this chamber from Nocturne, who had used the prisms for his infamous dream helmets. This mineral was often used in olden times for rituals and for the creation of artifacts of power. Videum crystals have certain occult properties that aid in perception, seer-ship in some cases, and knowledge seeking to name a few of its uses."

Jazz lifted her hand from the cool surface of the prism. "So you mean that these crystals can reveal things?"

"If attuned correctly for the desired purpose," the Ghost Writer expanded on the yeti's statement, book in hand as he skimmed through its contents. "Scrying stones, attention-deflection barriers, and crystal balls are some of the items that Videum crystals are required for their creation."

Dora turned to her female companion. "We believe that these crystals could be used in the aid of locating your brother."

"How?" This was the first lead in quite a while that held promise.

"In order to confirm such a hypothesis, we wished to conduct a test," Verglas explained. "There is a ritual that can be performed to give the caster a glimpse of the desired person. To complete the spell, it requires the essence of the target if you will. It may be a lock of hair, a cherished possession, or simply the presence of a loved one. Hence why you are here." The yeti pulled out a worn, leather-bound book, flipping to his desired page.

"This won't hurt, right?"

"Of course not! This ritual is rather simplistic. The main concern is if it would actually reveal the Great One."

"Okay," Jazz said, her hand landing back on the large crystal.

The Far-Frozener, after reciting an incantation in an unfamiliar language to the teen, waved a clawed hand towards the crystal Jazz stood by. The prism's color bleached out, now a snow white jewel that glowed softly.

"Now all you need to do is utter the name of the person you wish to see appear in it's surface." Ghost Writer said, bookmarking his page before closing the book.

"I want to see my brother, Danny."

The air shimmered a bit before swirls of color materialized on the surface of the prism, the colors colliding and clarifying to paint the picture.

The image depicted a run-down room, the walls and lone, visible window in desperate need of replacing. The room was virtually bare except for the broken vanity… and her brother fast asleep on the floor by a set of accordion doors of the room's closet.

Jazz's heart fluttered, gasping for air as she hadn't realized she stopped breathing. There was Danny, alive as she could see his chest rise and fall from each breath and him shifting in his sleep. Her soaring joy of the fact that Danny being alive took a nosedive as she took stock of his surroundings and his appearance.

The young teen was curled up underneath ragged old blankets, holes scattered on the surface like Swiss cheese with couch cushions for a pillow. His arm was slung over his backpack, which looked ready to fall apart. The tangled mess of his hair was falling into his eyes. One of his sneakered feet poked out, the shoe scuffed and worn to the point of replacements would be needed soon and the edge of the pant leg frayed out.

Jazz's hand rose up to the prism's surface, fingers brushing over Danny's face.

"Oh dear, Sir Daniel," Dora sniffled.

It was then that the trio of ghosts and the sister noticed the door to the room opening, them gasping as a man came into view. The man was a tall, grizzled thug, a sack slung over his shoulder. Dressed entirely of black muscle shirt, black pants, and steel-toed boots. His look was completed with a bulletproof vest and a mask that covered the lower half of his face. Exposed skin was littered with tattoos. What drew the most attention was the guns that were strapped to the man's person.

Countenances paled as the thug entered the room and Danny began to stir.

…~~~oOo~~~…

A day had passed since Danny had ran into the concealed mystery girl and the ninja thugs. Since then he had been laying low, discreetly stopping whatever baddie he came across.

It was evening-time as Danny found himself at the end of… 'Park Row' as a faded street sign read. Since arriving at Gotham, the teen had been having trouble finding a safe place to bed down. It seemed that wherever he went, he encountered some burglar or something else. He even tried using an empty hotel room, but found some drug dealers using that floor for their illegitimate business.

Danny studied the building before him. It was an abandoned apartment condominium with similar buildings making up the complex. The mortar of the brick structure was crumbling and the windows were boarded up. The practically condemned building was tucked away out of sight of the major street.

Eh, it's good enough.

Danny phased himself into one of the living areas, dropping his invisibility as looking at his surroundings. It was quite obvious that no one had been here in years, as a thick layer of undisturbed dust coated every square inch. The walls, once eggshell white, was now a dull gray. The carpet, which covered all the floor except the kitchen and bathroom floors, was a dusty tan. The entire apartment was not quite bare as there was the occasional piece of furniture found. The apartment consisted of the joint living room/kitchen space, two outer closets, one freestanding bathroom, two small bedrooms with closets, and master bedroom with it's own larger closet and bathroom.

Danny scavenged the apartment. Besides the broken dining chair, some old cassettes from a closet, and a rusted pot with a gaping hole in the bottom, he found some old blankets and two couch cushion that he could use for sleeping.

"Well, not exactly a five star hotel, but it will do," Danny muttered to himself as he made his sleeping area and settled down for the night.

It was about two hours later when the door to the apartment had been broken open. The door creaked open, allowing several thugs to enter the premise.

There was five that entered the space, one plopping a briefcase on the counter of the kitchen space, two that dragged large sacks to the living room area, one that remained by the entrance engaged in conversation with other people in the hall that connected the other apartments.

The final of the five's heavy boots thudded as he went to investigate the bathroom, two smaller bedrooms and one master bedroom… where Danny was sleeping.

Danny, who had missed the lock being broken open, stirred some when he heard footsteps thudding into the bedroom. Feelings of malicious intent trickled into his mind, causing the teen to become unsettled. He jolted awake when the bedroom door was opened a little louder than normal.

Eyes widening at the thug entering the room, he silently squirmed into the closet. Fortunately, the door had blocked the man's view of the teen and Danny went unnoticed. The thug did a quick search of the room and bathroom, deeming the room vacant and tossed the sack onto the ground.

A tempest of dust violently sprang from the floor from the sack being tossed.

'Oh no,' Danny thought as the dust entered his airway, bringing the familiar tingling sensation. 'Nonononono! Don't breath Fenton. Don't move, don't breath, don't do anything… except pray maybe…'

Danny just sat there, waiting for the need to cough to subside. After what felt like hours, the dust settled and the need to cough vanished.

Danny slowly exhaled… then he promptly sneezed. The thug swiveled towards the closet.

'Oh come ON!'

Before the thought of ghost powers could cross his mind, a gloved fist darted into the closet, grabbed the front of the teen's shirt, and yanked him out with a yelp.

"What do we have here?" The man growled quite menacingly.

"Uh… I'm the closet repair guy?" Danny asked, grinning nervously and absolutely not liking the look on the man's face. Danny's face then morphed to utter shock and he pointed frantically behind the thug. "OH MY GOSH, LOOK WHO IT IS!"

"What?" The guy swiveled, worrying that somehow Batman had came in through the window. Taking the chance, Danny promptly overshadowed the thug. Once in control, Danny caused the thug to punch himself out.

"Hey, what's going on?" Came a voice from the living room as Danny exited the unconscious man.

Swiftly donning his backpack, Danny morphed then disappeared from the visible spectrum. Just in time as another thug had entered the room and noticed their downed companion.

"We got an intruder-" the new thug called out, pulling out his gun before getting knocked unconscious by the invisible ghost boy.

'Great, they're on to me now,' Phantom thought as he saw several more armed goons searching for him.

After knocking the men out, he phased through the wall to the hallway of the building, finding more goons and what Danny assumed was the boss. He was a middle-aged man, on the slightly shorter side, but almost as wide as his dad. His round face sported shifty eyes and a long, pointed nose. He had black hair and was balding, dressed in a fancy suit and top hat. He had in his hand an umbrella, which tapped furiously on the floor as he faced his henchmen.

"I gave you lot a simple assignment, and you blew it! Now our little business venture is in jeopardy."

"Don't worry Mr. Cobblepot, we'll find the intruder and take care of him," grunted one of the goons.

The man, Cobblepot, was about to remark when he froze. The knowing smirk that grew on his face was putting Danny on edge.

"I believe that wouldn't be necessary."

The man moved faster than Phantom could react. Pointing the umbrella right at the teen, the water-protection tool shot out lines that bound the him. Letting out a surprised yelp, Phantom returned to visibility.

"Now isn't this unexpected," the suited man grinned, his polished shoes clicking on the hard floor as he approached the bound halfa. "The young man who has been quite the stir. From Star city, to Metropolis, DC… and now Gotham."

"He leaned forward, his face now in Phantom's. "Just because you have those neat little powers, you think you're a big shot to mess with my business deal?" Cobblepot then moved back, pointing his umbrella at the teen. "Well it's about time you learned your place." With a twist of the handle, a dagger popped out of the tip, the sharp end now mere centimeters from Danny's nose.

"You're not the first hero that I've dealt with before, and I've prepared for dealing with your kind. Those restraints have a molecular-density that you cannot escape."

Phantom blinked at the lethal umbrella. "Okay, first, I had no idea I had such a reputation. Second, I see you're trying to make a point here-" the man's frown furrowed at the pun, "-and third, I seriously doubt you can handle what I can do."

Accessing his powers, Phantom phased himself out of his bonds and fell through the floor.

"Find him!"

Danny landed two floors down, turning corporeal and checking his surroundings.

"Okay, it all seems quiet here-"

Several gunmen came out from either side of the hall.

"I spoke too soon, didn't I?" Phantom asked himself rhetorically.

The halfa worked to dispatch the men, careful as to not get hit or for the men to accidentally shoot themselves. While the former was successful without a hitch, the latter objective had a slight hiccup. One guy got shot in the leg while another got his shoulder grazed. Fortunately the wounds weren't serious. Cobblepot then entered the scene.

"Well I have to hand it to you, you certainly put the money where your mouth is, but now's it's time for all little boys to go to sleep."

Phantom huffed at the 'little boy' comment, moving to a ready stance. Sounds of gunfire from the floor above caught their attention. Just then a man joined them in the hall. The man was tall and muscular, dressed in Kevlar armor, steel-toed boots, and a leather jacket. A utility belt and several harnesses were on his person, with several guns and melee weapons strapped on. A red bat symbol adorned his chest, the red matching the color of the helmet that covered his entire head.

"Penguin." The man growled.

"Red Hood?!" Cobblepot yelped, face draining of all color.

"Pttt, you're called Penguin? What lame-o villain name is that?!" Phantom chuckled.

The Penguin bristled, "It's a respectable name, thank you!"

"I dunno, I agree with the kid," Red Hood taunted, drawing out dual pistols. "Just come quietly Cobblepot."

"I'm afraid you'll need to take it up with my associates." With a snap of his fingers, more men swarmed into the hall as Cobblepot retreated.

Red Hood regarded the goons, "think you can handle half of them?"

"Yup!"

The two sprang into action, taking down the thugs. Phantom wove between the hired help, blasting guns and punching out the henchmen. He soon ran out of enemies, turning to Red Hood. The teen was shocked to see the goons on the ground, beaten to bloody pulps. Red Hood tucked away his pistol.

"Di-did you just kill them?!"

The anti-hero, looking at the pale, horrified expression on the teenager, shook his head. "No I didn't. They're rubber bullets. They'll be fine!"

"Somehow I don't believe you…" Phantom trailed off, growing more weary of the bucket man every second.

"We don't have time to discuss morals kid, Cobblepot's getting away!"

"Right," the teen agreed reluctantly. Both heroes sprinted towards where the Penguin had retreated, only to come across a dead end of the corridor, the only exit to outside the building being the window.

Red Hood strode up to the window and stuck his head outside. "He used a zip line."

Phantom peeked out as well. "Looks like he got to the other building over there."

Phantom phased himself outside with the intention of following Penguin. Flying in through the window, the halfa walked down the corridor with attentiveness.

"Here crazy birdy man, time to go back to the zoo," Danny muttered to himself, looking for the tuxedoed man. It was then Danny sensed something dark, tickling his mind as he delved deeper into the complex.

"What are the chances of the young hero appearing here?" A new voice asked.

Phantom turned to see his new opponent… and gasped in horror at the defaced man in front of him. The man seemed to be split perfectly in half. The man's right side was normal enough, tanned skin, black hair and dark eye. The other side however was a much sadder tale. Scar tissue completely dominated the left side of the man's face, the skin pale, almost blue. Stark white hair frizzled out in contrast to the slicked back black portion. The eye on the left side was bloodshot and the lips were peeled back into an unnatural grimace. Cobblepot stood a few feet away, watching the scene emotionlessly.

The scarred man, after flipping a coin, clicked the safety on his gun off and aimed at the teen, who was rooted to his spot from distress. "According to the lots drawn, your life is now arbitrarily… forfeit."

Knowing what the guy was intending, Phantom snapped out of his shocked state and swiftly turn incorporeal as the gun was shot.

"You're not allowed to mess with chance!"

"Dude, I'll take and make my own chances, thank you!" The teen fired back, vocally and with a well-placed ectoblast to the gun. Red Hood then entered the building. With two shots, he hit Two-face in the shoulder and Penguin in the calf.

"I'm afraid that I'll be making an early withdrawal." Flipping a compartment on the umbrella open, the Penguin pushed the previously hidden button. A sudden explosion shook the building, pitching the halfa and the bucket man to the ground while Cobblepot and Two-face made their escape. Red Hood swore loudly.

"Dude, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Danny questioned, feeling uneasy by the man's colorful vocabulary.

"My mother sold me for drugs like the *explosion drowns out the sound* she is, so no."

"…Okay, sorry I asked."

"Let's get out of here already." Red Hood sighed.

Phantom grabbed the man and phased them out of the building just as it started coming down. Phantom and Red Hood landed on the ground, watching the building light up in flames.

Red Hood turned to the teen. "What were you doing in there in the first place?"

The ghost boy huffed at the tone, "I wasn't helping those clowns if that's what you're implying. I ran into those creeps by accident! Now I have places to be, so I'll be taking my leave."

Phantom flew off before Red Hood could stop him.

Back in the Ghost Zone, the four gazers were shell shocked as the image on the prism faded. There was no sound on their end, but they could see enough to get a general idea of what had occurred.

"Thank goodness Sir Phantom made it out safely," Dora breathed, looking quite shaken up at what she had witnessed.

"At least we have good news-"

"Good news? GOOD NEWS?! My brother nearly got shot by gangsters!" Jazz screeched at the book-loving ghost. "How is this good news?!"

"Danny Phantom is now confirmed to be alive," the ghost yeti explained, shielding the Ghost Writer from the female Fenton's fury, "and he escaped unscathed. Not to mention that the spell was successful." He then placed a clawed hand on the girl's shoulder. "We will reach your brother one way or another. For now we have to have faith that he'll hold out."

Jazz simply nodded before turning towards where the image of her brother was last seen. "Danny, please be careful…"

…~~~oOo~~~…

Danny was now freaked out by the bucket man. Since flying away from the now destroyed building, the guy called Red Hood had been pursuing the teen… even when Danny was invisible.

"How on Earth does he keep finding me?!" He flew over a river, finding himself in a business district. Danny landed, panting after flying at such a speed. He then groaned as he spotted the now familiar figure on the roof top.

"Ugh, it's like he knows my every move! Creepy; like a certain fruitloop, and he used ghosts and spy cams to watch me." Danny's brow furrowed in thought. "Wait, could he have possibly planted some sort of tracker on me?"

Finding a spot to pause, Danny focused his energy as he turned himself intangible. After a while of nothing, Danny was just about to give up when a minuscule piece of metal fell to the pavement. Stooping down, Danny snatched up and examined the object, realizing that it was the tracker.

"…aaand it's just like with the fruitloop."

He flew off again, carrying the tracker with him before he landed at a new location.

"Okay, where to put this," Danny muttered, examining his surroundings. As he was looking around, he came across a German Shepard. The dog looked at the teen curiously, investigating the youth before giving a sloppy kiss.

Danny chuckled, patting the dog on the head as he plotted where to put the tracker. He then got an idea.

"Hey boy, wanna help me with something?"

The dog gave a cheerful bark as Danny placed the tracker on the canine's collar. As if knowing the plan, the German Shepard took off.

"Sam's right, animals are clever," Danny chuckled to himself before disappearing from the visible spectrum.

…~~~oOo~~~…

Red Hood approached what remained of the apartment building that Two-face and Penguin had demolished in their attempt to escape. Several squad cars and a fire truck or two were parked in front of the demolished building and the one where Red Hood had ran into the kid.

He approached Gotham's Dark Knight, who was overseeing the scene of Harvey and Cobblepot being cuffed and loaded into the police cars.

"At least the tracers worked on them," Red Hood grumbled.

"The tracer didn't function?" Batman inquired, not taking his eyes off of the squad cars and the surrounding area.

"More like the kid had found it on him," this caught Batman's attention. "I ended up chasing a German Shepard around because the tracker was planted on the dog's collar." The anti-hero grumbled, stalking away from the black-clad hero.

"Hmmm, pretty clever."


…~~~oOo~~~…

We have now covered Danny in Gotham and now he has met: Cassandra Cain, Ubu and the League of Assassins, the Penguin and his goons, Two-face, and Jason Todd aka Red Hood. Whew, that's a lot of characters!

Coming up next: Clowns, Ghosts, and the Batman!

Update: After I had written this chapter, I had some doubts about the encounter between Danny and Selina. I decided to post anyway, for the reviewers to critic. There were some mixed feelings towards it. Instead of deleting it entirely, I've left it and the deleted scene (If it was Poison Ivy instead) for the future readers. If you like it, Good! If you don't, then feel free to skip as it's not nessecary to the story.

Now for those of you who felt that Danny was downplayed in the fight in the apartments: I have a reason(s) for Danny's reaction. You all can answer it by thinking this question over:

Besides the Frankenstein evil future, how frequently does Danny combat true evil? And I mean stuff like 'Genocide' or pure evil at that level?


Original ending

It was late at night when Danny stiffly walked down the devoid alleyway, his sneakered feet sounding louder than normal.

"This place certainly has the creepy vibe… and I fight ghosts!"

The teen stopped by two dumpsters, choosing to sit down and rest between them for a much needed break. Little did the ghost boy knew that at that moment, someone was intently watching him.

"Crazy mafia dudes, crazy man in a bucket, crazy ninjas- this whole city's entirely messed up!"

"Now that's just hurtful. Not everything in this city is that bad~" a silky voice cooed.

Danny could have sworn he had a heart attack at the sudden voice, leaping into the air but came crashing down again.

"Woah, settle down kitten. Catwoman's not going to hurt you."

"Who?" Danny asked, and got his answer.

A curvaceous woman stepped out of the shadows. Her form-fitting outfit gave the appearance of a feline, black suit complete with gloves and boots. The cat-eared mask and goggles only revealed her mouth and the area around it, her lips a deep red. She had a utility belt strapped to her waist, her whip clipped on giving the appearance of a cat tail.

"What's a cutie like you doing in a dark alleyway at night?" The woman asked, her voice silky.

To those who are wondering: yeah, Danny was blushing up a storm at both the "cutie" comment and the woman's attire.

"I-I uh- er- was a," Danny stuttered out, scooting away from the woman.

The woman pulled down her goggles, revealing her emerald eyes. "Relax, I mean no harm. No barking or biting here, I'm a cat person."

Danny's tense shoulders sagged as the initial shock wore off.

Catwoman smiled, seeing the teen settle down. "That's better. Not purr-fect, but we'll work on that."

Danny chuckled a bit, slowly standing up. "Do you frequently make cat puns?"

"Only when I'm in the mood. Now why are you alone at night?"

Danny crossed his arms, giving the woman a pointed look. "I could ask you the same question."

"Same question, but different answers. I take it you don't have a place to stay?" The question came off more like a statement.

Danny didn't really have an answer for that, not that he needed to say anything as Catwoman had taken his silence as a confirmatory answer.

"Well, we can't have you out in the cold…" she looked at teen in deep thought before apparently coming to a decision. "I have an extra room back in my place for you to stay for the night, or for however long you may need, if you're interested."

Danny was quite surprised at the offer… and suspicious. "Why would you help me? I appreciate the offer, but we're both strangers to each other. For all you know I might rob your place, and for all I know you could be some sort of- excuse the indirect cat pun- cougar or whatever. Not that I'm assuming that you are! I'm just curious as to why would you put yourself at risk?"

"Well you do bring up good points. I'll be frank: I'm a cat burglar-" She made no outward acknowledgment of Danny's snort of amusement, "I may be a thief, but I'm an honest thief. I promise to you that I mean no harm, that this offer is sincerely made. And I can tell you're more of a boy scout than anything. So, deal?" She held out a hand, Danny noticing the claws on the outstretched hand.

Danny weighed his options: yeah, someone, who had admitted to being a thief, had offered him a place to stay for the night. But she was honest about herself, and offered genuine help by what Danny could tell. Danny felt more at ease because of the small act of trust… and the idea of an actual bed was sorely tempting…

'That and I wouldn't run into more crazies like I would very likely do if I stayed out here.'

Danny, after another moment of mental debate, gave a small smile and accepted the handshake. "Deal… and thank you."

"Glad to be a help. Now follow me kitten." Danny followed Catwoman as she lead him down the street. They eventually ended up at a nicely kept condominium, the two clambered up the fire escape and entered a window.

Danny was floored by the wealthy appearance of the apartment. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Catwoman's place would be like, but this wasn't what he had in mind. Danny didn't notice that she had ducked out for a minute before returning with a bundle in her arms.

"Purrfect, is it not?" Catwoman asked, amused by the teen's expression of shock.

Danny, having recovered from his shock, sent her a smirk, "I'd say it's the cat's meow."

The woman sent Danny a cat-like grin, "Ooh, I'm definitely liking you kitten!" She then handed Danny the bundle. "I figured that you'd want to clean up. While you're washing up, I'm ordering pizza. Any preferences?"

"I'm fine with whatever," Danny shrugged.

"My usual is blue-cheese, sardines, jalapeños and pineapple." Catwoman held her serious face for a moment before breaking down in laughter at the teen's shocked and disgusted expression. "I'm just kidding! I'm thinking of pepperoni, breadsticks, a salad and ice cream for desert."

Danny let out a breath of relief, trying to glare at the woman but failing as he laughed. "That sounds good."

After recieving directions, Danny walked into the bathroom and cleaned himself off. The hot shower felt divine to the teen, enjoying the sensation of the water running down his back and being completely clean since before this whole 'different dimension' mess. It's kinda funny how you don't truly appreciate the little things until you went for so long without them.

Danny emerged from the bathroom in his borrowed clothes, towel-drying his hair. He wore a pair of deep blue shorts and a black 'Wayne University' shirt. The shirt was ginormous on the teen, acting almost like a dress. Danny was glad that the shorts, which were also big on him, had the drawstring.

"Where do I put the towel and my clothes?"

"Just set them in the hamper." Came the response.

Danny returned to the living room, still marveling at the expensive taste of the decor. Catwoman gave a humm of approval when she noticed Danny return. "Nice and clean now! How does that feel?"

"Absolutely and paws-itively purr-fect!" Danny said with much enthusiasm.

Catwoman laughed at the declaration. "Oh I bet! I'm going to spruce up myself. You can browse through the movies on that shelf there if you're interested in watching a movie." She indicated the shelving by the tv before disappearing down her hallway.

Danny walked up to the movies, browsing the selection.

"Hmm, some nature documentaries, thrillers… romcom? No thanks… okay, I shouldn't be surprised about her having these," Danny commented to himself, taking out 'Aristocats' and 'Cats Don't Dance'. Danny plopped down on the slate-gray couch, just leaning back as he rested near one of the silky black throw pillows… which one of them opened its green eyes.

Danny did a double take before his brain registered the perfectly camouflaged cat. "Of course she has a cat." Danny chuckled in amusement.

The black cat, seeing the newcomer, stretched itself before slinking over to the halfa. The cat sniffed the teen, decided it liked the guest, and claimed stop on his lap with a purr.

"I see that Isis has taken a liking to you."

Danny then saw Catwoman enter the living room, surprised that she was unmasked. Her hair fell to soft curls below her shoulders, raven black with blond streaks.

"Yeah, I guess she did," Danny scratched the cat on her head, earning a pleased purr. He then turned to Catwoman. "Again, thank you for doing this Catwoman."

"It's my pleasure, and call me Selina," the newly dubbed Selina replied, smiling.

Danny smile back, "nice to meet you. I'm Danny."

"Nice to meet you as well Danny. Did you pick a movie?"

"Eh, I'm thinking this one," Danny hefted up 'Cats Don't Dance', "I haven't seen it in ages."

"Good choice! That one's an extremely underrated classic."

"It's pretty good. I just find it amusing that the bad guy is a 'Shirley Temple' parody."

The pizza soon arrived and the two ate dinner as they shared likes and interests while making a cat pun. Selina learned that Danny loved anything outer-space, and that he enjoyed video games and bowling. Danny learned that Selina was an animal lover and is very animal rights-activist.

"You and my friend Sam would probably get along pretty well. She's pretty big on animal rights too. There was this one time that I needed the extra credit for biology and She had recommended that I did a report on a rare gorilla. Long story short, she had freed the gorilla we were studying at the zoo and it ran loose for a bit."

"Oh boy! That must have been quite the adventure!"

"Yeah, it was. Fortunately, we had managed to lure the gorilla back to where it belonged, so we didn't get in trouble." Danny withheld some of the details of that particular excursion, like how it was the first time Skulker came after him.

"It seems like she didn't think it through."

"Not really. She means well and has great ideas to better the environment and the world around her, but she tends to be stubborn and somewhat rash with her beliefs and actions."

"She sounds like a handful."

"At times, she is. Part of the reason she's like that is because of her parents. She tries so hard to not be them, she ends up acting like them in a way. Despite her faults and the trouble she has pulled me in, she's still my friend and has saved my bacon more times than I can count. You can't ignore the bad, but you can't let the bad blind you to the good. Sam's deep down a good person and she's trying her best despite her mistakes, like we all are."

The two continued chatting, occasionally laughing at a part of the movie, before turning in for the night.

"Good night Danny, and pleasant dreams."

"Same to you too, night!"

Selina lay down in her bed, stroking Isis absentmindedly.

"I wonder if Bruce is open to adopt another birdy?"


And here's if it was Posion Ivy instead of Catwoman


~~~𝔻𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕖~~~

Danny huffed as he sprinted down the alleyways and mostly empty streets, wanting to put some distance between himself and Bucket head. His pace slowed as time stretched on, finally relaxing as he came to realize that he had finally lost his pursuer.

He found himself in a run-down park. The plants had long since overgrown the paths and structures of the recreational space. Danny plopped himself at the base of a gnarly oak tree, leaning against the trunk and letting his heart calm its rapid tempo.

"Man this place is full of wackos!" The teen muttered to himself, now feeling exhausted after the burst of adrenaline.

Little did he realize that he wasn't alone in the park.

His first warning was the rustling of foliage. At first Danny dismissed it as just the wind or some sort of animal, but the nagging feeling in his gut convinced him otherwise.

Despite common sense, Danny decided to call out.

"Hello? Someone there?" As soon as he said those words out loud, Danny scolded himself. He's watched horror movies and the like. He should know better than to attract attention to himself!

Of course nobody responded, not that the silence convinced the halfa that he was alone. He slowly pulled himself to a crouched position, ready to bolt if trouble struck.

What he least expected was to be wrapped in vines. Danny let out a yelp of surprise as he was hefted into the air.

"Who do we have here?" A silky voice cooed, sending chills down the teens spine.

Stepping out of the brush was a woman. The first thing Danny noticed was how her fiery red hair contrasted her green skin, while her attire caused the teen to blush. She was clad in a skimpy green dress… and not much else. It vaguely reminded Danny of Sam's attire when she was first controlled by Undergrowth.

"W-who the heck a-are you?" Danny stuttered out, his nerves getting the best of him.

The woman gave a smirk. "You can call me Posion Ivy doll face," she said. A vine went to stroke the teen's cheek. "What's a sproutling like you doing amongst the big, bad weeds of Gotham?"

Danny squirmed a bit. "Just passing through. I had no idea this was your park, honest! If you'll let me go I'll be out of your hair."

Ivy giggled at the teen's nervousness. "Oh don't be like that! I'm not going to hurt you."

At her declaration, the vines released their hold on the teen. Rubbing his arms, Danny watched the plant lady wearily but not fleeing.

"Uh, thanks."

Ivy hummed, before her eyes swept over Danny's rumpled form. "Tell me beansprout: why are you all alone? Did you run away from home?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I didn't run away. I'm… just displaced at the moment."

"Displaced? And what of your family?"

"They're not here," Danny replied vaguely, but the answer was truthful enough. Danny knew well enough that he was a terrible liar.

Poison Ivy's facial expression soften at the statement and what it could possibly mean. Pamela may be one of Batman's rouges, but she wasn't a heartless psycho. She looked at the homeless boy in front of her.

"I don't suppose you have a place to stay for the night?"

Danny shook his head. "Not really." Danny wasn't in the mood to regale present company with how he ended up in the middle of a gang war and was chased by a man wearing a bucket.

"I have some safe houses set up in the city, one is nearby. You can sleep there for the night."

Danny gave the lady a questioning look, quite surprised by the offer. "Why would you help me?"

"No one should be sleeping on the streets, especially children. If you're worried I'll harm you while you sleep, I promise you I wouldn't."

Danny weighed the options in his mind before letting out a breath. He looked at the green woman with reluctant acceptance. "Okay, lead the way."


…~~~oOo~~~…

Until next time!