Welcome to chapter 7!

Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well-

*Reads the faves/followers count* O. M. G!

…~~~oOo~~~…


"Well this is certainly whelming."

The statement, after the stunned silence dragged for a good while, caused Danny to jump. He had sort of forgotten about Nightwing and Robin as his attention was focused mainly on Superman. (Danny's mind was still reeling. What were the odds?)

Either way, Nightwing's remark seemed to snap everyone back to their senses.

"And I thought Marvel had a flashy transformation sequence," Danny heard Flash mutter. "So you know this kid Supes?"

"Yeah. Remember that big press conference with Luthor? Danny was there to help," Superman answered Flash's question, then turning an inquisitive eyebrow to the teen. "So… I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that the 'family business trip' wasn't what brought you to Metropolis in the first place."

Danny glanced to the ground sheepishly, rubbing his left shoulder. It was still sore from the fight with Lobo. "No, it wasn't. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I guess we start off with the question of where are you from?"

"Amity Park, Illinois," Danny answered, noticing Robin and Nightwing pulling out some holographic computers. "Dang, you'd think those only existed in Sci-fi movies."

"Standard equipment of the bats," Flash remarked, waving a hand to accompany the statement.

"…that town doesn't exist." Nightwing said, confusion laced in his voice.

"It does; just not in this dimension."

"You're from another dimension?" Varying levels of surprise were present on the heroes faces with the exception of Batman, the man's face remaining blank by what Danny could tell.

"It's either that or alternate timeline, though I'm pretty sure that it's the former." Danny replied with a shrug.

"How did you get to our dimension?" Martian Manhunter inquired.

"Well, my archenemy had gotten his grubby hands of this relic called the Infi-map. It's basically a magic map that can open portals to anywhere and anywhen. Anywho, I was fighting the cheesehead to get the map back and I got blasted to this dimension," Danny then turned to Black Canary, "that was actually when I ran into you and the green archer guy back in Star City."

"So you were just dumped smack dab into a drug smuggling operation?" Flash surmised, remembering what he knew from that day when GA and BC had first encountered the teen. "That bites."

"Yeeaah, my luck tends to be sucky." Danny slumped a bit into the seat, sinking into the hoodie.

"What of this Infi-map? Do you know what happened to it?" Wonder Woman questioned.

Danny let out a sigh. "I actually have it-"

"Why didn't you use it to get back home?" Flash blurted out, but then flinched at the glare sent his way curtesy of Batman.

Danny's response was to dig through the backpack's contents before pulling out a scroll… with a hole burnt in the center to be revealed when it was unrolled.

"Guess that answers that question." Robin muttered.

"I think that trying to use it while it's like this is a bad idea. I don't want to end up teleporting back home with my own hole in my stomach or something."

"This is very disconcerting news. However, how do we know what you are telling us is the truth?" Batman raised a gloved hand to prevent anyone from interrupting him. "You seem like an honest kid, but we've had others deceive us before."

Danny rubbed his neck in uncertainty. "Makes sense, though I don't know how I can prove I'm telling the truth… I do have my ID in my wallet- and my phone's a brand that not of this dimension." The halfa fetched the mentioned items from his book bag and handed them to the dark-clad hero. Nightwing and Robin approached as well to get a better look.

"Though the information on it isn't showing up on any records, the ID seems legit," Robin commented, examining the thin, rectangular plastic. "Though it doesn't quite prove the whole different dimension scenario."

"Well unless one of your guys have a lie detector or something, I really can't think of anything to prove that I'm telling the truth," Danny said.

"Actually, Manhunter would be able to discern your sincerity."

Danny rose a questioning eyebrow to the Martian . "You're a living lie detector?"

"In a sense. One of my abilities include telepathy."

The ghostly teen fidgeted. "So you're gonna read my mind?"

Superman caught on to Danny's growing nervousness. "Hang on, that's totally not necessary."

Batman turned to the Kryponian, "We've already discussed this prior. It's a necessary precaution."

"Bats does have a point," Flash said, but sounded uncertain. "We've had moles before."

"Oh yes, the young one is most definitely here to cause us harm. You can tell by the evil look in his eye," Wonder Woman said is an sarcastic tone, which Danny gave a slightly bashful smile in response.

"This precaution was meant for what we had previously assumed what Phantom was. This is another matter entirely."

"I'm more inclined to agree with Superman," Robin piped up with Nightwing giving a barely noticeable nod.

"Danny, you don't have to do it if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No, I'll do it. Thanks though." Danny sent a small, grateful smile to the elder hero before turning to Manhunter. "So long as you don't go and pull out my more embarrassing secrets." He added in a joking tone, though he was squirming a bit in his seat.

"I promise that I won't be divulging anything private. I only intend on validating your story."

Danny simply nodded. The Martian then stepped forward, coming to kneel in front of the teenager and his red eyes began to glow. Danny flinched a bit as a foreign presence entered his mind.

'Please don't let it be mind control,' Danny couldn't help but think as a silent mantra, not wanting a 'Circus Gothica' repeat.

{I'm not going to mind control you as I have no desire to do so and I lack the ability.} Danny's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the Martian's voice in his head along with placating sensations gently calming his nerves.

'You heard me?'

{yes}

'How did you…'

{You were doing the mental equivalent of speaking out loud to yourself.}

'Oh.' Was Danny's eloquent response, which elicited warm amusement from the Martian. Now that Danny had settled down, he could feel that the Martian was just simply there, not prodding or invading his mind. Picking up no malicious intentions, he relaxed a bit. 'You know, this is kinda cool.'

{I'm glad that you're not too unsettled by this}

'So, what do you have to do to see I'm telling the truth?'

{I already have what I need. I thank you for your cooperation.}

The psychic link ended, with Danny snapping out of his unintentional staring contest with Manhunter. "We have nothing to worry about. This young man was telling the truth."

"You okay Danny?" Clark asked with some concern.

"Huh?"

"Your eyes began to glow when Manhunter started the mindlink," Wonder Woman clarified, her brows furrowed.

It was then that the teen realized that his eyes were glowing their usual neon green. He blinked several times, willing the sensation away. "Sorry, didn't notice. I'm fine though."

"We thank you for your cooperation and patience in answering our questions." Batman's usual stern look had soften, "We'll do all in our abilities to get you home as well as any other needs."

Danny let out a relieved sigh, "Thank you." His attention then drifted towards the Martian Manhunter. "So you're really a Martian?"

Manhunter did the equivalent of an eyebrow quirk, "Indeed I am."

"So can all Martians use telepathy like you? Or is it something limited to you?"

"All Martians are able to communicate telepathically; it serves as one of our primary ways of communication."

"What other abilities do Martians have?" Now that he wasn't distracted by worry or his nervousness with meeting the Leaguers, his inner space nerd was now basking in the moment of being in the same room as an alien.

~~~o🕐o~~~𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔒𝔲𝔱~~~o🕐o~~~

~2 weeks prior, give or take

Danny, having taken a pit stop in an small town, was typing away on the computer at the local library.

"Oww~ how does Jazz put up with so much research," the teen muttered to himself, massaging his temples from the upcoming headache from information overload. He then noticed in the 'Related Articles' to the one he was currently reading mention something about a satellite launch.

Being the space fanatic that he was, he found himself clicking on the aforementioned article. He was only a few paragraphs in when his eyes widen in surprise.

"Communication to Mars? Was there a base set up there or something?"

Impending headache long forgotten, the teen dove little further into the article. It did not disappoint.

The launch of Ferris Aircraft's new Earth to Mars communication satellite is set to launch on March 19th. The satellite, with higher capacity and more efficient proccessors, would better enable the residents of Earth and the inhabitants of Mars to interact with more ease.

This satellite represents a new spirit of cooperation between sister planets: The beginning of an alliance that can protect us all.

Wait, what?

This lead Danny to search out more articles and-

"No way…"

Martians…

"NO. FREAKING. WAY…"

Martians are real. Aliens are REAL?! ALIENS ARE REAL!

This new development resulted in what should have been the expected reaction of one whose life-long passion involved the mysteries of the cosmos: an ear-splitting shriek of excitement. Of course Danny's little celebration was cut off by the librarian.

Much to his mortification, Danny was given a tongue-lashing and was promptly kicked out of the building that day.

Of course this discovery lead to others of this dimension. Atlantis, aliens, much of those old myths about Greek gods and such, aliens, all of that was real. In hindsight, Danny shouldn't have been so surprised, considering what he has seen. Still…

~~~o🕐o~~~𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢 ℑ𝔫~~~o🕐o~~~

Yes, Danny was aware that aliens are a thing, but actually meeting one and holding a conversation with one was quite another thing.

"Telekinesis, along with shapeshifting and its related abilities that our kind possesses," Martian Manhunter said in response to the halfa's earlier question.

"Shapeshifting?"

In a seemless manner, the Martian's form shifted to mirror Danny's.

"Woah! That's so cool!" Danny breathed out, in awe of the Martian's abilities. The Martian gave a soft smile before reverting back. Yeah, he knew some ghosts that could shapeshift too, but they weren't aliens. So there. "Are all Martians green, or are there other colors like how humans have different skin tones? What kind of environment do you have on Mars? What is the-"

"A fan of aliens?" Nightwing asked, giving the teen a look of amusement.

"Of space in general. I really want to be an astronaut and this is practically fulfilling a childhood dream. No concrete evidence of aliens has ever been found back home, and here's an actual alien. Right here!" Danny explained, making dramatic hand-gestures at Manhunter to emphasize his point.

Flash snorted in amusement, "what, Supes here doesn't count?"

Danny gave the scarlet hero a questioning look. "What?"

Flash jabbed a thumb at the Man of Steel. "Big blue here's an alien too-"

"WHAAAAAAAT?!"

"You didn't know?" Wonder Woman inquired, she and the others quite amused by Danny's reaction.

"I must have missed that bit of information because no I DID NOT!" Danny stated, staring wide-eyed at the Kryptonian. Clark simply smiled in amusement, an eyebrow arched playfully.

Giving a fake cough to get attention, Black Canary then spoke, "Now that we've satisfied the paranoia of Gotham's local conspiracy theorist-" She ignored the pointed look shot her way, "-we can proceed to the matter at hand."

A loud rumble drew everyone's attention to the young halfa, who looked sheepish.

"Eh hehe… sorry."

Flash gave a knowing smile. "Sounds like someone missed lunch."

"Kinda." It was past lunchtime and Danny hadn't had the chance to snag breakfast thanks to earlier events.

"Hey, while the old people talk, wanna grab something to eat?" Nightwing asked Danny, slinging his arm over his shoulders.

Danny's stomach answered before he could, the young adult chuckling while the ghostly teen glared at his traitorous stomach. "Yeah, I could go for something."

"We could stop at Bat Burger," Robin then turned to the ghostly teen. "Have you tried out the Bat Burger yet?"

"Um, no."

"Then that's where we're going, 'cause a trip to Bat Burger is a MUST for every visitor of Gotham!" Nightwing said as both he and Robin both went to a nearby window and ducked out. Danny, after switching his form, floated to the window, only to yelp when a gloved hand pulled him through.

"Somehow, I have the feeling they're going to get along like wildfire," Flash muttered in amusement. "Is anybody else wondering if they're going into the Bat Burger in civvies or as their hero personas?"

"Are you okay?" Black Canary asked Superman, who had a troubled look on his face.

"I don't know. Mostly, I'm just concerned," Clark said in a sigh. "The two weeks that he was in Metroplolis- he's a good kid. A good kid that can't get home and has been on his own for all this time."

Diana placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing what was troubling him. "You didn't know what was going on."

"I wish I did."

A sigh was heard before Batman spoke, "we need to get back on topic of the situation. We're dealing with an unknown from an alternate dimension from our own with so many unknown variables-"

The corner of Flash's cowl rose to match an eyebrow raise. "What are you suggesting, that we lock him up? He's a kid!"

Clark gave the Gothamite a stern look. "Bruce, Danny's not going to hurt anyone. For two weeks I got to know the kid, and I can tell he has a good heart. He trusted us enough to come to us for help and even shared his identity. The least we can do is give him the same curtesy."

"I'm not saying to lock him up. I was about to say was that we'll need to exercise caution as we try to return Phantom to his dimension as previous experience has shown inter-dimensional travel can be hazardous." The rest of the heroes nodded at that logic.

"And there's the matter that Phantom will be here for an undetermined amount of time. He's still a minor and will be needing a place to stay."

"He would probably be comfortable with staying with the team," J'onn mentioned, "have people his own age."

"We'll need to run that by the other leaguers first. Especially the ones with protégés in the team that are not present." Black Canary said. "So then there's the matter of tonight."

"…I do have spare rooms in the-"

"Lois and I have the guestroom he could use," Superman said, effectively cutting of Batman. "He already knows my ID and Lois won't mind."

"Are you sure Clark?"

"It won't be a problem. I'll call Lois to make sure, but I'm fairly certain she'll be on board."

"We'll ask him to see what he's comfortable with. Now we'll probably need to call in several leaguers to see what can be done to locate Phantom's dimension. Doctor Fate should be our best bet, along with Zatanna. They could possibly be able to mend the map."

"What about Constantine?"

"No." Was the terse answer to the mention of the British occult expert.

"C'mon Bats-"

"We do not need Constantine's involvement."

"Bruce, we are going to need all the help we can get."

…~~~oOo~~~…

The trio of black-haired and, Danny had discovered, blue-eyed boys sat on a rooftop amongst some gargoyles, munching away at their lunches and chatting about different things. The area was secluded and they had a great arial view of the city below.

The Bat Burger had a sort of 'retro' feel to it, much like the Nasty Burger back in Amity, but with a comic-book theme to the decor and the menu items were named after the local heroes and villains. Even the staff's uniforms were themed after heroes. Fortunately the uniforms were simply t-shirts with the associated hero's logo on it and occasionally an accessory to go with the look, like a mask.

Personally, Danny wondered how comfortable it would be to work in a hot, stuffy kitchen for hours in a full spandex costume. Probably not very.

They had ordered a KGBLT for Nightwing, Night-wings for Robin, and Danny himself went with a Deluxe Batburger. There was also a basket of Robin Nuggets and a basket of fries for them all to share. The fries were all Jokerized: a special blend seasoning made exclusively for the restaurant.

"So how's your first Bat Burger?" Nightwing asked around a bite full.

Danny, who had his mouth full at the moment, had to swallow before responding. "It's pretty good. The fries are way better than what you get at Nasty Burger."

"Nasty Burger?" Robin asked incredulously, with Nightwing looking equally dumbfounded at the name.

"Despite the name, the food's pretty good," Danny stated, having a guess to their bafflement. "Their slogan, my friend Tucker loves to say, 'Nasty is just one letter away from Tasty'."

"Why would they name a burger joint 'Nasty'?"

"Eh, I've heard that it was originally called the 'Tasty Burger', but someone had changed the letter in an act of vandalism and the owners were too lazy to fix it. Sam thinks that it's a way to stand out and be unique. Jazz gave this really long and complex explanation of advertising via reverse psychology or something? I had tuned her out after the third sentence. Either way, it's hilariously ironic."

The two Gothamites nodded, accepting the answer before Nightwing then asked. "So we know that you're about Rob's age. How long have you been doing the hero business?"

Danny made a so-so gesture with his gloved hand. "Eh, approaching a year give or take, though it feels more like eighteen years."

"Nice. Bet you've got stories." Danny smirked at the statement.

If only they knew.

"A few. So what's it like working with Batman?" Both Gothamites shared a look before responding.

"Despite his tough and intimidating facade he puts up, he's a nice guy. Does tend to be paranoid at times."

Robin snickered, "Too true. Has all sorts of protocols for any and all ways that a mission may go wrong."

"Dora the explorer's backpack has nothing on Batman's utility belt: he probably has anything you could possibly name."

"Really?" Danny asked, intrigued by the idea.

Nightwing shrugged. "Well it's kind of hard to disprove when he seems to have just about whatever you would need whether it be Batarangs, the Bat smoke bombs or the Ocean Repellent Bat Spray."

"Is everything that he uses named Bat?" Danny asked incredulously, only to then snicker at the confirmative head nods. "I thought only my dad did that!"

"He does?!"

Danny nodded. "My parents are scientists. They tend to build, or tinker with, and name the appliances. In fact, almost everything in my house has the name 'Fenton' included in what it's usually called or it just has a picture of my dad's face on it." Danny animatedly explained while the two Gotham heroes started laughing. "I'm serious! 'Danny, get the Fenton Fire-extinguisher!' Or how about 'Please get out the Fenton Dust-Buster and vacuum the living room.' I literally go into the kitchen and I'll find Dad making breakfast using the 'Fenton Toaster' to make 'Fenton' toast… and the toast has an image of his face cooked into the bread!"

Nightwing snickered. "Our toaster doesn't cook the bat-symbol into the toast, so you win in that department. We do have the Batcave, the Batmobile, Bat-submarine-

Robin was clutching his sides and wheezing thanks to how hard he was laughing, "d-don't forget the Bat signal, Ba-ha-at computer and the bat-doption papers!"

"The Batcave?"

"Batman's secret base."

"…I'm going to be very disappointed if it's not an actual cave," Danny said after a moment.

Nightwing and Robin both grinned. "It is."

"HA, awesome! No HQ here though, but my parents use our home as the business. You can find the neon sign with 'FentonWorks' displayed proudly on the front. And the Bat signal?"

"A signal light the police department uses to alert Batman."

"Cool. So you mentioned Bat-doption papers. What are those?"

Both batboys exchanged knowing and amused glances, which confused Danny.

"B has the tendency to bring in strays."

"So he's an animal person? Guess that makes sense with the furry suit."

The comment caused Robin to choke on his beverage, wheezing on soda going down the wrong pipe as he keeled over with laughter. Nightwing simply snickered, patting Robin's back.

"Not that kind of stray," the beeping of the comm prevented any further explanation as Nightwing answered. "Uh Huh. 'K, be there in a bit. Batman is calling us back. Looks like they came to a decision." The Gothamite heroes leapt up from their spots and the ghostly teen floated up, gathering their garbage before heading out.

…~~~oOo~~~…

"So what's the verdict?" Nightwing asked as he came in behind the two teens.

"We'll need to gather the rest of the league," Black Canary explained, "Between the magic users and our scientists we should be able to formulate a plan of action and, hopefully, a means of getting you home."

"Some of the experts that we should discuss with won't be available until tomorrow due to an ongoing mission," Batman disclosed. "So until then, we'll set up temporary quarters for you to rest. As for tonight, there are spare rooms in the Batcave that you can use."

"Or you can come back to Metropolis with me. We have a guest room," Superman supplied.

"Um…" Danny glanced between the two elder heroes. As much as he would like to see this so-called Batcave, he felt more comfortable with Clark as he knew him better. "I think I'll go with Superman, if that's okay."

Batman nodded before turning to the Man of Steel. "Be sure to keep your comm on hand in case of any unexpected delays. Also, check on Phantom's injuries later to see how they're doing."

"You're hurt?" Superman, surprised by this revelation, looked at Danny in concern.

Danny floundered at the Dark Knight's statement. He didn't think it was that obvious. "What? How did you-"

Robin looked up from his hologlove, pausing whatever he has doing. "You have minor scratches on your face and were pretty disheveled before you ran into the Joker earlier."

"That and, while barely noticeable, you were favoring one leg over the other while fighting," Nightwing picked up after Robin.

"You had also rubbed your shoulder earlier," Batman spoke, his gaze holding Danny's, "indicating that you were injured there as well. None of those came from Joker or his henchmen as they weren't able to lay a hand on you. All this suggests that you were in some sort of fight just before."

"Which matches with the reports of 'explosions and flashes of green light' down at the old train depot." Robin finished, pulling up the reports on his hologlove.

Danny was flabbergasted, unable to make a proper response. "H-how?"

"We're detectives." Was Robin's simple response.

"… that's so cool and terrifying at the same time." Danny finally managed to say before shaking out of his stupor. "And yeah, I did get in a fight earlier. That Lobo guy tracked me down and managed to land some hits. They're not serious though, just a few cuts. I heal quickly."

"Okay," Superman assented, "but we are checking them later." His tone suggested that there was no room for argument.

"Yes sir." Danny gave a playful salute, earning some smiles as the desired reaction.

"And that's another thing we'll need to bring up at the meeting as to who hired Lobo," Manhunter said. "He's a bounty hunter, so someone must have set him after Phantom."

"Oh, It's that Lex Luthor guy." Danny supplied.

"How did you come by this information?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Baldy ended up calling for a status report right when I had knocked the Boba Fett knock-off out." Danny explained.

Superman frowned. "That's not good." The Man of Steel could only wonder what Luthor had in mind and what he could possibly want the young Halfa for.

"As it was said earlier, we'll bring this up at the meeting," Batman stated.

"Now that that's settled, gotta get back to Central," Flash said once they had all stepped outside, giving Danny's shoulder a pat. "Nice meeting ya kid." The man was gone in a blink.

"Dang, that was fast." The ghost boy muttered in amazement.

"There are many individuals here with their different talents." Martian Manhunter said, holding his hand out. "It has been a pleasure to meet you young Phantom."

"Oh yeah, nice to meet you too Mr. Manhunter."

The Martian simply smiled. "You may call me J'onn J'onzz."

"J'onn J'onzz. Cool name."

Wonder Woman and Black Canary had also given their farewells before taking their leave.

"So you guys are going by grappling gun or…" Danny trailed off, referring to how he had followed them earlier.

"We're taking the Batmobile."

Danny was about to comment when a faint whir came to his ears. A sleek black car glided over to where they were standing, the engine purring as it came to a stop. The doors opened themselves, as if to say 'welcome to the greatest ride in your life'.

"NO. Way…" The Batmobile was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. Danny gingerly ran his fingers along the hood, taking in the details of the custom-designed vehicle that was the dream of every car enthusiast, technogeek and comic nerd everywhere. Having grown up with his parents and their tendency to tinker, he could pick out one or two of the obvious weapons hidden on the car. "It's an electric?"

"Also energy efficient and stealthy," Robin replied, slinging an arm over the ghostly teen, who was still in awe-struck reverie. "With the most advanced defensive systems, auto pilot, and GPS satellite guidance system to name a few of the features."

"Impressive."

This existed, and his parents made an RV of all things. Not cool Mom and Dad, not cool.

"If you think this is great, then you should see the Bat-jet."

Danny could only imagine what that would look like. "I would most definitely want to see that!"

The trio of Gotham heroes entered the vehicle, giving they goodbyes then driving off, with Superman the remaining hero by Danny's side.

"That was the sickest ride in any dimension." Danny breathed out.

"I suppose so." Superman replied, then rose into the air. "We had better get going."

Danny rose into the air as well, following the elder hero out of city bounds.

"Bye Gotham, can't say I'll miss you or the crazies," Danny muttered under his breath. He didn't notice Clark's brief smile of amusement at his comment.

…~~~oOo~~~…

"Okay, comforters and pillowcase," Lois muttered to herself as she dug into the closet where they kept the bedding for the guestroom for Danny. Clark had given a brief explanation that Danny needed a place to stay tonight. There was more to the story, but due to a certain colleague's paranoia, he couldn't explain much over the phone. That meant league business, but what would the kid have to do with the Justice League though?

The clinking of keys, followed by the door to their apartment being opened, alerted her to Clark's arrival. "Lois, we're here."

"Welcome back!" She called out, pulling out the desired bedding. After making the guest bed, she walked to the entry to see Clark hang up his coat. A familiar head of black hair moved to the side, now no longer being blocked from her line of sight from behind the Kryptonian.

Danny gave a shy smile with a little wave. "Hi Lois. Nice to see you again."

The female reporter smiled, striding forward to give the teen a side hug. "You too. So you finally dropped by to visit." She then noticed the state of the teen's clothes and the scratches on his face. "Danny, what happened to you?"

"It's kind of a long story."

"Then let's go sit then. I have time."


Clark stretched himself as the light from the moon seeped through the blinds. While his senses were able to stretch beyond the confines of the block, he contented himself with the sounds from within the apartment.

The rhythmic ticks of the clock in the entryway set the sleepy atmosphere, accompanied by the gentle whirring of the vents simply cycling air. The plumbing system circulated water throughout the entire building. The refrigerator on standby with a buzz. Lois's slow heartbeat and soft breathing next to him, her warmth giving him contentment. The lack of a heartbeat from the guest room, however, caused the elder hero to stir completely.

Danny wasn't in his room.

Okay, there's no need to worry. The teen had probably gotten up to use the bathroom or a drink of water.

(The Kryptonian couldn't help but worry for the youth. The fact that the kid had been stranded in an unfamiliar world with Lex after him-)

Waiting a moment, letting his senses stretch out, Clark couldn't find the teen in the apartment building.

Superman was soon out in the night above Metropolis, the lights of the city acting as artificial stars in lieu of real stars. The deep blue black drop of the sky remained clear of any clouds. The full moon cast a silvery light on the city.

(Danny could take care of himself (He let a kid spend a month out on his own.))

It took a good half hour, but the Man of Steel found the young teen. Danny was perched on top of the golden globe of the Daily Planet, his arms folded and resting on his knees. He was looking up at the moon.

Superman simply landed, walking to where the youth sat.

"Phantom?"

Danny, unaware of the company, gave a surprised yelp as he leapt into the air. Wide, green eyes locked onto his blue ones before the teen relaxed, settling back in his spot.

"Oh, it's you."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I… couldn't sleep so I thought some night air would help," Danny replied, gazing up at Earth's natural satellite.

Clark claimed the spot next to the teen. "Any reason why?"

"Well, I am kinda nervous about meeting the rest of the Justice League tomorrow. It sounds kinda intimidating, and Batman is scary enough on his own."

"You have nothing to worry about. Yes, Batman can be intimidating, but they all are good people."

Danny hummed his acknowledgment before returning his attention to the sky. "The moon looks nice."

"Clear night. Unfortunately, all the light pollution keeps you from seeing the stars. Back on the farm, you can see everything." Clark said, reminiscing to his childhood.

"The light pollution wasn't so bad in Amity. On clear nights you could see stars." Was said in a soft voice.

… Oh.

"You miss them."

A nod.

Clark placed a hand on the youth's shoulder, the teen turning to look up. "I promise we'll get you home. One way or another."

"Thanks. Thank you for… well, everything I guess."

Clark ruffled the teens hair. "You're welcome."

Danny gave a small smile, then gave the elder hero an inquisitive look. "Sooo… Flash said that you're an alien…"

…~~~oOo~~~…

Earth 16
Metropolis, undisclosed Zeta Tube

"Soooo," Danny drew out, rocking back and forth on his heels as he watched the adult heroes fiddle with some sort of portal-looking device. "Why are we here?"

"We'll be heading up to the Watchtower via Zeta technology." Superman explained while Batman punched in the necessary authorization with Flash on standby.

"So it's pretty much your basic teleporter," Flash explained, then expanded on the statement at Danny's inquisitive expression. "The technology was first built by one Dr. Erdel and was further developed by STAR labs. The tubes utilize Zeta-beams, a type of energy. The tubes are set up in different locations and Zeta beams interconnect the tubes."

"We're just setting it up so you have permission to use it."

"Okay," Danny confirmed his understanding, wondering if the Zeta-tubes were somewhat like the Ghost Portal back home, absentmindedly fiddling with the Infimap that remained tucked under his belt. Danny figured that having it on hand would be necessary for this meeting.

Last night was interesting, to say in the least. Lois had taken the news of him being from another dimension quite well and was very interested in his ghost form, Danny Phantom. The reveal of his ghostly side's full name had sparked a very interesting interaction.


"Danny Phantom? That sounds an awful lot like Danny Fenton." Clark commented, an eyebrow arched.

"I've noticed..." Was it a pun on his name? Yes. Did the teen do it on purpose because of said pun? Also yes.

"Well that explains your logo," Lois commented as she ruffled his now snowy-white hair. He had obliged a transformation after she had asked.

"Danny, that's not very good for concealing your identity. Anybody could guess it," The older hero scolded, folding his arms and giving him a reprimanding look.

Danny merely scoffed. "As if you're any better. The only thing keeping people from recognizing you is a pair of glasses."

After reverting back, Danny held up his hands, his fingers held into two circles over his eyes. "Don't mind me. I'm certainly not Superman! I'm just a dude that looks like him, but with glasses!" His hands then dropped down. "At least my appearance changes somewhat when I transform."

Lois was trying to hold back laughter, though a few chuckles escaped. "He does have a point."


"We're all set." Batman stepped away from the panel, the tube then glowing a golden color.

"Just step inside and you're good to go." Flash then ambled into the tube.

"Recognized: Flash zero four." A robotic voice droned out, with the Flash disappearing from existence, followed by Batman. "Recognized: Batman zero two."

Your turn." Danny glanced at the Kryptonian before stepping into the teleporter.

"Authorized: Phantom A zero eight." Danny barely blinked when his surroundings had changed, as he was now in some sort of tunnel. Flash and Batman were waiting at the opening.

"Welcome to the Watchtower," Flash indicated with a wave of his hand as the automated voice announced Superman's arrival. Standing a few steps back, J'onn J'onzz and Wonder Woman waited by a doorway.

Danny blinked the afterimages away before focusing on his surroundings. "Wow."

Wonder Woman then spoke up, indicating with her head down a hallway. "The rest of the League are already in the assembly hall."

"The Justice League was founded in February 2003 by us here plus Aquaman and the Green Lantern Hal Jordan after the Appellaxian invasion," Flash explained to the ghostly teen as the group walked down the hall. As Flash acted as tour guide, he did not notice the teen's attention being diverted to a window. "Our original base was in a cave in Mount Justice. But due to a security breach and the location compromised, we had to move-"

"WE'RE IN SPACE!?"

The adults, startled by the outburst, turned to Danny, who was floating to get a better look and had his face pressed against the window.

"I'M IN SPACE!" The teen was bouncing in the air with excitement. "I'm in space with real life aliens! If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up! CLARK! Why didn't you tell me your base was a space station?!"

The adults chuckled at the youth's enthusiasm. "Then that would have ruined the surprise."

"Imagine how he'll react to the hangar," Flash stage-whispered to Wonder Woman.

"A hangar?! Like where you would keep ships?!"

"Whoops, he heard me. Didn't mean that." Though judging by his tone, Flash had more than intended for the teen to hear him

"We have a meeting to attend to," Batman reminded the group.

They soon entered a spacious room with a large, 'U' shaped table. Several people were sat on the chairs, while some others were milling about. All conversation halted as everyone's attention drifted to Danny. Fortunately, the atmosphere did not feel hostile.

Danny stiffened at the attention. "Um, hi?"

"Well if it isn't our mystery helper!" Danny then noticed the green archer that was sat next to Canary. "Hello again."

"So this is the young man," a red android with yellow markings and a blue cape said, the head tilting as if Danny's presence was curious.

"Thank you all for coming today." Black Canary began, with those standing taking a seat. A chair was set out for Danny next to Superman. "As you have been briefed, an unknown individual has been appearing in various locations before being identified as Phantom," Danny gave a nervous wave when he was indicated. "A few leaguers had the privilege of speaking to him last night."

"Phantom is a young man from an alternate dimension to our own." Batman debriefed. "He was, at the time, dealing with a hostile that had managed to steal an artifact that could transport its users to any desired destination. A mishap had resulted in Phantom landing in Star City where Green Arrow and Black Canary were investigating a smuggling operation."

"Another dimension?" The man with wings and armor asked, looking at Danny in particular.

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking. "That I could tell. When I had looked up my home town or anything familiar, it never showed up. And I'm fairly certain that this isn't another timeline."

A man in a golden helmet briefly raised a hand to gain attention. "What was the nature of this artifact?"

Batman then turned to Danny, who took it as a que to retrieve the map. He pulled the Infi-map from where he had it tucked from his belt. "It's called the Infi-map. By what my ally told me, the one who guards the map, it can lead you to or open portals to anyplace or time. I-It got a bit… erm, stabbed?"

"Well ain't that bloody hell of luck you got there," a blond man in a trench coat commented, taking a drag on a cigarette. Danny heard Batman huff in annoyance.

"May we have a closer look?" A young woman with the attire of a magician asked, both her, the golden helmet guy and the blond man in a trench coat approaching when Danny nodded.

The three introduced themselves as Zatanna, who was holding the map, Doctor Fate and John Constantine, who was currently leaning forward and studying Danny.

"Ummm, can I help you?"

"Noth'n lad, just that you're reeking of supernatural energy. Can't say exactly what though." Constantine stepped back a bit. "A bit ghostly in fact, but not quite."

Well, considering Danny's powers, that made sense.

"I wonder… laever ot em tahw ygrene siht si." Zatanna muttered. The infi-map then faintly glowed a green color with the occasional tinge of purple. "… I don't recognize this type of magic."

"…" Doctor Fate then took the artifact, gingerly unrolling it and spreading it on the table. "It's certainly ancient. I don't have a definite answer at this time. I would need time to study."

"How long?" Batman inquired.

"A week should suffice."

"For what?" Danny asked.

"To see if we can put ol' Humpty Dumpty back together," Constantine indicated the map. "Usually relics like this one have failsafes and the like to prevent damage and to repair themselves. I might be able to find something back in my studies that hopefully won't be a whacking pain. It would take time."

…~~~oOo~~~…

"Just hanging out kid?"

Danny looked up to see Green Arrow leaning against the wall by the halfa. The discussion between the adult heroes had been going on for a while. Danny had started to drift off, so he had gotten up and had wandered the room a bit before plopping down by a window. He gave a shrug in response.

"Bored?" A nod. "Don't blame ya. These meetings can take ages, especially with Batman wanting to go over statistics and whatnot. What do you like to do for your free time?"

"Uhh, I like to hang out with my friends." Danny said uncertainty, the archer nodding. "I also like to go bowling, stargazing, video games, stuff like that."

"Typical stuff that a twelve year old would like?" Green Arrow remarked, smirking at the teen's indignant look.

"I'm almost fifteen," the teenager huffed.

Flash and Black Canary then walked up to Danny and GA.

"So what's the results?" The archer asked while the ghostly teen stood up and stretched.

"The League will be exploring different methods for inter-dimensional travel, but it will be some time before a sure way is found. We want to make sure that Phantom returns safely to the right dimension," Black Canary explained.

"But don't worry kiddo, we'll get you home," Flash patted the teen's shoulder. "In the meantime, you'll get some official papers drafted and one of us will be act as your legal guardian for the time being."

"Ooooh, I'm sensing a Bat-napping in the future." One of the Green Lanterns muttered, having overheard the conversation.

"Bat-napping? Is that like a catnap, but with bats?" Several snorts of surprised amusement were Danny's only answer. "What?"

"Ignore these idiots," Black Canary said, leading the teen to the display monitor.

"How likely is the Bat taking the kid?" Ollie muttered to the speedster.

Barry shrugged. "It could happen as he does fit in with the birds."

"What the bloody hell are you ninnies blabbing about?" Constantine ambled to the gossiping heroes.

"Phantom's secret ID. He actually has black hair and blue eyes!" Flash remarked.

Green Arrow's eyes widened under the mask. "Oooooooh! Nice knowing the kid." He then whistled to get the attention of the Green Lantern that spoke earlier, pointing in Danny's direction. "Hey Guy Gardner: 100 bucks says that Bats goes away with a new partner. Want to join in John?"

"No thank you," the occult detective huffed, "I ain't taking part of this nonsense."


…~~~oOo~~~…

And here I thought artist's block is bad, writer's block is worse! Hopefully the next chapters are smoother. Oh, speaking of art: I have a deviantart account where I'll be posting my doodles for this fic under the username 'Tiamatdragoness'.

I was going to add the antics of the Batboys and Danny at the Bat Burger, but I wasn't sure whether to have them go in civvies or as their hero personas.

Phantom: How are we going to pay for this? I don't exactly have pockets on this outfit.

Robin: We'll use the Bat Credit Card *pulls out the mentioned card*

Phantom:… I have no words

Eh, I'll let you guys imagine up what happened.

Coming up next: Danny Phantom joins Young Justice! And something else that I'm forgetting…

'Yes, it's all going nicely,' the man thought, reaching the doors and walking to his limo, musing over the new intel and smirking over the snatches of conversation he had overheard.

Lex Luthor. A cunning businessman, indeed, but zero experience when it came to dealings relating to a certain teenaged halfa. Apparently this Lobo character had failed to capture the youth. While neither bounty hunter nor businessman could tell how, Vlad recognized the symptoms of overshadowing based on the few details and could get a general idea of what happened.

'Good job Daniel. Well played indeed.' He thought as the car pulled away from the curb, fingering the flash drive tucked safely away in his pocket. 'Even in another dimension you want to play hero. Very well. Just know that the stakes, from this point on, are now much higher.'

Vlad's smirk grew. A new dimension. New possibilities. So many new means to obtain his desires.

Oh yeah, the Fruitloop…