4/6/23 AN: This would not have happened without the suggestion of fadumo2468, so big thank you to them!
This turned out a lot longer than I expected. It was supposed to be short and sweet, but then Tim and Danny decided to be chaos gremlins.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Batman
. . .
"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You are! You're a good boy! Yes you are! You got me to class all safe! Good job, good boy!"
That's right, Cujo was a good boy! He accepted Jazz's praise and pets, his tail wagging like crazy.
He had gone with Danny when he went to visit Jazz in this new strange city. Danny was still sleeping this morning when Jazz had to leave so Cujo accompanied her to keep her safe.
"Okay Cujo, I'm going to be in class for three hours. I'll be safe here, okay? You can go have fun."
Cujo stared at her. She held up her special whistle.
"I'll whistle if I need anything, okay? Three hours."
Cujo looked at the whistle, then the three fingers Jazz held up. He jumped up to give her puppy kisses before trotting away, assured that Jazz would be okay. He wandered around the city before finding a park. Happy to be around nature Cujo chased a few squirrels to death. Once he finally tired himself out and couldn't find any more squirrels, he looked for a nice place to nap. He found a little clearing with a boy in it. There were small wood structures around and the boy was putting them up on wooden posts.
Cujo watched the boy work. He was concentrating on his task with the same amount of dedicated focus that Danny could get. Cujo decided he liked this boy. He was going to watch over him until it was time to leave. He went up to him in his puppy form to paw at him for pets.
The boy looked down, surprised. "Hello there. Where did you come from?"
He knelt to give pets and Cujo took the opportunity for kisses. The boy scratched behind his ears and Cujo was in heaven. Too soon the pets were over, and the boy was looking at his collar.
"Cujo?"
Cujo barked happily at his name.
"Hm. Did you wander off? That is irresponsible of your owners. Well, if you wait with me while I finish instilling these bird houses and feeders I will see if I can find your owners. And maybe find out why you are green."
Cujo considered him for a moment, before deciding to rest a little bit. He went over and curled up on the boy's discarded hoodie, content to watch him work. Cujo knew the weird smelling man was approaching long before the boy did. He didn't like the smell, but that didn't necessarily mean the man was bad. He would take a 'wait and see' approach.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
The boy stiffened and turned around to face the purple man. His body language was stiff and unhappy. Cujo came to attention, ready to intervene if necessary.
"I'm installing bird houses and feeders, you imbecile," the boy sneered. "That should be obvious to even someone of your questionable sanity."
"Hey now, that's not very nice. No need to be rude," the man said, getting closer to the boy. The boy held his ground, glaring. "Here I was, going to invite you to a little surprised. I'm sure a Wayne like you will attract Batman's attention very quickly. Let's go."
The man grabbed the boy, yanking him away.
Absolutely not! No one under his protection was getting hurt. Cujo changed into his large attack form then charged the man. He bit the arm holding the boy clean off. The boy stumbled back at the sudden lack of force, giving Cujo more room to attack without worrying about the boy. He tore the man into little pieces, so he could never harm the boy again. Once he was satisfied, he turned intangible to get all the blood off of him and changed back into his smaller form. He turned and happily trotted to the boy to make sure he was okay and to give him kisses.
The boy was staring at the pieces, looking pale. He absently petted Cujo, though he seemed upset. Hm. Maybe he was hurt? Danny would know how to fix his. Cujo picked up the boy by getting a mouthful of the back of his shirt and flew to Danny. He would know what to do.
He landed on top of Jazz's building and sent out a ghost call for Danny. He would come, and make sure the boy was okay, and then Cujo would get even more pets. Cujo had been a very good boy, keeping Jazz and the boy safe. Maybe he'd even get some stake for dinner, and lots of pets.
What a good day!
. . .
Damian had been saved, then possibly kidnapped, by a size changing green dog that tore the Joker into little pieces. He wasn't sure how he was currently feeling. It was sudden and the violence was on a level he had not experienced in a while. On top of that, it was extremely jarring to be abruptly picked up and flown with very little support. His flying trips with Jon kept him from flailing and possibly being dropped, but it was a near thing. Cujo flew almost as fast as Jon. Shortly after the flight started Damian was being set down on an apartment roof. He barely had time to assess his surroundings when a white-haired head popped up from the roof top.
"Cujo, what- that is an entire child."
"I am not a child!" Damian said automatically before his brain could catch up with him. "Who are you? Why am I here? Is Cujo your dog? It is very irresponsible of you to let him wander around by himself. He could get hurt."
The young man jerked back at Damian's questions, and rose up further, so his shoulders were visible. "Um, okay, yeah, I can see how you think that might be irresponsible, but Cujo is a good boy and can take care of himself."
"Tt. I have seen that for myself."
"… okay. Well, um, I know this might sound creepy, but, um, why don't you come down to my apartment, and I'll explain? The roof top probably isn't the best place for this discussion."
Damian considered. He seriously doubted Cujo would let anything happen to him, not if the way the puppy took care of the Joker was any indication. "Very well."
The young man let out a sign of relief.
"Okay, Cujo, let's go ba-"
Damian didn't hear the rest of the sentence. Cujo picked him up and phased him through the roof top and several different apartments before stopping. He had better get some good explanations!
. . .
Damian sat on the couch, Cujo curled in his lap. Danny had been kind enough to make him tea, which he sipped. This was a lot of information to take in. Cujo was a ghost dog. A very protective ghost dog who killed Joker to save Damian. It made Damian feel warm inside. He knew Todd would be ecstatic when he learned of the news.
All of Gotham will celebrate when the news gets out. Cujo left big enough pieces that the body could be identified. It might actually bring the city to a standstill in a way no rouge attack ever had. In a good way, of course.
Turning his thoughts from that subject, Damian looked up at Danny. A half ghost. "This is a lot of delicate information you've just told me. Someone you've just met."
Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well. Cujo already kinda let the cat outta the bag, and he trusts you. I'm a pretty good judge of character myself, and-"
The window exploded with two figures coming through, interrupting Danny. Red Hood held up two guns and Red Robin had his bow staff at the ready. They paused, surprised at the scene before them, and not being immediately attacked. Damian was sitting on a couch, a green puppy on his lap, mug of tea in his hand. An unknown black haired, blue eyed young man sat on a stuffed chair, looking confused.
"Well, this is awkward," Red Robin commented. He straightened and changed his hold on his bow staff to a casual one.
"More like destructive," Danny corrected, motioning to the busted window. "My sister is going to kill me."
"Tt. They are both impulsive idiots. Rest assured, they will make sure the window is fixed," Damian said. He took a sip of his tea and glared at his brothers.
"What the hell, brat?" Red Hood asked, completely weirded out. He couldn't stop staring at the other person in the room. Something in him registered the harmless looking young man as a huge threat. It was hard to reconcile what his eyes and his sixth sense were telling him.
Damian glared at him. "There was no needed for all the dramatics. You will fix the window."
"Okay, hold on," Red Robin objected. "You basically teleported from Robinson Park, and there was a mangled body where you were. It absolutely seemed like something sinister was happening."
"Can I help you?" Danny blurted out.
Jason took his helmet off. "What are you?"
"Todd has died and come back to life, that's probably what you're sensing," Damian told Danny.
"Damian!" Red Robin yelled.
Jason felt like he was almost in a trance, all he could focus on was Danny. He didn't react when Danny moved closer to him.
"I just need to- will you let me- here," Danny stammered out. He moved closer to Jason, then put his hand into Jason's chest.
Jason froze, staring at the hand going into him. Danny was still, focused on whatever he was doing to Jason. Red Robin went on the offensive. He took his bow staff and swung at Danny. It went right through him. He swung again, with the same result. Cujo started to growl, and Damian started to yell. Danny moved his hand, and Jason grunted. Red Robin took out a Batarang, and Damian jumped on Red Robin to stop him from attack Danny. Cujo bounced around their feet, barking.
"What is going on here!"
All five males froze and turned to look at Jazz. She stood in her apartment door ward, arms crossed and frowning.
. . .
It took effort and intimidation on Jazz's part, but finally everyone was calm and things were mostly explained. Secrets were told, conditions explained, lunch was prepared by Jason and eaten by everyone, the Fenton siblings secretly decided they were going to steal Jason, and stories were swapped. Danny explained that he wasn't hurting Jason, he was fixing the rancid ectoplasm that was inside him. Jason confirmed that he did feel better.
The five humans and one ghost dog settled back into Jazz's living room. Their conversation was easy. Jazz and Danny where happy to meet other vigilantes their age. Damian, Jason, and Tim found the Fentons fascinating and fell in love with Cujo, even if Jason and Tim wouldn't admit it.
"Its probably rancid because of the Pits," Tim said.
"Tt. Grandfather wouldn't let anyone else use them, I doubt that they could be rancid," Damian said.
"I don't think that's as reassuring as you seem to think," Tim stated.
"What are the Pits?" Danny asked.
Jason scowled and refused to answer.
"The Lazarus Pits, green waters that bring people back to life," Tim replied.
"Ha!" Danny yelled, pointing a finger at Jazz. "I told you there was something weird going on! Those kind of things shouldn't exist here."
Jazz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, I should've listened to you."
Danny turned back to Tim. "Do you know where they are?"
Tim pulled out his phone. "These are the locations of Ra's bases that are left standing after I blew a few up."
"Hm. I can make a portal to them," Danny rubbed his chin. "Can you come with me to help blow up these pits?"
"Sure," Tim perked up. "I hate leaving a job unfinished, so I've been meaning to blow up the rest of Ra's crap."
The other siblings objected.
"Drake, what do you think-"
"Danny, no!"
"Go for it!"
Well, Jason was supportive.
"Danny, yes!" Danny yelled. He opened a portal right there in Jazz's living room. He grabbed onto Tim.
"We'll be back in fifteen minutes, twenty tops!"
"Fifteen minutes!" Damian sputtered.
"Invisibility and intangibility!" Tim yelled as he went through the portal. It closed, leaving the other three looking at each other.
Jazz rubbed her forehead. "Stupid little brothers."
"I second that." Those, in this specific instance, Jason did not think Tim was being stupid.
Damian stared at where the portal was. "What did Danny mean, he knew something was wrong?"
Jazz took a deep breath. "Danny can explain it better, but, he's become aware of a… disruption. He's been looking for it, wanting to fix it. Its bringing people back to life… that's not natural. And its harmful for the people who go through it." Jazz paused, seeming to gather her thoughts.
Jason did not want this conversation to continue. The Pits needed to be destroyed, but he didn't want Damian too upset, either. Time for a distraction! Plus, he really was curious. "Hey, Damian, who was murdered?"
"When?"
"Before you came here? There were pieces of a body where you had been setting up the bird houses."
"Oh." Damian paused, wondering how to break the news. Well, nothing like straight forwardness. "It was the Joker."
Jason made a choking sound.
"Did Cujo do it?" Jazz asked.
"Yes," Damian confirmed. "Joker grabbed me, then Cujo changed sized and took him apart. Then he brought me to Danny."
Jason looked at Cujo, sleeping innocently on Damian's lap. He slowly stood up, walked over to Damian, and knelt down. He picked Cujo up, cuddling him close. In a move that would make Dick proud, Damian did not demand that Jason give Cujo back. He let the older brother cuddle and whisper praises to the dog who killed his killer. He turned to Jazz and asked for stories about Cujo, and if there were any other ghosts pets. Jazz was obviously confused by Jason's reaction, but she started a story about the time Cujo tried to sleep in one of Boxy's boxes.
Towards the end of a story about Cujo playing keep-away with Tucker's beanie a new portal appeared. Danny and Tim stepped through, slightly singed and covered in soot.
"Eighteen minutes and forty-seven seconds! What a blast, we- why is Jason on the floor?" Tim asked.
"Cujo killed Joker," Jazz answered.
Danny looked blank. "Who?"
It took Tim a second to process. "Oh, man, your ghost dog ripped the Joker to pieces. We have got to introduce you to Dick, Cass, and Duke."
"Is that a good idea?" Danny looked slightly panicked.
Tim smirked. "We only torture the folks we don't like. You're probably gonna be okay."
"Drake!"
"Oh, great," Jazz groaned.
Danny lit up. "Oh, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
"Oh?" Tim raised an eyebrow. "Mass destruction of property isn't the start of a beautiful friendship?"
"Naw." Danny grinned. "I've destroyed a lot of stuff with people I don't want to be friends with. But people with good taste in music? That's a great start."
. . .
It was indeed the start to a beautiful friendship. Dick, Cass, and Duke hit it off with Danny, Jazz and Cujo. Cass even taught Danny a dance to go with Amish Paradise.
Batman never did figure out what happened to Joker. At first he investigated Killer Croc, but he had a solid alibi. When no other villains arrived to take Joker's place as a rogue Bruce eventually let it go. He never did connect the murder with his kid's new friends and their cute little green dog.
. . .
AN: The song Tim references is Party in the CIA ( www .youtube watch?v=C-CG5w4YwOI) by the absolutely amazing "Weird Al" Yankovic ( www .youtube watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ). Amish Paradise ( www .youtube watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg) is also by "Weird Al" (remove spaces for links to work). Both are great songs. I really wanted Jason to reference the lyrics, but I couldn't make it work. Tim can make it work though, because I think he might be the Bat with the highest body count, and can sometimes be totally off his rocker. I love him dearly 3
