Disclaimer: not mine

In a bit of a slump since trimester ended and got the book back from the last editor. Trying to get the book done so I can publish before the end of the year. Fingers crossed.

Chapter 7

Danny shook Kon-El's hand, happy that the Kryptonian was warming up to him. They might not be exactly the same but it was nice to know he wasn't fully alone. And…he was death touched too. Right…the article, so he'd died fighting Superboy Prime, how had he come back? But that was very rude to ask, it could even be a species thing, hadn't Superman died at least once too?

"So, how'd the bats take this?" Kon-El asked as he flopped onto the couch, Jason snickering.

"Take what?" Tim asked, eyes wide and innocent. "Bruce was so kind to my long-lost twin."

Danny bit his lip at the look on Kon-El's face as he stared at Tim.

"He bought that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well…there are hospital records to back us up. I'm the older," Tim answered, sounding proud at being the older brother. With his friend there, Tim seemed different, more relaxed and cheerful.

"Chaos gremlin," Kon-El teased, and Danny found himself laughing along.

,

Kon flopped down on his bed, mind spinning. A clone…they'd cloned Tim. He felt sick at the thought but at least Tim had been a kid and the creeps had never touched him. And Danny…he wasn't to blame, just like Kon hadn't asked to be made. Though Danny was an exact clone of Tim so different to him, and he'd only been artificially aged a few years, left to grow up as a normal kid with no clue. They might be identical in looks other than their haircuts but he could tell them apart in the way they acted and talked.

It was kind of fun, having a secret from everyone else since Tim was going to tell everyone that Danny was his twin and with his thorough work, no one would be believed if they said otherwise. Danny wouldn't face the prejudice that Kon had. Must be odd though, to have a civilian brother, though the way he moved suggested some level of martial arts training so at least he wouldn't be totally defenceless and Tim would likely help him train more to keep him safe.

The same people who had created Danny had already killed him once with their lax lab safety, so Tim would likely be very overprotective. And surely, he'd be dragging Danny up to the Watchtower at some point to let him see his dream since his health ruled out NASA now. Of course, that would mean letting others know about Tim's twin but as soon as they saw any family photos of the Fenton's that cat would quickly be out of the bag. But he would not be the one to spill the beans, no way.

,

Tim relaxed back on the couch, tucked into Jason's side, Danny curled in the bean bag chair nearby as they watched a movie. He felt guilty for not telling Kon everything, but Phantom wasn't his secret, it was Danny's. He would never reveal a fellow vigilantes identity without permission, Kon knew that so he'd understand. And he understood Danny's hesitancy in telling anyone, especially with the way his parents work had been used by the wannabe agency.

He was worried about how Danny would take their arrest when the time came, because he knew it would. He'd thoroughly studied the data that Danny had supplied and it had made him sick, even Jason had gone green and not just in rage. From what he'd learnt from Danny and the data, the Fenton's and so-called GIW weren't just committing crimes, but war crimes against an entire different dimension. One of Danny's scribbled reports even mentioned a Ghost King, which meant there had to be a government, they were very lucky all-out war hadn't been declared! How could you fight the dead and win when every death on their side would mean a possible new recruit for the ghosts?

He did wonder what had caused the Fenton's bias against ghosts…Maddie seemed the worst of the two. Had something happened to her or a family member maybe? There was nothing in her records but there wouldn't be, no one would report a ghost back then or even now outside of Amity Park.

He wanted to be in on the raids but he'd have to ask Danny if the sense of ecto contamination had faded with the healing of his scar. He wouldn't put anyone in danger by going if he'd trigger sensors or weapons. But he was kind of itching to see the portal…and maybe blow it sky high for what it had done to Danny.

He blinked as his phone rang, smiling at Bernard's name, ignoring Jason's teasing as he slipped upstairs to talk.

,

"So, you know his boyfriend?"

Jason looked over at Danny, seeing honest curiosity there. "We've met once," he admitted. "He's a good guy and he knows about Tim's double id which makes things a lot easier."

"Ugh, dating as a vigilante sucks," Danny shuddered.

"Got some stories huh? But how…unless you dated a ghost as Phantom?"

"Nope," Danny sighed. "Teenage girls apparently don't care if the guy they're crushing on has a pulse or not. There's a fan club!" he whined, and Jason laughed.

"So, the teenagers are okay with Phantom? It's just the adults who are the issue?" he asked, hoping that meant he had support.

"Some adults are okay, like my teacher Mr Lancer. He doesn't know or anything, but I crashed in his classroom once as Phantom and he helped patch me up. There's some old ladies who always make me cookies since I saved their gardens from a flamethrower attack by Skulker. But yeah, most of the high school are good and the elementary kids love Phantom. I caught one who fell out of the tree and now they always want to fly. And they love Cujo, he's a ghost dog who kind of claimed me."

"I can't imagine dealing with a whole city by myself," Jason admitted, the Alley kept him busy enough and he had his lieutenants to help handle the daytime activity.

"Well, technically there's Red Huntress too? She was backed by someone sketchy at first but she worked that out. So now I guess she's freelance? We team up sometimes…and sometimes she shoots at me," Danny shrugged. "She's not a fan of ghosts but she also doesn't like the GIW and at least her aim's better than Da…Jack's."

Yeah, the more he heard the less he liked that place. The JL better hurry up and invade the place.

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Clark's article was already gaining attention from the government, that was good. And then he got a notice from Tim which was a shock since the teen had barely spoken to him since he got back from searching for Bruce. Apparently, Clark may have to hang back when they went to Amity Park, not just because Ghosts could possess people but because he had died before. The informant had known immediately that Jason and Kon had been dead once. That was concerning.

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John stared at everything coming from the informant who had approached the bats. This…this was a disaster waiting to happen! How had their dimension not been wiped out yet in retaliation? Pariah Dark was not a nice or forgiving kind of King. Was it possible the crown had changed hands? Surely, they would have heard something if that happened. They had to move carefully, to show the Realms that this group did not speak for their people. He was not being responsible for the end of the world!

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Dick grimaced as he looked over another file. He was one of the few bats cleared for missions against the GIW since he'd never died, come close yes, but he'd never actually died. And he hadn't set off the detector that Tim had passed on from the informant. Anyone who registered on it couldn't go. It had ruled out Damian immediately and Bruce was borderline, so it wasn't just possible Pit exposure that caused ecto-contamination.

He was on the team going after the Dr Fenton's since the bats were best for investigation and since they were the ones who had opened the first portal and made most of the weapons… he brought up their information, frowning when he could see some stuff had been redacted…by Bruce? Was it to do with the informant? Just who was this person?

TBC…

Even shorter than the last bit, sorry.