Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time

Prologue

Sure, he fit the profile, black hair, blue eyes and a senseless need to save everybody. Damn hero complex. But standing in front of Bruce Wayne, of all people, and him offering Danny a place to call home. He must be dreaming. He shut his eyes tight, took a deep breath and reopened his eyes. Bruce Wayne was still standing in front of him; the only difference was now he had an eyebrow raised in question.

"Mr Wayne-" Danny started. He didn't actually know what he was going to say to the billionaire. You'd think after coming face to face with the Justice League and their powerhouses he would have more confidence.

"Please, call me Bruce." His black suit was ruffled after the day's events. He didn't seem to find a need to neaten them either since they were in Wayne Manor, his home.

"Bruce. I- er- I thank you for the offer, really, it's amazing you would offer to open you home to me, but I don't think-"

"I understand. The offer stands though; you are a bright young man; you'll always have a place here." Danny looked into Bruce's eyes. They held nothing but kindness and compassion, even after everything that had happened within the last six months.

Danny wasn't the same kid that he was six months prior. A few months ago, he was in Amity, attending Casper High, being bullied by Dash Baxter and the football jocks. He had Sam and Tucker as his best friends, his sister Jazz, the three of them where the only ones to know his secret identity as Phantom. And back then, his parents were still alive, they were crazy ghost hunters, terrible at cooking, but they were alive, and they loved him.

Now he lived in Happy Harbour, lived is a somewhat correct statement, he still had yet to find a home what wasn't an abandoned subway station or a derelict building, not to mention he had picked up more than a few bad coping habits. He still attended school, but under a different last name so that Vlad couldn't find him. However, the school still wasn't kind, the other students often whispered about him, most of the time it was about his rugged appearance that gave off less of a bad-boy vibe and more of a homeless one, which wasn't completely inaccurate.

Bruce, in every way, looked like he wanted to protest Danny's decision, he didn't want the teen in front of him to completely disappear. So, he made a last-minute decision instead.

"How about joining the team? Properly this time," Danny opened his mouth looking like he was about to protest, "you could stay at Mount Justice, M'gann and Connor already live there and even go to the same school as you. You'd be safe and be a part to the team."

The teen took a moment to think; he rubbed the back of his neck whilst his eyes were downcast, trying not to convey too much emotion to the world's greatest detective. The offer was tempting, the mountain had decent food, and he'd never have to wonder where his next meal was coming from. He liked the team, they had become somewhat of a family to him, he loved the all-night video game sessions with Robin and Kid Flash, he loved baking with M'gann and sparring with Artemis and Superboy, they challenged him and made him discover some of his newer talents outside of ghost fighting. Aqualad had even started teaching about Atlantis, their customs and culture, he couldn't hear enough of the stories he told Danny.

"Can I think about it?" He so desperately wanted to say yes there and then, but something was holding him back. He didn't know if it was his pride or sense of duty, but he couldn't say yes straight away.

"Of course, you know where to find the team and me." A soft smile graces Bruce's lips as he watches the teen in front of him. Danny would come around, Bruce knew he had to build up his trust after everything that had happened with Vlad, but he knew that Danny wanted to a part of the team.

"Thank you, Bruce," Danny replied with his own soft smile, thankful that the older man understood and didn't try to push him to make a decision.

That when Danny decided it was about time to take his leave, he bid Bruce, Alfred and Dick (who was listening in on their conversation the whole time, he and Bruce knew he was there) a small farewell as he exited the manor. Once outside, out of habit, he looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching him. After realising what he was doing, he sighed, he no longer needed to hide the fact that he was Phantom from the Wayne family. Instead, he looked up at the smoggy grey Gotham sky and yelled his not so subtle catchphrase.

"I'm going ghost." A blindingly blue ring circled his torso, the ring split into two and travelled up and down his body. The ring enabled his transformation into Phantom, his regular jeans and t-shirt were replaced by a black and silver jumpsuit with a DP logo on his chest. His hair drastically changed from coal black to stark white, and his eyes were no longer the innocent baby blue colour; instead, they were a toxic green that looked like pools of acid. Phantom flew off into the night, not stopping until he reached Happy Harbour, the city he now called home.

Maybe he would take Bruce's offer of joining theteam properly, sooner rather than later.