Chapter Text
Flash was not expecting that when that little girl approached. Don't get him wrong, it was totally normal for the heroes to get flowers from civilians, especially children. He got small gifts of gratitude all the time. Phantom did too. It just never crossed his mind to give him something for his grave . Well, apparently it didn't cross anyone's mind except for a little girl, until now. Nobody acknowledged it really, but most people in the league forgot Phantom was an actual dead teenager that used to live somewhere and had a family once. He seemed so lively and happy all the time, it was just too hard to think he could be anything but that.
From what little he talked about his life, he was loved by his friends and family, even when they messed up sometimes. So why didn't he ever get anything from his grave? Why didn't he have a grave? What kind of loving family didn't have a funeral for their dead kid!? Even then, it doesn't take a genius to guess someone didn't have an exactly happy childhood if they cry like that when given a gift. A real gift, thoughtful and out of pure kindness.
“I don't have a grave, so I can't put it on it…”
Those words rang in Flash's mind as he stood where Phantom left him.
This is not something he can just let go, even if the ghost begged him to.
★☆✷☆★
The brown stick sizzled and the flame spreading dangerously down the match danced as Danny put it out. His eyes traced the embers creating ashy trails. The sweet scent swirled around the room, slowly filling it completely.
He still remembers when Sam gave them to him. It was his 14th birthday, just a few months before the accident. He thought they were weird and morbid, just like Sam was, but that was what he liked about her. They smell like her hair did too. He likes them. There's only two more in the box. Sam died so long ago.
She never really moved on, just passed by. He couldn't help but feel it was all his fault. Danny wanted to impress his friends, sure, but mostly he wanted to impress her . The ghost loving goth freak he didn't even know he had a crush on. The plan was simple: check the portal and show it to them later, but of course he messed that up.
The light from the lantern didn't feel warm, but it also didn't look cold. The soft green shadows dance on the walls around him. Only now, bathed in the darkness of his room, sitting on his knees before the bedside table, did Danny see the patterns the shaped glass cast when illuminated. Each flicker of light changed the wavy shapes. It was mesmerizing. The candle inside it was tall and thick, the sticker at the bottom showing a clock with a “45-50h” written next to it. He will need to buy a new candle soon. Everything lasted so short. On the other side of the bed stood the flowers in a simple, small, glass vase.
Now looking back at the situation, his reaction was so overdramatic and embarrassing, yet still the gifts filled him with joy. It was stupid, but he has never really got a gift. Obviously, he got presents every year, but not like this. A real gift . One that wasn't chosen based on the preference of the person giving them, but really thought out. That girl, Maya, went through the trouble of getting to know him, even if she was just observing from a distance, and carefully picking what he would like. Not the flowers on her dress, not the lantern blue like her shoes, but the flowers that meant something to him and deep dark green he likes more than his iconic neon green. And all of that to simply leave it quietly on his grave! If he did have one, she wouldn't have even talked to him. A selfless act of leaving a gift, of reminding someone they're still loved.
Danny missed being loved.
★☆✷☆★
Flash knew exactly with whom he should talk. The hero who knew the ghost like no one else. Superman.
Phantom lived in the Watchtower, but he liked visiting Metropolis, so you could often find him there. Maybe it was because he was an adult with the cheerful personality of a kid, full of energy and laughter, just like Clark.
The speedster didn't need to run long around the city before spotting the Kryptonian.
“Hey, Sups!” He called out to the floating hero on patrol. “Can we talk?”
“Flash. What's going on?” Superman asked, flying down to the ground.
“It's about Phantom… Actually, it's about Danny .”
★☆✷☆★
“Sorry I couldn't talk to you earlier.” Clark said as he walked through the hallway of Watchtower next to Wally.
“It's no biggie, I know what it's like.” Flash reassured his friend.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about? You mentioned it was about Danny.”
“Yes, I think someone should talk to him, but I'm not really that good at starting those conversations…” Superman raised an eyebrow at the vague explanation, but before Wally could go into details, a smooth voice called out from behind them.
“Flash?” Wonder Woman approached them casually.
“What's up, beautiful?” He asked playfully.
“Has anything happened to Phantom during your patrol?” She ignored the comment. “Ever since he came back from helping you he's been in his room. The lights are off, but he's not asleep. I'm starting to worry.”
Diana and Clark looked at the speedster, the former with eyes open wide, who sigh heavily in response.
“Yes, I guess you could say ‘something happened to him’ .” Flash began. “After we caught the criminals, a child approached us. She gave him flowers… for his grave . ” Now both the Amazonian and Kryptonian rounded their eyes in shock. They could slowly piece what was going on. “But then he said something. It… it was so unexpected that nobody around even knew what to do. He said he doesn't have a grave, because his family didn't know he died . And he never got flowers. They died without ever learning what happened. He was so happy about the gifts too…”
“So you think we should talk to him?” Clark guessed.
“Do we think it's wise to question him about his past?” Diana added.
“I think that either he'll talk to us about it in a safe place or the journalist will get to him first. It's only a matter of time before this blows up on the news.” Wally explained “We’re his friends, he needs us right now.”
★☆✷☆★
A knock came from the metal door, pulling Danny’s mind back to his surroundings. A numb sensation tingled through his knees as he tried to get up on his feet, before he levitated instead.
“Phantom?” Superman called out.
No voice responded, but a hiss of the door slide opening, revealing the forever young ghost, surrounded in a gray fog of flowery smell. White hair messily hung over his face and dim green eyes unfocused on the towering figure in front.
“Superman.” He said flatly as if exhausted, yet still professionally “What's happening?”
“Nothing’s wrong, don't worry.” Clark reassured their teammate who seemed to be ready to fight. He stepped away to show Wally behind him. “We just wanted to talk.”
“ Oh .” escaped Danny's mouth as he moved to the side, silently inviting them in, and took a few steps towards the middle of the room before taking off the ground and sitting cross-legged in the air. The lifeless eyes trailed in the direction of the unmasked speedster, eyeing him carefully before asking. “What do you want to talk about?”
“From the look of your eyes, I think we all know.” The redhead smirked sadly, earning a heavy sigh from the old ghost who now began looking more and more the age of his body.
“What do you want to know , then?” He stubbornly asked again
“Danny…” Flash slowly, painfully slowly for him, moved towards the boy, his eyes tracing the flickering objects on a little self-made altar. “Why do you not have a grave?… What happened to you?”
“I-” Phantom’s mouth open and closed indecisively tilting his head to the side averting his flickering green eyes from the two. “I… When… I wasn't always a ghost.” He eventually settled on an opening. This information seemed obvious to the heroes, but they didn't dare to interrupt. “Some ghosts are born from others, some are created in their dying moments, but I… Well, I was special , a freak, even for ghost standards.”
Although not visible, the pain from Clark's teeth sinking in his tongue kept him from frowning at those words like Wally did. They cut deeper than any knife, the two knew very well. Even still, what followed next was worse.
“My parents were scientists. Ecto-biologist. Ghost hunters . They built this portal in the basement. The portal. Gateway to the Ghost Zone, home dimension of ghosts. It didn't work, but I wanted to show it off to my friends anyway. This girl I liked, Sam, she dared me to go inside and I, like the stupid teenager I was, did it. And, well, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back .”
This time the two listeners couldn't hold the gasp that came from their mouths. Danny chuckled lightly and pulled on his black costume.
“This suit? It's literally just what I died in. If it wasn't for Sam I would be flying around with my Dad's face plastered on my chest right now.”
He shivered with disgust at the thought before continuing.
“The energy should have killed me, it did kill me, but ironically it also ‘gifted’ me with immortality at the same time. It changed me on a molecular level, rearranging my DNA, mixing it with ectoplasma. While I was passed out Tucker and Sam freaked out, but luckily I woke up before they could call anyone. I somehow managed to convince them to not tell anyone about what happened, because I didn't want to get in trouble with my parents…”
He paused there and shyly peeked at them, checking their reactions. There was sadness filling their eyes, but no judgment, no disappointment, no hatred, no pity . Just sadness and understanding.
“The same night I transformed from the first time. I still remember when I looked in a mirror and all I saw was this. At first, I thought I was a meta or something, surely I just got ghost-like powers, right? Then other ghosts called me a Halfa, half a ghost, half a human. Obviously it meant I was still alive, ghosts are just a different species, and if not then I guess the portal had to kill me only half way. Obviously. I couldn't tell anyone about this, especially ever since I began fighting as Phantom. I opened the portal and only I could effectively defeat all the ghosts that were coming through, so… I didn't have a choice. I had to fight, even though I didn't want to. But humans didn't care much about that. My parents cared about ‘ripping Phantom molecule by molecule’ more than they cared about their 14 years old son… Huh?”
Danny's hand wandered to his cheek, where a big tear fell on his fingers. The other hand joined it and wiped with its back the wet eye of the confused ghost. His shaking body sucked the ever surrounding green light normally associated with him. It was as if the sadness of those words dimmed the boy himself, surprising even him.
“I- I… I never… never told anyone about what happened, so while I fought daily with ghosts, everyone thought I was just depressed and lashing out. I was just so exhausted from constant fighting and hiding my identity from them, I didn't even notice when I drifted away from everyone.”
The shift in the position and voice of the immortal teen didn't go unnoticed. He no longer floated as high and his body seemed more sluggish, slumping down.
“I was wrong. When I thought I was balancing between life and death in reality I was slowly dying. The portal didn't save me, it only delayed the inevitable. At first it was subtle. It was harder to keep my eyes from flashing when I was nervous or angry, then came the emotional outbursts, but I truly noticed only when the rocks, sand and metal in my shoes cut and infested my feet in the school halfway, because I no longer could stay on the ground. I didn't get sick though, never went to a doctor, never visited the hospital. Never needed it. Nobody ever cared for me while I laid sick and dying in a white bed. Nobody ever left me flowers with a note saying ‘Get well soon! <3’ like they couldn't comprehend what ‘terminal’ means.”
A laugh came out from him as he landed on the mattress of his bed. His eyes wandered over the faces of his friends flickering with green again only to point down, sucking the light around into them.
“I was becoming a ghost and nobody noticed. I knew that what I did wasn't right, but I didn't want them to be sad. I was too afraid. ‘ What if they find out? What if anyone notices?’ So I left a note. I ran. The police didn't take the case seriously at first. They said I was just the runaway type, that I would be back in no time. Then they said the note I left was telling enough and that it was too late. Eventually I died in the forest my dad used to take me camping. Nobody ever found me. I made sure of that. My family, Tucker and Sam never gave up. It was selfish, I know, but I- I didn't want them… to forget me. Move on. I wanted to linger in their minds, to have proof of my existence.”
Tears falling down from the white haired head hung low hit rhythmically the clenched hands of the boy. Silence gave permission to move and two red arms wrapped around Danny, stopping the rainy melody. Soon enough it started again as another pair of arms alongside a cape hugged the boy softly.
“…I'm a horrible person.” came a weak whisper, shook with the unbearable feelings of the teen.
“You were only a child. You did what every child would.” The white hair felt like puffy feathers as Clark’s fingers drew waves through it. “Made sure you wouldn't be abandoned.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Danny.” Wally added and considered what more to say. He could begin reassuring the boy that he did nothing wrong like everyone always do… but was that really true? Did anyone ever felt better from hearing those comforting lies? Eventually, which wasn’t that long for Flash, he found his answer. “There wasn’t a right thing to do, just hard decisions no child should have to make.”
The two friends hold the trembling teen for at least an hour, letting him cry all the memories he refused to let go and hold in like rotting flowers standing in a vase full of years old water finally breaking free from their glass prison. It took time for Danny to calm down, but once he did, as saw the compassionate faces of the two men he knew didn’t have to feel weak ever again. He was loved, always had been.
The vase was shattered, rotten water ran away, now the roots could be finally planted in the soil for the flowers to bloom.