Chapter Text
Chapter 1
“Bruce Wayne and his kids are coming here? To Amity?” Aurelia Matheson stared at her best friend of ten years, Danny Fenton, incredulously, “Why? And why do you know?”
“Frootloop invited them,” Danny said as he sat on the bench in her garden and watched her work. She was knuckle deep in an empty flowerbed, kneading fertilizer into the soil for the new seedlings next to her. She wanted to get them planted before it was supposed to rain that night. By the light tingling under her scars, she was willing to believe it, “Something about showing them Axiom labs.”
“For what purpose?” she asked, “Why would Bruce Wayne need Ghost Hunting equipment? Is he after something from Wayne Enterprises?” She turned to grab the rake she had set aside to till the soil again, only to see Danny holding it out to her. She smiled at him, grabbing the tool while trying not to cover him in dirt, “Tucker is going to be so pissed he missed this though.”
Summer was always a weird time for Danny and Lia. The Foleys had a big family vacation until the month before school started up again, and the Mansons called it the ‘social’ season and spent the summer hitting up galas all over the country to make connections. Usually it was the two of them and Jazz, but this summer Jazz was touring through college campuses every couple of weeks.
“No kidding,” Danny said as he sat back, “I’m trying to figure out a way to keep Vlad from pulling something over on Mr. Wayne, but I’m not sure what exactly he’s planning. On another note, he’s going to throw a party and he invited me and said I could bring a friend when my mom was worried I wouldn’t have fun. Wanna be my backup- I mean my plus one?”
She snorted as she sat back to inspect the flowerbed before reaching for her trowel to start planting, “Like I’d let anyone else watch your back in the lion’s den,” she said. It was hard to get worried when she was gardening, the action was so soothing, “But what should we do about Mr. Wayne and his family? I really don’t like that Vlad is bringing outsiders to Amity, especially one with known ties to the Justice League.”
“Long patrols, or maybe guard duty, at least at night?” Danny said with a shrug, “I can probably give them each a Specter Deflector if I convince my parents it’s a good way to show off their tech.”
Lia hummed as she settled the next seedling and buried it, her face thoughtful, “That’s an idea…” she said, “We could take shifts at the hotel, one guards while the other patrols? Though neither of us could go very far… Or I could set up and Ecto-air minefield every night and hope Vlad isn’t a complete idiot.”
“That’s a lot to ask of the Frootloop,” Danny said, kicking back to lay on the bench, “But it’s a plan, I guess. I’ll run patrols each night while you guard the hotel with your Ecto-air mines. If we’re discreet enough about it, and lucky enough, we can get through the week without incident.”
“You could just ask the ghosts to stay put for a week,” Lia pointed out as she leaned back to look over her work. She had about half the seedling planted and she nodded as she leaned forward again to dig the next hole, “They might even listen. And if not…”
“No, Lia,” he said, giving her a glare, “I’m not going to be that kind of Ghost King. They are people too, and I’m not going to be a monster.”
“I know, I know,” she said with a sigh, “It’s a nice idea though, almost a vacation. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the worst we’ll face is Boxy, or Cujo if he gets restless.”
Danny snorted as he turned his head to watch her work, “If? Of course we’ll face Boxy and Cujo, and I think we’re due for a Skulker hit too… and I’m a bit worried cause we haven’t seen Technus for awhile and Tucker’s not here.”
Lia frowned, “We could always immobilize him with ice?” she said, “Force him to abandon whatever he builds and then capture him? We’ve done it before.”
“Once,” Danny said, “And I don’t like those odds. We’ll just have to be really careful next week. Now, what are those flowers you’re planting? Or are they something edible this time?”
Lia laughed, reaching for the next seedling as she and Danny fell into much more relaxed conversation. She had missed days like this.
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“There is no way that was a coincidence,” Valkyrie grumbled as she sat, invisible on the rooftop next to the now on fire hotel, “No way in all the Infinite Realms. Vlad’s planning something.”
Because of course the day the Wayne’s were supposed to arrive in town the vulture ghost and Skulker attacked the city and just happened to attract the attention of the GIW. And the Fentons. And thanks to the ghost hunters complete disregard for the infrastructure and the lives of innocent bystanders the hotel was now very much on fire.
“We knew that already,” Phantom said from where he sat next her her, tossing the crowded thermos between his hands, “But now it seems Vlad wants them to be his guests. Which I really don’t like the idea of.”
“If you drop that I’m going to freeze your ass to this roof,” Valkyrie hissed and Phantom stopped, “And for the sake of my sanity please go invisible before you get spotted. There has to be an alternative.”
“If Sam were here, she and her parents could put them up,” Phantom said with a sigh as he went invisible, “But that’s a no go… and my house is too small to offer.”
“… how long do we have until they arrive?” Valkyrie asked as an idea occurred to her, “And how many are there?”
“Seven of them, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake-Wayne, Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas and Cassandra Cain,” Danny listed as he counted on his fingers, “And we’ve got a couple hours before their plane lands. Why?”
“Cause my house has six rooms,” Valkyrie said, “And if they’re willing to double up and I sleep in the living room, then I can pull guard duty from my own house,” she said, cringing, “If I can convince them that staying with me is better than staying with Vlad.”
Phantom knew she couldn’t possibly see the look he was giving her, he was invisible, but she had to feel it at this distance, “Are you actually serious? That is a terrible idea. How are you going to explain that you’re the only one living there?”
“I’ll tell them the truth,” she said, “That my parents are overseas right now. And I don’t see you giving any better ideas,” she stood, stepping firmly so he would know she was moving, “I’m heading home to change all the sheets and scrub down the house. Text me when they arrive.”
“This is a terrible idea!” Phantom shouted after his friend as she flew off toward her home. And he was right, it was a terrible idea. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem they had any good ideas to fall back on, so terrible ideas it would be.
She spent the two hours making sure the house was clean and making a grocery run so she would hopefully have enough to feed the Waynes for the night. She didn’t want to be too prepared or it might be suspicious. She left a bit of dust in places, let the trash stay full, little things that might say she hadn’t been expecting company.
With all that done she hurried to hide in the crowd gathered around the hotel as two very expensive looking rental cars pulled up in front of the building. She weaved through the crowd to find Danny at the front, holding way too many Specter Deflectors in his arms, and she plucked three off of him with a grin, “Made it,” she said, “Barely. How’d you get your parents to part with these?”
“Told them they owed it to the Waynes after destroying the hotel,” he said with a shrug, “They were kinda apologetic. A bit, anyway. But this is a really bad idea.”
“I know,” she said as doors opened and the family stepped out to survey the damage, “But it’s not like we have many options.”
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The invitation the Amity Park by Vlad Masters had been a surprise, even more so when the man insisted he bring all his children. Still, the Justice League had been intending to investigate the town after a number of disturbing rumors had trickled out of the corners of the dark web and a visit from John Constantine.
“I wouldn’t,” the brit had warned them, “It’s not called the Most Haunted Town in America for nothing.”
So of course, when invited to the very town Batman had been warned away from, Bruce Wayne accepted the offer with gratitude and excitement. Masters had even booked them rooms in the local hotel for their stay. Spoiler and Oracle would be staying in Gotham to watch over it with help from the Teen Titans and Young Justice League.
And it seemed Constantine hadn’t been wrong about the town being haunted. What little they had been able to dig up, information leaving the town was being blocked by something that corrupted it faster than they could find it, there were daily ghost attacks. Still, pulling up to the hotel to find smoke pouring from the windows was not a promising situation.
There was a crowd gathered around the building, and as the Batfam climbed out of their cars they could hear words like ‘Skulker’, ‘Vultures’ and ‘stupid hunters.’
“Thank heavens for Phantom and Valkyrie,” one woman was saying, “If not for them who knows how many people would have been hurt! Was anyone left inside?”
“No,” someone, a man, responded, “Valkyrie rescued everyone while Phantom secured the ghosts. Stupid Guys in White, they could have killed someone! And the Fentons too! They should just leave these things to the professionals!”
The Wayne family shared concerned glances as the people continued to talk around them, talking mostly about the mysterious pair of ‘Phantom and Valkyrie’ or the GIW and Fentons.’
“Um…” Bruce looked down at the two sheepish teens standing in front of him, holding some kind of… belts? He smiled down at them, and they gave him slightly shaky smiles back.
“Hello,” he greeted the two and they seemed to calm down, “It seems we missed the excitement.”
The girl, a slim redhead with green eyes and a spattering of freckles over her nose and cheekbones snorted, “Oh trust me, you’ll see your fair share of it while you’re here, Mr. Wayne,” she said, offering him a belt, “Here, you’ll need this.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow and she gave him a grin that told him this was going to be an interesting conversation.
“And what is this?” he asked as he took the belt, examining it. His children had all turned to watch the conversation, giving the belt the same odd look.
“It’s a Specter Deflector,” the boy spoke up, holding up another one, “It’ll keep any of the local ghosts from attacking or overshadowing you. Oh, well, overshadowing is the same as possession. Kinda. Phantom and Valkyrie are usually pretty good about keeping them under control, but there’s always room for mistakes.”
Bruce frowned, about to turn the belt down when a man called, “Take them! If you’re not used to it, the ghost attacks can come on pretty suddenly! The Fentons may be crazy, but their inventions work at least.”
The Waynes all shrugged, each coming forward to take a belt from the teens, not missing the sigh of relief as the girl showed the switch to turn them on and off. Bruce gave the girl his most charming smile, but she just gave him a polite one back and stepped away. He offered his hand, but she stepped back.
“Sorry,” she said, “But I’m a little ecto-contaminated and I’ve been shocked by those belts more than once. Aurelia Matheson. Call me Lia,” she introduced herself, “Looks like your trip to Amity is off to a rough start, Mr. Wayne.”
He shook his head, flipping the belt off and offering his hand again. She accepted this time, giving it a firm shake, “Just Bruce, please. And it does seem our accommodations have gone up in flames,” he looked up at the smoke, “Quite literally.”
The boy, a lanky teen with shaggy black hair and bright blue eyes, snorted, “Yeah,” he said, “That some luck. Danny Fenton. Nice to meet you all.”
Bruce looked at the boy curiously. There was something about Danny that caught his eye, something that felt oddly familiar, though he couldn’t quite place it.
“So what are we going to do about a place to stay, Bruce?” Dick asked as he switched off his belt to shake the teens’ hands, “I know you’d rather not stay with Masters, or at least I’d rather not. And you know he’ll offer.”
Bruce did know, and he wasn’t entirely sure the completely coincidental destruction of the hotel on the day they were supposed to arrive wasn’t planned somehow by Masters. It could be a fluke, but in his line of work very few things were.
“You could stay with me,” Bruce’s eyes snapped to Aurelia who smiled up at him, “My parents are overseas just now and it’s a big house. Someone will have to double up, but If I sleep in the living room there should be enough room.”
“We wouldn’t want to impose,” Bruce said, watching as the girl shook her head.
“It’s not an imposition if I’m offering,” she said, “Besides, I like having company. The house is a bit big for just one person. Normally my friends stay over, but two of them are out of town and Danny has to get ready for the party tomorrow night.”
“Don’t forget, you’re my plus one,” Danny said, “I wouldn’t be caught dead in the Frootloop’s house without at least one friend.”
The girl snorted, rolling her eyes at something in the statement. Likely some sort of inside joke. He glanced around at his kids, all of whom offered various shrugs and motions indicating they didn’t care either way.
“Well then-“ Before he could say anything, a voice cut him off as someone came walking down the street. Aurelia moves, smooth as can be to place herself beside Bruce and narrowed her eyes at the man as he approached. Danny fell in beside her, his own eyes cold as ice.
“Bruce Wayne! Welcome to Amity!” Vlad Masters said, shaking Bruce’s hand, “As you can see we had a bit of a… mishap this morning, all of the ghosts you understand. But rest assured I have rooms for you in my mansion.”
“Actually,” Bruce said, pulling back his hand to his side, activating the belt as he did so, “Miss Aurelia here has already offered her home for us to stay at,” he gestured as Aurelia gave him a look, “My mistake, Miss Lia,” he said and she gave an exasperated sigh, “And it would be rude to refuse after we’ve already accepted.”
He did not miss the smug smirk Lia gave Masters, who glared at her a moment before coughing into his fist, “I see. That was very generous of her. Well, if it gets a bit crowded, my home is always open to you.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Bruce said, “Now Mr. Masters-“
“Oh, we’re all friends here! Please, call me Vlad,” The man was practically dripping slime, which was normal for his meetings with Vlad Masters.
“Vlad then,” Bruce kept smiling, trying to keep up his persona, “If you don’t mind my family and I have had a long flight, and we’d like to get settled in. Miss Lia, might you show us to your home?”
Lia nodded, turning to give him directions when he simply walked around the car to open the passenger door for her. She blinked, then a light flush ran over her nose as she walked around, waving to Danny before climbing in, “See you tomorrow night, Danny!”
The boy waved back as the Waynes climbed into the rental cars. Lia gave them quick directions before sitting back in the seat, careful to keep her arms close to herself.
“So, have you lived in Amity long, Lia?” Tim asked from the backseat, and the girl turned to look at him as Bruce watched the road, “I’m Tim, by the way. Tim Drake-Wayne.
“All my life,” she said, “I was born in the local hospital.”
“Any must see places?” Cass signed and Tim opened his mouth to translate but Lia spoke, signing back at Cass a bit clumsily.
“There’s Amity Park, the park the town is named after,” she said, “And if you want to see something weird you should go by Danny’s house, Fenton Works. It’s… a sight. And you have to eat at Nasty Burger at least once. Don’t let the name fool you, they’ve got good food.”
“You sign?” Bruce asked, pleasantly surprised.
“Not well,” Lia said, still signing, probably worried Cass was deaf, “I’ve never had anyone to practice with. But I do know the basics.”
“Thank you,” Cass signed, “I’m mute, so you don’t have to sign. Cassandra Cain.”
Lia smiled, still signing, “How else am I supposed to practice? Maybe you can teach me a few things!”
Cass looked delighted at the idea, and Bruce smiled. Lia seemed to be a sweet girl. She chatted and signed with Cass and Tim until she glanced out the window and pointed, “There,” she said, “That’s my house. The green one.”
Bruce nodded, “Can we use the driveway?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Go ahead, like I said, my parents are overseas, not like anyone else is using it. Are you hungry? I can start dinner while everyone gets settled. Just let me know what kind of dietary restrictions you’ve all got and I can whip something up.”
Bruce smiled at her as he parked and she hopped out, climbing out after her and telling her about the various allergies and diets, “I know it’s a lot. Please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance of you need it.”
She shook her head as she unlocked the door and let them all in, “My room is at the top of the stairs on the left,” she pointed, “Cass can use it if she wants. All the other rooms are empty right now, so divvy up how you will. There are only six rooms total, so I’m afraid someone will have to double up. Sorry.”
“That’s no problem,” Bruce said, “Damian and I can always share, right Damian?”
“I have no objections, Father,” his youngest said, looking around the house searchingly.
“Then you two take the room at the end of that hall,” she said, “It’s the Master, so it’s the largest. I’ll go ahead and start dinner while you all get settled.”
“I am vegetarian,” Damian said, and she smiled.
“Not a problem,” she said, “My friend Sam is too, so I always have some vegetarian ingredients on hand. Give me an hour and I’ll have something ready. If you want something to do there’s a tv in the living room, and a garden out back. Feel free to take a look as long as you don’t damage any of the plants. I just planted new seedlings a few days ago.”
“Is the garden yours?” Dick asked, “Dick Grayson. And that’s Jason Todd,” he pointed to his brother who was heading upstairs, “If you need help cooking he’s the guy to ask.”
Jason raised a hand to wave and Lia laughed, turning to go to the kitchen, “Yes, the garden is mine. Any requests?” she asked, and Tim raised a hand.
“Coffee?” he asked, and Lia nodded.
“Anyone else thirsty? I have bottled water, juice, coffee, black tea, and green tea on hand.”
Tim moved forward, “I can handle the drinks,” he told her, “Since you’re doing all the cooking. There are a lot of us.”
“I can help,” the last member of the family, a tall boy black boy with a ready smile said, “Duke Thomas. Thanks for opening your home to us. I’d love to see your garden after dinner?”
Lia beamed, eyes bright and Bruce nearly laughed, “I’ll be happy to show you!”
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After a very filling dinner and a tour of the garden, which was very well kept for a teenager’s garden, the girl had admitted that she would need to go grocery shopping to keep feeding so many people. Jason had offered to go with her saying he wasn’t going to leave her to carry and load them all herself.
The rest of the Batfam convened in the living room of their accommodations, Bruce sitting in one of the armchairs, elbows on his knees, “Well, she is quite the character, isn’t she?”
“I mean,” Tim said, “A quick sweep of the house revealed no cameras anywhere… but it’s not like there’s anything else here either. If not for the garden and the fact the kitchen is regularly used, I’d say no one lives in this house.”
Dick nodded, his face thoughtful, “No photos of the parents, no trophies or art projects, no knick knacks or personal touches anywhere. The piano is clean and well used, the house is clean, and the garden is well cared for but the whole house feels… empty.”
“Her room has clear character,” Cass signed, “Pictures of her and her friends, scrapbooks, a locked computer. It’s clear that’s where she spends most of her time when she’s here if not the garden. There are a bunch of burned cds too, they just say ‘song #’.”
“Did she lie?” Duke asked, “About her parents? Are they really overseas? I mean… they aren’t…” he let the implication hang, and Tim shook his head.
“Oh, she wasn’t lying,” he said as he scrolled through what he was reading on his phone, “They are overseas.”
“Then why does the house feel so dead?” Dick asked.
“Because they’ve been traveling the world for the last six years according to their passports,” Tim said, “The last time it registered they had just landed in Africa.”
“Then whose been taking care of her?” Cass signed, “There’s no sign of anyone else in the house.”
“Herself,” Bruce said thoughtfully, “That’s my guess. She may have received help from other families here in Amity, but I’d put my money on her living alone.”
The kids looked at him, eyes wide. Tim’s mouth thinned as he looked at the records again, “Want me to see if Babs can look into her?”
Bruce nodded, “She seems to have some sort of problem with Masters as well. I have a feeling she made the offer to let us stay here more to keep us out of Masters’s house than anything else.”
“Not that I’m complaining,” Tim said, “Masters creeps me out. Do you think she gave us these belts cause Masters has some sort of way of using ghosts? If the ghosts are real, that is.”
“We’ll investigate,” Bruce said, “Starting tonight. Some of us will have to stay here to avoid alerting out hostess, but Amity isn’t so big a town that we need all of us running patrol.”
“Tt. And if we do run into ghosts?” Damian asked, taking a drink of the smoothie Lia had made him before she had left to go shopping,
“Then hopefully it will be this ‘Phantom’ or ‘Valkyrie’ the bystanders at the hotel were talking about,” Dick said, “They sound like heroes at least, and the people seem to have more faith in them than they do the local ghost hunters. By what we heard at the hotel, the ghost hunters started the fire.”
“There was also what she said when you tried to shake her hand,” Damian said, “What does she mean she’s ‘ecto-contaminated’? And enough that the belts shock her?”
Bruce nodded, looking at the belt she had cautioned that all of them keep active unless they were sleeping. She had said the belts had shocked her more than once. The way she avoided touching them so long as the belts were active (though how she always knew when they were off he wasn’t sure, but she always caught whoever turned theirs off almost as soon as she saw them) spoke of a number of unpleasant memories.
“Her friend wouldn’t touch us while they were on either,” Cass gestured, “The boy, Danny. Maybe he’s ‘ecto-contaminated’ too.”
Tim was still reading info on his phone, “Babs found something,” he said, “Medical records. And… adoption papers. Lia and Danny were hospitalized for two weeks when they were 14, just before they started their freshman year. An accident in the Fentons’ basement, severe electrical burns and hypothermia both. She looked into Danny a bit too, he’s adopted. She says she’ll look for more.”
Bruce nodded, frowning at the thought of what had happened to the two teens, “The Fentons were the ones the man mentioned, the ones who are ‘crazy but their inventions work’. Could the accident be the cause of the ecto-contamination?”
“She did recommend we visit Fenton Works,” Tim said, looking up, “And the party isn’t until tomorrow night. Should we take our hostess and do some exploring tomorrow?”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Dick said, “She seems like she needs friends anyway. And I’m curious about these ghost hunters. Now, who’s going on patrol tonight?”