Chapter Text
After 20 years Danny finally retired, sure he had to leave Phantom behind for it, but it was worth it. He owned a small little house at the edge of Amity that was his own, he would water his plants every morning and make small talk with his neighbors whlie Ellie and Dan played with their kids. Everything was fine.
Everything turns not so fine, when there’s a sudden knock at the door. Neither Ellie or Dan were expecting anyone and Danny knew for a fact that Jazz wouldn't come over for another week. So, Danny turned off the stove, took the pan off, and placed the cooked eggs on Dan and Ellie's plates before putting the pan on the counter by the stove grabbing his cain with his left hand, the Lichtenberg scar covering almost all of Danny's left side giving of a slight glow as he walked to the door, luckly Danny's house had a connected kitchen and living room. Danny started wearing short-sleeved shirts more often because he had accepted his half-death and the Lichtenberg scar.
(What the scars kinda look like)
Puting the chain stoper in place hiding his left half behind the door before opening it.
Only to immediately regret it and want to close the door again.
Because that’s the Justice League standing in front of his door. And that can mean nothing good. The nerve to even show up here when it's obvious that Amity Park hates the Justice League, because a year before Danny retired as Phantom The Justice League had spent hunting and attacking him whenerver they saw him.
Before Danny can slam the door shut in their faces, Superman‘s shoe slides in between the door frame, blocking his escape. The smile the man shoots him is probably meant to be reassuring, but the only thing Danny feels is dread and something he can't quit place.
To most civilians the Justice League is seen as a beacon of hope — but to Danny and all of Amity Park? They knew the bitter truth. When Amity needed them the most they turned his back on them before chasing him across half the globe as Phantom, calling him a villain without even hearing his side of the story. They had tried to capturer him to handed him over the GIW for Ancient’s Sake. He would have died if it weren’t for Tucker and Sam or him being able to easily over power them. (He may not have scars but he can still feel his chest burn when he thinks back to it.) Not that they can remember that though or even cared too. He nor anyone in Amity trusts them anymore.
“You are Danny Fenton, correct?” Superman asks and Danny stiffens. Hearing Dan and Ellie curse from the kitchen.
Fenton, not Nightingale like he has changed his surname into. Danny doesn't hate his parents not really and after how they changed after him telling them he's Phantom, also helping him and team Phantom collect more evidence to destroy the GIW by sending the evidence to the JL. Now, they are trying to fix their mistakes.
“Yes,” he says warily, not seeing a point in lying. Considering Batman is lingering behind Superman the Detective would figure it out instantly without much trouble.
"And you're the expert on the vigilante Phantom of Amity Park?"
Danny grips the door frame, knuckles white. What’s their point? Are they trying to intimidate him, arresd him for that?
“Yes,” he grits out, trying to stay on the more friendly side of things.
“We were told that you are the one we should seek out in matters involving Ghosts and the Infinite Realms,” Superman continues, but Danny doesn’t let him finish because he was not going to do this, not after they had hunted his other self.
“I’m retired, I don't work with that stuff anymore... Not after the incident” Danny interrupts. “Find someone else.”
“There’s a world-ending event,” Superman says like that would convince Danny. Like Danny hadn’t lived though so many of them that he stopped counting, that he had to prevent them from happening without anyone’s help every single time. Now Superman was trying to Guilt-trip him? “If safety is what you're worried about we can protect you if you help us, but we need you as an advisor.”
Danny holdeds back a snorts, refraing fom shaking his head, hearing Ellie and Dan trying to stifle their giggles behind him.
“Go and take that matter up with the Justice League Dark then. Isn't that their job?”
Danny moves to close the door, but still Superman’s foot doesn’t budge. He could probably force his way through this but Danny was tired and dose not want to explain to the Justice League how he Managed shove the man off steel backwards.
So Danny glares at them, Superman looks at Danny with worry insted and takes a step back, but still not enough to be able to close the door.
Danny hasn’t transformed into Phantom much since he retired. He had kept that part of himself locked away most of the time, he visited space sometimes knowing that ignoring his Obsession would make him sick so he indulged then every now and then by useing an incriptet email that Tucker and Technus made sure couldn't be tracked so he could send tips to the heroes.
Faced with this situation he almost wanted for some odd reason to break his promise as a protector and hurt them for some reason but it was such a small desire he barly noticed it.
There is no more GIW. Danny made sure of that by sending all of Team Phantom's information to the Justice League. Surprisingly, ecto-entities fell under the Meta Protection Act, and the AEA violated everything the Meta Act stands for. So, the GIW and everyone acquainted with them got arrested. However, with the help of Tucker and Technus, Danny removed any trace of Phantom and the Fentons' involvement, and they had peace. Danny dismantled Vlad's portal to the Ghost Zone and moved the portal from his parents' basement to the secret lead-lined basement under his house, with strict security Danny, Tucker and Tech made, making it basically impossible to enter unless you were part of Team Phantom or a ghost. However, Danny knows the Justice League won't give up. They will try to talk to his friends and family to convince him to help them.
So he really doesn’t have a choice here, doesn’t he? If he doesn’t go out and help out of his free will.
They will force him with any means necessary, won't they? But Danny wasn't going to make it easy for them to get him to help, he was going to be the little shit his friends and famliy alwasy said he was.
"Mr. Fenton, please hear us out, at least." Superman asked, as if he was talking to a frightened animal.