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The first time Bart questioned how fickle time could be—
No, actually, this probably hadn't been the first time he questioned something as huge as that. It wasn't like he experienced it the same way everyone did, with slow and torturous vibes. Not everyone got to shorten time by cutting the distance between two, three, or fifty points in the blink of an eye.
And not everyone got a chance to see their future. Even just a glimpse, a blip of a horrible outcome after probably too many bad decisions leading to an apocalyptic landscape.
So, it was hard to explain how time could not-actually-literally freeze when the future somehow came back to bite someone's ass.
The big moment didn't come with ominous music. It came without much ceremony after Red Robin walked into the training room, pulling everyone's attention to a new guy standing awkwardly beside him.
"I'd like you all to meet Phantom," Tim announced the day time froze for Bart.
It didn't register much at first. Just a nagging feeling that something was fundamentally wrong.
Black, white, and a whole insignia emblazoned on his chest. A familiar one, just like the name.
Then the memories rushed back. Fragments of horror scenes that gave him nightmares slowly faded to give his mind space for a new hope for the future. One Bart had so desperately tried to change that it no longer felt like a possibility.
Until today.
But it couldn't be. Right? The timing was all wrong, and the way Phantom looked was nothing like—
"Oof!" Bart huffed out as Cassie dropped him from the headlock she held him in during their last hand-to-hand combat, making the speedster plop on the mat in his distraction.
Bart was glued to the floor without moving, staring as Cassie walked toward the newbie. He also caught sight of Kon, who had been working by the sidelines on maneuvering objects in the air, dropping them with more care before taking in the warm greeting.
"Wait-wait-wait…" Bart quickly blurted out from his place on the mat, too struck on the spot to even think about moving. "Did you say…Phantom?"
If he moved, he was sure he'd tail it to get the hell out of this timeline in record time.
Phantom tilted his head quizzically at Bart, giving off a hesitant vibe. "Uh, yeah?"
Tim seemed to catch on that something was off with Bart and broke the tension, taking a step closer to the mat. "He's going to be training with us for a little while. B wants to see if he'd be able to join the team someday."
Oh, no. No no no no no…
Wasn't that how it started last time? The guy joined the team, then he lost someone important, then he left, but came back, and then there was fire on his head and mad cackles and—
"Hey, you alright?" Kon asked in a lower tone next to him, as he offered a hand to help Bart up.
Bart stared at the hand for a few seconds longer than he normally would, taking it mostly out of reflex while nodding numbly. "It's just like seeing a ghost," he whispered, disconcerted.
The whisper was not soft enough, considering Phantom heard enough and chuckled. "Well… yeah. I guess the name was a dead giveaway."
That made Cassie groan and throw a friendly punch on his shoulder. "That was terrible. I'm Cassie, by the way."
"Kon," Bart heard his teammate say, realizing he was already standing with the rest of the team.
When they finished shaking hands, Bart was still frozen in place, all expectant eyes on him. He belatedly realized he hadn't walked close enough to offer his name or hand to the new guy. "Oh, uh, call me…Impulse," he awkwardly waved without offering a limb to tear apart.
Phantom didn't take any offense and smiled, waving back. "Nice to meet y'all."
Bart's mind raced at the small expression. So mundane and polite. He sounded like a nice guy, but everyone knew looks could be deceiving. And what a deception it was…
The smile twisted in Bart's memory into a feral grin, fangs menacing between manic laughter. Images of buildings turned into dust, surrounded by the sounds of screams and painful pleas that were too late to be saved, with heroes who were never prepared to sustain the barrage of attacks from such a relentless force of nature.
A future Bart managed to survive and escape with some fuzzy memories about things to avoid.
But at the same time, the easygoing way Phantom was interacting with everyone didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.
His friends had continued asking Phantom all sorts of things to break the ice. Where are you from—Amity Park. What can you do—Ghost powers. Have you worked with other heroes—Just my friends and a ghost hunter with a grudge.
All the information got quickly filed away in Bart's head, comparing notes with what little he recalled—which wasn't much to be entirely honest.
But then one question changed it all: Who would you say has been your ultimate enemy?
Phantom's mask cracked. A haunted look, too appropriate for a ghost. "Uh, maybe we can unlock that tragic backstory some other time?" The nervous chuckle that followed broke an unspoken spell that fell over the group as they shifted to more lighthearted topics.
But Bart's thoughts reeled with the display. The nagging feeling got stronger as he tried to process what the hell that could mean and if that could lead to the horrible, terrible, no good future Phantom antagonized.w
He wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.
One thing was certain: whatever triggered Phantom to turn against all humanity, the team was better off not getting too attached.
The rest of the week was no better. The introduction of a new teammate, temporary or not, gave the whole team enough distraction to forget about regular training entirely, shifting instead to more casual displays of powers and complicated tag games. While Phantom went from shy new guy not wanting to brag to nonchalant powerhouse bordering on too cocky, something about the whole situation made Bart want to rip his hair out.
His powers seemed too erratic, kinda like someone who was still discovering how to wield fire without burning himself. And it made sense for Batman to want someone like that trained by a team of heroes closer to this guy's age, but there were layers of distrust that were already deeply ingrained in the way he moved or in the heavy look he threw their way during rougher questions before donning his playful mask.
Masks were a part of the hero game, sure, but some ran so deep it was hard to tell where they ended.
Bart honestly wanted to give the newbie the benefit of the doubt. He really did. But there was just something about seeing his entire timeline collapse because of that teammate that didn't sit well with him.
It was the end of a playful spar one Thursday, with Bart's mind in such a jumble of contradictions he almost missed the moment Red Robin excused himself and left the room. Bart wasted no time catching up with him, making sure they were well out of earshot.
"Red-Red-Red—"
Tim suddenly turned, and Bart nearly bumped into him. "You were off today again."
Oh, if only Tim knew the half of it…
Bart had wanted to tell his friends from the start. About the future, about the danger Phantom posed, but a part of him wanted to confirm he was right to be paranoid before he launched into what could sound like a crazy conspiracy theory. Far too many times, he had mixed fake memories with real ones, and things happening in different timelines and dimensions.
But the nagging feeling had never disappeared and kept his nerves on edge.
Bart rubbed his face with both hands and tried to dispel all the tension to make sense. "Ugh, okay… listen. You can't trust Phantom."
Red Robin raised an eyebrow—Bart would one day figure out how he could make his mask be that expressive. "You already knew him."
Bart's face scrunched up, and he made a so-so motion with his hands. "More like kind of knew him? Met the guy, sort of. I think. Spotty memory, you know how that is, and—yeah…future nightmare. End of the world kinda thing."
Red Robin seemed to consider this for a moment but kept a more guarded expression. Bart never liked that. Too similar to Batman for his liking, keeping secrets even from his friends, trained by what felt like a long lineage of Bats to have the best poker face. It meant this was not going to be openly discussed anytime soon. "He's fine. The Justice League cleared him. Futures can change."
Then he turned around to keep on walking down the hall.
Oh, that wouldn't do.
"I'm serious," Bart insisted as he tried to get his friend's attention again, walking side by side. "Please, don't just brush it off, Red. The guy is a ticking time bomb."
Red Robin stopped again in the middle of the hallway and gave Bart his whole attention. Or probably, like, 40% of his attention, because he had to be running on different overlapping layers of thought to be that damn efficient.
"Serious question," Tim replied in his serious Bat voice. "Do you think I'm a ticking time bomb?"
Bart was taken aback. "Whoa, whoa, that's crazy, what?" Red's face didn't change as Bart waved frantic hands in front of him. "I mean, okay, yeah, maybe, because you're calculating and super strategic and crazy smart—" Red's poker face slipped just enough to allow him to scoff. Bart backpedaled at full speed. "—but that means you're great at making all kinds of contingencies and planning for your plans to make that not happen. Like, at all, ever." He looked around them just to make sure the walls didn't suddenly show a white-haired dude phasing through them. "But, that guy? Mr. All Jokes and Charm? He was vicious. I don't trust the good guy act when I've seen the kind of hell he can let loose."
Red Robin tilted his head, and Bart braced himself for whatever logical loops he'd go through that the speedster wasn't seeing. "Hey, trust me, I get it. I'm not… being dismissive of that. But we don't know the factors that led to that future. What if they never happened in this timeline?"
Bart scoffed. "Sure, I don't know the whole story, but have you seen how he packs his cosmic punches? He doesn't have to do much to avoid Kon or me. Just a tiny bit of phase-shifting and bam! No way to land a punch on the guy."
"He's been running away from ecto-weapons," Red deadpanned. "You really think some powerless humans will have more leverage against Phantom than Kon or you?"
"Well, maybe there's a reason why normal-type Pokemon are immune to ghost Pokémon," Bart grumbled.
Red put both hands on Bart's shoulders. "Please, just…play nice. He's a great asset to our team."
Bart raised an eyebrow. "An asset. Wow. Do you even trust this guy?"
Several complicated emotions crossed Red's face, so fast that not even Bart could catch up with them all. There was more that he wasn't telling the team. Maybe he did know Phantom more than he let on.
"I trust he wouldn't want that future to happen," Red said softly. "There are so many alternate versions of people's decisions, and maybe sometimes we just need to give someone a chance. Even if we keep contingencies, just in case."
Bart didn't want to admit it, but he was probably right. It would've been unfair to judge Superman for what he did in that other overlord timeline. Or Raven for that one time she ended the world…
"Fiiiiiiineeee," Bart groaned.
Even if it wasn't really fine. Even if something still continued to nag at him.
He wondered if, at least, Tim would keep an eye on Phantom now. If the dismissive answer was just his way to keep Bart from panicking.
Either way, he knew that in a practical sense, there wasn't much they could do beyond keeping an eye on him.
It wasn't like they could just keep the ghost locked up in a thermos or whatever.
In the following days, Bart suppressed his need to call Phantom out for being the creature who destroyed the world in the future. It helped that not much had happened besides some more structured training and minor crises that didn't require a full display of power.
Sometimes, not being constantly reminded that ghosts didn't just float and wander aimlessly through walls helped to preserve some of his peace of mind.
Sure, Bart also put in all the effort he could muster. He tried disconnecting the image of what he saw in the future with the guy who was trying to make puns at every chance he had, like his powers depended on well-crafted banter.
Phantom, the ghost, was powerful and scary.
Danny, the teammate, was…easier to hang out with.
Especially on quiet days.
Bart adored those moments, where everyone got to wind down for once and do things that had nothing to do with saving the world. At first, Phantom's addition to the group only meant the vibes were off. Which, fine, Bart later realized he was being totally unfair, and anyone joining their crew was likely to experience that same initial awkwardness. But over the days, the interaction got more comfortable.
"So, what do you like to do in your free time, Danny?" Cassie asked as she took a bite of her pizza, on one of the rare occasions the group had a slow week and decided to just hang out instead. "Any place you like to haunt?"
Danny snorted and shrugged. "You could say I enjoy having some slice of life." He extended a hand and allowed green energy to cover a pizza slice to guide it to his mouth. "Also, video games, hanging out with my friends, watching some trash TV. Just live a little, you know?"
Kon shook his head in amusement. "Is that why you eat food? Never thought ghosts did that."
And that was such a great point, and it added to all the little things Bart had also noticed since Phantom started training with them: for someone who was supposedly dead, Danny kept so many living traits. The way he seemed to breathe after getting too tired, the casual mentions of school projects, and the food. And wow, did Phantom eat with an appetite fit for a speedster.
Danny gave them a mischievous grin, one Bart didn't particularly like, considering all the terror he saw attached to it elsewhere. "And how would you know what ghosts can or can't do?"
Tim didn't look up from his phone as he casually dropped, "We've worked with ghosts before. You're different."
Ah, right. Greta. The team still missed her sometimes.
And Deadman could count, maybe.
That seemed to genuinely surprise Danny. "Really? How different?"
"You're scarier, for starters," Bart mumbled as he rolled his eyes. His tongue was sometimes much faster than him.
As much as Bart wanted to backpedal on his words, the damage was done. He winced as he saw Danny's reaction, frozen up with a horrified look on his face. "You guys think I'm scary?"
Something in the question didn't sit right. Bart had been close enough to people's responses during stressful situations to notice the anxiety spiking in whatever inner turmoil Danny was going through.
"No no no no," Bart tried to amend as his friends gave him a look of disbelief. "Uh, I meant. Our rogues would get way more scared of you if they could see the way you pack your punches."
"And there's the whole eerie vibe, when you get mad," Cassie added nonchalantly, but the words added another punch to Danny's gut, from the looks of it. "But then, you don't always get mad, so it's not a whole deal."
Danny sat back on his chair and dropped his pizza on his plate. "I didn't know I have a vibe when I'm angry."
Kon shrugged. "I think it's just that you get used to it. Not that our rogues would say the same."
Tim tilted his head at Danny, finally making eye contact (or was it mask contact?). "But it's not an evil energy, if it helps. More…protective? Like you need to put yourself in front of danger."
Bart hadn't even thought about the feeling he got from the ghost that way. There were more ways Danny could become the terrifying Phantom from the future. Not out of spite, but out of protection. It could make sense, right? Sometimes crises started with people who thought they were right in their views of the world, not caring if they shouldn't impose them.
The team continued discussing vibes and examples where Danny's green eyes got too green.
Which was one part Bart couldn't reconcile with the blazing red eyes he saw in the future.
Danny, the teammate, continued eating and averted everyone's look in silence, trying to keep his face from showing any distress as he nodded along with the conversation. He was good at hiding his real face from everyone. Bart just didn't know the thing he was hiding was pain and self-loathing. Good companions of any good hero.
Not that Bart would say anything like that out loud to reassure his maybe-not-so-potentially-evil-future teammate.
Tension returned weeks later with a bigger flinch than before.
A mission had spiraled out of control while trying to save a museum from one of Klarion's attacks during a gala. Something, something, magic artifact to retrieve, chaos to ensue—who the hell even knew what the issue was this time around, when the witch boy was involved.
The Young Justice team was the first at the scene, apparently something about Red Robin already being at the location during an undercover mission—or that was the official story, at least. Phantom didn't have to know that the event was hosted by the Waynes when he still didn't know anyone's identity.
The team's attempts to stop Klarion were fruitless when civilians were transformed into a creepy forest to deter them, a monstrous display no one could easily sort through without injuring an innocent bystander in the process. It didn't help that some demons of unknown origin appeared at every corner to hurt anyone stepping close.
When things began to escalate enough, and everyone in the team ended up overwhelmed by Klarion's magic, Phantom's eyes began to glow a dangerous blue. A chill ran down Bart's spine as he noticed Danny releasing a rush of ice and cold to cover every tree in his wake.
The future Phantom hadn't displayed this power, which only made Bart rush with thousands of theories of how this could be a sign of things growing potentially worse.
Bart looked down to realize he was truly frozen this time around, his feet stuck in a huge block of ice as Phantom floated towards Klarion to stop him. Going entirely solo.
The ensuing fight was a mess once Danny stopped holding back. Ice and fireballs collided with every attack Phantom and Klarion exchanged, amidst orders barked by Tim below, telling Phantom to retreat to help the others instead.
But Phantom didn't listen.
The team had tried to free themselves but were stuck between human trees and Danny's Winter Wonderland. The ghost dodged every attack, going intangible and using blasts that stunned the demons approaching to attack him.
"I can fix this," Danny yelled back one time after getting the upper hand.
"Well, I can make it worse," Klarion cackled as he released more fireballs towards the rest of the Young Justice team.
"Oh, for fucks sake," Kon muttered under his breath as he stopped fighting against magical branches and braced himself for the impact.
Before anyone in the team had a chance to break free from whatever constraint they were facing, the attack disappeared.
Bart turned to the sky and noticed it was beginning to clear, with the trees around them changing into more human appearances until only the civilians remained. He then turned to try to find Klarion, but the Lord of Chaos had been stuck in one of Phantom's ghost shields, unable to perform any new spell.
Well, fuck… There went any chances to stop an evil Phantom with magic.
"C'mon," Cassie pulled on Bart's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Let's get these people out of here."
"Shouldn't we check on Klarion?" Bart asked with a thumb pointed at the guy floating above them.
Cassie looked up and frowned. "Red already called Zatanna."
Okay, good. Another magic user, a powerful one, was much better than letting Chaos (Klarion) and Destruction (Phantom) find a way to join forces by accident.
The inseparable four in the team got to work, checking under debris and redirecting victims suffering from panic attacks.
True to Cassie's word, Zatanna soon arrived and relieved Danny from babysitting duties, allowing him to float down to join the team and help with the post-crisis round-up.
The moment the ghost landed, though, Red Robin turned to face him. Seething.
"Why the hell did you ignore orders?" Tim spat as he walked towards the newbie.
Tim getting riled up was a mess waiting to happen, so of course Cassie and Kon got closer to the scene. Bart, on the other hand, decided to stand back and look from a safe distance, trying to recall if Phantom had snapped from a situation like this to ultimately end the world.
To be fair, this was a more complex situation. As much as no one wanted to admit it, Phantom did handle the attack without casualties. He knew he was the strongest defense against magic and took charge. Sure, his technique was messy at best, but he got the job done. Klarion was locked up and would be sent back to his dimension.
But the call was too close. One-sided, made on impulse. These risks were all too familiar to the team, seeing how breaking apart was one step closer to making a hero go rogue.
And Phantom going rogue…
Bart shivered. The team didn't need to see the apocalyptic future to imagine how catastrophic it would be to fight Danny's powers.
That's why the speedster always tried to identify any potential tipping point that would make Danny turn evil. This time, he braced for Danny's cocky remarks. A display of arrogance and power, shown in a dismissive wave of his hand. Hell, he even expected a bark shot back at Red Robin.
But they hadn't expected the shame on the ghost's face. "I'm…sorry," Danny replied while rubbing his neck, his eyes not meeting them. "I saw everyone in danger and got carried away."
Cassie stepped forward. "We know it can happen to everyone, but it's necessary to work on things together."
Kon slapped Danny upside the head. "Yeah, man, just communicate. It's not that hard."
Bart watched as the shame on Phantom intensified, breaking any image he had about the cruel destroyer of life he found in a future timeline that didn't seem compatible. "I'm still getting used to the whole team-work part. I'll do better." His green eyes looked up with an intense sincerity that felt like a punch to the gut. "I promise."
The dynamic with Danny in the team just kept getting weirder and weirder, Bart considered. Here was an absolutely overpowered teen who could do way more than he remembered with his powers. But despite all the fire in his eyes, the strength in his conviction, and the creepy factor that followed him through every wall, Danny just seemed…normal. A kid who hadn't asked for his powers, just trying to be better.
Weren't they all like that at some point or another?
Bart didn't want to continue overthinking the scene. He turned around to continue helping civilians, ignoring Danny's confession and the weight of his promise the best he could.
He'd figure out eventually what had made Danny stop caring enough to destroy it all.
The day time unfroze for Bart was ironically full of heat, fire, and destruction.
He was struck in the leg during a recon mission. The worst enemy of speedsters? Being a sitting duck.
So, now he was an injured duck. A duck who needed to retreat to avoid making things worse after they blew up the building they were keeping under surveillance, but still managed to get burned a bit during his retreat.
After the others wrapped up the mission and took Bart to the med bay back at the base, the speedster tried not to think about how long he'd be out of commission. Even a single day was bad enough for his jittery nerves.
He was already bored out of his mind when the door to the med bay opened, allowing Phantom to float inside. "Hey, need some company?"
Bart blinked as he stared at Danny, the guy who still hadn't shown his worst face in the last couple of months they'd been working together.
"Uh, sure. Knock yourself out," Bart replied, gesturing at the chair by the small bed where he was supposed to recover. "Not much fun around here, though."
Danny shrugged. "At least you won't be stuck alone."
Bart nodded. "Okay, fair. I guess it won't hurt to talk."
That was a terrible lie. Talking to Danny hurt in the worst way because Bart never knew what to say. He already struggled as it was to avoid blurting out any mentions of a future that was destroyed.
They sat in uncomfortable silence, listening to the subtle sounds around them.
"Uh, thanks for helping me break into the building," Danny suddenly said, his face scrunching up in worry. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."
Bart tilted his head and stared, confused. "Are you kidding? Destroying an illegal government facility was totally worth it. I just hope they stop experimenting on ghosts."
And boy, was that a terrible wake-up call. Danny showed up one day explaining there was a group called the GIW—Guys in White? Government Investigating Weapons? Ghosts Intensely Watched? Who knew that the initials meant—who captured one of his ghost friends to try to play evil scientist on them.
That didn't sit well with anyone in the group, and Bart worried that maybe that was the possible cause for making Danny break down and destroy it all. Of course, the team needed to stop an illegal group pretending to work for the government. Danny was horrified to learn they had already experienced something just as horrible with a different organization and a former teammate who was also a ghost.
Danny leaned closer to Bart's ankle, the one he had injured in the process. "Still, at least let me help you heal that up."
Bart hesitated but had to hand it to Danny. The guy, despite having ghost hunters after him, getting chewed on by Tim or even other League members, having what seemed like unlimited powers he could barely control or remember, was always looking for ways to help.
So Bart could only nod to give Danny permission to do whatever he was trying to do.
Danny's smile was warm, reaching out to touch Bart's ankle with glowing blue hands. Ice, Bart realized. The glow covered the area and brought immediate comfort to his sore skin and broken tendon.
"This is a technique the friend we saved tonight helped me learn," the ghost said with his focus still on the injury.
Bart quirked an eyebrow. "I still can't believe you have a Yeti teacher. Or that you have ice powers. That's…super ridiculous."
Danny laughed. "I don't know, man, ectoplasm is weird."
This was true. Ectoplasm was capable of withstanding so many harsh conditions. It made Bart wonder if that's why Danny hadn't broken so easily so far. Or if this Danny was related at all to the evil future promise of destruction and despair.
Bart's lips tugged upward. "You want to hear something weird?" Danny raised his eyebrows as if signaling the speedster to continue. "I didn't have the best first impression of you."
That made Danny snort. "Trust me. I noticed."
Shit. And here Bart thought he was being subtle with his wariness. Not that the countless times he turned down the chance to hang out with Danny had been any subtler. Or that the constant questioning and distance between them helped to dispel that image.
Bart cringed and tried to focus on his ankle rather than Danny's face. "Right, well…I'm sorry for giving you a rough time."
Silence fell between them again, less uncomfortable at least. They both had other things to distract them, like the magical healing properties of Danny's impossible ice powers.
After a beat, Danny licked his lips. "I heard from Kon that you came from the future. Figured you had enough reason to be wary."
Bart's head snapped to look at Danny at record speed. "Wait…what?"
The intense green eyes of the ghost landed on Bart, heavy with a burden, old with wisdom, and warm with understanding—Or maybe Bart was reading too much into the angsty look Danny had on his face. "I saw the future, too. And I stopped it."
There was a fire burning bright with the conviction Danny spoke. Bart let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, relief from the heavy burden of the words he hadn't dared to say, mixing with newfound dread. Danny knew about the future. And claimed to have stopped it. The reminder of the promise and the weight it carried when he said he'd try doing better came back to the front of his mind.
A nervous chuckle left Bart's chest as he dropped his head back against the wall. "Okay, so I wasn't crazy at least."
Danny grimaced. "Well, no. That was future me, I guess."
Bart looked back at his teammate with a deadpan stare. "Does that mean Red already built thousands of contingency plans to fight you?"
Danny snorted. "I gave him some of the contingency plans. Why else do you think Batman let me join the team?"
"Oh, so this was a keep your friends close, and your enemies closer kinda deal?" Bart asked and felt insane just voicing the question alone.
Danny sat back on his chair, allowing himself to float an inch above his chair with his legs crossed. "Hey, I get to work with amazing heroes, and the world doesn't end. See? Win-win situation." He then gestured with his head towards Bart's leg. "You should be able to walk now."
Bart turned to look at his leg, the skin already looking much better than it had before Danny's intervention. He remembered how that same power had been strong enough to fight Klarion and his haunted forest, how in training he was able to build complex constructs that had trapped Cassie during a spar. And then there was this…the light and gentle healing, leaving Bart wondering how something so destructive could hold such beautiful potential.
"Thanks," Bart said in a lower tone, unsure what else he could say to the guy he had misjudged for so long.
Danny gave him a friendly jab to the shoulder. "Hey, anything for a friend. Thanks for having my back out there."
Bart sat on the bed and looked at Danny. "Hey, what are teams for, right?"
And just like that, the world finally unfroze.