Chapter Text
Danny knew this was his only chance. Tim was normally very observant, but maybe, just maybe, Danny could get away with it this time. Tim was pushing to his fourth day without sleep; if he did this right, Tim would dismiss Danny’s ghost form as a hallucination and he wouldn't have to talk about it. Ever.
He owed the Waynes so much. They'd taken him in at his lowest, all because he'd kept a small territory safe after that huge earthquake. He knew they were vigilantes, actual vigilantes. They knew he had powers, that he'd patrolled while invisible, that he had many more although the rumors were never consistent. They knew he used the name Phantom.
They'd probably heard about the mute and mutated ferret that flew through his territory, like a weird sky worm.
Danny hoped the Waynes didn't know the ferret thing was him. Because that was the only way he was going to get away with this.
Transforming was always weird. Going from so large to so small was jarring. He was just grateful it didn't hurt, becoming something not much longer than his human forearm.
First stop: Tim's room. He hoped the other teen was there, he really didn't want to try and find the Batcave. Who knew what kind of sensors they had down there. He'd been brought directly to the Manor and had stayed away from the cave so far. Danny wanted to keep it that way.
Luck, it would seem, was on Danny’s side; Tim was in his room! Now, to bully him into bed. After all, he did owe them.
Tim knew he was pushing it, that he'd been awake too long. Sleep hung heavy in his limbs, in his mind. It wasn't even intentional this time! He just… Hasn't been able to sleep. Honestly, he should have started hallucinating by now. It was a miracle that he hadn't.
A small face appeared in his wall. It looked like he spoke too soon.
The face slithered out of his wall, like that owl-door from that one cartoon Danny liked to watch. Except this one had legs and landed on his desk with a soft plop. The creature spun once and then puffed up, like a particularly proud cat. It was weird but also kinda cute, for a figment of his imagination.
Tim turned his attention back his computer screen. He just had to finish this. He was so close.
The hallucination plastered itself across his screen, paws stretched out to block more, and it stared at him with a pleading look.
“WEH!” It cried. Tim blinked slowly at it, and reached for his coffee. The hallucination also lunged for the mug and then winked out of existence. Tim did his best to not flinch. It was a figment of his imagination, not a real creature on his desk.
The coffee disappeared from his mug. Literally, poof! Gone. He blinked tiredly. He tipped the mug over but nothing came out. There was just the sound of ice shifting, which… didn't make sense for reasons his sleep addled brain couldn't compute.
If Tim believed in a higher power he might take this as a sign. But he didn't, so he doesn't. Instead he turned back to the computer.
The hallucination appeared again, this time with a glare at a firm gesture to his bed. He swatted at it and his hand went right through, as expected. But it didn't dissipate.
“But I'm almost done!” Tim whined, he needed to finish. The hallucination growled.
Tim hesitated. Was he bargaining with his hallucinations? Okay, that was a new low. Maybe he should go to bed. But… his case…
His computer screen turned off. The hallucination continued to glare at him. The room started to feel cold, his blankets were awfully inviting.
Finally, he gave up. Obviously it was all his subconscious begging him to sleep. He shuffled to bed and, without changing he rolled his blankets around himself. Just before he fell asleep, he saw his little hallucination land on his pillow with a smug look on its face.
Yeah, laugh it up brain. When Tim wakes up he's going right back to his case.