Find your tribe in a Sea of Creativity
Danny doesn’t remember the last time he saw someone. He had been standing in the wreckage for so long. (This place used to mean something to him - what did it mean?). All he could see was the gray. The ash that covered the broken pipes that tore from the concrete like some cruel mockery of a bridge. The only thing to disturb the monotone was a swirling rip in reality that acted as a window to another realm. A realm so full of beauty he could remember why he was standing there, so full of pain.
Some days were better than others. Some days he remembered things. Bits and pieces of Before when things were not so peaceful. These things broke the constant loop of pain. The ache that never left his bones. What used to be a roar of never ending pressure, condensed into the mindless numb that slowly overtook his mind and body. A drain he never knew he felt until there was nothing left to give. He remembered when his friends (what were their names? It had been too long) used to sit with him and talk. Sound seemed like a distant dream to him. There was no sound where he stood.
He remembered there used to be Others as well. Others who stood by him before he took on their burden and released them. He knew they would never last as long as him. Their strength would give out and they would be slowly crushed. Somehow he knew they would not be back if that happened. So he took their place in the tear. And he stood where no one else could stand.
The moments where he could not remember were the most common ones. It was then he could barely recall what his name was. (He thought it might start with a “D” but he also remembers being called something else). In those moments where even his fading memory failed him, he looked into the glowing tear he stood vigilant at. He knew without knowing how that this tear was what caused him such pain. That if this swirling window was not in front of him, his plight would be over. (He could always remember the feeling of assurance that it would be over soon. Soon had passed, Forever was now.)
There was always something wrong when he looked into the window. He felt as though there should be something else there. As if the stillness that encompassed the world was not how it Always was. Even with the odd feeling, though, he could not help but think the view was beautiful. (Something in him writhed at the thought). The swirling green was interrupted by brilliant purples and blues. All moving together to form patterns that he could not recognize. Floating islands periodically passed in front of him. They looked abandoned. As if the resident had left it years ago.
But there was an allure about these islands. They held a peacefulness that he had not felt in ages. Some held what looked to be gardens. These gardens had been let to run, flowers and weeds intermixing to form a harmony that only existed in the most untouched natural areas. Others held caves whose gaping maws were entrancing in their mysteries. One notable island that passed held clocks. They all ticked to different times but there was a nostalgia he did not think he had ever felt when looking at it.
Yet even if it had been centuries. Even if he had been standing there in pain, feeding energy into the rippling green for a reason he could not bring to mind. One thing was always crystal clear to him. The window he looked into showed Death. A Death that had been stolen from him because of the greed and fear a group felt to impose on everyone. And in his soul - his core - he knew that he had never seen Death look this lonely.
—
Decided to join in on the fun. Maybe it’ll help my writers block.
The GIW fuck up, Amity is blown up and the Ghost Zone is seriously destabilised.
Danny ends up having to literally hold up the Infinite Realms to make sure that what is literally the lining between dimensions doesn't collapse on itself. Stuck halfway through the portal while putting all of his focus into his task, he stays in the ruins of his haunt for 3 years before the Justice League Dark finally manages to break through the barrier the Ancients set up to conceal him.
The entire JL have been itching to investigate what happened to the town without anyway to get in. To say that they didn't expect the ghost of a teenager playing the role of Atlas would be an understatement. Now they must find a way to relieve him of his burden.
(Danny hasn't aged in all the time he's been there due to his trauma, which is made worse by the fact that time moves differently for him due to the Zone's instability. He has no idea how long it's been, but the bone-deep exhaustion he feels suggests it's anywhere between decades or centuries.)