(Tim is 17, Danny is 16, Damian is 14)
The thing about summoning the ghost king is that it takes a very specific ritual. Even the slightest misstep and it won't happen; most people make a misstep and then try a different, even more wrong ritual.
Which means while Danny does get summoned, it's more like a monthly occurrence than a daily issue - pretty infrequent for the infinite realms, he's told.
Clockwork himself has biweekly attempts, but he long since learned to reject summons. He's very bad at explaining how, though, and reassures Danny he'll figure it out eventually.
After the fourth time or so he decided to just appear as Fenton - okay so the first time was an accident, but the lack of glow makes him look way less impressive, apparently. Most people take one look at Fenton - pretending to be very confused and startled about where he is and what just happened, completely devoid of magic or death (hidden so well beneath his human skin that he can pass through ectoshields in that form, mind) - and send him back.
Ra's Al Ghul is not most people. Maybe he wants to summon the Lord of the Dead to speed up the whole 'mostly depopulate the earth' thing. Maybe he summons him as 'the balance.' Maybe he found the ritual in an ancient tome about the Lazarus Pits and want to, like, bargain for more LPs or something.
Whatever the case may be, when Danny Fenton appears bewildered and gawking in his circle, Ra's can sense what the other, less- or non-ecto-contaminated summoners could not: there is something off about him.
He can't pinpoint what, but he knows they did ritual to perfect - oversaw every step down to the last drop of blood. A test, perhaps?
When he gestures one of his men into the circle he expects Danny to react. He does not expect him to continue blinking owlishly before going down like a sack of bricks, as if he never even noticed the man sneaking up behind him.
He puts it from his mind; test or accident, they will find out eventually. He has Talia tie the boy up and take him away, they can interrogate him once he awakes.
Danny wakes up tied to a table. This is something that has featured heavily in his nightmares for a while now.
Unlike in his nightmares, however, the ropes and clasps are all completely mundane.
He heaves a sigh of relief, preparing to phase out and bolt when movement cuts him short.
One ninja looking dude goes out a the door of the room his little table sits in the center of, saying something in a language Danny is unfamiliar with. A second stands by the door, watching.
"Any chance I could get you to let me out of here?" he tries.
"Yeah," he sighs, "I thought not."
He slips out of visibility, through his bonds, and into the guy's body before he can to much more than startle.
Hopefully if he leaves him somewhere weird enough he'll write it off as a fever dream - assuming the usual effects of overshadowing don't fudge his memory enough on their own.
Stepping out the door whistling a jaunty tune, he immediately makes dead eye-contact with the old dude that had seemed to be leading his summoning ritual before - along with ninja 1 and some lady he didn't recognize - not 15 feet away.
They all freeze for a moment. Old dude looks angry for a moment and opens his mouth, but Danny turns and bolts.
Footsteps race closer behind and his spins just in time to dodge a kick from the Unidentified Fighting Lady (UFL, he decides).
He makes sure a fist is coming for ninja 2's chin before phasing invisibly out of his body. Ninja 2 has just enough time to widen his eyes before he's out cold.
He drops down a floor and goes visible.
If they're going to kidnap him instead of sending him home post-ritual, he feels like he's allowed to explore their...castle? Or whatever this place is.
Maybe cause a little chaos to encourage them to be less kidnap-y next time. Or to just. Not have a next time.
Soon enough, the place is full of people scrambling everywhere. He lets a few see him, sticking out his tongue or giving a mocking comment before ducking around a corner and through a new wall.
When he ends up behind a group, he taps one on the shoulder. He'll relish their shrieks for weeks (they're highly trained and none of them noticed him until he tapped one, thus the reaction).
And also the scream of frustration when he disappears around a corner not two steps ahead of them and they lose him entirely.
He has to take a moment in an empty room to get his laughter out. Then he has to phase down another floor to avoid being cornered - no need to make it too obvious he's using powers, here.
He finds an armory and spends a while taking apart a good chunk of the guns - there are some models he leaves alone since he doesn't recognize them. He might come back for a sword to keep, he thinks. The curvy blade ones look really, really cool.
Another hallway, another group trying to surprise him from behind - jokes on them, he's on high alert now that he knows they won't just send him back, the jerks - another disappearing act, and he finds himself in a room full of paperwork.
Yep, he can't read the writing either.
He has a good 8 minutes of throwing papers around and rearranging them and cutting out photos of people to put in a separate pile before Old Dude and UFL come sweeping through the doorway.
UFL's eyes widen and Old Dude's face turns a furious red faster than he thought possible.
They don't move to attack this time, Old Dude instead taking a deep breath before drawing himself up and saying something else in the language Danny doesn't know.
It sounds...calm. Polite, maybe.
Danny pauses his paper cutting and gets up, slowly walking up to the dude - just an arms length away - likes he plans to talk.
Then he takes a quick step closer, slaps his shoulder, and shouts "Tag, you're it!" before diving between them and running away - a discreet use of intangibility the only thing that keeps him from being nabbed.
And from taking another head wound.
He barely hears the faint "Wait!" over his own laughter - which draws more ninja people to his location.
No matter; he cuts a complex route through the floor he's on before, once again, vanishing around a corner and through the floor, down another level.
If they actually want to talk, they can do it after he's had his fun - and after they apologize for the head wound. Talk about rude.
But first: he's going to explore more.
He finds the locker room level.
Or, well, it's bedroom and wardrobes and stuff. But he finds where they keep the spare ninja outfits.
He puts one on and goes up five levels, punching and kicking at the air like the zombie-ninja in Dead Teacher 5 did in the post-capture scene.
When a group spots and rushes him he disappears - you guessed it - around a corner and goes invisible to find a new group. Which he then pops into visibility behind, pretending to follow along.
It doesn't work, as the moment he takes an audible step they whip around and bow.
It's the most blatantly non-hostile reaction he's gotten so far, but it's also the one he likes the least.
"The Demon's Head apologizes for the inhospitable first impression. He would like to have the chance to apologize to you personally," the group calls out in unison, this time in English.
If he hadn't recognized the language, the accents didn't help any.
Not that he really expected them to, given how he didn't always end up on the same planet - yet another motivation to stay human for these things, the circles don't auto translate when he's human, making the summoners even less inclined to believe their circle worked.
"Fiiiiiiiiine," he groans out. "But I'm finishing exploring first. Call it step one of making it up to me for putting on his creepy corpse slab thingy."
He sinks through the floor before they can say anything else, leaving the stolen ninja-suit behind.
He wanders around for maybe another 20 minutes before he gets bored.
The ninjas are still everywhere but they keep bowing. When he goes invisible after passing a group they call someone. Probably Old Dude - or 'Demon's Head,' which, compensating much?
He's getting bored. He could probably figure out how to get home on his own, but it'd be easier to just have them send him back.
You can tell a lot about a person by their basement. Take his parents for example; very obviously obsessed with ghosts.
Vlad's basement? Visibly Fruitloopy.
Tucker's family? Normal, maybe a bit nerdy. Pool table, bookshelves covered in old and new tech devices, bookshelves covered in books - fictional and technical both.
Sam's? Rich people. Not much for interacting with anyone except their fellow rich friends; noticeably stuck-up (except Sam, who somehow escaped the generational curse of ass-holier-than-thou-ness. Though maybe 'generational' was a bit unfair, given Ida).
So he goes down, down, down, until he stops hitting empty space. Then he goes back up, to what appears to be the bottom floor - though he'll have to check for stairs leading down, since the basement could just be smaller than everywhere else and not beneath him. It is a castle.
Or at least it's castle-sized.
He wanders around, back in the visible range.
He can't help but notice the many unconscious and/or tied up ninjas he passes on his journey.
Danny emerges from the hall into a large chamber, with lamps covering the walls. He idly notices a pair of brightly-dressed people tying up a few more ninjas at the bottom of the stairs - stairs that curve around either side of a large pool.
"Hell yeah they got a pool!" he shouts as he dives arms-first into the middle of the water. Or...ecto-water? It's a little discolored green, and now that's he's in it he can just feel the energy brushing over his skin.
He swims seven laps below the surface - doing loops and spins and just generally taking his time - before he surfaces to breathe.
Which he stills needs to do in human form. Just less often.
He could just go intangible to breath - a little hack he discovered by accident - but it's still kind of awkward.
Plus, he's kind of curious about the costume dudes. If they're still there.
It's been a long month for the batfam.
All of Arkham managed to escape on the full moon on the first of the month, and they might as well have set up a rotation schedule for their attacks.
None of them have had a moment's peace since.
And to top it all off, Ra's was up to something fishy. The League had been moving differently for two weeks now.
Tim and Damian had both taken notice, and had quietly agreed that the two of them should handle it themselves. Once only a few rogues remained out of Arkham - the Joker not among them - they disappeared onto a plane, a text in the group chat about doing some in-person research on a case all they left behind.
Everyone was worried - and Bruce was furious - but for all Gotham was finally relatively stable again they still couldn't afford to leave. Not with Riddler having something so clearly in the works. A quick promise to be safe and they cut off all of their tech.
They only needed a guard, but Damian insisted on the ones closest to the Pit since they were more likely to know something. It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out kidnapping; lucky for them most of the assassins seemed occupied with something on the upper-levels, meaning they only had to take out perhaps a dozen including the target.
They are very nearly done tying up their kidnappee when they hear "Hell yeah they got a pool!" and whip their heads around just in time to see a black-haired, blue-eyed boy somewhere between their ages and wearing jeans and a t-shirt dive directly into the Lazarus Pit.
They both try to shout a warning, but they're already too late. He was midair before they saw him.
He looked completely uninjured, there's no way the Pit didn't kill him.
"There is no way that was a League approved outfit," Tim says, still a bit in shock. "Was that a tourist???"
"Impossible, there is no way the League would be incompetent enough to allow a mere tourist through, no matter how distracted they are," Damian shoots down, rushing up the stairs and leaving Tim to heft their would-be-kidnappee and scramble up behind him.
Damian stops at the top of the pool to look down, and Tim joins him, kidnappee thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
The Lazarus water is still. No bubbles. No movement.
"Shit," Tim breathes, feeling numb.
They came all this way to keep something bad from happening only to see some guy kill himself by diving into a 'pool.'
"A pool. Why? Who looks at a bubbling, steaming, metal-smelling, miscolored vat of liquid in the middle of what he has to have noticed is the sketchiest building ever and thinks it's a pool!?"
Tim hears Damian's tut over his own internal screaming.
"There is nothing we can do for him," he shakes his head, turning to Tim. "Let's move-"
The surface of the water breaks not three feet from them. The diver shakes the Lazarus water from his head and wipes his eyes, calm-as-you-please, before he looks up at them.
"Yo," he says, swimming over to rest his folded arms on the edge of the Pit.
He makes no move to get out, just treading water.
"So like, do you guys have beef with the ninjas or something?" He asks into ensuing silence.
Tim barely restrains himself from mouthing 'ninjas.'
Damian, on the other hand, snaps out of his shock.
"Who are you and how did you get in here?" he asks. Important questions, given that the task isn't something just anyone could achieve.
Not even taking into account the fact that the guy is using a Lazarus. Pit. Like it's a damn kiddy pool.
"Danny, nice to meet you!" he smiles, feet splashing slightly in the water behind him. Tim and Damian flinch at the spray that hits no a foot from them. "I was brought here. Bashed over the head, strapped to a table. You know how it is. I ruined a lot of Old Dude's paperwork, though, so I think we're almost even. You?"
"We don't have a lot of time," Tim rushes to explain, "They'll only be distracted up there for so long but those aren't 'ninjas.' They're assassins. We're here following a lead on a change in their activity. The 'Old Dude' is named Ra's Al Ghul, he's the leader of all of the assassins and if you actually damaged any of his belongings he and his entire organization are going to do everything in their power to kill you."
Not that Tim was sure he'd succeed, given the guy was still just chilling in a Lazarus Pit. And also snorted at the warning.
But he was likely connected to the changes in LoA activity, making him a lead - on top of, apparently, a kidnapping victim.
They needed to go, but Tim has a feeling the case will be easier to solve if he comes with them.
"Look, even if you can handle yourself, it doesn't mean you have to. We know the way out, we're leaving now. Come with us; we'll make sure you get home safely," he offers, holding out his free hand.
"Taking me home already? I don't even know your name," the diver - Danny - flashes a cocky grin.
"Red Robin," he answers, trying to stomp down the blush that wants to crawl up his neck to his face.
Damian grabs Danny's hand, nudging Tim out of the way "so you don't drop the suspect. Tch" and introducing himself as "Robin."
It's a flimsy excuse but Tim shakes his head and ignores it.
"Towels?" he asks, hoping Damian will remember where they are - he really doesn't want to get Lazarus water in the batplane.
"No need!" Danny chirps, and when they looks back to him he is...completely dry.
They make it out of the building and to the batplane, shockingly enough, without seeing anyone else.
Danny follows the bird-themed strangers out of the castle. Normally he would be so relaxed about this, but it's summer break. He can kill afford to kill a day or two in a different...location. Maybe state, maybe country, maybe universe.
He shoots off an invisible duplicate to keep distracting the ninjas a few floors up, and to deliver his message. The duplicates memories rush back to him not 15 minutes later - by which point he's in a plane miles and miles away.
His copy had found a ninja on the first floor.
"I'm ready to talk," he'd said.
They lead him back to the summoning room - sans summoning symbols - where Ra's & UFL sat on floor cushions around a low table. An empty cushion opposite them awaited him.
"I apologize," Ra's says as he sits, "For the poor first impression. My men can be jumpy, and I suppose the medical room can appear a bit...startling, to the unfamiliar. I assure you we meant no disrespect."
"Mhmmm. What was with the big circle, then?" Danny continues, playing dumb.
"The ritual we performed claimed it was designed to summon the Lord of the Dead. Of course, I should have known such a feat could not be nearly so simple. You are...an emissary, I presume?"
"Or something," Danny flash a sharp grin and green eyes. "Tell you what? You want the Lord of the Dead to hear you out? I'll make it happen."
Ra's and UFL perk up just slightly at that, but Danny holds up a hand before they can say anything.
"But first," he drawls, leaving a slight pause to build suspense. "You have to come find me and finish our game of tag. If you manage to tag me within the next three days I'll give you the meeting you want. If not, I'll come back here on day four and you'll have to send me back, with no reward."
He made sure to emphasize the 'you' while staring at Ra's, who wastes no time leaping the table to tap him.
"Only the real me counts, Ra's. But to be fair, I won't use dupes after this one is done is delivering this message." And he is so, so glad his original will retain the memory of the look on his face. Surprised Pikachu: assassin edition is honestly hilarious. "I'll even give you a hint: I flew away with a pair of robins."
With that, 'Danny' disappears, flying away to join back up with his original.