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[avidreaderffn]

Jimmy Olsen, opting to make some spare money on the side (there's a new camera that just dropped and it's worth more than his normal salary can afford), signs up for a Clinical Trial.

I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS OR THEIR WORLDS. I DO NOT INTEND TO MAKE MONEY WITH THIS POST. IF THIS POST IS ON TIKTOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN TUMBLR I DID NOT CONSENT TO THAT. IF THIS DISCLAIMER IS MISSING THEN THE POST WAS EDITED TO NEGATE IT.

It'll pay more than enough for that new camera he wants, and he just has to use his two weeks of saved vacation time from work to do it.

But he should have read the fine print.

Because he went to sleep in his bed, and woke up in what looks like a hotel room without any windows.

He pushes the emergency button on his watch, trying to summon Superman, but nothing happens.

Wherever he is, it's so well fortified that Superman can't hear the frequency the watch is going off at.

After the initial freak out though, the doctors come in and explain how the trial will work; two weeks of taking a pill in the morning and getting a shot in the afternoon, blood draws once every three days to monitor any side effects, consulting with a personal doctor every day, and he gets to basically actually have a two week vacation.

The secrecy, the doctors say, is due to it being a Government Run Clinical Trial, and they really are sorry for drugging him, but they figured it would be less stressful than throwing a black hood over his head on the way to the location.

Jimmy does not forgive them.

This is shady as shit.

But also, the doctors very notably did not say he could leave before the trial was up.

The best thing he can do is play along until he can find a chance to escape.

Except that the pills glow a little. The shots definitely glow, and not just a little. If he struggles, they sedate him and give him the meds anyways, and he wakes up in his hotel/prison cell, groggy. If he doesn't talk to the doctor about how he's feeling physically every day, they strap him down and run tests with various scanners.

There's no windows. The doors, every single one of them, need a key card and a thumb print scan to open. There is no cell phone signal; he knows because he overheard the armed guards complaining about it. No matter how many times he whispers for Superman, the Man of Steel doesn't come.

Hell, at one point, when Jimmy was actively struggling against getting injected again, he quite literally screamed for Superman, only for nothing to happen.

Everything is soundproofed, then.

He's not sure how long it's been, but he's fairly certain it's been over two weeks, unless they changed the schedule for the pills and the shots without telling him. Also, his hair is getting longer than it would have in two weeks.

And things are starting to get weird. Well, weirder.

His eyes sometimes glow red. One time he accidentally started floating. They held a jar of some strange glowing orb near him and his breath started frosting over.

He's sleeping more.

He can feel his heart slowing down more and more every day.

He knows he's dying.

And he knows that, for some reason, that's the goal; when he'd been in a sleepy haze, and the scientists and doctors had thought him unconscious, he'd heard them talking about him almost having the same biology as 'Phantom', and that all that was left was the brainwashing stage.

That they were just waiting for him to die before they did that.

But the closer he gets to death, the stronger he becomes. He hides it, of course, but it's difficult to hide a bent metal chair leg. He doesn't know if that happened due to enhanced strength or...or something else.

Then one day he looks up to see his eyes glowing red, but in the way that Superman's do before he uses laser vision. The floating gets more pronounced. He accidentally froze his morning coffee when he blew on it.

For some reason, his body appears to be developing the same or similar powers to Superman, and he has no idea why, or if it's permanent.

But he won't get answers if they refuse to tell him anything face to face.

So he pretends to be unconscious more; that way they'll talk more around him.

He learns that Phantom was a hero, despite the bullshit they're saying he knows one when he hears about one, who they took down.

That they experimented on him until all that was left was...the small glowing orb in a jar they kept shoving at his face.

And something in Jimmy knows that Phantom can still be saved.

If he can time it right, he can try to punch his way through enough of the guards and scientists to get to a part of the compound in the open air, somewhere he can get help.

Somewhere Superman can finally hear him.

He just has to do half the work.

Fine.

The more he plans, the more he feels an odd attachment to the orb in the jar. To Phantom.

Something inside him knows that's just a kid, and he can't explain how it knows.

Then, one day, when the timing is right, and he feels like he's on the cusp of...something, he strikes.

He takes a deep breath, just as they go to inject him again, feels his heart finally slow to a stop, and throws the metal table at the doctors in the room.

He doesn't even pause to acknowledge that his feet aren't touching the ground. That he's flying.

He's already across the room and grabbing Phantom, using the momentum to punch out the steel door.

The weapons they try to use on him to stop him sting, but Jimmy tanks it and barrels forward, breaking down door after door without stopping.

Then, after getting blinded by a sun he hasn't seen in an unknown number of days, he's out in the open air.

"Superman! Help!"

With an army rallying behind him, a rescued hostage in his arms, and Jimmy actively fighting off a nervous breakdown, Superman hears him.

And Superman is pissed.

~~~~~~

Clark has been out of his mind with worry.

Jimmy Olsen has been missing for seven months, and no one can pinpoint where he is.

He can't hear Jimmy's heart, and the only thing preventing him from believing that Jimmy's dead is the staunch refusal to do so, and Bruce reassuring him that the evidence in Jimmy's apartment indicated that whoever took him wanted him alive.

So after seven months of no word, he finally, finally hears Jimmy's hoarse, terrified voice scream for him.

He's there before he fully realizes that he's moved, and...

Jimmy's floating.

Jimmy doesn't have a pulse.

Jimmy's very clearly alive somehow despite that, ragged with unkempt blue hair and beard so pale the blue was almost white, skinnier than he should be, glowing pale red eyes, and cradling a jar with a glowing orb inside of it.

"They did to him what they were trying to do to me, and I don't know what they did," Jimmy gasps, hands shaking. "I can fly, I have laser vision, I have frost breath, I don't know what...I don't..."

Behind Jimmy, a small army of men in white suits rushes out of a hole in the wall, leveling strange weapons at his friend.

The same friend they experimented on, for seven months, and probably did irreversible damage to if they managed to foist Kryptonian abilities upon a human body.

Clark reaches out and closes Jimmy's eyes, cutting off and containing the laser vision his friend was gearing up to use from stress alone.

Then, slowly, Superman turns to look down at the men in white suits below him, who appear to be having the sudden and startling revelation that they'd messed up.

The Man of Steel loses a little time after that.

Or; The GIW opens a Clinical Trial to try to create a new halfa after experimenting on their captured subject, Phantom, so much that Phantom was forced into his Core. The Clinical Trial only lasts for two weeks; but after that they can keep whoever signs up for it indefinitely, because at that point they're so ecto-contaminated they don't count as human and fall under the anti-ecto acts. Then, they can create their own halfa and brainwash the halfa into doing their dirty work. Jimmy Olsen, desperate to escape, has been slowly adapting to have the powers of Superman, who is his friend and who would absolutely be able to save not only Jimmy, but whoever these scientists turned into a glowing orb. Since ecto is adaptable, it adapted to the powerset that Jimmy thought he needed. This includes the very last ability he got; invulnerability, but on a lesser scale than Superman's own, hence why anti-ghost weapons only stung him.

[avidreaderffn]

Danny barging into the wayne mansion wearing a hoddie and holding a tray of fudge.

"WHERE IS THE OLD MAN?!"

All the bats and birds panicing bc a random broke theu their security measures. Bruce being first to look at him"hey now, i dont think i'm~"

he gets cut off by Danny. "NOT YOU! THE OLD MAN!"

Alfred steps out of the dining room fixing his gloves and suit. Before he can speak danny shoves the plate of fudge in his hands"Happy fathers day from thomas and his wife. They have not stopped hounding me for weeks. And im tired. Please tell me i can say their baby brucie is fine." He says half pleading.

Alfred breaks a small smile before laughing lightly"yes indeed. They are doing well. I am so terribly sorry to have put you in this position. Perhaps we can make it up to you by having you stay for dinner?"

Bruce and the kids are glading ready for a fight unsure of how to interact in this moment."Umm Alfred, do you know this kid?" Dick asks breaking the silence.

Danny turns to him"are you baby brucie? Bc i swear to ancients i need to punch you and i hope you are an adult." Silence as crickets sounds before dick breaks down laughing."no he is behind you ready to punch you himself. Can umm you explain?"

Danny pauses thinking a moment before amiling"you offered me free food. I will gladly accept! Oh! That reminds me! The fudge isnt poisoned or ecto contaminated. So it is safe for normal humans to consume as well as whatever the hell you all are." He waves and follows Alfred theu to the kitchen.

Bruce panic buttons the rest to come home for dinner. This is gonna be a long night.

Meanwhile tim is texting Kon to being supes and jon with him to dinner tonight. Things are about to be spicy!

[avidreaderffn]

it would explain so much about Gotham economics if it turned out the only employers who pay a livable minimum wage are 1) Wayne Enterprises duh, but mainly 2) all of Gotham's assorted villains.

sure henching comes with shitty working conditions, but the benefits package is crazy competitive. they have dental

[avidreaderffn]

English has different words for mouse and rat but in Chinese they're both the same creature (laoshu) so I asked my mom well how do you differentiate between mice and rats. She, clearly having never felt the need to do so, was like uhh big laoshu and little laoshu I guess. Then I went online to see how the difference between (the English words) "mouse" and "rat" was being explained to CN->EN learners and there are numerous articles delving deep into the analysis. Bigger vs smaller, indoors vs outdoors, cute and favorable connotations vs evil and ugly, tail length, fear factor, emphasis on the fact that you cannot call it a "computer rat." Much thought is being expended on this little mystery of the English language

[avidreaderffn]

Sufficiantley advanced mutual aid is indistinguishable from government.

[avidreaderffn]

Not to be cliche, but Jane Austen's novels are a lot about how great power & wealth should come with great responsibility, and how most of the wealthy and powerful fail at that. She's asking questions like, "Is that insanely wealthy person polite, charitable, and considerate in a way that befits his station in life?" and she's finding most of them wanting.

[avidreaderffn]

It's Jonathan Harker. Normal human man.

[avidreaderffn]

stoned and autistic at a party trying to make conversation: I find the comparative lifespan of organisms so interesting. Spiders are comparatively long lived animals. Female black widows can live up to 3 years but their male counterparts rarely live four months. Some tarantulas live upwards of 20 years. The longest lived spider was around 43 years old when she was cruelly assassinated by a parasitic wasp. Domestic rats have a lifespan comparable to female black widows. To put things into perspective, there are spiders that remember a pre-pandemic world but it is likely every rat on earth was born post-COVID. There could be a spider out there born when Reagan was in office.

[avidreaderffn]

The funny thing is that I can fully see where a lot of very dumb discourse on this site came from but it doesnt make it any less perplexing

"Weight is most often determined by genetics rather than lifestyle choices, and the connection to health is not as black and white as TLC would have you believe": yeah, im with you.

"A person's health is not in any way connected to their worth as a person, and its not any of your business how healthy someone is to begin with, nor is it fair to demand fat people bend over backwards to perform health for you in a way you never ask of skinny people": absolutely. Completely agree with you.

"Saying that vegetables and exercise are good for you is fatphobic": okay what the hell happened here

[avidreaderffn]

we are in hell

[avidreaderffn]

Apparently there was some kind of race scheduled at a local park or something so I've been trying to avoid the main trail but a little while ago when I had to cross near it I overheard the following shouted exchange

Higher feminine voice: woo, look at you go! You're jogging! Keep it up!

Lower masculine voice (panting): you know it! Last place is still a place, baby!

And goddamn if that didn't rewire my brain a little bit.

Last place is still a place, baby.

[avidreaderffn]

pulled an all-nighter and then promptly passed out, i drew this sometime and have no recollection but i think i get what i was going for

[avidreaderffn]

Hack for if you're struggling with ADHD paralysis and you can't get started on a task:

Step 1: Add some silly rule to the task to make it more interesting and whimsical.

Step 2: Pretend Sam Reich just told you to do it.

Here are a few examples that have worked for me recently.

(Bonus points if you can hear @samreich in your head. "Alright, players, for your next challenge" 🎶ding🎶)

[avidreaderffn]

"the 5th celebrity you have saved on your phone -" you and i live in vastly different worlds

[avidreaderffn]

Since the actual CDC is being blocked from posting updates on outbreaks, I will do it myself.

As of June 19, 2025, a total of 1,214 confirmed* measles cases were reported by 36 jurisdictions: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

There have been 23 outbreaks** reported in 2025, and 89% of confirmed cases (1,081 of 1,214) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated.

*CDC is aware of probable measles cases being reported by jurisdictions. However, the data on this page only includes confirmed cases.

**CDC reports the cumulative number of measles outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases) that have occurred this year in the U.S.; states have the most up-to-date information about cases and outbreaks in their jurisdictions.

Please check your local health department to check on the risk in your area and follow their recommendations to avoid infection. Most cases are in the unvaccinated population, so if you are able to get the MMR vaccine and haven’t already, please reach out to your doctor to get that done

[avidreaderffn]

My AC is out and it’s so hot in my house that most of the cats are either at the clinic or at my mom’s house so they don’t get too hot. Petunia gets to stay though because she is the smartest girl in the world and has planted herself directly in front of the portable AC unit and hasn’t moved