#(temporarily) separated Danny and Phantom

[stars-obsession-pit]

Separated Halves

There’s something wrong. Ever since that accident with his parents’ new device, Danny can’t transform into his ghost form.

Heck, he can’t even his powers at all. Not even the ghost sense.

Even with access to his parents’ ghost hunting devices (which have helpfully (if inexplicably) stopped targeting him), can he really protect Amity Park like this?

………

There’s something wrong. Ever since that accident with his parents’ new device, Phantom can’t transform into his human form.

And to make things worse, he has no idea where he is, either. He’s never heard of “Gotham City” before, nor has he been able to find Amity Park on any of the maps he stole borrowed unofficially from the library.

He might have better luck going on a computer, but they’re currently locked down for the night and he wouldn’t exactly blend in during the day. Even with invisibility, someone could still notice his actions on the computer.

He could maybe overshadow someone to use as a disguise, but that could bring attention to him too, even if he tries to make it quick.

The last thing he needs is ghost hunters after his head. Sure, he’d probably win, but it’d waste time and there’s no reason to risk it in a situation like this.

He’s already waiting for the other shoe to drop and some ghost to come at him for entering their haunt unannounced. A city with emotions as heavy as this must surely have some ghosts. (right?)

Well, no matter what, he has to pick a course of action soon. He can’t afford to leave his haunt Amity Park unprotected for too long. The mere thought of his haunt home at risk while he wasn’t there to help burned at his core.

He shoved the anxious feelings down and forced his form to stabilize. His emotions were running higher than normal here, but he could control himself.

He was fine. He would find Amity Park. He would get back. He would.

He had to.

His obsession couldn’t take any other outcome.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 137

 What happens after a Halfa dies? What happens when their bodies of flesh can no longer hold the power of their soul? What happens when they’re no longer alive despite the fact they can never truly die?

 What happens when their soul finishes incubating in its cocoon of meat and bone that’s warped and twisted over an immeasurable amount of time? When the soul leaves a body that refuses to stay down because death is not an option? 

 What happens when a Halfa finishes incubating in their first form, and splits? What happens when mortals not understanding what they’re doing in their hubris, causes one to do so early? 

[kizzer55555]

Do You Feel That?

Idea. So imagine the bats are going to Amity (or a place nearby) to investigate something. A building that had very strange readings, maybe even investigating a case. Probbaly starting in a forest. So this place is haunted naturally, and the ghosts can’t be perceived by the human eye. In this universe, Danny can technically become visible in his ghost form if he concentrates, along with many powerful ghosts, but their default is intangibility and invisibility and it’s just inefficient to use a that much power just to be seen. So most things that happen in Amity are not seen by normal people. Those infected by ectoplasm (the pits and ectoplasm being two separate things in this) are able to see ghosts after enough exposure. So if a hero were to come to Amity, they would see the destruction happening but it would look like some kind of invisible force, and then if they ask why others aren’t panicking, they just say Phantom is taking care of it.

Anyways, so the bats do not know about ghosts and are investigating this house and basically every kind of malevolent spirit you can think of is there and trying to mess with them. After all, even if they can’t see a ghost, that ghost can still affect them. And Phantom sees these idiots getting closer to one of the designated danger zones in his territory. (Or he was visiting a nearby haunted area due to the rising danger level and sees the bats right in the middle of it) The place all natives know to avoid at all costs. So the bats go anyways, completly oblivious to the danger. Danny arrives just in time to stop a ghost who was inches away from digging their claws into Red Robin.

And it goes on with Danny desperately keeping the ghosts back, tackling them, shooting them, growling and hissing and doing everything in his power to shield the oblivious heroes and keep them safe. He can’t even warn them because he’s spending too much power just keeping them alive in the woods. Because of course they decide to investigate the most haunted woods near Amity. Most of these spirits are old, angry, and wild.

And the bats are just casually going about their buisness, discussing the case and the evidence they found.

Danny tackles a ghost wolf to keep them from biting their fangs into Red Hood’s neck.

They follow some tracks.

Danny grabbing the shadowing tendrils attempting to strangle Nightwing.

They even joke around and push each other.

Someone temporarily possessed Red Robin and he starts reaching for a batarang with bloodlust in his eyes, before Danny digs his hands into the bat’s chest and rips out the foreign entity.

There is screaming, snarling, screeches, and lots of punches thrown, all unheard by the bats.

By the end, Danny is panting as they finally made it out of the forest. The bats are tracking a signal, and heading towards an abandoned house. Danny looks up and sees the place absolutly overflowing with spirits. They are crawling up the sides, eyes and teeth and tentacles moving through the wooden boards. Banshees and wraiths, eyeing them through the windows. Skinny limbs with barely any form creaking as their claws try to escape the house and reach towards the group below. Hundreds upon hundreds of spirits all confined to this small hut and ready to tear apart any who enter.

Danny takes one look at them, overhears the bats say that they have to head inside, and decide that he’s not dealing with this today. So he shoots a small laser to cut their power. No signal? No lights? No search.

He can hear the bats complaining but eventually, they have to turn back as they lost the signal and they are unable to continue. And hears them talk about how the place was so weird. Almost like something was watching them.

Phantom sags in relief once they are finally gone.

While they leave, Danny squares his shoulders because he needs to deal with all these ghosts before they get back.

Later, after not finding anything strange about the house or forest or the cause of their case (possibly a death? Or maybe just trying to find information connecting to something else?) and all the previous evidence and traces were gone. So they call in the magic users to use a spell to show the past and figure out what happened. And they can see the group in a sort of 3D holographic image as they investigated. But the spell doesn’t just show them, it shows every being from that time….so the group gets to see just exactly how close they all came to dying.

[hannahmanderr]

the distant sound of an inbox about to be spammed fills you ears. are you ready? TOO BAD ITS TOO LATE NOW

21 Pitch Pearl

~ 21. "we'll face this together" kisses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Are you sure you want to do this?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Phantom felt silly. If there was one word that could sum Danny up, it would most definitely be “stubborn.” He knew better than almost anyone else that once that boy set his mind on something, only a force stronger than death itself could dissuade him. 

Phantom could see it now, in the way Danny set his jaw and fixed his eyes onto Phantom’s. “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

“But don’t you think this is kind of a lot? All at once?” Coming out was one thing, but then also presenting your ghost boyfriend to your ghost hunting parents? And said ghost boyfriend just so happened to be one of their main targets?

Yeah. A lot.

Danny’s brow creased. “You’re working yourself up. You know they’ve been starting to go easier on you, it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, they’ve laid off on shooting me on sight. Major improvements in our relationship. Now I can get like, six words in edgewise before they being chasing me instead of zero. The next logical step is obviously to jump straight to telling them I’m dating one of their kids.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. The three of you were teaming up just last week to stop that infestation of mutated patties at the Nasty Burger. You know they wouldn’t have done that if they weren’t at least somewhat chill with you.”

Except Danny (and, by default, Phantom) hadn’t gotten his morals about putting duty above personal matters from nowhere. Jack and Maddie had done a stellar job of modeling a sense of responsibility. Phantom wanted to point out that they could’ve easily set aside their prejudices temporarily for the greater good.

But he didn’t. Instead, he folded his arms over his chest and rolled his tongue around in his mouth. He really didn’t want things to devolve into an argument. He’d much rather the subject be dropped entirely.

Unfortunately for him, being accidentally bonded to Danny for the better part of two years before finally getting a body of his own had consequences. Just as he’d lived in Danny’s head, Danny had lived in his. The human arguably knew more about Phantom than he knew about himself. 

It wasn’t a surprise, then, when Danny’s expression melted from frustration into concern. That boy could read him like an open book. “Is… is this really eating at you that badly?” he asked hesitantly.

Phantom stopped. “No, of course not.” The mask of bravado slipped on just as easily as it did when he was out hero-ing. “What would give you that idea?”

Danny didn’t respond right away. Under his piercing blue gaze, Phantom felt as if his core was on full display, baring his soul to the other against his will. 

Then again, they’d already been forced to bare themselves to one another. Danny knew him, and he knew Danny. The bond between them was intimate - more intimate than any physical closeness, more intimate than whispered confessions in the dead of night, more intimate than promises made and kept between sealed lips.

In some ways, Phantom felt as though part of his soul was Danny’s. Their everything became intertwined the day that portal became active. He didn’t think he’d ever really be able to separate himself from Danny. Not without losing a part of himself he’d come to know and love like no other.

He knew the truth, of course, about Danny’s view of the whole matter, but it didn’t stop him from wondering if Danny felt the same way. 

He hoped he did.

After what had to have been an eternity of Phantom being locked in place by those hauntingly beautiful blue eyes, Danny moved to close the gap between them. His arms wrapped around Phantom’s shoulders, and Phantom’s hands slipped around his waist without a second thought. Danny pressed his forehead into Phantom’s. Warm breath tickled at his nose and lips.

“You know you don’t have to be scared, right?” Danny asked quietly, gently. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

Phantom’s core panged. He squeezed his eyes shut and allowed his head to dip down ever so slightly. “It’s…” The words were getting caught in his throat. “It’s not… me I’m worried about.”

Phantom didn’t have to see to feel the frown of concern from Danny. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me either. They’re my parents. It’s not like they’re gonna hunt me down or anything.”

“Yes, but…” How was it that for as powerful of emotions Danny could bring about in him, he still could never find the right words to express those feelings? “I’m just… I mean, what if… they try to separate us? What if…” He swallowed thickly. “I just… I don’t want to lose you. I-I can’t lose you.”

Silence stretched between them. Phantom’s words echoed in his own head, and it took every ounce of willpower he could muster to keep from cringing at them. The fears sounded so stupid when he said them aloud.

But it didn’t make them any less real.

“Hey.”

Warm, soft fingers took a hold of Phantom’s chin and lifted it gently to look into Danny’s eyes. Before he could say anything, Danny leaned forward and pressed his lips into Phantom’s. The kiss was chaste and tender; they’d certainly exchanged ones that had been deeper, more intense.

This one, however, spoke more volumes than any of those kisses.

Phantom unconsciously relaxed into Danny’s hold. If it had been a storybook, his anxieties would have melted away. As it was, however, being real life, the fears didn’t completely fade away.

But they disappeared enough.

When they broke the kiss, they stayed there for a moment, foreheads against one another and lips just barely grazing the other’s. For that moment, Phantom felt like he and Danny were the only two people in the world. That they truly were unbreakable. That nothing, not even death could keep them apart.

“You’ll never lose me,” Danny whispered against Phantom’s mouth. “I’ll fight through hell and back before I let that happen.”

Phantom’s core panged again, but this time with an ache that hurt in the best way possible. The kind of love that overwhelms and can’t be expressed in words or actions but needs to be let out to the rest of the world. 

He buried his face into the crook of Danny’s neck and pulled him in closer, hugging him tightly against his chest. He could feel Danny’s heart beating resolutely, in sync with the pulse of his core, the perfect mirror of each other. Danny hugged him back just as tightly.

Phantom wanted to stay there forever, safe in Danny’s embrace, but he forced himself to shift his head enough to free his mouth. “You promise we’ll do it together?”

He felt Danny twist to plant another kiss into his hair. “Always.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Send me a ship and a number from this ask game and I'll write a drabble or draw a sketch!

[candy-swol-man]

woah- really pretty song from the Night Vale weather section upon yee!

And also some Tigerghost idea nonsense

So while listening to Night Vale with one of my homies today- this song was the weather and she partially understands Spanish. She mentioned how much she liked the song and told me what she could understand from it.

Which compelled me to look up translations for the lyrics and maybe add it to my Tigerghost playlist cough cough

It is a romance song- but it's a- I miss you desperately but ur stuck with a jackass- kind of romance song? At least that's how i interpreted it.

Nonetheless- my imagination took a portion of the lyrics and birthed this idea.

The specific scenario in my head is one where Manny and Danny are temporarily separated, because the villains find a way to cut off our heroes ability to travel between dimensions-save for themselves.

Inter-dimensional cell service is also axed.

So the entire team is having to deal with villains from the others dimensions ON TOP of their own all by themselves until Jimmy finds a fix.

Danny/Manny (as well as Jimmy/Timmy) angst ensues with anxiety increasing over when- if at all- they'll be able to see each other again.

Danny here 'bout to change his degree from astronaut to astro and/or theoretical physics so he can rip a hole to Manny's dimension himself. He also gets an extra helping of anxiety about how he'd potentially react to not being able to see Manny ever again cough cough Phantom cough cough.

Manny travelling to the Land of the Dead to see if the old El Tigre can give any advice and also to see if the land has ANY connection to the ghost zone in Danny's dimension. If that doesn't work-then a deal with Sartana is absolutely on the table.

🎶THIS KITCHEN'S NOT THE SAME WITHOUUUTTT YOUUUU🎶

Side-note I think it'd be infinitely funnier if Spongebob is the one to figure out how to fix the Unite teams travel issues rather than Jimmy.

This scenario only partially applies to the song at this point, but it was the catalyst for this idea, and I like sharing music. So again- REALLY PRETTY NIGHT VALE WAETHER SONG UPON YEE

ahem- Anyway- my brain rot is terminal and I must make it other's problem.

[ultrainfinitepit]

Today we are discussing the Genderqueer angel! This design is inspired by one of my original characters. I've made him in a few different forms as pins.

For the 2022 design I envisioned a multi-headed wolf angel. In the original colorway I thought of a white circle background to mimic a moon, and green ghostly flames and eyes inspired by Danny Phantom, a favorite cartoon from childhood.

For the initial redesign I wanted to either do a full body wolf angel or zoom in on the head. I opted for the head since I've already done many full body wolf angels. I was inspired by a quote from the Princess Mononoke. I wanted to capture resilience and rebellion in the design since I think those are part of the spirit of being genderqueer.

However upon revisiting the design I thought it was too simple and didn't seem angelic enough. I also wasn't sure how to incorporate the words, they would likely not work well for a pin design.

So I decided to do a more humanoid design. I envisioned an angel that was tied up but breaking free of its binds by bursting into flames; and then from there imagined an angelic priest with a flaming head. This design would be a priest to match my Questioning angel design.

When I went to finalize this design, I decided to change the pose to make it clearer that the angel had its hands together. I also missed my initial idea of the angel being tied up, so I added that element back in. To help balance the green in the design I added the snake at the bottom.

In my mind this is an angel that is restrained but only temporarily, they are showing off their true form before breaking free to enact vengeance. In one of my sketches I had the bindings being burned away but it ended up cluttering the design too much so I left them as-is. Of course you are welcome to interpret the design as you wish.

While I greatly prefer this design to the previous one, it does break one of my rules of pin design: you'll notice the clasped hands are next to the wing, and they are the same color (white). Generally it's recommended if you have two different parts, such as different limbs, next to each other you don't want them to be the same color as it might be confusing. However I just couldn't find a way around this, so to try and separate the hands and wing I put a lot of black shading in that area. Just thought I'd point this out since it's a design principle I think about all the time but I'm not sure anyone notices it ahahaha!

I hope you all enjoy the final design!

If you’re interested in this angel design as pins and more, check out my Pride Angels page for more details on how to get it.

Three days until launch! 💖

Genderqueer Angel - final version. Flat colors, transparent background, linework under the cut.

Read the FAQ and follow the campaign: Pride Angels.

[aethertetsuya]

DP x DC Idea 💡 🍼

Surprise Pregnancy

Danny temporarily overshadowed Batman by accident and then got dipped in Lazarus water.

After the battle, things go back to normal (go their separate ways). BUT. Bruce starts showing wierd symptoms. After much research, they find that Bruce is showing signs of pregnancy. Minus the big belly.

This leads to them looking for Phantom for answers and stumble on the conspiracy that is Amity Park and Ghosts.

The Batfam must now uncover the towns secrets, take down a rogue like Gov branch, and remove the pesky Anti-eco acts to keep the baby safe.

Meanwhile, Danny's family and friends try to hold down the fort and prevent the GIW from gaining access to the GZ.

*Danny and Amity are still under the GIW and Gov. Blackout. The only reason he was in LOA base was because Ra's fished him out of the pool.*

*Bruce gives birth ala Alien style (a core phase burst out of his chest, floats then becomes a baby*

[masked-kitsune]

Danny Phantom Separate au

In this au Danny and Phantom are two separate entities. The two made a deal during Danny's portal accident. Danny was given a few basic powers, mainly intangiblity and invisibility. Phantom is the banished son of Paraih Dark. Phantom was starting to fade when Danny encountered him in the newly active portal. The two were both dying and struck a desperate deal to help each survive and so Phantom's core turned into an amulet that Danny now wears around his neck allowing the two to switch places quickly with their usual transformation. It's sorta like a Yami and Yugi situation for the two of them.

•Sam and Tucker actually don't know about Danny and Phantom being two separate beings, they assumed they're the same since Danny always wears the amulet and he never bothered to correct them. They're proven wrong about this assumption during memory blank

•Identity crisis was the result of the two fighting. The Fenton ghost catcher gave the two enough charge to be separated with some issues

•Danny learns that he and Phantom can temporarily turn into the other with enough of an ectoplasmic charge

•Danny could tell something was off about Phantom during the circus Gothica incident but didn't immediately chalk it up to mind control until Lancer was locked in a closet.

•Memory blank caused them to lose their connection which in turn caused them to lose their memories alongside the tampering of Desiree with her magic due to the wish Sam made. They had to relearn a few things especially after Sam made her counter wish

•Dani was the result of Vlad trying to clone Danny without knowing that he and Phantom weren't the same person which resulted in Dani and the other clones being extremely unstable

•Vlad is still a halfa due to his ectoacne

•Dan is the result of Phantom being corrupted when Vlad stole the amulet off Danny during the events of the ultimate enemy and the halfa trying to use the amulet. Danny tried to save Phantom which resulted in the teen's death, Vlad's ghost half being absorbed into the amulet and a weakened Phantom being overwhelmed and absorbed by the evil ghost half.

•Clockwork eventually removed the time medallion from Danny's chest

•Clockwork is Phantom's other parent and ends up as a father figure/mentor to Danny

•Danny becomes part ghost due to Phantom

•Phantom shows some of his real power during his fight against Paraih Dark since he manages to briefly send Amity Park back to the real world from the ghost zone. The fight took a toll on both Phantom and Danny. It was more of an emotional toll for Phantom while the physical toll went to Danny

•Phantom remembers bits and pieces of his life in the ghost zone. Phantom is 1400 in human years and is 14 in ghost years

•Paraih went mad due to a poisoning attempt by an observatant when one made a bid for power after sealing Clockwork in the clock tower with a powerful artifact alongside Phantom. He was told his husband and son were lost and in his grief drank the blood blossom wine that ended with him going mad and leading to him needing to be sealed. The observatants cast the traitor into the deepest darkest parts of the ghost zone as punishment

•Phantom leans all of this via Clockwork

•Thunderstorms are hard on both Phantom and Danny

•Phantom was poisoned in a ghostly assassination attempt

•Skulker was hired by said assassin at first and then by Vlad

•Phantom being the prince was kept a secret from the rest of the zone except for Frostbite in the far frozen

•Danny keeps the amulet tucked in his shirt to avoid his parents equipment from pin pointing it

•The Fenton parents don't know about either portal incident

[Feel free to add more to this. It'll be interesting seeing what others come up with including crossovers, just nothing too extreme]

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Chasing Shadows (8)

AO3 -> first, last, next

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS IS A CROSSOVER.  As Bruce Wayne begins to slowly recover from the loss of his son, two   separate mysteries open up old wounds. Who is the unknown leaving clues   hinting at a return to Gotham, and who is the phantom pretending to be   his lost son? Is it just a coincidence they’re active in Gotham at the   same time? Or are they connected?  

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

As the supernatural ice around him cracked as it began to melt, it combined with the sounds of the groaning supports of the damaged Clocktower to make an unearthly sound that made the scene in front of Dick even more unsettling and surreal.

Sure, he was wearing a domino mask, but he knew this man. Everything from his sharp and strong jawline, crooked smile, and even the way his bangs curled were achingly familiar, even if a lock of white now interrupted the black. The cocky way he stood as he gestured for his helmet back was something he’d seen so many times. But it shouldn’t have been possible. This man was dead, or at least he had been.

“Jason…” The name slipped from his lips before he could stop himself. His brother was so tall. Even if he hadn’t died, they thought the malnutrition from his childhood would have stunted his growth.

He wanted to rush forward and embrace his lost brother. To listen with his own ears to the heartbeat that stopped years ago. To apologize for not being there when he needed him the most. To let him know just how badly he was missed.

But as he took a hesitant step forward, he stopped. Something was off. Those strange green marks he’d originally seen in their first encounter were visible on his arms and, if he wasn’t mistake, there were some on his face where his autopsy report reported injuries from the Joker. Was that what those marks where? Some strange mockery of the injures that took his life? The still bluish tone to his skin from the frost made it look just that much more ghoulish.

“Little Wing… is it really you?” he called out, but Jason didn’t answer him. Instead, his attention had turned to the building beside them. The groans from the supports had gotten louder and more frequent. A collapse was imminent.

Jason knew it too. “Dove, do you think you can get us out of here?”

“Yeah. Go grab that stupid tin can of yours.” Some of the bravado had come back into Phantom’s voice. “I don’t know why you took it off in the first place.”

Dick knew why he had. It was to try to prevent the fear toxin from warping it into something it wasn’t. He remembered a few times in his early career where Bruce had to do something similar with his cowl when he’d been affected by it.

With a speed Dick didn’t expect from someone half-frozen, Jason raced forward to grab the helmet. Thinking quickly, Dick used his foot to knock it back into the air to attempt to play keep away. He just found his brother again, and he knew Jason would once again vanish as soon as he got it back.

His movements were too familiar, and for a moment, Dick temporarily found himself back in the Bat Cave training with his brother. His style was unique among them. He learned what he could from Dick’s acrobatics and merged them with Bruce’s techniques and the brawling he learned from the streets. But there were different moves now, ones Dick didn’t recognize. Wherever Jason had been, he’d been taught new skills and honed his old ones, and the difference showed. More than a few times, Jason managed to get a few good hits on him.

He needed to fight back, but his heart just wasn’t in it. Why would he want to fight his brother and risk pushing him away? Maybe he could hold him off just long enough for Bruce to be able to restrain him so they could bring him home.

“Jaybird, I know it’s you. We’ve missed you. I don’t… I don’t know how you came back, but please come home.”

Until that point, Jason seemed to be enjoying their fight, but his entire demeanor changed. A Kris appeared in his hands, and he specifically went after Dick’s injured leg. When he dodged Jason’s strike, his brother kicked him in the chest forcing him backwards. The helmet slipped out of his hands and clattered on the still present ice.

“Didn’t I tell you that the dead can’t always rest until they’re avenged?” he hissed as he grabbed his helmet. They stared at each other for a moment, and it seemed he almost wanted to say something else but was distracted as Phantom grabbed him and gestured behind him. Bruce was coming causing Jason to sneer. The green marks on his skin seemed to glow brighter.

Knowing they were about to escape with Phantom’s powers, Bruce launched a batarang with an electrical charge at them. But it never hit the mark as the two sank into the ground. Dick quickly switched to his thermal view, but with all the ice still in the area, there was no chance at tracking them.

The building behind them groaned again, bringing Dick back to the other situation at hand. The Clocktower was starting to lean. They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. With a nod to Bruce, he raced over to help drag the unconscious Scarecrow, who was mostly back to normal, out of the way. After tying the criminal up and leaving them for the GCPD, who still seemed to be elsewhere in the city, they grappled out of the immediate area. Selena quickly caught up with them to check if Bruce was okay before parting ways.

Tarantula didn’t seem to be following them. Thank goodness. He wanted nothing to do with that woman.

When they reached the cave, they found Tim and Cass tending to Stephanie at one of the med bays. On another med bay, Alfred was checking Babs for injuries. While she looked a bit bruised, overall, she seemed to be okay. Relieved, Dick raced forward and pulled her into a hug. After finding the Clocktower in that state, he feared the worst, but somehow, everyone in their small family managed to survive one of the worst situations Gotham ever faced. According to her, she’s the one who detonated the building to prevent Black Mask and Scarecrow from getting inside.

However, with the destruction of the Clocktower, that meant Babs had to at least temporarily step down as Oracle. That meant their operations in Gotham had a major setback, but as long as she was okay, everything could be recovered in time. Well, as long as Babs wished to remain in the role. After everything else that happened to her, Dick wouldn’t be able to blame her if she decided to retire.

But there was one last thing that loomed over him. Turning to Bruce, Dick gave him the worst glare he could. “We need to talk. Don’t you dare tell me that was another imposter. I know those moves. Hell, I helped trained him. Red Hood, our nobody, is Jason.”

…

Removing the cowl, Bruce stared into the eyes of his eldest. Dick was so certain of his truth that he could no longer look at the situation impartially. “We don’t know that for certain. Jason…” saying his son’s name was still just as hard as it always was. Images of his broken body flashed across his vision. “I dug him out of the debris and watched him lowered in the ground.”

“But we know that people have come back from the dead! Green Arrow, Superman, just to name a few. Who’s to say something like that didn’t happen to Jason?”

Bruce shook his head. “Dick, don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement. Don’t you think I don’t want to see my son again? To know he was able to grow up? Most likely, that’s some sort of clone created by whoever took his body.”

Instead of backing down, Dick glanced over his shoulder. “Tim, show him what you found.”

“R-right.” Moving away from the med bay, Tim scrambled to the Batcomputer and began typing. Within seconds, he pulled up footage from outside of the cemetery where Jason had been buried. “There’s just been too many coincidences, so Dick and I did some digging. This occurred right around the time of the Superboy Prime incident.”

When Tim pressed play, everyone remained silent. For a moment, Bruce assumed he’d witness who took his son’s body, but he never expected to see the stumbling form of a teenager slowly coming forth out of the darkness. The boy, dressed in a tattered black suit, looked to be in a great deal of pain as he stumbled along the road.

“It… it can’t be.” For a moment, the scene in front of him seemed to blur as everything he thought he knew about what happened to his son and his death came crashing down around him. When his vision corrected itself, Bruce found he carried himself to the computer and had begun rewinding the footage and attempting to clear up the grainy image.

“That’s what we thought at first too but look.” Dick came from behind him and took over as he brought up a police case file of a John Doe who had been brought to the nearest hospital shortly after the footage from the graveyard was shot. Bringing up the photos, it showed a teenager with horrendous injuries after surgery. Those injuries matched the ones Jason had.

There were fingerprints on file from the police report. Even though his hands had been badly mangled, there were enough points for the system to be able to run a comparison match. Those were Jason’s fingerprints. If he hadn’t had Jason’s police records wiped there would have been a match. He would have found his son three years ago.

“Those injuries…” In an attempt to distract himself, Bruce reviewed the images of his son’s hands.

“We…” Tim seemed hesitant to speak. “We think he dug himself out. We were able to find the cemetery workers who were present the next morning. They reported finding a hole in front of his tombstone.”

“And they didn’t report it?” Bruce let himself collapse into his chair. His son… Jason crawled out of his own grave six months after being buried. While he had no idea how it was possible, if someone had just said something…

“It’s Gotham, Bruce.” Even without looking at him, Bruce could tell Dick rolled his eyes. “Everyone is corrupt. But when the police couldn’t generate any leads, and the doctors weren’t certain he’d ever recover, they gave up. Jason was put in a long-term care facility… and that’s where we lose him.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to their records, he just got up and walked out one night. There have been a few reports of someone who looked like him in Crime Alley right afterwards, but they quickly stopped.” Dick slammed his hand on the desk. “He’s been all alone and suffering, and none of us knew.”

“This doesn’t guarantee that this Red Hood is Jason. A clone, possibly, but…” Bruce glanced at the images of his son from the police report again. His body still held the scars from what Joker did to him. The contrast between them and the seemingly healthy Red Hood were too drastic to ignore.

“I’ll admit that’s where things go sideways but bring up the images of my fight with him earlier.” The mask footage was quickly uploaded and brought up for comparison. “These weird marks. Look at how they match the scarring on his face and arms. It matches too closely to just be a coincidence.”

“I know him…”

At Cass’ voice, Bruce turned to look at her, Babs, and Stephanie, who was on crutches, as they came over. Alfred walked behind them while keeping an eye on them.

“What do you mean?” Tim questioned as he moved out of the way to let her get closer to the computer.

She pointed at the photos from the hospital. “With the League. No talk. Couldn’t talk. Training. No pain. No emotion. Empty.”  As she spoke, her hands signed a more complete story. She recognized him as a project or possible experiment of the League of Assassins. He responded to attacks but little else, almost like a living doll. She only saw him a few times and thought he’d been killed.

That.. that made some sense. Ra’s was looking into true immortality and mastery over death. If they had gotten word Jason came back to life, Ra’s would have jumped at the chance to study him. That also would have put him close to the Lazarus Pit. During the Hush plot, there were hints one had been used outside of what the Riddler somehow got his hands on. Maybe, just maybe…

No, he couldn’t allow himself to hope. They would have to verify it with a blood sample, and the partial picture didn’t explain the odd markings, his training, or the possible new abilities. It also didn’t explain his relationship with the meta.

“Cass, did you also see Phantom there?” Babs questioned as she peered up at the screens. It was as if she was also following his train of thought.

She shook her head. “No. First saw him here. Not familiar.”

“So, it’s likely Jason and Phantom met sometime before they both came to Gotham, but after Jason somehow got out of the grasp of the League. And somehow, during that time, he developed a major dislike or maybe even a hatred of Bruce,” Barbara murmured. “To the point he was willing to give sensitive information to Hush.”

“He wanted to see how I’d react to him in the graveyard.” A chill shot down Bruce’s back as the realization hit him. “A couple years ago, someone planted a remote-controlled bomb under the Batmobile. I never figured out who it was as they bypassed the sensors.”

Stephanie let out a low whistle. “All of them?”

“Yes. Only someone completely familiar with its security could have done that.” He’d grilled Dick, Tim, and Lucius Fox for days regarding it with no luck.

“But why would Jason do something like that?” She moved as close as her crutches would let her. “I don’t know a lot about him ‘cuz none of you want to talk about him, but he seemed like he was a good guy from the little I know.”

“If he did somehow regain himself in the Lazarus Pits, like was suggested during the Hush plot…” The wheels were turning in Bruce’s mind. His son would have found himself alone and in a strange place surrounded by enemies. And with how the Pit could cause madness combined with the previous head injuries… “perhaps, he planted the bomb shortly afterwards, blinded by whatever effects the Pit could have had on him. After all, I was the one who let him die.”

Dick frowned as he reviewed the various footage they took of Red Hood in the last few hours. “There’s something more going on, something he’s leading up to. Sure, Tim and I had our suspicions after the fight in the graveyard, but if Phantom hadn’t gotten affected by the fear toxin, I doubt we would have been able to confirm this until he was ready to let us know.” He paused the footage right after Jason had given the meta the antidote. “He really seems to care about him.”

“But what’s the deal with those marks?” Stephanie questioned. “When he rescued me from Black Mask, they weren’t there. I’m pretty sure they weren’t until you started talking to him, B. Do those Lazarus Pit things cause that type of thing?”

Bruce let the footage of the interaction in the railyard office building replay. Those marks did appear during the conversation, but it wasn’t until he couldn’t completely contain his anger at the conversation. “I don’t have any reports of that being an after effect of the Lazarus Pits,” he replied slowly, “but I have wanted to compare notes with either Constantine or Zatanna. They may have more information about them.”

…

While Bruce waited for a meeting with one of the few magic users he somewhat trusted, he reviewed the damage done to Gotham in the gang war. Several were left dead and many more were injured, this included both civilians and criminals. The media managed to get some footage of them, particularly during the siege of Tim’s school and at the Clocktower. Up until that point, they had barely gotten anything other than blurry pictures until they were with a Justice League function, so they were shown all over the place.

Strangely, Red Hood’s, Jason’s, appearance was blurred. They reported technical issues which prevented a clearer shot of him. Did it have something to do with whatever caused those marks on his skin? It didn’t seem to affect their equipment, but theirs was far superior to anything currently in use by the media. If they could unravel that, then maybe it would give them an idea of how the distortion around Phantom worked.

Speaking of Phantom, they hadn’t seen him or Jason in the days that followed the destruction of the Clocktower. However, Bruce did find a bundle of Queen Anne’s Lace and frankincense strategically placed on the rubble of the Clocktower, almost as if it was left in memorial. It made sense, in a strange way. The Clocktower had been their main hub for their intelligence for a while, and with it out of commission, it severely crippled them. And if Jason knew Babs had been in there, maybe he wasn’t sure if she had made it out in one piece or not.

But just like the other plants he’d left, this one was also a clue. This time, it referenced the island where Odysseus’ men encountered cattle sacred to the sun god Helios. Frankincense was sacred to Helios and used in funerary rites for centuries. Queen Anne’s Lace was also known as Cow Parsley and contained a chemical in its sap that was known to cause severe burns in some people, but it seemed like there was something about the symbolism behind it he was missing.

“Well, Bats, never thought I’d see you playin’ with ‘Mother Die’. That plant’s bad luck.” The smell of cigarette smoke surrounded the area around his workstation as Constantine made his presence known.

Annoyed that the man managed to use his abilities to once again bypass his security, Bruce turned in acknowledgement as he held up the plant. “What did you call this?”

“Mother die.” He shrugged as he took a step closer and put out his cigarette. “Old British folktales say it brings death into a house. After your history, didn’t think you’d risk something like that.”

“I don’t believe in such nonsense.” Although he didn’t want to admit it, Constantine’s statement did give him the information he wanted. Though, Bruce had to wonder where Jason might have heard that tale. Was it in one of his favorite books? Or was it something he picked up after he returned to life?

“So Bats, let’s cut to the chase. You want info from me, so let’s get on with it. Unlike you, I’m a busy man.”

“What do you know about the effects of the Lazarus Pits?”

“Bloody hell, Bats! That’s what this is about?” The Brit almost seemed as if he was hoping Bruce would say he was joking. However, they both knew that wasn’t the case. After taking a moment to compose himself, he pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and took a drag. “Show me what you have.”

Wanting to get Constantine out of his presence as soon as possible, Bruce quickly pulled up the videos he had of Jason. However, the Brit seemed just as interested in Phantom and asked if he had more information about him as well. After watching the available footage, the man shook his head and cursed. He then asked to be taken to the spot where the two were last seen.

“Don’t worry, Bats. I know how much you hate being seen in the daylight,” Constantine mentioned as he put up some form of barrier when they arrived at the base of the ruined Clocktower. “This way we won’t have the bloody public interfering. Ah, this is what I wanted to see.” Taking another drag, he let the smoke swirl and condense into images, almost as if they were replaying what happened like a holograph. “Blimey, for a guy who hates getting involved in the mystical, you sure attract it.” Moving around the images, the Brit shook his head. “Liminals, the both of them.”

That was a term Bruce hadn’t heard before in relation to a person. “Explain.”

“Unfortunate saps stuck between life and death. It’s what happens when something powerful interferes with the death process, whether magic, fate, science too bloody advanced for its own good… Death is a tricky business, even without the interference. Most of the time, they aren’t badly effected and live somewhat normally, even if they do tend to be a target for the supernatural. But these two are in an entirely different league.”

“How so?”

Constantine gestured to the smoky image of Phantom. “Thought this one was just a ghost at first, a very powerful one, but that’s not it. He’s still at least partially alive, but his body is virtually that of a ghost’s, ectoplasm and all.” He glanced up at the sky before muttering, “A while back heard some rumors a kid got caught up in the opening of a permanent portal to the afterlife. Things like that always require a sacrifice... If that’s the same kid, no wonder we couldn’t find him. Gotham is the perfect place to hide the macabre and unnatural. Wonder if he’s able to still take on a human appearance?”

Bruce examined the image of Phantom again. If what Constantine said was at least partially true, it helped explain why Phantom kept referring to himself as being dead. He probably thought he was. Did his parents know he was gone? Was anyone searching for him? Had he gotten scared and fled? While he still didn’t know how he met up with Jason, at least Bruce took a small comfort in knowing Jason would help keep him safe.

“This other one though,” Constantine interrupted his thoughts as he moved to the image of Jason, “I don’t know what to make of him, but I think those marks are ectoplasmic scars, something that only occasionally shows up on ghosts. You asked about the Lazarus Pit. While faint, there are still traces of it from him. Whatever caused him to take a dip in those waters didn’t do him any favors and probably worsened his liminality.” He stopped out his cigarette and let the images fade. “Be careful with these two, Batsy. Even normal Liminals can take on ghostly traits that can make them obsessive and irrational. Add on the addition of supernatural powers, and you have two potential powder kegs in your city.”

============

Notes:

Odyssey clue

Stop 10 was Thriancia where Odysseus and his men encountered Helios' cows. It took a while, but I eventually settled on Queen Anne’s Lace which is also called Cow Parsley. This plant, and other related ones, have a phototoxic agent in their sap which makes skin exposed to it super sensitive to sunburns. This isn't unique to this family of plants, but they are the most well-known for it. Some folklore in the UK calls them "Mother die" and they're associated with bringing death into a household and black flies.

I also choose Frankincense which was sacred to Helios which he was believed to have created after one of his human lovers was killed by her father. It was commonly used in ancient funeral rites.

[alitheakorogane]

Day 14- Neon

(The Curious Mystery of Class E's New Transfer Student)

"Nagisa-kun, I may be crazy right now, but here me out. Is it me, or Fenton-san's eyes and freckles glowed neon green whenever he's angry or overjoyed?"

--------

This is still based on my Danny Phantom in Assassination Classroom Universe AU of mine where Danny Fenton and his friends had temporarily transferred to Japan because of Vlad's new scheme, and was enrolled in Kunugigaoka Junior High School as transfer students. Unfortunately, Sam and Tucker were separated from him as they got placed in Class C, and he got thrown in the Class E due to his grades.

Honestly, I had lots of ideas encircling the prompt Neon, but I can't draw them due to procrastination, loss of confidence in drawing anatomy, or busy schedule.

So I got stuck on drawing Danny Fenton in a fake screencap of Assassination Classroom, with Nagisa Shiota as a base reference.

[darks-ink]

Distortion

Prompt: He’s flying. Or is he? Prompt by: @bibliophileap Word count: 2,900

[AO3][FFnet][more Phic Phight fics]

Winds whipped past Danny. The air currents brushed through his hair, mussing it into something even more wind-blown than usual. The dampness of the clouds greeted him as he dove through them. Up and up he went.

Then finally he emerged from the other side. The moon, large and full, shone bright and welcoming. All around it, the stars blinked and winked at him.

Danny twisted around, letting his momentum carry him into a loop. This far above civilization, no one could see or hear him. He whooped in joy, carefree.

Flying was, by far, Danny’s favorite power. Sure, he could find useful applications for all of his powers. Was quite inclined to use most of them in his daily life, too.

But flying… Flying was something special. Even on his worst days, flight was a guaranteed pick-me-up. It never failed to cheer him up, even if only temporarily.

Lying on his back, Danny trailed his fingers through the clouds as if he were floating on water. Above him, the stars shone. Smiling to himself, Danny moved to trace the constellations – he had them memorized, after all.

Then he jerked to a stop. Lifted up one of his hands to connect the stars.

Frowned to himself as the dots didn’t quite connect. He tried again, with a different constellation.

Once again, they didn’t match. No matter how he tried, none of the stars formed into the constellations he knew. They were off, just slightly.

Repressing a shiver, Danny rightened himself. Whatever night sky he was looking at… it wasn’t the right one. It wasn’t Amity’s sky.

But… how? He was just in Amity. He had been working on his homework, but he had gotten frustrated so he had decided to go for a fly.

Right?

So then how had he gotten… wherever the fuck he was?

It couldn’t be a dream, or something else based on his mind. He was familiar enough with the stars to properly mimic the constellations. And if they were off enough for him to tell, then clearly he hadn’t been responsible for making them so.

He lowered himself again, dropping through the layer of clouds. And below him, the familiar cityscape of Amity Park greeted him.

Frowning, Danny started moving through the streets. Following his set patrol routes – he knew these streets just as well as the stars, and if they were off too…

Well, he didn’t know what that would mean.

It didn’t take long for Danny to conclude that the streets, the layout of Amity Park, seemed to be correct. It was the details that were, once again, off – windows in the wrong places, houses painted the wrong colors – and once again, it made him feel uneasy.

After all, he was somehow in a world almost like his own… yet not exactly. It was a close enough match that he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been looking for it.

Who could have done this… And why? More importantly, how? After all, if he could figure out how he got here, he could get out too. Right?

Good, okay. Focus on the here and now. Plan. Make a plan.

Step one: figure out how he got here.

No, wait, scrap that.

New step one: figure out where here is. Because if it’s not really Amity Park, is he real? Is this his actual body?

Danny groaned. This situation was too complicated for him. He preferred an enemy he could just punch. Not all this… planning stuff. Maybe he could find Jazz…

Wait. Where there any people in this fake Amity Park?

He scanned the streets below him once more. They were fairly empty, but a few people were wandering around. No one he recognized, not even vaguely. They just looked… generic. Like computer-generated AI in a video game. A crowd of barely sentient beings for the player character to move around.

The thought was an interesting one, and Danny made sure to remember it. He wasn’t sure where it had come from, but… now that it had come to him, it seemed right, somehow. The way the people below moved, not interacting with each other in the slightest…

Repressing a shiver, Danny angled himself towards FentonWorks. Whether Jazz – or any of his family – existed or not, there were things there he needed to check. After all, Amity Park was an imitation, if a fairly well-made one. If the Ghost Zone was more accurate, it would suggest that a ghost was behind this.

Intangibility washed over him as he dove through the walls of his home. He didn’t stop to look at the living room, but went straight to the lab.

Shiny steel greeted him. Walls washed white, immaculate floors and walls and hell, even the ceiling was spotless. The tables were empty, and the gadget racks pushed against the walls were neatly organized.

It was a beautiful lab, and well-kept. It definitely wasn’t his parents’.

More strikingly, however, was the Portal in the back. Or what Danny assumed was the Portal. Because it held very little resemblance to the actual thing.

Rather than a metal arch, the opening to the Portal was simply a hole in the wall. The metal edges were shredded and ripped, mangled and even slightly blackened. Like something had blasted its way through the wall.

The Portal itself looked like a natural portal rather than the artificial one it should have been. Its edges flickered, the size varying as it whirled around itself. It wasn’t connected to the walls at all. Instead it floated freely, right in the center of the tear in the lab’s walls.

It wasn’t realistically possible. And while yes, that sounded a little weird considering ghosts and physics generally didn’t mix, this was something else. A natural portal wasn’t stable. It couldn’t maintain itself. Or rip a hole through the wall, like this one seemed to have done.

Which suggested that whoever had made this simulation, they weren’t familiar with ghost portals at all. And, besides, any ghost who could’ve reached Danny would’ve gone through his parents’ lab. They would’ve done a better job of imitating it.

Danny took his eyes off of the Portal again, scanning the lab. Really, it looked more like what he imaged a GIW lab would look like. Shiny, immaculate, way too much white and steel.

Hang on… Could the Guys in White be responsible for this? Could they have somehow set up some sort of simulation and trapped him in it?

Soundlessly he touched down in the lab. He turned to watch his reflection – the walls were so shiny he didn’t need a mirror. His normal ectoplasm green eyes blinked back, looking the same as usual. His hair looked the same too – and when he combed his gloved fingers through it, it felt just as real, too.

He groaned, digging his fingers into his scalp.

And barely repressed his yelp when his fingers dug too deep, his skull giving way like it didn’t even exist-

Wait.

Danny looked his reflection straight in the eyes, slowly lifting his hands off of his head. He held them out in front of him, gently grasped one hand with the other.

Then, with all his force, he clenched his left hand – the one he had wrapped around the right.

Like he had expected, his right hand gave way easily. It squished like… like it had no bones. Like the tentacle of an ectopus. Like it was made entirely out of ectoplasm.

So that was another point for the GIW. And proof that this wasn’t his own body. He wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of himself – if he had no bones, his body likely followed all the basic ghost rules. Or what the GIW thought were the basics for ghosts. No food, no water, no sleep…

All the more time for Danny to figure out how to get out of here. Or how to break the simulation, or whatever this was.

Either way, he had to be careful with what he did, now. If the GIW really were responsible for this, they would be watching. Recording it, too. Anything he did could leave them more informed. Any powers he used that they didn’t know about yet would surely be turned against him in the future.

He wouldn’t even consider turning human. That wasn’t something they needed to know. Besides, he didn’t think he could do it, anyway. If this body was made according to what the GIW knew about Phantom, it wouldn’t have a human side to switch to, anyway. Unless the could alter his body – the simulation – to his own knowledge and will… But if that was the case, then surely he wouldn’t have been able to squash his own hand like that?

Anyway, not important. Now that he (probably) knew who were responsible for how he got here, and what, exactly, this was, he could go back to figuring out how to leave.

So it was a simulation, likely made by the GIW. Were they trying to study him? His behavior? Was this a way to separate his mind from his body, so they could dissect him without risking the loss of his mind?

This time he shivered physically. That was a line of thought he didn’t want to come back to.

He floated out of the lab again, hoping that the change of environment would help. Outside, the streets were still empty. The clouds had dispersed a little, the stars visible from the ground.

They served as another reminder of how wrong things were, here.

“Okay,” he said, softly. Danny didn’t make a habit out of talking to himself, but the eerie silence was starting to get to him.

“Okay,” he repeated, combing his fingers through his hair again. “So this isn’t Amity Park. This isn’t real. Fuck.”

When no answer came, he continued to fill the silence with his thoughts. So maybe it would reveal to the GIW that he had caught on to them. Whatever. If he had to listen to this nothingness for any longer he would go crazy.

“So this is just some kind of… simulation, or whatever. This isn’t my body, and it isn’t my world. I just need to… disconnect, somehow.” He shivered, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in his own skin. Or, well, not his own skin, but the body he was in control of.

For all that it had felt correct at first, now that he knew it was off, it started to bother him more and more. The feeling of air rushing through his lungs, the slow but steady feeling of his heart beating…

It was all missing.

Instead of letting the uncomfortable thoughts distract him, however, he focused on the feelings themselves. Focused on the differences between reality and this.

In his peripherals, he could see the world distorting. Glitching. It was falling apart, darkening steadily. Somehow simultaneously sharpening into clusters of pixels and fading out.

He lost feeling in his fingers. He couldn’t remember if he had ever felt his toes in this simulation.

Danny embraced the darkness eagerly.

When he came to, he was still surrounded by darkness. His eyes were closed. He was itching to open them, to check where he was, how he was-

But he could hear the voices of two adult men. They didn’t know he was awake yet.

“-But how could it know?” one man asked, frustration lacing his voice. “The simulation was nigh perfect! No ghost should be perceptive enough to figure it out!”

“Why do you think I know, K?” another replied, gruff and equally angry. “We both know that Phantom was unique. Maybe it’s just a little more special than we thought.”

So it was the GIW. He had already been pretty sure, but the confirmation was nice.

Just like the steady beat of his heart was nice. The feeling of air rushing through his airways, silently. The hidden warmth of his human form, even while he was in ghost form.

He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed that it was missing during the simulation.

“Whatever,” the first man – agent K, apparently – said. “Doesn’t matter. At least with its mind occupied, the little bastard can’t wake up. Even if it knows that it’s trapped in a simulation, it can’t break out of it, anyway.”

Hah! Or so they thought. Maybe he couldn’t have done it, had his body been correct. Focusing on the differences, on the mistakes, had been what allowed him to disassociate with the simulation, after all.

The sound of footsteps leaving, another pair of shoes scuffing the floor near him. Danny itched to open his eyes, but he wanted to maintain the illusion a little longer. If the GIW didn’t know that he was awake – that he could wake up – then that was his best weapon.

Instead he focused on exploring his environment with his other senses. He was lying on a flat metal surface, cold and hard. Not very surprising.

Neither were the hard cuffs around his wrists and ankles.

What was surprising was the lack of buzzing from them. Normally, anti-ghost weaponry gave of a faint whir – a feeling like static, the mishmash of conflicting energies. But these cuffs didn’t do that. Were they… were they really not ghost proof?

Were the GIW so sure of their simulation technology that they hadn’t bothered to lock him up properly?

“Hey, look at this,” agent K said. The pair of shoes that had remained near his table now also left. Not far, but…

Danny risked opening his eyes a little. The light was blinding, but he adjusted to it quickly. The lab looked exactly like what he would’ve expected from the GIW.

It also looked a lot like the lab in the simulation. How predictable.

Both of the agents had their backs turned to him. They were looking at something on a far table, but Danny couldn’t see what, exactly, that was. A glance downwards confirmed his initial suspicions – the cuffs didn’t seem to be ghost proof. They were ordinary metal.

He grinned, turning his arms intangible. Then he sat up, phasing them through the metal effortlessly. Idiots.

Suddenly one of the agents turned around. He could see himself reflected in the sunglasses the man wore – his vibrant green eyes glowing like hellfire.

“Shit,” the man swore, tugging on the sleeve of the other agent. “It’s awake, O!”

“What?!” The other agent – so agent O? – also whirled around, reaching for a weapon on his belt. “Impossible!” he said, despite looking at the evidence.

Not wanting to get further into this mess, Danny phased his legs out of the cuffs as well. He crouched on the table, ready to launch himself out of this building. Or the room, at least, since it didn’t seem to have a ghost shield. What were they, amateurs?

Agent K, still unarmed, held his hands out. Placatingly, maybe? “Wait,” he called, although Danny wasn’t sure if the man was speaking to him or to his colleague. “How’d you know?”

“What?” Danny asked, thrown off by the non-sequitur. “Know what?”

Now agent O also paused, apparently curious. His ecto-gun was in his hand, but still aimed downwards. Danny figured he had enough time to leave, should the man change his mind.

“That it was a simulation.” Agent K gestured with one of his hands, still raised. “How did you break out of it? It should’ve been foolproof!”

Danny frowned, then shrugged. “The stars were wrong. And after I noticed that, all the other things stood out, too.”

Agent O lowered his weapon even further. “But ghosts aren’t smart enough to see such things! They’re not observational enough to notice such things!”

“Uh,” Danny gestured at himself, “I beg to differ.”

Now the agent’s brows creased, the fingers around his gun clenching in anger. But before he could act on it, agent K pushed the other man back a step. “Don’t,” he warned. Then, turning back to Danny, he explained, “That goes against everything we know about ghosts.”

He snorted in answer. “Shows how little you know, doesn’t it?”

The man paused, seeming to think this over. Agent O, standing behind him, crossed his arms. He couldn’t get a direct shot on Danny with agent K standing in front of him.

Finally, agent K broke the silence again. He frowned at Danny, lowering his hands again. “This… This isn’t humane. This isn’t okay.”

He took a step back, forcing agent O further back too.

“Leave, Phantom. I can’t… I can’t support doing such a thing to a sentient being.”

Danny blinked, surprised. Automatically, he straightened up a little. “Really? I mean, uh.” He blushed, bright green creeping over his cheeks. “Thanks.”

Invisibility washed over him, Danny embracing the feeling. He lingered for a moment longer, but agent O immediately stormed off. Agent K lingered for a moment longer, sighing heavily.

“I should’ve known,” the man said to himself, so quiet that Danny could barely hear him. “I should’ve realized sooner.”

Convinced that the man had meant what he said, Danny left. No other part of the facility was shielded. He returned to Amity no worse for the wear.

The stars, blinking above him, sparkled their usual constellations. Just as he had always known them.

[hiroasu-akika]

Yo everybody, here have some VRAINS Fanfic Ideas/Prompts

I'll probably try my hand at these myself at some point, but I'm putting them out for anyone to use because I probably wouldn't write them well. Prompt #1: Yusaku can see and/or summon Duel Spirits. Just a general thing, feel free to do whatever you want with this one. Some of the following prompts are a more fleshed out version of this concept.

One of the thoughts that spawned this idea was what if Yusaku was spirit sensitive during the Lost Incident, and thus was pretty much adopted by Duel Spirits. Fast forward ten years, and he has a Jiraiya of the Sannin-level spy network without anyone being any the wiser. There was also the thought of stern and standoffish Playmaker being Soft(™) with his monsters. Animal-like and The simple machine monsters would be pets. The human-like monsters would range from parental figures, to older or younger siblings to small children. The Code Talkers would absolutely act like how medieval knights would toward their king/liege. His dragons would be the seemingly ferocious guard dogs that growl at anything within 30 feet of Yusaku, but are in reality “the attention span of a sparrow” puppies. (They are adorable and Yusaku loves them, yes he does. Firewall really is a ferocious guard dog with everyone except Yusaku tho)

You could also do a Yusaku slowly awakens to the ability to see/hear Duel Spirits mid-canon (at any point in the plot you want). 

This could be funny: Yusaku being confused(™) until it makes sense, or angsty: Yusaku getting incredibly paranoid/anxious or thinking he's actually going insane while his friends/allies/fans begin to worry as he begins to act strangely.

(I just really want Spirit/Psychic Duelist!Yusaku in any form okay?)

Prompt #2: The one where Yusaku catches the eye of Stardust Dragon, and is subsequently adopted by said dragon without any say in the matter.

(Bonus if Yusei is just there and serenely lets it happen.)

Stardust: this is my son I will vaporize anything that hurts him

Yusei: yea cool guess I've got a little brother now

Yusaku: ...do I get any say in th-

Stardust: shh my sweet child I will protect you

Yusei: no not really

Yusaku:

Random Knight of Hanoi #179: *hurts Yusaku, is realizing his error* OOOOOH SHIIII-!!!!! SOL Tech: *sweats*

Note #1 - Yusaku can see Duel Spirits in this AU. They tend to materialize themselves [read: to defend their precious child] in his general vicinity whenever they feel like it. Den City as a whole is pretty much resigned to and somewhat fond/proud of this fact. (Most of its residents have in fact all adopted Yusaku as well. Tourists are usually hella confused.)

Tourist: hey does that kid have a Kuriboh on his head? Den City Resident: that's just Yusaku, don't mind him

Tourist: is that a goddamn DRAGON??? Den City Resident: *serenely, not even looking* that's normal everything is fine

Tourist: ?!??! Note #2 - Yusei can be along for the ride. If so, he and Stardust are pretty much post-5D's immortal gods that watch over mankind while the Crimson Dragon sleeps.

Note #3 - Can be cracky, serious, angsty, or anything in-between, go wild! Prompt #3: How to Train Your [Cracking/Borrel/Stardust/Sky/Winged] Dragon - The one where Duel Monsters wander freely and peacefully around VRAINS when not in use during duels, and Playmaker stumbles across an injured Cracking Dragon. Chaos ensues as he helps and inadvertently befriends the beast. Note - Could alternatively have the Duel Monster be one of Revolver's "Borrel" Dragons, Stardust Dragon, or- for the lols- Slifer the Sky Dragon or the Winged Dragon of Ra. Prompt #4: The one where Yusaku is thrown headfirst from Link VRAINS into the world of My Hero Academia, with Ai along for the ride. (Can be cracky, serious, angsty, or anything in-between, go wild!) Suggestions that don't have to be used - Yusaku's “Quirk” could be his Link Sense, only amplified to the point where he has the ability to connect to/hack the network and manipulate it however he wishes with any electronic device or his thoughts. He can also summon his Cyberse monsters by forming them from raw data. Yusaku can also turn into Playmaker to hide his identity.

Ai can either remain in Yusaku’s duel disk, or leave it in either his tiny or full sized “human” forms. He can also transform into his six-armed monster form, in which he can consume data to either save or delete it. Kaminari could possibly trigger Yusaku's PTSD with his Quirk on accident. Prompt #5: The one where Yusaku is unknowingly infected with a virus, and all hell breaks loose. Can either be pretty-much-drunk/high!Yusaku, or essentially Berserk Jinchuriki!Yusaku, or just angst. NOTHING sexual, please. Prompt #6: The one where Link VRAINS falls prey to a virus/hacker, leaving everyone currently logged in with no way to log out- including Playmaker. Basically SAO, YGO-style. Go wild with this one. Prompt #7: The one where VRAINS and the real world are merged without any warning, and Yusaku is unfortunately smack in the middle of Algebra when his Link Sense goes crazy...seconds before he forcefully glitches into Playmaker right in front of his entire class. (This one was a random thought, and can be cracky, serious, or angsty.)

Prompt #8: The one where Yusaku’s account is hacked so that his avatar has the features of Firewall Dragon, and he can’t remove them. (...It was Ghost Girl’s fault, he just knew it.) Note - Yusaku has Firewall Dragon's halo, wings, tail, and can have some of its armor. He can also have elongated canines and claws. (And yes, the original thought was Ghost Girl pranking Playmaker.)

Prompt #9: The one where Yusaku is blind or deaf IRL due to permanent damage suffered during the Lost Incident, but he has his sight/hearing while in VRAINS because it isn't his physical body. (Conversely, he still lacks his missing sense(s) even while in VR, and is just really good at hiding being blind/deaf.) Suggestions for this AU that don't have to be used:

Note #1 - Can use one of two types of damage as the cause of Yusaku's disability:

Direct Damage: Yusaku suffered damage directly to his eyes/ears, allowing VRAINS to ignore said damage and for Yusaku to temporarily recover his lost sense while logged in. Brain Damage: The electric shocks caused damage directly to the parts of Yusaku's brain that are responsible for sight/hearing, which causes the damage to carry over even while Yusaku is logged into VRAINS. Note #2 - If blind, Yusaku programs his avatar's eyes to automatically track people's movements and faces so that he can “look" at them, and his cards to either have braille text, or an audio feed that only he can hear that reads his cards off to him. May have Ai and/or Roboppi serve as something similar to a seeing eye dog. Or you could throw Prompt #1 into the mix and also have Duel Spirits help Yusaku out. Yusaku can have a specially programmed set of (Ai-themed) headphones that Ai can inhabit that allow the Ignis to speak with him privately or IRL. They are a headset in VRAINS and earbuds IRL.] Note #3 - If deaf, Yusaku knows sign and is mute as well. He has specially programmed text boxes that allow him to read everything his opponent says during duels, and follow whatever is going on easier. Yusaku can have a specially programmed phone that Ai can inhabit to send him text messages when IRL. Ai can also learn Sign.] Note #4 - In either version, Yusaku knows Morse Code and programs his avatar to have a higher sensitivity to vibrations as well. Ai is also quite a bit more protective of Yusaku.

Prompt #10: Playmaker counts out his convictions in threes for everyone to hear. Fujiki Yusaku hasn't spoken in ten years. (AKA The Selectively Mute Yusaku AU.) Prompt #11: The one where the same virus that killed Dr. Kogami traps and fragments Playmaker's consciousness data (mind) in Link VRAINS, thereby rendering him comatose, and his allies are left with no way to rescue him- save for delving into his fragmented mind to wake him up in person. Basically the Danny Phantom's-class-enters-his-mind fic, VRAINS-style. If you've ever read one of those fics, you'll get the concept, but I'll try to explain it a little anyway. [Note #1 - Suggestions for the people who enter Yusaku's mind are: Ai, Kusanagi, Takeru, Flame, Ryoken, Spectre (follows Ryoken), Akira, Ema, Aoi, Aqua, Go (hacks in), Roboppi (brought by Ai), and Kengo (also hacks in).] [Note #2 - The group has to experience Yusaku's memories as they attempt to save him- including those of the Lost Incident- in visceral detail. (I, personally, would serve still-in-his-asshole-phase-Go a nice heaping helping of #Guilt/Remorse/Horror(™) if you have him witness the memories.)] [Note #3 - The facets of Yusaku's personality are fragmented, with each being represented as their own separate version of Yusaku. Some suggestions are as follows (feel free to use them or do your own thing). Anger: Playmaker, and his eyes as well as the glow lines of his suit are red. Fear: Yusaku in his pajamas, as he was when he was shown suffering night terrors. Happiness: Six year-old Yusaku before he suffered the Lost Incident. Sadness: Base Yusaku, but he barely reacts to anything or anyone. His eyes are blue and he is constantly crying in near silence.

Hate: Think pissed off and severely injured Playmaker, but if he also had Vector(Zexal) or Lightning's twisted personality traits. 

Self Doubt: Yusaku as a nervous wreck and blaming himself for everything that has ever gone wrong. Shyness: Yusaku, but if he acted like Reira(ARC-V) or Hinata from Naruto.

Confidence: Playmaker, but friendly and smiling and enjoying dueling.

Selflessness: Yusaku, but his color scheme is predominantly white. Would sacrifice himself for his allies.

Selfishness: Playmaker, but his color scheme is predominantly black. Would cast his allies aside without a second glance.

The true Yusaku can him as he normally appears, or his beat-up six year-old self just before being rescued, or a beat-up six year-old Playmaker.] Prompt #12: Dark Signer AU. The one where Yusaku didn't survive the Lost Incident, but thanks to being a Dark Signer, nobody realizes this little detail. (I need more Dark Signer!Yusaku m'kay? Nemesis by DarkZorua100 is glorious, bUT i neeD mORe) [Note #1 - Angst obviously, unless you can somehow put a humorous spin on Yusaku trying to hide the fact that he's, y'know, dead from everybody. And semi-failing. Takeru: ooooh my god he's f*cking dead yoU'RE a f*CKinG zomBIE-

Yusaku: wait i can expla-

Takeru: *illegible screeches of terror*

(i'm a terrible person who would make this funny heLP)

Can have the temperament of Yusaku's Immortal vary depending on whether you do angst or humor:

Angst: Either a complete asshole that makes Yusaku's unlife hell, or semi-benevolent. Humor: Excited puppy.]

[Note #2 - Stray thought was that Yusaku's Earthbound Immortal could be Ai's monster form? Or at least based on it. (or even be the reason Ai has it, since none of the other Ignis seemed to have alternate forms.)] [Note #3 - In my version, Yusaku was the only Lost Child to actually die. But you can have some or all of the rest of the children be Dark Signers too.] [Note #4 - Yusaku appears normal to everyone IRL- save for the facts that he-

Has no heartbeat and is strangely pale.

Exudes no body heat.

Never eats/sleeps or seems to react to pain when hurt (he doesn't bleed either).

He's a walking corpse and most people just don't connect the dots. In VRAINS, he's Playmaker as normal, but his sclera can change to, or permanently are, black. He also has a mark on his left cheek under his eye that's vaguely reminiscent of lines of digital coding.] Feel free to use any of these! Please send me a link to any stories you may write!

[omniithe-deer]

I posted 12,353 times in 2021

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For every post I created, I reblogged 6175.5 posts.

I added 25 tags in 2021

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Longest Tag: 92 characters

#my big brother used to sump wrestle me and my sisters and bash our faces into solid objects.

My Top Posts in 2021

#2

Going through my Pinterest folder is like a Russia Roulette because one moment I'm looking at this one interesting sandwich chart I downloaded a while back then the next I get jumpscared by monstrosities like this:

Or find questionable stuff like this:

And I can't help but wonder what went wrong.

4 notes • Posted 2021-06-29 22:09:27 GMT

#1

BNHA 86 AU

So I and my sisters have been watching this anime that was recently released called 86, which touches up on slavery and racism to the point were we would GLADY become communists, and my sister, @africanotaku92 just came up with this BNHA Idea which I am taking some creative liberty since we've only fleshed out the basic premise.

Warning: I'd only seen like, 2 episodes of this anime at the time I am writing this ( I'm busy with finals) so this AU will be LOOSELY based off of it. I'm also getting minor inspiration from the Hunger Games.

The premise is that, sometime probably a few years after an event I like to call The First Quirk War, Japan had a civil war on the stances of Quirks, One faction that would have spawned the current BNHA World, and a second faction that thinks quirks would just be a new path for the "Gifted" and "Strong" to lord themselves over the weak and wanted to suppress quirks in general. They called themselves Human Primes ( and I will be calling them just Primes from this point on,) and consisted of the quirkless and those with quirks that are so weak, that they can cause little to no danger or damage in any situation that can be applied. The Primes win the civil war, ruling Japan with an iron fist, separating Japan into 48 Districts (Like how Japan is in 47 prefectures).

Primes live in 13 of these Districts, with the government and the quirkless living the Royal life in the 1st and 2nd Districts and those with weak quirks living in various states of luxury and comfort that can go no lower than middle-class, living in the remaining 11 Districts. The rest of the population (simply known as Beasts to the Primes,) that have quirks that are too strong or deemed too dangerous to be around Human Primes live in the remaining 35 Districts living in various states of oppression and/or poverty. The only exception being Heroes, who are "Beasts" that are funded by the government or sponsored by a personal Prime to Patrol the city and/or protect personnel and private property and keep the other "Beasts" out of the city if they aren't employed by the Primes, and "Beasts" whose quirks are said to be too dangerous to be out of the governments constant surveillance.

For most part, the government personally stays out of the 35 Districts, preferring to use drones and droid mechs to keep control over them, Except Once A Year, called Collection Day, where they come to all the 48 Districts and search every child between the ages of 3 and 6 for the quirkless, the weak quirks, and the extremely dangerous quirks. If any of these kinds of children are found, they will immediately be whisked away from their parents and put in an adoption agency where they will temporarily be taught their new role in society and be adopted into the appropriate families.

In the case of the Dangerous quirks though, Instead of a normal adoption process, they will be trained for up to a period of 1-5 years (depending on how old they were upon collection and the scope of their abilities) of their quirk skills and other skills they may need later in life (Butler skills, Nanny skills, Maid skills, Espionage, etc.) and then they will be put up for Auction, where potential sponsors will view them via demonstrations and will pick a child to sponsor and go home with.

Any child not picked will be Immediately be sponsored by the government, but can be requested to be put back in the auctions the next year. If by the time they are 16 the have no sponsors or have been returned to the government and have never been sponsored again, they are considered permanent government personnel and will be given missions and tasks as the government sees fit or they re to be drafted into the military for a mandatory 5 years of service.

Izuku and Katsuki live in the 21st District, so they're situation isn't good, but it could be much worse. They manage to get by though, have a lot of friends, live in a quite safe (for that District anyway) neighborhood and like all children their age, dream of being the first Heroes that will protect the lower districts from crime and evil.

Until Collection Day.

18 notes • Posted 2021-07-11 20:04:14 GMT

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[ayamari-no-goshi]

Chasing Shadows (6)

AO3 -> first, last, next

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS  IS A CROSSOVER.  As Bruce Wayne begins to slowly recover from the loss of his son, two   separate mysteries open up old wounds. Who is the unknown leaving clues   hinting at a return to Gotham, and who is the phantom pretending to be   his lost son? Is it just a coincidence they’re active in Gotham at the   same time? Or are they connected?  

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

Stephanie was not going to cry. She wasn’t. Well, maybe she would after she was out of her current predicament and away from the prying eyes of the asshole known as Batman. Seriously, why was she trying to prove her worth to the man? Wait, it’s because he was freaking Batman, that’s why.

She just wanted to set up a situation that would show him her competence and that she was just as capable as Tim, or Dick, or Cass. It was never her intention to cause a city-wide gang war that threatened to take everyone and thing with it. That’s what she got for deciding to use one of Batman’s own contingency plans. For someone who made plans for everything, he liked leaving out important details like that the so-called crime boss Matches Malone, who was super important to making this plan work, was just one of his aliases.  So now, there was a massive power vacuum in the city during to most of the organized crime losing their heads and some of the lieutenants because she enacted that plan.

Even though Batman didn’t want to see her back on the streets, she had to do something. It was her fault this happened, and she needed to do something to help get things back under control. Sure, Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl were doing their best. Catwoman and some other acquaintances were assisting too. Even Tim had been forced out of retirement and had taken up the Robin mantle again. Surprisingly, Phantom hadn’t shown himself to any of them, but they did have reports he was trying to keep the fighting away from some of the hospitals.

That didn’t matter right now. What did matter was finding Orpheus.

Orpheus was a newer vigilante in Gotham. Bruce did something to help get him trusted by the various gangs in the city, and since they couldn’t use the Matches Malone persona to get things under control, they were going to attempt to use Orpheus as a figurehead for the gangs instead. If all went well, it would stop the gang war. But, he’d gone worryingly dark, and Steph had made it her mission to find him. It was the least she could do to help fix things.

And that’s how she found her way into a trap. She managed to find Orpheus in one of his few safe houses (conveniently supplied by Bruce). For a brief moment, she thought everything would be okay as she began explaining what he needed to do. But something caught his attention, and she barely had time to respond when her world went temporarily black.

Coming to with a pounding headache, she found herself restrained on a chair with the villain known as Black Mask paced in front of her. With the exception of occasionally dealing with his organization, the False Face Society, she hadn’t personally met him before, but his appearance was unmistakable. Due to a fire he set when he first came on the scene, his face now looked like a blackened skull mask. He’d been slowly regaining power in the organized crime world of Gotham since his escape from Arkham. He was known to be ruthless with a penchant for torture which wouldn’t make her situation better.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good. I need to have a little chat with you, Girly.” He moved closer so she was forced to look at him. His putrid breath made her eyes water. “I know the Bat has some sort of plan to get this godforsaken mess under control. I was gonna ask that associate of yours, but he put up too much resistance.” His gaze moved to the side where Orpheus laid unmoving on the floor in a pool of blood. The ashy color to his skin suggested he was already dead.

This was all her fault. Not only did she set up the meeting that led to this war, now the guy they needed for being able to stop the needless bloodshed was gone.

What was she going to tell Bruce?

Why was she even thinking about that? She was currently bound to a chair by a madman and escaping intact needed to be her priority. Taking stock of her surroundings, she noticed that there was one door with light filtering underneath it. Moving shadows suggested there were people guarding the door. There was one window large enough for her to escape out of. Thankfully, it just looked closed as opposed to boarded shut. If needed, she could just break through it. Good. Now she just needed to get out of the restraints which thankfully just seemed to be rope.

Let’s see. Did he remove the hidden blade she kept in her gloves for this very reason? No? Good. Now, she just needed to grab it and cut the ropes while not cluing him into what she was doing. Easy enough.

Moving to the lone table in the room, Black Mask placed a briefcase that had been leaning against it on top of it. With a rather loud click, it popped open, and he began removing things such as a revolver, a hammer, a white mask, and what appeared to be an electric screwdriver. That one made her a little nervous.

“Nice, aren’t they?” Mask had noticed her watching him. “Just like you Bats, I like to be prepared when I ply my trade. You never know what you might need when you need to make someone talk.”

“Funny, that’s just what I was thinking.” The new mechanical voice seemed to come from the shadows.

Mask grabbed the revolver off the table and pointed it towards where he thought the voice came from. “I don’t know who you are, but I don’t particularly like being interrupted. So, I’ll give you the count of five to show yourself. One… Five.” He fired and put a hole in the wall, but there was no sign he hit anyone.

“Put that down before you hurt yourself with it.” The voice warned as someone emerged from the darkness in the same place where Mask shot. His red helmet glinted dangerously in the dim light: the Red Hood.

This situation just went from bad to worse. They had some reports he’d been dispatching any gang members who dared approach Crime Alley during the war. Once the gangs got the message to avoid the area, they started getting reports of him appearing in other areas of Gotham and doing the same thing. They even suspected he may have been the sniper who assisted Bruce and Cass during the assault on Tim’s school that caused him to come out of retirement. He seemed to have strict morals regarding who he would and wouldn’t attack as he only seemed to kill people who were known killers, traffickers, or high-ranking drug dealers. If they didn’t have those crimes, he tended to just knock out or incapacitate them. He was especially lenient with kids and teens.

Hopefully, that meant that he would help her escape. But with his unknown issues with Batman being enough that he harmed Tim, she wasn’t sure if he’d help Black Mask or not.

“And just who might you be?” Mask snapped as he pointed the gun at Hood. “Oh wait, I don’t really care.”

Hood made a noise which almost sounded like a scoff as he seemed to vanish back into the shadows. Panicked, Mask fired a few more shots without hitting anything.

“Enough of that.” Mask froze as Hood wrapped his arm around his neck from behind and held an unusual blade up to his throat. Was it a kris? Steph noted that Hood’s sleeves were rolled up and didn’t seem to have those strange markings Nightwing’s video of him showed. Had that been a temporary thing? Or was there something more to it? “I’m going to give you one warning. Go after Bats all you want, but the kids are off limit.”

“And just why should I listen to a nobody like you?” Mask hissed at him. “I can have dozens of men in here in an instant to kill you.”

“Go ahead and try.” Even through the helmet, Hood seemed amused. “You’ll find that they’re currently indisposed. But even if you decide I’m bluffing, do you really want to be caught in the crosshairs?” When Mask stopped struggling, Hood snickered. “That’s what I thought. As part of our little deal…”

“What deal?”

Hood pushed the knife a little more into Mask’s throat. “You leave the kids alone, and I don’t brutally murder you. That kind of deal.” Hood’s shoulders shook as if he was silently laughing. “Anyways, maybe I should give you some info about Batman as a show of good faith. I mean, Hush seemed to appreciate some of the information I provided him.”

“You’re the informant the Riddle mentioned?” The words slipped out before she could stop herself. They had no idea how much he knew about Bruce’s operations as Batman and personal life, but it seemed to be extensive. This was bad. Just how much damage could this man simply by selling that?

Hood glanced at her. Well, at least he seemed to. God, she wished he’d take off the damn helmet.

“I almost forgot we had an audience. Dove, can you get her to safety?” he seemed to ask the air.

“Can you seriously stop calling me that?” The sound of the disembodied voice made her jump. She briefly noted the air around her seemed to chill before it felt as if she was doused in ice water. The next thing she knew she was on the ground outside with Phantom worriedly floating beside her.

…

Bruce had been in the middle of reviewing the current situation on the streets with Dick, Tim, and Cass while Barbara chimed in from the comms when Stephanie hesitantly walked into the cave. Bruises covered her face, but other than those and the exhaustion seen in her shoulders, she seemed otherwise okay. She carried a paper bag which appeared to have something substantial within it.

“Steph, what happened?” Tim questioned as he and the others went to go help her. After Dick gently took the bag from her, double checked what it was, and placed it on one of the work benches, Tim and Cass supported her as they led her to the Med Bay.

“Black Mask happened. Batman,” she directly looked at him as her voice wavered with emotion, “he killed Orpheus.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Slit throat. Mask confirmed it, and I saw the body when I came to.”

Anger and frustration momentarily filled Bruce’s mind. He needed Orpheus to be able to stop this mess, and now that he was dead, everything they could do to help salvage the situation fell to pieces. Why was she even there with him? Was she the one who led Mask to Orpheus? But at the same time, he was glad she appeared to be okay. Sure, she wasn’t his, but he did care for her, even if he didn’t think she was currently good enough to be on the streets.

“When you came to? What happened?” Dick asked her while Alfred appeared and ran a diagnostic on her to check for hidden injuries before treating her.

Her lip quivered for a moment before she explained how Black Mask tied her up in hopes of getting information out of her. That was concerning. Sionis was well known for torturing people, but she didn’t appear to be severely injured. That was explained as she revealed that Red Hood appeared from the shadows and kept him at bay while Phantom helped her escape.

“I don’t understand, why would Red Hood help you?” Dick tilted his head in confusion. His own interaction with the man had greatly troubled him.

“Hood warned Mask not to harm me or any of the other kids,” she huffed in insult at the word, “helping Batman. When I demanded answers from Phantom about why he was working with that man, he said something strange. I don’t know if it was a slip or not. He said that ‘Hood would rather die again then let another teen hero die.’”

His eldest shared a look with Tim. Odd. Bruce knew they were investigating something on their own regarding Hood, even after Tim temporarily stepped down from the Robin mantle. That look must have something to do with their research. “Phantom joked with him not to die again when I eavesdropped on their conversation,” he explained slowly. “I hate to say it, but maybe both of them did have at least a brush with death.”

“It just doesn’t make sense. He clearly had an issue with Tim, but he came to my rescue?”

“I think he has more of an issue with Bruce than me,” Tim explained while tapping his arm as Alfred gently tended to Stephanie’s wounds. “Whatever it is, it’s bad enough for him to ignore his own morals.”

“Perhaps.” Bruce wasn’t so sure of that, but at least the man helped save one of their own this time around. It also continued to surprise him that Phantom would continue to willingly work with him. There was just something about their relationship they were missing. “Did you get anything else from Hood or Phantom.”

She shook her head. “Other than Hood confirmed he was Hush’s informant, no.”

“That man has a lot of information he shouldn’t have,” Babs murmured from over the coms. “I haven’t found any evidence of tampering in our systems. Bruce, I know it’s unlikely, but with Phantom being able to pass through walls, is it possible he managed to get into the cave?”

“I have considered that,” Bruce acknowledged. “However, I haven’t received any notifications on our security regarding Phantom’s unusual heat signature or anyone appearing from a place they shouldn’t. It doesn’t rule out the possibility, but it does seem unlikely at this point.”

A quiet rustling sound interrupted them. All of them glanced over to find Cass peeking inside the bag Stephanie brought in. “Plants? From Red Hood?”

“I almost forgot about that. Phantom told me to take it.” Stephanie made a face. “It’s pretty hefty, and I briefly thought it was a severed head. Phantom seemed offended by the idea. Though I’m not sure if that’s because I thought he’d give me a severed head or that Hood would have done that.”

“We might as well take a look,” Dick suggested. “It’s not like we’re making any breakthroughs with the current situation.”

As much as he didn’t like it, his son made a point. Besides, the temporary distraction might give him the needed break to be able to look at the war with fresh eyes once he returned to it.

Moving to the table, the others crowded around as he opened the bag and placed the contents on the table. What he found was an unusual plant with single stalk and large bulb that had six vines of another plant wrapped around it. The vines appeared to be morning glory, but he wasn’t sure of what the other one was. A piece of paper was tucked in between the vines which had written in typed letters, “Looks like you’re trapped between a rock and a hard place.”

Hood’s sense of humor wasn’t appreciated.

“I haven’t seen one of those in a long time,” Dick murmured before gesturing to the plant with the bulb. “I haven’t really seen them in the US, but they’re common in parts of the Mediterranean. It’s a Sea Squirt.”

Bruce hummed for a moment. The note most likely referenced the part in “The Odyssey” where Odysseus had to sail between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, but these plants were more puzzling to him. After a few minutes of research, he found his answer.

Morning Glories were also sometimes referred to as a Messina Creeper, and the Strait of Messina has been put forth as the historical location of where the monsters lived due to a known whirlpool in the area. Hood must have decided its vines would nicely reference Scylla especially because the plant was also sometimes considered a symbol of life, death, and mortality.

The other plant, the Sea Squirt, almost made him chuckle. One of its many names was Charybdis Maritima which explained why he would have chosen it. But Bruce was surprised to find that the plant was sometimes used as a ward for evil spirits.

There was one other surprise waiting for them. When Bruce gently lifted the plants to double check if Hood might have made a mistake and left some sort of trace clue on it, he found another piece of paper gently tucked into the vines of the Morning Glory. Unfurling it, he found it was a note addressed to his alter ego of Matches Malone:

 “Malone, will tell Mask Orpheus was your lynch pin. Will try to convince him to impersonate Orpheus and rally the gangs. Use it to end this. Too many innocents involved.”

Was it just a coincidence? Or did Hood know what Bruce’s plans were supposed to be? There was a good chance the latter was true. However, there was also a chance he was lying to Mask to gain a bit of rapport with him for the moment. Bruce was going to have to not only up the security on his systems, but also review all security for any signs they might have missed.

“Stephanie, are you absolutely certain Orpheus was killed?” he turned to see the teen nervously standing behind Cass. When she nodded, he ran a hand over his face. “For now, keep an ear out for any reports of him. If Hood’s note is truthful, there’s a chance we can use that to turn this around.”

“Wait, you’re not going to just believe this guy?”

Bruce understood Barbara’s outrage. This man had been playing with them for months and had a growing body count. However, between the amicable relationship between the helpful Phantom and his almost desperate attempts to keep Crime Alley safe from more destructive crime, it wasn’t a stretch to think he did indeed want the war to end as quickly as possible.

“But if he’s being honest, this might give us the edge we need.” Dick seemed to choose his words carefully.

“Agreed. For now, we will work under the assumption things will continue the way they currently are. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything we might be able to use to get things under control,” Bruce instructed as he watched his kids and Stephanie interact. He’d been lucky today. As much as he hated to admit it, he owed Red Hood for keeping Stephanie safe.

…

It turned out, Red Hood had seemingly held up his promise. Someone posing as a very convincing Orpheus approached Bruce in the following days. However, thanks to Stephanie’s information, he knew to be vigilant for any signs it could be an imposter, and there were a couple very slight but telling slips. This was exactly what they needed to finally finish the war that ravaged Gotham.

After telling the imposter he was planning on getting what was let of the gangs into Robinson Park and place Orpheus at the led, he left the man and contacted the GCPD to start herding the groups in that direction. Even knowing that Black Mask was setting up a trap, the situation was still risky. He would need an extraction, so everyone would be on standby to make sure things went smoothly.

At the appointed time, he met up with the imposter. Through the coms, he knew everyone, including the GCPD, were in place to end this. Before there was a chance for him to get surrounded, Bruce sprung the trap and revealed it truly was Black Mask under the guise. As predicted, he tried to get the gangs to rally and attack him, but Dick did his part and managed to race in on one of his cycles and extract him before the GCPD started pelting the gangs with rubber bullets.

He had hoped that the GCPD would just stick to the rubber bullets, but at the urging of one of the captains, some switched to real ones, killing several of the criminals. It hurt. This was done specifically to try to end the bloodshed, but he should have known better. However, some of the better funded gangs started fighting back and managed to break through the police blockade. He knew that would happen and instructed the others, including Selena, who had offered to help, to take a couple of the different neighborhoods and capture the ones the police could not.

For the first time in days, Bruce believed there was hope on the horizon. At the same time, he couldn’t help feel as if this war wouldn’t end without at least one more damaging blow.

=====================

Notes:

Trying to work with the War Games arc in the comics is a pain. And I actually didn't know this until I was doing research, but Black Mask is a master of disguise. I mean... his family did own a cosmetic company... which he burned down. He had a habit of doing that.

With that out of the way, here's the Odyssey clue for stop 10: Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla is a monster with 6 heads who was once a beautiful woman - transformed by a jealous Circe into a monster. She lives in the rocks overlooking where Charybdis lived, chained to the bottom of the sea sucking in water and everything else while awake creating a massive whirlpool. This area, believed to be the Strait of Messina, is lined with rocky cliffs and to pass through the area either you lost everything if you strayed too near to Charybdis or lost 6 men to Scylla.

Why didn't they just go around? Well, the other way was to go through the Clashing Rocks (Symplegades) and Wandering/Roving Rocks (Planctae) which had only ever been passed successfully through once, and that was by Jason and the Argonauts, and their ship, the Argo, was still damaged in the process.

Anyways... this section of the Odyssey is believed to be a possible origin for the phrase "between a rock and a hard place." There is debate that this might have actually originated with a mine dispute in the southwestern USA, but semantics.

For the plants, firstly, the morning glory is sometimes also called the Messina Creeper. And, as we know, since it's a vine, it can have multiple arms which I'm using to represent the heads of Scylla here. Also, the plant can represent life, death, mortality, and love in vain which continues the life/death/undeath trend with the plants I've chosen.

The sea squill is a fun plant with a huge freaking bulb. It has a few scientific names, including Charybdis Maritima. How could I not use it? They do grow in Greece and interestingly, it's been used as a ward for evil spirits as well as a rat poison

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Verboten 15 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 15

It took almost twenty minutes for Danny’s mom to finish her tirade against the police. Watching her flip out on the officers was almost therapeutic, and by the time she was done, he was more amused then terrified. It made the actual interview much easier.

The police were initially skeptical, especially since his dad took the lead on explaining what happened. His childish excitement at getting to chase something made it sound like some made up fantasy, but that changed when Vlad gave his account. With his reputation, they were forced to take it seriously.

The older of the two officers, O’Brian, took the statements as his partner, Kiziah, reviewed the scene for any clues or evidence of how the creature got in the house. Other police offers were on the way to do a proper investigation.

“You’re the one that reported that murder… That was just, I guess it’s two days ago now,” O’Brian mentioned as he glanced at Danny, who nodded. “We chalked up the weirdness of your original statement due to shock, but if you’re telling me this thing is the same perp, I have no idea what we have on our hands.”

“I… I don’t really know if it was the same thing or not, but it looked like it.”

The officer frowned as his partner returned. “No obvious sign of a break in,” Kiziah stated, “but I don’t want to touch anything without an evidence kit. There’s definitely a weird substance in the living room and near the front door that will need analyzed.”

“You didn’t hear anything?” O’Brian looked back towards Danny and his parents.

“To be honest, our family tends to be heavy sleepers,” his mother explained as she gave him a sheepish grin. “Jack can sleep through almost anything, and I tend to wear earplugs.”

“And I am of the opposite,” Vlad stated as he made himself a cup of tea. “However, it wasn’t until I heard Daniel sprint up the stairs and bang on his parents’ door that I awoke.”

“Sorry about that.” Danny winced at he glanced at the man. Vlad didn’t seem as creepy as he had the previous day, but something still seemed off about him.

The man gave him a dismissive wave. “No worries, my dear boy. I believe your actions were more than understandable given the circumstances.”

“Err… I guess you want me to say if I heard anything?” Danny shook his head as the officers stared at him. “I didn’t. It… it was just a feeling, you know? Like when you get a sudden chill.” That statement was true enough. He figured it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to state the more paranormal aspect of it. “I thought I was just being paranoid until I looked down the stairs and that… that thing stared back at me.”

An awkward silence fell as O’Brian took some more notes. It was only broken when Kiziah received some sort of notification and moved to let the investigation team in. They quickly went to work examining the scene and looking for anything out of the ordinary. While they worked, an older man with a scar down the right side of his face took O’Brian and Kiziah aside and spoke with them. Once they finished, the older officer approached Danny and his family.

“I’m Lieutenant Metzger, and I’ve recently been put in charge of the investigation of the recent murders in the city. You’ve probably heard the rumors this is a serial case. Well, that’s true.” A muscle moved in the man’s cheek as he seemed to debate with himself over how much he could tell them. “Due to some of the details, we were under the impression these were ritualistic in nature and called in the FBI for some help.” He sighed before asking, “Is it okay if I sit?”

“Sure,” Danny’s mother shared a confused look with her husband before she asked the officer if he needed some coffee.

When he agreed, he waited until there was a cup in front of him to continue. “Look, I don’t want this being leaked. We don’t need people thinking the police force is wasting money on chasing fairy tales.” Once the Fenton family agreed, he continued, “You aren’t the first one to report something not quite human around the time of the incidences. Due to shock and figuring it was some sort of disguise, we originally disregarded that. However,” he glanced around before he leaned in, “one of my own officers gave a report earlier this week of glancing something inhuman. It actually attacked his patrol car before it vanished. On top of that, I don’t think whatever that thing spilled on your carpet has any sort of mundane explanation behind it.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, “Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, I’m going to be frank with you. I would like to contract you for some sort of weapon for this thing. From previous experiences, I’m fully aware your… experiments don’t tend to do harm to people, so if… by the off chance, this isn’t something normal, we’ll have a way to stop it.”

Danny’s father immediately lit up in excitement. After rambling some idea, he ran down to the lab to act upon it before anyone could stop him.

“Don’t mind him,” his mother fondly chuckled. “Jack is very enthusiastic about our work.”

“I… uh… take that you’re willing to help us?”

“Oh, absolutely. If this thing is what we think it might possibly be, we were going to do that anyways. But I do need to ask you something. You mentioned you thought the attacks were ritual in nature. I’m not really sure how to ask this, but for those poor people, was there a part of the body missing?”

Metzger’s shoulders tensed at her question as his eyes narrowed. “How did you know about that?”

“Wait… wait, you’re telling me… that thing… what it was holding in its hand…” Danny couldn’t say it. The memory of the blood dripping from that thing’s hand temporarily overwhelmed him. He must have swayed as his mother gently put a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. If you decide to go help your father, I think he’d gladly welcome the help.”

Danny shook his head at the suggestion. He needed to stay put. It just felt safer with her and the officers around. She must have somehow understood as she gave his shoulder a motherly squeeze.

“You didn’t answer my question.” An irritated edge crept into Metzger’s voice.

His mother calmly turned back to him and returned his gaze. “I didn���t until just now. After Danny relayed his story, it struck a chord with me, and I did some digging. There is folklore in different parts of the US which tells of creatures who steal the life of humans and often a part of the body. If… if that’s what’s happening, then we’re in trouble.”

“What do you think this thing is doing?”

“Nothing good. Throughout history, humankind has offered up blood and other bodily sacrifices to gods, spirits, monsters, and everything in between. While usually the Aztecs come to mind, you can find evidence of this around the world. It’s believed those sacrifices would either strengthen or appease whichever entity was the focus.”

“Maddie, are you suggesting this thing is doing something similar?”

She nodded. “I… We aren’t sure if this thing is trying to strengthen itself or if it’s taking its gains to something else.”

A different memory surfaced in Danny’s mind. “That… when we were being rescued… the… the person that helped us get back… he said the A-listers got targeted for their blood,” he stammered before he could stop himself.

Everyone in the room stared at him. He and his friends really hadn’t talked about Frostbite. They mentioned to the police they thought someone helped them, but purposely left it vague. With how disoriented they were when they were found, the police were under the impression the trauma obscured some of their memories. Well, the cat was out of the bag.

Matzger stared at him. “Are you telling me what happened to your classmates may be related to… to this thing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Like I told my mom before you came, the person who grabbed me and my friends isn’t the same… whatever that thing is. But, I don’t know what Dash and them encountered after we got separated.”

“Hmm… what about the person who helped you?”

Danny shook his head. “Not the same person. He called himself Frostbite, and…” How could he even explain Frostbite? He was a ghostly yeti with an ice arm for God’s sake! “I didn’t think he was real,” he eventually stated as he glanced down at his hands. “He was so friendly and helpful. He was so much different than that thing.”

“Honey, you never really talked about this Frostbite person before.” His mother tried to reach out for his hand, but he pulled away.

“I… I thought he was a dream or hallucination or something for a while.” He hoped he sounded sincere. It was somewhat true after all. The fantastical nature of what happen still didn’t seem real to him, but he knew better. “I think he had helpers… there were other voices besides his.”

“That would line up with some of the evidence we have from your case,” Matzger stated as he rubbed his chin. “The injuries of you and your two friends were vastly different than the others who went missing which suggested multiple perpetrators. One of the other boys did mention that he thought they were rescued by a small group of people. I will have to take a closer look at the injuries of your classmates to determine whether or not they match up with our current victims. That should give us an idea if it’s the same thing or something different.”

“Sir,” officer Kiziah interrupted, “we’ve finished our initial sweep. We did have some trouble trying to keep Mr. Fenton out of the way in the basement area, but he’s promised to stay at the one table while we work. He’s apparently drafting some blueprints. Forensics is here and are working on collecting evidence. They’re hoping to talk to you.”

He sighed. “Thank you, Kiziah. Can you explain to them their options during our investigation progress?” After flashing them an apologetic smile which seemed out of place with his features, he told them he would be in touch and excused himself.

After shaking his head at his superior, Kiziah stated while the family could stay in the house during the investigation process, it had the possibility of accidentally contaminating evidence. He recommended for them to stay at a local hotel for a time.

Although his mother seemed hesitant to leave the house, she eventually agreed to head to a hotel after Vlad made a show of being concerned for the family’s safety. It took a bit of time to get his dad to leave the basement, but by the time seven am hit, Danny found himself in the best hotel in Amity Park, per Vlad’s firm recommendations.

After sending his friends a few texts to let them know what happened, that he was fine, and where he was, he told them he’d call them after he got some sleep. Although he wasn’t exactly happy he shared the room with Vlad, the pristine bed ended up being far more important to him than any worries.

…..

Several hours later, Danny woke up to one hundred and three texts, fifty-four missed calls, and eleven voicemails. Sam and Tucker had only one voicemail and call apiece and only a handful of texts. The rest were from his sister. Groaning, he sent Sam and Tucker messages to let them know he’d call them after he contacted his sister.

He really didn’t want to talk to Jazz at the moment. When she was scared, she became spastic, and a spastic Jazz was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment. Okay, the third to last think he wanted to deal with. The creepy thing and Plasmius took the top two places.

After taking several minutes to do everything other than call his sister, he finally buckled down and called her. As predicted, she spastically demanded to know if he was okay while berating him for not contacting her sooner. He just let her talk while making the occasional ‘uh huh’, ‘sorry,’ and ‘yeah.’ From experience, he knew it was better to let her get it out of her system.

He put Jazz on speaker while he attempted to find the hotel’s TV remote. Vlad didn’t seem to be in the room which really didn’t bother him. The man didn’t need to listen to Jazz flipping out after all. Eventually, he found the remote next to a message from Vlad stating he and his parents went to discuss something with the police and would be back with food.

“Danny, are you even listening to me?” Jazz demanded. He must have been quiet for too long.

“Uh? Yeah, I just happened to find a note Vlad left. You were saying something about how it was irresponsible for Dad to go running after the thing?”

“Wait, are you telling me you were left alone after everything that happened?”

“Jazz, I’m seventeen. I think I’m perfectly fine being alone for a few hours.”

“You were kidnapped by a crazy man and then were attacked in your own home! Do you really think it’s safe for you to be alone right now?” With that, she flew into a different tirade.

Knowing it would be a while, he decided the TV would be a preferable alternative to his upset sister. He turned it on only to have it immediately turn off. Thinking he accidentally doubled clicked the button, he tried again only to have the same result. Thinking the remote was damaged, he moved to try the button on the machine. Only, it turned on by itself. It and the lights began to dim and flicker, and his breath began to mist.

Glancing around, he watched as a girl emerged from the wall. At first, it seemed she didn’t notice him as she moved towards the opposite wall, but she stopped midway and faced him. She looked human but her entire body seemed insubstantial and almost wispy. Her skin, if it could be called that, was an unearthly white while her blue hair flickered like a flame.

She smirked at him while moving a little closer. “You shouldn’t be here, Baby Pop.” Her sultry and musical voice seemed far away, almost as if it was being broadcasted over an old radio. “Don’t know what you’re doing on this side of the veil, but you shouldn’t stay here.”

“What… what are you talking about? Who are you?” he stammered while vaguely registering Jazz asking him what was wrong.

“I like to slip to this side for some fun, but I might stick around a little longer this time. It’s already chaotic here, and a little more might do me some good. Besides, it seems I need to make a few people remember I still exist.” After appraising him, she gave another smile and headed back towards the wall. “You might want to get out while you can, Baby Pop. Things might get a little hot, and you new guys often aren’t strong enough to deal with the heat.”

“Hey, wait!” He tried to get her to stop, but she just vanished back into the wall. Unsure what to do, he stood in the center of the room dumbfounded until he realized his phone was still on speaker and his sister was calling for him.

“Hey, Jazz, I’m going to have to call you back,” he stated as he moved towards the door. “Something really weird just happened.” He hung up on her as he ran into the hallway looking for some evidence of the ghost.

He barely made it to the elevators when the fire alarm sounded. Not wanting to stick around, he quickly found the stairs and made his way to the lobby as the rest of the guests started to follow suit. By the time he reached the third floor, he began to smell smoke. There had to be a fire. Is that what that ghost meant? Did she somehow set it?

He really hoped that wasn’t the case. He really only needed on potentially supernatural thing causing problems in his life at a time.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Verboten 9 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary:   AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Chapter warning: discussions of death and injuries

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 9

"So, did Frostbite tell you that there are other people from our school here?"

Danny raised an eyebrow at Tucker's question. His friends were working on catching him up to speed on what happened after he collapsed. It was fairly straightforward as they were taken to a different room to do a quick medical examination to make sure there were no injuries or signs of changes. Once Frostbite's medics were satisfied, they were given warmer clothes as lands of the Far Frozen were similar to those of the article circle. According to the Far Frozen, the clothes were kept in case they needed to temporarily house any humans they found.

Unfortunately, the one aspect of hospitality the Far Frozen could not provide was food. Not only was it difficult for them to procure, it was also easy for it to get contaminated. As such, they did not want to risk providing Sam and Tucker any form of food in case it triggered a change in them. Luckily, Sam still has some granola with her which she shared with Tucker, who whined about there not being meat available for a good ten minutes.

"Yeah, apparently Dash, Paulina, and that group were all taken right around the same time we were," Tucker continued.

"Was it Plasmius?" Danny held his breath as he waited for the response.

"No, it was someone else," Sam responded as she played with the hem of her jacket sleeve. "Frostbite said it was someone name Aragon or some of his followers. And as much as I don't like them, I don't think anyone should have been forced to deal with what they have."

"Should I ask?"

Sam shook her head. "Frostbite won't even let us go in the room while his medics work. They're apparently really messed up, and at least one of them is missing part of their arm. As much as I hate to say it, we might have gotten lucky that it was Plasmius that found us."

"That is a creepy thought, but I think Sam is right about that," Tucker agreed. "Although Frostbite didn't want to explain it to us, we got enough to know that they were targeted for their blood."

An icy chill passed, which was worsened by the lights signaling his switching of forms, passed through Danny's body as he tried to process what Tucker told him. If it bothered his friends, they hide it well. "What do you mean?"

"We're not really sure. Plasmius said something about it too, but both him and Frostbite didn't go into any detail. Sam said she thought she heard something about it?" He glanced towards the goth, who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Yeah, I think there are old legends about it," she eventually replied. "I can't recall the story, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to tell you if there was any truth to it."

Danny just nodded. "What about Mikey? We saw him get taken too, right?" When his friends wouldn't meet his eyes, he grew concerned. "Guys? What happened?"

"Mikey… he… he didn't make it," Tucker admitted. "Some of Frostbite's men did find him, but, that other ghost, Youngblood, already…"

"What about his body? His family should at least be able to bury him."

"Danny… there isn't a body." Tucker's voice trembled as he spoke. Although they hadn't been close friends, Tucker still considered him one. "When he was found… they said he was now little more than a ghost designed to be another's doll. There was no signs of emotion or personality."

"Frostbite didn't want to tell us that," Sam continued, "but, we pestered one of the medics enough to let it slip. They said it was one of the worst fates a kidnapped human can endure."

"That… that's really messed up." Danny fell silent as he thought about Mikey's family, and how they would never be able to get closure. With a jolt, he realized just how worried his own family had to be. They nearly lost him twice before, but now, he wasn't even certain if he could return the third time.

With his body in a weird in between state, Frostbite had no idea whether or not he could return to the world of the living as ghosts could not remain there for long. There were so many questions. Would he remain like this? Would his human side eventually disappear? Did he still need to eat like a human? Could he still bleed? It was just as frightening as it was frustrating.

There had also been concerns whether or not he should be anywhere near his friends, but Tucker and Sam refused to remain separated from him. Although they were told the same thing Danny had been, they were being supportive of him. If his unintentional switching of forms was bothering them, they were hiding it very well. They also far more scared for him than by him which was extremely comforting.

A knock on the door was the only warning the three got before Frostbite reentered the room. "Good news," he announced as he approached them, "we have gotten reports there will soon be a portal opening near where you were originally abducted. Sam, Tucker, you and your classmates will be able to return home."

Excitement flashed across Tucker's face for a moment before it fell. "But what about Danny?"

"Ah, until we can verify he can safely return to your world, he is more than welcome to remain here." After the ghost glanced at Danny, he gave a reassuring smile. "However, we should find out soon. Before we even had a chance to contact our allies, we received a message from Master Clockwork."

"Clockwork?" Danny and his friends questioned.

Frostbite nodded reverently. "Master Clockwork is an ancient and solitary ghost of great power. It has been many years since his last contact, so we were very surprised when he reached out to us."

"So why now?" Skepticism colored Sam's voice. "If it's been that long, what's so special about Danny's situation to make him suddenly want to interact with others?"

"To be honest, I am unsure. While it is rare for him to contact others, we are uncertain if that is from his own desires or due to the Observants. Perhaps it is a combination of both." Frostbite gave them a gentle smile. "Sam and Tucker, it is almost time for the portal to open. Please prepare your things."

"No way! I'm not leaving here unless Danny's with us!"

As much as he appreciated Sam's declaration, he knew he needed to try to change her mind. "Thanks, Sam, but I think you and Tucker should go home while you have the chance."

Although Tucker sent him an understanding smile, Sam just glared at him. "And just leave you here? The last time we were separated, something weird happened to you. I don't want something to happen, and we never see you again."

"Sam, can't you tell Danny's worried?" Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever happened to him, he doesn't want to have happen to us."

"Thanks for the translation, Tuck. I also want to know you'll be far away from this place and safe," Danny walked over to his friend and gave him a quick hug before he turned to Sam and placed a quick peck on her cheek. "I'll find my way home. I promise. And, Sam? After this is all over, I'll treat you to that new restaurant you've been eying."

Sam's lip quivered as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "Are you finally asking me out?" Even her voice shook. After Tucker agreed with him, her fight had disappeared. "If you bail, I'm going to hunt you down."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Frostbite then escorted his friends out of the room while allowed Danny to collapse back on the medical bed. If he was honest, he didn't want to be alone, but it was too dangerous for his friends to stay by his side. He couldn't keep them safe, and the longer they remained by his side in the world of the dead, the more chances the world had to alter them.

Before Sam and Tucker were allowed in to see him, Frostbite explained the change could be caused by anything. Food and drink was the most common. It didn't matter if it was offered by a friendly or malicious ghost or simply found by a wayward human as it was too different from what was found in the world of the living. Some ghosts could purposely trigger the change. Frostbite was hesitant to explain how, but it almost sounded like they passed on an illness or curse. To make matters worse, simply being around ghosts or in the world of the dead too long could also trigger it.

He sighed as he waited for Frostbite to return. This world was toxic to humans, so he was it was him and not them staying behind.

….

Sam remained silent during the journey with the Far Frozen. She and Tucker were sitting in the rear of what appeared to be some sort of large sleigh which was pulled by strange glowing creatures which vaguely resembled huskies. Two of Frostbite's people were steering the sleigh while two more held on to the back and stood on the foot boards.

Across from her and Tucker sat an unconscious Kwan, Star, and Paulina. They did look terrible. All three had bandages and gauze on their faces, and bruises were forming on clear skin. Dash and the others were on a different sleigh which was following behind them.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad she never encountered the same ghost as the A-listers. Sure, Plasmius was creepy and potentially dangerous, but he never outright harmed them. However, she did admit that seemed directly related to his desire to keep Danny.

She sighed as her thoughts flickered back to him. He still seemed like the same person when he waved goodbye to her and Tucker, but she was scared that wouldn't be the case for much longer. No one knew whether or not Danny would stay like that, or if it was possible for his situation to worsen or reverse. If it worsened, did that mean he wouldn't be Danny anymore?

Frostbite mentioned he had once been human, but he could barely remember how he used to be. And if she heard correctly while Plasmius was talking to himself, memories were sometimes affected during the process of becoming a ghost. If that happened, would he still remember them? Would he still have the same personality? Would he act more like the ghosts who hurt the A-listers? She kept trying to push away those fears and remain positive, but every time she remembered his inhumanly green eyes, they came back.

Tucker tried to distract her by pointing out things on their journey. Even with everything, she had to admit the strange scenery was something else. The sky was still a strange mix of green and purple. There were floating islands in the distance and occasionally floating doors. If she looked downwards, there was some sort of ground and occasionally what appeared to be rivers and forests. However, she also sometimes caught sight of unsettling shadows which seemed to duck out of sight if she stared at them too long.

After Tucker mentioned the shadows, the two tried to convince themselves the shadows were nothing of concern. However, that idea was quickly pushed aside when they caught sight of the yetis steering the sleigh pointing at some of them before conversing in hushed tones. Before Sam could make up her mind on whether or not to ask if they needed to be concerned, the sleigh violently served to the side.

"What the f…?" Before Sam could finish, a barrage of green lights rained down on their right.

"Look!" Tucker pointed at something above them. "How much do you want to bet that they're not friendly?"

She glanced up to see what appeared to be a black carriage drawn by black pegasi with flaming manes. There was a flaming figure standing on the driver's seat brandishing a sword in one hand while firing the green light from the other. The sight would have been so wickedly cool if one of the yetis riding on their sleigh hadn't have thrown up some sort of bluish shield. It took her a moment to realize it was ice.

She wasn't expecting the green lights to cause explosions when they hit the ice shield. After one blew a hole in the shield which allowed another to damage part of their sleigh, she and Tucker huddled together in the center. Somehow, the A-listers remained unconscious. "Must be nice," she angrily muttered.

"Hang on, children!" one of the driving yetis told them as they directed the sleigh towards a nearby floating island which appeared to have a large forest on it.

The landing was rough. The sleigh bounced a few times before it began sliding over the rocky terrain of the island as it headed towards the ghostly forest. The ride remained turbulent as the yetis dodged around trees and rocks. Green lights and explosions followed them.

After several tense minutes, the sleigh finally came to a stop. Sam and Tucker shakily tried to stand, but the yetis told them to stay put and remain silent. Other than their breathing, Sam was unable to hear any other noise. Eventually, she whispered, "Tucker, do you see that?" as a strange green glow appeared deep within the forest.

"Yeah… I really hope that's nothing more than a ghostly firefly." Tucker's hope was quickly dashed as more lights began appearing, and as they drew closed, they almost looked like skeletons.

"Brace yourselves!" one of the yetis suddenly yelled before the sleigh jolted forward. However, it never had a chance to move forward. Before Sam could figure out what happened, she and Tucker were picked up by one of the yetis, who then ran into the forest. The A-listers were grabbed by the others. Sam had just enough time to get a glimpse of an army of glowing skeletons overtaking the sleigh before the sight disappeared behind a tree.

The yeti did not stop until the trees began to thin, and it wasn't a gentle stop. The ghost basically skid to a stop before placing Sam and Tucker down and instructing them to stay behind him. Sam peaked around the ghost, to see the flaming figure from the carriage standing in front of them. It wore black armor.

The figure brandished its claymore at them. "Hand over the humans. My liege is in need of them."

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Regarding the Aragon reference: I was debating between him and Pandora, and ultimately choose him due to his status as a villain in the series.

As previously mentioned, per Greek mythology, ghosts needed blood to regain their sense of self. Which is why she was considered. However, there is an old story in southeastern Europe that I almost forgot about until was trying to double check something and was reminded of it. It falls into the weird gray area between ghosts, zombies, and vampires seen a lot in that region for centuries. They have creatures which start out as shadows and then slowly gaining a proper form which resembled what they had in life as they consume blood over a 40 day period. Once they reach 'maturity', those creatures have bodies which resemble what they did when they were alive and no longer have to return to the grave at dawn. As such, my brain went, "I'm using that."

If you're interested, I know one of the traditions translates them to "Howlers" or "Screamers" as they are known to pace an area during that 40 day period, kind of like weird listless zombies, and make strange noises. However, these tales do vary between countries and even villages so it may be difficult to find.