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phantom-z0ne · 8 months

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Phosphophyllite and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week Chapter 1

"Of all the strange things that happen to Phosphophyllite, they would have never guessed that they would fall through a portal to another world." Or, Phos is summoned to the DCU, reluctantly makes friends, gets into loads of trouble, and gives people heart attacks.

WC: 2289

CW: Violence

Day 1

Of all the strange things that happen to them, they would have never guessed that they would fall through a portal to another world, Phosphophyllite thought as they stood atop a platform.

Phosphophyllite stared at the creatures below them, the height shielding them from view. Tilting their head, Phos noted the difference between them and the creatures. Although they looked outwardly similar, certain pieces of their body were unfamiliar to Phos. Their hair weirdly dull and their bodies soft looking, as if you could squeeze it and it would give. They wore diverse clothing, styles Phos had never seen before worn on their bodies. If they were a peach color and glowing, Phos would have thought they were Lunarians.

The creatures moved like schools of fish, going in and out of a metallic tube that went who knows where. Turning around, there was nothing but the platform Phos was standing on. No hint of the portal they were sucked through. Sighing, Phos looked for a way down to a secluded area. Considering the obvious differences between them and the creatures, they would be quickly spotted as an outsider. Throwing out their thoughts about the creatures, Phos climbed down a ladder they spotted at the side of the platform, none of the creatures in sight.

Phos crept down a hallway, double checking that they were out of sight. Footsteps made their way down the hallway, making Phos duck into a closet. Hearing the step grow louder, Phos tensed, quiet voices speaking in a language they couldn't understand. The footsteps passed.

Closing the closet behind them, Phos quickly walked down the hallway, finally coming to a door leading to the outside. Peeking their head through the door, Phos scanned the surroundings, making out an alley near the door.

Stepping towards it, Phos weaved through the back alleys, the situation taking up their thoughts, though they tried to remember the trail they took. Being grabbed by the shoulder and held against the wall jarred Phos out of their thoughts. Their shoulder! The impact breaking pieces of their fragile shoulder off.

A harsh voice filled Phos’s ears, an angry expression on the creature's face. Looking at the creature, Phos coldly stared at it. What did it want from them? Harsher shouting came from the creature at Phos’s silence, a knife being waved in Phos’s face. Oh. It wanted to hurt them, Phos thought darkly.

Narrowing their eyes, Phos grabbed the creature’s arm, their gold alloy constricting the arm, causing the creature to let out a shout of pain, its eyes wide. Their gold slithered around the creature's body, tightening as the creature thrashed. It fell limp surprisingly fast.

Letting go, the creature crumpled to the ground, laying still. The only motion was its chest moving rhythmically up and down. Phos was determined not to get caught unaware again, no getting lost in thought! Resolved, Phos walked once more, this time keeping a wary eye on their surroundings. Turning the corner, Phos saw a flash of red in the corner of their eye and sped up. They were not in the mood to have another unpleasant interaction.

First thing first, they need a plan. Glancing up at the sky, Phos observed that it was midday, plenty of time to investigate where they landed. The first course of action, Phos thought, was to find a way to blend in with the locals. They looked alike already, the main differences being Phos’s hair and body type, their limbs were skinnier and longer than the locals. They need to cover their hair and body, meaning they have to find clothes that would fit the requirement. Plus, their sword also needs to be hidden. Phos hasn't seen a creature with a visible weapon during the hours they observed them. Except, of course, the one they rendered unconscious, but that weapon was concealable. Not at all comparable to Phos’s long sword. They can plan what to do next after they find some clothes.

Climbing up the side of the building, Phos landed on the roof. Watching from a higher leverage point would be easier than mingling with the crowd, Phos thought as they eyed the large amount of creatures milling about. Hopping to the next roof, Phos spent some time looking for places with clothes adorning the windows, making sure to go about unnoticed. Finally catching sight of one, Phos observed the building for a moment, noticing it was dark and there seemed to be no one in it.

Leaping onto the roof of the building, Phos looked around for a way to enter before spotting a window. Twisting their gold alloy, Phos pried open the window and slid inside. Cautiously, they walked inside, surveying the floor for any creatures. None.

The coast clear, Phos relaxed, walking around the aisles of clothing. The beings here seem to like tighter clothing, Phos thought perplexed. Finding clothes that would obscure their figure was harder than they thought. Though it wasn't impossible as Phos found a thick tan sweater that fit them quite well. Phos inspected their shoulder before putting it on. It seemed that there was minimal damage. Not much fell off, which was good. They quite liked their memories where they were. Dismissing it, they put the sweater on. Looking for something to cover their legs, hands and sword was more difficult, enough that Phos decided to find something separate for the sword. Sliding a pair of gloves they found on, Phos browsed the aisles before coming across a long black skirt that came down to their shins.

Finding a long bag, which Phos had no idea what it was supposed to originally hold, they stored their sword in it before shouldering it. Finally, they had just one more thing to look for. Going across the store, Phos found what they were looking for. Grabbing a black hat, Phos walked to a mirror.

Step one done, Phos thought, admiring themself in the mirror. Twirling around, they watched the skirt spin around their legs. Pleased with themselves, Phos bounced back to the window, getting used to how the clothes felt.

Slipping out of the store and back to the roof, Phos startled when they looked at the sky. It seems that they lost track of time while looking for clothes. Phos thought of their next actions, it was getting late. They should look for a safe place to stay for the night. Finding a safe place to rest was priority, anything after can wait.

Dropping down from the roof onto an empty side street, Phos walked to the main road, merging with the crowd. The farther they walked, the thinner the horde was. Glancing to their side, Phos suddenly stopped. The absurdity of a moving illustration stared back at them. Getting closer, Phos noticed why it was familiar looking. It displayed the same type of portal they were sucked into. At the side, an illustration of a person with horns hung, which then flickered to another moving illustration of the horned creature dressed in black and another decked in gold throwing light—which, what?—at each other before the one in black opened a portal.

Phos’s eyes widened, finally realizing why they were in this situation. Looking back at the one in black, Phos memorized its features, determined to hunt it down and make it take them back home.

But first, they need a place to rest before they find the person in black. Turning around, they marched away, doubling their efforts for a place to stay. They had to have energy before they could confront the creature in black. Even now, the sun would set any moment and Phos could feel their energy waning.

Walking in one direction seemed to be the best bet, what with Phos being unaware of the landscape. Choosing the directing, Phos strode forward, minutes passed before a red shadow flashed in front of them. Startled, Phos stepped back a couple of steps, their hand twitched as they restrained the urge to grab their sword. Looking up, as the creature was taller than them, was a local dressed in a skintight red outfit, a cape draped over the right side of its body with a jagged symbol glowing on its chest. A caring(?) expression covered its face.

Narrowing their eyes, Phos thought of what it could want. They hadn't done anything…unless you count stealing clothes or rendering one of the locals unconscious. But nobody could have known! There wasn't anyone around! Phos’s thoughts paused as the local opened its mouth.

The being spoke in a soft voice, unknowing of Phos’s lack of understanding. A moment passed in silence, with Phos staring at the being defensively, ready for a sudden attack, and the being curious at the lack of response. It started again, this time Phos recognizing the tone of a question being asked. Once again, there was silence. It clapped its hands, seemingly coming to a conclusion before moving its hands once more, apparently expecting a response. Phos looked at its hands and to its face before deciding to leave, walking away at the sound of a confused question.

As they walked, they quickly glanced back, confirming it didn't follow them. They sighed, exhausted although they didn't do much. They looked up, the moon cresting over the horizon was the symbol that they should hurry.

Finally, they found an abandoned area in the outskirts of the city. In the clearing, a series of connected metal tubes laid, which was Phos’s destination for the day. Opening the door, they watched the unsettled dust fly from the motion. They climbed in with a sigh, desiring their bed, which was heavenly in comparison to this dump. Laying down, they thought of home and what the other gems thought about their disappearance.

The gems…They missed the gems. They missed Sensei. They missed…Antarcticite. Phos let out a shaky breath before shutting those thoughts down. There’s no time for those kinds of thoughts, especially in this situation, Phos thought to themself.

Settling down on the hard floor, Phos fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of broken gems and arrows raining down from the heavens.

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Captain Marvel was a pretty busy guy, he can admit being a hero does that. Unfortunately, superhero life doesn't mesh well with his personal life. A lot of the time, he had to prioritize being Captain Marvel over being Billy Batson.

He usually dealt with the smaller things, like helping the old man Jennison down the road with his deliveries, or large world ending events. Dealing with fights between civilians sure, he broke up enough fights to last a lifetime. But dealing with severely injured civilians was rare, even for him. After all, Fawcett was a generally peaceful city, ignoring the disasters every couple of months.

So when he heard of a scuffle taking place and rushing towards the location, he didn't expect to arrive at the feet of a man laying still on the ground. He hovered his hand over the man’s nose, relief filling him as he confirmed the man was alive and still breathing. Inspecting the man's injuries, he narrowed his eyes. The wounds showed up all over the body yet he was taken down via strangulation. It was a strange method. Maybe he was attacked after he fell unconscious?

He scooped up the man before taking off, aiming for the hospital. Not too long after, he dropped the man off, taking flight once more. Searching the area where the man was found for any clues was important in knowing what happened. He hadn't had much time to look around when he was more concerned with the man’s survival.

Landing in the alley, he inspected the area, looking for anything out of place. A reflection hit his eye. There! He leaned down, grabbing a small piece of a mint-green gem, lifting it to his eyes. Looking back down, he followed a thin trail leading down the alley before it suddenly stopped. Going back to where he found the first piece, the other pieces cupped in his hands, he searched again. This time finding nothing. He sighed, deciding to visit the victim when he wakes up.

He began this patrol of the city since he couldn't find any other clues. It quickly passed by, with nothing much happening. Just stopping a mugging here, a robbery there, and helping a cat stuck in a tree. A quiet day, all in all if it were not for the mystery that took place.

As he was going around the last lap of his patrol, it was well into the night. Noticing a lone woman walking around as if she had no clue where she was, he swooped down in front of her, evidently startling her as she backed up away from him. He absently noted her hand spasm before falling still. That was also a reaction his fellow heroes had when reaching for a weapon. Strange…

He quickly apologized, as he hadn’t meant to scare her. She didn't answer though, just staring at him.

Asking her if she needed an escort due to the late hour didn't help either, she just continued to stare at him unblinkingly. Ah! It's possible she couldn't speak! Why didn't he think of that? He signed the same question, though his sign language was a bit shaky. This still didn't get a reaction out of her. In fact, she just walked away! He let out a quiet ‘Miss?’ before shaking his head. That was one way to know your services were not needed.

Captain Marvel shrugged off that strange encounter, deciding to finish his patrol before going home. It sat heavily at the back of his mind though, something strange was going on with her.

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The first three chapters are already posted on ao3, so if you want more, feel free to visit.

If your curious about this or want to talk about it, send me an ask ^^

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Masterpost | Ao3

Chapter 2

#dc comics #dc universe #hnk #houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #phosphophyllite #houseki no kuni phos #billy batson #captain marvel #shazam #dimension travel #Phos: I got mugged by 6 #ptbw #no beta we die like jason #wip: phos gets yeeted into DC

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