This series requires a bit of explanation, so please bear with me for a moment.
These drabbles were inspired by Rainjoy's amazing superhero AU, All the Other Ghosts, which I strongly encourage you to read if you haven't already. For the purposes of reading these drabbles, all you need to know is that Kurt is The Ghost and Blaine is Phalanx. The story is set in New York. Anything else would spoil All the Other Ghosts for you.
I can't link the original fic here, but go to Livejournal and search for rainjoyswriting. The first fic is complete in 30 chapters. She's now working on a sequel titled Grey, which currently has five chapters posted. Caution: bad things can and will happen to superheroes in this AU. There's a long list of warnings on Ch 1, please read and heed because Rainjoy is serious about those warnings.
However, these drabbles are intentionally fluffy and light-hearted. They're being posted here and on my LJ with the original author's permission. If you read AtOG, you'll see that fandom plays a large part in the AU, so much so that it has inspired its own micro-meta-fandom. (Pretty sure that's not a real word, but you get the gist.) Therefore, it has its own Tumblr, fuckyeahtheghost. My drabbles were originally posted there, along with fics and artwork from many many others. These fics and artwork can be enjoyed along with AtOG, just follow the links from Rainjoy's posts.
This is the first of three AtOG drabbles that are already written. I'll post the other two over the next two days. I'm working on a fourth drabble now which I should be able to post soon. After that this series will be updated sporadically, dependent on my real life commitments and how events in Grey may inspire me.
And now, after this long rambling author's note, I hope you enjoy the story!
And our final story this evening…New York City's resident superheroes, or super menaces, depending on who you ask, have been spotted at playgrounds all over Manhattan. That's right, over the past several weeks The Ghost and Phalanx have been making random visits to chat up their smallest fans, usually at dusk. Although The Ghost has been active in New York for much longer and is much more famous, in this apparent public relations effort it's The Ghost's recently acquired sidekick Phalanx who seems to be taking the lead. Phalanx is always visible and talking to the children, according to witness accounts. The Ghost may or may not be visible, but he is believed to be nearby based on Phalanx's sudden appearance and disappearance. Although intelligence about these supers is not abundant, it is believed that only The Ghost has the ability to turn invisible, therefore Phalanx's disappearances are attributed to The Ghost. One mother said that when she asked why they were there, Phalanx replied, "We just want the kids to know that we're the good guys." That's all for us here at Channel Two News, goodnight everyone.
Phalanx stood in the shadows on the edge of the Thompson Street playground, holding The Ghost's hand and watching the children play. In the few moments since they'd arrived, coming up through the ground from the subway, two mothers had already called their children away. There were three children still playing. The streetlamps came on at the same time that another mother called, "Brooke, you have five more minutes."
The only girl left on the playground, a pigtailed blonde pumping herself as high as she could on the swings, immediately started dragging her feet on the ground to stop. She jumped off and ran over to two boys on spring-loaded animals, rocking with such abandon that their heads nearly touched the ground each time they went back.
"They're gonna get whiplash," Phalanx murmured.
"Can't be worse than riding behind you down ten stories on one of your shield slides," The Ghost replied, also sotto voce. "Is it your goal to make me motion sick?"
"Hey!" Phalanx protested, a little too loud. The little girl looked in their direction.
"Shush until you're ready to be seen," The Ghost admonished him.
Phalanx held his breath till she shrugged and turned back to the boys.
"Jimmy, Dylan—you said you would gave me a turn and I have to go soon. Let me on!"
"We have to go soon too!" one of the boys protested.
"Besides, you can't do it as good as we can, you're just a girl!" the other boy added, still rocking furiously.
Phalanx felt The Ghost tense beside him, and looked over to see his eyes narrowed through his mask. He knew this was a sore spot for him. The Ghost had rescued too many battered wives, too many would-be victims of mugging or rape to be cavalier about any insult to women. Even playground taunts were unacceptable to him, apparently.
"This is how it starts," he muttered and took a step forward.
"Let me," Phalanx said quickly. He released The Ghost's hand and experienced that momentary disorientation of seeing his own body reappear. He'd gotten used to it, somewhat, but it was still an odd sensation to come and go from his own sight.
"Excuse me," he said loudly, walking up behind the children. One of the boys twisted around suddenly at the sound of his voice, lost his balance on the still rocking lion and landed unceremoniously on the wood chip covered ground. The other managed to maintain his seat on the fish but stopped pumping as he gawked over his shoulder. Only residual momentum kept him swaying back and forth.
Phalanx, however, was focused on Brooke, once he confirmed with a quick glance that the fallen boy was unhurt. She turned and then stood frozen, watching him approach, her mouth in a little O of surprise. He stopped a few feet away, not wanting to get too close and possibly scare her, and knelt down to her level.
"Hi, I'm Phalanx." He smiled at her.
"You're…..you're the one who fights with…..with The Ghost," one of the boys stuttered.
"That's right, I am," he answered. "And I'll talk to you boys in a moment, but I'm talking to this young lady right now." In his peripheral vision he could see the mothers approaching, but they didn't seem worried, they just wanted to see what was going on. He smiled at the little girl who hadn't stopped staring at him. "Can you tell me your name?"
Her mouth opened and closed a couple times before she managed to say, "Brooke."
"Nice to meet you, Brooke."
"Do you really know the Ghost?" she asked in a whisper.
"I do, yes. We work together all the time now. In fact," he leaned closer and lowered his voice to a stage whisper, "he came here with me today, but he's hiding because he's a little shy."
"My big sister met him," she blurted in a louder voice. "She said he rescued-ded her when a man tried to rap her."
"He tried to…..oh."
"It's true," one of the mothers spoke up. Her hair was auburn, not blonde like her daughter's, but they shared the same blue eyes. "Bree was fifteen when she was late coming home one night. There's a knock on the door and there she stands with The Ghost. She was shaken up, and her clothes were torn but he'd given her his cape to wrap up in on the walk home, and stayed with her all the way to our door." Her eyes shone brightly as they filled up. "He took his cape back and disappeared as soon as I was there. I never got a chance to thank him."
Phalanx listened as she told her story, knowing that there were many families in the city with similar tales who'd never had a chance to thank The Ghost. So often he disappeared as soon as his good deed was done. He looked back at Brooke, who still watched him with wide eyes.
"I happen to know," he confided, "that The Ghost has a hard time saying no to little girls in pigtails, especially when they're polite and say please. I think if you ask really nicely, he might let you see him."
"Mr. Ghost?" she raised her voice even though she still sounded tremulous. "Can we see you, please?"
Phalanx knew without looking when he un-ghosted himself, though he could tell by watching the small audience that they couldn't see The Ghost yet. He was probably still in the shadows. But he seemed to be developing some sort of weird extra sense that not only told him where The Ghost was, but when he transitioned from one state to another.
"Good evening everyone," his familiar voice came from behind Phalanx, and there went another boy onto the ground, toppling off his perch in his haste to dismount. He picked himself up hastily and stood at attention.
The Ghost knelt beside Phalanx, holding a hand out for Brooke to shake. She did, shyly. "Hi, Brooke. I'm The Ghost. But not the scary kind of ghost, I promise."
"I know," she whispered, taking her hand back and using it to twirl the end of a ringlet. "You saved my sister. She said you were really nice."
"I'm glad I was able to help."
"Excuse me, sir?" Brooke's mother stepped up beside her. "I'm Brooke's mother, and Bree is my older daughter that you saved that night. I never got a chance to thank you."
The Ghost stood to be at eye level with the mother. "You're welcome. Is Bree doing okay?"
"She's great," the mom smiled, picking up Brooke in response to the insistent tugging on her coat sleeve. She balanced the girl on her hip. "She's applying to colleges for next year."
The Ghost smiled, one of his genuine smiles that Phalanx knew he didn't show to the public very often. "I'm glad. Tell her I said good luck in college."
"We should go," Phalanx murmured. The Ghost acknowledged him with a nod before turning to the two boys who still stood watching in awe.
"We do have to go soon, because it's not safe for us to stay in one place too long. But before we go, I want a word with you boys." He squatted down again. "Come here, please."
The two boys looked at each other and back at The Ghost with apprehension before shuffling forward slowly.
"What are your names?"
"Jimmy," answered the one on the right.
"Dylan," the other whispered.
"I heard what you said to Brooke," The Ghost said in a calm voice. "You said that she couldn't do something as well as you, just because she's a girl. Do you really think that?"
Both boys looked down at the ground, not answering.
"I don't think that was a very nice thing to say," The Ghost continued softly. "I don't like it when I hear a person tell someone else that they're not as good as them just because they're a girl, or a boy. Or because their skin's a different color, or maybe they go to a different church. Or maybe they like to sing and dance instead of playing sports. I think we should all be equally nice to each other. Do you think you can do that, boys?"
Slowly, they both nodded, still looking down.
"How about you look me in the eye, and we'll shake on it," The Ghost said, holding out his hand.
Dylan seemed to gather his nerve first, looking up cautiously and taking The Ghost's hand.
"Can you promise me, Dylan?" The boy nodded. The Ghost held out his hand to the other. "Promise me, Jimmy?" Another shy nod, as the child took his hand and barely met his eye for a second before looking down again.
The Ghost stood, and turned back to Brooke and her mother. "It was nice to meet you, Brooke. Tell your sister hello from me, ok?" He held out a hand for her to shake, but instead the little girl lunged out of her mother's arms toward him, giving him no choice but to catch her. She kissed him on the cheek and then wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, laying her head down on his shoulder.
"Thank you for saving my sister from being rapped," she whispered. "Bree hates rap music."
The Ghost looked over her head at Phalanx, who had to press his lips tightly together to keep from laughing out loud at the expression on his face. Then he found himself with his own armful of wiggly girl as she dove again, and got his own kiss on the cheek. He could feel himself melting inside. He leaned close to her ear, smelling strawberry-scented shampoo and he whispered loudly, "Word of advice—don't ever play hide-and-seek with The Ghost. He cheats."
"Do not!" he retorted in mock indignation.
"Yeah, you do," Phalanx maintained as he handed his cargo back to her mother, who was grinning widely.
"Using superpowers is not cheating, it's just using the tools I've been given."
"We have to go," Phalanx reminded him.
The Ghost snapped his mouth shut, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say. "You're right, we do." He gave a bow to the little group. "Goodnight, everyone."
There was a chorus of good-byes, which died out as he faded slowly from sight.
"Bye," Phalanx said in turn, reaching a hand behind him, knowing The Ghost was waiting to take it. He felt himself turn insubstantial and backed slowly away, watching their amazed expressions for as long as he could.
When they reached the edge of the playground, The Ghost whispered, "Going down," and Phalanx took a deep breath as they descended back into the subway.
They found themselves on the far end of a platform, with a train just pulling out of the station and the last few disembarking passengers disappearing up the stairs.
"Well," The Ghost said. "I suppose we'd better get to our nightly patrols, now that our public relations gig is done."
"We should," Phalanx agreed solemnly, nodding even though he knew The Ghost couldn't see him. "We need to protect the good citizens of this city from the horrors of rap music." Then he couldn't help it, he had to laugh. The Ghost tried to shush him, saying something about people being freaked by disembodied laughter in the subway, but then he was laughing too, their voices echoing off the walls and down the tunnel.