Summary: *Post PP* Danny is on the edge. With his newfound awkward popularity, onslaught of ghost attacks and crumbling relationship with Sam; Tucker suggests that the Halfa take a vacation. Where else would he go to but Clockworks to watch some other timelines? (Crossover with Justice League)
Authoress's Beginning Notes: Hum, apologies that I follow up with another interlude but I thought that it would be nice to explain a few things through original!Danny's eyes and hey, someone else comes back into the picture here. It went on a little longer than I expected (Damn), but hopefully it isn't too boring. Already outlined the next chapter ;) so do stay tuned :D This interlude will look a little clustered because it goes on pretty quickly; I didn't want to make it drag on for too long when it should be something brief (Well as brief as I can get really ._. ) But again, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the chapter :) Word limit to chapter names suck though. -.-

Phantom & Angel

Interlude:

For the Man who could not smile

"Nooooo!!" An annoyed wail echoed through the office as a cushion went flying in the air, smacking the large blank screen softly. "You can't cut off now! I want to know why he had such a bastard for a stepbrother!"

Danny was definitely not pleased when the screen blanked out just as Tobias was herding the group into the house with the intent on explaining his past. He swore Clockwork was doing this on purpose. Things were just starting to get interesting and it had to cut off!

"Stupid screen." He muttered, throwing another cushion at the vile object and glared daggers at the screen, as if willing it to turn back on again to show him how the explanation went. Danny continued glaring at the black screen, his scowling lips curving into an annoyed pout as he crossed his arms over his chest when the screen still did not turn back on.

"Cousin? What are you doing pouting at Clockwork's bazillion screens of timelines for?" Jerked out of his reverie, Danny twisted the top half of his body to see his younger female clone peering at him curiously from behind the couch.

"Dani!" The younger hybrid squealed as Danny pulled her over the top of the couch and enveloped her in a bear hug. Despite the fact that Dani's physical body was fourteen years old, she was still a tiny girl and this fact made it very easy for Danny to nab and hug her. "Hey Cuz, haven't seen you in a while. How are you doing settling down in the Ghost Zone?"

"Doing great! Wulf and I went to bother Walker some time ago, he shouldn't be giving you any trouble for…say the next few weeks or so." Danny raised an eyebrow at her mischievous smirk and had to wonder what exactly the two did to occupy Walker for a few weeks. "What about you? What are you doing here sitting on your bum in Clockwork's instead of shooting Box Ghost's butt back in the Real Realm?"

"Two words: Forced vacation." Danielle Phantom dissolved into giggles at her cousin's annoyed scowl. "A lot of thing have been getting on my nerves recently and Tucker made it an order for me to not be anywhere in Amity Park for two weeks."

"Oo, so he's finally throwing his weight around huh?" Danny rolled his eyes and pinched Dani's cheeks. The smaller hybrid squeaked and batted his hand away, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "So you came here to watch some timelines?"

"Isn't it obvious that it would be the only thing to do around here?" Dani blushed and nodded her head while Danny ruffled her mop of white hair with an affectionate smile. "So you come 'round to pester Clockwork often?"

"Hey! Who said anything about pestering?" Danny laughed at Dani's indignant pout. "When I come round, he usually has to go off anyway because his 'employers' would be calling him up for one thing or another. But Clockwork lets me stay if I want to; timeline watching is actually pretty fun."

"And thought invoking too." The older teen mused, letting his cousin settle on his lap and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I never realized that other timelines would be so harsh. Compared to what I've gone through here… our timeline looks like a walk in the park."

"Tell me about it." He peered down to meet Dani's understanding gaze. "I saw a few of the timelines before and they're so horrible… There was one where you had three more friends and the youngest sibling wished for her older siblings to die." Danny hugged the smaller ghost closely as her body shivered uncontrollably. "Their deaths were so horrible and bloody… That girl went insane with guilt after that witch told her that she had granted her 'wish' for her siblings' death."

"I don't think that's something you should be watching then." Danny chided gently, squeezing Dani's shoulder comfortingly. He paused and frowned, turning his gaze back to her. "What witch?"

"Huh? Oh the one with the gold mask and obsession with recreating Camelot or something." Dani's face scrunched up as she thought for a name. "I think her name was Morgana?"

"Oh, *that* witch." Danny laughed and shook his head. "And her name is Morgaine le Fey, not Morgana."

"Pish! Close enough." Danny snorted and tickled his younger counterpart, eliciting squeals of laughter from the smaller teen. After she had managed to bat away his tickling fingers, Dani tilted her head to look back up at Danny. "So really, why the pout at the screen when I got here?"

"Because the screen is evil." Dani giggled as Danny lifted his chin to glare at the screen. "It was just going to get to the good part with lots of information and it had to shut off."

"Ah, it does it all the time." She chirped, snuggling into her cousin's arms. "Once it gets past the really big event thing, it stops. But you might not know if it's trying to search for an even better way to explain something to you."

Once the words left her lips, the screen began to flicker back to life. Danny sent the screen an incredulous stare before chucking another cushion at it in annoyance, causing Dani to giggle loudly at his incensed expression. "The thing is conspiring against me!"

"Don't be such a baby." Dani teased, receiving a pinch on the cheek for her troubles. She squeaked and scooted off Danny's lap, settling down on the couch just beside him. "So which timeline have you been watching and which part are you up to?"

"Geez Dani, you make it sound as if the timelines are TV serials that you watch on a daily basis." Dani stuck her tongue out at Danny as he chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "A timeline where I had triplet friends join in with us, the Justice League and now it's up to the first Christmas spent with those new triplet friends."

"Wow. Hey it's weird; like the other timelines I watched before had those triplets in them too. Actually when I come to think of it, all of the timelines I've watched so far had them. Some where they weren't your friends, some where they were villains –" Danny made a face at the thought of any of the triplets becoming villainous, though he had to admit that it was something plausible since everyone had that potential to be evil. That included himself. "– and even one where all of you were just gender bent you know?"

"Really?" Dani's words finally sunk in and Danny pondered for a moment. All the timelines Dani had watched had the triplets? It was strange, but Danny came to the conclusion that it was just Dani's luck that the timelines she had happen to come across had the triplets, though there was this small nagging doubt tugging at the back of his head. "Huh. Weird. But I guess that's only a few timelines; there are almost an infinite number of timelines that branch from ours."

The hybrids' conversation was cut short when the screen exploded in a bright array of colors. Dani quickly snuggled against Danny's side, her knees drawn to her chest as she glued her eyes to the screen. Danny draped an arm over his cousin and did likewise as the screen warped the colors into a scene.

Danny grimaced when the glaring white walls of a hospital splashed across the screen again. The wail of an infant rang in the air as the corridor dissolved and morphed into a room. Nurses rushed the tiny brunette baby out of the room while the doctors struggled to stabilize the pale faced brunette woman's on the bed. Her tired red eyes gazed at the door as her baby was swept away, her voice a ghost of a whisper before she faded from the world.

"Tobias…"

Immediately, the scene shattered and was replaced with another; a blond man staring at the tiny infant snuggled in the sheets of the bed. Beside him, the blond woman glared vehemently at the child, her nails digging into her palm as the man called the doctor and spoke to him. The interior of the hospital vanished and was replaced with the bright and snowy outdoors where the man and woman got into a limousine, the sign 'Gotham Memorial' displayed on the walls of the hospital. The woman clutched the infant in a way that suggested that she wanted nothing more but to throw him away.

The next scene seemed to be set in a lavish mansion where the woman shoved the infant into the arms of one of the maids, loudly declaring her refusal to mother the bastard child her husband had conceived with another woman. Three blond children peered from the top of the stairs, their bright blue eyes staring curiously at the tiny figure nestled in the maid's arms before the maid whisked the child away from her lady's sight.

The next scene that followed had a jump in time; the tiny infant was now a small scrawny brunette boy with unkempt hair dressed in dirty ragged clothes. He blinked his large red eyes at the blond woman who flew into an unexplainable rage. She slapped and clawed his flesh with one hand while the other seized a tuft of brown hair and yanked it harshly as she screamed curses at him. The butler and maids quickly flew into action, extracting the bruised and bleeding boy from their lady's hands and quickly whisked him out of sight again.

Danny could feel Dani cling onto his hazmat suit as one of the maids tended to the boy's wounds. The child looked far tinier than he really was as the maid pressed a damp cloth to his cheek where a dark ugly bruise was forming; his eyes blinking blankly back at her. Danny's arms instinctively drew Dani closer to him, his hand giving her shoulder reassuring squeezes as the scenes continued.

The boy was a little older in the next scene, about seven or so, quietly setting the tea set in the room where the blond woman was reading a book before scurrying out in haste. He was met with a larger bodied child, just a few years older than himself, as he reached the stairs. The other boy smiled cruelly before shoving the smaller boy around, both hybrids startled at how cruel a child as young as he could be.

"Hey bastard kid." The nasal voice was almost recognizable to Danny, but he couldn't put a finger on it. "Come on, let's have some fun yea?"

"I still have–" The boy's quiet sentence was cut short when the bigger boy pushed him again, sending him crashing against the banister with a loud thump. The other boy's cruel laughter filled the air until another older voice penetrated through it.

"Leave Tobias alone Theron." The blond boy looked up to meet the stern gaze of his older brother. Oh, so that's why his voice sounded so familiar; it was the younger version of the same bastard of a step-brother he had seen earlier on. "Don't you have something else to do like your homework for instance?"

"Party pooper." The younger boy scowled. He turned to leave but not before he landed a good hard kick on Tobias's side, knocking the smaller brunette against the banister again and ran off before his brother could catch him. The young teen glared at the direction his brother had taken off into before crouching down to help Tobias up to his feet.

"Thank you sir."

"Tobias, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me sir?" The older boy sent the child Tobias an exasperated look but the other just returned his look with blank eyes. "Come on; let's go take a look at those bruises. I don't want Tara pushing you down the stairs again after what happened the last time."

"I am alright sir." Tobias bowed his head at the older boy before limping down the stairs. The blond watched as the smaller boy reached the bottom of the stairs and just as he had predicted, went straight into the broom closet where he knew Tobias wouldn't bother with his injuries. He ran a hand through his mess of blond spikes before sighing, trooping down the stairs and caught the attention of one of the wandering maids.

"Yolanda, could you look after Tobias?" The maid tilted her head questioningly at the young master. "Theron started pushing him again and I'm pretty sure Tobias has gotten some bruises because he got shoved against the banister. He's back in his closet again."

"Of course Young Master Thomas." The maid bowed politely before quickly scurrying to one of the cupboards, fishing out a first aid kit before she stopped in front of the broom closet, knocking on the door gently before it peeked open slightly. The teen, Thomas, glanced sadly in the direction of the closet as the maid crawled in with the box.

"That's so cruel…" The scene faded to black as Dani clutched onto Danny's hazmat suit tightly. "It's like they're not treating him like he's human at all!"

"Like an abused domesticated animal." Danny murmured in agreement, rubbing Dani's upper forearm soothingly. "Sometimes I forget that there are humans who are far worse than any other super villain. The other side of evil that we aren't able to fight against and defeat… and they're so much closer to home that we ever realize."

"Why do people have to do this?" Danny looked down to see Dani's own green eyes peering back up at him curiously. "Why do they have to treat their fellow humans so cruelly?"

"It's like asking a super villain why he's evil." He turned his head to look back up at the blank screen. "Their reasons will be something that we won't understand, but it will make complete sense to them. Perhaps it's also about the hierarchy of power in our society, or maybe it's the discrimination some of us have of those who are different from us. I wouldn't really know, but these are things that aren't easily explained."

Dani continued to cling onto him as the black of the screen began to swirl in colors before it shifted into another scene. Another time jump; Tobias looked about the age of nine as he quietly took the tea set up to his stepmother. At the door, a striking middle-aged woman glanced in his direction, watching the tiny boy trot up the stairs and disappear once he reached the top. The blond man noticed her gaze and turned to look up, but Tobias was gone.

"Is there something in the house that caught your interest Professor Mitchells?"

"You have a young brunette boy in the house Mr. Angeles?" He blinked at her before nodding his head slowly, his eyes showing confusion at the interest. "Fascinating. Well, Alfred Pennyworth is looking for a playmate and study partner for his charge Bruce Wayne. That young child certainly fits the bill; he looks like he is the same age as the young Mr. Wayne. Though I am curious to know why he seems rather unkempt and dirty."

"I'll look into it Professor Mitchells." A smile forced its way on Mr. Angeles's lips as he shook the professor's hand. "I'll get back to you on it."

The scene vanished quickly and before the next scene could appear on the screen, loud screams and shouts of protests could be heard. Finally, the scene slid into view where Mrs. Angeles shrieked and pounded her fists at her husband, still refusing to accept Tobias as her son. Mr. Angeles sighed and left the room, meeting the curious Thomas halfway down the corridor.

"Thomas, could you do something for me?"

"Yes father?" The teenager responded coolly, though his eyes glared sternly at his father who blatantly ignored the look of defiance from his son.

"Get one of the maids to clean out the spare room Tara and Theron use as storage and bring Tobias there tomorrow morning. Clean him up and make sure he dresses appropriately."

"Why the sudden kindness?" Thomas watched his father warily, unsure of the reasons behind the sudden change of attitude Mr. Angeles had in regards to Tobias. From since he could remember, Thomas knew his father had never regarded Tobias at all and turned a blind eye when his wife and two younger children continued to physically abuse the small boy. "I don't believe that you've suddenly gained a heart and decided to treat Tobias nicely. What is your real reason behind this request?"

Mr. Angeles frowned heavily at his son and met Thomas's eyes sternly. Father and son continued to stare at each other before Mr. Angeles stepped aside and continued walking down the corridor.

"Just do it Thomas; and I don't expect you to talk back to me like that again."

A few choice curses flew out of Thomas's mouth quietly before he trotted to the stairs and caught one of the maid's attention. He made the request and she nodded, dashing off to do the task immediately. Thomas paused for a moment, running his hand through his hair before glancing at the direction of the broom closet. His expression was pensive as the screen zoomed in to his face until the scene shifted and flashed a series of scenes in rapid concession.

Flash. Thomas rubbing Tobias's hair dry as he tried to explain to his half-brother that he didn't need to serve their mother her daily tea or sleep in the broom closet anymore.

Flash. The professor looking at Tobias in surprise as he wrote awkwardly on the test paper. After the test paper is marked, the professor meets with Mr. Angeles, pointing to the marked paper excitedly.

Flash. Tobias dressed in regular clothes and a pair of glasses, his messy hair tamed slightly though it hadn't been cut. Red met blue as he came face to face with a young Bruce Wayne.

Flash. Bruce watches his new companion curiously. He frowns as he catches sight of the bandage hidden underneath Tobias's long sleeved shirt as the boys work silently.

Flash. 10-year-old Tobias collapses halfway through class. Bruce curses at the number of injuries found on the other's body and demands answers from Tobias when he wakes.

"I fell down the stairs."

"Bullshit! That's complete bullshit Tobias because you don't get those kinds of bruises with hand marks if you fall down the stairs! For a frigging Mensa-leveled genius, you completely suck at lying!"

Bruce's voice faded along with the scene, the screen gently blinking with static that allowed the hybrids to continue their conversation.

"…At least there are people who care for him." Danny made a small noise of agreement and Dani continued. "And at least someone in his family who isn't completely heartless. I wonder how come their mom wouldn't accept him. Is it because she isn't completely related to him by blood?"

"Actually by right, she is related to him by blood since he is her husband's son." Danny paused and made a thoughtful noise. Dani waited patiently to continue. "But I guess she feels cheated that her husband went and had a child with another woman. So she resents the child for it even though it isn't his fault for existing in the first place."

"It's so cruel…" Dani's voice muffled against his hazmat suit as she buried her face into his side. Danny gently stroked her head and allowed whatever they had seen process into his mind. "I guess I'm a little glad that Vlad didn't treat me or any of the rest of the clones like that at all."

"Of course he didn't; he just did more experiments on you and tried to de-molecularize you down into ectoplasmic goo." The older hybrid groused, eliciting a small giggle from his younger counterpart. "But true, I guess I'd have to be grateful that he didn't physically abuse you to that point where you'd be bruised up and beaten. Plus that would have defeated the purpose of using you against me."

"You're so pessimistic." Dani gently shoved Danny's side and pouted at his amused smile. "And silly. Not everything is about you, you do know that right?"

"I just like to make myself sound important." He teased, reaching forward to poke Dani's cheeks before launching a tickle attack on her. She squealed loudly and tried phasing away, but Danny had caught her midway and continued to prod and poke her ticklish spots. "Ok, I'm just joking. To be honest, I don't like the spotlight at all but it just seems that everything kind of piles up on me for some reason."

"Oh be quiet, you piece of ham." He pinched her cheek lightly in revenge before the two settled back comfortably on the couch and waited for the screen to flicker back to life. It didn't take too long for the next series of flashes to appear.

Flash. Another time jump; both boys are in their early-teens, walking up the steps of Gotham City College. Bruce and Tobias are greeted by Professor Mitchells before they are lead into the school.

Flash. Bruce walks down the corridor talking quietly with a blond girl his age. They pause as they hear the melody of a piano playing and search for the source. They watch Tobias silently from the doorway as he continues to play. Once he is finished, Tobias is introduced to Billie Darvine, an art genius and Bruce's classmate.

Flash. A time jump forward of two years; Billie drags both Bruce and Tobias into a second hand clothes store and dresses them up in casual punk/skater clothes. She giggles and snaps photographs of the boys after they are dressed.

Flash. A snowy day; Billie stares at Bruce incredulously and points a finger at him.

"You've known him for seven years! How can you *not* know when his birthday is?!"

"It just never crossed my mind." Bruce tried to pacify Billie but to no avail. The other teen punches his shoulder lightly and glares. "I'm serious Billie! Getting Toby to talk alone is like trying to pull his teeth out; getting to know him is even tougher than it looks."

"I still can't believe you haven't grown any balls and actually *ask*." Bruce sticks his tongue out at Billie's choice of words, but the blond ignored him. "Or is it some male best friend psychic thing that we women aren't supposed to comprehend? You of all people should know that you have to *ask* Toby directly about something to get the answer straight from his mouth."

"Ok fine. Why don't you go and ask since you're so confident about it?"

"That's what I intend to do; there he is now." Billie waved her hand in the direction where Tobias was effortlessly slipping through the crowd and towards the two. "Toby! Over here!"

Tobias bobbed his head in greeting with a soft "Good morning Bruce, Billie.". Billie wasted no time in shooting out her question, much to Bruce's amusement.

"Toby, when's your birthday?" The young brunette tilted his head to the side and looked at her determined face curiously before replying.

"Twenty-fourth of December."

"What?!" Billie shrieked and started pounding her fists at Bruce, glaring at him vehemently. Bruce fended off her punches and Tobias simply watched his two friends from the side. "It took me only one minute to find out when his birthday was and you didn't even have the balls to ask him for seven years; and his birthday is tomorrow! God you are such a dumbass Bruce."

"Ok fine, I'm at fault!" Bruce yelped as Billie continued to throw her surprisingly strong fists at him. "Ow! Quit it Billie!"

"Pig-headed man." She sniffed, stopping her attack on him before totting over to Tobias and pulling him closer to where Bruce was nursing his bruises. "So what do you guys do for Christmas? Please don't tell me you guys actually don't do anything for Christmas…"

"Toby's never been over to my place for Christmas." Bruce pointed out as the three walked down the snowy pathway. "Plus I don't do much anyway; just open the stack of presents some distant relatives send over and drink cocoa by the fire."

Tobias blinked as two pairs of blue eyes train on him. Billie nudged his side gently. "What about you Toby?"

"Study."

Awkward silence followed his response. "… That is so you Toby." Bruce sighed and shook his head, regarding his best friend solemnly. "But frankly I'm not surprised. I bet those snakes never even let you out of your room with their pesky annual Christmas Ball that's always held at your mansion."

Silence envelop the three as they continue walking down the snowy path. Billie catches sight of the Gotham River before stopping the two boys.

"Ok then, since you two don't seem to have anything else better to do on Christmas and most likely Christmas Eve too, why not meet me here tomorrow evening? We can spend Christmas in our own special way and as a bonus, we get to celebrate Toby's birthday!"

"Is it because we're the only jerks around who are willing to hang out with you?" Bruce teased and quickly dodged the fist that came shooting out at him. He grinned and danced out of Billie's reach, taking refuge behind Tobias. "What about your folks?"

"Momma and Pa can't come because they're short on money again. I'm on a full paid scholarship remember?"

"Oh right." Bruce grimaced and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Make it up to me by dragging your silly ass here by six tomorrow evening and I'll think about forgiving you."

"… You are one evil little girl Billie."

Flash. The Gotham River; evening. Billie grins and gives the confused boys lotus shaped candles, lighting the wicks and setting them out to float on the river. She explains the significance of the candles as the three sit by the river bank and watch the candles flicker in the distance.

Billie curls contently against Tobias's side while Bruce eyes his friends in amusement. Behind them by the road, Thomas smiles and silently walks off.

Flash. Another time jump forward of three years. Tobias shyly proposes to Billie who shrieks and flings herself at him with "Yes, yes, yes!". Bruce cheers in the background while shouting "It's about damn time you two.".

Billie throws a rude gesture in Bruce's direction that only served to make him laugh harder.

Flash. Angeles Mansion, midday. Thomas winces as he witnesses his mother throw a fit at Tobias's quiet announcement of engagement. The screaming fades and the scene quickly switches to Tobias leaving the Mansion with a few bags. Thomas stops him and speaks with him briefly before letting him go.

Flash. Bruce nudges Tobias's slightly fidgeting side as Billie walks down the aisle in her wedding gown. The ceremony is short and simple with only a few guests. Without waiting for the pastor to pronounce them husband and wife, Billie throws herself at Tobias and kisses him much to everyone's amusement.

"Billie, it looks as if you just can't wait to pin Toby in a certain room and have your way with him."

"Who said anything about having my way in a *room*?" Tobias coughs and turns his head away, his cheeks flaring a bright red color as Bruce's expression morphs into one of horror. Billie grins impishly while her father snorts and her mother shakes her head in amusement.

"Billie sweetheart, that's far too much information that neither your father and I would like to know."

"Well it's true Momma."

"Oh god Toby. You've willingly chained yourself to the she-devil for life."

"And this 'she-devil' is more than willing to dish out some punishment to a certain best man who hasn't learnt how to keep his trap shut."

Danny and Dani dissolved into laughter as the scene faded, Billie giving chase to Bruce in her wedding dress while waving her bouquet of flowers menacingly at him. Static returned to the screen as their laughter subsided, giving them some time to talk about what they had just seen.

"She's so awesome." Dani hiccupped, wiping the tears of laughter that leaked out from her eyes. "If I did have a mom, I wish she were her!"

"I guess sweet and gentle appearances can be deceiving." He snorted, recalling how he had initially perceived Billie Angeles to be a soft-spoken and sweet lady when he had first seen the photograph in the previous event. Danny nudged Dani's side with an amused smile. "And you *do* have a mother, who happens to be *my* mother too since you are essentially my clone."

"… Do you think she'll accept me though?" He blinked as Dani's wide and hesitant eyes met his. "I mean: Vlad created me out of your DNA and given that she doesn't exactly like him anymore…"

"She's never loved him in that way but that aside, there's no reason why she wouldn't accept you." He responded firmly, bringing Dani closer to him in a half hug. "So what if her most hated person created you? Even if you are my clone, you are your own person." Danny paused and raised an eyebrow at her. "Unless you've developed some of my tendencies and personality. Now *that* would be when we'd have to panic."

Dani giggled and shoved Danny's side with a pout. "Of course I haven't. If I did, I'd be O' Clueless number two, a title I definitely don't want!"

"Hey!" She laughed as Danny threw her a mock wounded look. "Why do you guys always like to make fun of my tendency to be clueless?"

"Because your reaction to the teasing is fun to watch." Dani responded with a wide grin, giggling as Danny curved his lips into an indignant pout. "But really? Are you sure your family would accept me?"

"Dani, Jazz already accepts you as a little sister and give our parents some credit will you? They aren't heartless. As far as I'm concerned, you're already a part of the Fenton family." Dani's smile was strangely watery as she threw her arms around Danny's midsection and buried her face into his side. He returned the hug softly before noticing the flickering screen. "Oh hey look, more scenes."

The colors on the screen blended with each other, swirling about before slipping into place. Another short time jump with a small cozy apartment as the setting for the next scene. Billie gazes silently at Tobias as he reads a letter from opposite the table.

"How's Tommy doing Toby?"

"He says that he is well and doing alright." Tobias sets an opened letter back down on the table and reaches out to grab the stack of mail to shift through them. "His training is taking longer than he expected but he is willing to continue despite this set-back. He hopes that you are doing fine and gives his compliments on your recent painting that has been set on display in the Gotham Museum."

"Mm…" Billie gets up from the table and walks behind Tobias's chair. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and rests her cheek on his messy brown hair. She hesitates for a moment before speaking up again. "Hey Toby, I know you don't feel like you're ready to take on a family considering how young we are and that I don't exactly have a stable job as an artist… but I really, really want to have kids."

Tobias stops shifting through the mail and slowly rests his hands back on the table. Billie glances at him worriedly and bites her lip, unsure of his reaction. "…Toby?"

"Are you sure about this Billie?" His voice was so soft that even both hybrids along with Billie had to lean forward to hear him. Confused but determined, Billie nods her head at Tobias's question, tilting her head to the side as she watches her husband carefully. "I… am uncertain. I do not think I would make a good father to our children."

"Of course you will!" Billie releases her hands from his shoulders and moves forward, cupping Tobias's cheeks as she faces him. "You'll be a wonderful father to them Toby; I know it. You won't be alone, I'll be here with you and we'll bring up our kids together."

His red eyes still held doubt as he stared into his wife's pleading bright blue. Tobias's expression becomes pensive as he mulls over his thoughts, his chin dropping down to his chest to avoid Billie's gaze. Billie sits on his lap and gently strokes his cheeks, waiting for him to speak.

"If that is what you want…" Billie releases a happy squeal and throws her arms over Tobias's neck, pushing both their weights against the back of the chair and making it topple over. A loud crash echoes in the apartment as the two land on the floor with Billie still clinging onto Tobias happily, not caring for the new acquired bruises that she had sustained from the fall.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you –" Billie begins smothering Tobias with kisses before the man can even recover from the fall. The screen focuses on Tobias's bemused expression before it softens into a gentle look, though his lips are still set in a thin line, as Billie pulls him in for a longer kiss.

The next series of flashes made the two watching hybrids hold their breaths, leaning forward to be closer to the screen so that they wouldn't miss any details.

Flash. Billie and Tobias stare at the doctor as he points out not one, not two, but *three* babies in Billie's womb during her ultra-sound. Billie starts beating Tobias for impregnating her with triplets and moans about not getting just one child to start their family with. Tobias just stares at the ultra-sound screen blankly, not caring if his wife was beating him up.

Flash. Billie badgers the men for baby names, her belly swollen to the size of several watermelons, and finally decide on naming the triplets in alphabetical order. Bruce watches her in amusement while Tobias raises an eyebrow as she takes out a piece of paper and delegates which one of them names each triplet, forcing them to pick a boy and girl name so that it would be fair.

Billie chose Amilee and Adam for the first born.

Bruce picked the names Bianca and Bradley for the next.

Tobias ponders for a while before choosing Cassandra and Cayden for the last child before Billie grins cheerfully at the list and makes another two so that the men could keep it with them.

Flash. Tobias watches his wife curiously as she gleefully completes the pieces of jewelry she had been working on.

"Billie, why have you made three chokers?"

"They're for the kids silly." She giggles, pecking his cheek as he leans down to her shoulder to peer at the three chokers, two embedded with gems while one had a dog tag. "I figured that it would be nice if they had some accessories when they grew up. Since Dr. Kelsing said that we were going to have two girls and a boy… so that's why I made the girls the gem embedded ones and our baby boy gets the dog tag."

"Are you… spoiling them already?" Tobias raises an eyebrow at the pouting Billie. His eyes caught sight of the opal drop gem encased in silver swirls in the form of a pendant, recognizing it at Billie's own piece of jewelry, sitting snugly beside the choker with the dog tag. "And it appears that you are more than ready to begin spoiling our son more than our daughters, giving him one of your own jewelry in companion to the choker."

"I am not!" Billie denies and continues pouting at Tobias who simply looks at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "What's wrong with just wanting to give them accessories to wear?"

"Nothing." Tobias kisses her cheek gently and looks at the four pieces of jewelry. "I just believe you are thinking too far ahead because they will not be able to wear these accessories until a few years later."

Flash. Billie clings onto Tobias's arm, slowly wobbling down the busy December street on the night before Christmas Eve. Suddenly, bangs and crashes echo across the street as the Joker swings above the crowd, crackling madly. The busy street erupts into chaos as the people shoved against each other to escape the Joker.

Batman swoops in and engages with the Joker. While the two fight, Billie is separated from Tobias in the large crowd. The Joker laughs maniacally as he leaps up and releases a spray of poison needles in the crowd. Before Batman can react, the Joker quickly disappears as the police arrive on the scene.

Tobias finally locates Billie sprawled on the ground and notices the sharp needles sticking out from her clothes as he cradles her in his arms.

Flash. Gotham Memorial, emergency room. The hospital is in chaos as frantic family and friends demand to know the status of the victims. Billie is rushed into the emergency room where she undergoes an emergency caesarean to save the triplets.

Amilee is born twenty minutes before the stroke of midnight on the 23rd of December and Bradley follows ten minutes after her. Five minutes into the 24th of December, Cassandra is born and doctors rush to stabilize Billie's condition.

Billie gazes at the door while her babies are quickly rushed into the nurseries, tears glistening from her eyes as she meets Tobias's worried ones. She squeezes his hand gently, murmuring softly before closing her eyes. The nurses quickly herd Tobias out the door as the heart monitor flat lines and the doctors try resuscitating Billie.

Ten minutes after midnight on the 24th of December; Billie Angeles is pronounced dead, leaving behind three two-months-premature infants and a distraught husband.

Flash. Bruce rushes into Gotham Memorial and meets Tobias. No words are exchanged, only a hollow and blank expression greets Bruce as he approaches his best friend. His expression slackens and he sinks into the chair beside the brunette, hanging his head as he mourned for Billie. Bruce quietly follows Tobias to the nursery, peering through the glass to watch the three tiny infants, struggling to survive their premature birth in the incubators. His fists clench tightly as his teeth grit against each other harshly, his eyes sweeping through the three name tags repeatedly.

A doctor approaches Tobias and speaks with him quietly before handing him some papers. Bruce tears his eyes away from the infants, reading the medical documents from Tobias's shoulder and freezes as he reads deeper into the text.

"Toby… this is –"

"Yes." Tobias's voice was quiet as his expression slackened to one that looked of defeat. "They have been infected with the poison. It is dormant now but… it will only be a matter of time before it activates and kills them."

The screen once again faded, this time to a completely blank and black state without the static. During the later point of the flashes when Billie had died, Dani had broken down into tears and clung onto Danny tightly. Danny watched in awe, letting the information settle in his mind before he processed through them one at a time.

So much emotion; from the cheerful and bright outlook of a future with a family, it was gunned down the moment the Joker had released the needles. A feeling welded in the side of his heart, but it wasn't pity. Danny sympathized with Tobias Angeles; though he could not begin to even fathom the pain the man could have felt when he lost his wife and found out that his three children could drop dead at any moment.

And he had been so reluctant in the beginning, only finally caving in when Billie pleaded and promised that she would raise their children together. Somehow it didn't seem fair that not only did he become a widower, he became a father when he doubted himself to be a good father to them. Why did life have to be so damn cruel to a guy?

"…Danny?" At Dani's whimper, Danny scooped her up into a tight hug, allowing the younger girl to sob quietly into his chest. "Why do… why do these things have to happen?"

Clockwork's words began to echo in his mind and unconsciously, Danny found himself repeating the words. "Because everything happens for a reason; whether we like it or not, those could be the events that shape them into who they are as we see them in the timeline we are watching now. There is no such thing as coincidence –"

"There is only Hitsuzen?" Danny looked down to see Dani rub her eyes with the back of her hand and peer up at him with watery eyes. "Clockwork's mentioned it before but I don't understand what it means…"

"Don't worry, neither do I." He consoled, gently rubbing the tear marks off her face as Dani snuggled back into his lap. "Are you sure you want to continue watching this extra bit? You don't have to you know."

"No I want to." She sniffed again but focused her eyes straight at the black screen that began to crackle with static. "I want to see how he managed – how he managed to continue surviving like that and still bring them up."

"You've gotten a whole lot stronger Dani." Dani tilted her head upwards to look at Danny in confusion. He only responded with a smile and a pat on her head before wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head. The static grew louder before it evened out, presenting the next series of flashes to them.

Flash. A wail echoes in the darkened apartment and the lights flicker on with a gentle glow a moment later. Tobias strides out of his room calmly as the first wail is followed by another and tends to the fussing little girl first, her blue eyes watering as she reaches out for him. He takes both his son and daughter into his arms, awkwardly rocking them lightly as he stumbles to the kitchen to warm the bottles of milk.

A pair of wide curious red eyes peers through the bars of the crib, watching her father as he tended to her two siblings. The tiny infant rolls onto her stomach and continues watching her father in fascination as he sets her brother back into the crib and begins feeding her sister. Her brother sniffles and squirms about, unable to get comfortable with his face scrunched up and lips ready to open to release another wail. Slowly, she crawls towards him and rests a chubby hand on his cheek, burbling baby speech to him to keep him occupied while their father fed their sister.

Flash. Tobias is working in his office while keeping an eye on his three five-month-old children, his female colleagues keeping them occupied by lavishing them with attention. There is a tug on his pant leg and he looks down to see Bradley blinking up at him while sitting his bottom on the floor. He reaches down and brings Bradley up onto his lap, where the boy's wide and curious eyes scanned his table and began reaching out for the items scattered on it.

Flash. Another snowy December day; evening. The clock slowly ticks towards the 25th of December while Tobias continues working, glancing over to the crib often to check on the three sleeping children. Suddenly the front door is flung from its hinges, the loud banging noise waking the three sleeping children, causing them to wail simultaneously at the disruption of their sleep.

Theron Angeles stumbles through the door, his hand grasping a bottle of wine as he stares at Tobias, who is trying to calm his three crying kids, with a maniacal grin. The blond begins shouting at him, shoving papers into Tobias's face. His insane grin did not falter even for the slightest moment as he then smashed the half drunk bottle at Tobias and proceeded to bodily throw the smaller man out of the apartment.

Theron advances menacingly towards the three crying children, intent on 'shutting them up' until Tobias races back in and knocks him away from the crib. Before Theron can throw the remnants of the shattered bottle at him, Tobias quickly gathers the triplets into his arms and flees the apartment as Theron continues his drunkard rampage.

The clock strikes midnight as Theron grins and slurs a shout of "Merry Christmas bastard kid, and happy fucking birthday!".

Flash. Tobias wraps the coat around the three shivering babies tightly as he continues to walk through the cold snowing night. Sleepy red eyes watch him curiously as he shivers, bringing the triplets closer to his chest while he walks. A hand suddenly claps his shoulder, causing Tobias to spin around and come face to face with a confused Bruce.

Flash. The Wayne Mansion. Bradley and Cassandra are sleeping contently in the crib, wrapped snugly under a pile of blankets, while Amilee sleepily watches the two men curiously from the crib. Tobias has his head buried in his hands, his elbows propped up on the table while Bruce glares at the hand held phone that lies on the table.

The little girl clings onto the bars of the crib and tries to crawl out, but is lifted out of the crib by Alfred who gives her a stern look. She blinks back at him and rubs her sleepy eyes, but still reaches out in the direction of her father. Alfred sets her down on the floor where she quickly crawls across the carpeted floor and tugs at Tobias's pant leg.

"Dada." She calls plaintively, raising her arms up to him but retracts one arm to rub her sleepy eyes again. Tobias's expression softens and reaches down, plucking her up from the floor and setting his eldest child on his lap. Amilee happily burrows her cheek against his chest and released a loud yawn before falling asleep, curled contently in his arms.

"Toby?"

"I will not give up Bruce." Gently, Tobias strokes Amilee's tuft of blond hair. He looks up and faces Bruce with determination. "I will continue my research for the antidote and still bring up my children. I will not let Theron's interference hinder my goal."

"Then at least let me help you." Both men locked gazes for a moment before Bruce continued. "I'm not treating you like a charity case Toby; you're my best friend here. You need a place to stay and I insist that you live here. Alfred can take care of the kids so that you can concentrate on work." Bruce paused and pondered for a moment before adding, "And you are *not* a burden here."

"Bruce, I –"

"Toby, that son of a bitch bribed Star Labs to fire you, seized almost all of your assets, and went as far as to emptying your bank accounts after bribing the banks to give him the account information. And mind you, it's been almost five years since your family disowned you for marrying Billie too." Tobias makes a disgruntled noise but doesn't interrupt as Bruce continues. "I don't care what you'd probably say, but Billie's money isn't nearly enough to pull you back up to your feet. You can't find any cheap assed apartments that are safe enough to house babies or a job with good enough pay that lets you bring them along with you to the workplace Toby."

Tobias's eyes narrows as both men continue to stare at each other. Sleepy red eyes blink open again to watch them while another two pairs of blue eyes blink behind the bars of the crib.

"Stay here Toby." Bruce insisted, dragging up a chair to sit on while never breaking his gaze with Tobias. "You can pay me back by working in Wayne Enterprise. Lucius has been scouting for some new biomedical scientists to hire and you fit the bill perfectly. I'm not going to give you special mention because I know you don't like it when I do that. Come on Toby, let me help you this time."

As Tobias mulls over his thoughts, Alfred quietly plucks the other two babies from the crib and sets them on the floor, watching them with fondness as they crawl across the carpeted floor towards the two men. A tiny hand comes waving at Tobias's face, causing him to look down to see Amilee grinning up at him, squirming in his arms before reaching up to touch his face with her chubby hand.

"Daaa." Both Tobias and Bruce's gaze drop to the floor as two babies crawl up to them with wide blue eyes. Amilee giggles and babbles, squirming in Tobias's arms again, an action that makes him set her back down on the floor to be with her two siblings. She immediately crawls over to them and envelops Cassandra into a sloppy hug, the younger girl giggling happily while burrowing into her sister's embrace. Bradley whines before flopping on top of his sisters, squishing them beneath his weight as he tried to wriggle his way into the hug.

Tobias watches his children squeal and play with each other on the floor while Bruce watches him carefully from the side. Finally, the brunette sighs and throws a defeated look at Bruce.

"Alright." Despite the triumph of finally persuading his best friend to take up his offer, Bruce's face twists into an expression of pain as Tobias continues to stare at the three babies forlornly. "I will accept your offer."

"It doesn't seem like a very good win huh." Danny absently nodded his head at Dani's exclamation as the screen faded back to black. "Why did that bastard want to make his life so miserable anyway?"

"Maybe to make himself feel superior." Dani glanced up at him questioningly, prompting him to explain further. "It's a complex when someone just wants to make himself look like he's a level above the others. I guess in this case, because he's always been able to push Tobias around he continued to assert his power over him."

"By taking almost everything he had away from him?" She frowned and diverted her attention back to the screen. "Hey, what does disowned mean anyway?"

"It basically means cutting off any kind of connection you have with that other person." Danny rubbed Dani's arms soothingly as he felt her muscles tense up. "So in this case, his family cut off ties with him because of his marriage so by right, they have nothing to do with him and vice versa."

"Then how come that bastard could still take everything he owned?" Danny's gaze dropped to his lap where he found Dani's hands clenching tightly. He rested his hands on her fists, squeezing them lightly before he explained.

"Money let him get his way. In our reality, money makes the world go round and since he's from a wealthy family, he could get away with it."

"But… that's not fair!" She whirled her upper body around to face her cousin with an expression mixed with shock and fury. "He already has so much money, why does he want to take somebody else's money and stuff when he can get them with his own?"

"Greed Dani." Danny gently rested his chin on the top of Dani's head again with a quiet sigh. "And probably envy too; those are two of the seven deadly sins. Greed because what he has isn't enough and he wants more of it; envy because he's probably jealous that his half-brother is far more intelligent than he is and wants to cut it down to size to make himself superior."

"But that's stupid!"

"No, that's reality." He corrected, rubbing her arms gently as she squirmed in his lap. "You can have an ideal world where there none of the seven deadly sins exist; a world with peace and harmony that's all in your mind. In truth, that's just a fantasy because in our reality, there's corruption and chaos. There can never really be an ideal world out there, everyone's ideal world would be different. But in the end, none of them will ever come to pass."

"I don't like it." She stopped squirming and stared heatedly down at her fists. "If that's the case, why are we fighting for? If the world so screwed up, why are we fighting for it?"

"Because there are things that are worth protecting." Danny responded immediately, hugging Dani closer to him. "I'm not fighting to preserve some kind of world peace; I'm fighting because I want to protect my family and friends. They're the ones who've been supporting me all this time without hesitation and I owe it to them for keeping me here."

"I have this power; a power that allows me to protect people that I hold dear to me and in the process, I protect a town." He peered down to look into Dani's eyes as he continued. "Initially, the town hated me because I was a ghost, and they thought that all ghosts were bad. It takes time to adjust because we have a power they lack and because of that, they fear us. You don't have an obligation to the town Dani; but I feel that I do because I feel responsible for letting the ghosts in. I've told you about the portal accident and because I managed to get that portal working, the town started getting attacked by the ghosts."

"I still find it stupid." The smaller hybrid sighed and leaned back against Danny's chest. "But I do have an obligation, and that's to you and Valerie for saving me."

"You know, you could always just stick to being my third cousin once removed instead of Danielle Phantom."

"Ick." She stuck her tongue out at the mention of her claim when they had first met while Danny released an amused chuckle. "Don't remind me. But hey, what was I suppose to say? 'Hey there, I'm your failed clone who's come to hand your ass over to your arch-nemesis. What's up?'"

Danny burst into laughter at Dani's exaggerated expression, the other grinning impishly before joining in. "I think I would have stared at you like you were mad and called the asylum to pick you up." Danny hiccupped, smothering the rest of his laughs behind his hand.

"See?" He snorted and poked Dani's cheek, causing the other to stick her tongue out at him. "I wonder if that's all the screen's going to show us…"

"If that's the case, damn." Both hybrids turned to look at the still blank screen. "I'm kind of curious to know how Theron attempted to murder Tobias."

"You mean that bastard actually tried to *murder* him?"

"Yup."

Before Dani could open her mouth to speak, the screen started flickering again. Both hybrids stared at the screen expectantly and weren't disappointed when the setting became clearer and the scene began to unfurl before them.

"What's a big shot like you doing in this dinky little hole hmm?" The Joker quickly slides around Theron, his wide clown grin never fading while the blond simply smirked back at him.

"I've got a job for you punk." Theron takes out a wad of money from his jacket and waves it at the Joker. "Five hundred thousand if you can kill somebody for me. Use the most painful method you have to kill him. Make him suffer."

"I like you already!" The clown jumps up and down with glee, sliding over to Theron and reached out for the money. Theron quickly pulls the money out of the Joker's reach; the villain smirks impishly. "Money aside, I love a good victim. So, who's my target so that I can have some fun?"

Theron grins wickedly, taking out a photograph and tossing it at the Joker's face. "Tobias Angeles."

The dark alley disappeared and was replaced with the bright white walls of a laboratory greeted them. Standing in the middle of the room hunched over a microscope was a slightly older Tobias. Quietly, he observed whatever he was looking at through the microscope, occasionally scribbling notes on a clipboard sitting beside the apparatus.

Two shadows loom from the ceiling before a tiny 'tink' sound echoes in the room, startling Tobias as he catches sight of a canister with a large smiley face rolling about the tiled floor. Just as he is about to react, the canister explodes, releasing sleeping gas into the windowless room. It took only a few moments for the gas to take effect, Tobias's body finally falling heavily against the floor as the Joker and the Harley Quinn loomed over him menacingly with masks over their faces.

The scene immediately switched to a dark room where Tobias is chained to the wall, his arms raised above his head while his feet dangled motionlessly in the air. Flashes of the torture streaked past their eyes; gun shots, electric static, violent beatings and cries of pain echoed in Clockwork's office as the Joker tormented and tortured the brunette, all the while laughing insanely as he did so.

Then the screen shifted as a stick of fire came to view, illuminating the Joker's maniac smirk in the dark. The Gotham villain throws the stick at Tobias, setting the man on fire just as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman burst into the room and engaged in a scuffle with him and the Harley Quinn.

Batman allows Superman and Wonder Woman deal with the Joker and Harley Quinn and quickly breaks away from the fight. The Dark Knight hastily extinguishes the fire and breaks the chains apart with his bat-a-rang, allowing Tobias to slide from their grasp and slump against him. He growls and grits his teeth as he catches sight of the numerous injuries that covers Tobias's body, slinging the brunette's arm over his shoulder and quickly drags him out of the room as Superman and Wonder Woman subdue the clown duo.

Dani and Danny stare at the screen with fascination as Batman interrogates the Joker after the previous screen warps to the brightly lit interrogation room. The black clad hero slams his hands on the table, glaring straight at the wide smiling Joker who goes off to bounce around the room in glee.

"Oh people are so wicked these days!" The Joker pounces back on the chair, settling down on it in the seating position of a frog. He grins crazily at Batman whose eyes narrow dangerously at him. "They want to destroy each other. Who am I to stop them from having their way and what they so want? What humanity eh? A brother who wants his half bastard brother dead and –"

Before the Joker could finish, Batman leaves the room with a swish of his cape. The Dark Knight ignores Superman and Wonder Woman's queries and continues walking down the hallway with his lips curved into a small snarl. The other two costumed heroes glance at each other worriedly before quickly following him.

As the next scene fades in, Batman strides into the office building and immediately rams Theron against the wall. Startled at his sudden aggressiveness, Wonder Woman steps forward to pull him back but is stopped by Superman. Theron scowls at Batman while the hero snarls at him in response before twisting Theron's arms behind his back and cuffing him. The blond howls and tries to break free, but Batman simply throws him at Superman, muttering darkly under his breath before leaving the silent office building.

"What did Batman just say?" Superman turned and gave the curious Wonder Woman an amused shrug.

"He just said 'get that bastard out of my sight and into the jail cell where he belongs'."

"Go Batman!" Danny snorted as Dani cheered loudly and pumped her fists in the air. "Damn, wish he actually landed a good punch on the guy's face though."

"Maybe, but that would have probably made things worse Dani." She threw him a look that pouted 'party pooper' but didn't respond back to him verbally. "Now that we saw the injuries, I'm actually kind of glad we didn't see the whole torture thing. Not something I'd ever want to catch you watching Dani."

"Too late." Her voice sounded a tad bit too smug for his liking and Danny raised a questioning brow at her. "I've seen some other timelines with worse tortures Danny. Like, that's a 'duh' in my books."

"Gee thanks Dani. Way to make me feel innocent." He tickled her lightly, causing Dani to squirm and fly out of his lap in a fit of giggles. "I don't think I want to know what exactly it was you've seen."

"I didn't think you would." Again the smug tone. Danny was beginning to think that Dani was watching *too* many timelines in her spare time. He really should start dragging her out of the ghost zone and make her adapt more to the Real Realm. "Not to leave you hanging, but I think I'd better go; I promised to play with Wulf today and Clockwork won't let me bring him in his office."

"Just think of all the damage the both of you could do to Clockwork's office." He chided, already getting a few vague ideas of what sort of chaos Dani and Wulf could do in Clockwork's small office. "You guys might even accidentally release Dan from the Thermos and that's something I'd want to avoid."

"Gee, you think?" She laughed and zipped forward, catching him in a tight hug. "I'll catch you later cousin. I want to watch the timeline with you so, tell me what happens!"

"Haha, it makes me think you've become a timeline addict." He swiftly dodged the hand that came out to smack him and grinned at her. "Alright, well according to Clockwork, it's only been like 3 or 4 days since I left Amity so I have more than a week left to rot in here."

"Mmm hm. Good! I get to spend more time with you then."

"There's always the thing as 'come to the Real Realm to visit' Dani."

"Party pooper." With another hug and a wave, Dani quickly flitted out of the office, whistling cheerfully as she left. Danny shook his head and turned back to the screen which had gone blissfully blank again.

He hadn't realized just how little Dani really understood about the Real Realm but then again, he'd forgotten that she barely had any knowledge of these things. Speaking of knowledge, Danny leaned back against the couch with all the new information swirling in his mind. Humans didn't seem to be at all different from malevolent ghosts; Theron definitely proved that.

'An enemy who is a whole lot closer than we think… and it's not any off-worlders or ghosts and the what nots… humans themselves are a threat to each other.' On that point, Danny began to muse about all the previous wars humans had against each other. The World Wars, Civil wars… and humans went as far as to do discrimination against their own kind who just looked different from them, like the whites versus the blacks. Who *was* the real enemy then?

Danny knew that he didn't have a straight answer for that question. If he had been asked that question on the month he started using his powers, he would have immediately answered the ghosts. But now that he was older and had more experience, he had to question: were ghosts *really* the main threat to mankind? Well probably to Amity Park they would be but that wasn't the point.

Humans were their own enemies. Like women and men fighting against each other for a person that they loved (he used Vlad and his dad as examples, it was simpler that way), fighting for the glory of their country, fighting for their beliefs... Mankind's threat was their own selves. Ghosts were no different; Pariah Dark was proof of this.

The screen began to flicker again, breaking Danny out of his reverie and made him focus his attention on it. Eagerly, Danny stretched his legs out and grabbed his bag, fishing out a few snacks while keeping his eyes on the screen. He was very interested in how the timeline was going to continue now that he was so absorbed into it, but he also had shared some curiosity about the other timelines that Dani had mentioned to him earlier.

Huh, a timeline where everyone was gender bent? Now *that* was something that he'd like to see.

He settled back on the couch comfortably, popping open the bag of chips on his lap as colors began to filter back on the screen. Quietly munching on the chips, he leaned back against the couch and watched as the next event began to unfold.

Authoress's Ending Notes:

1) Even though no one might have been interested, I thought I'd dive into the friendship between Bruce and Tobias, and Tobias's past for that matter. If this interlude has bored you, I apologize.
2) Thank you to Soului, Calovan, Anthiena, crimsonshrouds, Oats-FFCC27 and Enchanting Elf for reviewing the previous chapter(s) ^_^
3) YES, the Teen Titans *will* be playing an important role(s) in the future chapters. It's been hinted in Season's Greetings ;)
4) Ghost Writer too plays an important role as Danny's information broker. XD I always thought of Ghost Writer to be one who was very proper and informative; someone Danny could go to for information if he needed it without getting his butt fried in the process. God of Art and Sex though? Interesting concept for Ghost Writer.
5) I'm working on an original piece of work (My first novel actually !.!) and well yes. Probably will get a whole lot slower in getting these chapters up ^^; Many apologies.
6) Due to some unfortunate events, I will be editing my previous chapters for the purpose of changing 'Cassy' to 'Casse' (Reverting to my original nickname I had thought of for the character Cassandra) and I will be redesigning this character's appearance a little.
7) Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this interlude. Do drop a review if you have the time :)

Cheeri~
Kenzy-Chan/ K.C