First off, I am sorry for how long this chapter took to get out to you guys. Times flies way too quickly and life has been crazy. Needless to say the whole covid pandemic didn't help and I had to get a new job. All that combined with personal projects not fanfiction related equaled a long wait. But here we go! I will try my best to have the next chapter out quicker than this one.

Disclaimer : I do not own Danny Phantom, DC, National Treasure, or White Collar. If I did my guinea pig would have a whole room just for him.

Kobayashi Maru part 2

It was a normal day for Tynan O'Connell as he sat in the local coffee shop, The Firebird. He, Ash, and Reva had driven into town and had stopped there as a treat since Ash had behaved himself for the errands they had needed to run. The Firebird was known in town for its friendly service and its delicious pastries and drinks. The coffee shop had originally been the old firehouse which had been abandoned and set for demolition when the new firehouse was built. Shortly after, Sara Young swept in with a big idea for turning it into a coffee shop with space on both floors set aside for a series of study/ conference rooms available for use by patrons including students from the local college. The town council had jumped on the idea and now less than four years later The Firebird was one of the most popular places in town.

The two-story refurbished firehouse was decorated with artwork and crafts created by local artists who also sold some of their works through the establishment. The coffee shop radiated a feeling of comfort and welcome which left the patrons at ease and made it a hot spot for students of all ages. The two floors of the coffee shop were connected by twin metal spiral stairs, one at each end of the shop which were originally the sliding poles from when the building had been the firehouse. The cast iron stair railings had yellow fairy lights wrapped around them that glimmered gently, drawing attention to the upper level of the shop. The rooms upstairs were painted in muted shades and each room had a large marker board/pin board as well as a set up of chairs and a table. Many of the staff and students from the college came to The Firebird because of its ideal location close to the school. It was also a popular place for students to find employment.

Such was the case for Inigo Talbot. The kid had been working at the coffee shop for the past three years while attending the nearby college as a full time student. Ash, at two years old, upon meeting him had immediately decided the young teen was lonely and had adamantly declared that they would become friends despite the obvious age gap. They did, and coming to see Inigo was one of the high points of Ash's week. The now five year old was always happy to see his friend and Tynan could easily tell that the young college student felt the same for his son. The normally uptight eighteen year old would crouch down at face level with the child as Ash would excitedly babble about all that he had done since he had last seen the college student and not once did Inigo ignore him.

It was impossible for Inigo to be friends with Ash and for him to not get to know the rest of his odd family. Many days after Inigo clocked out from work he could be found at a corner table with Tynan trying to puzzle out his latest history assignments. Leanna was a constant listening ear with sound advice in return as well as some individually wrapped dark chocolates that she kept stashed in her purse for when Inigo wanted them. Reva was a fellow computer fanatic and between the two of them it was not unheard of for a single conversation to span several hours. Overall the college student had managed to worm his way into the hearts of all of them. It was safe to say that Miasma included Inigo in the very small group of people that he would defend both as Tynan and Miasma, which made it distressing when they walked into the coffee shop and the first thing he noticed were the stress lines on the kid's face. He looked exhausted and not just mentally, but seemingly deeper than that. During their last history talk Inigo had mentioned that finals were happening this week and that he needed to study extra hard to pass this final year. Tynan watched as Ash ran over to his friend, a big smile on his face, already talking a mile a minute with excitement. Inigo's smile in response seemed more strained than usual, just a tad slower to surface. With a blink Tynan forced the information to the back of his mind. Inigo valued his privacy and would most likely clam up if he tried to force the subject, better to make himself available if the kid wanted to talk.

It was the next evening when things came to a head. There was a series of hurried knocks at the door that were distinctly out of place for such a late hour on a Friday night. Upon opening the door Tynan was greeted by the sight of an out of breath and panicking Inigo. After dragging the kid in and settling him on the couch with a blanket, Tynan ran to the kitchen. Moments later he emerged with two cups of chamomile tea and settled next to the distraught teen. What followed was a torrent of facts, emotions, and fears. His history teacher, Mark Davis, had always been standoffish with him. In the beginning Inigo had hoped that he could win him over by working hard, but no matter what he said or did the teacher's attitude didn't change. He unfortunately had to have classes with him multiple times over the last few semesters and the situation only worsened the longer he was there. The problem being that Mr. Davis was good with the other students and was only confrontational around Inigo when they were alone so no one would have believed Inigo if he had spoken out. It had reached a peak over the past semester where he was forced to wonder if his bad grades in history were not just him, especially with all the tutoring that Tynan had been giving him on the side. He finally had it out with Professor Davis earlier that day. The man had responded by calling him a "charity case who must have cheated his way to get to this point and he was just making sure he got what he deserved." After numerous other colorful descriptions of what Professor Davis thought of him, Inigo had run out of the office not wanting to listen to anymore of the man's poisonous lies. Inigo had wandered in the garden near the Professor's office, angry at the Professor, but also at himself for not doing anything about the man.

Inigo then found himself slipping back in the building, removing the two thin metal strips from his wallet. He knelt and began picking the lock. When he was growing up, the door to his mom's apartment would get stuck or the landlord would "misplace" their key so it became a necessity to know how to pick the lock. It took less than a minute for the office door to swing open and for him to walk to the Professor's desk. Everyone who was in the Professor's classes knew that the man was so proud of his ship in a bottle. It had been so easy to snag it and stash it in his book bag, relocking the door on his way out. It wasn't until after he had walked off campus that he fully realized what he had done. He had acted exactly like what Professor Davis said he was. He had panicked in that moment and the only person he could think to go to was Tynan.

So here they were sitting in Tynan's living room, Inigo looking equal parts scared and lost while all that Tynan could feel was rage. The fact that a teacher would do such a thing to one of their students, certainly to one as gifted as Inigo made his blood boil. Tynan shoved his emotions aside, for now, because there was a distraught teen in his living room who looked like he might shatter.

"I don't know what I should do. Should I hand myself over to the police? They probably wouldn't believe me about the Professor. If I keep it then the police will eventually come after me. Back in my hometown I had been arrested for stealing. I don't know if the Professor realizes its even been stolen yet, I just don't know what to do!"

Tynan laid a hand on Inigo's shoulder before he could continue with that destructive line of thought.

"The big question is where do we go from here? What do you want to do? Tell me, kid, and I'll do what I can. Do you want to just give it back to the Professor or do you want to get back at him? Take a second and actually think, not just let the adrenaline control your thoughts. Breathe with me."

Their exaggerated breaths were the only noise for a few minutes, the rhythm was eventually broken by Inigo.

"I can't let him continue as he is, I know that much, he'll just choose another student to target. I'm still not sure what to do about the ship in a bottle. It would be fair for him to lose something precious for the lives that he has ruined, but I don't know how I could pull it off without bringing myself down in the process."

Tynan replied thoughtfully. "I have some ideas that could work depending on how your professor reacts to the news of the theft. The main thing at this point is deniability, so it would be best if you leave the ship here away from your apartment where the police would have a chance of finding it if they performed a search. Also I would suggest that you not take part in any plans we make to reveal or get back at your professor. The less you know the less you have to hide from the police if you are questioned. It would make it too easy for the police to uncover your involvement in the original theft if our plans are discovered."

Inigo's face was slack with disbelief, probably surprised by how well Tynan was handling this. Not every person he went to would have immediately jumped into scheming and plotting criminal activity. Guess it was lucky for him that he happened to befriend a supervillain, not that the kid knew that, yet.

"Of course you don't have to do that, I'll help in whatever way I can no matter what you choose."

"No, your plan is good, very good. Are you sure you don't want me helping though? There has to be something I can do."

"There is. Your teacher will probably try his best to pin this on you or at least try to tell anyone who will listen that it was you. What you need to do is continue as normal and cooperate with the police, let your teacher be the one that makes a fool of himself, with a little help from me of course. For right now you need to get home so you can get some sleep."

Only once Inigo had left and was safely on his way back to his apartment did Miasma allow his emotions back to the surface. The anger and protectiveness surging together in a literal storm that he knew he needed to direct at something constructive before they overwhelmed him. So it was that a few hours later he was still up typing away on his laptop, surrounded by papers covered in notes on the Professor and the man's life. He would have to tell Reva and Leanna about the talk he had with Inigo and his plans to ruin the scumbag teacher.

When planning heists in the past, Miasma had come to the realization that any detail could be crucial to his plans. In this case he was looking for any weaknesses that the Professor had. Even if they weren't illegal, they could aid in his downfall. Rumors especially always had a grain of truth, whether about the teller or about the subject of the rumor. In this case it was well known that the Professor had a stock of liquor somewhere in his office. Several students had seen an empty liquor glass during the semester, but no one knew where the actual bottles were stashed, which for Miasma meant that there was a cubby or hiding spot of some sort in the Professor's office. That train of thought aside he did have one detail more pressing. Miasma knew that the Professor was not getting his ship in a bottle back in any form, broken or whole. If he was to pull off this heist with none being the wiser about the true fate of the ship in a bottle he would need help… help of the artistic variety, that is.

….

Miasma knew it was slightly dangerous to use Devore again, but during their last transaction Miasma had done some digging on the man and while Devore was manipulative he was not violent. It helped that Miasma didn't know anyone else who had an in with someone who could pull off this type of job in such a limited time frame. The leather briefcase thumped against his leg as he walked reminding him why he was doing this. The Professor needed to go down, and hard. It was well worth dealing with Devore.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Fumo, I understand that you have a piece you needed to discuss with me?"

Devore's blue eyes seemed even more aware and piercing than when they last met, the facade of charm doing little to hide it now that Miasma knew to look for it.

"I do, not as lucrative as the last one, but it is a bit more personal. I had been informed that you have numerous contacts and I was hoping that you might be able to suggest someone."

"I might have someone who can help with the item you described to me. I have sent out a request to confirm they have the materials needed for this project and are available to complete it within the time span you mentioned."

Miasma shifted slightly before responding in a low tone.

"I would be most appreciative if you could work out the details with your contact so that the counterfeit would be completed no later than Sunday evening. I understand that leaves a very limited time to work with. As such I would be willing to pay a higher fee than last time to compensate you for the inconvenience."

The soft buzz of a cellphone on vibrate interrupted Devore's response.

"This would be my contact with his answer."

Miasma remained relaxed on the outside, but on the inside he was tense. There were other options he could go with, but this plan had seemed the best choice he could come up with in such a short time span. The smile on Devore's face as he spoke on the phone immediately set Miasma at ease. His contact was free to make the ship.

With the counterfeit ship being made, with the original as a guide for the craftsman, all that remained was setting the stage. Now came the fun part.

…..

Sunday night Miasma was standing in the Professor's office. Its cream colored walls felt so empty even when it wasn't. Sure there were books and certificates, but that was all stuff. There was very little that suggested the man had any family or meaningful connections, no photos hung on the wall or sitting on the desk. The Professor's desk was so neat it almost made him sick, except for the glaring space where the ship in a bottle had sat. Miasma felt an warm sense of pride at the sight. The man had it coming to him, and more.

Tynan had talked with Inigo about the Professor more in depth after Friday night in the hope of getting inside the man's head and maybe even figuring out where he could dig up more dirt on the Professor. Tynan had heard that the Professor enjoyed his alcohol, but he hadn't known that the man had been suspected for sharing said alcohol with some of his underage students. The investigation had been dropped quickly due to lack of evidence, but it had given him a starting point.

That tidbit of information had solidified the idea that the Professor had a hidden stash, which meant a hiding spot which could be utilized against the bombastic teacher. As to the location of the stash, the Professor couldn't have made any changes to the structure of the room without drawing any unneeded attention to himself. This fact limited him to pieces of furniture or existing holes in the walls for hiding spots. A quick glance showed that none of the air vents were large enough to hide alcohol bottles in, though the image of the stuck up professor crawling on the floor to get his liquor from an air vent was an entertaining picture.

Once any vents were cleared as a possibility all that remained was the furniture. As far as furniture went there weren't that many pieces to check, only two floor to ceiling bookshelves and a large L-shaped desk that was positioned in the corner opposite the door. The desk was the best bet for a hidden compartment. Even if the Professor had cleaned out his alcohol stash, the compartment should still exist. A perfect opportunity.

It took less than five minutes for the bookshelves to be firmly struck off from the list of possibilities. While well above head height they were both not deep enough for books as well as whatever liquor bottles the Professor had stashed. So it had to be in the desk.

The desk was a large ostentatious affair, just the type that had secret compartments or drawers. The desk was made of a dark hardwood that glimmered slightly in the moonlight coming through the window behind it. Miasma had seen only one other example of a desk that had a secret compartment before and he didn't think watching National Treasure 2 would be of much use in this instance, so he was winging it.

First, to see if there were any compartments that were obvious, he made his hand intangible and slowly inserted it into the desk. He had realized with practice he could tell when his body was forced to phase through a object. It was a very faint change such that he had to be totally concentrated on it to feel it. Going through the motions of breathing to focus himself even though in this form he didn't need air, he began to slowly walk around the perimeter of the desk. There were some disturbances in the structure that he could ignore, too short, too narrow, or in the middle of the desk where there would be no way to reach the cavity without flipping the whole desk. It took him less than five minutes to discover the compartment, it was located close to the floor nestled inside one of the more elaborate carvings that ran around the base of the desk. The low flat drawer seemed to pop out when a button was pressed which was located further up the desk under one of the edges. The drawer contained two bottles as well as a few glasses. The bottles held vodka. The theory of the Professor giving alcohol to minors just became a bit more likely. While it was damning information, it wasn't his job. Let the police figure it out. Miasma was here to sink the man in his own way. It was the work of a moment to phase the fake ship in a bottle through the desk in beside the vodka bottles in the drawer. He allowed himself a small smile at another job pulled off successfully and left the building the same way he had come, like a shadow in the night.

…

Unfortunately now was the hardest part for Miasma, the waiting. Miasma had already come to the conclusion that if the officer who was put in charge of the case proved to be incompetent then he would have to send a anonymous call in to the police to nudge them in the right direction. He was hoping they would figure out for themselves how shifty the Professor was. The less obvious interference Miasma had to perform, the smoother the illusion would flow in the end.

It wasn't until Wednesday that he received a phone call from Inigo saying that the police had showed up with a warrant to search his apartment for the ship in a bottle. Obviously they didn't find it as it was still at Tynan's apartment tucked away in his safe. The Officers who had performed the search were respectful and seemed intent on making the search as quick and efficient as possible. Inigo had just sat on the couch the whole time with his pet brown dumbo rat, Raphael, to keep his hands occupied so he wouldn't start fidgeting. He was sure that his roommate had said something to the Sergeant who was in charge of the search because the man had been quiet when the two had left the bedroom after the Sergeant had entered it to search it. Considering how much his roommate despised the Professor he was sure that the older teen had spoken in Inigo's favor. Overall the search had gone as well as Miasma could have hoped for, maybe a little better depending what the Sergeant did with any knowledge Inigo's roommate had shared with him on the Professor. Only time would tell.

The much anticipated explosion took place the next day. It was revealed that the police had gotten the permission of the college to re-search the Professor's office. During the search alcohol was found and multiple glasses which had the fingerprints of numerous students, many of which were underage, as well as the "stolen" ship in a bottle. The scandal was the talk of the town, especially when it was further uncovered that the teacher had been tampering with test scores and sabotaging students in the past. The college had quickly put out the obligatory statement that they were horrified by the teacher's actions and a through investigation was under way to prevent this from happening in the future. Miasma was quite proud of himself. He could feel his core nearly purring with satisfaction at the mayhem he had created. Though there was one final thing that needed to be done before his need for justice (read, just a little bit extra for revenge) would be fulfilled.

The fake ship in the bottle was still sitting on the Professor's desk where the police had left it. As far as anyone else knew it was the real one and all it took was a quick nudge of his gloved hand and it was smashed on the floor. Miasma breathed deep and sighed, enough, he had done enough. It was time to go home.

Back at the apartments he was greeted by the sight of Inigo and Ash sitting on the sofa, Inigo's rat settled on Ash's shoulder as the pair watched TV. The report about the scandal at the college was currently playing with the reporter interviewing the dean of the college. Inigo looked at him out of the corner of his eye and Tynan knew he would have to give some explanation now that the case was settled. With a tilt of his head he motioned Inigo into his office where they could have some privacy. The next ten minutes were a blur as he explained to the teen who and what he was. When he was through he leaned back in his desk chair.

"I understand if you want to part ways here and forget that you know me. There will be no hard feelings if that's what you want."

Inigo's face was serious as he sat in the resulting silence. Tynan felt himself tensing minutely.

"So what you're telling me is that you are actually some scientific impossibility with a internationally known criminal alter ego that is on the wanted list of the Justice League. But for some reason you decided to help me, a college kid working two jobs, with my teacher problems?"

"I guess you could say that is the short story." Tynan shifted in his seat as he answered.

"Why?"

That was the million dollar question there, the one that required answers just as private as his existence as a halfa.

"Shortly before my family and I met you, we went through a hard time, especially Ash. He started to draw into himself, getting quieter by the day, but that first day he met you at the coffee shop and ran up to you, I saw a glimpse of the carefree child from before. As he continued befriending you he just relaxed and started to open up more to everyone. You helped my family heal and grow stronger."

He leaned across the desk and squeezed Inigo's hand as he stared in the teen's green eyes.

"And I can never thank you enough for that."

The look of shock that Inigo was giving him worried him that he might have overloaded the poor kid. Actually maybe he should have saved the heartfelt thanks for after the kid had had a good night's sleep. Well, too late now.

"Now enough with the sappy stuff. When I stopped by your apartment, your roommate sent along a package that was delivered for you. He said it was from your mother."

Within seconds the teen was running down the hall toward the door where Tynan had left the large package. Ash was drawn into the mad rush and soon the pair were taking it into the living room where there was more space. Packing peanuts were thrown about as Inigo emptied the box of its contents and unearthed the goodies within. First to be examined was a notebook that stated " Inconceivable!" on the front with a picture of Vizzini from The Princess Bride, at which Inigo had to explain that it was a little joke between him and his mom to use quotes from it since the movie was where she had gotten his name.

After much oohing and ahhing at the very bottom of the box was the final gift from his mom, a shirt proudly proclaiming "I passed the Kobayashi Maru!" Inigo froze at the sight and was still for so long that Tynan was beginning to get worried when he heard Inigo whisper "She remembered". Inigo had told him during one of their study sessions that he had always compared his life to the Kobayashi Maru test from Star Trek, the odds stacked against him to seemingly impossible heights. As Tynan had never watched Star Trek, Inigo had been forced to explain about the impossible to win test that all cadets on the show had to take, literally a no win situation. There was one exception to that rule, the main character of the show had reprogramed the computer with a third option, changing the rules so that he could win. There were many times over the years, especially when life got hard that Inigo would make the comparison, doubting that he could find a way to beat the system. Seems he had made the same comment to his mom. The kid was crying, though they seemed more like tears of happiness. Ash was just looking confused about the whole sequence of events and seemed to settle on hugging the teen. While the scene before Tynan had been unfolding Leanna had walked up behind him and was leaning against the doorway.

"Tynan, do you know what Kobayashi Maru means in my language?"

Tynan knew that her family was originally from Japan, but he was not familiar with that particular phrase in Japanese and he told her so.

"Kobayashi Maru means little wooden ship."

Leanna's smirk was offset by the gob smacked look on Tynan's face.

The light from the hall settled on the ship in a bottle now sitting on Miasma's desk in his office.

…..

Now that the heist had been completed and his family were safe there remained one detail that needed to be dealt with. Settling things with Devore.

Miasma was once again facing Devore, the man's eyes even more assessing, probing for any weak points in the facade that Miasma had created. This was the only warning Miasma had for what came next.

"I must say that its been a pleasure working with you again, Mr. Fumo or should I say Miasma?"

A slight questioning tilt of his head made it obvious that the man across from Miasma was fishing for more information.

That Miasma had planned the painting heist would be a bit obvious, at least from Devore's point of view. A man hiring him to somehow plant the word Miasma inside a counterfeit painting and then the same painting being used in a heist by the famed criminal would raise suspicion. More than obvious, even a fool could follow that line of reasoning, which Devore was certainly not. Then again neither was Miasma, his motto being "always cover your bases".

"If you wish to do so Mr. Devore. I must say I did enjoy your work on the Vinland map, absolutely breathtaking. "

Touche. Two can play at this game. The look of surprise on Devore / Caffrey's face was priceless.

A stalemate as far as both sides were concerned. But would this lucrative business relationship continue? Only time will tell.

So there you have it, also for the record I didn't know what Kobayashi Maru meant until after I had tentatively planned the first chapter and by then it was too good to pass up! Thank you for reading my story and have a blessed day!