"Bat-plane disappeared about 4 hours ago."
"So the old man cloaked the plane."
"That wouldn't explain the alarms going off."
"Wait, do you think-?"
"I'm going to try and get a hold of him."
"He may have been shot down. It might take a while for him to contact us."
"Nothings coming through the comms."
"Will give B a few hours. Everyone finish your rounds, and prepare for a trip just in case."
"...I told father, he should have let me come with him."
It took about two hours for the teens to make it to a wide open clearing. Jazz was the first one to recognize it as their campsite, it looked wrecked to pieces.
Ectoplasm was splattered everywhere. Their tents were ruined, the fire was out. There were burnt holes in the dirt and trees. The GAV was gone, and tire tracks led away from where they came from.
"Why would they go the opposite way?"
"I don't think they knew where we went, Danny."
Batman felt the grip on his arm, tighten. Peaking an eye out, at the teens. He felt guilt pull at his gut. They were helpless, and without their parents. Definitely not a situation he liked seeing children in.
"I bet Plasimus led them that way."
Jazz just nodded in agreement, then pointed out towards the log they sat on just hours earlier. "Let's set Batman down near the pit."
He gently propped Batman up against the log. The siblings taking a breather, as they inspected the camp. Danny walked along the perimeter of the camp as Jazz stuck near Batman, inspecting their trashed belongings.
"Clear. For now. Found anything?" Danny asked walking back to where his sister was crouched.
"Mmh. Some medical supplies, the Fenton anti-ghost roasting sticks I hid, lipstick blaster, thermos... Oh! And a flashlight. Here. I'm going to try and give Batman some better first aide." Jazz reached out to give Danny the lipstick. She forgot to turn off the belt.
"OW!" A bright green shield blocked Danny's hand from grabbing the lipstick and shocked him good too.
Batman jolted in his spot, quickly turning towards the yelp. Finding his vision filled with spots and a pain shoot through his body.
"Oh! Sorry Danny-" Jazz bit her lip waiting for a sign he was ok.
"I'm fine." He responded almost too quickly, not easing her worry. "Hey, at least I know it works. "
Danny trying to laugh it off, as he rubbed his arm that was shocked. Jazz sighing, as she pressed the button in the middle of the buckle to turn the device off.
"You should have already analyzed that from our little 'hike'. I would put in a complaint though." Jazz placing the lipstick into Danny's hand, giving a quick light squeeze. This was more for her comfort than Danny's, knowing she won't actively harm him. Reminder that she wouldn't.
"Uh-huh, What is that?" Danny pocketing the lipstick. He didn't sense any ghosts in the area at the moment, so he felt more relaxed. He needed to relax. Taking advantage of the calm before the storm.
Jazz carrying her supplies towards Batman, "Well for one, it shocks little brothers."
She dropped the supplies crouching before Batman. Batman's tension released some, as his vision returned. He was listening to the siblings over the ringing of his ears. They were fine. Good.
Danny snorted, "Working on it. Trust me." He shook the hand that was shocked, still trying to rid the tingling sensation.
"And two, Its too wide of a range. I could hardly hit that bear with my bat! Definitely needs work for melee."
"I'll keep that in mind."
So the boy designed or at least modified the device she was wearing. That shield. Batman wondering if he and Tim would get along then.
"Need me to do anything or-"
"You can go explore more of the camp, better we scrap together what we can, while we can." Jazz had the kit open and already pulling out what she needed onto her lap.
"We probably need to gather wood for a fire too." She hummed, glancing over at the hot ash that were almost completely out.
Danny gave a thumbs up and turned back towards the tents. His eyes glowing a light green. Green. Weren't they blue? Blue enough to mistake him for Dick. Batman decided it must of been the trick of the moonlight, but still kept a note of that for later.
Batman turned his attention on the redheaded girl in front of him. She hummed as she worked. The flashlight held still by her mouth, to give her hands freedom to work. Batman didn't feel comforted by that. How often were these kids hurt for her to be so calm?
Jazz pulled the flashlight out of her mouth for a moment to speak to Batman, seeing he was aware again. "Hey, Batman. I'm going to redress that wound. Its a nasty gash, may need stitches later, so try not to move too much. Just let me know if something feels wrong. You can tap my wrist or something if talking is too hard."
Batman gave a small nod and a grunt. "Oh, I'm Jazz by the way."
"Thank you, Jazz."
She smiled and went to work. She slowly peeled off the make shift bandage. Some of it sticking to the skin or the suit. She knew someone would have to cut and peel off Batman's suit from the skin later, for now she focused on trying to keep the wound from being infected or bleeding again.
Batman watched as she disinfected the area, looked for glass or debris with care. A deep frown falling on his face. She looked to be in her late teens, she may have been a legal adult, but this still shouldn't be in her skill set. Though fighting off bears ghostly or not, wasn't a normal skill set either.
Batman let out a grunt, trying to hide the sting. Jazz giving a sheepish smile, or as much as she could while holding flashlight in her mouth. She kept going after giving Batman a moment. Soon the wound was nicely dressed with gauze and wrapped with an athletic bandage to add protection. "There! All done. I hope."
"Where did you learn to do that?" Batman decided to ask, his voice dry and a bit hoarse. Probably from the wreck.
"Hm? Oh uhhh," She blinked as if trying to find an excuse. "Well, our parents are inventors.. and um. They have safety protocols, just they get too excited sometimes. So me and Danny have to fix them up sometimes. "
Batman narrowed his eyes. She was rubbing the back of her neck. Seemed like a lie, but why would she need to lie? He didn't have enough information to deduce to truth. "Danny, is your little brother, correct?"
"Oh yeah! We were camping with our parents when, um. I know this will sound ridiculous. Honestly if our town wasn't infested and I didn't know one personally, I wouldn't believe it either."
Batman raised a hand with a raised brow. She was rambling.
"Oh s-sorry. Habit. Fenton one. Fenton is our last names by the way- Ok. ok." Jazz took a deep breath and released it. "...Ghost. We were attack by ghosts. Those creatures I fought on our way here. Were ghosts. Beings made from and/or produce ectoplasm."
Batman just made a nod. Trying not to look skeptical. Ghosts. If his own sons weren't brought back to life, he would dismiss the idea completely. However, ghosts didn't seem like the most outrageous idea to him.
Jazz analyzed his face for a moment, then relaxed. She smiled, then had an expression as if she was going over what she wanted to say next. With a satisfied look, she spoke.
"We were camping here as both to celebrate me graduating from high school, and to research the ectoplasmic level spike in the area." She started to put away the materials back into the kit.
The battery. Was the battery running on ectoplasm?
"We were roasting marshmallows when we were attacked. A ghost by the name Plasimus, ambushed us and currently sent that army of mutated ghostly animals after our parents."
Batman raised a brow, waiting for the why. Jazz seemed to be able to read minds, or she was really good at reading subtle facial expressions.
"Oh, its because he has a grudge against our dad. 20 year long grudge. But he wants Danny to be his apprentice so he separated us from Mom and Dad." Jazz tailored the truth, Batman didn't need to know about halfas...
"You say this, as if its a common occurrence?"
"Maaaybe. Usually we're able to handle it pretty quickly.. but um.." Jazz glancing towards direction her brother should of been in. "He.. caught us off guard this time."
Batman's head was spinning, this time with information, and a bit from his head injury. These teens were abnormally good at these situations, because they had to be. Why hadn't anyone been alerted?
"Do you remember why you were here?"
"Classified. But I do remember." He let out a cough.
Jazz pursed her lips but nodded, understanding. It probably was something out of her jurisdiction anyways. She will ask him more about the crash later, right now he needed to rest his body.
She stood back up, dusting herself off. Batman's eyes widened when he saw a green blur behind her. He reached out to pull her back down, to attempt to protect her.
A blast of green shot from the tents, straight into mutant bears face, same one as before.
"Jazz, get ready. They're coming."
Jazz had only a moment to regain her senses, from being pulled down to realizing she was moments away from being attacked, to Danny's warning. She hopped back up, taking off her belt and snapping it around Batman's arm.
"Thanks, don't worry though. We can fight off these creeps." Jazz grabbed roasting stick, turning it on as it pulsed and looked more like a cattle prod.
Danny ran and dropped objects near his sister, keeping a bit of distance from Batman. "I found some blasters and a ghost shield. After we thin them out, I'll try and get it going- Is that the roasting sticks?"
"Yep." She gave a weak smile as she started grabbing some blasters.
"Double thank you on that. Looks like it was made to roast ghost instead." Danny shivered, then took a look around.
Ghosts were starting to appear around them. A mob of mutated and gross animals. About 10-15 maybe. Definitely no where near the number that had surrounded them when Plasimus ambushed them.
"Don't use the thermos. We only have that one, and I rather save it for you know who." Danny said as he started to blast some of the ghost, starting with the smaller targets. Tiny birds with skull heads and spikes on their spine.
He had perfect aim. Batman really hated not being about to help. He looked at the pile of blasters.
"I didn't know Voldemort was a ghost." Jazz joked, as she stabbed at an overgrown mole with fangs that poked out of the ground. It screeched before popping back underground.
Danny snorted and let out a loud laugh. "Maybe I should start calling him, Vlademort then?"
Danny kept shooting down ghosts, left and right. He used a bigger blaster on the larger animals, such as the bears and the elk, and the smaller one on the birds. He switched between each blaster with ease.
Jazz turn to snort a laugh as she blasted a mountain lion with snake tail at point blank range. It tumbled back into a giant rabbit with a chain on its neck.
Batman watched them. They fought with casual ease, back to back. He couldn't help but be reminded of his own wards, children. Did there parents teach them? Were they trained to fight this kind of enemy from an early age? No. Even though Danny's aim would rival with his own wards, his stance and style was very free. He was self taught.
Jazz had a better stance, probably was trained in self-defense, but her aim wasn't as good as her brothers. Her attack style also left her open for attack, despite her preference over melee. She had a base for it, but no proper training.
Fenton... He'll have to look them up later. He has a feeling it might be related to what he found in Gotham anyways. His eyes trained on the blasters again. They looked to be filled with the same thing the battery contained. Ectoplasm.
A tingle spread through Batman's body as a green shield wrapped around him. He turned a bit surprised at being snuck up on. The children gasp too, both shooting the moose wolf hybrid down.
"Here, sorry. Looks like we're more swamped then I thought." Jazz gentle kicked a blaster his way, and tossed the roasting stick she was using his way. She picked up another and kept fighting.
Danny was focused on covering all of them. Even getting bitten by some of the weaker ghost, to take down the bigger ones. Batman shifted in his spot, grabbing the weapons. The stick wouldn't do much to any ghost that the shield didn't protect him from. So blaster it was.
Danny was surprised when a shot went past him, actually aiming for ghosts in his blind spot. Danny took a glance back at Batman, then smirked back at the ghost. Felt nice having an adult fight with him then against him. Though he still had uneasy chill up his spine, when a blast that wasn't his or Jazz's was sent their way. Always half expecting it to be from their parents, or worse.
Batman noticed the change in Danny's disposition, despite smirking it seems to be on edge. Was he on the receiving end of one before? Batman changed from backing up both of them, to Jazz and any strays out of their line of sight. That seemed to relieve the boy's tension.
There was only a few ghosts that stuck around. The moose wolf was extremely violent. It took shots from all three of them at times to make it fall back. Danny finished off the bear and the three-headed goose, they were fleeing away. He shot a blast towards the Moose's knees making it topple.
"Cover, I'm going to get the shield up." Danny hollered as he slid down next to the pile he had dropped earlier. He shifted and shoved items around til he found a square shape box. It was out of juice, he needed to power it up. He couldn't use his ghost powers, but... his eyes snapping towards the blasters. He could use the ectoplasm from that.
Jazz and Batman kept firing at the moose-wolf. Danny was hurrying to take apart one of the weapons to access the ectoplasm. All he needed was to touch it, then he could use his body like a rod. Cracking it open with a rock, he managed to break the fuel tank.
"Danny!" Jazz's anti-ghost roasting stick was stuck deep into the chest of the moose-wolf. It had gotten close enough she had to stab it before rolling out of the way.
"Just little longer, Jazz! Aim for the eyes or the knees." Danny peeled off the remaining glass, cutting himself a bit in the process.
Batman shot the at the knees as it turned to try and run over Jazz again. Jazz steadied herself, aiming her blaster.
"You can do it, Jazz. You've improved your aim. You didn't spend hours every night practicing in the training cube for nothing. Or using study sessions to get free admission to the shooting gallery." Though to be fair, the owner would have given her free admission just in hopes of having one less Fenton shooting holes through their car or home. She didn't know that til after she tutored his creepy son.
Danny used the bleeding of his fingers as an advantage as he pulled on his core, trying to absorb the ectoplasm, but not enough where his core kept it. He had to balance between repelling and attracting the ectoplasm, much like balancing magnets and their polar ends. Transferring into the ghost shield was taking up more time then he like. His core was aching to absorb the ectoplasm, but he needed that shield running. Ectoplasm from a small blaster wouldn't be enough for him to regain strength.
Jazz shot the moose-wolf in the right eye, not having time to celebrate as she had to roll out the way and prepare to shoot again. Batman and Jazz shooting at its knees to trip it up. Even as it began to float, this tactic seem to mess with its balance. Jazz's hands were shaking as she prepared to shoot it again. 'I think I can. I think I can. Maybe the engine was onto something.'
Just as the moose-wolf neared, Jazz pulled the trigger. It hit it in the eye, but didn't stop its momentum. Jazz was seconds from being hit, when a green shield enveloped them. The moose-wolf's face smashed directly into the shield and was sent flying.
Jazz collapsed, hand over her heart in relief. Her hair was frazzled, her hair tie was lost in the fight and now she was recounting how close that was.
Batman's hand was over his side, he was instinctively about to sprint towards Jazz, but his wound kept him grounded. He leaned against the log, in surprise looking at the shield around them. It reminded him of the one the belt produced, but much larger.
Danny was already over by Jazz's side, finger in his mouth, nursing on the cut. He touched her shoulder, and looked around her, making sure she wasn't injured. Panic and worry still on his face.
Jazz blinked back to life at the touch, and smiled at Danny. "You did it, Danny!" She exclaimed proudly, grinning widely at her brother.
"Yeah, barely." He huffed taking the finger from his mouth and looking back at where the moose-wolf.. ghost.. thing flew. "I should of thermosed that one. I think Plasimus deserves some one to one with that ghost."
Danny turned back to Jazz, relief finally showing on his face. "Nice shooting, Your aims gotten better. You ok?" He held out his hand.
Jazz took it pulling herself up. "It better have. I haven't spent an hour every night just to miss point blank! I really did get Dad's hand eye coordination, huh?"
"Better than getting his love for fudge."
"Did you know he made me a suit, incase I ended up with more of his genetics. Its huge! And I'm fine Danny, stop worrying. You made it just in time, like always." She placed a gentle hand on his arm, trying to comfort.
Danny sighed, "Yeah, but I still hate how close always is."
Batman let out a relieved sigh, watching the teens. The sigh made him cough painfully, alerting the two to him. Jazz and Danny gave one last look, before running towards him. Jazz remembering to shut off the specter deflector before Danny could get close.
