"ny-Danny!"
Danny felt someone shaking him gently by the shoulders. He blinked back into awareness, glancing at the four vigilantes. He furrowed his brows in confusion as they stared at him.
When did they get inside the plane? It looked kind of neat. He wondered if Mom and Dad would let them ride home in this.
If they live... Right. Plasmius.
Danny glanced around, then spoke as he realized they were waiting on him to say something. "Uh-wh-what?"
Nightwing still had a hand on his shoulder, as if afraid to let go. "You ok? Do you know what that was?"
Danny blinked, glancing back out the window. He could see the creature now, it made him sick. It had begun to tower above the trees, still a little ways from them. It was an amalgamation of mutated ghosts they saw earlier, forming into a ghoulish blob. Animal heads and parts poking out of the oozy mass, littering the skin like pimples.
It reminded Danny of his clones when they dissolved. He could hear the animals' painful cries, making his skin stay prickled with bumps.
He was spacing out again.
"...I, I don't." Danny swallowed hard, face twisting in disgust, "B-but.. I have a guess.. and.. and I.. really don't like it." Danny's voice slipped into a whisper near the end of his sentence.
He closed his eyes and turned his head. Trying to regain composure.
"Ok. Ghosts can destabilize. When they d-destabilize they turn into a gooey goopy mess of ectoplasm. Its one of the few ways a ghost can..." Danny bit his lip, "...Fade."
Dick kept his hand on Danny, rubbing his shoulder. He shared a concern look with Tim and Jason. Damian was looking impatient.
"It looks like its growing, though."
"Mmm. It is." Danny shook his arms in an attempt to shake off the heavy feeling. "Think of it like... gravity! A ghost has a center, that their ectoplasm is drawn to." Danny gestured with his hands.
Trying to think of how to explain without revealing everything. "Ghost needs ectoplasm to survive, it makes up their bodies and they need a constant supply to keep that form. So the center does that. If that center starts to lose gravitational pull, then the form starts to fall apart. "
"Causing the ghost to lose it shape and eventually burn out!" Tim concluded.
"Uh, yeah that!" Danny rubbing his arm.
"And this has something to do with the blob growing?" Jason huffed.
"They merged to create a bigger center, but because the only ectoplasm is each other. It creates a bigger star, but less ectoplasm to fuel it. Right?" Tim explained, looking at Danny to make sure he was right.
"Uhhhh yeah." Danny squinted, making sure it sounded right in his own head.
"So this one's on a hunt for ectoplasm." Dick evaluating the slow moving giant of a blob. "Swallowing any ghost into itself."
"It'll only keep growing stronger til it runs out of ectoplasm." Danny couldn't let that one get free into the ghost zone either. He could only imagine what damage it would cause.
"So we make it fade, right?" Jason leaned against the window.
"N-No!-Well.. ugh y-yeah. We need to break it apart." Danny sighed, not liking the idea, but he disliked the painful cries more.
Whatever is up with them, it isn't normal. It might have been why so many of the ghosts were mutated to begin with. Did fighting make them destabilize again?
"-make it loose ectoplasm, right?" Red Robin looking at Danny.
Danny jolted back into reality. "Y-yea. Fighting it might be enough. I also have this, I wanted to save it for Plasmius, but.. if we can find the GAV my parents should have an extra one I could use for him."
"A... thermos?" Damian raised a brow.
"Still questioning my parents devices?" Danny chuckled as he showed the thermos off. He uncapped it and pressed the release button to show the ectoplasm he had stored in it.
"It sucks up any ghost or ectoplasm in its range. Though it'll have to be weakened. I don't think it has enough room for the blob, but it should help break it apart." Danny showed them what button he pressed to suck up the ectoplasm back up.
"So we got a plan, great."
"Good because its heading this way."
Damian frowned looking at his stick and the ghost. "...I think a bigger stick, will be in order."
Danny stared at Damian before busting a gut from laughing. The tension he had on him releasing for the moment. The others grinned, before heading out of the plane.
"The forest is dying." Cass assessed the trees turning black around them.
"Do you know what that is?" Batman lagging behind, pointing up the the glowing green blob that peaked through the tree tops.
He had told them to go on ahead, but they refused. He was limping heavily again, and they were worried.
"No-no. Danny might. He mentioned something about ghost turning to goo, but he wouldn't talk much about it. If I had to guess, based off my parents lectures, it means its destabilizing? They never knew exactly how to destabilize one, just theorized. " Thankfully. Jazz's heart was beating so hard, she could feel it pound on her chest.
There wasn't any signs of fighting, which made her keep calm enough to think. Danny wasn't there, not yet. They should be fine. Its fine. Its all fine.
Batman nodded, with a frown. His eyes squinting up at that glowing blob. It was growing. That concerned him.
The ghost wailed again, breaking the tops off of the dead trees. Cass pushed Jazz towards Batman, keeping protective arms around both of them, as they waited for the gale to past.
They stared back at the creature, frowning as they saw beams of green light. They started fighting.
"Go, I'll be there as quick as I can." Batman usher them to leave.
This time Jazz didn't refuse and started running. Everything's fine. Its fine. He'll be fine. They'll be fine. Please be fine.
"Aim for the right arm.. tentacle?" Danny pointed to the arm, the ghost seemed to favor.
"Limb sounds less.. creepy."
"Its a ghost, its suppose to be creepy."
"Not that kind of-"
"Guys! Not the time."
"Do your parents make grenades? Because I feel like they be REALLY handy." Jason holding his aim as they shot at the arm.
Danny chuckled, "Honestly? They might have, but lets just say I'm glad I haven't seen one yet. Knowing them it be worse than a real grenade. Though yeah, it be really useful-"
Danny and the Bat bros dodged the arm as it slammed down into the ground. Danny and Jason had rolled, while everyone else jumped backed, having been a bit farther out of range.
"I must agree, with the pattern I've seen. I wouldn't be surprised if it were in shape of a fruit, or a toy ball." Damian standing back, he was put in charge of the thermos. Much to his disappointment, due to lack of blasters. The anti-ghost roasting stick wouldn't be as effective.
"Hey, my parents are somewhat original, knowing them it be in something like a toothpaste dispenser."
"Why would it be-"
"Same reason a thermos catches ghost. Its laying around the house."
"Incoming from the left, its swiping!"
They all moved to dodge the left arm. Danny was panting. He couldn't handle much longer, he knew he could switch out with Robin, but he felt bad leaving them to do the brunt.
Especially, now. After he just realized they're not doing as much damaged as they should have.
The blob was getting angry, instead of breaking apart. Though a few ghosts fell out of it, they were absorbed right back in. It didn't make sense. It shouldn't be strong, in theory. Actually, the fact that its able to move around so much meant it was stable.. or stabilizing.
"That can't be good."
"What now!?"
"All we managed to do is make it angry, huh?"
Danny nodded. "Its more stable than it should be."
"But how? Doesn't it need a lot of ectoplasm to-..." Red Robin paused in his thought.
Nightwing seemed to caught on to what Tim was thinking, "The battery, was still in the wreck."
Danny snapped his eyes back at the ghost, eyes faintly glowing green as he tried to spot the battery among the massive pile of goo. He needed to get closer-He had moved forward just as the ghost prepared to smack down it's arm.
"DANNY-" Everyone tried to reach for Danny, but were too late. Dick pulled them all back last second.
No. How could he be so dumb. Dick should have pulled Danny out at the sign of tiredness. They had gotten so comfortable fighting with Danny, it felt like fighting with another hero. But Danny wasn't in a suit, he was just Danny. Now he was-
"Don't lose it now, look up there."
Danny popped his head out of the skin, the force had let him swim straight through the ectoplasm. He panted, trying not to panic. He tried to pull himself the rest of the way out, but the ectoplasm was dragging him back into the ghost. He could feel it pull at his core. It hurt.
Jason ran towards the left arm as it swiped at them again, jumping onto it.
"Be careful!"
"I know what I'm doing! Just cover me!" Jason cursing in his head, as he ran along the arm. He could feel his boots sinking into the skin as he ran. He wouldn't be able to stand on it for long, he had to get Danny out and back down, quick. Then they could scold him.
Dick nodded. "Shoot the left arm once Hood's off of it. Robin, don't get hit."
"I can evade!" Damian rolled to grab the lipstick, Danny dropped it when he got smacked. Surprisingly, it hadn't been absorbed. Perhaps it couldn't absorb just anything. He ran back towards Dick and Tim, now he could fight.
Dick shook his head, but gave a grin. They were going to be the death of him.
Jason leaped onto the right arm, having to pull himself up. He yanked his arms away from the ectoplasm as it tried to pull him in. He could feel his veins flood. Whatever this stuff was, he hated it.
Danny barely had his torso sticking out as he pulled on the antlers that stuck out of the skin, trying to heave himself out. It was useless, all it did was make the ectoplasm climb up the antlers.
This was not how he wanted to go. Being forcefully joined with a blob and ten hundred dead animals. His chest throbbed, at least he had a better feel of the ghost. Only a few cores had merged, calling the shots. Must have happened before they stumbled onto the battery.
Now, it was just hungry. It wasn't behaving like a normal ghost. It just wanted ectoplasm to itself, as if it couldn't form completely. Was it because of how the ghosts merged to begin with. His head was hurting just as much as his chest.
Strong hands gripped under his arms, yanking him up with a grunt. Trying to pull him out. Danny glancing up, seeing the red helmet one was trying to save him. That was bad, the ectoplasm could hurt him- it was trying to suck him up too.
"Shit! What the hell were you trying to do? Kill yourself?" Jason cursed, as he pulled. His boots sinking further. He was able to pull Danny up to his waist, before the ghost's skin aggressively yanked them back down.
"Ha, not intentionally." Danny panted glancing around. They were going to get stuck, they needed to find the battery. If the others could get it out, that would be their only chance. They didn't have much time.
He closed his eyes, using his core to try and feel the direction it was being pulled in. It hurt, but like blood flowing through veins he could sense it. Up the arm, and straight into the-
Jason could feel a hard yank as the ectoplasm, pulled at them. Danny was starting to glow faintly. That couldn't be good. He tried yanking each of his leg out at a time, never letting Danny go.
Danny snapped his eyes open with a gasp, looking up at Red Hood, they were green as the pit. "Center! B-battery is in the center of the chest. That's still a chest right?"
Jason shook out of his thoughts, trying not to think too hard about Danny's eyes. He focused, looking dead center of the blob. Jason shifted, keeping an arm wrapped around Danny, using his hip to help keep him up. He whipped out the blaster and shot at the chest in succession, trying to signal to the others.
-
They were getting worried, Jason was taking too long in retrieving Danny. Were they both stuck? This was going from bad to worse. Next time they were going to leave a big ghostie alone until they had more equipment.
That was when Jason started shooting towards the center. They furrowed their brows for a moment, then realization struck. The battery.
"Of course, the battery's at the center." Tim groaned, after their talk earlier. It would have made sense.
"Whether it is or not, Jaybird shooting it for a reason." They moved in closer as a group, to fire rapidly into the same spot Jason was shooting at.
Ectoplasm was filling in the cavity they were forming. The ghost stopped attacking for a moment while it healed, giving another wail. "I see it-wahh!"
Dick held onto Tim and Damian to keep them from being blown away. The battery was back out of sight. "How are we going to get it?"
Cassandra had caught up to Jazz easily, running along side her. She had faith in her brothers, but she was worried for Jazz. She looked like she was seconds away from breaking down.
She made sure Jazz didn't end up getting hurt, yanking her behind a tree to dodge a wail and the crashing of branches that followed suit.
Jazz was running on auto-pilot. She needed to see Danny, to make sure he was fine. She skidded into a clearing, sliding under a gooey limb as it rose up into the air.
Cass grabbed Jazz's arm, pulling her out of the way, and ran towards the others. They huddled together, staring up at the ghost. Jazz panted as she glanced at the others masked faces, frowning as she felt panic rise again.
"Danny? Where's-"
They bit their lip, feeling guilt as they looked at Jazz's face. "He and Red Hood... are in a sticky situation."
Jazz looked back towards the ghost, spotting the Red Helmet, and the bare arms that clung to him. He was alive, but in danger. She cursed in her head.
"The only hint we have is to remove the battery, but every time we expose it. It just covers it back up."
"It doesn't seem like the ghost can do more than one or two things at a time. So maybe we could-"
Jazz's eyes sparked with idea, as she stared into the filling cavity of the chest of the blob. "It can't make things intangible."
Jazz grabbed the grappling hook from Cass's belt, running towards the ghost. She had to try. She couldn't let that thing swallow her brother. She got as close as she could, then aimed at the cavity.
"You got this Jazz." Her hands shook, as she fired the hook. She heard the clunk of metal, letting out a big. "Whoo-OOAHHH!"
Jazz screamed as the hook tried to reel her towards the battery.
-
Danny was not feeling good. Despite Jason's best efforts, he was barely keeping his head a float. Jason had to stop shooting, using both of his arms to keep Danny up. He had already sunken knee deep.
Jason yanked him up one more time, as he hear the teen sputtering to keep the ecotplasm out of his mouth. "You're not going under, on my watch!"
"Nope, I'm just going to drown above."
"Leave the morbid humor to the dead, will ya kid?"
"But I'm already dead inside, that has to count for something.. right?"
Jason glared down at Danny, he wasn't in the mood for jokes right now. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Danny's face. Any frustration he felt was replaced with dread. Danny's veins were lightly glowing green, stretched all across his face and arms, while his eyes faintly glowed green. Almost like-
Jason's mind flashing back to what he heard from Babs. That accident. It didn't turn him into a Meta...
The grip on Danny had loosen, just enough for the teen to be dragged under the skin. Jason cursed as he dug at the ectoplasm, trying to reach for Danny. Even if Danny was already dead, he wasn't going to let this creature kill him again.
It made sense now. How horrified the boy was when seeing the ghost.. how unsettled he was about making one fade..
Danny was being pulled farther out of his reach, Jason didn't hesitate and dived under the skin. He swam towards the teenager, who was disturbingly still. Ectoplasm seeping in under Jason's helmet, as kept trying to push through.
He stretched his arm out as far as he could, Danny was barely out of reach. Jason could fill the ectoplasm drowning him, life flashing before his eyes. Or more so, his death. He felt Danny's wrist under his fingers. Grabbing firmly he pulled him close, wrapping his arms protectively around him.
Cass lunged forward, grabbing Jazz by the legs, trying to drag her back. "Hit the middle switch!"
Tim and Dick reached out, grabbing onto Cass. Helping keep them in place.
Jazz nodded, flicking the switch, locking the grapple in place. It wouldn't help them reel it in, but it kept them grounded.
They were lowered back on solid ground. Cass kept behind Jazz, hands on the barrel, while Jazz kept her's on the handle. Tim and Dick took to grabbing the rope on opposite sides. Damian appearing under Jazz, grabbing the lowest point of the rope to tug on.
"Idiot, What if you had gotten stuck too?"
"Then... I would have kicked the battery out." Jazz grinned weakly.
"Its refilling, everyone heave on my count!"
They tugged on the count of three. It was slow, but steady. They just had to out pull the ghosts heal.
"Again."
"Are we making any progress?"
"I see it, come on!"
They heaved again, the ghost was flailing. It had tried to wail, and pull away from them, but only managed to help them in their efforts. Out of desperation, it had stopped healing the cavity, raising its arms. It was going to slam down on them with all its strength.
They all heaved, they were so close. Everyone but Jazz keeping an eye of when to let go. Jazz's hands were clasped deathly tight, as she used her weight to tug at the hook. She wasn't going to let go. They just needed to keep pulling, it was so close to popping out.
A green shield encased them, blocking the hit of the arms. Batman limped over to them, reaching out to grasp the rope, his other hand holding up the ghost shield.
"Always got to have a dramatic entrance, huh B?"
"This one wasn't intentional." Batman smirked faintly, looking back at them. "Pull."
The shield sparked and glitched as the ghost blob kept slamming down on them. Animals that were still semi-intact started to break off from the impact. They pulled on the rope.
"Come on!"
"How long you think that shield will last?"
"Until it doesn't?"
"Pull!"
With one last tug, the battery came out with a pop. It spun to the ground. The ghost wailed, causing all of them to kneel to the ground. Trying to keep from being swept away.
"We got to hit it now." Tim was kneeling by Batman, who was heavily pressing on his side.
"Limbs first. Damian got the thermos?"
Jazz sat on the ground stunned, as she watched the heroes worked now. She felt numb, and their sounds were drowned out by a dull ring. Thermos? That ghost wouldn't fit in a thermos. But if they were using it- Danny must of thought of it.
Danny. Her teal eyes glancing up at the ghost. She couldn't see him or this Red Hood.
Just like Danny predicted, the ghost was breaking apart. It fizzled and shrunk. Damian used the thermos to help pull off chunks, but stopped shortly before they could be sealed inside. Any ghosts that hadn't turned into ectoplasm broke away from the pile of goo, and fled.
All that was left now of the blob was scattered piles of ectoplasm with some animal parts dissolving. The bats scoured through the piles, breaking larger ones apart, trying to find Jason and Danny.
-
Jason felt the pressure release off of his skin. He opened his eyes, only to panic at the sight of glowing green. He couldn't breath! He was drowning, he was- his helmet was still on. He struggled, ripping it off, then tossing it to the side. He coughed and sputtered, vomiting as he tried to fill his lungs with air. He was alive. He was fine-
"He's over here!" Cass pointed as the others rushed to help.
Jason felt weight against his side, that was when the memories flooded back in. Danny. He glanced down, seeing the boy lay motionlessly in the ectoplasm. He watched as the scars fade from his skin. His chest didn't move.
Was he de-.. Did he need to breath? His hand hovering over Danny's shoulder as if afraid to touch.
"Jason, are you ok?" Dick put a hand on his shoulder, whispering.
Cass had taken up next to Danny, reaching out to try and wake him. She froze, flinching her hands back. "Cold. No breath."
Tim was coming towards them with Jazz. Dick and Cass sharing a panic look. Jason's eyes never leaving Danny's body. Waiting for the breath of life.. anything that look living.
"Danny!" Jazz stumbled as she ran, only for Cass to hold out her hand to stop her.
"Wait- Jazz. He's- I'm sorry."
Jazz furrowed her brows, then leaned around her to peak. He wasn't breathing. Jazz pursed her lips as she moved towards Danny cautiously. "Danny?"
Dick, Cass, and Tim watched with sorrowful eyes as Jazz crawled up next to her brother.
Jazz reached out, to gently shake Danny's shoulders. He didn't stir. She felt panicked. Leaning over, she peeled open one of Danny's eyes to look at them, then sat back with a sigh of relief. Her hand over her heart. She smiled warmly down at her brother, before it shifted into a mischievous one. Jazz raised her hands, wiggling her fingers before going in to tickle Danny's sides.
The vigilantes stared at her in confusion, and concerned. Until Danny started to squirm and kick.
"J-JAZZ QUIT IT!" Danny coughed and chuckled painfully, trying to shove his sister off. "T-that hurts! Pfft-"
"Not until you apologize for scaring me and Gotham's vigilantes!"
"Ok! OKAY! I'M SORRY-Just stop!" Danny coughed as Jazz released him from her fingers.
"Sheesh. I didn't do it on purpose. ow." Danny rubbed his chest, it hurt. A lot, but at least there wasn't a constant pressure. He glanced up, feeling fear and embarrassment as the bats stared at him with confusion.
Jason was the first to break, pulling Danny under his arm, into a headlock. He nuzzled his knuckles into Danny's messy hair. "Little twerp, don't run into danger like that!"
"He was.. cold. And not... how?"
"He's still cold."
Danny still struggling to get out of Jason's grip, huffing. "Can't help it. Not-all of us... are heaters! Let me goooooo."
"Because, you're a ghost." Batman limped into view, Damian struggling to help his father. "Right, Danny?"
