Hello, everyone! Apologies once more for the two-week delay in publishing this chapter. It was due to a combination of traveling, an intense first week back at school, and needing to hash out a few plot points leading to the conclusion of the story.

Good news is, though, that the excitement will continue as we start to get some answers! We are now entering an unofficial "part 2;" now that everything has almost completely unraveled and become shrouded in mystery, we will start to learn just what happened in the recent and distant past. Though if you think the confusion is over, you've got another thing comin'.

On with the show...

This month's recommended soundtrack is Monolink's live set at Fusion Festival 2018: www . youtube watch?v=QPeIIvEti8g&feature=

[Edit Jan 13: Inclusion of a reference to the Amorpho business in chapter 04, found in Lance Thunder's news report.]

General Notes:

"This is dialogue."

"This is alternative dialogue, meaning whispered or spoken from a distance such as on the phone."

'This is thought.'

This and THIS and *this* are emphasis. The *this* emphasis is more along the lines of the snarky or sarcastic.

[This is digital text, such as notifications on a computer.]

I do not own Danny Phantom or Young Justice.

Ch. 08 originally published: Friday, January 11, 2019

RECOGNIZED

Chapter 08

Paraffin

The janitor walking his dog.

That was all it took: Casper High's chief custodian, Phil, walking his Scottish terrier by Fenton Works on Sunday evening. Most of Amity Park knew about a kerfuffle at the Fenton house already; the Fentons were anything but stealthy, and their neighbors were anything but tight-lipped when it came to the insanity of the ghost hunting family. But the janitor's placement was opportune for fueling gossip: he was rounding the side of their house and passed just beneath the living room side window when a bright blast momentarily flattened the shadows of the curtains, a frightening scream simultaneously tearing through the early spring evening. Phil flattened himself against the brick, dog clutched protectively to his chest, until he heard the door slam and reopen immediately, followed by the sounds of the parents arguing.

"-ow get in the FUCKING CAR!" he overheard Maddie shout. The jarred man finally peeked around the corner to see a virtually empty street. Within moments, the pair were roaring off in their monstrous family car, desperately shouting their son's name over the loudspeaker.

That small little tidbit—an ecto-gunshot and blood-curdling scream—was the paraffin for the flames. The Casper High librarian had already heard about a fight and subsequent search involving the youngest Fenton. So when the janitor came in to share the involvement of weaponry to get a load of worry off his chest—read: flirt with the librarian by providing juicy gossip—that was all it took. Because she herself was not one to gossip with the students; but her T.A. on the other hand—that cunning, semi-popular teacher's assistant who helped in the library before school hours—she was perfectly happy gossiping with other students.

And, heavens, did she. Within ten minutes, most of the upperclassmen had heard; within another twenty, the underclassmen. Within thirty, the whole student body was abuzz with details and theories about the 'Attack on Danny Fenton.'

Danny Fenton, doppelgänger of socialite Richard Grayson and son of controversial local celebrities, was mysteriously missing from school three days after they met each other in an incredibly public manner.

"My aunt's dog walker said a white van was parked out front by the end of the night." "Sounds like the GIW." "Definitely. Something was always off about the Fenton kid." "At least Jazz is normal. Well, normal enough. She at least has a morning makeup routine, however bland it may be."

"Did you hear about Fenton? I heard he bled out in the park and his corpse was eaten by wild dogs before the police could positively ID him." "No way, bro, wouldn't that have been on the news?" "Nah, my older brother's roommate's cousin's bestie interns with the coroner in Cincinnati; they always try to cover this stuff up before hysteria spreads."

"His parents probably bumped him off on purpose because they need cash. I heard his hair is insured for ten thousand dollars." "Ugh, get real. Fenton is nowhere near vain or hot enough." "Are you kidding? Have you seen those luscious raven locks? The only reason I'm dating Kwan is because his hair is almost as nice. But don't tell him or anyone else I said that or you're off the A-List yesterday, got it?"

"I bet Grayson ordered a hit on a rogue clone, and the agency he hired is just framing the parents." "Dude, you have been watching way too many spy movies."

And this was the turmoil which greeted Sam and Tucker as they morosely walked into school. Every theory stung or, in some cases, made the pair laugh ironically. They made their way to Lancer's class and took their normal seats.

"If only he had taken his phone," Sam moaned.

"His parents or the police could track him if he kept it on him. It's better if he leaves it behind," Tucker said. He sighed and let a grim expression settle on his face. "Let's hope it takes at least a couple more days before Mr. and Mrs. F connect him with Phantom. Then all they need is to track his ecto-signature via satellite."

"Oh, god." Sam slunk deeper into her chair. "Any way we can prevent that?"

"If I had access to their computers, I could probably swap Phantom's ecto-sig with the Box Ghost. That would keep them busy."

Sam giggled despite herself. "Well. that takes care of the Fentons. What do we do about…the other guys?"

"Who, Robin?"

"And Batman. If they're as interested in Danny as we think, and they're as good at what they do as we think, the entire Justice League will descend upon Amity Park hunting down the missing doppelgänger of Richard Grayson-slash-Robin."

"I guess it would help to know what they know. Of course the simplest way to do that is to…oh. Shit." Tucker dropped his forehead to his desk.

"That didn't sound like the good kind of 'shit'…"

"Definitely not," Tucker mumbled. "I think I have to try and hack—if it even exists—the Batcave…"

Jack was already at the table when Maddie shuffled in. Ten A.M., the latest morning she had had since sophomore year of university. Jack stopped rolling his coffee mug along its base's circular edge as soon as the pair made eye contact.

Maddie hovered in the doorway. "Morning."

Jack forced himself to take a deep breath so he could reply. "…Morning."

—

"Why did you SHOOT him?!"

"Well why did you TRUST him?!"

—

"Isn't there coffee?" Maddie asked.

"Drank it all. Up since 4. Couldn't sleep."

"With good reason," the woman growled under her breath. She began preparing another pot.

It was frigid but enough of a conversation to be deemed passable. They could last another five minutes at least before another exchange would be necessary to keep up the semblance of a functioning relationship. Soon, Maddie was sitting next to him, not across; no eye contact was necessary that way, so each could scowl at their respective walls.

"Jazz?" Jack finally asked.

"Coming."

As if on cue, a door elsewhere in the house slammed open, and footsteps rushed down the stairs to the ground floor. Jazz, like her mother, froze in the doorway upon appearance.

—

"Jack, we have to find- Jazz! Jazz, honey, do you know where your brother went?"

"Somewhere safe, that's for sure."

—

Unlike her mother, Jazz openly glared and clenched her fists before stomping to the refrigerator. She forcefully removed the greek yogurt and berries before shutting the appliance as if it had personally offended her.

Maddie flinched at the noise. "Jazz-"

"Don't even try me," the redhead interrupted in a venomous, biting tone before continuing to prepare her breakfast.

—

"Jazz-"

"The hell were you thinking, Dad?! Why would you shoot Danny?!"

"I was startled-"

"Startled my ass! You cornered him like a scared rabbit, and he ran like one because of it!"

—

The two parents ducked their heads in shame. There was no room for debate; mistakes had been made. Maddie sighed and continued, "We're going to the police station later. To report him officially missing. Did you want to-"

"Did I want to come?" Jazz asked mockingly. "You know they won't be able to catch or even find him, you know it. You're only going to make it harder for him while he searches for answers."

"We can't let Danny go, Jazz," Jack said. "It's not responsible to let a teenager run lost in the world, regardless of whether he's actually ours or not."

—

"I've spent more than two years helping him hide the ectoplasm! NOT MY CHOICE. Not my choice, because you are our parents and wouldn't do that. But he was so petrified you wouldn't trust it was still him that I kept my mouth shut. Looks like I was wrong, because that's EXACTLY what happened!"

"That- that THING is not our Danny! He's not even related to us!"

"He's your son, Dad! He's Danny, whoever the FUCK 'Danny' is!"

"Whoever that is, we're going to find him!"

"I'm sure you won't rest until you do, molecule…by…molecule."

—

Jazz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, I'll come. Just wait for me to finish my breakfast, *molecule by molecule,*" she mocked.

"Missing?"

"Indeed, sir," Alfred confirmed.

Bruce sat back in the chair and steepled his hands, much as Dick had mimicked in that precise position merely one week before. "Odd timing."

"Quite." Alfred typed out a quick command on his tablet and flicked the image to the Batcave's primary computer bank. A live feed of Amity Park reporter Tiffany Snow began playback.

"More drama strikes the Fenton household. In the wake of Friday's charity banquet benefiting the Damage and Aftereffect Relief Endowment, commonly known as DARE, local and national news sources have been reeling after the discovery of a local teen's strong resemblance to Gotham City socialite, Richard Grayson. Since that evening, speculations have overtaken the minds of the nation as people wonder whether it is mere coincidence or something more sinister at play. Suspicions have only been on the rise since news of an apparent disagreement at Fenton Works broke yesterday evening. It appears the situation has come to a head, as Lance Thunder reports live from outside the Amity Park Police headquarters. Lance?"

The feed switched to a disgruntled blond reporter standing outside an austere building. A technical assistant was using a comb to fix the man's signature quiff. "When was the last time I reported on the ACTUAL weather? This is ridic-" Lance's face froze in momentary terror before he aggressively shoved the assistant out of frame and schooled his visage with confidence. "Thank you, Tiffany. I'm currently standing outside the visitors' entrance to the police department where one of our viewers reported seeing the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle arrive not thirty minutes ago. We have received confirmation that Doctors Madeline and John Fenton reported their son, one Daniel 'Danny' James Fenton, officially missing as of six PM yesterday evening.

"This news comes less than a week after Amity Park heard of the boy's previous mysterious disappearance, though it remains to be seen whether local hero—or anti-hero—Danny Phantom is involved this time as well. Rumors of alleged gunfire swirling since this morning have only fueled the fire of Danny's second vanishing. One must ask whether the teen's sudden departure has anything to do with his potential relation to Richard Grayson, or whether it was spurred on by the reported gunfire. We are now awaiting the inevitable reappearance of the Fenton fam-" A ruckus behind Lance distracted him from his current thought. The hordes of reporters waiting outside the police station were now swarming three figures emerging from the building. "And here they come now. Chris, let's move!"

Lance and the camera man apparently shoved their way through the crowds to the forefront where Madeline, Jack and their daughter Jasmine speed-walked towards their car. "Dr. Fenton! Dr. Fenton! Would you care to comment on reports of gunfire causing your son to flee for safety?"

While Madeline looked shell-shocked, Jasmine forced the woman aside and glared at the reporter. "Aren't you supposed to be a weatherman?" she quipped.

"That's what I keep saying!" Lance whined. "Uh, I mean, the public wants to be reassured of the safety of your brother! Now tell me, was Daniel James Fenton injured purposefully or by accident due to a technical malfunction of your parents' infamously unreliable technology?"

Jasmine bristled. "Your sorry ass AND the entire town would be drifting halfway across the infinite expanses of the Ghost Zone by now if it weren't for my parents' expertise! Now get out of the way; I have to find my brother."

And with that, the girl plowed a path through the reporters so she and her parents could escape. As they climbed into the waiting RV, the mother paused in the door and cried to the camera, "Danny, please come home so we can talk about this!"

The vehicle roared to life and sped away. Lance returned his attention to the camera.

"And there you have it, folks," he concluded. "If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Danny Fenton, please don't hesitate to contact your local authorities. Until then, we can only speculate on what there is for the Fenton family to discuss upon his return. Eagerly anticipating that new position in Cleveland, this is Lance Thunder, Action News. Back to you, Tiffany."

Bruce paused the video. "Gunfire?" he prompted.

"Given the results Mr. Fox provided last night, I believe it is safe to assume that it was a so-called 'ecto-weapon.' Whether the Fentons purposefully shot at their son or there was a misfire due to the weaponry's detection of ectoplasm in young Daniel remains to be seen."

"I see. Too bad this happened after we left Amity and after we received the test results. We may have been able to intervene."

"We still have to decide what to do about Master Dick."

"If he even is Dick. We can't be sure whether the body being removed from Cadmus was a successful clone or the original. The extraction chambers in which he, Aqualad and Kid Flash awoke could merely have been a ruse after successfully duplicating and potentially replacing them. We cannot be certain whether it is the real Dick Grayson or a Cadmus replacement currently in class at Gotham Academy—or the Wally West at Keystone or Aqualad in Atlantis for the day, for that matter."

"So we must now consider all three under suspicion," Alfred clarified. "All four, including Daniel Fenton."

"Unfortunately, yes. We will have to leave Dick in the dark regarding Fox's discoveries for the time being until we know he can be trusted. But the Fenton boy certainly creates a frightening possibility. If Cadmus—and subsequently the Light—were able to create a perfect copy with additional extra-human capabilities, they pose a larger threat than we originally surmised."

"We can't be too sure it wasn't simply a coincidence that Dick's genetic duplicate has abilities. It could have been a result of his living above an experimental laboratory. Or are we forgetting the origins of the Flash and his protégé?"

Bruce released an exasperated sigh. "There isn't a single certainty in this entire situation, besides the fact that the boy known as Danny Fenton and identical to Richard Grayson has gone missing. We must find him and determine his connection to the original Daniel and Richard."

"Perhaps an investigation into hospital and police records from Daniel and Richard's birthday would be a start?" Alfred suggested, already heading towards the staircase back to the house.

"Yes…"

It had been a long journey, but every day seemed an improvement over what she once was. Two days' travel from Paris was quite draining, though it would have been far worse without having stowed away on a transatlantic flight; if only she hadn't boarded the plane for Atlanta but Toronto as intended.

Nevertheless, Dani had successfully returned to Amity Park early Monday morning. She made her way straight to Casper High to find and confront her original to find out what had been going on; strangely, though, he wasn't there. Sam and Tucker sat alone and morose in class. Odd. There were no signs of a ghost fight happening in town.

Next stop: Fenton Works.

"Can't you just hunt down their IP address or something?" Sam asked from over Tucker's shoulder.

"Well if we had an IP address to go off of, then yeah. But, we don't have one. I don't even know if the batcave has a set location on the internet. It probably has a web of decoy addresses, VPNs, impenetrable firewalls, fluid network classes, false subnet masks…Heck, for all we know, they might even be using alien tech courtesy of the other Leaguers!"

"Well, we know it's probably in Gotham. Can't we start there?"

"Yeah, that only narrows it down to ten million people with, like, 20 or 30 million IP addresses."

"What about the Waynes? Or Wayne Tech?" Sam suggested. "I think it's pretty safe to say that if Dick Grayson is Robin, then Bruce Wayne is Batman."

"Holy crap," Tucker breathed. "I didn't even think about that! We know who the freaking Batman is!"

"Focus, Tucker!"

"Right! Right. I'll start with Wayne Tech and try to find a ghost server probably in or at least connected to the Batcave." He began typing furiously in his laptop's terminal window.

[Translating… Translating… Translation Complete]

Witness Name: Louise de Lyon

Position: Maternity Nurse, L'Hôpital Hôtel Dieu, Paris, France

Date of Report: 20 March, 2002

Time of Report: 21:17

Incident Date: 20 March, 2002

Incident Time: 17:30 (approximation)

Reporting Officer: Roger Raincomprix

Please describe in detail what you saw: There was a suspicious man lurking in the maternity ward, near the Natal Intensive Care Unit. He ran before I could get a really good look at him, and I'm not sure he even did anything while in the hospital because nothing seemed amiss when we searched the whole floor. I think he may have been a patient suffering from acute cases of hyphema and methemoglobinemia. I also saw that he had jet-black hair and was wearing a white lab coat. Perhaps he disguised himself as a doctor to try and escape his room?

Notes from the Reporting Officer: Later inquiries revealed that no patients were admitted to Hôtel Dieu with either or both of the indicated conditions. Further investigation is required.

[Case assigned 'Closed-Unsolved' designation on 21 March, 2002]

Bruce frowned at the note of closure stamped at the bottom of the scanned page in red ink. Why would it be left unsolved, and only a day later? Surely the police would have taken longer to investigate.

"Any luck, sir?" Alfred inquired, returning with a tray of tea.

"I found a police report from Dick's birthday. A nurse from the hospital said she saw a man with black hair, blue skin and red eyes lurking in the maternity ward. I think we may be dealing with an unknown metahuman."

"Given the involvement of the Fentons in this nasty business, we may need to consider ghostly activity. I'll cross-reference those characteristics with known aggressors in Amity Park."

The computer pinged, and Bruce smirked. "We may not need to. Look who's decided to drop in for a visit?"

Tucker sat back in awe. "Oh my god, I found it."

"You found it?" Sam replied, instantly dropping her book and coming to Tucker's side.

"Holy crap, I just found the Batcave," Tucker continued, letting out a short, giddy laugh before immediately sobering. "We are so dead if Batman ever finds out it was us."

"Will he?"

"Nah, I don't think so. It's not like I don't have my own protection set up."

—

"Casper High library, wireless connection, third floor," Alfred reported. "CCTV footage streaming…now."

The two men leaned in to scrutinize the two teens on screen. "So young, so naïve," Bruce commented.

"I must say you seem frighteningly calm when our secure cave database has been accessed by a 'techno geek' on high school wifi," Alfred commented haughtily.

"Oh, but they didn't."

—

"Doesn't this seem…I don't know…sparse?" Sam suggested. "You'd think there would be more files."

"Maybe they keep most of them offline," Tucker said. "Or I suppose it could be-"

—

"-a decoy server," Bruce explained. "I keep one up to date buried within the Wayne Tech database and supply it with moderately interesting yet not particularly classified information. Anyone trying to find the alleged 'batcave' will think they have succeeded and be drastically disappointed. Any access whatsoever automatically alerts us here at the cave."

"Like leaving scraps for the dog, sir."

"Scraps infected with a benign virus leading us to whoever is trying to bite," he answered, a slight but smug grin on his face.

—

"It looks like they've been researching Danny and-" Tucker gasped "-running DNA and chemical analyses?! How the heck did they get the samples?"

Sam plopped down into a chair next to Tucker. "That's probably what Robin was doing in Danny's room on Saturday."

"They even have a file labeled 'Phantom'!"

"How could they have gotten his ectoplasm? Well I guess he was getting pretty beaten at the ball. Must've left ectoplasm everywhere, the idiot," Sam chastised.

"Hey," the techno geek soothed. "We had no reason to suspect yet. And it's not like we ever have time to clean up after his fights."

Sam sighed and looked back at the screen. "Well, I guess it was bound to come out anyway. I've always wondered how his Phantom ecto-DNA works."

—

"You left Mr. Fox's test results for them?"

Bruce shrugged. "They're in this far deeper than originally suspected, and their intentions with Danny seem…protective, almost familial. They could prove useful in figuring out whether the Danny on the run is or ever was their actual 'Danny.' "

"If you say so, Master Bruce."

Bruce refocused his attention onto the part of his display showing a mirror of Tucker's laptop screen. "Now, let's leave them a little present…"

—

"Check it out!" Tuck pointed at the files on the screen. "Batman must be active right now! There's a new file uploading."

"Seriously?" Sam leaned in. " 'Police Report - 2002-03-20,' " she read out as Tucker opened it. "Great, it's in French."

"Um, Sam?" Tucker deadpanned. "It's called Google Translate."

—

"You're not bestowing the translation upon them as well? How discourteous."

"Can't make it too easy for them."

—

"Hyphema and methemoglobinemia. What the heck are those?" Tucker asked.

"Hold on," Sam said and whipped out her phone. "Hyphema: blood in the irises; methemoglobinemia: blood disease which turns the skin blue…"

"Maybe she just thought it was blood in the eyes, but the eyes were actually red? Who do we know with red eyes, blue skin and black hair?"

"A Grand Admiral Thrawn cosplayer?" Sam joked, eliciting a snicker from Tucker. "Well there's the Box Ghost, for one, but then there's always-" She cut off with a gasp. "Shit. Not him."

"Oh, god," Tucker moaned as soon as he realized. "Of course it's him."

"Fruitloop," they affirmed in unison.

—

"Lipreading software indicates they said 'Fruit loop,' sir," Alfred said.

"There's nothing available in the Fenton Works files relating to the term," Bruce replied after a brief search through the hacked database. "Though I doubt the kids would tell Madeline and Jack about them in order to keep up appearances of innocence and disinterest."

"But it appears you were right, Master Bruce. The youths helped after all. Consider me surprised."

"Have you no faith in me, Alfred?"

—

"This feels way too convenient…" Sam murmured with squinted eyes. "Isn't it odd that we found the Batcave files exactly where we were looking for them? And then a new file giving us a new lead *magically* appears while we're connected?"

"Ever the optimist, Sam. Just look on the bright side: for once, we're getting answers instead of questions!" Tuck remarked as he downloaded all the available files.

"Well, Mr. Tech Genius, is there a way to tell if we're being watched?"

"My firewalls would have alerted me if so much as a cookie tried to download," Tucker replied with unbridled confidence.

Sam, thoroughly unimpressed, glanced around the room before her eyes rested upon a security camera in the corner. She stared, hard, before offering a sarcastic wave at the device and saying, "Thanks."

"Hey, look, another folder is being uploaded!" Tuck interrupted, and Sam turned back to the laptop.

Upon reading the folder name, the two teens panicked and raced to pack up and flee the library.

[You're Welcome]

—

"Somewhat juvenile, don't you think, Master Bruce?" Alfred commented drily as they watched the spectacle onscreen.

Bruce smirked. "They have enough information to lead us to some answers; Tucker is proving far more capable with a computer than almost any of our adversaries, given the fact that he's the first to find the decoy Batcave files. He may prove to be a worthy ally, regardless of how the business with Daniel Fenton turns out." He paused to chuckle. "Besides, don't you think we could use a private laugh after the drama of the past week?"

"Better than your typical brooding, sir."

"I resent that, Alfred," Bruce replied with a huff.

"It's practically in your daily diary, Master Bruce," the butler said.

Dick was not at all shocked to be the center of attention come Monday morning. He was already at the forefront of Gotham Academy's social scene, so the news of his doppelgänger unsurprisingly overtook any other academy gossip.

"Dude! Did he have himself cloned?!" "No way, man! Grayson's not that weird." "But Bruce Wayne is and has a whole tech empire at his disposal! You can't tell me that billionaire doesn't get up to some freaky-ass sh-"

"-it is incredible, but I told my mom, like, come on, there's at least like seven people on earth that look like us. Grayson just found one of his." "Yeah, that rando backwater kid is just a fluke of nature."

"I heard Grayson's going to have him added to Bruce Wayne's will. Kid's desperate for any family after that accident. Fenton's going to be rich." "Wicked."

"I bet Grayson used some of the Wayne fortune to pay him to wear stage makeup in case he needed a body double at the charity ball. He probably looks nothing like him." "Yes, Maps, because every rich person needs a body double." "They do! There are assassins everywhere! I saw it on 60 Minutes."

"Maybe he's Dick's long-lost twin from whom he was tragically separated at birth? It's so Dickensian!" "You're so Dickensian."

"My ex-best friend's boyfriend's cousin's hair stylist is Facebook friends with a guy who shares an apartment with somebody from Amity Park, and she told me that he told her that she told him they- wait, no, now I'm confused. Basically, this guy from Amity said that Danny Fenton got plastic surgery to look like Grayson so he could be more popular because he used to be bullied all the time." "…Did it work?" "Nah, apparently they tease him more because of it. Oh, well, at least he chose a good model to work off of." "You said it, gurl. Damn."

Dick chuckled to himself as he listened in on everyone's theories. None of them were as wild as what could be the truth. He settled his things in his locker on his way to physics before realizing a group of other mathletes had surrounded him. "Uh, hey, guys," he greeted and absentmindedly fixed his hair to try and appear nonchalant.

"Hey, man, is it true?" one asked.

"Is what true?"

"That the Fenton kid is the lost Grayson twin!" another piped up.

"The lost Grayson twin?" he parroted with a nervous chuckle. His eyes darted to a blonde girl hovering on the periphery, suddenly becoming very cautious of what he might or might not confirm with her present.

"So, is he?"

"I dunno…I guess we do look kind of similar?"

"Come on, Dick, you guys are identical!" the first said. Everyone murmured their agreement.

"I mean, I guess," he said with a shrug. "What difference does it make? It's not like we're actually related."

"But you could be!"

Dick snickered and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got me; he's my evil twin."

The mathletes laughed and didn't notice when Dick quickly steered the conversation to another subject.

Artemis, however, did.

Dani huffed when she found Fenton Works deserted. It was stranger still to discover no anti-ghost measures had been activated in the Fentons' absence. In the end, after raiding the pantry for a snack, the girl made her way downstairs to the vacant lab. A quick glance around, and Dani sent a brief mental thank-you to Danny for sneaking her biometrics into the Fenton Works systems so she could open the portal for her own use.

It wasn't long before Dani found herself at Clockwork's lair. He seemed to be the only *reliable* source of information available at the moment, though his intel could rarely be described as 'direct.' Regardless, she had flown halfway around the world and fully intended on getting answers. Dani found the master of time with his back to her. He stood at his workstation in front of the viewing screens, watching what appeared to be hospital staff in panic mode.

"Welcome, Danielle," the ghost greeted as he shifted to his middle-aged form without facing her.

"Hiya, Clocky," she replied, knowing full well the nickname irked him. She floated closer and landed on the ground.

A dramatic pause preceded the elder ghost's response. Clockwork eventually spun to face her. "He is in trouble and needs assistance. I imagine you wish to help?"

"For Danny? Anything," she assured.

Shifting to his youngest form, he held up a time medallion by its lanyard and gave a cryptic smile. "Then there's something I need you to do."

I think "*You're* so Dickensian" is one of my favorite unintelligent comebacks I've ever written.

This week's easter eggs:

- A Mean Girls reference in the rumor mills of Casper High. (Danny's alleged hair insurance)

- A cameo by a Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir character, because i couldn't NOT when a scene takes place in Paris. (The reporting officer named in the police report)

- A cameo by a Gotham Academy comic series character, Maps. (the stage-makeup body double conspiracy theorist)

- Grand Admiral Thrawn is a Star Wars villain with uncanny similarities to Plasmius (black hair, blue skin, red eyes, white overcoat...). Shoutout to reader Quiet Leaf for finding the missing reference!

[Edit Jan 13: Inclusion of a reference to the Amorpho business in chapter 04, found in Lance Thunder's news report.]

A good chunk of chapter 09 has already been drafted as well as a couple scattered scenes from later on, so hopefully there will be no delay this time! I am shifting the publishing schedule back to accomodate this month's delay. There's no way i can keep on track for monthly updates otherwise!

And one final note: I love hearing your reactions and thoughts, so keep 'em comin'! They are very encouraging and fulfilling to read.

-hiimian

P.S. I saw the first three episodes of Young Justice season 3 and I'm honestly shook.