Chapter 13:

Third Person:

Batman took off his cowl as he sat down at the computer inside the Batcave. The news of ghosts being real was a bit of a surprise, but not necessarily shocking since it was always possible- a possibility that he looked into of course. Typing away at the computer, he brought up any information he could find about ghosts- legitimate evidence of ghosts, however he ended up with a range of 'ghost caught on film' videos than anything else.

There were a few articles, however, that got his attention. The ones about Amity Park, 'a safe place to live', the Great Amity Horror (known by many other names for the Amity Fire), and after unlocking secured files (secured, he learned, by the Guys in White and he made a note to research about them next) about the town, he found the files about the ghosts of Amity. It must be the town that the Poltergeist, or Daniel, mentioned. He already did plenty of research on the past of Daniel Jefferson and he knew enough that despite the various records and well-written past of Daniel, that it was an alias- however, he would not push the subject unless it became an important matter. After all, who would like talking about their life before death?

Farther investigation about Amity Park revealed that it was indeed ghost-infested after a family of ghost hunters invented a portal to the Ghost Zone- the first known manmade portal- which not only caused the infestation of the ghosts, but got the government's attention to the case, therefore they sent the Guys in White (a government organization made to deal with ghosts). Batman nearly scoffed- the Guys in White, he learned, were a joke. They were absolutely useless and careless. Thankfully, due to an anonymous tip that sent discriminating evidence to court against the branch, it was soon taken down for 'endangerment of civilians' and 'blunt disregard for life.' Though he knew that most likely the anonymous person who tipped off the rest of the rest of the government (as the President was unaware of it), was Quam Tu, as that was the only one who would have a reason for going against the Guys in White.

The most interesting part about Amity Park weren't the ghost hunters nor the 'Red Huntress', but instead the ghosts. Various accounts of ghosts- once he got into files that were once owned by the Fenton family (the same family who built the portal), he learned their names and abilities. Skulker, Box Ghost, Frostbite, and more ghosts were listed under a private file so it was likely to assume the file was made not by the parents, but instead one of their children- likely it was the son Daniel Jack Fenton as the sister was reported to not support her parents' belief for ghosts. What surprised him was the various power levels of the ghosts- and how the most powerful ones (examples: Clockwork, Ghostwriter, Data, and Frostbite) were listed as allies (Ghostwriter was listed as 'neutral' and the notes revealed there was a conflict that was sort of resolved).

Of course the most interesting, eye-catching file was the one about Danny Phantom- the white haired 'menace' that half the town thought of as a hero until the fire.

Batman smirked. It was too obvious. "Besides, people always thought I was evil anyway and I got tired of it." Amity Park thought Phantom was a villain, though mostly the younger generation believed him to a hero. However, everyone blamed him for the fire despite that he wasn't seen anywhere near the start of it, in fact he had disappeared for two weeks prior to the fire. Then, there was Daniel Fenton, whose face matched Phantom's despite the difference in colors. "I died about two years ago." Daniel Fenton was admitted into the hospital shortly after the portal was supposed to have been up- he was electrocuted in the lab, his parents had said. He had a burn scar on his hand- the same burn scar that the Poltergeist had. "That scar is from my cause of death, as is a few others." A more recent picture of Daniel Fenton, a press released picture of all the survivors, showed the burn scars on him- the same ones that Poltergeist had on his face. "And the burns are from a fire."

There was one thing that bothered the Dark Knight. One thing that just… seemed wrong and almost caused Batman to pity the young ex-thief. Poltergeist had surgical scars on his chest. They couldn't have been caused by a lab accident or any other sort of accident- they were there because someone purposely put them there and they had enough time to do it professionally as if they had tied the boy down. "Those are the ones from the people who said ghosts can't feel pain…" The ones who said ghosts can't feel pain? The theory about ghosts not feeling pain was started by the ghost hunting family, the Fenton's- that was Daniel's own family. Is Poltergeist inferring that the ones who put those scars there was his own family? His own parents? The thought made Batman sick to his stomach in displeasure. He dealt with monsters of all types- the Joker was just one of the main ones. But for someone to tie down their own son, ghost or otherwise, while he is probably screaming at them to stop, screaming that he was their son, screaming from pain, while they experimented on him? Vivisected him? It was… a new type of monstrous.

All of that aside, Bruce figured that with all the ghosts showing up, he would need to start building anti-ghost weaponry. He wasn't entirely sure where to start, but his computer beeped. Someone was sending him something. As he opened the files, he discovered blueprints- a way to ghost-proof arrows and baterangs along with anti-ghost guns, and a ghost shield. All the files were signed-

A gift to the best detective in the world. I trust you not to abuse these- mainly because you are the only hero I actually like and trust aside from the little dude. Don't give me a reason not to trust you and these files will not only not release the 'ultimate' computer virus, but I won't tell anyone your secret, Bruce.

With love,

Someone only slightly smarter than you

(P.S. Take care of my dumbass)

Bruce read the note- feeling different emotions, starting with irritation, pride, anger, and than amusement. He knew that the files were sent by none other than Quam Tu, the one who most likely even let him into the files in the first place. He knew that she was smarter when it came to computers, but she was not smarter when it came to solving mysteries (she did call him the best detective in the world and from the arrogance she displayed before, it was unlikely she would say that unless she recognized that she was no detective or hero, just a criminal with a hacking ability). Though he was unclear as to why she would send him the files in the first place if she wanted to protect her 'little dude.'

Though Quam Tu was another mystery entirely. Danny wasn't the best at telling at lies or keeping secrets, so at least Bruce knew a little bit about the mysterious hacker due to information that Danny has said, or the conversation that Danny had earlier with the hacker. Quam Tu was a female. She's been doing the business for three years, but in more recent years she hasn't been as bad as she used to be- she wasn't selling the wrong information to the highest bidder but instead to the person that wouldn't abuse the information. She was an alcoholic so that meant she was at least twenty-one (also because there was no way a child could have hacked into his systems). As to who she truly was, he had no idea- that was something that was bothering him. He knew that she was, at least, using the alias of Vivian Jefferson- Danny's 'older sister' and was listed to be twenty one (years of galas and parties told Bruce that women often lied to make them younger). Though as to who Vivian Jefferson really was, he didn't know- he couldn't trace it.

Though one thing was defiantly clear to the Dark Knight. The Poltergeist, under the alias of Daniel Jack Jefferson, was born as Daniel Jack Fenton and used to be known as Danny Phantom. And he was far from being entirely dead- how it was possible, he may not know.

Gear took another small sip of water- she was doing good to take a water between each beer as to avoid a nasty hangover. Though she couldn't help but drink alcohol. She was getting pretty stressed out. Danny revealed himself to Bats- telling him the alias she set up and she knew that Bats was smart enough to figure everything out so she didn't bother trying to block him off from getting any information (that would also make it seem like Danny was trying to hide something and lower the already small trust placed in him). So she had to send the anti-ghost blueprints to Batman in hopes that he would indeed make them so that in case Vlad showed up, they would be prepared. Because she never did anything like that for some unselfish reason. She was trying to protect herself and Danny.

Vlad, she quickly learned, was totally heading towards Danny's location. Admittedly, it was at a slow pace so they still had time and she didn't have to tell Danny just yet on the off chance it was a fluke. Vlad was just heading in the general direction and she couldn't figure out why. She was on guard since with all the ghosts coming back and with Vlad most likely planning something, it was going to get ugly very fast or slow as to avoid suspicion. Though farther research said that Vlad was coming to Happy Harbor to meet up with Bruce Wayne for some sort of meeting in Happy Harbor. So it was possible he didn't find Danny- not yet. That was very slim, however, because of the ghosts appearing. Though why was Vlad waiting? Why didn't he just get to Happy Harbor and get Danny? How did he even find him? She knew that Vlad was smart, but he wasn't smart enough to track her.

She just had to be ready and she couldn't be ready unless she knew that the team of partners and possibly the League could handle themselves with ghosts. And on the off chance that in the future, Danny decided to go back to being bad, she needed back up to take him down if it ever got that far.

Still, things were defiantly going to get rough.