Kadzait: You just love angst today, don't ya?
I'm an Angsty person! I love ze angst!
Kadzait: I can see that...
And semi-OOC Batman!
Kadzait: You need help. Some serious help. And meds.
Ch.8: Captors
Danny held himself as he shook and cried. He was shaking because of how cold he was. Ice encased the tips of his white hair and frost covered the rest of his body, leaving nothing spared. Every time a tear escaped his eyes, it froze and fell to the ground. He was crying because people took him away from his home. Again.
The Ghost Boy didn't know where he was. Just that the sky was green, land and doors floated everywhere, and that everyone had powers and/or looked weird.
"Skulker, I can't believe you captured a kid!" A girl with blue flames for hair yelled at the man made of metal. The girl had a punk rock look and had a guitar strapped to her back.
"It's not my fault, Ember! Plasmius wants him. And I wasn't about to tick him off even more." The man made of metal, Skulker, defended.
Ember scoffed. "Is he still made that he didn't get to play hero for the boy when he found out about the whole abuse thing?"
Danny flinched against his will and whimpered quietly.
Skulker nodded.
"Did they ever find out how that drunkard afforded the alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes?" Ember asked, placing her hands on her hips.
Skulker nodded again. "Apparently, people paid him to get the kid in bed."
"WHAT?!" Ember shouted, her flaming hair growing bigger with her anger.
Danny shrunk back and rocked himself.
Skulker shrunk back also, scared for his afterlife. His girlfriend could be extremely scary sometimes...
"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT FOOL JACK LET PEDOPHILES IN HIS HOUSE?!" Ember shouted, seemingly growing bigger as she leaned towards her boyfriend. Skulker, comically, nodded and seemed to shrink under Ember's murderous gaze, leaning away.
"OH, THAT MAN'S GONNA GET IT!" Ember shouted and began dragging her boyfriend to the Fenton portal.
"Baby, last I heard, he just awoke from a coma!" Skulker tried to reason.
"HE'S GONNA WISH HE WAS STILL IN ONE WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!" Ember continued yelling. Her flaming hair continued to get bigger and a lot more violent. Skulker was still being dragged behind her, looking at Danny's small form as they left. The robot tried explaining to his girlfriend they could kill Jack later but they had to watch the kid.
It was no use. Ember was dead-set on killing the ex-ghost hunter then and there.
And that's how Danny found himself alone, freezing to death.
The small boy didn't have enough energy to move. He was still crying but it was slower now. He was very tired and his mind was saying 'You've suffered enough. It's time to shut down for a little while.'
The last thing the freezing child saw was a flash of white fur and an arm made of ice.
When Danny opened his eyes, it was blurry. He felt like he was underwater, with a cool liquid gracing his skin and all. He also felt someone put their cold hands under his arms and pull him from the water. By then, his vision was no longer blurry and every part of his body was, once again, working properly.
That's when he noticed that the only beings around him were giant, white yetis with pointy teeth and big horns. And he was only wearing his boxers.
("Get on the bed, you little shit. I paid good money to play with you, boy.")
Danny screamed. He startled the yeti creature that was holding him so bad, the big being dropped him. Danny curled in a ball on the ground, shaking up and down. Tears steadily fell down his face as he covered his head in a defensive maneuver.
Every time he felt someone try to get close to him, he screamed louder, making whoever dared to approach him back down. He shrieked like a banshee so long, he couldn't scream anymore and his throat grew hoarse. Even so, he continued to rock on the ground with his mouth open in a silent scream.
Danny eventually calmed to the point he was only crying and a shudder would rack his body every few moments.
A blanket was tucked around the child's shoulders. Danny's head shot up at the big yeti with an ice arm in front of him. His eyes were wide in fear.
"We did not mean to startle you, child." The big yeti said.
"W-Where am I?" Danny choked out, noticing how his throat stung when he talked.
"You are in the Ghost Zone. Specifically the Far Frozen. I sensed you had gained an ice core and came to get you from where you were, near Skulker's Island. So we put you in our de-icing chamber so you would not freeze to death." The yeti explained.
Danny nodded slowly. "Who are you?" He asked timidly.
The yeti laughed. Danny's lips twitched upwards.
"I am Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen!" The yeti said and gently picked the boy up. Danny giggled behind his hands. The tears that had clung to his face glistened in the florescent lights.
"Now, let's get your clothes." Frostbite said and Danny nodded.
"I don't know..." Danny whispered, holding himself as he shook, getting cold really fast.
Frostbite was trying to teach the small boy how to control his ice powers. It wasn't really working. Danny lacked confidence and self-esteem. He doubted every move he made in front of the ice-wielding yetis.
Frostbite sighed again and wondered how such a wonderful child could be so lacking in confidence at such a young age.
"Danny, you control the power. You. The power doesn't control you." Frostbite explained.
"I don't get it..." Danny whispered, tears glistening in his eyes. He didn't want to screw up. If he screwed up, he might get hit. He didn't want to be hit.
Frostbite sighed again. Most kids wanted to learn their power as soon as they could. Danny feared his own power. The yeti vaguely wondered how the child managed to control his basic ghost powers.
"How about this: Let the power build up inside you until it has nowhere to go but out." Frostbite explained.
Danny nodded slowly and backed up. He let the cold inside him build up before he released it into the air.
As soon as it left him, he realized he wasn't cold anymore!
Danny turned to Frostbite with a big smile which instantly vanished into a blank thin line. The yeti was encased in ice.
The small eight-year-old tapped the ice. "Frostbite...? Are you ok...? Frosty...?"
Danny tugged on Frostbite's cape. The white yeti looked down at his small and temporary ward. "Yes Danny?"
"I wanna go home." Danny said meekly.
He had been in the Far Frozen for a week. The night before, after a long and fun party with the other Far Frozen members, he had gone to bed and then it just hit him. He missed Bruce and he wanted to go home.
"We're still trying to figure out how to send you home. We have a method, called the Infi-map, but we're scared something will happen to you." Frostbite explained.
Tears welled in Danny's eyes.
"But I wanna go home. To B-Bruce. To A-Alfred. I-I-In G-Gotham City. I wanna go home." Danny repeated, his voice rising a few octaves.
Frostbite picked the child up, sighing. "Alright, we'll somehow get you home. Today."
Frostbite knocked on the large, golden door.
"Who goes there?" A strong and feminine voice rang out.
"It is Frostbite of the Far Frozen. I have come to ask a favor, Pandora." The ruler called.
"What is the favor?" The woman, Pandora, asked.
"I need help sending a child home. He belongs in the Human World. My people have not figured out a way to send him home without causing too much alarm to the humans. Please, Pandora, the child is very homesick." Frostbite pleaded.
The door opened and a large woman, six inches taller than Frostbite, opened the door. She had flaming, purple hair and blue skin. She wore armor made of gold and her golden helmet shielded her face.
One look at little Danny with his tear-stained face being held in Frostbite's arms made Pandora's hard face, soft and motherly.
The leader of the Far Frozen passed Danny off to the woman, who Danny stared at curiously, much unlike his first time meeting Frostbite.
Pandora smiled at the child. "I would be happy to help. And Princess Dora would too."
"Princess Dora? But she is controlled by her abusive brother." Frostbite exclaimed confused.
Pandora chuckled at his wondrous face. "I request her company once a month, if only to let her be free for a few hours. We are good friends. She wants children. She would be happy to help this young one. What is your name, Dear-One?" Pandora asked the child in her arms.
"Danny..." The small boy mumbled.
"Thank you for bringing Danny to me Frostbite. I will do all I can to help him get home." Pandora said to the Far Frozen leader, who smiled.
"Thank you for helping him. I must go. Come visit anytime, Danny." Frostbite said to the small boy, who nodded in response. Frostbite said his goodbyes and left, Danny waving after.
"Now, let's go get ready for Princess Dora, shall we?" Pandora said, carrying Danny into her palace.
Batman fretted as he tried to find Danny. Who would kidnap him though?! No one knew he existed within the walls of the Bat-Cave and Wayne Manor, excluding the Leaguers!
"Master Bruce," Alfred called worriedly. "Maybe you should take a break and rest. It's been a week and you haven't slept and barely eaten."
The Dark Knight didn't even bother to wave him off. "I have to find Danny. He's suffered enough as it is. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him."
Alfred sighed. "Master, if you keep up like this, you will not help Master Daniel in the long run. And you have Master Richard and the entire Justice League searching for him also. You can take a break."
"Alfred, I have to find him." The Caped Crusader stressed.
Alfred sighed before going to make some soup, planning to add a small dose of sleep aids to it.
Batman's fingers flew across the keyboard, as he simultaneously looked over some notes and theories written on some paper.
There was a flash behind him and the Dark Knight quickly got up and stood in a defense stance.
There was a green portal in the middle of the room. Two women walked out. One was blonde with green skin dressed in a long, pale blue dress. The other had four arms, purple, flaming hair, and was dressed in golden armor. The blonde had his baby in her arms.
Danny, who seemed to be just as tired as the Batman, instantly perked when he saw his caretaker.
"Brucie!" The child squealed. The blonde let him down and the child ran into the Dark Knight's waiting arms. Batman picked him up, spun him, and ran a hand through Danny's hair, for once, letting a small smile slip.
He turned to the two women. "Who are you?" He asked.
"That's Auntie Dora and Auntie Pandora!" Danny said excitedly. The two women chuckled.
"Auntie?" Batman asked again.
"He began calling us that only an hour ago. We didn't think it would stick." The blonde, Dora, said.
"Your son was a pleasure to have around." Pandora complimented.
"He's not my son. I adopted him after it got out that he was raised in an abusive household." Batman explained reluctantly.
"If he was raised in an unsuitable household, you are more of a father than his biological father." Pandora said.
Batman looked down at his ward, who had snuggled his head into the Dark Knight's shoulder. "Thanks..." He mumbled, uncertainly.
The two women nodded with small smiles.
"We have to go now but, if Danny ever wants, he can come visit. He is always welcome." Dora said. Pandora nodded in agreement.
"We might take that offer up." Batman said, thinking of future business trips.
The two women nodded again and said their goodbyes before leaving through the portal.
As soon as they were gone, the Dark Knight let his cowl fall and, being very unlike himself because of lack of sleep, he started kissing Danny's face over and over again. The small boy laughed, saying it tickled.
The Caped Crusader collapsed in his chair and leaned back.
"I'm tired, Daddy..." Danny mumbled, curling up in Bruce's arms.
Bruce let out a long sigh. "Me too, Son, me too..."
The two quickly fell asleep, Bruce not even realizing the extant of the exchange.
Alfred walked in with the sleep-aid-laced-soup in his hands and stopped short at the view he had of Danny and Bruce. He quickly got over it, though, and tiptoed away.
Details could wait. He'd let the small family sleep in peace for now.
Kadzait: I can't believe you.
*head smashes into desk* I am a horrible person.
Kadzait: SHE LISTENED TO 'GOOD LIFE' BY ONE-REPUBLIC WHILE EDITING THIS.
I didn't even bother to change it when I realized.
Kadzait: I knew you were a cruel writer but that was just plain MEAN!
I know...
Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: Sina Xiel, Unimportant12 (Seriously, I love you!), Enchanting Elf, and Messie23.
Reviews:
Sina Xiel: It is cute, isn't it? Big sister there to protect little brother. OH YEAH! GHOSTLY BACKUP! I'm so happy you think this story is awesome!
Hitomi-tama: I kinda do too but then that would take away the magic of the relationship! :DDD
Supaherolena02: ...BUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M SORRY! JUST THE WAY YOU PHRASED AND CAPP-ED EVERYTHING MADE YOUR REVIEW EXTREMELY HILARIOUS! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY EITHER! *slaps knee and wipes tears from eyes*
BringbackDannyPhantom: *chuckles* I know, right? He's so cute that way! XDDDD
IWasNeverReal: It's Jazzy alright! And I am so happy you're loving this! Reading your reviews makes my Monday better! And, OH MY GOSH, I love cottage cheese. Speaking of food, I'M STARVING. WHEN'S DINNER?!
Anonymous: Dude, I totally get it. I feel random every day. XD I like Greg! And I'm so happy you think so about something I wrote! :DDD
Mulllkkkkkk: So glad you loved! Even though it was sad!
TomgirlBre: I know he's so cute! And who said Jack killed her? And dude... I wasn't planning on killing Danny. And I so do the insane laugh better. *high pitched, loud, insane laughter* See?
Em: Hahaha! I love it when that happens! You coulda just gone to my profile to see what else I've written! XD And you're quoting my stories! YES! And I think both Danny's need serious hugs. Batsy can take care of your hug though. He loves that kid! XD Glad you love this!