I LIIIIIIVVEE!
Sorry for the delay everyone. I got sooo boggled down by school and some parts of this chapter was hard to put together. Ugh. My brain feels fried. π
I'm so glad that it's Christmas break! Yay!ππππ
β¦~~~oOo~~~β¦
π΄ππππ π·πΌ
πΌππππ πΉππππππ
It was when Danny rounded the corner, only to find no sign of life and not recognizing where he was, that he realized he was lost.
"Darn it." Danny had tried to remember the tour that Bart gave, though that was for naught as he couldn't catch most of the explanation. Deciding to be efficient, Danny started phasing through the walls. This way, he'd eventually enter somewhere familiar⦠at least that was what he figured.
What he did not count on, while phasing through the wall into a random room, was to be pounced and pinned to the ground.
Danny found himself gazing up into the intelligent, yellow eyes of a colossal white wolf. The canine's hulking frame was packed with muscle, to an extent that it looked like it shouldn't be reasonably contained by its fur coat. A deep, rumbling growl resonated in the animal's chest as it stared down the small figure pinned below its paws.
"Easy boy," Danny said in a cautious tone, his hands in a surrender position, "I come in peace?"
The wolf rumbled some more, bending down to sniff the teenager, its hot breath ruffling Danny's white hair. After a tense moment, the wolf gave a satisfied huff before giving the teen a slobbery lick, then released the ghost boy.
"Bleeuughh," Danny complained as he sat up -though still somewhat amused- and tried to wipe the slobber off. Getting as much of the goo off as he could, Danny noticed that the wolf was sitting next to him, watching him expectantly. Reaching out a tentative hand, and seeing that he wasn't being rejected, Danny gave the wolf a scratch behind the ears. This earned a wagging tail and what sounded like happy lupine noises.
"Thanks for not eating me," Danny said before dropping his hand. Standing up, he went to the open doorway and peered down the hallway. "Now to figure out where to goβ¦"
Just as he was about to go to the right, the wolf rose from its spot on the floor- and man was he huge! The white wolf looked to be fully capable of taking down a moose. Maybe an elephant. The wolf maneuvered around Danny and started down the hall in the left direction before stopping to look back at the ghost boy.
"β¦I'm guessing that you want me to follow you," Danny asked the colossal lupine, then took the shifting of its front legs as a yes. "Okay, lead the way."
The wolf trotted at an easy pace, making it easy for Danny to follow the animal as they traversed down the corridor.
"There you are!" Nightwing greeted as both Phantom and the large wolf entered the mission room.
"Sorry, got lost," Danny explained, giving the wolf a pat as thanks. "I ended up in a random room and met White Fang here. Fortunately, he didn't seem hungry."
Superboy, at this point, had strode up to the white lupine and started rubbing its neck. "Wolf wouldn't eat anyone."
"His name's Wolf?"
"I wasn't very creative with names back then," Conner muttered.
"Eh, I think it's a fine name." Especially since Danny himself knows a wolf named Wulf⦠though he was more of a werewolf ghost that spoke Esperanto, but semantics.
At Danny's comment, Wolf took the opportunity to give the teen another sloppy lick.
"Bleh!"
"Wolf seems to like you," Conner said in amusement as the ghost boy tried to wipe the saliva off.
"As entertaining as this is, there's an incident in New Orleans and I plan on sending both of you. This actually makes this Phantom's first mission with the Team."
Danny perked up at Nightwing's statement. "My first mission? Cool!"
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ ?
π°ππππ’ πΏπππ
The evening was peaceful: it was spent, aside from unloading the parts, Skulker's suit, and her travel backpack from the RV, eating pizza from Balistreri Bros. and small talk amongst the younger people. Jazz was the most conversational with Danielle, asking questions about the places she's been, eager to learn more about her 'new sister'.
While the dinner was nice, it eventually came time for the non-Fentons to head home. Valerie had a work shift early the next morning and Tucker's parents were anxious that their only son to get home safely, which was reasonable if the increasing ghost attacks and the GIW were to be considered. As for Sam⦠she didn't say much about her family other than them being more nosy. This left the Fenton couple, Jazz, and their new occupant.
It was decided that Danielle would use one of the guest rooms as her official bedroom, the room located directly across from Danny's and Jazz's rooms and offered a view of the backyard.
FentonWorks was once originally an apartment complex, but the Fenton couple had bought the entire building at a considerably cheap price due to several factors. Either way, it was a stroke of luck to get so much space for two college graduates that did freelance work along with their studies and, unknown at the time, would be raising a family there.
The room had no noteworthy features. The furniture was simple, yet sturdy. Clean, plain sheets made up the bed. On the dresser, a couple spare sets of clothes and pajamas were set out for the new addition of the household.
Blue eyes roamed the guest room as their owner was curious, excited, and somewhat anxious. Who wouldn't be if anyone else would be sleeping at a complete stranger's place.
The bed will be welcome though, after going for quite some time without one. And a proper shower.
"This is for me?"
"Of course," a large hand patted the smaller person's left shoulder. "And there's a clean toothbrush and some changes of clothes until we can get something that would fit better."
"And if there's anything you need, you can find us down the hall." The woman added.
"Thank you."
Freshly showered and clothed in a t-shirt and pajama pants that were too large for the wearer's frame, but that wasn't an issue. A sigh of contentment escaped as the sheets enveloped.
A soft knock tapped on the door before it creaked open.
"Hey, just seeing if you're settling alright."
"Mmhmm," a hum of confirmation came from the cocoon of blankets.
"You look cozy," a weight settled on the bed, causing the springs to creak. "I brought a glass of water if you get thirsty, and this book if you wanted to read to help you relax."
The blue eyes peered out from the blankets, watching the glass of water and book being set on the nightstand. "Thank you."
"And I know you heard this already, but if you need anything at all, feel free to ask, whether it be a late-night snack or if you just want some company. Anything at all!"
"Thank you, again..." The bed shifted a bit. "Um, what kind of book did you get?"
The weight settled back onto the mattress. "Oh, it's called Adventurers Wanted: Slathbog's Gold. It's the first of a series."
"Huh, never heard of it. What's it about?"
"Well it's not popular like certain books about wizards or such, but I can guarantee it's good. The main character stumbles acrossβ¦"
Silently cracking the door open, Maddie found Jazz and Danielle curled up on the bed, the elder girl reading as the younger leaned contentedly against the redhead.
Maddie smiled as she closed the door again. "Goodnight girls, sweet dreams."
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ π·πΌ
ππππππππ ππ
Green Arrow, Flash, Hawkman and his wife, Green Lantern Hal and Icon entered the Watchtower's mission room from the hangar, the group having returned from an off-world mission of diplomacy. Despite the fact that a mysterious benefactor had provided evidence of the League's innocence, there was still the need for some damage control.
As the group entered, none had noticed a certain ghost boy was doing lazy loops overhead. Noticing the heroes entering the mission room, the teen floated down.
"Well wasn't that fun," Green Arrow snarked, stretching out the kink from the small of his back as he walked beside Flash. "Remind me to never provoke-"
"Hi!" Phantom greeted, popping up and floating upside down above the recently returned heroes.
Green Arrow yelped in surprise, then glared at the teen. "The last time wasn't enough for you?"
"Sorry!" Danny apologized, flipping over and floating closer to the ground.
"Why are you even up here?" Green Arrow questioned, elbowing the snickering red-clad hero beside him. "Don't you have others to haunt or whatever, or a mission?"
The teenager stuck out his tongue at the archer, "For your information, we were checking if there was any progress on finding a way home," the teen replied, indicating Batman and Superman talking to Zatanna and Doctor Fate. "I'm just kind of waiting. And I did go to New Orleans with the Team the other day."
"And how did that go?" The scarlet speedster asked.
"Uh, good I guess? We completed the mission, no one got hurt and Beastboy got his souvenir. There was this awkward tension between Superboy and Miss Martian; but other than that, it was okay."
Flash nodded, then shot a grin at the teen. "Hey Casper, before I forget, I got something for you." He said, holding up his hand and waving it a bit in the air before handing it to the teen.
"It's a rock," Danny observed, turning the rock around in his gloved hands. It was a sleek black rock, with white swirled into the surface, as if one was looking at winding rivers cutting through a countryside from above. Cutting right through the rock was a stripe of dark mahogany colored material. "I mean, it's a nice rockβ¦"
"It's from the planet Thanagar. That's Hawkman and Hawkwoman's home world." Flash explained, gesturing towards the mentioned hero couple that stood by and watched the exchange.
"It is?"
"But if you don't want it-"
"WAIT! I do!" Danny objected, slightly leaning away from the speedster when it looked like he was about to reach for it, then looked a bit sheepish at the snickers from the bystander Leaguers. "Er, thanks. I really do appreciate it."
"No prob." The Flash said in amusement as the ghost boy resumed his examination of the space rock. It was then that Batman, Superman and the two magic users then approached the returned heroes. In Doctor Fate's hands was the Infi-map.
"So, what's the verdict for getting me home?" Danny inquired, tucking the rock away into his utility belt.
"I'm sorry Danny," Zatanna apologized, giving the teen a sympathetic look as the eager look on his face faded, "we haven't come up with a solution yet as it's tricky narrowing down the right dimension."
"There is the good news that the Infi-map is actually repairing itself," Doctor Fate said, handing the ghostly artifact to the young hero, "though at the current rate, it may at least be many months before it would be considered safe to use."
"Oh," Phantom said, landing softly on the floor, his tone soft. "I- okay."
Superman placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Hey, you okay son?"
The ghost boy merely shrugged in answer, not bothering to vocalize a response.
"We are doing what we can to get you home," Batman spoke, tone slightly softer than usual.
"Yeah, I know." The teen then gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And I really appreciate it, more than you know."
Giving a sigh, the Dark Knight then turned to those that had returned from the diplomatic mission, thinking that the teen needed a moment. "I take it the mission went well?"
"As well as it could have considering previous event, but otherwise can be considered a success," Hawkman said, wings flexing and communicating his weariness from the lengthy mission, "but at least that's the easier task."
"Ah yes, fun with the press," Green Arrow said in a drawl, nodding sagely and looking at Superman and Batman. "Better you than me." Batman narrowed his eyes at the archer.
"There's a press conference or something?" Danny asked.
"There has been some concern and inquiries about recent events, including about you and your appearances in Metropolis and DC had created quite a stir," Superman explained. "We're just giving a brief statement that would hopefully settle people down."
"Oh," Danny said, his face scrunching up displeasure, "I don't envy you."
"What's the matter Mr Specter, not a fan of public speaking?" Green Arrow teased, in hopes that it would lift up the kid's spirits.
Danny huffed. "More like I don't want to deal with the press as they're annoying- nothing against Lois or you." Danny added, glancing at the Kryptonian. "Back home they had this knack for pinning the blame on me when stuff went wrong⦠and not to mention that annoying name they came up with! Not to mention that people still kept calling me that afterwards. C'mon, how hard is it to remember my name?"
Green Arrow looked intrigued. "And what was that name the media gave you?"
Danny was just about to answer, but caught the look that the archer had. "Yeah, no. I'm not telling you that Hawkeye!"
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ ?
π°ππππ’ πΏπππ
"WAAAH!" Tucker yelped as he somersaulted though the air, grunting as he made contact with the floor. Fortunately the mats had broken his fall, otherwise the hard metal floor of the OPS center would have smarted his geeky back. The space within the OPS center had been set up as a makeshift gymnasium, unnecessary equipment moved to the side or completely stowed away and gymnastic mats covering a good portion of the floor.
It had come to Mrs Fenton's attention that all the teens were lacking, in some form or another, combat experience and other skills that were necessary in defense against ghosts. So she and Mr Fenton had taken up in training the youth, alternating days of teaching equipment use, weapons and sparring.
Sam and Tucker, while they were adept with some of their blasters and a handful of other equipment, were not adept in close quarters fighting with Tucker unable to fight at all. Sam had taken a few self-defense classes and was willing to fight dirty, but that would only go so far.
"Ugh." The technogeek slowly sat up, grumbling to himself before saying out loud "does anyone want to trade partners?"
"What, can't handle your partner Foley?" Valerie questioned, blocking a kick from Jazz. "Good form. Your mom gave you pointers?"
"*pant* Thanks Val," Jazz said, whipping her forehead. "And yeah, Mom gave Danny and I some self-defense lessons."
Valerie, because of her status as a black belt, helped in teaching the melee portion of the training with Maddie and Jack Fenton. Maddie was a black belt herself and knew several forms of fighting while Jack, surprisingly enough to the teens, was a boxer during high school and early years of college. He was good enough that he could have gone statewide and possibly beyond, but instead chose to focus on his studies.
"I get the need to train," Tucker grumbled, not at all pleased, "but I would appreciate it if my partnerdidn't fight dirty!"
"Not dirty, smart," Dani corrected, looking quite smug at plastering the technogeek to the floor for the third time. The young ghost girl seemed to be a natural in learning. "I doubt someone like Skulker would wait for you to hit them."
"I'd like to see you try that though. Oh mister scary ghost with the sharp teeth, can you please hold still so I can hit you with proper form?" Sam snarked, only to dodge a hit from the Fenton Matriarch.
"Always keep your eyes on your opponent," Maddie chided the goth girl. "And while Danielle is right that your enemy won't fight fair, we are only learning so could you please tone it down a bit?"
"Okay," the young ghost girl agreed, though she was displeased if her tone was any indicator.
"I bet Danny doesn't have to deal with this," Tucker grumbled heatedly.
"Okay," the matriarch placated. "I guess we could swap."
"Sweet! Dibs on Val!" The young huntress rose an eyebrow, causing the lone teen male to amend, "I mean, I would like to be partnered with Val now."
The wolfish grin that bloomed on Valerie's face made Tucker second guess his statement. "Okay Tucker," She grabbed a staff, giving it a spin before one end was firmly planted onto the floor, "let's get started."
"On second thought, I think-"
"Naw ah Technogeek, no take-backsies."
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ π·πΌ
π°πππ‘ππππππ, π΄ππ’ππ
πΈπ·:πΊπ½ π²π°π
Alexandria is known to be Egypt's second largest city, and the largest city on the coast of the Mediterranean, with well-known historical sites like the Pharos, a lighthouse and one of the seven wonders, and the legendary Library of Alexandria. Danny supposed that if Jazz were here, she would have scoured at least fifty books for information about the city. While the city did have much historical significance, they weren't here for a vacation.
A lead had come to light about a weapon smuggling deal, and the team was sent out to investigate. There were several points of interest that warranted investigating, causing the Team to split into smaller groups.
While the costal city had been scorched by the sun for the majority of the day, the evening brought the soothing gift of refreshing, cooling air. There was little activity as most people had turned in for the night.
The hideout in question overlooked the Bab el- `Arab Bay; several warehouses and the larger, rarely-used building where the owners of the warehouses would do the managerial procedures. This was Danny's group's target.
Phantom went with Robin and Supergirl, to retrieve any files and any other information they could get their hands on while the others went directly to the bay and ports. The trio, besides familiarity with each other, were paired together to have a combination of both stealth and muscle.
"Warehouses, where all evil lurks," Phantom snarked, glancing around for any guards of sorts. None that he could see on the outside. "You'd think there'd be someone guarding the place."
"Just because the outside looks clear, doesn't mean the inside lacks any security." Robin pointed out.
Supergirl tilted her head a bit as she scoured the building with her eyes. "He's right. Plenty of robed and armed men on the inside."
"Robed?" Phantom questioned.
"Can you describe them more?" Robin inquired right after, the eye whites of the mask watching the Kryptonian.
"Okay⦠they're all clad in red robes and have these fanged masks," She described, pointing out any other details she spotted.
"Kobra."
"Huh? Who?" Phantom voiced out.
"Kobra, real name Jeffery Burr, is the leader of the Cult of the Kobra." Robin explained, pulling up an image for his teammates to view. Kobra was very pale in complexion, bald, and quite muscular. "His followers worship him as a 'living god'. Nightwing and the older members of the team had a few previous run-ins with Kobra within the past few years."
"So we're dealing with cultists⦠yay. But what would they be doing exactly? Because weapon smuggling doesn't sound very⦠culty."
Supergirl snorted at Phantom's comment. "Culty?" Phantom only shrugged.
"While most of what Kobra has done involves gaining power for himself, he has made deals with othersβ¦" Robin trailed off, seeming lost in thought.
"Okay, if I were a crazy cultist, where would the data catalogs be hidden?" She mused out loud, considering to just use her X-ray vision on the whole building.
Visually scouring the building wouldn't be necessary as Robin, with a few quick taps of his hologlove, brought up the building schematics. "Third floor, east side. The building has several offices, but the larger offices are located there and, by cross-referencing several schematics and such, most of the power draw is coming from⦠32e."
The boy wonder then deactivated the glove computer and was about to pull out his grapple gun, but seemed to change his mind. "Phantom. How far can you extend your powers to others? The League mentioned that you could density shift more than just yourself and I was wondering if you could do that with your other powers."
"Density shift?"
"The phasing ability, like the Martians can do."
"Oh! It's called intangibility for me and yeah, I can spread some of my other abilities to others, like invisibility and a couple others."
"To what extent?"
"Wellβ¦" Phantom reflected on previous adventures to come up with an example, "I once turned an entire jet invisible for several hours."
"So could you phase us into the room invisibly?"
Phantom gave a small smirk before linking arms with both teen heroes, the ghost boy let invisibility and intangibility flow over them.
Supergirl and Robin both shivered a bit from the sensation. "Woah, tingly." The girl of steel muttered as Robin held up his free hand to examine it.
The robed men that inhabited the halls had no hint of the trio of teenagers that slipped through the halls. The room they entered consisted of the standard office setup with a desk and computer, filing cabinets and other furniture, but was otherwise empty.
Robin wasted no time plugging into the computer, fingers dancing over the keys with purpose. "This will take a few minutes. Phantom, could you do an invisible investigation and Supergirl, keep a lookout for any trouble."
Both teens nodded before Phantom disappeared into the floor.
Nightwing emerged from the makeshift corridor made from shipment crates. "Status report."
"Nada por aquΓ. Just a bunch of crates of stuff," Blue Beetle reported, then paused before huffing out "no, that makes no sense" to himself. "No!"
"Does crates of fabrics count?" Impulse questioned, a swatch of navy blue fabric draped around his shoulders. Blue Beetle gave the speedster a questioning look. "What? I'm putting it back!"
Their leader then turned towards his teammate since day one. "Superboy?"
"Nothing." The Kryptonian hybrid said in thinly veiled frustration. "Everything here's legal and relatively harmless. Not to mention that Beastboy and Batgirl are reporting nothing but unrefined oil in the next warehouse over."
"Something's missing here," Nightwing muttered, activating his holocomputer.
A twitch in the far corner caught Conner's attention. Several heartbeats incoming on all sides. He reacted in a millisecond, moving his teammate out of the way before the ice struck their last place.
"Ugh, I'm an idiot!" Cried out Nightwing, scrambling to his feet and brandishing his escrima sticks.
"Ugh! Are you done yet?"
"Hey, this is running as fast as it can." Robin grumbled, his fingers tapping the wood of the desk. "Hacking isn't like how Hollywood depicts. A part of it is waiting while the software does its job."
"Well the software should hurry up." Supergirl huffed, feeling antsy and on edge.
A notification lit up on the screen. "That's not rightβ¦"
"What isn't?"
"β¦ oh no," Robin hurriedly typed something on the keys before swiftly disconnecting, right as Supergirl heard something down below. "Supergirl, it's-"
Before the boy wonder could finish, the translucent form of Phantom sailed through the floor, calling out "IT'SATRAAAAAAP!" before vanishing through the roof.
Immediately following the departure of the ghost boy, a large muscular form crashed through the floor. Right as the figure landed in the room, Supergirl socked him in the face, sending him flying through the walls.
"Uh, who exactly did I punch?" Supergirl questioned as Phantom phased in.
"It's Hobo the galaxy's worst hunter," Phantom said, rubbing his jaw where the bounty hunter landed the hit that sent him flying. "He was waiting in a level of the basement."
A blast made the teenagers duck, with the attack heavily damaging the wall behind them. On the other side of the hole in the wall loomed the hulking form of Lobo, the weapon still smoking.
"You seemed to have forgotten my name Keezy Marta, so let me spell it out for ya."
Acting reflexively, Phantom grabbed his companions and phased them outside just as another blast decimated the wall. Landing on the pavement, the teens eyed the bounty hunter as he leapt to ground level.
"The name's Lobo. That's 'L' as in Lacerate, 'O' as in Obliterate, 'B' as in disemBowel, and 'O' as in Obliterate!"
"You said obliterate twice," Supergirl pointed out.
"Obliteration's so nice, I do it twice!" The Czarnian sneered, hefting both his gun and hook launcher.
"It's probably his favorite part of the job," Phantom remarked dryly as the three teenagers took up ready positions.
"GRAH!" Superboy charged at his opponent, the two exchanging blows and dodging incoming attacks. His opponent was a head taller than the Kryptonian hybrid, blond and clad in a white muscle shirt paired with torn black pants and suspenders. Superboy, after feinting a punch, threw a uppercut and was about to strike again when he was knocked off his feet by water-manipulated into a whip.
"Nyoick!" Impulse said, swiping a rifle from a hooded assailant before a punch knocked the enemy unconscious. The speedster did this several times, evading moves with the intention of causing him harm. "Denied!"
"There's more on the south side!" Blue Beetle exclaimed, firing his sonic cannons at some cultists that had just emerged. "No! That would drop the entire warehouse on top of us!"
"Good to know!" The speedster said before dashing off to take care of the gunmen and past Nightwing, who was locked in combat with Kobra.
"Even after all these years, and you still don't seem that concerted." The man said, his usually stoic tone having hints of mocking. Ducking a kick aimed at his head and grasping the ankle, the cult leader flung the Gothamite to the side. Nightwing, with the momentum, easily somersaulted to a crouched stance. "I'm rather disappointed," Kobra drawled.
"That's because until now, I was just warming up," the hero snarked, rolling foward to launch himself at the man.
Having recovered from the hydrokinetic attack, Superboy re-engaged Tommy Terror with a fury of jabs. A fist flew, which was caught, with the action repeating with the other hand. This resulted in both opponents locked in a tug of war, either trying to push the other down.
"Terror, move!" A blast of icy energy struck Superboy, encasing him in solid ice. The ice shook, the surface cracking before its occupant shattered his frozen confines.
Icicle Jr, attacking and making it harder for the heroes to maneuver, spotted the speedster and created a sheet of ice across the floor.
"Oh, this one's a classic!" Impulse said, spotting the growing sheet on the ground. "Ice over the floor and the speedster can't get traction, right?"
Punching a cultist as he sprinted past, the speedster, in a hopscotch like manner, used some crates to propel himself to a wall. Upon making contact to the metal wall, Impulse sped towards the ice-villian, ramming with his shoulders in a manner that would get anyone disciplined in sports.
"Wrong!" Impulse smirked at the downed villain before sprinting towards another section of the warehouse.
Nightwing, locked in a fight against a trio of cultists, activated his comm. "Robin, we've been ambushed at the docks. Requesting immediate assistance."
A grunt was heard on the comm link, with the sounds of weapon fire and fighting in the background. "Sorry N. Unfortunately, we're currently tied up at the moment-"
"Ree? You skahveyt midgets think you can mess with The Main Man?" A bellowing voice cut off the Boy Wonder. "Think again as I frag your-"
"FRAG THIS MOTORHEAD!" Came Supergirl's retort, followed by a loud crash.
"Lobo's here and after Phantom. As soon as we can shake him, we'll come to assist."
Supergirl, with her punch landing in the bounty hunter's gut, threw a fist to his face. A large hand caught the smaller hand inches from the Main Man's nose before Supergirl's arm was twisted, causing the girl to gasp in pained surprise.
"Little girls like you should be worrying about keeping their hair all pretty, amongst other things," Lobo mocked, plucking a blond hair as emphasis, before punching her in the side. "My quarrel is not with you, so SCRAM!"
At the last word, Lobo flung the blond at Phantom, who was phasing himself from the ground, and knocking them both down.
"Ow," Phantom complained, while both he and Supergirl picked themselves up. "Is it just me, or is he getting harder with each encounter?"
Lobo, seeing his quarry still somewhat out of it, stalked his way to where the two teens had tumbled. The Czarnian only took a few steps when two birdarangs struck and exploded.
Coughing from the smoke, as the explosion only irritated him, Lobo swatted the air in front of his face, only to be restrained by a pair of bolas.
Lobo glared at Robin. "My contract is with the white-haired Marta while you losers could have gone home. But since you're so eager for a good fragging, I'll oblige!" He ripped through the restraints before charging the Gothamite teen.
Nightwing was about to respond, but was knocked over by the thrown form of Superboy. Sneering, Tuppence, the twin to Tommy, dusted her hands. "I think that belongs to ya."
Impulse swerved his course to intercept the female twin. "I don't think so-" Instead of knocking the woman down like Icicle Jr, the teen bounced off, tumbling roughly to the floor.
"Ow," The teen complained. "What are you made of?"
A boot stepped into Impulse's field of vision before he was picked up by the collar of his suit, now staring into the eyes of Tommy Terror.
The man sneered. "Snips, snails, 'n' puppy dog tails," he said before cuffing a cold metal collar around the teen's neck.
"Ah, nice try, but I'll just vibrate out of this andβ¦" the teen's eyes widened when he was unable to access his powers, coming to the conclusion. "Uh noβ¦ no speed. I've been moded." A punch then rendered Impulse unconscious.
A sonic blast knocked the Terror twin away from the downed speedster, followed by a bash from the Superboy, tag-teamed with Blue Beetle.
Nightwing had recovered and re-engaged in the fight, locked in melee with Tigress, a dark-haired woman clad in an orange armor with black accents that lent to the name.
"So," Nightwing said, ducking a blow to the head, "come here often?"
"Wouldn't you like to know bird boy," the woman responded before, with a series of jabs, pinned the young man to the ground and collaring him.
"Sorry," Nightwing teased as the collar powered up, "no superpowers for your collar to turn off."
Utilizing his incredible acrobatics, he contorted himself to lock his legs around Tigress and fling her off, then flipped himself up. Just as he stood up straight, he then crumpled down as the collar shocked him.
"Quite witty, aren't you?" Tigress, wielding the collar's remote, stood up and strode past the prone form of the semi-conscious Nightwing. "One day, you'll laugh about this."
"I'd like to think that we'll both be laughing." Nightwing attempted to stand, but a secondary shock prevented the course of action. "I'm going to feel that in the morning."
Tigress didn't pay the vigilante any further mind as she went to stand next to Kaldur and Kobra. "The plan to draw out the targets with the fake lead was successful."
Kaldur nodded, then turned to the still-standing Blue Beetle. "I suggest that you stand down," he said, eyeing the Hispanic teen. "The battle's over."
"I don't think so traitor!" Blue Beetle said, aiming his sonic cannons at the Atlantean.
"We have you outnumbered and your allies are incapacitated," as he spoke, a cultist dragged in a barely conscious Batgirl with a dagger to her neck. "Either stand down or irreversible harm will be had."
A pair of white gloves reached from below, snatching Batgirl by the ankles before pulling her into the floor and disappearing. The roof imploded from impact, raining debris as Supergirl came zooming down with Robin right after her.
"Special delivery: a butt kicking!"
At supergirl's proclamation, Phantom, having freed Batgirl from her collar and set her at a safe distance, emerged from the floor, uppercutting the cultist that had threatened the female vigilante.
Supergirl, landing in between the twins, knocked them to the side before sprinting to Superboy and yanking off his collar.
"Good timing," Superboy muttered, sending the girl a grateful look before standing.
The Boy Wonder set to work while the ghost boy took out the weapons of the remaining cultists with well-placed ectoblasts.
"ΒΏQuΓ© fuiste hablando? Something about surrender?" Blue Beetle snarked, moving to attack.
Tag-teaming, both Supers went against the Terror twins, occupying the enemy's heavy hitters while the others spread out.
Phantom, knocking away a cultist and about to go check of his downed allies, dodged an ice blast. "Looks like a cold draft got in." Icicle Jr. had just recovered from Impulse's earlier attack, only to find more young heroes had joined the fight.
"Why hello little boy, come to play with the big players?" Junior taunted, conjuring and flinging icicles at the teen.
Each icicle was met with an ectoblast, instantly vaporizing the ice projectiles. "Nice try Frosty, but it would take more than that to give me the sniffles." The teen snarked, evading the attacks with little effort.
"Hold still!" Junior said in frustration, trying to encase the flying teen in ice, then yelped when an ectoblast collided with his ice, causing a mini explosion that was too close for comfort.
"Fat chance Jack Frost. Go back to whatever winter wonderland you came from!"
"It's Icicle Junior, you twerp!"
Phantom scoffed while firing a blast at the man's feet, causing him to loose his balance. "Icicle Junior? Wha- wait. Junior implies that there's a Senior. If that's the case, does that make you a chip off the old ice-block?"
"No! And shut up!" At the exclamation, Junior unleashed a particularly large blast of ice.
Phantom promptly disappeared, the blast sailing through where the ghost boy was and struck Tuppence, a thick tomb of ice encasing her.
"Tuppence! Watch where ya firin' Junior!" Tommy snarled, not pleased by the mishap.
"Oh man," Junior whimpered, fearing for his well-being as his crush wouldn't appreciate the friendly fire. He didn't notice Phantom had reappeared right behind him. "She's not going to like that."
"Yeah, girls definitely don't like getting the cold shoulder," Phantom remarked, startling the ice-wielder before the teen punched him, then used his own ice powers to pin him down.
"You have ice powers?!" Junior exclaimed, his head jerking about as it was the only part not encased in ice. Much to his frustration and confusion, this ice didn't feel like normal ice. "Flying, energy blasts, density shifting- how many powers do you even have?!"
"Oh, that was just the tip of the iceberg of what I can do."
Junior stopped struggling. "Must you make the ice puns?"
Phantom shrugged, "I'm an compunsive punster: wordplay is a deeply ingrained character trait of mine⦠that and I think puns are cool." The ghost boy snickered while the trapped Junior groaned at the last remark.
Over the sounds of fighting, the familiar roar of rockets gradually increased, gaining the ghost boy's attention.
"Oh no, the Space Wars reject is here," Phantom groused as Robin landed next to him. "I was hoping that he'd take longer."
"Did you say Space Wars?" Robin questioned, sounding intrigued.
"Yeah, those movies with the droids, laser swords and- oh yeah, different dimension, probably different name."
"We got to have a movie marathon to compare any potential divergences."
"Hang on, what do you mean different dimension?" Icicle Junior probed, both boys had momentarily forgotten the villain was still there. The wall nearby imploded in a shower of debris, revealing the form of Lobo. Both teens dashed off, leaving Junior encased. "Wait, you didn't answer my question!"
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ ?
π°ππππ’ πΏπππ
πΈ:π·π½ ππ π²ππ
While the Fenton parents were making some adjustments to the house defensives so as it would recognize, and not shoot, the family's half-ghost kiddos, Jazz took Danielle out for sister bonding and to grab a few items to personalize the younger girl's room.
Dani was currently wearing some hand-me-downs from Jazz: a black tank top with purple designs, blue shorts and better-fitting white sneakers. She still wore her cap atop her head. Jazz still wore her typical teal pants, but wore sandals and a white tank top with black flowers at the hem. A pair of sunglasses were perched at the top of her head. Both girls had their hair braided, Dani's a fishtail braid while Jazz wore a French style. Dani had her travel pack, decorated with odd little trinkets, slung over her shoulder while Jazz carried a tote bag.
Their choice of dress was well chosen, as today was decidedly one of the hottest and future days only promised more heat. Plenty of people were about the mall, seeking shelter from the scorching rays in the cool interiors of air-conditioned stores.
Jazz sighed wistfully at the assortment of clothes they were trying on, eyeing a crème sundress. "So pretty."
"Why not get it?" Dani asked.
"It costs a pretty penny, and I don't have a lot of money," Jazz explained, fingering the tag. The Fentons lived comfortably enough: had their needs met and a few extras so neither Jazz nor Danny had complained.
Though it would be nice to be able to splurge more often than not.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes." The dress was very pretty and comfortable. Maybe she could save up for it, she thought to herself. She did make money from tutoring and for her seventeenth birthday she did get some cash from her grandparentsβ¦
The younger girl had a thoughtful look, then, without warning, had snatched the dress and a few other items. Jazz did a double-take as the girl sprinted away.
"Wait! Danielle!"
Jazz's heart dropped. She hoped that the ghost girl wasn't doing what she feared was happening. Speed-walking through the store, avoiding racks and shoppers, she found Danielle at the register. The cashier handing her a shopping bag and receipt as the older girl caught up.
"Thank you for shopping at Abyss and have a good day!" The young woman as the register bid, which the younger girl returned.
"Dani, what did you do?" The older Fenton questioned, following the half-ghost out of the store.
"Uh, I bought stuff," Dani said, though it sounded more like a question.
"How?" Jazz probed.
The younger girl smiled in an impish way. "With money." She snickered at Jazz's unimpressed face before continuing. "I got it with the funds I had from Vlad."
Jazz blinked, not believing that the man would have done anything remotely nice. "Are you saying that Vlad gave you that money?"
"I didn't say he gave it: at least, not knowingly."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jazz received no answer from the snickering girl as Danielle increased her pace. Jazz ended up chasing after the girl. "Wait! Danielle, you come back here and answer my question this minute!"
Dani never did: whenever Jazz did ask, Dani would just skirt around the question, give a statement that didn't give any helpful information, or just completely change the subject altogether. Jazz decided, eventually, to let the matter go for now; she wasn't getting anywhere and Dani was deriving too much amusement from her little game of knowledge keep-away.
'What a little gremlin,' Jazz thought, griping the steering wheel. A glance in the mirror showed Dani munching on various snacks she got at the food court, her arm resting on the large bag of gourmet candies she got.
The girls had gotten a good number of items, the shopping bags all stored securely in the trunk. For her room, Danielle got a decorative world map for the wall, exotic foods cookbook, a model airplane, and sunset cloud curtains. It seemed that the younger girl had an interest in traveling, Jazz observed after asking and listening to the ghost girl's tales of different places and the languages she's trying to learn. So far Dani had learned how to speak decent Spanish and French, with a desire to learn German and Korean.
Jazz made mental notes for future gifts and activities.
"Hey, what's that?" Dani questioned through a mouth full of jalapeΓ±o Hart-Munchies, pointing towards an assortment of tents and rides rising over the cloth structures.
"First, no talking with your mouth full," Jazz admonished. "And that's the carnival that they throw every summer."
The ghost girl grabbed a can of soda, guzzling the contents down. "Can we go there?"
"I don't see why not," Jazz said, turning the wheel to steer the car towards the fair. Jazz had to loop around to find parking, snatching up a spot just as a car was pulling out.
Jazz put the car into park, then unbuckled her seatbelt. "Okay, let me get my bag andβ¦" Jazz turned to look in the back seat, but saw that Danielle had already left. It seemed that she just phased through the car, not even bothering to unbuckle. Jazz let out a sigh before grabbing her bag and shutting the car door.
"She's just as much trouble as Danny," she muttered as she locked the car, trekking out to find her wayward sister.
"Cool," the ghost girl mused to herself as she took in the different attractions and stalls set up. "What to do first⦠I could go check out the rides- *sniff* or get some grub!"
Dani wandered the amusement park, following her nose as she dodged people. Coming around a corner, she bumped into someone, both almost falling and the person dropping what they were carrying.
"Sorry!" Dani exclaimed, stooping to pick up the fallen object: a roll of tickets.
"Oh, that's okay," the person said, her voice sounding kind and had a slight Hispanic accent. She was around Dani's age. A cheerful smile painted her tan face, her amber eyes sparkling with gratitude as the ghost girl handed the roll to her. Her hair came down in soft waves around her shoulders, held back from her face by barrettes. "I'm Isabella, what's your name?" The girl held out her hand.
"I'm Danielle," Dani replied, looking at the offered hand before shaking it.
"Nice to meet you Danielle!" Isabella grinned, bouncing a bit. "Have you checked out the Wraith's Wrath yet? It's supposed to be a step up from the previous Rollercoaster they had previously." Dani shook her head. "Do you want to go together? The more, the merrier."
"Sure!"
"Dani? Danielle," Jazz scoured high and low for the preteen, but saw not hide nor hair of the young girl.
"Hopefully I'll find her at one of the snack places." One of the first details that was noticed about the ghost girl, she had an appetite. "Like a Fenton," Jack had said in pride.
Finding a station that served funnel cakes, Jazz was disappointed to find a lack of escapee clone, but hung around anyway. Dani would eventually head here for snacks⦠that and Jazz did want to munch on funnel cake.
She took her place in line, occasionally looking around for her target as she got herself one of the fried treats with an extra for Dani.
"Thank you!" Jazz said, evading the next customer as she stepped away before taking a bite out of her treat. The warm sweetness of the sugar melted into the fried dough as she chewed.
"Jazz?" A familiar voice called out. Jazz turned to see Paulina, the pretty Latina waving as she approached. Oddly enough, she seemed hesitant as she walked with Jazz.
She hadn't seen much of the popular girl since the end of the school year except the few times where she chased after her brother for desired attention before the disappearance; since then, she only seen her twice, each time the girl having a somewhat contrite expression.
And now here she was, her usual self-importance gone, replaced with something Jazz at first couldn't place. "Good to see you, and I love your outfit."
Jazz rose an eyebrow, but smiled politely nonetheless. "Hi Paulina, and thanks. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm good thank you," the Latina said cheerfully, "how about you? How are you doing?"
"As good as I could be doing, considering- well, you knowβ¦"
"Yeah, I kinda figured," Paulina gave a small, sad smile. The two girls continued in silence for a few steps, the Latina looking conflicted before she spoke. "Um, is there anything I can do for you?"
"What do you mean?" Jazz questioned, somewhat puzzled by the uncharacteristic attitude.
The Latina sighed, looking away for a moment before gazing up at the older girl. "I've been wanting to check up on you and your family. Offer up support, you know? But I didn't know if it would be appreciated, considering how I've treated you guys in the past."
Jazz nodded, not sure what to say, instead letting the other finish speaking her piece.
"I just want to offer any help that I could possibly provide, my family too. Mi mamΓ‘ makes excellent arroz con pollo or if you all just need company. We could totally hang out anytime if you need some girl time or if you just need a shoulder to cry on."
"Wow, I- I don't know what to say," Jazz said, feeling touched. "You didn't-"
"My parents are probably stopping by your place soon: mamÑ has been getting things together. And I really wanted to offer any support I can offer," Paulina gave a sincere smile. "I have sisters myself⦠and I know how it can be to worry about them. I also want to apologize for my treatment of you and your brother and will do anything to make up for it-"
"There's no need to say anything else," Jazz placated, slightly waving the forgotten treat in a dismissive manner. "Thank you for the offer." She then eyed the second funnel cake before offering it to the Latina. A peace offering. "Do you like funnel cake?"
"Are you sure? I don't want to take your snack away."
"It's no trouble." She could always grab Dani a fresh one once she found the girl⦠that's assuming the girl hadn't already gotten herself some. The half-ghost really did have an appetite.
Paulina debated a bit before accepting the food with gratitude, taking a large bite and humming in blissful contentment. "MMMM! I always love getting these!"
"Me too," Jazz chuckled, taking a bite out of her own.
"That and cotton candy. So, are you here with your parents or any friends?"
"Actually, I'm here with my little sister."
Paulina owlishly blinked at the redhead. "I didn't know you had a sister. How come I haven't seen her before?"
"That's because she's had some health problems earlier in life; she stayed with some extended family where she could get easier access to certain doctors and was homeschooled," Jazz said, reciting the cover story the family had come up with to explain Danielle. "She's gotten much better though, enough to run off and now I'm trying to find an energetic preteen."
Paulina giggled. "I'm actually in the same boat! I lost track of Isa and been trying to find her. How about we both go together: two sets of eyes are better than one."
With her affirmation, the two girls went about the carnival in search of two younger girls while having light conversation about interests and occasionally stopping at one of the booths and stalls.
"Oooh, look at this!" Paulina gasped, stopping at a peculiar stall. The color scheme was mainly purple, a tent set up at the back with the tables showcasing an odd assortment of items.
"Madam Babazita's Mystical Oddities," Jazz read, looking at advertised palm readings and the like, then snorted. "You don't really believe this?"
"Isn't that kinda ironic to say, considering all the ghost attacks?" Jazz conceded to Paulina's point. "Besides, this is all in good fun, real or not." The Latina looked at a pair of earrings, "these will look so nice with a blouse I have!"
"Well, I guessβ¦" Jazz looked over the display. While most of the stuff looked gaudy, there were a few items that looked really nice in quality. Her attention settled on a necklace.
The pendant of the necklace was that of an arrow: A glittering quartz stone made up the arrowhead, fixed to a platinum rod with emerald stone fletching. The arrow was encircled in a rose-gold hoop bent into the shape of a heart.
"This is rather nice," Jazz mused, holding up the necklace for a better look.
"I see that you have good taste," the owner of the stall came forth, a short, stout woman. "The Compass Arrow: said to guide those to their desired destinations. A fine piece, and at a reasonable price of twenty dollars."
Jazz blinked, stunned that something like this would be priced so low.
"What about these earrings and book?" Paulina asked, hefting up a book about herbs and medical properties of plants.
"Fifteen for the earrings and twenty five for the book," Babazita said, which Paulina paid for the items.
"Why the book?"
"For mamΓ‘: she likes to use essential oils and things like that. Are you getting the necklace? It's very pretty."
Jazz looked at the necklace again, indecisive for a moment before pulling out a twenty. "Why not?"
"How much for the mirror?" Dani called out from behind Jazz, causing both teenage girls to jump.
Jazz whipped around to glare at the ghost girl and her companion, a young, Hispanic girl that was very likely Paulina's sister. "Wha-"
"Isabella Sanchez, Diabla pequenia," Paulina had her hands on her hips, looking at the younger Latina, "what did papi say about coming here?"
Isabella rolled her eyes, "Stay with your sister. Not my fault you were so busy in the bathroom."
"Seventy-three," the woman simply answered Dani's question in amusement, the ghost girl digging out the cash. The mirror in question was one of those that one would picture from the tale Snow White. It was a rather nice mirror: the oval, reflective object's frame intricately designed. The style was reminiscent of the 17th century, if Jazz had to guess.
"Why?"
Dani simply shrugged. "We were getting stuff to decorate my room, and the mirror looks cool."
Jazz rolled her eyes.
"So this is your sister? She's so adorable!" Paulina gushed.
Jazz nodded, a small smile on her face. "Looks like both of our sister's found each other."
Isabella bobbed her head. "Yeah! Me and Elle here went on the rides and won several games!" She held up one of her prizes, a large teddy. Dani had what looked to be some sort of green squid alien in a magenta vest under her arm.
"I'm glad that you had fun, but we should be heading home."
"Aww, Pauly! Can we please stay a little longer?" Isabella begged, giving her biggest puppy eyes to her older sister.
Paulina at first maintained a firm expression, staring down the younger girl before letting out a huff. "Fine, a few more minutes."
"Yes! C'mon, we can ride the tilt-a-whirl next!" Isabella shrieked, pulling Dani along as both girls sprinted away in a fit of giggles.
Paulina sighed. "I'm already sorry."
"But they're not," Jazz snorted, glad that Dani had made a friend.
Jazz dropped the bags at the foot of the bed before collapsing on the mattress, the long day had drained her of energy.
She stayed there for a moment before sitting up to sort through the bags. Clothes in the hamper to be washed for future use, books to be put awayβ¦
She came across the box that held the necklace, opening it to put it with her other jewelry when she spotted an old piece of paper. Jazz read the cursive, only to reread several times, each time growing more confused.
β¬πΆπππΎπππ, πππΈπ ππππΈπππΉ π»ππ π
πππππΈππΎππ, ππ½πΆππ π·π ππππ πΆππππΉππ;
β¬πΎππππππππ πΆππΉ ππππΎπππππππ ππ½πΆππ π·π ππ½π πΈπΆππΆππππ.
π²πΆππΈπ½ ππππππππ» πππππ π₯πΆπππΎππ, π»ππ πΆ πππ πΈπ½πΆπ
πππ πππΆπππ.
πππΉ ππΎππ½ πΎπ, πππΎπΆππ πΆππΉ ππππΎπ»π, ππ
ππΎππ π»ππππ½ π»πππ ππ½π πΆπ·πππ.
π―πΆππ π½ππΆππ, π»ππ πΆ π»πΆππΎππ ππππΆπΈπ ππΎππ π·π πππππππΉ πΆππΉ πππΉππ»πΎπππΉ,
ππ ππ½π π
ππππππ ππ» ππ½π πππΉ πππππ·πΎππΉ ππΆππ π»ππΎππ½π.
π©πΎππ½π πΎπ πΆπ
π
πππΆπΈπ½πΎππ, π·ππ ππΎππ πΆπππΆππ π·π π»πππππππΉ π·π ππ½π πΉπΆππ.
β±ππ πΉπΆππππππ πΈπΆπ πππΎππ½ππ πΎππΎππΆππ πππ ππΎππ½πππΆππΉ ππππ ππΎππ½π.
β¦~~~π¦Ήκ§πΎβπππ β€πβπΌκ§ οΈοΈ~~~β¦
π΄ππππ π·πΌ
π°πππ‘ππππππ, π΄ππ’ππ
πΈπΈ:π»π· π²π°π
The force of the explosion could be felt down to their marrow, even from this distance. The pier became one big bonfire, the snark night illuminated the sky to the semblance of midday.
Both Phantom and Robin gaped, the ghost boy's head darted back and forth, from the escaping craft with their captured friends to the docks where the rest of the Team were.
"Phantom, we need to go back!"
The ghost boy didn't argue as he looped them around, zooming towards the pier; however, he felt conflicted about letting the bad guys get away.
'Of all the times for duplication to be useful!' Danny thought in frustration, thinking about the ability that he still hadn't mastered, but voiced out loud, "but what about the others?"
"I managed to plant a tracker on BB, but even if that didn't work, we'll find a way to get them back. Right now we have to focus on that fire."
β¦~~~oOo~~~β¦
Tada! A rewrite of 'Darkest'! The fight scene was so hard to write with so many characters to keep track! I prefer the witty banter parts if people haven't figured out yet.
Here's what the note from Babazita said if some of you are having a hard time reading the text:
Barriers, once erected for protection, shall be torn asunder;
Bitterness and entitlement shall be the catalyst.
Watch yourself young Jasmine, for a new chapter starts.
And with it, trials and strife, spring forth from the abyss.
Take heart, for a family legacy will be renewed and redefined,
As the progeny of the old songbird take flight.
Night is approaching, but will always be followed by the dawn.
For darkness can neither imitate nor withstand true light.
Now, to quote Ron Stoppable: "It will be my honor to collapse from exhaustion." *THUD*