Note: This chapter really fought me but it's finally here! Warning for body horror, specifically of the "clone melting into ectoplasm" kind.
While Danny is making dinner, Jamie scribbles. Annoyed mutters sound. The older half ghost glances back ever so often. Each time, the younger covetously covers the paper, brow wrinkled in a scowl.
Again, Danny turns back to the stove and again, he massages his stress-tense forehead. He needs to do something about this.
The older brother has just finished the food and turned off the oven, when Jamie sits up, hand lighting with ectoenergy.
"Stupid letter." He hisses, the paper going up in flames. "Nothing sounds right!"
The half ghost sighs, turning around fully to face his twin. "I'm inviting Jason over for dinner and we're going to talk about everything."
"What?!" The younger more floats than stands up. "No!"
He isn't making this decision on impulse or out of annoyance. He's really not. He needs to do something to move both of them forward and having someone else to confide in – like Jason or Jazz – is sure to help his twin finally shake off this fear.
But all the same, Danny fights to keep the frustration from his voice. "Jamie, I've tried to be patient. I really want you to feel ready but…" He motions to the ashes smeared on the carpet. "Putting it off is just making you more freaked out."
"No, it's not." The clone tries to argue. "You… you can't."
Danny steps towards the door, turning the handle before Jamie can get in front of him. "We don't have to tell Jason everything, but we need to at least start getting everything out in the open."
The older brother opens the door, standing in the hallway the next second.
The younger jogs after him. "Danny, wait! Let's just talk about this."
Two doors down from Jason's apartment now. "We have been talking about this, in circles." Danny half-turns his head, throwing the words back at his brother. "I swear it's going to be okay. Whatever horrible thing you're imagining won't-"
A sudden yelp, somewhere between surprised and pained, sounds, followed by the thud of a body falling.
Concern clashes with exacerbation. Did Jamie really just manage to trip over his own feet?
Danny turns, moving to help his brother up before even really looking.
"Are you okay?" He bends down, offering a hand. "I'm sorry…
He trails off, eyes widening. Jamie groans, pushing himself to sit up. Neon green wells on the big toe of his right foot. Did he step on something that made him fall? A cut or puncture on his foot could be serious. But…
"It… it burns." His brother hisses, face screwing up in pain.
Danny's eyes desperately search the ground. A nail? A piece of glass? Even a sharp rock? Nothing, but…
The green trickles, not towards the floor like blood from a cut. But… up and across. There is a sizzle, a faint pop. The ectoplasm spreads, a sickening whiff of rotten limes, pennies, and ozone.
"It's… it's melting." Danny stutters out, mind whirling.
Jamie's toe is melting. Dissolving into ectoplasm, like… like Danielle had before being stabilized.
The clone's eyes widen, drawn to the digit at the words. A spike of panic dashes across their bond.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Danny shoves away the feeling, desperately scrambling for composure. "Just focus on making it solid again. We'll get you some more ectodejecto and you'll-"
"There isn't anymore." Jamie pants out the words, chest starting to heave.
"We'll figure it out. We've got time. If you don't use your powers-"
The words die in his throat, eyes widening in horror. The ectoplasm is spreading rapidly, half of one foot gone as the toes of the other begin to sizzle.
"I…I don't understand. It shouldn't be happening this fast." Danny stutters out, heart suddenly pounding. "You were fine five minutes ago."
"Sorry. Sorry." Tears well in Jamie's eyes.
The link between them quivers, vibrating with terror, and Danny sees.
The tip of Jamie's finger warping, ectoplasm beading as if from a cut. With a gasp, he drops his knife.
Paper underneath ink-stained hands. Between one blink and the next, neon green wells, appearing from nowhere.
Danny's heart drops, a feeling like being squeezed. "You were… you were hiding it?"
"Sorry. Was…was scared." His brother whimpers.
Disappointment wells, clashing with panic. But the older half ghost breathes shakily. Focus, he needs to focus. "Okay. Later." They will talk about that later. "Make your feet solid. Picture them like… like turning your tail back into legs."
It's like Jamie doesn't hear him at all. The clone's breath heaves, gaze locked on his melting legs. His feet are now puddles, the green eating away at his calves.
"Jamie!"
Eyes snap back, meeting Danny's. "Turn… turn solid?" At the older's desperate nod, Jamie's brow strains in concentration. Five long, ectoplasm sizzling seconds….
"Ca… can't!" The clone cries. A destabilization has overtaken his knees now, halfway up his thigh, and… "No." The word full of desperate dread, Jamie's hands tremble. "F…fingers."
That same dread floods Danny's mind, his chest tight. "Okay. We'll thermos you. That will buy some time."
"Spectra's in the thermos!"
"Shit." That was the only thermos he had and… "Shit." His heart pounds in his ears, deafening but he can't panic. He can't! He has to save Jamie. He has to…
"Danny. It… it hurts." Jamie's voice shakes, just starting to beg.
"I…I know." Danny can feel it distantly, an echo of the agony ringing across their bond as sharply as Jamie's panic.
Their bond… That's it! They're still connected. If they're still connected, then Danny can reabsorb his duplicate-twin's body and… The older half ghost wraps mental hands around the thread linking them and yanks with all his might.
"Ah!" Both boys scream.
Pain rips through Danny's head, sharp and piercing. Hands raise to clutch it. "Not… not doing that again."
"Please. No." A whimper on the floor in front of him.
And… Jamie is still melting, ectoplasm now dripping from his nose.
Danny's eyes widen. He… he can't reabsorb Jamie's physical form. The clone isn't a duplicate. Jamie really is separate from him like he'd thought. But… but…
"Please." His brother cries. "Make it stop!"
His legs are gone, his arms up to his elbows.
"I'm… I'm trying." Danny pants. "I don't know how. I can't reabsorb…"
No energy trickles between him and his twin. The link is not that of duplicate and original. Danny can't reabsorb Jamie. But…
"Jamie, you… you need to do it." Danny stutters, the idea flailing and desperate.
The body isn't a duplicate. But if he can hold Jamie's core, keep it close to his, sustain it with his energy….
"What?" His twin blinks, confusion cutting through the panic.
"You need to overshadow me."
Another blink, then a snap of clarity. Jamie understands. "No. Can't." A fervent shake of his head.
A door slams open, not that to Jason's apartment, but… the stairway.
"Holy-" Jason's voice. Something heavy drops, pounding feet. A second later and the man is kneeling on Jamie's other side. "What is happening?"
"Yes, you can." The older half ghost has no eyes for his neighbor, only his brother.
"Can't. Not… not strong enough."
"Yes, you are." Spectra's words flash in his mind. Too weak to- Is that what the shadowy ghost had been taunting his brother with? The thought of Jamie never being strong enough to exist on his own?
Jason says something, the words watery, not reaching Danny's ears.
"Yes, you are." The older half ghost pleads again. "Please. I… I can't loss you… You have to." He grabs Jamie's shoulder, the flesh underneath his grip quickly turning green and sticky. Ectoplasm runs over his fingers. "You have to."
"But…but…" Tears run down the clone's face, streaks of neon.
"You are strong enough. You've always been strong enough."
Doubt in Jamie's eyes, echoing across their bond. A bead of ectoplasm drops from his hair.
Danny strums the line, sending all his sincerity, all his love across. Please, let it be enough.
The clone's brow wrinkles. The doubt wavers, a shaky determination rising.
"Will… will try." Jamie's face scrunches with effort.
The clone's body goes transparent and fuzzy, the semi-solid shoulder under Danny's hand turning into mist. The spilled ectoplasm evaporates with it, the cloud swirling. And… between one breath and the next, Jamie's physical form disappears.
At the same time, cold rushes through Danny. A queasy, distant feeling like his body is far away. Then the half ghost exhales, back in control. "Jamie." He breathes, his twin's cold spark taking its familiar place below his ribs.
Relief floods through Danny. His… his brother is still there, safe for now.
But… Jamie is anything but relieved. His almost-core spasms and twists, the other ghost's fear and devastation stabbing Danny's insides.
The half ghost winces. "Jamie!" He shouts, trying to get his twin's attention.
"Danny?" Jason's voice is far away.
Another wave of his ghostly passenger's feelings sends tears to Danny's eyes. "Jamie!"
"Danny." Large, scarred hands appear on his shoulders. "Kid, are you with me?"
"Jamie!" Danny pokes back with his own core.
Half formed words echo from his twin, the volume deafening. Danny flinches, covering his ears to quiet it. Except… the sound is in his head, not his ears.
"Danny!" His name cuts through the chaos. "We'll figure out what just happened to your brother. But I need you to focus-"
"I know what just happened to Jamie!" Danny shouts. "He's being very loud, very upset in my head right now!"
Jamie instantly quiets, his emotions going still and muted.
At the same time, Jason's mouth snaps shut.
Danny blinks. "Jason?" His mind whirls, finally catching up. "Fuck."
His neighbor's brow winkles, the wheels turning in his own head almost visible. But… he doesn't look shocked nor panicked.
Instead, his expression softens. "Can Jamie hear me right now?"
Another confused blink. "What?"
"Can he hear me?" Again, the neighbor asks simply.
"Um… I think so." At the words, Danny almost feels his twin turn, gaze fixed on their neighbor through his eyes.
"Jamie, your brother and me have got you. We're both right here." The man's voice is calm and soothing. "Can you… breathe with me?" A hint of uncertainty enters his voice.
Danny nods, one hand raising to rest just below his sternum where the immaterial sensation of Jamie's almost-core swirls. "I'll breathe for both of us. You just follow along, baby bro."
Jason breathes slowly, in and out. Danny copies. His lungs expand and contract, his brother's cold spark seeming to dim and brighten in time.
Finally, Danny lowers his hand.
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Better?"
"He feels calmer." A long exhale. "Jamie? Do you want to talk to Jason?"
No. The words quivers, watery.
"He said no." The answers fall, quiet and heavy, as Danny frowns down at the floor. His heart aches. A small part of him wants to sink down to the floor and cry. But…
As understandably upset as Jamie is, as both of them are, his brother is no longer melting. Danny can protect him, keep him safe until they figure this out.
And yet….
"Jason?" Tentatively, Danny looks up. "You're not…uhh… freaking out as much as I'd expect."
His neighbor raises an eyebrow. "We're still playing this game?" Despite the words, there is no harshness as Jason leans closer, voice lowering. "I know that you know about my real job."
Danny nods. Then, biting his lip. "And you know I'm the ghost kid you saw when you protected Jamie."
Jason gives his own nod. "We should go somewhere else to talk about this. My apartment?" Frowning, his eyes flicker back to the stairs, to the busted grocery bags he'd dropped in his rush to help.
The half ghost winces, offering a sympathetic, though dim, smile at the broken eggs and spilled milk. "We can go to ours. I just finished dinner. Actually…" A blush colors his face. "I was just coming over to invite you to talk about everything. Jamie was trying to convince me to wait and…" A sudden guilt stabs his core. "That's when he started…" Wide, haunted eyes gravitate to the carpet again. No sign of the stomach-churning gore remains, but… "He started melting." A shaking hand covers his mouth. "Jamie, I'm… I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." Jason tries to reassure. Not that he can possibly know that.
Not your fault. Jamie repeats, the words unwavering.
"No, no. It is…" The older half ghost shakes his head.
Was hiding it from you. His twin emphasizes. Not your fault.
Danny again shakes his head, not believing the words. But… "I can't… can't do this right now. We've got to explain things to Jason."
Their neighbor frowns. "It can wait a bit. As long as there's no danger of more… melting?" The last word pitches up, again unsure.
"No, Jamie's safe for now." Danny exhales, beginning to push himself to his feet. "And you deserve an explanation."
"And what about you?" Jason rises to stand.
"I'm fine." The older half ghost sighs. He puts his feet under him, wobbling as blood rushes to his head.
His neighbor reaches out to steady him. "Are you sure?"
"I'm not going to melt." Danny rolls his eyes. "Just getting used to having a ghostly passenger."
Jason doesn't say anything in response, eyes just widening ever so slightly. The man helps Danny to the twin's apartment and sits the half ghost down on the couch. He takes one of the kitchen chairs.
For a long moment, the two stare at each other. Danny's mind whirls. Where does he even begin to explain?
Finally, Jason speaks. "Earlier, you said you were a ghost. Does that mean…" A hint of grief wavers in his voice. "what it sounds like it means?"
"That I died?" Danny bites his lip. "Yeah."
"And the accident you told me about, was that how it happened?"
"Yep." The half ghost sighs. He leans back, quipping dryly. "At least it gave me cool powers."
"Damn kid." Jason chuckles just as dryly. "I wish dying gave me the ability to fly and shoot Lazarus water from my hands."
"So you died too…" Danny raises a brow. "that explains the death aura, I guess"
"Death aura? What's a death aura?" Jason asks.
"What it sounds like." The half ghost shrugs. "There's this energy coming off you. Feels kinda ghostly. That's uh… part of the reason we figured out you're Hood. Jamie realized you had the same aura." The neighbor nods, eyes narrowing in understanding, and Danny continues. "Also, again, what's Lazarus water?"
"It's what I was resurrected with." Jason crosses his arms. "My adopted dad's crazy ex stole my body, threw me in a pit of the stuff, and I came back to life." His noise wrinkles. "Nasty shit. It messed up my head for years. Which makes you literally bleeding the stuff and not making heads roll, pretty unbelievable."
"That sounds like some hella contaminated ectoplasm." Danny's nose wrinkles in kind. "And a whole pool of it? Where would someone even get that much?"
"In a cave in Nepal, guarded by a cult of assassins." The vigilante snorts, then shakes his head. "Enough about my tragic backstory. You died, became a ghost. Then what?"
"Half-ghost, actually." Danny motions to his body. "Still got a living human body and everything. But I can change into a ghost, hence the white hair and green eyes you saw." He sighs. "Anyway, Mom and Dad are ghost hunters. The accident was in their lab in our basement. They were trying to open a portal to the Ghost Zone, the dimensions ghosts come from."
"I thought ghosts were dead people?"
"It's complicated." Danny waves his hand dismissively. "I ended up opening the portal and ghosts started flooding the town. Some were fine, just minding their own business. But others tore up the street, stole things, hurt people. So… I stepped up to stop them. I started calling my ghost form Phantom and fought the other ghosts off."
"So the shadowy ghost, that was one you'd fought before."
"Yeah, Spectra." Danny narrows his eyes, gaze falling to a spot on the floor. "She was one of my rogues. I've still got her in the thermos, under the floor." He shakes his head. "So, I did the vigilante thing. Fought ghosts and put them back in the portal, tried to protect everyone. All while trying to not fail math, and to uhh… keep my ghost hating parents from learning I'm a ghost…." He trails off, heart squeezing at the reminder of their eventual discovery.
Jamie sends a gentle stream of comfort, his cold spark flickering brighter.
Across from him, Jason's brow furrows, expression a mix of concern and anger. "Damn. And you were doing this by yourself? What about your brother?"
Danny shakes his head. "It wasn't just me. My two best friends were there for everything. My older sister found out a couple month in. She covered for me a lot. Made sure I was eating and getting enough sleep, the noisy mother-hen." He chuckles. "And Jamie…"
At his name, a spike of anxiety radiates from the clone. Danny's stomach twists in turn.
Still, the half ghost continues. "Well… Jamie doesn't come into all this until later."
"So he wasn't in the accident with you?" Jason raises his brow.
"No. He wasn't around at all. Or…" Danny swallows. "He wasn't around yet."
Just a hint of confusion mars their neighbor's face. Still, he doesn't reply.
Meanwhile, the clone tentatively pokes Danny's core. Jamie wants to tell him.
The half ghost looks down, frowning at his chest as if that will let him see his twin's forming core. "Are you sure?"
"What?" Jason asks.
"Not you." Danny waves vaguely. "Jamie, are you sure you want to explain? I can do it."
Yes. Want to explain.
"Alright." The half ghost heaves a sigh. He closes his eyes, letting himself sink deeper inside his own head.
A few seconds later, his eyes open, though not through Danny's effort. They glow green.
"Jamie is… is Danny's clone." Distantly, Danny feels his shoulders hunch, body crumpling under his brother's fear.
"Oh." Jason blinks, surprise flickering for just a moment. In the next, he offers a comforting smile. "That's cool. One of my best friends is a clone."
Tentatively, Jamie glances up at the vigilante. "You're not mad?"
"Of course not." The man's face softens. "I'm glad you told me."
The clone hums in acknowledgement. Still, he averts his eyes.
"How did you end up living in Gotham with Danny?" Jason asks after a long moment.
Jamie stiffens at the question. "Danny's parents found out." He starts cautiously. "He ran away to Gotham… alone. And…" He swallows. "He was lonely…"
The clone trails off, eyes fixed down. His cold spark so close to Danny's own core, the half ghost can feel it quiver. A queasy anticipation vibrates across their bond.
I can tell him about the duplication for you. Danny offers gently.
Jamie shakes their shared head. Finally, his gaze returns to Jason. "Danny needed Jamie. He…" His eyes pinch closed, straining with effort. "He needed me, so I came."
Their neighbor's brow raises slightly, a silent request to continue.
The clone continues. "The twin telepathy's real. It's always been there, always been connected. Felt that Danny was sad, that he needed help. So…" The younger boy bites his lip. "So Jamie came."
In his chest, Danny's heart squeezes. Despite the evasiveness of the answer, it is the truth. He had needed someone to offer comfort, to love him. No, more than that. He had needed someone to love too. And, so Jamie had come. Whether he'd imagined his twin into existence, or he was a gift from the Universe or fate or whatever other powers that be, the person he had needed had come.
"Jamie needs you too." The other ghost whispers, a hand comfortingly rubbing over Danny's core… just like the half ghost had done for his brother so many times before.
The soft smile that rises on the currently shared face is both of the twins'. For a long moment, the two sit in its warmth. Despite the earlier disaster, despite having to bare the truth, they are safe. They are still together.
Jason pointedly looks away, as if cognizant of the brothers' private moment. But eventually, he interrupts with a cough. "Came from where? Where were you before, Jamie?"
The tension returns at the question, shoulders rising again. "Don't know. Don't remember." Jamie looks away, just as pointedly.
The vigilante's face says that he knows the words are a lie. Danny braces, sure that the man will press for the truth. But just as he's debating whether he should gently take back control of his body and answer Jason's question…
"You don't have to tell me everything." A look of sympathy flashes over their neighbor's face. "I get it. Biz, my friend, doesn't like talking about where he came from either. But…" Jason leans forward. His expression turns serious, the very picture of the Batman trained vigilante he is. "If there's bad guys who might be coming after you, you have to tell me."
"No." Jamie shakes his head fervently. "No bad guys."
"Are you sure?" The man's pointed expression ceases to waver. "I'm going to be blunt, but someone made you, for a reason. If you're missing, they're probably looking for you."
"No. Jamie's… my… maker…." The clone hesitates over the word, a jolt of discomfort wavering across the bond. For just the smallest second, Danny feels mental eyes on him. "isn't looking for me."
The slightest furrowing of Jason's brow. "If they just let you go-"
"He thinks Jamie destabilized." The younger ghost interrupts forcefully. "Melted, like the other clones."
What are you doing? Danny flinches at the lie. That's not-
The older half ghost's protests are ignored as Jamie continues. "That's why Jamie's a full ghost, not half." He looks down, arms wrapped around his chest as if to self-sooth. "Is supposed to be gone, completely dead."
Again, concern softens Jason's face. "Who's he?"
"Plasmius." Jamie answers without hesitation. "One of Danny's rogues. Wanted Danny as his creepy perfect half ghost son. Danny kept saying no so Plasmius made clones."
"That's messed up." The man's nose wrinkles at the words. Then the worry returns. "And you've melted before."
"Yes. Before-"
No, you haven't. Danny reaches for his vocal cords, silencing his twin's words. "Why are you-"
"Wait. Just…" Jamie yanks back control. "Just let Jamie explain."
The half ghost narrows his eyes, taking his tongue back. "What do you mean-"
"Danny." The younger boy whines through the shared body's throat, pushing the older away again. "Please." This time the roughness of the grab sends a stab of pain through Danny's head. "Sorry." The clone winces.
The pain stills Danny in his tracks, stopping his reach for control. Why are you lying to Jason? He instead asks inside his own head.
Jamie gives no response, just a wave of fear, of desperation. His mental eyes avert from Danny's questioning gaze.
Across from the two, Jason's brow wrinkles. "Danny? Jamie?"
Something in the clone's emotions tenses at the words and their shared body flinches in kind. Please. Jamie whispers across their bond. Please don't tell him.
The clone steps back and Danny finds himself back in the driver's seat, his voice back. He opens and closes his mouth, the truth at the tip of his tongue. But…
Danny remembers their conversation from earlier, before the melting. Was that… was that just an hour ago? It feels like a lifetime. But…. He'd pressed about why Jamie didn't want to tell Jason the truth. His brother had bite back with anger, closed off after he asked about the ghost aspect and the clone…. Jamie had closed off when he got close to the root of the issue.
That anger… it was just fear, wasn't it? The same fear trembling Jamie's almost core now. And… Danny's own core stales, a wash of cold that has nothing to do with his ice powers. Had that fear been what led to Jamie almost melting?
The half ghost swallows. He'll table this for now, play along. Between the potential tug for control and the possibility of destabilization…. god, what would happen to them if Jamie started melting again while overshadowing him? No, he couldn't risk it.
Finally, Danny looks up again, offering the most disarming smile he can manage. "Sorry. It's Danny again. It's just…" He frowns down at his own chest, putting very real worry-born exacerbation into the words. "Someone didn't tell me about the melting before."
Jason looks dubious but again, he doesn't call out any lie. "Could that have something to do with what just happened?"
"I don't know. Maybe?" Danny's brow wrinkles. "My other clone, Ellie, she wasn't stable after she was made. She almost melted into ectoplasm too, like Jamie just did. But I used this purified ectoplasm called ectodejecto to stabilize her."
The vigilante's eyes widen slightly, a flicker of relief. "Good. We need to get our hands on that pronto."
"The thing is…" Danny bites his lip, not so confident. "I used ectodejecto on him before, to heal his ankle after Spectra. And it worked right off the bat, healed the sprain in like three seconds, and he's been stronger than ever since."
At the words, a wave of anxiety crashes over Danny from his twin.
At the same time, Jason asks. "And what do you mean by that?"
Danny narrows his mental eyes at his brother. You're the one who decided to lie to him. I'm not gonna fib any more than I have to. Not when Jamie's continued stability was at stake.
Out loud, the half ghost answers. "Jamie's never been that strong. He's had trouble with… being physically present. Like he can't be visible or tangible for very long." Not… technically a lie, right? "I'd been letting him hitch a ride, overshadow me." The vigilante gives a questioning look at the unfamiliar word and Danny offers a casual shrug, explaining. "That's what ghosts call possession. Anyway, by hitching a ride, Jamie could rest and get used to the powers he's too weak to use when I use them. He'd been slowly getting stronger, able to be out for longer and longer."
"That's a lot of trust." The neighbor cuts in. "Letting him share your body like that."
"I'd trust Jamie with my life." Danny says, completely sincere. "He really is like the little brother I'd never had. Besides," He shrugs. "having a psychic link is very helpful for building trust. Really makes two people of one mind." Even if Jamie was putting his growing ability to shield his mind to annoyingly proficient use right now.
Jason nods. "So the ectodejecto helped with the strength problem."
"Yep." Danny smiles dimly, remembering the excitement that first morning after Jamie lasted the night. Then his lips twist into a frown. "Until he started melting and put us back at square one."
Not exactly back at square one. Jamie hesitantly reminds, more than a hint of guilt shaking the words.
No, we're not. Danny replies. His heart twists; he hadn't been meaning to make his brother feel guilty. We're not back at square one. And even if we were, this isn't your fault.
Jamie says nothing, guilt continuing to swirl.
Obvious to the internal conversation, Jason asks. "You don't happen to have more of that ectodejecto, do you?"
Danny turns his attention back. "No. Do you think it would help though?"
"It couldn't hurt to try." The man leans back in his chair, sighing. "Especially if it's not actually a complete cure."
"What do you mean?" The half ghost's brow winkles.
"You said you used it once on your other clone and on Jamie. It got rid of the melting. But for Jamie, the problem came back." Jason pauses, continuing at Danny's nod of confirmation. "So maybe it needs more doses, or to be taken regularly, like someone taking pills to keep their HIV from turning into AIDS. Can't be cured but can be managed."
Danny blinks once. "Damn. I… I hadn't thought of that." His heart pounds, a dose of panic. "I need to get up with Ellie if that's the case."
"One thing at a time." The vigilante's voice is soothing, a held-up hand quieting the panic. "Do you know anyway to get more ectodejecto? Or how to make more?"
Right. Danny breathes, soothing his pounding heart. He needs to focus on the current problem. "My parents made it. But I know the recipe. I'll need some things." His brow furrows, already beginning to make a list. "Like fresh ectoplasm. The pure stuff, not stinky Lazarus water or whatever."
Jason's nose wrinkles at the reminder. Then he asks. "And how would we get ectoplasm?"
"I'll need a portal. Going home…" He shivers at the thought. "Or making one." He taps his chin, a idea blooming. "If I did have a portal though, I could get to the Far Frozen and ask Frostbite to take a look at Jamie." His eyes wide, brightening at the thought. That would be even better than just making more ectodejecto.
"Who's Frostbite?" The neighbor's quiet cuts through the blooming hope.
"A ghost he's helped me before. He's like a doctor." The corner of his lips turns up, fondly. "He really knows his stuff. Saved my life when my ice powers came in and I almost froze myself solid."
"Damn." Jason frowns, narrowing his eyes at the casually upsetting information. "This is a lot." He rubs the bridge of his nose. "I hate to say this but it looks like I'm gonna have to bring Bats in on this one."
At that, anxiety strikes again, radiating from Jamie's almost core.
Danny can't help but feel much the same. "What? Why?"
"We need to get you two to a portal and I know absolutely nothing about how to find or make one." He sighs. "Hopefully Bats can get up with a magic user from the JL who knows something."
"Oh. Okay." Danny bits his lip. He's wanted help but to so suddenly being bringing The Batman into all this…. "If you think so."
"I will figure out how to help you and your brother." The words are a promise, delivered with Jason's comforting smile. He stands, stepping towards the door. "Why don't you eat dinner? I've got some calls to make."
"And spilled food to pick up." Danny adds, his heart squeezing at thought of the man's lost groceries.
"That too." Jason barely grimaces at the reminder. "And pack yourselves a bag too. Bats will probably want me to take you both to the Cave while we get things figured out."
"Yeah." Danny nods. "I'll pack us some clothes."
"And eat." Jason points, more than a hint of disarming humor despite his sincerity. "You're eating for the two of you, Danny, so you better make it count."
The half ghost laughs, face turning bright red. "Don't ever say those words in that order ever again." If only their neighbor knew.