#Vista: *squinting* did they really make a mistake or you trying to lull me into a false sense of security

[mutable-manifestation]

#the worm fan in me would love to try to make this a worm crossover#but idk what character would work that well#danny phantom crossover prompt#dp crossover prompt#danny phantom crossover#dp crossover#dpxdc#dp x dc

Very early days Vista could be a goldmine.

She somehow sneaks into teleport range to go help at an Endbringer battle and ends up getting kidnapped by a Fallen group that happened to be in the area, got pissed when they saw her give some heavy hitter a clear shot, and couldn't help but noticed she was all alone and without a handy-dandy teamwork bracelet (bc sneaky) and decided "hey, free sacrifice!"

A cape really is the best option for a sacrifice, they decide. And one so strong! My, how very fortuitous.

The branch she's with has Master who can do simple vocal commands, so a quick "hey kid, don't use your powers, don't make any noise, and follow me (and later: "sit in the middle of the huge, bloody salt circle) et voila.

They don't bother with subtlety. They're The Fallen, people know what they're about - and she's gong to be dead soon anyway - so who cares if she learns about the ritual that may allow them to summon a fourth Endbringer.

So she's sits there, fuming and terrified while a good dozen or more villainous capes chant ominously around her.

It's awful enough knowing they'll either kill or brainwash her after their insane attempt inevitably fails.

It's worse, she decides, when the ritual begins to work.

The blood disappears into the salt and the whole things begins to glow a soft, neon green even as a cool mist slithers across the ground around there ankles - just thin enough to see through easily.

Tiny specks of light in every color bloom into being all over the room at waist height, and she can almost make out a sort of swirling pattern.

It would almost be beautiful if not for the kidnapping part of the situation.

And the clear delighted awe that lights every one of the Fallen's faces even as they continue their chant.

And the oppressive sense of other that has her hindbrain screaming at her to freeze, don't move, don't breathe, don't let it notice you you are but a speck you will not survive.

For the first time since she joined the Wards, she feels every bit the tiny child that everyone insists on treating her as.

Then a being appears in the circle above her, and, contrary to expectation, the oppressive feeling disappears.

The "Endbringer" looks like a teenager. White hair, eyes the same color as the salt circle now was, a sea of freckles that reminded her of the galaxy of the lights - which had sunk into the fog around their ankles when he appeared - and simple black and white body suit with a weird-looking "D" on the chest.

He looks like he could be any cape with a Changer aspect to their power. Or the mildest Case 53 she'd ever seen.

Then he looks at her first and, despite the oppressive feeling disappearing, she's horrified.

The ritual was meant to summon an Endbringer. And here was someone or something brought forth by the ritual.

The ritual for which she was provided as a sacrifice.

And she can't do anything. Can't run. Can't fight.

She can't even open her mouth to scream.

And then he turns to The Fallen and says something in that same strange chant language.

Whatever they say in return, it clearly makes him very unhappy judging by the way his expression instantly twists fury and disgust.

He doesn't bother responding, instead slamming down onto the floor like he'd finally decided to allow gravity to remember he existed and causing pillars of ice to shoot out in a circle around them, slamming most of The Fallen far away to bounce off of or dent the walls of the large room.

Two people get right back up - Brutes, Vista guesses - but that the last she sees of them before she's tackle through the floor by the possible-Endbringer.

And then they're away, shooting through solid earth without touching any of it before eventually breaking into air to fly high above the ground.

In the sky, all she can see of him - and herself - is a faint outline.

Eventually, the possible-Endbringer stops and says things at her in that weird language.

Then.

"Right. Sacrifice. You probably don't speak that. Uh, can you understand English?"

Vista doesn't not move or speak, still trapped in the sway of a Master power.

With a vague feeling of horror, she wonders if it's permanent.

Wonders if she'll be alive long enough for that to matter.

Oh sure, he doesn't look like an Endbringer, but neither had the Simurgh before the world learned better.

Thankfully for her nerves, he decides to continuing in English, awkwardly introducing himself as Danny and voicing hopes that she can at least understand him even if she can't respond.

He promises to do his best to get her back to her home, and she wonders what could be next after the Hopekiller. The Trustkiller, maybe?

They talk off again, flying in silence for some undetermined amount of time, and it's only when they can finally see a city in the distance that Vista feels all of her muscle untense at once.

She sucks in a harsh breath - the first breath she's made under her own power in at least hours at this point - and Danny takes that as his cue to land.

She's grateful for it for several reasons, the most immediate being her sudden and intense need to evacuate her stomach.

He holds her hair for her, and rubs soothing circles on her back.

"It's okay," he says softly. "You're safe. You're okay. You made it out. You're out, and free, and you managed to keep it together until you were safe. You did great, you're safe now."

She wants to be angry, being talked at like some kind of baby, but she can't bring herself to feel anything but relief as she flexes her powers to put distance between herself and the...and what was left of last night's dinner.

She could put distance between herself and "Danny" too if she only twisted a bit to break the contact and get enough space between them to work with.

Except.

This "guy" could actually be an Endbringer.

She hopes he's not doesn't think he's an Endbringer, but she will treat him with every ounce of caution she has until proven otherwise. And as a cape, as a hero, that means she needs to be certain before she goes...letting him into civilization to maybe hurt people.

(The fact that helping discover a fourth Endbringer before it brings a horrible disaster might help her avoid getting in trouble now that they definitely knows she's missing is irrelevant. Mostly).

aaaaand idk how to really take the scene from here and I'm tired so : New Perspective time

***

Back in Brockton Bay, Vista's parents reported her missing the second she wasn't in bed when they woke up.

As a Ward, there is no "wait time before you can be considered missing," so the PRT get people to searching immediately.

It takes a day and a half to find the strange blur on a camera that makes them suspect she snuck into the Endbringer battle, and footage from the staging area proved them right.

There's a mixed sentiment of "she's not dead until we find a body" and "she's totally dead and there might not even be a body left to find." Which opens up room for all sorts of interpersonal drama.

Her parents are already grieving hard - both of them are in the "our poor baby is dead *sobbing*" camp.

Quite the opposite to the usual outcome, the death of their child is what makes them mend their relationship. Because she always hated their fights and how they never seemed to get along anymore and maybe if they'd tried a little harder she wouldn't have run off.

It's their fault, they know, because she had a habit of running away from home, and she'd made it very clear that it was their faults she was leaving.

They'd dismissed it as childish tantrums.

They'd take her as seriously as she wanted if she would only come back, they mourn, vowing to be better towards each other in her memory.

So that'll be an interesting thing to come back to.

DP X DC Prompt

Danny gets summoned by a cult.

again.

Unfortunately, this time they tried to give him a sacrifice in the form of a small child.

Fortunately, the kid is still alive at that point in the summoning since the cult was operating under the assumption that he wanted to eat them alive or something (which. gross! but useful for him at least).

They make it out of the area that the summoning took place in pretty easily, but now they have to do a cross country trip in order to get the kid back to their family while trying not to draw the cults attention (which they already did once after attempting to contact the kid's guardian in a nearby town)

in the meantime though, this kid is acting pretty sketchy...

aka the cult accidentally (or even purposefully) used a kid that's related to a cape in one fashion or another and now said child is on a cross-country trip with a being of unknown ethics and abilities.

who are they and what do they do?