#danny as his big brother. but in that moment danny is even larger than life than when dick was a kid and still younger than him

[merchantziro]

Ok I love Danny being scared of Vlad because of trauma, but consider...

The entire time he's realized Vlad is here, Danny has beennsilent and tries to ignore him in order to focus on keeping his emotions in check, just so he doesn't do something he'll regret later.... It's not working.

"Anyway now that I've found, we can finally go home and be a family again... Come along, Daniel."

Vlad grabs Danny's wrist to drag him away from Dick, and in that moment... all hell breaks loose when Danny pulls Vlad towards him and reels back his other hand.

"Shut... The... Hell up, F̷͔͇̞̝̲͋͆̌͛̀̃R̸̛̛̦̖͔̰̳̩͖͐̓́͊̆̇̉̓͗̔̑̑̚͝ͅǛ̴̖͗̎͊͑͂I̷̳̪͔̠̭̻̥̺̻̬̒͋̎̇̎̃̇̽̏̇͘͜T̶̪͇̟̿̍L̵̼̠̰͉̘̦͇̗̭̫̞͍͕̠͆͜͠Ǫ̷͈̥̟̠̮̭̥̝͇͈̥͓̐̈̒̅̔͌͜ͅỠ̴̧̡͉̦̱̱̲͓̠̦̼̗̘͈̬̊̏̅̊͆̀͂͐̾̇͆͘̚͝P̶̛̳̥͌̍̀̏̈́͑̄̏̋̕͘͠͠!!!"

Masters barely saw the glowing green eyes of Phantom before he could react, Danny unconsciously tapping into his ghost powers to fire a powerful point blank blast, stronger than any blast he used in the past. Danny Fenton growls with fury and determination, ignoring the blood now leaking out of his mouth as his focus is solely on his tormentor, currently flying into a tree and knocked unconscious for just a few seconds.

Danny himself used so much power in the blast though, that he's only still standing through sheer adrenaline and spite before he runs off with Dick to evade Vlad once more. Determined to never let Masters take him away from his family, not again...

The full force of how much energy he did use however doesn't hit him until the adrenaline finally wears off, putting Danny out of commission for a full two weeks as a result. It might be the second worst condition the Bats have found him in... Next to what Bruce witnessed when he met Danny.

Anyway that's my idea for Danny having an (unfortunate) reunion with Vlad at least.

I am loudly pushing the batdad agenda i am loudly pushing the— DPxDC Prompt

“Woah. You look like shit."

Granted, that’s probably not the first thing Danny should be saying to the guy that just bit the curb, but in his defense; he’s not running on 100% right now either.

The man -- tall, towering, and broader than Danny is tall -- whips around on his heel, black frayed cape flaring out impressively. Danny would've whistled in appreciation, but he takes the time instead to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood running from his nose across his cheek.

"Sorry." He blinks widely, not even flinching as the man with the horns zeroes in on him. "That was rude of me. I have a really bad brain-to-mouth filter; Sam says its what always gets me into trouble."

And she's not wrong either, per say. His smart mouth is what landed him in this situation -- with blood blossom extract running through his veins and cannibalizing the ectoplasm in his bloodstream. Thanks Vlad.

The man grunts at him; a short, curt "hm" that shouldn't make Danny smile, but he does because he's somewhat delirious and probably concussed. The man keeps some kind of distance, sinking towards the shadows of Gotham's alleyway like he dares to melt right into it.

If it's supposed to scare Danny, it doesn't work. Danny's never been afraid of the dark; he's always been able to hide himself in it. He blinks slowly at the mass of shadows.

"You look hurt." The shadows says, blurring together around the edges. Danny squints, and licks his lips to get the blood dripping down his chin off. Ugh, he hates the taste of blood.

"I am." He says, "My godfather poisoned me. M'dying." The agony of the blood blossom eating him from the inside out looped back around to numbing a while ago, so all he feels is half-awake and dazed.

"Hey," Danny stumbles forward towards the man, a bloodied hand reaching out to him. "You-- you're a hero, right? You're not attacking me; which is more than I can say for most costumed people I've met." Maybe it's a poor bar to judge someone at, but he's already established that Danny's not in his right mind.

The man makes no change in expression, but Danny realizes blearily that it's hard to tell with the shadows on his face. He stays still long enough for Danny to latch onto the cape -- stretchy, but almost soft under his fingers.

He looks up blearily into the whites of the man's eyes. "Can you help me? I don't-- I don't wanna die." Again. He doesn't wanna die again. He blinks slow and lizard-like. "I mean- I'll probably get to see mom and dad again, but I told them I'd at least try and make it to adulthood."

There's a clatter down the street, and Danny's ghost sense chills up his spine and leaves a bitter, ashy taste in his mouth. He immediately knows who it belongs to even before the deceptively gentle; "Daniel?" echoes down the way.

"Daniel? Quit your games, badger, Gotham is dangerous for children."

Danny's mouth pulls back, and blood spills against his tongue. "Please." He rasps, and grabs onto the shadow's cape with both hands. "Please. He's going to kill me. Please--"

"Daniel? Is that you?"

His lips part, dragging in air to plead with the darkness again. He doesn't need to, the whites of his eyes narrow, and the cape whirls around him before Danny can blink. Soon swaddled in shadows, the Night lifts him up, and steals him away.

[housethemd]

Did Anybody Ask For My Personal Opinion On Who Wilson’s Other Brother Is? On The Larger Wilson Family Structure? On Wilson’s Life Before He Met House?

No? Okay perfect.

The oldest is David Wilson. He’s 4-5 years older than James. He was always smart, and received a lot of praise for all his success. He is a lawyer, and is married with two children. He married young, which thrilled his parents.

Then there is Danny Wilson. I assume Danny is short for Daniel. He is 2 years younger than James. He was always kind of a loner, and while James and Danny did play together as very young kids, the older Danny got the less he had any interest in playing with others, including James. He was prone to getting distracted or overwhelmed in public places and James was always the one to make sure he stayed safe. His parents were always at a loss with what to do with him, but James always seemed to understand him.

Then of course our beloved James Wilson. Middle child, living in the shadow of his older brother and his younger brothers keeper. His successes were never celebrated the way David’s were, because even if he got straight A’s (which he did) David always did it first, and his family seemed to find things less impressive the second time around.

Forced to grow up early to care for his younger brother, he had a hard time relating to kids his own age so he spent a lot of time at home watching movies and TV. He did extracurriculars through his school when he got to high school to pad his resume (he already knew he wanted to go to med school) and while everyone liked him, he didn’t have any close friends.

He learns how to become what people want him to be. How to cater to their needs. He spends his whole life being what everyone else needs him to be.

The first time he strays from that is when Danny calls while he’s in med school studying for that big exam. He hangs up on him, and then Danny goes missing. His family doesn’t understand how he could hang up on his brother like that, why he would do that, they think it’s so out of character for him.

He meets Sam, and desperately wanting to get back in his family’s good books he marries her quickly. He wants to follow in his older brothers footsteps, do what you are supposed to do, want what you are supposed to want. So he marries Sam.

Two years later they are getting divorced. He gets the papers right before a medical conference. He carries them around, without the will to open them. He hasn’t told his family yet.

Someone keeps playing “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” on the jukebox. He asks nicely for them to stop, he really does, he tries to be the bigger person, to keep to the persona that he only dropped once because last time he dropped it he lost his brother, but he can’t. He’s pissed off by the song, but more so he’s pissed off that his persona means he can’t do anything about it, why does everyone need him to be so nice all the time? Care about their problems? What about him? He’s a person too, what about his problems?

And the anger boils over. He throws a bottle, breaks a mirror, and gets arrested. He’s sitting in a jail cell, trying to figure out how he’s going to tell his family that not only is he getting divorced but he’s gotten arrested and feeling like he has the worst luck in the world when a police officer comes in and says a friend is bailing him out. He’s confused, he doesn’t have friends.

Outside the jail, he meets Gregory House.

For the first time someone sees past the persona. No matter what he does House always sees past it, to the person he really is. The person he convinced himself no one would like.

For the first time, he has a real friend.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 7 - running from a crucifixion

Dp x DC AU: Regent!Jazz & Vigilante!Jazz

"Look, to you I'm different- it's 'cause I refuse to listen to all the stupid shit that you include in your opinion. I got enough issues trying to be a human living in a ruined system while I'm running from a crucifixion." -Monster in Me by From Ashes to New

Masterlist Part 6

Jazz felt a shiver run down her spine. 

Currently in her office sorting through another pile of paperwork, the Regent hadn’t been bothered by any denzien for the past few hours thanks to the guard outside her door barring all but a select few. It’d been nice to demolish one of the piles that weighed down her desk.

She had a feeling that Danny was doing something stupid. Or reckless, but she was betting on stupid.  

Her little brother had finally healed enough to transform into Phantom to join her nightly patrols, a welcome addition to her mostly routine nights so far, and Jason’s proto-core was healing at a decent rate. Frostbite’s original timeline for him to wake up probably was on point, if he continued to adjust to the pure ecto in his system as he had been so far. It was good news for the Fentons, soon they would be able to move Jason back to his haunt. And Jazz could get her bed back. 

(She ignored the part of her that would miss his firm presence at her back, the jumble of limbs she had to untangle herself from every time she left the bed.) 

(Jason seemed to gravitate to her proto-core’s warmth.)

(It did not make Jazz happy. Not at all.) 

(Frostbite had only offered her a secretive smirk at her questioning of how attracted attached she was to the once-revenant.)

(Damn Yeti.)

A moment taken to clear her head of such thoughts, Jazz stood up from her desk to stretch her heavy limbs. Life was settling, oddly enough, but when would that change? 

Witching Hours patrol was, admittedly, Jazz’s favorite time of night- Crime Alley was alive while the world outside slept. There were good people who called the Alley their home, their haunt if you will, and the Regent found herself gravitating towards the street walkers when she wanted company during the slow moments. 

They were people doing a job and Jazz had nothing but respect for them. Interwoven as a tight-knit community, a new vigilante hanging about was disconcerting. The Regent was a steadfast presence though and was gradually wearing them down, but Jazz was sure her willingness to beat down the assholes who push their luck helped her case. 

Armored to the teeth with her ecto-sword at her side, she kept a watchful eye during the Alley’s Witching Hours patrol. The big bat himself had refused to cross into the Hood’s territory, but a few of the birds and smaller bats had no such qualm. 

With the King and his Regent’s aid of the Haunt of the Red Hood, the Shades that claimed shelter from larger predators would eagerly warn of approaching intruders, especially those that came with less than neutral intent.

Robin was one such intruder. 

The  youngest of the flock, a fellow sword wielding vigilante, the Robin was a strange bird. 

He felt like Jason did now, but younger, less corrupt than the ecto in the once-Revenant. Perhaps it was due to his age, but there was little doubt that the baby bird would become a powerful baby ghost when it was his time. 

(Lady Gotham had no more of herself left to give, should one of her knights meet an end.) 

(She had given of herself for Jason, the once and Future Hope of Gotham.)

The Regent, brought to attention by a Shade, turned to the Bird in her presence. 

“Good Evening, Robin.” Her voice echoed with a soft cadence. “What brings you to the Hood’s Haunt?” 

The small bird scowled, irritation all but leaking from his very being, “Where is Red Hood?” 

Though he couldn’t see her expression from underneath her helmet, Jazz tried not to let her shock be obvious. 

(What had led the bird to her?)

“Pardon?” 

“Do not waste time, tell me where my brother is and I will not hurt you.” 

(Oh, wasn’t that adorable.) 

Jazz craned her neck farther downward as she stepped closer, not daring to raise her sword from its lowered position at her side. 

The Robin froze as she stood toe to toe with him, the Shades of the Alley surrounding them both as they hissed their displeasure with his threat. 

(Much later, Jazz would soak in the feeling of belonging she received from the Shades.) 

(The Regent was theirs.)

Robin was surely catching the charged energy in the air around them. 

“I do not deal with threats, young bird, when they come from children who should not be heroes.” Jazz hissed, before she softened her tone. “Enough children have died for the sins of their parents.” 

(Danny.) 

(Ellie.) 

(Dan.) 

(Jasmine.) 

“If there is anything I can tell you,” the bird was frozen in shock, perhaps fear, as Jazz continued once more, “Jason will return and he will be free from his corruption, Robin.” 

The Regent did not stick around, instead allowing gravity to bring her down once she jumped from the rooftop. Hopefully Robin would understand something of what she said, but Jazz wasn’t going to get her hopes up. 

Tim did not like mysteries so close to home. 

Home being his siblings, his family, and nothing got his hackles raised more than a mystery that threatened the safety of his people. 

Jason had vanished, no communication in or out prior to his disappearance almost two weeks prior. Usually not a concern, but the Outlaws were all accounted for and had no knowledge of where Red Hood was. 

Or what he had been up to. 

When trying to find a missing person, it usually helped to know what they had been doing beforehand, but Jason was a miser when it came to his personal interests- which included civilian and vigilante activities. Sure, he allowed Oracle to connect him to the main channel, but he had yet to use it. 

Then there were the trackers. 

Tim had three of his own in each of his siblings, one for mask and uniform and two that could be used to record vitals remotely. Bruce had approved of such paranoid foresight, of course he did, and his siblings had only accepted it and moved in, but Jason had adamantly refused Bat-monitoring of any kind- trackers included. 

Though Cass had seen fit to convince their wayward brother otherwise. 

Lo and behold, Tim had been given access to Jason’s only tracker- code withheld by their silent sister until it was clear that Red Hood was missing. 

The best part? 

It was embedded in his chest, in his very body and despite the interference of something making his vital records a rollercoaster of confusing read outs, it proved that Jason had been very much alive on the day of the last Arkham breakout. 

The same breakout that Joker had been abducted and (supposedly) killed during, his head mounted like a grotesque trophy for the world to witness. 

It wasn’t a coincidence that the vitals went haywire within the same timeframe as the Breakout Alarm, was it? 

Tim triple checked the two times and yep, eerily same, though the biggest concern wasn’t that it was during Joker’s abduction, but the fact that the only vital to be recorded thanks to the strange interference was Jason’s heart rate- it’s max number reaching a distressing 230 bpm, before either the tracker finally gave up the ghost or … Jason did. 

It was the sort of thing Tim could only keep to himself for fear of sending Bruce down the path of madness again. 

It was unfortunate that Bruce seemed to come to the worst conclusion possible without Tim’s input.

The incidental meeting with the Ghost Kid, Phantom as he preferred, had thrown everything Tim believed about Death and Not-Death into a depressing tailspin, especially when he finally worked up the courage to sort through the documents and files on the flash drive. 

(And don’t get him started on which was weirder- a ghost having a flash drive or pulling said thing out of his chest like it was normal to have that ability.)

Bruce had not taken Phantom well. 

Not the ghost nor the information he dropped on Batman like a boulder; be it the fact that it was a dead kid he was speaking to, said kid pleading to not send him to war against the living, or an impending war with the Dead thanks to the Government fucking around and finding out. 

(Bruce had been livid.) 

(There were several people immensely grateful that Batman had a no killing rule.) 

(Otherwise heads would be rolling.) 

In all honesty, Tim wasn’t surprised anymore that the dumbasses messed up. 

What he was surprised about, was the lore of the Infinite Realms at his fingertips. It was fascinating that anyone could call these entities non-sapient when they had so many cultures and traditions, the Realms even had a monarchy! 

A powerful being that held several interesting titles according to Phantom’s files: Great One, Defender of The Light, Vanquisher of the Dark, the Once and Future King of Stars….

(Later, a bewildered Constantine would confirm that ‘yes, those are correct and not even close to all of them, how did you get this? Bloody hell, is this color-coded?’) 

(The files were, in fact, color-coded.)

(Green, Teal, Black and Red)

There were so many powerful entities on file, organized by their known power sets, preferred name, and their ‘danger rating’… and they were kept in the green section. 

(Strangely, a small ghost dog with the preferred name ‘Cujo’ was listed with two danger ratings- one for ‘small’ and one for ‘big’.) 

Phantom himself was listed with a mind-boggling power set that included almost the entirety of the Justice League’s own. The only note where it concerned his rating was ‘Spirit of Protection’, which Tim suspected meant that Phantom wasn’t a fighter unless he had to be one, but the power set given made him concerned about what exactly Phantom could be protecting that needed all that. 

The last listed in the high rating category was named only as ‘The Regent’, with the titles of ‘Lady of the Acropolis’ and ‘Death-Claimed Champion’. The picture was of a tall knight in black and teal armor, helmet fully obstructing their face much like the ‘Fright Knight’, bearing a long sword of some intricate design…. And bracelets he’d only seen worn by none other than Wonder Woman. 

Oh yeah, Batman was gonna have a field day.

A/N: Forgot to mention that the song quotes at the beginning are more there for decoration or what songs I was listening to as I wrote. All of them are added to the Jazz/Jason playlist I have.

The idea for the files came from the AO3 fic 'Batman, Meet Team Phantom', this specific chapter. Also, an Anger management ship fic that I've reread several times now. Not a copy, but I really liked the idea.

[paulo-pup]

Task 5: Family

Describe your character’s biological family. Do they know their family? Were they raised by them?

Paulo is the middle child of Valentino (Val) and Isabella Martinez. He has an older brother, Valentino Jr (Tino) and a younger brother, Rafael. Tino and his wife, Hannah, have quintuplet teenagers--Valentina, Gabe, Angel, Maya, and Carlos. Paulo has an infant son, Paulo Jr, often affectionately called PJ. It is a large family, only made larger with many aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents still living in the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, Paulo has never physically met any of them, though the power of video chatting has allowed him to finally get introduced. Largely, he’s only ever known his immediate family. He was raised by both of his parents, who are extremely loving and supportive of all of their children.

What was your character’s relationship like with their parents? Their siblings?

Paulo has a great relationship with his parents. They supported him completely growing up, often going to PTA meetings to fight anyone who had a problem, such as Paulo playing on the boys teams. When Paulo came out as trans, they were a little confused at first but open to learning. It didn’t take long for them to become Pride Parents, going to every pride event that followed. Individually, he is close to both of them but in different ways.

Looking at father and son, you’d be surprised to learn they were even related. While Paulo is extroverted and talkative, his father is quiet and thoughtful. In that regard, one might think they don’t get along but it is quite the opposite. Growing up, Val was Paulo’s safe space whenever he needed to get away or something was too overwhelming. He always gave him the ability to relax, unwind, and never pressured him to talk about what he was going through. Sometimes, they would just spend hours fixing up an old car and not even saying a word. Whenever he needs a moment to think, he always knows he can go to his Dad.

Meanwhile, it is very obvious that Paulo is the son of Isabella. She is where he inherited his joyfulness and zest for life. Get the two of them in a room together and it will be a non-stop whirlwind of barely intelligible Spanglish. Growing up, Isabella was always the one that Paulo went to if he needed advice. They would butt heads sometimes, as Paulo was a “tomboy” and his mother wished that he would’ve been more feminine, having no other daughters. She was the one who expressed the most disappointment at losing her “only girl”. But after some education and heartfelt exchanges, she came around completely and is now a proud mother of three wonderful sons.

There is a ten year age difference between Tino and Paulo, and a four year age difference between Paulo and Rafael. This uniquely shaped both of their relationships. In Paulo’s eyes, Tino was the perfect man. He was who he wanted to be when he grew up. In that regard, he was always following him around and bothering him, which a teenage Tino absolutely despised. Paulo was the definition of an annoying little brother and Tino wanted nothing to do with him for a long time. It wasn’t until he got to college and started growing up a little that he came to understand that Paulo only wanted his love, and so he gave it more freely. He was there for Paulo throughout all of his transition and encouraged him to do the things he loved, such as taking a history minor. In their adulthood, Tino has been Paulo’s rock, helping him every step of the way, especially now that he’s a father. Honestly, Paulo has no idea where he would be without his brother.

Out of all the children, Rafael is most like his father, introverted and shy. In that regard, Paulo was the one dragging Rafael around everywhere, helping him make friends and come out of his shell. Being closer in age, the two were more likely to have brotherly fights and sometimes had to be broken up. In the end, Paulo would always apologize (as he was usually the one who started it) and they’d make up in a jiffy. In their adulthood, they maintain a nice relationship. Rafael has accepted himself as a less outspoken being than his family members and is fine if he only sees and talks to them once or twice a week. Paulo loves to keep up with his life and catch up the few times they do get to talk.

Found family can be just as important, if not more important than a biological family. Describe your character’s found family, and what their found family means to them.

One might think that because Paulo has a large, close-knit, healthy biological family, that he would not need a found family. Not so! Paulo cherishes many people in his life and considers those who he loves his family.

First, there is the friend group that has been with him since the beginning. Michael, Donald, Godfrey, Minnie, Daisy, and Clara--these were the people he grew up with and know everything about him. He would do absolutely anything for any of them and although sometimes they are apart, their relationships never diminish. Michael especially is his closest friend, closer to him than his brothers and his lovers, with an intensity that he doesn’t fully understand yet.

Ollie is another who recently joined their found family. They have been a lifesaver in helping take care of PJ, and he genuinely loves having them around. More than that, though, he can tell how desperately they want a family and he wants to be able to provide that. He is always inviting them over to family events and has accidentally introduced them as his cousin several times.

Overall, how did the idea of family affect your character.

Family is everything to Paulo. It has been such a necessity in his life and is largely the reason he seems so well-adjusted compared to many other Redwood Hollow residents. Paulo feels genuine hurt for those who don’t have a family and will offer his own for those willing to be open to it. He thinks its so important for everyone to have a system of love and support and thus tries to provide that wherever he can.

Thinking about the future, do they want to make a family of their own? What would that look like to them?

Well, he already has his own family. He has PJ. And he would be perfectly fine if it was just him and PJ for the rest of his life. But secretly, he does wish he had a romantic partner. Specifically, he wishes that PJ’s biological father, Finn, would come back and help raise his son. At the current moment, he does not want to have anymore kids but if he was in a committed, lifelong relationship, he would definitely consider having more.

Family Template (in order of appearance, left -> right, top -> bottom)

Valentino Martinez (FC: Danny Pino) - Val was born in the Dominican Republic into a small, but loving family. He met the love of his life, Isabella, when he helped her with her broken car on the side of the road. It wasn’t long before the two were married. They stayed in the Dominican Republic long enough for Isabella to finish her studies before she got a job opportunity in the United States. They packed up their things and took the first flight to a small town called Redwood Hollow.

Val was always the more introverted of the two, only compounded by the fact that he was not very confident in his English. He got a job at the local auto shop and spent his life working there, in between raising his family as the couple began to have children. He is extremely devoted to his family, as he often feels isolated as an immigrant and doesn’t have many friends. He’s tried to teach his sons everything he knows, which according to himself, isn’t a lot. Very recently, he’s retired from his mechanic job and now spends his time with his two favorite hobbies: anime and guitar.

Isabella Martinez (FC: Karen Olivo) - Isabella was born in the Dominican Republic into a very large and boisterous family. She always had a hard time standing out and would thus overcompensate in order to get attention. She met the love of her life, Val, when he helped fix her broken car on the side of the road. She married him in between her university studies of history, where her professor used some connections in the States to get her a job offer. They packed up their things and took the first flight to a small town called Redwood Hollow. 

Isabella was always the more extroverted of the two, going out of her way to talk to people and make friends. She got a job at as an administrative clerk at the Hill Family Factory, where she got close to many of the other workers. She was constantly inviting people over, throwing parties, and showing off her lovely children to anyone who would listen. Her fiery personality is a double edged sword, as she is quick to anger and very stubborn. You would want to be on her good side but you really would not want to be on her bad side. She is the matriarch of the Martinez clan and makes sure that everyone stays close, no matter where their lives take them. Every Sunday she hosts a family dinner, though it is open to anyone. One day, she dreams of retiring from her job and opening a doggie grooming boutique. There has never been a point in her life where she hasn’t had a dog, though she prefers smaller breeds.

Valentino Martinez Jr (FC: Carlos Penagava) - Tino is a born and bred Redwood Hollow citizen. He grew up thinking he was cooler than everyone else and spent far too much time trying to prove it. He felt he needed to get out of the Redwood Hollow dump and live in the big city. He went to college in Chicago, where his small town bubble burst and he started to see just how hard people’s lives could really be. He switched majors and joined his college’s medical school, where he trained to be a nurse. It was while he was in college that he met his future wife, Hannah Cooper. After they got married and graduated, the two decided they wanted to have a family and it was Tino who suggested they move back to Redwood Hollow to do so.

They got a little more than they bargained for. Expecting to have one child, maybe two, they instead found themselves with quintuplets. It was a good thing they returned to Redwood Hollow, as they needed the help of the full Martinez family to raise these kids. Tino used this time to reconnect with his family and was truly grateful for their help. Now that his kids are teenagers, he’s a little less frazzled trying to juggle his family and career. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rafael Martinez (FC: Carlos Valdes) - Rafael is a born and bred Redwood Hollow citizen. He grew up mostly keeping to himself, too shy to make more than a handful of friends. He was a bookworm through and through, and often could be found in the corner of his mother’s social gatherings, ignoring everyone else.

The people that he most connected to were children. He is naturally good with kids and they bring out a different side of him that not a lot of people get to see. This was a huge help when it came to watching his nieces and nephews. He went to college to get his bachelor’s in education and has gone back to get his master’s for teaching. He knows he could get a job without it but he wants to be the absolute best teacher he can be in order to help every child (also a bigger salary doesn’t hurt). Especially with the quintuplets growing up, he really only sees his family for Sunday dinners and he’s fine with that. The love never diminishes from any side.

Hannah Martinez-Cooper (FC: Yael Grobglas) - Hannah was born in Chicago, though moved around most of her life due to her parent’s work. Once it was time to go off on her own, she decided to revisit her roots and found a place in the windy city, where she went to beauty school. She met Tino, and the rest was history. At first, she was resistant to moving to her husband’s hometown, but she agreed it would be better to raise a child there than in the city. What she wasn’t expecting was five children at once. In the end, she was very glad to have her husband’s family there to help.

Hannah is, for lack of a better word, basic. She works as a hairdresser at the local salon and asks you how your kids are doing. She is the type of person who has wooden “Live, Laugh, Love” and “Bless this Mess” signs all over her house. She has a wine glass with “Wine O’ Clock” etched into it which she drinks out of every night. She shares minion memes on Facebook. Despite all of this, the Martinez family has claimed her as one of their own and love her very much.

Valentina Martinez (FC: Isabela Merced) - Valentina is the first born of the Martinez quintuplets. She works hard to be the perfect child--getting good grades, volunteering, extracurricular activities, and a goal of becoming valedictorian. Much like her father before her, she thinks she needs to get out of Redwood Hollow and make a name for herself. Doing what? Everything, of course.

Gabriel Martinez (FC: Brandon Arreaga) - Gabe is the second born of the Martinez quintuplets. He is the class clown of the siblings and has used it to his advantage, becoming a TikTok star. He’s always posting comedy videos and prank videos, especially of his other siblings. At any given time you can find him looking at his phone.

Angel Martinez (FC: Ariela Barer) - Angel is the third born of the Martinez quintuplets. In the last year, they came out as non-binary, empowered by their uncle Paulo. They are the president of the Redwood Hollow GSA and will take any opportunity to school you on issues of social justice. They are Extremely Online and spend their free time writing My Hero Academia fanfiction.

Maya Martinez (FC: Emily Tosta) - Maya is the fourth born of the Martinez quintuplets. Following in her Uncle Paulo’s footsteps, she is a hardcore jock. She has tried every sport under the sun, though her favorites are hockey, lacrosse, and field hockey. Unlike Paulo, she is fine to play on the girl’s teams, as she really likes girls.

Carlos Martinez (FC: Ricky Garcia) - Carlos is the fifth born of the Martinez quintuplets. As the youngest, Carlos has a hard time trying to stand out, especially with the eccentric personalities of his siblings. He tends to fade in the background, which makes excellent angst and muse for his budding music career. He’s taking guitar lessons from his grandfather.

Paulo Martinez Jr - PJ is the son of Paulo Martinez and Finn Fischer. As a one year old, he doesn’t have much history but he is developing quite the personality. He’s a bright and curious kid, always looking to explore and put anything he can in his mouth. While he can get fussy easily, he’s just as easy to calm down with a quick distraction. He’s very sociable, open to be held by anyone, but watch out because he will pull your hair. His favorite toy is a little dog plushie and his favorite game to play is “I throw my toy and you give it back to me”. He has yet to say his first word but he will certainly babble your ear off. He is the crown jewel of the Martinez family and is beloved by all. This will surely not lead to a big head with age.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Dad Fluff: Ohana

A followup to this very short drabble about Mina drawing a family photo! 

CW: Vague references to Danny’s past torture, but nothing specific. Brief referenced to enforced malnourishment/near starvation.

“You’re officially obs-… obsessing,” Nate says softly, dropping onto the couch next to Danny, leaning over and tilting his head to try and get a better look at his face. “L-Love, talk to me. You’ve been looking at th-th-the picture she drew for… longer than can be g-good for you.”

“I wasn’t in the picture,” Danny whispers, still holding it in his hands. Looking at the stick-figure attempts to draw Nate and Mina herself and even Toto, a ball of black and brown squiggles with eyes. “I don’t know why, why she wouldn’t-”

“Danny,” Nate says seriously, taking the paper from his hands and turning it over. “You are the p-p-picture. Look at you, here.” He points, tapping his finger against the drawing with a soft crackling sound as the paper shifts in his hand. “You’re so… you are s-s-such the center of her life that she didn’t have en, enough room to draw you if you didn’t have your very own s-side.”

Danny’s lips press slowly together, and he nods, but he doesn’t look convinced. “I never drew myself in, um, in the pictures, either,” He says, finally. “I used to draw Mom and Dad and Ryan on one side, and… and, um, then myself over in the corner or on another paper, because that’s how it felt-… sometimes I didn’t draw me at all…”

“Danny.” Nate set the drawing down entirely, laying it carefully on the coffee table, taking Danny’s hands in his. “Look at me, love. Please.”

Danny’s jaw is locked but trembling as he raises his eyes, slowly, to meet Nate’s.

They’re both older, and stronger, and Nate likes to think wiser, but Danny’s eyes are still the same. Bright sparkling blue, the only time in his life Nate has seen the color blue and called it warm. His freckles have deepened with time, rather than faded, and Nate lifts one hand to cup his face, rubbing a thumb slowly over an old scar on his cheek, feeling the shift in skin texture under his touch. 

“This is n-not that family.” Nate keeps his voice gentle but firm, not quite insistent. Danny nods, but he’s scared, and the fear shows through even when he tries to hide it. He’s never been a good liar, and he’s a worse liar with Nate. “I kn-know we all bring things from our childhoods-… but we are not your parents. And Mina is not Ryan, and she isn’t y-you, either.”

“It just felt like-”

“Like you weren’t part of us,” Nate says softly, and Danny nods. Nate sighs and slides his hand down Danny’s neck, over the hints of scarring there, then curves his palm around Danny’s shoulder, pulling him close. Wavy red hair tickles against the side of his neck as Danny’s tension collapses. “This is your family, Danny. We w-worked hard to build it. We… we worked so hard to get the fucking ch-chance to build it. This is our f-family. And you’re her whole world.”

“She drew my scars. She drew them in bright red, they’re what she sees, it’s all anyone ever sees, is what h-he left on me-”

“Ssssshhhhh. I know that was h-hard to see.” Nate closes his eyes, tries to remember what he and Dr. Rosa had talked about when it came to helping Danny through his dark moments, encouraging him to keep talking, to pull himself back. “Did you h-hear what she called them?”

“My… my pretty marks,” Danny whispers, and Nate begins to run his thumb on Danny’s shoulder through his long-sleeved shirt, thinking of doing this in Alberta, feeling the shift of bones under his thumb when Danny had so little weight at all. Now there is a gentle roundness, strength he’d rebuilt in himself year by year. “She called them pretty marks.”

“There. She didn’t see them as bad, D-Danny, she just sees them as part of you. The same way she calls that weird thing on your hip your ‘blue spot’.”

“It… it is an actual blue spot on my hip, though,” Danny says doubtfully. “I stabbed myself with a marker at the last group home before Mom… It is a blue spot.”

“And your marks are p-pretty to her.”

“I just… it hurts, to see me not in the picture again, Nate.”

“I know. But she’s n-not you. She didn’t d-d-do that because she didn’t think you belonged with us, but because she c-c-couldn’t fit how important y-you were when the rest of us were in the way.” Nate’s efforts are rewarded with a nearly-silent huff of laughter from the man in his arms. “I know it’s h-hard not to bring it with you… I sometimes want to g-go to confession and I haven’t b-been Catholic since I was s-s-seventeen…”

“What’d you confess to?” Danny asks, curling more against him, and Nate sighs with a kind of relief as he pulls him closer. “Just… sucking dick?”

“Yes.”

Danny blinks and pulls back, looking up at Nate with surprise. “Did you actually? To a priest?”

Nate grins, and watches Danny’s internal battle between his need to still be sad over the injury in his mind and the idea of a sixteen-year-old Nate Vandrum talking about blowjobs in the confessional booth. “Couple of t-t-times. Some oth, other stuff, too. I was a really bad C-Catholic.”

“If you did it and still went to confession, you might actually have been a pretty good one,” Danny says, and the two of them break up into relieved laughter, Danny’s hands splaying over his face not to hide his scars but just to hide his smile.

“Danny, you are M-Mina’s family. You’re w-w-with her every day, all day-”

“-Except during Mom’s Morning Out, which, I really wish they’d change the name of that fucking group-”

“… let me finish, D-Danny. Mina wants for nothing. She is warm, and fed, and educated, and clothed, and l-l-loved.”

“I was most of those things,” Danny says, softly, but he’s coming back, Nate can tell. Pulling himself out of the spiral inside his mind, starting to feel more present, less like he slipped beneath the surface of a dark pool. 

“You were some of th-them all of the t-t-time, but you never had them all, all of the t-t-time. And she does. You were the one who brought up adoption, you are the one who taught her the alphabet, you were the one to d-d-decide we weren’t going to watch those episodes I d-d-downloaded of Mister Rogers any longer and we’d let her watch s-s-something made in the last ten years-”

“I still watch them,” Danny says, softly. At Nate’s raised eyebrows, he shrugs. “Call it my confession. Forgive me, Father, for I have watched educational children’s programming from the eighties-”

“Hey, now. Some of us recovering Catholics like the ‘Forgive me, Father’ stuff, but… I’m n-n-not one of them.”

Danny flashes him a bright smile, and Nate feels an absurd sense of victory. He wants to raise his hands in triumph. He settles for pulling Danny in for a kiss. 

“Sorry, Professor,” Danny murmurs against his mouth.

“Now, see, I l-like you calling me Professor…”

Danny laughs, softly. “Put your tie and jacket on and I’ll take it right back off you again, Professor Vandrum. But… I… I get it. She drew me bigger than everyone else because I am important. And she probably thought, since it’s the same paper, that it still counted as being all together…”

“Kids tend to d-d-draw themselves larger than they really a-are, compared to other people,” Nate says softly. “If they feel secure, and s-safe. You saw how big M-Mina drew herself.”

“Right. Bigger than you,” Danny says, blinking, looking back down at the paper. “And I was the biggest person.”

“I h-hate admitting this, but you’re the one she g-g-goes to first when she’s scared, or hurt, or has a n-nightmare or feels sick to her stomach. You’re the one she asks for juice and ah, applesauce. That’s all you, Danny. You’re not part of our family, you are our family. We built every single thing we have because of you. You chose me-”

“-… was made for you…” Danny murmurs, and then stops when Nate shakes his head.

“No, love. You chose me, and didn’t l-let go. You chose to say y-yes when I asked. You chose to agree when Mina’s birthmom liked us in our profiles. You chose Toto at the H-Humane Society, you chose every single thing we are. You built your own f-f-family, love, and she can’t picture us without seeing you as b-b-bigger than everyone else.”

Danny nods slowly, rubbing at his face, at his eyes, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees. “Yeah… yeah, okay.”

“I know this is hard for y-you, love, and always will be, but… this is your family. You, and I, and Mina… and Toto… and, fuck, even your brother.”

Danny’s smile widens. “What do you think he’ll say if I send him a photo of what Mina drew and tell him she called them ‘pretty marks’?”

Nate shakes his head, leaning over to hold Danny’s face in one hand again, kissing his forehead, feeling the worry-wrinkles smooth under his mouth. “He’ll say, ‘it’s ab, about time someone other than Vandrum and I noticed you’re gorgeous’,” He says, softly.

Danny snorted. “He’s never called me gorgeous in my life or his.”

“Not to your face.”

Danny’s smile is infectious, and Nate pulls him in for a kiss knowing the tightrope has been walked, they’ve cleared the worst part of the shadows that threatened to sink their claws in - at least for now. 

They’ll have this conversation again, in a hundred different ways, every time something pushes Danny towards the fears and worries built by a lifetime of having to earn the love that should have been his birthright. They’ll have it every time Danny is reminded or forced to relive years spent desperately trying to earn the mercy of a man hellbent on his slow, inexorable destruction. 

But they have the foundation. They’ve laid the path, together. When one of them falters, the other holds the weight, until they can find their own way out. That is their marriage, and has always been, and will always be.

That is Danny’s family.

“It’s sm-small, and b-b-broken, but we made it ourselves,” Nate murmurs, and Danny lets out a peal of surprised laughter, loud enough that Nate shushes him, worried about waking Mina so soon after she’s fallen asleep. 

“Did you just quote Lilo and Stitch at me?”

“No.” Danny raises an eyebrow, and Nate puts his hands up in surrender. “I quoted it to m-myself!”

“No, it’s fine, I like that movie, you know I do.” Danny slides arms around his waist, holding him tightly. 

After a few beats of silence, Danny says softly, “Ohana means family, Professor Vandrum.”

“Family m-means nobody gets left behind.”

[nightmarenoise]

Just comparing two cartoons I love

I understand that nobody asked in any capacity, but here I go anyway:

It feels fair to compare Ducktales 2017 to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018), not only because they're only about a year apart and truly, what is a year, but also because they

1. Both use this style that looks like it jumped straight out of a comic book. Okay, it's mostly the solidly inked shadows, but it gives me, personally, comic-y vibes.

2. They have taken what's arguably the main characters (the triplets for DT, the Turtles for TMNT) and shaken the formula up a good bit. Were the triplets formerly indistinguishable and all had the exact same personality, interests and voice actor, they are now three entirely separate entities with different traits and appearances. And while the turtles had about one defining personality trait and looked basically the same, save for the color of their masks, Rise made them different species of turtle to justify giving them radically different designs and three-dimensional personalities. Both shows faced criticism for this decision from people who cannot deal with change. Despite this, in both cases, it just works and does so incredibly well.

3. The oldest bros wear red.

4. We have two middle bros associated with the color blue who are both voiced by Ben Schwartz.

5. Both shows have a focus on family, with Ducktales especially focusing on found family and Rise on brotherhood.

6. Anime references!

Ducktales has a larger cast overall, with a lot of different characters all interacting with each other and they all have the most pleasant voices I've ever heard in my entire life. It's all solidly animated, the style is consistent and the animation is fluid, the characters are diverse and they're all lovely in their own right, except for those who aren't. The writing is top notch. Everyone feels consistent despite the large cast and it's delightful to watch all those interesting people interact with each other in their own way. The show also handles its mystery elements and occasional action scenes incredibly well, building suspense and delivering laughs and gut punches without hesitation. They juggle different tones like a professional clown, except the true clown was us, the audience, all along, for ever having doubted them.

The overarching plot of Ducktales, for its first two seasons, was mostly to uncover the mystery of what had happened to the mother of the triplets and all that would entail. Mystery and mythical elements will likely continue to be afoot for season 3.

Rise works with less focal characters, we have the Turtles, Splinter and April as well as various bad guys, but more than makes up for it with a lot of animation. A lot a lot of animation and it's all high quality. There's usually so much going on on-screen that a watching it once isn't enough to catch it all. Despite that, it doesn't feel crowded or rushed. Lots of dynamic shots and incredibly-choreographed action scenes, but nothing the thoroughly solid writing has to hide behind. Even when the baddies aren't the main concern, they're still well-rounded, interesting characters with unique abilities and motivations. Although, most of the mutants are just really feral. Still a delightfully diverse cast.

The turtles on the other hand spent their first season trying to foil their various foes, from a yokai trying to mutate all of humanity, to his mutants, to dealing with random mythical stuff, to the nefarious Foot Clan trying to reassemble the Dark Armor in the shadows. It's generally a more action-driven show, but they still find the time for some heartfelt moments.

The triplets 2.0

Despite their conventiently color-coded caps, they were really mostly the same character possessing three different bodies at a time. Well, the times of eerie The Shining like-twins, except extended to triplets, are over!

We have Huey, the oldest brother, voiced by Danny Pudi. He's a gentle, intellectual soul who values red hats, science, scout badges and checklists. Huey is arguably the closest in characterization to the original triplets, with some additional neat freak sprinkled in for flavor. He tries to be the responsible older sibling and keep his brothers under control and out of trouble. He also seems to have the most fiery temper of the bunch and should clearly not be pressed to the breaking point. He's my personal favorite and I heard season 3 will bring more focus to him, which makes me elated to hear. 888/10.

Middle child Dewey, the blue one, voiced by Ben Schwartz, who will inevitably come for all the iconic blue characters. He's very clearly the middle one, because he craves attention and validation and occasionally dreams of being an only child. Dewey is the one who started the investigation into their mom's disappearance and kept it from his brothers, partially to save them from hurt, but also because he wanted to feel special. He's the most interested in going on adventures with their uncle, but can get reckless when doing so. He's a bit of a spotlight hog, who has his own talk show that nobody watches and sings his own theme song when he needs to get hyped up, or just to fill this silence. This may sound kind of negative, but rest assured, he's a good, sweet boy. The focal triplet for the first season. 500/10.

Louie, the evil triplet, a schemer and a conman. Voiced by Bobby Moynihan.  The youngest of the bunch. While they call him evil, he's really far too lazy to cause serious harm, except for when it's his laziness that's causing him to take dangerous shortcuts, oops. He dreams of making a fortune, but without having to work for it and preferably without any responsibility either, thank you. He also occasionally dreams of being a spoiled fat cat. Despite his chill demeanor, he can be a bit of a crybaby and those tears are only fake 50% of the time. I feel like he likes getting babied, but mainly because that means there's less work for him to do. Season 2, which focuses more on him, reveals that he's actually quite brilliant, capable of seeing all the angles and giving him some chessmaster-like qualities. He needs to learn to use those abilities for good. 665/10.

Hi, she's Webbie! The honorary triplet, who also got a massive makeover, from annoying token girl tagalong to socially awkward, adorkable action girl. Be careful who you call ugly in middle school, indeed. Like a more ferocious  Mabel Pines, she has a grappling hook and years of martial arts training under her belt. Webbie can absolutely decimate you, but won't, because she's a sweet girl. Voiced by Kate Micucci. She continues to like unicorns and the color pink, but assuredly in the most badass of ways. She helped Dewey with his quest to uncover the mystery of his missing mom, but works well with all of the triplets, with Huey taking her under his wing a bit and Louie trying to get her to chill out more. Webbie is a sweetheart and I would die for her, were it not completely unnecessary, since she's more than capable of taking care of herself. ∞/10.

A lot of the supporting cast also saw updates and changes, for instance Gyro being a genius without social skills and Fenton being an adorkable scientist, but again, they work really well. They're interesting new takes on beloved characters. Even the new additions to the cast are great. In short, I love me some birds and am excited for season 3, Disney, get your scheduling together.

The Turtles 2.14.2 - I upgraded my upgrade in the middle of the upgrade

Also, these guys have seen so many different iterations in their, what, 30+ years of existence. As someone with no prior attachment to the turtle brand, I don't have a lot to say here. Leo's not the leader in this one and Raph has more personality than being angry at Leo for being the leader. Donnie is not just a random nerd spouting technobabble and Mikey has more depth than yelling the catchphrase every now and again. Apparently, this made people upset. I don't know how to help you with that.  The middle brothers exude some high chaotic energy and should not be left unsupervised, but the oldest and youngest seem fairly stable.

Raphael, the red-bandana'd alligator snapping turtle is an imposing figure. He's the oldest and therefore team leader by default. Raph has no reason to be upset at Leo, so he isn't. Despite his ferocious appearance, he's a soft guy, who likes teddies and doting on his brothers, but fears puppets. He's a bit of a knucklehead, most of his plans involve smashing things with his tonfa and he may refer to himself in the third person in the heat of the moment, but he possesses emotional intelligence, is open about his feelings and looks after his brothers. He is big and and strong, but his heart is bigger and stronger. He especially loves small animals animals, who don't usually return his feelings. RIP in F. This responsible guy is voiced by Omar Benson Miller. 300/10, very soft. Somehow both the heart and the big guy of the group.

Donatello has been upgraded from second-to-youngest to second-to-oldest, not that it makes much of a difference. His color of choice is purple and he continues in the character's tradition of being a nerd, although this time, with self-confidence. Donnie is very sure of himself and his abilities. As a spiny soft-shell turtle, he's less sure of his shell, but that's okay, he's made robotic battle shells to make up for it and his bō is the mother of all multitools. This guy can build you a tank out of a buggie and upgrade your animatronic into something to give the FNAF franchise a run for its money. He's the smartest of the four and when not focused on his phone, very focused on the mission. Due to having to deal with his bros, he can be exasperated a lot. Thinks of himself as an emotionally unavailable bad boy, even though he's just really sensitive and wants his dad or someone parent-aged to tell him they're proud of him. Theater kid. 999/10, give the middle child a hug and some coffee, you can't tell me he has a healthy sleep cycle. This sarcastic nerd is brought to you by Josh Brener.

Leonardo, Ben Schwartz's second blue character (Sonic (2020) being the third under his belt) and also his second ninja after Randy Cunningham. He's not the leader. He's still a good character. Leo has approximately 800 charisma and unwavering faith in both, his family and himself. Mostly himself though. Like Louie, season 2 revealed that he is a master of prediction and playing people like the cheap kazoo you can't tell me he doesn't have to play Darude's Sandstorm on. He dabs, he boards, he will pun you to death and back and he has an Odachi that can cut through space. Leo likes hogging the spotlight when given the chance and wants to be showered with attention and praise. Having four kids really only means twice the middle child nonsense. Leo is a red-eared slider, the original species of the TMNT, as I've been told. He's also the best at being a ninja, but usually too lazy to really apply himself. He's younger than Donnie, but tumblr suggested to read the two as twins, since they're approximately the same age, which sheds a whole new light on their dynamic and frankly, makes way too much sense. 420/10, for our memelord Leonardo.

Michelangelo, the eternally youngest of the bunch. An artiste, who puts stickers on himself, tags the lair, has a spiritual connection to his skateboard and the color orange. Mikey loves all things arts and craft, but he also tries his hands at cooking. He idolizes famous TV chefs and can do pretty much anything out of and into pizza. He's funny, without being annoying, like I feel a lot of other iterations of this character are. It's an easy pitfall for comic relief guys, but this one is more than that. If that's an issue, feel free to leave my house. Mikey is genuinely sweet and happy, optimistic and soft, but also the one brother who knows when it's time to take off the gloves and just get straight to the point. He's open about and in touch with his feelings. He's just baby. Don't treat him as one though. A lot of promo stuff says Leo has taken him under his wing, but he's had more episodes together with Donnie. Not that I'm complaining, they work very well together. Mikey and Raph are both the emotional centers of the group. Does not mind being yeeted after retracting into his shell, as box turtles may do. (Disclaimer, do not yeet actual box turtles!) His weapon of choice is a Kusari-Fundo that can turn into a fire-demon and is about as unpredictable as he is. Likes to jump and bounce around. Probably does parkour. Voiced by Brandon Mychal Smith who is audibly having a blast. 500/10, just an all around Kusari-fun guy.

For last, but certainly not least, April O'Neil, my girl, who saw an upgrade from flip-flopping love interest who was vaguely ninja-ing, but mostly damsel in distress-ing, to all-around spunky powerhouse and by God, she is glowing. Rise has her more as a big sister figure to the turtles, and I will not be told otherwise. She is independent and don't need no man, mutant or no. She has her teleporting pet, her faith in herself, her pinpoint baseball hitting skills and the a complete and utter lack of fear. Despite being a weirdness magnet, April is perfectly comfortable. She would like to be able to keep a job, maybe, but she has loving friends who respect and love her. Surprisingly good a ninja, fearless and fun. Occasionally thinks about being popular at school, but it's really not a big concern, she's not gonna throw a tantrum over it or anything. April is very chill. Not likely to be damseled. More likely to run after the turtles and clean up their messes or save them and everyone involved is fine with that.

The late 10's are really coming in to show us how dynamic and well-written female characters that aren't just "strong", but three-dimensional and relatable are done, huh?

An iconic performance by Kat Graham and ∞/10 for being the honorary better ninja non-mutant non-turtle and best big sister.

Here we have it, two older properties, having new life breathed into them to make them fresh and enjoyable. Have a new spin put on them, to better fit in with our current world. You can feel the love oozing out of every frame. At the end of the day, of course, it all boils down to taste and whether or not you like something. I gave Ducktales 2017 a go because a lot of the staff from Gravity Falls went to work on it and if you don't know me, I love me some Gravity Falls. It's a good show and I enjoy it. I recently got into Rise and while I don't know much about the people working on it, it is also a greatly enjoyable show, easily on the same level as Ducktales, if not above, yet with far less people speaking about it. Which is frankly saddening. I can only recommend the two of them wholeheartedly. If you love animation, yourself and occasionally feeling things, these are for you!

[mischiefandspirits]

Parental Bonding: Courtship

S01-E02, part 1 of 2: Danny figures out a new power, gets a date, and lands himself in trouble. Not in that order.

Last time on Living Phantom ~ Next time on Living Phantom

Warning: Implied/Referenced Sibling Abuse (Not onscreen, skip to the bottom for a full description)

Danny came down the stairs, ready to send the annoying Box Ghost back where he came from then spend the next few hours trying to block out what happened at lunch with some mindless video game violence. He paused when he spotted his dad sitting in front of the portal with a fishing rod in hand. He was wearing his fishing vest and had a soda guzzler attached to his fishing hat, sucking at the straw as he watched the swirling green mists.

The half-ghost frowned and tossed his backpack off to the side. “Hey, Dad. What are you doing?”

“Danny, keep it down. You'll scare away the ghosts,” he whispered. He pointed at the rod and Danny realized the line was glowing. “It's the Fenton Ghost Fisher. I'm fishing for ghosts. Check out this line. Coated with a special high-tensile ectoplasmic resin that ghosts can't break.” He focused back on the portal. “Quiet now. Don't wanna spook 'em.”

Danny nodded and turned to leave. He’d have to get rid of Boxy later.

“Whoa! That soda goes right through you like Sherman through Georgia.” His dad suddenly grabbed his shoulder and shoved the rod into his hands. “Here! Hang on to this. I'll be right back after I use the Fenton Urinal.”

Did not need to know that, Danny sighed. Well, at least now he could -

The line started pulling and he scrambled for the reel. The line went taut, then slack.

“Oh no,” he muttered, his breath misting in front of him.

A large claw emerged from the portal, then another. They hooked around the edge as a reptilian snout poked through. It seemed to squeeze through the too-small space as it lengthened and grew into the head of a dragon, electric blue with neon green ear fins and curled horns. It kept coming. First, a barrel chest and wings that didn’t look big enough to carry its weight -- though Danny was pretty sure a ghost dragon didn’t actually need wings to fly -- then forelegs, hind legs, and finally a whip-like tail.

It’s red eyes glared down at him, the end of the fisher caught in its mouth.

Danny flinched back, then his eyes caught on a glimpse of green in the corner of his eye. He looked down and frowned when he realized the dragon’s scales were littered with glowing soot and quite a few claw marks cut into its flesh, dripping ectoplasm that fizzled into nothing before it hit the floor.

“Woah, what attacked you?”

The dragon roared and Danny scrambled back. “I want to go!” it growled, grabbing him in its foreclaw. “I have to go!”

“You'll have to stand in line behind my dad,” Danny joked, then immediately wondered if ghosts could use the bathroom.

Did full ghosts need to eat? Would they eat normal food or ectoplasmic stuff? Would ghost food be closer to his parents' cooking? Did ghosts accidentally bring their  food to life?

No, focus, Danny! “In the meantime…”

He let his transformation wash over him, then let go of his density, becoming a cloud of ectoplasm that slipped through its grip. It tried to claw at him and he dodged around the hits, then pulled back when it started to breathe fire. He arced around the spray then landed a hit to its neck, right on the golden band of the necklace it wore.

It gave a pained roar as it flew back and hit the wall.

Danny flew closer, ready to shove it back into the portal, but it suddenly began to shimmer. It shrunk until it took the form of a young woman. She looked to be in much better health than her dragon form, though there was a darker patch on her green cheek that might have been a burn. The ghost looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “All I wanted was to go to the Princess Costume Ball. And my brother won't let me!”

She started crying and flew into the portal.

Frowning, Danny dropped to the ground and grabbed the fisher. “I hope her brother wasn’t the one that did that to her.”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Danny quickly changed back.

His dad came down, new soda cans in hand. “Catch anything?”

“Nope,” he lied and passed his dad the fisher. “I’m going to drop my backpack off in my room then I’m meeting Tucker online for a boss battle.”

“Homework?”

“None today.”

“Alright. Don’t forget, it’s your night for dinner. Jazz has that Debate meeting and your mom won’t be back until Friday.”

“I know. Pizza’s in the oven and timer’s set.”

“Good boy.”

~~~~~~~~~~B~~~~~0~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

“Thanks to you, I now know the quickest way to a woman's heart: clean boxers,” Tucker joked as he shut his locker.

Danny glared at him then dropped his head. “Man, are you ever going to let that go. I get it, I blew it yesterday.”

Danny sent Sam a scared look, then walked up to the tree Paulina Sanchez was sitting in front of. He tried to lean against the tree and give his crush a smile like the guys on Tucker’s teen dramas, but his hand turned intangible and he ended up falling to the ground.

“Please! Don't say you've suddenly fallen for me,” the popular girl said in a bored voice, not even looking at him. “That line is so last semester.”

Danny blushed and stood up. “Yeah! I-I mean, no! Th-that's not it. I, uh, I was wondering…”

Suddenly his legs felt cold and the people around them started laughing. His blush grew as he looked down to realize his jeans had fallen to the ground. He scrambled to pick them up as Paulina finally looked at him, only to giggle into her hand.

At least it was boxer day, the last thing he needed was to accidentally be outed by his stupid powers on top of everything else.

“A gentleman usually tips his hat, but I'll give you points for originality,” Paulina said.

Suddenly Sam was at his side, her hand on his arm. “Kudos, Danny. You just set an all-time speed record for drowning in the shallow end of the gene pool.”

Paulina stared at her for a moment, then scowled. “Oh, no! You did not just call me shallow, did you?”

“If you mean do I think I can stand in a puddle full of you and not get my feet wet, then yeah.”

“Shallow? I am not shallow!”

Sam tugged him away from the girl, muttering, “As shallow as a drop of water. Ignore her, Danny. You can do so much better.”

Danny glanced over his shoulder to see the popular glaring at them.

“Paulina probably won't even look at me now.”

“Yoo-hoo, Danny!” Danny turned to see the girl they were discussing walking towards them, a flirty smile on her face.

“Or not! Hey, Tuck?”

“I get it. I'm out. Good luck.” He gave Danny a pat on the back then he was gone.

“Hi, you,” she giggled. “I just wanted to -”

Danny’s world went dark and cramped as he was suddenly shoved into his locker, which closed behind him.

“That’s for throwing your lunch on me last week, runt.”

“It was your lunch and it was an accident,” Danny growled.

“Oh hey, Paulina. Just the girl I was looking for.”

Danny glared at the wall of his locker then turned invisible and intangible. He leaned out of the locker to see Dash smirking down at Paulina, who didn’t look impressed.

“So I was thinking… I’m the top man. All-star quarterback and school hero.”

Danny reached towards the larger boy, ready to pull some ghostly prank, only for his hands to sink through Dash. His eyes widened as he felt his powers draw him in.

“You’re the prettiest girl in school.”

He felt himself shrink infinitesimally small, then expand like a balloon to fit a space that wasn’t quite right.

“It would only make sense if we -”

Danny blinked as he found himself in front of Paulina. He looked down at himself to see he was wearing a letterman's jacket and his arms were bulging with muscles. His eyes widened as he realized he was in Dash’s body.

Wow, a whole new kind of dysphoria.

Thanks, I hate it.

“Hello?” Paulina said, waving her hand in front of his face.

“Oh! Right! Of course!”

Paulina raised an eyebrow.

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m not going to be at the Spring Formal because I’ve got to scrub my mom’s feet that night. I usually do it every night, but she’s going to need some extra time that night. She’s got these massive bunions, you know. Want to see?”

“Eew! Get lost, loser!”

Danny turned and took a few steps, then pulled back his power. Thankfully he dropped out of Dash as he’d hoped and he was able to slip back into his locker just before Paulina opened it to let him out.

“Why do I suddenly feel like scrubbing my mom's feet?” he heard Dash mutter as Danny smiled at the girl.

He tried to step out of his locker, only to fall on his face.

He waited for Paulina to start laughing at him, but instead, she knelt next to him and winked.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” Her eyes widened and she grabbed something that was hanging out of his backpack. “Oh my gosh! What's that?”

Danny sat up and saw she was holding a necklace. It was gold with a short, almost choker-length band and held a smooth green gem that had a dark band down the center. It looked vaguely familiar, but Danny couldn’t place it. “That? Oh! Uh, it's a, uh…” He looked up at her face to see her staring at the necklace, entranced. “You like it?”

“It's beautiful!”

“Hey, that's great!” As they stood up, Danny had a very bad idea. “Because I, uh, got it for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I-I-In case I got the nerve to ask you to the Spring Formal and you said yes, I thought I'd want to give you something and that's what it would have been. It's for you.”

Danny felt his powers activate and grabbed his pants before they could slip down more than an inch.

“Whether you go with me or not.”

Paulina eyed him with a teasing smile. “Well, you are kind of cute, and you have great taste in underwear. I'd love to go with you.”

She turned away, slipping on the necklace.

He gave a happy sigh, then frowned. “What am I doing? That thing doesn't belong to me. It could be my mom's, or Jazz's.”

“Bye, Danny. See you!”

“Or I could worry about that later. Because she said yes! Woohoo!” He threw his hands up, remembering his pants a second too late.

“Pantless again, Mr. Fenton?” Mr. Lancer asked, walking up behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~B~~~~~0~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

“Catch anything, Dad?” Danny asked as he shuffled up behind where his dad was once more in his fishing chair, Fenton Ghost Fisher in hand.

“Son, I couldn't catch a cold. I've been sitting here all day without a single bite.”

Danny hummed and looked down at the slip Lancer had given him. Apparently having your pants accidentally fall down twice was an offense worthy of having your parents called in so now his dad needed to meet with Mr. Lancer in an hour. Well, at least there was only one parent home to get mad.

He took a deep and held up the slip. “Da-”

“I'm so frustrated I want to take out my rage on the first person who gives me bad news.” His dad adjusted his line with a growl. “Anyway, you wanted to tell me something?”

Danny flinched. “Well, sort of. Mr. Lancer -”

His dad stiffened. “Mr. Lancer what? Is this bad news?”

“Mr. Lancer -” An idea hit him and he smirked. He turned intangible and dove into his dad. “- wants to have a word with us!”

~~~~~~~~~~B~~~~~0~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

Pan_Fried69: Are you out yet

Pan_Fried69: How’d it go are you grounded

EcoAce13: I still can’t believe lancer got on you for your pants. How is that your fault!? It’s not like you pulled them down!

Transplanetary: I’m out. Didn’t get in trouble

Pan_Fried69: Sweet

Pan_Fried69: How’s you manage that

Transplanetary: New problem tho

Transplanetary: MY DAD convinced lancer it was because I don’t eat enough and he actually bought it

EcoAce13: What new problem?

EcoAce13: Wait. Danny, tell me you didn’t!!!!!!

Pan_Fried69: Didn’t what

Transplanetary: Mayhaps

EcoAce13: DANNY!!!!!!

Pan_Fried69: What’d he do

Transplanetary: I might have possessed my dad a little

Transplanetary: And by a little I mean for the whole meeting so he doesn’t even know it happened

Pan_Fried69: Nice!!!

Pan_Fried69: Can you do that to my dad the next time I get in trouble

Pan_Fried69: Better yet can you get me a date

EcoAce13: No, not nice! You can’t just take a persons Drew I’ll away from than!

Transplanetary: Forget it. You can get your own date for the dance like I did

Pan_Fried69: Drew I’ll?

EcoAce13: Free will. Wtf autocorrect?

Transplanetary: Drew I’ll

Transplanetary: And trust me I’m paying for it

Pan_Fried69: What happened

Transplanetary: Lancer asked Dad to chaperon the dance and would take no for an answer

Transplanetary: *wouldnt

Pan_Fried69: Guys problema giant ghost dragon at mall!!!!!

Transplanetary: OMW

EcoAce13: Why are you at the mall?

Pan_Fried69: All the hot people are here

Pan_Fried69: There’s a big sale at Abyss and some football star is signing stuff at Sports Victors

Pan_Fried69: Danny’s fighting the ghost

EcoAce13: So you mean all the brain dead people are there.

EcoAce13: How’s he doing?

Pan_Fried69: He just got knocked into weenie on a skewer

Pan_Fried69: Then calles himself a weenie

EcoAce13: Figures, the idiot.

Pan_Fried69: At least he’s got a date unlike us

EcoAce13: Maybe if I was as pretty as PAULINA. 🙄

Pan_Fried69: The ghost just disappeared

Transplanetary: I don’t know where it went, but that’s the second time I’ve fought it. We need to investigate

EcoAce13: Are you okay?

Transplanetary: Also why are you so down on Paulina? So she’s pretty, it’s not a crime

Transplanetary: I’m fine

EcoAce13: Looks are de icing, Danny.

EcoAce13: *deceiving

Pan_Fried69: Great now if only I could get a date

Pan_Fried69: Well then

Pan_Fried69: Apparently the dragon and Danny were a prank using smoke and a projector

EcoAce13: You’ve got to be kidding me

Pan_Fried69: They just made an announcement ove the intercom

Transplanetary: Trust me people will make as many excuses as possible to avoid admitting ghosts are real

Pan_Fried69: How would projections even do all that stuff

Transplanetary: No clue

~~~~~~~~~~B~~~~~0~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The Amulets of Aragon

The Amulets come from a Spanish tale about a noble family residing within the medieval Kingdom of Aragon who attempted to usurp the King. Wanting the crown for himself, the lord asked his sister to use witchcraft to create two amulets that would allow them to transform themselves into powerful dragons. The king learned what was to happen and had his knights storm the lord’s manor. The knights captured the lord and lady before the amulets could be completed and the two were burned as witches.

The King’s victory was short-lived, however, as the two nobels returned as vengeful spirits. What they failed in life, they accomplished in death as upon their necks were the amulets the brother had longed for. Together the spirits burned the king’s castle to the ground in a storm of blue and green flames.

The legend goes on to say that any who stole the amulets from the lord or lady could gain their power, but they would have no control over it. They would be captives to their distress or anger and lash out blindly.

“Are you sure this is what we’re looking for?” Tucker asked, looking over the webpage. “Just sounds like some fairytale.”

“No, I think she’s onto something, look at the pictures,” Danny said and Tucker opened the gallery.

The first few pictures were medieval art of similar-looking black and purple dragons; though none seemed to be able to agree if it had bat or bird-like wings, scales or feathers, two or four legs, and ears or horns. Those were followed by more dragons, these blue and green. These were just as mismatched, but even then…

“Okay, the blue one kind of looks like your ghost dragon.”

“And Danny said the ghost looked medieval and mentioned her brother right?” Sam pointed out.

“Huh, that's the amulet I gave to Paulina. It must have accidentally fallen into my backpack. Wait. You mean… I'm going on a date with a dragon?” Danny gasped.

Tucker scrolled down to see pictures of the amulets. The stone settings looked the same, though one was on a long chain while the other had a collar band. The latter looked just like the necklace Paulina had been wearing the past two days.

Sam gave a snort. “Like I said, looks are deceiving. I'm sure you two will have a wonderful evening at the dance.”

“Thanks,” Danny deadpanned.

Suddenly Danny sent him a text.

Tucker gave his friend a confused look, but opened it.

👻Boo Boy: She really wants to go to the dance

Me: But she says she doesn’t want to

👻Boo Boy: Were her best friends

“What are you going to do to stop her?” Sam asked.

👻Boo Boy: We should have known

Me: Well there’s nothing we can do about it now right

“There’s no way you can just ask for the necklace back,” Tucker said, “not without a good reason.”

Me: Right

Me: Danny

When Danny didn’t reply, Tucker looked up at the video chat.

Danny was giving him a smirk.

Me: No way forget it ABSOLUTELY NOT NO

“Maybe I can say it’s a family heirloom?” Danny suggested.

👻Boo Boy: Tuck

Me: I just found out Kwan bailed on Valerie

Me: VALERIE

Me: She’s like a luster adjacent

“But then why would you have given it away?" Sam said.

Me: If I act fast I can catch her on the rebound

👻Boo Boy: Come on Tuck

Me: You come on

Me: Why don’t you just take her

“I don’t know! Ugh!” Danny groaned.

👻Boo Boy: What part of “going on a date with a dragon” didn’t you get? Paulinas likely to scorch the town if I bail on her

Me: Plus it’s Paulina

👻Boo Boy: I mean yeah that too but that’s not what’s important right now

Me: Uh huh 🤔

👻Boo Boy: I’m serious Tuck

👻Boo Boy: Do it for Sam

Tucker tried to give Danny an annoyed look, only to find his friend giving him puppy eyes.

Abort! Abort! He tried to look away, but it was too late.

Me: This is so unfair!!!!!!!

Danny smiled quickly then glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, I think I hear Jazz calling me. We can talk more later. See you guys!”

And he was gone.

“Well bye,” Sam said, rolling her eyes. “I should probably go too.”

“Wait, Sam,” he called before she could end the call. He glanced down at his phone, Valerie’s twitter still open on the app’s tab, and sighed. “I was wondering since neither of us have dates, do you want to go as friends? It’d be better than just sitting around at home. Plus, we can make fun of Danny and his dragon date.”

Sam frowned and glanced to the side. “Uh, I don't know. This is so last minute. And I do have plans, and -”

Tucker perked up. “If you don’t want to -”

“Okay, but only because you couldn’t get a date. Might as well put that lame dress my parents bought me to use. Tell Danny I’ll take care of transportation for us four. I need to make some appointments. See you tomorrow!” Sam said quickly before she ended the call.

Tucker blinked then slumped back with a groan. He closed Twitter and texted Danny.

Me: Sam’s parents are driving us to the dance

~~~~~~~~~~B~~~~~0~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

I had fun with the trio's chat names and Danny's contact. I'm still unsure about Sam's chat name, but the next best idea I had was AsexuWhale and a pun like that didn't feel right for her.

Warning Description: Dora is described as being beaten up and it’s hinted that her brother was the one who did it. It's rather minor, but I felt it necessary to list just in case.

[popentertainmentconcertreviews]

Greta van Fleet – The Met – Philadelphia, PA – December 29, 2019

Greta Van Fleet Completes Triumphant Year, Wowing Crowd in Philly.

Greta Van Fleet hit the Met in Philadelphia for the first of two make-up shows to conclude a year of worldwide touring. The show made up for any delay and put an exclamation point on the band’s trajectory.

The new darlings of updated retro rock delivered their recent standard touring set to an energized, capacity Philly crowd. The venue – the newest major addition to the city’s flourishing music scene – was a fitting showcase for this band. The historic 3,500 person, opera-house-style theater (built 1908) on a stretch of gritty north Broad Street, opened last year with a performance by Bob Dylan, after a $56-million multi-year renovation, and provided both the scale and intimacy suited to this returning GVF rock party. (Greta last jolted the City of Brotherly Love at the old Electric Factory, now the Franklin Music Hall, in May 2018.)

Though the band has played to much larger live audiences in their recent travels, an operatic stage particularly fit the exuberant, high-wire vocal style of lead-man Josh Kiszka – the impish singer with a big presence and amazing range. Kiszka opts for high keys that harken to the famous hard- and art-rock bands of recent decades. Burdened and honored with the expectation of bringing back a song-writing style and urgent delivery of the top rock of the 70s, Greta Van Fleet steps through it all undaunted and with their own approach to a new version of the very power rock that they honor and build on.

Only the most casual listeners would deem them imitative, when the catchy riff-based rock songs they deliver feel so original and deftly crafted. But with scarcely a couple dozen tracks released to date, their fast-evolving arsenal cannot yet even be called a catalogue.

Strong Foundations + Hard Work

Concert crowds this year witnessed the second stage of the beginning of a meteoric rise of this group of guys barely in their 20’s. In fact, drummer Danny Wagner was celebrating his 21st birthday on this evening, and all assembled got to join in an a capella rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Spoken and unspoken by the already loving fans of this band that has endeared itself so quickly to so many is the hope that these boys can weather the popularity that they have gained so quickly. By all appearances, though, brothers Josh, Jake, and Sammy Kiszka have the strength of family, and of a bond cast from playing together since they were kids. Danny has joined the brotherhood, and all seem to have a fallback strength coming as well from the natural world – with this foursome captured more often trekking through national parks, and preferring such outdoors outlets to images of them in rock-life party scenes.

Hey, any band must be down to earth that adapts its name from that of a lovely older lady (Gretna Van Fleet) from the guys’ own little hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan. If GVF minded leaving that very quaint Christmas-y world and breaking up their holiday and well-earned rest leading to New Year’s, in order to finish 2019 in big, bad Philly, they sure didn’t show it. (Other two make-up dates due to Josh’s fall flu, were in Memphis and New Orleans just prior to the holidays.) Their explosive, romping play kept most of the crowd on its feet through the fast-paced 90+ minute show. They delivered their hits with the same fresh pride that has marked their live act since they broke big and suddenly onto the scene barely two years ago.

Within this serious, hard-working group of players, none puts out better than Jake Kiszka, a figure who is more than an up-and-coming six-stringer, instead a musician making an early bid toward a time-honored list of top rock guitarists. He wears the mantel of erstwhile big-time guitar slinger ably and gamely, bearing down on both big and delicate sounds. In the loud, extended, mostly instrumental “Black Flag Exposition,” which has only been presented live so far, the band gladly puts Jake on display, letting him step forward to demo his endurance, focus, grinding chops, and intensity.

That’s What a Rock Band Should Sound Like

Meanwhile during the evening, brother Sammy’s hands and feet danced naturally at the keyboards and his fingers flew across fretboard of his bass with a fluidity that’s completely natural. As with other foursomes of the past that have had the good fortune of a balance that helped them make history, no member of this one outshines or upstages the other.

History is something these dudes have on their side, particularly their knowledge of it. Great rock bands of the past were always deep students of the music that had preceded them and upon which the genre was built. Those now-veteran acts openly paid tribute to the recent past, even as they continued to re-invent it, and GVF follows the tradition, powering their work on “the fires we've been told,” as the Josh sings in “Black Smoke Rising.”

Add in artfully softer gears (“Age of Man”), an uplifting effect, and passionate lyrical commentary – including about love and the fate of the earth – and it’s all part of the recipe through which this band attracts rock fans of all ages. How rare to see a new band with this range of generations following them and pumping their fists in the air as one!

Some of the band’s most telling and encouraging passages came when they played into and extended their album tracks, thankfully stretching certain of them, as they did in their first encore (“Flower Power”). These moments made it even clearer that this is group of substantive players still in the act of becoming – a point punctuated near the end of the show by a thunderous, Bonham-esque, 10-minute-plus drum solo by Danny.

The best rocking bands of the last half-century or more have each delivered in their own unapologetic fashion just as GVF did at the Met, leaving a buzzed crowd wanting more. Rock must be celebratory and confident. And above all, it must have swagger, of which GVF has plenty to spare.

Russ Allen

Copyright ©2020 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: January 2, 2020.

Photos by Bailey Allen © 2019

[justgotham]

In my experience, Gotham is a polarizing TV series. Any superhero-themed program is sure to bring its critics, but Batman is a character near and dear to the American heart—as he is the last universally beloved billionaire—and it was certainly a risk going with a prepubescent Bruce Wayne. I’m a big fan of Gotham, and even I’ll admit that I’m not completely sold on its interpretation of the franchise’s main character. But that’s OK, because Gotham isn’t about Batman. It’s about the villains. And they’re almost all great. This was not an easy list to compile.

Gotham just feels like Batman, and it’s in large part thanks to the carefully crafted, over-the-top performances in some marquee roles, so without further ado, let’s get to the best Gotham villains.

I should also note that it would be impossible to do this properly without some spoilers. I’ll avoid any spoilers from the last few episodes of this season, but if you’re not caught up on this season of the show, some of this will definitely get you up to speed on where everything stands as of the Season Four finale.

15. Captain Nathaniel Barnes Played by: Michael Chiklis Michael Chiklis just looks like a cop, and that alone qualified him for the role of Jim Gordon’s boss. And his evolution from hardened lawman to judge, jury and executioner in the face of the future Commissioner Gordon’s heroics provided this political science major with a stark analogy for the tradeoff between idealism and pragmatism out in the real world. Every conflict of Barnes vs. Gordon centered around the way things should be versus the way things are, and the finale of Chiklis’ arc (for now, no one in this show is ever truly gone) raised good questions about where the line between the vigilante justice of Batman and The Executioner really stands.

14. Ra’s al Ghul Played by: Alexander Siddig The spiritual father of the proceedings carries a heavy burden. Not only must he justify the spiritual aspect of the rise of Batman (and the Joker), but Siddig also has to pull off whatever a 2,000+ year old man looks like. It’s a difficult ask, and he’s not had enough screen time for Ra’s al Ghul to seem like anything more than a narrator guide from a video game, but he’s given plenty of major moments, and he hasn’t come up short yet.

13. Butch Gilzean Played by: Drew Powell What Powell does with a character limited to being the main muscle on the show is the embodiment of the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” He is one of the chief figures of strength on Gotham (and that was before he fell in a swamp filled with goop from Indian Hill), but his moments of vulnerability are what bring life to the character. His romance with a woman farther up on this list than he is reflects Butch’s limits, but perhaps new frontiers will be unlocked with his evolution into the famed Solomon Grundy from the comics.

12. Commissioner Gillian Loeb Played by: Peter Scolari Scolari brought a new face to this eternal foil of Batman and Jim Gordon, as the comics’ brusque blackmailer in the pocket of Carmine Falcone has been replaced with a shadowy figure in the pocket of Carmine Falcone. Scolari’s semi-detached performance is a fitting reflection of where our political reality currently resides, and he is very much a figure emblematic of the times.

11. Ivy Pepper Played by: Clare Foley, Maggie Geha and Peyton List Poison Ivy is still in development on the show—as evidenced by the three actors who’ve played her—but all three did well building a foundation for what should be a future supervillain the likes of which Gotham has never seen before. Both adult actors have provided the sex appeal intrinsic to the character’s strategy to exploit the stupid part of straight men’s brains, but it’s the child-in-an-adult’s-body aspect that makes this version of a hall-of-fame Batman character so compelling. After falling in dirty water (superhero origin stories would lead you to believe that the healthiest thing you can do is shower in uranium), Ivy Pepper’s accelerated womanhood might’ve been a missed opportunity for more comic relief, but her relationship with Selena is always engaging. Without it, neither of these characters would have the humanizing characteristics necessary to make their time on Gotham worthwhile.

10. Theo Galavan Played by: James Frain James Frain’s arc on the show was an original storyline, one that began with a plot to kill Bruce Wayne, then elevated him to Mayor, and culminated with him assuming the character Azrael from the comics. Frain’s smooth performance is underlined by an intense focus on a mission that all just feels Batman-y, even though this arc is not found in the comics.

9. Tabitha Galavan Played by: Jessica Lucas Theo was powerful, but his sister got the larger share of the badass genes in the family. Like her brother, Tabitha is an original creation of the show, and even though we’ve since lost Theo (granted, death is far from final in this universe), it’s difficult to envision Gotham without Tabitha at this point. Her romance with Butch is the only one on the show that’s convincing at all (a major new one is still TBD), and she was clearly placed in this universe to provide a positive role model for Catwoman—who did not make this list because she’s still stuck at the kids table with Bruce Wayne. Of all the major muscle on this show, Tabitha is the muscle-iest.

8. Hugo Strange Played by: BD Wong BD Wong has played so many doctors by now that part of me actually believes he is a doctor. Of all the doctors he’s played, my favorite by far is Strange. The main reason why no one on this show will ever die, Wong does a wonderful job of straddling the line between madman and genius—nailing the image of what Gotham’s mad scientist should look like.

7. Barbara Kean Played by: Erin Richards The NBA has a most-improved player of the year award, and Barbara Kean would have won Gotham’s MIP award the last two years. Initially, I lamented Richards’ on-screen demise as she was cast as the generic wet blanket to Jim Gordon’s hero (Kean was Gordon’s wife in the comics). Gotham almost lost me early on with their romance—as I just cannot take network TV’s portrayal of relationships seriously—but this new “take whatever she wants with a freaking glowing hand” version of Kean has unchained Richards, and her talents shine through in every scene. Gothamis right to structure a central narrative around her.

6. Mayor Aubrey James Played by: Richard Kind I’ll admit I’m biased on this one. I’m a politics writer here at Paste, and Kind’s performance as America’s bumbling mayor is a little too real to consider given the madness that America’s former mayor, Rudy Guiliani, is displaying every day on cable news. His portrayal of the character is the perfect summation of every empty-suit politician who ever lived, and it really resonates in a country overflowing with these vessels for the superrich. The mayor’s cowardice behind the scenes when contrasted to his stern public statements is just…*kisses fingers*

5. Victor Zsasz Played by: Anthony Carrigan The infamous hitman is a perfectly sardonic bit of comic relief, as Carrigan always finds the right kind of oomph behind his “Hey, boss, so when should I kill these guys?” salvos. A hyper-competent, semi-powerful character is a difficult needle to thread, as there must be a reason why Zsasz has yet to rise to the level of other A-list Batman villains, and it’s simply because Zsasz loves his job as an assassin-for-hire. It’s not about the power he could gain through his proclivity for mass murder, but the pure, utter nirvana that he derives from of every shootout.

4. The Penguin Played by: Robin Lord Taylor Oswald Cobblepot is not just an awesome name, but a fitting vessel for a character whose only real lasting public face is Danny de Vito’s snarling performance in Batman Returns. Robin Lord Taylor has brought a more refined air to the ringleader of Gotham’s underworld, and The Penguin serves as the yin to Jim Gordon’s yang. The universe of Batman is based on the premise that crime is a major industry in America—oftentimes involving our political leaders, as Mayor James demonstrates. Cobblepot likes to present himself a pragmatic choice in a chaotic world, and when the Gotham City Police Department finds itself with its back against the wall, some of the moral choices he presents are inescapably compelling. If crime is going to exist, why not try to bring some order to it? The GCPD can’t do that, but The Penguin can.

3. The Riddler Played by: Cory Michael Smith When arguing sports, I typically argue that numerical rankings should be eschewed for tiers. It’s difficult to compare a lot of similar folks, and drawing lines in between good, very good, and great is a far simpler task. I bring this up because this is where the top tier begins. Cory Michael Smith’s depiction of what I have always believed to be an underrated villain belongs in the Batman hall-of-fame—and frankly, it’s better than Jim Carrey’s semi-unhinged version (which I also enjoyed). It’s clear whether Smith is playing Edward Nygma or The Riddler simply from his posture and facial expression, which makes the Jekyll and Hyde-ian battle raging inside of him all the more engrossing. (Photo: Michael Lavine/FOX)

2. The Joker Played by: Cameron Monaghan Technically, we’re not allowed to call this character with a high-pitched laugh, a thirst for chaos and a bizarre love of Bruce Wayne (and now a purple jacket!) “The Joker,” as Monaghan revealed on Twitter. You know, copyrights, branding and all. TV stuff. Monaghan’s portrayal of The Joker would make fans of The Dark Knight proud. The choice to literally sew a new face on to Jerome evokes the same uncomfortable madness as Heath Ledger’s scars, and the amount of emotion that Monaghan is able to communicate through that mess with simply his face deserves some kind of award. “Jerome” is a delightful madman who brings an unbridled sense of joy to his criminality. I’m excited to watch this new, more serious iteration of this classic character, but I will desperately miss his home run performance as Gotham’s signature weirdo.

1. Fish Mooney Played by: Jada Pinkett Smith Stick this character in any gangster TV show or movie, and tweak the surrealism depending on context, and she’ll fit—that’s just how good Jada Pinkett Smith is. Fish Mooney did not originate in the comics, and the creators of Gotham should be universally commended for springing such a Gotham-y character to life out of the ether. Granted, Mooney likely wouldn’t be as engrossing if not for Smith’s electric performance. The woman completely owns every single scene she inhabits. Fish Mooney gives this show a good excuse to ignore the rules of death, because why would anyone want to take that out? Screw death and copyright law. Fish Mooney deserves to live on for eternity.

[miss-musings]

The Defenders: Review

****SPOILERS FOR ALL THE NETFLIX/MARVEL SHOWS.****

Not like anyone is really asking for my opinion on the Defenders, but I thought I’d throw this out there for the Tumblrverse, to see if anyone agrees or disagrees with me.

A very long-ass review below the jump.

Some background: I love the Marvel movies. I really enjoyed Daredevil S1 when it first aired, and I loved Jessica Jones so much that I watched all of S1 in a single night. I was kind “meh” toward Daredevil S2. I didn’t really care for the Punisher storyline, and while I really liked Frank’s interactions with Matt/Daredevil, I didn’t like any of the scenes Karen had with Frank. In fact, I didn’t really like Karen at all, especially her ~thing~ with Matt. I’ve never liked them together, and while I understand they are a couple in the comics, I’m not a fan of the pairing. I didn’t really like Elektra or the Hand that much either. I was much more interested in Fisk and his Kingpin Empire in S1. All the mystical stuff really changed the tone and direction of the Daredevil story, and made it feel less grounded in reality, something I thought both JJ and Daredevil S1 did really well. I can buy blind guys who can “see” through their other senses, and weird psychopaths who can control people using pheromones or whatever. But, mystical ninjas who are resurrected and don’t have heartbeats… yeah, no, you lost me.

I started watching Luke Cage, but lost interest after Cottonmouth got killed off. Last episode I watched was Luke falling backward into a trash truck, unconscious, after getting attacked by his brother.

I didn’t have any interest in watching Iron Fist to begin with, but after I read the reviews saying it was mediocre and not as good as the other ones, I REALLY didn’t have any interest.

Basically, for me, the Netflix/Marvel shows had a strong opener with DD S1 and then peaked with JJ, and has been steadily going downhill from there.

So, yesterday I finished watching the Defenders. I had seen the first two episodes about two weeks ago, then was on vacation, and finally got the chance to sit down and finish the show during my Labor Day weekend. I watched the final six episodes in one sitting, which may have lessened my opinion of it. I get that the point of these shows is to binge-watch them, but sometimes I feel like that makes their flaws all the more obvious.

So….

I’d like to point out what I didn’t like about the show… things that I thought were weaknesses and then move on to what I *DID* like and thought the show did well. I realize that back-loading the positives like that will make it seem like I didn’t like it at all… and that’s probably fair. It wasn’t horrid, but I definitely didn’t like it as much as DD S1 or JJ. If I had to give it a letter grade, it’d probably be a C- or D+. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, but I’m not going to be watching it again anytime soon, and I’m not sure if I’d watch the second season (if there is one).

Basically every problem I had with the show can be boiled down to two main things:

1.     This show tries to accomplish so much that it ends up accomplishing little to nothing in the end. (The opposite of Ron Swanson’s “Don’t half-ass two things; whole-ass one thing” philosophy.)

2.     People and things matter!!!! … until they don’t.

So, first, my list of things that annoyed me about the show:

First of all, the fucking lighting and filters and shit. I get that it makes it feel like each character is in their own little ‘world’ of their own show. But, damn, does it have to be So. Fucking. Obnoxious? I get it: Matt is Red. Jessica is a bluish-purple. Luke is yellow. Danny is green. Switching back and forth between all the little filters in their individual scenes and the neon lighting during their shared scenes fucking hurt my eyes.

The music – especially in the later episodes – was also really obtrusive. Like, different times, particularly during that fight scene in the last episode, it felt so out of place. I didn’t notice the score, which may or may not be a good thing, but I definitely noticed the soundtrack at various points, and that was not for a good reason. The music was something I really liked about the first episodes of Luke Cage. At Cottonmouth’s little club, there was always some kind of musical act going on, and I felt like that really contributed well to the show’s tone and atmosphere. Here, sometimes the musical choices detracted from the show, IMO.

The action is all over the fucking place. Where DD excelled in the hallway and stairwell scenes, where all the action was across one long take, during this show’s larger action sequences, it cuts back and forth so much and so often between characters, giving them all of about 10 seconds before moving onto the next one, so that I can’t really appreciate their powers, their teamwork with each other, or just the action as a whole. It was more of like, “Okay, Jessica threw that guy against a wall, now let’s cut over to Luke taking some bullets. Okay, now over to Matt flipping around and kicking some dudes. Okay, quick, over to Danny throwing some punches.” I couldn’t really tell who was winning at any given point, until it cut back to a longer, wider shot and suddenly, all the ninjas were on the ground, and the good guys were all still standing. Also, they never really felt like a ~team~. Like, they all worked to accomplish a shared goal, but they never had any combos or instances where they played off one another’s abilities, really. It was all a bunch of one-on-one melees. Toward the end, the show also suffers from the Game of Thrones syndrome, where all the scenes are really fucking dark and it’s hard to tell who’s who and what the fuck is going on.

But, the biggest thing for me is that I feel like the show didn’t do much in the way of character development. Plot-wise, the show was all over the fucking place, but at least some shit got done in the end: the Hand is seemingly crushed, never to rise again. But, I didn’t feel like I got any real growth from any of the characters. Yes, there was some. I think Danny matured a bit. Jessica maybe became more self-aware of her own shortcomings when it comes to keeping in touch and taking care of the people she loves. Matt had to confront a resurrected Elektra. But… for as much time as we spent with them – especially all of them together – I really don’t feel like they changed all that much. Yeah, a lot happened; but that doesn’t mean they grew any.

Now, I understand that you could make the argument that the Avengers didn’t really grow all that much during their Avengers movie. Especially during the first one. Yeah, okay, but “Avengers” is a movie. And I think it’s fair to judge a two-hour movie differently than a 8-ish hour TV series. I think one of the reasons we don’t have more character development is so much time is spent introducing these characters and their respective worlds to each other and the audience. We have to talk about what the fucking Iron Fist is and what he can do and how he got his powers and what his responsibilities are at least once every episode. Matt has to get frustrated with Stick and refuse to talk about his personal life/details at least once every episode. So much time is spent on exposition and action sequences that it doesn’t leave a ton of time for character development.

Again: this show tries to do too much and ends up doing… well, not much at all, really. They try to give each character their own little arc and subplot, only for it to boil down to: fighting mystical ninjas in an underground dragon graveyard thing until they can blow up the building above them. I can’t describe any of the Five Fingers of the Hand (outside of Alexandra) in more than a sentence; the side characters are there just to either give or receive exposition; and the main characters (the four Defenders) don’t really grow all that much (as stated previously).

And, again, my other main point: things/characters matter until they don’t. Each of the Defenders’ sidekicks are okay with being sidelined in a police station for several episodes. Misty and the NYPD don’t do jack-fucking-shit during the penthouse or the Chinese restaurant fights, but only show up at the end of the season, when it’s a detriment to the good guys, and we have to stretch out the action over another two episodes. Trish and Karen are in a police station together for several hours, perhaps days, but don’t really talk to each other until the final episode. Jessica keeps saying that the only reason she’s staying in this fight is so she can get answers for her client, but then never has any kind of resolution with them at the end. The police give Colleen her sword back, and she doesn’t want to be sidelined, but then she’s okay with it, but then she’s not and she gets back into the fight, and then she’s okay with going with Claire to set the bombs and not to save Danny, which was the whole reason she even felt like she had to get out there to begin with. But, whatever.

The good guys are just running around for hours (days?) at a time, not ever eating or sleeping or changing clothes, really, which they sometimes call attention to.

The whole big thing about them possibly getting charged with terrorism and obstruction of justice and all those other crimes… nah, they all just get dropped for no reason. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: if you endanger dozens of people by blowing up a building in a densely populated urban setting, you too can get away with it scott-free!

The only other big thing that I had with it was that Alexandra was built up as the driving force behind this whole thing. We spent a significant amount of screen time on her just doing random stuff – listening to music, eating food, going to the doctor’s office, putting on her clothes. She might be the only character that we got to have nice, quiet little moments where she just did stuff that was all character-driven, rather than plot-driven. Then, Alexandra gets taken down by Elektra. I get why: adds drama, eliminates one bad guy while building up another, and subverts the audience’s expectations. But, this was a problem I had with Luke Cage too. In Daredevil, for instance, we spent a lot of time getting to know Fisk. And he ends up being the overarching Big Bad of S1 and makes an appearance in S2. He’s still around; he still has the ability to make an impact in Daredevil’s plotlines moving forward. Imagine if they had decided to kill off Fisk in the third-to-last episode of S1 just to set up the Hand. Ugh. I liked getting to know Cottonmouth in Luke Cage, and while his exit ~kinda~ made sense, I still didn’t like how we spent so much time with him only to have him NOT be the Big Bad and die half-way through the season. Same thing here. I think Netflix/Marvel likes doing this to pull the rug out from under us, but really it’s more annoying than anything. I would’ve much rather Gao had been fucking with Alexandra and playing like she was trying to keep everyone together, when really she was the one driving them apart, and then she gets everyone else to betray Alexandra with her. Or something. That seemed to be what it was building toward organically; but no, let’s throw everyone off by having Elektra kill her. And, then Elektra’s reasoning was really weird. She wasn’t really Elektra or the Black Sky, but kind of some hybrid that had some of Elektra’s memories and desires (like, wanting to be with Matt) but also had the Black Sky’s ruthlessness, and then also had this selfishness and fiendness to her that kinda came out of nowhere. Whatever.

Other little things that bothered me:

I still don’t like Karen. I’m sorry; I just don’t. She was fine in most of DD S1, but I absolutely hated her throughout S2. I feel like she gets the Mary Jane treatment: worrying and hand-wringing and nagging her superhero love interest so much so that, even though we should empathize with her, she really comes off as being more of a nagging bitch than a woman worrying about the man she loves.

Stick just died and Matt remembered it for like all of five seconds, and then nobody ever brought it up again. You’d think it would’ve been mentioned by Danny or somebody. Or Matt would’ve brought it up in his fight against Elektra. Stick was a major side character in Daredevil, Iron Fist (I’m assuming) and then had significant screentime in this show. Kinda weird how nobody ever talked about it or mourned for him. Also, super weird how they decided to have Stick attack Danny when he ended up getting killed off by Elektra two seconds later. Why have his character do a 180 like that out of nowhere, only for him to die right after? Doesn’t really make sense.

The way the Five Fingers of the Hand had described what was behind the wall, it made it sound like it was some kind of portal to the actual K'un-Lun, to like this paradise-like setting where they could finally be at peace or some shit. But, nah, dragon bones. It felt so anticlimatic by comparison.

Also, how long had they had this substance and they just NOW ran out? How long did that shit last? Have they had to resupply at other points over the years? Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch Iron Fist, but some of this shit didn’t make any fucking sense. And, didn’t they have like a whole army of undead ninja in Daredevil S2? Were all those assholes brought back using the substance? I’m so confused!!!

Danny was an absolute idiot for using his Iron Fist anywhere near that door. Like, dude, she told you exactly what she needed for you to open the door. Don’t give her what she wants, asshat!

Both Elektra and Alexandra did the whole “we’re not so different, you and I” thing, which I only noticed because I watched a great video on how overdone and poorly used this trope is. It’s cheap and it’s lame, and in both cases here, it didn’t really work. There was no emotional impact from it, and I didn’t feel like it was true in either case. It was like villain monologuing for the sake of the writers buying time until the good guys could show up, or something.

I feel like Iron Fist can be summed up as “A Knock-off Bruce Wayne.”

Anytime the ~mystical~ was involved, it lessened my enjoyment of the show. The scene where Luke is comforting the mom after her son dies in jail… that felt real to me. The scene where Jessica is talking the mom and daughter who are trying to find their husband/dad, that felt real to me. The scene where Matt is trailing Jessica and then gets frustrated when he loses her… that felt real to me!!! Any time Iron Fist or the Hand did virtually anything felt like such a different show. I imagine it’ll be the same whenever Iron Man starts hanging out with Doctor Strange in the Infinity Wars movies, but still, Daredevil, JJ and Luke Cage (the shows) all felt like they were grounded in some form of reality. One that had superpowers, yes, but it was also one that was akin to our own: with gray areas, and questions about actions and their consequences, where people died and got hurt. This show felt like a weird cross-over where all the good guys just happen to all be in the same place at the same time, all fighting against the bad guys, so why not team up to fight FUCKING MYSTICAL UNDEAD NINJASSS!!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!! OUR BIG BAD FOR THIS ENTIRE FUCKING SHOW WAS A GROUP OF MYSTICAL UNDEAD NINJAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!

Oh, and I should mention that … and I get that this is a superhero show where the weirdest stuff can happen… But the most unbelievable thing was that all four of them showed up to Midland Circle/ Hand HQ at the same fucking time. Why the hell was Luke even on the top floor? The ticket he found from that kid said to go to the parking garage. How the hell did Jessica and Luke even get up there? Danny was with that lady, and Matt took the stairs, but… Don’t businesses like that usually have some kind of pass you have to swipe in the elevator to access the top floors like that? That way randos don’t just walk into the building and go straight to the top floor??

What the fuck happened to those poor Chinese restaurant workers? Did they die? Did they go home? Were they just peachy-keen with their whole place being wrecked??? WTF?!?!?!

I like how Stick pointed out how he found Danny via his phone while they were hiding out at the restaurant… and then everybody kept hauling their phones around the rest of the time. Including Claire, who was answering calls in the middle of a sword fight. WTF?

And during the whole last two or three episodes, all I could think was: WHY THE FUCK DOESN’T SOMEBODY CALL THE AVENGERS?!!?!? THEY’RE RIGHT THERE, AREN’T THEY?!?! CALL IRON MAN, OR SOMEBODY!!! Gosh.

Okay, okay. I’ve ranted enough about the different parts of this show that annoyed the fuck out of me. But, if I disliked it so much, you might ask: why the hell did I finish watching it? Why didn’t I just give up midway through like I did with Luke Cage? What things does this show ACTUALLY have going for it? What did I LIKE about it?

First of all, as a Netflix/Marvel show, The Defenders has an amazing production value. The fact that they could afford Sigourney Weaver for even just six episodes is amazing. The effects and sets are all fairly good; and (again, outside of the mystical stuff) this felt like a real place. There was dirt and grime, and a lot of working parts and side characters who made an appearance (which could be a detriment sometimes). It’s a world that had coincidences, yes, but the fact that only two of the Defenders (Jessica and Luke) had met each other previously showed that, while some of them had heard of the others, this wasn’t such a small place that they’d all serendipitously crossed paths before. Claire introduces Luke and Danny. Foggy introduces Matt and Jessica (sort of). It felt just right. It wasn’t such a small world that everyone already knew each other, but it makes sense that in that in such a small area like Manhattan, there would be some connections (like Foggy working for Hogarth, for instance) that ultimately bring them all together when it’s needed.

Going off that, I really liked the contrast between Alexandra’s world and the Defenders’ world. All our heroes are in the grimy, poorer, dim-light, grungy areas. Even Danny, who’s a billionaire, seemingly lives a run-down dojo. They all seem to be kind of lower-class everyman sort of people. Whereas, Alexandra is very clean; she either wears or is surrounded by a lot of white and lighter colors (like cream and light tan), and she always seems to be in really good lighting – sometimes it even looks a bit harsh on her features. She’s got these refined tastes: eating fancy meals, listening to classical music, private performances, owning a bunch of antique books, etc. Whereas the Defenders eat at what looks like a two- or three-star Chinese restaurant as their first real pow-wow together, and none of their apartments look very clean or organized or fancy. I thought the contrasts between the good and the bad guys was strong, and did well to build up the world and ambiance of the show.

But, what really carries this show for me are the character interactions among the Defenders, once they start meeting each other. Like many people on Tumblr, I seriously enjoyed the dynamic between Jessica and Matt. You can tell that, in the short time they were together, Jessica grew to like and respect Matt – hence the whole scene with her client’s daughter where she alludes to Matt’s backstory. Matt also really respects Jessica’s grit and intelligence. Similarly, I also liked Danny and Luke’s friendship, although not to the same degree. I think when you break down a larger group of four or five people into pairs or groups of three, it really helps to develop the connections between not only the group as a whole but everyone’s individual dynamic with everyone else. For instance, that scene where Matt, Jessica and Luke are going to rescue Danny in the elevator worked for me, because Jessica and Luke already had a strong dynamic from her show (although I feel like they should’ve worked together more, and not just had a shoe-horned resolution at the end), and Matt and Jessica were building a friendship, so they felt like a fairly good unit together. Matt and Luke didn’t have that strong of a dynamic throughout the show, but the three of them in the police station, then on the run, then going down the elevator all worked because two of those three core relationships had some strength and weight to them.

This show also had a good amount of humor and heart to it. While I don’t think it was always well done, I seriously appreciated the effort. As I said before, that scene where the lady breaks down and cries in Luke’s arms because all her children are dead was fucking heartbreaking. The scene where Luke tells Danny that there are people out there caught in the crossfire of his war who don’t know any better, and are just trying to help their families… that was really powerful and well-done. As was the scene where Jessica keeps checking up on her client and daughter, because she’s worried for their safety (especially after what happened on her own show). And Elektra’s scenes in Matt’s apartment. And Matt deciding whether to attack the store owner who’s attacking the kids during the riot. There are some really good moments in there. Anytime there wasn’t mystical undead ninjas, a fuck-ton of exposition or any “we can’t tell you for your own protection” bullshit, this show could be really, really good.

Okay, I’m almost at 4,000 words, and I feel like if I’ve forgotten anything, I can add it in later. As I said, this show was kind of disappointing, considering how much it had been hyped up, and how long (since DD S1) I’d been waiting for it. But, eh. Between DD S2, Luke Cage, and the bad reviews of Iron Fist, I feel like the Netflix/Marvel shows haven’t been as good as I once felt like they were.

Again, this is all my opinion. Feel free to disagree with me. I haven’t really talked to anyone else or looked up any other reviews, so I don’t know if I’m in the minority on this one. Did you guys like it? What problems did you find with it? What were its stronger points? Do you agree or disagree with my review?

Thanks! ~miss-musings

[remysinnerchicken]

A New Chapter

College sounds fake. The stories are everywhere online, from nightmare roommates to party horror stories to the constant reassurance that it will be the best four years of your life. There are tricks and tips on how to make your dorm room cozy plastered all over Buzzfeed and supposedly life-saving hacks for when you have to finally brave those communal bathrooms. Naturally, for an anxiety-ridden incoming freshman, those articles are eaten up with unabashed ferver.

However, what those articles fail to mention is that, while there are similarities, art school in the big city is a whole separate genre of fake. Roommates are still game of Russian Roulette, and the meal plans are still too damn expensive to be necessary, but there was something different about a school made up entirely of artists. Which, for Charlie Vega, was both a blessing and curse the moment she stepped foot on campus.

"This is campus?" Mike spoke up as he eyed the two buildings kiddie-corner from each other.

"There are other buildings around, but yes," Charlie quietly defended, "It isn't exactly green rolling hills, is it?"

"Where do you go to ditch class?" He raised an eyebrow, plastering himself to the window to try and scope literally anything out.

She shrugged awkwardly, "Pike's Place, I guess?"

"She isn't going to be ditching class," Their mother spoke up with an eyeroll, still trying to maneuver her way into the alley for car unloading, "Not when we're paying 50 thousand dollars a year."

He shook his head with a laugh, "Jesus Christ, kid. That much for singing and dancing classes?"

"You went to trade school for music in L.A., I'm not sure you have much of a position to judge from," She argued.

"I'm not judging you," He waved his hand casually, "I'm judging your pretentious school." His eyes scanned the now bustling alleyway and smiled at a woman in a bright colored shirt who had two large rolling bins with her. They exchanged nods and he got out of the car, ushering his sister to do the same.

The two emptied the tiny car's contents into the bins, Mike making small talk with the upperclassman helping out. She lead the two into a parking garage where people in a shirt just like hers stood beside bins just like theirs with freshman that looked anxious just like Charlie. She pointed to a tall Hawaiin man in a purple bandana, telling them to go "stand with him, he'll get you up the elevator."

By the time they had gotten to the eighth floor, Charlie was nearly reeling. The doors dinged open and she was greeted by a loud, excited voice.

"Hi!" The woman nearly sang, "You must be Charlie! I have your card for your room and a few papers for you to look over and hand back to me later tonight." She shoved the contents into her dazed hands and beamed like a million suns all fused together, "Go check out your room!"

Charlie took a second, realizing for the first time in thirty minutes where she actually was. She took a step back, eyes sweeping the doors in the hall and finding the one that belonged to her, just the second door down. She read Charlie and internally cringed, having forgotten to mention that little name switch to her family before they came. She looked back to the excited woman, finding her just watching with anticipation. She smiled awkwardly and went to her door, pressing the keycard to the reader and falling against the door as it opened.

"I made it," She announced loudly as she entered. She looked up to find her roommate, having stopped dead in her tracks the moment the door opened, and her two moms.

"So, you're... Charlotte?" One of the mothers asked.

"Charlie," She corrected, ignoring the way her skin crawled as she was acutely aware of her brother behind her. She came fully into the room, emptying the bins with shaking hands so that Mike could bring them back out to the loud woman.

"I'm Riley," Her roommate finally spoke up once Mike had come back. She stepped to the middle of the room, holding out her hand to Charlie.

She watched her wearily before shaking her hand, "Good to put a face to the texts."

"Same," She smiled before going back to organizing her side of the room.

"Alright, Charmander, you want to make your bed and start setting up or do you want to wait for mom?" Mike asked, sitting in the desk chair provided.

"Let's just wait," She answered quietly.

For what felt like hours but could have only been twenty minutes at most, Mike and Charlie sat and watched as the Winters set up Riley's half of the room. Every so often, one of her moms would strike up conversation, which Charlie tried to continue but her smiles were tight and her looks were fleeting. Eventually, the two women recognized how uncomfortable the girl was and left her alone, holding nothing but empathy for the anxiety ridden artist.

Just around the time that Sofia came back from parking the family car, the Winters left to go shopping for the extra necessities they had left back home. Together, Sofia and Mike put the art on the walls and made the bed, allowing for Charlie to put her knick-knacks where she chose, her clothes in the order she needed, and her plant in just the right spot in the window. By the time the room was setup, Charlie was sat at her desk holding her Scrump doll tightly against her body.

Danny Boy (9:32am): Hey, are you all setup?

She read the text over and over as if she couldn't understand a word it said. She looked up at her family as they made plans before leaving, and then back to her phone.

Charmander (9:34am): Almost. Mom and Mike are gonna bounce soon, I guess, but they want to go shopping first so I have some kind of food.

Danny Boy (9:35am): They're leaving so soon? Like, not even lunch?

Charmander (9:35am): :^) I'm dying inside.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before they all headed out to a nearby grocery store, getting cheap and fast essentials that could last her until the next time her mom came into town. She had a meal plan afterall, but as far as they could tell, musical theatre majors were going to be driven into the ground so any kind of extra snacks would be appreciated. Of course, it wasn't the most fun shopping experience she had ever had, as she really just roamed the aisles without an appetite for ten minutes before her family started grabbing things they knew she liked.

Arriving back at the dorms, Charlie and Mike took the stairs with the groceries, making for an earlier goodbye with Sofia on the first floor before she went to fetch the car. Riley was still gone and, after a choked up hug between the two siblings, Charlie was alone in her room for the first time.

Charmander (10:32am): Is your roommate there

Danny Boy (10:34am): No. Is yours? Do you need a friend?

Charmander (10:34am): mike just left

Danny Boy (10:36am): :( Come up to my room. The doors open.

That was the first place she differed from all the generic articles online. She had a friend from high school that was also attending her school of choice. She wouldn't say they were best friends, no, but they had certainly seen some things together. From homecoming disasters, to first heartbreaks, to gender revelations, to say they had history was a bit of an understatement.

Which is how Charlie found herself sitting in Daniel Knowles' room, streaming with tears as he hummed while putting away Poptarts. She wasn't offended, in fact she kind of preferred that he ignored her. It was sort of just a moment for herself.

Until he decided to actually talk to her about it.

"What is it that's freaking you out so much, if you don't mind me asking?" He inquired, not even looking in her direction.

She looked up, eyebrows drawn together and shoulders rigid, "Well... I mean... I've never done anything like this. I mean," She sniffed and swiped at her nose, "I lived with Mike for that one year. But it was different, I was still home with everyone. I was in a small town. I had somewhere to be. I had Mike."

"Well, you have me," He shrugged.

"Why am I the only one who's not excited?" She suddenly asked.

He paused then finally leaned against the counter, looking at her. "I don't think you are," He finally said, "I think everyone just says that they're excited so they can cover up how dreadfully anxious they are. But you don't tend to do that. You... Well, Charlie, you wear your heart on your sleeve and, ya'know, that's not a bad thing."

"I didn't use to do that," She mumbled to herself.

"No, you didn't," He agreed, "But then some larger than average poop broke your heart, you got sad, and now everyone knows you feel approximately all of the time because you just stopped hiding it. Which is a good thing if you ask me. You're here to study acting."

"So, I should be able to act like I'm not a horrible mess," She defended.

"Nah, I think it just makes you more genuine," He smiled, "You're very in touch with your mess."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, wiping underneath them to try and remove any evidence of her sobfest. A quick look through her camera on Snapchat and she could see that somehow her Wal-Mart brand makeup stood the emotional test and was looking just fine. With that in mind, she turned so that Danny was in the background of the photo and snapped a selfie. She posted it to her story with fake enthusiasm, mostly putting on a show for their friends back home, before setting her phone down and curling up in the chair she was sat in. For the next hour or so, she watched as Danny, soon to be joined by his roommate, set up their room. Or at least tried to.

She eventually spoke up, seeing how uncomfortable he already was with his roommate, "Can we stop by my room? See if Riley's back and grab my computer?"

"Sure," He answered quickly, dropping what he was doing and grabbing his keycard. "I'll be back, Nate." He didn't wait for an answer before he left the room, Charlie at his heels.

It was only when they reached Charlie's room only a floor down that either of them said anything. She bit back a cheeky smile as she unlocked her door, "He's... certainly a character."

"I don't trust him," Danny deadpanned, "I, can already tell that I'm going to hate him."

With no sign of her roommate, Charlie let out a sigh, "I think I'm going to like my roommate. I don't know. I don't know if she's going to like me."

"You'll be fine," He drawled.

For the next several hours Charlie and Danny bounced from one floor to the next, answering calls from friends back home, sorting out their rooms, and trying to have any kind of communication with their respective roommates. Eventually they ended up on the floor of Charlie's room for a good forty minutes just talking to Riley before she left again to go to a family dinner.

Alone in the room, Charlie rubbed the back of her neck, "So, like... My family's gone... I don't have dinner plans."

Danny looked up from where he lay on the floor, "Oh, I'm sure my family can bring you out."

"I hate your mom," She scrunched up her face at the thought.

"So do I," He shrugged, "But it's food."

After a moment, she nodded in agreement. They called Danny's mom and sorted out dinner plans, and soon enough they were headed out, pressing the elevator button and waiting.

A tall person with incredibly light blonde hair rounded the corner and, seeing that the button was already pressed, stood back with their hands in their pockets, staring at the door. They sort of kicked at the ground a little impatiently, never quite standing still. They had a softness about their face despite having a completely blank expression.

Charlie took a minute to just stare at their shirt, silently admiring the design and briefly wondering if it was a reference to anything. Then, having realized they were staring at this stranger's chest for an indeterminate amount of time, she looked at their face. "Hey," She said, gaining their attention, "Uh, I realize now that it looks like I was just staring at your chest and I look weird. I was checking out your shirt."

They blinked then smiled, "Oh." They looked at their shirt, almost as though they forgot what it was, "Yeah, thanks! I like it." They looked back at Charlie, scuffing their shoe again, "I like your outfit."

"Thanks," She smiled, rocking back on her heels and tapping her toes together, looking down at her shoes shyly.

The elevator dinged open and all three of them got in, riding it down before branching off to their respective destinations.

Unfortunately what followed suit was one of the, if not the most awkward dining experience Charlie had ever had with Danny's family, which was really saying a lot considering the four or five years they had known each other. After a fight that had been sparked from absolutely nothing, Danny's mother refused to join them at the table, and it was just the two of them and his sister eating. With some awkward small talk here and there, Charlie managed to be the Switzerland of the family war, and got back to the dorm with enough time to spare before her floor meeting.

A couple minutes early, she and Riley crept out of their room and peered into the lounge, finding half the floor sitting in various places around the room. The two of them exchanged looks before choosing to sit against the wall on the floor next to one another. Riley focused her attention on her phone, while Charlie scoured the room with her eyes, noticing as each new person slowly filtered into the lounge.

What came by next was a bit of a blur, mostly a ton of information from their very loud and excited RA. Somewhere along the line Charlie made a remark under her breath, which the RA laughed brightly at, calling attention to Charlie by name. She ducked her head awkwardly, smiling a bit and noticing the way Riley chuckled in response.

Finally, as if the universe knew how to mess with her, they were instructed to find someone in the lounge to speak to. The catch being that it couldn't be your roommate. Charlie didn't miss the way Riley seemed to physically brace herself for the following conversation. It got worse when they found out they had to do it twice.

After a conversation with an upperclassmen that she absolutely forgot the name of despite hearing it multiple times within the past twenty minutes, she had to find another stranger to communicate with. She glanced around, recognizing the person from the elevator, but they had already found a partner to speak to. She rubbed at her arm uncomfortably before her eyes landed on what she had deduced to be the elevator stranger's roommate, due to earlier comments made in the meeting.

Perfect.

She sat next to him, startling him, and just let the words roll out of her mouth, "Hi, I'm Charlie, you look uncomfortable and I'm incredibly uncomfortable, so we're going to talk."

He stared at her like a deer in headlights before cracking a smile, "Yeah, sure, that works for me. Uh, Scott. Matthews. Acting major."

"Musical theatre," She nodded, recalling him saying that earlier in the meeting, "So, we'll have a bit of a similar experience."

He pursed his lips, tilting his head, "Well."

"It can't be that different right off the bat," She furrowed her brow, "We do the same thing, I just sing and dance more than you do."

"Still pretty different," He adjusted his seating position just barely, pushing back his hair, "But ya'know, it's. It's whatever."

"Jesus, okay," She huffed to herself, "Uh, interesting fact? I wrote a book once."

"Wow," He looked mildly impressed before shrugging, "I don't know, uh, I went to Catholic school."

She blinked, "You... Really?"

He smiled- no, he smirked. It was definitely a smirk. "Yeah. It's just as terrible as it sounds."

"Yikes, dude," The more she thought about it the more she hated it. She had her own experience with having a wildly religious dad, so to imagine growing up and going through the Catholic school education system was just horrendous.

"I mean, it's fine," He cracked his knuckles absentmindedly, "It's just, ya'know, the surefire way to make sure your kids are never Catholic. That was a fun conversation."

"Yeah, I... I get that. With my dad," She looked down at her hands then, fidgeting with her sleeves.

Their RA called for their attention shortly after, and she could feel an awkward wall go up between her and Scott once they were no longer engaged in conversation. She didn't think anything of it, nothing more than a failed attempt at making a friend anyway.

"Alright, and one last thing before we head out," Their RA finally said, "I need to show you guys the trash room!" Somehow she managed to make even that sound exciting. She stood, startling Charlie when she was only around 5'1", and headed down the hall with the elevators. Everyone followed after her and the moment they walked in, there was a murmur.

"Wow, look, it's my home," Charlie said to herself.

Scott's roommate, Grace as Charlie learned, gasped and turned to her. Excitedly they whispered, "That's what I said!"

Charlie looked at them and grinned, "Oh my God."

When their fun adventure to the trash room was over, they were dismissed from the meeting and Charlie and Riley immediately took to hiding in their room.

"So, there's that weird... mixer, party thing on floor twenty," Charlie mentioned, checking herself in the mirror.

"I don't think I'm going," Riley said.

"Yeah?" She looked at her.

"Like, maybe for a little bit because I hear food's involved. But I'm not, ya'know, a people person," She shrugged.

"I get that," She smiled a little, "I'm mostly just going because Danny wants to. I probably won't stay long. It's been... a day."

And so they went, Riley bailing out after a few minutes. Charlie sat with Danny and a few friends she had met during an Accepted Students Day in June, but mostly she was aching to leave. After some dancing and a weird conversation with a boy from her floor she couldn't remember the name of, she retreated to her room, finding Riley already in bed.

After a tentative shower, Charlie crawled into bed for the first night at college. She didn't know how long she stayed awake, staring at her string lights with something heavy weighing on her heart, but eventually she was able to sleep with Scrump in her arms.

[cptcarnage]

Ghosts and shadows: Chapter 5

Masterpost

Chapter 5: Boxing the Huntress

Fentonworks laboratory, late morning

The laboratory under the Fenton household was in a mad hustle. All members of the family were running around, doing their final checks of the newly completed portal room. Everything had to be in peak condition, since today was the day they would activate their new portal.

Maddie and Jack were doing their last checks on the cabling and the ecto-filter system while Danny and Jazz were going over the programming for a last time. All of them were dressed into their respective lab-coats except for Danny who was in his hunting armour to make sure nothing dangerous came out of the portal upon activation.

“Alright kiddo’s, ready for the new Fenton Portal?!” Jack bellowed as he closed the cabling compartment he was inspecting.

“As long as the ting doesn’t explode.” Danny said as he closed his helmet over his face, turning on the green lights of the eyes and morphing his voice. “You have to take into account that this one is a lot bigger than the last one.” He said while pointing at the massive hole in the wall.

And he was right, this portal was a vast improvement over the last design. For one it was bigger, way bigger. The Fentons had designed it so they could fit larger objects into the portal to explore the ghost zone. Whereas the last model could fit a handful of people walking next to each other through it, this model was wide and tall enough to fir a small aircraft. Or one of the various vehicles or probes build by the Fentons. One of the latter was now standing ready to launch inside and map the immediate surroundings of the portal.

“You’re right sweetie, there’s a lot more room for error. But we accounted for that.” Maddie said.

“I know we did.” Danny said. “Just making sure.”

“Don’t worry Dann-o! We checked everything twice, and so did you and Jazz! We’ll be completely safe!” Jack said loudly.

“Alright then. Jazz, is the probe ready?” Danny asked.

“Ready and set.” Jazz answered. “Once the portal is open we launch it in.”

“Good.” Danny said. “Are we all set dad?” He asked.

“Yes, the whole thing is plugged in and ready! Only need to press the button now!” Jack boomed.

Danny chuckled at his dad’s enthusiasm. “Yes dad, but let’s do that from the safety of the control console.” He said while pointing at Jazz and the portal controls.

“Yes…, good idea Dann-o.” Jack said.

“As always…” Danny chuckled absent minded.

“Ego alert.” Jazz called to Danny.

“Sure, whatever.” Danny said as he grabbed his plasma rifle from his back and powered it up. Ready to shoot anything harmful that might come out of the portal once it activated.

“Commencing primary ignition.” Jazz said as she pushed several buttons on the control console.

The portal hole began emitting a low whining sound and illuminated slightly in a neon-green light. On the console Jazz saw a percentage indicating how much the portal ignition was charged. Currently at 55 percent and rising rapidly.

“Note that upon activation the surrounding area will receive a short spike in ecto-activity as a result of a permanent portal opening.” Maddie noted.

“It will only be for a moment. Most people won’t even notice, I think only Axiom Labs has the stuff to detect it. And even then they are very likely to miss it, like the others did last time.” Danny said never taking his gaze and aim away from the empty hole in the wall.

“Portal primed. Dad?” Jazz asked.

“BANZAI!!” Jack shouted as he pressed the big button to fully activate the portal.

The portal sparked, gave a high whine and then exploded in a bright green flash which caused everybody except Danny to avert their eyes from the bright light. Danny was luckily protected by his mask. When they looked back they saw a bright and swirling mass inside the portal signalling they were successful and a permanent bridge to the Ghost-zone was opened.

“Jazz, launch the probe.” Danny said without taking his eyes off the portal.

“On it.” Jazz said as she typed something on the control console and the probe burst to life. Giving a mechanical whir before the magnetic rail it rested on shot it into the swirling mass where it disappeared for the eyes of the Fentons. But not for the scanners.

The view the probe was having was weird and surreal to put it lightly, the Ghost-zone was a swirling mass of neon green ectoplasm, surreal images of purple floating doors and islands and more. Plus the occasional ectoplasmic octopus or ectopus that floated by. The probe itself looked a bit like a small space satellite with a lot of cameras, a communications antenna and a rocket booster for propulsion. It floated for a moment before blasting off into the zone.

“The probe will begin mapping the zone surrounding the portal. We should have an adequate map by tomorrow.” Jazz said.

“And the probe will keep working until some random ghost takes it out. I’m betting on Walker by the way.” Danny said.

“You’re on little brother.” Jazz replied.

“Now would someone kindly close the portal?” Danny asked.

“On it.” Jazz said as she pressed the button to lock the portal, watching the big black and yellow doors slide closed.

When the doors were closed Danny finally lowered his weapon and turned around. “Okay, portal active and no ghosts interrupting us? Seems like a pretty good day to me.” Danny said getting a few chuckles from the rest of the family.

“Now, if all is set and done. I’m going into town, Sam Tucker and I agreed to meet up.” He said.

Amity Park, just after noon

A couple hours later Danny was leisurely sitting in the shadow of a tree. It was about halfway July and the sun was shining relentlessly. Being only dressed in a shirt made the heat a little more bearable. Having closed his eyes for a moment because he knew he was early.

After a few minutes Danny noticed his eyelids appeared a little darker, which would mean something or someone was blocking light from falling in on his face. He opened one eye to see what was causing the shadow and was rather surprised not to see his two friend standing in front of him but the single form of the girl he met at the Nasty-Burger, what was her name again? Valerie, that was it.

“Good afternoon Valerie.” Danny said whilst not having moved an inch and still having only one eye open.

“Whu…? Oh, hi Danny.” Valerie responded. “I see you’re enjoying the weather today.”

“Meh, just killing some time waiting for Sam and Tucker.” Danny said whilst opening both eyes. “What about you?” he asked.

“Oh well, just having as much fresh air before my shift at the Nasty-Burger.” Valerie said.

Danny just nodded, deciding not to delve into her backstory yet.

Danny and Valerie talked a little more whilst Danny was waiting, slowly paving the way for a friendship to arise. Meanwhile Sam and Tucker had arrived at the entrance of the park and made their way to the tree were Danny wold be waiting for them, as he let Sam know where he was by text.

“I think I see Danny over there.” Tucker said as he pointed to the figure under the tree.

Sam squinted her eyes. “Yep, that’s him. But who’s that with him?”

“Uh, I think that’s Valerie.” Tucker said.

“What?” Sam said as she took a closer look. “You’re right, what does she think she’s doing?!”

“Uh, talking to him I guess.” Tucker said.

“Come on, let’s get over there…” Sam said before taking off without waiting. Tucker followed quickly behind her.

“So you’re from Great-Britain right? I’ve always wondered what it’s like there.” Valerie asked.

“I frankly don’t understand why people find it so bloody interesting I’m from Britain, it’s not like it’s another planet.” Danny joked. “It’s not that special really. Just all humans and buildings with the occasional ghost buzzing around. Only real difference I’ve noticed so far is that you guys drive on the wrong side of the road.” He said.

“Okay, first of all it is you British types that drive weird. And second, I was just being curious. Great-Britain is on the other side of the ocean and I’ve certainly never been there.” Valerie said.

“I was just joking about the first part Valerie, its fine.” Danny said.

“Okay, but did you say ghosts?” Valerie asked but before Danny could answer her Sam came into view and called out to him.

“Hey Danny!” Sam called out enthusiastically. “Valerie.” She said coldly, acknowledging the girls presence but nothing more.

“Hey Sam.” Danny said as he propelled himself upwards. “Tucker.” He said after noticing his dark skinned friend behind Sam.

Tucker nodded back in greeting but did notice the crunched eyebrows Valerie was making to them. Though that might have been due to Sam who was subtly glaring at Valerie.

“Hope you didn’t have to wait too long?” Sam asked.

“Nah, Weather is quite nice today. I didn’t mind.” Danny said.

“Good, we were planning on going to Tucker’s house. You coming along?” Sam asked.

“Lead the way. Sorry Valerie, till a next time I guess.” Danny apologised.

“Yeah, sure…” Valerie answered though again being completely ignored by the other two teens.

At that moment the latter had had enough. “Okay, what is with you guys?! Why do you two act like I don’t even exist? You guys don't like me very much, do you?!” Valerie ranted.

“We don't know you very much. And honestly, you used to be pretty mean to us. You think we're just going to start hanging out just like that?” Sam said earning a nod from Tucker. Danny wisely took a step back knowing that this was between them.

Valerie was a little bit shocked and looked at Danny for some support.

“Don’t look at me… I have no idea what is going on and I think this is best solved between the three of you.” Danny said.

Valerie froze for a split second but then nodded. She knew he was right and Sam had a point.

“I… I guess you have a point.” Valerie said with a slightly sad tone. “I have to go to work. See you later Danny.”

Danny said nothing but gave her a solid nod. He then turned around joined Sam and Tucker on their way to the latter’s house.

“I might be wrong about this but that was pretty harsh back there.” Danny commented.

“She did deserve it Danny. Trust us on this one.” Tucker answered.

“I do trust you guys, just stating the facts. Ever thought about second chances?” Danny asked.

Tucker and Sam cocked an eyebrow at this statement but otherwise remained silent. It was a pretty standard question but there was something deeper behind it.

“I know I have…” Danny continued. “It takes two lands to build a bridge on. Someone just needs to take the first step.” He said.

“Maybe, we’ll see.” Sam answered.

Tucker however looked very opposed to the idea, seeing as he had suffered a lot over the years due to the treatment he received from the A-list Valerie used to be a part of. “I don’t know about that…” he murmured.

“Just think about it.” Danny said.

The rest of the walk to Tucker’s house was spend with marginally lighter conversation, steering away from the subject of Valerie and the A-list by extension. After about fifteen minutes of walking they arrived at the small home Tucker inhabited. It was small but still roomy to normal standards. Though still smaller than the mansions both Sam and Danny inhabited. Build in a more densely build area of the city it was a blue painted, two story house with a triangular roof.

Tucker fished the key out of his pocket, unlocked the door and held it open for his two friends. “I welcome you at ‘casa Del Foley’.” He said.

“What, you’re a bi-linguist now? With the Spanish?” Danny joked.

“Multi linguist actually, I speak Esperanto as well.” Tucker said proudly.

“Ah that constructed language used all around the world. Why would you know how to speak that?” Danny asked slightly intrigued.

“Well, it’s the international language spoken amongst nerds.” Sam said.

“Oh really, well isn’t that ironic.” Danny said.

“What? Why?” Tucker asked.

“Didn’t you know Esperanto is also frequently used by ghosts as well? Besides Latin of course.” Danny explained.

“And how would you know that?” Sam asked.

“And why would nerds speaking it be ironic.” Tucker asked.

By now the three teens had entered the house and Tucker had shut the door. All three of them walked into the living room where Tucker’s mother was seated. She had been listening to the conversation the three teens were having but they hadn’t noticed her yet. She did notice the new face walking in her home.

“Well because the nerds are often the most invisible social group and ghosts can turn ‘invisible’. Eh…?” Danny said making the face he always made while making his witty and often rubbish puns.

He got his answer in the form of two deadpan expressions and a faint smile at the corner of Sam’s mouth. “And I’ll let myself out now…” Danny said.

At this moment Angela decided to cut in. “Not until we have been introduced young man.” She said warmly.

“Oh, hi mom.” Tucker greeted. “Is dad around?” he asked.

“He should be around somewhere sweetie, check the garage. And who is your new friend?” Angela asked.

“I’m Daniel Fenton, but most people tend to call me Danny.” Danny said.

Angela noticed his distinct accent and the last name did sound familiar as well. “Pleasure to meet you Danny, I’m Angela. Tucker’s mother, but you might have already guessed that.” She said. “Fenton? I know that name from somewhere.” She mused.

“Oh, you might know it from Fentonworks, the company. Not related to those Fentons by the way.” Danny lied.

“No, I mean yes also that but I know that name from somewhere else. But you’re not from Amity so it might be someone else I’m thinking of.” Angela said.

“What do you mean Mrs. Foley?” Sam asked.

“Well, I used to know some guy named Fenton in college. Could be family of you.” Angela said to Danny.

“He could have been my father, my parents used to live in Amity before moving after college.” Danny said. “We only moved back here a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, small world then.” Angela said.

“Indeed.” Danny answered. “Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Foley.”

“Hey mom, we’re going up to my room ok.” Tucker said.

“Of course honey.” Angela answered.

The three went upstairs afterwards to Tucker’s room. During the time they were there Tucker’s father made his introduction to Danny as well. Danny learned that Mt. Foley or Maurice as he told him to call him was a police officer in Amity Park. Afterwards the three friends kept themselves busy with playing games or telling stories of past events. The latter being mostly done by Sam and Tucker about all the things that happened in Amity Park so far. As far as they could tell there hadn’t been very major ghost attacks yet. Not like what had happened in London or the rest of Europe.

Danny all the while tried to steer away from his past as much as possible, he didn’t want his new friends to know of his social isolation back in the UK. It was a bit painful to remember all that and there was a definitive reason why he was like this, there were drawbacks in having a family like his.

A couple of hours later Danny had to return home again. He grabbed his stuff and prepared to set out. “Alright guys, I need to go home about now. Catch you all next time.” Danny said.

“Okay dude, see you around.” Tucker said before focusing back on his game against Sam.

“Hey Danny, interested in doing a video chat tonight? We could talk and play some more.” Sam asked.

Danny pondered for a bit. As tempting as it would be to hang out with Sam and Tucker some more he also wanted to go on patrol tonight and hopefully make contact with the Red Huntress. So in the end he had to decline on the offer.

Danny signed. “I would really like to Sam, but I have stuff to do tonight.” He said.

“The whole night?” Sam asked incredulously.

“Yeah…” Danny said slightly awkward. “It’s some family business. I won’t be able to join you guys. Sorry.”

“Alright, that’s fine. See you next time.” Sam said slightly dejected as Danny left the room. They heard him say goodbye and as soon as the front door closed again she paused the game.

“What the…? Sam!” Tucker shouted at the sudden pause.

“Tucker, I might just be imagining this. But I think Danny is hiding something.” Sam said.

“What makes you say so?” Tucker asked.

“He’s awfully quiet about his past, he like never talks about his time in the UK or even friends he has there. Don't you think that’s a bit suspicions?” Sam asked.

“Maybe, but he could have a reason not to tell us. I mean we haven’t known him for a long time yet. You and I go back for years in that aspect.” Tucker said.

“Yes, but still…” Sam said.

“Sam, have you told me everything there is to know about you? I think not, I haven’t even been to your house yet. Ever!” Tucker said. “When he trusts us enough he might tell us something more, right now we can only wait.”

“That is surprisingly wise of you. Who are you and what have you done to Tucker?” Sam joked.

“Haha, but I’m serious though. Give him some time, he’ll come around.” Tucker said.

‘Or he just drops us in favour for the popular crowd. Like everyone would.’ Sam thought. “I guess you’re right.” she said.

Amity Park, evening

Darkness had fallen over Amity and the streets were semi-deserted. The normal citizen would think everyone was either inside or on their way home. Little did they know what was going on top of the city rooftops.

Two pigeons could be seen cuddling on the edge of an apartment block completely oblivious to anything around them. That is until one of the birds heard a sound behind him. It looked around just in time to see a dark figure appear out of nowhere, its bright green eyes looking at it.

Spooked the two birds flew off as fast as they could, all romantic thoughts forgotten. The dark figure crouched behind the ledge of the building, invisible to anyone or anything still on the streets and scanned the sky and horizon.

‘Scanning…no contacts detected’ was displayed on the figure’s HUD.

“Damn, that one time you need a ghost to find someone…” The figure said.

He then pushed a few buttons on the touchpad on his left gauntlet. “Reaper to Cerberus base…” he said.

“Copy Reaper, what do you need…?” Came as an answer over the radio.

“I have nothing on my sensors, what does the ‘big eye’ tell us…?” Reaper asked.

“Stand by…, got a signal. At the waterfront, try the docks…” Cerberus answered.

“Appreciated, Reaper out…” he answered.

Taking out his hover board and activating his cloak again he took off in western direction towards the docks. Landing silently on one of the warehouses he scanned the surroundings again, hoping to find something. And find something he did, he detected something that looked like a level four ghost not too far away. Using his jump pack he bridged the gap between the warehouse and a large stack of containers and clambered onwards in the direction of the signal.

As he got closer he began to hear what sounded like beam weapon discharges and saw bright flashes close by. Opting to take a better look he jumped to the next stack of containers and peeked around invisibly. Only to see a big wooden crate flying right at him.

“Whoa!” He huffed as he pulled back behind the container stack while the wooden box shattered against the stack and its debris flew past him.

“Shipping crates? Who the hell is throwing that around?” He pondered. He got his answer about half a second later.

“BEWARE!!!” was screamed by a spectral voice. “FOR I AM THE BOX GHOST? MASTER OF EVERYTHING CARDBOARD AND SQUARE! TREMBLE FOR MY AWESOME MIGHT!!”

“Box ghost? Really??” Danny asked himself. “That’s a stupid name. Though kind of familiar, where do I know it from?”

“Not gonna happen you blue spook!” a second voice shot back. Literally, as a pink-purple beam of energy shot past the spectre Danny presumed was the Box ghost.

‘And there is the person I was looking for.’ He thought. ‘Perfect, let’s see how she does. It’s a level four, she should be able to handle it.’

At the same time the Box ghost levitated two more nearby crates and flung them at the Red Huntress, she jumped left and ducked right to dodge them. Afterwards she fired two more shots at the offending spectre, none of them connected. Though they were very close. The box ghost flew up in the air to avoid the Huntress and she followed by extending what looked like a jet-powered surfboard from her feet.

‘Hmm, jet-sled. Nice.’ Danny thought.

The Huntress rocketed upwards, bashing the front of her jet-sled into the Box ghost. The latter, being surprised by the momentum lost control over his flight and crashed down in a pile of shipping crates. Smashing them in the process. When the ghost emerged again his face was stricken with rage.

“YOU! YOU MADE ME DESTROY MY BELOVED BOXES OF DOOOM!! PREPARE… TO SHARE THEIR FATE!!!” the box ghost screeched while raising his arms and making his hands glow blue.

Immediately more boxes came flying in and began making orbit around the Box ghost. Ranging from cardboard to wood and even a few metal boxes the sight of them all making circles around the enraged spectre was fear inducing.

The Huntress aimed her rifle but couldn’t seem to get a good shot on the ghost due to all the boxes flying in the way. Next thing she knew several of the boxes had turned into projectiles aimed straight for her. Thinking quickly she started flying backwards and firing on the boxes aimed for her. She wasn’t fast enough though.

One of the crates she shot splintered but the debris had enough momentum to hit her. Her blaster was knocked out of her hands and a metal crate smashed into her jet-sled, throwing her off in the process. This did lead to her falling down and the rest of the square projectiles missing her.

The Huntress crashed onto her back on the hard concrete of the cargo dock, mostly unharmed due to the suit but with Box ghost floating right over her.

“NOW FEEL THE AWESOME MIGHT… OF THE BOX GHOST!!!” the Box ghost screamed. He then made his hands glow again and one of the top containers on a nearby stack began floating upwards.

“Oh shit…” The huntress said as she saw the container floating up and come towards her. ‘This is where I die, crushed beneath a shipping container’ she thought.

“NOW TREMBLE BEFORE MY POWER… THE UNDEFIATEBLE BOX GH…..” the Box ghost screamed before he was interrupted by a strange sounding gunshot and was electrocuted. His focus was broken and the container he was levitating plummeted down and crashed into the ground together with more containers it hit on the way down with a thunderous bang. Meanwhile the Box ghost had fallen onto the ground as well, still spazzing out due to being electrocuted.

The Huntress was stunned, one moment she was about to be crushed. The next the offending ghost was on the ground having a seizure and the container he was holding was laying on the ground on its side. The next moment a thick, blue, translucent beam shot by her and captured the Box ghost in blue light for a moment before he was dragged back towards the beam’s origin behind her. The next moment there was silence, only the sound of water splashing against the docks nearby and a faint echo of the container crash.

Then there was the sound of footsteps behind her. Heavy footsteps, like metal hitting the ground. She rolled from her back onto her belly so she could look behind her. For a second she saw nothing, but then the air in front of her distorted for a split second before what looked like a pair of legs and the end of a trench-coat. A pair of armoured legs she might add, and they appeared out of nowhere.

Slowly raising her head to see who or what was standing in front of her and who she suspected saved her. You can say she was very surprised about who it was. She saw what was definitely a person, possibly a man clad in a black and white suit of armour with neon green decals. The head was hidden beneath a hood that was part of the same trench-coat she saw on the person. The only thing she could see under the hood were the outlines of a metal mask, a breathing filter in place of a mouth and two glowing green slits as eyes staring down at her. The thing was… she knew this silhouette all too well. Though she never saw him in person before his identity was not a secret, the Reaper.

In his left hand he held a device that looked like a white and green soup-thermos, though that quickly disappeared as he put it away on his back. In his right he still held the gun he likely used to shoot the Box ghost, and it wasn’t a small one.

He might not be able to see her face but he could see she was surprised if slightly awed by his presence. Deciding to break the silence Danny spoke. “Evening miss…” he greeted with the deep voice the suit provided.

“Um…uhh…” The Huntress stuttered.

Danny chuckled and holstered his pistol back on his right leg. “Quiet place you’ve got here, though maybe not the safest place to hang out at night.” He said as he extended his hand towards her, offering to help her up.

The Huntress took the offer being to bewildered of what had happened. “You… you’re the real one aren’t you?” she asked as she stood up.

“I’m afraid you’re going to be a little more specific miss.” Danny said.

“Ugh, you know what I mean. You’re the Reaper aren’t you? Legendary ghost hunter. Why did you help me? I had everything under control.” She said slightly ticked off and her prideful demeanour resurfacing.

“Legendary might be a little gushy, but yes same guy. And I’m sure you had everything under control here. It’s not like you were about to be crushed by say… a cargo container?” Danny said, crossing his arms.

The Huntress cringed a little, he did save her life. She couldn’t ignore that fact. “…Yeah…right. Sorry about that. It’s just…” She apologised.

“Don’t mention it.” Danny said, calming her down a bit.

After the Huntress had some time to calm down she asked the question on the front of her mind. “What are you doing here? You should be in Europe.” She said.

“Change of hunting grounds. Ectoplasmic activity back there was diminishing, while here it is on the rise. Prime spot for work and research.” Danny explained.

“Oh, and why did you save me? You’d have less competition if you didn’t.” She asked.

“There is no competition in this business. We’re all in this together, no matter what.” Danny said.

“But why show yourself to me. I mean you disappeared for over a month and could have easily evaded me after capturing that ghost. Why did you make yourself known?” Huntress asked.

“Because I was looking for something.” Danny said rather cryptic.

“Looking for what?” Huntress asked.

“Potential…” He said.

The Huntress was taken aback, there were a lot of things Reaper might have said in this situation but she never would have dreamed to hear those words from him. Meanwhile the Reaper had turned around and walked to where her blaster was laying on the ground from when it was knocked out of her hands.

“I do admit I’ve been watching you working for a while now.” He said as he picked up the weapon and inspected it. “Is this Axiom tech?” He asked.

The Huntress was snapped out of her stupor by this question. “Uh, yes. It’s the best thing I could get my hands on. Why such an interest in me?” She asked.

“Because you’re new to this.” Danny said as he tossed the blaster back to her. “Because I see a lot of things in you.”

“Like what?” Huntress asked as she stashed her weapon away.

“You’re brave for starters. Not everyone dares to go toe to toe with a paranormal being.” Reaper said. “That being said you’re also brash, impatient, overzealous and you might have some anger issues towards ghosts.” He continued, letting her know that he wasn’t here because she impressed him. Because she hadn’t.

“Oh…” was the only thing she said.

“But none of that is irredeemable. I do see potential in you, though I might need to steer you in the right direction a bit.” Danny said.

“Wait,…are you offering to train me?” She asked.

“I might be…” Danny said before he turned his head because he began hearing sirens in the distance. “But not tonight, I’d rather not be seen publicly yet. And unless you want to pay for the damages here I suggest you get going as well.”

The Huntress looked around to the devastation caused by the fight. “Yeah, I’m not paying for this. I’m short on cash as it is. But how will I find you next time?” she asked as she called her jet-sled back to her.

“You don’t, I’ll find you. We’ll be in touch miss Huntress, goodnight.” Danny said as he used his jump pack to thrust himself onto a container stack. “I trust you will keep my presence here in Amity to yourself. I don’t want my face all over the morning news.” He said over his shoulder.

The Huntress nodded. “I’ll keep quiet.”

Danny gave a firm nod back before activating his cloaking engine again. The last thing the Huntress saw was him disappearing into nothingness and the faint sound of a hover board flying of a few seconds later. Then she was all alone again.

“Huh, never thought that would happen. Better get out of here.” She said to herself before boosting off onto her jet-sled. Without anyone knowing any of them were ever there.

And that wraps up chapter 5. Again I apologise for the long wait but I have been extremely busy lately and I will still be busy in the near future. So don’t expect regular updates because that will literally be impossible for me to handle as I can only write sporadically. I will try to make up for it in length and quality.

So now that Danny has met Valerie in both alter-ego’s we can work on some character and story development for both. Sam and Tucker will also be in the spotlight but not for the ghost hunting part just yet. Keep in mind that neither knows the other’s identity just yet (that’ll come later in the story). Also if there are any episodes or ideas that you guys think I absolutely have to include in some way feel free to let me know.

[balshumetsbaragouin]

Bittersweet Future: Chapter Thirteen

Summary:

The main event, an escape, and the aftermath...

Battle Royale: Part II

“I can’t believe I’m being sent back to the RV like a child. I mean sugar cookies what am I five?”        

“Stop your whining! It’s not like you’d be much help as exhausted as you are.”

“Riiiigggght,” Daniel drawled before giving a once over to the person running slightly ahead of him, “and your bum arm would have been perfectly useful for fighting.”

“Oh shut the hell up! I can still shoot with my off-hand; you’re practically falling over.” Jasmine didn’t bother to send a glare over her shoulder, her tone communicating what her face didn’t.

“Yes you’re right, I mean it’s not like I can just make more ener-oh wait that’s right, I can!” Daniel retorted.

“Sure you can,” Jasmine started amicably, “if you weren’t completely wiped from accelerating your energy production twice today already,” she finished with a tone like a sneer. She stopped and turned around to actually send a glare his way this time.

“Oh of course, because being a half-ghost, you’re perfectly versed in the nuances of making spectral energy in your own body. I mean silly me! Here I was thinking you were fully human or something.”

“Oh my God, would you just-”

“Listen, I hate to interrupt this lovely sibling bonding moment, really I do, but do you think the both of you could stop fighting for a few seconds and turn off the shield so I can get inside now?” Danny peered at the two of them from the outside of the RV’s DNA recognition fitted shield, anxious to just get inside already.

The two siblings turned and stared at Danny standing, shifting from one foot to the other, outside of the shield with looks equal measure exasperation and surprise, having forgotten the other boy was even there. Jasmine moved inside first, heading for the control panel, while Daniel leaned against the side of the RV; willing to show some amount of fatigue now that his sister wasn’t around to witness it.

“Alright, it should be off now.” A disembodied voice called from inside the camper.

Danny started forward only to slam into an invisible barrier. “Darn it guys, what gives?” He asked while rubbing the sore spot on his face from hitting the still active shield. Only giggling answered his question before he heard someone shout and the scuffling of feet.

“Damn it Nathaniel! I’m so sorry Danny, Nate’s an idiot, but the shield is down for sure now.” Jasmine said, head sticking out of the door to the RV.

“Oh no, you should turn it back on. Watching him walk into it like a bird smacking into glass is the most entertaining thing that’s happened today.” Daniel smirked as Danny carefully walked forward with his hands out to make sure the shield was really offline this time. He rolled his eyes when he heard his sister call him a morbid jerk and held an arm over the entrance to the stairs when Danny approached them. “Listen, I need to ask you something real fast.”

“Interrogate him later Daniel; we need to get ready to leave, and as much as I hate to admit it at the moment, I’m going to need your help.” The eldest Masters’ sibling frowned from her position at the top of the stairs to the RV before pointing a finger in Danny’s direction. “But mister jerkass over there is right, we have a few questions for you, and you better answer them this time.” She stared over the outstretched arm of her younger brother and into the worried looking eyes of the dark haired teen that had turned their life upside down in less than twelve hours.

“Hey guys! Nate and I finally found Dad with the spy cameras, and boy are you missing a great fight.” Nick claimed from his position crowded around the front of the RV cabin with his twin brother and younger sister. He quickly turned back to the screen, clearly enraptured with whatever was playing on its surface.

The older three kids finally joined the younger three inside before Daniel pushed them out of the way to press a few buttons on the control center panel.

“First things first, let’s turn the shield back on, and turn the weapons system off.” He declared while moving to do just that. Afterwards, he glanced at the screen, and finally noticed what had his younger siblings so enthralled. “Ooookk, that is more amazing than I thought it would be. Everyone to the back, I’m going to turn on the big screen.” He watched with satisfaction as the younger kids practically raced away from the front of the camper to get a better view on the larger screen coming from the ceiling farther back in the RV. Well that tactic worked better than I thought it would. He nodded once to himself before delivering on the promise to display the battle on the larger screens. With a sigh, he finally transformed back into a human.

“Good ploy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them rush away from the control panel that fast.”

“My lord, she does know the meaning of the word compliment.”

“And now I’m regretting giving you one. Do you think you could stop being a dick for like five minutes, or would you implode or something?” Jasmine quirked her mouth into a half smile, knowing she needed to blow off some of her emotional stress as much as he did, and happy he was willing to oblige.

“Implode, highly unlikely. However-”

“Woah! What is that thing?” Danny asked, finally having moved around to a place where he could see the battle taking place on the display.

Daniel and Jasmine moved around to join everyone in front of the screen, before answering.

“That’s one of the GSU’s Air Platforms.” Daniel replied with a shrug. “I mean, I know they look impressive, but they probably have older, lower grade, technology in it than the Hover, and that thing is like four years old.”

“Which makes it like 80 in technology years.” Nick added while settling down next to his siblings, popcorn in hand.

“I-seriously?” Jasmine asked, catching sight of the snack bowl being passed around. While she didn’t begrudge them the world view that made this all seem like a game, sometimes they really seemed over the top with it. She rolled her eyes at their innocent stare and continued, “In any case, old as they are, they’re still effective and dangerous. So-”

“Yeah but not as dangerous as our dad!” Nate interrupted in between slurping on soda materialized from someplace.

Danny had to agree. If there was one thing he was well acquainted with, it was how dangerous Plasmius could be if he put his mind to it…

He always had to be so damnably difficult. A dodge here, a teleport there, and he was 100ft away, always just out of reach. He couldn’t just land and use hand to hand combat like a real man. No. He had to zip and zoom and run like the coward he was, like the coward that his species was. Jack could call Plasmius “he” now, if only in his mind, because unlike the rest of the sniveling excuses for ecto-beings he was different. He had been his best friend once after all… “Are you done playing hard to get Plasmius, or am I going to have to continue for a while longer?” Jack taunted over the distance between them, tapping the barrel of his ecto-gun with his free hand. When his opponent declined to answer, Jack did for him, firing an ecto-blast at him. “Or how about we play tag?” He murmured, bringing another weapon to bear, this time filled with ecto-signature seeking missiles. He loosed another barrage of attacks meant to disable his opponent. Not kill. No that is far too quick and gentle a way to die for him.

Vlad sped off, missiles trailing close behind. He spared a glance behind him to sight his opponent before shooting up sharply into the air. The missiles followed faithfully behind as he zipped and dived in between the remaining Air Platforms. He lost two of the six projectiles in the crowded space between the floating equipment before changing trajectory and heading straight up. Jack easily maneuvered his Levitator into his path, aiming a nasty looking weapon directly at him. He didn’t deviate his course one inch. At the last moment, Vlad turned intangible through a hail of bright green ecto-weapon’s fire. The halfa passed through the attacks and his opponent turning tangible on the opposite side long enough to fire a single bright pink blast in the direction he came.

One of the missiles took the brunt of the damage from the ecto-weapons, meeting an explosive end. The rest dipped around Jack to continue their pursuit and rammed straight into the ball of energy meant as a diversion. The resulting explosion consumed the area in a large ball of flame and destruction that slowly dimmed and faded into a cloud of smoke. Two glowing spheres of different tones appeared as the haze cleared. Slow repetitive claps rang out into the space between the two shields.

“Bravo, bravo Plasmius. You took care of those like they were child’s play, and even used them to incapacitate the launch area of one of my Platforms. I’m honestly shocked. Here I was, believing you had gotten stupider over the last two years since we’d last met in battle. Silly me. It seems instead you’ve just gotten sloppy.” Jack paused as the last of the smoke finally vanished and he got a good look at the other fighter. Not a scratch. Shame. “If you were trying to send your little solider out on a recon mission, then you either trained him poorly or picked the wrong abomination for the task. I would have said you were trying to feint me into a trap if you had not been so woefully unprepared when we arrived. What’s the matter Plasmius? One of your little ghostlings wander away from the nest?” The GSU Commander settled deeper into the Levitator’s seat to balance the large piece on his shoulder.

Vlad frowned at the Commander’s ramblings. “Only you deal with soldiers Jack-”

“Oh yes! I forgot. You are too much a coward to deal with war and the battle field. That’s why you run and hide like the scum you are.” The Commander suddenly laughed before aiming the ecto-weapon a little closer to his preferred target. “I wonder what the rest of your species huddled in my facility thinks about your cowardice; I’m sure they could have used your help when I was eradicating the world of their unholy infestation.” Jack watched in satisfaction as Plasmius hissed and tossed a dark pink attack into his shield.

“Enough talk! I thought you were eager to fight? So here I am Commander.” Vlad bite out his rank through grit teeth and slid back into a fighting stance. He didn’t have to wait long before another set of attacks was headed in his direction. He once again dodged around the initial barrage before teleporting farther off, continuing his strategy from before. He set up a solid ectoplasm shield to stop an even more vicious series of attacks and furrowed his brow in worry. The older halfa had no idea where his wife was, but she was the last member of the group not ready to leave in the RV. He had been trying to find her, but even with the advantage of being airborne, the chaos of the battle below him made the task difficult, especially when dealing with a certain distraction.

It had been annoying to begin with, sure, but now it was simply beyond aggravating. If it hadn’t been obvious before now that his opponent wasn’t taking this meeting seriously, it became so right after he put up a simple ecto-shield and started looking around at the earth beneath him. No doubt searching for Maddie… Still, it hadn’t been as infuriating as the fact his weapons hadn’t so much as dented a single shield the creature had made so far. True enough, Plasmius specialized in energy attacks and manipulation more than the physical, but he had no way to force him into a fist fight where he’d have the advantage. If only…wait! That may work…Jack thought before swerving around to set up another strategy. He slowly moved himself in a circle, watching with delight as Plasmius continued to move himself to face him. After a few minutes he had maneuvered himself and his opponent into the perfect position. Abandoning one of the guns for a moment, the ghost hunter gunned the throttle on the Levitator and sped directly ahead.

Vlad prepared himself for the worse. From the look in the Commander’s eyes he was up to one of his reckless and dangerous, but effective, plots. He watched with increasing worry as the distance between them was reduced by a quarter, and then a half, and finally only three-fourths of its original length. Making a quick decision, he teleported to the other side of Jack to the soldier’s original position. He felt his body solidify and was aware just long enough to see a blazing green blast headed right for him. Then there was a searing sharp pain in his middle followed by a sharp crack that reverberated through his skull. Vlad hissed as he picked himself up from the half-dented half-melted crater in the surface of the Air Platform wall he’d landed in.

The Commander let out a low whistle ending in a ‘bam!’ as he watched Plasmius sail and land into the Air Platform just like he’d planned. That should get his attention. A few of the low ranking grunts hovering around the area chuckled at his sound effect antics before zipping off to a separate part of the valley. “So Plasmius, done screwing around yet?” A blast, tingling with the start of static electricity and swirling with a tinge of green in its cherry blossom color, answered him. He felt a wide grin spread across his face as his opponent hovered a few feet above the surface of the Platform, a fierce look of anger darkening his features. Finally. It’s always more fun when he’s angry. He landed the Levitator onto the surface of the Platform and drew one of his ectoranium laced blades designed to rend ghost flesh. He stared off against his opponent who was still covered in the film of oily grime from the fluid leaking from the damaged wall of the Air Platform. And now it really begins…

Vlad quickly created three duplicates, each of them taking up positions ninety degrees from one another; in a perfect circle around their opponent. They charged a dark green attack in each of their palms, the heat of Vlad’s anger as much as the reduction in strength changing the predominant color of their energy.

Jack slid another sword from its sheath and waited. Now that the battle was on his terms, he was in no hurry. The longer he made Plasmius fight, the easier it would be to subdue him. Despite the persona the creature had made for himself, he knew his energy wasn’t unlimited. He just needed to wear him down.

The start of the battle wasn’t signaled by any sound or movement, just the unconscious acknowledgement of the two fighters involved. Vlad’s three duplicates attacked simultaneously; the one behind him firing an attack, while the two to the left and right rushed forward, hands swathed in energy.

Jack blocked the attack headed for his back with one sword, and then leaned to the right, elbowing in the stomach of one duplicate and sending his ectoranium reinforced boot into the middle of the other. He slid back onto both feet and swiped down at the head of the duplicate on the right while it was leaned over holding its gut. To his surprise, it flipped onto its back, fell to the ground, and blocked the now over-extended downward strike with it energy covered hands. Thrown off balance, Jack threw his weight to the right using the block as a solid base as he cartwheeled to the right. A slash on the left side leading backwards through the cartwheel kept the other duplicates at bay, as he easily landed outside of the old circle. He settled his feet, turned to face them, and then rushed his still startled opponents.

Jack’s boot had just passed over the position of the duplicate on the ground, when a large blast came from the original Vlad. He barely suppressed a hiss as the man merely brought both swords around to reflect the blast and continued charging two of the duplicates. He watched as the copies sent several blasts towards the Commander. Nothing got inside of his expert defense, and he realized with growing frustration that he wouldn’t be able to simply leave the duplicates there while he found Maddie. Well if it’s a fight you want…The eldest hybrid thought while preparing to jump into the fray himself.

Plasmius sent an energy covered foot directly towards his temple, while the duplicates with a clear shot fired towards his body. Jack blocked the kick with his forearm, and deflected one of the two shots, opting to take the last to the middle of his back. His suit sustained the majority of the damage, but his opponent’s energy was hot. It burned more than it stung, but he knew it was better than taking a blow to the head or one of his arms. He gritted his teeth and dropped one of his swords in favor of one of his many guns. He popped two of the duplicates in the chest, before dropping the gun and picking his the sword he originally abandoned in order to deflect more energy blasts. He watched the four equal visions of his greatest enemy regroup and advance as a single line before pausing. “What’s the matter? “ Jack asked as he spied one of the duplicates once again looking at the ground under the Platform. “I promise your ghost sow won’t be killed. So stop worrying about her an-” He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentiment before the hybrid was upon him with renewed vigor.

He knew getting him riled up was all part of Jack’s plan; just the same, he wasn’t about to let the psychotic get away with insulting his wife like that. This time instead of sending all the duplicates to attack at once, he started with one. He wanted to get a good rhythm going in the fight before adding more. It dipped and dodged around the Commander’s increasingly annoyance tinged attacks. Soon, the second and third duplicate had started in on Jack. Two of them kept him busy paring and counterattacking while a third tossed in weak, but well-aimed, energy attacks between the holes in his defenses. Soon enough, the man’s attacks became sloppy from both the burning ache of fatigue and the anger. Vlad saw his chance when the GSU Commander finally dropped one of his swords with a pained grunt as a small ecto-energy blast hit his shoulder.  He rushed forward and sent up a silent prayer that his wife was still alright. Wherever you are…

On a battlefield several hundred yards away, Maddie and Jill were still going at it. Ever since she’d heard Jillian order her men to fire at her son, he’s nearly defenseless when he’s using that much focus, she’d been determined to make sure the woman never threatened her family again. Unfortunately, that was much easier thought than done, and she now had a few more trophy wounds to show for the efforts. Her sprained wrist throbbed from the continued strength it took to hold her increasingly heavy bo-staff, but she wasn’t about to give up so easily. She stood facing her opponent silently, for the third time that day, as the chaos around them slowly began to die down.

Jillian, for her part, was in no better shape. After being tackled to the ground, and having her injured arm-that forearm is definitely fractured-jostled by the fall, she’d gotten a few more bruises and a large lick to the thigh that made standing a struggle. Just the same, she was just as determined as her opponent. She’d mostly been trying to ruffle the other woman’s feathers earlier with her comments, but it didn’t mean she didn’t believe most of it. Except for the comments about her Commander, she was sure Maddie’s offspring were more monstrous than anything they currently had locked up in the GSU labs. Twisted little perversions of humanity that they are. Jill set her mouth into a thin line, and steadied her shaking good arm. She noted with some satisfaction that the other woman was shaking nearly as badly as she was.

I have to get to the RV. Maddie realized when she detected the din of battle quieting as the remaining soldiers and machines regrouped towards the last remaining Platforms. She could just make out the rumble of tanks as they barreled towards the middle of the valley, and she noticed with dismay, that she could no longer assume she had the strength to fight off troops if Jill got reinforcements. Just the same, she had to get past the GSU’s second in command first, and she didn’t look inclined to just let her pass. The mother of five chanced a glance into the sky looking for her husband. She knew he was around here somewhere; she’d just seen him flying about, what felt like only seconds ago, but was likely several long minutes before. He’d be able to just grab her and fly them back to the RV with little effort. If only I could get his attention. She thought wistfully, before turning her attention back to the task at hand.

Jillian was about to rush her opponent for what felt like the umpteenth time that day, when a loud explosion rang out over the valley floor. A few minutes before, it would have been indistinguishable from the roar of battle, but with so many men either dead, injured, or regrouping the noise caught her attention. She swiveled around for the source, before locating a plume of green-grey smoke coming from the top of one of the Platforms. She recognized the smoke as the remains of one of their ecto-grenades, but it took a few seconds for the smoke to clear enough to see one of the shapes. Even from this distance, she’d know the person hanging over the edge of the Platform anywhere. She hissed as a separate figure became clear hovering a few feet away from the first, and came to a decision. Her grudge match with Madeline would have to be put off yet again. She spied a group of Levitators heading towards her position, flying towards the Platform, and moved to get picked up. “Sorry dear,” she started while crouching to prepare herself from a leap, “but this is going to have to be postponed. I hope you understand.” She narrowed her eyes as one of the Levitator pilots saw her and made for her position.

Maddie went from confused to shocked when her normally stubborn opponent just called it quits. She was about to count her blessings, when she noticed where the woman was looking. She risked a single look to her left and immediately realized why Jillian was trying to leave. Maddie growled and prepared to stall her further, when she saw her jump and get pulled into the sky on a Levitator. “NO.” Damn it all, just when I figure out where Vlad is. Maddie groused mentally, and prepared to run the distance on foot.

Right then, a group of soldiers practically materialized out of nowhere. They had been approaching from behind, wanting to reinforce their Second in Command, before she’d been picked up by the Levitators. When they saw her get snatched up, they recognized they were in a unique position to catch the usually hyper aware Maddie Masters off guard. They planned on capitalizing on the advantage. They drew their weapons and prepared to fire while on the run, knowing they’d only get one chance at surprising her.

She’d just watched the tired, but still dangerous, Jill disappear to attack her husband when a barrage of weapons’ fire rained down on her. She’d been lucky that the grunts firing at her had bad aim. Still, several of them had to be deflected, and before she could figure out how to get over to the Platform, Maddie had to refocus herself onto the group of fighters approaching from the rear. I hope he can handle them both until we can meet up for an escape. The former ghost hunter thought as she faced off with her newest adversaries.

Vlad’s gambit had worked, and he’d easily grabbed his opponent. Unfortunately, like anything to do with the GSU Commander, the man was making pinning him a battle in and of itself. Two of the duplicates rushed forward to help twist him up, and after a few more seconds of struggling, they’d finally gotten the man’s arms pinned behind him. He smirked as he aimed a blast large enough to knock the other man unconscious. “Anything to tell me before handing off to dreamland?”

“Yush, shuff havd atch’d meh-”

“What?” Vlad slightly lowered hand in confusion.

“I said,” Jack started around the piece of his uniform in his mouth detaching from his collar, “you should have watched me more closely.”

He watched in horror as a mini ecto-grenade rolled into their midst. Vlad looked up just in time to see Jack smile around the pulled pin, before everything went bright green and painful.

Fudge ripple my head is killing me. And my core isn’t much better. He grimaced with the effort it was taking to stay in ghost form. That last blast had taken it out of him. The eldest ghost hybrid looked around to survey the damage done by the grenade. His duplicates had been destroyed in the blast, and had rejoined his ghost form. The Platform’s surface was both smoking in some places and badly scorched in others. Finally, Jack was nowhere to be found. “Where did he…” It wasn’t as if the grenade would turn him into ash, it was mostly calibrated to harm ghosts, and even from point blank range, it wouldn’t do more than burn him. Vlad floated over the surface of the Platform before peering over the edge. Ah, so that’s- “where you gotten to.” He said finishing his thoughts out loud.

Jack was clinging to a twisted edge of the Platform for dear life. He’d expected the blast to throw him some distance, but he hadn’t planned for it to be towards the edge of the Platform instead of towards the interior. He’d had just enough wits about him to grab a hold of something, despite being temporarily blinded and deafened by his own grenade. Now sporting a couple of nasty energy burns on his legs from the blast, it made climbing up a challenge, which was why, nearly three minutes after the explosion, he was still making his way back to the top of the Platform. Just then, he saw Plasmius peer over the edge of the machine. Oh great, it didn’t even incapacitate the bastard. Now more clear-headed than before, he wasn’t sure what had possessed him to fight the creature in a fair one on one fight. Not only did ghosts not deserve a fair fight to begin with, this specific one especially didn’t. He ground his molars and braced himself when he saw Plasmius’ hand light up.

Vlad looked down at the vulnerable GSU leader and, for a moment, he imagined blasting him right off of the Platform and watching while he made a nice big splat on the ground like a bug against a windshield. Before the thought was even fully formed, he changed his mind. For some reason he couldn’t really pinpoint, he just couldn’t kill the man in front of him. The ghost hybrid sighed, and was about to work out how to get Jack back to safety without getting shot at, when a blast slammed directly into his chest. What was…He barely had time to wonder before another equally large shot sunk him further into the surface of the already compromised Platform.

“Does it sting Plasmius? I hope so. We had this gun modified and calibrated especially against your energy.” Jill hopped off the Levitator and onto the top of the Platform. She looked back at the side of the vehicle and noted with concern the way the Commander let go of the side. Sore, injured…I’ll make it pay for that.

The eldest halfa started when he recognized her voice. “Jillian? Still saving Jack’s incompetent apple dumplings are you?” He asked while teleporting out of the crater he’d made and a few feet off. He smirked when she shot at the now empty hole and, when she growled in frustration, it only grew in size. The small victories.

“My Commander doesn’t need saving, but you’re going to need more than a rescue when I’m done with you. In fact, I doubt even our boys in the labs will be able to put your Humpty ass back together when I’m done with it.” Jillian threatened while flicking her oversized weapon to full power. She was joined to her right by Jack and she watched with grim satisfaction as he pulled out one of his deadlier guns. Let’s see if you keep smiling after we blast off your limbs.

The two of them fired right as Vlad erected a light green shield. This is not good. Despite his previous bravado, he was more tired than he initially supposed. Taking them both on at once would be a challenge on a good day, but he was already battle worn, and despite the surety they were just as tired, they didn’t need to fire their own energy. He grunted as an especially large shot hit his ever weakening shield. The tiring ghost backed into one of the walls to brace himself while he thought of a way out of this.

Jill shared a look with her bedraggled Commander; they had the hybrid on the ropes for sure this time. She backed away to let him advance, but continued to pepper his shield with enough weapons fire to keep him preoccupied. They just had to wear him down, and it would be easier to do if one of them was firing from near point blank range. They had little reason to worry about a retaliatory blast at this point. It was taking everything Plasmius had to keep the shield up.

The GSU Commander advanced on his prey, his dimming glow enticing him better than the moon did a moth. It was nearly his. Victory. Jack brought up a different gun, the most powerful in his arsenal, and leveled it right at the creature across from him. With a satisfying crack, the ghost’s shield fell apart, and he charged the gun for another shot.

Vlad had known as soon as Jack had drawn that last gun that his shield was done for. It was hard enough to stabilize it against the current blasts, but he had a nasty scar on the middle of his back from the last time that particular gun had been fired on him from this range, and he had no intention of getting a matching one on his chest. Right when the first shot slammed into his shield, he’d stopped reinforcing it and redirected his energy into an ecto-energy attack. Jack never knew what hit him…

The attack knocked Jack off his feet and several feet away. Before the glow had even stopped, Jillian fired a grenade that blasted her opponent six inches into the wall behind him. She watched with a twisted glee as he collapsed panting on his hands and knees to the ground after bouncing off the wall. She’d switched her gun for an ecto-grenade launcher a few seconds ago, and when his attack threw the Commander away from him, she’d had the best chance to use it.

Vlad curled up holding his middle. He pressed an exploratory hand into the wound and winced. Jelly doughnuts… His hand came back stained with ectoplasm and he suppressed a groan when his last attempt to get back onto his feet left his center feeling like there were shards of something inside. The first grenade hadn’t had done anything like this, as it was mostly energy, but this- he froze when he heard the conspicuous whine of a ghost weapon pointed at his head. He sent up his fiercest glare in Jillian’s direction as she hovered over him with a deadly grin on her face.

Jack was just pulling himself up after that last attack when he saw Jill holding that creature at gun point. He was sore all over, even if not badly injured from his suit’s protections. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked over at Jill once more, noticing this time the way she was cradling one of her arms to her body. Must have seriously injured it earlier. He concluded while working his way back to his feet. He picked up his fallen weapon and walked over to join Jill standing over Plasmius.

“So, ready to give up, or” Jill paused to flick the gun into ready mode once it finished charging, “will you give me the pleasure of shooting your head clean off?” She watched as doubt began to flicker into the eyes of the creature below her. But never fear…what would it take to make him afraid? She felt more than saw her commanding officer saddle up next to her. She could almost feel the smug satisfaction radiating off of him. After all this time, they were finally going to get this son of a bitch. She only had a moment to consider that thought, before she noticed the light in his eyes change from doubt and worry to confident and calm. She followed his eyes over her shoulder and turned to see the Levitator heading for her person. “Jack! Mo-”

Maddie rolled to a stop a few yards away from the flaming wreckage of the Levitator she’d crashed into the surface of the Platform. Unfortunately, the blast had thrown both Jack and Jill out of the main fire, so because of their suits, they likely weren’t dead. Luckily though, her husband had seen her coming, and she was sure he- oh there he is now. She watched with apprehension as Vlad half-floated, half-limped out of the burning fire while still intangible.

The crash and resulting explosion hadn’t hurt him, but he was already so exhausted from the previous fighting and the- oh goody it’s still bleeding- wound to his stomach that even maintaining intangibility at this point was a struggle. He joined his wife away from the fire with a weary smile. He could always count on her whenever he needed it. Now, he just had to get them back to the RV. Through the rising smoke in the last of the daylight, he could see other GSU grunts coming to investigate the fire and explosions. But the ones stomping up from inside, underneath our feet, are the real problem. The oldest hybrid once again fought back the urge to transform. If he transformed now, the injury to his stomach could be fatal. No, he had to soldier on, if not for his own safety, to make sure the rest of his family got out of this clusterfuck alive. Vlad took a deep breath and lifted Maddie into his arms before she could protest.

They were flying, hiding in the light of the setting sun, before she’d had a chance to demand to look at that injury he’d sustained sometime in the fight with those maniacs. Just the same, there was likely little she could do about it at the moment, and there was no other way off the Platform after she’d so thoroughly trashed her ride there. She gasped when she felt something hot and wet when she pressed the hand trapped between them into his stomach. That’s serious. But before she could worry about it further, they were through the shield around the RV and on the ground.

Vlad rushed towards the door and threw it open, climbing the steps before his complaining legs could give out on him. He strapped himself into the driver’s seat and turned on the systems of the RV while doing a head count. …Elizabeth, Danny, Maddie. Thank God, that’s everyone. “Alright, we’re getting out of here! Kids, strap in.”  

Maddie settled into the seat next to him, brought up the weapons system, and changed the shield to a cloaking mode to save power for what she knew would be the nastier part of the escape through the mountain passes. She glanced back and made sure everyone was buckled before Vlad punched it. She felt the RV zoom to life, heading straight for the woods, through a well practiced path out of the valley. “Is everyone ok back there?” She hadn’t seen anyone look injured, except her husband, but the older two were much better about hiding it than she liked.

“Everyone’s fine mother, we’re just tired.” Daniel winced when he noticed how drained his own voice sounded. He began to relax as the last rumbles of the battlefield faded away behind them. It would take about half an hour to get back into the open in the mountains, so he knew he needed to relax now while he had the chance.

“Are you sure Daniel? I saw you get shot-”

“It drained a lot of my ghost energy, but I’m mostly bruised. I’ll be completely recovered in a few days, I’m fine now so don’t worry.” He hoped that was enough to convince her, he knew that she could read him like a book when she wanted to. He traded looks with his older sister, who was likely thinking the same thing about her own injuries.

Maddie wasn’t fooled, he was likely much more hurt than he was saying, but it also wasn’t serious enough that he thought it warranted attention, and that was a comfort in and of itself. He couldn’t be that badly injured if he still had the energy to lie about it. The rest of her children answered just as emphatically that they were fine. She didn’t believe her eldest daughter either, but the same logic that applied to Daniel applied to her. She frowned when she heard Danny reply. The boy was the reason her family was in trouble in the first place, and she hadn’t gotten a chance to get good answers out of him, not least of which about his ghost powers. She ground her teeth when the end of the forest came into view. “Alright everyone, hold on,” she started while switching the shield back into active mode, “here’s comes the hard part.”

The hard part? What did she call everything before this? Danny wondered with a growing pond of bubbling worry in his gut.

As soon as the RV drove out of the relative safety of the forest, the shield was attacked from above by what remained of the GSU’s air support. A few jets, that had escorted the tanks, fired bullets into the shield, and a few dozen more men on Levitators that had tracked them through the forest fired their own personal weaponry. That wasn’t the main concern at the moment though. Directly ahead of them was a line of tanks. The GSU had surrounded the valley to the best of their ability, and had dropped a smaller number of tanks around all parts of the valley, even as the main force attacked from the east.

Vlad maneuvered the RV around the majority of the tank fire and continued forward at full speed. He wasn’t about to be scared off by a few tanks when he knew the shield could hold up to a direct hit from one of them easily. They just had to get into the narrow mountain passages, and the tanks would be no problem at all. They couldn’t follow on the steep slopes and thin rocky roads-they were more like large paths- he’d cut himself through the mountains for a quick escape. Honestly, an ordinary RV couldn’t either, but he hadn’t built this thing basically from scratch no reason.

The RV zoomed through a gap in the tank line the shield made, and they passed into the mountains. There was a short break in the action as the tank fire stopped and the jets lost sight of them. Then they came out from behind an outcropping of rocks, and the Levitators found them again. The pilots let out an especially large barrage, hoping to knock the speeding behemoth off of the increasingly thin road it was traveling on.

“Geez, that was a big one.” Danny said through rattling teeth, as another set of loud booms echoed off the shield. He glanced out the window and spotted the flying contraptions still in pursuit.

“They are going to have to do better than that if they want to get to us.” Nate said with an energetic smile on his face.

“Let’s hope they don’t have any better than that.” Daniel said while unclipping himself from his seat and pulling down a set of stairs farther back in the cabin.

Danny was about to question what he was up to, when he disappeared up the stairs, and he heard him call down, “ready whenever you need me.”

“We’re coming up on it, so go on and get ready. Jasmine, could you give him some extra cover fire? There’s more of them than I thought there would be.” Vlad turned back to the control panel and shut down the shield. They’d never make the tight turns coming up with it on, the shielding making it impossible to create the needed ecto-energy bridges far enough in front of the RV. “The shield is off, get ready Daniel.”

“What! Why the hell would you turn the shield off?!” Danny would have jumped out of his seat if he wasn’t buckled in. His eyes darted around the cabin, wondering when the next shot would take out a piece of the vehicle he was riding.

“Because we’d never make it around the corners with- never mind, you’ll see.” Daniel said before boldly popping out of the top of the RV and transforming once again.

At the same time Jasmine opened one of the windows on the side away from the mountain wall, and leaned out of it with a gun balanced on her shoulder. She took a couple pot shots at the Levitators trailing them through the mountains before they saw her, trying to keep them focused on her instead of her more vulnerable brother. In her opinion, he had a hard enough task ahead of him without being shot at, even if they did have the majority of the RV’s weapons online.

Suddenly, the path in front of them turned into a hairpin turn of the most extreme proportions. The RV didn’t even tap the breaks, zipping forward up the slanted slope at nearly 70 miles an hour. The turn neared with alarming speed, and before Danny could think to worry, a solid glowing green angled extension to the road appeared.

He blinked when it just as quickly disappeared after they rounded the turn, and Danny realized with a start it had been made out of ecto-energy. He faced forward again and spied another equally wicked turn coming up and he resisted the urge to groan as another stomach lurching seemingly impossible turn took place.

By this time, the Levitators had caught up to their position and they hailed bullets down on the RV. Most of them hit the mountain wall, but a few had to be blocked by a quickly made shield by Daniel. “Please tell me we’re almost there.”

“We’re nearly there.” Vlad replied without thinking.

“No we aren’t.”

“No…we aren’t. Just… hold on a little while longer…” He panted through the growing pain nipping at the corners of his vision. The throbbing was more like sharp shooting pains at this point, but he’d been through worse. If only the road wasn’t so blastedly bumpy. He thought before pushing the RV through another even tighter corner. He audibly groaned when he settled back into his seat from the centripetal force. Something had definitely moved around inside him that time. He gripped the steering wheel as his vision swam after another turn. Just a little further. They weren’t remotely close, but if thinking that kept his vision clear, he was fine with self-delusion.

Danny jumped as this time the energy road underneath them cracked and buckled. He’d have volunteered to replace a much more tired Daniel, but frankly, he wasn’t sure if he could. He’d never tried to make solid ectoplasm that large before, and certainly not that strong. He had no idea if he’d be able to hold them up, and now wasn’t the time to experiment. So, instead he winced when they flew over a gap in the road ahead of them instead of a turn, and prayed they were close to where ever they were running to.

“I’m out of ammo over here! Does anyone have a free battery?” Jasmine slipped back inside the cabin to look for another battery when her mother tossed her gun at her. She didn’t even bother to thank her, quickly leaning back out of the window to give her brother what help she could. There were times when she really wished she had ghost powers like the majority of her family. If only to help out more than taking shots out of a window.“Last turn!” She heard her father call from in the front of the RV, and she braced herself against the window seal.

They were finally out of the worst of the turns, with only a long flat terrible half a mile separating them from the entrance to the cave system. He could turn the shield back on, and pray that the GSU didn’t try anything else today, but he knew from experience that was unlikely. Before Vlad could even set his hand back onto the wheel from resetting the shield, he heard something whistle over head and shoot ahead of him. It was the fighter jets they’d lost when they’d first entered the mountains. He frowned, and pushed the pedal into the floor. Now that they didn’t have to worry about turns, he could floor it.

Now it was a foot race…

The fight jet squadron leader whooped for joy when they were finally able to get a clear shot. His happiness was short lived though, when he realized that the RV was about to disappear into a cave entrance. The Head Commander would flay me if I left them get away. Better a wreck than an escape. He rationalized before picking out a set of missiles on his display screen. He sighted them again, and watched as they closed in on the opening to the cave. “I hope you like being a pancake in a cave-in ghost vermin.” He hissed before letting the missiles fly.

“Uh father, that was the entrance to the cave.” Daniel unnecessarily noted.

“Well aware-”

“Hey I think the cave is collapsing behind us!” Nate called out.

“Well aware. Daniel,” Vlad said while watching in the rear view mirror as the quickly advancing wall of rocks fell, “turn us intangible.”

Daniel took a deep breath and pressed his hands against one of the walls of the RV. The intangibility started and then faltered out. He groaned and then tried again, only to fall to his knees this time.

“Dad if you took off the bracelets we could-” Nate and Nick started at the same time.

“You’ve never turned something this large intangible before!” Their mother interrupted

“I could-”

“-No you couldn’t Danny, the system wouldn’t let you. The RV has been ghost proofed to counteract tampering!”

“I’ll do it!” Vlad hissed out through the pain before glancing at his wife. “Maddie, grab the wheel and keep us straight. You remember where the cave off-shoot is right?” The question was mostly rhetorical; they didn’t really have another option. Vlad closed his eyes and placed one hand on the dash and the other on the driver’s side window. For one terrifying moment, he didn’t know whether he even had the energy necessary, then he reached deep for the reserve of energy inside his core he knew had to still be there, and shifted the RV intangible right as the cave-in caught up to them. His whole body shook with the effort it took to keep them intangible, but he determined he wasn’t going to stop until Maddie told them they were clear of the falling debris.

Maddie jerked the wheel to the left as they passed the last marker she remembered before the opening to the smaller cave they were using as an emergency hideout. She gripped the steering wheel harder and hoped they ended up in the open space of the passage instead of a wall. He can’t keep this up much longer. Finally, the rocks cleared into a medium sized path heading deeper into the mountain. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and said, “ok we’re through.”

Vlad nearly passed out when he stopped keeping the RV intangible. He leaned over the steering wheel, gasping for air, before easing up off the gas. The RV slowed down to a reasonable speed, as he finally caught his breath and waved off his concerned wife. “I’ll be fine, I’m just tired.”

God, do Vlad and Daniel do that on purpose, or is that lug headed stubborn streak just genetic? Maddie wondered as she shook her head. “Everyone still ok back there?” After a chorus of ‘yes’ and one from Daniel she completely disregarded, she faced forward again and blinked when she realized they were already stopping in the chamber directly ahead of their sleeping space. The Hover was parked inconspicuously, as much as a giant beetle shaped machine could be, off to one side, and she could see the light from the generator powered equipment her husband must of turned on when they’d come through just an hour back. She sighed as the RV groaned to a stop. They’d probably have to do a couple repairs along with recharging it with how it sounded.

“We made it. God, I thought we were deep fried apple fritters for a second there.” Daniel said from on the floor, leaning against one of the walls. “Not that I doubted you for a second, father.” He added while pulling himself into one of the seats.

“Uh huh, which is why you thought we were deep fried.” Nick fired back.

“I said, ‘for a second’, I didn’t say when that second was thing one.” He settled boneless into the seat with a small groan. His muscled ached like they were on fire and he still had to get out of the RV.

“Yeah but, you totally implied it was just a few seconds ago when you mentioned Dad turning the RV intangible, right Dad?” Nate leaned out of his seat and looked at the front of the RV, hoping to get some parental back up. He frowned when his father didn’t respond. “Hey, Dad, you just going to let him call you weak like that.”

“I did not Nate, I specifically-”

“Both of you stop arguing! My head hurts and I don’t want to hear it.” Jasmine cut in.

“Yeah? Well I got slammed head first into the ground from 200 yards up; I can promise my head hurts worse. And besides, I didn’t call him weak, in fact-”

“It doesn’t matter! I don’t want to hear you guys yell.”

“Said the only person in the room yelling. God, do you try to be that hypocritical or is it some innate talent?” Daniel glared across the space in front of him at his complaining sister

Maddie ignored the bickering go on in the back of the RV in favor of trying to force Vlad out of the ball he’d curled into in the front seat. He’d finally transformed back into his human form, but from the look on his face, he was in serious pain. She finally forced him to sit back so she could get a look at the wound to his abdomen like she wanted to for the last hour. “Jesus!” She exclaimed when she saw how much bright red blood was all over the front of his shirt.

Vlad held up his hands and groaned when his wife lifted up his shirt to get at the lacerations on his middle. He was feeling oddly numb all over and the dizziness was back with a vengeance. He sent a weak smile her direction when she gave him a fearful look from her crouched position. “Sorry hun…” he trailed off as the spinning turned into a growing cold darkness.

“Plasmius!”

“Sir! Sir calm down, it’s alright.” One of the grunts standing around in the infirmary cried, placing a hand against his superior officer’s shoulder. They’d found both the Head Commander and the Second in Command lying near a fire on the top of the Air Platform. By the time they’d arrived, 1st Priority and his brood mare had already escaped. Luckily, they’d been able to send out the remaining Levitators and fighter jets in pursuit. Even better, despite the size of the explosion and the resulting fire, both of his commanding officers had been relatively unharmed. It’s good to find the silver lining in things. The grunt reasoned knowing the Head Commander wouldn’t be thinking along those lines when he got his wits about him.

Jack held his aching head. It felt like someone had practiced kicking field goals with his skull. Various muscles screamed in protest whenever he so much as wiggled, and there was the pulling sting of healing lacerations and burns he felt blossoming across his skin. All in all, he felt like shit, and he couldn’t quite remember why. He was in a battle certainly, that much was sure from his injuries. But he couldn’t place where that fight had taken place, or why he’d been fighting. There wasn’t much of a reason for him to be in ghost fights now-a-days, and he couldn’t recall any of the powerful ghosts they had in the facility escaping…so why-

“Head Commander, did you get the number of the hybrid that hit us?” Jill griped from her make-shift bed right next to his.

Ah, so that’s why. He slowly moved his hand away from his temple as the memories started returning. He grimaced when he realized they had all gotten away. “Agent…” he started after opening his eyes. He fumbled around for a name to go with the face for a moment, he was usually much better at this, before giving up. “What’s the status on the hybrids?” He hoped against hope that things were better than they had been when he’d been knocked unconscious. He had superiors to report to himself. They had put a lot of money on this operation. And a lot of favors I can’t afford to lose at the moment.

The grunt frowned as the Head Commander didn’t immediately come up with his name. He’d been a member of the medical team for several years now, and the GSU leader had a knack for remembering the names of everyone who worked under him. I hope he doesn’t have a bad concussion. It was certainly a possibility considering his injuries, but they didn’t have a scanner of any type here to check. If it was anything more serious, they wouldn’t be able to tell until they got back to civilization. “Last I heard, sir, the Levitators and fighter pilots were in pursuit and the tanks were giving them back-up. I saw them fly out of here about an hour and a half ago.”

“According to their last communication, they are chasing the hybrids in the tight mountain passes to the west of this position.” One of the communication specialists said from her position by a large array of keys and screens.

“And when was that?” Jill said while making her way to her feet.

“About a half an hour back.” The communications specialist answered with an annoyed twist of her lips. She knew as well as anyone that they were supposed to check in more than that. Their beacons were still broadcasting, so they hadn’t been shot down, they just hadn’t radioed. That meant one of two things. Either they were so busy that they couldn’t get to a radio at the moment, or they didn’t have anything new to report, so they were avoiding checking in. Or well there’s another option. They don’t have any good news to report, so they aren’t checking in. Let’s hope, it’s something else. She thought before she felt the Second in Command lean over her shoulders to peer into the data flitting across the screen.

“And this is current?”

“Yes ma’am. Their beacons are still broadcasting so-”

“Yeah I get it, they haven’t been shot down; they are just being radio silent. Well that stops right now.” Jill reached down and opened a channel to the leader of the squadron of jets. “Agent Y, pick up your communiqué when home base calls you.” She admonished when she heard the line connect.

“Agent J! I uh, I’m sorry ma’am! It’s just the action has been so intense-”

“Save it soldier, and give me a status report.” Jillian ordered and leaned against the console in front of her with one arm. It hurt to stand, but if she sat now, she was sure she wouldn’t get up for a week. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard one of the examining tables groan as someone shifted their weight on it.

Jack carefully made his way over to the communications area inside the room. It was not as fancy as the stuff in the commander center of the Platform, but it worked well enough. He scrunched his eyebrows when he didn’t recognize the man on the other side of the screen either. I must have hit my head… he thought absently as the subordinate gathered enough wits to properly respond.

“We’ve lost sight of them ma’am. They just zipped into some of the caves around here. But don’t worry!” he hastened to add when he saw both of his commanding officers faces darken with anger. “I sent a missile right into the caves. They’ll be stuck in a cave-in, if it didn’t crush them flat.” He said with a smile inching its way onto his face. He was sure they’d be at least mollified by the news. Instead he got to watch as their faces went from anger to surprised and then boomerang right into pure rage. They looked like they were going to skin him alive.

“Agent Y, you do realize we don’t know where those caves empty out right? They could be stuck, but knowing Plasmius, there is more than one exit out of that cave system. The only thing you’ve done is cut off our entrance to them, and our ability to continue pursuit!”

“Ma’am! There’s no way the rocks coming from the ceiling didn’t crush them to death.”

“Don’t be an idiot soldier! These creatures can walk through walls. All he’d have to do is turn the RV intangible and the rocks would pass right through them.” Jack paused to let the information sink into his underlings’ mind. Of all the incompetent morons! It’s a shame Agent H got killed in action earlier today facing 2nd Priority, she was much more capable. Jack mused through a now throbbing headache right between his eyes. He turned away from the gapping fish of a jet pilot and back towards the medic. “Please tell me you’ve got something for a headache over there. Something good. I don’t want it to knock me out, but you’d better hand me something other than baby aspirin.” Jack grumbled while walking back over to the examining table he’d previously been using as a bed. He sat on top of it, and left the verbal dressing down he knew was coming to Jill. He didn’t have the tolerance for it at the moment. He would have just fired the useless dipshit on the spot. But recruits were hard to come by these days, and they’d just lost-God he didn’t even know how many- in this failed assault. So despite his screw-up costing them another chance to chase down the hybrids, he was worth keeping around with a serious demotion. This cracker-jack is never leading anyone again if I have anything to say about it.

Jill heard Jack groan as her tirade started up. She knew his head was killing him, but she was too completely pissed off to care. They’d just cashed in years worth of good will and favors to get this full assault financed and authorized, and this asshole just blew up their only lead to following the hybrids. Fuck this guy, who placed him in charge of anything? She knew it wasn’t productive to chew out her subordinates, but at this point, it was the only thing she could do, and she wasn’t in a charitable mood. “You goddamn empty headed jackass! Do you have any idea how much effort you’ve-how many people’s lives whose sacrifice you’ve just wasted? I-”

“Ma’am I hate to interrupt you during a good rant, but Secretary Dirk Muller has been trying to get into contact with you both for the last hour. I told him you were both unconscious, but I can’t keep delaying him. He didn’t seem to believe me the first time I told him that.” The communications officer said.

“No that’s alright. Tell him we just woke up, and that we need to get a status update from all our departments before we can talk. Tell him we’ll talk in about half an hour. Patch him though to the command center at that time and the Head Commander and I will deal with him.” Jill set her mouth into a thin line. “You’re lucky we have to deal with this, but I can promise this conversation isn’t over. Once we’re back in HQ, I want the name of your base and your commanding officer.” She dismissed the jet squadron leader and turned around to face Jack.

He was still sitting on the examining table, holding his head, but he took a deep breath and looked up at Jillian. “So how badly are we fucked?” he asked with a little amusement in his voice. At any other time he’d be furious, but the head trauma was making it hard to stay mad.

“Well, we have half an hour to figure out what happened, and come up with an excuse to Dirk as to why we didn’t catch the hybrids. So, not too bad. I mean we’ve explained that mess in Amity four years ago, this should be a piece of cake.” She reasoned with a shrug, though she wasn’t anywhere near as confident as she sounded. They’d had more allies four years ago for one, and the Head Commander didn’t have a head injury for another. In any case, they’d figure out a way through this like they always did. First things first, we need to talk to our troops and see how badly this went.

20 minutes later, the answer to the question of “how badly?” was “pretty goddamn terrible.”  They’d not only lost an enormous amount of equipment, 8 out of 10 of the Air Platforms were irreparably damaged, dozens of jets, hundreds of guns and thousands of munitions,  they’d lost over one hundred good men and women and injured nearly three hundred more. In between those pilots lost earlier today and the damage to Amity Park and the tanks at Wisconsin and- it was just a never ending nightmare. It wasn’t as if these things were easily replaceable. Not even counting the devastating loss in man power, which was completely priceless in her opinion, the costs of replacing the broken equipment alone would eat into this year’s surplus. I guess we can forget about Christmas bonuses this year. Jillian mentally groused before rubbing her sore wrist. It had already been set, but she’d refused to have it placed in a cast just yet. She still had to report to Dirk, and if he saw her sporting a cast, it would give him an even worse impression of how things went, and they didn’t need that at this point.

“Please tell me all the bodies are at least identifiable. I don’t want to have to delay giving people back their family members because we can’t tell one person from another.”

“Everyone is pretty much indentified, except for a group of pilots who died in a multi-plane wreckage earlier today. Their bodies are too charred to identify right off, but everyone who died in the valley has already been tagged. We just need to notify their families when we arrive back in D.C.”

Thank God for small miracles. It wasn’t much, but getting his people back quickly was something he prided himself on. There was nothing worse than hanging in limbo for a week or more while a coroner tried to pick apart one person from another. Still, this entire operation had been a disaster. Plasmius and especially 2nd Priority had been much stronger than the encounter two years back. This was despite the fact 2nd Priority had been encountered not a full 6 hours before this.

Now there was just the matter of analyzing the massive amount of data from this fight. He truly didn’t envy the men and women working in the data retrieval sector of his organization today. There was a never ending amount of it. Black boxes from the crashed jets, Levitators, and Air Platforms, the recordings and readings from the various tools and instruments, and even from the suits of the fighting GSU soldiers all had to be downloaded, organized, and sifted through. The background noise had to be filtered out, the old data found and discarded, and the novel pieces transferred back to HQ for further study.

Then again, I’m not exactly looking forward to my conversation with Secretary Muller either. There was not one discernible piece of good news to give him. Between the destroyed equipment and the death of his men, Dirk would have been frustrated enough as is, but for all of this to happen with nothing to show for it…If only we’d just caught one of those little bastards. Then I’d be able to justify this massive waste of time. Jack groaned as an extra large sharp pain shot through his forehead. He’d concluded the headache was as much from stress as injury, and it wasn’t likely to improve any time soon.

“The only thing we have left to do for now is lock that mysterious hybrid’s energy signature into the system. I’m sure he’ll show up again sometime, and being able to track him on the network will help us find the others.” One of the technicians offered from in front of the set of computers that were connected to the rest of their tracking systems.

He nodded in agreement, and in a couple strokes of the keyboard, the hybrid’s energy was uploaded into the satellites monitoring ghost activity around the globe.

“Sir, Secretary Muller is on the line.”

“Patch him through.” No sense putting it off any longer.

“Commander, how nice it is to finally speak with you. I heard from one of your subordinates that you and Jillian were incapacitated. I’m glad to see you’ve recovered so quickly.” Dirk’s icy smile beamed out of the large display screen in the command center. What was left of the brittle smile vanished in an instant, swallowed up by a look that could only be described as thunderous. “Now, you plan on telling me where in the Sam Hill you screwed the pooch?”

Well the pleasantries disappeared quickly…”Sir, we may have underestimated the capabilities of the mysterious hybrid we tracked here.” Jillian offered gingerly.

“So you’re trying to tell me that one teenage boy threw off your entire plan?” The Secretary hissed darkly.

“No sir, it would be fair to say that both Plasmius and 2nd Priority have increased in strength well beyond the projections of even our most ambitious models. Either we’ve done our math wrong, or they’ve found a way to get more powerful even faster than we previously thought possible.” Jack answered and stepped next to his Second in Command.

“That’s bullshit Jack and you know it. I’m reading the data that you sent over, and while both of them were much stronger than before, and even ahead of all of your models, it’s nothing you should have been unable to handle.” Muller stopped to set down the set of preliminary reports he’d been reading. “You know what I think the problem was?” Dirk frowned at the tired looking officers standing nearly half way across the country. “I think the problem was poor leadership. Now, normally, I know the both of you are more than capable of turning any ghost inside out or bringing any problem to heel, but this isn’t an ordinary circumstance. Neither of you have historically made the best decisions when it comes to the two adults leading the hybrids, and I think the thirst for vengeance clouded your vision. Now make no mistake,” he held up a hand when they looked ready to interrupt, “you’ve done a lot better than I think any other person in this same situation could have done hands down. If I didn’t know how well you usually perform, I’d chalk it up to you making the best of a crap shoot in terms of chances. But I do know you both can do better, which is why I’m so disappointed. I’d say that in the future I’d suggest you don’t lead the mission yourself, but I don’t know a single person who’d make a good field replacement for you two in this situation, so I’ll just give you the same advice my first commanding officer gave me. ‘Suck it the fuck up’ his exact words mind you.”

“Sir, I know-”

“Damn it I know you know, and that’s why this is so frustrating. I know you can do better, you know you can do better, and we both know even as badly as you did, no one could have handled it better. That’s not the issue here. What am I supposed to tell your detractors back in Washington? ‘Well, gosh I know this looked like a clusterfuck, but just think of how badly it could have gone if someone else had led?’” Dirk set his forehead into his hand, “that’s just not going to cut it. I called in a lot of my personal favors to get you that authorization Jack, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fight off all the vultures after your funding after this.”

“They can’t cut our funding! We’ve been making them money for years, they owe us that money.”

“I know that too, but they don’t see it that way. Look, you know as well as I do, that the average sheeple doesn’t understand what it is you all do. You’ve eradicated ghosts so well that most of them have forgotten how truly nasty it used to be. A bunch of youngsters with big dreams running around in the Capital now-a-days, mucking everything up.” Dirk paused and shifted his gaze from Jillian to Jack and back again. “You understand that I’m completely ass out here. I promised the president a hybrid, at least one, would either be dead or captured, and you’re telling me neither of those things have happened. Just what do you expect me to do about this?”

“Nothing Dirk. I’m going to be back in Washington in a few hours. I’ll deal with them tomorrow.”

“Damn right you will, because they’ve called an emergency hearing about your competency as soon as I had to report the mission wasn’t a glowing success. These jackals want your head Jack, and they smell blood in the water.”

“Dirk, I’ve dealt with worse before, I had to convince a whole planet that ghosts were real remember? I can handle some pencil pushing show ponies who want to make their constituents think they are doing something against government expenditures. Trust me.”

“You’d better handle it, because it would be a shame to see you fired over some bull like this when I know no one else can handle it. Or worse, see the whole agency dismantled by funding hungry piranhas. I’ll see you at the hearing tomorrow morning then.”

Jack nodded as the picture faded to black. He rocked back into his seat behind the main table in the command center with a loud sigh. That could have gone a lot worse. He was lucky it was Dirk on the phone and not the president or, even more appalling, the Secretary of State Fitzgerald. That man was a bear on a good day, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with him now. He looked up as one of the technicians called his name. “Take us home. Make sure the rest of the ground troops have regrouped before we head out and make arrangements for the rest of the tanks that can’t be air lifted at the moment to get transportation home.” Jack closed his eyes when he heard Jillian settle next to him in her seat.

No one else in the room was as disappointed as he was, and the only thing he could think about was Jillian’s warning that he should have sat this one out. Dirk was being nice by passing the blame equally onto both of them, but he knew as well as anyone that those admonishments had really been meant for him. I let my demons get the best of me. And he didn’t have to pick a specific demon; there were plenty of bad memories to pick on.

Austin two years ago, Amity four years ago, Wisconsin eight years ago, all failures. He had a record for success, some would even call it impressive, but it was all the times that hadn’t mattered. He’d trade every other victory and captured ghost just to put Plasmius’ head on a pike. He’d trade his entire career to make sure none of it had ever happened. One stupid argument…it was funny when he thought of it that way. So much for regrets…She’d made her choice a long time ago, and if she wanted to chose a monster over him, he’d make sure they both got to watch as he made their lives burn.

At least, that’s what he always told himself before he got a chance to look at her again. Sympathy for the devil. Jack told himself while settling farther into his seat for a good long nap. He’d have a lot to do back in Washington, so it was better to rest now. He wanted her to suffer just as much as he did, but in an entirely different way. Sympathy for the devil that wears a dress. I’ll kill her happiness the same way she killed mine. I loved her once; she deserves to live at least. Plasmius was a completely different ball game. He still wasn’t convinced he hadn’t hypnotized her. Even if he hadn’t, he had a particular kind of hell waiting for that demon. He’d make sure they both burned, in their own way, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

“Jasmine, get the door! Daniel, get up here and help me with his legs!” Maddie ordered in a tone the brokered no arguments.

The siblings immediately stopped bickering and jumped into action. They didn’t know exactly what the emergency was, but their mother didn’t use that tone unless it was serious.

Jasmine was outside holding the door open before she even got a good look at her father. “Oh my God-”

“Stay calm sweetie. I need you to get the medical supplies from the Hover. Do you remember which crate they are in?” Maddie asked while shifting around her eldest son to let him get a good hold on Vlad’s legs. She was already making a list of the supplies she would need in her head. I hope he doesn’t get an infection from this cave.

“Yes I remember, but where do you need them?” Jasmine stepped out of the way as her brother and mother descended the stairs to the RV. She shoved the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach away. There wasn’t time to be weak.

“Set them in the back chamber. Danny,” Maddie stopped to call back into the RV, “I need you to clear off a space in the back of the cave where I can work.” She stopped and hoisted more of her husband’s weight when she felt him slip.

Danny fumbled with his seat belt, before bounding down the stairs and out of the RV. He skidded to a stop when he saw his otherworldly twin struggling to stay on his feet while carrying Vlad. He looked to him, then the light coming from farther in the cave, and back again before making a snap decision. The ghost teen rushed over to Daniel and muscled him out of the way. “I’ve got him.”

Daniel was about to argue the rough treatment when he realized how much faster Danny was moving than he had been. At least he’s not totally useless. He raced back to the back chamber and cleared out some space on a flat surface, working so fast that a few things were just swept onto the floor. He heard his sister call from the entrance to the chamber and rushed over to help her set up a make-shift infirmary. “You go. I’ll set up things here. You’re the one who knows where everything is.” He said while grabbing the last of the items from her arms.

Jasmine nodded and barely avoided colliding with Danny and Maddie on their way into the chamber. “I just need to grab a generator!”

“Bring one of the new ones.”

That last request startled Daniel. As far as he knew, the newest generators were powered by ghost energy, which could be tracked without a shield. They made up for the possibility of discovery with efficiency, renewability and cost, but after just being chased by the GSU…“Shouldn’t we set up a shield if we are going to use those?”

“Not enough time. Besides, I’m not going to use it power the lights.” Maddie answered after setting down her charge. She grabbed a pair of scissors and went to work on what was left of Vlad’s shirt. After tossing the ripped material to the ground somewhere behind her, she set to work organizing the tools she’d need to stem the bleeding. She gasped when she looked down at the wound. It was even larger than before! It wasn’t as if the edges had torn, it was like it was deepening and widening all on its own.

“Why isn’t it healing?” Daniel pondered while handing his mother a roll of gauze.

“He took the injury in his ghost form, so it shouldn’t be this bad. It’s why he stayed in ghost form for so long. I don’t understand…” Maddie cleared away some of the blood before looking back at Daniel. “Do you think you could induce a transformation for me? I need to get a good look at the original injury.”

“I-” He stopped before answering in the affirmative. Usually, it’d be no problem at all, but he was so drained, that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to turn a pin invisible, let alone transform himself or his father. “I just don’t think I have the strength.” He admitted with a silent bitter curse on his own weakness.

“I could do it. Um, if someone talked me through what had to be done.” Danny offered from a few feet away. He watched as Jasmine carried in the small generator and set it next to the quickly cobbled together infirmary bed.

“Jasmine, could you set up some lights closer to us?” Maddie finished checking his vitals and pressed harder on the wounds to help the bleeding. She’d already inspected it for the debris or some other source of the bleeding, to no avail. Despite the fact the wounds continued to deepen, there was nothing cutting into him. At least in this form… “Danny, all I need you to do is transform with your hands placed over his chest. That should be enough to start the transformation. After that, you have to pour energy into him like you’re building an ecto-energy attack in your hands.” She nodded her thanks to her daughter when the lights flipped on connected to the battery in the back.

Danny stepped forward and followed the instructions to the letter. He sighed in relief when Vlad transformed without any other prompting on his part. He was so distracted by the fact it had worked so easily, that he nearly forgot to continue to pour out his energy. “Sorry about that” He said after he watched the other halfa’s black rings frizzle back out.

The Masters’ matriarch had used the time Danny was settling in next to Vlad to start the process of converting the spectral generators to exude their energy not in the form of electricity, but spectral energy again. She handed the wires over to her eldest son to finish up the task for her, and headed back to her husband’s side. “I hope you’re not squeamish Danny,” she said while plunging a pair of forceps into one of the open wounds. It pressed back on the edges of the injury and revealed a piece of metal no bigger than her pinky. She frowned when she finally got a good look at the metal. “This is coated in ectoranium. No wonder it’s only getting worse, this stuff is eating through him from the inside.”

“You know I’m so glad I don’t faint when I see blood or anything because that’d be terrible.” Danny wasn’t a wuss when it came to blood and guts, slasher movies and his own injuries from ghost hunting had made him pretty stalwart, but this was pretty freakin’ gross.

“You’re right that would be terrible. It would mean you’d stop being a battery, and considering that’s your only use at the moment…” Daniel trailed off as he finished the last of the work needed to convert the generator. “Finishing this now means you are completely useless.”

“Hey, you don’t have to be such a-”

“Do. Not. Bicker.” Maddie commanded as she pulled out a few more pieces of metal. How in the world did these get into him? She supposed the reason wasn’t as important as getting them out. Every second they stayed inside increased the chances of a fatal ectoranium exposure. Typically, his energy would neutralize such a small amount, but with all the energy he’d expended and all the blood he’d lost, that wasn’t going to happen. If it kept up, the stuff would end up circulating back to his core, and when that happened-no she wouldn’t think about that. It wasn’t going to happen.

“Where do you need these leads connected?” Daniel ask holding up two intimidating looking clamps.

Maddie pointed it out as Danny steeped as far away as he could while still being in contact. Daniel attached the clamps and retreated to flip the switch to turn on the generator. With a nod, the two boys timed the switch so that there wasn’t a loss of energy, and so that Danny only got a mild tingle of energy.

Danny lingered around inside the back chamber a few seconds after the Masters siblings had vacated, shooed off by Maddie insisting a room to work alone. Seeing Vlad so badly hurt was eating at him. This is all basically my fault. “He’s going to be alright, right? I mean, Vlad’s tough-”

“Danny, I need to work, so if you could go back out in the front of the cave? I’ll call you if you’re needed, until then, why don’t you help everyone else set up?” Maddie didn’t even look up from her work. She had to make sure she got every sliver of metal…

Before Danny had even gotten into the forward chamber all the way, Daniel was upon him.

“You moronic worthless piece of Ent dung!” Daniel swung his fist directly into the other boy’s mouth. He regretted not having the energy to send a punch enhanced with ghost strength into his chomps, but this would have to do. He dragged the other dark haired teen up from the floor, fists full of his shirt. “My father could die because of you! Do you have any idea what in the name of-of the Emperor you’ve done?” He gave the Danny an extra large shake and stared him down.

“Dude, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It was just a-”

“Do you really think I give a flying fudge? Do you?!” He shook the other teen again and drew back his fist for another punch. This time though, Danny turned intangible and slipped out of his grasp. “You’re more trouble than I could have possibly imagined! I should have put a cauterized hole through your chest the moment I saw you!”

“Damn it man! I know you’re mad-”

“MAD!? I’m not mad, I’m utterly enraged. I’m so ticked off if I had the energy, I’d-I’d…I can’t even think straight.” Daniel threw up his arms before crossing them and giving the dolt across from him his most ferocious glare.

“Wow, it takes a lot to make him speechless, congratulations. I don’t think that’s ever happened before. Maybe we should carve it on the tomb stone when we bury your ass. ‘Here lies Jackass: So unfathomably stupid even Daniel can’t think of a proper insult strong enough to describe him.”

“I really am sorry-”

“Oh sooo sorry you are. So sorry you destroyed our Camp and got us shot at, and nearly got us all killed. So sorry you destroyed an important cache. So sorry good sir, my mistake.” Daniel sneered. “You want to make it up to us? You’re going to start by answering every single question. And if you even think of refusing to answer, I’ll slap a bracelet on you, take the twins’ bracelets off, and have them phase you to your neck into the floor. Then Jasmine can use that empty skull of yours for fudging target practice.”

“I’ve had just about enough of your attitude! I know you don’t like me, and that I’ve royally fucked up. You don’t need to rub my face in it; you arrogant prick. You wanna fight so badly? Then come over here and throw ghost rays like a real halfa instead of using your brothers as a shield.”

“Shield! You Ork-faced twit! You want to talk cowardice? You’re using my father’s trust, my mother’s good graces, and my whole Danish filled family as a shield. You think you’re such hot ginger snapping strudel, then why don’t you go fly right to DC, and tell the GSU where to shove it?”

“Oh yeah? Well why don’t you then since you’re so much better and more powerful than I am, mister know it goddamn all-”

“If I had my way,-” Jasmine started before Danny interrupted.

“Yeah well you don’t!” Danny screamed back, and then sent a glare at both Jazz and Daniel. “You both are worse than your parents! What gives you the right to just antagonize me like this?”

“Because you’re the one who brought the enemy to the middle of our freakin’ lives. If you hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened.” Jasmine stated matter-of-factly.

“If I hadn’t shown up, none of you would EXIST!”

“Who do you think are you!?” Daniel screamed incredulously.

“My name’s Danny Fenton! And I’m from the alternate reality that got ground up to make yours happen!”

[starry-bi-sky]

#i love this so much#but i have heavy thoughts#1. what happened to vlad. he poisoned a kid and is also half ghost what did they do with him. did he just kidnap danny and vlad just -#-forever wonders what happened to him?

!!! I kept that vague on purpose for interpretation! And frankly also because I haven't thought too deep on it yet-- but my idea was that, at least in the beginning, Vlad is actively still looking for Danny, and its too dangerous for Bruce to try and take him head on in custody battle because of the whole "halfa-overshadowing-he-can-just-mind-control-the-courts" thing! If nothing happens, Vlad goes back into billionaire isolation and Danny keeps his head down to avoid his attention. If something happens: prison. Probably.

do they never casually encounter each other? cause imagine this. listen. listen#older dick taking danny for lunch#just chilling#maybe in the middle of a pun match#>:)#introduce vlad#who has believed for some years that danny's core broke and he ceased to exist#and then sees him happy with a new family. laughing and (apparently) HEALTHY#and#hshshdhdhdhshsjhddjjs#DANIEL?!?!? little badger is that you?!?!? (while crying crocodile tears)#how does danny react to this

THIS! I am delighted to sink my teeth into this. Danny would freeze if he saw or heard Vlad, its a very different reaction than before Vlad poisoned him. And for, well, obvious reasons. Vlad's hurt him before, but that's to be expected from an archnemesis, and Danny would always beat him in the end.

This? This is different. Danny's suffered under Vlad's abusive hands, and suffered long after he escaped him, because of him. Danny's terrified of him, and Vlad poisoning him is one of the main reasons why. Hearing his voice, and seeing him approaching him, has Danny freezing in his seat.

(Of course his younger-big brother dick notices this, and gets immediately on guard. And then he sees who the guy is, and his body language rapidly turns tense and hostile.)

Dick starts standing up, ready to verbally assault Vlad Masters, and Danny grabs his hand and yanks him down. Tearing his eyes away for a moment to dig them into Dick; "No. No, no. Don't. Please don't." He whispers to him, and then immediately turns back to see Vlad.

Vlad tries to hug him, and Danny full body flinches away. Only to remember that Dick is right behind him, and like a good older-little brother, adjusts to try and shield him from Vlad. Vlad gets that hug, although Danny is as stiff as a statue, before he pulls away and starts "fretting" over him.

Grabbing his shoulders; touching his face; trying to hold his arms. Trying to drag him up and out of his seat to make it easier to pull him away. He's very Mother Gothel levels of manipulation and paternal concern. "Oh Daniel, you have no idea how worried sick I've been. You know you're far too fragile to run off like that, god it's been ages! I'm so relieved you're alright."

Danny is. trying not to hyperventilate. Dick is like, .5 seconds away from leaping over the table and socking Vlad Masters in the jaw right then and there. Vlad doesn't recognize Dick as famous Richard Grayson-Wayne because Dick threw on a simple anti-paparazzi disguise. (Hoodie, mask, hat). And when Vlad asks for his name, Dick lies out of his ass and gives him a fake name on the spot.

("You must be the gentleman taking care of my Daniel, I must have your name.") ("...I'm Alex.") ("Alex..?") ("Hart.") (Well, Alexander, I really must thank you again. I'll make sure you're properly compensated, I know my Daniel can be quite a handful.") (Vlad was fully intending on having "Alex" killed. Because he's a possessive, evil bastard of a man)

Danny does get away of course. But not without a little trouble at first. Dick tries to passively coax Vlad into giving Danny back with various excuses (going back to their "apartment" to get Danny's things, for one) but Vlad rebuffs each one. Until eventually Danny manages to get his bearings, and calm himself down long enough to shove Vlad off him and run away again.

Dick follows his lead, of course. But not before throwing his drink in Vlad's eyes, calling him a slew of insults, and then while Vlad is trying to get coffee out of his eyes, proceeds to toss him over the table.

They both get home safely, but the stress of it all leaves Danny sick the next day, and paranoid for the rest of the week.

#YYYYYYYYY#POR OTRO LADO#2. jason#jason who wants to find his mother#does he go to danny?#asks for advice but still dies?#never died and instead serves as a catalyst for finally having healthy communication on the family?#if he does die#can danny look for him on the realms?#is danny the reason jay revives?#is he there when he crawls his way out of the coffin#desperately digging from the other side?#does danny try to kill joker?

I really love the idea that Danny manages to save Jason. Canon divergence my beloved <3. Of course Jason still dying is very angsty -- and i've had thoughts about him getting angry on Danny's behalf too upon realizing Danny's predicament -- Bruce has two dead children and he hasn't even been able to help the first one. BUT

Danny managing to reach the warehouse with a few minutes to spare before the bomb goes off, and desperately trying to get the doors -- locked and chained -- off. For some reason or another, he doesn't have his lockpicks on him. He's yelling for Jason, trying to get a response.

(Danny calls all his little brothers various bird nicknames too. "Chickling", "chick", and "birdy" are his favorites. Fledgling and baby bird are a little more uncommon. If he's feeling playful or if his brothers are grumpy, he calls them "broodling".)

In the end, Danny decides to go "fuck it" and uses his intangibility to bypass the wall. He nearly goes into a rage when he sees Sheila standing there smoking a cigarette, and doing nothing to help his baby brother bleeding out on the floor.

He ignores her and gathers his brother instead, which seems to kick Sheila into gear and as Danny's beelining for the door she asks him "what about me?"

He tells her to fuck off, then mutters an apology to Jason because he knows that's his mom. Jason doesn't have much of a response. Jason is concussed.

Danny gets them out of the building just as it explodes, and since he's already using his intangibility, he goes one step "fuck IT" further, and shields them both. He regrets nothing. The both of them live, just heavily injured.

If jason dies, then Danny is not the reason Jason revives, but he is there when Jay drags himself out of the grave. He's there to sink his fingers into the gravedirt and dig him out in return. He's holding Jason for nearly an hour, the both of them crying, when he decides to call Bruce and let him know. Then while he's at it, lets Dick know.

Dick and Bruce are both there in ten.

(Danny can't look for Jason in the realms because imo, he has no access to it. And he couldn't even if he would, his body would automatically absorb the high concentration of ectoplasm in the realms, and that would be like giving a feast to a stray dog for the blood blossom in his veins.)

(Doesn't mean he hasn't considered it if it meant having a chance to see Jason again.)

Danny would try and kill the Joker, and just like Batman, would have to be stopped. Danny nearly kills himself in the process because of his intense grief state making his powers fritz out and his ecto-levels rocket off the charts + he'd willingly using his powers if it meant killing the fucker that murdered his baby brother. Danny very, very fucking nearly goes ghost.

I am loudly pushing the batdad agenda i am loudly pushing the— DPxDC Prompt

“Woah. You look like shit."

Granted, that’s probably not the first thing Danny should be saying to the guy that just bit the curb, but in his defense; he’s not running on 100% right now either.

The man -- tall, towering, and broader than Danny is tall -- whips around on his heel, black frayed cape flaring out impressively. Danny would've whistled in appreciation, but he takes the time instead to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood running from his nose across his cheek.

"Sorry." He blinks widely, not even flinching as the man with the horns zeroes in on him. "That was rude of me. I have a really bad brain-to-mouth filter; Sam says its what always gets me into trouble."

And she's not wrong either, per say. His smart mouth is what landed him in this situation -- with blood blossom extract running through his veins and cannibalizing the ectoplasm in his bloodstream. Thanks Vlad.

The man grunts at him; a short, curt "hm" that shouldn't make Danny smile, but he does because he's somewhat delirious and probably concussed. The man keeps some kind of distance, sinking towards the shadows of Gotham's alleyway like he dares to melt right into it.

If it's supposed to scare Danny, it doesn't work. Danny's never been afraid of the dark; he's always been able to hide himself in it. He blinks slowly at the mass of shadows.

"You look hurt." The shadows says, blurring together around the edges. Danny squints, and licks his lips to get the blood dripping down his chin off. Ugh, he hates the taste of blood.

"I am." He says, "My godfather poisoned me. M'dying." The agony of the blood blossom eating him from the inside out looped back around to numbing a while ago, so all he feels is half-awake and dazed.

"Hey," Danny stumbles forward towards the man, a bloodied hand reaching out to him. "You-- you're a hero, right? You're not attacking me; which is more than I can say for most costumed people I've met." Maybe it's a poor bar to judge someone at, but he's already established that Danny's not in his right mind.

The man makes no change in expression, but Danny realizes blearily that it's hard to tell with the shadows on his face. He stays still long enough for Danny to latch onto the cape -- stretchy, but almost soft under his fingers.

He looks up blearily into the whites of the man's eyes. "Can you help me? I don't-- I don't wanna die." Again. He doesn't wanna die again. He blinks slow and lizard-like. "I mean- I'll probably get to see mom and dad again, but I told them I'd at least try and make it to adulthood."

There's a clatter down the street, and Danny's ghost sense chills up his spine and leaves a bitter, ashy taste in his mouth. He immediately knows who it belongs to even before the deceptively gentle; "Daniel?" echoes down the way.

"Daniel? Quit your games, badger, Gotham is dangerous for children."

Danny's mouth pulls back, and blood spills against his tongue. "Please." He rasps, and grabs onto the shadow's cape with both hands. "Please. He's going to kill me. Please--"

"Daniel? Is that you?"

His lips part, dragging in air to plead with the darkness again. He doesn't need to, the whites of his eyes narrow, and the cape whirls around him before Danny can blink. Soon swaddled in shadows, the Night lifts him up, and steals him away.

[balshumetsbaragouin]

Bittersweet Future: Chapter Twelve

Summary:

A battle of bitter enemies...

Battle Royale: Part I

In the irony that has become my life, saying that time stood still would be icing on the cake, but it wouldn’t be a lie. For the first time since I entered this wacky universe, I really got how much everything is fucked up. And you know what the crazy part is? The crazy part is it took seeing my Dad ordering my death via the Guys in White reject squadron to do it. Personally, my original bet was on seeing Vlad married to my mom, but hey, sometimes life is full of surprises…like the troops shooting at me for instance…

The reaction after that single command was immediate. The troops settled on the ground around Vlad’s ghost shield began opening a volley of blasts, hoping to either cut off their escape, or more favorably, destroy the shield all together. The loud booms in the background picked up in speed and volume as the GSU Air Ships hastened to drop off their cargo of men and vehicles. The jets circling over-head in a holding pattern joined their brethren strafing the outside of the shield with a combination of bullets and missiles. All of the GSU went into full attack mode.

Vlad quirked his lips in annoyance at the ecto-weapons currently nipping at his now near red colored shield, before turning away from the troops in front of him and back towards his family. “Alright, I need you all to listen up, I don’t have time to repeat this again,” he yelled over the din of the explosions of battle. “Jasmine, I need you to load up the Hover with everything it can carry, you know what’s most important, just get it done quickly.” He paused to make sure she’d understood before moving on. “Danny, I need you to take the twins and Lizzie over to the RV. Se-”

“What! Wait, why am I on baby-sitting duty? I can totally-”

“Snicker-doodles Danny, don’t you dare back sass me right now! Do exactly what I say, no questions.” The eldest halfa stared him down until he was sure he would listen. “Now, you get them over to the RV, set up the shield, full power, don’t turn any other systems on, and then wait for a break in the fighting. When you can jump out of the RV without being bombed by jets, head over to the Hover and give your sister some help.” Vlad flicked his eyes down to the youngest members of the group. “You three,” he pointed down when he realized the explosions were growing louder. That shield won’t hold much longer...“Don’t leave the RV for any reason. Do you understand me?” He waited a moment longer to watch them nod, before turning to his wife.

“You want me to take the ground troops or the air platforms this time?” She asked, her eyes shining with apprehension for the upcoming battle.

A loud shattering sound echoed throughout the valley as the outer shield broke under the relentless assault of the jets circling above the valley floor. The squadron waiting above the one that just broke the shield dive-bombed for the group’s position, hungry for blood.

“I’ll leave that decision in your capable hands Love.” Vlad tossed a look to his eldest son, “come on Daniel, let’s see if we can’t remind these underlings why you shouldn’t mess with us.”

“Very much agreed.” Daniel announced; a smirk already firmly planted on his lips. He passed a glance in Danny’s direction before turning his back ready to transform. Why did he call Jasmine your sister?

With that the group split in separate directions, determination set on their faces.

“Can’t you run any faster?” Nate complained from his position a few feet in front of Danny, racing towards the RV.

“Hey! I’m the one making the ghost shield, and carry Lizzie. The least you can do is not whine at me.” Danny panted while stopping behind a crate for cover. Another blast from the surrounding troops slammed into his shield, earning a grunt.

“Yeah well, the sooner we get to the RV-”

“The sooner you can stop working so hard.” Nick finished his brother’s sentence was a slight glare. He peered over the top of their current hiding place, judging the distance to the RV. They were within a 200 yard sprint, but interspersed between them and the RV was an advancing line of troops. Not good. “Hey so Danny, you have ghost powers right?” He couldn’t hide the nervousness in his voice.

“Well I don’t know Nick, why don’t we ask the ghost shield he’s making.” Nate responded with a roll of his eyes.

“Shut up!” Nick snipped back. “What I’m asking is you can transform right? Cause I don’t see any other way around that,” he paused to point out the now 50 feet closer line of soldiers, “group of GSU dorks.”

“Well yeah,” Danny screamed over an especially loud boom in the background, “but that’s not going to help much. The only reason they haven’t just rushed our position is because they can’t get a good read on my energy.”

“No way dumb butt. The reason they haven’t rushed our position is because they don’t know how strong you are. They already know-”

“-Where we are. That’s why they are shooting over here.” Nick finished before rolling his eyes in concert with his brother.

“Duh.” They both announced before a large blast from a bigger ecto-gun cracked Danny’s shield.

Lizzie gripped Danny’s shirt harder and shouted to be heard over another explosion. “Stop fighting! It’s not helping at all.” She jumped when another large crack appeared on the shield. “Can’t you make it stronger?” She asked, a slight tremor of fear wavering her voice.

Danny leaned over the top of the crate and sighted the troops heading for their position. “Yeah in a sec. I think I know how to get through those troops.” Danny narrowed his eyes at the weak point in the line advancing towards them. They had to avoid an obstacle soon, which meant breaking ranks, after that, he’d be able to throw an attack or two, and make a hole big enough for them to run through with much less resistance. He held Elizabeth a little closer and stood on the balls of his feet. “Ok everyone get ready to run.” He announced, slipping one hand out from under the youngest Master.

“What are ya’ going to do?” Nate asked before moving around behind him. He winced as another crack showed up on the shield, Danny obviously focused on something else.

The time traveling teen bounced up from his position behind the crate, firing several small blasts into the ranks of the GSU grunts. To his satisfaction, the troops parted just like he wanted. He waited a few more microseconds before turning to the boys behind him. “Come one run!” He leapt the crate and rushed ahead, charging the shield anew as he made for the line of currently disorganized ghost hunters.

Before the taken aback group of hunters could react, the shielded group ran through the large hole in their ranks. “Fire damn it!” The commander of the group demanded, raising his own weapon to send a few shots the hybrids’ way. His shots bounced off the bright green shield without even a crack showing up. He hissed into his communicator, “This is Agent O. I’m on the rear of the valley attacking a group of hybrids; I need back up out here!” He turned his sights back on the retreating group of kids, dropping his radio in his haste. He never heard the responses from the rest of the commanding officers, screaming for back up of their own.

Danny could hear his heart whooshing in his ears louder than the discordant booms of the unloading troops and the jets bombing every ghost signature or shield they saw. He groaned when another blast hit his shield, realizing the troops behind them had finally reorganized. That’s going to make this much harder. He mentally groused. “Nick…how do we know…that the RV…will even be…in one piece?” He panted out from in front of the other boys.

“The shields on all the vehicles went up automatically when the outer shield fell.” Nick replied.

“Yeah, it’d take nothing less than a nuclear bomb to break through those things with none of the other systems online.” Nate added, much less out of breath than Danny.

“If those shields are so good, then how come the outer shield fell?” Danny asked stopped behind one final crate he was using for cover. He shifted the squirming girl in his arms into another much less tiring position while he waited for an answer and the perfect opportunity to run the last few feet.

“It was spread over a much larger area, and it has more than one function! Besides what’s that matter now?” Nate huffed back, sparing a glance behind them to the troops catching up.

“I was just wondering, what made these shields so different, because if they were the same, I’d take my chances with my own.” Danny took a deep breath and prepared to just sprint through the lines of men guarding the RV when a loud crackling sound resonated throughout the valley. It was followed by a thunderous boom near instantaneously, sounding much more like actual thunder than any of the previous explosions in the valley. He swiveled his head left and right, looking for the source of the noise before something tugged on the back of his hoodie.

“Don’t worry about that one, that’s from our side,” Nick explained with another tug. “Come on; let’s get out of here while they’re distracted.” He pointed ahead of the crate to the men running towards the middle of the valley, to the apparent source of the last boom.

The oldest member of group waited another few seconds, to make sure the men had cleared out enough to be safe for them to run. Without another moment’s hesitation, Danny bounded over the top of the crate making a beeline for the RV doors. A few half hearted shots bounced off his shield before they made it to the edge of the dome being maintained by the RV.

Nick and Nate ran straight through the shielding, happily rushing ahead of Danny, before reaching up for the door to the RV.

“Uh hey guys?” Danny asked nervously to get their attention.

The twins’ attention returned to the outside of the shield, where Danny was sending them a look that was a combination of confusion and worry. “What’re ya’ still doing out there?” Nate mumbled mostly to himself, walking back to the inner edge of the shield. He reached his hand through once before returning it back inside. He frowned at the predicament as his twin got the door to the RV open.

“It’s the shielding technology Nate. Dad installed DNA recognition into it, so the GSU dorks can’t get through remember?” Nick rushed up the few stairs to the driver’s seat of the RV. “Now get in here and help me turn it off for a few seconds so he can get inside. I don’t remember which panel it is…”

Danny set Lizzie down and pressed her through the shield. “Don’t worry about that. Listen, just get in there and set the shield to 100% or something. I need to go help Jazz out and you all are safe inside the shield already, so I’m gone.” Just then another thunder-crack rang through the air, only this time the ground shook as well; he leaned against the shield for balance and glanced back towards the main battle taking place in the middle of the valley. He shifted back around to scream, face nearly flat against the shield, “And what the hell is that?”

Nate leaned out the still open RV door, as his younger sister bounded up the steps. “That is the sound of our Dad kicking butt.” Another crack and earth shaking boom rattled the area. “I sure hope those GSU dorks packed another pair of undies, because they’re going to need them.” He said with a playful grin plastered firmly over his face. He screamed something lost in the sounds of battle back inside to his siblings before looking back at Danny. “Hey, I thought you said you were leaving? Get going already!”

Great. I’m getting bossed around by ten year olds. Danny turned and nearly lost his footing as another earthshaking boom went through the valley floor. He glared lightly in the fight’s general direction before starting off in the direction he thought the Hover had been. You think Vlad would hold back on the…whatever it is he’s doing.

At the center of the chaos Vlad and his eldest son were giving the world’s finest ghost hunters a run for their money. He’d already destroyed a few air platforms they’d tried to set up, and while Daniel was busy dealing with the pesky jets still bombing the area, the faster boy had volunteered, so Vlad was blasting the levitating engines out from under the remaining platforms. The sooner I get these destroyed the better.

The platforms were a launch pad for the GSU’s small single person hover vehicles. And while a single one wasn’t anything to worry about, each platform could hold nearly 100 of them, and the GSU had brought ten platforms to the battle. They made for an annoying piece of machinery, and could overwhelm with sheer numbers. Worse, both the platforms and the flyers they carried, among other supplies, had been ghost proofed. While that didn’t make them indestructible, it meant it took a lot more fire power to destroy any one Levitator or platform than it should from the construction materials; at the very least with spectral energy creating the destructive power.

The result had Vlad using one of his most powerful attacks, not wanting to waste time or extra energy; he’d thrown a few well placed bright red lightning bolts into the platforms in the position to take several of them out with their failure.

The plan had moderate success, with one of the floating platforms already fallen, and another failing at that very moment. Unfortunately, the GSU had moved all of the remaining power in their shields to protect the remaining engines from further attacks. The shields were strong enough to blunt some of the damage away, and made it necessary to use more than one shot to take out a single engine. At the moment, they’d stabilized the third one from falling, and were launching their smaller single person crafts off of its bow.

Vlad cursed under his breath as the first wave of flyers made for his position. He didn’t have time for this nonsense. The group of craft zoomed towards his location before a large chunk of flying metal slammed into their formation. It took out half of the machines before ramming into the earth, straight into a contingent of troops on the ground, crushing several of the men beneath it. He looked over towards the area where the metal chunk had started from with interest. “What took you so long?” He questioned blasé in the face of the mounting chaos beneath him.

“Hey, next time you can take the baker’s dozen of fighter jets and I’ll throw energy attacks at the stationary targets.” Daniel flew to a stop next to his father, surveying the damage his last attack had done. For the last few minutes, he’d been out-maneuvering the pilots of the GSU’s Air Division. While they might have been the best fighter pilots in the country, nothing beat having the natural sense of flight that came with being able to do it yourself. They also had a much less responsive and larger system to work with, so he’d made quick work of the first three planes without breaking a sweat.

The next ten had come with more difficulty. The pilots suddenly woke up and remembered they could coordinate their attacks, and had done so. Using one group to try and pin down or herd him towards another group firing at him with bullets.

Not like that helped them all that much. Daniel noted smugly. He’d been able to pit them against one another, using their weapons to take out other planes, or just plain ran the jets into each other. Finally, with only two or three planes left, they had begun to retreat until more reinforcements arrived from the still disemboweling Air Ships. The hybrid had grabbed the closest plane and ripped a wing off, watching the now broken plane crash into the ground below. With a good piece of metal to work with, he’d tossed it back towards the main part of the battle, hoping to take out some more troops with it. The plan worked beautifully, the repurposed wing crashing into the first wave of Levitators like a freight train, before coming to a rest on top of some of the GSU’s ground troops. 

“Yes how about that? I’ll scare off a bunch of incompetent GSU pilots and you can try and get past their level nine shields.” Vlad raised one of his own as a group of missiles from the platform closed in on his position. They exploded against the dark pink dome, not even making a dent, clouding the immediate area in near black choking smoke.

“Whatever. What do you say I take the ground troops and you blast some more easy targets?” Daniel offered setting his sights on a group of men trying to reinforce the troops already headed towards his mother. Without waiting for a response, he dove out of the smoke cloud and fired a few green blasts at the troops below.

“I thought you wanted the easy targets this time Daniel?” Vlad teased at his retreating form before taking stock of the situation around him. He looked behind him towards the edge of the fight where the RV was sitting. Good, the kids are safely inside and Danny is running over to help Jasmine. Though God knows why he hasn’t transformed yet. The smoke was clearing, and he needed to move now if he still wanted to use surprise to his advantage. He shot straight out of the remaining smoke headed for the advancing group of Levitators, wanting to cut them off before they reached any further into the valley.

Meanwhile, Daniel was hovering invisible over the group of men currently continuing to his mother’s position.

She was, as usual, single-handedly holding off a contingent of soldiers, but that was likely to change if the rest of the men heading towards her position got there.

Daniel frowned at the number of men rushing to her position, and decided to get a little creative. He hadn’t tried to use these powers on someone in months, and it hadn’t gone so well that last time, but at the very least it would delay the arrival of the newer GSU grunts. He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending his energy into the space around him. He would have to drop invisibility in a few more seconds, so he made use of the extra time to center his thoughts. The buzz of the humid summer air faded as the much larger signatures of the men below him took over. He mentally reached out for the warm thrum he felt coming from them, opting for the much more tired group of men already fighting his mother. Daniel took a deep breath and grabbed at the person shaped coalescence of water in his mind…

She’d been giving their opponent as much hell as she could when she felt something ice cold wrap around her body. She knew instinctively from years in the GSU that it was spectral energy; she just didn’t know where it was coming from. The oldest hybrid was engaged with the Levitators, the mysterious one they had tracked this far hadn’t even shown up, and 2nd Priority had disappeared from the battle after scaring the first wave of fighter jets back to base. Moreover, the energy felt like it was coming from inside her. But that’s impossible. She concluded, and tried to lift her gun to shake off the energy around her, only to find she couldn’t.  Now panicking, she struggled to move her legs, shake her arms, to do anything but stand frozen stiff -when did I stopped moving-; to no avail. She shot a glance to the men next to her, her eyes the only thing she did have control over, and found him surrounded by a deep red aura. He was just as frozen in place as her, and from the look in his eyes, he had no idea what was going on either. Her mind went numb with fear as her limbs began moving of their own accord, hoisting her gun back into a shooting position from hanging limply at her side. To her dismay, the rest of her squad members did the same, falling into a single file line behind an outcropping of crates, backs turned to their original target. She had just enough time to pray her shots would miss, before everything went to hell.

The approaching group of fighters settled onto their haunches as a sudden volley of bright green fire halted their advance. “What the hell?” The commanding officer growled as another quick set of shots was fired towards their position. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think they were our own weapons firing at us. He looked towards his three o’clock where the Plasmius creature was tearing through their air support, before facing forward again. “Agent Q I need you to radio for more air support, I need some eyes over the back of that section of debris. I want to know what’s firing at us!” He screamed as several of his men were taken out by well placed shots. Abruptly, the firing stopped and a group of GSU soldiers rushed his position. He grimaced when they weren’t deterred by weapons’ fire, and ordered his remaining officers to shot to kill. If that red light is any indication they’re as good as dead anyway.

The last few minutes had been terrifying. Despite having no control over her actions, she’d fired into her own reinforcements and watched as several of her men were gunned down for refusing to follow orders. Worse, she had no sense of pain, so the injuries she was taking didn’t even slow her, or the other controlled GSU soldiers down. She finally reached the edge of the incoming line, and pinned the other commander below her. She had her blaster point directly at his skull, finger twitching over the trigger. It was taking everything she had to resist pulling it. She knew the man below her; they ate lunch together every day. She could hear his officers screaming for her to drop her weapon. If only they knew how much strength it took not to shot him…

“Sorry Kate, I’ll send your stuff to Jim when we get back.” He lifted his bazooka to her chest and squeezed the trigger, blasting a hole clean through to the other side. He shifted her corpse off of his body, and sent a fierce glare to the creature that had all but killed a good friend of his. “You’re dead you piece of spectral shit!” He raised his weapon, flicked it to full power, and sent a large green blast Daniel’s way.

Daniel had just enough time to register the power behind the attack before it closed on his position. He closed his eyes and teleported a few feet away, the blast had been close enough to singe him despite missing by a few feet. That was close… “Well someone looks a little upset.”

“Shut up you-”

“-Though if I were you,” Daniel interrupted, “I’d be more concerned with my original target.” Daniel watched as the commanding officer’s face scrunched into a confused frown before a hail of ecto-weapon blasts zipped into his group of men. He smirked as his mother dove back into the fight, easily routing the surprised and distracted GSU men, taking several more out before they could even re-group. “You’re welcome!” He screamed down at her when he saw her wave, before shooting off to take care of the new jets flying towards the valley from right over the edge of the mountains. And I was going to give Jasmine some help too. I hope that kid knows what he’s doing…

By this time Jasmine was almost finished loading up the Hercules Hover with the needed supplies. She wasn’t sure how they were going to get it out of the valley, someone would have to fly it, and with all the jets around that wasn’t advisable, but she trusted her father to figure it out. The majority of the GSU men had been occupied with chasing down either her parents or Daniel, considering they’d been making the most “noise”, but a few had come her way when they realized what she was up to. The red head was currently fighting off a new team of men, the other group having fallen to her sharp shooting and the shield around the Hover. This group, however, was proving more difficult to fight, and worse, there was another one coming up behind them. All in all, although she was nearly done with her task, she could use a little backup herself. Jasmine groaned as another one of her weapons signaled the batteries were running low. The majority of the replacements or chargers were already packed away, and she needed some guns to defend herself. “Come on Danny, the least you can do to make up for all of this is show up when I need you.” She didn’t blame the kid for not being so forthcoming with all of the details of his life. Despite the fact the GSU was the biggest threat to either of their lives, her family had in short order pointed enough weapons at him to give any sane person pause about sharing intimate life details. Like why you’re a half ghost or how you know who our parents are. She grimaced as she slid the last charged battery into place. Any time now…She thought firing a few volley shots over the top of crates she wasn’t planning on packing up. To her surprise, a much larger shot was fired in between both groups, shocking the GSU out of returning fire. “Took long enough!” She exclaimed as Danny settled in next to her.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” He answered looking around behind him at the stuff scattered around the Hover. “How much more of that stuff do you need to pack?” He wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible, mostly because everyone around him was acting like this was a war zone, shooting to kill, tossing grenades, and everything betwixt. He risked a glance over the edge of the crates, and quickly ducked down when several large green blasts headed his way. He didn’t mind fighting; he spent most of his day at home stuffing ghosts into the Fenton Thermos, but the way everyone else was fighting had him worried. I’m not killing anyone. He determined. If he was honest, that seemed to be the only way to fight back against the GSU at the moment.

“Just two more crates, but they are back over the line where the soldiers have entrenched themselves. I need you to force them back so I can get those crates and we can get out of here.” She explained while firing two more shots over his shoulder.

“Hey! Watch where you aim that thing.” Danny complained while rubbing at the warm spot in between his neck and shoulder where the energy had zipped though. He passed one more glance over the crates, to gage the closeness of the GSU line, before turning back around to Jasmine. He caught her eye and counted back from ten on his hands, mouthing off each number as he went.

Three…a blast took out the top half of the crate.

Two…Danny turned to block any other incoming attacks, shielding Jasmine with his body.

One…Jasmine turned and ran for the safety of another set of boxes, the one they’d been standing behind of had been completely destroyed.

“Ma’am, the mysterious hybrid has just appeared on our radar!” Jillian heard squawk out of her radio. She halted her groups advance with a hand over her shoulder and pressed a button on the radio integrated into her lapel. “Where is it?” She demanded harshly into the hi-tech walkie talkie. “It appeared over in the northern quadrant, next to where the troops were engaging Jasmine Fenton.” The second in command mulled over the information for a few moments longer before turning to motion her men towards the mystery hybrid’s position. They needed to capture him most of all. While the other hybrids were on record, at the very least they knew how they came to exist, that one’s appearance was more than a slight crimp in their knowledge base. Jillian turned to follow her men over to the area when a voice caught her attention above the din of the battle. Interesting…I’m sure my men can handle the girl while I worry about her mother.

The former ghost hunter was making progress against her section of the GSU troops. She’d already taken out several of their Levitators, and a few dozen troops on her own. Unfortunately, it looked like they’d come prepared for Armageddon this time, so no matter how many troops she knocked down, it seemed like five more showed up to replace them. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her retractable bo-staff, medium sized ecto-gun balanced in her left hand. Luckily enough, she shot with her off-hand almost as well as with her dominant hand. She popped three approaching GSU soldiers in the chest before depressing the button to extend her favorite melee weapon. Come to momma boys. Maddie slung her gun onto her hip before griping the staff in both hands, ready to whip it around into a few skulls. To her surprise, her opponents had stopped advancing, eyeing her with a wary expression on their faces. She took the reprieve to spy her husband and eldest son. Vlad’s keeping the majority of the Levitators at bay and Daniel is fighting off another squadron of jets. I hope Jasmine’s almost done. She settled into her stance and eyed the still stalled GSU drones. Suddenly, the reason for their hesitation became clear. “Oh, so what happened to last time has gotten around has it? Well don’t worry; I’ll be gentler this time.” She leaned off of her heels and onto the balls of her feet, ready to spring at the first person who twitched wrong. Someone to her left wriggled, shifting to reach for another weapon, so she took a step in that direction and swung…

He hadn’t meant to set off the virtual martial arts bomb in their midst, but all it took was one twitch and they were as good as bruised in any case. He’d reached for a knock out grenade, hoping to end the fight before it started, only to have it inadvertently begin.

She’d knocked out two of the people standing around her before they could even raise their guns. To even the odds, she’d planted her staff into the earth and catapulted herself over the top of the circle, being surrounded would make the fight much harder. A few of the fighters had woken up and fired a shot or two in her direction in the air, but she’d already nearly landed by then. She landed on one leg, and pivoted, settled her other leg into the ground right when her weapon made contact for full effect. She heard a satisfying crack, as the soldier’s firing arm was taken out, and moved into a defensive stance. Everyone had recovered from her first strike by then, and turned to fire at her. The shots bounced off of her reinforced ecto-steel staff as she twirled it to make a shield against the blasts. Maddie dived forward during a slight break in the firing pattern and caught one closest GSU member under the chin. She turned and used the other end to smash the person closest to him in the gut, before twisting to catch a final person across the back of the neck, knocking her out instantly.

Six down, six more to go. She thought determination reading in her every feature. The mother of five was back on the defensive, easily deflecting the blasts off her weapon, sending several back to the men who were firing. Opting to use their weapons’ fire against them further, she concentrated on reflecting the blasts back towards their targets. Four blasts zipped back to their sources, and she was left with only the commanding officer and one of his underlings. The brazen girl rushed at Maddie, baton from her belt raised to counter her staff. The former hunter effortless parried and disarmed the soldier in one move before catching the back of her skull behind her ear with the other end of her weapon. Her opponent crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap while she faced off against the commander. At the last second she sensed a blast headed for her back. She twisted out of the way and the shot slammed into the officer’s chest instead of hitting her. She continued through the motion, drawing her gun off of her opposite hip, pressing it to full power, using the heavy staff to balance her shift in motion.  

“Maddie.” A cold calm voice rang through the sounds of battle. The world around her had faded away ages ago to her. Almost as soon as she’d seen the other woman fighting, the rest of the world no longer mattered. She held her weapon solidly pointed at the chest of her opponent, willing the woman to so much as blink so she could fire.

“Jillian. How long has it been?” She inquired gun pointed directly over the other woman’s heart, staff still balanced in her right hand.

“Too long Madeline, too long.”  

Nate and Nick watched with a grin on their faces while the GSU surrounding the RV tried to break through the shield, this time with a rocket launcher. The projectile bounced off of the shield; detonating only a few tenths of a second after that. The grunts outside tried to send several grenades at the shield at once. This only earned a loss of more ammunition and a set of rolled eyes from the twins.

“You’d think they’d stop trying by now, and go reinforce somewhere else where they can actually make a difference.” Nick noted pressing his face against the glass to distort it into a funny taunting face.

“Yeah maybe, or maybe these are all of the rejects that are too stupid to be of any use anywhere else.” Nate watched in muted humor as another rocket was sent into the shield. It also deflected off the shield and exploded; he passed a glance to the power panel for the shield. Still 100%. This is so boring.

Nick pulled his face away from the glass long enough to say, “Whatever, I just wish everyone else would hurry up. I’m sick of sitting around doing nothing. Hey, doesn’t this thing have cameras?” He moved away from the glass as another grenade hit and walked over to another set of panels at the front of the RV.  

“Yeah? But so what?” Nate asked while joining his brother in the front seat. The front of the RV looked a lot more like high tech monitoring station and less like a car.

“Because then we can send out the cameras, and see how close everyone else is to getting their butts back over here.” Nick depressed a few buttons on the largest control panel, in no particular order, trying to get the set of mobile cameras to release. He was only rewarded with the windshield wipers turning on, followed by the headlights, and then the weapon’s system coming online.

“Wait stop!” His brother screamed when the weapons highlighted on the main display screen in front of him. He scrunched up his face in concentration trying to pick out what he wanted. He thought the cameras might be in this section of the computer.

Nick caught onto the other boy’s antics, but instead selected a pair of large missiles. “How about these?” he offered while pressing down on the touch screen.

Rocket Launchers activated. A computerized voice said from the console in front of them before two medium sized rockets shot from the top of the RV. The projectiles flew through the shield and directly into the midst of the surrounding GSU. The flying bombs had the designed effect, quickly blasting and throwing earth out of the way of their detonation. GSU soldiers dove left and right out of the blast zone.

“Oops. I didn’t think the screens were that sensitive.”

“Whatever. Let’s find those cameras before those GSU dorks recover.” Nate responded hitting another set of commands into the control panel. The weapons section shut down and was replaced by the communications section. That was swiftly followed by the espionage section, filled with hacker’s codes and eavesdropping technology, as the boys clicked through the RV’s systems.

“Wouldn’t the mobill cameras be with the spy stuff?” Lizzie offered from the mid-section of the RV.

“Hey great idea!” the twins enthusiastically answered before switching back over to the “spy” section to look for the mentioned equipment. In a flash, they had zeroed in on the flying recorders.

They popped out of the top of the RV, floating for a second as the video processors came online, before racing off onto the rest of the battlefield.

“You think four of those things will be enough?”

Nate frowned over his brother’s question before answering, “Yeah why wouldn’t it be?”

“What if some of them blow up?” Lizzie suggested.

The twins shared a look before watching the cameras fly off towards the platforms at the other end of the valley. They started broadcasting their findings back to the RV’s display system. The intensity of the fighting wiped any worry of destroyed property from the kids’ minds.

“Yeah whatever, just as long as they last long enough to show us what’s going on I don’t care…Hey look! There’s mom.” Nate pointed to the screen, where the second of four cameras had pinpointed one of the main fights.

Maddie shifted to the left, settling her feet and centering herself for the battle ahead. In that instant, the fight had begun. She continued the motion, sliding to the left to avoid the ecto-weapon fire heading her direction. The green blast soared past her where her shoulder had been as she returned fire, to keep her opponent on their toes. She knew from experience Jillian was too fast and smart to be pinned with energy attacks, even from close range, but it did give the other woman something else to break her concentration, and for that she was grateful. Jill was one of the few people Maddie had ever fought that was actually a challenge, and with nearly a half an hour of intense fighting under her belt already, she needed the extra edge the distracting fire provided.

Jill cart wheeled to the right, out of the range of the coming bright green blasts before reaching back and taking out another weapon. The second in command knew that while her adversary was a good shot, though not an ace unlike herself, she preferred melee combat against human opponents. Worse, she was one of the best at it; so her greatest chance came in making her keep her distance and using her superior shooting skills to her advantage. Better than that, she had back-up all around her, so all she had to do was hem her into another group of GSU and the fight would be over. However, that’s easier said than done. Jillian concluded as another of her well-aimed shots deflected off of Maddie’s staff. The other woman had taken to blocking her shots with one hand and shooting her own with the other. Damn it…It was time for a change of tactics.

The former ghost hunter narrowed her eyes and charged her opponent’s position, wanting to close some of the distance that had developed between them. Space only served to give Jill an advantage since it made using her bo-staff for anything but blocking impossible. Her feet bite into the dirt, and she deflected several shots as she charged. She quickly cut the length of space between them in half. Dodging around another fiery green shot she couldn’t deflect, Maddie slid into a fighting stance that would more easily take advantage of her greater melee skills. Her eyes narrowed when she caught her opponent raise her other hand to fire and chose to block the burning hot blast with her own gun, sacrificing it to avoid giving up ground. She swirled her staff around her body to give it a good amount of force, and slammed it into Jillian’s arm, knocking her un-raised weapon clean out of her hand.

Cursing and bring her unharmed arm to bare, Jillian fired a series of shots on the run, already twisting away and to the right to avoid being hit by the staff a second time. She watched Maddie hiss as a shot grazed her shoulder at close range and another barely missed her left thigh. Her opponent rolled and bounced back into a defensive stance, ready to avoid anymore coming ecto-weapons fire. The blonde woman steadied herself for the rest of the fight, watching her foe closely as she took stock of her injuries. Some small bruises and burns from close calls. But the main problem is that hit to the arm, I think she may have fractured my forearm with that one, but I know for sure my wrist is broken. Jill frowned as the new information flitted across her mind. A fractured forearm was no big deal, she could set and stabilize it in a few minutes if given the reprieve during battle, but a broken wrist would take that entire side out of commission when it came to weapons wielding. It wasn’t like she was in poor shape there, she could shoot equally well with both hands, but she’d rather have two guns to point at Maddie than one. She passed a glanced around the space immediately around her; the area where they were fighting was conspicuously empty. A look to the sky answered her question why, when she spotted both of the oldest hybrids giving the troops closest to them hell. Looks like 2nd Priority finished with those jets again, my time is almost up. Her troops would need reinforcement and her guidance soon, she didn’t have time to waste on this fight for much longer. Why isn’t she attacking? Jill wondered before bringing up her remaining gun to restart their clash.

Maddie for her part had taken the few seconds pause to take mental stock of her family’s positions. Vlad, fighting off the last of the Levitators, and he’s knocked down another Platform. Daniel’s giving him some help with the ground troops. From the sound of it the twins and Lizzie are safe inside the RV. So that leaves Jasmine…Her thoughts trailed off as her wrist began to ache and throb. She hadn’t taken the shot directly, but having the gun wrenched out of her hand like that still hurt. Despite that, it was likely only a bad sprain, and she needed to focus if she was going to keep the other woman so tied up that she couldn’t help the other GSU fight. She took a deep breath when she saw Jillian raise her gun; it would be harder to use her staff with a stiff and sore wrist, but she’d manage. She blocked the first shot, and the fight resumed.

The GSU officer backed away from Maddie’s approaching form, running backwards nearly as fast as she could forward, to preserve the space needed to keep her weapon’s fire effective. She decided to move the fight closer to the rest of her men; so she spun on her heel and raced towards the rest of the soldiers, opting to show her opponent her back to make up for it in speed. Jill heard the other woman scream something from over her shoulder and dropped to the side with just enough time to avoid the blast. It sailed uselessly to her left, not even singing her clothing. She stopped and refaced Maddie, having gained a nearly fifty yards with her short sprint. Still, it wasn’t close enough to draw the attention of her subordinates or to really close in on the other fight, so she was on her own. Ok, you want hand to hand combat honey? You got it. Jill decided before rushing the other woman’s position full speed.

Startled by the abrupt change in tactics, Maddie skidded to a stop as Jill closed the last of the space between them. She had just enough time to plant her feet before a solid punch was sent her way. She blocked it with the middle of her staff and pressed her advantage, moving the staff to the other side of her arm and pushing it away, hoping to throw the other woman off balance. To no avail, as Jillian only moved with the parry, grasped a hold of the staff, and brought one of her legs up for a body shoot against her. Thrown off balance she had no way of blocking the attack. To compensate, she rolled with the kick, reducing some of the effect by following the motion.

The two of them, still conjoined by their hold on the staff, rolled to the right landing back on their feet, staff still in hand. They fought over control briefly before it landed level between them both around chest level.

Jill glared over the top of staff and into the auburn haired woman’s eyes. “Give it up sweetie; I’ve got five years of youth and ten years of expert training on you.” She hissed as the weapon was twisted from her grasp, arms crossing uncomfortably, when Maddie flipped to the left still holding the staff. The ghost hunter settled back into an offensive stance and prepared to charge her again. I have to get that staff out of her hands. The GSU officer raced forward once again, only this time she stopped on a dime, avoiding the other woman’s attack. She ducked underneath it, crossing into the space between her body and the staff, and destroying her weapon’s defensive capabilities. She placed as much force as she could behind her next attack, bringing her elbow across into the now open space, and heading directly for Maddie’s head. She nearly screamed in frustration as the woman before her dropped back; falling down onto her back as the blow meant for her temple sailed cleanly through the air. Jill grunted as her opponent’s feet planted against her unguarded stomach, leaving her breathless, and tossing her a few feet away onto her back.

Maddie continued through the motion, flipping back onto her feet, using her hands to help back hand spring back into a standing position. She’s barely landed before she was taking off fleet footed for the last place she’d seen the other woman land, trying to press her advantage to the fullest. She landed on top of the still prone woman, pressing the staff into her neck as she struggled with her on the ground. “Dear, if you’ve been trained by the GSU for ten years it might explain a few things, though certainly not the crows’ feet, and you were calling me old. Come on hun, are these digs really necessary? Or maybe you’re just still upset about Amity four years ago.”

“Shut it Madeline. You know as well as I do that this,” Jill paused to press her palms against the staff with more gusto, forcing the other woman back into a sitting position over her, “is all your fault.” She grit her teeth and planted her feet into the earth, forcing Maddie off of her. “If only you realized what you had, then none of this would be necessary.” The second in command rolled to the left, listening to the whistle of the staff as it stung the dirt where she had just been laying. The next attack came quickly, and the one after that with even more speed. Oh she’s pissed now. She realized with glee.

“This is not my fault. I’m not responsible for how Jack chooses to take things, nor am I responsible for his obsession with killing every ghost he comes across.” Maddie whipped the staff around once more, one handed, as she reached for another weapon, this time an ecto-gun. She openly glared into the space her opponent left in the wake of her expert dodging. If only she would stand still long enough to land a hit, she’d show her what she really thought about her baseless assertions. “Besides, I’d say your dislike of me is more personal. What’s the matter honey? He still not biting after all these years?” She asked aiming the small ecto-gun at Jill’s constantly moving form.

“Oh and I have you to blame for it, if that’s what I was actually after. Congratulations, between your own children and my commanding officer it seems you have a knack for creating monsters.” She cheered internally as the other woman’s face flushed darker with anger and defensive pride. “Oh but don’t take my word for it, sweetheart, just take a look around you. Most mothers would be terrified and disgusted by the thought they gave birth to something non-human but apparently, just like with Jack, you relish the idea of making something so perverted. I mean honestly, I don’t know what’s more disturbing. The fact you left a good man for a heartless twisted inhuman monster, or the fact you weren’t satisfied until the man you left was just like him.” Jill screamed as a well aimed blast caught her along her already injured forearm.

“Shut the hell up.” Maddie closed in on her injured quarry, ready to end this fight right then. There was one thing she couldn’t stand, and that was anyone talking about her family. Just as the gun whined and whirled, ready to blast a hole clear through her opponent’s skull, the air began to buzz. She gasped as the space around her filled up with energy she could recognize in her sleep. There was a subtle red hue in the air wrapped around what she realized was the humidity in the atmosphere around her. Maddie snapped her head around to where she heard a large rush of water coming from. Daniel! She only took her attention off of her opponent for a moment, but that’s all it took…

Jillian rushed the other woman standing over her the instant she took her focus off of her. She reached up and grabbed the gun pointed at her, and began struggling with her for it, trying to at least throw the older woman off balance. She succeeded in firing off a few shots in the fight over the weapon before she noticed what had distracted Maddie so effectively herself. There was a veritable twister of water headed for the last of their floating platforms! The red tinged water moved like a natural water spout, building as it went; adding water to its size from seemingly nowhere. Jill refocused her attention on her opponent only to find her more interested in the sky near the quickly growing twisting wall of water. What are you looking for? The ghost hunter wondered as she wrenched the gun away from Maddie’s body. Jillian watched as the older woman withdrew another of her weapons and pointed it up towards her. Too slow…She was about to fire, when at the last moment; she spotted what Maddie had been searching for. Is that what you were so concerned about? She realized with a piece of wicked intent coiling in her belly. She’d take care of him after his mother.

The two of them stood stock still in a reoccurrence of the Mexican stand-off from before, with each of them now more interested in the water raging now only a few hundred yards away than each other.

Jill waited for the woman in front of her to shift her attention back towards the teenaged ghost floating not too far off, before she made her move. She fired a blast that forced Maddie to block with her staff and retreat as well. “Boys, that’s 2nd Priority making that attack, shot him out of the sky!” She barely had enough time to send that command through her communications link before she was tackled to the ground. And from the look in the mother’s eyes, she’d just made a command she’d be paying for in blood.

Across the valley, Jasmine had just loaded the first of the last two needed crates into the Hover. Unfortunately, her back up was having trouble fighting off the GSU grunts at the moment. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t strong enough to make a dent, it just seemed to her that Danny was holding back for some reason. It’s like he actually cares what happens to these bastards. You would think being shot at and nearly killed three times in two days would convince him to stop pulling his punches. Jasmine ducked behind another set of boxes, just feet from her final goal. She just needed to move forward a just a little more, and for once it looked like luck was on her side; Danny had forced the soldiers back a just enough to make sneaking to the last box possible. Let’s just hope he can keep them up there. She catapulted over the top of the boxes; her landing blending effortlessly into a hard sprint. The red haired girl wrapped her hands around the outside of the crate and hoisted it up preparing to race with it back to the Hover when something caught her eye and her ears.

The same twisting wall of water that had caught Maddie and Jill’s attention had now grown to twice its original size. The roar it was creating was audible over even the loud blasts and explosions of the raging battle around the valley floor. Several groups of GSU men had stopped to gaze at it in a combination of awe and fear as the water barreled towards the last of the floating platforms and the rest of their backup.

Jasmine managed to put the ghost hunter’s distraction to good use; running right past the stock still officers and back towards the Hover; already having discerned the origin of the impressive sight. I hope you know what you’re doing little brother. She saddled up to the door of the Hercules beetle shaped flying tank and hopped inside to set the last of the crates inside when she heard something rather large slam into the outside of the shield.

“You almost done in there?” A frantic voice shouted from the other side.

“That’s the last of it! I just need to signal that I’m done, and you can escort me back to the RV.” Jasmine stuck her head back out of the door to answer before doing a last check of the inside of the vehicle to be absolutely sure she had everything she needed. With a decisive nod, she stepped out of the Hover and turned to shout for Danny to take her back…only to spot Daniel being shot out of the sky. “NO!” Without even thinking about it; she dove back inside the flying contraption for a weapon.

“What?” Danny questioned pressing himself back against the shield. His lack of ability to pass through them was beginning to wear on his nerves.

The eldest Masters’ sibling stopped in her tracks and turned back around to the still open Hover door. “Danny! Those GSU bastards just hit Daniel with a huge blast. I can’t get to him as quickly as you can. I need you to go over there and give him some back up.”

“But what about you? There are agents everywhere!” Danny sent another medium sized ecto-blast into the charging line of GSU men, trying to wave them off a few moments more.

“I’ll be safe behind the shield. I’ll wait until you get back with my brother, now go already!” Jasmine huffed and pointed back towards the forested area of the valley where she’d seen her brother land.

Danny was about to argue otherwise when several more large ecto-weapons blasts bounced off the shield effortlessly. “Alright! But I’m coming back here right after that…” He conceded with a frown; heading as fast as he could fly towards Daniel’s likely crash site.

Wow my head hurts. I mean, I’m sure it didn’t hurt this much a few minutes ago, when I…when I was…um…what was I doing actually? Daniel wondered holding his still whirling head in one hand while pushing himself into a sitting position with the other. A moderate sized boom snapped him out of his dazed revere as he remembered the battle at hand. The teenaged hybrid hissed as he forced himself into standing. His middle felt like it was on fire. Bruised, badly, but nothing that’ll kill me. My head is scraped up pretty bad, but no fractures…and I’m just about out of energy. Great. By the time Daniel finished taking stock of his internal injuries and reopened his eyes he found himself encircled by at least 15 GSU soldiers. No I’m wrong, it’s fantastic. “So, I’m guessing you’re not here to play field medic?”

“2nd Priority ecto-entity Daniel Masters, you are under arrest by order of the Government Spectral Unit Field Branch. You have the right to submit quietly and to avoid most pain and discomfort.” The acting ranking commander declared with a self indulgent smile planted firmly on his lips.

“Might I suggest instead, you all taking a stroll through Hades? I hear it’s wonderful this tim-” the rest of his sentence was cut short by jumping to the right of the first of a flurry of blasts. The ghost powered teen tried to rush through the line of men and into the bushes directly on the other side. To no avail, the three men immediately in his path shouldered together and were able to withstand even his ghost strength enhanced attempt to tackle through them. Before he knew it, they’d thrown him back onto the center of the circle where he was forced to erect a hasty green toned shield. Oh this is not good…Daniel panted under the strain of keeping the shield up against the constant weapons’ fire.

Suddenly, one of the low ranked underpaid grunts got an idea. He lobbed a grenade from his belt towards the ghost hybrid in the middle of their group. “Fire in the hole!” he cried as he and his comrades dove out of the way of the resulting explosion and for cover. The grenade had been primarily designed to harm ghosts, but a small amount of the raw blow back from the blast was still dangerous to humans.

The last of Daniel’s strength gave out under the assault of the ectoranium laced explosive and his shield fell with a loud crack like the shattering of a dozen mirrors. His head spun with renewed vigor as the exertion only exasperated what was likely a bad concussion. Hs formerly pain glazed eyes hardened diamond sharp; turning icy at the sight of the barrel of the gun pointing right at his forehead.

“I gave you an opportunity to come quietly ghost. Now, according to every procedure, I’m authorized to use any force necessary to subdue you. And, well, you are the second most dangerous ghost in existence.” The acting commander hissed out with a sadistic grin, as deadly as the weapon he welded, on his face. “I’m thinking I should take out your legs first. You know,” he paused to laugh, “in case it tries to run again.” He addressed the rest of the sentence to the men around him. He pointed the gun down towards his newest target, the ecto-entity’s right leg. “Now, let’s see if your blood really is green like the rest of your-” A pained cry cut off the rest of his sentence as he, and some of his men, was tossed half a dozen feet from in front of the hybrid.

Before anyone could react, someone flew down into the center of the circle, and another much brighter green ecto-shield went up around Daniel. “Looks like you could use some help.” Danny suggested hand out in a perfect mirror of the other hybrid a few hours ago.

“Wow. Anyone ever tell you that you have perfect timing?” Daniel pondered with a grunt as he struggled his way to his feet with Danny’s help. He leaned over trying to catch his breath, hands placed firmly on his knees. The sound of his tired pants was so loud he almost missed the other boy’s question. “I’m fine. I’ve just been fighting too much today. I mean I think I killed about 20 jets, a couple dozen ground troops. I even took out a tank earlier back at the mansion. I’m bushed!”  He paused to catch his breath and center his thoughts. I need to summon up enough energy to fight a little while longer. Then I can collapse for at least a week. The weakened fighter heard Danny’s voice again above the ringing in his ears. “I’ll be fine just give me a minute or so to make some more energy and we can get back to kicking these losers back to Mordor. Cool?” Daniel transformed and ignored the jag of pain shooting through his chest. He didn’t really listen to the other hybrid’s reply having turned his focus to the process of temporarily increasing his core’s energy production.

Danny for his part concentrated on maintaining the shield against the barrage of attacks the soldiers were now lobbing at it. He had a lot more energy than his other worldly twin, however, so the task was much easier than it had been for him. Still, the GSU members seemed to be signaling for back-up and with another group of nearly a dozen soldiers having just arrived Danny wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. “Hey I hate to break your concentration or something, but how much longer is this going to take?” I’ve been asking that a lot lately… Another dozen shots slammed into his shield before the halfa had even finished his sentence forcing him to refocus his attention to holding up the shield.

“Just another few minutes…I’m more drained than I thought.” Daniel distractedly answered. “Just make the radius of the shield smaller.” He concluded simply before working on gathering the last of his energy up for the rest of the battle.

“Oh yeah sure; I’ll just do that while two dozen Guys in White rejects continue to throw bombs and shots at us. Yeah that’s no problem at all.” Danny replied with the tone of someone rolling their eyes.

“God and my family calls me sarcastic. Ok wise guy I’m finished.” Daniel took one more deep breath before opening his eyes and preparing to fly off at top speed. He glanced over the tree tops and spotted a bright red flare glowing off towards the main part of the battle. “Hey,” he elbowed the other boy in the ribs to get his attention. “That flare is from Jasmine. It means the Hover’s ready, so that’s where we’re headed after we lose these guys. So on the count of three drop the shield and get over there as fast as you can.”

“You know, I’ve been taking orders from people like my age or younger all day, and I can honestly say I’m getting sick of it.” Danny chanced a moment to act childish and lighten the mood by sticking out his tongue at the other hybrid inside the shield.

“Yeah, well Rule Three remember? In case of a battle, I’m in charge. So get used to it.” Daniel tossed back. He passed a look over his shoulder at Danny and started counting down until he caught sight of a large missile headed for their position. “Never mind! Just go now!” he ordered surging as fast as he could away from his last position.

Danny quickly followed suit, zooming away in close to the opposite direction even faster to avoid being turned into spectral slag. He looked back just as the missile rammed into the earth several hundred yards away from his current position, searing the ground and his retreating form with the heat. Woah that was close! Good thing he spotted that bomb before we got turned into burnt up pancakes. “Hey Daniel!” He called into the settling air around the blast zone.

“Over here,” he responded with a small blue flare to cut through the still kicked up dust. He surveyed the events of the rest of the battle with a critical eye. The twins and Lizzie are still inside the RV messing around with things. Well as long as they don’t get out it’ll be fine. Jasmine is surround inside the Hover, but the shield is stable, no need to rush off there right at the moment. Mother is…is that Jillian Castle? Oh I’m definitely leaving that alone. And father finished off all but one of the platforms, but it looks like the first round of tanks are just about through the edge of the forest leading to the valley floor. We need to leave.

“So, how about we go rescue Jazz from being stuck inside that shield?” Danny asked while settling next to his pensive looking doppelganger. When that didn’t seem to get his attention, he floated in front of him. “Hey dude, are you still in there?” the time traveling teen crossed his arms in frustration.

“Yes I hear you; give me a second. I’m trying to figure out the easiest way to get Jasmine back to the RV safely. Oh and she abhors being called ‘Jazz’ so don’t do it around her.”

“Oh yes your majesty.” Danny rolled his eyes and continued, “Dude why don’t we just swoop in, grab her, and fly her back to the RV? That’s simple-”

“-And probably going to get her killed.” Daniel interrupted. “As soon as we fly over there, every GSU fighter wannabe is going to fire at us, and if you thought it was hard before, it’ll be impossible after that.” He frowned and looked directly at the other ghost powered teen, “so unless you’d like to offer yourself up as bait-”

“Is that all? No problem, so let’s get over there!” At the surprised and skeptical look he was receiving from the other boy he explained further. “Dude I’m one of the fastest most agile ghosts I know. Trust me; if they can hit me then I deserve it. Now let’s go!” Not wanting to waste another moment, Danny shot towards the Hover’s position like a piece of black streaked lightening.

Daniel sighed and charged after him, hoping to cut him off before he did anything especially stupid or dangerous. And considering this entire situation is his fault to begin with, I likely have no idea the depths he can sink to. He caught up with Danny just as the top of the Hover’s shield came into view. The fact the other teen was still floating around the outside of the shield, dodging weapons’ fire, surprised him until he remembered the shield technology’s newest feature.  Daniel stopped next to the other ghost powered teen above the very top of the dome. “Hey you keep them busy while I go grab Jasmine. I mean, since you volunteered to be the bait and everything, I’m sure you don’t mind holding the fort.” With that said he dived inside the shield and landed in front of the opening to the Hercules Hover. “So need a lift?”

“Thanks, but I’m more concerned with how Dad is going to-Dad!” Jasmine cut herself off as a large pink blast threw the line of advancing GSU men back over 100 feet. She bounded out of the craft and to the edge of the shield, trying to get a better look.

“Saw your flare, and figured it was about time I made an appearance. Is everything ready to go?” He said through the energy wall of the shield, eyes warily searching the area for any sign of enemy combatants.

Jasmine smiled and thumbed over her shoulder in the direction of the open hovercraft. “Yeah we just need to move it. I’m not sure how that’s going to happen though, with all of the jets and soldiers everywhere.” She leaned around his floating form when she saw a bright green flash go off. Oh, well at least he’s being useful. I’d expect him to be completely freaked out by now. Where did he learn to fight? She wondered before refocusing on her father drifting through the shield and landing on one side of the Hover.

“Daniel and I are going to teleport it. Now the shield is going to disappear with it, so be ready to defend yourself when that happens. Also, Danny,” he paused and raised his volume to get the other halfa’s attention. “I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but defend Jasmine. We’ll only be otherwise occupied for a few minutes, but plenty can happen in that time.” Vlad ended his warning by placing his hands on the Hover. “Ready Daniel?”

“As I’ll ever be.” He replied while watching his sister step out of the protection of the energy shield, gun in hand. Be careful. He thought before placing his palms against the cool smooth metal and concentrating…

You know, I’m beginning to think offering to be the distraction/bait/ghost hunter sacrifice wasn’t the best of ideas. In fact, I’m not sure what possessed me to volunteer to be the living ecto-weapons’ fire “pin” cushion. Danny dodged another in the increasing volley of GSU green colored blasts. It was getting harder for even him to avoid the shots, but stopping and erecting even a small shield would only make himself a bigger and more easily fatigued target. He glanced down to where his sister was fighting through the horde of men with expert marksman like shots. Oh yeah definitely bizarro world. He concluded after getting a chance to see her much improved aim in action. He risked another fleeting look away from the battle at hand to the pair working behind him. Ok their energy is all around the flying metal bug thing, so they should be done in a minute or two. Not so bad…

Just then the Hover, ghost hybrids and all, dissipated into a puff of red smoke. The shield disappeared only tenths of a second afterwards, leaving Danny and Jasmine alone in wake of the Hover’s departure.

Danny took his mind off the battle for only a second, distracted by the teleportation, but it only took that much for him to miss a shot heading straight for Jasmine on the ground. The sound of her pained and surprised cry was what got his attention. “Jazz! Hold on I’m coming.” He shot down towards her like a rocket, stopping just in front of her and creating an ecto-shield large enough for them both. “Hey are you alright?” the younger halfa asked gritting his teeth against the rapid patter of the attacks against his shield.

“I’ll be fine.” The other girl hissed back at him through her pain. “Just give me a sec to wrap this up and I’ll be back to the blasting action.” She tore through a strip of fabric on the ruined sleeve of her injured arm, making a quick tourniquet. Other than a slight tremor from the pain, her arm was otherwise still useable. Good. She concluded before setting the second ecto-gun back onto her injured side and standing up behind Danny. The red haired girl began to take stock of new situation when a ripple went through her system. They were about to be completely surrounded, and worse, she couldn’t really shoot as well on her right side now.

“Hey Jazz do me a favor.” Danny stated while lowering his arms and taking a deep breath.

“Sure thing if you don’t call me Jazz ever again.” She replied with a slight scowl in her tone.

“Stand behind me, and cover your ears.” He planted his feet and deepened his stance, he didn’t really have the room to go anywhere else, and this attack had a habit of throwing him backwards if he didn’t really brace himself. Danny took one final deep lung filling breath, closed his eyes, and…

If she had been thinking of keeping her arms up in favor of defending herself when Danny’s shield dropped, that thought left her mind immediately after his attack started. Even behind him, where the sound was at its least powerful, it was overwhelming. Jasmine dropped to her knees behind him; trying to bury her ears in a combination of her hair and hands to block out even more of the sound. It was so loud she couldn’t even think. She opened her eyes and was suddenly glad to be on the ground already, since the whole of it looked to be waving back and forth in time with the bright green waves of piercing howling sound pouring from Danny’s mouth. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand another second, he stopped and bent over panting with his hands on his knees. She saw his transformation rings start up before they fizzled out. Her ears were still ringing, but even so the silence was palatable. “What was that?” She shrieked at him, still nearly deaf from the attack.

“Ouch! My ears still work you know?” Danny complained while rubbing the one that had been closest to her auditory assault. “You like it? I call it my Ghostly Wail. That thing will demolish anything.” He stood back up and surveyed the damage. Well the first few rows are definitely down for the count; their equipment too. The closest troops to us look too shell shocked to do much but lay there for the next couple minutes and the ones across the valley will take a good while to get to us, which is perfect because we are heading to the RV.

Jasmine flit her eyes over the prone men and women of the GSU with a small smirk. “Well it certainly packs one hell of a punch, but I don’t suppose you can do that more than once or in the air can you?” She sighed when he shook his head, and noticed the much dimmer glow around his ghost form. “Well let’s get-”

“Macaroons! What in the world did you two do? We were only gone a minute or so…” Vlad trailed off as he took in the destruction of the area around the two teens.

“Wasn’t me. Danny did this sound attack thing, and it was like a ghost powered freight train. It just knocked them out.” Jasmine shrugged her shoulders and clipped her gun back onto her belt.

“Oh yeah, it’s like my trump card; it’s destructive, could cause a bunch of collateral damage, but it never fails to get rid of whatever I’m fighting. Hey wait,” Danny scrunched up his face as he eyed another very Vlad looking ghost a little farther off. “How long have you had a duplicate over there fighting?”

“Since I started trying to teleport the Hover with Daniel. I needed to keep-” the rest of Vlad’s sentence was lost in the slew of spectral grenades carpeting the area and bouncing off his hastily created shield.

“So there’s the real you Plasmius. I’d wondered what hole you’d slithered off into.” A deep voice mocked from a vantage a little above the protected group.

“What’s the matter?” Vlad asked as his recently destroyed duplicate dissolved back into his system, bringing its memories along with it. “Feeling a little neglected Jack?” He asked sending a tone of mock concern back.

Jack sent out a low whistle and shifted on the Levitator to get a better shot at the creature below. “Oh little ole’ me? Why ever would I feel lonely when you have the family you stole from me? I-could you all hold on a moment, I’m trying to fix these G-bombs onto your spectral energy signatures, and you just keep moving around. Naughty little ghosts. How am I supposed to kill you if you don’t stand still?” The Head Commander finished his ramble with some more fiddling on his supersized weapon. “Ah right there it goes, now where was I?” He questioned rhetorically as he took aim in the general direction of the group below him. “Oh that’s right I was explaining how I’m not lonely, because I’m not you see, I’m actually just furious, you know for the life destroying and all, but I’m not lonely; I have all my soldiers to keep me company.” Jack flicked a button on the top of the weapon to take off the safety.

“You kids head back to the RV; I’ll take care of Jack.” Vlad ordered while waving them back towards the defended vehicle’s position.

“But father, I can help-” Daniel barely finished the sentiment before staggering to the left when he tried to take a step forward.

“You’re exhausted. You can help me by staying out of this and getting your butt back to safety. Thanks for your help with the Hover earlier, but I’ve got this one on my own.” He sent a light glare in the kids’ direction when they looked ready to protest, and an especially large one in the more rebellious Danny’s direction. “And don’t tell me you’re not tired either Danny, that last attack wiped you out. Just…do as I ask alright?” He didn’t wait to hear their replies but instead rushed up towards his opponent, wanting to cut off the next attack before it was even fired. To his luck, he made it just in time…