#frederich isak showenhower

[daily-dose-of-danno]

Some red-eyed Danno mayhaps? Be it Dan, Freakshow, or Amorpho.

Season 1, Episode 20 - Control Freaks

Season 3, Episode 5 - Forever Phantom

[satoshy12]

Freakshow and the Clowns

Frederich Isak Showenhower was kind of very happy, as he learned that he somehow was able to control the Joker and Harley Quinn with his staff.

It was just an instinct to use his staff as the Joker attacked him in Gotham.

Who would have thought it worked, and even better, he got two new clowns from it for his show.

And he can see people loving the idea of his 2 new Clowns.

[jamiethebeeart]

Did I kind of lose over seeing @sykloni 's lineart for Lydia and Freakshow? Maybe a little, but loved the chance to color it for @green-with-envy-phandom-event

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

Never they pounder whether electric, c̵͖͐ā̴͉l̷͔̽m̸̰̒i̵͚͌ṉ̸̾g̸̞͊ ̷̡̌i̵̢̔f̴̝̕ ̸̺͠y̸̥͊ò̶̬u̶̲̽ ̵̝̐l̶̯̄o̶̖͋o̵̖̎k̷̝͒ ̸̖́a̶͎͠t̸̗̋ ̵̘͑i̶̫̔t̴͍͌ ̷̥̎ŗ̴̈́ḯ̷��g̴̱͘h̵̋͜ṯ̴͋.̶͓̏

There were few things on the patient's mind other than how much pain he was in, how horrible this hospital was, and how much he hated his so called 'best friend' who hadn't even shown his face ever since he ruined his with that impulsive decision. But as angry as he was, he was also lonely, the doctors and nurses were cold and stayed away from him as much as they could, fearing his strange unknown disease could be contagious. As much as he would hate it if Jack walked through that door with some sloppily-made 'I'm sorry' gift, he also would've cried with happiness at this point. He just needed human interaction, ANY human interaction...

"Mr. Masters, you have a visitor."

Vlad sat up and looked to where he had heard the doctor's voice, the medical professional already leaving him alone with the circus ringleader that he had never seen before in his life.

The patient's excitement turned to confusion at the sight of him, he's pretty sure he's never once expressed any interest in clowns or a circus or anything like that, so what was he doing here?

"Hello there young man!" the ringleader took off his top hat and bowed deeply while addressing him. "My name is Frederich Isak Showenhower, but you may call me 'Freakshow'. I've heard you've come under a rare and unusual disease of sorts-"

"I'm sorry Mr. ...Freakshow but I'm not exactly interested in becoming a circus performer even if I do manage to recover enough to do that..."

"Well it's a good thing that's not what I came here for!" The man laughed like he was told a hilarious joke. "Oh no, I came here to..." He looked around exaggeratedly, making it clear that he didn't want anyone else to overhear before getting close to the patient's bed and whispering in his ear. "-Give you the cure to your nasty condition that those quacks are keeping from you."

Vlad covered his mouth to keep his surprised gasp from being heard. "...Do you really have it..?"

He looked up at the red-eyed man, still unsure, but with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, a glimmer that Frederich was more than happy to indulge.

"Why of course! And don't worry a single thing about any 'costs' or whatnot..." The ringleader smiled at him as he patted his shoulder. "I'm just a charitable guy who would do anything to help a bright young man like yourself get back on the path of a bright, successful future! ...Now, not to alarm you, but I have seen your case before, your... condition is rather lethal if left untreated." The clown's face fell into a somber expression as he held his top hat to his chest. "And it's not a pretty sight either, a long, slow, agonizingly painful death..."

Freakshow took a few seconds to let the patient's fears sink in before putting the bag on his bed.

"Thankfully, you're in luck, kid! It might not be the most comfortable method, but I've devised a fool-proof treatment for your case, riiiight here!" he patted the bag and the patient lunged for it as if he was stuck in the sweltering desert for weeks and the bag was the only source of water for miles, only for Frederich to snatch the bag away from him last second, tsking him. "Now, now, you just need to be a little bit more patient, Vladimir..."

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to stay calm and be patient when my life is on the line, Freakshow!"

"And I understand that completely! Trust me, I do." The ringleader took what looked like a gauntlet with claws and wires built into it and put it on his arm. "After you wake up, this will all be nothing but a bad dream you'll forget over time..."

"After I wake u-AAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!!"

Vlad screamed in agony as the circus ringleader plunged the claws into his skull and electricity pulsed through his entire being. His body felt like it was on fire and freezing solid at the same time and it felt as if the red-eyed man was trying to tear the patient's soul out of his very body through his eye sockets while shattering it. The only saving graces were that the treatment had was that it made him pass out from the pain shortly after it began...

...And hours later, he woke up feeling better than he had in days.

Not only was he not in pain, but he felt lighter, like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. He put his hand to his face and didn't feel the angry red, possibly radioactive bumps that ruined his face, just smooth skin underneath the bandages.

He jolted out of bed and ran to the nearest mirror despite the nurses' protests and tore off the bandages himself.

His reflection looked as if he had never even been infected with the horrible disease in the first place, even his hair was back to black aside from a single white streak. If it wasn't for the newly made scar across his face, he would've assumed that the disease and the encounter with the doctor-ringleader was all just some horrible nightmare.

"It... worked... I... I'm cured..." he whispered softly as he touched the mirror to confirm it to himself. Tears prickled in his eyes and the corners of his mouth curled into a relieved smile as he stared at his reflection.

"I'm cured!" He repeated, louder this time as laughter escaped his lips. He was fully alive and he felt like it!

"I'M CURED!" He practically shouted at the top of his lungs, no longer would he need to be confined to that bed and poked and pronged with needles, treated like some kind of monster or plague, he was free and he wasn't going to take this second chance of life for granted!

___

Twenty years later, outside an ordinary white and green house in a calm, everyday suburb in Madison, Wisconsin, sixteen-year-old David 'Davey' Masters rummaged through the family mailbox, finding the typical bills, a sea monkey kit that most likely belonged to his sister, some weird letter from Fentonworks... Aha! There's the red contacts he ordered online!

...He should probably bring in the other stuff too, no reason to let the monkeys stay in the mail.

As he went back inside and set the non-interesting mail in the key bowl on the table next to the front door, his phone rang.

"Hey Dad, did you make Resident Evil real yet?" David smirked at his own dumb joke. "Or did something else blow up at the labs?"

"No, Davey-Jones, humanity's still safe from my ambitions and delusions of grandeur for now." His dad snorted in mild amusement over the line. "It's Friday, so I called to ask what you and your sister wanted me to pick up for dinner."

"Oh right, I'll go ask her." David picked the box of sea monkeys out of the key bowl and went to his sister's room, covering the phone's speaker. "Dani!" He knocked on the door. "I got your Innsmouth for ants population, also it's Friday, so what do you want to eat?"

"Thanks Dave!" She opened the door and took the box from him. "Can you tell dad to pick up something from Nastyburger for me?"

"Sure" he nodded and got back on the phone. "Dan is gross and wants Nastyburger-"

"Hey!"

"-I'm more in a Taco Bell mood. Also, you got something in the mail about a... Fentonworks? Is that like, one of your fancy cheese of the month things..?"

"Huh... I'll be sure to check that out when I get home. Also, before I forget, two things: One, did one of you feed Marmalade yet? Two: do you two want anything specific from those places or do you just want me to surprise you?"

"Yes I fed the cow." Danielle answered before David could ask. "And a number 7 with extra sauce please."

David gagged because he thought the sauce was the nastiest thing Nastyburger had to offer, but relayed the information to his father, adding that he himself could be surprised.

The letter was left forgotten as the family of three talked about their days over dinner. Discussing much more interesting topics than an envelope that was probably just some weird spam.

"Anyway, that's how cultural osmosis has failed me and the emotional roller coaster I've been on since actually reading the book, only partly caused by the book itself."

"I did warn you that the book the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde isn't anything like the musical we saw, Davey-Jones."

"Yeah, but I thought it was like a 'There's a lot of things in the book that are cut from the musical to not make it go on for too long.' warning, not a 'Everything I thought I knew about the book was wrong' warning!"

"If you hate the book, can I rip it up and use it to make a paper-mache earth so that my space monkeys have a planet to invade?" Dani gave David one of her fries to 'bribe' him "I finished the UFO themed tank and they love it, but I don't think it's enough..."

"Hey! I said it was different, not that I hated it! Sure, I wasn't expecting Jekyll and Hyde's dynamic to actually be that Hyde is just Jekyll living honestly, but behind a mask made out of a weird chemical reaction, but that doesn't mean I think that it's bad." The older teen put down his taco salad, crossed his arms and huffed. "...Plus, I still need it for my book report."

"Okay, then do you have any books I can rip up for my space monkeys?"

"Rip up your own books!"

"But I only read comic books, I can't make a paper-mache earth with comics, the colors will bleed through the paint!"

"Kids, if this escalates to a screaming match, I'm going to drive both of you into the woods so you can scream all night without bugging the neighbors." Their father stated flatly yet firmly.

"...So Dad, did you bring back anything cool from work?" Danielle wisely tried to change the subject.

"Yes, actually." He rummaged through his bag and took out what looked like a strip of human skin. "While the bloodstream nanobots have their... issues, these skin-grafting nanobots will revolutionize the medical field! unlike its predecessor, these little guys will stay outside the circulatory system and help speed up the body's natural healing process by aiding cells. This 'skin' is actually made up of trillions of tiny bots working to replicate a given sample."

"Wow, Axion really knows how to make both the coolest and creepiest inventions ever." David gawked at the prototype his dad brought home. "I think there's a horror movie that's missing it's living skin prop."

"I think it looks cool!" Dani chimed in. "So far it's like a... flesh worm that attaches itself to your lost skin and feeds off your blood!"

"...That is certainly a way to describe it." He chuckled.

"Great... Can we agree to put the flesh-worm away so we don't have to see it while we're eating?"

Vlad shrugged and put the nanobots back in the bag before returning to his calzone. "Don't forget, you two have to return your library books tomorrow."

"Got it."

"Hey dad, if we're going to be running errands tomorrow, can we also pick up some paint and newspaper?"

"Sure thing, Little Shark."

The letter remained untouched and unremarked on all Saturday, left forgotten in the key bowl while the family spent the day outside carrying out various chores and errands.

___

The halfa ringleader smirked and made the visions in the fun house mirrors dissipate as he was certain that he made his point crystal clear to the orange and teal clad ghost hunters.

They didn't know if their adversary intentionally made his ghost form mirror normal Plasmius's appearance or if bluish tinted skin, fangs, and pupiless and irisless red eyes were just default characteristics of Vlad's strain of half-ghostness. The white cape and suit implied the former, but at the same time, Freakshow already enjoyed vampire characteristics as his staff and circus showed, so it could just be a coincidence.

Maddie still struggled against her restraints, her eyes still shined with cold determination, in an ideal world, she would've loved this fate for Vlad too, for him to build a life and family of his own instead of trying to steal it from the others he had hurt...

However, she knew it didn't matter what this clown showed her, it didn't matter to her whether Vlad became the kindest most generous man alive or the most miserable wretched beast in the world without his ghost powers, at the end of the day, no amount of good OR evil Vlad without his powers could do could ever be enough to match or outdo the sheer amount of evil Freakshow was and is doing right now with the powers he stole from him.

Jack's expression on the other hand was that of somber guilt, this version of his best friend had nowhere near the amount of wealth and power his Vlad had, he led a far simpler life by comparison, but despite that he was so much happier and well, livelier for lack of a better term. He had a job that was something he was genuinely passionate about, a pet cow with an adorably silly name, and two beautiful children that he could tell he loved with all his heart. A family that, while it didn't have a wife and mother, this Vlad didn't seem to want one, he was perfectly content as a single father.

His Vlad spent who knows how many years resenting him for the accident, hated him and wanted to kill him, but Jack only now fully realized why; something like this was what his Vlad wanted all along, not the fame, not the fortune, not the power, he didn't pursue those out of greed (for the most part) but gluttony, mindless overindulgence in those things to distract him from his true desires that he couldn't achieve despite all of it, distracting him from the fact that being half ghost- that being himself prevented him from getting what he truly wanted in one way or another...

He prevented his best friend from getting this life, Freakshow knew this. It had to be why he was showing him everything, he was asking him 'Are you sure you want to ruin his life and leave him as a broken bitter man all over again?'

The ghostly ringleader closely studied Maddie's face, he knew he broke Jack like a twig, in spite of everything he remembered he still had a soft spot for the weird little Wisconsin man for some reason that Frederich could not understand himself.

Maddie on the other hand proved to be a tougher nut to crack, and why wouldn't she be? She hated the Vlad she knew, that Vlad was a complete stranger to her, and (especially right now) she hated HIM more than Vlad so ruining both their lives by 'giving Vlad his ghost half back' would really be killing two birds with one stone.

So he had to find something else to discourage her with... Oh! What a lucky coincidence...

___

On Sunday, the letter skimmed through and Vlad realized why the name 'Fenton' in Fentonworks was so familiar.

Something something engineering, That was familiar, he himself was a bio-engineer who occasionally dabbled in machinery.

Something something ghost portal, That... ugh, just the idea gave him goosebumps and made him queasy...

Something something Jack Fenton-!

Jack Fenton, engineering, ghost portal... He got it! Jack Fenton was the crazy roommate he had back in college!

His memory of that time was pretty fuzzy, but from what he could recall they built a portal, and something went wrong, of course it went wrong, it was a ghost portal! They shouldn't have been messing with that stuff in the first place! He can't believe he was so nonchalant about things as terrifying as ghosts at the time! ...But hindsight is 20/20. Regardless, he (they?) was hospitalized for a while, and then...

Again, he couldn't remember twenty years ago very well and the head injury he got back then probably didn't help. But come to think of it, they didn't really stay in touch after the incident. Maybe he said something or Jack did, or they just drifted apart because it was hard to stay in touch after Jack moved... He knew he *did* move away, just not when.

Vlad reread the letter with a bit more interest now that he knew that it wasn't spam or a scam letter (to his knowledge).

"Oh! Apparently Mr. Fenton started his own business, good for him!"

"Who's Mr. Fenton?" Dani cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Someone I was roommates with way back in college, he was obsessed with ghosts... It was basically all he ever talked about, ghost biology, ghost hunting, some place called the 'ghost zone'.." He shivered a bit at the thought of the specters his old roommate coveted. "Oh wait, he talked about two things: ghosts and fudge."

"Oh yeah? And how did that work out?" David rested his arms on the back of the couch. "I can't see the world's biggest phasmophobe getting along too well with the world's biggest phasmophile."

"Well, before the incident I was actually pretty indifferent to ghosts instead of being afraid of them, so we got along well enough." His smile looked a little forced as he read a certain part of the letter. "...He opened up a ghost hunting business... That's very... ...him." Vlad set the letter back down in the bowl and held his hands together. "I'm happy for him, I'm glad he's living his best life, I'm happy to hear he's doing well, I would've preferred if he continued to live his best and absolutely horrifying life without informing me about it or trying to involve me..."

"Deep breaths, dad, the letter can't hurt you." The teenager rolled his eyes and picked up the discarded paper to read it himself, his intrigue turning to bewilderment and his bewilderment turning to horrified awe. "I really hope this is just some weird joke or somebody's writing assignment sent to the wrong place and that people like this don't actually exist..."

"C'mon you two! They can't be that weird or scary!" Dani took the letter herself. "Ghost stuff aside, They work in engineering ...I think, *you* work in engineering, they're a family of four, we're a family of three, they have a gh- dog, we have a cow..."

"Marmalade has yet to ruin anybody's life."

"She could if she really wanted to."

___

"NOW do you get it? Even if by some miracle you manage to convince this middle-aged stranger with no fortunes, powerful artifacts, vast labs of his own, or experience in a single real fight that all of that 'crazy ghost stuff' is real and that he has to leave his precious family to take me down, you'll still lose!" Freakshow cackled in delight. "He gets the chills, jitters, and the heebie-jeebies just from the word 'ghost'! He'll die of sheer fright if I so much as sneak up behind him and shout 'boo'. In fact..."

The ringleader turned the Fentons' restraints into ghostly vapor that quickly disappeared, then struck the mirror that still showed the family scene with his staff, shattering it, taking the shards and melting them to a beautiful yet ominous liquid that became infused with both green and magenta ectoplasm, reforming it to a seemingly normal yet gothic full-length mirror attached to an elegant stand.

"Seeing is believing isn't it? Take this mirror to them and it will show them their true, ghostly forms. Get them to touch it, and they'll gain those forms and a fraction of their power back. It's going to be HILARIOUS to watch you two kill him with fright yourselves! Or to watch him overcome his fears *just* long enough to kill you for hurting his precious children, whichever comes first..."

The circus Halfa let out a loud, boisterous laugh as he disappeared from the hall of mirrors.

"This isn't over!" Maddie called out to the fading laugh. "He's not as weak as you think he is!"

Freakshow laughed louder while leaving the Fentons to their devices with the gifted mirror.

Vlad Masters is not, and has never been, significantly wealthy

[ghostbsuter]

The house of Nightingale & Constantine ( P. 2 )

> previous part , > next part

.・゜-: ✧ :-

"Okay, who the heck is that?"

Danny storms out of the elevator, positively pissed at the appearance of another old house in his territory.

"Frederich Isak Showenhower, aka Freakshow, current heir of a long line of thiefs." John lets out a suffering groan, not even daring to take out a cigarette under Alfred's sharp gaze.

"Shoot, freakshow?"

"You know him?"

"Ancients, he mind controlled me at some point."

(He isn't gonna knowledge the narrowed eyes of the bat. Nu-uh.)

Constantine whistles at that, giving a wince. "Yeah, we all had go through that at one point."

"Didn't know he was a descendant of an old house, but I don't recognise the name Showenhower?"

John clicks his tongue, shrugging. "They branched out from the original house of Chatterton." He points at the screen, showing their current annoyance for all to see.

"What strange is, is that the house of Chatterton had many names in its line, so why is Showenhower of all the current heir? I'm calling tomfoolery."

"Oh no, I'm fully agreeing."

"Care to share with the class?" Jason, Red hood, asks, eyebrow raised and leaning against the table.

"Houses of the dark, old ones at that, are powerful." Danny explains. "The original house is always the most powerful, each branch can, depending of how far the connection is to the original, be very weak or very strong."

"But this here?" John gestures to the screen. "This smells like betrayal."

"The house of Chatterton was one of the youngest of oldest houses, new compared to the Nightingales and Constantines." The younger took over again, frowning.

"And yet Showenhower is the heir, which shouldn't happen since the family is rather estranged from the original. It should've only happen when no other house, those closer, are unable to take the title."

"It means they disappeared, and one cannot simply disappear once connected to a house of dark." The Hellblazer looks grim, eyening the golden pocket watch.

"Midnight soon," he glances at the Nightingale. "Should we?"

"Where are you going?" Bruce steps forward, cowl laying like a hood behind him.

Danny peers up at the man, apologetic. "B? Can you let me and Connie handle this?"

The man is looking at Constantine with sharp eye, conveying his message and intent clearly.

("Let him get hurt and we will hunt you down.")

"Alright, chum. Be careful."

He receives a bright smile, making it almost, only almost, worth it.

"Alright, chum. Be careful."

He receives a bright smile, making it almost, only almost, worth it.

Nightingale looks at Constantine.

These are no normal circumstances.

"The house of Nightingale offers a temporary truce until the suspected betrayal of a house of dark is fully investigated."

"The house of Constantine accepts the temporary truce offer and gladly accepts the request of help for the betrayal of a house of dark."

They shook hands, whispering "so mote it be." to legalise the spell and then are off to go.

Danny waves at his family as John teleports them both away.

"I'm betting 50 bucks that Constantine fails in protecting danny."

"I bet 60 for danny finishing the job!"

"70 for–"

(Bets were made, and all parties waited for the true end.)

[tourettesdog]

DP x DC prompt where, prior to visiting Amity Park, Frederich Isak Showenhower's Circus Gothica makes a stop in Gotham.

Gotham is not renowned for any ghosts, but there is an undeniable spookiness about the city that draws the man in. Hell, even the name of his circus suits the place. Freakshow has nothing to fear of the rogues even, not with actual ghosts at his beck and call. No, it seems like the perfect stop along the way, with plenty of financial opportunities at his fingertips.

And to Freakshow's surprise and glee, it's more than money that he finds in Gotham.

It's after his first show in the city that Freakshow finds a strange young man answering the call of his staff. The boy responds like a ghost would, yet couldn't be more plainly alive. A green glint in his eyes and a gleaming white forelock of hair are the only physical signs of something from beyond the grave. (Well, that and the Y-shaped incision across his chest.)

The boy raises so many questions. Turns everything Freakshow knows about ghosts on its head. He's a key to a puzzle Freakshow desperately wants to solve, and with the boy in tow-- following the siren's call of ectobiological research-- Freakshow at last makes his way to Amity Park.

The empty space Jason leaves behind-- without so much as a note, without so much as a trace-- does not go unnoticed.

[dp-references]

Freakshow

Frederich Isak Showenhower

[elzifelzi]

Frederich Isak Showenhower

FRE. AK. SHOW

Freakshow

The clown prince of Chaos

Leader of the Cult of Gothica

And ghost apologist

This dude views ghosts as superior to humans and believes that the one true way for the world to reach "enlightenment" is to have the ghosts take over.

Born from a family of mystics Freakshow has the ability to manipulate weaker ghosts using the tattoos on his arms and bend them to his will.

He simply believes that the only way to reach true peace is through chaos

[lilianade-comics]

Everyone seemed really interested in my Freakshow/Circus Gothica lore headcanons, so here they are! These are all thoughts that will end up as part of a Freakshow fic I may never actually write lol.

The Showenhower family's involvement with ghosts goes back to the early 1800s. The Scarlet Staff (my own name for it) first came into the possession of Gunther Showenhower, but the details of how this happened are closely guarded by the family. The Staff gave all who wielded it complete supernatural control over ghosts, and prolonged exposure to the Staff has given the Showenhowers a certain amount of natural voice based control over weaker or already enslaved ghosts without the direct aid of the Staff. (The Staff's globe is a crystallized ghost core, originally belonging to a ghost with hypnotic powers)

The Showenhower family could be considered the original ghost hunters. Under the carefully assumed guise of Circus Gothica, the family has roamed the world cleaning up supernatural phenomena for well over two centuries. Because ghosts are helplessly drawn to Circus Gothica by the incredible power of the Scarlet Staff, the Showenhowers have been able to quietly perform exorcisms in overshadowing cases, prevent and cleanse locations from hauntings, and keep their own establishment running by imprisoning and enslaving malevolent spirits in their circus. They consider this a noble family duty, a calling that goes all the way back to Gunther Showenhower, who established the circus as a way to hide in plain sight while going about performing his services.

Enter Frederich Isak Showenhower. An only child, he was set to inherit the Staff and Circus Gothica from his parents. From a very young age, he's been exposed to ghosts and the supernatural. (Lydia has been with the family for decades and helped raise him!) But rather than developing a healthy reverence for his family duty, a darker restlessness took hold of him. Circus Gothica is pointless. A never-ending chore. The Showenhowers command unimaginable power, and how are they using it? To entertain and misdirect the masses from the fact that they're the pathetic ecto-custodians of this realm? But even so, Frederich's restless anger goes deeper still. Truthfully, he's jealous of ghosts. Of their power. Of their freedom. Death seems like such a small price to pay for every benefit ghosthood seems to offer. But it's an impossible obsession, because dying doesn't guarantee ghosthood. And so Frederich inherits the Scarlet Staff and the circus he doesn't care about, and carries out the family duty. But those dark wishes are always in the back of his mind...

oh, Frederich. I'm going to have fun with you.

[daily-dose-of-danno]

Season 1, Episode 20 - Control Freaks

[tryymr]

Ah, yes

these two

[ovytia-art]

Ectoberhaunt 2022 Day 4: Staff

Masterlist

[bugresources]

★ 100 x 100 roleplay icons, free to use, free to edit. likes & reblogs are always appreciated, link back if you have a credits page. broken link? let me know.

CHARACTER: Frederich Isak Showenhower / Freakshow SERIES: Danny Phantom (2004) COUNT: 140 DOWNLOAD: MEGA

[villainoftheday]

Today’s villain is Freakshow from Danny Phantom

[captainbaddecisions]

If you're drawing Danny Phantom stuffs, maybe a Freakshow?

Not the kind of goth representation we want, but the kind we need

[ecto-american]

Broken Ectoplasm C13

DannyMay themed story don’t bully me at it being DECEMBER i’m trying my best

Ectoplasm | Broken | Glass | Theory | Community | Eavesdropping | Worldbuilding | Accident | History | Shape shift | Puppet | Ink | Or Read on FFN or AO3. | 

The unspoken answer was very, very unlikely. But until it was spoken, the answer was always no, right? So fuck it.

"Hey, can I primarily question Phantom?" Agent G asked. His partner looked at him skeptically, and the officer with them said nothing.

"No," Agent K replied. "Can't afford for you to make rookie mistakes." Agent G frowned.

"How am I ever supposed to learn?" he asked. "You'll be right there with me. Come on, I'll even write up the whole report."

"Phantom is a serious and dangerous threat," the other replied. "We're not leaving the questions to a rookie."

The elevator doors opened, and the trio walked towards the room. A nurse was waiting at the door for them, only giving a polite hello before opening it for them. Agent K just gave a brief nod before slipping inside, and Officer Snowden offered a thanks.

Agent G walked into the room behind his fellow agent and the officer, and he immediately saw Phantom. He didn't look nearly as bad as he had expected, though he could see bruising that had begun to heal around his throat. He had plenty of bandaging covering what he assumed to be surgical scars, and Phantom was alert. He sat up in bed, watching them as the lawyer, Ohmer, from the day before, stood with him.

To his surprise, Phantom's eyes were locked onto him specifically the second he entered. Looking at him strangely, almost as if...he recognized him? Would Phantom really recognize him from years ago? When he kind of saved Agent G from the Guys in White shooting at him? Heh. Kinda ironic. But Agent G was skeptical that Phantom really had gotten that good of a look at him then. Or maybe Phantom was taken aback by seeing an unintentional doppelganger.

"His jaw's wired shut," Ohmer spoke up. She pointed to the whiteboard and markers in Phantom's lap. "So we've been using this to communicate." Agent K grumbled in disgust. Phantom not being able to talk would mean that the entire interview would take much, much longer, since Phantom had to write every word out. There would be less body language to dissect, less visual cues. It was more work than Agent K was willing to do. This was a good opportunity.

"Ugh, of course," he muttered, adjusting his suit a bit with a tired sigh. Agent G nudged him, giving a half smile. Agent K stared at him coldly before making an annoyed sigh. "Go for it, rookie. But if you fuck this up, it's on you. And you're writing the report."

"Noted," the younger agent agreed.

Agent G eagerly grabbed one of the chairs, pulling it up to sit next to Phantom. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Phantom continue to stare at him with a raised eyebrow and slight awe. Curious. Agent G shrugged it off best he could, taking his seat and pulling his notebook out to take notes. He couldn't help but notice that Agent K was not doing the same, instead scrolling through his phone. Probably on Facebook again.

"Hey," Agent G began, feeling suddenly…awkward. He didn't think he'd get this far. Phantom stared at him. "So, um, I'm Agent G. I'm from the Guys in White." Phantom blinked at him, head jerking a bit as if that surprised him. "What do you want me to call you?"

Phantom picked up the whiteboard, still staring at him. But he soon broke the staredown to scribble out on the whiteboard.

Phantom is fine.

"Cool, cool," Agent G nodded. He took a deep breath before flipping through his notebook. He had all of his questions written out on the first page, a number next to them. The rookie studied his questions before picking one to start with. Flipping to a new page, he wrote the number associated with the question before looking up to Phantom. "Do you remember when Amity Park was going through that overshadowing epidemic?"

Phantom cocked his head curiously. He seemed surprised by the question, but he nodded. Agent G took note of that before he continued.

"Do you know why they did that?" Agent G continued. "Why the ghosts were overshadowing people in such a mass wave?"

If he seemed surprised before, Phantom look drop dead shocked at this line of questioning. Agent G was sure that had his jaw not been wired shut, that Phantom would be staring open mouthed at him. His lips opened a bit, exposing the metal that was keeping him from being unable to properly say anything, and he made a noise, a clear "huh?" type of confused tone. Phantom stared at Agent G for a moment as he twirled the marker in his hand. He seemed hesitant and unsure.

"Please," Agent G spoke up. Phantom paused. "Just tell us what you know."

Phantom began to jot down on the whiteboard, and Agent G glanced at his companions. Officer Snowden had taken a free seat and was paying close mind. His coworker continued to stare at his phone, occasionally scrolling. He was sure that Agent K was still listening, but how much the man would pick up on the conversation was debatable.

Soon, Phantom turned the board around, and Agent G read it carefully.

It was Walker and his goons. He's basically ghost police. He claimed that me bringing a human world item into the Ghost Zone was illegal, and he arrested me. I escaped, and he began overshadowing people as a ploy to get the town to hate me in hopes that I'd turn myself in if people here hated me.

Agent G wrote down what Phantom said into his notebook, word for word. He was silent as he processed that information. So Phantom was admittedly a wanted criminal in the Ghost Zone? That law didn't sound very just. But yet again, Agent G truly had no idea why that law was even in effect, if it was harmful. And Phantom's statement brought on several questions.

"Why did you escape?" he asked. Phantom studied him for a moment as he turned the board back around. He erased it with his hand before writing. Agent G in turn, studied Phantom. His hands were writing very confidently, no constant erasing and with little pause. He was sure of what he had to say.

The entire sentencing is very unfair. No trial, no defense, nothing. It was just Walker telling me the law, which is bullshit btw, and him sentencing me to 1,000 years.

Holy fuck, that was a long time. Agent G nodded slowly as he, again, wrote down the statement word for word. Then again, ghosts were, sorta, immortal. Time meant nothing to them in that regard.

"What was the item?" Agent G asked. Phantom flipped the board around to write.

It was a wrapped anniversary present for my mom from my dad, a ghost themed checkers game.

That definitely didn't seem worth such a long sentence. Phantom mentioned his parents too, and his parents post his death. This was something Agent G had never read about Phantom doing, mentioning his family or interacting with people like that. Although admittedly, on some level, it was creepy to think about Phantom haunting his old family. But he'd get back to that.

Based on the speed of the responses, Phantom seemed to be telling the truth. But of course, Agent G had no clue how he'd even begin to try and verify this story. He'd figure it out. For now?

"Do you know who all was overshadowed?" he asked. Phantom paused to seemingly think, but only for a moment before his hands moved the marker over the whiteboard.

Some Casper High students, the mayor, several townspeople. Specific people: Mayor Montez, Paulina Sanchez, Dash Baxter, Lancer, Kwan Ishiyama, Star Thunder

Agent G knew almost every single one of those names. He went to high school with many of them briefly. Ugh, verifying these stories would be a trip down cringey memory lane, but he still wrote down the statement, like the others, word for word. He wrote the number two before asking his next question.

"Do you know why the overshadowing ended? Like the incident?"

The look Phantom gave him was so sorrowful. He looked tired and distressed, but he wrote his answer regardless.

He did what he set out to do. Everybody hates me. They want me dissected and gone.

"Oh honey," Ohmer spoke softly. The lawyer reached out to lovingly smooth the ghost's hair, and Phantom smiled at the touch. Agent G nearly forgot that he wasn't alone with Phantom in the room. Officer Snowden was watching on silent as a mouse, and Agent K was still looking at his phone.

Regardless, the answer was jotted down. He wrote the number three, and he glanced up at Phantom. The ghost was waiting for him expectantly.

"Do you know Frederich Isak Showenhower?"Agent G asked. Phantom looked a bit confused, staring at him with a bit of a frown. "He's more commonly known as Freakshow." Recognition lit up in his eyes, and he nodded. "Can you describe your relationship with him?"

He brainwashed me using his scepter.

This was starting to hit unintentional gold. Nobody outside of the GIW and police knew the details of Showenhower's wild story. The media, the public, none of them knew about this crazy brainwashing story. Nobody knew about the scepter being his self-reported means to commit all the crimes, that ghosts were involved. Publicly, the man kept a tight lip on his crime. Very unusual, the criminals normally were very vocal about their side of the story. But not Showenhower. He was silent. Agent G wrote it down.

"Can you elaborate?" he asked. Phantom stared at him blankly. Agent G rephrased, "What do you mean by brainwashed? Can you describe the scepter?"

Phantom's eyes lit up in understanding, and he began to write.

He had this red scepter with a crystal ball. He would hold it up to us, and give us orders. It was hard to fight. There was something to it that just made us obey him. I could break the spell sometimes, but he always knew where to find me. Bring me back. He said the scepter was this family heirloom, and that they used ghosts to entertain people in his circus. But that he found that using us to steal things was much more profitable, since he couldn't be connected to the crime.

Agent G nodded understandingly as he wrote down the answer. So far, this was very interesting. He was giving some confidential details.

"Can you tell me what happened to this scepter?" Agent G questioned. This was the one thing the ex-ringleader refused to tell them. It was information they had been trying to get from him for years now.

It broke.

Agent G hummed curiously. Broken? Wouldn't Showenhower admit that though?

"Do you know where it is?" Agent G asked. Phantom thought for a moment.

Map

Agent G stared at the message before it clicked. Phantom was asking for a map. The rookie jumped from his seat, pulling his phone out. He opened the map application, and he handed it to Phantom.

The ghost zoomed out, and Agent G watched his every move. He shifted to the train tracks, and he followed them. After traveling down the railroad for a bit, scrolling, Phantom stopped at a bridge. He studied it for a moment before making a circle with his finger.

"Around here?" Agent G asked. Phantom nodded, and he picked up his board.

Before the river, over the bridge. It fell somewhere in there.

Agent G nodded. He marked the spot made on his phone's map before tucking it back into his pocket. All of this was fitting into a new puzzle that he was theorizing.

"You mentioned your parents," Agent G began, but paused at the immediate shift in Phantom's entire demeanor. He stiffened and looked at him with that deer in the headlights stare. "What can you tell me about them?"

Unlike before, Phantom didn't make any movements to right anything. He stared at Agent G, his chest heaving a bit as if in a panic. Like a human suspect. This was interesting. Phantom really did mimic humans a lot, as his reports would often detail. Was this a defense mechanism? Possibly, given Phantom's self-reported age.

Agent G waited patiently, and the ghost finally bowed his head to stare at his whiteboard. His hand tapped the marker against his knee nervously.

"You don't have to answer anything you don't want to answer," Officer Snowden finally spoke up. Phantom glanced up at her, before turning to look to Ohmer. The hospital lawyer nodded in agreement.

"Yup. Don't have to answer anything," she confirmed.

Phantom looked a bit more relieved, and he jotted down on the whiteboard.

No comment.

Hm, this was the first question Phantom refused to answer. Was it too personal? Agent G's idea wracked for more theories. Likely to protect family, since he reportedly was interacting with them despite his death. Speaking of.

"Can you tell me when you passed away?" he asked.

Phantom's face scrunched up a bit, obviously hurt. He shook his head no. Agent G hummed lightly as he made that note. Fair enough. That was very personal. He made his final note and flipped through his notes. He had a lot of information to dissect now, and a lot more details to work with and compare and contrast.

"That's all I have for now, but I'll be returning soon," Agent G replied. Phantom stared at him curiously. The agent searched through his pocket to pull out a card. "If you have anything else to tell me, please feel free to call." He paused. "I'm sure a nurse can help you, or your lawyer."

Phantom nodded, turning the card over in his hand. The ghost quickly scribbled on his whiteboard.

No arrest?

"By law, you cannot be released into their custody until you're discharged from the hospital," Ohmer clarified. Agent G nodded to confirm.

"We'll be here to formally read you your charges and rights, the usual come your discharge day," Agent G explained. Phantom looked visibly deflated, but gave a short nod as he slumped over. Ohmer smoothed his hair out.

"Hey, Agent K. We're done here," Agent G announced. The other officer looked startled, standing. Agent G was already out the door, along with Officer Snowden. The officer said her goodbyes and was already walking away.

"Wait, already?" Agent K demanded to know as he followed the two out. Agent G was still re-reading his notes as he jotted down more extras before he forgot the details as he waited for his partner to catch up. The rookie shrugged.

"We'll be back," Agent G assured him. "But right now, I have some other folks that I want to talk to. Try to collaborate Phantom's claims." Agent K studied him curiously. "And question him based on that, see what kind of lies we can catch him in and what evidence we can truly confront him with."

"Sounds like a giant waste of time, doing all this back and forth," Agent K complained. Agent G shrugged.

"Then you can wait in the car," he offered, ignoring Agent K's frown. Agent G re-read the list of names Phantom gave him. "But right now, I have a few people I'd like to talk to." Agent K gave a begrudging sigh.

"Fine, let's go whatever you're going to go," Agent K finally agreed. "Long as you're writing the report."

Agent G grinned. Finally, a chance to get some real answers.