#it's enrichment!

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Dark Blue Moon and the Suffering Sun Chapter 17

MASPAPOST

Danny caught a distant croon, bellowing deep and powerful from under the waves. “You hear that?”

Danny didn’t wait for a response before he took Damian’s hand and placed him on his shoulder over the water. “What was it? Was it a threat?” The younger boy asked.

“You’ll see!”

Danny sped off toward the origin of the sound. As they approach the source, the rumbling tones of whale song intensified. Danny’s lateral line zapped and tinged as the massive electric field got stronger. Damian shivered on his back, arms gripping tighter. Danny wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t a little scared too, but the excitement made up for it ten times over.

The whales were just ahead. Even with night vision, it was hard to make up their shapes underneath the dark sky, but his lateral line jumped. Danny retreated thirty feet, stopped and treaded water. He held his breathe for the big moment.

A moment later, the whale’s gigantic body smashed the ceiling of the ocean, with the force of a volcano. Waterfalls formed as the sea parted around its head, cascading and crashing thunderously. A plume of water as tall as Fentonworks blasted out of the whale’s back, showering the boys in a wet spray.

Danny’s passenger gasped. He felt Damian’s chin hitting his shoulder. Knew it.

Suddenly, another whale emerged. And another, and another. An entire pod of whales!

“This may be more beautiful than the stars…” Damian muttered.

Danny crossed his arms. “Since you’re obviously an animal kind of kid, I’ll let the blasphemy slide. For now. But I might feed you to the whales if you get testy.”

“Tut. The whales would not want me as food. I would make a much better companion than snack.”

Danny let a smirk grow. His fins stretched themselves. Danny grabbed Damian’s arms and tightened his grip. “Ready to test that hypothesis?”

“What are you doing-?!”

“Hold your breath!”

Danny surged into the water at top speed, then doubled back and rapidly made for the surface, gaining more and more speed until he launched out of the water like a flying fish. His stomach flipped as they went airborne. For a little extra flair, he arched his back and did a flip at the top of his arc. Then gravity pulled.

Danny yelled excitedly. “YEEHAWW!” As they plummeted. Instead of splashing into the water, the boys landed on soft blubber, tumbling and rolling as their momentum carried them forward.

He laughed gingerly, even as Damian crawled up to him and pounched. It was pitifully easy to hold the child at arms’ length as he scratched ineffectually at Danny’s thicker scales.

“Unhand me, you fiend! You will pay for actions! You will pay for disavowing animals in favour of the stars, and you will pay for putting the whales in harm’s way.” The boy said, kitten-like hissing accompanying every word.

“Scratch me harder Dami! Let’s see how bad you can tickle me!” Danny giggled, happily stoking the flames as the chorus of screeching reached a fever pitch.

“Do not call me that childish nickname!” Damian scowled, hackles raising. In an attempt to escape Danny’s hold, the boy raised his tailfin and slapped him over the head. A worthwhile tactic, but Danny had been slapped in the head by much more powerful tailfins before.

“Is the wittle baby getting grumpy over his new nickname?” He snickered. For extra dominance, he flipped himself and squished Damian underneath his body, squishing the boy’s fins flat.

“We shall we who laughs now, fool!” Damian said, And Danny realised his blunder too quickly. Damian turned his head, opened his mouth, and give Danny’s gills a good, long lick.

Firstly: GROSS.

Secondly: HOLY SHIT THAT TICKLED.

Even though they were shut due to being above water, that didn’t make them any less sensitive. The sudden ticklish sensation has him jumping back with a yelp.

With the advantage returned to him, Damian pounced on his weakness. Danny reached out to catch him again, but instead, Damian twisted in the air. The natural mucus of his scales let him slip between Danny’s fingers, where Damian went for the throat. The boy wrapped his body and tail around the older siren’s windpipe, constricting like a snake.

“I hereby declare victory.” Damian said, tiny body radiating smugness.

“Dami. Dami. Please. Can you stop strangling me?” Danny casually requested. “I totally concede, bro.”

Damian tightened his grip. “Only if you apologise.” He harrumphed.

“Apologise for what?”

“Calling me by that childish nickname. Only Richard does that, and he is too stupid to live anyway, which is why I allow it.”

“Aww, did you just call me smart? I’m touched.”

Damian hissed loudly. It was supposed to be intimidating, but man did he sound like a kitten right now. Dora once told him really young sirens even meowed. What he would give to see that happen to Dami.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry for threatening to feed you to the whales.” Danny said, lying with his fingers crossed (a very impressive feat, considering they were webbed).

“And?”

“And for calling you Dami.” He lied again, through his teeth.

“And?”

Danny paused. “Oh, the whales. Dude, we have a symbiotic relationship, it’s literally fine.”

That got Damian to loosen the hold he had on Danny’s throat. “Elaborate.”

“Lots of animals ride on whales, like, ugh, dolphins. And I really need this break. You’re not the one swimming literally all day for hundreds of miles.”

Damian hummed, face scrunching up in deep thought. “We can continue making progress without stopping for the night to sleep. It is a worthy plan.”

“Plus, we can protect these guys from any danger, like poachers or whatever. It’s why they’re been pretty chill with us being here.”

That finally managed to convince him. Damian confirmed his approval with a curt nod. “It is agreeable then.”

Just as he spoke, the ‘ground’ beneath them started sinking.

“Word of warning, you’re gonna have to fill your lungs with water.” Damian blanched. Poor kid. “Don’t worry! I promise it’s not as bad as learning to breath air. Now help me get this harness around the big girl, so we don’t get swept away.”

Jazz Fenton tapped her pencil on her notebook. She tapped it again, and again in a frantic rhythm.

She knew it wasn’t healthy. It was like staring at your empty wallet for hours hoping money would appear out of nowhere instead of finding a job or doing something productive like cleaning up, only she was staring at her messages. Fifty missed calls. If she was honest, Danny’s phone was probably at the bottom of the sea.

Little brother, what have you gotten into this time?

She didn’t have magic, like Sam, or insane hacking skills like Tucker, or superpowers like Danny. All she could do is hopelessly stare at a phone, wishing for things to be ok (but not actually wishing, because who knows when Desiree could be lurking).

The day she caught Danny changing, the day the horrible truth came to her like a revelation from Cthuhlu was the scariest day of her life.

She supposed it was now only the second scariest.

She remembered watching him sneak behind the pier, deserted thanks to an earlier attack, desperate to find some way to help Danny. Jazz laughed at her previous self’s naivety. How she wished it had been something simple like bullying or crushes. Instead, she looked on as Danny stripped down and jumped into the water (she was so ready to run out and reprimand him for skinny dipping. What if someone saw?).

Instead, she went into full-blown panic as a column of bubbles popped at the surface, the horrifying reality of drowning pounding in her mind. But as she’d reached for her phone to call her parents, already in a full sprint to pull her brother out, she saw him.

Translucent skin, blinding white and pitch dark scales. It was from there that the horrifying reality of her situation dawned on her.

How long could she protect her brother from her parents? How long could she protect her family from the truth?

Muffled sounds crept into her room. Metal clashed against metal. Blow torches buzzed. Buzz saws roared. Jazz knew exactly what was going on. Her parents were on the war path. They were making weapons. Weapons to hunt down their own flesh and blood. They had been working, day in and day out. The only time she’d seen them in the last two days was at the beginning of their work spree, when they called her to the living room to inform her of Danny’s disappearance.

Bile boiled in her throat. Jazz clamped her jaw shut. She had to maintain composure, she had to keep calm. But what could she do?

It was not her secret to tell. Danny’s unfiltered fear was as readable as the ABCs. He didn’t even know she was in on it. If she told their parents, he may never trust her again, and rightly.

Jazz put the pencil down, electing to waste time by scrolling news feeds instead. Dozens of articles about the disappearance of Damian Wayne. Barely any lip service for Danny.

Even if she did tell them, she had no reason to be sure it would even work. Their parents loved them. That was undeniable. She saw it in the boisterous cheers when their Dad celebrated their achievements. Both of them. She saw it in the way they dragged her and Danny out on road trips and boat trips and to the psychology seminars and space expos.

But they also loved their work, and hated sirens.

And the scariest thing of all was that, for all she told herself that she knew they would choose their children over their obsession?

Deep, deep down, buried inside her heart in a box she would’ve told Danny was unhealthy to keep, she was uncertain. As she listened to her parents working in the basement, she knew the cost would be too great.

Years of memories flashed by in Jazz’s mind. Each moment, each word and each action put on a scale between acceptance and rejection. Between a happy ending and the most tragic possibilities. But even as she worked and pondered and agonized, she felt the filter of bias and emotion clouding her judgement. These were her parents and her brother. Any analysis of them would be steeped in her own perspective.

If she exposed her brother, and her parents failed the test, it would very well be the end of this family right then and there. And then it might even be the end of Danny. Even if he survived what their parents would try to him, his heart might not.

And if she didn’t say anything? If she allowed her parents to go out there?

The basement had been silent for a while. A knock on the door.

“Sweetie? Can I come in?” Mom said. Jazz’s breath hitched.

“Come in, mom!” She could not hide the naked anxiety.

Her mother opened the door. Her hood was down, revealing disheveled hair and bags under her eyes. “Sweetie, I’ve got news.”

“About Danny?” Jazz asked. She moved to sit on the bed, inviting her mother to do the same. She had to strain to avoid clenching the mattress and showing her stress.

“We have reason to think he’s still out there, that Phantom took him alive for whatever reason.” Her mother said, voice tight. “Your father and I are going. We’re going to track down Phantom, and make him give us Danny back.”

Jazz’s nerves shot up, even though she knew that was what they were planning. Her parents were not passive people. To hear their intentions stated in plain words was a shock to the system.

Her mother took her silence as concern. She laid her hands on Jazz’s shoulder, the same as she’d always do to comfort her. “It’ll be alright, Jazzy. We’ll save your brother, no matter what.”

“When are you leaving?” She asked. Maybe she could sneak in and sabotage their weapons, and give Danny a better chance.

“In an hour.” That was no time at all! Jazz’s forehead went damp. A drop of sweat rolled down her cheeks. “Don’t worry about us, ok? We’ve already asked Vlad to come check in on you and help with groceries while we’re away. I know you’re already a brilliant and inde-,”

“NO!” Jazz yelled out, before cringing at her outburst.

There was no man on the planet she would less like to be alone with than Vladimir fucking Masters. After catching one of their fights, it was very clear that he was the one responsible for what happened to Danny.

“I mean. I want to come with you.” Her mother blinked.

“Sweetie, it’s dangerous, and-”

Jazz thought fast. “Mom, those sirens took my little brother away. I want to get him back too. I can help!”

She narrowed her eyes, and clenched her jaw. She assigned herself a mission to keep her parents away from her brother at that moment. On the outside, it looked like she was pumped to help them get to him.

Her mother paused, her eyes going downcast. Her parents had always tried to get her and her brother involved in their work, in siren hunting, only to be rebuffed as they found their own interest. For her parents, this was what she always wanted, and Jazz could tell the weight her words held.

Jazz pressed the attack. “I can help man the systems. You’ve taken us so many times now. And you’ll need my help to maintain your emotional balance over the course of such a harrowing journey. This is what I was born to do.”

Her mother pursed her lip, a sign she was very convinced, and yet fighting a way to say no.

Loud footsteps behind her. “I say we let her, Mads!” Her father shouted.

Her mom startled. “Jack, honey, it’s too dangerous.”

“The Fentons look out for their family, Maddie. Our little girl’s growing up, Maddie, and if she doesn’t wanna be cooped up in the house and watch us get Danno back, then why should she?”

Her parents stared at each other for a moment. Her dad grinned, and nodded vigorously. Her mother stood firm.

After a while, her posture finally relaxed. “Fine, but promise that you’ll be careful, and you listen to us very carefully, ok? This is a real siren hunt.”

“Mom, we’ve been hit by real siren attacks all summer. Whatever hits us, I’ll be right by your side.”

Right by their side, and sabotaging them every minute of the way.

Her dad clapped his hands. “Welp. That’s settled then! Pack your bags Jazz-pants. We’re leaving in an hour! We need to make the finishing touches, and then the Fentons will set sail!”

It turned out that they were not immediately setting sail as her dad had implied. Her suitcase and belongings safely tucked away in her room on the new and improved SAV, Jazz sat in the back seat as her father’s usual frantic but calculated driving brought them to stop outside Sanchez Hotel. Wait, wasn’t this where-

There he was. Bruce Wayne, somehow looking immaculate despite the stress the man was probably under. He’d probably spent a life-time hiding his emotions away, practicing it like an art form.

Crap, she was doing the thing again.

“You didn’t tell me Bruce Wayne was joining us!” She said, scandalised.

Her mom opened the door for him, greeting him as he settled in the seats, looking more than a little nervous as he double and triple checked his seatbelt.

“That’s because we weren’t sure he’d agree, sweetie. But Phantom took his son too, so it was only natural that we’d invite him. Bruce, meet Jazz, she’s our daughter.”

Bruce Wayne extended a cordial smile and offered his hands. Jazz took it warily. “It’s nice to meet you, Jazz. You can call me Bruce too.”

“It’s a pleasure, Mr Way- I mean Bruce. Sorry.”

“That’s quite alright. You’re very brave for agreeing to come.” He said.

“I wasn’t going to let my parents dash off into the sunset alone. Danny’s my brother too, and I’ve been taught how to operate most of my parents’ stuff.” Jazz said.

She couldn’t catch his next words. Her nerves were rearing up again, instincts yelling danger, danger. She searched within herself for the cause. Then her eyes landed on Bruce’s. And for a moment, just a brief moment, the casual gaze shifted into something intense. Like she was staring up at a scalpel.

And Jazz knew that the playboy personality was an act. Immediately her plans changed. Courses of actions rewritten. Suddenly her mission was about to become much more difficult.

[lovinglapislazuli]

Woops I did it again! I think Girinma and Arachnea would make an amazing antagonist team on the Ridonculous Race, kinda like the Ice Dancers but office workers XD Maybe a running gag could be the cast guessing what is their shady sounding job😂 Joining a show where they're allowed, maybe even encouraged, to go wild sounds like something they would enjoy a lot!!

[bitseventimes]

by jove I missed scrolling through 10 reblogs of the same sunny theory/comment/bts pic being shared in real time by my entire mutuals circle

[enignoema-a]

From here

Any normal person would have given up by now, but Edward was always too prideful to admit defeat.

And besides, this was the first challenge he'd actually had since getting to Arkham. He wasn't about to just let it go and go back to being bored out of his skull. No, he was going to solve this.

"On the outside the solution would be to toss the whole thing out and get an upgrade. This thing is ancient as far as tech goes. But here you make do with what you have, right?" Like the fact that he was trying to fix this damned machine without any proper tools. Or the ability to order replacement parts.

"How'd you find this piece of crap anyway?"

// @twcfaces

[karda]

i miss science class bro. we dont put things under microscopes as much as we should

[intriga-hounds]

ball pit baby

[kedreeva]

There's some dude (derogatory) on FB who is PISSED people are pricing their farm fresh eggs at $2 and $3 a dozen instead of $4+, saying it's "disrespectful" and "undignified" and "I'm trying to feed my kids" like Sir, you are on a Facebook group page bitching about your neighbors egg prices because your pet chickens aren't earning you a living wage and you think it's your neighbors' fault, you do not have a leg to stand on here wrt dignity.

Also half the answers are like "I give them to friends and family free" or "I donate them to food banks" or "I'm making them affordable to folks who might not otherwise be able to get them now that they're so expensive in the store" and "if you think you're going to turn a profit keeping backyard chickens you have been wildly misled" and so on, and so forth, and I'm so living for it.

and I can tell you right now, he did NOT like my answer of "if you're trying to feed your kids, I hear eggs are edible."

[madscientistenthusiast]

Personally I think that Azula should have been redeemed simply so that she can become Zuko's horrible little advisor who whispers evil little plans to him so that he can do the exact opposite

[obiwhat]

[purplecatghostposts]

Chat Noir: Hey, my lady? Quick question: why was Argos multitasking during patrol and trying to solve a cryptex? He said he got it from you.

Ladybug, casually: Oh, it’s from my latest treasure hunt I made for him.

Chat Noir: …You give him treasure hunts? Why?

Ladybug: I still don’t totally trust him not to pull another ��Red Moon’ incident so I figured if I give him enrichment, he’s gonna be spending his time solving puzzles and figuring out clues that take him all over the city instead of potentially becoming a supervillain again.

Chat Noir, who watched Félix spend several hours to solving riddles last night: …Huh. Does he know..?

Ladybug: 90% sure, yes. I don’t think he cares that much, he’s pretty invested in it and I’m great at creating complex systems with clues to follow so— it works out. Plus usually there is something to find at the end of the trail. Usually Kagami.

[sarahmackattack]

Ummmmmm, yes, hi, Hornbill at the Philly Zoo has a little kitty cat toy and wants to show it to you.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i will never understand why more people in their 80s don't commit felonies. you reach that age and surely there's something illegal you always wanted to do but didn't bc Consequences

dammit, GO FORTH GRANNIES!!! rob an armored car! hold up that bank! tunnel your way into fort knox! what are they gonna do, sentence you to 20 years? good fuckin luck with that

[alyakthedorklord]

Bruce Wayne, sitting in a cute eco-friendly cafe while on a video call with Tim: Oh Noooo, are you sure there’s no way the board of directors will let us get rid of this old decrepit Wayne Factory building that is unsafe for our workers and also for the surrounding environment?

CEO Tim, with equal gravitas: No, I’m afraid they just won’t budge. It technically meets legal requirements on paper, and we can’t prove that the chemicals affecting the local ecosystem that have no other possible source are from the out-of-date drainage system… they’re saying it would cost too much to fix the place up too, which is ridiculous, because we’re us, but our hands are tied…

Bruce, full Brucie himbo mode: Oh I just feel so SAD for all the sweet fluffy animals and the pretty flowers and especially our hard workers dealing with such unsafe conditions… I think I’ll give them all a nice short vacation this weekend, so the ENTIRE PLACE will be EMPTY and SHUT DOWN from FRIDAY TO TUESDAY, the SECURITY SYSTEM WILL BE DOWN because it’s just so GLITCHY, I’m sure nothing will happen to the ENVIRONMENTAL STAIN ON OUR COMPANIES NAME THAT WILL BE COMPLETELY ABANDONED FROM FRIDAY TO TUESDAY- Timmy do you think I’m being too subtle?

Tim, snickering: no no you’re doing great Bruce I’m sure they’ve got it

Poison Ivy, on a date the next table over: ( ‘-‘)-☕️

Harley, through tears of repressed laughter: so… we doing anythin’ this weekend?

[alienzil]

Nanny Danny

“That is a whole ass baby,” was the only thought running through Lex Luthor’s head when the scientist proudly showed him the tube containing Project KR. It was not remotely the sort of thing he would normally think and most definitely not what he had expected to be thinking the first time he saw the clone.

He’d been pleased when he’d read the reports indicating the success of KR after years of failures. Lex had poured millions of dollars and literally his own blood into ensuring a clone of the alien could be made, one that would be under his total control instead of the unknown aspirations of Superman.  He’d wanted to see the fruits of his labors personally but this…

It. No, not an it. He scrunched his tiny face and smacked his lips and…did he smirk? Was that HIS SMIRK on that baby’s face?! No. No. Babies this small didn’t smile or smirk. They passed gas and their sleep deprived and addled parents mistook it for an intelligent response. He’d heard enough inane conversations in the Lexcorp office about the various progeny of his employees to pick up on that but still. This child had Kryptonian DNA, not to mention his own contribution. Surely, he was far more advanced than the dribbling potato shaped lump of an infant whose pictures he’d been forced to smile and nod over when Mark from accounting had rudely shoved them in his face at the last quarterly budget meeting. Yes, that was definitely a smirk. His, that was his smirk.

“So as you can see its growth is well within expected parameters and we’re planning to start phase one of accelerating the maturation process tomorrow once the testing is do-”

“Take him out.”

“Sir? The testing can all be accomplished while it remains in the tube. There’s no need to-”

“I said, take him out. The project is cancelled.”

“What?! Mr. Luthor you can’t!”

“I think you’ll find I can. Now get me my son.”

*****

Two years later

“Call them again”

“Sir, I’ve called them seven times. They won’t answer.”

“Then call another agency!”

“There isn’t another agency, Sir”

Lex glared at his assistant who stared back at him impassively. Mercy stood by the door staring off into the distance and pretending she didn’t notice him being bested by his own secretary.

He stopped himself from shouting again and took a deep breath before asking, “Then what, exactly, do you propose I do Mrs. Anderson? Adjust my entire schedule around naptimes? Find a toddler size lab coat and safety goggles and bring my son with me to tour the new clean energy project on Thursday? Perhaps buy a tiny business suit while I’m at it for the next board meeting?”

“I’m not suggesting anything of the sort, Mr. Luthor. I’m telling you that no childcare agency in Metropolis will return my calls anymore. Most won’t even answer.  You’ve gone through 27 nannies in the last 3 months. You need someone better suited to your son’s…special needs.”

Lex snorted. “Special needs might be a bit of understatement. He can lift a car over his head and his favorite word right now is No.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Thank you for…clarifying the situation, Marjorie. If there’s nothing else, you can leave.”

His secretary didn’t move. She looked at him like she was waiting for something and now that he was paying attention, he saw she was holding a file.  “Did you have a suggestion?”

Looking pleased with herself she responded, “Actually, yes, I did.”

“Well?”

She set the file on his desk and flipped it open. He looked down at the first page and raised an eyebrow, “What am I looking at here?”

“This,” she responded pulling out the top set of papers and spreading them out, “is the employee file and background check for Daniel J. Fenton, an intern that started in our engineering department about 4 months ago. He has one sibling, two parents and several close friends he regularly meets with. His current supervisor has nothing but good things to say about him and reports he gets along well with all his coworkers.”

She set out the next set of papers, neatly arranging them on the desk to be easily seen. “These are newspaper articles and screenshots of social media posts regarding a small town vigilante locally known as Phantom. The same small town, Mr. Fenton is from coincidentally. Also coincidentally, Phantom made his first appearance only a few weeks after Mr. Fenton was involved in a minor accident in his parent’s home laboratory when he was 14, the medical records for the incident are included.”

“Hmm,” Lex said observing several photos of Phantom and a younger Fenton arranged in order of similar poses and facial expressions and printed out side by side.

“Finally,” she said handing him the last set of papers directly, “this would be a report from the lab Mr. Fenton works in from an incident that happened yesterday. A test with a new protype went wrong and started a fire. Everyone evacuated per protocol when the alarms went off but one of the other interns was working on a programming issue off to the side of the lab while wearing headphones and didn’t hear the alarm or notice the fire. Mr. Fenton noticed his absence and returned to the lab to get him out.” She stopped talking and let him look at the last several pages in the file, a series of photographs of the lab.

“Is this ice?”

“Yes, it is. It’s several inches thick and covers half of the lab. It completely put out the fire leaving minimal damage.”

“This machine was moved?”

“It was. It was very close to the flames and would have required replacement if exposed to extreme heat or cold. That particular piece of equipment also weighs several thousand pounds and was bolted to the floor.”

Lex read through everything in detail then clasped his hands under his chin and stared at the photo of Daniel Fenton for several moments before turning back to his waiting secretary.

“Have HR send Mr. Fenton up. I’d like to offer him a promotion.”

[enignoema-a]

He'd surrounded himself with several bilingual dictionaries, books about etymology, history books, studies of ancient culture. There's post it notes, torn pages, and notebooks strewn about every possible surface and pinned to the walls.

Do not underestimate the lengths he will go to to solve a puzzle.

[aegisofworms]

A mech made from the still living corpse of the god of flesh, machines, and the apocalypse.  It has no living pilots.