#mr. lancer can tell when a book goes out of print

[little-pondhead]

Okay so I know you said you don't want Jazz to have any major abilities like mind control, but what about a passive one? My idea is that she could actually subconsciously influence the feelings or restraint of the people around her. It could even be an ability she has at home that she just never noticed. Her parents have their own immunity to it thanks to all the ectoplasmic exposure, but it's helped a couple times with convincing teachers to look the other way for her brother. Clockwork tells her about it when they go to the DCU, so she has the perfect opportunity to practice using it consciously by causing riots via hundreds of people's misplaced aggression (which helps her get her own anger and stress out too).

Actually, that's a really good idea! Passive abilities in the DP characters could be fun to explore and possibly put a hitch in their plans if they have to work around it. I'm all for crack fics where one side is completely blindsided over and over again, but if someone wanted to make it a little more serious, factoring in possible passive abilities can lead to moments where the superheroes actually have a chance at catching/defeating Fenton and the others if they manage to find out about those abilities and use it to their advantage.

As you said, Jazz seems like the best candidate for this; she could be the force that gets the ball rolling. Because if Jazz has passive supernatural abilities, then what are the chances Danny and the others have some too? After all, they've been exposed to ectoplasm more than Jazz, and she was never tangled up with a ghost for a long time. (Right? It's been a while since I've watched the show. I don't think she was possessed for a super long time by a powerful ghost or anything.) Or maybe she developed that passive talent as a defense against the more powerful ghosts, and the others don't have that kind of ability at all.

Emotional manipulation is a scary ability, after all; maybe Clockwork allowed her to join Danny for the sake of refining her power.

[cypherscript]

Linchpin Part 3. "Is it so much to ask that I get one, one weekend free," Danny asks as he, Tucker and Sam head to lunch, a gasp leaves his mouth with a puff of mist.

A large explosion can be heard somewhere outside of Casper High as Tucker gives him a deadpan look, "I'm going to say no."

"Oh shut up."

"Just think, one more year of this then we're free of school," Sam interjects trying to lighten Danny's mood.

"I guess, you guys go have lunch and I'll handle whatever that is." He blinks out of their sight and flies outside of the school. "So if I was a ghost causing problems where would I be?"

Danny in his ghost form drops into the visible spectrum as he finds many men and women fleeing from the mall.

"Of course it's the mall... Boxie or maybe Technus-" There was a gust of wind followed by several small booms. Shortly after Phantom finds Skulker's armor laying in a fountain covered in dents. "What in the realms? Skulker?" No answer comes from the suit of armor, Phantom takes the head off and looks inside to reveal an unconscious true form of Skulker.

"Val wouldn't just leave him here, she'd have thermos'd him."

Looking around Phantom scans the area, eyes glowing yellow as he channels some of what Clockwork taught him; Rewinding what happened to view in his eyes, not quite time travel but useful. A yellow tinted Skulker blows off the roof of the mall, floating down shouting something lost to time before heading to the hunting store on the ground floor.

"Looking for hunting gear maybe?"

Skulker makes it to the door, firing a missile at it and blowing the doors off of it before he goes flying back and forth like someone was comboing him in DOOM 3. Phantom's eyes squint as he twists his hand and the vision replays at a slower rate; revealing an orange blur beating the crap out of Skulker.

"Hello~. What do we have here?" His ears perk up as he can hear the end of lunch bell ringing at Casper High, "Ah dang it... Save it for later Phantom." He thermos's up Skulker and his armor and took off for class. ____________________________________________________________

"So what ghost was it this time," Tucker asks after Danny skids into English class right before the late bell rings.

"Boxghost," Sam throws in as she pulls out her books, "You weren't gone for that long."

"Skulker but I didn't fight him; he was unconscious in the mall's fountain."

"Couldn't have been Val, she was having lunch three tables away from us."

"Not sure but I saw something weird when I watched the Playback. Someone moving at ridiculous speeds, all I saw was a blur even with it paused."

Tucker pulls out his PDA and starts tapping away on it as Mr. Lancer enters the room, "Mister Foley, put it away or lose it for the rest of the day."

"Yes sir!" Tucker quickly sends something to Danny's phone and slides it back in his pack, "We can go over that data later."

"Right, so last week I gave the class an assignment to choose a poem that speaks to you and print it out so we can talk about it. Does everyone have their choice?" Most of the class gives variations of yes and Mr. Lancer continues. "Alright everyone pass up your printed poems and I'll pick one at random to read a passage from and talk about it." Mr. Lancer then rights down all of the names and throws them in a bowl and picks one.

You declare you see me dimly through a glass which will not shine, though I stand before you boldly, trim in rank and marking time. You do own to hear me faintly as a whisper out of range, while my drums beat out the message and the rhythms never change.

"Who can tell me why this poem would speak to someone? Miss Doss?"

"Maybe because they don't feel seen in their life?"

"Possibly. Mr. Trent?"

"Maybe they're being bulled or biased against?"

"Maybe but yes, this poem is about racism and discrimination. The title of this poem is call Equality, written by Maya Angelou. Equality and I will be free is chorused multiple times through the poem to draw the reader to their message. Feel free to read it if you felt something from it but for now we'll continue on to the next poem."

_____________________________________________________________

After school, Apparition Park.

"Dude what has been going on with you, you've been hiccupping all afternoon."

"It's ghosts but something weird is going on. They keep appearing and disappearing just as quickly. This is starting to hurt."

"Gimme a second dude," Tucker says as he pulls out his PDA, points it at a nearby street camera. Quickly tapping and scrolling through something only he can see, "Huh... There's been a large string of speeding alerts going on today as well. Camera's haven't been catching anything... Lemme frame scan it, this is probably related to your orange blur."

"It's probably your dad driving the GAV across town," Sam interjects as Tucker does what he does best.

"I'd say so as well if he wasn't off with mom to the Bazaar. I gave them a couple of entrance passes in exchange for not asking any questions I don't want to answer. Let them bother the Denizens."

"Got it!" Tucker's face goes from ecstatic to weary, "Hey Danny? Did you do something to upset the Justice League?"

"Not that I'm aware of, why?"

Tucker turns his PDA around and shows a frame scanned image of The Flash blitzing an ectopus. "Cause one of their members is the reason why all the speed cameras and your ghost sense is going off. Flash has been blitzing every ghost that shows an iota of background radiation and... Dumping them in the Fenton Portal? How does he get past the security system?"

"Couple reasons probably, not a ghost and the system can't detect superspeed," Danny answers as he's thinking, hand on his chin. "I'm going to have to raincheck that nasty burger. I'm going to find out why he's here."

"Don't get put on any lists, Danny."

"Yeah man, that's Sam's job. We'll save you a spot in case you finish early." Sam punches Tucker in the arm hard as Danny smiles and walks behind a tree, dropping out of sight as he goes ghost.

Shortly afterwards Phantom floats over his city, starry cape billowing in ethereal winds, eyes glued to the streets looking for something, anything that would point to where to find the flash.

"If I was a speedster where would I stay? Someplace with a lot of food? No he could probably just speed to another city and get food... He's been fighting all of the ghosts, maybe the justice league are finally coming to help? Kind of late after everything's that's been going on. Maybe I can lure him out someway?"

As Phantom kept talking to himself he fiddled with a blog of energy, pushing and pulling it into the shape of a goldfish glowing green and white with energy, its fins long and flowy. "Now just a little, eh, size," Phantom puts his fingers into a typical camera pose on the goldfish, pulling apart his fingers like he's zooming out and with that the goldfish grows to 12ft long.

"I think I'll name you... Cygnus. Right, can you go down and bring out our speedster friend?"

[[Of course! Can we go flying afterwards]]

"Sure buddy. Remember, no property damages please." Cygnus' tinkling bubbly laugh sounds out as they quickly swim down into the city, backing up traffic and floating through people's houses. It takes less than five minutes before Phantom spots a line of lightning zigzagging through his streets. "Like clockwork," Phantom says giggling at the joke.

______________________________________________________________

Flash, Five minutes prior

Wally in his Flash suit sat outside of a burger joint in Chicago, tray piled with burgers as he scarfs them down. An alert pings from his suit, his HUD giving an alert he set up for Amity Park. Radiation spike he's come to attribute to the ghost's use of powers. Quickly finishing off his tray he's back in Amity park in minutes, running through the city towards the radiation signature only to skid to a stop.

"Is that... a goldfish," Flash asks as the 12 foot goldfish floats through a building in front of him, people inside the building screaming in panic. Putting on speed Flash begins his assault on the ghost, flash time slowing down his vision to see the goldfish get consumed by a field of black before his fist gets caught mid punch, a young man floats in front of him in place of the goldfish. He immediately recognizes his face, Danny Fenton not so alive and well.

"Listen dude, while I appreciate the League finally getting off their asses and helping you're a bit late."

"What?"

"You... uh... You're a bit late to help with the ghosts," Danny says confused, "That's why you're beating the crap out of my rogues right? Government finally told you to come help?"

"N-no. Uh, I came to stop a disaster," Flash says as he thinks to himself, 'Can I just tell him I've come back to stop him from dying?'

Phantom raises his eyebrow at that, "A disaster? I know my rogues are rough but I wouldn't call them a disaster."

'Alright, screw it, let's go with full honesty.' Flash pulls his hands free and straightens up. "I'm from just a little over four years in the future. The universe is deleting itself and I need to stop it."

"And how does fighting ghosts in the middle of Illinois help with that?"

"If the ghosts are taken care of then the GIW don't kill you and doom existence."

At this Danny guffaws, "The GIW, they guys who can't even handle my weakest rogues? Press X to doubt."

"I knew you wouldn't believe I'm from the future, why did I even think someone would believe that!? I'm trying to save your life, a ghost wanted revenge so they help the GIW to kill you in just under two weeks from now."

"I believe you about the time travel, just not about the GIW. Clockwork! Is this some kind of test?!" Danny shouts to the air with no response. "Fine, lets say I believe you on everything. I don't see how me dying ends the universe. It didn't happen in the other future with Dan."

"Who?"

"Not important, Come on." Danny grabs Flash's wrist again and they're suddenly in the basement lab of Fentonworks.

"What about the giant ghost goldfish?"

"Cygnus is fine, he was just helping me find you. You've been causing speed alerts and giving me ghostly freezer burn with all the ghostly fighting." Danny says as Cygnus as a tiny goldfish swims through the ceiling, circling Danny happily. "Now, tell me everything about how the GIW kill me and how to stop it."

Linchpin Part 2

"I am not familiar with this group. Batman? Superman," Wonder Woman asks the two with the most hidden knowledge of Man's world.

Hal Jordan just groans into his hands, "Not those buffoons. I used to hear jokes back when I was in the Air Force. They're almost as bad as the area 51 conspiracists. Always claiming our bases were haunted by high level ecto beings. Ghosts aren't even real!"

Batman is listening to something on his earpiece, "Ghosts are real, Lantern. One is a member of the JL Dark "

"When was anyone going to tell me?! Now I look stupid."

Red Robin mouths to batman, 'Now?'

Batman pointedly ignores that and continues, "That knowledge has always been available if you read the reports properly. Regardless, Oracle has provided me with some more information on this organization; a comparatively small G-List government group tasked with hunting down, capturing and experiment on beings of ectoplasmic origins or ghosts to civilians."

T̵̪͗h̵̬̊ē̴̤y̵̪̅ ̸͇͗h̵͙͂ẽ̸̘l̶̎͜d̸̗̃ ̵̼̆o̴̪͐ȕ̷̞r̸͚̚ ̷̗́c̸͚͐i̶̙̔ť̵̟y̷͔̚ ̷̧̒h̴͕͑o̵̼̊s̸̰̈t̷̙͝a̷̯̓ģ̶͊e̴̦͐,̴͔̋ ̸͉̒t̵̩͌ḩ̴̋r̵̜̐e̵̙͝a̷̡͋t̵̜͌e̷͉̕n̸̼̾ě̸̩d̴͎̕ ̸͖̏o̵̱͒ụ̴̑r̴͈̚ ̷̨͂p̴͓̎e̴͍͝o̸̼̍p̶͕̋l̴̛͔ȇ̵̟/

(They held our city hostage, threatened our people.)

Ť̵̹h̷̙̓e̴̯͗ ̵͎̑G̷̣̀r̷͜͠e̴̩̽ą̴̍ẗ̷̪́ ̵̜͌O̵͕̿n̸̲͒e̸̤͝ ̴͇̄t̴͈̋r̴̡̍i̶̩͊é̴͙d̷̞͋ ̶̬͌t̸̮̀ö̸̢́ ̸̯̎f̷͍̽r̸͚̿e̶̬̎e̶̯͠ ̶̡͛t̴͙͗h̴͖̓e̷̥͝i̸̞̎r̶̳͑ ̶̭͐c̷͔̀ì̵͎ẗ̶̙ỷ̴͚

(The Great One tried to free their city.)

B̵͔͆a̷͖̔b̵̧̑y̶͕͒p̴̪͝o̶̰͗p̵̪͛ ̴͒͜s̸̱̊a̴͇̐c̸͍͠r̴̩̃í̸͕ḟ̶̤ǐ̷̘c̴̛̱ȇ̷͙d̵̮͆ ̴͓́h̴̙̓i̵̲͌m̵̗̌s̶̥̓ë̶͜ḻ̴̑f̶̖͝ ̵̥̆j̸̫̆u̷̮̍s̷̖̀ṯ̷̀ ̵̨͑t̴͔͛o̵̦͘ ̴̗͊g̷̠̎e̷̱͗t̶̘́ ̵͔͠t̷͎͆h̸̬̀o̷̟͆s̷̤͝e̸̹̓ ̴̮̈́j̸̛̮ê̶͓r̸̤̈́k̷̮̄s̷͎̽ ̶̨̅o̵̖̊u̴̺͑t̶͍̃ ̶̭̂ö̵̮́f̶̖̕ ̸̺̌A̶̯̋m̸̯̿i̴̲͆ẗ̵̡́y̷͕̓.̸̛̭

(Babypop sacrificed himself just to get those jerks out of Amity.)

T̴̨̉h̸̻́e̶̲̊ỳ̸͕ ̵͚̊r̴̥̔ë̶͈́ṅ̸̫e̸͓͝g̷͔̎e̷̖̕d̴͚͌ ̵͒��ó̶̤ṉ̵͒ ̷̹̚t̷͔͌h̵̿ͅè̷͜i̴̐͜r̷̪̄ ̵̩̒d̴̛̮ě̴̠a̴̞͛l̸̻̐ ̴̹̿t̴̙̓h̴̯́ó̴͍u̷̠̾g̷̟͝ẖ̵̏ ̸̭̚a̷̤͌n̵͖̎d̷̬̔ ̴̈́ͅA̵̜͗m̵̬̕ȋ̵̠ṯ̸̓y̷̟̓ ̵̺̄P̶̥̉ä̴̫́r̸̪̂k̵͈̑ ̵̥̈́î̸͇s̸͓͂ ̴̡͒n̷̩͛o̵̰͑ ̸̠̚m̵̨̀o̴̭̔r̶̥̔e̵̼̋.̷͙̆

(They regened on their deal though and Amity Park is no more.)

Red Robin takes this new information and inputs it into the Watchtower's computers and pulls up a satellite image of Amity Park, IL and just finds a blackened hole in the ground several miles wide.

Batman's suit groans as his fist clenches before turning away from the table, "Superman with me, Red Robin contact Cyborg. We're bringing this group to justice. No organization should have the ability to wipe an entire city off the face of the earth."

"Right behind you, Batman." Superman quickly takes off after him.

"What about the rest of us," Flash yells at him as he leaves.

"Everyone else should pool their resources together and try to come up with a way to slow down, stop or even reverse the Decay Field. Technology, magic, I don't care even ask your rogues if need be but this needs to be stopped."

______________________________________________

Base Gamma-5, IL

Superman and Batman stare down on an old seemingly unused military base. Superman's eyes shimmering as he looks over the area with his x-ray vision.

"So?"

"Skeleton crew of scientists, minimal guards but there is definitely activity underground."

"Any centralized location?"

"What, hoping for a big open room where all the bad guys can get together and start throwing hands?"

"..."

"Don't look at me like that, I blame Kon and Jon, I don't even know how that phrase became a common thing."

"Hn. I was asking for a central area to reduce any unnecessary structural damage our encounter is likely to cause."

Superman focuses as he resumes looking, freezing in place as a rictus of anger covered his face and he takes off. Explosions of steel and concrete echo through the forest as Superman flies through the base's defenses and high speed. Bruce gives a withering sigh as he fires off a grapple and follows behind Clark.

Shortly after Bruce finds Clark deep into the base, a large metal door ripped off its track and him threatening a scientist. "What is the meaning of this, who is this?!"

"What is this, you mean. It's ectoplasmic scum."

"You better pick your words carefully, that is a dead child in a TANK. I have VERY short patience for people like you."

Batman appears behind him, "I'd listen to him if I were you."

The scientist sneer at the sight of him, "Batman. I see you managed pull yourself out of that ecto-contaminated cesspool you call a city. You still reek of it."

Superman lifts him even higher and shakes him in one hand, "Don't look at him, looks at me and answer my question. WHO. IS. HE."

"P-Phantom. He was an ectoplasmic entity that breached the veil five years ago. He was the strongest power level in decades. The last time something like him was detected was in 1902 in North Carolina. Psychics all over three states surrounding it felt it appear."

"Who killed him?"

"Agent A, just over four years ago. He bagged him in a small town called Amity Park. There's records he had been there for over a year, check them."

"We can't, Amity Park has been a smoking crater for some time."

"What? Did the ghosts do it?"

"You did it, your organization did it," Superman shakes him hard to make his point.

"Superman."

Superman drops the scientist on his ass, "Fine, you deal with him. I'm likely to do something we'll both regret if he stays in my sight. I'm going to go get Phantom's body."

"Why is the Justice League even here?! You should be thanking us for purging this planet of that ectoscum!"

"That is a child."

"It's scum! It just looks like a child, there have been records putting its age at over 2 millennium in Rome where it burned-."

Batman sighs internally before giving a swift jab to one of the scientist's pressure points making him drop like a sack of potatoes. Clark mutters something as he removes the poor boy's body from the vat.

"I don't want to hear it, Kal."

"I didn't say anything, Batman."

"Hn," is all Batman says as he throws the scientist over his shoulder and plugs a USBat into a nearby server and has Oracle let off some of her rage st this organization.

______________________________________________

Flash is staring over batman's shoulder at the body on the gurney, "Is it just me or does he look familiar?"

The boys black and white hair now dry is fluffy over his face, scars litter his form in lightning strike patterns.

Batman gives him a look as he starts scanning the body.

"I mean not like I know the kid, just like I feel like I seen him around somewhere."

"I understand. I also have that feeling but it could simply be the radiation talking."

"Radiation" Flash screams before he zips across the room.

"Low levels, barely over a smoke detector's level."

"You think you're real funny don't you?"

He just raises and eyebrow, "do you have any information on our issue? Have your rogues anything to add?"

"Nah, even the ones from from the future don't know anything. Which is weird if you think about it; how can there be a future if the universe is eating itself?"

"Because time is most likely fluid right now, we're in the middle of the choices that make it set in stone and affect our future."

"Since when do you know about time travel?"

"I have some experience in it, unwanted experience but experience none the less."

"Right... so who is he?"

Batman pulls up a medical record on one of the doctors tablets that soon span into multitudes of windows, "Daniel Fenton. Son of Drs Fenton and Fenton. Saver of the critically endangered purple back gorrilas, Senior at Casper High, suspected meta but proved negative after a lab accident when he was 14. Godson and beneficiary of deceased billionaire Vladimir Masters. Lifetime ban on handling chemistry equipment..."

"Lab accidents? Lifetime ban in chemistry class? Sounds like my kind of kid."

There is a puff of thick sulfury smoke as a british voice speaks out, "Oi Batsy, I heard ya discovered the universe was ending, just came to see if- BLOODY FUCKING HELL. Why is there a dead kid on the table?!"

Batman counts to ten in his head and turns to Constantine, "What have we said about teleporting into the Watchtower?"

"Forget that! What have I said about keeping bloody dead kids out in the open?"

"You haven't."

"I shouldn't have had to, its implied!"

"Hn"

"Wait a second... this kid looks like... no couldn't be. That was ages ago."

"You too" Flash asks him as Constantine ponders on the boys face.

Constantine's face turns sharp, "what do you mean? You think you've met him as well?"

"Yeah but we just can't place it. Who does he look like to you?"

"Reminds me of a protector spirit I made a deal wit a couple decades or so ago. It was tasked to guard a rune for me. Indigenous populace referred to it as the Great One Who Breathes the Cold."

"Oh yeah? A spirit huh," Flash interjects, "What'd he ask for in return, Booberries?"

"An Astrolabe of all things, smartarse."

"He's not a spirit, we can see him so it's not like Boston and he has DNA. We were able to track his medical and public record. I've got what I need, I'm calling a meeting to collaborate ideas on how to fix this."

"Right, Bats, I'll just-"

"Mandatory meeting, Constantine."

"...Right."

__________________________________________

"What about those noxious pits one of your villains constantly uses?"

"We can't use the Lazarus Pits; they don't bring back the dead only the dying."

"Besides," Constantine interrupts, "Body doesn't have an ounce of soul tethered to it."

"What about time travel," Booster asks, "I can just pop back before these MIB wannabes kill the kid. Boom, Problem solved."

"We don't even know what changing that much will do."

"How about a localized time rewind," Raven asks, "If we just rewind him and not everything else."

"Nah, love. Decay field's already in play. The likelihood we rewind him and he doesn't know how to reverse it is to bloody high and we wasted the energy to only fail."

"Lantern, how much time do we have before the wave comes back?"

"The guardian's projected a time frame of two weeks before it returns to the earth."

"Not a lot of time but we've had shorter timeframes to save the universe."

"Hn" Batman turns to the Flash, "If need be we may need you to Flashpoint the event."

ALERT: Intruder in Medbay 1.

ALERT: Intruder in Medbay 1.

"I got it," Flash says before zipping off to the medbay, hoping to graze past the point of the Flashpoint.

"Isn't that the medbay with the body," Wonder Woman asks as Batman gets up to follow after the flash.

"Yes."

Everyone's comms went off with the Flash's voice, "You guys better get down here. I found our intruder but I can't touch him. He's just standing-"

"Flash," Superman puts a finger to his ear. "Flash do you copy?"

__________________________________________________________

Amity Park, IL 4 Years, 4 Months ago

"-Over the body of the kid... Wait where am I?" Flash frantically looking around at what was obviously not medical bay of the Watchtower and instead looks like a back alley of a moderate city frozen in time.

"Amity Park, Wallace," The old man says with a smile in his voice.

"That's not possible. Amity Park was obliterated off the face of the earth."

"Use your process of elimination, Wallace."

Thoughts zip through Wally's head as he comes to the obvious answer, "This is before the city was destroy. Do you know what you're doing?! Time travel causes nothing but problems, after the last flash point I swore I would never do it again!"

"I know more about time travel than you will know in multiple lifetimes. I am known as Clockwork here, I was once the master of time; it was my job to maintain the structure of the timelines even when you 'Flashpointed' a timeline to make sure the right outcome comes to be."

"Then why is the universe ending?!"

"I miscalculated the hatred some of my kind felt towards young Daniel. As such to betray our dimension to those that would sooner purge us. I cannot physically intervene in a past event but you can and for once I give you permission to fix the timeline and save your world. You have two weeks to save Danny Fenton."

"Wait, betrayed? I don't even know how they killed him how do I save him?!"

"You'll figure it out, you always do. By the way you may want to destroy your comm. Time in."

Flash's comm comes to life with his own voice, "I don't know who you think you are-." Flash rips his earpiece faster than could be seen and smashes it into the ground.

"Rightrightright... Right, two weeks to save some kid from bargain bin men in black... How hard can that be?" He spins in place, replacing his costume with his civilian cloths and stepping out of the alley to walk around the city.

___________________________________________________________

Thanks to @phantom-things and @a-lost-time-traveler for the Zalgo text translations. It didn't occur to me that people wouldn't be able to read it even at its lowest setting. I've learned and just parentheses'd the translations. I tried to make the two timeline but I just couldn't get the dead squared idea to flow properly so unfortunately I can only give this one. I'm gonna start working on the part three when I have time tomorrow. sorry if the quality's terrible.