#seeing double

[hugsandchaos]

Seeing Double

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Summary: A ghost who looks a lot like Phantom comes to him in search of protection, and their newest member instantly agrees. He calls her his little sister, and sooner or later, Phantom also might end up with a new brother.

*bangs pots and pans together* @vixen-uchiha, @starlightcat04, @blueliac, COME GET Y’ALL’S JUICE!!!

Phantom smiled to himself looking up at the night sky. The event he’d been waiting for finally started a few minutes ago, the top right “corner” of the moon was dark with the tiniest hint of red on the “edge”. He was pretty grateful for being allowed to go outside for the lunar eclipse. Especially since the other members of Young Justice got to tag along as well. He could hear Wally explaining the specifics of the event to Conner below, but ignored it.

Phantom was well above the trees so he could get a perfect view of the lunar eclipse, so it wasn’t very hard to ignore them. Especially since he was so happy about what he was going to see soon. And by soon, he meant an hour or so. Since they were so far out from the city the civilization in general, Phantom also had an amazing view of the stars. It seemed like every second he spent looking at them instead of the moon, a new one would pop into existence. Or he’d recognize another constellation.

He leaned back so he was floating with his back facing the ground and crossed one of his legs over the other. He folded his arms over his abdomen and smiled fondly, acting as if he was laying on solid ground instead of being in midair. Then a small blue fog of smoke came out of his mouth.

Phantom quickly swung himself upright and looked around. He really didn’t want to deal with any ghost fights right now, he just wanted some peace. As he scanned the area around him, he noticed something in the distance. It definitely wasn’t a star, and it was too small to be a pod. It might be the ghost he had sensed being nearby.“Phantom?” Robin called out. The ghostly hero glanced down below.”Everything alright?” He asked.

Phantom nodded and went back to looking at the ghost.”Yeah, just a second. I think I see something.” He yelled back. He squinted his eyes to try to see if he could recognize the ghost. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who it was, and when he did, a huge smile broke out across his face.

“Danielle!!!” Phantom called out.

He quickly rushed towards his younger clone. He didn’t notice his friends calling for him, but he noticed that Dani had definitely spotted him since she was also hurdling towards him. They reached each other somewhere midway and Phantom slowed down enough before they practically collided with each other. Dani didn’t really slow down as soon as him and knocked him back a little, but he wasn’t too fazed by the impact and wrapped his arms around her.

He hugged his sister considerably tighter than he usually hugs people, and spun around a bit as a small way to release some of the new, excited energy. Dani laughed a little as they spun, then he stopped.”How have you been?!” He asked excitedly.

“I’ve been great!!” She said. They both ended the hug with big grins on their face, very happy to see the other after months had passed. Phantom was about to ask her about her time apart from him, but she opened her mouth to speak.”I’ve seen so many cool things that I wanna tell you about, and guess what?!“ She asked. She held her mouth open and pointed at the upper part. That’s when Phantom noticed her canine teeth were a bit bigger than a regular human’s.”I’ve grown fangs, like yours!” She exclaimed. The older halfa gasped softly. He wasn’t quite sure what emotion had just swelled up in his chest a little, but he’s felt it before, and it was definitely positive.

Was it pride? Was he proud of her? He wasn’t sure if that was it or not, but the feeling remained.”That’s so cool, Dani! They’re fang-tastic.” He said.

Dani’s grin grew a little bit wider when he said that.”Why, fang you!” She said. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically from pure excitement to what looked like distrust. Her eyes looked at something behind him, and Phantom quickly turned around to see what or who it was that caused her reaction.

Megan was floating there.”Who’s your friend, Phantom?” She asked kindly. Phantom calmed down a little and smiled again. He glanced back at Dani again and noticed how she looked a little confused, but still defensive. He floated back to be next to Dani.

“Hey, Megan! This is my little sister. She has the same powers as me.” He said. Him talking with his friend so calmly and casually seemed to help Dani relax. Which was what he was hoping for.

Megan’s smile grew as she looked over at the other halfa.”Really?! You’ve never mentioned your relatives before!” She said. She held a hand out.”It’s really nice to meet you, Danielle. I’m Megann! Well, Megann is my Earth name.” She introduced herself. Dani glanced over at Phantom. He knew what it was she was asking and gave her an encouraging nod. With the affirmation that it was safe, Dani smiled and shook Megann’s hand.”Nice to meet you too.” She said with a small smile. For a moment, Phantom was happy that they hadn’t met her in some kind of fight or had a misunderstanding. Then he remembered something pretty important. Not wanting to make it awkward, though, he decided to try to play it cool.

He gave Megann a slightly apologetic look.”I’m sorry, but would you mind letting us chat for a bit? We have a lot to catch up on and talk about, and something tells me it’s going to get a little personal.” He asked politely. He tried to make it understandable and reasonable, and to him, that sounded like a good explanation. He’s been pretty private about his life before he joined Young Justice, anyways.

Megann nodded.”Oh, yeah, of course! I’ll let the others know what you’re doing if they ask.” She said. The older halfa agreed with that idea and nodded to show it. The martian turned around and flew back to the others, and once she was gone, Phantom glanced over at Dani.

She turned to him at the same time, also looking pretty serious. Seemed like they both had something to say.”You go first.” Phantom said. Dani remained silent for an extra minute. Phantom waited until an idea of what it was entered his head, and he didn’t like it one bit.”It wasn’t Vlad, was it?” He asked. Dani shook her head.

“I was... I was spotted by one of them.”

Those words briefly made Phantom’s core stop. The sweet moment suddenly turned way more sour than he was expecting. His eyes widened in shock and horror and they both floated in silence for a while. With each passing second, Dani looked more and more like she’d start to cry. Tears were slowly starting to form, but she was holding back.”I don’t want them to catch me... We both know I can’t go into the Ghost Zone, so... I didn’t know what else to do.” She said. Her voice came close to cracking at the end.

Phantom quickly pulled his mind back together. An urge to protect his sister began to block out the fear he also felt for her and he pulled her into a hug.”They won’t get the chance. I’ll do everything to make sure of it.” He said. He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d be able to actually protect her against part of the government, but he wasn’t lying. He was going to do whatever he could to protect her from the Guys In White. Dani hugged back.”Thank you.” She said.

“Anytime.” Phantom said. It was practically obvious to him. As long as his core was still vibrating and his heart was still beating, he’d protect her against anything.”But listen, my team doesn’t know I’m a halfa. They only think I’m a ghost. I think you should say the same.” He said. Dani nodded.

They soon ended the hug and Dani looked better than before. Phantom noticed something above and pointed behind her.”Look at that.” He said. Dani followed his gaze and let out a small, amazed “ohh” under her breath when she saw it. The lunar eclipse wasn’t complete yet, but it was getting there. A part of it was still white, but the majority of it was getting more and more red, and even looked a little orange.”I saw one of those before. Lunar eclipse, right?” She asked.

“Mhmm.” Phantom confirmed.

The two remained there for only a few minutes, watching the moon change ever so slightly, before Dani filled the silence again.”Can we meet the rest of your teammates?” She asked, turning to face him.

“Duhh! This way.” Phantom said, then flew to where his friends had set up camp.

It was a pretty short flight, and once there, his teammates were already looking at them. The group had used Megan’s bioship to fly out an hour or so away from the mountain and brought their own tents, and obviously some campfire snacks along with other necessities. They were all aligned in a circle with a sort of “entrance” facing the direction of the bioship. Phantom landed with Dani close behind and glanced back at her to make sure she wouldn’t get overwhelmed or anything. He wasn’t entirely sure how good her social skills were. She looked a little bit surprised, but overall okay. Phantom turned to his team.”Hey, guys! Hope you don’t mind one more.” He said, gesturing towards his sister. Dani smiled and waved at them.

Megan was the first of them to speak.”Not at all! Come on over, the eclipse is getting closer.” She said. Dani accepted the invitation and began walking over to them. Phantom obviously followed.

He noticed Conner looking a little surprised, but brushed it off since everyone seemed a bit surprised to learn that he apparently had a sister. Dani floated off the ground to be more at eye level with his friends.”How come all of your friends are taller than me?” She asked, glancing back at Phantom. He just shrugged and grinned.”I guess you just got the short end of the stick.” He said. Dani rolled her eyes and looked back at them.

“I’m Danielle! It’s nice to meet all of my brother’s new teammates.” She said. Robin held his hand out and Dani accepted it.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Robin. That’s Wally, Artemis, Conner, Kaldur, and you’ve already met Megan.” He said. Phantom leaned closer to Dani and pointed at Wally.

“He doesn’t really believe in ghosts, so feel free to bug him when he’s not training or on missions.” He whispered.

Wally glared at him and Robin and Artemis both muffled a laugh behind their hands.”Hey!” Wally snapped. Dani gasped almost slightly offended, then grinned mischievously.

“Oh, I’d love to!” She said. Before she said something else, though, Conner spoke up.

“Megan told us you’re his little sister, but I didn’t expect you to look practically just like our friend. You could be mistaken for twins if it wasn’t for the age difference.” He said. He didn’t seem upset, and Phantom was a bit relieved about it. He didn’t think that Conner would start anything, but he had anger issues and had... negative reactions to being reminded that he’s a clone of someone who doesn’t like him.

Dani shrugged a little. “Well, yeah! I’m his clone, so of course I look like him and have similar powers.“ She said. The camp went quiet. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly heavy or intense, but it certainly wasn’t as happy and calm as before. Dani noticed the change and at first was confused, then she started to grow nervous. She glanced between Phantom’s teammates.

Finally, one of them spoke.“You said she’s your little sister.” Wally said. Phantom immediately hopped onto the defensive, but tried to remember about their treatment towards Conner and not mistake his confusion in his voice for something negative.

Dani seemed to make that mistake, though, since she began floating closer to him with a pretty nervous expression.”Yeah, because she is. Just because there’s no legal documentation or something doesn’t mean she can’t be my family.” Phantom said. Dani stopped right next to him and nodded in agreement. To her surprise and not her big brother’s, his friends all seemed almost a little heart warmed by this. Conner just looked surprised.

“That’s nice of you. To give her a family.” Kaldur said.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t, but thanks?” Phantom said. Dani suddenly flew upwards and looked at the sky.

“Enough with the sentimental stuff, we’re going to miss it!” She said. The older halfa quickly remembered the reason they’d come outside in the first place and let out a small “oh”. He followed her lead and smiled at the moon once he was above the trees.

It was now completed and fully red. Sure, there was still a tiny bit of lighter red, but the huge majority looked a lot like blood. It was a little creepy, but Phantom still couldn’t help but admire it. It was amazing, and made him almost forget about the talk he’d need to have with Kaldur and Red Tornado, and possibly the rest of the league later. He’d think about that after the eclipse was over. For now, he was just going to enjoy the sight.

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 11: seeing double

Totally not what this prompt meant, but I don’t care lol. I do care that I keep making Wild cry though, sorry buddy 😬

No clue if anyone cares anymore, but this has some brief age of calamity spoilers in it. Just a heads up.

Warnings: broken bone, discussed past character death

Ao3 link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wild had two thoughts as he went plunging through the portal, the others’ frantic cries in his ears:

One, that hopefully Legend wouldn’t give him too smug of an ‘I told you so’ the next time he saw him, since Wild had entirely forgone his advice to stay away from Dark Link and was now plunging rapidly through the air. And two, well, at least I’m going to fall into the water down there.

Which he promptly did with an explosive splash.

It wasn’t so high up that he was badly hurt, but Wild was still thrown for a loop, and found himself crashing down a river with little sense of which way was up.

Water got in his mouth and he spluttered, trying to spit it out and also get his head above the surface so he could breathe. The current was fast here though, and Wild couldn’t do much except flail around like a drunk Zora.

Wait, could Zora get drunk?

He actually had no clue.

The current got suddenly faster, and Wild breathed in some water as he got smacked against the rocks, coughing and hacking as he struggled to get any air. He managed a wet gasp when his head briefly poked up, but then he was pulled under again.

Air wasn’t the only thing Wild had gotten when he went up though— he’d also gotten a sight of the river up ahead. And at the sight of the waterfall rapidly approaching, his struggles grew even more frantic.

I need to reach shore, he thought as he continued to cough and claw his way to the river’s edge in a panic. I need to reach shore now, I need air I need—

The angle of the water shifted, and Wild was shot out of the waterfall, the rapid change in direction making his head spin.

He found himself in open air, water still in his lungs, and he clumsily grabbed for his paraglider as the lake below rapidly approached. Wild managed to snap it open just in time, but he didn’t manage a good grip on the handle.

His arm slipped, and Wild slammed into the sand near the shore, a choked yell escaping him as pain blazed up his shoulder.

All he could do was cough up water for a minute and catch his breath, trying not to wrench his shoulder more. Something was broken in there; he wasn’t sure if it was his shoulder itself or his arm or collarbone, but it hurt. He could barely move without his whole arm lighting up in agony, and hoped blearily that none of the others had suffered the same fate as him.

Then he heard a splash behind him, and his stomach sank.

Had one of the others fallen in the portal already? Or was it something else? That hadn’t sounded big enough to be a splash from something falling from the waterfall, but then again, he could be wrong.

“There, look!”

The voice sounded familiar, but Wild couldn’t place it over the sound of the water behind him and the blood rushing in his ears. He tried to raise himself up, and pain tore across his senses, and for a minute all he could focus on was the fire ripping through his shoulder.

“—know who he is? He looks just like—”

“—in the water, don’t—”

Two voices floated around his head as the fire eased, and Wild took a deep breath, opening his eyes again. His hair had fallen in his face, and between that and his blurry vision he couldn’t see much, especially through the damp strands. Unless he moved again, but that seemed like a bad idea.

Wild groaned, blinking to try and get the hair away from his eyes, but he barely succeeded. His wet hair slipped to the side, but all he could make out were two blobs, silhouetted by the sun shining behind them.

Then he heard a soft gasp, and the sound of a weapon being drawn.

“How is this—”

“This has trap written all over it,” a different voice than the first interrupted, soft, but sharp. Cold steel nudged Wild’s chin, and he stiffened. “Don’t go near him.”

The other voice made a worried noise as Wild weakly coughed. “I don’t think he would have fallen down a waterfall on purpose and hurt himself like this if that were true.”

“It could still be a trick.”

“I know... but we won’t get any answers if he’s too dazed to speak.”

Wild heard a huff, then the sound of footsteps padding towards him in a familiar way. A hand settled over his shoulder, and Wild groaned again, a soothing noise coming from the voice.

“Hold on just a moment.”

Then a feeling like that of a gentle stream swept over his shoulder, quiet and small, but carrying the mighty power of water along with it. Wild automatically relaxed, sinking into the bubbly feeling. A blue light flickered in his vision, healing his shoulder in a familiar way, and Wild relaxed even further before he abruptly stiffened again.

Wait...

The smooth magic trickled into his middle, down to where his lungs were still burning from the water he’d inhaled. It soothed the ache, and though Wild still felt exhausted, he could tell his shoulder had been completely fixed as well. Even the various scrapes and bruises from the fight before the river had been healed.

Which meant...

The bubbly rush of magic faded away, Wild’s vision fully cleared, and his stomach dropped out.

Red scales. Yellow eyes. A petite figure covered in scales that were smooth and shiny in the sunlight, and healing magic that was fading from slender hands.

“M... Mipha?” Wild choked out.

The Zora woman (it couldn’t be Mipha, it couldn’t—) gave him a concerned look, but before Wild could do or say anything further, the steel was back at his neck.

Wild stilled, and followed the blade resting at his neck up to the person holding it. His already fast heartbeat tripled, and he choked for a second time.

The person holding a blade at his throat was himself.

His double’s hair was much shorter, pulled back into a neat ponytail, and instead of the champion’s tunic he was wearing the Zora armor Wild had received. His eyes were steely as he watched Wild, but the most shocking thing about him was the fact that the right side of his face was entirely smooth.

He didn’t have a single one of the scars that had killed Wild.

I’m unconscious. I’m dreaming. I hit my head on a rock and I’m hallucinating—

“Explain yourself. Who are you?” his double demanded, not appearing to notice how Wild’s world was caving in on itself. Wild stared, and coughed once, still feeling tired from his fight with the river, and just... unable to process this. What could he even say?

What was going on?

“I asked you a question, who are you? What are you doing in Zora’s Domain?” his double repeated, voice even sharper.

Mipha sucked in a worried breath as she stared at Wild, and touched the double’s arm. “Oh no, did... did a little guardian bring you?” she asked, and Wild stared at her, her words jumbling in his head as he stared.

Mipha.

Mipha.

Mipha was alive here. Wild was alive here, and missing his scars, and wearing the Zora armor that Mipha had crafted to give to him as a—

“Wh... who are you?” Wild whispered, throat suddenly dry as bone. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just a mistake, a strange coincidence, but he— he had to know. He had to know.

“We asked you first,” Link’s double replied suspiciously, and Mipha set a hand on his shoulder.

“Link, he was just injured and half-drowned, I believe he’s confused. If he were here to kill us, he already would have tried,” she said pointedly, studying Wild with an intent look. “I think he looks too much like you to be a coincidence.”

“It could still be a trick. A Yiga or something,” his double said suspiciously. Wild didn’t blame him. That did sound like something the Yiga would do.

“But why add the scars and long hair?” Mipha countered, and the double looked frustrated.

“To confuse us, I’m sure there’s a motive. He’s probably here for you, you know you’re—”

“If you say “at risk” again Link, I will set Sidon on you,” Mipha said with a little huff, and turned back towards Wild with a kind-if-cautious look. “My apologies. I am Princess Mipha of the Zora, and this is my husband, Link.”

The words were like a slap, even though Wild knew they were coming.

Husband. Mipha. Zora armor.

Husband.

Link.

Wild would have fallen over backwards if he’d been upright in any way, and he stared between Mipha and his double, wondering if he was about to be sick.

They all knew the portals were transporting them through time. Wild had been a part of Time and Wind’s discussion on fractured timelines, and they all knew that there were splits and sections where the history of Hyrule didn’t make sense.

But this...

Was this a timeline where Wild hadn’t failed?

Mipha’s face grew more worried the longer Wild stared at them without speaking, and even his double started to look a little concerned.

“Did I miss an injury?” Mipha asked, scooting closer again, and Wild froze as she approached.

“No, no you got— you got everything,” Wild choked out. He felt perfectly healthy apart from being tired and his falling-apart mental state, just like if he’d used Mipha’s grace. Even though he hadn’t used it in nearly a year because the champions were finally at rest and they’d passed on and Mipha—

Wild lurched to his feet, using a rock for support, and immediately the other Link’s blade was raised again.

“Stay where you are,” he said sharply, and Wild stumbled backwards towards the water. His double’s face grew fierce and he leapt around him and blocked him off from the river. “I said stay where you are! We’ve told you who we are, now tell us your identity or I will treat you as a threat.”

Wild stilled, and swallowed. He might as well explain.

“I’m... well, Link,” he began, and the other Link didn’t move. “You... probably figured that out. I... I don’t know how I got here— I mean, I do, but it wasn’t on purpose, I-I... I don’t know what you mean about a guardian, but one didn’t bring me here.”

Wild looked at Mipha again, and swallowed thickly, his eyes stinging.

“This isn’t a trap. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not here to hurt you,” he croaked, and the other Link pulled his sword back just a hair. “I— my companions and I are traveling through time, but... I think something went wrong,” he finished in a whisper.

We’ve never had anything like this happen with the portals before.

Did the Shadow do this?

“Time travel...” Mipha said thoughtfully, and exchanged a loaded look with the other Link.

His face had creased further, but in a different way, and he finally pulled the sword away from Wild’s neck. He kept it at the ready though, and watched Wild intensely.

“How did you get here?” he asked again, a little less accusatory and a little more curious.

Wild exhaled. “It’s a long story... but it was through a portal,” he said, deciding he would just... ignore what was going on for now. It was that or completely freak out, and he wanted to know more before passing out due to shock. “My group is hunting a Shadow, one ripping holes in time. We’re trying to stop him.”

“So no Terrako then?” Link questioned, and Wild shook his head in confusion.

“No? No... Terrako. Just portals that sometimes spew powerful monsters.”

Link and Mipha both stiffened.

“These monsters, do they have darkened blood?” Mipha asked, and Wild nodded. “Oh my. We’ve seen some up in the highlands, remember that moblin, Link?”

Link grimaced. “Yes. What a disaster. We assumed it was just leftover magic from Astor or something of that nature, not... time travel related. Bazz is still recovering.” He paused for a second, then his eyes went wide and he whipped his head back towards Link. “You said you came through a portal that expels these monsters?”

“Yeah, from upriver somewhere,” Wild nodded. “But it’s not sending out monsters right now. I fell through it, then fell right in the river.”

Link frowned. “So no monsters were coming out when you went through?”

“No, they were all on the other side, my group was fighting their leader. But I don’t know—”

“Papa?”

Link froze, and Mipha looked worried as Wild turned around towards where the voice had come from.

A young, orangey colored Zora was poking his head up from the water, and he looked between Wild and Link, a wide look on his face.

“Papa?” he repeated in a curious voice, and Wild stared, studying the little Zora’s features.

“Stay in the water, Ty,” Link said seriously, and the Zora hesitated, eyes darting between Mipha and Link and Wild. Then he hopped out and scurried over to stand next to Mipha. He hid behind her leg and watched Wild with large blue eyes, and Wild began to shake, recognizing them as his own.

Oh Hylia, haven’t you put me through enough?

Mipha put a hand on Ty’s arm, and he continued to watch Wild, his expression concerned as he studied his face.

“Papa... hurt?” he said worriedly, and Link shifted around so he was standing beside him, and placed a hand on his head.

“No, I’m not hurt,” Link reassured, and Ty switched to clinging to his leg instead, still staring at Wild. His orange scales shone brightly in the sunshine, like the last rays of light before the sun set.

“Wh... who is...?” Wild choked out, and Mipha gave him a look that was as conflicted as he felt.

“This is our son. Tyde,” she explained gently, like she knew the words would hurt.

They did, hitting Wild like a laser, and he felt a mixture of longing and wonder and grief so intense he was nearly sick.

Tyde was small, and as he shifted around the other Link’s leg, Wild saw that his left arm was shorter than it should be, the fins the wrong size. He had Wild— Link’s eyes, and his frame was proportioned more like a Hylian, but he had golden-orange and white scales all along his body, and had the Zora tail on the back of his head.

All in all, he was exactly what Wild would expect a child of his and Mipha’s to look like.

A tear fell down Wild’s cheek without his permission, and he sank back down to his knees, overwhelmed. He was married here. He had a child here.

This was what would have happened if he hadn’t failed?

This was how much Mipha had loved him?

Wild began to shake, and barely even noticed as Mipha approached and knelt beside him, so lost was he in his own mind.

“You’re from the world the older Sidon came from, aren’t you,” Mipha said quietly, and Wild shakily raised his head to look at her. “I... doubt he remembered in order to tell you. Zelda theorized they all wouldn’t recall anything from their time here.”

Wild gave a small shake of his head, and Mipha sighed.

“It’s complicated I’m afraid, but we’ve dealt with time travel before,” she explained. “And me and Sidon, we... we talked a little, about things. He said that in his time the champions were slain, and that you nearly were along with us. But you were placed in a sleep for one hundred years in order to heal, and then you saved the princess.”

Wild nodded mutely, and Mipha’s face turned further grieved. She carefully reached forward, and Link couldn’t help his flinch as her cool palm rested on his cheek, right over his scars.

The other Link behind Mipha had gone white, his sword finally lowered. Tyde tugged at his pant leg, and Link wordlessly picked him up, holding him tightly to his chest as he locked gazes with Wild.

Wild could only imagine what was going through his head.

Mipha wiped the tear off Wild’s cheek then withdrew her hand, giving him the same smile that he barely remembered from a hundred years ago. It almost made Wild fully break down, but he choked back his tears. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to comfort him.

“I’ll h-have to hear about this adventure Sidon had,” he said, managing not to make his voice sound too watery. “Sounds like it w-was something.”

“It was,” Mipha said quietly. “He always spoke so highly of you.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but Wild’s double spoke up then, Tyde still nestled up to his chest.

“In your world, we... lost?” he asked in a quiet voice, and Wild swallowed thickly.

“We... did. I failed,” he whispered, not looking at Mipha. “The champions... our weapons turned against us. Overwhelmed us. I only survived because of a Sheikah invention that took a hundred years to work so I could fix my failure. So many died...”

He took in a shuddering breath, and looked at Mipha and his double again, their child still watching him intently.

“But you won here. You did it, you won—”

Wild’s voice choked off, and he barely noticed Tyde tug on his father’s sleeve, trying to get his attention. He did notice when Tyde pointed at Wild though, his brow scrunched up.

“Hurt,” he said with another tug, and for some reason that one small word made Wild lose the rest of his composure.

Suddenly it was too much, the sight of himself holding his and Mipha’s child, Mipha herself sitting beside him, her hand on her husband’s arm. It was a family Wild never had, never would have, and the fact that there was a timeline somewhere where Wild hadn’t failed them, where they had the opportunity to exist, it was just—

A small sob escaped him, and he pulled back, his shaking starting up again. Before he could bolt though, Tyde suddenly squirmed out of his father’s arms and padded over to Wild. Wild froze as he put a tiny hand on his arm, and when Wild looked down at him, he ran his hand up and down for a moment before nodding.

“Better,” he declared, then scampered back to Wild’s double.

Wild could only stare, tears dripping down his cheeks as Tyde climbed back into his father’s arms.

“He’s seen me heal before, he thinks he can too,” Mipha explained with a faint smile. “He does that whenever anyone cries, he thinks they’re hurt.”

A thick laugh burst from Wild’s throat, and he smiled shakily through the tears only running faster down his face. Tyde kept watching him, and Link swallowed back the gigantic lump in his throat in order to speak.

“Thanks,” he managed through his tears, and Tyde gave him a shy smile before hiding his face in Link’s chest.

Wild breathed out shakily, shuddering with a sob he tried not to let escape, and Mipha and his double stayed quiet as they let him cry, Tyde quietly watching them all. Mipha put her hand on his arm at one point, and Wild only cried harder, wishing he could remember her more, wishing she hadn’t died, wishing he didn’t even know what.

He merely cried, and Mipha let him, a different version of himself watching in pale-faced silence.

That was where Wolfie found them barely a quarter hour later, Wild’s eyes red as he quietly explained more about the infected monsters, Mipha and his double asking worried questions about what was going on, Tyde resting against his knee.

And nine Links became ten.

[whumpshots]

Whumptober #11

Trope of the day: seeing double

_

Caretaker is two steps ahead. Maybe... three? Whumpee has no idea. Everything is blurry, Whumpee feels way too dizzy. Exhausted, a blow to the head... a bad mixture of everything, really.

"Stop," Whumpee croaks as Caretaker is out of sight, the other taking some time to return and help them to not collapse to the ground.

Why are there two caretakers? Furrowing their brows in confusion, Whumpee blinks their tired eyes, trying to discern who to touch, their hand flailing a little. Caretaker takes it in theirs, softly stroking their thumb over Whumpee's hand.

"You're here... twice."

Caretaker snorts. "Four hands are better than two. Come, up with you."

[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Whumptober 2024 No. 11- Seeing Double

Hero pulled their boots on, trying to ignore the fatigue that had settled into their bones. They just had their hand on the front doorknob when swirling red energy yanked it back.

Hero whirled around, their head spinning.

“Villain,” they said, “I thought you had already left?”

“I stayed behind for a minute to make sure you did not try anything,” Villain said, releasing Hero’s hand.

“Villain, I know how you get. You’re overprotective,” Hero said, “I can handle this mission just fine.”

“Has your fever gone down at all?” Villain asked.

Hero froze.

“You know about that?”

“Mm,” Villain acknowledged, “how about the fatigue? The aching? The chills?”

“Chills are kind of my thing,” Hero said, shrugging.

“I am not letting you leave in your condition,” Villain said, taking a confident stride forward, “go to bed or I will make you.”

Hero’s glassy eyes narrowed.

“Just because you’re the older sibling doesn’t mean you get to boss me around,” Hero said, “they need me on that mission, I’m not letting the rest of the team down just because you’re a worrywart.”

Villain’s eyes flickered red, and Hero faltered. Had they gone too far?

“Overpower me, and you are free to go,” Villain said.

Hero blinked. Were they serious?

“That’s not fair,” Hero argued, “you’re the most powerful person I know-”

“It is your choice, Hero. Since you’re so good at making them.”

Hero glared. Fine. If that was how it was going to be.

The first few icicles Hero threw barely fazed Villain. A crimson shield shattered them into snowfall.

Hero lunged at Villain, but just as they had them in their clutches, Villain faded. Hero cursed, an illusion.

Hero’s eyes went wide as the entire foyer became filled with images of Villain.

“All you have to do is hit me once,” Villain said from somewhere.

Hero growled. They spun, hurling snowballs in all directions. The illusions faded one-by-one. Hero was getting more tired by the second. The illusions kept coming, and Hero could barely keep up. They dodged rays of red energy while barely being able to stand. The worst part was that they could tell Villain was going easy on them.

They dropped to one knee, panting.

“Do you yield?” Villain’s voice echoed.

Hero laughed ruefully.

“You’re the only person I know who says ‘yield’ anymore… mm…”

Hero collapsed to their side. Villain revealed themselves from behind the illusion of a window. They gently picked Hero up into a bridal carry and took them back to their bedroom.

“I’m starting to think… that was your plan all along… tire me out,” Hero mumbled.

“Your deduction skills are boundless,” Villain deadpanned.

Villain used their powers to remove Hero’s boots and pull back the covers. They tucked Hero in bed, then tapped their forehead with a finger. A bit of red energy swirled over Hero’s eyes, and they started to droop closed.

“Cheat…” Hero yawned.

“No more fighting. Sleep.”

Hero drifted off, and Villain made sure their dreams were pleasant. The team would return from the mission to find them by their bedside, watching over them as they had always done.

Patreon

Ko-Fi

Redbubble

Tags:

@mythixmagic @infinityshadows @fishtale88 @thelazywitchphotographer @the-beasts-have-arrived @princessofonwardsworld @surplus-of-sarcasm @memepsychowhowantsuperpower-blog

@electrons2006

[jasmines-library]

Double Trouble

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

WHUMPTOBER DAY ELEVEN: Prompt: Seeing Double

MASTERLIST WHUMPTOBER 2024

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

To say you weren’t in the greatest stay would be an understatement. The hunt had been extremely rough and you had been tossed around like a ragdoll until you were beaten and bloody. You were fighting a coven of witches. All brutal and nasty in their own way, and damn near impossible to actually get rid of in one go. You had just managed to dust one of them and you were raising your gun to take a shot at a second one when something collided with your back.

It was cold and cut through you like a knife, gripping at your heart. It hurt, and you cried out, dropping to your knees. One of them had managed to land a spell on you. Clutching at your chest, you had squeezed your eyes shut, trying to block out the room around you. You could still hear the commotion from the other room where your brothers were occupied with their own bundles of trouble.

The pain seemed to subside after a moment or too; but when you opened your eyes to stand up again, you were met with dizziness and a wave of nausea. Your vision swam and doubled before you, making it impossible to see straight.

You could see Sam approach in the doorway, but to your eyes his figure morphed in and out of two version of himself. When he saw you on the floor he dropped down infront of you, calling for Dean with a shout.

“Hey—“ the non-vision of Sam tapped at your face “what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“….spell…..”

“What? What happened?”

“Can’t see…….two of you….” You mumbled, trying to focus so that the two images would merge into one. But they just wouldn’t.

“Shit.” Sam cursed. Then Dean arrived, his silhouette also split in two. “She’s been cursed! What do we do?!” Sam said desperately.

“Hey. Focus on us, kid. You gotta try and stay focused.” Dean urged you when your mind started to wander. “We need to try and find the witch who hexed you. Can you remember what they looked like? Where they went.?”

Deans words tried to spark some recognition in your mind. But you couldn’t remember seeing the witches face because the attack had come from behind. But as you dwelled on it longer, you began to recall who else was in the room with you at the time. Raising one arm in what you though was the right direction, you pointed them towards the doorway.

Dean was up in a second, dashing though the house to try and kill the witch before they got away to end the curse over you quicker. Meanwhile Dean stayed infront of you, whispering reassuring words and trying to get you to focus.

There was the sound of a gunshot, followed by a scream from somewhere within the house. And then slowly the two figures of Dean merged into one. You blinked, readjusting as the nausea vanished. Sam came skidding back into the room with a hopeful look on his face.

“….you alright?”

You blinked. “Yeah…..thank you.”

Dean helped you up gently, patting you on the back supportively as you re-gained your bearings.

“I hate witches.” You grumbled.

“I can’t blame you” Dean said.

“Yeah. Remind me to never come to one of these again.” You huffed.

“You say that every time.” Dean couldn’t help but smirk. “And yet here you are.

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

<- DAY TEN. DAY TWELVE ->

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

TAGS:

@hearts4robs @kingshitonly @alicedawitchbish @hell-o-kittys @azure-drag0ness @harleycao @thewhispersofthewaves @batfamsstuff @xxrougefangxx @rosecentury @noisymutantherelol @killxz @rhiodes @inlovewhithafairytale @that-wannabe-vangoghgurl @canthavetoomuchchaos

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

[weirdyearbook]

Source details and larger version.

Seeing in the dark: a collection of vintage night photography.

[sincerely--me]

[You sense something. Someone. Familiar, but not. Like mini you's version of someone. Someone dangerous]

#it's time for another BOSS

*Ness barely sleeps because of that strange,looking sense of something there. Something is there.

[fiery-lune]

Re-reading “Seeing Double” has me so inspired so I had to draw this scene from chapter 15!

[set-phasers-to-whump]

stupid ideas

prompt: seeing double

whumpee: river cartwright

fandom: slough house, slow horses

hiii here's another installment of me beating up my boy <3 hope you enjoy it!

It’s one of those exceedingly rare days where he’s been given a task to do that takes him out of Slough House. 

Granted, he’s taking the bus one stop, picking up an envelope from an acquaintance of Lamb’s, and returning, but still. Gets him out. 

Honestly, he’d bet money that there’s nothing of any value in the envelope—quite possibly, there’s nothing in it at all, and Lamb just wants to send him on a particularly stupid errand. 

Not that there’s any other kind of errand where Lamb is concerned. 

So River’s on the bus, for all of two minutes, and then he’s on the pavement, and it’s just his luck that a car drives past and splashes him with muddy rainwater as he’s waiting to cross the road. 

Just great, he thinks bitterly, stomping across the crosswalk. He can already see Lamb’s acquaintance waiting for him beneath the faded awning of what appears to be an Italian restaurant. The man looks vaguely amused, which does nothing to improve River’s mood. 

They don’t so much as exchange a word. The man hands him the envelope, which does at least look as if it’s got something in it, though maybe it’s just a takeout menu for this place. That done, the other man nods, then turns around and enters the restaurant behind him. 

For a second, River thinks about following. It’s near enough to lunchtime, and this would keep him out of the office for longer. 

Except that the glimpse of the restaurant he’d gotten through the open door hadn’t seemed terribly inviting or terribly on par with basic standards of cleanliness. He’d rather not end up with food poisoning, even if it would mean a day or two off work. 

And so he heads for the bus stop, instead. 

It seems that he’s only just missed his bus. He could walk and make it back to Slough House before the next one arrives, but there’s no point hastening the inevitable. He finds a space for himself inside the shelter and stares at the traffic passing by. 

A few more people join him, seeking cover from the rain as they wait. The bus shelter crowds up quickly, and River finds himself wishing he hadn’t bothered with it. 

He catches a glimpse of his bus approaching and begins pushing his way out of the crowd. And then someone grabs the hood of his jacket and tugs. 

“Hey!” he yelps, struggling to break free. “What the fuck?”

Whoever’s got a hold of him is strong, and River finds himself being pulled backwards against his will. And then, just like that, he’s released, but he doesn’t manage to take so much as a step before he’s being shoved forwards from behind. 

His head collides with the glass wall of the bus shelter hard enough to make him taste blood, but not hard enough to shatter the glass. For a second, he’s stunned, can’t do anything amidst the sounds of people gasping and shouting, and then the world more or less resumes its normal dimensions. 

The bus stop has cleared out, and only a few people remain—it seems he’s missed his bus again. Those still there are alternately avoiding looking at him and outright staring. 

“Are you alright?” one of them, an old woman, asks. 

“I’m fine,” River replies stiffly. He starts walking away, giving up on the bus in favor of the pavement. He hopes he’s not bleeding. Doesn’t feel like explaining to anyone, “Yeah, someone threw me into the wall of a bus shelter. No, I didn’t see who. No, I don’t know why.”

A quick pat-down of his pockets reveals the continued presence of his phone and wallet, as well as the envelope. Better be bloody worth it, he thinks, though he knows it won’t be. 

As he wanders down the pavement, heedless of the rain, River becomes more and more aware of the fact that his head fucking hurts. 

Which is not exactly a surprise. What had he expected, after getting slammed into a glass wall?

It’s annoying, though. But he reminds himself that it’s only a matter of time before he gets back to Slough House, where at least a bottle of paracetamol awaits him. He’ll be fine. 

He shakes his head slightly, like he can physically brush away the ache. 

This accomplishes the exact opposite thing, and his head spins. His vision doubles for a few seconds, and he stops dead still in the middle of the pavement. 

He’s treated to a few seconds of verbal abuse from his fellow pedestrians before he makes his feet start moving again. 

Fuck, that had been a stupid idea. 

He makes it the rest of the way back to Slough House without any further issue, unless you count the gradual increase in the intensity of his headache with every passing second spent amidst the clamor and lights of a busy London afternoon. 

He’ll just take a few painkillers, and it’ll be fine. 

Back in Slough House, he makes a pit stop at his desk for said painkillers, dry-swallows the maximum dose (which is another stupid idea, and just adds a pain in his throat to the pain in his head). That done, he makes his way to Lamb’s office as slowly as humanly possible. 

Lamb doesn’t so much as glance up from his task when River arrives. He stands on the threshold and waits, rocking back and forth on his heels, until Lamb has finished scratching between his toes with a novelty, Christmas-themed pen. 

“Took your time, didn’t you?” Lamb observes, tossing the pen into a dark corner. Its light-up red nose briefly illuminates a takeout container that might qualify as toxic waste before blinking out. 

River doesn’t answer, momentarily transfixed by the pen’s flight across the room. By the time he realizes Lamb is still saying something to him, it’s too late. 

He spends what feels like an eternity being verbally berated for nothing in particular—a Lamb specialty—before he can take no more. 

He pulls the envelope, slightly damp, out of his pocket, tosses it onto Lamb’s desk, and leaves. 

He makes it about halfway down the stairs before he has to stop and brace himself against the wall. His vision has started to double up again and there’s a nauseous feeling slowly creeping up the back of his throat. 

So he’s fucking concussed. Great. 

He makes it down the rest of the stairs with all the speed and grace of a senior citizen, and collapsing into his desk chair feels like some kind of salvation. 

For far too long, he just sits there, eyes closed, breathing slowly, and generally trying very hard not to either throw up or pass out. 

This works moderately well, at least, it does until there’s a horrible crash right outside his door, followed by an exasperated, though rather polite, “Fuck!”

River flinches, then groans. 

“Sorry, River!” Catherine calls out, and even this is far too loud. The following noise of her tidying up the shards of glass is somehow worse, but he can hardly do anything about it. 

He puts his head down onto his desk and tries to block out everything. 

This doesn’t really work, and the next thing he knows Catherine’s voice is a good deal closer than it had been before. 

“Are you alright?” she asks, and he nearly jumps out of his chair. He hadn’t realized she’d moved closer, that she’d stopped cleaning. He feels like he can still hear the shards of glass bouncing off of each other. 

He slowly turns to look at her. There’s sort of one-and-a-half of her, and the faces overlap, but he’s pretty sure she looks worried. 

“What’s happened?” she asks, and she sounds worried, too. 

“Nothing,” River says thickly, because he doesn’t want to explain. 

“River.”

To his horror, he feels tears pricking at his eyes and an uncomfortable sensation in his throat. It’s fucking stupid. He went out on a stupid errand for his stupid boss, and some fucking idiot slammed him into a fucking bus shelter, and now his head hurts so fucking much, and he just wants to not be here, for the painkillers to start working, and he wants to be at home and he wants it all to stop. 

“It’s fine,” he snaps, and the words echo through his head and make everything worse. 

“You’re not well,” Catherine replies, apparently undeterred. “Are you ill?”

He shakes his head a bit too violently and immediately casts doubts upon this answer by throwing up, narrowly missing his own shoes. 

Things get a bit fuzzier, then. The pain in his head gets even worse, pounding and consuming his thoughts, and things triple and blur, and the next thing he knows Lamb, of all people, is shining a flashlight into his eyes, which fucking hurts, is he trying to kill him?

“He’s concussed,” he hears Lamb say. River gets the sense this isn’t directed at him, but the question that follows definitely is. “What the fuck happened?”

“Got pushed…in a bus shelter,” is what River manages to say. He doesn’t think this is his best explanation, but he lacks the words to make it better. 

Lamb mutters something else, which River fails to understand, and then someone is pulling him to his feet. For a second his vision whites out, and when it returns, he finds himself being manhandled out of Slough House and into a car he vaguely recognizes as Louisa’s. 

“Where we going?” he manages to ask, not sure whether he’s addressing the driver—surely Louisa herself—or the person beside him, who he thinks might be Catherine. 

It’s Louisa that responds. “A&E.” Her voice is clipped and if River felt slightly less awful, he’d wonder about that. 

As it is, he just hums in acknowledgement and lets his eyes drift closed, trying to distract himself from the unpleasant feeling of movement. 

This doesn’t work terribly well, and he vaguely hears himself make a rather pathetic and completely involuntary noise as they go over some kind of bump. 

“It’ll be alright,” comes Catherine’s voice from beside him. “You’ll be alright, River.”

He believes her—what else can he do? He lets that thought, that he’ll be alright, wash over him, and it distracts him, just for a moment, from the pain.

thanks for reading!! fun fact i am giving my boy river a concussion on the six month anniversary of me getting one myself :P love to see it lmao. hope you enjoyed, love you all etc etc amen <3

[small-sinclair]

Whumptober 11: Seeing Double

Gambit, Rogue, and Kurt x mute human!reader Tw: body horror, nightmare, drowning, shock collar

Loneliness Part 2 of Whumptober Day 8

Back in your little shop of flowers and gifts, you were picking out a vase to use for an order. The pink vase was too light of a color, and the plain green one was too boring. Overhead, music played softly as you stood looking between the two vases. You didn’t have a thought in the world about what was happening outside. You didn’t hear the X-Men fighting another mutant. You didn’t hear screams of terror as people ran away from the fight. Your thoughts were so focused on the vases, too worried about what would go with the order. The thing that brought you back was the sound of your window shattering and your wooden door exploding into splinters. You let out a scratchy scream, your voice shattering and rough, as you turned away from the blast and landed on the floor.

Under you, the floor opened up and you fell into the darkness below. You kept falling and falling, your hands reaching above you to try and catch something even though there was nothing. Your back hits cold, dead ink and you began to sink. You waved your arms around as thick, black smoke filled your lung, swirling around you like birds on a line. As your eeyes looked wildly around, looking for some type of help, you found what looked like a dead willow tree.

Hanging from the branches by fishing line and poison ivy, the three mutants were strung. Rogue’s hands hung above her as her ears bleed. She looked defeated and torn by something from the murky ink abyss. Gold blood dripped from the side of head, dripping down her skin on and her uniform. Next to her was the Cajun, Gambit, and his eyes were clawed out, leaving behind a bloody mess. He had ivy wrapped around his throat and growing from his lips, and you could hear him as he chocked at the poison in his throat. He was thriving in pain as muffled screams echoed from his caved in chest. Lastly was the blue demon called Nightcrawler, and his mouth was missing. Growing in its place were bright white lilies and morning glories. From his blue skin, flowers bloomed over him as if he was part of the earth itself, as if he was being swallowed whole.

With all your strength, you tried to swim towards them but didn’t move. The ink around you was quickly claiming you, calling you into the loneliness and forgotten. The coldness around you began to make you freeze, and the black smoke began to tear you apart. You could feel your body beginning to crystallize and morph into something different, something new. Your eyes began to water and began to cry thick black tears. Fighting against it won’t help you...fighting any more than you are fighting now will only drag you down. You came into this world, and you will leave this world alone. Hands wrapped around your throat and body, sinking you down farther and farther into the darkness below.

Just let it claim you and swirl your mind until you believe that there isn’t anything left of your body, mind, and soul.

***********************

Gambit woke up to your fist landing on his chest plate hard and fast. Without thinking, his strong arms wrapped around you, holding you still. “It’s alright, it’s alright, petit,” he hummed low enough for you to hear. “Shh...just a dream. Just having a nightmare.”

He let himself to sleep...how could he allow himself to do that?

Rogue’s head lift and she wiped away the sleepiness from her eyes. “What...?” She yawned silently and let her eyes adjust. When she saw you thrashing, she moved quickly to hold your feet down. “Calm down! You’re like a fish on a hook, darlin’!”

With her voice, Kurt’s burning yellow eyes snapped open and his powers tried to move him away from the danger, but the collar around him ended up shocking him. His breath hitched and moved away from Gambit’s shoulder, laying on his side, as the shock ripped through his body painfully. His body tensed and his back arched when he felt the electric waves shake his bones, giving him a burst of uncontrollable energy in his core.

“Kurt!” Remy’s voice yelled, concern and fear growing in his eyes.

He breathed heavily through his fangs as drool dripped from his lips onto the floor under him. Shakingly, he lifted his head as he laid on his back. “Ich gut. Ich gut,” he breathed, his eyes watering slightly. “Is the human alright?”

Gambit didn’t had time to answer as you let out a rough and scratchy scream. You pushed away from him and fell backwards into Rogue’s arms. She held you closed and hushed you gently as you sobbed in her arms. She covered your head and held your side as you cried into her shoulder.

“It’s alright, sugar,” she reassured. “You ain’t alone. We’re here with ya.”

Gambit helped Kurt up and had him rest against his shoulder again. “You alright, fuzz ball?” Remy kept his voice gentle, trying to hide his growing fear in his eyes.

“I will be,” Nightcrawler breathed, his eyes began closing as he took deep breaths. “I feel sick.”

Gambit closed his eyes as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “The first time ain’t easy. Trust me, mon ami.” Then his eyes shifted back to your shaking form and frowned. “Must’ve been one hell of a nightmare, petit.”

Rogue rubbed her hand over your back in slow circles, hushing you gently as she did. Her breathing was even and slow, giving you a chance to match your heartbeat with hers. You felt alone still, unable to talk to them about your dream and express your feeing about it. The dream was enough to shake you, enough to make you feel helpless. You held on to her arms like a vice, steadying your breathing, and your tears slowed until there was nothing.

The ever growing pit in your stomach was only swirling faster.

[alexandenigtscreations]

Inktober/Whumptober Day 11: Seeing Double.

Featuring the Last Juno Steel episode of the Penumbra Podcast. I just liked how they saw double depending on who was looking at the situation.

Have been experimenting with fisheye perspective. Saw a youtube tutorial on it and had to try! I'm not mad at the results XD

art by AlexandeNight

Tools: pen and ink, watercolor, minor digital touch ups

Story and characters (c) The Penumbra Podcast

[hugsandchaos]

Seeing Double

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Summary: A ghost who looks a lot like Phantom comes to him in search of protection, and their newest member instantly agrees. He calls her his little sister, and sooner or later, Phantom also might end up with a new brother.

*bangs pots and pans together* @vixen-uchiha, @starlightcat04, @blueliac, @lenacraft, @admiralwidow, @fuckingfaraway, @little-apricot-orchard, @sithlordchimchnga, @buymeanewlaptopty, @deeterzz, @jaylaxyart99, @phant0mc1d3, @idiosolcrasy, @dehydrated-bread, @rubber-ducky-your-the-one, @randomenglishmajor, @mushroomymoss, I MADE MORE JUICE!!!

For the past few weeks, Danielle had been staying in the Cave. After explaining the full story to Red Tornado, some of the details unknown to them for some reason, and he spoke with Batman, their friend’s clone had been given permission to live there. As long as she trained and or some sort of education. This was definitely acceptable to both ghosts. Danielle had started training, and not just with Phantom, and her brother would teach her a thing or two when they weren’t training.

Most of his lessons consisted of scenarios where she’d need to try to patch herself up incase she needed to, which she apparently didn’t know as well as he did. It was interesting how similar ectoplasm was to blood when it came to wounds. She wasn’t allowed on missions, though. That should’ve been obvious, but it actually surprised Danielle. It took a bit of arguing and convincing from Phantom to get her to understand, but she reluctantly stayed behind. She was bitter for a while and took her training a little more seriously after that. Overall, she was a great addition to her friend group.

At the moment, it was around 8:02 PM and Danielle was helping Megan cook dinner. Phantom was doing some kind of assignment on the couch with Conner sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Danielle moved around to catch the items and put them on the counter as Megan used her telekinesis to pull them from the fridge and pantry. Danielle nearly missed grabbing the glass jar of sauce, but caught it and placed it down carefully.”And, that’s all we need!” Megan said. She turned around and smiled seeing the ingredients neatly placed on the island counter.”Thanks for your help, Danielle.” She said.

The young ghost smiled.”No sweat off my back. Now how is this one made?” She asked. She enjoyed watching Megan cook, as odd as the Martian thought it was, and she hadn’t seen her use this recipe yet. Megan took another look at the tablet.

She used her telekinesis to open a cabinet and pulled a medium bowl out of it. She set it on the table as she also got a measuring cup.”We need to stir the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, and eggs in this bowl and then set it aside.” She said. Both her and Danielle started on that first step.

On the couch, it was pleasantly quiet. Both boys left each other to their thoughts. Phantom had a notebook in his lap and a textbook set on the arm of the couch. Both the textbook and his handwriting were in a language that Phantom just settled on calling “ghost speak” since he didn’t know what else to call it due to the actual name of the language being surprisingly difficult to translate to English. Megan took a really wild guess and said that it could be a difference between being dead and being alive that made the translation difficult.

Right now, he was focused on that while Conner took the time to think. He had some conflicted feelings about the situation. On one end, he was happy. He had someone to relate to a little better. He saw that there were actually people who had good relationships with their clones, even taking them under their wing. He was more convinced that there was a chance that if his original saw the way they interacted, he might do the same.

On the other hand, however, he was jealous. Conner didn’t want to admit it, even to himself, but it was unfortunately true. He couldn’t even relate to Danielle on a level he wished he could because Phantom didn’t practically ignore her existence for her being his clone. It made him feel a little more alone than before. He also didn’t think that letting Superman meet Danielle was a good idea because Phantom was already mad at him because of what he said last time he was there.

He made the room’s temperature drop by around 20 degrees in a matter of seconds and didn’t take his eyes off the league member until he left. It was probably best to avoid both the argument that would undoubtedly happen between them and what he might say to Danielle if he found out she was also a clone.

“Are you okay?” Phantom spoke up. Conner blinked and turned to him.”Are you okay?” The ghost repeated. Conner nodded. This earned a look of suspicion from Phantom.

Oh. Right. The whole “smelling emotions” thing.

Conner briefly glanced back at the two girls chatting away, sharing stories about their experiences on Earth, then leaned in closer.”Are you going to let her meet Superman?” He asked in a hushed tone. Phantom’s gaze hardened.

He shook his head.”Absolutely not. I’d like to avoid it as much as possible.” He whispered. Conner was a little relieved to hear that. He opened his mouth again to tell him that he’d help him do that, but he was cut off.

“Hey, big bro? What happens if Megan eats ectoplasm?” Danielle called.

Phantom immediately shot up from the couch, knocking both his books and his pencil onto the floor.”No!!!” He instinctively shouted. He quickly flew over to Danielle and Megan to see if he needed to snatch anything from them. Megan laughed at him as he checked the counter. Conner couldn’t resist a small smile, either. It was pretty funny.

Danielle also laughed at him as Phantom realized there wasn’t any in the food or in their possession. He crossed his arms.”Ha, ha, very funny.” He said, obviously unimpressed. Danielle calmed down enough to speak.

“I know it’s funny! I wouldn’t actually give her ectoplasm.” She said. Phantom gave her a pretty disapproving look, but her smile didn’t falter.”I just wanted to annoy you.” She said. Phantom’s eyes widened and seemed more irritated than before. Danielle did her best not to laugh at him.

“You have five seconds to start running.” He said. The younger ghost quickly fled the room and Phantom waited, counting down from five out loud. Once he reached one, he went invisible and vanished from Megan’s and Conner’s sight.

Soon enough, they’d hear the pleading screams of a younger sibling being mercilessly chased by their older brother.

[allcatsconstitutethesamefamily]

Source details and larger version.

Speaking of double vision, here's my collection of vintage "seeing double" imagery.

[salty-autistic-writer]

Whumptober Day 11: Seeing double

Title: Double Vision (AO3)

Summary: Buck manages to clear the freeway. Not all cars manage to stop in time. ~

“Stop!” Buck yells, stepping into traffic and gesticulating at the cars coming his way. “Stop!” Lights are racing towards him, blinding him. There’s angry honking and the high-pitched screeching of braking cars. Buck isn't scared. He's too busy to be afraid. Adrenaline is rushing through his body and he only has one clear thought: clearing this freeway. Giving Athena a chance to land this stupid plane and survive it.

The cars stop when the drivers see the red flares he’s waving. When they catch sight of his uniform and realise he’s a firefighter. The cars stop. But one doesn’t stop fast enough.

Buck barely feels the pain of the impact. Because he’s too focused on the faint roaring that gets louder and louder. The plane … It’s coming. And he did it. He managed to make the traffic stop. He did good. Right? 

The braking car hits him in his midsection and Buck is thrown backwards, hitting the back of his head on the pavement. The world blurs at the edges and black spots start to dance in front of him. Buck gasps for air, blinking rapidly. Lights appear above him … Is that the plane already? Or stars? His head hurts. Buck wants to reach for it, but he can’t move. He can only groan and grimace as the pain floods him. God. Feels like his skull is cracking open. He can probably wear matching bandages with Gerrard now ... Ugh. Buck feels increasingly sick.

A car door opens. “Oh God!” A woman calls out, bending over him. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

The roaring is deafening now. And with an angry wooshing noise, the plane flies right over them. The woman screams and ducks, her hands on her ears. Buck just stares up, transfixed. He sees … two planes. Blurry shapes move into each other, mingling into something impossible. Buck blinks the tears out of his eyes. But the plane is already gone. Already about to land. The flares are lying close to Buck’s body, the red fire slowly fading. There’s so much noise … Buck just hopes Athena will be okay. Hopes Bobby gets to hold her again. He really misses Tommy right now …

Smoke. Buck can smell smoke from somewhere. He probably should get up and help. But he can’t. He’s too tired.

Buck sighs and closes his eyes. Sorry, Bobby ... You have to handle the rest without me. *

He sees Tommy’s face double too. It’s really annoying.

“Don’t move,” Tommy tells him in a shaky voice. “You have a severe concussion. And some internal bleeding. That car hit you pretty hard.”

Yeah. Felt like it. Buck swallows. His throat is really dry. Tommy seems to notice his discomfort. He pours a cup of water and helps Buck drink it. “Athena,” Buck breathes after. “Plane …”

“She’s okay. Everyone who was on that plane is alive. Jesus, Evan.” Tommy takes Buck’s hand and squeezes it. “I can’t believe you just ran into traffic like this. I … I saw the footage. I saw that car hitting you. I was scared. We all were.”

“Had to,” Buck whispers. “Had to do it. Had to clear the freeway. For the plane.”

“I know,” Tommy says, lifting Buck’s hand to put a gentle kiss on the back of it. “I know you had to. My hero. Look at you. Having such an insane shift on my one day off. It’s kind of unfair.”

Buck smiles. “You … you can be a hero next time again. It was my turn.”

Tommy chuckles. “Okay. I’ll accept that. But Evan … Please. You have to be more careful. I … I don’t know how to handle the fear of losing you.”

“I feel the same about you,” Buck says quietly. “Always. We could … could lose each other every day. That’s why I don’t want to miss any moment I can spend with you.”

Tommy makes a quiet noise in the back of his throat. Sounds like a combination of a laugh and a sob. “Well it’s a good thing you are going to need someone who takes care of you until you recover then,” he says, squeezing Buck’s hand again.

“Hmmm. I can sense the best recovery I’ve ever had coming up,” Buck says, blinking and wishing he could stop having double vision. “But you are having four eyes right now and it’s creeping me out.”

“Yeah, that’s a byproduct of the concussion,” Tommy says, mildly amused. “So you don’t want me to kiss you with my four lips?”

Buck smiles and tilts his head up, so ready to be kissed. “I didn’t say that.”

[londonadayatatime]

Ker(b&W) Appeal II, April 2024

[thefandomlesbian]

"Chester's harmless," Wild Bill Hickok says. "What's he going to do? Try to fight it out with me?" Then he laughs.

In which Matt is sentenced to hang for a crime he didn't commit, and underestimating Chester is a fatal error.

My first Whumptober story! Super excited to start sharing some of these pieces!