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ashboy-3 · 5 months

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The Unspoken Deal

Fandom: Danny Phantom, John Constantine, and DCU Characters: John Constantine, Danny Fenton/Phantom, Batman, Superman, other JL members Words: 3507 Summary:

Danny and John have a deal. It's a simple deal. Every month they have a meet up. Danny keeps as much control over the ghost as he can in return John keeps track of them in the human realm. That's it nothing else should be so simple.

So why do feelings keep getting involved and why does the justice league suddenly seem so interested in the beings of the infinite realms.

John knows one thing for sure: This is all Danny's fault.

“You know these meetings are supposed to be taken seriously? Right mate?” John Constantine asked, only a little annoyed at dealing with the half-ghost.

“Who says? The council, meh I don’t really fully care what they have to say,” the half-ghost laughed, throwing another snowball at the human.

“Why do I put up with you again?” Constantine rubbed his hand over his face.

“You love me,” the ghost teased.

“What makes you so sure,” John hid the small smile that was on his face. He would never admit it, but the half ghost does hold a special place within his heart, a place that very few ever made it to.

“Any big threats I need to know about?” the ghost floated in front of John, ignoring the question that was being asked of him.

“Nothing I’ve heard about oh Danny boy,” John nodded towards him, watching as the Ghost King looked him up and down.

“Sell your soul recently?” Danny eyed him.

“Don’t know what your talkin about mate,” John avoided looking at the ghost, choosing instead to focus on his neglected cigarette.

“Well mate,” Danny easily copied the brit’s accent. “I happen to have a soul piece here.” Danny took the small delicate object out of his pocket, showing it off to John’s widened eyes.

“Be careful with that!” He shouted, seeing Danny just throwing it in the air as if it was a plastic ball.

“I would be if you didn’t treat your soul like a throw away joke,” Danny glared at his old friend, watching him put out the cancer stick as the two walked inside the castle also known as phantom’s keep and talk. “I’m serious John. Every time you sell your soul, I have to find a way to get it. You’ve sold over half of your soul. Soon you won’t have any pieces left,” Danny rolled his eyes, walking into a room where he keeps a singular candy jar, dropping the glowing piece in the jar. It made a small clink as it fell with the other pieces.

“That really is my whole soul isn’t it,” John peaked into the room to look at the jar.

“Farid so. Makes almost a whole soul. Be careful, our time is almost up so I’ll be seeing you next month?” Danny frowned at the idea of John leaving.

“I’ll be sure to give you a call if something comes up mate,” John assured him.

“And the heroes will be kept out of my realm?” They both know Danny’s rules about humans walking around the realms. Even now, years later from his teenage years, the humans he allows in are few and small. Adding heroes to that list just makes it worse.

“No heroes,” John assured him, opening the portal with a simple spell, stepping back into the house of mystery. “I’ll be seeing you ole Danny boy,” John smiled a sad smile at watching the portal close, shutting off his communication with the older ghost.

Recently all of their monthly meetings have the old warlock feeling like this. Feeling like something is missing or wrong. Sometimes he debates saying more, extending their meetings, even offering to meet more than once a month, but it never goes that far, choosing instead to ignore the feeling and continue on his day.

Pouring himself a drink, a favorite activity of his. He couldn’t help the groan that came from his mouth at hearing his phone ring.

Ring Ring Ring

Constantine sighed as the annoying ring hurt his ears. It was worse when he checked the caller ID. “What do ya want bats. Ima little busy?”

“Meeting at the watchtower. Be there,” the rough voice ordered from the phone.

“You could at least butter me up a little,” the thick British accent responded. Batman didn’t dignify him with a response, choosing instead to just hang up the phone.

“Well doll seems I still can’t take a break,” John signed, talking to the house. Downing his drink within one gulp he casted another spell, landing him right in the watchtower.

“Do you have to appear on the table every time?” Superman asked in wonder.

“Just how magic works mate,” John dusted off his tan coat, stepping off the table that was surrounded by multiple leaguers. “Alright what’s this whole shin dig about?”

“We have gotten multiple reports and sightings about strange creatures,” Batman started, clicking buttons on a small remote for all of the leaguers to see. Up on the big screens were creatures, creatures that Constantine was very familiar with. A bad feeling began to weave its way into his liver ruined gut.

“Are they aliens?” one of the leaguers questioned.

“Nothing in any of our databases,” Hal shook his head with crossed arms.

“Nothing from under the sea,” Aquaman agreed.

“So, they’ve come from a strange place that none of us have heard about?” Wonder Woman threw her hands in the air from disbelief.

“I don’t believe they come from the underworld, but John would be a better judge then me,” Zatara looked towards the brit.

“I don’t know nothing bout them mate. Prolly best to leave them be for now,” John shrugged, ignoring the questioning looks he was getting from some his ‘coworkers’ with trust issues.

“I’ll look more into them,” Zatara nodded. “Find out if they become a threat.” He assured the league.

“We’ll be looking into the lantern database and getting contact with others, find out if anyone knows anything,” Jon agreed, nodding towards Hal. All three getting up to leave the table.

“Well, if that’s all I’ll be on my bloody way. Drag me out of my house for notin,” John muttered angrily.

“Actually, John if you wouldn’t mind having a conversation with me?” Zatara asked, waving him over.

“Fine,” the brit groaned, getting a pack of his smokes out, lighting one up within the watchtower, ignoring glares he was getting from the three top dogs.

Zatara had taken John to a lone room, nothing really in it besides a desk, a few chairs, and one small couch, it was clearly only a room used for conversations.

“What’s this bout?” John wondered.

“You know something about those creatures,” Zatara stated firmly.

“I know nothin bout nothin,” John nodded, not agreeing with the magician’s statement.

“Oh please, you’re eyes widened when you saw the pictures. If you know something it should be shared. I will not reveal your secrets, however if you refuse to say anything it will just cause everyone, including me, to dig deeper into them.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise. They could be dangerous.”

John laughed at that statement. “If that’s all I’m leaving.” Zatara was ready to fight back but looking up he discovered to see the brit gone.

***

“Danny mate pick up your damn phone!” John yelled at the blasted thing from his third time calling his old friend, now pacing around the old House of Mystery. Grabbing the full glass of scotch that the house kindly made for him.

“Sorry John. I was in a meeting,” Danny smiled into the phone. He may be a supernatural being, but he still had plenty to use of his fourteen-year-old mind, an age he hasn’t been for many years.

“Danny you bloody idiot! I thought that you were keeping them under control!” John yelled into the phone, surprising Danny.

“Don’t you dare yell at me John Constantine!” Danny yelled back into the phone, stopping him in his place.

“You’re right. I’m sorry Danny boy. The Justice League just got on my bloody ass about your spooks. Bats is ready to go to war with them,” John sat down in his chair.

“Want to summon me? We can talk about it?” Danny asked into the phone, both knew the undertones of the conversation.

“Things never go right when I summon you,” John refused to look towards a picture of him and Danny. The old ghost laughing, his baby face unable to grow much facial hair, as John cheered a beer, a smile on his face as well. It was one of their first nights out together in the human world.

“But it’s fun. No funny business this time?” Danny offered.

“Now you’re just tempting fate love,” John grinned into his scotch.

“You’re easy to tempt,” Danny nodded in agreement, both understanding the silent message.

Grabbing a piece of green glowing chalk John stumbled towards an empty part of his floor, no need to look up the sigils Danny choose for his summoning. He didn’t understand most of them, but the guy laughed every time he appeared in the human realm, a silent joke that only he knows. He remembers one drunken night when Danny tried to explain, he got nowhere with the brit.

“Numquam agnus dabo te

numquam agnus dimittam te

numquam amet discurrere et deseram te

numquam agnus fac te clamare

numquam agnus dicere vale

numquam agnus dic mendacium et nocuerunt tibi”

John, always confused by the spell, spoke it loud and clear, letting the candles and lights around the house dance as the green fire descended from the hells, lighting up the circle, leaving in a swirl with a half ghost king, smiling and evil smile at him.

“You summoned me,” Danny stepped out of the circle, walking closer to John.

“I summoned you,” he agreed, the mood much different from their business meeting they had just yesterday. John’s breathing becoming deeper and heavier the closer Danny stepped towards him. It forever amazed him that the ghost could become bigger or smaller with just a thought.

“I promised no funny business,” Danny noted, his half breaths just as deep.

“Screw that!” John declared, pushing their lips together, creating a fire between the two. A fire that would not let out till the two were done.

This was routine for when John summoned Danny. A routine that neither is sure how it started, but neither regret. They both agree it’s just sex. No feelings need to be mixed in, but John can’t help the flutter in hie heart when he thinks about everything that Danny does for him. Keeping him updated, collecting his soul contracts, giving him this. It was everything that he could dream about.

“Do you want to stop?” Danny asked carefully, his breath on John’s.

“If you stop, I will exorcize you,” John glared at the ghost.

“Fair enough,” Danny laughed, the two stumbling towards John’s room in the old mystery house.

The next day, both barely clothed, wrapped up in blankets and each other, John woke up, staring at Danny, tracing his fingers over the old, faded scars.

“You’re staring again,” Danny’s eyes fluttered open.

“You make it hard not to,” John grinned at him, turning around in the bed to light a cigarette.

“You said my subjects are hurting the humans,” Danny started to sit up in the bed, the ring of rage glowing proudly on his finger.

“I never said hurting. I keep an eye on them for you here. I promised, didn’t I?” John turned towards him, clearly understanding that this is no longer pleasure, only business.

“Then what was the call about?” Danny raised an eyebrow, getting up from the bed in a way only one trained in royalty could. John thought that he was beautiful.

“Bats called in a meeting. Trying to figure out where they came from. I was honest. Told them they ain’t form the underworld. Bloody Zatara caught me. Wanted to know how I recognized them. Refused to tell him that they were looking for limbo. I made a promise to ya Danny boy and I intend to keep it,” John tapped his cigarette on the ashtray he keeps by the bed. Watching as Danny slowly dressed himself in his torn-up jeans and shirt, a jacket going with it. One would never think he was dead, much less royalty.

“Do you want me to talk to them?” Danny asked.

“Do you want to talk to them?” John uno reversed him.

“I’m free in two days. I’ll calm down the Justice League,” Danny snapped his fingers, disappearing in green fire, just the same as he arrived. John knows that when he walks back to his living room all evidence of his summoning will be gone as well.

“Damn. You have it bad,” a voice laughed from the living room.

“Damn it!” John shouted, face turning red from anger as he shut his bedroom door, a door that was not shut last night, as he quickly got dressed, stomping back into the living room. “Chas. What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you. Someone has to,” he shrugged. “Haven’t seen you be like that with someone in forever. So, when’s the next date?” Chas teased.

“Sod off Chas. We’re not dating,” John waved him away, grabbing a cold beer.

“Sure. You only look the people you shag like that because no feelings are attached,” Chas nodded, clearly sarcastic.

“He doesn’t want a relationship. He just wants to make sure I keep his subjects out of trouble while in the human realm. Nothing more nothing less,” John took a big gulp of beer.

“Have either of you ever actually talked about this?” Chas asked.

“C’mon mate. We’ve never talked about it because there is nothing to talk about,” John yelled. “We meet in his realm at a set time we talk. If something comes up, I can call him,” John shrugged.

“so, nothing ever happened while in his realm?” Chas raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing worth bringing up in conversation,” John argued back, the jar that contains his soul in the back of his mind.

“Sure,” Chas snorted, clearly not believing him. “I’ll leave you. Just. Don’t ruin this for yourself John. You are clearly happy with him and that doesn’t happen often with you,” Chas walked out of the house, leaving John by himself, only the house to keep him company.

“I don’t like him. I can’t like him. Why would I even like him?” John asked himself and the house. “The guy only rescues my soul every chance he can get. He willingly comes to visit the human realm for me. He willingly gave me his summoning. “Fuck!” John shouted, realization hitting him.

Panic still fresh in his brain he called up Batman. “I have news about the creatures. Meeting in two days.” John didn’t give the guy a chance to reply, closing his phone and ending the call. He has two days to get his body ass unsober as possible before he has to see Danny again.

***

“Alright bats. Everyone here?” John asked, appearing once again on the table, the annoyance clear on Superman’s face.

“You have news about the strange creatures?” Batman asked, coming from him however, everyone knew that it was an order.

“Yeah yeah. I’ll get to that. Move out of the way people,” John only got down form the table to put his bag down, grabbing the green glowing chalk, and walking back up on the table, aware that he has other magic user’s eyes on him. Writing the familiar symbols, he knew by heart. He still had the old book on his shelf, but he has no use for it.

“Be prepared mates. He’s a tad dramatic,” John warned, muttering the same summoning from before. His eyes turning white as green flames enveloped the room, clearly it was done in a more dramatic way for the audience the two have present.

“Numquam agnus dabo te

numquam agnus dimittam te

numquam amet discurrere et deseram te

numquam agnus fac te clamare

numquam agnus dicere vale

numquam agnus dic mendacium et nocuerunt tibi”

Unlike yesterday where all Danny was wearing was ripped jeans, a t-shirt full of small holes and a warm jacket, today he was draped in armor of black, white, and ecto green. The crown of fire worn proudly at the top of his head and the ring of rage glowing proudly on his finger. Fire forming under his feet as he took steps down the table. John had to take a smirk at how Danny presented himself. This is the same person who tripped over his feet walking in a straight line the other week, crashing his face right into ghost rocks. It never amazed John that Danny could present himself this way, but no one could deny the affect that it had.

“Who are you?” Batman asked, taking the lead as usual.

“Did you not explain to them?” Danny’s voice now held an echo to it, a few leaguers unsure if they were hearing him correctly.

“Sorry love figured you would love to do the honors,” John waved him off, taking a seat.

“I am Phantom. King of the Infinite Realms. John Constantine is the watcher of the human realm for me. He has informed me that the “Justice League” was getting curious about my subjects,” Danny chooses his words carefully. John snorted at his phrasing of the Justice League. “My subjects are not causing lasting harm to any humans. No humans have been injured from them or have been killed. There should be no reason that this club house is looking into my subjects,” Danny’s eyes glowed a deep green, clearly angry about the accusations he has formed in his mind.

“We never claimed that your subjects have injured anybody. We were just concerned. These are new creatures. No one knew of them, and we wanted to make sure they were not a risk,” Wonder Woman was quick to jump in.

“Hah!” Danny grinned, showing his fangs in full view. “My subjects are not new. Most have been around longer then you have been alive. It is your ignorance that has made you assume such a thing.” John knows that if this was with just the two of them alone Danny would have cracked some stupid joke like, “You know what assuming does right? Make an ass out of you and me! Ha! Come on John! It’s funny!”

“I’m sorry?” Wonder Woman was confused.

“My subjects are mostly ghost. Spirits who have refused to pass on. Spirits who have been formed from human ideals. Death, Nocturne, and Time. These are all spirits that have been formed from the thoughts of humans. They will live as long as their ideas live on. There are ones that form naturally, there are ones who have died and left this world, unable to move on they come to my realm. They come back to finish what they started, their right to, or to just cause petty mischief, something they need to do to survive. I keep an eye on every single one in the human realm. From now on if there is an issue you go straight to John. Do I make myself clear?” There was a fire burning in Danny’s eyes as he turned around, stomping out, not wanting to hear any more questions.

“Guess I have no choice but to follow his highness,” John sounded like he was mocking the king, but he knows that if Chas was here, he would call John out on his bullshit quicker then he could snap.

“Did you see their faces?” Danny smiled, as John grabbed Danny’s arm, easily bringing them back to the house of mystery.

“They believe that you are a ruthless tyrant who cares only for his people,” John agreed, pouring himself a drink.

“Pour me one. I know it’s great isn’t it! I worked all day with Ember to get that speech perfect!” Danny’s grin couldn’t get wider, John handed him the drink, watching as Danny drank it with ease.

“Listen Danny boy,” John started, happy that he had the famous liquid courage to help him In this moment.

“What is it, John?” Danny looked up from his drink. There were no problems. The Justice League was handled. What else could there be.

“Mate- Love. It has come to my attention that we might have to rethink our situation John tried, not fully sure how to get the words out.

“You’re going to have to be clearer with me John,” Danny crossed his legs, floating in midair as if Gravity didn’t exist.

“Love I-“John’s throat stopped, not letting him get the words out. “Damn it!” John chugged the rest of his drink, cursing the heavens at his predicament. “Danny I- “once again he was stopped by himself, his beer not helping him at all.

Tired of trying with words, John did the next best thing, he let his actions speak for him. Grabbing Danny, pulling him close, no lust in the moment, unlike a few days ago, he took a deep hopeful breath and pushed a messy kiss upon the half ghost. “Danny, I like you,” John was finally able to whisper.

“Took you long enough mate,” Danny’s smile was wide and hopeful, grabbing John’s neck to kiss him once again. John knows that he’s in for a lifetime of puns, but he is kissing Danny, kissing the half ghost he doesn’t regret a single thing.

#dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #ecto implosion #ecto implosion 2023 #john constantine #danny fenton #john constantine x danny fenton #ghost king danny #the justice league jsut wants answers #john constantine however is done with their shit #danny himself is just a little shit #ectoimplosion2023

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kuzann · 5 months

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First Meeting

So excited to finally be able to post this! It's my first time taking part in a big DP fandom event! 💜 I had an absolute blast working with @braisedhoney for @ecto-implosion 2023, and it even spawned an entire AU as well!

Go look at the art that inspired this fic! It's so good!!

You can also read this on Ao3 if you'd prefer.

Summary

The first meeting between Jazz and Dan following the timestream’s restoration doesn’t go as planned. Dan reflects on old memories and new vulnerabilities as he digs through the rubble.

Warnings

Brief gore, blood, explosion aftermath, grief, body horror, trauma flashback

The Fic

It was cold. Water dripped from the cavity’s ceiling, ran down the back of his neck and left chilling trails in its wake. He still wasn’t used to being able to feel such sensations to this degree. To being... Attached to a human body again.

The low rumble of debris continuing to settle shuddered through the cavity they’d found themselves in. A distinctly fungal smell hung in the air, of long-undisturbed earth recently awoken by the struggle of briefer creatures. It coated the inside of his mouth, now partially open to bear fangs as he stared down at the ghost who had given him so much trouble. An enemy who had at last realized the price of picking a fight with him.

Phantom, Dark Danny, the last remaining echo of a miserable future now unmade... He still wasn’t sure what to call himself. The old man had taken to calling him Dan. The name was brief, immediate, and wasted no unnecessary time. It was good enough, though he’d never let Vlad know that.

There was a choice to be made. He and his enemy weren’t the only ones down here. He could finish this wretch off for good, make sure he never dared to bother him again, or track down the other who had fallen in the collapse. With the clone body already deteriorating, already straining under his full form he could only choose one.

Humiliation had its claws in him. He’d nearly lost the fight, he was supposed to be stronger than this. The thought of putting the feeling to rest permanently was a tempting one...

“Get lost,” Dan snarled, his red eyes wide and focused and threatening even greater violence should his enemy turn down this opportunity. His breath streamed out before him like dragon smoke, its heat stolen by the chill of the hungry earth. That, too, was something he still wasn’t used to.

Vortex briefly considered his options. He was on his last leg and in the process of collapsing into an amorphous state, but the battlelust of their previous conflicts still rang through his being with an intensity that was hard to ignore. For a moment he appeared to be gathering for another strike, his body crackling with anticipation, only to suddenly surge up through the ceiling and out of the collapse.

Dan straightened and watched the point on the ceiling where Vortex had disappeared. When seconds stretched by and no ambush came he let out a long sigh and took a step back, broad shoulders drooping. He was still getting used to the power adjustments. To the new bodies. The new... Everything. And it cost him in this fight.

He scowled and turned to the span of collapse behind him.

Now to find her.

Dan knew where she’d been when they fell; Vortex had knocked her away before Dan broke through the power restraints and stepped between them. All he had to do was keep digging until he found her. Slower than using intangibility, but any ghost power would only accelerate his host’s deterioration at this point.

He pulled the first slab of concrete aside.

It had been an embarrassing fight. Frustration burned white-hot as Dan reviewed his performance and found it sorely lacking, and it wasn’t just this time. He’d utterly destroyed Vortex back in the other timeline, yet in this one he’d been clashing with the ghost for weeks as the two sought to prove who was stronger. Ridiculous. He should’ve been able to blast Vortex into nothingness long before this.

Dan grit his teeth and shifted more debris, freezing when the mass above him groaned ominously. The jumble held, dust shafting down around him as it quieted. He kept going.

This was Vlad’s fault. Always going on about how Dan had to be more careful with the new ‘power restrictions’, how the way he treated his host bodies was ‘wasteful’. If he could just get the power adjustments right this wouldn’t be a problem. Vlad just wasn’t trying hard enough.

A carelessly-shifted chunk of concrete fell back on his forearm. He growled and hurled it into the cavity behind him, ectoplasm dripping onto the dirt and debris at his feet. Dan paused to look down at the wound. The concrete must’ve had exposed rebar poking out of it to make a gash this deep and jagged.

Not good. If his body was this vulnerable already—

Dan cut the thought short and continued on.

Memories rose with the shifting dust, of the time before the explosion. Of the aftermath of the worst fights when he had to limp his way home...

—when he had only a vast empty house to return to, the silence broken by nothing save for the sound of his own movements and the creaking of a structure settling after dark.

Dan shook his head. Not the dual memories again...

It never used to be this much of an issue, back in the other timeline. But then he’d stamped out all true adversity years ago back there. Less struggle, less opportunity for such memories to slip in. A simpler way of being that wasn’t constantly flinging existential questions at his face and expecting answers he couldn’t provide.

The next span was too unstable to shift. Dan searched for a place he might be able to crawl through—difficult with his large frame—and found only a small hole. He would have to briefly use intangibility to get through this.

Did she even make it—

It’s fine, he told himself. It would be her own fault for getting involved where she shouldn’t have. She wasn’t even his Jazz...

A chill settled over him as he shifted to a different phase to the physical matter around him. Dan dove through the wall and found that it was as thin as he’d hoped it would be. He released his power and staggered a few steps as he touched down.

The clone body held. For now.

Why did she have to step in? He didn’t need her help.

But then, that was what she’d always done, wasn’t it? When his parents weren’t there for him, Jazz was.

His Jazz. The one who’d been gone for over a decade now...

—collapsed in front of their graves. A loss so complete it was a wonder he hadn’t died on the spot.

Dan clutched at his head and willed the memory back down into the abyss of subconscious. He didn’t need this right now. It didn’t make sense anyway. She wasn’t the same Jazz.

The twisting in his gut exposed the lie for what it was. Emotions he’d stifled and strangled long ago were even now resurrecting themselves as he searched beneath the cold earth.

Like a grave, the thought crept in, with coarse concrete slabs for tombstones. A grave he’d sent countless other humans to without a second thought…

It’s fine. He’d been willing to throw her away again for the sake of power. He didn’t care.

A lie, and an ill-constructed one at that. Willing to throw her away yet still so grief-stricken over losing her to begin with. Was he capable of making sense? Was it his nature to be contradictory?

He forced down another grieving memory before it could properly materialize. This had to be because of the stupid clone body dragging him back down into those pesky human emotions. Its glitchy biological programming was throwing his trauma at him again after he’d already dealt with it years ago.

If he could just keep it together—!

It was silent beneath the earth, save for his own efforts. He hadn’t once heard a cry for help from the person he was looking for.

Dread crept in and sank its teeth into the back of his neck.

She had that armor on. It could withstand a collapse like this, right? Fenton gadgets were ridiculously robust, and the Peeler’s armor was meant for high defense. She was fine.

Right?

Dan continued on and pulled another piece of concrete aside, then he sensed it.

There was something warm up ahead. The realization gave him a burst of speed.

It’s fine. She wasn’t in danger anyway. The Peeler’s armor kept her safe. He didn’t need to worry like this!

At last he broke into the cavity she’d landed in. A few dozen feet and he’d be able to put these wretched emotions to rest.

Dan forged ahead, and trod on a loose slab of concrete that shifted the ceiling above.

Debris thundered down on him and threatened to bury the cavity entirely. He brought his arms up to catch the worst of it, and the slabs fell between himself and Jazz

No, no! He was strong, the ultimate foe! It would be fine! He would make it so!

Dan gave a wordless roar as he shoved the topmost slabs off of him.

He was running out of time. Again. If he could just go faster!

Memories washed over him. He’d realized something was wrong just before the explosion, turned to fly toward the Nasty Burger, to do something, anything, to protect them. The memory played back at an agonizing pace, as if he were moving through tar as he struggled to get there in time. It was already too late.

He lost his grip on a slab. It fell back on him and cut his right thigh open.

It’s fine. He would make it this time, push to the absolute limits of this wretched artificial body if he had to. He was stronger now. She wouldn’t be stolen from him again!

Dan remembered just in time that mindless thrashing was the last thing he wanted to do in this situation. He forced those stupid worthless emotions back down and steadied his hands as he pushed debris off of himself.

It’s fine.

At last it came down to the final concrete slab. Dan hefted it with both arms and tossed it aside.

It’s—

He froze. She lay with her back against a slab of concrete, eyes closed behind the cracked visor despite the tumult that had just taken place before her. There was blood on the armor.

Hers—?!

A swarm of unbidden memories rose around him, of running toward the smoldering remains of the explosion—

—the bodies—

—charred but still—

—blood—

—pieces—

—unrecognizable—

A sudden, agonizing shudder shook the memories loose. The clone body was starting to give. Blood-tinged ectoplasm dripped from his hands.

Dan struggled to catch his breath and made himself look at her again.

The same. Ectoplasm shifting into blood. She’d been standing behind him when Vortex landed a severe blow earlier.

The release in tension was almost enough to drive him to his knees.

It wasn’t hers.

Dan walked to her, forcing himself to take slow deliberate steps. He stopped at her feet and leaned down.

There was a light mist clouding the inside of the armor’s visor.

She was breathing.

Jazz stirred. “Who’s there?” she asked, her voice quiet and strained. She was in pain.

“It’s me,” Dan said. Before, it would’ve been enough. His voice alone was the only introduction he’d needed in the other timeline. Now he struggled for something more to pin on to the end of the phrase. Nothing felt right.

Jazz opened her eyes and squinted up at him. She smiled. “I knew you’d come back.”

“Know-it-all,” Dan grumbled before he could stop himself. Now to muster the strength to phase them out of here—

His body gave. His form started to run, to lose its shape. Every cell screamed in agony as flesh lost its grip on bone. Dan fell to his knees. The halo appeared at his waist, returning him to the clone’s form.

He’d been forced to wear Danny’s face to survive, but he refused to wear the same clothes. The battle had been hard enough that the black leather jacket, jeans, and t-shirt would have to be replaced, even without the blood and ectoplasm leaking onto them. His boots might be salvageable if he didn’t get too much ectoplasm on them. If he was able to make it out of this, anyway. The chances of that were growing increasingly slim. He looked up to find Jazz watching him with a mix of shock and horror on her face.

“You’re—”

“The clone bodies don’t do so well when I go full form,” Dan said, looking away. He dragged himself over to her, his body screaming with pain every inch of the way, and let himself rest on the slab.

“I can’t get to my phone,” Jazz said, sounding guilty. “The armor won’t come off, it’s dented in the back.”

What does she have to be sorry for? It was his fault Vortex showed up… Some first meeting this turned out to be...

“I’ll call the old man,” Dan said, silently chiding himself for not thinking of that earlier. And for not letting Jazz call Danny in when Vortex first showed up. He hadn’t wanted his other self to get involved…

Dan took the cell phone from an inner pocket of his jacket, his hand shaky enough to risk dropping it at any moment. He willed what steadiness he could into the limb and hit the only number he had on speed dial, then switched it to the speaker setting. In his defense he wasn’t used to having a phone again just yet. He simply hadn’t remembered during all the commotion.

“Old man?” Jazz asked as they waited.

Vlad picked up on the second ring. “So you finally decided to check in,” he said, tone clipped and impatient. “And where have you been? You disappeared hours ago—”

“Amity Park,” Dan said, cutting off the rest of Vlad’s rant. They didn’t have time for this.

“What are you doing in Amity Park!?”

“Melting under a collapsed building. Jazz is here too.”

The audio became muffled by a hand to the receiver, but Dan was very sure he could make out Vlad shouting an actual swear word into the empty lab in Wisconsin. It cleared again, and Vlad was all business when he spoke next: “I need you to turn on your phone’s tracker. Is Jasmine hurt? How badly?”

Dan looked at her.

“I don’t think anything’s broken,” Jazz said. She winced when she took a deeper breath. “But the Fenton Peeler’s damaged and pressing on my back. It hurts too much to move.”

“Alright. I’ll have to go through the Ghost Zone to get there in time,” Vlad said. There was the distant sound of equipment being moved in the background as he made ready. “If I have to blow my cover because of you—”

“Just get your ass in gear, old man,” Dan growled. Vlad would figure it out. Somehow he always did. “Lecture me after this is over.”

“Stop calling me that! I’m not even fifty yet!” Vlad snapped, then he hung up without saying goodbye.

“Are you sure he’ll be here—” Jazz began before the silence could properly close in.

“He will, I just had to make him get off the phone and focus. He hasn’t let me melt yet.” Dan brought up his other hand, squinting in the near darkness as he turned the phone’s tracker on.

“And the melting happens… Often?”

“Yeah, because he still can’t get the bodies right,” Dan grumbled. If Vlad could at least make an adult clone then maybe they’d get somewhere. He hated being stuck in a frail teen body again. “If I don’t hold back they break.”

Jazz inhaled as if to say something about that, then let the breath go instead.

Silence descended on them, filled only by the hiss of falling dust and the grumble of settling earth.

It was cold. Dan could feel it even through his jacket. Even through the pain of his body’s deterioration. In all his years of fighting he’d never run afoul of a pain like this, of having his body slowly picked apart molecule by molecule, torn by gravity as much as by the bindings within his cells coming undone. Even the Fenton Peeler’s effects couldn’t match it. Perhaps the cold was somehow sharpened by his dying nervous system, or by the breakdown in circulation. It wasn’t a subject he was familiar with. All he knew was that he was in pain, and that the cold sapped even more comfort from his predicament.

He didn’t want to think about what would happen if Vlad didn’t make it here in time. The pain would stop, but so would he.

Forever.

Jazz shifted, armor scraping against the slab at their backs, and put her near hand on his arm. She tugged at his sleeve, inviting him closer.

Dan hesitated. He still didn’t understand her attachment to him. Why she kept giving him chances he didn’t deserve. He wasn’t her Danny anymore...

Still, it was cold. Perhaps being closer would offer a little warmth. A little comfort while he waited to find out if this would be the day he met his end.

He pulled himself to her and laid himself across the arm she’d beckoned him over with. Jazz draped her forearm over him, holding him in a half-hug as they lay there. There was no warmth. The armor kept them separate and pressed into his upper back in uncomfortable ways, but he didn’t care. This was enough.

His eyes started to drift shut, his vision blurring slightly. He was running out of power. Jazz was in too much pain to move, even talking was difficult for her. They were in a sorry state.

He shouldn’t have come here on a whim without even warning her beforehand. Not when Vortex had it out for him, anyway. But he couldn’t stop thinking about what she said during that climactic battle, how she insisted that he was still part of her family even as he threatened to tear it apart in front of her eyes. Even after he’d leveled half the city.

It was something he still didn’t understand, even though he wanted to.

A pained shudder jolted through his body, bringing him back to the present.

There would be no asking why she still treated him like family for now. He had to conserve energy and hope that help would arrive in time.

Dan closed his eyes and waited.

Jazz wasn’t sure how much time had passed. In a place without sunlight or moonlight and without access to her phone she could only guess. Pain stretched everything longer than it should have been, but at least being able to hold one of her brothers brought some comfort.

She wanted to talk to him. Ask what his life was like now, if he was happy. How he arrived at where he was in the other timeline. But present circumstances made that impossible; just breathing hurt thanks to the way the armor crumpled into her upper back, and Dan was clearly so low on energy that any conversation was out of the question. It was horrifying, watching him slowly melt into ectoplasm. She could only hope that Vlad got here before it was too late.

Her eyes were closed when she suddenly became aware of another person’s presence in the cavity.

“Well, you’re in a sorry state now, aren’t you?”

Jazz looked up to find Vlad Plasmius, arms folded over his chest and one foot tapping in the dust as he glared down at Dan like a disapproving parent. The cut on his right eyebrow had become a scar, but he was looking much better than he had when she’d last seen him. There was a large metal coffin at his side, for what purpose she could only guess.

“About time you got here, old man,” Dan growled, though there was little venom left in his words.

“You’d think that a ghost with your level of experience would be capable of managing a vessel better,” Vlad grumbled as he pressed a button on the coffin’s lid. It opened with a hiss and the whir of multiple servos on its hinges, revealing a dimly-lit chamber within.

“If you’d just make the vessels better—!”

“I am not bothering Daniel because of your carelessness!” Vlad snapped. He met no resistance as he scooped Dan up and carried him over to the coffin. “Now I suggest you sit tight and think about what you’ve done, young man.”

“I’m twenty-four!” Dan howled as he glared up at Vlad.

“Then act like it!” Vlad snapped back. Despite his ire he placed Dan in the coffin with care and pressed the button to close it rather than slamming it shut himself. The two glared at each other until the lid closed, then Vlad sighed and let his head fall back. “I don’t know why he can’t just adapt to the restrictions. It’s not like they exist for no reason.” He leaned over the coffin and tapped away at a combination of buttons. A soft hum came from within, and the color of the lights on its exterior changed from red to green.

“Sorry for the wait, Jasmine,” Vlad said as he turned to her, his tone more sincere than she’d ever heard from him before. “He needed to be put into stabilization immediately.” He knelt before her and tried to get a better look. “Are you able to sit up? You mentioned the damage was on your back.”

Jazz turned herself onto her side, then pushed herself up and clutched at his arm for balance with her free hand. The crumpled armor dug a bit deeper into her ribs and shoulder blade, but she wanted out and if Vlad could get the job done then she’d take a little more pain. “Back here,” Jazz said, gesturing over her left shoulder.

Vlad shifted position, allowing Jazz to use one of his knees as a prop so she wouldn’t have to expend energy sitting upright. He leaned around and took a few moments to examine the damage. “I’ll have to cut the piece away, I don’t want to risk prying you out.”

“Okay.” Jazz tried to be patient, keep her breathing slow, but the pain was becoming unbearable.

There was a gentle heat at her back, not directly over the crumpled armor but in a rough oval around it. Knowing the solution was in the works eased the pain a little.

Jazz looked at the coffin again while Vlad meticulously worked his way through the armor. A stabilization chamber... Vlad certainly had a flare for drama to build it in the shape he did.

But he’d made it in time. Dan would live to see another day. That was what she figured at least, given that things weren’t so serious as to keep the two from arguing the way they did.

“Got it.” At last Vlad lifted the damaged section of armor away.

The relief was immediate. Jazz took her first deep breath since falling into the collapse. “Thank you,” she said, a tad breathless from sheer relief.

“You’ll need to get that looked at just to be sure,” Vlad said as she deactivated the Fenton Peeler’s armor. “Should I drop you off at the hospital?” He offered her a hand and carefully pulled her to her feet.

“It might look suspicious if I just showed up at the hospital all of a sudden,” Jazz replied after taking a moment to consider the option. “I’ll get mom and dad to take me.”

“Very well, I’ll drop you off on my way out.” Vlad took the coffin by one of its handles and hefted it with ease. He slung it over one shoulder and turned to her, offering a hand again.

Jazz let him scoop her up with one arm, and soon they were out in the open air again. Vortex was nowhere to be seen once they were above the roofline of Amity Park, he was probably either skulking somewhere or had been captured by Danny already. Hopefully the latter. He was a frustrating ghost to deal with even on a good day.

“So Dan’s gonna be okay, right?” Jazz asked, just to be sure. The Ops Center came into view over the rooftops; soon she would be home.

“Despite doing his best to make sure he wouldn’t be, yes,” Vlad replied.

“I heard that, old man!” said Dan’s muffled voice from within the stabilization chamber. It rattled briefly, as if he were banging on it from the inside.

Vlad’s frown deepened but he didn’t reply.

“Thanks for the save, Vlad,” Jazz said, still a little surprised that Vlad had done anything worth thanking him for. “Are things going...” she paused to glance at the coffin, “Okay back home...?”

“Mmm...” Vlad’s mouth drew into a thin line as he thought about it. “We’re making progress... I think. It’s still better than being alone, at least.”

Not the most encouraging reply, but not the worst either.

“I think Dan’s been picking so many fights lately because he’s trying to avoid thinking about things,” Vlad added, having given a bit more thought to the question. He went invisible as they neared Fenton Works and dove toward the alley next to it.

“Well he’s free to talk to me any time,” Jazz said as they landed and Vlad carefully let her down. “Just as long as we make sure there aren’t any hostile ghosts after him.”

“That part is up to him,” Vlad said, with a glance at the coffin as they returned to full visibility. It was strangely silent. “I certainly won’t stop him from coming to see you, just as long as there isn’t a repeat of what happened today.”

They both paused with the expectation that Dan might have something to add.

“Sorry our first meeting turned out this way,” Dan said quietly. “It won’t be the same next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Jazz said with a knowing smile. “And to make sure I know when you’re coming to visit...” She took a small notebook and pen from her pocket and wrote down her phone number, then tore the page off and passed it to Vlad. “Just give me a call and we can set things up properly.”

Vlad knocked on the coffin with one knuckle. “You have her number now. And what do you say?”

“Stop acting like you’re my dad!” Dan snarled, and the coffin rattled again. There was a pause, and a sigh echoed within its confines. “Thanks, Jazz. We’ll talk again soon.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“We’d best be on our way, we have a long flight ahead of us,” Vlad said.

“Wait, why aren’t we going through the Ghost Zone?”

“Because the Fentons were just going down into their lab when I arrived and I’m not risking a fight with them or Daniel for a shortcut,” Vlad replied. “Besides, you have your little visits to plan. A few hours in the dark and quiet is the perfect opportunity to do so.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst! Coward!”

Vlad turned invisible and took off, the dust of the alley dancing in the wind he stirred up.

Jazz chuckled, and immediately regretted it as her bruised ribs shifted. She hurried to the sidewalk and up the front steps of Fenton Works. The relationship between Dan and Vlad wasn’t exactly friendly from what she’d seen, but it was progress for both of them. Vlad showed up despite Dan needling him, and Dan trusted him enough to know that Vlad would be there to help despite the insults.

They would probably be arguing the whole way home, now that she thought about it.

The confines of the stabilization chamber were comfortable enough. Dimly lit, perfect temperature, far more spacious than the Fenton thermos ever was. Vlad had even worked out a sort of localized gravity that kept Dan from being jostled as the chamber was moved. Something about using certain properties of ectoplasm in a similar way to the Ghost Zone; Dan had tuned out just after the first thirty seconds of Vlad’s explanation, so that was as much as he knew. It offered a good place to slow down and think, not that he was doing so because Vlad had suggested it.

Jazz still saw him as family. Part of him had wondered if, now that things had calmed, she might have changed her mind. Or if her words hadn’t been genuine to begin with. But what she said to him during the battle hadn’t been some desperate bid to get him to back down. She meant it.

Dan smiled. He was looking forward to seeing her again, once he was back on his feet.

In the meantime, though...

“Hey, old man,” Dan began, his smile becoming a smirk. “Are we there yet?”

“We have been flying for five. Minutes!” Vlad snapped back. “And I know you’re only asking that to annoy me!”

Dan chuckled. If Vlad didn’t regret taking the long way yet, Dan would make sure he did before they got home.

#Danny Phantom #ectoimplosion2023 #DP Events #Dan Phantom #Dark Danny #Jazz Fenton #Vlad Plasmius #Vlad Masters #Post-AGIT #Kuzannfic #Danny Phantom Going Through It AU

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