Part 9 - Tumblr Posts

Rest be assured everyone, there's plenty in this next part to look forward to. Comedy, fighting, and our beloved cast is coming back after a long break!

Part 9's in the working fellas :b

After a few months of hiatus and a few weeks delayed, part 9's finally back in progress baby :D

It'll take us a few days until post but we can assure you all we're working on it now that most of our personal problems are out of the way.

So yeah, look forward to it! ;)

"This is the story of a boy, in the subtropical islands, who goes on to become extremely rich."

Hi everyone, my name is Khaled Smeer. I am the manager of a large mall in Gaza before the war, and I am also an English translator. I live in the northern part of Gaza, and I created this campaign after my home was destroyed. Now, in northern Gaza, we are starving. We have nothing—no clothes, no food. Please, if you can help by sharing this or donating, I would be extremely grateful. I am trying to evacuate from Gaza when the border crossing opens. We need 5,000 USD for one person to leave. Thank you for reading my story. Thanks to everyone who does anything for Palestine My first goal will be 500 euros. I hope everyone will🥺

Please consider donating to these wonderful families! 🇵🇸❣️ (Part 9)

Spider Woman Part 9 Sneak Peek

“Niall! Oh hun you’ve gotten to big!” She gushed and you smiled as Niall dropped your hand to give his mother a hug.

Spider Woman Part 9

Masterlist

Part 8

Word Count: 3227

Today was Niall’s birthday. He was turning 25 and wasn’t very happy about it. His family had planned a small party with only his close family members. Niall was slightly upset that he finally reached 25, although you had tried to explain to him that it really wasn’t old, he would just turn to you with a jealous look in his eyes and tell you you didn’t know anything as you had just turned 22. You decided to give up and didn’t try to argue with him when he asked for his party to be as small as it could be without his whole family becoming upset with him.

So there you two were, on a plane, tucked in the corner with a big fuzzy blanket wrapped around you sharing a pair of headphones while the watched you new show you both had just found. It was called T@gged and it was about these three girls who were being stalked online by someone under the alias MonkeyMan. He legit killed someone in the first episode and kidnapped one of the girls in the second episode and for some reason you were hooked.  

Although it was a little difficult to listen when his band and Marc wouldn’t stop yelling. You could swear for some reason during the whole 11 hour flight this group of boys didn’t stop yelling. Not that you were really that bothered, but Niall clearly was. You knew that his age wasn’t what was truly upsetting him, but you didn’t want to pry by asking him. Although you knew that communication was key to making a relationship like yours work, you knew he would open up to you eventually, you just had to let him figure everything out first. That was how Niall worked, he worked everything out in his head first and then he let you listen. He once told you that he was grateful to have you in his life as he used to just bottle everything up, and that now that he can talk to you he doesn’t feel so alone in the world anymore. Hearing that made you happy that he appreciates you.

You could also tell that although Niall normally was the first one to be a loud partier, he was cuddled in the corner with you, which most likely meant that he was getting a headache from his friends.

You sighed as you lifted your arm up from around his arm and thread your fingers into his hair. He also confessed to you late at night once that nothing makes him happier than when you play with his hair. And in all honesty, you didn’t mind running your fingers through his brunette head of hair, it was always so soft. It also reminded you of home seeing as he, funny enough, uses the same shampoo that you used to wash your old dog with.

“Head hurt?” You asked him quietly, leaning down to press your lips against the top of his head.

Niall’s plane, which he had gotten when he went on his first solo tour, had a secluded section in the back that was separated from the rest of the plane. It also had a small couch back there. The point is that it allowed you two to cuddle without the arm rests acting as a barrier. The way you two were huddled with his cheek pressed against your chest, his arms wrapped around you stomach had him looking like a sick child and you weren’t really that upset about it. Your back was pressed against the once cold, now warm surface of the plane, your legs stretched out in front of you, Niall’s legs wrapped around yours.

He sighed before nodding, not fully turning to look at you though.

“I’m sorry baby, and I know the elevation isn’t making it any better. Maybe try sleeping? Could play some nice rain noise for you?” You asked and he nodded as you pulled up the app that you always used to help you sleep. You had always had trouble sleeping but during high school you found out that you could knock right out to thunder or rain so you always made sure to play some before bed. Turns out it actually works for Niall too and you showed him the app you used and he made sure to download it right away. You smiled as you gave him the other headphone and let him tuck into the corner some more. You smiled at him fondly before slowly getting up.

You made sure he was fine before you turned, the expression on your face changing from content to anger in seconds. The faces of his friends turned to worry when they all noticed you storming over. It was clear they had something coming for them.

“You dumbasses can’t keep quiet for one hour? We’re all stuck here for 11 hours and you’ve been obnoxious dicks the whole damn time!” You whisper yelled as to not wake Niall. Although he was in pain you knew he wouldn’t love the idea of you yelling at his buds, but you didn’t really care much at this point. You took in a deep breath before continuing. “You all know I love you guys but what the fuck? He’s upset because he thinks he’s getting old and now he has a headache because of you lot and you’re not making it better. And like, I get that you all want to celebrate and have fun but please just let him sleep? He’s always going going going, and honest I find it so sad that the only time he has for relaxing is when he’s on a plane.” You said and everyone looked at you before putting away the booze, of course the irish dumbasses were drunk, and finding their seats. You smiled and leaned down to kiss all their cheeks before heading back to your sleepy boy.

(Picture)

As soon as you got off the plane you managed to pull out some ibuprofen and gave it to Niall. You had packed it in the one bag that you decided to check instead of carry on with you. He smiled at you like you just handed him a golden ticket before popping them into his mouth and swallowing with the water you also provided for him.

Now pulling up to his family home you knew at least he didn’t have a headache, but you still couldn’t quite tell him how nervous you were. You were meeting his family for the first time, and you always had trouble getting adults to like you. Ever since you were kid, you had a strong personality. You seemed to always have the unpopular opinion and you would try to fight arguments with half the facts. You just never seemed to have a filter between your brain and you mouth, spewing out whatever came first. Typically adults didn’t like that. So to say you were nervous would be an understatement.

You remembered trying to casually ask Niall what you should be packing for this trip, when in reality you were asking what new type of outfits should you be buying to make them like you. Of course his answer was just, casual clothes for kind of chilly weather and like one nice outfit. So here you were in a deep green fuzzy sweater with two pockets at the bottom, leggings, light brown suede boots with a heel, and a dark brown Mulberry crossbody bag.

You took in a deep breath, shaking as the air went in and out of your lungs, as you took Niall’s hand to help you get out of the car. You following him up the walkway and into the house, following his lead by taking your shoes off and walking up the steps.

When walking into the house you were immediately greeted by a staircase up to your left and staircase down to your right. It was clear that upstairs was where people met and where the gatherings were held while downstairs was more for the bedrooms or activities. Once you walked up the stairs to your your right was a hall that probably held another bedroom and bathroom, to your left was the living room, then directly in front of you was the kitchen. Connected to the kitchen was the dining room so it was all in one room, then connected to the dining room was the living room to create a circle.

“Mum! Da!” Niall yelled as he pulled you up the stairs. Suddenly a women who looked to be in her late fifties appeared, of course you recognized her, from not only Niall’s photos but from your past of a huge One Direction fan, as Maura Gallagher.

“Niall! Oh hun you’ve gotten to big!” She gushed and you smiled as Niall dropped your hand to give his mother a hug.

It filled your heart with joy to know that his family loves him so much. You came from a family that although you had no doubt loved you, it didn’t always seem that way. Your father was an emotional abusive man to your mother and was a textbook alcoholic. And don’t misunderstand, your father obviously wasn’t a great person but he still loved you, your sister and you mom, he just was raised different and kind of expected your mom to always be home to cook and clean.

So to see Niall in what you could already tell was a loving household warmed your heart so much. You knew that your boy deserved the world, even before getting to know him. After meeting him and seeing just how much he actually cares for each and every fan he has just proved to you what a amazing man he was and you could clearly see where that came from now as his family stood in front of you.

You watched as he hugged his father Bobby and his step-father Chris before you saw from the corner of your eyes that Maura was approaching you.

“You must be the famous Y/N.” She said before pulling you into a hug, you smiled already knowing that you loved this family.

“It’s so amazing to meet you, Niall never shuts up about how amazing his mother is.” You gushed and she waved you off.

“Please, I bet it’s not half as bad as he is with you. Honest I was getting a little tired of him constantly going off about this amazing girl.” She said and you couldn’t help but blush as you looked over at Niall who was also blushing.

“Come on Mum, leave her alone.” Niall whined before coming over and pulling you into him.

Niall introduced you to the rest of his family although he said that Denise and Theo were on their way, stuck in traffic. Niall and Greg had a falling out and unfortunately he wasn’t going to be making it. You thought it was childish really, you only live one life and Greg wanted to spend his fighting with his only brother. Niall had no choice over how famous he was and could be, but Greg absolutely hated how Niall wouldn’t let him ride on the back of his career. Though, truthfully you only had Niall’s side of the story and everyone knows there’s always two sides.

“So, Y/N, you’re taking care of my son right? It’s a little hard to do so when he never comes to visit!” She asked while getting a jab in at her son. You smiled as you looked over at Niall who was sat beside you, sunk into the couch with his arm around you.

“Well I certainly try, but he makes it quite the challenge, I’m always playing mind reader with him.”You joked and he laughed.

“She’s taking good care of me mum, put me right to rest on the plane and got me meds for my headache the moment we got off. Such a mum this one.” He teased, poking you in the leg. You couldn’t help but think of the ulterior to his sentence. Not that you were ready for kids with Niall, but you wouldn’t mind it. You had always been on the fence about children, but now that you have this man in front of you, you couldn’t help but this, maybe he could be the one who you grow a family with. You could tell he would be an amazing father and you already knew it was going to be hard not thinking about that when Theo came around.

“You know he always had trouble sleeping, even when he was just a wee thing.” She said and you nodded.

“It hasn’t changed, when we first started dating I noticed immediately he was constantly tired. But I got it all figured out.” You said and she looked over at Niall shocked.

“Guess I like to listen to the rain and it puts me right to sleep.” He said and Maura looked over at you.

“How’d you figure that out?” She asked and you smiled, putting my hand on his knee that brushed against your hip.

“Well I’ve always had the same issue kind of, I had trouble staying asleep but I always remembered that when it rained I sleep like a log. So I downloaded an app that would play rain music all night long and one night when I slept over or something I played it and we just noticed that he was out like a light with it. So I had him download it and now he can sleep.” You said rubbing his leg before you felt his hand rest over yours lovingly.

“You’re a saint.” She said jumping up and hugging you.

“I mean I don’t know about that.” You said as you wrapped your arms around her lightly. Though before she could say anything back she was cut off but the voice of who you figured was Greg from behind you.

Just then everyone turned as they heard the front door open and what you could assume was Denise’s voice call out their entrance.

You weren’t really too worried about meeting Niall’s family, obviously you had jitters as you really wanted them to like you. But you never thought that they wouldn’t. Even if you didn’t make a good first impression, they would eventually warm up to you, you had no doubt. But Theo, he had you worried. Kids don’t warm up to people. If they don’t like you, then that’s the end of it. Especially if they don’t like you when they’re young. They will grow up the rest of their life with this feeling of dislike for you that only stemmed from doing one small thing wrong when they were little. And in all honesty, you were never good with kids, never knew how to talk to them. Should you treat them like everyone else only nicer? Or should you baby them? You knew that when you were a kid you wanted to be treated like an adult and immediately respected anyone who did. But did that go for all kids or was it just you?

For the last few years you’ve debated on whether or not you wanted kids. Although you know you would love them more than anything in the world, you’re not sure you would make the best parent. Kids don’t even to seem to like you that much, none of your younger cousins claiming you as their favorite proved that. Kids also always stressed you out, you tried so hard to get them to like you that you felt like you had to become a different person in front of them. Which never turned out well anyway. So getting Theo to at least not hate you might prove difficult.

A few moments after you were introduced to Denise and Theo, who actually stood behind his mom’s leg shyly before running to his Uncle Niall. Denise smiled at you before heading into a conversation about your career. She mentioned always wanting to be an actress but never being good at acting always set her back. You laughed at that and told her how you were never any good when you were younger either, and that by chance you decided to give it another go later and just happened to have improved.

Later that night after everyone had eaten and had a few drinks, except you because you didn’t drink, you all sat in the living room talking. You and Niall sat on the loveseat with Theo on Niall’s lap. Maura, Chris and Denise on the couch and Bobby on the other loveseat.

“So, exactly how did you two meet?” Bobby asked, motioning to you and Niall.

“It’s actually kind of a funny story, so obviously I was in Spider Woman with Harry and he was telling me how he wanted to set me up. And he knew how huge of One Direction fan I was so in all honesty I think he set me up with Niall just to tease me but then the date actually went super well, and we actually decided not to tell Harry cause that boy’s ego is already too big.” You joke and everyone snickered a little.

“So basically now she can say she’s kissed most of the band.” Niall said and you rolled your eyes, nudging his shoulder.

After that you all continued in a conversation about the local soccer team which you decided to stay quiet in as you knew nothing. You tried to learn how to play for Niall’s sake and you did, you know how to play and can watch a game and understand what’s going on, but you’re just not as passionate about it as they all seem to be. In all honesty you’re not much of a sportsperson.

You smiled as you watched Niall get a little too excited as he talked about the latest match with his family. Suddenly you felt a tap on your arm and you look over to see Theo shyly looking up at you.

“Aren’t you Spider Woman?” He asked quietly and you laughed a little.

“Yes I am actually.” You said changing to the english accent you used in the movie, he smiled.

“So like you can shoot poison from your hands?” He asked you nodded.

“But not right now, I don’t have permission from Mr. Stark. He gets kind of angry when I go off and do whatever I want.” You said and Theo nodded.

“Do you have your superhero suit?” He asked and you smiled before shaking your head.

“No, I figured I’d leave the saving the world to the rest of the Avengers while I’m here. For now I’m all yours, but soon I will have to go back to save the world. But you can’t tell anyone I’m here. It’s a big secret and no one can know. Can you keep it a secret?” You asked and he nodded, putting his finger up to his mouth to act out the zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key. You smiled before copying what he did.

You then looked up to see Niall smiling at you, he leaned over and kissed your forehead before you both leaned back and rejoined the conversation with the rest of this family.

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Danny was waiting when Dick came home. "Welcome home, Dick."

He runned the back of his neck nervously, slipping the window closed behind him. "Hey, Danny."

There was a long moment of silence, Dick standing in front of the closed window and Danny sitting on the couch. Danny took a sip of the tea he was holding before setting the mug down on the coffee table with a click. "So," he leveled a small glare at the vigilante, "you gonna apologise to Tim?"

"Who?" Dick blinked.

"The kid you yelled at and then left standing in your apartment as you went out as Nightwing for exactly two hours, fifteen minutes, and twenty-two seconds longer than your new schedule allows."

He cringed back. "Listen, kid-"

"No, you're listening to me, so shut up and sit down." He did, dropping right to the floor. "I don't know what the hell happened between you and Batman, but you don't get to take it out on the people around you, especially not the kid that just trying to help."

"Dan-"

"What did I just say?" He sighed. "Look. I get it. You're grieving, both you and Batman are, but that doesn't excuse your behavior. It doesn't excuse Batman's behavior, either, so don't think that's what I'm saying."

Dick carefully pulled his domino mask off. "What do you want me to do?"

"Several things." Danny stood and walked into the bathroom, coming back a few seconds later with Dick's first aid kit. "First, though, you're gonna let me patch you up. Then, you're gonna use my phone and apologise to Tim. After that, you eat and go to bed; You have work in a few hours."

Knowing he wasn't going to be getting out of this, Dick started to take his suit off. He slipped his arms out of the sleeves and let Danny treat the bruises on his arms and hands. Not much damage that night. He'd only encountered a few petty crimes so it had been quiet.

Without another word shared between them, Danny left to put the first aid kit away before making a quick snack for Dick while he went to change. It'd only been about a week, but they'd fallen into an easy routine.

Dick was quick to change and eat, falling asleep nearly ten minutes after he laid down.

***

Danny made sure Dick was asleep before he left the apartment as Phantom. He'd learned, during his two weeks of not-stalking, that a some criminals hung back until Nightwing had turned in before they came out to play. Phantom was going out for an extra two hours each night to remedy this. Though, he made sure no one ever spotted him before or after he knocked people out. Invisibility was hand like that.

Sure, he didn't have all that much experience as a vigilante, but he'd been traveling for four weeks before stopping. The first lesson he learned was that he needed to learn fast. He was wasn't a genius like the rest of his family, but he picked up on things really fast. Fighting had been one of those things. Though, the lessons from his mom when he was a kid also helped a lot.

Staying invisible was easy, so was intangibility and flight. The three together made stealth easier than if he didn't have them. Though, he did make sure to practice his stealth without them, too. Being caught unawares or without his powers would be disastrous and he was going to do everything he could to mitigate the risk.

Blockbuster, Phantom had learned, was the reason Dick had stayed in Bludhaven. He was also the ringleader of the organised crime in the city. Apparently, he's the second of the Blockbuster name? The giant of a man had his hands everywhere; The Bludhaven Police, as well as the underbellies of New York, Metropolis, and Gotham. With eyes and ears everywhere, not a lot got passed him, which is likely why Nightwing was having trouble getting the crime rates down. So, Danny Phantom was going to help.

He'd heard the name Oracle from both Nightwing and Blockbuster's goons, so Phantom assumed whoever that was was on his side. Unluckily, though, they were now a target. He just needed to get a hold of them without letting them find him.

Phantom had heard the information from several goons since he'd started going out, but he didn't know if Nightwing knew or not. Though, he didn't know how to pass on the information. How could he tell Dick what he knows without letting slip that he'd been going out? Dick would call him a hypocrite and would fall back into his passively suicidal schedule. Danny's not a hypocrite! He just runs on a separate schedule. A schedule that Dick might not like, but one that works for Danny.

The intel Phantom was working with tonight was about some of Dick's coworkers. He knew the corruption in the Bludhaven and Gotham City Police Departments ran thick and deep, so he wasn't really surprised to find out that Detective Soames and Chief Redhorn ran with the less than pleasant people that made their homes and bases in Bludhaven.

Dick knew this, too, which is why he became an officer in the first place.

According to the goons Phantom had spied on, Detective Soames was involved in a drug ring that was doing deliveries tonight. It was timed to be after Nightwing had turned in for the night so that he wouldn't be able to bust it. It was a smart move on the ringleader's part, to have his goons out only after Nightwing was done for the night.

That was the next thing he was going to have to work on with Nightwing. He couldn't have a discernible pattern without someone with him to cover. Honestly, Batman should know better, too. Maybe he'll pass it on to Tim?

While on the road, Danny had learned that his powers were still developing. One of which was a kind of sixth sense. It worked somewhere between hearing and a spider's ability to feel vibrations in the air and webs. He didn't know is reach on it yet, but he was able to cover half of Bludhaven from where the ability currently sat, so he was going to work with that limit for now.

The warehouse he was staking out was where he'd heard goons talk about for nearly a week. They had been careless, assuming that there was no one out to catch them, but it worked in Phantom's favor. It was mostly empty, save for a few homeless squatters looking for some shelter, and was otherwise undisturbed.

Phantom didn't believe it for a second.

He was also going to laugh in Tim's face if the goons in Bludhaven were smarter than the goons in Gotham.

Right on time, just as the clock turned over into the Witching Hour, the homeless people sheltered in the warehouse stood up and met in the center of the building. Together, and armed, they waited for exactly five minutes. Then, the back doors to the building opened and Detective Soames walsted in.

"Gentlemen," the detective greeted with a sneer, "Lady. Do you have what I came here for?"

"Do we look like idiots?" the lady of the group scoffed, "Of course we have it."

"Well, I don't see it," Soames frowned, "Where is it?"

The dirty blond to the woman's right was the next to speak. "Hidden in the walls."

Soames' frown deepened into a scowl. "The hell is it in there for?"

The only other person of the group, a brown haired man, said, "There's rumors goin' 'round about a Spook. Comes out when Nightwing turns in."

Well, well, well. Looks like Phantom's gaining a reputation.

"You believe in ghost stories now?" Detective Soames sneered, "Get my delivery, now."

The three scuttled off the the wall just under where Phantom was hiding in the rafters. He timed ten minutes before they walked back upto Soames with two bricks of cocaine each.

"You're short."

"This is the agreed upon amount." the lady argued.

Soames' expression twisted into something cruel. "Did I forget to tell you? Tsk. Shame." In a quick and fluid movement, he whipped a pistol from his inner pocket and shot the woman and then the blond. He picked up the bricks, tucking them under his arm before taking the last two from the brunet. "I cannot build an empire without a few casualties, right?"

The man gulped, eyeing the gun. "Y-yes, sir."

Soames hummed. "The sands of Egypt were dyed red with blood. The roads of Rome are the same." He turned away from the man. "Twelve bricks in two weeks. You'll have a location shortly."

Phantom watched the detective leave with a frown. So that was the deal, huh? He didn't know too much about Bludhaven's criminals yet, but he was fairly certain that a man like Blockbuster won't like someone trying this shit under his nose.

He was quick to leave the warehouse after that, doing a quick loop of the city - focused mostly on Sin Central and The Spine - before flying back to Dick's apartment. He wrote down everything from the night, complete with drawings of everyone of note that he saw. He'd pass it to Nightwing as soon as he needed to. For now, though, it remained his cases alone.

Part 8 Part 10

Phase Two of the plan was set to take place during the next Wayne Gala. Meaning they had exactly four weeks to plan out every meticulous detail. It was going to be great.

Week One

Planning for a gala is never easy. Planning for a Wayne Gala is even harder. Invitations, as per social standard, must go out at least four weeks prior to the event, so the guest list was first priority. Tim was put in charge of this. He elected the help of Luke Fox.

"Dude, you are never going to believe what Bruce did."

Luke sighed. "I leave for one month- What'd B do?"

Tim grinned up at him. "We're pranking the Justice League."

A beat. "What?"

"We're pranking the Justice League."

"Okay... Why?" He asked. "Better question: How? Don't they already know who you all are?"

Tim shook his head, pulling up the security feed from Phase One to send to his pseudo uncle. "They have no idea who we are behind our masks. Better yet, they have no idea how many of us actually operate within the city."

"There's no way."

"Right? I was so sure that they'd know by now, y'know? Because Superman has memorized our heartbeats, and we've met him both in and out of costume; Wonder Woman's Wonder Woman, and she has the Lasso of Truth- though, I'm pretty sure there's a way around that if she ever did try and get our names that way."

"And you called me here because..?" Luke prompted.

"Right!" Tim opened a different tab on his tablet. "I need you to help me make a guest list for the next Wayne Gala."

"Isn't that like, months out?"

"Not anymore! We're throwing on in exactly four weeks, so this guest list needs to be made now so that invitations can go out yesterday."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

Tim met his gaze. "I said what I said. Will you help me or not?"

With another sigh, Luke relented. "Alright. You can fill me in on everything later- And I do mean everything. I want every detail. Also, why didn't you pull me into this before?"

"We weren't sure if you'd be in town for this, and you were gone during Phase One. Also, we didn't actually intend on Selina and Kate being in on this, either. Well, maybe Kate."

"You got Selina and Kate in on this before me?" He looked absolutely heartbroken. "Wow. I thought I was your favorite."

Tim shook his head. "I'm pulling you in now, aren't I? Now, c'mon, we've got work to do.

The hardest part about setting up a Guest List is knowing the relationships between everyone. Everyone will be amicable with each other no matter who was invited, especially at an event hosted by the Wayne Family, but distaste for present company will be made known.

For this particular gala, there will be a mix of upper and middle class attendees to cover the odd additions that are the members of the Justice League.

"What's our priority, Tim?"

"Guest list, seating arrangements, and interference."

"'Interference'?"

"Who's going to stand between people if families of hostile relations run into each other."

Luke shook his head. "Rich people."

"Luke," Tim said, "I hate to break it to you, but you're 'rich people'."

A gasp. "I am? Tim! How could you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, man," he shook his head sadly, laying his hand gently on Luke's arm, "But it's not my fault. It was your parents."

"My parents?"

"A betrayal of the worst kind."

"How could they!" he sobbed.

Tim rubbed his back, "I know. There, there."

"Tim? Luke?" Kate asked, walking into the office Tim had commandeered. "What they hell are you two doing in here?"

The two look up, sharing a laugh. "Nothing, Kate."

She raised here eyebrow skeptically, "Uh-huh, sure. Do you have a guest list set yet? We need to get invites made up and sent out."

"Almost," Tim answered.

Luke shrugged. "I still don't understand why we can't just host an open event. It'll make it so much easier."

"And risk our identities being released to the public?" Kate said, "Not to mention the amount of rouges that'll get in."

"They'll try to get in anyway."

"Extra security," Tim mumbled, switching to the document that was shared between the family for planning, "Got it."

"No-" Luke turned back to him, "That is not what I said."

Kate laughed. "Get back to work, you two. I'll be back in a bit to print off the invitations."

"We can get away with sending the invited late because we're The Waynes," Tim muttered to himself, "but any later than a day and we're on cracked ice."

"Isn't the saying 'thin ice'?"

"Only if you don't wear a mask o cowl to fight crime at night."

"Touché."

Part 8 Part 10

Tales of Conquest, Warnings of Fools:

Letters Between Brothers

Danyal Fenton, Jan. 8th, 2014

I sincerely apologize for the lack of contact. Much has happened; too much to put into a single letter, though I’m sure you saw some of it on the news. It has been two years since your last letter. I wanted to respond earlier, but I was too much of a coward. I spent hours staring at your letters, but I couldn’t bring myself to open them, let alone respond. That is no excuse, however, and I apologize.

As I’ve already mentioned I’m sure you know, Father went missing shortly after my last letter to you. The public was told that he was kidnapped and that we would pay ransom. He returned about a year ago, as I’m also certain you heard, and we assured the public that the Private Investigators we hired had found and retrieved him and that the captors had been imprisoned. That is our cover story. I would like to tell you the truth of the matter in person, but it cannot wait for that day to come.

Father was lost in time. He has still not told us how or what happened when he was gone, other than that he lost his memory. Everytime he regained it, he would leave a clue for us before he forgot again and was taken to another time. He said he had help, but he didn’t say from whom.

Timothy was the one to follow the clues and rescue him, though I’m not sure how. Everyone thought Father was dead, but we refrained from announcing it until Timothy returned from his search.

No one knows that Batman was missing. Richard took up the cowl and I was given the title of Robin. (The colors are garish, but the others wore them, so I must as well.) Richard was quite good at stepping into Father’s place, well enough to fool Superman and the rest of the Justice League, but it was hard on him. The stress was too much for him at the time, though he is now back as Nightwing in Bludhaven.

As morbid as the thought may be, the entire year was good for distancing our civilian and vigilante lives. No one thinks Father is Batman because Batman was active while Father was missing. Nightwing was undercover while Richard was in Gotham, returning before Richard left to go back to his city. Timothy was sighted in Pakistan with no appearance from Red Robin until after Timothy had “left”.

On the topic of Timothy, he is on Grandfather’s radar. He confided that, in the process of looking for Father, he enlisted the help of the Council of Spiders. Grandfather trained him, offering up the position of Demons Heir to him. In his escape, Timothy blew up eight bases around the world, though I don’t know how he managed.

On the topic; I have renounced my position of Demons Heir. Father and our siblings have taught me many things since I first arrived, things which made me rethink what we grew up knowing. I’m sure you went through the same thing. Mother has tried fruitlessly to take me back with her, but I have gone back to Father every time. I wanted to go back to you, but I am not willing to put you at risk like that. However, the Shadows have separated into factions, one side with Grandfather and the other with Mother. Nanda Parbat now stands as Grandfather’s primary base of operations.

The WAR - We Are Robin - Movement that swept over Gotham in Father’s absence was headed by our new foster brother Duke Thomas. He now goes by the name Signal. I was the one to recruit him and give him the bat he now wears.

Having gone back to re-read your letters, and read for the first time your last three letters, I have noticed that you refer to Father’s chosen as my siblings alone. Do you not want them to be your siblings as well? I do not blame or criticize; I am simply curious and would like some clarity. والآن حان دوري لأطلب عفوك. لن أدع الاتصالات البعيدة المدى تفلت من يدي مرة أخرى.

          Damian Wayne

***

After two years of radio silence, Danny finally got a letter from his brother. He was glad, don’t get him wrong! But he found himself not nearly as excited as he would’ve been last year. After two years of constantly waiting and checking and not being able to do anything, Danny was so burnt out that when the letter finally did come, he didn’t immediately rush to open and read it. He did, of course, open and read it, but he also waited to write up a response. Like Damian, he now had a lot on his plate, except he actually barely had any time to himself anymore.

Between ghost fights, playing keep-away with his parents and the GIW, teaching his friends how to handle themselves in a fight, saving the world, and trying desperately to get through the media block to reach the Justice League, Danny was pulled so thin that he was surprised he hadn’t ripped apart from the stress of it all! That’s not to even mention his own training in the Infinite Realms!

Yes, he had his team, but they could only do so much. And it didn’t help that Vlad the Frootloop who is secretly a vampire keeps getting in his way and causing shit! He did get a dog now, though! Cujo is the best dog.

That’s all to say that he’s beyond tired.

“Whoever came up with the saying “Sleep when you’re dead” is a fucking liar!” he exclaimed, flopping face-first onto Sam’s bed.

She snorted. “Don’t be dramatic, Danny.”

“No, no, he’s got a point,” Tucker said, “Danny’s been getting less sleep since he died!”

Danny groaned again. Sam rolled him over so that he could breathe as he detransformed. “Any luck with getting through the Media Block?”

It was Tucker’s turn to groan. He leaned back so far that he fell onto the floor, but he didn’t care. “No! I don’t know how they’re doing it, but outside news can come in, but nothing’s able to go out.”

That particular issue has gotten a lot of people up in arms. Just after the Ghost Portal was opened, the US Government sent a privately funded branch - the Ghost Investigation Ward, GIW for short and Guys In White for shits and giggles - to contain it. Instead of containing or shutting down the portal, they decided to put the entire down on a soft lock-in, meaning that anything can come in but almost nothing can go out.

The G.I.W. is a branch of the Bureau of Normalcy. Bureau of Normalcy is an organization dedicated to the weaponization or eradication of entities they deem to be odd. Basically government funded war crimes. So no different than what the government normally does, just with a different name. The G.I.W. are the offshoot that specializes in dealing with ghosts.

Getting rid of the G.I.W. is basically number two on the priority list. Once they’re gone, the Media Block will go with them, so will most of the property damage and about a third of Danny’s stress. Sabotaging his parents’ tech so that it’s safer for all parties comes in at a very close second, with making sure the living and dead don’t destroy each other.

“On a slightly different topic,” Sam said, “How have the protections on the Portal been coming along?”

Another project Danny’s been working on in what little spare time he has. Since getting his powers, he’s joined Sam in reading up on different kinds of magic, going so far as to start looking into the greater occult community. That’s when he came up with the idea of putting protection runes around and on the Ghost Portal. Unfortunately, the runes have to be both a specific type and insanely supercharged in order to work on or near the portal. He hasn’t managed to find the  right runes and nothing has been helpful. Another reason to reach out to the Justice League, actually.

Originally, he’d wanted to ask the Justice League for advice and maybe for help from any actual magic users they know. He was perfectly fine, brushing off what he’d been born learning and using those skills, but he was born to kill, not save, so advice from actual heroes would’ve been nice. Unfortunately, the G.I.W. says that he can’t have nice things, so he doesn’t.

Leaving the town was an option that everyone had, but no one was willing to uproot their entire lives because the government got a little bit pissy and don’t know how to listen to their people.

“Not good,” he told her, “The runes keep blowing up in my face.”

“Have you asked any of the ghosts?” Tucker hadn’t bothered to get off of the floor, but he was still working at getting through the Media Block.

Danny shook his head. “None of them are helpful. They won’t listen to me unless we’re fighting and, I don’t know if you know this, but asking about magic runes isn’t really the thing I’m thinking about while trying to save people.”

Sam rubbed her forehead, her eyes closed. “Alright, I’ll look through my grandma’s books again to see if we can find something.” She sighed. “This would be so much easier if we could actually contact someone.”

“I’m working on it!” Tucker snapped, “These guys have something that keeps changing the code on me and it’s near impossible to work through! The second I put even a crack in their firewalls, it fills itself up! How the hell am I supposed to get around a living firewall?”

“Sorry, Tuck,” Sam said, “I know you’ve been working your ass off on that.”

He laughed humorlessly, “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”

The three delved into silence, working on their own projects. Tucker was doing his best against the Media Block, Sam was looking everywhere for protection runes strong enough to work on the Portal, and Danny was adding entries to his Catalogue Des Fantômes.

He was on page nineteen of the notebook, the last entry having been Youngblood. There was only one entry that wasn’t actually a ghost, though, but Danny always skilled over that page when he could. Freakshow, theRingmaster of Circus Gothica scared the ever loving shit out of Danny. He hated not being in control of himself. He hated the memory lapses when he was under someone else's influence. He hated that he hurt his friends.

The page he was working on was for the blob ghosts. They were low-threats and adorable. They also made wonderful informants, being able to fly far and fast and listen and relay without being caught. The only problem was that he was pretty sure only other ghosts could see and understand the little blobs.

“It’s been really quiet recently, don’t you think?” Tucker said after about an hour of quietly doing their own thing.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“It’s just been…quiet,” he explained, “Not a lot has been happening. Like, at first, there were attacks every day, but it’s Sunday and Youngblood was the only ghost to attack.”

Danny sat up, coming to the same realization as Tucker. “Oh, no,” he said, catching the other twos’ attention.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“You spoke it into existence.”

“Huh?”

“You said it’s been quiet; Now something’s gonna-!” He was cut off by a rumble that shook the mansion. Swearing, Danny transformed into Phantom and flew out of the window. He didn’t get very far before noticing what was wrong. Sam and Tucker both joined him at the window.

“Holy shit.” Sam muttered.

Tucker nodded. “What the hell?”

The sky, previously a clear blue, was now swirls of toxic green and black. Everything was dimmer, despite the amount of lights in the town. The clouds were all gone, replaced with nothing that was so glaringly obvious that the trio found themselves feeling agoraphobic. The biggest change, though, was that they were now on an island. Where there had been fields stretching on forever just a few minutes ago, there was now a drop into a fading green to black void. Also, everything was tinted purple.

Phantom was quick to regain himself. He flew back to his house because this wasn’t right. Why was Amity Park in the Infinite Realms? How was Amity Park in the Infinite Realms? Both questions he needed answers to yesterday.

As he passed, he saw people freaking out, running around like chickens with their heads cut off to find someone who might have an answer.

Red Huntress was out and about, so he flew to her as fast as he could. “Get everyone to calm down!” he shouted over the noise of everyone screaming below them.

She glared at him. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

Now, he and Red have never quite gotten along. Sure, they’ve worked together, but him knowing her and her not knowing him was really the only thing stopping them from getting along perfectly. At least she’d stopped trying to turn him into the G.I.W.

“I don’t know,” he answered, “But I’m gonna find out. As soon as I do, I’ll tell you!” She nodded and was off to work damage control.

It took another few minutes before Phantom was at his house. Using both invisibility and intangibility, he flew down into the lab, vacant of any occupants, and went straight to the Portal. The Portal that was now an empty shell of bad memories. There was no power running through it.

“What..?” He turned on a dime, Plasmius now directly behind him. “What did you do?”

The older ghost clicked his tongue and shook his head. “What makes you think I did this? You have such a low opinion of me?”

“Yes.”

“Shame.”

“Am I wrong?” The silence spoke for itself. “What the hell did you do, Vlad.”

“Now, now, Daniel, no need to be so hostile.”

“Really? ‘Cause we’re no longer on Earth, dipshit.”

“Language, Daniel.”

“My name is ‘Danyal’, asshole.”

“That’s what I said,” he smirked, “Daniel.”

He stopped himself from starting a physical altercation and took a deep breath. “Just tell me what happened so that I can go clean up after you again.”

“I did not cause-”

“Just shut the fuck up and tell me what happened!”

“Well, that’s quite the contradiction or requests-”

Danny threw his hands in the air and left Plasmius in the lab. He didn’t have time for Vlad’s pathetic attempt at mind games! He had shit to figure out and people to help calm down.

“Walking away in the middle of a conversation?” Plasmius caught up easily, “How rude. Where did you learn your manners?”

“Maybe if you’d actually be helpful for once in your goddamn existence, then I’d be more inclined to stay and chat for a moment. As it stands, though, you’re doing a shit job of being mayor. Your people are freaking the fuck out and you’re here antagonizing me. Now, if you really wanna have a conversation, you can tell me what you did.”

Plasmius was quiet for a moment. Then, he admitted, “The King.”

Phantom blinked. “That what?”

“The King.”

“You don’t mean the King-King, right? The one that all the blob ghosts weaned me about? The one I’m sure you were also warned about? That King?” He asked, “Because I can hear the capitalization in your voice, Plasmius, and if you woke up the one guy that could actually destroy the world, then I’m gonna beat your ass and feed your head to a duck.”

The older man had the audacity to look sheepish. “I took his ring. He didn’t like that, so he woke up.”

Phantom groaned, dragging his hands down his face. Taking an unnecessary and deep breath, he said, “Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna go down there and explain exactly what the hell you did. I don’t care if you blame yourself as Vlad or if you blame yourself as Plausmius, but they need to know. You also need to do your damn job and calm them the fuck down. I am going to figure out how to fix this because you will only get in my way.” He flew away.

Gods, Danny doesn’t get paid nearly enough for this.

*

For the first time since he’d died, Danny was scared for his life. He was all alone, stepping up to fight the King of Ghosts; A powerful deity who rules over the Realms of the dead and the living and everything in-between. He’s got the power to pull an entire city into the Realm Between. He could probably destroy the Living Realms if he so chose to!

And Danny was challenging him to a fight. With no back up. And no hope for medical because he didn’t tell anyone he was going to be fighting the King. If he makes it out of this no more dead than he already was, he’s going to sleep for a week. Everyone else can just stop bothering him.

He stepped up to the steps of Pariah’s Keep. The building was huge, red, glowing, and beyond imposing. It looked like every horrible aspect of every castle was shoved into one and painted to look like it was coated in the blood of the Living.

He’s never been nervous for a fight before.

Danny steeled himself, shoving his fear into the deepest recesses of his mind, and started up the stairs. He could feel eyes on him, but he didn’t know where they were from. He ignored them, letting his transformation wash over him as he walked. All the ghosts knew who he was anyway, so he didn’t feel the need to hide his transformation from them.

He stepped into the great hall, a black and red throne standing proudly on a raised dais at the end of the room. The reflective obsidian floor looked like a void of nothing, the light from the torches on the walls seemed to be absorbed into the void.

Pariah Dark, King of Ghosts, stood tall at the bottom of the dais. His skin was white, his hair and eyes toxic green, his armor black and gray, his cape black and red. The belt and sash he wore both had skulls on them, and he had a longsword on his hip that had a matching skill pommel.

“You are foolish to come here alone.” The King looked down his nose at him. His voice boomed through the room, but he didn’t raise it.

Phantom had adjusted his own outfit, making it look more like what the older assassins wore in Nanda Parbat. He had several knives hidden around his person, his katana on his left hip, a rapier on his right hip, and a tanto on his back.

“I am more concerned for the safety of my home than the  safety of myself. Bringing anyone with me would’ve put them at risk.”

The King sneered. “You are foolish, child. Connections such as those will only drag you down. Cut them, and you will only grow stronger.”

“Y’know, my Grandfather used to tell me something similar when I was a child.”

“Your Grandfather was a wise man.”

“High praise coming from you, you’re majesty. You wouldn’t happen to know who he is, do you?”

“You smell of the Pits; Lifeblood of the Between Realm that has found its way into the Living Realms. You do not have the anger to have been submerged, but you have been around them.” The King stated, “Tell me, where were you born, K̴͔̑͘u̸̙͌̋͠m̴̬̯̤̄͗̊̚m̷̹̜̟̣̈ḯ̴͚͕̙̗̥̀t̸͚̠̭̣͎̒̄u̷̺̹̫̅͑ṡ̷̞͆l̶̝̈́̌̅a̶̹̪̎̇̈̈̓p̸͎̬͖̺͊̾̽͜š̶̞̤̞͐͗͝?”

Despite knowing that that was not a language he had learned, he knew what was said. “L̵̤̞͎̓ử̷͈͉̫̆͊͠m̵̡͓̣͂͋e̵̩̹̼̠̬͆͑ ̴͈̦͒͒ő̸͓̀̂͘r̵̞̰̠̟̓̓ǧ̵̛͈̜̪͋,” he answered, “V̴̯͓̀a̸̼̩̐̉r̷̪͂j̸̛͕̼̈́͌u̶͔̐͌d̴͓͍̀̍͝e̵̤̐ ̵͉̖̅̃ͅǫ̸̹̩̅͌r̸̢̙̕͜ġ̷̦͝, The living call it Nanda Parbat.”

“A̶̧̞̯̓ḷ̶̡͕̰̫̏a̴̛̤̲͔̅̄́͝s̸̝̔͑t̴̫̏̉͋i̶̢̼͈̪̎̂́̕ ̷̼͉̐͌͊̑̾m̶̯̹͔̺͂̀͜ḁ̷͍̟͇̞̈̀̒͆͝͠g̵͈͚̹̽ĭ̶̪̰̿̒,” King Pariah repeated, “I am familiar with that place. You say you were born there?”

“Correct.”

“Do you fight to protect, or do you fight to rule?”

“I fight to protect.”

“Alright, T̶̨͇͋͌͆͌́ä̸͇̰͓̿h̷̥̓͌͋̈̔̓t̴̗̻͚͈͚̺̓́̔e̴̢̯̱̓̄̎̾̆ḑ̷̬̔ḛ̷̱̭̙̪͑̃͌̓͐ ̵̭̯͔̈̈̇̓̕̕l̶̜̞̺̜̦̋̿̄͒͊a̶̢̼͈͆p̶͓̟̱̣̉š̶̹͋̄̕͝,” he drew his sword, Danny did the same. “I will display your banner amongst your kin.” The fight began.

Phantom and Pariah crossed blades in the middle of the room. The King had both hands on the hilt of his, pushing his weight into where the metal clashed. Phantom was wielding his katana, his left hand open and prepared to either go for a dagger or join his right hand on the katana. After a few moments of struggle, the two pushed away, evenly matched for strength.

Again, Pariah made the first move, lunging at Phantom with a burst of flight to speed him up. They crossed blades, but didn’t hold as the large ghost spun around to strike at Phantom from behind. Phantom met his blade with the dagger that fell from his sleeve into his hand. The nerve damage transferred between forms, making the grip on the dagger slip. He slid Pariah’s blade away to cover the fault, though he was nicked in the arm. He didn’t feel it.

As he slid the sword, Phantom’s katana reached to hit Pariah. The blade grazed off the armor, ringing with the force. Phantom was forced to dodge away to save the blade. He was quick to stash it, bushing the dagger back up his sleeve and pulling the rapier from its place on his hip.

Pariah feinted around Phantom’s jab, getting close stabbing at his thigh. He managed a graze before having to pull back in a dodge. Phantom’s rapier caught Pariah's cape, tearing through it and pulling it off of his shoulders. Growling, he pulled the rest of the fabric off, discarding it quickly.

The two stood apart from each other. The floor remained spotless and the torches undisturbed. The two halves of the cape laid at the feet of the two.

“You duel well,” The King commended.

Phantom nodded in thanks. “I do not have nearly your experience, however I was born with a weapon in my hand.”

Again, they met blades in the middle, green sparks flying off at the initial contact. Phantom was quick to slip another dagger into his hand, pushing his enemy’s blade up so he could get in close. As soon as he did, he shoved the dagger into the gap between the ghost’s chest plate and twisted.

Pariah cried out and threw Phandom away from him, the younger ghost hitting the wall before landing on the floor in a crouch. He pulled the dagger from his gut, the thing only inhibiting his movement. Like Phantom, he did not heal.

Switching his weapon again, Phantom lunged forward first with matching daggers in his hands. Pariah kept both blades away with his own, nimbly moving away when he could afford to and kicking when he could not. Finally, he knocked both dagger’s from Phantom’s hands and stabbed through the ghost child’s left hand.

The phantom pain from nerves that no longer worked caused Phantom to scream. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the blade with his other hand, cutting it, and wrapped his legs around Pariah’s arm. The older ghost grunted, lifting his sword and Phantom together. He raised him above his head before slamming him back down into the floor. Again, Phantom screamed, but he began to pull the longsword from The King’s hand.

Raising his arm and slamming Phantom back into the ground over and over again, Pariah didn’t notice his grip on his blade was loosening until Phantom had pulled it from him entirely. In a show of strength, the sword was thrown to the other side of the throne room. It stabbed into the wall, the edge chipping and rolling in several different places.

“You brat!” The King roared. Phantom let go of his arm, flipping away and landing in a crouch near the wall. Pariah gave chase, throwing punches when he got close. Soon, the battle was taken to the air, both parties flying.

Pariah Dark fought like a brawler, all heavy hits and weighted punches. He liked to stay firmly in place when he hit, being too big to outrun his opponent.

Phantom, on the other hand, fought like a snake, relying on speed and flexibility. He used the daggers hidden on his person to wear his opponent down. He was always on the move, depending heavily on outlasting whoever he was fighting.

The King grabbed the ghost child by his neck, squeezing hard enough that Phantom heard a creak, pain radiating from where his bones would be. “You have lost.”

Phantom smirked, “Not quite,” he said. He kicked up, knocking Pariah in the chin, and punched his elbow, flying out of range when the grip on his neck loosened. He gasped for air on habit, green blood leaking from his mouth.

Pariah stood at his full height. “Why do you fight, Ț̷̿̇̾͘a̴̘̪̘̥͖͈͆s̵͙̎̃̍̋͊͜á̴̟̲̰̲̃̓̎͘͠k̵̡̰̖̝̳̑̄a̸̹̹̮͊͆͛̆̈́̕a̶̙̝̭͔̘̪̿̓̃̍̊̾͜͝l̸̨̞͎̫̮̅u̸͓̒́́͆͋̇͠ ̶̛̺̰̦͔̞͖̯͇͑͆̔͝l̶̨̛̖̝̫̭̱̿̃̊̿̉͘̕å̴̢̯͍p̶̡̢̬̩̣̃̏̓̾͋̈̔s̷̱͎̄̅ͅ?”

“To protect,” Phantom glared, “T̵̳̪̂̌̎y̵̛̭̻̖̽r̴̹̰̗͝ḁ̸͚̟̈̆n̴͔̞͊̈͑ṅ̷̝̂-̷̼͙̼̏̃k̴̛̙̣̠͑û̶̘͍̞ň̷͈͇̲ỉ̶̛̗̺͜͝n̸͐̈́͜͠g̴̼̀ä̸̞͙̲́s̶͎̬͙̀͒.”

The King laughed, the sound wet as green blood fell from his mouth and cuts, his chestplate being stained by the stuff. “You will End if you keep that foolish mindset.”

Phantom smirked. “Maybe,”

Pariah’s eyes closed, his entire being losing its glow. Slowly, he disappeared, leaving behind a small ball of fire. Over the orb was his crown, the green fire fading from the black metal. A small black ring joined them on the floor.

He waited for several minutes, staring at the small orb, the ring, and the crown. Then, he fell to his knees with a smile. “I…I did it.” His smile grew to a grin. “I did it!”

Translation 1 - French: Ghost Catalog

Translation 2 - Estonian & Zalgo: Ghost Child

Translation 3 - Estonian & Zalgo: Valley of Snow … Valley of Shadows

Translation 4 - Estonian & Zalgo: Naked Mountain

Translation 6 - Estonian & Zalgo: Child of the Stars

Translation 7 - Estonian & Zalgo: Child of Balance

Translation 8 - Estonian & Zalgo: Tyrant King

Part 8 Part 10