1(800) Adoption Papers NOT needed! Its a two for one special! ( 1POV Version )

Monster, how should I feel? Creatures lie here, watching through the shadow

The world is full of monsters.

A world where aliens walk among us, one where humans retain powers thought to belong to the gods, where anything, anyone, is possible.

So why was it so far-fetched for ghosts to exist?

When the Fen tons took me in, I took their words with a grain of salt. The thought of life after death without peace didn't seem pleasant, let alone possible.

It made me think of Grandfather.

Why would he go through all the trouble with upkeeping the Lazarus pits if there was something to look forward to? Why would he be afraid to face death if it's just a continuation of life? It just doesn't make sense to me. It's something he taught us to embrace, as it's inevitable.

But all he shows towards it is fear.

I have seen him in various moods, but his emotions toward us stuck to things like anger or happiness. Fear was never one of them, at least none for us. Instead, he acted like we were expendable, just a means to an end. Something to be thrown away when its upkeep became too bothersome. That's why it surprises me that, in the end, Mother was just the same.

She laughed with us, took time outside of training to spend with us, she dried our tears. Whenever we got into trouble, Mother showed fear for us. She checked us over for injuries and took pride in our education; after all, there is supposed to be nothing an Al Ghul can't do.

The sad thing is that I can't call the Fentons an upgrade.

When Jazz found me at the bottom of the canyon, I thought they could help. Give me a way out of that life; show me what a typical family is supposed to look like. But in the end, it was as if I traded one evil for another. I don't know how Jazz survived before me. I don't think she would have had any human interaction if it wasn't for school. From the time I joined their family, she had already succumbed to drowning herself in books in lieu of people.

Jack and Maddie stayed in their basement for the longest time doing God's know-what, leaving the two of us to fend for ourselves. Not that this was an issue for me, league training required me to be able to do so, but Jazz seemed to think otherwise.

She started coming home from school with parenting books.

I didn't have the heart to tell her it was too late for them.

We went to each other's parent-teacher conference meetings. We taught ourselves to cook, and when the time came to look for food because ectoplasm started bringing the refrigerator to life, we found safe places to store it. And stacked up on takeout menus. We worked like a team, but I couldn't help but keep her at arm's length. She would try to pry into my life whenever she got close enough.

When the Fentons took me in, I claimed amnesia.

Over time I pretended that things started to come back to me. Replacing memories with something more mundane, but Jazz would always take those stories in with suspicion. I don't know what kept cluing her in, and I'm pretty sure that's what got her into psychology in the first place. I've always been this big puzzle for her to figure out.

It's gotten even worse since the portal opened.

At first, she was worried about the ghosts taking revenge on the two of us because of Jack and Maddie's profession. She would try to reassure me that the monsters couldn't reach me, but little did she know that the biggest monster of all was sitting right beside her. While I am not proud of the things I was made to do in the league, I do not regret them. The only ones I ever raised a blade to were those who were truly deserving of their fate. Of course, I never harmed an innocent, but that doesn't make me any better than the ones I struck down.

Life is still a life. Who was I to be judge, jury, and executioner?

I wouldn't be surprised if my being a halfa is karma for the family line. A being who walks the lines of life and death, something Grandfather would fear but at the same time envy.

A total impossibility but somehow a reality.

My survival of that accident was a one-in-a-trillion type of outcome.

From the very beginning of my life, I have been around ectoplasm, even though it was unknown at the time. For all of their problems, the Lazarus pits have done me some good.

When mother had us, she was not expecting twins, so when I showed up, it was a complete surprise. Damien and I were clinging to each other even in the womb. Causing his umbilical cord to get wrapped around my neck. Mother said I was unresponsive; they would have thought I was stillborn If it wasn't for my bluing face. From what I understand, Mother had to fight for me to take a dip in the Lazarus pit, hoping it would do some good. I'm not sure how long she left me there, but the end result got me to where I am today.

Even years later, it still had an impact.

When the Fentons first started showing me the ectoplasm they had gathered, it shocked me to see something so familiar, so far from home. I thought their similarities were just a coincidence for the longest time, but Clockwork told me otherwise. When natural portals remain open for long periods, they can leave a trace behind. In the case of the Lazarus pits, the ectoplasm runoff collected and, over time, became corrupted by the living.

As it turns out, this part of the Fenton research is correct, as ectoplasm does react to emotions. For the Lazarus pits, that meant collecting the emotions of who went in it and those nearby. And considering who's been near them, I'm surprised they haven't caused an incident yet.

If it wasn't for that and my time with the Fentons giving me so much exposure, I never would have survived the portal turning on.

With all the ghosts coming through, I knew what I had to do.

It had been years since I'd been made to fight, so I wasn't surprised when I was a bit rusty, though fighting in the air took some time to get used to. I'm pretty sure Sam and Tucker thought I was making a fool out of myself, but it had to be done. After all, even to them, it would look suspicious if dorky weak Fenton, with no coordination, could suddenly fight like a pro.

I wonder what Dami would think.

These days he and the others are constantly in the news following father around Gotham.

It was only a matter of time before Jazz found out. I would like to say she took it well, but I don't really think she did.  She tried to be subtle about it, but I know she's grown up with these prejudices. It wasn't long ago that she was calling the others monsters. And if that's what they are, what am I to her?  I've heard her talking with Sam and Tucker, and all three of them agree ghosts are "annoying, an inconvenience, scary."

Jazz once said something similar in front of me, but I must have had a look on my face because she quickly backtracked and never said anything like it. In fact, she tried to go out of her way to make me feel comfortable around her. Which in Jazz's mind means regularly talking about my mental health.

She tried for weeks to get anything out of me, but soon enough, she realized this wasn't a topic up for discussion. So, I thought that would be the end of it until one day, she barges into my room with a bucket of Fenton-proof ECTO–PAINT and a couple of canvases. She ensured the coast was clear and dragged me into the lab. She sat me down in front of the portal, saying it would be "therapeutic" to get my feelings out.

So, she left me down there to "Vent my feelings" through art.

I was going to leave, but she locked me in.

So, I settled for staring at the swirling green, endless void that makes up the portal.

I tried to think of the rogues I fought. Or the friends I've made, anything that brought a semblance of joy, but nothing could come to mind.

But nothing came to mind.

I was just stuck being mesmerized by the green.

Thinking of the Pain.

With the paintbrush heavy in my hand, I dipped it into the paint. I created the darkness of the portal and gave it life. I had it spewing to the brim with ectoplasm while shooting out rays of blue and green radioactive electricity. It shot out of the portal while the ectoplasm pulled it back inside. All of it concentrated around a small dark smudge.

Cradling it as if it was a child.

A body,

My body.

Un-identifiable.

The painting comes to mind as we drive in relative silence. Neither of us wanting to break the peace. She drives smoothly, unlike Jack, making sure to go around craters etched into the pavement. It's just so peaceful, but as soon as my eyes wander to the outside, all I see is destruction.

Destruction I've caused.

Why'd I go into that portal?

As we pull into the Nasty Burger, I'm brought out of my musing. The two of us order, grab our food and head to a secluded corner. I didn't know how to start, so I let her take the reins, " so what was so important that we had to talk about it here? Not that I'm mad about it. Any reason not to eat at home is a good one, but still, it's weird for you to want to talk like this out of the blue."

I hesitate and eat some of my food before murmuring, " You know how the fruit loop is. Let alone Jack and Maddie."

She raises an eyebrow, " your back to calling them by their names?"

" You know as well as I do that I only ever called them Mom and Dad for appearance sake. I don't understand why you still call them that. They're only a mom and dad for you in name and me for legality." If you asked me, that doesn't really count.

Her eyes filled with indignation, " I know I did not raise you to be rude. What is going on? Stop trying to change the subject."

"I'm leaving"

" what do you mean you're leaving?" she exclaimed.

I shush her," Just like what I said. It's not safe in Amity Park anymore, especially not for me."

She throws her hands up in the air, " You can't just leave. Don't you realize how suspicious that would be? Do you even have a plan? Where would you go!"

I smirk at her, " who said I'm leaving in secret?"

She stills, " what do you mean?"

I look off to the side, "I got in touch with my brother."

" Brother? What brother?"

I ignore her and continue, " I managed to get his number," more like fix the communicator, " and he's arranging things with our Father to come to get me. He told me his lawyer should be showing up and a few days, and they'll follow soon within the next week or so. Matters how fast they can get the paperwork done,"  I try to tell her nonchalantly.  Though I doubt I'm doing a good job.

"Lawyer? Danny, are you sure you want to do this? I've tried not to pry," I stifle a laugh at that, " but how do you know this is really him?  That they're safe?"

"Well, I've made that choice before," giving her a deadpan look, "and all I can do is go up from here."

She grounds out, looking deeply offended, " Mom and dad are not that bad–"  I cut her off.

" Maybe not to you, they're perfect A+ student, but me, I've never been anything more than their charity case. They only look at me when I'm being yelled at or given chores. Hell, I see them more often as Phantom, and that's when they're shooting at me. Can you really tell me they're not that bad?  Think about it, Jazz."

" If you just told them you were Phantom, it wouldn't be like this. They would accept you!"

I just look at her in disbelief, "  I've seen what goes on in the lab. I have found multiple ghosts locked up in there, ectoplasm spotting the walls. We've both heard the screams, Jazz. I hope you know that it's not normal to go on during the night. What they're doing is wrong. It's immoral. It's illegal."

And I refuse to keep letting it happen. Bruce Wayne might not be able to stop it, but Batman and the Justice League sure can.

"Danny, I know you feel some kind of kinship with them, but you're not a ghost. You're still alive. You don't see–"

" No, Jazz, you're the one who doesn't see. Would you think this is still okay if they were a metahuman or an alien? Truthfully."

" They can still feel pain ghosts can't! They don't have a nervous system. It's not real pain!"

I get up from the table and start to walk away when she says, " Danny can't we talk about this?"

" As soon as you start listening."