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

Pass go: You have unlocked chapter 1 of my tragic backstory

For once, Richards' antics have provided results.
Even if the results were unexpected.
The entirety of the ride back to the manner was ridden in silence. Danyal put in his headphones and listened to a screeching noise the whole way home. Despite any attempts to reach his attention, his gaze never lingered from the window. It became fruitless after Richard tried to shake his shoulder the third time, and his hand went through. The looks Father and the others continued to send him throughout the haven't helped matters. They could have at least tried to have some tact. It was apparent he had no attention to broaching the subject.
Even if I wish the latter.
He's succumbed to mind control, not just him but others from this ' Freakshow.' How hasn't the JL found out sooner, and why weren't they notified? Was he forced to fight alone, or was he provided backup? So many unknowns. I don't like it. State authorities can contact the Justice League in case of emergencies and other happenings outside the norm, so why didn't they use it?
'How far does this incompetence go.'
We may not have been right next to them, but we all heard the ringmaster mention blasters, not guns, blasters. What has been going on in the Midwest? That kind of technology should not be available to the public, and the ghost made it sound like they are a common occurrence. Which is a problem, but what concerns me is the circumstance of her comment. When has Danyal had a firearm aimed at his head? Why would someone do so in the first place? Could it be an act of that agency, GIW, that he mentioned before? But if that was the case, wouldn't there be more information about the agency?
This doesn't make any sense.
Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to keep information from slipping out, not just about the GIW and the ghosts but, Amity itself. This could, of course, be Danyals doing, he is capable, but this goes beyond the need to stay hidden. If anything, it makes the town look suspicious.
What has brother got himself into?
That change, the glowing, ' magical girl' change, is certainly different, but what could make him change like that? What kind of accident encases you in light and inverts your being? Not one I have ever heard of before. This isn't like the abilities of West or Allen that came from a lab accident, which he claims to have had, nor is it like the abilities of Zatanna or Constantine. It looks closest to Batson, and his form change, but it's still not the same. Danyal doesn't become older or have a significant difference in appearance. He's still himself. This is something new.
What else has changed?
Does he still want to travel, to see a world only lit by the stars? Has he repented for the lives lost? Has he visited the families of our victims? Has he gotten down on his knees and apologized as he always wished to? He contacts us for help, saying he wants to ensure peace, but that ghost says nothing has been done. Are those the words of an irate spirit, unhappy with the speed of change, or a truthful decree of mediocrity?
Has his heart changed?
I will know soon enough. 
Once we reached the manor, Danyal looked at us uncertainly, his eyes jumping to each of us. We were halfway to the door when he grabbed my arm. I looked back at him to see him giving me a small smile. " I'll be right back," he shouted, gaining the others' attention.
" Where are you going?" asked Father.
" I have some unfinished business," Danyal said, his eyes not leaving mine.
" Business being?" I asked him.
" The ghost clowns, I can't keep them cooped up forever," he says, then whispers to me, "It gets uncomfortable in there after a while."
" What will you do with them?" asked Richard.
" The same thing I did at the circus; give them a choice," Danyal said.
Then he transformed, like he did back at the big top, and flew off into the night. That was an hour ago, and he's due to return any minute. Pennyworth is fussing about in the kitchen, insisting ice cream, a favorite of Danyals, will be needed for our upcoming conversation. I am not opposed. As none of us except Todd is permitted to use the kitchen, despite Richards' best efforts, we all are seated in the dining room.
No noise signals an entrance, not even the creak of the front door, but a chill that creeps into the room. It makes my hair stick up on end, and the sensation of fingernails trailing down my spine. I turn to see him; he's back. His skin looks thin like paper, lightly tented teal, as his veins shine through. His freckles shine in the form of constellations, and his ears are slightly tapered, as are his canines. The only thing missing is the shining crown of crystals; besides that, he looks exactly as he did earlier, helping that spirit move on .
I dip my head in acknowledgment, " Danyal."
" Uh hey, I'm back," he says back, eyes uncertain.
Unsure of what to say, I stay quiet. Drake opens his mouth a few times to say, what, I don't know, but nothing comes out. Father studies his appearance taking in every change, and Richard and Todd are no better. " Welcome back, Young Master," says Pennyworth from behind him, startling us all. He looks at him with eyes that hold nothing but acceptance.
" Thanks, Gramps," says Danyal turning around to see him.
" Would you care to assist me in the kitchen?" Pennyworth asks.
" Oh," Danyals voice goes up in surprise, and he transforms back to human and trails after him. The last thing we hear is, "What can I do?" Before we are left in silence once again.
" That could have gone better," Todd remarks.
" I didn't hear you saying anything," says Drake.
" Neither did you," I say, crossing my arms.
" Look, we all could have done better," says Richard, "it's awkward for all of us, and it's going to stay that way until we get this over and done with." He locks eyes with Father and says sternly, " No interrogations," he turns to look at Drake, " No insensitive questions."
" Yeah, replacement, no telling ghosty ' it's time we start ghost hunting,'" snarks Todd.
" You said what to your brother," demands Father.
" I didn't mean–" starts Drake.
" He didn't mean anything wrong," interrupts Danyal, hands holding bowls of ice cream, " It was just a bad choice of words," he sets a bowl in front of me and sits next to me while Pennyworth hands out the rest.
His hand is wrapped in a paper towel; I grab it, " what happened?" 
"It's nothing," he says, brushing me off, " I just cut my hand on a jar."
I raise an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugs and digs into his ice cream, "It's true. You can ask Gramps."
I look at Pennyworth, who is standing near the door with his own bowl of ice cream; Danyal must have insisted he participates in this discussion. " The Young Master cut his hand on the top of a cherry jar."
" It was old," Danyal interjects, " It was at the bottom of the pantry. I thought they would be good for the ice cream sundaes, but they were covered in fuzzy mold."
" Why would you open moldy cherries?" asks Drake confused.
" I didn't notice until after I opened them," he defended. He looks at Pennyworth, " Gramps aren't you going to sit?"
" I am fine over here, but thank you anyway, Young Master," Pennyworth declines.
" Come on, Alfie," says Todd, " sitting won't hurt ya."
We all chip in, adding our assurances until he finally relents, but he sits at the opposite end of the table. We eat in silence for a few moments before Richard asks, " What happened today?"
"You're going to have to be more specific," says Danyal.
"You said this circus showed up in your town, Amity Park; how come none of us have heard about them before? You would think a circus kidnapping people would have been national news," says Richard.
" what do you mean?" He asks, tone confused, "They were on the news when they got arrested the first time. Sure, they weren't as extreme about things as this time, but they still had federal charges against them. They disbanded the circus. That's why I was so surprised to see them again."
" Do you remember who broadcasted the news?" Asks Drake.
" It was on the local news," Danyal says.
" We have no records of that, of anything really, that's happened in Amity Park. All I can find is that it exists. There is nothing else. We know the GIW has hidden things about the town, like the existence of ghosts, but that doesn't explain the lack of information about everything else."
" I mean, I erased anything notable about me," knew it, " but I never touched any of the town records. Are you sure you can't find anything?" Danyal asks.
" Nothing," Drake reaffirms.
Danyal takes out his phone and starts typing away until he turns his phone around to see the words, CASPER HIGH HOMEPAGE, and a bunch of links. He hands the phone to Drake, "Could you pull this up on your phone?"
Drake doesn't answer but pulls out his own to try. After a second, he says, " No, nothing."
Danyal takes his phone back and goes to youtube. He pulls up the broadcast about Showenhowers' arrest, "What about this?"
Once again, Drake tries to pull it up. " No, nothing; I'm typing in the exact title, too," he says, frowning, "someone blocking all information about the town from getting out."
" But if that's the case, how can Danny pull it up?" asks Todd.
" Your phone was bought in Amity?" asks Father.
" No, actually, I built it," Danyal admits, " I used a mixture of spare parts the Fentons had and tech  from the realms."
" Impressive," says Drake, " you can't tell that there is anything different about it, but that takes out that line of thinking."
" What do you mean?" I ask.
" If Danyals' sim card was from Amity, it could have been a factor in why he is able to access the information," says Father, " but since that's not the case...."
" It wouldn't be a factor," I finish.
" Okay, pushing past that, could you explain what the spooky lady meant about ghosts being everywhere? Wouldn't we be able to see them?" Asks Todd.
"Not all ghosts are strong ones," Danyal explains, "  it takes an incredible amount of concentration for them to become visible to regular people. Even ones like you–"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asks Father.
"  Jason's a revenant, you know, someone who dies and comes back to life," Danyal says.
" You told him,"  asks Richard.
" I didn't need to; he could tell," says Todd.
"It's a dead people thing," Daniel says, "We can usually tell."
" Is that what happened to you? Are you a Revenant?" Asks Drake.
"Nah, nothing as exciting as well," Daniel says with false cheer in his voice, " I'm what's known as a halfa."
"And what's that exactly?" I ask.
" You've heard of Schrodinger's cat?" He asks; I nod. " It's kind of like that but as a person."
"But that's not possible," argues Richard, " no one can be both dead and alive simultaneously."
" I can think of six impossible things before breakfast," Danyal retorts, "And that's excluding me. Just because something doesn't seem possible doesn't mean it's not. As I said, it was an accident. Beings like me don't come about every few millennia or so. We're rare."
He takes a bite of his ice cream, "Those ghosts, the ones dressed as the clowns, those are the most common and are called shades. Typically they're pretty weak, but because of Lydia and the staff, they got forced into the visible spectrum. They're kind don't normally last for too long. They usually stay long enough to say their goodbyes or put to rest any last regrets, then fade on. Some of them cannot move on by themselves and require assistance. If they stay in the world of living for so long, they can become aggressive, become what's typically known as a poltergeist."
"Like the ones you see in horror movies?" Asks Richard.
" Yep," Danyal agrees, "When the shade becomes your Poltergeist and comment, we try to deal with them quickly, but occasionally, we don't hear about it.  That's normally when humans come into play."
"Like Constantine–" I start to say, but Danyal interrupts.
" You know Constantine!" his eyes get big, " I've been wanting to meet him since forever. I'm two pieces away from Soul Bingo!"
"Young Master, what is this Soul bingo?" Asks Pennyworth.
"It's a game they started. Constantine has sold his soul so many times it's practically useless. Only lesser demons and some spirits are willing to make deals with him anymore. Whoever collects most of his soul gets ownership of it. Many ghosts decided his soul wasn't worth it and were getting rid of it, so they gave it to me. I only need two more pieces, and then I'll have all of it," Danyal says excitedly.
"You have collected the majority of his soul," I ask for confirmation.
" yes, and I only need the last two pieces," he agrees again, practically vibrating in his chair.
" What do you plan on doing with it," asks Father.
Daniel sprouts a wicked grin, " Paperwork."
"Paperwork?" Todd Echoes incredibly.
"Do you realize how much paperwork comes from selling your soul? It's a lot. I've got a room full of it back at the keep in the realms. I refuse to go through any more of it. He sold his soul. He should deal with the paperwork that came with it," Danyal says with conviction.
" That's it?" Richard asks.
" Well, once he's done with it, I might ask him to do some errands maybe, try to keep the world going and all, but that's about it," Danyal shrugs.
"Speaking of ghostliness, what is with the whole magical girl transformation ya got going on there?" Asks Todd.
Danyal goes back to eating his ice cream, not answering the question. I shoot Todd a look, trying to see if he can tell what he has said that was upsetting for Danyal, but I can see he is just as confused.
"Danny, answer the question?" asks, no demands Father.
I watch as he bites his lip, looking at us wearily before his eyes settle on the wall, looking at no one. "You have to understand talking about death for ghosts and others of the undead community is a big no-no. To talk about how I changed is a talk about how I...died, and that's private. Jason, do you like it when people talk about how you died?" He asks.
Jason's quiet for a moment before admitting, " No. It's one thing for me to bring it up; it's another for someone else to."
" Then you should know better than to ask me about aspects of mine," Danyal says.
"Would you be comfortable sharing that with us, Young Master?" Pennyworth asks.
" It's not a story I like to tell," Danyal says, "It's private, it's hurtful to think about..." he drifts off into silence. "It was the beginning of August, the third to be exact, and the Fentons were finishing up their latest invention." Right before our birthday, " They've been working on it longer than I'd been with them. They were really excited. I know Jazz was, too, their daughter; she'd been hoping that once it was done, they'd ease up on some work and spend some time with her."
"Why didn't you mention her?" Richard asks, "You didn't have to leave her. CPS could have brought her with you."
"She's a few years older than me, she's 19, and she's going to college in Amity. I brought up the fact that I was leaving before CPS showed up; she wasn't too happy about it," Danyal says, longing in his voice.
"You miss her," Father says.
"Of course," Danyal says, "But it's not good for us to be together right now. We had a disagreement; We haven't settled everything yet; things are still tense."
" But in the future?" I ask.
" Hopefully, you'll be willing to accept another sister," he says.
"I know Cain would be happy," I retort.
" As would Steph and Babs," snorts Drake, " They complain enough about the amount in the manor."
"Where are they, by the way," Danyal asks, " I haven't met Cassandra–"
" Cass–," Richard interjects.
"I haven't met Cass, or who did you say, Steph, yet," Danyal says.
" They're both out of town and excited to meet you," says Father.
" What else happened?"  I ask, trying to get Danyal back on track.
Danyal nods, "Oh yeah; so that afternoon, they got ready for the big unveiling, wanting to show off all their years of hard work. But when they started it up, it didn't work. They left the lab and, for hours, went back and forth between yelling at each other and just existing, sitting in silence. Some friends of mine came over, wanting to see the invention."
Danyal takes the last bite of his ice cream, savoring it before saying, " It was a portal. A portal to the other side, to what they called the Ghost Zone, better known to me as the infinite realms."
" They've had me working in their lab as a chore since I came to live with them. Either cleaning up after them or fiddling with spare parts to see what I can come up with. With the training we had from the league," he says, looking in my direction, I knew my way around a laboratory well enough. My friends knew of my experience, so they talked me into looking at it."
" I was careful; I made sure it was unplugged and even wore a stupid hazmat suit, but none of it mattered in the end. On the inside of the portal was a switch. A big red button, and nobody remembered to push it. It was all the way at the back. I didn't know it was there when I went in. With all those wires all over the place, it's no real wonder why I tripped, but I did."
"I tried to stop myself from falling, and I hit it." Danyal says, voice shuttering, "Unknown to me, they connected it to the power grid. It turned on while I was inside."
" I was electrocuted with the power of the town's grid while the portal opened up on top of me, ripping me apart. The mixture of electricity and ectoplasm kept me together, but I didn't walk out the same. I walked out with white hair and green eyes, in the same hazmat that was supposed to protect me."
" Soon after, other ghosts started coming out, first animals, then others," He groans, " the friendly, content one stayed inside, but those with rougher backgrounds, the most violent of deaths, sought out the living. And it was all my fault ."
"They never would have come if I hadn't gone in there," Danyal turns to look at me, " so I was left without a choice, and I took to the streets and did what I knew."
"Why not call? Why not ask for help,"  asks Father.
" I couldn't do that. All it would do would bring more attention to me. I couldn't afford for Grandfather or Mother to know I survived," Says Danyal. "A new Dami was with you, I could recognize him anywhere, but I didn't know your relationship with Mother. If you were in contact. I decided not to say anything unless the situation became dire."
"Which it has," points out Drake.
"It has been since the get-go. The civilians weren't happy about the ghosts, seeing only the destructive ones from the portal. I tried to help, but they thought I was just the same. Over time they, many have changed their opinion, but by then, more Hunters had started showing up, and the GIW took an interest in the town. I didn't have the position to do anything, not for a long time, but I tried to help. A lot of them didn't like me, but I'd like to think I was a hero."
I watch Danyal scratch the side of his cheek before his hand goes to the back of his neck, " I've caused a lot of hurt in the world, not that I ever wanted to, but I did. If I could help out, even a little, I'd do it. Always. I know I'll never make up for what I've done, but it doesn't stop me from trying."
"Danyal, you know you have nothing to apologize for. Neither of us do. We were children. We didn't have a say in the matter," I say.
" But–" Danyal starts to say but is cut off by banging coming from the kitchen.
I watch as his gaze goes to the door and then back to his hand as he mutters, "Oh shit, not again."
He stands up in a rush and says, "Excuse me for just one second," and runs out the door.
We all go after him.
He runs into the kitchen.
We're just about to enter after him when we hear, " Oh shit, that's not good." Todd gently opens the door to see seven glowing giant, fluffy, moldy cherries. They're at least 4 ft tall and 3 ft wide. All of them have eyes and a mouth; a couple of them even have teeth.
"Good heavens," says Pennyworth.
"I can explain!" Danyal spits out in a hurry.
Oh yes, an explanation would do well right about now.
"Explain away please, Young Master," says Pennyworth. None of this is facing him. 
"Ectoplasm tends to turn anything that's dead back to being alive. Well, the fruits and vegetables are plants, so they were alive," A cherry tries to Ram into Daniel, but he throws up a glowing green shield. " When I cut my hand earlier, I drop of blood must have gone inside the cherries jar."
"You zombified cherries?" Asks Todd.
" I didn't mean to. It just happens!" Danyal exclaims.
" I take it this was a normal occurrence within the Fenton's kitchen," says Pennyworth.
" More often than not, but I wasn't the one to do it! It was usually them. They left ectoplasm inside the refrigerator," The Cherry has backed away from Danyals shield, so he lets it go, "This one's a first for me."The Cherry starts to come closer to us, and instead of the shield, Danyal sends a blast of ice at it. Freezing the Cherry solid. He goes on to do it to a few more as well. As soon as they freeze, they fall to the ground and shatter and dissolve into a million little pieces while leaving the scent of cherries in the air.
" Young Master," Pennyworth says, obviously addressing Danyal.
"  Yes, Gramps," He says, taking out the other cherries.
"I'm afraid I have to add you to the list," Pennyworth says mournfully.
" The list," he asks.
" The kitchen ban list," All of us, besides Todd, say in unison.
"I'm afraid my kitchen is not built to handle spontaneous resurrection," Pennyworth says as he goes into the kitchen, grabbing a broom. I look around the floor to see glass splinters all about; the  jar must have exploded when the cherries expanded.
"But it was just this one time; it won't happen again," Danyal says.
"Young Master," Pennyworth says, as he has decided the matter is closed, but Daniel did not catch on.
" Please," Danyal says, pleading. His eyes are big, bottom lip slightly wobbling as if he's a small child about to cry. Pennyworth stares him down, un-blinking.
"There is no way off he's going to fall for that," whispers Richard to Todd.
Only for Pennyworth to crack, " You may be allowed to use the kitchen, but only under supervision."
'No way,' I hear the others gasp as Danyal gives Pennyworth a serene smile, " thanks, Gramps, you're the best!"