A Chance to Trust (YJ/DP)

-33- The Wake of Devastation

The group stood on the side of the bridge, half in shadows as they tried to keep out of sight. Ghosts in Gotham weren't exactly a normal sight to see.

Tucker and Sam walked between the alley way they huddled in, Batman should be there any minute. The rest of the ghosts stood and watched the two children pace.

"We don't exactly have a plan here, are we just going to jump in blind?!" Sam muttered to herself, Tucker followed as she twisted on her heel and walked the other way. He tried to keep up and talk to her but every time she paused she would turn around and Tucker would have to turn too.

"Sam!" He tried, tired of all the walking and changing directions.

Sam snapped to him, "What?!"

Tucker leveled his breathing before answering. "Batman will have a plan, he always has a plan."

Sam wasn't satisfied. "It's taking too long! Danny doesn't have that much time!"

"I agree. Danny does not have much time." Said a voice to her right.

A blue and purple ghost floated from the deep shadows of the alley, with him came a calming presence. Sam recognized it, even the imperceptible ticking noise.

"Clockwork?!" Technus and Tucker said in surprise.

The ghost, Clockwork, gave the two small smiles, then he turned to Johnny who was leaning against his bike. "I do believe you've forgotten something."

Johnny frowned, "I don't think so..." he was confused, what had he forgotten?

Clockwork opened a blue portal with his staff, bathing the alley and its occupants in a bright light. A rather portly ghost came through, the other ghosts present sighed and groaned.

"Hello!" The Box ghost said with a wave.

"Why is he here? I thought I told him to watch... oh." Johnny paused, realizing his mistake. The two kids looked on with confusion while the other ghosts tensed.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Clockwork said, with another wave of his staff Vlad Plasmius entered the alley. "Even if that friend was an enemy." He mumbled to himself.

Skulker yelled and charged, Vlad calmly sidestepped his attack and booted his rear, sending the ghostly machine to the floor.

"I didn't say I'd help happily." Vlad growled as he regarded the ghost hunter with distaste.

"We can't trust him!" Skulker yelled and spun with his cannon pointed to the halfas head.

"I don't expect you to, but for the sake of Danny's life I suggest you at least pretend to get along. You're going to need every bit of help you can find." Clockwork said sternly.

"You're not giving us much hope here Stopwatch." Johnny said with a small frown. "You make it sound as if we're going to war."

The air grew thick with morbidity. "The road you take right now will lead you to war, blood will be shed, lives will be lost. This isn't a simple rescue mission anymore, it never was, it's a battle between ghosts and the GIW. If we don't defeat them here and now our world will end. That is why I'm here, Danny is more crucial to this worlds future than he thinks. Save him and you save the world, loose him and this world is gone."

No one responded for a few moments, the weight of their situation finally sinking in.

"No pressure, right?" Tucker said, trying to lighten the mood after getting a load dropped on their shoulders. His ill-timed joke was not appreciated.