Chapter Text
Dick Grayson
Frostbite nodded. "The Knight of Gotham is correct." Knight of Gotham, huh? Not news, but it seemed the medic didn’t know Jason as Hood or as Jason. Noted. Nightwing kept a sharp eye on both his team and the stranger now crouched next to Phantom with yet another scanner of some kind. The yeti’s frown at the results weren’t encouraging. Maybe the show wasn’t over yet.
Still, Frostbite shook his head and seemed to smile faintly. /fond annoyance-frustration/ Whatever the scanner had told him couldn’t be terrible, then. "I believe it would be best for the Great One to undergo a transfusion similar to what you had. His core is not obviously damaged, but is severely overexerted."
Fuck. Had he done what Jazz did? No time to worry about that. Cyborg stood while Phantom – Danny, really. The exertion had made him revert – mumbled something that vaguely sounded like sandpaper on gravel. Nightwing couldn’t blame him.
Hood nodded to Frostbite. "Aight. Can you do that here or do we need to take a trip?" /rest D-everything's okay/
"Thankfully, the altercation did not damage any of the equipment. We can do that here. I will offer the rest of you the ectoplasm necessary to stabilize and recover the exertion on your proto-cores, but I believe you, Nightwing, are already aware of the potential effects. At least enough to help your Fraidmates make that decision while I see to the Great One. Knight of Gotham, will you assist?"
Nightwing grimaced. Having the Titans agree to this whole mess had been one thing. Hearing the diagnosis of overexerted proto-cores for his team, though? His Fraid? The visual disturbances alone caught him off balance. He could actually see the proto-cores in his own Fraid. Most of them had some kind of… Possibly elemental quality? On second look, what appeared as swirling mercury in Raven’s proto-core… wasn’t. Sure, liquid mercury looked similar. Not at all the same, though. Like this element, whatever it was, didn’t belong in reality. Or at least, couldn’t be categorized by typical means.
Beast Boy’s proto-core flowed and twisted, every color and none, a dense and weightless non-Newtonian fluid. Starfire’s powers glimmered in her chest now, a green blended with the color of the Realm but at the same time wholly different in hue. Cyborg’s proto-core pulsed, a heartbeat without a heart, visually stunning but indescribably. Not a star. Not a power source. Raw energy in its purest form. No distinct color, but a feel. A sense. A knowing.
Then Nightwing turned to look at Hood, carrying Phantom to the tank. His boyfriend didn’t have a core like the others. He was the core. The very heart of the Himalayas, impossibly strong and unforgiving, yet at the same time steady and warm beneath the stone exterior. Even as the crystals that made up Jay’s form shimmered and flickered, he also looked completely human. Fully alive and mortal in every way. The double vision only got worse looking at Phantom. Where Nightwing expected a glacier, the void of space stared back at him. Deep, vast, and unknowable. Celestial bodies flickered and winked through the expanse held into form by human flesh and bone. Okay, that. That was freaky. The new input and senses twisted the whole situation from hypothetical to reality in his gut. They’d deal with it. They always did. It just… Hurt. Even as it brought relief.
While Nightwing tried to keep his newest crashout temptation to himself, Cyborg approached the pebble where Trigon had been and took the risk of reactivating his cybernetic eye. Which apparently worked flawlessly now. Odd. /concerned-the hell?-hope Raven's gonna be okay-Phantom too/ came from Cyborg
Me, too, Cy. Me, too. Thankfully, Starfire and Beast Boy currently offered Raven comfort, which freed up Nightwing’s mind just enough to settle into the immediate implications of what happened. He raised an eyebrow at Cyborg, who simply shrugged /looks like this is just a pebble-weird-nothing on scanners/. Apparently, not even Cy could tell if that pebble was… But damn if it was. Phantom had stopped Pariah Dark. The first Robin knew that from the cobbled-together files of Ghost 101. But this? Add that to the nightmare fuel for the next month.
In the time their silent conference took, Hood had Phantom settled in some kind of healing chamber. Frostbite brought the scanner he’d used on Phantom over to Raven. The poor woman still slumped against Beast Boy, who scowled at the yeti and tightened his grip on his girlfriend, but also trying not to get in the way of the scanner. /did not picture yetis like this-at all-better not hurt her-trust my teammates though/
Starfire shifted enough to be out of Frostbite’s way without relinquishing her ability to keep stroking Raven’s hair. /please, friend, return to us quickly/
While Raven had her examination, Nightwing glanced over to the tank Phantom lay in. He almost choked, though Hood reassured him /remember-not what it looks like/
Still, Nightwing couldn’t force the tension from his shoulders yet. /fuck-really does look like Lazarus water/
Beast Boy looked up sharply at that. "Lazarus water?? Who-" His eyes flickered to the tank Phantom rested in. Thankfully, the glow of the… ectoplasm, apparently, kept Danny’s human form from view. "The fuck..." /really does look like that shit/
/all good-promise/ Hood sent. "The rest of you could use some help as well."
Starfire frowned, attention split between the tank and Raven. "Perhaps. This has been a tiring experience." /need sleep-exhausted-worried about Raven/ and an undercurrent of /strange-speaking without mouths?/
Cyborg’s attention lingered on the tiny, unassuming pebble before he turned to the rest of them. "Star's right. There's somethin' goin' on that ain't audible communication. But somehow it's comin' through just as clear." /gonna take some gettin' used to/
"Ghostspeak," Nightwing said, nodding. "You're all liminal now. I guess… I guess it worked." /relieved-grieving-grateful/
"Right, so… Celebration later? When, ya know, we're all like conscious and stuff again?" /you okay?/
Ugh. Of course Cy would pick up on that. Nightwing opened his mouth… Closed it… Really, what could he say? Part of him stayed swept up in infinite gratitude for his team’s sacrifice for him. Part of him, though-
"He needs some ecto to help him recover, just like the rest of yous," Hood said, cutting off the rest of that thought for him. "And he's beating himself up because he thinks it's his fault yous are taking this little trip."
Nighting glares at him. /oh, fuck you/
"Am I wrong?"
Starfire stroked Raven’s hair one last time and stood. She strode over and took Nightwing’s hands in hers. now that she's sure Beast Boy has Raven, and comes over to take Nightwing's hands. "Nightwing." /comfort-friend-care-love/ "We spoke long about this decision. We did this for you. Not because of you." /hurts to see you hurt-do not blame yourself-no blame to be placed/
Nightwing just closed his eyes, tension still in every muscle, and hugged her.
Jason Todd
Well. That was touching. And maybe Dickwing would get it through his head that he was worth caring about. (Now if only they could get it through Danny’s…)
As Starfire finished speaking, Hood saw/felt Phantom’s protection obsession quietly enveloping each of the original Titans, and the teen king's ghost-speak slurred out /be okay-s'all good-s'okay/
Hood looked to the tube where Phantom was supposed to be resting. /FAMILY-support-rest/ Kid had just finished fighting for his life and the entire multiverse. You’d think he’d give himself a full half hour to recover before trying to save everyone else.
/wha-ow-where-confused/ came from Raven, stirring as she felt Phantom’s protection for the first time.
"Family?" Cyborg said, responding to Hood’s obsession, "What the hell is that?"
Hood didn’t know where to start explaining obsessions, and before he could figure it out, Frostbite spoke up.
"In the mortal tongue you speak, it is poorly referred to as an obsession. It is what defines a Realms being. Their purpose, their greatest strength and deepest weakness. A fulfilled obsession grants strength, power, intensity, calm, balance. An unfulfilled one can lead to such things as rage, despair, and waning. An actively fought obsession..." The yeti trailed off with a frown. "It's not a path a Realms being would willingly take."
"Tell me about it..." Hood muttered.
Raven finally opened her eyes, wincing immediately at the brightness in the room. /obsession?/ She turned to Hood, and her jaw went a bit slack. /that's-wow/ She got ghost vision, then? "I'm guessing it worked. Where's Phantom?" /worried-creeping sense of panic/
Hood nodded toward the tube. "Getting a little pick me up." /you okay?/
/relief/ flooded Raven's proto-core. "I thought... I saw..." /where's Trigon?/
Nightwing hurried to Raven and supported her as she sat up. "Yeah, it worked. Phantom's going to be fine, and Trigon is... well..." he gestured to the pebble. "That seems to be all that's left of him." /worried-relieved/
Raven examined the pebble /confused/ "All… that's left? Nightwing-" /what happened/ and /worried-scared-uncertain/
Beast Boy rubbed her back slowly. "Hey, Rae, take it easy. Everything worked out. We're all okay."
"I'm not entirely sure what happened, I'm hoping Phantom can tell us something. But Trigon tried to attack Phantom, and then... Hood?"
Hood walked over to where Raven was and squatted down to be on level with her. "Phantom's a tough little shit. He's powerful as all get out. But he didn't know how to fight Trigon." /did the best I could-sorry-only way/ "I tried to help, but wasn't enough. I knew that yous had beaten him before, knew his weaknesses, so I... invited you in. Offered a bond so we could all be fighting together."
Raven nodded slowly, eyes falling closed as she steadied her mind and her senses. "Phantom. Phantom's power. That's what he wanted to consume... make his own and use against us." /how-just a pebble?-not possible/ and /in shock/
/fuck that would have been bad/ Hood shuddered at the image Raven’s words conjured up. "Yeah, well... after that things became a bit chaotic, and I'm not sure exactly what happened either, but I think yous helped Phantom trap Trigon between universes some how and then... that happened."
"Hmm." The tension in Raven's shoulders eased, just a little. /still unsure-what now/
There was a flash of light from the now-draining transfusion chamber. Phantom returning to ghost from, probably. His ghost speak floated out, sounding thin and light /now three centuries of sleep and a mountain of Antonio's pizzas/
Cyborg actually chuckled. "I'd get behind that plan."
Nightwing suddenly stared at Hood. "Wait. Offered a bond? Did you do what I think you did?" /the Guardian is going to kill you/
Before Hood could answer, the transfusion chamber opened and Phantom began to step out. Phantom paused, half out, and scrutinized the whole group of them. "Ah, fuck." /yeah-yeah, I'm pretty sure he did/ Regardless, he set both feet on the ground and leaned against the chamber tube.
"Hey, it was your idea." Hood retorted /Guardian’d do worse than kill me if I came back without you/
"Well, I didn't appreciate that fucking demon trying to EAT my CORE." /fair-also ow-also-/ and Phantom crouched to stare at the pebble. /fuck-pretty sure I unmade him/ and /what the fuck/ and /how the fuck/ and /a bit freaked out/
Raven frowned. "Unmade him..." /gratitude-guilt/
Cyborg slowly raised a hand. "I have questions. Lots of them." /what did Hood do?-who the hell is the Guardian?-what is going on?/
Phantom nodded and stood, ignoring the pebble for the moment. "In order, he invited you all into the Fraid. The Guardian is one of my consorts, my girlfriend, the one who invited Hood into the Fraid, and someone who has a...thing...about heroes. Not really in a good way. As for what's going on?" /mind clarifying what the hell you mean by that?/
"Wait, hold up," Cyborg yelled. "How'd you know what I was thinking? Is this more of that ghostspeak?"
/yup/ Hood sent and heard Nightwing saying “Yeah, that’s it,” at the same time.
"You're basically shouting, dude," Phantom explained /not thinking-feeling/
"It's hard to even recognize you’re doing it at first," Nightwing said. "I'm still getting a handle on it."
"I'll get y'all in contact with my sister. She's got a better handle on how it works for Liminals." /tired-this is gonna suck to explain-/
Hood sympathized. He was even worse at explaining this stuff that Danny was. But the others needed some kind of explanation...
Across the room, Raven stood with Starfire's help. "How it works for Liminals. Which you are not. Correct, your Majesty?" /seeing double, but also neither-so weird/ Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg looked confused. So Hood figured Raven was the only one who had picked up the ghost vision. Well, she had planned on pushing her liminality further than the others.
Beast Boy snorted at her. "Uh, duh, Raven. He's a ghost."
Phantom smirked /frustrated-diversion/ and instead of answering Raven's implied question, chose snark. "Yeah, none of that 'majesty' shit. You're Fraid now. Which means I reserve the right to torture all of you with my puns and terrible, confused Lit references." /humor-not sure which clusterfuck is worse/
Raven considered Beast Boy for a moment, then turned back to once again scrutinize Hood and Phantom, but before she could say anything, Starfire said, "I am… confused. Were we not the Fraidmates of Nightwing?" /strange magics-do not know how this works/
Hood refused to wince at that. So he’d done a worse job of explaining than he thought, apparently, sue him. He wasn’t used to this shit either.
Cyborg took a deep breath, tried to get hold of himself. /out of my depth-anxiety/ "Lemme get this straight. We all have some kinda telepathy or somethin'?" /wanna know about the Fraid thing, too-one thing at a time/
"Yeah, Cy," Nightwing said. "It's part of the whole 'liminal' package. Next step up," he grimaced glancing at Phantom and Hood, "is ghost vision."
Phantom quirked an eyebrow at Nightwing, then frowned. "Which you now have." /right?/
"Yeah. Gotta admit, the way you two look is going to take some getting used to."
"Damnit, Nightwing! You don't have to speedrun this!" Hood burst out /worried-grieving-FAMILY/
Nightwing walked over and pulled Hood into a hug. "Hey, it's okay." /knew this was coming-just another change/
Hood returned the hug, squeezing Nightwing tight. He knew that becoming a ghost wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, wasn’t an end. But he wanted Nightwing to have a full life first, damn it. Was that so wrong?
Beast Boy glanced between the three of them. /the way they look?-look normal to me-normalish/
Raven chuckled, nuzzling Beast Boy's shoulder with her cheek. "Nightwing is right. You two are… confusing to behold." /dizzy-recovering-grateful-amused/
"You, too, Rae?" Nightwing asked, releasing Hood and stepping back
"It would appear so." /Phantom is like Hood... that means.../ "Oh."
Danny Fenton
Ugh. Fuck. First a quiet scolding from Hood for being genuinely worried about everyone else during the transfusion. Now this. Apparently, the snark had not been enough of a distraction if Starfire’s scrutiny of her friend was any indication. Finally, the Tamaranian spoke. "If Phantom is like Hood? Does this mean that Phantom is not a ghost?" /confused-looks like one to me/
Cyborg expressed in ghost-speak what he refused to say out loud. /what the hell is going on here.../
Fair, dude. Completely fair. Phantom shrugged, not awake enough to really bother with snark and bullshit right now. /was gonna come out eventually/ Then he just slipped back into his human form. Cyborg’s eyes widened. Phantom continued, "A lot's going on, Cyborg. A lot." /still trying to wrap my head around that/
Setting everything else aside for the moment, Phantom swept his attention around the room. Trigon had been here. There. The pebble. Before he could address it, Beast Boy recovered enough from shock to burble out /you shapeshift??/
"No," Raven said. "He's a halfa, like Hood."
Oh, thank fuck. He didn’t have to explain that part yet. Still… Phantom nodded. "Technically both dead and alive. And neither." /so yeah, uh, now you know?/ and /nervous/ He’d never really told complete strangers that weren’t already of the Realms. Though… they were of the Realms now, weren’t they?
"Dude, how old are you, even?" Cyborg studied him, and Phantom winced at the scrutiny. /looks like a kid-carrying all this shit?/
Shooting a brief glare at Cyborg, Beast Boy kept Raven steady on her feet even as he wondered aloud, "Dude, how does that even happen?" /astonished/
Thanks for the back up, Beast Boy. Phantom absolutely didn’t want to get into that at the moment, so he turned to Cyborg. "As in since my mortal birth, or since becoming what I am?" /grief-loss-determination/
"Hey, no offense man." Cyborg held his hands up in surrender. /this ghostspeak is gonna get old fast if I can't control it/
Starfire’s brow furrowed. "If this is not for us to know, please tell us. It is not our intent to insult or cause pain."
Damn it. He was handling this whole thing badly. Phantom shook his head and let his black bangs fall over his eyes. "Nah, it wasn't the ghost-speak, Cyborg. It's just… I'm almost 18." /hard to talk about/
Beast Boy stands up. "Is this ghost-speak thing permanent?" Strange that he didn’t follow it up with ghost-speak. Was the shapeshifter getting a quicker handle on it than everyone else? Eh, whatever.
Phantom nodded. "Yeah, but back in the mortal world, it usually has an end range. I can hear another core from a block or so away." /change of topic-thank fuck/
At that, Cyborg nodded slowly. "Okay, that explains the telepathy… For now." It took everything Phantom had not to roll his eyes in exasperation. "What about this Fraid business?"
Hadn’t Hood and Frostbite explained any of it? Geez fuck, he just wanted pizza and a nap. Yeah, they needed explanations, but couldn’t he at least eat first? "Fraid is… kinda shorthand for-" /well, Fraid/ "Just like the term 'obsession', it's got a lot of stuff involved. Part of it is…" /ugh, what's the word-mind to mind-core to core/
Beast Boy tilted his head. "Telempathic?"
"I believe," Raven said, "Cyborg is asking how we became your Fraid. From what we were told before, we were part of a Fraid with Nightwing."
"Yeah, that."
"That'd be my fault," said Hood.
Phantom just kinda side-eyed Hood. "I was a little out of it to notice." Really, he’d basically clocked out of anything but surviving and making sure everyone else made it out when he’d felt Trigon’s claws and teeth on his Core.
"Like I said while Phantom was marinating, we needed to all be on the same page to kick demon-breath's ass. The bond I offered yous was a Fraid bond. We're all bound to each other now, one Fraid, instead of two separate ones."
Phantom chuckling ruefully. "First Guardian, now you." /amused-welcome/
Hood shrugged. "It was your idea, remember."
Starfire looked up from her conversation with Frostbite. "Your idea, Phantom?" /why?/
"Because this rock-head," he shoved Hood's shoulder playfully, "Was freaking out the whole time." The smile didn’t stick. /with good reason, apparently/
"Thanks, dude." Beast Boy clapped Hood on the shoulder. /relieved-glad it worked-grateful/
Hood nodded, "You're welcome." Phantom sensed the tension… The small rockslide in Hood’s Core as he said /not sorry-FAMILY/ Sure of the decision. Not sure of everyone else’s reaction to it, then.
Starfire’s attention drifted between Hood and Nightwing, thoughtful. "This means, you and Nightwing are no longer part of different Fraids, yes?"
"Yeah."
Nightwing’s /joy/ could’ve blinded a creature without eyes to see.
Then both of the former Robins got dragged into a bear hug. Huh. Starfire might be fun to spar at some point. "Joyous news!" She cried /excited-delighted/
"I'm sure this will cause a number of complications, but I am grateful." Raven’s lip quirked up, a more visible expression than any other Phantom had seen on her. /sincere-relieved-he's gone-he's really gone/
Cyborg harrumphed. /Fraid bonds can't be broken…/ "I don't like this. But… we were definitely getting out asses kicked. I'd rather not have some kind of permanent bond to people I haven't even met, but you made the right call Hood."
Phantom frowned. He couldn’t blame Cyborg for the frustration. On the other hand… "I trust Hood's judgment, and Nightwing's." Just to let himself move a bit, the halfa strode over to the pebble and picked it up. It really was just a boring beach pebble. Smooth metamorphic rock with no discernible power at all. "I still have no idea how I turned him into a boring beach pebble." /yeah-glad I didn't get eaten/ and /guilt/ and /know he was your dad-sorry/
Frostbite smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. Phantom just scowled as the yeti said, "Great One, you are well known for your adaptability in combat." /Fraid bonds can be permanent, but they shift in strength and purpose/
A collective wave of /relief/ came from most everyone present, and Hood laughed. "Oh, believe me Cy, you aren't half as unhappy as the Guardian is going to be." /gratitude/
Oh, yeah. Fuck. Sam would absolutely be pissy, if not genuinely pissed. Phantom groaned. "That conversation's gonna suuuuck…"
Nightwing winced. /yeah-that's not goinhg to go over well/
Starfire tilted her head. "Why would this Guardian be unhappy at such a joyous occasion?" /confused-who is the Guardian?/
"One of Phantom's consorts doesn't much like heroes, especially the Justice League. Face it, we all kind of dropped the ball, not noticing everything that was going on in Phantom's home for so long. And the League exists to prevent that kind of shit,” Nightwing explained.
Phantom shook his head. "I mean, of all of you, Raven probably has the biggest leverage on her as far as potential friendship. She's a mage." /she's got her issues-we all do/
Raven nodded. "It would be good to talk with someone who knows something of ghostly magic. When she is ready."
All Phantom could do was facepalm. "Right. Yeah…" Raven assuming Sam knew any more of ghost magic than the rest of them… Made sense, but also made his insides twist with inadequacy.
Beast Boy yawned wide before that train of thought could derail everything. "Hey, guys, does anyone else need a fucking nap?" /sudden crash-exhausted/
"Damn it. Should have gotten yous that ecto before now." /Frostbite?/
Thankfully, none of them hesitated to take the doses of ecto needed to stabilize their proto-cores. Once everyone had received appropriate treatment, Frostbite turned to Phantom. "Great One, do not strain yourself for at least one full Earth day. All of you will need rest, as well. "
Don’t whine. Keep it together. "A whole day? Right, yeah…" /ugh-boredom incoming/
Cyborg scowled. "Dang it, does that mean no pizza party?" /we so deserve a celebration after all this shit/
"I am not certain what pizza is, but a small celebration would not be an issue," said the yeti as he put away the last of his tools.
Nightwing kept bouncing on the balls of his feet. That guy never stopped moving, apparently. "Let's get back to Gotham. Then we can figure out what we're doing." /gotta talk to Lady Gotham soon…/
Good an excuse as any, and Phantom took full advantage. "Fright Knight's waiting in the courtyard. Let's go."