Chapter Text
I feel myself slipping as I am pulled from the time line I have spent the past uncountable years haunting.
I think back to before I had came to this timeline and remember the conversation with Clockwork
“It is the best option to acclimate to your abilities, I send you over to another timeline back.. oh let’s say a few centuries. You would be able to train and experiment with no repercussions since the timeline will dissolve once you return” he says in his Preteen form.
“So let me get this straight you separate a point in time, slip me back and I train till I come into my abilities, then what? You pull me back like it didn’t happen? How does that make sense? If I stay for a few centuries my human half would pass! I think people would notice if I was always a ghost.” Exasperated I take a breath and stair at clockwork as he returns to his middle aged form.
“That’s the beauty of time, it may be centuries in that timeline, but only seconds will pass here. Which means your biological age will only be a few seconds older. Now come along no sense in delaying.” He starts to glow as he sweeps me into this alternate time stream. All I can do is pinch the bridge of my nose. This is why I didn’t want the Crown or Ring. All the titles that I’ve earned over the battles the past 3 years. I know I have to accept it though. My core hums and creaks even then due to the excess power I have building. I can’t afford to loose control of my abilities. I glance to my right and see the sealed Thermos on Clockworks shelf. I can’t become him. So I let myself be taken.
Clockwork had told me once I caught my original time point I would be thrown back, the issue is he put me too far back. It took many a millennia to accept I would just have to wait. Waiting is all I could do till I finally caught back up to my original time he expected a calling, but nothing happened. Thats when I gave up hope and broke the rules clockwork had given me. “No interacting with yourself in the alternate timeline” the only rule I was given. Granted I had done so much to this world I was surprised “I” had been born in it at all. Three years pass before I finally felt the pull of magic.
You would think that after this long I would’ve forgotten about my human life, but I have never really let go of the things that mattered. Maybe it had something to do with being in my Ghost form all this time, but the faces and memories I made with my friends still were there. Sam, Tucker, Dani, and Jazz. I could picture their faces and voices. The downside to this recall is I could remember all the negative memories too, especially those last few months with them.
As the thought pops into my head I start to try and grab at my chest as if I can still feel the injuries. The thousands of arms slapping empty void bring me back to realizing I do not even have a body capable of being hurt in this form let alone keeping scars.
That kick starts my brain, if I’m being summoned back late it might not be by clockwork, maybe it’s by my friends if that’s the case I shouldn’t be in a form that would tear their minds apart. Lovecraft may have been a horrible person, but he got it right on the way these eldritch forms effect humans.
Feeling my form shrinking terrified me. How many years had I been in this godlike form? Shoving a God into a human body was rougher than it should be. I decide to go into my Ghost King form to meet in the middle of doable and comfortable. Not knowing a hundred percent who is summoning me I put on my modern attire, a black and white Shaw Lapel suit with a tie made of the Milky Way, at least my interpretation of it. My skin stays its cosmic black swirling with stars, and I feel my many eyes become two stars. I feel my white fur pull back into shoulder length hair as it pulls itself back into a loose top know. I know this form is taller than I should be, I’m guessing it’s currently around 6’0 and very lean. The bright green Ring on my left middle finger reforms itself, and the flaming green crown above my head shrinks to match the size of my current self. It feels weird being back in a humanoid form, but this is the best I can do as of short notice. What cognitivley feels like minutes to me I know happens in a couple seconds.
Rifts of green echo energy pull me into shape and through the time lines as the summoning comes to a close I feel gravity around me again, not effecting me but present. The green smoke dissipating to reveal a green summoning circle glowing beneath my shoes, I take the first breath of air I’ve felt in decades into my body realizing I hadn’t formed lungs yet.
I open my eyes to see my surrounding, at first all I can see is a young woman in a tuxedo like outfit and a thin older blonde man in a khaki coat staring at me. They look terrified for a moment before the look slides off their faces.
‘Ok so defintley not Tucker and Sam’ I think. My growing bitterness affects the air around me, temperature dropping. My sight expands more to see more faces, instantly recognizing one cowled face. My teenage nostalgia jumps at the fact that a mere 30 ft away is Batman, The Batman.
Not just him either, many familiar faces of the Justice League pop into my view as I turn my head. A buzzing in the air reaches me and I realize the man in the coat is speaking to me.
“Ghost King Pariah Dark, lord of the Infinte Realms, I John Constantine greet you and welcome you to the watchtower.” His demeanor seems to effect those around everyone getting anxious. I assume this isn’t how he normally talks.
Letting the stars clash together in my throat I’m able to speak in this form although it takes a second I am able to get it out.
“I am not Pariah Dark.” I say flatly
His face goes through multiple emotions in a span of seconds settling on a precautionary one.
“So you are not the ghost king then? Zatana did you screw something up?” He says to the young woman beside him. She looks scared in the moment more by me being an unknown entity than his accusation.
“I am the current Ghost King, but I am not Pariah Dark. I took the title from him in a Single Combat victory. Pariah is locked away for good. You may call me Phantom.” I say hurriedly feeling bad for he young woman.
I step forward out of the circle to extend my hand to Constantine, when he suddenly jumps back with a hiss and everyone else in the room tenses up. Looking back I notice the circle I had been summoned in had a binding spell, unfortunately for them it was for Pariah Dark.
“Ah yes, not being Pariah kind of put a kind in your containment plan for me, but do not worry I am not hostile. I truly want to thank you for summoning back to my world.”
“Your world? As far as I know you are an unknown entity to this plane” Batman says to me. THE BATMAN! I push down the excitement.
“ You are correct, this form has never been in this world Batman, but I myself was born into this world before I became a ghost let alone Ghost King.”
“So you know us” he says, damn is he cool not intimidated in the least bit.
“Are we here to question my origins, or is there a reason you were trying to summon the Tyrant King? From what I remember the Justice League is a hero team, did you all start dreaming of world domination while I was away?”
Constantine give Batman a look before returning to the forefront of conversation. Finnaly reaching out to shake my hand I can feel the waves of magic of this man. Defintley not a small timer.
“Of course not, we needed to consult with the Ghost King. I had hear rumours of a change but only through unreliable sources like demons and lurkers. There has been an issue one that exclusively deals with ghosts, hence Ghost King consulting” he says this time with more casualness.
I simply laugh. I reverberating laugh that shakes the room maybe the whole structure. Panic again fills everyone’s face, but Constantine puts a hand up to calm the others. My laugh turns into a giggle before I am done.
“You would someone a Tyrant King, one capable of destroying a dimension without verifying you are summoning the right being? You should know bindings rarely effect titles and only work on names. A demons rumor led you to near damning all of humanity!” My laugh starts again as I see angry glances hit Constantine’s back. He shrugs in response.
“I love it! What year is it?”
He squints at me “20XX”
“Ancients its only been three years I’ve been gone, but it is the Infinte Realms of course they would screw something up in the mean time.”
Tapping my foot I let myself think.
“Okay, explain your ghost issues let us see what we can do, in the mean time can I get some food?”
“Your Majesty, greetings I am Princess Dianna of Themyscira. Getting you food might be an issue depending on what you eat, as you may know knowledge of Ghosts isn’t something we have available, and we don’t want to offend you by listening to more rumours. What kind of food do you eat?” Wonder Woman was talking to me. I may be an eldritch being but I am still technically a young man, I could feel the starts on my face glow a bit brighter than normal as she spoke.
“Please call me Phantom, truthfully I hate the novel titles and all it has brought. I only challenged Pariah out of a need to save my friends and family, that and he was a prick to other ghosts. I’d love it if you could call me simply and if I might be able to call you Wonder Woman as well? And to answer your question do you have any Cereals?