Chapter Text
Of all of the stupid things he has done in his life and death, this might be on top. He should have seen the trap immediately, but they knew he would be blinded by his rage for his friend. Kitty’s core was never the end goal. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Johnny and her got into another fight. She went to watch over his living sister in Gotham as a way to cool off. She didn't expect to be used as bait.
They didn't account for his stubbornness. They heard tales of him being the next in line for the thrown. They thought they could use his core to control the Infinite Realms. Little did they know he refused to be crowned.
Johnny was able to get away before they captured him. He took Kitty’s core and the Ring of Rage with him. While not the most reliable ghost he knows, there is no doubt in his mind that he will deliver it to Dani. He just has to endure until then.
~~~
It’s in a ghost’s nature to disappear. A good assassin knows how to stay hidden.
Never before has Danny eluded her like this, and it’s pissing her off.
They searched and searched, but nothing. The biggest lead they had came from Jason. Damian called him to help with their search. The man admitted that the rest of Damian’s siblings had gotten suspicious and were watching them through the security cameras. Jason was able to lead them down the same path Danny and Johnny took, but that ended in a literal dead end. If only she had a way to track him.
She turns to Damian. The light of the setting sun hit her eyes. For a split second, she could almost think that Danny was the one next to her. How could she not see the similarities this whole time? It’s hard for her to unsee the truth now that she knows it. Not that she wants to, even if she is back to only having her brothers as friends in Gotham. “Do you have the dog whistle I gave you?” Damian fishes it out of his pocket. Always prepared, a trait he must have learned as Robin and his assassin days. “Do you think Cujo could find him?” She asks Jazz.
“Maybe if we had his sent.”
So off to the flower shop they go.
~~~
Even if he isn't the ghost king, his core is still powerful. It only made sense that they would want to refine it and use it themselves. His chest is cut open. Ectoplasm is dripping from his wounds onto the metal floor of the van. Out of all the ways he thought he would die in a car, this wasn't ever one of them. The Suit that is operating on him is pulling at his core in a surgical manner, as if they have done this before, probably have if they were able to open a core forge. His core doesn't release from his body peacefully. It feels as if someone scooped out his guts like a pumpkin. Each pull, a scrape of the spoon, until he was hollowed out. As soon as they were able to get his core out of his body, his body turned back from Phantom into Danny. He was a halfa, of course he would leave a body behind.
By the look on the Suit's face, they didn't expect that. He did all he could in this moment and spat blood at them.
He could survive without his core, but not for long.
~~~
The blond teenager that Jasimine and Dani knew as Johnny 13 was waiting for them back at the flower shop. He held a knife to their throat. They phased through him as if he were a threat at all, a ghost.
“Fucking finally. Took your sweet time,” Johnny 13 complained. He was protectively cradling a green ball to his chest.
“Where is Danny?” Dani demanded.
“Catch.” A ring with a glowing green gem was tossed to Dani. He’s seen Danny carry it around.
“No,” Danny whispered as she caught the ring.
“The GIW got him. Last I saw, he was getting hauled into one of their vans. I don't know where they took him.”
“That Kitty?” Jasmine asked while nodding her head to the green ball in Johnny 13’s arms.
“I asked Phantom for help finding her. I didn't know it would lead to this.” From what he can tell, the ghost sounds remorseful. “Look, you have the ring; my debt is paid. We're going back to the Infinite Realms.” Johnny 13 began to disappear. “Good luck,” were his final words before he was gone.
“Looks like we have something Cujo can use to find him,” Dani sighed as she looked at the ring.
“Why did Danny have your ghost friend deliver his ring?” He questioned.
“Because the holder of this ring signifies the Ghost King. Danny is supposed to take up the mantle since he defeated the last Ghost King in single combat, but he refused. Not wanting the realms to be without a ruler, the council decided to make him the crown prince for now, until he is ready to wear the ring.”
“But that would mean…” that his dearly departed brother is still dead.
“You didn't know?” Dani cocked her head. “Aren't the bats the world's greatest detectives? We’re halfas, Danny and me, both alive and dead. Soon to be fully dead if what Johnny said was true.”
~~~
He didn't think it could get any worse than his core being ripped from his body. He didn't think he would feel it after it was taken out of his body.
He was wrong.
The first step to reforging a core is to melt them down into moldable ectoplasum.
Heat spread from the center of his chest like a star expanding. Burning everything that gets close until there is nothing left but all consuming fire. The ectoplasum in his DNA is boiling. The tears running down his face feel like ice against his skin. He couldn't help the screams escaping him. His core isn't suited for these temperatures. Like the wicked witch of the west, he too was melting.
The second step to reforging a core is to shape it.
Every hit his core took reverberated through his body like a bell chime. A wave of pressure and pain consumed him.
“Shit, it’s-” One of the agents started to say, but he couldn't hear the rest as nothingness washed over him.
~~~
Cujo led them back to the warehouse that Phantom destroyed. The building still lay in ruin, but the forge was hastily cobbled back together. Dani and Damian took care of the agents with ease. A white van was parked nearby with its back doors flung wide open. That’s where she found Danny’s body.
His chest was ripped open. The scattered pieces of his core were strung along the bottom of the van. His heart was still beating, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before it stopped. Without his core, Danny could not survive, and with it shattered, there was no way to put it back inside his chest. She couldn't watch as her little brother died; instead, she picked up the pieces of his core. The coldness of it stung her fingers, but she held on tightly.
“No,” Dani sobbed as she saw the sight of their brother.
Damian grabs his wrist to feel for a pulse. “He’s still alive. We have to do something.” She held out her hands so they could see the remains of his core. His soul is broken. What could they do?
“No. There has to be something we can do.” Dani looked around frantically, hoping to find anything useful. Her eyes go wide. She grips Damian by the shoulder roughly. “You! You can fix him like you fix broken pottery.”
“Our brother’s soul isn't broken pottery,” Damian reminds Dani. “I don't know if gluing it back together will work.”
“We have to try something,” Dani snaps.
Damian nods his head. “I’ll need something to adhere the pieces together.” The three of them search the van from top to bottom, but find nothing.
“What if we melt the pieces and stick them together that way, like melting plastic. Will that work?” Dani asks.
“That should work,” Damian confirms.
“But how are we going to do that? A blast from the ectoguns the GIW had is too big and would destroy his core further.” She knew she should have packed her ecto-laser lipstick, but this was supposed to be a vacation.
“I have just the thing. It’s back at the shop. I’ll fly there and back as fast as I can. Keep him alive until then.” Dani flew off, leaving her with Damian.
They couldn't stitch up Danny’s chest wound until his core was back inside of his chest, but they could stop the bleeding somewhat. “I’m sorry,” Damian whispered to Danny. “I have no right to ask this of you, but please don't die. Not again.” She let him have their moment as it could be their last.
Very carefully in Dani’s hands was the pot with the bloodblossom seed. “The oil can melt ectoplasm, and since cores are condensed ectoplasm, this should work,” Dani explains to Damian. She takes the pot away from her little sister and digs up the seeds. The tiniest of sprouts had erupted from one of the seeds. She hands them over to Damian.
“Normally, I do this with a paintbrush; I will have to make due.” Damian lightly rubs his finger on the seeds and transfers the oils to Danny’s core, melting it slightly. Piece by piece, he reconfigured their brother’s soul.
When he is done, they place the core back into Danny’s chest. The ectoplasum in Danny’s blood reached out for it as if welcoming it back home. The chest wound sewed itself closed.
Danny’s breathing was still shallow, and his pulse was still slow. They had no idea if this was going to work. He’ll need to be monitored constantly in a place the GIW can't find him. She tells Dani and Damian as much.
“The Batcave has state-of-the-art medical equipment we can bring him there,” Damian offers.