1,145Man, it's almost ten years since I posted this story. I can remember those days of high school, dreading to walk through those halls to continue those lessons on how to write in adjectives connecting to adverbs or whatever those headaches are.
Ah, the good ol' days.
Well, as I reminiscence my old high school days, enjoy this new chapter!
Chapter 25: Magic Mystery
A man was rushing through the dark streets of Gotham, panting heavily as he ran, his only light source the flickering lamps above him. He sweated and panted heavily as he kept running. Suddenly, he heard something loud behind him. Panicking, he kept running as fast as he could, hearing the one chasing him getting closer and closer.
Suddenly, he tripped on his feet, causing him to painfully land on the concrete floor. He tried to stand up, but he could feel his right ankle was twisted. He heard the figure land behind him and stalked towards him, glowing red eyes looking at him.
"No! Please! Leave me alone!" the man cried as he tried to crawl away. "Help! Someone! Help!"
He turned back as the figure was now close, fangs shinning through the dark. He screamed as the figure lunged at him, his scream slowly dying out. Soon, all was heard were the barking of stray dogs and the ringing car alarms. The figure let out a satisfied hum before leaping away into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness.
A second later, the man came limping out of the alley, looking daze. As he started walking, fangs were protruding from his mouth.
The Next Day…
Danny was bouncing on his heels as he dodged a strike from the training robot. He moved to the right, ducked to avoid a roundhouse kick which was followed by an axe kick, which he caught before throwing the robot to the ground, followed by an elbow drop aimed at the chest, turning the robot off.
"Yeah, I finally beat it!" Danny exclaimed as he stood up. "Take that, you stupid robot!"
"You really don't like that training dummy, do you," Bruce commented as he walked towards the cheering teenager, his cowl down.
"I loathe this thing," Danny said as he walked away from the robot. The robot that was wiping the floor with him for weeks, taunting him with its mug, faceless head. "I'm sure Tim feels the same."
They both looked at the corner, seeing another training dummy, which was brutally torn apart, some of it was still twitching.
"So, what's next on the agenda?" Danny asked as he walked towards a bench, where a towel and some water was waiting for him.
"Actually, we have a new case," Bruce said as he put his cowl on. "I've been hearing rumors and seeing videos of people getting assaulted at night, strangely enough, there's no police reports."
"I'd say weird, but after spending some time here, I can't tell what's normal and what isn't," Danny said as he let the familiar rings of light travel across his body, changing into Phantom. "Can I see the video?"
Batman walked towards the computer and turned it on. He then showed the video of a man running through a dark alley, looking scared before something tackled him to the ground. A few seconds later, the same man started calmly walking away.
"That is weird," Phantom commented.
"This was the most recent one," Batman said. "I went to see the man, but nothing seemed off about him, except for these."
He showed a picture of the man and enlarged the image, focusing on the neck. There, Danny saw two puncture wounds on it.
"Wait, you're not suggesting vampires, are you?" Phantom said in disbelief. "I mean, sure Ghosts, gods, and zombies exist, but vampires? What's next, werewolves?"
"You'd be surprise," Batman said in a serious tone. "I fought vampires before, but something seems odd with these attacka."
"…You fought vampires before," Phantom said in a deadpanned tone.
"Back then, he only targeted females, but here, both male and female are being attacked, and they're not doing anything," Batman said, ignoring Phantom. "This could be a different vampire, or something else is attacking."
"How about a stakeout?" Phantom suggested. "I'll be bait, I walk around the streets at night, and when that thing attacks, bam! We take it down."
"Hm…Are you sure? This could be dangerous," Batman said.
"Dude, we faced off against an alien invasion, an immortal witch, an alien robot, and a rock-faced god," Phantom commented. "I'm pretty sure Count Dracula would just be another Friday night."
"He actually finds count offensive since he was king of the vampires," Batman commented.
"…You know what, not even gonna ask," Phantom said in a deadpanned tone, choosing to ignore that Batman fought Dracula. Instead, he focused on the mission on hand. "Hey, does garlic actually work against vampire?"
"It doesn't, silver does."
"Huh…You learn new things every day.
Later…
Danny was wondering through the streets, wearing a disguise. He dyed his hair blond, wearing fake glasses, and was dressed like a college student, with a brown vest that had the symbol for Gotham University on the right breast, a white shirt, brown pants, and brown shoes, carrying an empty leather case.
"Phantom, anything yet?" Batman said through his comm.
"Nada, yet," Danny said as he looked around the streets conspicuously. After researching the attack patterns, they managed to deduce that the next attack could happen in this area. "Anything on your end?"
"Nothing. Stay alert."
"Roger, roger," Danny said as he stood beneath a street lamp.
"Hey there~," a sultry voice called from behind, making him look at saw two scantily dressed women leaning on the alley. "You're cute~. Wanna have fun with us~?"
If it was a few months ago, Danny would have been blubbering and stammering while blushing up a store. Now, he just gave them a small smile.
"I'm sorry, ladies, but I'm meeting with a friend later," he said politely.
"Oh poo~, I hope that friend of yours is cute enough for you to decline~," one of the women said as they walked to the other side of the alley to look for other guys.
"You're getting better," Batman commented as Danny pretended to look at his watch.
"It helps that I already met some cute girls," Danny commented with a shrug. "You won't see me blubbering like a doofus again."
Suddenly, Danny saw movement from the corner of his eye. Calmly, he started walking to the more deserted part of the street, using his Ectolocation to see that the figure was following him. He turned into an alley and the figure sneakily followed him. The figure then rushed into the alley, only to stop when he saw no one there.
"You should be careful," a voice whispered behind him. "It's dangerous at night."
Before the figure could react, green energy surrounded him and was slammed to the wall. Phantom appeared, his right hand glowing green, as Batman landed quietly next to him.
"So, let's see who our mystery stalker is," Phantom said as he pulled the figure forward, the glow revealing his face. "Oh! It's…someone I don't know…"
"He was the guy that was attacked last night," Batman said, noting that the guy had pale skin, sharp teeth, and his eyes was glowing green. "Something's not right."
With a roar, the man suddenly released a blast of ectoplasmic wave that sent the two flying to a wall. Surprised, Phantom and Batman watched as the possessed man landed on a crouch and started climbing the wall with unnatural movements.
"W-was that-?" Phantom stammered in shock.
"Yes," Batman replied calmly.
"D-did he just-?"
"He did."
"Oh, come on!" Phantom exclaimed as he and Batman chased the man. "I get supervillains getting Ghost powers, but how did this guy get them? I was electrocuted to get my powers!"
"Calm down and just think," Batman said calmly. "He has powers, but he's not flying, so it may just be a possession."
"I don't think so," Phantom said. "Even if he was possessed, the Ghost should still be able to use their powers."
"Then perhaps some kind of infection?"
"Like what, a ghost flu?" Phantom said in disbelief.
"We won't know until we catch him," Batman said, focusing on their target.
Phantom nodded and flew faster, spotting the guy leaping across rooftops easily. Phantom then threw a ball of ectoplasm that exploded in front of the man, stopping the man in his tracks. He landed in front of the man, who hissed at him.
"Really? Hissing?" Phantom said with a raised eyebrow.
The man rushed towards him with his sharpened nails, trying to tear him apart, but Phantom easily dodged the attacks, swaying his body to the sides before he grabbed the man's arm and flipped him to the ground, pinning his arm to his back. The man struggled violently, but Phantom kept a strong grip on him.
"Okay, you either stop struggling and give up or I start punching," Phantom said, raising a glowing fist. "Give up, you're caught."
Suddenly, the man's neck twisted around, causing Phantom to look shock as the man glared at him with glowing eyes.
"You can't stop me," the man said in a weird, echoing voice.
Suddenly, he saw movement from the corner of his eyes, which was the only warning he had to make a shield as the figure kicked him away from the man. Sliding through the roof, Phantom looked and saw that the one who kicked him was a woman, her eyes glowing, teeth sharp, and had sharp nails as well.
"You are outnumbered," the woman said in the same echoing voice.
Phantom glared at her and was about to charge when a kick narrowly missed him from the side. Surprised, he looked at saw another infected person, who hissed at him. Suddenly, more of them showed up, growling, and hissing at him.
"And we are one," they all said at the same time.
"Why didn't I sense them?" Phantom thought as he saw the possessed humans surround them.
They all rushed at him and swung their sharp nails, but he blocked them with a shield. They roared and punched at the shield, their strikes releasing small blasts of Ghost Energy, making small cracks on his shield.
Eyes glowing, Phantom expanded the shield, pushing the group away from him. The group of infected people managed to land on their feet before hissing at him. They rushed towards him and Phantom was about to intercept when black pellets was thrown towards them, causing black smoke to surround them.
Stunned by their momentary blindness, the group were suddenly tossed out of the smoke cloud with pained grunts. Once the smoke cleared, it revealed Batman with silver brass knuckles that were glowing green, and Phantom holding the guy that tried to ambush them earlier on the ground.
"So, the anti-Ghost brass knuckles seem to be working," Phantom said as he kept the man pinned on the ground. "Wanna test the anti-Ghost wire? This guy is really struggling, like a headless chicken."
Batman pulled out silver wire from his belt and was about to tie up the struggling man before he was blindsided from behind, crashing onto Phantom, the two sent flying to a wall. Groaning, Phantom looked and saw a glowing brute, snarling at them. Suddenly, two more brutes appeared, surrounding the two.
"Geez, what do people in Gotham eat?" Phantom asked as one brute grabbed him and lifted him to the air, ready to slam him to the ground. "Huh, this feels very familiar."
"Ekam eht dnuorg tfos!"
As the brute slammed Phantom to the ground, he expected a painful impact, but instead, he felt a soft landing on the ground.
"Wow, Gotham has such soft rooftops," Phantom commented before he saw doves fly around the brutes before they turned into rope, tying the brutes up. "…Did I hit my head?"
In a puff of smoke, a man appeared between the brutes. It was a black-haired man with black eyes and a small moustache, wearing a black magician's outfit, holding out a cane and a hat.
"And now, for my next trick, I will make these volunteers disappear!" the magician said as he twirled his hat back on his head. "Ylf ot a retspmud!"
The tied-up brutes suddenly flew off the roof and into a dumpster just across the street. Phantom looked at the place the brutes were before looking at the magician, who noticed him looking before bowing slightly.
"Zatara?" Batman greeted, hiding his surprise as he went back up his feet.
"Hello, old friend," the magician said before turning to Phantom and helped him up his feet. "Hello there, young man. I hope you don't mind me stealing the show. I'm-."
"The Great Zatara!?" Phantom exclaimed in shock, staring at the magician with wide eyes. "Woah! Like, woah!"
"Oh? A fan?" Zatara said with a smile. "Always nice to meet a fan."
The remaining infected hissed at the magician and lunged towards the magician. Phantom quickly rushed in front of him and was about to put on a shield.
"Ezeerf!"
Suddenly, the infected were suddenly inside blocks of ice, surprising Phantom. He then heard a groan behind him, causing him to turn and his eyes widened and jaw dropped. Walking towards them was a beautiful girl his age, with long, silky black hair with purple streaks, wearing light pink blush, dark red lipstick, and thick mascara, dressed in a top hat, a buttoned shirt with a tie and black jacket, black bloomers, gray stockings, and black heels.
"Oops," she said as she stopped beside Zatara. "I meant for them to stop, not put them in ice."
"It's the wording, dear," Zatara said. "Instead of saying 'Ezeerf,' you should have said 'Pots ni ecalp.'"
Suddenly, the ice shattered and the infected rushed towards them, but Zatara calmly lifted his wand at them.
"Pots ni ecalp!"
Suddenly, in a flash of light, the infected stopped in the air, unmoving. Phantom blinked as he waved his hand in front of them. Their eyes were moving, but that was it.
"Like that, Zatanna," Zatara said to the girl. "Always mind the wording."
"Okay, Daddy," Zatanna said with a nod before turning to Phantom. "Hello."
"Uh…Um…Er…" Phantom said eloquently.
"Tongue tied already? I don't even know your name yet~," Zatanna said in amusement, giggling as Phantom started coughing to clear his throat.
"D-Danny Phantom," he said before he heard some hisses. He turned and saw that the rest of the infected were surround them.
"There's too many," Batman said before turning to Zatara. "Get us out of here."
"One stage exit at your service," Zatara said, raising his cane. "Ekat su eht Evactab!"
The infected jumped at the group, but in a flash of light and puff of smoke, the group disappeared, and the infected ram into each other. They all stood up and hissed in frustration.
"You cannot escape me," they all said in unison.
Batcave…
At the center of the cave, Batman, Phantom, and the two magicians appeared, unharmed. Suddenly, Alfred appeared, carrying a tray of tea.
"Back so soon, Master Bruce?" Alfred said before noticing the two new guests. "Oh, and your brought guests. Good to see you again, Master Zatara, Young Lady Zatanna. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Yes please," Zatanna said with a small smile before turning to Phantom. "So, Danny Phantom, right? I heard about you. I like the hair."
"Oh, um…thanks," Phantom said, blushing a little to the admittedly attractive girl. He then quickly turn to Batman. "So…how do you know the Great Zatara?"
"We trained together," Batman replied, making Phantom's eyes widen. "No, I can't use magic. We trained together in escape artistry."
"Oh…So, you can't pull rabbits out of a hat?"
"No," Batman said with a hint of annoyance as Phantom looked disappointed. "How do you know Zatara?"
"He did a show in Amity Park a few years ago," Phantom said with a smile as he remembered that day fondly.
Flashback…
An eleven-year-old Danny was sitting on a bench with a frown. He was in the carnival with his family, though he wasn't really having a good time, with his parents being mistaken for carnies while his sister was ruining every trick that was shown by the actual carnies, making him lose interest.
"Hey, what's wrong?" a voice said, causing him to look up, seeing a girl his age in a pink dress, her black hair done in pigtails.
"Nothing…Just not having a good time," Danny said as he looked down to the ground. "They say carnivals are fun, but I don't really see it."
"You want fun? Then come with me!" the girl exclaimed as she suddenly grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him with her. Startled, Danny just let himself get dragged by the girl before they entered a tent. There, he saw a lot of people sitting in front of a stage, looking eager. The girl pulled him to the front seat, the two sitting down.
"Where are we?" Danny asked, but the girl just shushed him and looked eagerly at the stage.
Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, the Great Zatara appeared as the spotlight focused on him. Surprised, Danny saw as he waved his wand, and a pair of doves appeared from thin air, flying around the tent before they flew in his hat. He then put his hand in the hat and pulled out a rabbit.
Danny's eyes were wide with wonder as he watched the magician perform amazing tricks; going inside a box and to appear behind the audience, made his assistant float between the giant rings, and the cut in half inside a box trick.
"Now, for my next trick, I'll need a member from the audience…" he said before his eyes spotted Danny and pointed at him. "You, young boy, please come here."
Startled for the spotlight to be on him, Danny slowly got on to stage, excited and nervous as he approached the smiling magician.
"Don't be scared, you will enjoy this," Zatara said before he pulled his sleeves, showing there was nothing in them. When he pulled them back, he suddenly pulled out a red cloth from his right sleeve. With a flick from his wrist, the cloth turned into a balloon, which he blew into and quickly turned it into a horse. He handed the balloon to Danny, who took. Suddenly, he started floating, startling him. The audience was mesmerized as Danny safely floated back to his seat, still shocked at what happened.
The audience then applauded loudly as the Great Zatara bowed to them before he disappeared in a puff of smoke, followed by pigeons flying through the smoke and out of the tent.
After the show, Danny turned to the girl to thank her, but saw that she was gone. He looked around the tent, but couldn't see her, so he went outside, where he ran into his family.
"Danny, there you are," Maddie said with a smile as she patted her head before looking at the tent. "Oh? The Great Zatara? You watched him?"
"Yeah! He was so cool!" Danny said with wide eyes still sparkling as he held the balloon animal. "The magic show was so cool!"
"Please, magic's not real," Jazz scoffed.
"Of course magic is real, Jazzy," Jack said with a grin. "Why, my uncle always made coins appear from my ears every time!"
Danny looked back to the tent as he followed his family through the carnival, still at awe from the show.
Flashback End…
"I've been a fan since," Phantom said after his trip down memory lane before turning to Zatara. "I didn't know you were actually a superhero."
"I'm a jack-of-all-trades sort of magician," Zatara said with a small smirk as he turned to Batman. "My old friend here handles the more obvious crimes while I take care of the more mystic aspects of the criminal underworld."
"So, why are you here, Zatara?" Batman asked as he took off his anti-Ghost knuckles and placed them on a scanner.
"I've been going around place to place and saw some troubling situation," Zatara said with a frown. "It appears that your old friend, Felix Faust, has left his warehouse of magical items unsupervised, and some two-bit crooks have auction it for some quick money."
"Impossible, I stripped down everything Faust had," Batman said with narrow eyes.
"You should remember, old friend, that deceiving the eyes is part of the trick," Zatara said as he tapped his cane on the ground. "It appears those crooks accidentally stumbled upon his magically hidden warehouse and started profiting off it. One of the artifacts seemed to have given the ones who infected these people access to the Ghost Zone."
"You know about the Ghost Zone?" Phantom asked, surprised.
"My boy, if you study hard enough of the mystic arts, you tend to learn a lot of other dimensions with mystic powers," Zatara explained.
"There's magic in the Ghost Zone?" Phantom said in surprise. "Wait, can I do magic?"
"Who bought this artifact?" Batman said, getting the conversation back on track.
"An old friend of yours, a Professor Achilles Milo," Zatara replied.
"Hm…That explains a few things," Batman said as he thought about the infected people's symptoms.
"Um…Who's Milo?" Phantom asked, looking at the two adults before at Zatanna. "You know who they're talking about."
"Afraid not," Zatanna said before looking at Phantom coyly. "So, I heard about you, have to say, I wasn't a fan of your first name. Inviso-Bill, was it?"
"I didn't come up with that," Phantom said with a twitching eyebrow. "So...are you a superhero, too?"
"In training, though it took Daddy a lot of convincing for him to even teach me how to be a magician," Zatanna said with a small sigh before looking at Phantom with a smile, making him blush a little. "I have to say, it's impressive that you're part of the big leagues. What's your secret?"
"L-l-luck, I guess," Phantom said with a small stammer. "I've just been there at the right place when we first met."
"You're so modest," Zatanna said with a giggle. "I've heard of your accomplishments, though some were bad, you did a lot of amazing things. And you just started a few months ago."
"Oh…Um, thanks," Phantom said with a small smile. He then looked at the two adults as Batman went to the computer, showing a picture of a scrawny, pale man with black, bowl-shaped hair, black, sunken beady eyes, and appeared unshaved. "Who's the Poindexter?"
"Professor Achilles Milo, arrested for illegal splicing of human and animal DNA," Batman explained. "He was released a few months ago."
"His name is Achilles?" Phantom said, looking at the scrawny man. "Man, his parents must be disappointed."
"He used to work for Dr. Kirk Langtstrom, the former Man-Bat," Batman said, showing a picture of a middle-aged, auburn-haired man next to a man-sized bat monster, as well as a chemical compound for the Man-Bat serum.
"What does that have to do with the infected?" Phantom asked before Batman showed the results of the scan, which was a combination of the Man-Bat serum and ectoplasm.
"He somehow managed to combine ectoplasm in the Man-Bat serum, creating a vampire-like virus," Batman said with narrowed eyes.
"So, instead of creating man-sized bat monsters, he made vampires?" Phantom said in disbelief. "Why couldn't he just make giant bat robots? At least then, I'd feel satisfied on breaking them."
"I could make something to counter the virus," Batman mused as he looked at the chemical compound as he started typing. "Phantom, I'll need you to look where Milo is, try and destroy the virus."
"Sure, one problem, I have no idea where to look," Phantom said with a shrug.
"Perhaps I could be of assistance," Zatara said as he pulled out what looked like a silver pocket watch. Phantom noted that it was glowing. "Dr. Fate lent me this nifty watch to look for the artifact. That's how we managed to find it here in Gotham."
"Then go, I'll start working on the cure," Batman said.
"Oh my~, going out in Gotham with a cutie like you?" Zatanna said while fluttering her eyelashes, making Phantom blush.
"Um…we're not exactly alone," he stammered, looking at the amused Zatara.
"Go, now," Batman said in an annoyed tone.
Zatara then teleported the three out of the cave and back into the streets of Gotham City. Zatara looked at the watch before walking towards a certain direction, the two teens following him.
"So…those spells you used, what language is that?" Phantom asked Zatanna. "I'm really good speaking different languages, but I can't recognize what you and your dad said."
"I could tell you, but a magician never reveals her secret," Zatanna said with a smirk. "Though I might share it if I get to know you better."
Phantom blushed a little. Sure, he met beautiful and cute girls, like Supergirl, Tula, Megan, Starfire, and Princess Audrey, but they weren't as forward as Zatanna is. It didn't help that Zatanna is a very attractive girl, wearing just the right amount of make-up to accentuate her eyes and lips, and the outfit that made her body more noticeable.
"There," Zatara said, pointing at an abandoned building. Phantom noted that the location was at the center of all the attacks. "The artifact is there."
"I can't feel any Ghosts…but I couldn't feel those guys earlier," Phantom said, narrowing his eyes. "Hang on…"
Phantom grabbed the two by the arms and lifted them on top of the building. Once they were on top of the building, Danny placed his hands on the ceiling and closed his eyes. Using Ectolocation on the building.
"Hm…The upper floors are empty…but there's a very big basement, and a lot of people there…And something like a Ghost Portal," Phantom said, opening his eyes.
"The artifact," Zatara said with a nod.
"What do we do now?" Zatanna asked.
"There's too many of them to fight," Phantom said, as he counted about three dozen infected at the basement.
"All we need is to take the artifact to stop them from using its power," Zatara said.
"But we can't just leave them alone, or they'll keep biting people," Phantom said.
"Leave that to me," Zatara said, tapping his cane. "Zatanna, stay here and keep watch."
"Aw…Okay," Zatanna said with a pout, but she relented. "How are you going to get it?"
"Leave that to me," Phantom said as he grabbed Zatara's arm before turning to Zatanna. "See you in a bit."
Zatanna watched as Phantom and her dad became intangible and went through the ground, leaving her alone.
Phantom and Zatara easily went down the building until they reached the basement. It was dark and eerie, but they saw an eerie green glow from one of the doors.
"Elbisivni," Zatara said, waving the cane above him, turning himself invisible before turning to Phantom. "I can't have you showing me up now, can I?"
Phantom nodded and turned invisible. The two then walked through the door quietly and saw that it was a spacious room, with throbbing, green cocoons on the side. Kneeling on the sides were a lot of infected civilians, and at the center was a giant table with the artifact, a black, circular frame with gold and green linings with a green gem on the sides, on the center, surrounded by vials and lab equipment. Stand in front of the table was a tall, lanky man with white hair shaped into a bowl, pale skin, pointy ears, sharp teeth, and eyes with black sclera and green pupils, wearing a lab coat.
"Yes, soon, I will have control of this city," he said in an echoing voice, mixing the Man-Bat serum before place it at the center of the artifact. "A few more tweaks, and I'll create the perfect world, where I am in control."
The artifact glowed before it released a pillar of green light, and Phantom felt the familiar sensation of the Ghost Zone from the artifact. A few seconds later, the artifact stopped glowing and Milo picked up the vial, which was now glowing green.
"Excellent," he said with a smirk. "With the power of this new serum, I will take control of Gotham, then used my army to spread my power through the world...But first, to handle the rats sneaking in here."
Milo looked forward, and the infected suddenly rushed forward, tackling the air in front of Milo. The air shimmered before Phantom and Zatara appeared, pinned on the ground by the infected.
"You really think you could sneak up on me with my supernaturally enhanced senses, especially with everyone here connected to me?" Milo and the infected said in unison as the brutes grabbed the two and held them in a bear hug. He looked at Phantom in interest. "So, this is Batman's newest sidekick?"
"I ain't no one's sidekick, bowl cut," Phantom said with a growl.
"That makes no difference to me," Milo said. "But I must thank you. Because of you, Ghost energy is on the range nowadays, I've seen how the Joker almost destroyed the Justice League, but imagine if that power was used methodically, with more grace and precision. The world will be unified, under my brilliance."
"Yeah, if you call surrounding yourself with echoes to hear yourself talk brilliant," Phantom said.
"I do agree, I cannot see how brilliant it is to surround yourself with yourself?" Zatara said, shaking his head.
"Oh, you will," Milo said as he turned back to the table, grabbing a syringe.
He put the serum in a syringe before he injected it to his neck. Once it was in his system, Milo started growing. His lab coat was torn off his body as his body mutated, with his arms becoming thick, claws protruding from his fingers, wings sprouting from his back, his ears and legs becoming bat-like.
"Yes!" Milo and the infected said in unison. "I feel more powerful than before! I am now perfect!"
"Perfectly ugly," Phantom said, causing Milo to look at him. "I mean, your parents should have named you Punga instead. That would have matched you better than Achilles."
"You still mock me? You are either brave or foolish," Milo said, walking towards him. "You won't be mocking me soon, once my elites attack Gotham."
With a snap of his fingers, the cocoons started moving before it exploded, revealing hulking bat-like brutes, all hissing as they walked out of the cocoons. Milo's eyes glowed, making the Brute-Bats stopped as their eyes also glowed.
"I am connected with them, they are an extension of my will," Milo said with a mad grin. "No one can stop my army of Ecto Evolved Man-Bats! Not even Batman can stop me!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," a voice said, causing Milo to look behind him and saw that Zatara was free from the thug's grip, picking the artifact from the table, putting it inside his hat. "You'd be surprised what he can accomplish when he put his mind to it."
"How did you escape?!" Milo exclaimed in shock.
"Trade secret," Zatara said as put his hat on his head.
Suddenly, Phantom appeared in front of Milo and punched him on the face. He stumbled back in shock before Phantom followed it with a kick, hitting him on the chest. Phantom threw another kick, but Milo used his new wings to block the kick before opening the wings to push Phantom away.
"Go, my army! Spread my glory to the entirety of Gotham!" Milo ordered and all the infected started rushing either through the door or ceiling.
"Enon yam evael siht gnidliub lintu s'ti revo!" Zatara said, tapping the cane loud on the floor, and the entire building started glowing. The infected found themselves unable to leave the building. They tried to smash the windows, fly through the walls, and break down the ceiling, but they couldn't get out. "Now, until this is over, no one is leaving this building."
"Fool, you basically trapped yourselves with me and my army," Milo said as he and the infected spoke in unison as they circled around Phantom and Zatara.
"Quality over quantity as they say," Zatara said, not deterred by the situation.
"Question, but can you fight?" Phantom asked, turning to the magician.
"I've been training with Batman, of course I can fight," Zatara said, proving his pointed when he judo flipped a hulking infected easily over his shoulders.
"Okay then," Phantom said before he punched an infected that tried to swipe him with his claws before dodging a woman that jumped him from behind.
"What are you fools doing?" Milo exclaimed, the infected copying him again, much to his annoyance. "Destroy them already!"
"Dude, if you're controlling them doesn't that mean you're calling yourself a fool?" Phantom commented as he ducked a punch before kicking the infected away.
"The boy makes a valid point," Zatara said, freezing a few infected before sending them flying towards other infected.
"Mock me all you want, but you cannot keep this up for long!" Milo exclaimed as the infected kept attacking.
Suddenly, they heard a scream on top of the building. Phantom and Zatara stopped shocked as they looked up.
"Zatanna!" Zatara exclaimed before he was grabbed from behind, dropping his cane, with Phantom later being pinned as well.
"You didn't really believe these is all my soldiers, did you?" Milo said with a smirk as he walked towards them. "You really shouldn't have left such a young lady alone in a dangerous city, especially at night. Now, how do I get out of this building?"
Zatara just glared at him, but then he looked up, his expression becoming worried. Phantom, seeing how worried he was, growled before he started glowing brightly, getting Milo's attention.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he demanded, walking towards Phantom.
"Let…me…go!" Phantom exclaimed, expulsing a ring of light that blasted the infected off him and off Zatara. Phantom then grabbed Zatara flew up and tried to phase through, but like the infected, he couldn't get out. He growled as he put Zatara down and started punching the ceiling, but to no avail.
"Stop, Phantom! You'll only hurt yourself!" Zatara said, cursing at being helpless right now. Because of him, his daughter was in danger, and there was nothing he could do. Once the spell was cast, the only way for it to break was for the battle inside the building to be over.
Phantom stopped punching once he felt his fists hurting, but then he noticed something weird. He could see a faint, glowing barrier on the ceiling. When he went to touch it, the barrier started thinning. Getting an idea, Phantom placed his hands on the barrier and started pouring his Ghost energy to it.
Slowly, the part of the barrier started weakening before a small part of it shattered. Zatara looked surprised as he felt his spell break, even though it was only in that part. Phantom then grabbed Zatara again and they phased through that part of the building.
When they got to the ceiling, they saw Zatanna pinned to the wall by a brute, her wand on the ground. Phantom quickly flew towards them and did a heel kick on the brute's head, stunning him enough to let Zatanna go, before he grabbed his back and slammed him to the ground.
"You okay?" he asked, turning to Zatanna. He offered her a hand, which she took, smiling at him.
"My hero," she said as she fluttered her eyelashes at him, making him blush.
Suddenly, Milo jumped through the spot where Phantom broke through, making a hole. He looked into the night sky of Gotham with his glowing eyes, grinning wickedly as his army crawled after him. He then looked at Phantom in interest before at the building below him, seeing that his army couldn't only get through the spot Phantom attacked.
"Interesting, you can disrupt the flow of energy," Milo said before he grinned wickedly. "I shall keep that in mind when I upgrade myself to perfection."
Soon, his entire army surrounded the three. Phantom and Zatara stood protectively in front of Zatanna, who held her wand in the ready.
"I could have sent my army already, but I think I'll have to take care of you first," Milo said, the army speaking in unison. "I will turn the street performers into my vampires, but I'll keep you around, Phantom, study you to create the perfect serum."
"Hey, is there a spell that can reverse the serum?" Phantom asked, looking to Zatara.
"If I could, I would have done it by now," Zatara said. "My magic is powerful, but the artifact that he used for his serum is more powerful. I cannot do anything."
"Well then, I guess it's time for the usual butt kick solution," Phantom said, cracking his knuckles. He then turned to Zatanna. "Um…Can you fight?"
"Don't let the eyeliner fool you," Zatanna said with a smirk.
The infected rushed towards them. Phantom looked at the Brute Bats flying, so he shot towards them. He grabbed the nearest one and slammed him to another one before he dodged one that tried to grab him from behind before kicking him away. The Brute Bats all hissed at him, making him smirk.
"You want me, come and get it!" he exclaimed as he started flying, the Brute Bats following him.
Meanwhile, Zatara and Zatanna were dealing with the infected. The two stood side by side as they cast spells together.
"Pots ni ecalp!" Zatanna shouted, making a group of infected stopped in one place.
"Nrut otni seinnub!" Zatara shouted, turning the paralyzed group into bunnies, their ears flicking and noses twitching.
A brute suddenly landed behind Zatara, but Zatanna retaliated by throwing colorful scarves tied together from her sleeves, and like a snake, wrapped around the brute, immobilizing him, giving Zatara the chance to levitate the brute and throw him to a group of infected, knocking them down like bowling pins.
Milo looked annoyed as his enhanced soldiers couldn't beat one man and two teenagers. He saw Phantom taking down hi Brute Bats in the sky, making him growl in anger. His wings flared up before he flew towards Phantom, knocking into him, surprising him.
"I changed my mind, you will serve well as my servant!" he exclaimed as he grabbed Phantom and bit him on the shoulder.
"AAAGH!" he screamed as he felt something pumped into him by Milo.
Milo let go, smirking as he watched Phantom hold his shoulder in pain. He then turned to the shocked Zatara and Zatanna.
"My first order, destroy them!" he said to Phantom with his eyes glowing, who held his bite wound. "What are you waiting for? Follow my command!"
"Dude, you bit me!" Phantom exclaimed angrily, shocking Milo. "You better not have any rabies!"
"What?" Milo said in shock before he made his eyes glow brighter, trying to claim control over Phantom. "You will obey me!"
"Obey this, Old Yeller!" Phantom exclaimed as he blasted Milo back to the roof. As the infected Man Bat fell to the roof, Phantom noticed that the Brute Bats and infected all winced and groaned in pain.
"Ugh…" Milo said, rubbing his head as he stood back up, only to get sucker punched by Phantom that sent him sprawling across the roof, with his army groaning in unison.
"Guys! Focus your attacks on Achilles' Heel over here!" Phantom exclaimed before unleashing a barrage of Ghost Rays at Milo, bombarding him.
The two magicians followed his lead as they aimed their spells at him.
"Nips ni ecalp!" Zatanna shouted as she blasted Milo, causing him to spin uncontrollably in the air.
Zatara aimed his hat at Milo, which started glowing before it unleashed a powerful blast of magic that sent him flying across the street. Before he landed, Phantom grabbed him by the wings and flew back in the air before he spun him around and threw him back to the roof, where he painfully landed.
The infect, now groaning in pain, fell on their knees, weakened like their master. Phantom landed back on the roof before he used his powers to lift the infected and Brute Bats into one place before Zatara stepped in.
"Yllacigam dnib meht!" he shouted before glowing ropes appeared from his hands and tied them together. He then went to restrain Milo.
"Hm? Where'd the rabbits come from?" Phantom asked, noticing the unmoving bunnies in place.
"Nrut meht kcab ot lamron!" Zatanna shouted before the bunnies turned into beaten infected before tying them up with magic.
"You can turn people into rabbits?" Phantom asked in awe. "Is that where you guys get them for the hat trick?"
"No, we have a pet bunny for that one," Zatanna replied.
Milo, slowly recovered from his ordeal thanks to the serum, saw that his army was captured. He growled angrily before he spotted Phantom talking to Zatanna. His eyes then narrowed at Zatanna. With a burst of speed that knocked Zatara off his feet.
"Zatanna!" he called out in a panic.
That was the only warning Zatanna had before she saw Milo in front of her, mouth wide as he lunged at her. She let out a scream before closing her eyes, waiting for the pain, only to hear a grunt. She opened her eyes, which widened when she saw Phantom blocking Milo's fangs with his arm. He screamed as Milo's jaws tightened on his arm, almost breaking his arm.
"…You know…she's a minor, right?" Phantom grunted before he used his bitten arm to push Milo back, surprising the mutated scientist, before doing a haymaker to slam Milo on the ground, breaking the roof and causing the two to fall back inside the building.
"Phantom!" Zatanna called out in worry as she looked at the hole. When the dust cleared, she saw Phantom holding on to Milo's neck, keeping the squirming Man Bat on the ground.
"Stay back!" he called as he kept his grip as tight as he could with only one usable arm. "I don't think I can hold on much longer!"
Just as he felt his grip weaken, a gloved hand holding a glowing syringe came in his line of sight, the needle sticking in Milo's neck. He watched the glowing liquid pushed through the vein, making Milo go slack before he slumped forward, his body slowly changing back to human.
Phantom pushed Milo aside before he looked at Batman, who put the empty syringe away. The Dark Knight then offered Phantom a hand, which he took.
"You're either doing that on purpose for dramatic effect, or you just have perfect timing," Phantom grunted as he was helped back up his feet. He then turned to Milo. "How did you do that?"
"I tweaked the old Man Bat antidote using the nanobots based on your parents' design," Batman replied.
"They have nanobots?" Phantom asked with a raised eyebrow. "Since when did they have nanobots?"
"Since they cooperated with Wayne Enterprise," Batman replied. Despite their eccentric quirks, they were brilliant scientists, able to create nanobots that could target certain anomalies in the human body. Sure, they created the nanobots to destroy Ghosts at a microscopic level, but still ingenious. "It's actually been quite helpful in researching cures."
Suddenly, Zatara and Zatanna jumped in the hole, with the latter rushing towards Phantom.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a worried tone as she gently took his injured arm.
"Yeah, it just stings a little," Phantom said, hiding a wince as she held his injury. "You okay?"
"I am, thanks to you," Zatanna said with a small smile.
With a cough from Zatara, the two teenagers looked at the adults, with the magician giving an amused look Phantom blushed as he looked away as he reluctantly pulled his arm away from Zatanna's grasp.
After making sure Milo was secured, Batman had the infected be teleported into his lab, where he prepared a larger dose for them. Trapping the unresponsive infected in a glass cage, Batman released a gas version of the antidote, and as soon as the antidote went into their system, the infect slowly returned to normal, with them passing out on the ground.
Meanwhile, Phantom was having his injury treated by Zatanna, his shirt off. He was a little bashful, but the pain helped him focus.
"Wow, you're pretty good at this," Phantom grunted out as Zatanna stitched the wounds.
"You have to be a master of all trades for showbiz," Zatanna said with a smile as she snipped the thread before wrapping the bandages around it. "I think you'll have better in your human form."
"M-my what?" Phantom stammered, looking at Zatanna in shock.
"It's okay, darling, everyone who's been in the Ghost Zone knows about your secret," Zatanna said with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't share."
Phantom blinked before he turned and let the white halos travel across his body, turning him back to Danny. Zatanna gave him a smile, which he shyly returned.
"You know, you also look good like this," Zatanna said.
"Um…thanks, Zatanna," Danny said with a blush.
"Please, call me Zee," Zatanna said with a small smile.
"Oh, um…then you can call me Danny," Danny said as he returned the smile.
"Tropelet meht ot mahtoG latipsoH!" Zatara said as he used his magic to send the unconscious victims to the hospital where they could be treated after their ordeal.
"Thank you for the help, Giovanni," Batman said as he and the magician shook hands.
"No problem, old friend," Zatara said. "I doubt this would have gone well without your help."
"What will you do now?" Batman asked as Danny and Zee joined them, with the former putting on a shirt, much to Zee's disappointment.
"We still have other shows to get to," Zatara said before he gave the silver pocket watch to Batman. "The warehouse is located here, in Gotham City, but I have other matters to attend to. Oh, and don't worry, once you accomplished your objective, the watch will return, like magic."
"It was nice meeting you, Danny," Zee said with a smile.
"You too," Danny said with a small grin. "And thanks."
"For what?"
"For taking me to that magic show years ago," Danny said, making Zatanna's eyes widened slightly. "I never get to thank you for that."
"Can't believe you remembered," she said before she smiled. She suddenly stroked his face, making him blush on contact. With a smirk, she reached his ear and pulled out a card. "My number, in case you feel lonely~."
"T-thanks," Danny stammered.
Zee winked at him before she stood next to her father. With a bow, both father and daughter disappeared in a puff of smoke and doves. Danny clapped in awe before looking at Zee's number, making him grin that a pretty girl like Zee gave her his number.
"…Your pants are down," Batman said, making Danny looked down and saw that his pants were done.
"What!? Since when!?" Danny exclaimed as he pulled his pants back up, hoping they didn't fell when Zee was still here. "I thought I had that under control!"
"Guess you need more training," Batman said as he walked away, looking at the pocket watch. "Come on, we have work to do."
"Since when don't we have work?" Danny asked in a deadpanned tone as he followed Batman.
And ending the chapter here. Were you surprised to see the two new characters? I decided to make Zatanna younger, combining both her Young Justice Season 1 and DC Super Hero Girls 2019 incarnations. I was going to make it longer, but this feels like a good place to end it.
Also, I know garlic works on vampires, if they exist, but I decided that they don't work in here. Just for laughs.
Once again, Danny faced another enemy using Ghost energy, but from a surprising source! Seems like the Ghost Zone is more expansive than Danny originally thought. At least he didn't fight vampires like I teased at the beginning.
We also learned about Zatara's interesting connection with the Ghost Zone, as well as Danny's surprising connection with him and Zatanna.
Makes you wonder who else knows about the Ghost Zone.
Whelp, hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember to stay clean and healthy. Next time, more magical mischief! See you later!