#ffov

Original Post⬅️

"You know, when you revealed yourself as Phantom, I thought it would be much harder to adjust." Madeline Fenton, ghost-hunting extraordinaire and mother of two, stared at the swirling green portal in her basement. Despite building the darn thing herself, with its glowing wires and simple design, Maddie felt like she was seeing the whole thing for the first time.

It was late afternoon on a Saturday. At least, Maddie assumed so. She hadn't stepped foot outside their lab for a while now. Too busy modifying all their ghost-hunting equipment. The blinking red numbers of the digital clock on their desk said it was almost six in the evening. Then again, it has been six in the evening for the past several months. The clock was very much broken, and no one had bothered to fix it. 

It was summer, so the time spent in the Fenton lab drastically increased. And with the reveal of their son Danny, Maddie practically breathed ectoplasm with the amount of time she was spending in the basement. Danny said it was no big deal, but both Fenton parents were determined to re-evaluate their research and inventions completely. Basically, starting from scratch. 

So imagine her surprise when, two days ago, both Jazz and Danny sat them down to propose a memorable family vacation. 

And for some reason, she couldn't say no. Was it her guilt? They were prepared to shell out the money for any dream destination the kids proposed. But no, Danny had invited them to a different dimension via the Ghost Zone. This was tremendous progress, not just in her relationship with her kids but also for their new research. (Let's not mention the headache she got from learning parallel dimensions exist.)

Apparently, the kids had been planning this for a while because now everyone was packed and armed to the teeth, two days later. Jazz had taken care of the logistics-when to leave, how to get there, what to bring. Danny was the one to choose the location since he was the most familiar with the Ghost Zone. Maddie learned much later that he had just thrown a dart at a lineup of names on a corkboard.  

"Are you sure it's okay for us to enter?" Maddie looked concerned.

"Yeah! It'll be fun, mom!" Danny reassured. "It's just a week off-I've always wanted to show you the cool parts of the Ghost Zone without the immediate threat of horrible death." Maddie gave her son the stink eye. He was grinning a bit too innocently for her liking.

"Well, I think it'll be a great bonding experience!" Jack announced, winking at Danny. Badly. "Someone was being a little paranoid about the mall trip yesterday; I hardly got a chance to spoil our new little princess."

Ah, yes, their new granddaughter. Danielle. Maddie had been furious to discover how horrible Vlad had been to her family. Attempting to murder her husband, trying to recruit Danny as a weird evil son/apprentice, outright disrespecting and dismissing Jazz's existence, and wanting to marry her?? "Furious" was putting it lightly. The man slept with a doll version of herself, for heaven's sake! And then Danny just offendedly mentions that Vlad had cloned him. Several times. Only one clone survived; a little girl with no identity of her own. And here was her son sheepishly asking if they might consider letting the clone stay? Even for a little? She was traveling around right now but didn't really have a place to call home-

Maddie and Jack immediately offered to adopt the girl into the family as their youngest. 

(Jazz giggled. "Danny already beat you to it. They tried being cousins at first, but he acts like a total dad around her—the fastest case of ghost adoption that I've ever seen. Instead of a new child, Elle's more like a new grandchild.")

Danny blushed, hunching his shoulders in. "I don't know if Elle wants to be a grandkid-we haven't talked about it, really."

"YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET BISCUITS I WANNA BE A GRANDKID."

The trio startled and turned, watching the last two of the Fenton family work their way down the stairs into the lab. Jazz was gripping her backpack in one hand and Elle's arm in the other, using her superhuman strength to keep Elle in line. Probably so Elle wouldn't run down the stairs and permanently kill herself. Jack quietly chuckled at the sight of Elle's ghost-themed backpack, so painstakingly picked out the day before. It was a tad too big and looked just adorable on her. A few tiny blob ghosts floating around her head whizzed in excitement, sometimes using the backpack as a place to hide. Maddie, personally, loved the pink light-up sneakers that Elle showed off as much as possible. Her husband had done well shopping by himself. 

It was evident Elle was excited about the trip. Despite all her travels abroad, satisfying her wanderlust, she'd never been to another dimension. When they had reached the bottom, Elle phased out of Jazz's grip, bolting to collide with Jack in a hug. "Yesterday was loads of fun." She exclaimed. "I loved shopping around for new stuff. And if being Danny's kid means I get two new grandparents in the deal, then I'm taking it."

Danny made a face. "But isn't it weird to have a dad so close in age to you? What if people look at you weird?"

Jazz snorted at her brother's words, picking her way around the lab mess. "Danny, you'd be the one they would look at funny. A fifteen-year-old-"

"I'm almost sixteen!"

"A fifteen-year-old who has a physically thirteen-year-old daughter? People will be ready to call CPS."

"And besides!" Elle detangled herself from Jack's grip and stomped over to Maddie with a shit-eating grin as she looked at her dad. "Technically, I'm only a year old. You're not going to leave your poor, unstable clone daughter alone in the world to fend for herself, right?" Danny just grumbled. Something about not even being old enough to drive. 

Maddie cooed a bit and enjoyed the hug from her new granddaughter. It was cold but in a good way. Elle's response was a low hum that vibrated through her body. It reminded Maddie of a cat's purr.

"I've been meaning to ask," Maddie said. Elle clung tighter as she adjusted her grip. "What is ghost adoption?? You mentioned that before when explaining your relationship with Elle."

Their son shuffled his feet a little. "Uh, it basically means my core has connected to hers in a parental way, I guess." He was obviously nervous. "When we first met, even before I knew Elle was a clone, my core recognized her as a "baby ghost," so to speak. There was enough of a connection that I kind of adopted her subconsciously."

"But it doesn't happen with between all ghosts." Jazz cut in. It felt like their eldest was giving them a lecture on this and that every week. "Frostbite explained it a while ago, something about similar cores and ambient ectoplasm. Kind of like pack bonding?"

Maddie nodded, barely following. "And Frostbite...you said we were visiting this person?"

Danny perked up, actually floating a few feet off the ground in excitement. "Frostbite is the best! He's the leader of the Far Frozen and looks like a giant yeti. He helped me figure a bunch of things out and makes the best cocoa."

"Well, I'm excited to meet him."

And they were. Going through the portal was an experience and a half. It wasn't the first time they'd done this, but it was still memorable. Danny and Elle had gone ghost and chased each other around the Specter Speeder while Jazz piloted, hunched over the steering wheel. The Ghost Zone was a wonderful mix of greens and purples; Jack lamented his lack of a camera.

("We don't want to give Technus something to use." Tucker explained. Danny's friends had come by to help them all pack properly. "The Fenton Cameras haven't been ghost-proofed all the way, and Technus is an insufferable b-uh, idiot when he manages to get his hands on new tech. I'll never hear the end of it.")

It was just so much colder than they expected. The "Far Frozen" certainly lived up to its name. So did Frostbite and his legendary cocoa. The giant yeti (did he count as a ghost??) also took the opportunity to give each Fenton a checkup (ghosts have doctors???) to make sure everyone was healthy enough for inter-dimensional travel. They were, and Frostbite even handed over a few extra vials of pure ectoplasm to tide the kids over in case they didn't land near a natural source in the new dimension. Jack and Maddie took a few vials each, one for each of their ghost kids, and Jazz just tucked hers away in her luggage with a little pat.

Then they were off sightseeing. Understandably, most of Danny's allies were a bit wary around the (mostly former) ghost hunters but did their best to hide it. Jack and Maddie got to meet Princess Dorathea, who could turn into a freaking dragon how cool was that, Jack-

There was Pandora, a towering woman with blue skin and four arms. She took a liking to Maddie and gifted her an engraved xiphos. "To match her fighting spirit." The woman explained. She did not tell anyone what the engraving meant. At some point, they saw a towering castle in the distance. It was hard to see, but the towers looked like spiraling ice. Jack asked about it.

"Oh, that's nothing special." Danny waved them off. "Don't worry about it. We DO need to worry about Walker's prison, so duck down for a bit. He doesn't like it when the living are in his territory." Maddie didn't bother pushing the subject, so they moved on.

Then there was Wulf, a werewolf who could make portals and was the kids' teacher on that subject. Jazz was especially excited, greeting Wulf with a bear hug. (Maddie vaguely remembered something about her daughter being a werewolf now, but she very rarely changed while in the living world. Maddie had almost forgotten.) Jack was pleasantly surprised to learn Wulf spoke Esperanto. In fact, that was the only thing he could speak. It turns out Esperanto was something Jack had learned during their college days. The two hit it off, and Jack had to be dragged away from whatever conversation they were having.

Time moved a bit sluggishly, but eventually, they got around to "the least annoying ones." Elle had a blast messing with someone named Fright Knight, who just kept calling her 'my lady' for some reason. Danny got a few potshots in when one of his rouges (was that a robot?) got too close to the Speeder. They met Ghost Writer, Amorpho, Lunch Lady, Nocturne, Technus, Ember, Cujo, and a few others. Their final stop was Clockwork's.

The flight there was exceptionally long. It felt like forever, yet the clock in the Speeder only moved forward five minutes. Jazz explained that this was Clockwork's influence. He was the Master of Time, and the closer they got to his lair, the weirder time was. Eventually, the Fenton family arrived. Clockwork's lair was, well, a clock tower.

("Really, I don't know what we expected, Maddie.")

It was dark and green, sitting on a tiny island they could barely land on. Ectoplasm was thick in the air; Maddie was sure that if she weren't already ecto-contaminated, it would have been increasingly difficult to breathe. Multiple ticking sounds filled the air as if the tower was filled with nothing but clocks. Maddie took a wild guess and thought it probably was. A glowing green sticky note drew their attention as they approached the door.

Danny scowled as he read the note. "Daniel, something has come up with the Observants. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make the Watchtower your new haunt. A natural portal will open next to the Speeder. Enjoy your vacation, Clockwork. Drat, I was hoping he'd be home. I really wanted you to meet him."

Maddie pats his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find time later." Elle giggled at the pun.

"I know." He sighed. "It's just, he can be so cryptic. Why would I make a watchtower my new haunt? I've never even been to a real watchtower! But the note says a natural portal will spawn next to the Speeder so that we can wait for that."

"You mean this portal?"

Jazz was closely examining a small tear in reality that had popped into existence next to her foot. It was small and low to the ground. Small enough that the Specter Speeder definitely couldn't get through. Maddie doubted they'd be going in all at once.

Elle peered over her shoulder. "That's it! Come on, old man, I'll race you!" She dove in without waiting for a reply.

"DANIELLE MADELINE FENTON!" Danny immediately chased after, disappearing into a swirl of green.

"Oh yeah, she's definitely related." Jazz said. "Come on. I'll follow behind once you two go through." Maddie looked at Jack, and Jack looked at Maddie. Fine with them.

Jack went first, knuckles tight from gripping his bag straps, doing his best to suck in his gut before dropping out of existence. Maddie went next, standing on tiptoes and still having Jazz bend down to press a kiss to her cheek before she left. "Make sure to lock up the Speeder."

Jazz smiled, her eyes glowing with the barest hint of green. She had a hand on the Fenton thermos clipped to her belt and if Maddie squinted, she could see the barest outline of a crown on her head. "See you on the other side, mom."

Maddie stepped into the portal, feeling nothing but open air, and fell through.

---

Edit: OH GOD I FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL ABOUT JAZZ I FIXED IT I AM SO SORRY

Original Post

Part One⬅️➡️Part Two

(This is kind of a filler cause I’m trying to get an AO3 account set up, but Elle fighting a rat just got stuck in my head and I couldn’t get it out.)

Lights come on in a studio. Two people sit behind a glass desk, expressions neutral. 

"Good evening, and welcome to C3TV. It's 6:45 p.m. central time on August 4th, 20XX. I'm Kimberly Anderson."

"And I'm Frank Meyers. For today's Fifteen Minutes of Heroes, we'll focus on one man in particular; The Flash."

A screen turns on behind the news anchors. 'Fifteen Minutes of Heroes' is written in bold letters. The screen cuts to a close-up picture of the Flash.

"That's right, Frank. Our city's protector is not often in the spotlight, so let's get down to business."

"Right you are, Kim. To start with, Captain Cold was spotted outside the Flash Museum earlier today. It is still unknown why he was there first, but Flash was quick on the scene and chased the rogue through the downtown shopping district."

A blurry photo of Captain Cold is shown.

"What stopped Flash from arresting him immediately?"

"Well, Kim, according to CCPD reports, a recent delivery of high-alloy austenitic stainless steel was stolen at a checkpoint before it could make its way to S.T.A.R. Labs. It's now known Captain Cold was the culprit and used the metal to produce new weapons. These new weapons gave both Flash and civilians alike a scare, as the rate at which they generate ice is astounding."

An image of S.T.A.R. Labs comes up. It switches to the silhouette of a crate with a question mark, and then a silent video appears. The video is of the recent destruction in the downtown area and captures crowds of people milling around. Some are cleaning up debris, and some are trying to evacuate their families and neighbors. Several emergency service trucks are lighting up the whole street. One man has a flamethrower and is trying to thaw out his car. 

"Yes, traffic was horrible on the way to work. This new ice has a particularly high melting point, so its removal is still ongoing. Flash was spotted chasing the captain but frequently had to sidetrack for quick evacuation. Captain Cold was shooting to hurt today. There was no regard for civilian safety or public property. It seemed like he wanted to cripple the city. A few neighboring counties will pitch in for relief efforts; more at eight."

Snippets of their fight all over the area are edited together. Pictures of the destruction show up.

"Reports say their path took them west through the district before making a sharp turn on Roanoke Parkway and doubling back to Central City Plaza. There, Flash cornered the rogue. You can see the two arguing through nearby store cameras, but no audio can be provided. Captain Cold is visibly angered and takes a hostage at one point. The hostage, one Lacey James, was under threat for less than a minute before the Flash stole her away and returned her to waiting police officers. Cold is upset by this and douses the whole plaza in a thick ice sheet."

A virtual map follows the path taken with a red line—the screen changes to an out-of-focus storefront video. Captain Cold has a blonde woman at gunpoint, but Flash disappears with the woman too fast for the cameras to follow. Flash returns a few seconds later. Captain Cold seems angered, and the cameras short out soon after. 

"Uh oh, we all know how hard it is to walk on ice. Captain Cold obviously wanted to slow down the Flash, but why?"

"We're still not sure, Kim. I mean, it's his thing. But does anyone know why villains do what they do?"

"You have a point, Frank. But that's not why we're here today."

"No, it is not. While the Flash did his best, bless his heart, a few civilians were stuck inside the plaza with the two supers. No deaths have been reported citywide, and only a single person has been admitted to the ICU due to a case of hypothermia. More about this young soul can be found on our website and the link to their family's GOFUNDME. But aside from that, one of the civilians managed to get an interesting part of the fight on video. None of the stores in the area had working cameras at this point, so let's look at the video now. Please be warned, viewers' discretion is advised."

The video opens showing the face of a young teen. The video is obviously from the point of view of their phone. The teen is swearing, and viewers at home can hear a long string of beeps. 

A voice from off-screen: "Yo! Are you getting this??"

The teen swears one last time, but the video's perspective is changed. The camera is peeking out into the plaza between a car tire and a chunk of ice. "[beep], it's so cold, man. It's [beep]ing August. I hope that kid is okay."

"It was nice of you to give that family your flannel."

"It was that or let that kid freeze, man. Now shut up. I'm tryin' to hear what they're saying!"

The two teens pipe down. The camera is adjusted a few times, but eventually, the audio is picked up. Flash can be heard arguing with Captain Cold, although the dialogue is spotty due to the range.

"-can't do that!"

"The-[beep]ing [beeeeeeep] upstairs--hospital-----"

"-new procedure-----s West--gone clean---"

"NEVER! THOSE---[beep] this, GG---home--too sick---"

"-can help! S.T.A.R. Labs---new meds--won't------"

Flash is cut off by a scream of frustration from Captain Cold. The rogue begins to point and shoot at Flash, who has to zoom out of the way. Viewers can tell there are many close calls, as Flash stumbles more than once due to the slick ice.

Suddenly, a swirling green portal appears and spits out a figure right into the Flash's path. A loud smack is heard when they hit the ground face-first. One teen behind the camera sucks in a sharp breath, and the other whispers, "Ouch, that had to hurt."  Flash has no room to stop and trips over the body.

"[BEEP]!" Flash face-plants and doesn't get back up. Captain Cold pauses, staring at the two on the ground. A loud groan is heard a second later, and the figure raises its head. The camera zooms in. 

The figure was a glowing little girl with white hair and unnaturally green eyes. Glowing green blobs circle her head like cartoon birds. Bits of asphalt are stuck to her face, drawing green blood, but her skin heals as viewers watch.

The girl seemed disoriented, staring blankly at Flash and then at Captain Cold. The teen holding the phone can be heard scooting closer. The video shakes violently for a few seconds, but now viewers can listen to the conversation more clearly. 

"Uh...hi?" Small animal noises are heard, and viewers realize it's coming from the blobs, whipping around faster than before. 

"Where the [BEEP] did you come from?"

Whispers of astonishment come from the teens as the girl pushes herself off the ground and into the air, visibly struggling to stay afloat. "Hey, watch your [beep]ing language, dude. Children are present."

Captain Cold spluttered. "Wha-??"

The girl ignored the villain and turned towards the Flash. She bends over him, placing two fingers on his neck, presumably to check his pulse. Viewers see the girl wearing a big, black backpack in the shape of a ghost. From the camera's distance, it was difficult to determine what else she was wearing, but one of the teens said, "That's a sick outfit. I love the boots. Big 'Prometheus' vibes."

A scoff. "Yeah, no. I'm thinking 'Star Wars,' for sure." 

An argument begins behind the camera, and the view tilts a bit since their attention is no longer on it. 

A thin whine draws back the attention of the teens and the audience. Captain Cold is pointing a gun at the girl, who has a bemused expression on her face. Over the sound of the weapon, their quiet conversation cannot be heard. 

(Later, a famous child psychologist would do a ten-minute interview for Beefood's new show, 'Cohabiting with Cryptids.' Analysis shows the child was actually terrified at Captain Cold's actions and more confused than she let on. Some comments point out that the girl attempted to put herself between the Flash and the rogue, proving that she hadn't meant the Flash any harm.)

Suddenly, the girl scoops up Flash into a fireman's carry and dodges an ice blast. The teen filming the event swears and drops their phone. Shuffling and more gunshots can be heard. 

"You gotta chill out, man!"

"Ah, [beep], the screen cracked-"

"What?!"

"I can't-"

"Maybe a little shock therapy will get your Christmas spirit going!"

The shooting pauses. "It's Aug-AAAAAUGH!"

A scream startles the teens. It's coming from Captain Cold, and viewers can tell he's in pain. 

The screen is still black. 

"What the [beep], what the [beep]-"

"Is that lightning??"

"She's electrocuting him. How-"

"It's pink!"

"That's not what you should be focusing on right now!"

"But it's PINK LIGHTNING."

"She is literally burning holes into his parka, what the [beep]."

"Do you think Flash can make pink lightning? Should I ask him?"

"I don't [beep]ing know! She's going to kill him!"

"No, she isn't; look!"

A quiet moment. Captain Cold has stopped screaming, but small groans can be heard instead. 

"She stopped, see?"

"How much electricity was that??"

"I dunno, but obviously not enough to kill him."

"You're very calm about this."

"Don't worry. I'll freak out later."

"Oh, Jesus-"

"Look!"

A clatter. "Sorry about that." The camera finally refocused, although it was shakier than before. The girl was hovering over the prone form of Captain Cold, still holding onto the Flash. Viewers could hear her voice tremble. "On the plus side, a few of your screws may have been knocked back into place from the electricity. Anyways, see you later, [beeeeep] Ice Prince!"

The camera swings around to face the second teen. Their eyes were lit up in fascination. "New life goal: Pull a Zarina from 'The Pirate Fairy' and figure out how to make pink lightning."

"Oh, my [beep], Lynne! Why-"

The video ends abruptly, and the news anchors fade back into view. 

"Well, that was...interesting." 

"I'd say so. We have seven minutes left; let's discuss the theories."

-----

Dani stared at the tv. A quick re-run of the video from Fifteen Minutes of Heroes was playing. It was well past ten now, but she'd managed to hole up in someone's party shack on top of some apartments. And while she refused to touch the poorly-hidden weed, Dani had no qualms about raiding the stash of (packaged) food and flipping on the old tube tv. She'd turned on the local news channel to learn more about this new world since wandering around for a few hours didn't tell her much. 

And she'd learned a lot. 

This was a world of superheroes. Dani didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she thought it would be easier to care for herself. She wouldn't have to try as hard to hide her powers-hell, she was being featured on the news! And these people weren't discussing her imminent capture. No public warnings about reporting her, nothing about being a danger to society. These news reporters were doing their job, relaying the facts and throwing out theories about her identity and powers. Was she a super? A rookie? An alien? A meta? What was her name? The people on the screen flashed a phone number below and asked if anyone spotted her please call their hotline. Not to hunt her down but because she was a kid. A superpowered kid whom no one knew the identity of and seemed to be very much alone. And yeah, Dani knew there were people out there with malicious intentions. But the fact that she was on the news and not in a bad way was baffling. 

(On the other hand, Dani knew her dad. A world full of superheroes meant a world full of supervillains that normal humans couldn't fight back against. Dani hoped with all her core that he'd stay away from the fighting. His Obsession wasn't protecting people, thank the Ancients, or they might never find each other.) 

At the very least, Dani expected one or two comments about her 'horrible intentions' to hurt their city hero. Still, Flash himself came on in an interview earlier that night and said while he woke up in a really weird place, he did not have any injuries besides the ones he caused himself. Flash noted that "The kid even tried to make me comfortable. She made a cardboard nest for me to lay on and tried hiding me in a private location. Sure, that location was a dumpster, but it obviously worked because no one found me until I'd already woken up."

"In this picture, you're seen with a pair of-heh-handcuffs. Any idea why the girl might've attached you to that pipe?"

"If I had to hazard a guess, the kid is scared. I saw the footage. I know I got knocked out pretty quickly. But that girl did her best to defend me from my enemy and get me to safety. However, it's obvious that knocking out two men twice her size has her spooked. Those handcuffs were probably an attempt to restrain me so she could get a head start. Probably thought I was mad at her. She even left an apology note. But don't worry, Spooky. I'm not mad. Thank you for saving my hide, and I'm sorry I tripped over you."

Dani's eyes were glued to the screen. Those last words, Flash had addressed towards the camera. They were for her. But she told him her name, her human name. Why use Spooky? 

Fuck it. I'm too tired for this. 

-----

Whether she liked it or not, it was too easy for Elle to get used to life on the streets again. She'd done it before; stealing food, sleeping in alleys, squatting in abandoned buildings, always looking over her shoulder a second time.

She knew her family wasn't happy about her time on the streets-Danny especially. When they first separated, she could feel the pain from his core. He hated sending her away. But it was that or risk worse from the potential backlash. At least this time, she had an extra pair of eyes. Or five. 

Blob ghosts were a common thing, especially around Amity. The more ecto-contaminated you were, the more blob ghosts tended to hang around. They weren't the weakened souls of the dead but more like collections of intense emotions imprinted on ectoplasm. Elle usually got a whole hoard following her back home, but in this new universe, only five managed to find the strength to follow her. Elle thought it was only appropriate to claim them as Hers and give them names. 

So now, Noodle, Buffy, Preston, Shaniac, and Boogara were a part of her little fright. And as such, they became extremely handy in her city exploration. They were her scouts, her lookouts, her moral support. They could not, however, help out much when she was in a big fight, like yesterday. They just had to hide in her hair. 

But with the smaller enemies, they really came through. For example, she was having a nasty brawl with a particularly ugly rat over a breakfast sandwich at the moment, and her blob buddies were being a huge help. 

Yes, you heard right. 

Elle was hungry. She'd been hungry before, and it was nothing new. But the fight and panic attack yesterday took a lot out of her. She'd barely touched the food at that weed shack, too afraid it was laced with something. So after picking an alley and transforming back into a human, Elle started looking around for something to eat. Her search led her to a small café, where she used the last of her allowance to buy an egg and ham breakfast sandwich. Which she promptly dropped onto the ground after face-planting for the second time in the past twelve hours. She was close to another alley, and Elle could only watch with wide eyes as a giant rat darted out into the sunlight, snatched the corner of the wrapper, and dragged it away. Why'd she fall? Elle tripped over a chunk of ice from the café doorway. ICE. 

I should have kicked that man in the dick. Elle thought, scrambling up to chase after the rat. Her blob buddies led the way, harassing the rat as best they could to slow it down. They cornered it in a box. Buffy was chittering especially loud, leading the others. 

Elle knelt and reached in blindly, grasping for anything. One of her knees was bleeding, and bits of broken glass were getting into the cut. "Where are y-ouch! Motherfucker! Did you just bite me??" The rat screamed and bit her again. "Oh fuck no! Get your ass out here, you little-"

The rat ran out, still dragging the wrapped sandwich. Elle tried stomping on it but missed. Noodle was handing around the rat's neck like a rope, trying to restrain it. Shaniac and Boogara were tugging at the sandwich, and Elle managed to snatch it up a second before the rat escaped into a shoe. Without hesitating, Elle punted the shoe into the street like a football. 

She snorted in satisfaction when the shoe and its passenger were lost in the crowd. 

"I can't believe that just happened." Elle whirled around but didn't see anyone. "Up here!"

Above her head, watching the whole thing with an amused expression, was a woman sticking her head out of a window from the second floor. The woman had tight brown curls and an equally tight face that looked strained when she smiled. 

"You're that Spooky kid from the news, right?" The woman called. How did she-? Elle scrunched up her face. Right, blob ghosts. 

"No!" Yeah, that was believable. "Anyways, mind your own business!" She stalked out of the alley, hard-won sandwich in hand, and did her best to ignore the woman's stifled giggles she could still hear two blocks away. 

Okay, maybe staying as a ghost will be easier in this big new city.  

-----