#liminal jazz

Panel 1 has an image of Jason and Jazz standing together. However, instead of looking normal, Jazz is faceless, scribbled over with black and looks very elongated and unnatural. She leans over a brightly smiling Jason like a monster. Jason has his arm on around her waist, while a clawed, withered hand rests on his shoulder, presumably Jazz’s.

Damian narrates: My brother recently got a girlfriend.

Panel 2 has an image of Damian’s terrified face. He looks extremely unsettled and frightened. He continues narrating throughout the entire comic.

D: I think she’s the most terrifying thing I’ve seen.

Panel 3 has him standing in the background as a little chibi, shocked as Stephanie and Tim approach Jazz without any hesitation, seemingly accepting her “horrifying” visage. Jazz’s face cannot be seen, only her long red hair.

D: Though no one else seems to notice but me.

Panel 4 has an image of Damian flinching backwards as Jazz’s clawed hand reaches for him. He looks terrified of her. Jazz’s body cannot be seen, only the hand.

D: But even if she’s horrifying

Panel 5 has Damian ducking downwards, closing his eyes, as Jazz’s hand finally reaches him, patting his head. Her hand is surprisingly not scary-looking, but instead, human.

Panel 6 has Damian looking shocked and confused, reaching up to touch his head as a little chibi in the background as Jazz slides out of view, nothing being seen but her red hair, as she leaves.

D: *continuing the narration from panel 3* She has never hurt any of us.

Panel 7 has an image of Jazz’s back again, her skin still being scribbled over and with only her long red hair being shown. She looms over Jason, who’s beaming up at her, supposedly completely oblivious to her terrifying looks.

D: So if you chose someone like her, ahki…

Panel 8 has Jason and Jazz together again, noses touching as they smile at each other, completely wrapped up in one another. There is finally a glimpse of Jazz’s face and she looks normal, smiling happily as Jason beams at her. She is also of a more normal height, although still taller than Jason.

Danny took a chance and projected peace, want to help, it’s ok. 

Hood’s angry aura faded and he stumbled back a step.

“What was that?” Hood growled and Danny gulped as Hood’s aura flared again with anger, confusion, fear.

“Sorry.” Danny said. “I forget that new liminals aren’t used to projecting, but it’s just another form of talking. And you don’t need to worry, I’m also dead adjacent. “Though,” Danny paused, “I don’t know what the lazarus pits are.”

Hood was still tense but his aura had pulled back a little. “The Lazarus Pits are lakes of glowing green goo.”

“Huh.” Danny gleaned at Jazz. “We call the green goo Ectoplasm. But if these pits are what brought you back, I think they might be rancid. You stink.”

“Excuse me?” Hood took a step back as his aura flared with indignation.

Jazz cleared her throat.

“What my brother means is that the ectoplasm that brought you back may have been polluted. He can tell because he also has ectoplasm in his system which allows him to sense other sources of ectoplasm.”

“Explain.” 

“Look,” Jazz said, “Why don’t we all sit down and I’ll make some tea and then Danny can explain better.” she sent a pointed look in his direction.

“Fine.”

Jazz nodded and turned and walked toward the kitchen where there was a table and some chairs. Danny followed her and so did Hood.

Danny fiddled with his hands as Jazz was making tea. Honestly, Danny was trying not to comment on the fact that the fully dressed vigilante looked kind of ridiculous sitting at their kitchen table.

“Would you like some tea?” Jazz said, looking toward Hood.

Hood paused before responding. “No thanks.” 

Jazz nodded then turned back toward the kettle.

“Soooo….” Danny started. “Before we go on, i do need to know if you actually died, or if you just encountered some green goo.”

Hood didn’t say anything.

Danny sighed. “If it helps, I actually died and was brought back to life via green glowy stuff.”

Danny waited and was about to give up and wait for Jazz to lead the conversation when Hood finally spoke.

“I died, I’m not sure what brought me back. But then I was dumped in a Lazarus Pit.”

“Huh.” There weren’t a lot of things that could bring people back from the dead as far as Danny knew, but with all the craziness he’d already experienced in his own life, he wasn’t surprised. Though it was interesting that Hood had been exposed to ectoplasm afterward. What would that make Hood? A liminal, or a halfa like him? But as much as Danny would like someone else like him, since it wasn't ectoplasm that brought Hood back the man was probably just a liminal.

“Here you go, Danny.” Jazz said, setting a mug in front of him and then taking a seat next to him.

Danny inhaled the warm scent of spices and then looked at Hood. “So, how do you want to do this? I can do a quick info dump and then you ask questions, or you can just ask questions and I’ll answer them?”

“Info first, then I’ll ask questions.”

Danny nodded.

“First of all, ghosts are real.” he paused, but when Hood didn't say anything he continued. “They live in an alternate dimension and are fueled by and made of ectoplasm, the green glowy stuff. There are various things that can make a ghost, but we don’t need to get into that now. This is just the basics. When a human has a near death experience, or is exposed to ectoplasm they have the chance of becoming what we call liminal. That just means that they lean a little toward the ghostly side.” he glanced at Jazz, his gaze questioning and she nodded. “That’s what me and Jazz are. And that’s what I think you are.”  Danny waited for a moment, clasping his hands together in front of him. “Any questions.”

“How did you heal me?”

“Oh, yeah.” Danny shrugged and sat back. “As liminals we actually need some ectoplasm to survive and it can help heal us. Usually, the ectoplasm in our bodies heps us heal ourselves, but I think yours can’t since,” Danny wrinkled his nose, “whatever source you got yours from is obviously rank.”

“What does that even mean?” Hood said, but he sounded tired not angry.

Jazz smiled gently at him. “Ectoplasm that stays too long in the Living Realm, here, can absorb pollutants. Think of it like,” she hummed and tapped her finger against the table, “like air in an improperly ventilated area. If air isn’t allowed to move and flow it can become stale. The same with ectoplasm. It’s a form of energy that needs to flow and be filtered in the Infinite Realms, where the ghosts are, or it needs to be filtered by ghosts. But if it’s allowed to just sit in one area and build up, continually absorbing energy, but unable to filter or release it then it grows rank.”

“It’s complicated.” Danny said. “And neither of us is the greatest at explaining since we’re still learning. But yeah, ectoplasm is a form of energy that flows between dimensions.

Danny smiled at Hood, there were faint feelings of confusion, disbelief, denial, no true, not true, I’m alive. But Danny did his best not to push anything toward the other liminal. He didn’t want to scare the man.

“I need to go.” Hood said, standing abruptly. 

Danny startled, but nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

Jazz stood. “You’re welcome back here anytime if you have questions.” Jazz smiled. 

Danny felt the briefest glimmer of attraction come from Hood and while Jazz was good at not projecting, Danny could tell from her face that she was feeling similarly toward Hood.

She sees signs of it during the day through his winces, and feels the soreness radiate through her own muscles and bones. She sees him startle, and feels the spike of fear through her own heart. She hears him at night as he struggles to get a good night’s sleep, due to both soreness and nightmares, and she’s left unable to drift off at all.

Proximity helps.

The closer she is to Danny, the more soothing relief he will feel. She sits pressed against their shared wall each night, hoping to give him rest, hoping she herself can close her eyes.

A packed suitcase sits beside her bedroom door.

Her top choice of university... she can still barely believe it. And a scholarship at that. Her parents are set to drive her to the airport tomorrow morning for the flight there. The university’s several hundred miles from Amity Park. Several hundred miles from Danny.

She doesn’t know what to do.

---

Danny's woken up by the sounds of stuff banging around. He knows it's his parents and Jazz, getting ready to leave in time for her flight.

He groans and tries using a pillow to block out the sounds.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work. He can't get back to sleep. So he goes ahead and gets dressed.

Maybe he'll say bye to her before she leaves.

As he walks down the stairs, he hears a conversation.

"I know it's short notice," Jazz says. "I can pay you back for the plane ticket."

"But Sweetie," his mom says, and Danny can now see them on the living room couch, his mom running a hand through Jazz's hair, "I thought you really liked this university."

Jazz sighs. "I do. But I think I'll take a year off. If I can't get the scholarship after that, then I'll go to a different university."

Danny frowns.

Something isn't right.

As Jazz starts back up the stairs with her suitcase, Danny invisibly slides partway through the wall to let her pass.

She pauses and looks to the side for a long moment, as though she can sense him somehow, before continuing to her room.

Danny follows her and knocks on the door. "Jazz?"

The door opens. "Danny?" She blinks at him, looking confused.

"We need to talk," he says and walks into the room. It's weird... being in the bright pink room seems to relax him. "What's going on? You've been talking nonstop about college for the past five years. There's no way you'd change your mind. So what happened?" He crosses his arms. Jazz is his sister, and whatever is bothering her, he's going to fix it. And get her on that plane.

Jazz stares at him. Her eyes seem to glow for a moment. Then she blinks and shakes her head with a sigh. "You really aren't going to let this feeling go, are you?"

Feeling?

"Danny..." She sits on the edge of her bed and gestures for him to sit as well.

Even after he sits, she doesn't start talking. He can see her face twitching and eyes shifting slightly, as though mentally sifting through what to tell him.

"Danny... Ghost appearances are up right now. I want to help— to be here to help. I can go to college anytime—"

Danny shakes his head. "No. You said you might not get the scholarship if you wait. I have Sam and Tucker to help me, it's fine. Plus there's Valerie, and Mom and Dad. They can catch ghosts, too."

She shakes her head. "You don't understand." Again, it looks like her eyes are glowing. "I can feel it. Fighting all these ghosts is overwhelming you right now."

He rolls his eyes. "Nothing's overwhelming me." He actually feels really good right now. The only thing bothering him is Jazz not getting on her plane.

Jazz grabs his hands. "Danny," she says urgently.

He can feel himself relaxing farther, her room is so nice and peaceful. If she will just get on the plane, everything will be perfect in life.

Jazz snatches her hands away as though burned. "No! Danny," she says again, like his name is a filler word for grasping her thoughts, "I... I have ghost powers, too." Then she continues, saying everything quickly, like the words are just spilling out, "It started some time ago, but then I really started to notice a few months ago when I could feel you through the wall, and I can feel everyone's emotions but you're the one who's always hurting and I can soothe that and take some of the ache and help you sleep and, and..." she takes a breath, and her eyes slide downward. She says softly, "And I can't do that if I'm not here."

Danny blinks as he tries to work out what she just said. She has ghost powers? She... can feel emotions? She can soothe...

Danny glances around her room, taking in the pink walls and large pink rug and pink pillows on her bed, and her teddy bear sitting there like it's listening to them.

It's not her room that feels so comforting—it's her.

That's why he feels so at peace right now. Jazz has weird psycho-powers. ...That's why he's been busier lately but hasn't felt a toll from it. Without Jazz... he might not be able to fight ghosts at the rate he's been doing lately.

"How sure are you that I would be overwhelmed without you here?" Danny checks. Maybe she's overreacting a little.

"...I haven't actually slept in three months."

"Oh."

"But I'm pretty sure sleep isn't a necessity with my version of ecto-contamination, since a normal human would start showing psychological symptoms after just two or three nights."

"Jazz, that's not really reassuring."

"...Yeah, I can tell," she says, eyebrows furrowing a little.

So Jazz has been staying up every night because of him? That was even more reason for her to go to college.

"Look. The problem's how many ghosts I've been having to fight lately, right?"

Jazz half nods, half tilts her head to the side; like trying to make a so-so gesture with her head. "Well... mostly."

"Then I'll ask for help."

Jazz's eyebrows wrinkle in confusion, her bottom lip pushing out slightly in the rare look she makes when she doesn't understand something. Apparently she can't actually read his thoughts, just his emotions.

"I'll tell Mom and Dad. Once they know, they can help take some of the weight off, and I can tell them what I know about different ghosts so they'll be able to catch them easier."

"But I thought you didn't want to tell them," Jazz asked. "If I'm influencing your decision..."

"It's not like that. I've wanted to tell them ever since the accident. But... I never find the right time, or I keep making excuses. I know they'll accept me. But," he shrugs, "I just can't seem to go through with it. But now, it would help if they know. And if you're with me steadying my nerves, and keeping an eye on Mom and Dad's feelings... I think I can do it now."

---

Jazz goes downstairs with Danny. Their parents feel confused at seeing them. And a little hopeful—they ask if she's changed her mind about college.

Jazz can feel Danny begin to get nervous, and she squeezes his hand, soothing away irrational fears, and letting them pool into her own stomach. She can feel confidence and determination take its place within Danny.

She's careful not to take any emotions other than Danny's nervousness. Their parents' reactions need to be true. Not prone to change once she leaves—if she decides to leave.

Their parents are shocked when he tells them, overwhelmed and concerned. There's horror and guilt, but also love and acceptance. Jazz is pretty sure the horror is about Danny getting hurt in the portal accident, and not about what Danny is.

She can't feel any revulsion or uncertainty in them. And she tells Danny this later.

"Did you cancel your flight?" Danny asks.

"Oh. It'd slipped my mind. I guess a refund isn't going to be possible."

"What time did you need to get there?"

Jazz looks at her watch. "The plane leaves in ten minutes. There's no way I can get there in time."

"I can take you. How much luggage do you have?" Danny asks and searches around her room.

She doesn't like the amount of confidence radiating from him.

"Danny, it takes thirty-five minutes to get to the airport. Even with Dad's driving, we wouldn't get there in time."

"No, seriously. I'll take you," Danny says. "Here." He hands her her suitcase. "What direction's the airport from here?"

"It's down route—"

Danny holds up a hand. "Never mind, I'll just ask Tucker for directions." He pushes a Fenton Phone into his ear. "Tucker?"

About a year back, Tucker hooked up the Fenton Phones to work together with cellphones, so that it was possible to call anyone's cell phone by voice command.

"Hey, Tuck, what direction's the Airport from Fenton Works?"

Danny walks over to her window and pulls it open.

She very much does not like this.

"Danny, what—" Jazz asks.

Danny grabs her around the waist and pulls her through the window and surrounding wall.

She screams as the roofs of buildings start to streak by beneath her.

---

I used these prompts:

from @echoghost1: "Jazz finds out the hard way that living with her parents lack of lab safety is starting to effect her physically."

from @lostlitany: "Jazz doesn’t know what to do. Her brother is hurting, she sees it in the winces, and flinches, she hears it in the hisses and groans on the other side of their shared bedroom wall. He says he’s fine. She’s not, though."

from @ashleyreyland: "It's time for Jazz to leave for college, but she's struggling to leave Danny alone with her parents. She doesn't want to put her future on hold, but she's not sure what to do."

from @bellsandmischief: "How does it feel to be helpless? How does it feel to know pain?"

from @rgbyshipper101: "Danny notices something is up with Jazz. He decides to find out what. Danny and Jazz bonding!"

The fact that the agents wore slightly different clothing that seemed more practical.

That they stopped insulting him back during their “fights”.

They should have done research.

Maybe then they would have known that the “Ghost Investigation Ward” had been bought out by one Lex Luthor.

Maybe then they would have been prepared for the Ectoranium. The Blood Blossoms.

They shouldn’t have let their guard down.

Maybe then, they would have been prepared for when Danny got captured by the same people they were so convinced were harmless.

Maybe then, Danny wouldn’t have been strapped down and muzzled, as they ripped out his core.

—

When the Justice League got word that Luthor had taken over a shut down branch of the Government, they did research, but felt it to be low on a long list of priorities.

They did not step in.

Nightwing noticed some odd things being shipped over to Gotham, and decided to investigate with his family.

When they found odd weapons, they were surprised to find them very legal. They had other things to do that night, so they left them.

They did not step in.

Madeline and Jack Fenton noticed their son was gone, only after their daughter came crying to them a week after he went missing.

She told them his secret in a desperate attempt to get their help, and after showing proof, was only met with disgust and hatred.

They contacted Luthor, they made a deal.

They did not step in.

—

Daniel Fenton died at fourteen, due to his parents invention.

—

A ghost does not End if their core is taken from their body.

Danny did not die. Could not die. Not while his core was intact.

—

He was resurrected at the same time he died. Electricity flowing into his heart and bonding Ectoplasm into his very being.

—

A ghost can sense the environment around their cores, it’s how they sense other ghosts.

Danny felt when Luthor attached his core to an artifact and used it against Superman. Felt it when a superpowered fist closed around his core.

He felt it shatter.

—

Daniel Fenton died again at the age of fifteen. Killed by pride and hatred and ignorance.

—

Jasmine Fenton knew her brother was going to die. She felt it in her yet-to-form core.

And as she watched her parents go on like nothing she said mattered, she felt herself break.

She didn’t want to lose her baby brother, contacting the Justice League just put her on a wait list, Danny didn’t have time to wait.!

So Jasmine Fenton stood on shaking legs and marched down into her parents basement and opened the ghost portal.

She took a breath, a chance,

and made a wish.

—

He was resurrected again moments later, brought back with no memories and a brand new, inky black, galaxy dusted core.