#raising phantom

Trent?

Danny picked at a scratch in the table. His mind often went elsewhere to block out the boredom of being taught things he already knew, but this time it wasn't purposeful. He rubbed his tired eyes as they burned from lack of sleep. Events from that night replayed in his head. Honestly, he should be happy Vlad was gone. He didn't want him to be around in the first place! His stomach twisted and coiled. Vlad was a jerk with a few screws loose. He always pressed them to dress up, to go to some rich boring thing, or make a show of them whenever he got a chance to brag. Danny sighed heavily, while folding his arms on the table. His stomach tight with knots. He rested his cheek on his arms, staring at the cracked tile in the middle of the tables that were lined in a shape of a “ U ”. But... he had to admit- he did like having Vlad as his weird god-grandfather-uncle than someone actively trying to murder his dad, marry his mom, and adopt him. Not that Vlad's blood-lust had dulled, in fact, Danny was certain it had increased if the attack on the Joker was any sign of that... Yet, instead of murdering their parents, they were locked up in an psychiatric hospital on the opposite side of the country. He heard Jazz and Vlad whispered about it when they thought he was asleep. Danny closed his tired eyes as the buzzing lights started to burn. Sounds of sobbing echoed in his mind. He felt arms tightly wrapped around him, the warm wetness on his shoulder, and the trembling against his chest. Jazz hasn't been the same since that night. She mumbled more apologies, loud noises made her jump, dark circles formed over her eyes, and she would constantly mutter under her breath backup plans for scenarios that would never come. He tried to get her to talk about it, but all his attempts ended with the exact opposite. She would reply that he shouldn't worry, that everything was fine, and that SHE was fine, then she would change the subject. He knew she was lying. He didn't even know what he would do if she wasn't. Jazz was always smarter than him, probably even more so now than before. He wanted to believe her, he wanted things to be okay again, even if they weren't great. But... he didn't. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand anymore. His body wouldn't allow him to. If only- “Mrs. Staff! Danny's asleep in class again,” An annoying high pitch voice pierced through his eardrums. A girl that wouldn't leave him alone since he came to this school. Sheri. That rat.

“ There we go.” Jazz patted her leg, flinching instantly. She had used her body weight to break the pipe off the wall and tied it to her leg with the rope that had previously tied her to the chair. It wasn't the best makeshift splint, but it'll do. She let out a breath, then pulled herself up to her feet using the pipes still fixed well onto the wall, hoping they wouldn't break. It hurt a lot, at first, but slowly grew dull when she became sturdy on her feet. She balanced herself, mostly putting weight onto her good foot, before eyeing her surroundings. The Joker still lay flat on the floor. The chair legs had hit him square between the eyes. Maybe if she shot chairs instead of lasers, she would have been more helpful to Danny when he was fighting ghosts. Not that it mattered now. An exit-she needed to find one, but first. Her eyes went from the door, to the blinking lights, and down to the Joker's trousers. Her face scrunched up. The remote. Whether it actually did anything or not was up in the air- but... if it did. She had to have it so the Joker couldn't blow up the place before she could escape. She hobbled over to the Joker carefully, kneeling down on her good leg. She eyed him for a moment. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth, head hung back. His body was still with only his chest falling and rising. Make this quick. She reached into his pants pocket. Gently, she felt around for the remote with her fingers, trying to avoid hitting any buttons, and then carefully slid it out. She let out a sigh of relief as she glanced over the remote. Good. Now to- She screamed when her wrist was suddenly grabbed and pulled away from her, making her fall onto her hip. “A pick-pocket too?” Joker's voice darkly chuckled, “What a perfect little bat bait, aren't you?” She pulled back at Joker's grip, but he had already slammed her hand into the ground. Her eyes widened as Joker rolled on top of her. She pulled back her knee to keep him from being able to sit on her and kicked him as hard as she could. The Joker flung backward onto the ground. Jazz scrambled to get onto her feet, the remote still in her hand. When she noticed the Joker getting back up, at about the same time as her, she quickly reached for the nearest piece of furniture- the table. She put all her weight into slinging it at the Joker, making him stumble back. She bolted for the door, using her body weight to bust it open. She heard the Joker growl darkly before the door slammed behind her.