(Injustice Ghost, Part 3. Heads up for general injustice stuff. I spent a while researching some characters, so i hope this won't be too OOC.)
The soul haunting the watchtower was appearing more and more frequently, though seemingly too shy to approach.
The little boy, who's name nobody knew (as he didn't tell anyone, and everybody didn't want to ask), was nicknamed 'Little Warrior' by Diana after they met. Little Warrior was, for some reason, less hesitant to approach Diana than all the others, especially Clark. Everyone could noticed how the spirit would startle whenever Clark made sudden moves, or how he would flinch if he came too close.
They decided not to question it.
The boy was also starting to speak to them more often, something that brought the superheroes joy. Even though the ghost didn't speak too much, he always tried to help. More than once he was caught floating around the kitchen, baking something for them, be it cookies, cupcakes or sometimes even pies.
/ / /
Some time later, Dinah was heading to the recreation room of the watchtower after a long day of watch duty, and spotted the TV on.
The lights of said room were off, only the brightness of the TV was lightning up the place, giving away that someone was sitting in front of the TV, watching it.
Dinah couldn't help but watch curiously as the mysterious 'Watchtower Ghost' sat in front of the screen, watching the news with what she assumed must be a longing look.
The news that day were nothing special, just announcing that it was generally peaceful all round, with the occasional news that a rogue was caught thrown in.
'I can't disturb him' is what she decided on after seeing the boy hugging his knees, looking up from the floor to see what the news that day would tell him about the world.
She left quietly, leaving the phantom to his thoughts.
/ / /
Everyone was worried for Captain Marvel, magic users moreso. The hunt for Circe was long, and the visits to the watchtower were brief or even inexistent (in the other two remaining Marvels case, they refused to rest until they found Cap), searching nonstop for the witch who was believed to be responsible for the world's mightiest mortal's disappearance.
It was a call that gave Diana, the only on-duty and available hero at the moment, the information that the hunt was over.
“We found Circe.”
Constantine uttered from the other side of the call.
“She's in a abandoned warehouse in Fawcett.”
Zatanna adds, whispering as well.
“We're waiting on the ceiling, a part of it gave away.”
This time, it was Captain Marvel Jr's voice.
“Hurry, please.”
Mary Marvel murmured, a note of urgency clear in her voice.
“On the way.”
Was the princess' response, as he sprinted away to the zetas, leaving for Fawcett as fast as she could.
As the Zeta started and Diana went in, the ghost, still invisible at her side at the Zeta, smiled.
“I can finally see them again.”
Little Warrior thought, the scenery of the watchtower now gone, and in its place only the vision of Fawcett's streets remained.
/ / /
“Do you see the runes a little better there?”
Mary asks Zatanna and Constantine —who were on the other side of the old warehouse's destroyed roof— with the league communicator. She's hiding with Freddy in the part of the roof that's front facing Circe, meanwhile Zatanna and Constantine were on the other side, trying to take a better look at the runes, and what could they mean.
“No, but i swear this bloody circle is a locating spell of some kind.”
Came Constantine's hushed response. The symbols and runes on the ground all around Circe glowed a vibrant pink, contrasting against the darkness of the warehouse. Circe seemed to be reading her grimoire, of which floated in front of her, probably trying to add the finishing touches to whatever spell she was trying to perform.
“Can you try to read the page she's on without being spotted?”
Freddy suggested, and Mary agreed with his idea, nodding at him. It could be risky, as to be spotted would lead to an fight without Wonder Woman as backup, but it could also lead to a major advantage of knowing what the witch was trying to do, making them have the upper hand.
“I could try, i’m not really sure. It's a bit far away.”
Zatanna answered, peeking a bit over her hiding spot to try and see what Circe was looking at her grimoire.
“..It's supposed to track something. Yeah, you were right.”
Zatanna agreed, now retreating back to her hiding spot.
Just then, the brief click of two golden boots sounded behind Mary and Freddy. Wonder Woman has arrived.
Circe, on the ground, seemed to jolt, her grimoire shutting closed suddenly, and her head snapping towards Diana.
“Shit, our cover's blown.”
Freddy hissed, looking at Diana. How has Circe already seen her? She came so silently, too!
Diana shook her head as Circe grinned from where she stood.
“Aw, the little princess came out to play? How gracious of you.”
Circe commented, now looking at Diana as if daring her to come fight.
“I'm going down.”
Is the warning they got, as the amazon dropped down from the rooftops and in front of Circe, who opened a portal where the grimoire flew into, before closing.
There was an audible sigh from the other side of the communicator — No doubt coming from the british sorcerer — as he, too, dropped down the rooftop he was hiding in, along with Zatanna, who dropped not too long after.
“It's just the two of us,“
Mary noted, meeting her brother's gaze.
“Ready to find out where's Billy?”
Freddy smiled.
“Hell yeah.”
They both dropped down in the same time, and now, Circe was surrounded.
“Never fighting me all alone, are you, princess?”
Circe snarked, summoning magic that enveloped some debris nearby, turning it into a mighty bear, who growled as it leaped in her defense.
“Let's see how you like it when i even the numbers.”
Once again, more debris got transformed into other animals — a wolf, a tiger, and a goat— all of which launched themselves in the sorceress' defense.
And so, the fight began.
Zatanna and Constantine held the wolf and the goat back, meanwhile Mary and Freddy fought the tiger.
The feline jumped at Jr, trying to claw him, as he dodged and punched back.
The predator was thrown back by the force, giving Mary the opportunity to make a small bolt of lightning hit it. It growled in pain, running towards Mary this time, leaping at her with arms open, claws out and jaws ready to clamp down and bite.
It didn't get the chance, as both of the Marvel siblings punched it square in the chest, the magical animal falling down, becoming debris once again.
The siblings looked up just in time to see Zatanna and Constantine finishing off their own foes with energy blasts, as they, too, became normal debris.
All that remained was Circe and Diana.
Diana lauched a kick at Circe who dodged expertly, pink magic swarming her hands as she shot a beam of magical energy at the demi-godess, who reeled back at the attack, but went in again.
Both of them continued to trade blows, until the other four of Diana's teammates came out on top of their battles.
They all surrounded the sorceress again, until the runes on the ground suddenly grew brighter, a small, pink light shot off the runes, going towards something behind Wonder Woman.
Circe's grin grew.
“Would you look at that? The princess decided to give me a gift. Why, thank you!”
She said, with an amused tone. The others all looked behind Diana, only to see..
It was a ghost.
No normal ghost, Billy's ghost.
He floated in place, as the pink light circled him, giving away his location. It was clear the spirit was trying to be invisible but couldn't, his hands grasping at his hoodie anxiously.
For a moment, everything was silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Came Mary's scream, as she rushed to her twin's side, ignoring Circe and the looks of surprise on the faces of the others present. (Except for Freddy, he, too, rushed to the spirit's side.)
“What happened to you?”
She gasped, looking at the spirit of her brother who was looking like a deer caught in headlights.
“M-Mary?”
Came her twin's croaked response, as blood pooled on the corners of his would-be eyes.
The only thing that stopped her from fussing any longer was the voice that came behind her, snapping her back to reality.
“They lead what i wanted right back to me. Isn't that just sweet?”
Circe declared, looking as smug as the cat who got the rat.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!”
Mary demanded, her voice booming as all the rage she kept for the sorceress who kept her twin away from her boiled within her.
The witch had the guts to giggle at her.
“And why would i tell you that?”
She taunted, and before she could blink, both Marvels were upon her.
She couldn't almost get a single spell in with the barrage of punches and kicks the siblings were dealing, the speed of mercury proving to be way too fast, even for her.
When she finally got to make a magic shield to distance them from her, it was almost immediatly broken, and she was face to face with the amazon.
“The lasso.”
Jr mentioned, looking at the Amazon.
“We need to know how to bring him back to normal.”
Diana nodded, as the Marvels went in again, this time trying to hold Circe still while Zatanna and Constantine helped.
Not soon after, the lasso of truth was upon Circe.
“What did you do to him!?”
Mary growled at the sorceress, who struggled against the lasso, even as it burned her.
The ghost floated closer, now on Mary's and Freddy's side.
“I switched him with an alternative self.”
Is the response she came with, clearly still trying to not tell anything of value.
“Why did you do it?”
Freddy was the one asking this time, looking at Circe as if challenging her to lie to him, even though she physically couldn't.
“He's a version of the champion who has weakenned ties to his patrons and cannot support the living lightining, he's basically a foutain of divine magic waiting to be grabbed.”
Circe hissed, still struggling against the lasso of truth.
“Champion?”
Escaped Diana, in surprise. The only person who she saw being referred to as that was..
“Captain Marvel. Shazam's and the gods' chosen.”
Circe snarked, looking at the surprise in the amazonian princess' eyes as she looked at the ghost she'd come to know.
“Little brother?”
Her voice had a slight waver to it, and the ghost flinched back at the nickname, and tried to almost fold into himself to seem smaller than he already was.
“How do we reverse this?”
Mary started the interrogation again, staring at Circe with hate.
Circe laughed. Laughed as if this was all a game, and she won.
“That's simple. You don't.”
Is her answer, with a tone of finality. As if she was certain.
...and the lasso allows no lies.
“The spell can only be reversed by the one who casted it, and i am never. NEVER. Reversing it.”
Circe grinned at them, she grinned happily and smugly and how Mary wanted to punch that stupid grin right off her face—
Billy put his hand on her arm.
He looked at her like she was a precious gem he'd lost, and was sure would never be found again, and yet—
“Mary?”
The ghost of her brother looked at her and then at Circe. Mary was sure she must have looked downright murderous after Circe's comment. She didn't want to think how she must have scared Billy.
“Stop, please?”
Billy asked, and it broke her heart. This really was and wasn't her brother. Even as a ghost, he doesn't want Mary to kill Circe. Mary could have laughed at this, yet, she couldn't bring herself to.
Mary wordlessly looked up to see Freddy and with his knowing gaze (he knew, he understood.) and the others, concerned, sad, surprised.
“..We'll bring her to the watchtower's cells. We'll find a way to bring Marvel back.”
Said Zatanna, breaking the silence, opening a portal and going in along with Constantine and Wonder Woman, who looked back a bit before entering.
This wasn't going to be easy.
/ / /
Grief was a weird thing.
The brother Mary knew was gone. Off to another universe.
But, at the same time, he was here, in hers.
The spirit of his brother, who came from a fucked up version of reality where Superman became a dictator and the league became the supreme power to rule the earth, killing those who opposed them.
Mary knew it must be as weird to Billy as it is for her to come to terms that this isn't technically my sibling.
They both lost their siblings unexpectally. Neither of them got to say their goodbyes. To hug their twin.
One moment, they were there. The next, they weren't.
Mary still couldn't bare to see herself in the mirrors when de-transformed (regrettably, it also hurts sometimes seeing Billy, knowing her twin from her universe is gone and will be gone forever) to the point both her and Billy agreed to cover up all mirrors.
It was more than weird just.. losing your twin. Just like that, you won't ever see them again.
...
Mary talked to Billy again.
It was a bit comforting to have someone who knows what you're going through.
He lost his Mary. As she had lost her Billy.
He was not my universes' Billy, but he was still my brother, my twin.
Is what Mary decided.
Billy is not replacing her lost brother, just as she isn't replacing his lost sister.
But they could still be family.
/ / /
It turned out, even though Billy couldn't transform into Cap anymore, he still wanted to be a hero.
“I want to help. I NEED to help. I did too much damage already.”
He still had the gods' blessings, just a little bit weaker. He could still fight for what was right—for a better tomorrow, for a better world— with his family by his side.
And thus, Marvel Eido was born. (from the greek word Eidolon, meaning ghost, phantom or apparition.)
The brand new member of the Marvel family, coming from another universe.
(And that is it! This last part fought me all the way. I might make an 'extra' scene/oneshot and maybe elaborate more on why Circe switched Billy with Injustice Billy, but, as of right now, this will be it. Thanks for reading! :) )
(I'm so happy for the support on the first part, i'm glad you all liked it! :) Anyways, heads up again, this will talk about what happened to Billy in injustice, have some blood, and angst.)
According to the other members of the League, Diana is the last person the ghost showed himself to.
The Leaguers don't even got to ask the boy's name, as after he appeared to Clark, he stayed silent, ever watching. Arthur has said he's been feeling watched lately, same with Barry, Hal and Bruce.
They all started to notice scratch marks appearing on some places. The Zeta tubes, by example. The scratch marks look like somebody desperately scratched at it after failing to operate the Zeta, and was trying to get out.
Diana sighed, walking to the observation deck. Maybe watching the vastness of space and the bright stars will clear her mind?
When she arrived, she noticed someone sitting on the floor by one of the big windows, looking outside, hand on the reinforced glass.
“It's the ghost.”
Was Dianas first thought upon seeing him. The ghost was indeed as small as everyone said he was, and even more frail. He looked like if a strong bit of wind would knock him over, if ghosts could even be knocked over or touched by the wind.
Melancholy was clear on the spirit's face, reflected by the glass. He seemed not to notice Diana walked in, even though her reflection should be on the glass, too. Maybe he was deep in thought.
Diana didn't want to interrupt the poor boy, but he seemed just.. so lonely. Bruce had said that everyone's accounts, except for Clark's and Barry's, were extremely brief encounters. No words were exchanged, only the brief surprise of encountering the ghost, and him being surprised at being seen, before vanishing yet again.
The sound of Diana's boots echoed against the silence of the room as she approached the ghost as silently as she could, not wanting to scare him.
“It's beautiful, isn't it?”
Diana said, as the spirit's head snapped to her in an instant, startled even though she said it as calm and as quiet as she could.
The ghost watched her like a wounded animal, wary, and looking for any reason to bolt. Yet, he didn't. He wordlessly nodded, and Diana looked at the glass once again.
“The stars are so bright. Sometimes, i still stop just to admire how pretty they are.”
She mused, as the stars seemed to shine brighter in response to her compliment.
The ghost (They really needed to find out his name. it seemed so wrong to just call someone 'the ghost' or 'the boy' all the time.) seemed to think, but his head didn't leave Diana's direction, so she assumed he was still looking at her, shoulders looking tense.
..Until suddenly, they weren't as tense, as he relaxed a littlest bit.
“You really aren't anything like her.”
The ghost noted, his words repeating in a echo. Diana didn't how what he meant. Maybe she reminded him of somebody he used to know?
“You're good. Strong, but not evil. A inspiration, a hero. You're what she should have been. What she once was.”
Is what the ghost followed up with, his voice choked. The boy's arms started to shake.
Diana looked at the poor soul in front of him with concern. Who was 'she'? Did she hurt him? Is 'she' the one who killed him? So many questions, yet none of those she would have asked. He doesn't need questioning, he obviously needs someone to be there for him. To hear him.
“I'm sorry.”
Is what Diana started with, as the ghost looked up at her. She just knew that if the ghost had eyes, he would be holding tears back as she spoke.
“I may not know who you're talking about, but she doesn't sound lovely. I'm sorry you had an bad experience with her.”
That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, as a choked sob left the ghost, his whole body now shaking, small droplets of blood leaving the holes of where his eyes should be, imitating tears.
He threw himself at Diana, hugging her, as if he let go, she would be gone. His small figure shaking like a leaf as sniffles and sobs left him. Interestingly enough, he seemed somewhat more solid, and didn't phrase right through Diana, like what happened to Clark.
“You're g-good, right? Y-you wouldn't..”
He said between sobs. Diana noticed that her clothes and armour would be very bloody with tears, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She slowly hugged the crying boy back, using one hand to run her fingers through the small boy's hair, hoping to calm his desperate sobs down.
“T-they used me. I was b-blind and d-dumb and so stupid and..”
The boy continued, not letting go of the hug but now trying to look up at Diana.
Diana shot him a look that she hoped was comforting. She may not know what happened to him, but he clearly needed to get this out. The poor boy seemed to hesitate for a bit.
“You aren't dumb or stupid. Please, don’t beat yourself up like that, dear.”
That seemed to give the boy courage, as he let go of one hand to wipe away tears with his sleeve, the bright red hoodie now having a bit of blood on it.
“I-i thought we were doing the right thing..”
The spirit said, looking up at Diana. He couldn't look smaller like this, and it breaks Diana's heart.
“T-they called themselves heroes. Nobody stopped him.. they just... watched.”
Oh. Is the poor boy a villain victim? The thought of failing someone like him, leading to his death, hurt Diana even more. She didn't know the boy, but she would be damned if she let anyone ever hurt him again. And so, she hug him a little bit tigher, whispering encouragements as the boy paused to sob, his face now running with the bloody tear tracks.
“Grundy w-was the one who buried me. i n-never went home.”
That seemed to remind the ghost of something. Diana frowned. Who did that? Who was cruel enough to let someone like Grundy bury a child?
“Oh g-gods i never went home. M-Mary.. F-Freddy.. t-they're all still waiting.”
Oh.
He had a family. A family who didn't know he was murdered in cold blood and let to be buried by a villain. She didn't think this could get worse, but yet, it kept getting worse.
“T-they're still in the danger.. AND I CAN'T HELP THEM!”
This launched the ghost to a panic, pushing himself off the hug as he grasped his head. Diana felt so impossibly lost. She wanted to help him, but she didn't know what to or not to say- the poor ghost just realized his family probably just thought he was missing, and, according to him, were also in danger.
Diana grasped his shoulder gently as the spirit started to hyperventilate.
“Hey, hey. Could you look at me?”
Shakily, the ghost's head turned to her.
“Thank you. Could you imitate my breathing?”
Diana inhaled, then exhaled slowly, trying to get the ghost to copy her. When she noticed he was trying to, she smiled.
“Yes, just like that. You're doing great.”
The spirit continued until his breathing leveled up again and he slumped against Diana, utterly exhausted.
“I'm sorry.”
He apologized, wiping his bloody tears yet again, this time with the other sleeve.
Diana simply hugged him again.
“You don't need to apologize for anything, sweetheart. You did nothing wrong.”
The boy slowly nodded, and seemingly fell asleep, utterly exhausted, probably both mentally and phisically.
“I promise i won't be like those who hurt you. Nobody will ever hurt you again, if i have anything to say about it.”
She pet him, now looking up the glass, at the stars.
They truly looked beautiful.
/ / /
(Part 2 done! This will have a part 3, and it will be the final part.)
(Putting out an Halloween post because why not? By the way, there will be mentions of blood and death, since this will talk about Injustice Billy, and what happened to him.)
Captain Marvel was missing.
Of course, the superhero comunnity was after the answers to what happened, and only got to know some things.
1-This was probably Circe's doing, going by the way the runes they found.
2-It could be undone.
3-The captain switched places with someone- and that someone could have come from anywhere in the multiverse. So, alternative universes were not out of the table.
It was going to be a long week, but it will be worth it.
/ / /
After a long mission and even longer meeting about said mission, Barry was hungry, (Well, running for a long time with no food and super fast metabolism does that to someone) and so decided to eat something in the Watchtower's kitchen.
As it was night and some people decided to go straight to bed after mission, some lights were off. When Barry opened the door leading to the kitchen, he headed for the light switch.
..That is, until he saw something in the dark. The only thing lightning up the room being the faint lights the window provided.
The thing he saw looked.. small. Where it eyes should be, Barry could see right through.
“Hello?”
Barry asked, and received no answer. As the silence dragged on, he decided to flip the light switch he was reaching for earlier. Maybe it was nothing after all?
As the lights came to life, Barry saw the figure. No, the boy.
He was indeed small, maybe 8 to 9 years old. Skinny, too. The weirdest thing about him was that he simply didn't have eyes. Where his eyes should be, there were simply nothing, the borders of where the eyes were supposed to be were caked in blood. In fact, the boy himself seemed see-through, transparent.
The child, who was looking at the window previously, startled when the lights came on, looking at Barry directly before vanishing into thin air.
“Oookay. That happened. Good to know the watchtower's haunted.”
/ / /
Barry: “Did i tell you guys what i saw in the kitchen last night?”
GL (Hal): “No? What did you see?”
Barry: “I think i saw a spirit. No, i'm sure i saw a spirit. Or a ghost.”
GL, in a disbelieving tone: “Dude, what? Are you serious?”
Barry: “I swear. It was a child, and when i flipped the light on, it just looked up at me and vanished! Gone!”
Clark, who was more believing: “So, you're saying the watchtower's haunted? How would this ghost even get here?”
[Barry shrugs]
/ / /
Clark thinks he finally understands what Barry means when he comes face to face with the ghost himself.
This time, it was in the watchtower's recreation room.
Since a meeting was to start soon enough, Clark decided to be extra early, and waited patiently in the recreation room. Currently, he was the only one here, as Bruce was in the meeting room already, probably planning how it will go.
According to the jornal Clark was reading, today was a slow day, with only Central and Gotham being attacked by major villains today, what most likely will be brought up in the meeting.
A shuffling sound besides Clark had him looking up from the jornal, looking directly at something that he had heard about before.
“..You're the ghost Flash told me about, aren't you?”
He asked the spirit, who looked at him blankly.
“You.”
It said. It's voice had an echo quality to it, and was so impossibly quiet, almost a whisper.
“Me? What about me?”
Clark asked the boy, confused.
“Why?”
It questioned, instead of answering.
“Huh?”
The boy stepped closer, as if analyzing Clark's very being.
“Why?”
It repeated, louder and clearer this time. Clark was sure if this.. person (?) had eyebrows, he would be frowning.
“I'm sorry, i don't understand what you mean.”
Clark told the spirit, with an apologetic tone in his voice. It was more than clear this ghost was trying to tell him something, ask him something. And yet, it wasn't able to, or rather, couldn't bring itself to.
The ghost got even closer, one hand pointing to it's eyes.
“This. Why?”
It asked, it's voice filled with hurt, betrayal. Like Clark himself had done something unforgivable.
“..You're asking me why are your.. uh.. eyes that way?”
The ghost shook it's head 'no', and then used the finger that was pointing to it's 'eyes' to get some of the blood in it's face, and proceeded to walked even closer to Clark, now directly in front of him.
As Clark was about to ask something, the boy began floating. The spirit floated up, until it was eye level with him, and put the finger on the jornal Clark was holding, the bloody fingerprint being fixated on a specific news title.
“Multiple innocent lives unfortunately lost in sudden villain attack!”
These words now stood out against the other news coming from Gotham. Clark just read about this- Joker had escaped Arkham yet again, but this time, without anyone knowing, and had planted a bomb on park. Hidden from anyone's view, it went off, killing some people who were just enjoying the afternoon in the park that day.
“Were you one of Joker's victims, little one?”
Clark questioned in the soft tone he uses with scared children- since others in the league don't talk much with civillians after savings, the responsibility almost always falls either on his, Diana's or (surprisingly) Bruce's shoulders.
If this was the spirit of a child who's life was lost in a tragic accident like this, Clark would stop at nothing to give it rest. No one deserved to be stuck, especially since this ghost didn't seem all that happy.
..is what he thought, until the ghost shook it's head no, and then paused.
“Joker? But..”
It's voice was quieter again. It- no, he, looked like he realized something.
"..joker's dead. You..”
Before any questions could be asked, the ghost spoke up again.
“You aren't him, are you? I don't belong here. i don't want to be here. Go away!”
Was the last thing Clark heard the boy say, before he pushed him (or tried to, really, he phased right through him) and disappeared into nothingness, just like Barry had told him he had done before.
This isn't just a silly little fact told by friends to scare each other. The watchtower truly is haunted.
/ / /
(this will have a part 2, i just don't know when)
I’m mostly going off of vibe here. (Note: By ‘Supernatural’ I mean things like ghosts.) Characters who believe in the Supernatural: Loki, Thor, Everyone on Asgard, Peter Parker, Gamora, Hulk, Bucky, T’challa, Scott, Wanda, Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, Groot, Mantis, Darcy Lewis, Drax, Ned Leeds, Eddie Brock, Wade Wilson, Wong
Characters who are undecided on the Supernatural: Vision, Bruce Banner, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Pietro, Rocket, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, Carol Danvers, Nick Fury, Jane Foster, Phil Coulson, Yelena, MJ, Venom, Stephen Strange
Characters who don’t believe in the Supernatural: Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Peter Quill, Nebula, Peggy Carter, Shuri?,