Chapter 4: Oh, Mist of the Souls

"Hey, Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"How did Dani and you become ghosts?"

"It's a long story, sweetheart. Are you ready to sit and listen?"

"Yes, daddy! I really want to know!"

"Alright. It all began many, many years ago. I was a human, and Dani didn't exist yet. I was young, adventurous, and... Maybe a bit dumb on the side! With two friends of mine, we decided to mess with an invention made by my parents: a ghost portal, from the human world to here, the Ghost zone. It didn't quite work, so I messed with it a bit and poof! Ghost powers."

"Ghost portal? Like cousin Camille's?"

"Yes! It's the very same."

"And for sis?"

"Danielle... She got them from me. She is my daughter, after all. Just like you!" He said with a grin before hugging Secret tight against him. Even adopted, Secret was just as much his daughter.

With a certain fondness, the King remembered these days. Little after he adopted the lonely Secret, he became able to understand her, probably due to his Gift as the leader of the Ghost Zone. The gift... The ability to comprehend the words of the Ghost Zone, and more precisely hear its voice, allowing to measure the immense power that churned within its breast. The same power that drove all the previous King mad, and kept Phantom up and firmly guiding the deceased souls. The King was not only a leader, but a keeper and guardian, and so he would always be. But he was not alone, for which he was grateful. There were the observants, Clockwork, Fright Knight and obviously, his two wonderful daughters. And although he didn't have many contacts with the current generation of Fentons in the human realm – Camille Tabitha Fenton, daughter of his sister Jasmine, being the elder and a grandmother – when he did meet them, it was corewarming.

The King stood up, large cape letting the winds of the Zone fly through. He was on top of his castle, overlooking the world. Nearby were many lairs, and from where he was he could see the Clocktower floating, slowly deviating away. He took to the air, flying away to a further lair. He had people to warn, warn that a wind of war was rising.

"M-My name..."

The test subject's eyes were emptied of light and bound upwards, as his head wavered from left to right without stop.

"D-D-Da... Danielle..."

Behind the one-way mirror, scientists attentively listened as they finally managed to make proper use of the rare ectoplasm they were given.

"My n-name is Danielle..." The subject moaned painfully before collapsing as his skin burst forth with green, stick liquid.

"Another one exploded. But we got the name of the ghost!"

"So, the thing in this flask is supposed to be called Danielle?"

"Yup. Weird, huh?"

"Yes... But who cares. Tools are what they are, not people."

It drove him mad...

King Phantom was shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden whisper. After warning a good chunk of the Ghost Zone's population, he went back to the castle and perched himself again, looking out to the green expanse, deeply thinking. He looked around, confused, before realizing what he heard.

There had been dozens, hundreds, thousands of Ghost Kings previous to him, and there was a reason why he was the one bearing the crown as things were now.

Being the Ghost King granted two things: gifts of power, and a gift of wisdom.

The ability to hear the whispers of the Ghost Zone herself, or at least how Phantom heard it – her. A feminine, soothing voice, able to tame the wildest fires with a simple word. Every King heard it differently, and it was what drove all the previous Kings to madness – That or the gifts of power, the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, two inestimable treasures which's true potency was only at hand by the chosen King.

In exchange, his role was to protect the Afterlife itself, all ghosts and the Zone herself, from all possible harm. For which, he sacrificed his bounds to the human world and sealed all entrances. The only ways to cross the path between realms were unnatural ones, such as his, Vlad, his daughters, or Wulf's portals.

Yet still, he and the Zone feared that Humans would keep seeking unrest by meddling with Ghosts and afterlife, artificial means to extend their oh-so-short lifespans.

Long live the King...

What most would brush off as a mere breeze was in fact a whisper, one of these intimate words shared between the King and the one He protected. She reached out to him, conversed in ways only they could understand and were content with it. She was alive, she had a beating Heart, and yet as immense, infinite as She was, She only had one friend, the first one whom She could call such – other before only coveted Power and Might. He was there, he listened, he answered, and so they always went. Eternal friends that would one day together watch the world's endless rise and fall, crumbling and rising forever.

Wilt thou remain by my side?

Ever and always... I will never leave you.

Will you not? I sense despair in your core... You long for someone else

My daughter... She has been captured by humans.

Poor child... I hear her weep. She misses everyone.

I wish I could answer her as you do...

She didn't respond, her metaphorical gaze resting into endless horizon. The winds quieted down, sign that she was at rest. He would hear her voice no more today.

He went to rest as well, hoping that the humans he met – the Justice League and their pupils – would be quick to save his Daughter. Afterwards, his plan was to cut contacts abruptly and never go back in a hundred years. He refused to take his people to war.

He refused to see his daughters come to harm again.

Ding!

The chime-like sound was the indicator to M'gann that her cookies were right on point. Rushing to the oven, she pulled out the delicious biscuits and set them to cool off a bit before bringing them to her team.

"Who wants some cookies?" She asked with a smile that, if you dug a bit, would find fake.

Impulse rushed over and snatched two of the delicious biscuits before shoving them in his mouth in an almost comical fashion.

"Sho." He muttered through the crumbs in his mouth, disgusting a few of his teammates "I heard we were going on a mission for the glowing people from the other day?"

"When will you accept that they're ghosts?" Grumbled Lagoon boy.

"Jhere's no shuch thing ash ghoshts" He answered while engulfing another cookie, a full mouth making his words harder to convey.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. It's rude."

It quickly rose into an argument-like conversation, even though they were still polite to each other.

What they didn't realize was that it was probably the last time the Team would laugh like that with each other.

A/N: Am I evil?

Did I make y'all wait too long for such a poor, small chapter?

Yes. To both of these.

The action should finally pick up next chapter after this snail-assed beginning. Sorry about that! This fic is pretty hard to write, but it's a personal challenge I ain't letting slip.

Till next time!