[Third Person Pov]
"Well, I certainly lost my appetite," Ember grumbled, her voice thick with visceral disgust as she stared at the gruesome display in front of her.
Danny and Robin had located the hidden operation room where the tragic "Alice" had been brutally forged through the twisted collaboration of Professor Pyg and the Dollmaker. The sight that greeted them was nightmarish.
The patterned floor was slick with congealed blood, making every step treacherous. The central operation table was heavily stained with layers of dried and fresh blood, while various surgical tools lay scattered across a smaller side table, many still crusted with remains. Several large buckets lined the walls, filled to overflowing with human entrails — intestines, livers, stomachs, and other organs floating in dark, viscous fluid.
Danny couldn't help but pinch his nose shut, his face twisting in revulsion. The stench was far worse than the visual horror — a thick, metallic, sickly-sweet odor that burned his nostrils and made his eyes water intensely.
"Welcome to Gotham, I suppose," Robin mumbled, his expression remaining carefully neutral. He had seen far too many scenes like this one over the years.
"The hell do you mean 'welcome to Gotham'?" Ember shot back, looking at him with wide-eyed disbelief. "Just what kind of shit hole is this city that you say that like this is a common, everyday thing?!"
Robin offered no reply, only a tired shrug that spoke volumes.
"I'm going to regret this…" Danny grumbled under his breath as he spotted a massive industrial cooler against one of the far walls. He approached it reluctantly, steeling himself before lifting the heavy lid.
Inside were dissected limbs and severed heads belonging to the missing young girls. Their faces were frozen in eternal expressions of terror. Each piece was meticulously tagged with labels noting ages, measurements, and other disturbing details.
"Yup… knew it," Danny said quietly, slamming the lid shut with a heavy clang. He took a long moment to recalibrate, breathing slowly through his mouth as he fought back a wave of nausea. "I'm so glad I actually go to therapy, because this is definitely going to give me nightmares for weeks."
"I already gave Gordon a heads-up," Robin said, his fingers flying across the holographic interface of his wrist computer. "I told him to bring ambulances and a full forensics team. We should clear out of here before they arrive and start asking too many questions."
"I'll perform one more sweep of the place before meeting you both outside," Danny said. He turned invisible in a flicker of light and vanished from sight.
---
A short while later, Danny reappeared just outside the abandoned carnival grounds. Police vehicles and ambulances had completely surrounded the area, their flashing red and blue lights cutting through the dark Gotham night.
Ember hovered a short distance away in the air, legs crossed and leaning her cheek against her fist with a sour expression. "Well, this all just went to fucking shit, hasn't it?" she clicked her tongue in annoyance before straightening up and flying off into the night without another word.
"This was not how I expected this night to turn out," Danny muttered, leaning heavily against his motorcycle. He brushed his messy white hair out of his face, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
"You go talk to her," Robin said, pushing himself up from his own bike. "I'll go speak with Gordon and make sure everything is handled and taken care of properly on the official side."
Danny nodded in agreement. He gave Robin a firm pat on the shoulder before taking off after Ember, soaring into the shadowed skies of Gotham. Robin watched them for a moment, then melted silently into the darkness a few seconds later, disappearing like a ghost.
When Danny finally caught up with Ember, he found her sitting on the ledge of a high rooftop, one leg drawn up close to her chest while the other dangled freely over the edge, swinging gently in the night breeze.
He levitated over to her, settling into a seated position in midair with his legs crossed. He waited patiently for a few moments, but when it became clear she wasn't going to speak first, he broke the silence.
"I take it you're still upset about how everything went down tonight?"
"Do I even have the right to be?" Ember muttered, fiddling absently with the laces of her boots. "If I start complaining or throw a tantrum, it's just going to make me look selfish and reflect badly on me."
Danny offered her a gentle, understanding smile. "I think you're completely entitled to your emotions. You're not a selfish person for dreaming of something and feeling disappointed when it doesn't work out the way you hoped."
"Aren't I?" Ember shot back, her voice sharpening with self-directed anger. "Those girls are dead, Danny. They were cut up and sliced into pieces, then turned into some grotesque fucking doll." She snarled at the memory. "And me? I didn't get to make it big like I wanted. Boo-fucking-hoo."
"Ember," Danny scoffed softly, a hint of faint amusement in his tone. "Tragedies and misfortune happen all the time, and they'll keep happening. But does that mean our own problems and difficulties suddenly become inconsequential just because someone else suffered worse? Of course not. Some people might find comfort in comparing their pain and telling themselves it could be worse… but this is *your* life — well, afterlife in your case. You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to be disappointed. Scream, shout, roar — all of those would be completely appropriate responses."
Ember turned her head away, pursing her lips tightly as she fought back the small, reluctant smile trying to break across her face.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck, his expression growing a little more serious. "If I'm being honest… I'm a bit upset with you. We've been at this for months now—"
He didn't get to finish. Ember suddenly tackled him in a fierce hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and pressing her head against his.
"What are you doing?" Danny asked, his body going stiff with surprise.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm hugging you," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And this is the part where you wrap your arms around my waist and hug me back, genius."
"Okay, okay," Danny chuckled softly, finally relaxing as he complied. He slid his arms around her waist, holding her securely.
"You really know how to make a girl like me feel special," Ember muttered softly, tightening her hold on him. "Thank you, Danny… You really are the best."
"I really am great, aren't I?"
"Don't ruin it."
"Okay."
The two of them started to chuckle softly together. Danny gently guided her back down toward the rooftop ledge, their shared laughter easing some of the heavy weight of the night.
---
By the end of the long night, Danny was walking down the stairs into his parents' basement, the thermos clutched tightly in his hand.
He stopped in front of the glowing Ghost Portal, staring at it for a long moment. His hand rested on the lid, ready to open it, but he hesitated. His brows furrowed in deep contemplation.
"Would I bother her with this?" he whispered to himself.
"Ah, fuck it."
"Didi, you got time to talk?" Danny asked, his tone both wary and apologetic.
"I always have time for my favorite Phantom," Death replied warmly as she materialized behind him, leaning casually on her umbrella with a knowing smile. "I take it this has to do with what happened earlier tonight?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Danny said, turning around. He wasn't even surprised by her sudden appearance anymore. "But I still feel kinda bad using the Concept of Death as my personal answering machine."
Death gave him a light, playful tap on the head with her umbrella. "Stop being so modest. You're doing me favors whenever you put a stop to things like this before they spiral further. The least I can do is clear up any confusion or questions you might have."
Danny rubbed the top of his head and smiled faintly, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little.
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