Phantom on the Shore - A Batman X Danny Phantom Crossover fanfic

The Consequences Unveiled

Warnings for the following: Dehumanization, Illegible text, Semi-Major depiction of injury(?), implied/referenced body horror, death, cursing, REALLY bad greek mythology referencing

"Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loathe." ― Haruki Murakami, quote from Kafka on the Shore

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Thump, Badthump, Badthump

The resonant echo of a heartbeat reverberated within the confines of Red Hood's consciousness. The sound filled his ears. It was irregular and slow. Irregular and sluggish. And most important, far too slow. If it belonged to a human, they would be in the process of dying. Teetering on the brink of death. If it belonged to a metahuman, they would be long dead. Whosever heart beat it was, they had to have been, a dead man walking. A walking corpse.

(It was his heartbeat, wasn't it?)

(I̶r̶r̶e̶l̶e̶v̶a̶n̶t̶.̶ That doesn't matter, he needed to leave. To go... well he didn't exactly know.)

Thump, Badthump, Badthump

Red Hood had no idea where he was going. To be fair he left without a clear sense of direction. He didn't even know why he was leaving. The memory could be fake, but there was a part of him that was screaming that it was true. An instinct within him screamed of their authenticity. And that it was his duty to protect him.

(The fact he was flying was a dead giveaway too.)

As the walls of Gotham City faded from view, Red Hood hastened his pace, spurred by an inexplicable urgency. He didn't know why. But he had the aching feeling something would go wrong if he didn't get to that building facility first.

(̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶?̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶l̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶o̶r̶ ̶b̶o̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶?̶ ̶S̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶u̶l̶n̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶y̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶?̶)̶

Thump, Badthump, Badthump

Something inside of him warns to not follow that thought. A voice within him cautioned against delving into that train of thought. A sinister whisper of impending danger, the approach of someone malevolent, and, above all, an urgency to reach the same destination swiftly. That something dangerous was coming. That someone dangerous was coming. And most importantly, that he needed to get there fast. But he won't know if he'll make it fast enough.

"T̶̞̘̩̪̭̰̭̯̘̗͝į̸̟̳̰̺̰̺̝̪̗͍͚̰̣͕͌̓̓͌͐̔̕̕͘̕͠m̴̪̼͓͔̓́̅̀̏̒̽̋̄͂̂̐̾́͋͛̆ę̵̻̤͍̩̠͖̖͉͉͑̒̿ ̷̡̨̢̯̺̮̬̝͎͍̲̮͉̊̍̓͂͛́̈́̈̈̚ơ̶̧̺̗̥̤̺̺͎̩̹̳͚͉̂͝ͅȗ̵̡͉̰̯͚͖̜͕̣̾͊̂̏͒̆ͅṭ̸̣̘̘̩̟̰̖͔̿̑̅͊̉́̕͜͝ͅ"

Everything in Red Hood's surroundings seemed to slow, eventually grinding to an eerie halt. It was rather odd. Was he flying fast enough for everything around him to be considered slow?

No. That's not it. There was no memory of a sudden burst, just a calculated increase in velocity, enough to reach the undisclosed destination within... he doesn't know. But does it really matter? As long as he got there quick enough, he should be fine.