"Remind me again what we're looking for?" asks Tim.
I hum as we slowly make our way around the circus grounds. All around the Big Top are a series of stalls and sideshow tractions. They've got everything from palm reading to fire breathing and carnival games. " The eyes," I say while attempting to make casual glances at the workers, " you know that old story about the eyes being the window to the soul?"
Damien's expression turns thoughtful, " Grandfather always said you can tell intentions through eyes. Is it the same for ghosts?"
"Not exactly, but that's a story for another day. What we're looking for, for now, are subtle color changes. For example, when they came to Amity, all the workers had red eyes. At first, I thought it was contacts, but it was an effect of the staff," I explain.
" Does the color have significance?" interrogates Bruce.
I shrug my shoulders, "There's a lot of weird eye colors common for us; even our regular eye color is subject to change depending on what we're doing or the circumstance. But, when it comes down to mind control, It usually turns the eyes red or makes it reflect that way."
" And the staff only works on ghosts," says Dick trying to reaffirm.
"Or those with ectoplasm in their system," I say.
" Then why do you want us to look at all the people's eyes? Surely not these many people have been exposed to ectoplasm if it's as rare as you've made us believe," says Tim.
"Overshadowing," I say.
"And we're supposed to know what that means," says Jason.
" Right, right," I say, forgetting they don't know that terminology, " I guess it would be a possession for you. You know, like in The Exorcist."
"That's real!?" Dick sputters.
" Very, and one of the easiest ways to tell this is through the eyes. The eye color won't be the same as it should be, and sometimes even glowing," I say.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" asks Bruce.
I look at him guardedly, "If I did, would that change anything?"
"What do you mean, Danyal?" asks Damian.
"If you knew about the ability to overshadow, would you still have come within the circus? Would you still be willing to put your life at risk in the face of an unknown?" I ask all of them, but my eyes stay trained on Father's face.
"They are an unknown because of your lack of information," he says gruffly.
" What did you expect me to say?"
" The truth."
I let out an exasperated sigh, "I never lied to you–"
" But you weren't forthcoming with information either," Tim cuts in.
My hands rest on my hips, "Look, everyone has different abilities. Some stuff is standard, like flying, intangibility, and invisibility. Other stuff is subject to the person. Some can do more than others, While some are incapable of doing anything else."
"It still would have been nice to know," Says Dick calmingly, trying to mediate between us.
"Well, it's hard to tell you what to expect when we're not even sure if anything is really happening here." I slip my phone out of my pocket and look at the time. It's about an hour before the show starts, " why don't we split up and look for clues?"
Jason snorts and says, "Alright, gang. So how are we doing this?"
" It would be unwise for Jason and Danyal to be paired together in case one of them is put under the staff," Says the man-bat.
" Let me go with little- wing," says Dick and continues in a knowing tone, " just in case you lose his control, he's going to need someone to hold him down."
It's just something about how he said it takes me by surprise. How he said he needs someone to hold him down, reminds me of how someone would talk about a rabid animal. Not a person. I look at Jason and see him not being too happy about that comment.
" It might take more than just you; I'll go with you as well. Tim and Damian go with Danyal," orders Bruce.
" I think it would be best for Damien with you, too," I interject, " If by chance Showenhowers Is here, it would be better if we were separate."
Damian crosses his arms, and his mouth is pointed down into a slight frown, " You wish for us to fight separately?"
I wince at his words, as he sounds hurt.
I explain, "It would be better if we weren't together. They may have seen what I really looked like while I was brainwashed; I don't remember everything from that time. We look enough alike that if they saw you, they could think you were me," I try to sweeten the deal, " if it is them, this could help you get intel. They'd be more likely to attack me than anyone else here."
" You wish for both of us to act as bait," he says, scrutinizing me.
"Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?" he stares at me as if I've lost my mind, " a bat snack? A Robin's snack?" I wait for an answer, but all I get is silence before asking seriously, "Do you have a better plan?"
The glances at one another shrugs, and continued silence was answer enough.
So we split off in different directions. I can't help but look over my shoulder every once in a while, hoping to see Damian or the others not too far behind, but they get easily lost In the crowd. Tim and I travel in silence, content walking in circles, people-watching. I try to observe others' eyes but not to catch them. None of their eyes have an inhuman sheen or a radiating glow, but that doesn't mean something isn't going on. Some, like Spectra or Amorpho, can look human when they want to; who knows, maybe others can too. I run into the side of Tim as his pace slows.
He turns to look at me, and I give him an apologetic look. He shoves his hand into his pocket and takes out his wallet, " you up for some games?"
A wide grin forms on my face, " I thought you'd never ask."
He looks at me a little weirdly, and when I raise my eyebrow at him, he says, "Sorry. It's still weird seeing an expression like that on Damien's face."
" Well, it's my face, too, so you should get used to it," I say blandly.
He scratches the side of his face and says awkwardly, " Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," but I can tell he wants to say more.
We play a couple of rounds of that basketball game, where they have the really big prizes, but no one ever really wins before he gets the guts to ask, "Is there any way to stop it?"
" Stop what?"
" The possession– overshadowing thing?"
" There's a couple of ways, but it's nothing you could do naturally," I say, grabbing his attention as I info dump, "The Fentons, while they were shitty scientists, weren't that bad at inventing. So I spent quite a few years in–" I say shakingly, trying to think past the cages and ectoplasm stains, " –the lab, working on inventions with them."
We walk in silence for a few moments, with me unable to look at him as I push past the memories until he asks, "Do you think you could recreate the inventions?"
I try to smirk at him, but it feels more like a grimace, " I probably do it in my sleep. I would have to modify it, though. While it keeps anyone from overshadowing you, it is also quite obvious when using it."
" What do you mean?"
" They designed it to act as a belt, called it the Specter Deflector, that thing is gotti, and I doubt anyone would be willing to wear it as it is. All of my regular rogues can identify it on-site. If any of them travel to Gotham to cause some trouble, it would be pretty obvious if you had it on."
" Would you be able to make it more compact? It sounds advanced how would you change it?" Tim asks with the enthusiasm of a puppy.
" It's not that advance," I try to deflect, " it shouldn't be too hard. A lot of the stuff they made was with cheap parts that they found in scrap yards or broken appliances on the street. If I use proper parts, I can make it a lot smaller, most likely like a bracelet or something of the sort, for everyday wear."
"Is that all you would do? Or would you do anything else?"
"There are a few other modifications I'd make, just to make it better for friendlies."
" What do you mean?" he asks, his eyes big with worry, " it has side effects?"
I nod, " Those with ectoplasm in their system will get a really big shock just touching the person. It doesn't matter if they were trying to overshadow them or not. It's helpful in identifying those with ectoplasm, but it can also put a target on your back." I put my hands in my pockets, trying to seem casual as I say, " Not many know about ghosts, and those who do are normally hunters. Even peaceful ghosts could attempt to attack you if they think they might be in the line of fire."
" Wouldn't it be better to just try to modify it so it doesn't attack you or Jason?"
" While maybe helpful for the two of us, it wouldn't tell others. Nobody deserves to be attacked on the basis of what they are. Also, think of it like this, what if you're actively trying to go after the ghost, it'll alert them that you're there. putting you and the civilians in more danger."
Tim's face pales as he hurridly tries to apologize, saying, " I wasn't thinking of it like that. I just meant it would be good to know if they were a ghost or not. Not as a method of attack."
I eye him wearily. Batman and the birds are known for their contingencies. Talia and Ra's ensured we were aware of that.
"If you were to wear it, or Jason, would it be the same?" Tim asks with a weird expression on his face.
" I'm not sure about Jason," I confess, " after the.. incident happened When going around like this," I say, gesturing to my human form, " it felt uncomfortable to wear it, but it wasn't outright painful–."
Tim cuts me off, "You say that like that isn't the fact now."
" That's because it isn't. Over time I got stronger, so it had more of an effect. I can't even touch it without getting electrocuted. If Jason were to have one of the Fenton's models, it could cause him some discomfort, maybe even some slight pain, as his ecto signature isn't very strong, but I don't want to risk it."
We go to play a couple more games before we have to meet up with the others. Tim is quiet the whole time, silently reviewing the information I've given him. We try different ones until an unnatural crackle sounds off in the air, like the start of a 1950s intercom. A husky voice reverberates through the lot, "Welcome all Ghouls and Ghosts to Circus Gothica, the world's only nightmare circus! Come join us into the unknown at our next performance, starting in 15 minutes. Join us while you last," they say as another crackle sounds, marking the end of the announcement.
Tim drags me off last minute to one of those concession stands to get a couple boxes of popcorn and some water before we make our way to the big top.
Tim looks at his water questioningly, "Hey, random question does holy water work on ghosts?"
" I don't know. I've never seen anyone try that before."
He gives me a shit-eating grin, "Don't you think it's time to find out?"