[Third Person POV]
Danny turned slowly, his movements heavy and deliberate, until he was facing Desiree. She hovered above him, arms loose at her sides, her eyes glinting not with malice but with something softer—an edge of intrigue, fascination even. For a moment she just stared.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Danny's voice cut through first, low and steady. "I heard what you said, you know… back when Penguin forced you to be honest."
Desiree's expression hardened instantly. The shimmer in her eyes iced over, and she gave him a glare sharp enough to cut through the air. "What of it?" she asked, her voice cold, brittle, unfriendly.
"It was right before Ember started her music. Her song was the signal." Danny's head dipped, his hair falling forward like a curtain, hiding his eyes. His gaze stayed fixed on his own boots. "I was waiting by the ceiling. Listening."
Desiree scoffed, crossing her arms, a flash of anger sparking in her aura. "You're a peeping tom. Congrats." Her tone was venomous but lacked real heat. She could have left already—thanks to Danny's earlier wish she was free from the Penguin's control—but instead she stayed, hanging there in midair, curious where this was going.
Danny didn't even flinch at the insult. His voice came quiet, tired, but unwavering. "It's also why I didn't want to fight you."
"I don't need your pity. Especially from the likes of you." Her shoulders stiffened, her chin tilting up in defiance. "You're even more pitiful than I am right now." She spun, green silk and smoke trailing behind her as she turned to leave.
"Wait." Danny's voice stopped her. It wasn't loud, but it had weight. "Don't go yet. I want to make one more wish."
Desiree hesitated, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. "What?"
Danny lifted his head just enough to look at her profile. "I don't really know your past, or why you like granting the desires of others so much. But it must have been hard… having to grant everyone else's selfish wishes without ever being able to grant your own." His voice trembled slightly. "So that's my wish. I wish that what you so deeply desire came to be. That you're able to find your own happiness."
Desiree blinked. Slowly, she turned toward him fully, her eyes wide, almost disbelieving. She pointed at herself. "You wish for what I desire to come true? For me… to be happy?"
Danny nodded, his head bowing again. He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.
Desiree stared at him, torn between confusion and disbelief. Her voice softened despite herself. "I mean… not that I'm ungrateful. But why? Do you really have the luxury to be thinking about someone else's happiness right now? From what I can tell, didn't you just… lose your family?"
Danny took a long, shuddering breath. "Whether I like it or not, I'm a hero," he said, voice dropping to a low whisper. "And being a hero means putting others before yourself. Just because I'm hurting doesn't mean I want everyone else to be hurting alongside me. Even if I don't get my happy ending, knowing I helped someone else reach theirs will be enough for me."
Behind him, Ember muttered softly, almost to herself. "Danny…"
Desiree looked at him for a long heartbeat, the green glow around her dimming and brightening like a pulse. Finally she raised a trembling hand. "If that's what you desire… then so it should be."
The air around her rippled. A surge of magic erupted outward, emerald light spilling from her like a breaking dam. The heavy bangles around her wrists cracked, then shattered into glinting shards that dissolved into sparks. Desiree gasped, clutching her chest as a warm, overwhelming sensation rushed through her veins. She felt lighter than air, like chains she hadn't even noticed were binding her had finally snapped. Tears welled unbidden at the corners of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, glowing faintly as they fell.
Overcome with emotion, she floated down slowly until she stood before Danny. Her fingers, soft and cool, reached up to cradle his face. She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, her tears falling onto his cheeks like dew. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You are unlike anyone I've ever met. If anyone deserves to be happy, it is you."
Her body began to dissolve into green motes of light, particles breaking away like fireflies from her form.
"Maybe…" she whispered faintly as her face became translucent, "maybe not everyone is as bad as I assumed…"
And then she was gone—her form scattering into drifting lights that faded into the air, leaving behind a silence that felt both heavier and lighter all at once.
(Song for an enhanced reading experience: Creep – by Radiohead)
Danny stood motionless as the last fragments of Desiree's green light faded into the swirling currents of the Ghost Zone, dissolving like fireflies into nothingness. For a long moment, he simply stared into the empty air where she had vanished, his hand slowly running through his snow-white hair. His gaze drifted, settling on the crumpled body of the Penguin at his feet.
No longer warped by magic or possession, the man's form had returned to its natural state: the round belly, the crooked stance, the sharp hooked nose. A pathetic, ordinary body after all the chaos it had caused. Danny crouched silently, his movements mechanical, and with a single effortless lift he slung the villain's weight over his shoulder.
When he rose again, Ember and Klemper were standing nearby, their faces marked with worry. Their eyes searched his for some sign—any sign—that he was still with them. But Danny didn't look at them. Didn't speak. Didn't even pause. He simply walked forward, his silhouette cold and heavy in the green haze, passing between them without acknowledgment.
Klemper, hesitating, reached out a hand as though to stop him. But Danny was already moving too far ahead. Ember and Klemper exchanged a silent glance before breaking into a jog to follow him.
Danny crouched at the edge of the platform. Then he hurled himself into the spectral sky. They followed close behind, weaving through the pale mists of the Ghost Zone. Around them, rips in reality still lingered—tears that shimmered like shattered glass. Through each one flickered fragments of the world, twisted and reshaping themselves into something that once was, but every tear sealed itself before they could glimpse.
Ember's sharp eyes caught the way Danny's body dipped every so slightly in his flight path. His strength was failing him.
Within minutes they reached the colossal arch that marked the gateway—Danny's family portal. Its jagged edges glowed faintly with the hum of Fenton tech. Without hesitation, Danny crossed the threshold. He didn't even glance back at the world he was leaving.
They emerged into darkness. The lab was unlit, silent, suffocating. Dust clung to the workbenches. Machines hummed faintly, but no laughter, no voices, no warm chaos filled the air. The house above them was dead quiet.
Empty.
Danny stood at the center of the room, the Penguin still slumped on his shoulder. His body trembled, head bowed so low his chin nearly touched his chest. His fists clenched at his sides. Ember opened her mouth to call his name—
—but before she could speak, Danny turned intangible and shot upward. He phased straight through the ceiling, leaving only silence in his wake.
Without hesitation, Ember and Klemper blasted upward after him, tearing through floors until they emerged into the night sky. The world that greeted them was no longer broken. Gotham stretched out beneath them, lit by streetlamps and neon, alive with the hum of pedestrians, traffic, and restless city life.
The city was whole again.
But neither of them looked at Gotham. Their eyes locked on Danny.
His flight was erratic, his body jerking and dropping as though he couldn't keep steady. He floated up a few feet, only to fall again, nearly spiraling.
"Danny!" Ember cried, surging ahead. She caught up to him in seconds, her voice sharp and commanding. "Land! Now!"
Danny didn't react. His eyes were distant, glazed, his body moving out of instinct more than will.
Ember's tone cracked, all her fire breaking into raw fear. "Danny… please land. Please stop flying. Listen to me—just land. Please."
Danny let out a ragged sigh. And then, wordlessly, he allowed himself to drift downward. His control faltered, and he crashed hard against a spacious rooftop, tumbling across the gravel until the Penguin's body rolled free. Danny himself collapsed onto his hands and knees, chest heaving with every jagged breath.
Ember and Klemper landed immediately, skidding across the rooftop. Without hesitation, they dropped to their knees beside him, wrapping their arms around him, clinging tightly. Tears streamed openly down both their faces.
"Danny, please…" Ember's voice broke, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. "Stop holding it in. You don't have to be strong. It's okay to cry. I know you're hurting so badly inside—so stop holding it in and let it out."
"We're your friends," Klemper said, sniffling, his arms tightening. "We'll be strong for you."
Danny's face twisted with anguish. His whole body quivered, the effort of restraint breaking apart under their embrace. Tears burst from his eyes, rolling in thick, endless rivulets. His hands clutched theirs, veins bulging along his temples as ectoplasmic energy surged wildly within him. His ribs were outlined beneath his shirt, each breath coming sharp and shallow, as though his grief itself was suffocating him.
Then Danny tilted his head back. His mouth opened, and from the depths of his soul came a howl—a Ghostly Wail unlike any he had ever released before.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The sound ripped through Gotham's skies. It was not a weapon, not an attack—it was pure, unfiltered grief. The very air trembled beneath its weight. The rooftop shuddered. Windows rattled across the city. The sound climbed higher, deeper, until it became a pillar of raw energy lancing into the clouds.
The skies responded. Dark clouds churned, drawn together as if pulled by Danny's sorrow. Within seconds, rain began to fall in sheets, drenching the city in cold grey.
All across Gotham, people leaned out of their windows, umbrellas forgotten, eyes wide as they stared at the storm that had risen from nowhere.
And far above them all, standing atop one of the tallest towers, a pale woman with an ankh necklace and an umbrella tilted in her hand paused. She looked toward the source of the sound, the boy's anguished wail piercing even her eternal stillness. Her lips pressed thin. She closed her eyes, listening to the sorrow, the unbearable grief of a child who had lost everything.
And a single tear rolled down her alabaster cheek.
Danny's grief tore open the heavens… and for the first time in eternity, Death remembered how to cry.
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