[Third Person's PoV]
Location: Gotham City
Date: January 4th
Time: 8: 34 PM
Like the intro song once said, Danny Fenton was just 14, when his parents built a very strange machine, it was designed to view a world unseen. When it didn't work, his folks, they just quit, but Danny went and took a look inside of it…
That is when the intro song differed from reality, as Danny went inside the machine. Maddy Fenton, his mother, turned back to look towards it one last time. That's when she saw Danny inside of it,
"Danny!!" Maddie screamed, her voice raw with panic.
Her sudden shout startled Danny, making him stumble backward. His elbow jabbed into a large, ominous button labeled "ON." The machine roared to life, trapping him inside a vortex of electricity and ghostly energy. A blinding flash of green light filled the room, bathing every surface in an otherworldly glow as Danny's molecules twisted and rearranged.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Danny's scream pierced the air, a blood-curdling sound that echoed off the lab's concrete walls, chilling his parents to the core.
"DANNY!" Jack shouted, his voice thick with terror as he frantically dashed toward the machine. His hands flew across the control panel, slamming buttons in a desperate attempt to shut it down. But his panic-fueled strength only sent the machine into a chaotic frenzy, sparking uncontrollably as it spiraled out of control.
Inside the machine, Danny's body was changing. His hair turned from raven black to a shocking white, and his eyes glowed a vivid, unnatural green. The pain was indescribable, every cell in his body splitting and reforming, caught in the violent grip of the unknown.
A portal, swirling with a menacing green light, tore open near the machine, pulling everything within reach into its gaping maw. Jack clung to the edge of the control panel with one hand, while his other arm held onto Maddie, who was being sucked toward the portal.
"JACK!! OUR SON!! DANNY!" Maddie shrieked, her voice barely audible over the roaring wind.
"I KNOW, MADDIE! I KNOW!" Jack's voice cracked, his grip slipping as the suction intensified.
Hearing the commotion from upstairs, Jazz, Danny's older sister, raced down into the lab. "Mom!? Dad!? What's happening!?" She barely had a moment to register the scene before the powerful force of the portal seized her, hurling her toward her parents. She collided with Jack, and in an instant, all three of them were wrenched into the portal's depths.
For a brief moment, the lab fell silent. The portal crackled shut, leaving the space empty, save for the faint image of a ghostly figure hovering in the air. Then, in a blinding flash, the machine exploded, sending a shockwave through the city. Danny was thrown from the machine, his body slamming against the wall with a bone-rattling impact as the ground shook from the eruption.
Amidst the debris, a woman stood atop a cluttered workbench, swinging her legs casually, observing the boy with an intrigued, calculating gaze. She had pale, almost ethereal skin and long, raven hair that cascaded down her shoulders in soft waves. Her dark eyeliner emphasized her piercing eyes, and an intricate ankh pendant rested against her chest, glinting faintly in the green glow from the smoldering machine.
As dust and fragments of the ceiling settled around her, the woman rose and moved gracefully toward Danny, kneeling beside his unconscious form. She extended a hand, her fingers barely grazing his forehead.
"Marvelous…" she whispered, studying him with an expression that mingled fascination and pity. "This boy… he walks perfectly between the realms of Life and Death. He's both… and neither." Her voice softened as her gaze lingered. "He's remembering his life before this one due to the fine line he walks… such knowledge cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands."
She hesitated, her expression turning grave. "Though I am forbidden from interfering… you fall within my domain, child," she murmured. "I will grant you this one gift…"
Her fingers traced an invisible line across his forehead. "May only you retain this memory, Line Walker. May you find the strength to endure this new path."
Just then, her gaze shifted, sensing a presence approaching. She stood, casting a final glance at Danny before vanishing into thin air, as if she had never existed.
A few minutes later, the door to the lab burst open, revealing a tall, imposing figure cloaked in black. The man's piercing eyes scanned the chaotic scene through the lenses of his mask, which glowed with an eerie white. This was Batman, Gotham's infamous Dark Knight. He tapped his earpiece as he surveyed the wreckage.
"Robin, I've located the source of the seismic activity and the energy spike," he reported, his voice low and measured.
With a tap on his cowl, Batman switched his vision to scan the room, his lenses flickering to a crimson hue. His gaze fell upon Danny's motionless body amidst the debris, and he narrowed his eyes, recognizing something unusual. He crouched down, pressing two fingers to Danny's neck.
"He's... he's dead," he muttered, with a grim expression crossing his face, he always disliked finding children casualties
But as Batman began to reach for his communicator, a faint ring of light formed around Danny's waist. It split, one ring rising and the other falling, transforming him back into his human form. Batman paused, his eyes widening slightly behind his mask.
His pulse... he was alive.
Batman activated his earpiece again, his voice laced with curiosity, he knew Danny was dead, not to mention his transformation. He needed answers "Robin, prepare a space in the Batmobile. I'm bringing in a… guest."
"A guest?" Robin's voice crackled through the earpiece. "You're not bringing a dead body in here, are you?"
Batman glanced back at Danny, a strange look in his eyes. "No… he's not dead. Not anymore."
Minutes later, Batman emerged from the lab, carrying Danny in his arms. Outside, Robin leaned against the Batmobile, waiting with a look of mild impatience that quickly turned to surprise upon seeing Danny.
"Danny?" Robin blinked, his voice edged with concern. "I know him—he's in a few of my classes."
Batman gave a slight nod. "Then perhaps you'll understand why this requires our immediate attention."
Robin's expression grew somber as he peered at Danny's pale face. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
Batman's voice was grave as he settled Danny into the Batmobile. "That's what we're going to find out."
Back down in the lab, due to the debris around Batman failed to notice as the space between the machine suddenly began to spark briefly, almost as if rebooting himself.
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