Portal Panic

Some Real Deus Ex Machina Horsecrap

Another short chapter, since next one will either have to be split in two, or be an absolute behemoth. haha

I do have a super big favor to ask, though! I really need a beta reader that knows MHA well. I am absolutely floundering with the dialogue for these characters on the MHA side. I'm just not as involved in that fandom as Danny's, so it's making it really hard to imagine the characters saying anything in their own voice, which is how I get the Danny Phantom dialogue to sound normal. Like, if I can't imagine it in the character's voice, it probably is out of character. It's making me feel like the characters are coming off a little flat, and I really hate that. Would love to have someone to bat ideas off of, since so much of the story is set in the MHA world. _ Please haaaalp.

All scenes with only MHA characters will be written in English, for ease of reading, but the characters are actually speaking Japanese to each other.

Sunday, September 9th

8:46 am

The quiet hum of the Ops Center was disturbed by a shuffling. Unhurried, Danny pulled things from his dresser, worn sleep pants hanging loosely on the young male's hips. Left arm clutching a wad of clothes, the halfa took a quick peek at his cellphone. Still forty-five minutes before he had to be at the college. Plenty of time.

Moseying over to the bathroom, the raven-like youth grabbed the handle to the door and opened it. He smiled down at his entirely solid hand before passing through the opening.

A frosted mist gasped from his mouth, taking Danny by surprise.

"Seriously?" Danny groaned, closing and locking the door behind him. Jumping into the air, a white light flashed from one side of the male's lean body to the other, eating away at soft grey pants and replacing them with a form-fitting costume. The Kevlar blend acted like some alien infection, spreading rapidly from nothing to consume any bared skin.

In a moment, Phantom was dropping the armful of clothes to the floor and rocketing through the metallic ceiling. Popping out the other side, the halfa scanned his surroundings. Seeing only a grey and brown cityscape covered in a foggy drizzle, the white-haired superhero closed neon-green eyes and focused on his core.

A tug to the left. Eyes springing open, Danny flew in the direction of the pull, watching for motion as the feeling of "other" got stronger. Buildings sped past and he found himself approaching a small park, only about one square block in size. A lilting tune of a wind instrument just barely teased his ears, wisping notes that danced away if he focused on them. The core he followed continued to feel just out of reach, spurring an increased pace. So when the ghost suddenly appeared in a shower of leaves, Danny nearly ran into it.

The hero swerved, avoiding the autumnal being just in time, then twirled around to face it. Knowing the ghost had triggered his sense because it wasn't a local, Danny yelled a greeting, "Hey, Kid. You know you aren't supposed to come to Amity without petitioning for a visitor's pass, right? If you want an application, they're at Queen Dorathea's castle."

A mouth filled with tiny, sharp teeth smiled too wide back at him. The creature tilted its rounded head, sage grey skin complementing the fiery glow of its eyes.

Danny expected the...guy's(?) pointed hat to slide off-center, but the tawny accessory seemed unaffected by the motion.

Slightly unnerved by the silent stare of the nightmare scarecrow, the halfa tried again, "If that's all you need, I can point you in the right direction." The ghost just reached behind his back with jerky, puppet-like joints. Danny tensed, ready to dodge knives, but managed to stay motionless when the kid pulled out a flute.