[Third person POV]
As Francine carefully extracted a vial of blood from the unconscious, mutated form of her husband, Kirk, Ember paced nearby with an inquisitive expression, her eyes scanning the lab before her curiosity finally got the better of her.
"So… how exactly did he turn into this creature?" she asked, gesturing toward the Man-Bat sprawled across the floor.
Francine, who had been fully absorbed in her task, blinked in surprise. It was as if she had only just noticed how weird both Ember and Danny were, the peculiar ghostly duo standing quietly nearby. Up until now, her entire focus had been on Kirk.
She hesitated for a second before shaking her head and sighing. Honestly, at this point in her life, a pair of floating, translucent teenagers barely even registered on her scale of weirdness—especially when her mutated, bat-like husband was unconscious on her floor. She had seen stranger.
"Well," she began slowly, walking over to her desk with the blood sample in hand, "I suppose you could say… insecurities."
Ember raised an eyebrow. "Insecurities?"
Francine nodded solemnly. "Yes. Before Kirk became… this, he developed a degenerative condition. Over time, it was slowly robbing him of his hearing until he would have been left completely deaf."
She placed the vial in a small stand and began analyzing it through her microscope, her voice quiet but steady as she recounted the past. "He was brilliant, but he feared that losing his hearing would make him less of a man. No matter how much I tried to reassure him that it didn't matter to me, that I still loved him, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was becoming a burden and that I would one day leave him."
Danny and Ember stood in silence as Francine continued, her voice carrying the weight of years of pain and love.
"But what really pushed him over the edge," she said with a heavy sigh, "was when the other researchers in our lab—particularly the male ones—started hitting on me. They assumed, just like he feared, that I would eventually leave him. That I deserved someone who wasn't… broken."
Her tone darkened, tinged with sadness.
"He grew desperate. And in his desperation, he made a terrible mistake. He injected himself with an untested serum, a so-called 'cure' that hadn't even passed the preliminary trials."
Francine turned to look at her husband's monstrous form with glassy eyes. "Instead of healing him… it turned him into what you see now."
Ember looked from Francine to Kirk, the tragedy of it all sinking in. "And even after everything… after all this time… you still love him?"
Francine's expression softened. A faint smile touched her lips, weighed down by heartache but still present. "Yes. I do. He's my husband. And no matter what he looks like now or what he's become, my heart belongs to him."
She turned to look at both Danny and Ember now, a hint of warmth returning to her voice. "I imagine one day you'll understand—when your relationship grows and deepens."
"Eh?" Danny blinked.
"Wait, what?" Ember did a double-take.
"Relationship? What relationship?!" Ember asked, voice pitching upward.
Francine raised a hand in apology. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed you two were a couple. My mistake."
"In a relationship?! With him/her?!" both Danny and Ember shouted in perfect unison, each pointing an accusatory finger at the other.
"Huh?!" Their heads snapped toward each other, both bristling.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ember said, one hand confidently resting on her hip, her tone challenging.
"I should be asking you that! What's wrong with me, huh?" Danny crossed his arms defensively.
"Oh please," Ember scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You'd be lucky to date someone like me. I'm a star, Phantom. Way out of your league."
"A star?" Danny raised an eyebrow. "Where? You mean the one-hit-wonder who released a single song and now thinks she's hot stuff? Surely not"
Ember puffed out her chest in indignation. "For your information, Mr. Phantom, everything about me is hot stuff. You? You're like a splash of cold water, you're not where near by level."
Danny squinted. "Why you—!"
Before the argument could escalate further, Francine loudly cleared her throat, breaking the tension like a hammer striking glass.
"As adorable and cute as you two are," she said, with only the faintest trace of sarcasm, "I won't be able to concentrate on synthesizing the cure if you keep bickering like an old married couple."
"Sorry…" Ember muttered under her breath.
"My apologies…" Danny echoed sheepishly.
He leaned slightly toward Ember and whispered with a smug smirk, "She was totally referring to me when she said cute."
Ember rolled her eyes dramatically and chose to ignore him. Instead, she turned to Francine. "So, uh, how long do you think this cure is going to take?"
Francine pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling the exhaustion creeping in. "I'd estimate… anywhere from five to ten hours. Maybe longer depending on how the samples react."
"WHAT?!" both Danny and Ember cried out in unison, their voices echoing off the lab walls.
They hadn't planned on staying for five, let alone ten hours.
"You two don't have to wait," Francine said gently, trying to reassure them as she dismissed the pair with a small wave of her hand. "I can handle things from here. Don't worry."
She meant it sincerely. The last thing she wanted was to burden them any more than necessary—especially with the long hours of delicate work ahead.
"Yeah, but we can't just leave you alone with him," Danny argued, his arms folding across his chest. "What if he wakes up while you're working on the cure? He could snap mid-process and attack you."
"We?" Ember echoed with a raised eyebrow, giving Danny a sideways glance. "Since when did this become a we thing? I'm not the one with a hero complex. You know I can leave whenever I want and sleep just fine."
Danny ignored her jab, his eyes fixed on Francine. She frowned slightly, his words sinking in. As much as she wanted to believe she'd be fine, she knew Danny had a point.
Ember let out a sigh, clearly debating with herself before muttering, "I should be able to handle the problem... at least temporarily."
She adjusted the strap on her guitar, sliding it into a more comfortable position across her body.
"I should be able to hypnotize him with my music. Not permanently, but enough to keep him asleep for a few hours. Or, if we're lucky, tame him in case he wakes up," she added, switching the dial on her guitar to a heart symbol.
"I'd prefer you just put him to sleep," Francine said quickly, her forced smile revealing her anxiety. "I have no idea what hypnosis would do to him after I reverse the transformation. I'd rather not risk it."
"Suit yourself," Ember replied with a shrug, rotating the dial once more.
She stepped forward and aimed her guitar at the Man-Bat lying unconscious on the floor, gently strumming a soft melody that resembled a lullaby. The notes filled the lab, echoing faintly with a soothing hum.
It wasn't visibly obvious, but both Danny and Francine could feel the effect. The creature's body relaxed noticeably, its claws twitching slightly before it rolled onto its side.
Danny flinched, instinctively moving into a defensive stance—only to pause when the Man-Bat began softly snoring.
It let out a loud snore, sticking a thumb in its mouth like a toddler.
Danny's lips twitched with amusement. Francine couldn't help but laugh.
She looked at the two young ghosts—one hovering, the other pretending not to care—and said warmly, "Thank you. Truly. I never thought I'd get the chance to see him again, to even hope he might come back to me… if it weren't for both of you."
"Just happy to help," Danny replied with a kind smile as he floated a little higher off the floor, preparing to leave.
Ember scratched her cheek, her expression awkward. "Huh… never thought I'd get thanked for something like this," she muttered under her breath.
After exchanging final goodbyes, Danny and Ember stepped out of the lab and flew into the open sky, leaving the city behind.
As they soared above the skyline, Danny glanced sideways at Ember. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but… why'd you stay and help? You usually keep yourself busy with your music?"
Ember shrugged, her tone nonchalant. "I dunno. At first, your ghost blasts caught my attention. I was just flying around wondering what happened to the city and saw the commotion, and when I saw you I just felt like I needed to keep you company for some reason. No real reason. Just… felt like it."
Danny nodded slowly. "Well, I appreciate it. The company, I mean. It means more than you probably realize."
His voice was soft, sincere—his expression even softer. The smile he gave her wasn't cocky or sarcastic like usual. It was warm… vulnerable.
Ember blinked, flustered by the sudden shift in tone. Her face reddened slightly as she quickly looked away.
"Ugh, don't go getting all sentimental on me, Phantom," she scoffed. "That's weird. I don't do weird."
Danny chuckled quietly, the sound light and teasing.
Ember shook her head, trying to collect herself. "Anyway… where exactly are we going now?"
Danny's expression turned thoughtful, almost pained. He hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Home," he said simply. "We're going home."
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