Well, sorry for the delay, I had some work to do, but still

I hope everyone had a good Monday!

Now, let's move to the chapter…

Oh, yeah a little music suggestion! I wrote part of this listening to "Dawn" by Poets of the fall, really good song and fits especially in the middle part of this chapter.

Ok, let's begin!


Unfair Justice

Chapter Nine

Descend


The team didn't know what to do. Their renewed energies seemed to have been forcefully pushed down a cliff.

Aqualad, who was standing by the side of the room watching the younger heroes, couldn't help but feel a certain sense of disappointment. He had been really proud when Robin, against all the others' words, stood strong in his belief on Phantom's innocence, and had willingly taken charge of the group making them realize their mistakes and stirring them into the right path. The young teen had proved he had what was needed to be a good leader. At that moment, Kaldur accepted with great happiness that soon, the boy wonder would be ready enough for the Atlantean to relinquish the leader position to him. Unfortunately, just when the teen was going to help Megan explain things and formulate a plan of action, their seniors had appeared, and suddenly all their efforts were truncated.

He had never expected the elder heroes to take such measure to keep them away from the unconscious boy. Of course, he understood they were only being careful, and had their well beings in mind by doing this, but still, that the Manhunter had actually forced Megan's mind into sleep seemed a little too much in his opinion. But it was still a clever move. Megan was the only one that understood the situation to some extent, without her to explain or connect with the teen they had little to no options left. The overpowering feeling of another failure was lurking close to their minds once more, after all, they had been a little to sensible to them in the past few hours. Even his 'second in command' —Robin— held a growing helpless expression as he watched Megan's 'sleeping' figure, almost as if he hoped she would wake up and give them a clue on what to do.

The atlantean shook his head once. No, he had to think clearly, he had indulged in his own self-pity and neglected his responsibilities as a leader towards the team for too long. And if last time, Robin had come to their rescue; then this time it was his turn.

"We must not give up," he said with determination. The other members of his group turned to look at him, wondering what he was talking about, everyone except for Conner watching him with curiosity and confusion. Kaldur'ahm regarded his kryptonian friend for a second, the boy's hands held onto Megan's left with tenderness as his eyes remained closed in seemingly deep thought. Seeing her unconscious again so soon must be pretty hard for the young clone.

Straightening himself a little, he turned back to the ones giving him their attention.

"We've been acting recklessly, but we shall not continue that way. Megan has told at least enough to understand that Phantom is not an enemy. We can't allow the boy to suffer for any longer if we can help it."

Rocket, still a little disturbed by the whole thing, tried to hold into her leader's determinate words, but as she perceived the negative aura coming from her other friends she couldn't stop herself from doubting in the atlantean's speech.

"But… what can we do now? Without Megan…"

Zatanna leaned slightly towards her friend. The magician girl's emotions were in turmoil for the last hours of torturing wait.

"How can we help if we don't understand the situation? We still don't know what's really going on," she said with a slight inflection in her voice showing her upset demeanor.

Noticing the spell caster's particular distressed condition, Robin begun turning the problem around in his head, there must have been an angle he hadn't looked at yet!

"Maybe we should just wait and see what happens…" suggested Wally as he turned to Artemis looking for some support; she seemed to think along those lines too.

"No… there must be a way…" said the boy wonder, bringing a hand to his chin adopting a thinking pose. "Megan's warned us that we don't have much time. We can't simply wait… we must think of some wa—"

"How about keeping quiet?" said a whispery voice from the bed. Looking towards it, they saw Conner, still in the same position he had been for minutes. They were all confused to his sudden words, especially because they held no aggression; it wasn't an order, it was a petition.

"Supey… what is—"

"Shh," grumbled the kryptonian boy. "I'll explain later… just… stay quiet," his voice low and soft.

The teens looked at each other, lost as to how interpret the boy's request, and turned to Kaldur, looking for his decision.

The leader observed Conner for a few seconds more. The teen didn't seem mad or worried; he appeared to be… expecting something, perhaps? They didn't have a real plan of action, but Superboy's voice, though whispery had a thin layer of vehemence, like he was actually doing something of huge importance.

Sighing before crossing his arms, the atlantean took a decision.

Turning to the expecting team, he offered them a silent nod, indicating them that they should obey Conner's advice and keep quiet. Then he stared at Robin with an intense gaze, trying to convey to the boy wonder the message 'let's think about a plan while we wait'. The young teen nodded his head eagerly, having already understood the idea.

One minute…

Two…

"Supe—" started Wally, but was soon stopped.

"Shhh!"

Sighs of resignation.

Silence.

Five minutes…

Ten…

By then the teens were anxiously looking at each other. Kaldur and robin off in their little worlds trying to come up with a plan. Wally walking from side to side, as the girls followed him with their eyes, silently thinking that the boy appeared to have a sudden spurt of ADHD.

15 minutes.

Wally was going to drive them crazy! Artemis swore if the silly speedster kept walking around the room for another minute more, she was going to go get her bow and—

And then, suddenly, Conner let out a deep sigh of… was it relief?

"Ok. He's gone." He said with a small smile, as his hand gave a soft squeeze to the hand he was holding, and surprisingly, it answered back.

The group of friends, now alerted to this change, turned to see with surprise how Megan opened her eyes with ease and allowed her own sigh to leave her lips.

"It took longer than I hoped," she confessed with a sheepish smile to her boyfriend. The kryptonian shook his head and without another word gave her a tender hug, one he had been holding back for a long while now. She was startled for a few seconds before she happily complied, hugging him back.

"Then we are lucky I'm the one with the good ears around here, I guess," she could hear the smile in his words; the boy was positively beaming by seeing her ok.

"Wah?! Megan?! How are you even awake?!" demanded a bewildered Wally, his hands ruffling his hair in an agitated manner. Behind him, his friends sweat dropped, the boy was pushing a little too much on his dramatics.

The couple seemed to ignore him for a second as they gave each other one more squeeze before separating to take hold of each other's hands.

"Ok… what is going on?" asked Rocket, not really wanting to interrupt their little moment, but feeling the need for explanations burning in her head.

A small gasp left Robin's mouth as he had an epiphany, making him smile widely.

"She was never unconscious." He declared, trying to contain his amusement. "Of course!"

Megan looked at him with a smile before nodding at his deduction.

"I faked my unconscious state. It demanded a lot of concentration to mask my mind's waves properly… thankfully, Superboy understood the last message I send him before my uncle got close enough." She gave a grateful squeeze to his hand as he turned to look at the others with a proud smile on his face, making him seem livelier than he had in the past two days.

"She gave me a warning to listen closely. Then, when she was 'asleep' I noticed how her breathing and heartbeat were slightly irregular, not like it should have been had she been really 'asleep'."

"So basically, you faked your unconscious state, while Superboy spied on the Manhunter's presence with his ears till he couldn't hear him no more?" asked an impressed Kaldur.

The couple nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, basically," said Megan as her happy smile began to melt away. Conner's following swiftly. "While focusing in constructing the mirage of an unconscious mind, I couldn't really be aware of uncle J'onn's presence, so it was up to Conner to share this information with me… unfortunately, I didn't expect uncle to stay for so long." She turned to them with determined eyes. "We need to move, now. We've already taken too long."

The team blinked for a second before they understood her meaning.

"Phantom! Right!" exclaimed KF before receiving an elbow to his side courtesy of Artemis, who was really tired of hearing the speedster state the obvious so much lately. Wally only sent her an apologetic smile, rubbing his now sore ribs.

"Then we must move. Robin, can you verify our den mother's position?"

The boy wonder activated his wrist's computer and began typing a few things, hundreds of different codes run in front of his eyes till a map appeared on screen, two shinning points in it.

"Red Tornado is back in his private quarters, he seems to be working on that piece of Metal alloy we found in that truck. Black Canary is in the far north's training room, I don't have feed on her, but she probably is practicing her forms till the next time they have to look at Phantom's condition. No sign of other leaguers in the area."

Aqualad nodded. He was relieved they only had to deal with those two at the current moment.

"Can you see how much time we have till their next visit to the infirmary?"

The boy wonder typed some more.

"Ok… let me see, the last visit was only a few minutes ago, before Manhunter left. that gives us an approximated of forty-five to fifty minutes before one of the two go to take a look at Phantom once more."

"Do you think you can freeze the image of the infirmary's security camera so they don't notice us?" the younger teen nodded with a smile. "Excellent," said the leader turning to his team. "Then we have no time to waste. Let's move."


The eerily silence of the infirmary room was truly heartbreaking. And when Megan entered for the first time in over 10 hours, her heart cried at the sight of the unconscious boy. So alone, so damaged, so barely alive. A hand covered her mouth to stop herself from making any sounds, afraid that abruptly disturbing that perpetual silence could somehow break the spell that kept him alive. But that couldn't stop the tear from falling down her cheek.

"Phantom…" she mumbled after a few seconds, walking to his side slowly, hands trembling as they reached his peaceful looking expression, ignoring at the best of her ability all the cables that were attached to his body or the tube forced down his throat, and moving softly a dirty raven bang out of his face. The team watched from the door, mesmerized by the —almost— reverence in which the martian girl acted around the 'sleeping' teen. Every second more and more curious as to what had happened within the boy's mind.

"Megan…" said Conner, trying to ask what everyone wanted to know, but was stopped by her voice before he could continue.

"Everything was coming down…" she said, her soft voice getting everyone's attention. "Before… when I was back at the kitchen talking with Conner… he managed to contact me through the link… he gave me a 'thank you'," tears began falling down her face softly, each taking their time to fall as if trying to convey her sadness to the world. "I had never thought a 'thank you' could feel so much like a 'good bye'…" the observing teens could only remember their shameful reactions to the broken teen. Now hearing Megan's side of the story, they felt like huge bullies rushing into judgments. "I couldn't… I knew he didn't want me to… I just couldn't!" she took his left hand and brought it to her cheek as she trembled, the heartbeat in the background seemed to mock her with its weakness, as if reminding her he was going die regardless of what she did. A soft hand made her turn to look at her leader, his eyes held sympathy but also a silent message, warning her that if she wanted to help she couldn't let her emotions overwhelm her. She knew Robin had been right when he said it, and now, as Kaldur encouraged her to continue her story, she knew she couldn't allow them to take control.

"It was all coming down…" she said once more, cleaning her tears with one hand. "After the huge light enveloped me I-I wasn't able to see for a few seconds… but then, I couldn't belief the sight that welcomed me. Everything around was falling to pieces. The whole mental plane was collapsing faster than I could register it. Part of the surface collapsed on itself creating a huge dark hole. Pieces falling into oblivion as the ground under my feet cracked…" her eyes held a small trace of fear as she narrated this, making everyone draw a breath in suspense. "I thought I was going to fall… I was so scared; I came to regret my actions, thinking I was going to die there. And then, the ground disappeared from beneath me…" Her eyes closed as she held on tighter to the limp and scarred hand of the now raven haired boy. "But I never fell… before I could, a hand reached for mine, it held me in a strong grasp, and I could feel the despair slowly wash away from my mind…" A tear fell once more, but she bit her lower lip to contain herself, remembering it was not time to cry.

"I heard a voice," she confessed making them look at her in bewilderment. "And that voice screamed at me: 'I've got you! You'll be fine just, don't let go!', and everything turned black…" she turned to look at the relaxed face of the boy and fondly touched his grayish cheek. "When I woke up, I was in the most inner part of his mind. Somehow, he had managed to pack the last of his conscious energy to hold everything in place… so I didn't die with him…" She looked at them, at each of them in the eyes as she said the next part: "I was lost… I was an intruder, I was causing him more grief, but he still kept it all together to the best of his ability and even guided me to the weaker part of his mental guards so I could escape safely." A melancholic smile appeared on her face. "I didn't want to leave… The vacant feeling within that mind told me he had drifted deep into a coma-like state, and I knew that that would only hurt him more. That was when I thought, if I could wake up his inner consciousness, then perhaps he would get a chance to survive…" her eyes closed in frustration. "But he wouldn't let me. He didn't want me to risk ending with him… so the moment we reached an opening, he pushed me away… I couldn't fight him back, he was too determined and I was too weak to fight him by myself…"

After that, she remained in silence, and so did the other teenagers.

They didn't know what to say as she carefully caressed the boy's face. There were only two words that could describe a person that in such a broken state would care more for someone else's safety than their own and those were 'stubborn' and 'hero'. And they were all used to the feeling of having stubborn heroes sacrificing a lot of things for their sakes, be it health, wealth or whatever you may think of, it was a rooted notion within their minds, one that they loved and despised at the same time. Because they loved the mentors that did and gave their all for them, but despised themselves for being unable to protect them or being unable to stop them from going to such extends. They didn't need protection; they were ready to give it. And suddenly, this case had become a really personal matter.

"You said, if we could wake his consciousness he would have a better chance of surviving?" asked the atlantean, aware that if they were going to help they had to make up a plan and act on it as soon as possible. The answer, though, came from the boy wonder, who had been making his own deductions all this time.

"A person in a deep coma might drift so far into it that their brains no longer control completely their body functions, leaving them defenseless and weak. So… if we could push him into a higher level of awareness, that might help him get some control back and react better to treatment, right?" Megan nodded at her young friend's hypothesis.

"Yes. His body should by nature heal itself faster than normal, but being his consciousness so detached from it, it has caused the abilities to recede and is actually allowing small wounds —that otherwise shouldn't be dangerous—to destroy it. If we could only wake him up…"

"Wait, wait a second." Said Wally calling everyone's attention. "I don't understand, if he was unconscious almost since the beginning, then how did he guide you out?" He said with confusion, making the others realize that indeed he had a point. But Megan simply shook her head.

"Technically, it wasn't Phantom himself who guided me out… he was too weak to help me any more than he did by holding into me before I fell."

"Then who was it?" asked Zatanna, before Wally could question more about it.

"A memory." Answered the Martian girl with a weird smile on her face. "He seemed to have infused the closest non-painful-memory he had at hand with his will to help me out. So, that memory took upon the job of guiding me out."

"Is that even possible?" asked the speedster, completely bewildered by this turn in events. Come on! Ghosts, experiments on people, Megan walking into someone's dying mind for more than ten hours, and now memory guides? This was too much!

She could only offer him a sheepish smile, knowing it was difficult for him.

"In the time I was within his mind, I discovered that a lot of things that normally would seem impossible are actually quite real." She told him giving a small shrug.

"Oh… man…" whined the speedster.

"Sorry dude, it seems this case is going to push you beyond your concepts of believable," chuckled the boy wonder, making the other moan in exasperation.

"Ok," said Artemis stretching herself a little and pushing Wally out of the way to move towards Megan. "Leaving Mr. Skeptic aside, what can we actually do to help?"

"Yeah, how can we wake him up?" asked Rocket.

A steeled shine entered Megan's eyes as she straightened her back.

"I must enter his mind once more." She declared.

The team held their breath for a second, before they all comprehended that they couldn't convince her otherwise.

"Are you sure of this?" asked her Conner, still nervous and scared of her disappearing forever.

She turned to him, her eyes never losing their resolution.

"I'm afraid at the moment there is no much option. It's this or let him die." And the way her voice said the last part made it clear that that wasn't really an option.

"But… that could be really dangerous. What if another part of his mind brakes, what if he can't help you this time?" asked Zatanna.

"Then… what if she doesn't go alone?" said Robin. "Megan can easily serve as a bridge to connect some of our minds to Phantom's. Then, once inside, we could move as a small squad and protect each other from dangers. The way you describe it Megan, I take it that inside someone's mind we can perceive their world as if it was real, right?" she nodded, her eyes wide as she listened closely. "Then it's ideal. If we can keep close to each other, this'll be like any recon mission, there may be danger but we'll be safer with someone looking at our backs. Also, it's got another positive side. If one intrusion awoke a dying mind from its stupor, perhaps more could arise Phantom's conscious a few more levels. And if he tries to push us out like he did with Megan, we might be able to prevent it by opposing together."

The leader of the team looked like he was actually considering the idea carefully, but Megan soon called for them to listen to her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Phantom's mind is not a place you want to be in, believe me, you might regret it." She said lowering her head.

The group regarded her for a few more seconds till Artemis let out a loud sigh.

"Well," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess that decides it. You can't go to such a place alone again. So, where do I sign in?"

KF could only look at her in disbelief, his jaw hanging open.

"You're not talking seriously, right?"

She closed his mouth with a gentle pat to his face, and gave him a mischievous smile.

"Of course I am. Come on, we can't really let the guy die after all he just did only to keep Megan safe, right? What kind of heroes would that make us?" then she turned to the Martian once more. "So count me in to this little mind trip."

Megan simply blinked a few times, before shaking her head and breaking into a big smile, a truthful smile.

"Thank you," she said, glad that she wasn't going to be alone in that place.

"Well," said Wally crossing his arms over his chest like a pouting child. "If she's going then I'm going too!"

"Wait!" called the boy wonder. "I think we should think carefully who goes and who stays."

Aqualad nodded in agreement.

"Robin is right. We can't all go. We must remember, we are not supposed to be here at the moment. If the league finds out that the camera is rigged and where we really are, they will come and endanger the mission's success. I belief we would benefit more with a small squad. A four man cell would be ideal."

Robin nodded before raising his right hand.

"I nominate Miss M, Artemis, Aqualad, and myself to delve into Phantom's mind, while KF, Zatanna, Rocket and Supey stay here to keep watch."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Wally.

"Why can't I go?" demanded Conner.

"Yeah dude, how come you leave us out?!" said the speedster, as Zatanna and Rocket looked at the boy wonder searching for an explanation.

The boy raised his hands in a peaceful sign, but it was Kaldur who answered them.

"It's about necessity. Kid Flash can easily keep track on the two seniors that are still in the cave and alert the people inside if they get close. Rocket and Zatanna, your powers will be great to camouflage the infirmary and repel anyone that tries to enter. And Conner's strength will be able to stop anyone that managed to get across." Robin sighed in relief at the answer Kaldur offered. It was one of the reasons he had suggested this team's structure, but there was another more important reason, and it was about control. At the moment, Wally could barely reign over his impulses because of the constant frustration the situation was causing him. Conner was edgy because of the danger that this could mean to Megan, and Zatanna was still slightly shaky from her bad memory. He could have easily switched Rocket with Artemis, but since the archer had already offered he decided to go for her. Rocket was going to be the stable connection. She still had a fairly good control over her emotions and that would help the remaining team to stay strong till they were back. Looking at Kaldur's eyes as he gave a look particularly in Rocket's direction, Robin knew that their leader was aware of how crucial her part was going to be. And if the firm nod she gave back was any indication, the girl was ready for the job.

"Then it's decided," said the atlantean before turning to Megan. "Tell us what to do."


Five minutes later.

The four teens that were about to enter Phantom's mind had been ordered to try and relax their minds before they could start.

"Now, everyone," said the young Martian, feeling they were ready. "Remember, you must leave your body in a comfortable position so it may not get hurt once your mind leaves it."

Her comrades did as she asked. Artemis sat leaning against the bed side, while Robin opted for a lotus position on the floor. Aqualad kneeled and relaxed with a straightened back. "Ok. Then we are ready…"

"Please, be safe." Said Zatanna from the door. The ones staying looking at the ones leaving with concern.

"Megan… wake him up and come back unharmed," said the kryptonian almost as if it was an order, but she knew it was more of begging request.

She offered each of their worried faces a smile and a reassuring nod. Then turned to her relaxed friends and placed her hands on her temples, letting out a deep breath.

"Let's begin," the other three nodded as each closed their eyes.

Megan's eyes closed for a few seconds before opening once more, both completely white, emitting a strong light.

Four teens looked at the mesmerizing light as it slowly decreased, leaving behind the bodies of their friends, all appearing to be 'sleeping' in the position they had been in, letting them know they had successfully left.

"I guess… I'll go make a small patrol…" said a nervous Wally, placing a communicator in Rocket's hands. "If I see anyone coming close, I'll call. Supey should probably keep alert for any sound in case somebody escapes my guard." The others agreed.

Turning to Zatanna, Rocket gave her a smile.

"Zatanna, do you have any illusions we could use?"

The spellcaster thought about it for a second, before chanting a small spell.

"This should make the doors of the infirmary rooms change places for anyone looking from the outside. It's not much, but should buy us some time."

"Good," said Rocket, turning to look at Conner, who took a sit on the floor in front of the bed, giving her a nod before closing his eyes and concentrated in his hearing abilities. She smiled gratefully for his patient demeanor. And with the other girl, they also sat down on the floor. Alert, but relaxed, they were in for a long wait.


Well, I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh, and from here on, things will really get interesting, and chapters might tend to be longer. Thanks for reading!

See you next week!

R&R