Garfield and Danny stood to one side as the team gathered around Black Canary and waited for Robin and Wally to arrive. Conner had arrived a few moments ago. He and Danny had been properly introduced.
"Recognised Robin B01 Kid Flash B03," a computerised voice announced. Both boys walked into the room chuckling at a joke between them.
"You're late," Black Canary commented, gaining their attention. They looked up.
"Sorry, Batman and I were dealing with a little problem in downtown Gotham. Took longer than expected," Robin explained.
"And I'm always late," Wally added. Black Canary rolled her eyes.
Wally glanced at his girlfriend and then gaped as he noticed Danny standing to one side.
"Woah! Danny's out!" Wally exclaimed. Robin followed his team mate's gaze and smiled at the halfa.
"Hey Danny, good to see you. I'm Robin and that's Wally," Robin greeted Danny. Danny gave them an uncertain smile and nodded in acknowledgement.
"So, now that you're out of that room. How does the whole half-ghost thing work?" Wally asked, walking right over to the teen. Black Canary refrained from scowling at the speedster as she felt the air cool a degree or so. Luckily Artemis was there to rein in her boyfriend. She grabbed his ear and tugged it painfully to the side.
"Wally! Cut it out. How would you like someone shouting at you that you're a speedster," Artemis reprimanded. Wally moaned and rubbed his ear.
"It's just a question. And don't say you're not interested. We all are. And we did save him," Wally argued.
Danny blinked in surprise and the air returned to its usual temperature. Black Canary suddenly realised that since Danny never felt comfortable enough to talk about his ordeal, he didn't even know the circumstances of his rescue. He probably theorised that Black Canary and Batman saved him.
"You're the people that… brought me here?" Danny inquired. Black Canary fought to keep her sadness at the comment off her face. Danny couldn't even reference the place he'd been imprisoned in. Wally and Artemis paused in their bickering and turned to him.
"Yeah. That was us," Wally confirmed.
"We all did. Didn't you know that?" Robin interjected before Wally could take all the credit. Danny bit his lip and shook his head. Kaldur glanced at Black Canary while the rest of the team stared at Danny in disbelief.
"Danny hasn't been comfortable enough to talk about what happened to him. So, we didn't get to explain how he was rescued," Black Canary whispered to the leader. Kaldur nodded in understanding.
Black Canary felt the air cool again as Danny grew nervous of the attention he was receiving. She clapped her hands loudly and drew everyone's attention to her. She felt guilty as she saw Danny flinch.
"This is training. Not a gossip circle. So, I'll need a volunteer," Black Canary called, adopting her harder teaching voice. Conner stepped forward. Black Canary smiled at him and the rest of the team stepped back to give them room.
"Now, sometimes in a fight, you're pinned down. You might be outnumbered and out gunned. In situations like those, we have to rely on our minds and those with powers may have to rely on natural skill. So, Conner, charge at me," Black Canary began. Conner charged at Black Canary and the heroine widened her stance and caught the super-powered teen by the shoulders and used his own momentum and weight against him to flip him over her head.
With a grunt, Conner landed on the ground.
"While Conner is stronger than me, it became his weakness because I took the stand and used his power against him. So watch me carefully. First I set my stance," Black Canary explained and the team copied her stance. Black Canary checked their stances and corrected Wally's foot and Raquel's arms.
"Good, next lean into the stance. When the attack comes, you go with it. The lack of resistance will throw your opponent off balance. Then all you have to do is push your attacker the rest of the way. Minimal effort is required," Black Canary instructed. The team nodded and branched off into pairs and tried the move for themselves.
Danny watched the lesson attentively. With a frown he recalled how he ended up getting caught in the first place. With a shudder he recalled how powerless he'd been. Just like Black Canary said. He was pinned down, literally with his foot crushed in the ground. He was outnumbered with the hordes of ghosts attacking him. He was out gunned as without even his most basic powers, he couldn't defend himself.
He knew a little self-defence from his mother but because of his slight frame, he didn't have the power to follow through with his attacks, at least prior to getting his powers. And after getting his powers he distanced himself from his mother in case he accidently used his powers on reflex in a training spar. Which meant his fighting style completely relied on his intangibility and flight. He punched and kicked wildly without any grace. Jazz had offered after she revealed that she knew his secret to help him refine his fighting technique but he was terrified that a normal human might get hurt fighting him. His ghost form was strong. He'd carried a school bus filled with people with ease before. If he misjudged a punch, he could hurt his sister. And when he got angry, sometimes his ghostly strength bled into his human half. He'd broken his alarm clock once and snapped countless pencils in the past.
He took note of all the moves Black Canary taught the team and saw that the techniques were applicable to his own ghost fighting. And if it meant that he could better defend himself if the Guys in White ever came after him again… it was a no brainer. He wanted to learn. He couldn't rely on his powers to save him. That was painfully clear after what had happened to him. Besides, he didn't have much else to do. This distraction from his thoughts and memories could help him.
The team were all hot and sore after their training session.
"Alright, hit the showers. Good work today. Raquel work on your stance. You never know when you'll get grounded in a fight. You can't rely on your flight," Black Canary announced. The girl nodded to her teacher and they began to leave the room, happy to freshen up. Danny made up his mind and left Garfield's side and approached Black Canary. He gave his arm a nervous rub before clearing his throat.
"Er… Black Canary?" Danny called. Black Canary turned to him and smiled.
"What is it Danny?" she asked.
"Would you mind… would you teach me too?" Danny requested. The team paused in their exit and turned back to Danny and Black Canary. The adult blinked in surprise.
"To fight?" Black Canary clarified. Danny nodded and put his hand on the back of his neck.
"Yeah… you see if I'd known that kind of stuff before…. I... I mightn't have been caught," Danny explained.
Gasp! What will Black Canary say?!
And Danny opened up a little too.
Let me know what you think of the story so far.
Until the next chapter.
