Black Canary felt Danny's overwhelming fear before she reached them. The air had cooled to winter temperatures. She fell to her knees beside the halfa and bit her lip in indecision. She wanted to bring the teen close and hug him to comfort him, but she suspected that that would only make things worse. First, the hug would restrict him which could cause him to lash out blindly in fear of being bound. Secondly, Black Canary could see the frost building around Danny. Bringing herself into contact with the teen could put herself at risk. No, a hug would not work.
"Danny!? Danny?! Listen to me, you're safe here. Danny, can you hear me?!" Black Canary called but Danny seemed to be deaf to her words. His fear was so overwhelming that he'd lost touch with what was happening.
"What do we do?" Raquel asked fearfully as she saw that even Black Canary seemed helpless to bring Danny out of his panic.
He'd curled in on himself, shaking and hyperventilating in fear. His fresh tear streaks had frozen over. Black Canary pursed her lips and tried to think of something, anything to say to either Danny or the team. But there was nothing coming to mind.
"How did this happen?" Black Canary inquired in the calmest voice she could muster.
"Danny's ghost sense went off," Zatanna began.
"So when we all saw Danny looking worried, we went to help," Robin continued.
"I decided that we should spread out to find the ghost nearby," Kaldur resumed with an ashamed expression, realising that Danny had known it was a bad idea and tried to stop them.
"Then Danny got caught in a net," Artemis told her.
Black Canary nodded, now she understood why Danny was panicking.
"So we fought the ghost off. It wasn't easy. Our attacks did nothing to hurt or stop the ghost," Conner added.
"Where is the ghost now?" Black Canary asked.
"Ran off when I got this thermos thing working. Danny asked Gar to get it," Robin answered, holding up the device for the heroine to see. Black Canary nodded and turned back to Danny. She hated that this was the only thing she could do. They couldn't reach him. He couldn't hear them and she didn't know how to comfort him. M'gann could always try to reach him telepathically but Black Canary wasn't sure that was a good idea. M'gann was still learning and there was no way to know how she'd react to a mind so filled with fear and panic.
She had to sedate him. If his powers continued to react the way they were, it could be dangerous. Danny might accidently hurt someone with his ice. And Black Canary didn't know how he'd react if they tried to move him. He might lash out. He was in a state of flight or fight and with him feeling like he'd been caught, he'd resort to fight if he had to. With a reluctant sigh, she stood up.
"Stay with him but don't touch him. He might try to fight you off and hurt you. I'll be right back," Black Canary ordered and ran back into the cave.
The teens shared concerned looks. They hadn't realised that Danny was so affected by what happened. They knew he had been but this was a completely new level of fear. They now understood why it had taken him so long to leave the medical facility in the first place. They felt terrible. The first time in over two months that Danny managed to get outside and he got attacked by a ghost and ended up in such a panic that even Black Canary was helpless.
Within minutes Black Canary returned with a syringe ready.
"What is that?" Zatanna asked.
"Sedative. It shouldn't knock him out for more than an hour or two, maybe less. But it's the only thing I can do," Black Canary answered with a sad frown. She knelt beside Danny and considered the best way to inject the drug into the halfa. She didn't want to restrict the teen in any way in case it provoked a response. With a sigh of regret, she realised the only part she could reach was his neck. She would have to be careful not to hurt Danny permanently. But she positioned herself and with a gesture told the others to back off. They obeyed.
Black Canary then pushed the needle into Danny's skin and injected the sedative. Danny's ice intensified in its coldness. Black Canary understood that Danny's fear induced hallucination would have become even more real to him with a physical stimulus to support it. But slowly the drug took effect. The air warmed up and his tight defensive posture weakened. Once Black Canary was sure that Danny was unconscious, she chanced touching him. She checked his neck for injury but it was fine. She glanced at Conner and the clone understood. Conner stepped forward and picked up the unconscious teen. Black Canary led the way back into the cave and straight to the medical facility. Conner placed Danny on his bed and left.
Black Canary stayed in the medical facility the entire time Danny was unconscious. She wanted to be there to help him the second he woke up. The team and Garfield, having returned to his furry humanoid self, abandoned their beach day. They were too worried about Danny. M'gann gathered the picnic things and Robin brought in the thermos. They waited for news in the kitchen.
Poor Danny.
How will he react when he wakes up?
How will the team react?
Until the next chapter.
