The Bioship landed in the hanger and the teens got off. Batman loomed in the doorway waiting for them. Danny shrank away from the stare. But Batman couldn't bring himself to care. Danny left the cave. He was under their protection but only if they knew where he was. He was angry at the team too. They'd decided to take their own mission and brought Danny and Garfield. Garfield wasn't trained! He had barely enough control of his powers to change into animals in a safe and controlled location. Definitely not enough experience to be able to adapt to a chaotic battle field.
Batman's famous glare lessened a degree when he saw the girl they saved though. He pointed at Kaldur and Robin, leader and second-in-command.
"Explain. Now!" Batman demanded. Obediently, they explained what happened. With a sigh, Batman shook his head.
"It's late. I'll deal with you all tomorrow. But there will be consequences for this, I assure you all," Batman relented before turning to leave. The team let out a collective sigh of relief. They didn't have to face the caped crusader's wrath that night after all. Danny slipped away and made his way to the medical facility. He needed to be somewhere he felt safe. He needed to be alone. He needed to let his fear out.
He flung open his door and stepped inside. He checked that he was alone, knowing that Black Canary would want to talk to him. He was. He pushed the door shut and locked it. He leant against the wall and allowed himself to slide to the ground. With a soft sob, he changed to Fenton and allowed the memories and feelings to take over. The room chilled instantly and frost crept along the floor and wall from the halfa. He cried silently and trembled in terror as he was forced to hear his silent screams of agony from hours of crying out after using his ghostly wail against the scientists. He could feel the ecto-ranium and blood blossoms on his skin. Every few seconds a pulse of excruciating electricity coursed through him. His fear was overwhelming. He forgot that he was safe now. He no longer saw the medical facility. He curled into a tight defensive ball and relived some of the worst moments of his life.
Danielle was the first to notice Danny's absence. The others were busying winding down from the mission. Artemis checking over her quiver. Wally was eating some protein bars to regain his energy. Kaldur was checking over his water bearers for any sign of damage. Robin was typing on his gauntlet with a frown, checking over the information he stole from the Guys in White. Zatanna was checking over Garfield and Danielle for any injuries. Raquel was making sure her belt was in full working order. Conner was busy greeting Wolf and Sphere and M'gann was doing some maintenance on her Bioship.
"Where's Danny?" Danielle asked worriedly. The team paused in their actions and scanned the hanger.
"Maybe he went to get some sleep. He looked tired," Garfield offered. Danielle bit her lip. She wasn't sure that her cousin should be alone right now.
"I'm sure he's fine Danielle. Come on we'll find you somewhere to sleep," Zatanna offered, secretly worried about Danny herself. He rarely left without saying something. He may have lied to them when he was training in secret, but he had at least said that he wasn't going to be available. But the team was tired and it had been a long day. Besides, Danny was probably just tired and would be fine.
The next morning, M'gann greeted Danielle in her human form as she walked into the kitchen.
"You found the kitchen then," the Martian commented. Danielle laughed.
"I followed my nose. It smells great!" Danielle replied. M'gann grinned and gave the girl some food. The team was going to spend the entire day together so that no one got cornered by Batman by themselves and got chewed out for what happened the night previously. Zatanna and Conner walked in a few minutes later.
"Hey Danielle," Zatanna greeted the female halfa.
"Call me Dani, with an i," Danielle retorted and swallowed another mouthful of food, not seeing the shared look between the two girls. They could already see a problem in identifying the two halfas by name.
"She eats like Wally," Conner commented with an astounded expression. Danielle ignored him.
M'gann laughed and handed the two teens their own servings.
"I'm just glad she likes my cooking," M'gann replied. Garfield yawned as he joined them. M'gann frowned.
"Hey, is Danny alright? He usually comes in with you," M'gann asked. Garfield shrugged.
"Must be still asleep. I knocked but he didn't reply," Garfield informed her and smiled gratefully as she handed him his own breakfast.
"Dani, that scream of Danny's… what was it? I meant to ask last night," Conner asked, his ears were ringing for hours the previous night.
"That's Danny's ghostly wail. It's his most powerful attack but it always exhausts him to use it," Danielle explained as she shovelled the last mouthful of food into her mouth.
"Maybe that's why he isn't up yet Gar. He's probably still tired from using it. Besides, he doesn't get enough sleep," Zatanna offered. Danielle frowned but didn't contradict them.
Within the next hour, the rest of the team arrived and Danielle was given a tour of the cave but there was still no sign of Danny. They were getting worried now. Especially Kaldur. He'd noticed how much Danielle's rescue had affected Danny. Black Canary arrived once they'd finished their tour.
"Hello, you must be Danielle. I'm Black Canary. I'm glad to see you're coping alright with what happened to you," Black Canary greeted the female halfa. Danielle shrugged.
"Nothing really happened. Thanks to you guys. Besides, that wasn't my first time being a science experiment," Danielle replied. The team, Garfield and Black Canary blinked in surprise.
"I can always count on Danny to save me," Danielle muttered with a smile.
"You knew he'd come?" Wally inquired.
"I saw him when those Guys in White caught me. They didn't sedate me, I was paralysed temporarily. So I knew Danny would come after me. Not sure how he knew about that trap, but I'm glad he did," Danielle explained.
"You said that wasn't the first time you were a science experiment," Raquel reminded the girl, supressing a horrified shudder.
"Yeah. My creator. I'm guessing you know I'm a clone of Danny. An imperfect one. Well, my creator caught me and tried to melt me down. I was destabilising. But Danny got to me and stabilised me just in time," Danielle recalled.
"How?" Robin asked. He never pegged Danny as the scientist type.
"His parents were working on something called… I think it was ecto-dejecto. It didn't work like it was meant to and Danny figured it would stabilise me. He was right. It was a gamble but it paid off," Danielle answered.
"So he saved your life," Artemis realised.
"More than once. He showed me that I didn't have to listen to my creator. He showed me that I was just a pawn to my creator. He's always been there to lend me a hand when I need it. I can see that Danny's struggling. I want to help him this time," Danielle replied.
"Really. Do you have any suggestions?" Black Canary inquired. Danielle shook her head.
"No. Danny's always seemed so strong and constant before. But last night… I've never seen him like that. It… it was scary," Danielle admitted with a frown.
"Where is Danny?" Black Canary inquired.
"We haven't seen him since last night," Kaldur answered. Black Canary hid her concern. She led the way to the medical facility. She knocked on the door.
"Danny?! Can I come in?!" Black Canary called through the door. There was no answer. She frowned.
"Danny?! I'm coming in alright?! I just want to check that you're okay?!" Black Canary attempted again. There was no reply. With a sigh, Black Canary pushed down the handle. She hated invading Danny's privacy. But he was worrying her. She scowled as she pushed the door but it didn't open. She tried again. The door was locked. Danny never locked the door. Black Canary believed it was a result of being trapped for so long. Leaving the door unlocked helped to keep him at ease. So why on earth would he chose to lock it now?
Is Danny okay!?
Will Danielle be able to help Danny?
Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.
Until the next chapter.
