The next morning, Danny arrived at breakfast feeling rested. He'd slept through the night without waking up once from nightmares. He was in an extremely good mood as a result, surprising M'gann, Zatanna, Garfield and Conner. Danielle was just glad to see that her cousin was feeling better and motioned for him to sit next to her.
"Hey," Danny greeted the group brightly.
"You're… You're okay then?" M'gann commented stunned by how cheerful Danny was. Danny smirked and nodded.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you all yesterday," Danny replied as he grabbed some orange juice. He was starving. He hadn't eaten since before Danielle's rescue and now he wasn't exhausted, his appetite had returned.
"You're sure? Because it's alright if you're not," Garfield inquired. Danny nodded as he swallowed his mouthful of orange juice.
"Yep, best I've felt in a while. Promise," Danny assured them.
Stunned by the change in Danny, they ate their breakfast in moderate silence. Once they'd finished, Conner, Zatanna and M'gann got ready for school, M'gann shapeshifting into her human guise of Megan Morse. The trio of teens whispered to Garfield to keep an eye on Danny for them before they left. Garfield returned to the kitchen to hear Danny and Danielle talking.
"So, you're okay Dani?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you got caught by the Guys in White." Garfield was shocked. Danny said the name Guys in White. Danielle scoffed.
"Those idiots got lucky. I mean they gave away their position with that stray shot."
"Dani, that stray shot was me. I was warning you."
"What? But…"
"I've been having problems Dani. I'm guessing you've noticed. One is changing into Phantom. The only thing I could think of doing was shooting at you. I was careful to miss you but I had to make it look convincing. I didn't know they had a plan B. I'm afraid they learned about that frequency from me," Danny explained with a sigh. Garfield hardly dared to breathe. Danny was being a lot freer with what had happened to him. Could it be because of yesterday? Or could it be Danielle's presence?
"What do you mean? They learned it from you," Danielle asked, fear creeping into her voice at the implications of Danny's words.
"You don't want to know the details Dani. But the Guys in White didn't just question me," Danny muttered with a shake of his head. Both Garfield and Danielle swallowed down their horror at that comment. Garfield had known that Danny had been through a lot. But the resigned way Danny said it, meant it wasn't just once or twice that he'd been experimented on. Garfield remembered what M'gann told him. Danny had basically been tortured for six weeks. Apart from a couple of incidents, Danny hadn't seemed like a victim. Yeah, he was nervous and jumpy. But he didn't seem as scarred as that comment suggested.
"I'm so sorry Danny. I should have listened to those rumours."
"Dani. Trust me. There was nothing you could have done."
"But I could have found you. I could have broken you out."
"I appreciate the concern Dani, but I mean it. There was nothing you could have done. Even if you had found me. I wouldn't have been able to help you fight off the guards. Whenever I was alone, I was sedated."
"You were?"
"Yeah. And I was weak too. Couldn't stand by myself for a few days when these guys got me here."
Garfield hadn't known that. None of the team had. Garfield waited a few more seconds before stepping into the kitchen.
"Hey," Garfield announced himself, unsure if Danny had meant for this conversation to have been private. However with one glance, Danny knew he'd been listening.
"Hey Gar, how much did you hear?" Danny replied. Garfield deflated.
"How could you tell?" Garfield inquired, certain that he'd been quiet.
"The look on your face said it all dude. You're not the best actor," Danny answered with a smirk.
"Are you mad?" Garfield ventured. Danielle nodded with an angry expression.
"Nah, you're just worried. I know I'm probably acting a little different to how you've seen me. But actually, I feel more like myself right now than I have for weeks," Danny assured the green boy.
Danielle frowned and turned to her cousin.
"What does that mean?" Danielle prompted. Danny shook his head.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Danny assured her. Danielle scowled in annoyance at the older halfa before looking to Garfield standing beside the table.
"Where are the others?" she asked Garfield. The green furred boy blinked in surprise at the change in subject.
"Er, school," Garfield answered. Danielle turned to Danny.
"How come you're not going then?" Danielle demanded. Garfield had half a mind to tell the clone to take it easy on Danny since he didn't deal with hostility well, but Danny just laughed.
"Dani, I'm not playing hooky alright. Not that you're one to talk. Since my time with the Guys in White I've been a bit jumpy and big, loud crowds isn't a good idea. Me and Gar get home schooled by the cave den mother, Red Tornado," Danny explained.
"Man, what happened to you?" Garfield muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. Danny smirked.
"I had a long chat with Black Canary and got a lot of things off my chest. That's all. Oh, and the first good night's sleep in I don't know how long. That helps," Danny replied. Garfield blinked at the halfa. Danny stood up and stretched.
"Probably about the time RT calls us for school right? Come on Dani," Danny remarked. Danielle folded her arms defiantly.
"I don't do school," Danielle protested with a scowl. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Yes you do. If I have to sit through a lecture from a red android, so do you. Come on," Danny decided. Danielle cried out in alarm as Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Besides, there's no way Batman will let you off getting an education," Danny muttered as an afterthought. Garfield laughed as he followed the halfas, Danielle struggling against her stronger original.
So Danny's feeling a lot better after talking to Black Canary.
But don't be fooled, Danny isn't suddenly cured of everything as you'll see.
Until the next chapter.
