The Bioship landed in Mount Justice. Danny's family and friends had been returned home. Danny decided to keep Cujo with him until he was sure the dog wasn't permanently deaf. Unable to hear, the ghost wouldn't be able to protect himself. The team plus Danny left the Bioship to find Batman and Black Canary glaring at Danny. He smiled nervously and waved to them.
"Hey. I'm in trouble aren't I?" Danny remarked, holding Cujo in one arm. The dog cocked his head at the heroes and growled uncertainly. Conner offered to take the dog for Danny with a hand gesture. Danny shrugged and allowed the clone to take the ghost dog. Conner then began to calm the dog down by stroking it. Cujo whined nervously but didn't try to attack or escape.
Danny walked right up to the heroes. Robin and Kaldur shared a look before joining the halfa.
"Explain!" Batman ordered. Robin and Kaldur explained that Danny stowed away and helped on the mission hurriedly, Danny remaining silent unable to follow the story. Black Canary watched Danny and was surprised to see that the halfa wasn't scared or tense. Batman then turned to Danny.
"Do you realise how worried we've been?!" the caped crusader growled. Danny glanced at Robin and Kaldur, trying to gauge how he should respond.
"Danny?! Answer me?" Batman shouted. Danny heard that demand and sighed.
"Um, I haven't really heard everything Batman. I'm almost completely deaf. I heard you just now, but not much else," Danny admitted.
Black Canary's eyes widened in worry.
"What!? How?" she demanded. Batman's anger lessened slightly. He was still furious at Danny for running off without saying a word but he was more concerned right now. Besides, he needed Danny to be able to hear in order to be scolded. Danny frowned, not hearing Black Canary. Kaldur tentatively raised a hand.
"If I may. There's a particular frequency that hurts ghosts. During our rescue of both Icon and Plastic Man as well as Danny's family and friends, he was subjected to the frequency. He and Cujo," Kaldur explained, motioning to the nervous green ghost dog in Conner's arms.
"Both are unable to hear. Danny was wearing a device at the time which protected him to a degree and can partially hear in his left ear, but his right is completely deaf," Kaldur resumed.
"But Danny was a great help during the rescue. Honest. He and the other halfa. Vlad Plasmius. If it weren't for Danny, the mission mightn't have been a success," Robin interjected. Batman raised an eyebrow. The rest of the team called out to the dark knight, assuring him that Robin was telling the truth. Batman looked to Danny, who was frowning in confusion at the exchange. Batman sighed.
"Danny, go to the medical facility. Red Tornado will be along shortly," Batman ordered. Danny blinked at the hero. He knew that Batman had said something specifically to him but he couldn't tell what. M'gann stepped forward.
"Sorry, let me," she murmured and her eyes flashed green as she linked up with the halfa and relayed the command. Danny nodded.
"Sure. Want me to take Cujo with me? If he gets angry, I'll probably be the only one able to calm him down," Danny offered. Batman blinked in confusion as Conner handed the green dog to the halfa. Danny smiled gratefully and the dog instantly relaxed. Batman stared at the dog as the deafened duo left the hanger.
Batman shook his head and turned to the team.
"For how much of the mission was Danny effectively deaf?" Batman inquired.
"Quite a bit of it, actually," Kaldur admitted.
"And we didn't know he came with us. We were already in Amity Park before we knew he was with us," Wally interjected. Artemis elbowed the speedster in the ribs.
"Shut up," she hissed. Batman turned to Robin. Robin shrugged.
"Sorry Batman, I was included in that. He revealed himself to us. And he helped from start to finish like we said. He got Cujo to follow Jazz's scent. Vlad Plasmius told Danny to go along with whatever Luthor said. So Danny volunteered to be a distraction while we infiltrated. It went a little wrong then because Luthor figured out that Danny wasn't going to agree to his offer and turned on the frequency," Robin recounted, now more relaxed.
"Yes, but Danny fought well and even held off our pursuers single-handedly so that the Bioship could take off safely," Kaldur added. Batman glanced at Black Canary.
"How was Danny during the mission?" she asked. The team glanced at each other before turning back to her.
"He was fine. Didn't feel a chill once," Wally answered.
"And Wally was with Danny the longest," Zatanna mentioned. The two adults frowned and silently agreed to have a proper discussion and hear the story from Danny later.
"Very well, we'll debrief you once we assess Danny's condition," Black Canary decided, dismissing them. Batman then turned on his heel to inform Red Tornado that Danny required medical attention as well as Icon and Plastic Man.
Black Canary then went to find Danielle and join Danny in the medical facility to try and make her own assessment of his mental condition. M'gann levitated Icon and Plastic Man into the medical facility and Raquel sat beside her mentor. She looked over to Danny as he waited for Red Tornado. Raquel felt sorry for the halfa. He could potentially be deaf for the rest of his life. He looked up from Cujo and smirked at her, seeing her looking at him.
"How's Icon?" he asked and pointed to a pen and notepad beside her. Raquel blinked and smiled, understanding instantly.
"I dunno. He's strong though so hopefully he'll wake up soon. What about you?" Raquel wrote down and passed it to him. He read the message before shrugging and handing the pad back to her.
"Good to hear… er read that Icon'll be alright," Danny remarked. Raquel giggled at Danny's amendment. He smiled at her.
"And I'm fine. I'm more worried about Cujo. He's a dog. He can't read or understand facial expressions as easily as I can. And the Ghost Zone can be dangerous. I do feel responsible for him right now," Danny admitted.
Raquel blinked at the halfa before looking at the green puppy Danny was stroking. She scribbled another message.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known about Luthor using that frequency," Raquel attempted to reason. Danny shook his head once he read the page.
"But it is my fault Raquel. I'm the one that took Cujo into that complex. I'm the one they learned about that frequency from. I can live with those things coming back to bite me, but not anyone else," Danny retorted. Raquel frowned at Danny before she looked up as Red Tornado, Black Canary and Danielle entered.
What will Red Tornado say? Will Danny's hearing come back?
Will the android be able to help Cujo?
What will Batman and Black Canary do now that Danny is back in the cave?
Until the next chapter.
