August 3, Green Bay
Danny POV
"Thanks again for this," Danny mumbled, hands in the pocket of his hoodie. He refused to look Vlad in the eye as he murmured his gratitude.
"I'm just glad I can help, my dear boy," Vlad replied warmly. "I was surprised when you called me asking for this the other day."
Danny glanced up and squinted at the man, examining Vlad for any hint of smugness. It was still strange that he was so willing to be helpful and not hold it over Danny's head. The part of him that spent years fighting Plasmius was waiting for the other shoe to drop. There had to be something that Vlad expected from him. Although, Danny mused, maybe this was all Vlad wanted—to be given a chance. He might not be Danny's mentor, but Vlad seemed overjoyed that Danny was looking to him for help.
"Well, who else would I ask?" Danny answered a bit awkwardly, giving a half shrug as he did.
Vlad didn't answer the question and instead gestured for Danny to follow him. They were walking through the living room of his mansion in Green Bay. A fire crackled in the fireplace, its heat radiating throughout the room. None of Vlad's servants were around, which Danny was sure the man had made certain they would be undisturbed during Danny's visit. When he reached the fireplace, Vlad pressed a button that was subtly hidden on the side of the mantle, and part of the wall next to it slid open to reveal a staircase.
Ah, so that's where Vlad's lab entrance was hidden. The times that Danny had snooped around the mansion during his stay, he had just intangibly gone through the floor to find the lab. It wasn't as advanced as his parents' lab had been, but Danny figured that few people came close to their genius. Despite their eccentricity. Pain spiked his heart at the line of thinking, and he shook the thoughts away.
Danny paused on the last step at the bottom of the stairs and watched as Vlad walked around the lab. There was a portal on one wall, its metal doors sealed shut, surrounded by consoles and computers. The lab had changed quite a bit since the incident with Danielle. The memory of Vlad's fucked up past schemes put him on edge a bit. Sure, things were okay now, but the shared bad blood between them was hard to just shake off and get over.
"I created a costume for your, ah, heroics like you requested," Vlad said with a pleasant hum in his voice, oblivious to Danny's roiling thoughts. He pressed a button on a console, and the doors to a pod slid open. Inside was a new set of clothes hung carefully on a hanger. The outfit was mostly black, with accents of white and neon green. It was reminiscent of his hazmat suit as Phantom, but different enough to not draw attention. The outfit had a black hood and mask to cover the lower half of his face. Most of his features besides his eyes would be shrouded. The chest was free of any identifying emblems, so he could remain blissfully anonymous. It was paired with a set of heavy combat boots. The kind that Sam would appreciate, Danny noted to himself a bit somberly.
"It's made with ectoplasmic interfacing, so that any damage to the clothing will fix itself over time like your hazmat suit did," Vlad pointed out, fingering one of the sleeves and examining his work with a critical eye, "Difficult to throw together on short notice, but I hope you enjoy it."
Danny stepped into the lab and approached to look at his new costume more closely, intensely aware of Vlad's gaze on him. "It looks good, and, uh, that ectoplasm interfacing sounds useful. Hopefully don't have to see it in action too much, though."
Vlad moved to take it off of the hanger and hand it to Danny. "Better safe than sorry."
He bobbed his head in agreement and bit his lip, trying to think of something to say besides an awkward 'thanks' to fill the silence. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he dug it out with a slight frown. Only Vlad and the Team had his phone number, but Danny was certain he had told them he would be missing out on training. The message glared up at him from the phone screen.
Kaldur :)
We've got a mission. Meet up at these coordinates ASAP.
[Map Attachment]
"I've gotta run," Danny announced, sending back a quick 'kk' and shoving his phone in his pocket, "Duty calls and all that."
"One last thing before you go," Vlad reached out and grabbed his elbow as he was turning to leave, "A gift."
Vlad's other hand procured a small black box from his pocket to present to Danny. Curiously, he took it from Vlad and opened the lid. Inside was what appeared to be a jewelry box, oddly enough. He flashed Vlad a quizzical look, who only gestured for him to continue opening it. He flipped the jewelry box open to reveal a strange metal bracelet. "Jewelry? That's not weird at all," he snarked. As he looked closer at the bracelet he could see that it definitely had mechanical parts. There were some buttons on the side, which he poked at and watched as green lights lit up along the side of the bracelet. "What the hell is this?"
"I modified it from some of your parents' old tech—and don't give me that look," Vlad interrupted himself to scold Danny, who had immediately made a face upon hearing Vlad had messed with his parents' research. "It's meant to suppress the ectosignature that using your powers gives off. It'll help hide you from the Guys in White's prying eyes."
Oh.
That was actually… quite thoughtful. It wasn't something that Danny had considered, really. He had figured that without transforming into Phantom that he'd be unable to be tracked, but it made sense that using his powers would create some sort of lasting energy signature. He carefully plucked the bracelet out of the jewelry box and undid the clasp, slipping it onto his right wrist and snapping it shut. It fit rather snuggly but wasn't uncomfortable in any way. And, when he pulled down the sleeves of his hoodie it was unnoticeable. Gratitude swelled in his chest. He really hadn't expected Vlad to do something like this for him out of the blue.
"I—thank you, Vlad," he murmured, "Really, this is great."
Vlad nodded, "I only want what's best for you. I hope you're starting to see that."
August 3, Litchfield County
"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right," Robin mused aloud.
Robin, Superboy, and Danny had been tasked with following one of the vans of Amazo's parts towards Gotham. Until now, they had sat in a stony silence punctuated by the definite angry vibes that were flowing off of Superboy. When Danny squinted at him, he could see the anger coiling around his aura. It was still an ability he was getting used to, but he had begun to be able to pick out strong emotions from the auras of people he was familiar with.
His gaze slid from where he had been analyzing the silent Superboy to Robin, and with a sigh asked, "Must you butcher the English language like this?"
"If I don't, who else will?" Robin all but cackled at that.
Superboy scoffed and looked away from them, revving the engine of his bike and pulling ahead. The silence once again stretched out in front of them.
Robin huffed, "Uh clearly you're not feeling the aster. What's wrong?"
Danny was surprised when Superboy answered, "Canary. And what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"
"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig," Robin pointed out, "Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and, well, me."
"Me as well," Danny agreed. He pulled his bike back up to be side-by-side with Superboy. Catching his eye, he gave the Kryptonian a meaningful look. "You're not always evenly matched in a fight. You have to find ways to be clever, not just brute force it."
"I'm a living weapon, I can take on anything," He grumbled.
"That kind of thinking is going to get you killed, SB."
Superboy snorted, "I'd like to see someone try.":
"Uh, I don't," Robin said.
Danny sighed, "Listen—"
At that moment, Superboy's head snapped to the side. He had it cocked as if listening to something, and, with a growl, said, "Something's coming."
Danny followed his gaze to see strange monkey-like creatures emerging from the cornfields. They were black in color with green highlights, cackling and laughing with apparent glee as they approached to land on the truck. Immediately, he reacted by lifting a hand to fire off a few ectoblasts. It managed to dislodge some of the monkey robots, but more kept pouring out from the cornfields.
He wasn't surprised to hear Kaldur's voice spark to life over the comm unit, "Robin, Superboy, Cryo! Our truck is under attack."
"Kind of figured," Robin called out, tossing a batarang at a monkey. It lodged in the thing's head and exploded, showering them with bits of metal.
Superboy growled, "I hate monkeys."
Robin, however, seemed delighted, "Robot monkeys! Totally Ivo's tweaked style." He laughed then pressed a few buttons on the console of his motorcycle. Immediately, there was the hum of mechanics as part of the bike whirled to life and detached to fire off bullets at the monkeys. "Hey, hey, switch your ride to battle mode."
"No point," Superboy said. Just as Danny was about to follow Robin's lead, Superboy jumped off his bike to lunge towards the truck. Danny cursed under his breath and turned intangible to avoid the bike careening towards him and Robin. His bike was not so lucky, however, as the vehicles crashed into each other. He floated there for a moment, narrowing his eyes at where Superboy landed on the truck to begin removing monkey robots. The other boy was letting his anger get the best of him with such a careless decision. He was lucky Danny could fly and Robin had his grappling gun to keep up.
Danny darted forward, firing off more ectoblasts to try to take out as many monkeys as possible. All while the robots kept making this horrid cackling noise. It was infuriating and made his sensitive ears ring. Beside him, Sueprboy was struggling with some of the robot creatures as they blasted him in the eyes with laser rays. He screamed, clutching at his face as the monkeys lifted him from the truck and tossed him behind it.
"Superboy!" Danny cried, distracted momentarily as three monkeys jumped on his back. With a shout, he turned intangible again to free himself and spun around to encase them in ice. Meanwhile, another group of the monkeys were cutting a hole in the top of the truck in an attempt to get at the parts inside. The soldiers within the truck were firing their guns wildly, making Danny reticent to actually approach. Getting shot was not fun.
"Stop panicking, you're making this harder!" He shouted at the soldiers, who all but ignored him. He had to dodge a stray spray of bullets, nearly throwing himself into the grasp of another pair of Monkeys. "Agh, get away!" He released a pulse of green energy that radiated from him in a wave, knocking most of the monkeys off of the truck. It was to no avail, however, as more just kept coming.
Danny noticed a second too late that the tires were being attacked. He launched himself off of the roof of the truck and into the air as it began to spin out of control. With a quick glance towards the front, he saw that Robin had the mind to get the driver out as he grappled away from the truck. Danny floated in the air, watching the truck crash helplessly. The monkeys were swarming inside the truck now, emerging with the parts of the Amazo robot they were supposed to protect.
He charged up another ectoblast, firing at one that was carrying the head. He rocketed towards where the head was then dropping to the group to catch it, cradling the piece of Amazo in his arms. More and more monkey robots emerged, all turning to him. They leaped at him in droves, Danny turning intangible again and again to avoid them.
"There's too many of them!" Danny cried out to Robin and Superboy. This game of keepaway from the monkeys couldn't last forever, though, as one of the monkeys blasted him with a laser. He was too busy dodging the grabbing attacks of other units to notice the laser in time, and felt it impact on his back. The force of it sent him into the pavement, creating a crater around him. Dazed, he desperately tried to keep hold of Amazo's head, but failed with the sheer number of robot monkeys grabbing at him. Their small hands were everywhere and it was nauseating. He couldn't help but be reminded of the feeling of gloved hands on his skin. Internally he screamed at himself, begging the memories to leave him alone long enough to get through this mission. His thoughts ran out of control as the monkeys pulled Amazo's head out of his grip.
He could hear Robin's shout of "Superboy!", as he staggered to his feet from the crater. Superboy was hurtling through the air with a mighty leap, landed hard in the cornfield, and then jumped again. He was heading in the same direction as the damned monkeys carrying the Amazo parts they were meant to guard.
Kaldur's voice came over his comm unit, "We've lost our cargo. Did you—"
"It's gone. And so is Superboy," Robin said with a sigh."
"Aqualad to Superboy. Radio your position. We'll help you."
"I don't need help, don't want any!" The rage was evident in Superboy's voice, and the exclamation was followed by a wretched crunching noise and static.
After a few beats of silence, Kaldur pressed, "Superboy?"
"I think he ditched his comm," Robin pointed out.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck, as he looked out over the cornfield Superboy was jumping through. "I'll go after him so he has backup. Even if he doesn't think he needs it."
And with that, he was off.
August 3, Gotham City
Gotham City loomed ahead. The first time that Danny would ever see the iconic city. He couldn't stop and take in its impressive nature, however. Not with Superboy barreling ahead, blind to his surroundings. Danny's flight was faster than Superboy's massive leaps, so he hovered near the angry teen anxiously trying to calm him. Superboy, however, did not appreciate the attempt.
"Stop following me!" He ground out, punctuating his speech by heavily landing on ground.
Danny sighed and gestured in frustration, "We're supposed to be a team!"
"I don't need your help!" Superboy shouted in response, "I don't need anyone's help!" He landed on the roof of the passing train and knelt down, fist poised to punch through the metal. With nothing but his hands, the teen tore through the train's roof and dropped down.
Danny followed, floating behind him. In the train car, Ivo stood surrounded by his MONQIs. The man smiled, "Oh, hello."
"You? You're Ivo? I'm whelmed." Superboy scoffed.
"You're one to talk," Ivo said, tapping his chin with a finger, "Now, since when does the big blue boy scout have a brat?"
Danny stepped forward to put a hand on Superboy's shoulder. "He's just trying to rile you—"
"He doesn't," Superboy snapped.
"Yeah, if you say so. Have you met my Mobile Optimal Neural Quotient Infiltrators?" Ivo said and gestured widely. The MONQIs surrounding him flew forward to attack Superboy and Danny. Immediately the two launched into action—Superboy punching them out of the air with contained grunts, and Danny blasting them with precise rays of sickly green ectoplasm. Professor Ivo sighed, "Ah, and after all the trouble I went through finding an acronym for MONQI."
Superboy grabbed two MONQIs from the air, slamming them together so that they shattered into pieces. He was panting heavily, his shoulders shaking with barely hidden rage. With Ivo here, Danny didn't think he could do anything to calm the Kryptonian. He was so tunnel-visioned on his anger and hatred that everything else faded away. The boxes behind Ivo were shoved to the side, and Danny gasped as he realized what had moved them. Amazo. Ivo had had the time to reassemble the android.
Before he could warn Superboy, a voice rang out, "Access: Captain Atom."
Amazo sent out a yellow beam of energy, blasting the panting Superboy square in the chest. He was tossed back through the train car, and Danny quickly turned intangible to avoid being hit with the boy's mass.
"Since Professor Ivo's magnificent MONQIs don't float your boat, maybe my amazing Amazo will better suit you or better slay you." Ivo grinned ear to ear like the cheshire cat. He was obviously amused by the raw rage that was simmering off Superboy. The expression on the man's face made Danny want to do nothing more than pound him into the ground.
Superboy shakily got to his feet, saying, "Give me your best shot."
The MONQIs laughed, taunting the Kryptonian, as Ivo continued, "Please, my Amazo has the strength of Superman. What chance do you have?"
Danny started, "Superboy, don't—"
Before Danny could finish, Superboy lunged forward to swing at Amazo. The android barely moved in response to Superboy's rapid fire attacks, merely blocking with its elbows before grabbing Superboy's fists.
"Oh, sorry. Did that strike a nerve?" Ivo chuckled.
"Leave him alone!" Danny shouted, a green glow forming around his curled fists as anger began to bubble up in him now. He couldn't stand the way that Ivo was taunting Superboy—his new friend.
"Now who are you?," Ivo's attention turned to Danny, "I don't think we've had the honor of meeting."
"I—I'm no one" Danny said, suddenly aware of his presence and stepping back.
Ivo grinned, "Amazo. Don't forget to study this little one while taking them out," he commanded.
Amazo tossed Superboy to the side with an uppercut, sending the boy sprawling across the train car. He didn't give him a chance to recover, saying, "Access: Black Canary." The android unhinged its jaw in an ungodly high-pitched shriek. The sound pierced through Danny's skull, and his hands flew to his ears to try to gain a semblance of protection from the noise. The force of the sound waves tossed him and Superboy back.
"Access: Flash," Amazo announced as it sprinted forward in a blur, punching Superboy repeatedly as he stumbled to his feet. Danny's head was spinning too much to even throw an ectoblast Superboy's way to help.
"Oh, no wonder daddy keeps you hidden away. You're not really doing justice to the old S shield, are you?", Ivo tutted and laughed.
Superboy launched himself forward with a cry of anger, blindly swinging at Amazo, who simply announced, "Martian Manhunter," and turned intangible. He was knocked off his balance, and Amazo took the opportunity to wind up a great punch and hit the Kryptonian out of the train car.
Superboy tries to punch Amazo has he goes intangible. He is knocked off balance and is punched out of the car. Amazo followed Superboy's body, and Danny turned and threw blasts of energy in an attempt to assist. They pinged off of Amazo's metal body harmlessly.
"Access: Superman," Amazo said emotionlessly, grabbing Superboy by his shirt and tossing him as far as possible.
"Superboy!" Danny shouted, darting forward to look at Superboy's body hurtling through the air. There was nothing he could do to help as he watched the Kryptonian crash into a building somewhere in Gotham. He turned back to Ivo, biting his lip, and indecisive over whether to fly and help Superboy or attempt to capture Ivo.
Ivo seemed to sense his indecision, "Don't know whether to go help your pathetic little friend? Let me clear things up for you. Amazo, finish him, priority: Alpha."
Amazo flew off into the cityscape, leaving the train behind. Danny glanced once again between Amazo and Ivo, and sighed. There really was no choice—he couldn't afford to risk Amazo hurting or, Clockwork forbid, killing Superboy. "Don't think you'll get off scot free," Danny growled, his voice echoing and reverberating slightly with the threat. He launched into the air to follow the direction Superboy was thrown as fast as he could. A hand raised to his ear to trigger the comm unit, "Hey, guys I really need backup. I can't help Superboy and get Ivo at the same time."
"The parts are headed towards Gotham Academy," Robin's voice came through.
"Yeah I know. Amazo threw Superboy through its roof," he grumbled.
"Amazo? You mean Ivo already put the parts together?" Wally asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Been a bit preoccupied to mention it," Danny mumbled in a low tone. He was scanning the city in an attempt to find Gotham Academy and Superboy. He focused in on the auras of people around him, filtering out all of the mundane people crowding the city. Superboy's aura shone like the sun, and was relatively easy to pick out from a crowd. After a few moments of looking, he spotted it—shining a bright red and pulsing with rage. "Gotcha," he muttered under his breath and took off in that direction. He phased through the wall to find himself in what seemed to be a high school gym. Sitting in the bleachers was Professor Ivo, clapping and surrounded by MONQIs.
"How nice of you to join the show, mysterious one," the inventor said with a smirk curling up his lips.
A low growl started in Danny's throat, and he felt his ghostly aura begin to unfurl unbidden, dropping the temperature in the room a few degrees. He was about to lunge forward to grab Ivo when Amazo's voice announcing "Access: Superman" cut into his awareness. His head jerked to the side to see Superboy and Amazo exchanging blows. If it could be called that. It was more like Amazo beating the shit out of Superboy. Amazo raised its arms above its head to beat downwards onto a prone Superboy.
"Yoink!"
Danny blinked. He barely processed Kid Flash running by just in time to pick Superboy up and drag him to the Gym door where Robin was entering. In one swift motion, Robin threw a batarang, but it harmlessly passed through Amazo as it dully said "Martian Manhunter" and turned intangible. "Access: Red Tornado," the android announced, as a tornado of crimson wind formed around it. Superboy, Wally, and Robin were all knocked in different directions by the force of the winds.
"Hey!" Danny yelled, firing an ectoray that pinged off of Amazo's back, "pick on someone else!"
Amazo turned to face him, "Access: Captain Atom", it said and held out an arm. From the palm of its hand, a yellow beam of light formed and blasted towards Danny. He turned intangible to allow the beam to pass through him, but the energy of it still impacted square on his chest. A scream was torn from his throat as the force of the blast threw him back into the bleachers.
The pain didn't go away after the blast. Danny's head was spinning, as he squinted at the figures of his allies on the gym floor. He was seeing double he realized after a brief moment of wondering where the second Superboy came from. They ducked and weaved around the gym, trying to fend off Amazo's barrage of attacks. He attempted to move to get up to help them, to do anything. Even twitching his fingers caused immense pain to flare up in his chest and radiate outward with waves of agony.
He was aware, vaguely, as Superboy screamed, "—It makes me angry! Want to see me channel that anger?!"
Danny had to get up. He had to help.
With great effort, he lifted his right arm to gently rest a hand to his chest where the pain originated. He could feel that the fabric was wet under his fingers. Panic surged at that. Was he bleeding? His wounds were from months ago—long since scarred over with angry, raised red lines belaying his past to anyone that saw. Danny inhaled sharply and the pain pulled at the apparently open wound underneath his shirt. The feeling of parted skin above his sternum was hauntingly familiar. Danny screwed his eyes shut to try to ignore the images, but the darkness only made them stronger. Memories flashed through his head of a scalpel pressing down on skin, dragging lines of green across pale, pale skin.
His eyes snapped open, another scream catching in his throat as he pushed it down. He could see movement in his peripheral vision. Ivo was moving, quickly, from his spot on the bleachers and attempting to sneak out a door. No. He wouldn't let that wretched bastard get away without answering to the Justice League for his creation.
It was only willpower that allowed him to push himself up to his feet. His stomach coiled and turned, sending bile up his throat, in response to the pain. Getting to shaky feet, knees knocking together like a newborn fawn, he staggered across the gym and down the bleachers. The door that Ivo had slipped through led into a hallway lined with lockers. There Ivo was, slinking away tail between his legs.
"Y-you won't get away," Danny said, voice catching slightly. He tried to make it sound confident and intimidating, but the pain had him stutter and fail. His fists clenched at his sides, flickering with green energy that just wouldn't stay. He couldn't even bring forth his ghostly side enough to give a scary enough growl.
Ivo turned to look, "Ah, there you are. I was so excited to have Amazo study you, but you fell flat. What happened?"
Danny was quiet. He truly didn't know what happened. He never expected that his past wounds could get torn open so easily, and now his powers felt far out of reach.
Ivo continued, "The others are pale imitations of the original, but what does that make you? Tell me, which leaguer trained you."
"I'm my own person," Danny said, trying to justice himself to someone who only looked at him like something to study. The thought had the hairs on his arm raising. "I trained myself."
"Maybe that's why you fell so flat," The man tutted.
Danny realized something. This man, right here, he was nothing without his inventions. All he had left was words to try to cut deep enough to buy him time. Danny smirked at the realization. "You sound so cocky for someone backed into a corner. Where's your Amazing Amazo? Your MONQIs?" He stepped forward, threateningly, as his form flickered in and out of vision. He tried to ignite his hands with ecto energy, only succeeding in creating a waxing and waning dim light.
" And what, I'm supposed to be afraid of a nobody?" Ivo snapped, betrayed by the anxiety and fear spreading across his face.
"That's the thing. I'm not a nobody," Danny grinned and lifted a fist, "I'm Cryo."
With that, Danny pushed through the pain enough to punch Ivo square across the temple.
August 4, Mount Justice
"The Amazo android is in pieces safely being analyzed at the two separate S.T.A.R. Labs," Kaldur said, reporting to Batman and the other Leaguers with a straight face, "Thanks to Cryo, Ivo couldn't escape."
Kaldur caught his eye, giving a pleased nod. Rubbing the back of his neck, he blushed slightly at the attention. The Leaguers seemed pleased, too. Unfortunately, the pleasant delight in his job well done was dampened by the discomfort in his chest. He desperately wanted the debriefing to end so he could slink off to his room to check his wounds.
J'onn spoke, "We understand your mission encountered other complications."
The team looked at each other, cautious about where this would go. Batman approached, speaking slow and steady, "Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the league."
"The whole League?" Superboy asked, scanning the faces of those present. Superman's absence was obvious to the entire team, and it made Danny's blood boil. If he didn't get his shit together, he'd give that blue boy scout a talking to-hero or not.
"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads," Batman replied, his expression betraying a hint of softness as he looked on Superboy. In a flash, the look was gone, and he continued "Of course there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the league exists—because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."
Robin scoffed, "Please. If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask. Look familiar?" He produced an arrow that had been fired at the fight. Something Danny hadn't known at the time, but that he heard plenty about on the trip back to the Cave. "You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us."
"We didn't follow you," Batman stated firmly, levelling an even look at Robin.
Green Arrow approached and grabbed the arrow, producing another from his own quiver to compare the two. The difference between the arrows was stark. So, all of that bitching from Robin and Wally had been for nothing. Great, Danny thought, rolling his eyes at the thought.
A confused expression crossed Robin's face. "And that's not your arrow, but that means—"
"Speedy!" Wally exclaimed, cutting Robin off.
"He has our backs," Kaldur confirmed, seeming comforted by the turn of events.
Wally sped forward and snatched the arrow. "Souvenir!"
The Leaguers, however, passed meaningful looks between them. Danny had seen that knowing, almost pitying look enough from Vlad to recognize it. He was pulled from his considerations by Batman's voice, "Cryo, a moment."
Danny blinked, but nodded after a beat of hesitation. He had no clue what Batman would want to talk to him about, but he acquiesced and stepped to the side away from where the Team chattered happily. He looked Batman up and down and crossed his arms over his chest. "That wasn't Speedy's arrow, wasn't it?" He asked, although it was less of a question.
Batman shook his head subtly to confirm. He then cleared his throat, "But that wasn't why I wanted to talk to you."
"What is it then?"
"You're injured after the mission."
Danny startled at that, taking a step back. The sudden movement tugged at the split skin on his chest, and he grimaced in pain. Batman was watching him with his lips pulled in a tight line. He seemed unpleased, more so than his usual deadpan expression conveyed. Quickly, Danny went to justify himself, "I'm fine, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before"
"That's what I'm worried about," Batman said, "You're not fully over the injury that took you out of the business originally."
He looked away, "I thought I was fine."
"You don't have to hide this—not from your team and not from the League," Batman pointed out. His gaze drifted to where the Leaguers and Team pleasantly chatted. There was an easy atmosphere between the two groups at the moment after a job well done.
"It's private," Danny said after a long moment of consideration.
"We don't want you on this team—"
"What!" Danny shouted, hands curling into fists at his sides. The Team looked over, concern evident on their faces. Kaldur moved to approach, but Batman waved him off. How dare Batman go out of his way to drag Danny onto this god forsaken team only to kick him off. The nerve of that bastard.
"Let me finish," Batman stressed. He put a hand on Danny's shoulder and gently led him out of the room, presumably so they weren't overheard now that attention was on them. "We don't want you on this team at the expense of your health."
Danny frowned, "I heal fast."
"This job is hard, and I get the feeling you've suffered more than most." Batman was looking at him, staring at him with that piercing expression. He might be wearing a mask, but Danny could still feel the intensity of the look. It put him on edge.
"What would you know?" He snapped defensively.
"I don't let anyone near the League without a thorough background check. You're hard to find, but still in the system, Fenton."
Oh. Oh god.
Batman just name dropped him. He knew who he was. Knew who Phantom was. His fingernails were digging into the palms of his hands, hard enough to draw blood (and ectoplasm). Batman knew who he was and knew how illegal he was. He was going to turn him in. Danny was going back, he knew joining the team was a mistake. He should have just continued to wallow in self pity at Vlad's mansion.
"When you're ready to tell your story, the League will help you with the Guys in White," Batman said firmly, cutting through Danny's frantic line of thinking.
Help?
There was no help against the Guys in White.
Not after what happened.
He shook his head. "You say that now, but I've learned that relying on others like that only gets you hurt." His tone was bitter, guarded. He could trust these people to have his back in a fight, but beyond that? No, they wouldn't risk themselves if the Guys in White came for a half-dead freak they had legal claim over.
"We have resources. We have influence."
"What? And suddenly the whole League would be cool risking their lives for one illegal freak? I don't buy it." He said bitterly. The words tasted like bile on his tongue.
"And that's why I'll let you take these steps in your own time. In the meantime…" Batman paused, as if he was thinking of the best way to phrase what would come next, "I think it'd be best if you start meeting with Black Canary."
Danny scowled, "We already meet—she trains the whole team."
"Not for training. For therapy."
That was…
Not a bad idea. Danny was a bit peeved to admit it, but he knew that he was… messed up in the head. A lifetime of growing up in the shadow of his parent's supposed lunacy, bullying, and fighting for his life would be enough to trouble the most stable person. That was before what happened with the Guys in White. Therapy wasn't too far out of the realm of what would be good for him. He hadn't considered it before because there was never anyone that could understand this sort of lifestyle. But, if Canary was qualified, she knew a thing or two about the hero business.
It didn't mean that Danny had to tell her anything. He knew that Batman wouldn't back down from this request, and Danny figured it'd be easier to tuck his tail between his legs and agree than to be dragged into it kicking and screaming.
"Alright."
August 5, Mount Justice
"C'mon Danny come join us to even out the teams!" Wally called out, his cries dragging Danny from his pleasant stupor napping in the sun.
He cracked an eye open to see Wally practically jumping up and down, holding a volleyball in one hand and waving the other. Next to him Robin stood with arms crossed over his chest, and the other three members of the Team were on the other side of the volleyball net. Kaldur was speaking to Megan and Superboy, recounting the rules of volleyball to them in an even voice.
This beach day was their last hurrah before Wally had to start up school again. Danny wasn't sure why his school started so hellishly early, so he sympathized with the speedster. Might as well give Wally what he wanted, despite the beach really not being Danny's thing. He couldn't really go swimming without broadcasting his past to the team in the form of his many scars, so he was content to appreciate the sun and nap on the beach—with his hoodie safely on. After the mishap with his powers while fighting Amazo, he wasn't really in the mood for the questioning that would come if his new companions saw the scars littered over his body. Especially the ones on his chest.
"I'm having a good nap, why would I do that?" Danny mused. He stretched like a cat in a beam of sun, enjoying the warmth on his face. It made him feel sleepy, content, and unwilling to move.
Wally stopped jumping up and down and grinned, "We're doing a game of humans versus nonhumans, and we need you to even out the score."
Danny's stomach dropped.
While he was happy enough to let the Team believe he was a metahuman, was he willing to lie about it? He had never thought too hard about it, simply figuring they would assume and not bother asking too many details. But here they were, with Danny put on the spot. He really didn't want to lie. He had spent enough of his life lying to the people he cared about, keeping secrets and hiding who he truly was. His biggest regret with his parents gone—dead, the unhelpful part of his head reminded him—was that they never learned the truth about Phantom.
"Well?" Robin asked when the silence dragged on a bit too long.
"I—I'm not…" Danny just couldn't find the words.
"If you don't know how to play, that's alright. It's Superboy and Megan's first time playing, too," Kaldur helpfully pointed out with a kind smile. The gesture had his insides twisting. They had been so welcoming and nice. The last thing he could do was lie to their faces.
"I wouldn't exactly be evening the teams out, would I?" He tried to joke, but his tone of voice fell flat, "With not being fully human and all that."
All eyes were on him.
Wally's mouth was opening and closing in disbelief. Eventually, he found the words to dumbly ask, "You're not human?"
Danny looked away. The shame was bubbling under his skin. All of the horrid things he's been told about ghosts over the years coming to the surface. Ghosts were widely seen as malevolent monsters, so what did that make him? Monster. Freak. Belongs in a lab where it can't hurt anyone. He pushed down the wave of self-doubt and loathing and tried to shoo away the nasty words in his head. He wasn't going to let himself wallow, not anymore.
"O-only half," Danny managed to get out. His mouth was dry, and the words felt like lead on his tongue.
Robin looked somewhere between concerned and curious, "Then what's the other half?"
"Nothing good," he snapped and then winced, regretting snapping at Robin. "Sorry, I just would rather not tell?" It came out as a question more than anything, and he winced again.
"Why not?" Megan asked, her brow drawn in confusion. She seemed a bit hurt, too. "None of us would judge you for anything."
"It's less about judgement and more about… legality," he admitted, "Batman knows—he knows anything about anyone—but I'd rather not put anyone into a weird position."
"What do you mean legality? Last I checked there are protections for nonhumans like aliens and Atleans and whatever else is out there," Robin frowned as he spoke, as if he was going over the possibilities in his head and couldn't find anything that pleased him.
Danny shrugged, "Not for me. I'm… complicated."
"How so?" Superboy looked like he didn't particularly believe that. It was as if he was asking "What's more complicated than a clone?"
"Well, there's only two of us out there. Tried to do some digging once and think we're the only two to exist ever because we're a bit scientifically impossible. Plus, I think the other is sort of an ass, so that's great," he explained, a bit awkwardly as he tried to figure out exactly what to say.
It hurt to think about how he was alone in the world except for Vlad. Sure, there was Danielle as well but from his understanding she was more of a highly specialized ghost. Something about her ectoplasm imprinting on him rather than her being a true clone? He didn't understand it, no matter how many times Vlad had tried to explain it to him.
"Shit, that's…" Wally began and then couldn't find any words to really articulate it. Danny didn't blame him. There wasn't much to be said in lieu of comfort in this sort of situation. Wally continued, "But how does being rare make you illegal? That just sounds like discrimination."
Danny couldn't help it, but he laughed. Discrimination was certainly a word for what he's been through. It made him almost smile, thinking about going to complain to Guys in White human resources about discrimination. The others were looking at him like he'd grown another head. That made him sober up a bit.
"There's some strict laws against my non-human half. I think the official stance on us is 'detect, detain, destroy', 'cause we can't be bothered to let exist," Danny said the last part with a sarcastic bite to his words, letting his displeasure on that be known.
Megan startled, "Destroy?"
"But you said you're still half-human, doesn't that count for something?" Robin asked, voice tight.
Danny sighed, "The laws are pretty specific, so that means I'm counted in them. I think they wanted to be sure there wasn't much I could do about it."
"They?" Superboy was the one to voice the question.
Danny had said too much. His mouth snapped closed. Memories crowded at the surface of his thoughts, threatening to push through and consume him. Hands holding him down. Metal around his throat. The press of a scalpel to bare skin— He physically shook his head to try to shake the thoughts free. Danny visualized himself taking the memories and stomping them down.
"No one," Danny said quickly. Then slower, "No one. But, uh, the point is if you want your volleyball game to be humans versus nonhumans, I'd just uneven the teams even more."
"Don't worry, I'm not really feeling volleyball. I'll just sit out and let it be a 2v2," Kaldur offered, walking over to where Danny still sat on his beach towel. He got the impression that Kaldur offered to sit out on Danny's behalf more than anything. He shot a grateful look at the Atlean, who nodded in acknowledgement.
The others, not really wanting to drop the questioning session but recognizing Danny was done with it, turned their efforts towards finally playing their game of volleyball. He was relieved that they seemed to respect that he didn't want to speak on the subject anymore today. He knew curiosity could be one hell of a motivator, especially for people as inquisitive as Wally and Robin. It was nice to have his space respected. He knew none of the Team meant anything wrong by their questions—it was only natural to be curious.
Kaldur settled on the beach towel next to him and gave him a small smile. He didn't say anything, just offered silent comfort. And Danny was happy with that. Maybe he'd speak more on the subject of his lacking humanity later, but for now he was content to simply settle back into the uneven sand and enjoy the sun.
AN:/ Fellas is it gay to put a boy's name in your phone with a smiley face? Srs though I'm still undecided on shipping but the more I write this fic the more I swear Kaldur/Danny is trying to make itself happen. We'll see where the writing gods take me. For fun here's how Danny put everyone in his phone:
Kaldur :) - Kaldur
Thing 1 - Robin
Thing 2 - Wally
Hello Megan! - Megan
Grumpy - Superboy
(soon to be added) Boss Bitch - Artemis
Thank you again for the amazing support! I'm a little too shy to respond to everyone's comments directly but I read them over and over again. I'm uh real sorry I took so long to update. I'm a full time uni student with a job, so that comes first. Hopefully I can update once a month or more often from here on out.
There is also "fanart" (read: a commission) of Danny's new look that you can check out on the AO3 version of this fic! Under same name and username. ^w^