Chapter 8: Questions

Robin blinked in surprise. They were supposed to be silent. He could barely hear Batman at his shoulder. They had trained that way. To be deathly quiet - or as close to it as humanly possible. Even with the sharpest ears a normal person shouldn't notice their approach until they were only a few feet out. But somehow this boy had sensed them, rolling upright and into a semi-defensive position when they were barely halfway towards him.

His immediate thought was that the kid was a fighter. It was there in the way he bladed his feet, the bend to his knees, the balance of his weight. In the angle of his neck, the slant to his hands, his stance – tight but loose-jointed, light footed, ready to move at speed. There was a martial flavour to it; probably self-taught, but with some training too. Robin didn't doubt that the teen could pack a punch. This was a seasoned opponent.

The boy's eyes told a similar story. They were blue. Light crystalline blue, cautious and hardened. Calculating, measuring. Suspicious. Far too old for the face that held them.

Robin watched the eyes sweep the locker, taking in corners and angles before settling onto him. They lingered, travelling from his face to his hands, feet, knees, elbows, shoulders… in that moment the Boy Wonder knew he'd been assessed as a threat. Recognition flickered in the blue and they widened, jumping from protégé to mentor. The teen swallowed visibly, rocking back onto his heels as hostility left the fighter's stance. Confusion and anxiety touched his face as he surveyed the intruders in his home.

A painfully expectant silence gathered in the hold.

"Damien Ferguson?" The Dark Knight's low baritone seemed to ground the boy. He gave a slow stiff nod, straightening as he relaxed out of his defensive crouch. Or rather, he appeared to relax. His feet and eyes betrayed him.

"You live here?" An obvious question given the duo's nights of observation. But it was somewhere to begin. Damien shook his head.

"No. I just crash here sometimes. When I need some space." Which could have been convincing if not for the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. A person didn't keep food, water and blankets in an otherwise empty locker if they had somewhere better to go. This was 'home', Batman concluded. The teen was a runaway. Had been for some time if his stance and the state of his clothes were anything to judge by. The Dark Knight frowned beneath the cowl. He had never been comfortable seeing youth on the streets, but now wasn't the time or place for sentimentality. The boy was a potential witness on a case.

Robin had noticed something else. There was something familiar about the way he spoke. The teen's accent was clearly American, but lacked the characteristic drawls or twangs that would point to a specific region. Almost generic – possibly from the Midwest or Great Lakes. The Boy Wonder hadn't been in much of a position to remember, but it sounded remarkably similar to 'the Phantom's'. Maybe they came from the same place. Either way it was clear that the kid hadn't been raised on the west coast.

"Where are you from?" He wondered. Damien seemed vaguely surprised at the question.

"Not really from anywhere. My family…" the teens' voice dropped slightly, "we travel a lot." He raised a hand to his face. Embarrassment flickered across his expression as he rubbed dried tear marks away, tucking fists quickly into his pockets.

The duo frowned at the evasive answer. The boy was obviously skittish about his personal information. If the information was real at all. Batman strongly suspected the identification used to rent the locker was false. After all, 'Damien Ferguson' had been practically non-existent until a few months earlier. The quality of the photographs was almost deliberately poor – just enough to avoid facial recognition. And then there was the teen himself. The boy was definitely not a legal adult, regardless of the date on the license. Even the name was doubtful. People react a certain way to hearing their names and 'Damien's' was ever so slightly off. It had been there in those eyes, fast enough that anyone else would have missed it. Relief. The boy believed his real identity was safe. Which presented an unusual dilemma. Everyone had secrets – the duo knew that better than most. And to some extent people had right to privacy. But this teen might be the key to finding 'the Phantom'. Privacy wasn't a luxury they could afford.

"Who are you? Really." The boy's eyes hardened momentarily, shoulders tightening. Then he shrugged.

"Damien Ferguson. You already know that." He wasn't a bad actor, Robin conceded. But it was all a bit too chalant to be honest.

"That's not your name," Batman interjected firmly, "or your age. You're not eighteen"

For a moment the boy looked as though he would deny it. He tensed, eyes roving from mentor to protégé, searching their faces. "Does it matter?"

"Is there a reason why you're hiding it?"

'Damien' hesitated, seemingly debating something. "It's easier this way," he muttered.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Easier to do what?"

The teen glanced at him, registering the thinly veiled accusation. "Nothing illegal, I swear. It's just safer to keep to myself." He cleared his throat, looking down.

'Safer…' Batman considered the statement, pieces slowly falling into place. 'Damien' was jumpy, afraid to let people close. He had money but he chose somewhere low-profile to stay. Somewhere a normal person wouldn't think to look. He wandered at night, easy to lose and difficult to follow. The Dark Knight's eyes returned to the small bottles lying beside the sports bag. Vitamin supplements. The boy was keeping himself in shape, a fighter…

"Who are you running from?"

'Damien' almost twitched at the question. Eyes widened faintly, alarm flickering in the blue. Robin thought he saw a faint flash of green, gone almost before he noticed it.

"I'm not running," he replied quickly. Too quickly.

Batman stepped through the lie, getting straight to the point. "You use a false name. You're staying somewhere no one would think to look. You don't trust others, watch all the corners of a room and are ready for a fight. Someone's chasing you. Who?"

The teen paused, fidgeting slightly under the weight of the duo's stares. He hesitated again, shutters closing behind the eyes as he appraised the Dark Knight. His jaw clenched, gaze flickering around the room. "Nobody good," he admitted, "but I'm guessing that's not why you're here. What did you want?"

Something told the duo that pressing for answers wouldn't make the boy any more willing to talk about 'the Phantom'. But there were a few too many things out of place for them to simply let it pass.

"I want to know how old you really are. Then we'll talk."

'Damien's' gaze sharpened. He evaluated the duo before relenting with a short, testy sigh. "Fine… Fifteen. Sixteen in a few months." Robin's brows crept upwards. He hadn't expected the boy to be so young. The detective wondered what 'Damien' had seen in his life. Then again, it was probably better that he didn't know.

Batman nodded. He reached into his cloak, withdrawing one of the government watermarked photographs.

"We're looking for someone." The Dark Knight stepped forward, ignoring the teen's sudden stiffness, as he held out the picture. "Phantom."

The reaction was instantaneous. The muscles in 'Damien's' neck tightened. His breath seemed to catch minutely, eyes flashing with a strange mix of fear and panic. For an instant Robin thought he caught the same flicker of green. Less than a second passed before teen was back in control, reaching out to take the paper as though nothing had happened. He frowned as he studied the image, apparently lost in thought.

"You know him." The boy's response hadn't gone unnoticed. 'Damien' nodded distractedly, gaze fixed on the paper.

"I know of him," the teen looked up, eyes guarded. "He's meant to be a myth." Robin thought he heard a faint note of warning behind the words. A caution. He pressed on.

"What do you know?"

"Same as most people I guess," 'Damien' shrugged, "The ghost-kid from… Illinois? Amityville or something. Protector-of-the-town and all that." Robin doubted that was all the teen knew. Why else would he have reacted to 'Phantom's' name?

"How do you know that?"

"One of my friends i-" he stumbled briefly, voice slightly tighter, "was, a goth. Loved dark stuff. I've heard a lot of ghost stories."

Batman's eyes narrowed. He wasn't telling them the truth. Parts of what he said were real – the Dark Knight didn't doubt that 'Damien' had a gothic friend – but it sounded ever so slightly false. The pausing. The way he said 'Amityville' instead of 'Amity Park'. The teen knew the answers, but was trying to seem like he didn't.

"'Phantom' is not a myth. And you know a lot more than just stories." Batman allowed the full weight of authority to ring in his voice. "Start talking."

'Damien' bristled at the change in tone, expression cooling. "No one believes in ghosts." Again Robin heard the faint warning. He thought about the teen's reaction to the name. The constant attempts to keep the undead mythical. The way 'Damien' only appeared when 'Phantom' was absent…

"Is 'Phantom' the one chasing you?" The Boy Wonder doubted it, but he wanted to test a theory.

"No." This time 'Damien's' response was genuine. The boy's lip twitched unwillingly, a faint gleam barely touching his eyes. Robin got the feeling that they were missing some internal joke. He bit back a grin of his own. This kid definitely knew something.

"Is Phantom running with you?" He stressed. The teen shot the young hero a quizzical glance, one that made it clear he thought the Boy Wonder insane. But it wasn't a denial. Something neither Bat nor Bird missed.

"He's your partner." Batman concluded. 'Damien' looked down, a slightly bitter expression twisting his face. Robin allowed a small victorious smile to break through the mask. 'Finally.'

"You work with him," pressed the elder hero. The teen continued to avoid their eyes, biting his lip before letting out a resigned sigh.

"Wouldn't exactly put it that way…" Still evasive. But at least they had a chance at some real answers. The young detective seized it.

"Last time you saw him?"

'Damien' gave the Boy Wonder a flat look. "I don't ever really see him." Robin struggled not to roll his eyes skyward. Invisibility was 'the Phantom's' gimmick, but he was not going to play that game.

"When?" Neither, apparently, was Batman. The teen withstood the weight of the glare for a full second before relenting.

"Sometime this year." The detective perked up at that. His team had encountered the shadow barely a week after New Year's. 'Damien' could have had contact since.

"Where?"

The teen shrugged, "Around. He travels a lot."

"Specifically." Robin could hear Batman's patience thinning. Honestly he was impressed that the boy had lasted this long. Most civilians would have caved.

"West Coast," came the short reply, "he might have moved since." Perhaps it was his imagination, but the Boy Wonder could have sworn 'Damien's' eyes flickered his way. 'Does he know about what happened with the team?'

"You met with him in Portland," he guessed. 'Damien' raised a brow in return. 'Yeah. He knows.'

"Where is he now?" The Dark Knight stepped in, regaining control. The teen's face hardened, iron entering the blue eyes. Tension that had eased away during the talk made its return. Sharing information was one thing. Handing over your partner was an entirely different story.

"What makes you think I know?"

"You're his partner," Robin reasoned, "You have to keep in contact."

'Damien' shook his head. "Not how it works." He eyed the duo suspiciously. "What do you want with Phantom anyway?"

"We need information."

"What kind of information?" There was something almost accusatory in the teen's question.

"We'd prefer to discuss that with 'Phantom' directly."

"Sorry," 'Damien's' voice was like ice, "Can't help you."

"Can't?" Robin couldn't entirely help the cool edge that bled into his own tone, "or won't?"

"Whichever," he responded testily, "I'm not giving you anything unless I know why."

"Why are you so determined to protect him?"

"There's a lot of people who'd rather some ghosts stayed buried," the teen gave a barely noticeable shudder, "and more who want live test subjects." Robin cringed internally at the last. Supposedly dead or not, 'Phantom' was still a person. The reluctance to talk suddenly made a lot more sense.

"The government's paranormal investigation unit has been shut down," the Dark Knight attempted to diffuse the tension. "The ecto-acts passed by the division have since been repealed. 'Phantom's' status isn't a cause for prosecution. Not anymore."

"Maybe on paper," the boy hadn't relaxed, "But the people didn't just disappear with the division. They're still there. And ghost-hating isn't exclusive to the Idiots in White."

"If 'Phantom' is in danger, then you need to tell us. We can help," Robin offered. "The League has put people under protection before." 'Damien' shook his head, unconvinced.

"The League works under a charter," he pointed out. "You only get to be here so long as the Feds let you. I don't trust the government." The teen paused. " 'sides," he mumbled quietly, "they were the easy ones…"

'Easy?'

"What do you mean by that?" A vaguely guilty look flashed in 'Damien's' eyes.

"Nothing."

Robin frowned, glancing sideways at his mentor. If the teen was being honest, 'Phantom' was in a lot of danger. The ghost obviously had more enemies than he could cope with. The Boy Wonder appraised the person in front of him. He doubted such people would go easy on a human if they found out that 'Damien' had information. Even if he wasn't in contact, association would put the boy squarely in their sites. No wonder he was running.

"We may be able to stop the people hunting you," Batman opened negotiations, "But only if you give us information." Hope flickered briefly across teen's expression before dying. The light in the blue eyes dimmed.

"It's not your problem," he replied quietly. 'Damien' frowned, expression hardening as he changed tack. "Look, is Phantom under arrest or something? Do you think he's involved in a crime?"

Robin shook his head, hoping to reassure the teen. The other boy's jaw tightened.

"Then I don't have to tell you anything." His tone was one of absolute finality. The Boy Wonder mentally kicked himself. This could not be happening.

"We just want to talk." He allowed his voice to soften slightly, hoping to bring the teen back on side. 'Damien's' eyes narrowed.

"Heard that one before. And no. So long as there's no broken law I'm not obliged to tell you." Robin groaned internally. They couldn't lose this now. Not when they were so close. He counted as he exhaled, voice determinedly calm.

"We want to help. But you need to help us first."

'Damien' shook his head firmly. "We don't want or need help. The best thing you – or anyone – can do is leave us alone."

Batman took charge. "That's not going to happen. We need the information. And we'd prefer that you co-operate."

"And if I don't?"

"You've committed forgery. And it's technically illegal to sleep here."

The teen glared at him, fury and desperation mingling in the gaze. "You'll put me into the system? Give me to the people who want to rip us apart 'molecule by molecule'? They want me gone. Permanently." The boy made a sound halfway between a sigh and a growl, running a hand through his hair. His voice dropped to nearly a whisper, "A year... I've spent almost a year keeping away from these guys and you want to dump me in their lap."

The revelation gave them pause. A year was a long time when you were fifteen. A very young age to be in such serious trouble. Not that youth automatically made you innocent. Robin and his team had definitely managed worse. But false license aside, 'Damien' wasn't a criminal. If anything he was the victim. And 'Phantom' had saved them. The idea of an arrest didn't sit well.

"League custody or League protection," it was a generous offer, especially from the Bat, "Your choice. But only one keeps you free."

"Or you can talk now," the Boy Wonder added, "and we'll let you go, no questions asked."

The teen scowled in return. The young detective could sense him coming to a decision, and he knew it wasn't one they would like.

"Look," Robin entreated, "we're not here to fight. Phantom got me and my team out of trouble and I'd kinda like to return the favour. His information could help us keep other people safe. And we can help you. But only if you let us."

'Damien' met his gaze, unmoved. Tension crystallised in the room, showing its teeth as resolve turned the blue eyes to stone. The boy's jaw was firm with determination. In other circumstances it would have been impressive. But right now… a vague sickness gathered in the Boy Wonder's stomach. He could feel the doors closing, keys turning in the locks. They'd lost, he realised. The teen wasn't going to talk, not willingly. It was out of their control and only going to get worse.

Robin clenched his hands, waiting for the inevitable 'no'.


For the record, Batman is a very hard character to write. Actually this whole chapter was hard, so I'd really appreciate constructive criticism. Was everyone in character? Did Bats and Rob unintentionally end up playing good-cop-bad-cop? (the answer to the last one is yes by the way) Let me know what you think.

Also, I am an Aussie who has never visited the US, so I deeply apologise if I butchered the description of the Midwest accent. I did try to do my research before writing that part, but one can only get so far.

Unfortunately I'm also drawing near to the end of my pre-drafted chapters - I only have one and a half still roughed out. I'm not evil enough leave you on a cliffy for months so I will try to get the next one tweaked and up within the fortnight. After that I may have to fall off the radar for a while to plan. (Also I'm barely a month out from major uni submissions so things are hectic right now). Bear with me please, I shall return.

Please review!
See you in the next chapter

-3WD