This chapter is excellent news for everyone because it means i survived these past few weeks! Good lord i feel like crying and sleeping for a week, but i can't do either because it's my friend's birthday so I have to go out for drinks. *facetious eye roll* #shotsshotsshotsshotsshotsshots

Things about to get cray-cray... (for me...and the story)

The views from this chapter's first day of publishing will take Recognized past 40,000 views. I am BLOWN away!

General Notes:

"This is dialogue."

"This is alternative dialogue, meaning whispered or spoken from a distance such as on the phone."

'This is thought.'

This and THIS and *this* are emphasis. The *this* emphasis is more along the lines of the snarky or sarcastic.

[This is digital text, such as notifications on a computer or smartphone.]

I do not own Danny Phantom or Young Justice.

Ch. 11 originally published: Friday, April 12, 2019

RECOGNIZED

Chapter 11

Hot Pursuit

Dick couldn't help but be antsy throughout his mathlete party. No matter how badly he wanted to, checking on the runaway twin-slash-clone hiding at home was not exactly an easily explainable excuse to leave early. Instead, he resolved himself to a tedious evening.

Though of course, this resolution only lasted until he received a call from one of the few numbers with a personalized ringtone.

Held up here, it's a silent fear/And this space don't take my mind

"Sorry, guys, family emergency," Dick said and hurriedly grabbed his things. "Thanks for the party!"

A cloudy wake, it's a young mistake/That I'm clothed in

In the privacy of the hallway, he answered the phone. "Roy?"

"Urgh," was the only reply.

"Roy? You okay? What's wrong?" Dick insisted, walking faster to the parking lot.

"Man, I forgot how much hypnosis messes you up," Roy grunted.

"Hyp-? But I thought Miss M cleaned you up?"

"Thought so too," Roy said. "I guess there were fallbacks so deep even *she* couldn't find 'em."

"Who was it?"

"Sportsmaster again. He's been surveilling the Crocks and knows I went there with Fenton, so he came looking for me."

"Shit." Dick found his car and jumped inside, switching the phone call to Bluetooth. "So, how much do they know?"

"Everything Danny told me. That he's on the run and knows he's not related to his parents, and that they didn't know either. *And* they know he's looking for Dick Grayson and Robin."

Dick powerslid his birthday present—a brand-new BMW M4— onto the main street. Traffic laws meant little to the Wayne household on most occasions, but tonight there was no regard whatsoever. "So you think they're on their way to the manor to get Danny?"

"Without a doubt. For whatever reason, it seems like they're rolling in the heavy artillery for this one. Whoever that Danny kid is…they want him bad."

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll alert Batman. Do you need extraction?"

"No, I—I'm fine," Roy stammered.

"We could really use your-"

"Pizza's here. Gotta run."

The call disconnected before Dick could prod further. He sighed, resigning himself to confront this issue another time. He instead began dialing Bruce.

"Come on come on come on…" Dick muttered. Bruce's phone and communicator rang endlessly. "Damn it!"

He steered the M4 up an onramp and onto Trigate Bridge, expertly weaving around traffic in the way of his trajectory. The twin turbos of the engine whistled through the gears as the sports car rocketed across the river towards the Palisades.

"Call Alfred," Dick instructed the car's onboard computer. Two rings later and the call connected. "Alfred."

"Sir," came the reply.

"Where's Bruce? He's not answering his phone or communicator."

"Master Bruce is otherwise engaged with League business at the moment. May I be of assistance?"

"I just heard from Red Arrow that the Light is on their way to the manor in search of Danny. Have him get ready for a quick escape; I'm coming in the M4."

"While I appreciate the exuberance one feels on the first day in possession of a driver's license, might I suggest changing into…*alternative attire* suitable for your more agile transportation options?"

Dick glanced out the window. A bright flash of lightning in Gotham's perpetually forming storms unveiled a trio of helicopters headed towards Wayne Manor. He gave a deep sigh before replying, "Good idea. I'll be there in five minutes."

"He shall be ready in four, sir."

Dick disconnected the call and held his thumbprint on a subtle panel integrated into the steering wheel's grips. A moment passed, and a thin crimson line swept across the digital displays of the car, replacing the stock system with Batcave-derived graphics.

"All systems ready," the computer spoke in an emotionless female voice.

"Auto-valet," Dick commanded.

"Auto-valet initiated. Temporary autonomy engaged."

With that response, the car took control of its systems and reclined the driver's seat. Dick quickly stripped out of his school uniform, and the car's hidden mechanisms automatically replaced the garments with his typical Robin uniform. The seat readjusted to its original position while a hidden compartment in the visor opened, producing a domino mask primed with spirit gum. After applying it to his face and mussing his hair, all semblance to his polished alter ego had vanished. He gripped the wheel and ordered, "Return control."

"Autonomy disengaged."

The steering wheel jumped in his hands when the computer relinquished command. As he turned into the Batcave's secret entrance, Robin was not at all surprised to see a parade of armored SUV's and racing bikes approaching the manor's main gate from the opposite direction.

Alfred found their guest in the south conservatory overlooking the bay. "Master Daniel-"

"Please, Alfred, how many times do I have to tell you it's-" Danny froze when he turned around and saw the stately butler carrying an assault rifle "-Danny. Um…Alfred?"

"Apologies, Master Danny. It appears that some nefarious fellows are descending on the manor in search of you. I have been instructed to prepare you for a rapid departure with our local hero's protégé, Robin." The butler produced a motorcycle helmet and jacket and tossed them to the boy. "You will have to borrow Master Dick's set, I'm afraid. I hope you don't mind."

"Where is he?" Danny tested as he quickly put on the jacket.

"…Safe," Alfred replied after a momentary delay.

Danny's eyebrow quirked.

Suddenly, the pair heard a cacophony of helicopter blades over the house. The conservatory's windows rattled under the force of the displaced air outside. Just beyond the French doors, an engine revved as a light shone through the glass. Danny hardly had a moment to flinch before a heavily modified, red Ducati Panigale motorcycle shattered the doors and drifted sideways to a stop, curtains billowing behind to amplify the drama of the protégé's entrance.

"Get on!" Robin barked.

"This wasn't made for passengers!" Danny protested.

"Do you really think that matters?!"

Danny quickly complied, and the pair sped off into the grounds.

Alfred sighed as he observed the shattered remains of the doors. "It had been unlocked…"

Robin and Danny encountered an immediate barrage of enemy fire as soon as they re-entered the gardens. Robin dipped and swerved the motorcycle amongst the sculpted shrubberies as countless bullets and energy blasts flew past them.

"What the heck is going on?!" Danny shouted over the noise.

"You tell me!" Robin replied over his shoulder. "They're after you!"

"ME?!" Danny flinched as a passing tree exploded into wood chips. "What did I do?!"

"How did you get into our secret base?!" Robin countered. "You're a mystery, Danny Fenton, one that EVERYONE is trying to figure out!"

The Panigale burst through the forest onto the winding road leading back to Trigate Bridge. The identical heroes made it a couple hundred meters before the first wave of the enemy's vehicles broke through the trees in hot pursuit.

"I just want to know who I am, dude!"

"You and me both! And apparently, the Light as well!"

"The what?!"

They wove around the last car waiting to cross the river and zoomed onto the bridge at full throttle. Danny heard more motorcycle engines rev and, glancing over his shoulder, saw a handful of the enemies' Kawasakis jump over civilian vehicles and bounce onto the roadway.

"A secret terrorist organization. They've been a thorn in the League's side for years," Robin explained.

"If they're so secret why are you telling me?"

"You oughta know who's trying to kidnap or kill you!"

"Fair point."

The first two of the helicopters trailed them in tandem on either side of the bridge. A third swooped over the roadway and chased the pair from between the superstructure supporting the bridge. A cannon fired, and Robin dodged the bike to the side just in time to escape a net.

Danny began to question how beneficial it would be to keep his ghost powers secret any longer.

"How good of a shot are you?" Robin asked.

"I-uh…" Danny hesitated. "I'm better with my hands," he answered cryptically.

"You ever shot a flare gun before?"

"I've seen my dad do it before."

"Good enough." A panel on the side of the bike opened with a beep and hydraulic hiss. A single, thick-barreled pistol jiggled in its restraints. "Aim for the copters. They're heat-seeking, so you just have to get close."

Danny, wide-eyed, took the gun in hand. "I don't want to kill them!"

"Don't sound so disconcerted! It'll just disable the propulsion!"

Danny took a deep breath. "Well, if you insist. I'll do my best to stay *concerted.*"

Robin looked over his shoulder just as they passed the midpoint of the bridge. With a smile, he said, "Maybe we are related."

Danny rolled his eyes and aimed at the left-hand helicopter. He disengaged the safety on the gun and fired. A tiny rocket whizzed through the air and connected magnetically to the copter's turbine. Danny successfully fired at the right-hand copter as well as the one pursuing them over the bridge's roadway itself. Once all three projectiles had connected, a light on the gun turned green.

"Is something supposed to happen now?"

"Is it green?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, press the button on the side!"

Danny did so and flinched when all three helicopters' turbines exploded simultaneously. All of their blades disconnected—embedding into the roadway or falling into the river—and let the fuselages plummet to the road or water below. Slack-jawed, Danny looked on in awe.

"Damn."

"You get used to it," Robin commented.

Danny replaced the gun in its holster, and the panel shut once more. The Kawasakis launched over the helicopter left smoking on the bridge and continued pursuit.

"We still have bikes on our tail-"

The helicopter burst apart as the first of the armored SUV's pushed through.

"-a-and some cars."

"Don't worry, I know Gotham like the back of my hand!" Robin hopped the curb to take the first right corner a little tighter. Two streets ahead, elevated train tracks cut across the street. "Huh…that's new."

"What?!"

"Kidding, dude! Stay whelmed."

Without slowing down, Robin banked left and continued straight for a few blocks, darting to and fro as necessary to avoid the remnants of Gotham City rush hour.

Feeling the first drops of rain, Danny hazarded a glance back once more. They had almost a block between them and the first bikes, but their pursuers were gaining once more. "They're still on us!"

"Great." Robin threw on the brakes and took an immediate right, taking them straight towards the heart of the Financial District. He pressed the comms button on the handlebar. "Robin to cave, requesting extraction. Does anyone copy? …Robin to cave, do you copy? …Damn it! I forgot M'gann and Connor have a senior ball planning committee meeting tonight, and who knows where the others are. So, no backup. Even greater."

"Hey, man, stay *whelmed,*" Danny said with a bubble of laughter. Robin's wordplay was…unique. Danny primarily relied on puns in his battles.

Not that he could share this fact aloud without giving himself away.

"Where are we going anyway?" Danny asked.

"Uhhhh…TBD."

"Great," Danny muttered.

Another armored Chevy Tahoe turned onto the street ahead of them and began gaining speed to match Robin and Danny's. As the boys approached, a minion leaned out the rear left passenger window with a machine gun and began laying down fire.

Robin quickly dodged around to the Tahoe's right side and pulled up alongside. "Hey, have you ever driven a motorcycle before?"

"Like, once?" Danny answered.

"Awesome! Grab the controls for a sec, would you?" Robin asked.

"What?!"

But Robin was already on the fuel tank, perched on the balls of his feet. He leapt off the bike onto the roof of the Tahoe. Robin took an eskrima stick from his back and extended a point from the end. Seconds later, the sunroof was smashed and Robin had disappeared inside.

Danny, meanwhile, leaned forward from his seat and kept a grip on the accelerator. With one eye on the road ahead, he tried to watch what was happening through the darkened glass.

Jolt, coast. Jolt, coast. Massive swerve, as the SUV tried to correct its course. Danny darted out of the way, narrowly missing a compact sedan in his haste. One shadow darted around within the larger vehicle while the others flailed. The right front passenger window splintered but didn't break due to its reinforcement.

The right rear passenger door flew open with Robin's torso dangling out. The caped protégé gripped the arm holding him and roughly pulled his current aggressor out onto the road in Danny's path. Danny didn't have time to correct before running the man over and struggling to maintain control of the Panigale in the growing rain.

"Sorry!" Danny shouted over his shoulder; though with the oncoming traffic, the man had far greater concerns.

Danny looked back to the Tahoe just in time to see Robin wrap his right leg around the passenger seat's headrest and pull himself back in, shutting the door as he went. Another jolt, and the SUV was accelerating hard away from Danny.

With the aid of rocket propulsion, something shattered the front windscreen and lodged itself into the road fifty feet ahead. Robin backflipped out of the sunroof, arcing through the air just as the Tahoe struck the object—one of Robin's escrima sticks, apparently—and front-flipped over the buckling vehicle. Robin bounced off the undercarriage and, in one fluid motion, retrieved the dislodged eskrima stick and sailed through the air towards Danny with a gleeful smile on his face.

With hardly a second to react, Danny slowed just enough for Robin to grab his shoulders and swing around onto the back of the bike as they continued away from the wreckage of the SUV.

"You wanna take it from here?" Robin asked.

"Oh, please, god, no!" Danny screamed. "You take it; I just ran over someone!"

"In your defense, he was a bad guy. Hold still." Robin placed his palms on Danny's shoulders, pulled himself to a handstand, and held his position for a few moments. He then teetered forward and landed back in the driver's seat.

"You were just showing off," Danny groaned.

"I was taking the opportunity to appraise the situation behind us and see how many pursuers we still have."

"You were showing off."

"A bit."

"Hold this course," Maddie ordered from the Fenton RV passenger seat. "He's headed down the next cross street at 80 miles per hour, and should appear…now!"

On her mark, a blur rocketed across their path, careering towards downtown. Jack swung the vehicle around and roared after it.

"Too bad we had to wait for the satellite to recharge before focusing its scope," Jack complained. "We could have caught him by now."

"Don't you mean 'caught up to'?" Maddie asked with an undisguised growl.

Jack merely grunted and rolled his eyes in reply. His uninhibited driving style allowed them to catch up within a few blocks. Jack reached for the loudspeaker and activated it. "Phantom! Please halt such that we may converse!"

This time, it was Maddie who rolled her eyes. She took the microphone and added, "We wish to cooperate and prove we are on the same team!"

The figure looked back at them and hesitated.

"Shit, they're right on us!" Danny exclaimed.

Spurred on by the omnipresent Cadmus and Light vehicles, Robin glared at the road ahead with constant mental adjustments to their path. Their Panigale roared on through downtown and towards the other end of the island. Block by block, the rain built in intensity and soaked Danny to the bone. Robin's uniform, on the other hand, seemed to be water-resistant.

Without warning, two more black motorcycles turned from opposite directions on a passing side street and flanked the two heroes. Danny tensed while Robin accelerated harder, but the Kawasakis and their single riders had no trouble keeping up. A screeching above them drew the boys' attention upwards. A small shower of sparks cascaded from an elevated train in front of them.

"Hey Danny, you ever seen Speed Racer?"

"Why?!"

"I'd tell you to hold tight, but I can barely breath as it is!"

And that was all the notice Danny had before the bike literally leapt off the roadway. It sailed diagonally through the air and used one of the passing building's façades as a springboard to leap once more. The bike landed on the roof of the train, fortunately heading in the same direction, and used the train's speed to boost its own.

"How the hell-?! What the hell-?!"

"Magnetic suspension," Robin explained, hopping between carriages. "Electromagnetic fields cause metal shavings in the fluid to realign and give a boost in stiffness. Batman made it a little more…boosty."

"Well, at least we might get away now," Danny drawled.

Only for an untouched helicopter to swoop down and join the pursuit.

The front of the train approached before they knew it. Robin boosted them once again towards a ledge to their right before springboarding the bike into a 450-degree spin, sending them shooting off down a left side-street. The helicopter was temporarily gone, but their road-going pursuers soon reappeared on their tail.

The Ohioan looked over his shoulder once more. It seemed that no matter what maneuver they tried, the Light was going nowhere. "I can't take this anymore!" Danny shouted over the roar of the Panigale.

"Can't take what anymore?" Robin asked.

The time for pretending was over; Danny resolved himself to end the charade once and for all. 'I guess it's time to get lost.' "Does this thing have an autopilot?"

"Duh. Even has a hard light hologram generator."

"I'll pretend like I know what that is. Activate it."

"Okay. Calibrating…"

Small mechanical arms extruded from the sides of the bike and scanned the riders. They disappeared with a 'beep.'

"Ready when you are. What's the plan?" Robin asked.

"The plan?" Danny repeated. He grimaced. "Try not to freak out. Or vomit."

"What do you-?"

But Robin was cut off. There was a brief flash of light behind him before the world suddenly swirled in colorless mystique around him. He felt a harsh pull against his midsection as he was pulled back and up from the bike. The hard light hologram immediately activated in their absence as they began to fly through a passing skyscraper and up to the roof. He landed and immediately whipped around to face Danny.

In his place was Danny Phantom, awkwardly rubbing his left elbow with his hand.

"You—You're not Danny!" Maddie exclaimed and immediately unholstered her pistol, though for once she didn't aim it on impulse.

"Well, of course I'm not Danny Phantom," the girl scoffed. She cocked a hip and crossed her arms. "I'm Dani. With an 'I.' "

"Dani? W-what connection do you have to our son?" Maddie insisted.

"I don't know what you mean. I know Phantom, not your *fleshbag* twerp of a son," she jabbed.

"Drop the act, punk," Jack ordered. "We know the boy we know as our son is Phantom, so tell us what's really going on!"

Dani faltered. "I guess I'm not surprised you know by now. You guys really suck, by the way."

"We're working on it," Maddie huffed. "Now, look: Danny's friend gave us a file with his signature so we could find and help him, and it led us to you. Care to explain?"

Dani touched an index finger to the corner of her mouth in faux innocence. "Well, gosh, it looks like he gave you the wrong 'Phantom' signature, then, didn't he?"

Maddie and Jack glared in the general direction of the Foley residence.

Phantom and Robin shared a quiet moment where a million thoughts raced through both teens' heads.

"I knew it!" Robin cheered with a pumped fist. He removed his helmet, Danny's apparently gone with his transformation. "Kid Flash owes me twenty bucks."

"Um, dude? You're, like, loaded."

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"Dick, I'm getting really tired of this song and dance."

Robin appeared to look Phantom up and down from behind his mask. "Fair enough. Sure, I might have money, but the fact that Wally will have to shell out most of this week's allowance makes it so much sweeter!"

Phantom smirked ruefully.

Suddenly, Robin tensed and held a hand to his ear. "Miss M, thank god! Where was everyone?" A pause. "Fine. The Light is now in pursuit of Danny. We are in the middle of Gotham and could use an extraction… Copy. Sending you coordinates." He dropped the hand from his ear and quickly typed on his wrist computer. "Well," he said to Danny, "here comes the cavalry."

"Great," Danny replied shortly and transformed back to Fenton. "Now, are we gonna talk about this?"

"Which 'this?' There are a lot of 'thises,' " Robin answered with air quotes.

Danny felt incredulous. "The fact that I'm genetically identical to you? The fact that I looked back in time and found out I'm actually your twin? The fact that I'm a secret superhero? The fact that *you* ar-that we are both secret superheroes?! The fact that there's an entire underground network after me?! The fact-"

"Okay, I get it!" Robin snapped. "Look, we can't find out anything by getting upset. So chill out till M'gann gets here and-"

"Chill out? Chill out?!" Danny started pacing. "My life was already crazy with the ghost powers, but over the course of the past week, I got into a Justice League base, figured I was probably a clone since I got past zeta security, accidentally learned Robin's AND Batman's secret identities, had my identity stolen who knows how many times, dealt with my overly suspicious scientist of a mom, found out I was a twin and not a Fenton at all, got attacked by my own dad, ran away from home, got attacked in an alley, and had to run for my life from a secret evil organization which I didn't even know existed! I think I'm pretty far beyond 'chill out.' "

Robin sighed. "Danny, in this line of work, it never helps to lose your cool. You have to keep a level head to stay in control."

"Cut me some slack! My whole life has completely fallen apart, okay?!" The rain, unrelenting, poured in rivulets down his face and plastered Danny's bangs to his forehead. "I-I can't do this! I need-"

"Yes you can do this!" Robin snapped. "All it takes is practice and discipline."

Danny turned on his heel and briskly stormed across the roof to face Robin again. "No, I can't! I can't do it! I have no control over what's happening. No matter what I tried to do or thought I could do…I'm powerless," he finished. Danny seemed to lose his steam all at once and suddenly wore a gaunt expression. He cupped his hands over his mouth and sank to the roof, eyes wide in unseen horror. "Oh my god, it's happening again, isn't it?" he squeaked. "It's happening all over and this time there's no undoing it. There's no evil me to send back to the future… Oh my god oh my god oh my god-"

Robin seemed to overcome his confusion at Danny's sudden change in attitude. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"It was-" Danny collapsed further. "No, it can't- Clockwork stopped it before but I can't now-oh my god," he finished with a whine and pulled at the hair on his head.

"Danny, you have to tell me what happened—what's happening!"

"I watched my entire family die at the hands of my future self," he said and began sobbing. "Th-they were—there was nothing I could do. They just…boom! Right in front of my eyes! Dead!"

Robin sobered. "I think I know what that's like."

"No you don't!" Danny shouted. "You don't know what it's like to watch everyone you love die at once! To just stand there while your family is wiped from existence."

Robin, his patience thinning, wore a temporary scowl. "I saw my family plummet to their deaths right in front of me when I was nine, and as you can see, it was much more permanent," Robin said, his words dripping with sass.

"O-oh…right," Danny said. He took a deep breath and suddenly looked down at himself. He sniveled loudly and wiped his eyes on his forearm. "S-sorry, I—I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Just—just ignore all that."

After a moment of silent appraisal, Robin smiled sadly. "You know, when this is all over, I could set up some one-on-one sessions with Black Canary? She's kinda the team therapist."

Danny appeared sheepish. "I don't know…"

"I didn't even mention the time my entire team and most of the world's population die in a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario. Canary helped with that too," Robin added. "We all have scars, Danny. And yeah, I guess the two of us have more unique ones than most. But you know what? We are secret superheroes. We deal. So pull yourself together, man. We need to stay calm to figure all this out."

Danny searched Robin's face for a moment before swallowing and nodding. He looked away and mumbled, "Sorry, it's-… It's been a long few days."

Robin sighed and shifted to sit next to Danny and lean against an air conditioning unit. It had certainly been a long few days for everyone involved. "So, you looked back in time, huh? We're really brothers?"

"Y-yeah, the master of time is kinda my guardian…"

"No shit," Robin mused in amazement. With another glance around, he took a deep breath of coastal air and appreciated the glistening beauty of their urban surroundings, interrupted only by the patter of rain on their clothes and the distant lull of evening traffic far below them. Robin quietly threw an arm around Danny and pulled him into a side hug. "Nice to meet you, bro."

Danny hesitated a moment before returning the hug, letting out a quick huff of a laugh. "Nice to meet you."

Robin pulled away at the sight of a distantly approaching bioship. "Alright, you're about to meet a Martian. Just…don't stare, and try not to drown in her enthusiasm."

This week's references and easter eggs:

- "I know this place like the back of my hand! ...That's new..." is a line from the classic animated movie Robots. RIP Robin Williams

- The song is A Maker of My Time by the Paper Kites, a song about not knowing who you are. See what I did there?

I am loving your feedback and loyalty! Thank you so much!