Welcome back, faithful readers, and a very warm welcome to new readers! Next week marks 1 YEAR of publishing Recognized and I am blown away by the reception and wide readership I have received. Thank you so much for encouraging me in this, my outlet of frustration and emotion which cannot be vented in my 'real' life.

Chapter 12 is significantly longer than chapter 11 (very nearly double the length) because a lot happens very quickly. I'm afraid I must warn you to keep a tissue box nearby if you are prone to expressing emotion in a tearful way... Man, Kid Flash is fun to write, especially when- well...you'll see. :]

Happy reading!

Shout-out to my beta team of DPTTRocks and TrollhunterMax!

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. 12 originally published: Friday, May 16, 2019

RECOGNIZED

Chapter 12

Rescue and Ruthlessness

As the bio-ship approached the rooftop, Danny's eyes began to light up. "Wait, that's not for atmospheric travel…"

"Nope," Robin confirmed and slapped a hand on Danny's slackened shoulders. "That's a Martian bio-ship."

Before he could elaborate, the ship pulled up above them and dropped ropes to the roof. The two teens grabbed on and were pulled aboard. A green-skinned girl jumped out of her seat to greet them.

"Hello, Danny!" she said with a smile splitting her face. She took his hand and aggressively shook it. "I'm-"

"Miss Martian!" Danny interrupted. "Protégé to Martian Manhunter! This is so awesome! I've been wanting to meet you guys since I was a kid! Well, Martian Manhunter since I was a kid. You haven't been here that long, obviously. At least, I don't think so. But ever since I decided to become an astronaut, I-"

"Whooooaaaa, clearly I was worried about the wrong person's enthusiasm," Robin chuckled and helped remove Miss Martian's hand from Danny's grip. The bio-ship shot off towards Happy Harbor.

M'gann, though, was undeterred. "Wow, it is so nice to meet a fan!" she chuckled. "My uncle and I sometimes get overlooked because we're not one of the big guys everyone knows, you know?"

"Are you kidding?! You guys are the best!" He noticed Robin's bemusement. "I mean, you're cool too, obviously, but-" he waved his arms wildly at M'gann and failed to whisper "-she's from outer space!"

Robin merely shook his head and sat down. "Try not to drown in his enthusiasm, M'gann."

"This bio-ship is 'from outer space' too," Miss M added. "She responds telepathically to my commands and can shape-shift to my current needs. Right now, for example, a compact speeder is all we need."

"So legit! Do all Martians look just like humans except green?" Danny asked, eager as a small child.

M'gann's smile drooped. "Um…no. A large part have red eyes and bald heads." She glanced to Robin who offered a shrug and a small nod. "Actually, I don't look like that either. This is just how I choose to represent myself on Earth to be less intimidating."

"Oh," Danny said, slightly confused. "So, if you don't mind, what do you really look like?"

M'gann sighed. "It's pretty scary for most people. I don't know if you would want-"

"Miss Martian, please," Danny leveled. "My friends and I binge-watch the Trinity of Doom, Cyber Zombie Commando and Dead Teacher series all the time."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Miss Martian transformed into her true white Martian form and anxiously rubbed one of her now-many elbows.

Danny couldn't speak. Not out of horror, but of utter awe and fascination.

"I think you broke him, M'gann," Robin quipped.

This seemed to snap Danny out of his trance. "Epic! Oh my gosh, Miss M…you look so awesome!"

"R—really?"

"Totally!"

"Green Martians discriminate against white Martians back home. We are…lesser, in their eyes."

"Not in mine," Danny assured. "You are currently the coolest person I have ever met."

M'gann transformed back to her green self and smiled.

"Hello, my name's Robin, I'm a protégé vigilante-slash-your long-lost twin brother, and I exist."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright, go ahead and wait in the common area," Robin said as the trio disembarked from the bio-ship. "I'll go see about a change of clothes so I can get my motorcycle gear back."

"Thanks."

Danny followed M'gann up to the kitchen and living area where Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad were already waiting. Upon reaching the room, everyone turned his way. Megan said, "Hey, everyone. You remember Danny."

"Hey again," Danny greeted with a small, awkward wave. He hovered in the corner and shrunk under everyone's gaze.

"Welcome home," Artemis drawled.

"Danny, do you want some cookies? Fresh baked!" Megan offered from the kitchen area.

"Um, yeah. Thank you." He took one from a telekinetically hovering plate and inhaled it in one bite.

"So you just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?" Artemis quipped. "We're going to have to put a 'Hello My Name Is' sticker on Danny so we can tell you all apart."

"Recognized: Zatanna - B08."

"This is turning into quite the party," Superboy added.

Danny turned around at the sound of high-heeled boots clicking down the corridor. Approaching was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, a raven-haired seductress sashaying towards him in a trouserless female interpretation of a tuxedo. Upon making eye contact, she gave a dazzling, confident smile and said with half-lidded eyes, "Happy birthday, sexy."

The next thing Danny knew, she had thrown an arm around his neck and pulled him into the most passionate kiss he'd ever received. Danny tensed before positively melting into it.

"Hey, um, Zatanna?" Artemis started amongst a spattering of suppressed snickers.

Zatanna removed her lips from Danny's and turned to face the room. "Way to kill the moment, Artemis," she said with a teasing smile.

A resounding thud echoed through the halls.

"I don't believe you've met Danny Fenton, Robin's genetic duplicate," Artemis continued and gestured to the boy, who had collapsed and now stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression. "Hey, Danny, you doing okay down there?"

"Fi-" His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. "I'm fine," he finished in a squeak.

"He's- What- OH MY GOD," Zatanna exclaimed as realization hit her in waves. She kneeled down next to Danny. "I am so sorry, I thought you were Robin! I mean, you look just like him, and—and I'm pretty sure those are his clothes, now that I think about it…"

Danny swatted away the hand she offered and pitifully wrestled his way up the side of an armchair, legs virtually useless. "Don't worry about it," he said, tumbling over the arm and plopping down in the seat.

Robin emerged from the corridor. "Hey, Zatann- Uh...Is Danny okay?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry, Rob, I thought he was you! You guys look identical!"

"Why? What happened?" he asked and looked around the room. Nobody seemed to want to make eye contact.

Seeing that Danny clearly wasn't recovering from his daze quickly enough to answer, Artemis answered after a short delay, "Let's just say she gave him your birthday present by accident."

'Bigger fish to fry bigger fish to fry bigger fish to fry-' Robin chanted mentally while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, well, it's time we address the elephant in the room," Robin said. "Some of you were present when Danny first came to the cave under my credentials. I have discussed this with Batman, and we have decided that you three—and the rest of the original team—might as well be privy to this information. But you must understand that this information does not leave this room. It jeopardizes our civilian lives and potentially thousands of people if this is not contained. Not even the rest of the League besides the founding members are allowed to know. Do you understand?"

He received a smattering of replies from everyone present.

"I—I am Dick Grayson. I would pull off my mask to show you, but this spirit gum takes a while to set," Robin continued with a short laugh. "Plus, I think him getting in with my credentials is evidence enough." He jabbed a thumb in Danny's direction. Danny grimaced sheepishly and avoided eye contact.

"I appreciate your decision to trust us with such sensitive information," Aqualad said. "But the question remains: If he is not you, who is Danny?"

"We are apparently twins separated at birth. There have also been mentions of Cadmus' involvement-"

"I hate those guys," Connor growled. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But," Robin continued, "nothing is confirmed yet. We only have suspicions."

At that moment, the television turned itself on, Batman on screen. "Batman to cave: Mission briefing in five. Suit up. That includes you, Fenton." The screen went dark.

Everyone turned to Danny. Mystified, they asked in unison, "Him?!"

"Me?!" Danny responded.

"Batman must think you can help," M'gann said. "And what Batman says, goes."

Robin held out some folded clothes and a pair of boots. Phantom grasped the clothing and immediately recognized the symbol on the breast. Wide-eyed, he looked back up at Robin. "But—but I can't wear this! It's yours!"

"You're already wearing all my civvies," Robin joked. "It's temporary. Besides, you must have a lot to learn about theatrics still. Imagine the enemy's confusion when suddenly two Robins are running around. Alright, everybody, suit up and meet by the zeta tubes."

Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered in the training area. The only way the group could tell the difference between the two Robins was observing Danny shift self-consciously within the skin-tight material.

Moments later, the computer announced Batman's arrival. It took him mere moments to notice something amiss about Robin. "Is that the prototype for Project Evanesce?" was his gruff inquiry.

"These are the only two suits in the cave which will fit both of us, and I thought Danny should have the standard uniform."

Batman glanced at the second nearly-identical Robin standing awkwardly off to the side. His only acknowledgment of the boy was a severely critical hum. Batman then strode across the training pad and summoned the holographic displays, calling up a file on their mission.

"This is a simple search and rescue mission. Your objective is to extract Vladimir Masters, who was taken from his Amity Park residence yesterday evening."

"Wait, Vlad?!" Danny interrupted.

"Yes. Cadmus vehicles were seen on-site, and witnesses speculated on the Light's involvement. Masters has been a Person of Interest to the League for years, and his sudden capture timed with the establishing of a connection between Fenton to Robin is suspicious."

"Witnesses?" Danny asked.

"Your friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. Foley contacted the League with this information indicating that Masters' prearranged retrieval is in exchange for information about the recent security breaches here at Mount Justice. It is being treated as credible information given the circumstances, in addition to Foley's movements since I began monitoring him."

"But, I'm the security breach. Why am I going?"

"Regardless of your personal involvement in this situation, your abilities may prove invaluable in this recovery mission."

"Wait, what abilities?" Superboy demanded.

"The boy we know as Daniel James Fenton is a metahuman," Batman stated.

The protégés immediately looked at the second Robin who shrunk under their disbelieving gazes.

"Way to just out me there, Batman," Danny said with a grimace. He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck.

"You get past my security protocols, you possess identical DNA to my protégé, your 'heroic' persona has a shaky reputation at best, and you exhibit a worrisome trend of declining academic performance and social standing," Batman growled, inching his way into Danny's personal space. "You currently have no right to secrecy with this team. Not when this entire situation apparently results from your actions and network."

Danny did his best not to cower into the cape hung over his shoulders.

Batman returned to the screens and pulled up satellite imagery. "We suspect the Light of having taken Vladimir to LexCorp's agricultural processing facility six miles east-southeast of Lebanon, Kansas. There has been an increase in activity for the past eighteen hours. Kid Flash has been alerted and will meet you on location.

"Get in, retrieve Masters, get out," Batman finished. "No confrontations, no unnecessary property damage. Refrain from your typical approach to 'covert' operations."

Danny noticed the gathered protégés all seemed to avoid making eye contact.

The majority of the journey passed in silence. Though of course, this was only from Danny's perspective. He watched everyone else on board exchange wordless yet increasingly passionate facial expressions. What Danny couldn't hear was the telepathic argument raging.

Eventually, the protégés settled on sending Danny furtive glances while the bio-ship blasted across the eastern United States. It wasn't long before Danny finally snapped. "Come on, somebody just ask already!"

The rest looked amongst themselves before M'gann weakly played dumb. "Ask you what?"

Bemused, Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"What are you?"

Superboy's blunt question shocked everyone on board, but Danny fortunately expected it. "I'm half ghost. Powers are pretty much what you'd expect," Danny said.

"Can you density shift?" M'gann asked, suddenly eager.

"More like dimension jump, but yeah," he answered.

Next was Zatanna. "Invisibility?"

"Yep."

"Can you fly?" inquired Aqualad.

"Yeah."

"Can you possess people?" Artemis asked drily.

Danny grew awkward. "I mean…I don't like to, but-"

"Wait, you can?!" Artemis exclaimed. "I was just joking!"

The true Robin leaned forward in his seat behind Danny. "Show them your anime girl transformation sequence," he muttered just loudly enough for the rest to hear.

"I do not have an anime…transformation…" Danny trailed off at Robin's knowing smirk. Sure enough, all eyes were on him. "I'd rather not."

Suddenly, his seat morphed back into the floor, leaving him standing in the middle of the cabin.

Danny scoffed. "Alright, fine, I guess you'd see it eventually. I have two forms: this, which is my human form that I spend most of my time in, and…Goin' Ghost," he cried with a slight blush of embarrassment and let his transformation wash over him. When no one spoke, Phantom struck a half-hearted heroic pose and drifted just slightly into the air. "Ta-da?"

Zatanna was the first to break the silence. "Nice!"

"Very cool!" M'gann offered.

"Yeah, I guess," Phantom mumbled and transformed back into the second Robin. He sat back down once his seat reappeared.

"Approaching coordinates," the real Robin announced. "M'gann, bring us in to the rendezvous point."

"Affirmative."

The bio-ship slowed and banked before coming to a silent rest amongst some trees. Upon disembarking from the bio-ship, they noticed a flagpole on a stone plinth, visible only by the adjacent streetlamp due to the nonexistent moonlight.

"Where are we?" Danny asked.

"Two miles northwest of Lebanon, Kansas."

"Also known as the geographic center of the United States," a new voice added smugly. The group turned to see Kid Flash leaning faux-casually against the bio-ship. " 'Evening, everyone. How are y'all doin'?"

"KF, nice of you to make it," came Artemis' dry response.

"Are my eyes deceiving me, or are there two Boy Wonders?"

"You remember Danny," Robin introduced. "Also, you owe me twenty bucks."

Kid Flash's casual demeanor vanished. "You were right?" he asked, despondent.

"Yep," Danny said, popping the P. "Serves you right for betting on me!"

"Whatever, dude," Kid Flash grumbled and handed a $20 bill to Robin.

"Alright, everyone, you know the task at hand," Aqualad spoke. "We are to locate and retrieve Masters with as little interference as possible. Robin?"

"Yes." The boy typed on his wrist computer and activated a holographic map of their surroundings. "Seven months ago, construction completed for a produce processing facility operating under one of Cadmus Laboratories' subsidiaries. Lead architects changed bi-monthly, a fact which we believe allowed Cadmus to modify the building plans without notice in order to accommodate less legitimate functions. This facility is currently twelve kilometers northeast of here off of US Highway 281." The hologram zoomed onto a cluster of industrial buildings. One building illuminated in red. "This silo adjacent to the main processing plant inexplicably shifted 50 yards south through the course of its construction. It is our first target."

"Robin, Artemis, Superboy and I are alpha squad. Kid Flash, Zatanna, M'gann and Danny, you are beta. Alpha squad will take control of security and identify any other suspicious spaces in addition to clearing a path—quietly—for beta squad. Beta, you will wait on the periphery until you receive the all clear and then perform extraction. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, shouldn't you call me…not Danny?"

"Yeah, because 'Not Danny' is so much more discreet," Artemis jabbed.

"You know what I mean," Danny snapped. "I'm not new to the superhero gig. I know that going by your actual name isn't the best idea. Isn't it…*Artemis?*" He smirked.

"Touché," she answered with a petulant growl.

"What is your normal alter ego?" Aqualad asked.

"Danny Phantom."

Artemis snorted. "You're one to talk."

"It's a pun on my real name, alright? Nobody gets it because they don't know I'm not full ghost, obviously, but my friends and I—look, cut me some slack, alright? I'm half-dead."

Everyone grimaced.

"That's a joke. …By the way."

M'gann let out an awkward chuckle.

"Phantom also works," Danny offered. "Though I'm not in ghost form."

"Ghost?"

"Too cliché."

"Spirit?"

"I'm not a hippie."

"Inviso Bill?" Robin joked.

"Just…no." Danny rolled his eyes when he saw Kid Flash snickering to himself. "Look, I'm kind of Robin right now, and they don't know about my ghost powers. Well, Vlad does, but…long story."

"Rockin' Robin?" Kid Flash suggested.

"Really? Really?"

"Sometimes heroes go with a color. Like Black Canary," Miss Martian suggested.

Danny looked down at himself, noticing the color dominating the uniform. "What, like Red Robin?"

"Works for me," Kid Flash replied.

Everyone else shrugged.

"Very well. Your temporary call sign is Red Robin. M'gann, link us up."

"Telepathic link estab-"

"Holy crap!" Danny—or rather, Red Robin—exclaimed out loud and gripped his hair.

"Our team communicates telepathically," M'gann explained.

"To avoid *detection,*" Kid Flash emphasized.

"Sorry," Red Robin offered.

"Everyone, let's move out," Robin instructed.

The team reboarded the bio-ship and covered the remaining distance. Soon, it loomed over the sprawling facility. The ship deposited the heroes on the edge of the large dirt clearing in the middle of a cornfield before collapsing into a sphere camouflaged amongst the crops. Beta squad waited patiently nearby while alpha infiltrated the compound.

"Who knew an evil lair in the middle of an isolated cornfield could be so creepy at night?" Kid Flash joked.

It took mere minutes for alpha squad to locate the facility's security office. With a sleeping gas grenade debilitating any resistance, the quadruplet of protégés took control of security, Robin successfully hacking into the system and linking its controls with his gauntlet computer.

"Phase one is complete," Aqualad said. "Robin, have you located Masters?"

After a few moments of typing, the teen replied, "Live energy mapping indicates three—no, four potential locations. One in the silo like we thought, another in cold storage, and two more across the main processing facility near management and packaging."

"Very well, we will have to divide to investigate them simultaneously," Aqualad commanded. "Zatanna and M'gann, check the packaging area; Kid Flash and *Red Robin,* the management. Alpha squad: Superboy and Artemis check the silo; Robin will investigate cold storage while I monitor security. Everyone, proceed with the mission."

"Sharing building schematics now," Robin announced, and soon the team's various devices loaded with plans and holographic models of the entire facility.

"Way to go, jerk," Kid Flash said once he and *Red Robin* had a telepathic channel of their own.

Danny halted beside him in the ventilation duct taking them to the management rooms. "What did *I* do?!" he cried in offense.

"You just HAD to go and be a superhero after all," Kid Flash grumbled. "I had to give Bird Brain all of my emergency snack fund for this week."

Danny scoffed and continued towards the office. "Oh come on, dude, it's not like it isn't obvious when you're a hero yourself and know what to look for."

"Whatever, man. Are we getting close?"

"I don't know. Let me just check this wrist computer which Robin *totally* taught me how to use," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Fine, I'll look." Kid Flash opened his own display. "Second branch on the left."

As they passed the first branch to the left, they heard a male voice coming from the room below. "-roject Kr," he said.

"Wait, hold up!" Kid Flash said and grabbed Danny's ankle. "I need to hear what they're saying!"

Danny jerked his ankle free of Kid Flash's grip. "Why?"

"I heard that guy say 'Project Kr.' That's what gave us Superboy!"

"And this matters…why?"

"Why would a bunch of farmers be talking about a top-secret Cadmus Labs project?" Kid Flash deadpanned.

The two boys crept into the branch of the air duct and stopped once they were next to the vent above the man speaking. He sat at a conference table while a woman paced and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the cornfields beyond.

"-was a disaster," the woman was saying. "I still resent those twerps for ruining all my research."

"Not all was lost, Doctor Spence," the man said.

"Really?" she replied bitterly. "Instead of serving us as intended, Project Kr is living its own life and helping the enemy."

"Hooo boy, Superboy would NOT like knowing they still call him an 'it,' " Kid Flash commented to Danny.

"Project Match is a disaster and virtually impossible to destroy, regardless of the fact that is a danger to our own research. After all that time spent cultivating the Kid Flash and Aqualad clones for Project Sidekick-"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Kid Flash screamed mentally. Danny winced under its telepathic volume.

"-it took was a single visit from Kr to release it from containment," Spence continued. "Within twenty minutes, both clones were brutally…*dismantled.*"

"Well, it's not as if we are totally unprepared for the Reach's arrival. Masters should relent in the next day or so and provide plenty of resources for your research," the man encouraged. "Besides, the Kid Flash and Aqualad clones may have been prematurely eliminated. But at least the Robin is operational."

Kid Flash and Danny immediately whipped to look at each other, both equally as shocked. Before Danny could react, Kid Flash pinned him against the side of the vent.

"You!" Kid Flash telepathically shouted.

"W-what about me?"

"Duh, genius, *you're* the clone!"

"Me?! N-no, dude! That can't be right! I'm his twin!"

"Yeah, sure, a twin who has the exact same DNA," Kid Flash drawled.

"But I saw! I was switched in the hospital! I'm a Grayson!"

"The only experience I've had was with Red Arrow, and he didn't realize he was a clone until after he'd finished his directive!"

"Red Arrow's a CLONE?!" Danny bleated in reply.

"Yeah, he is, and he almost got the entire Justice League under the Light's control before his programming let him realize what he was doing! Now, what. is. your. programming?" he demanded, grip tightening on Danny's borrowed Robin costume.

"I-I-I'm not a clone, I swear!"

"How would you know?!"

"I'd never even heard of Cadmus before all this!"

"Maybe they blocked it from your memory!"

Danny audibly grunted in frustration.

"Did you hear that?" Doctor Spence asked.

Kid Flash and Danny shared a thought at the same time: "Shit."

M'gann and Zatanna soon found themselves levitating invisibly over the expanse of packaging machinery which whisked corn and other vegetables here and there into a variety of boxes and cans.

"So you and Robin must be getting pretty serious if you planned on greeting him like that," M'gann teased.

Zatanna suppressed a chuckle. "Actually, we aren't really a *thing* yet," she replied in a coy tone. "Of course, that doesn't mean we haven't made out here and there…"

"Ooooo!" M'gann cooed.

"Hey Miss M, you see that door over there?" Zatanna suddenly diverted. She and M'gann focused on a heavily fortified door with a posted security team and multiple cameras and automated weapons. "Why are there WEAPONS in a packaging plant?"

M'gann telekinetically brought them closer. "I don't know, but it is suspicious."

"So how do we get in? Can you density shift yet?"

The Martian released a mental sigh. "Not very well. Uncle J'onn is so much better at it."

"SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."

"Great."

At the sounding of the alarm, the guards posted outside the door sprinted from their post. Suddenly, access appeared to be significantly easier.

"Actually, Miss M, this might help us," Zatanna chirped and waved her wand. "Eht rood si dekcolnu!"

The door's controls beeped before sliding it open just enough for a person to walk through. Still in camouflage mode, the two girls flew inside and immediately found a large, glass-encased holding cell occupied by an indignant man with long, silver hair.

Vlad, having looked up at the opening of the door, soon saw the slight distortion in the air where the two girls hovered. "Oh, they sent ghosts. How wonderful," he snarked, his voice hollow over the intercom. "And here I was hoping for a personal rescue."

M'gann released their camouflage. "We are not ghosts, Mr. Masters," she said. "I am Miss Martian, and this is Zatanna. We are-"

"-protégés of the Justice League; yes, I know," Masters interrupted. "How unfortunate you aren't ghosts. Luthor appears to have forgotten my supernatural alliances, yet his people anticipated your intervention. Please, feel free to wave your useless magic wand to try and open this savage cage." He waved a hand as if to offer permission.

As Vlad had anticipated, a barrier spell had been cast on his containment. M'gann's further attempts at telekinesis proved futile against the quadruple-reinforced cage.

"Perhaps Robin can hack it?" Miss Martian suggested.

"He would have to be here in person," Masters said. "This system functions independently with hardwire, not networked or wireless communication."

"Miss M and I found Masters in a room off of packaging," Zatanna communicated. "Robin, we could use your hacking skills, but we need you here in person."

"I'm—*grunt*—a little busy!" he replied.

"I'll try to help!" he replied immediately after.

"Wait…are you coming or not?" Zatanna asked.

"Oh, uh, *Red Robin* will help," Danny clarified.

"Great, you two sound the same even mentally," Artemis interjected.

"Ok, help is on the way," M'gann cheered to Vlad. "Just sit tight, sir."

"No, please," Masters said. "I quite enjoy being kept on display like a zoo exhibit."

"Look, do you want to be rescued or not?" Zatanna snapped.

"SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."

Pandemonium descended as security attempted to reacquire control of the facility. In a quiet corner near the cold storage vaults, a small area of the concrete gently swayed in the breeze being generated by the workers running past.

The movement eventually subsided, and the small portion of concrete swaying in the breeze flickered into a mass of black fabric. Robin then stood and let his cape fall behind him. "Project Evanesce works!" he cheered to himself.

Years of clandestinity allowed the teen to virtually disappear even without activating the Project Evanesce prototype. He soon found himself perched on a truss overlooking the storage facility. There were many open entrances to the cold storage rooms branching off the central space, but one in the corner remained shut, darkened, and guarded despite the chaos ensuing around it.

Robin took out an explosive Bird-a-rang and frisbee'd it into a storage room a few bays down. A loud but non-destructive explosion tore the guards from their post in front of the locked door, allowing Robin to parkour across the truss and drop down in front of it.

Unfortunately, one of the factory workers spotted him. "It's a protégé!" the employee shouted and pointed. "The bomb was a diversion! Security!"

But it was not security who pinned Robin to the wall.

"Hello…Bird Brain," Devastation growled.

"Always a pleasure," he grunted and struggled against the strength of Devastation's grip on his neck.

"Miss M and I found Masters in a room off of packaging," came Zatanna's update. "Robin, we could use your hacking skills, but we need you here in person."

"I'm—*grunt*—a little busy!" he replied. A flash grenade bird-a-rang startled the aggressor and allowed him to break free.

"This is DEFINITELY not a silo," Artemis drawled.

She and Superboy hid in an alcove 5 stories above the ground. Their perch allowed them to overlook a massive piece of machinery which appeared to be analyzing and producing samples of some sort of liquid. Despite the late hour in the evening, multiple scientists milled about the floor and a number of gangways. It wasn't loud, though there was a consistent hum of activity.

"What do you think they're making?" Superboy grunted.

"Considering it's Lex Luthor, my guess is…hair growth serum?"

Superboy chuckled under his breath. "At least I didn't get THAT part of his DNA. Well, whatever it is, it can't be good. If only we could get a sample without drawing attention."

"After we locate Mas-" Artemis began, but an announcement interrupted her.

"SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."

The facility descended into chaos. One scientist decided to look up and scan the upper volume of the silo, his eyes quickly locking onto the hidden pair of protégés. "Up there!" he shouted and pointed.

"Wow, we almost made it 5 minutes that time," Artemis quipped, drawing her bow.

A few seconds later, the cold storage door was re-locked with Robin barricaded inside.

The room was eerily dark and silent in contrast to Devastation's incessant yet unsuccessful attacks on the door. The only illumination came from a glass cylinder standing on display at the far end of the room. Robin crept forward, senses on high alert and breath misting in the chilled air. And when he was close enough to see saw what was contained…

It felt as if his stomach had filled with concrete.

"It was so kind of you to let us come over, Angela," Maddie greeted, leading Jack inside.

"Of course!" Angela Foley replied. "I would have invited you to dinner if I'd known you were coming earlier. Would you or Jack like some coffee and pound cake?"

"No, thank you, I'm afraid we don't have the time."

"Well, if our Tucker can help bring your Danny home any sooner, that's treat enough for us."

"Where is he?" Jack asked.

"In his room, I think," Angela replied distractedly before calling upstairs. "Tucker! Guests!"

Within moments, the boy came stampeding down the stairs before freezing near the bottom. Tucker withered under Mrs. Fenton's scowl. "Uuuuh, actually, I'm busy with homework. Talk to you guys tomorrow?"

Tucker turned to sneak back upstairs, but his mother caught the elbow of his sweater. "Tucker, dear, the Fentons think you can help find Danny. You do want to find your friend don't you?"

"Umm, I think he ran away for his own reasons," he said an octave too high. "Maybe just wait until he comes home?"

"Tucker Collins Foley, if there's something you know and are keeping secret, then so help me God-"

"Alright, alright!" he said and turned back to Maddie. "Come on up to my room. It's on my computer." He meaningfully darted his eyes at his mother after she had turned her back.

Maddie understood this was not for his parents' ears. "Of course. Lead the way, Tucker."

The ghost hunters followed Tucker to his room and shut the door behind them. Tucker cowered on the other side of the bed from them, the computer on the desk in between.

Familiar with psychological manipulation techniques, Maddie waited and stared at Tucker, remaining completely silent in order to extract what she wanted to hear. After a moment, the teen finally caved and broke the standoff. "We thought it would be best if Danny got a head st-"

"You sent us on a wild goose chase following some copycat ghost around town!" Jack barked. "What kind of idiots do you take us for?!"

"This is his hero's journey!" Tucker blurted.

Bewildered, Maddie said, "What?!"

"We studied it in English. It's like, something bad happens to him, he's on a quest to figure it out, then everything goes to shit-"

"Watch your mouth, Tucker!"

"Is that really important right now?!" he hissed, then continued. "He finds out he's not a Fenton, he even sees himself getting switched at birth, you guys—the only family he's ever known—attack him, so he runs away. The whole thing is out of our hands now; he has to figure it out. And when he does, he can come home."

"I'm not going to sit by and wait for that to happen! It's against my training!" she insisted.

"What training?"

"Yeah, what training?" Jack parroted.

Maddie scoffed and looked back at Tucker, her countenance darkening. "Not important. You're not a mother; you're not a parent yet at all. You don't understand a mother's need to protect her son. So you better get on board, Foley, or I tell my dear friend Angela why your grades have been suffering."

Tucker gulped. "You—you wouldn't."

Maddie crossed her arms.

"Y-you'd be outing Danny to someone outside the inner circle!"

Maddie's persistent glare was all the assurance he needed.

"I miss the days when all that mattered was how good your cookies were," Tucker grumbled and sat at his desk. After some brief typing, a profile with Danny Fenton and Phantom's faces opened on the screen. "This is his real ectosignature. I promise. But don't come crying to me when you're in too deep in this mess; you don't know the superhero life."

"Oh, Tucker," Maddie said with a fake, endearing chuckle and a pat to his cheek. She forcefully gripped his shoulders from behind the chair. "You're so cute when you underestimate me."

Red Robin tumbling in the door startled both the girls and the hostage. The newcomer somersaulted back to his feet as the door closed behind.

"Robin?" Vlad asked.

"How's it goin', V-man?" Red Robin greeted.

The captive immediately slumped. "Oh, brilliant. Why did they have to send you?"

"Missed you too, jerkface. Can we just get this over with?"

"This holding cell has been fortified against virtually all forces apart from the one at only our disposal," Vlad said with heavy meaningfulness. "I have been unable to escape due to the need to *keep up appearances,*" he added through clenched teeth.

Red Robin smiled and crossed his arms. "I dunno, I kinda like the look of you trapped behind glass."

"Red Robin, we don't have time for this," Zatanna interrupted. "Remember the mission!"

He scoffed. "Fine." Red Robin stepped forward and placed a black-gloved hand on the nearest pane of glass. The already transparent material turned intangible, allowing Vlad to calmly stride into freedom.

"So kind of you to rescue me during this trying time," Vlad cooed.

"You don't know the half of it," Red Robin growled.

Vlad smirked, though it was inwardly troubled. "I know more than you think."

Before Red Robin could send him more than an appraising glance, a gruff voice announced over the intercom:

"CLIPPED WING."

The protégés and Red Robin shared a glance. M'gann began, "What was-?"

"If I were you, I might stop trusting-" Vlad interrupted before being cut off himself.

"If I were you, I'd shut my trap and let the *heroes* figure out how to get you out of here!" Red Robin spat.

"If you'd only listen-"

"If you'd only leave me alone! I have enough crap to deal with without your opinions!"

Indignant, Masters snapped his jaw shut and remained quiet.

"Uh, guys? Guys?!" Kid Flash called. "We need backup in storage! They got Robin!"

Red Robin paled. "No…no! I'm not losing him! He's all I have right now!"

"Wait, Red, he'll be-" M'gann began, but he was already gone.

"We should go help him," Zatanna said.

"No, our mission is to extract Masters," the Martian replied. "We need to get him to a secure location before we can intervene."

"Please, do," Vlad snarked.

The trio encountered scores of armed guards as soon as they left the packaging annex. Instantly on high alert, M'gann levitated herself, Zatanna and Masters above the crowds and whisked themselves away to the nearest escape route. Zatanna noticed Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad slowly making their way through the chaos.

It was madness when Red Robin found Kid Flash and Robin. The speedster had been trying to get to his captive friend, but Devastation successfully kept him at bay. Artemis, Superboy and Aqualad had been separated by the guards to be taken down individually, leaving the storage bays in complete chaos and disarray as each protégé fought their own battle.

Using small, barely noticeable bursts of intangibility, Red Robin darted through the crowd until he was closer to where three armed guards held Robin hostage. Each of their automatic weapons pointed directly at Robin's head.

"Wait…" one of the guards barked, "there's another one?!"

Robin's condition shook Danny to his core despite both of them being no strangers to injuries from a fight. His brother's appearance clearly resulted from such a malevolence, such a heartless dehumanization, that Red Robin couldn't help but freeze when he finally broke through the chaos to where the Boy Wonder was held hostage.

Robin was heavily beaten. His cape was in tatters; what remained of his mask barely had enough structure to cling to his face, and it left his left eye exposed. He looked to be on the brink of unconsciousness and breathed laboriously. When Robin finally managed to look up, pain and betrayal colored his expression. A cough delayed the words he finally managed to croak:

"I'm—I'm not-"

It wasn't dramatic like in the movies: there weren't brains everywhere, nor did a body go flying from the force. There was almost no indication that it had happened at all, apart from the small trickle of blood down his forehead and the ear-splitting burst of noise. But as the thunderous echo died away, bringing the room to a momentary halt, there was no doubt in anyone's mind over what had just transpired.

Only then did Robin's corpse slump to the floor.

It took a series of deepening breaths for Danny to release a brief, tortured, wordless cry, his voice cracking worse than at pubescence. He dropped to his knees, jaw agape and tears already spilling. The guards descended, and he was captured, drugged and unconsciously hauled away before the team even knew what was happening.

A ferocious roar shattered the unsettling calm which had blanketed the room. This roar was not from Devastation; no, it came from an inconsolable redhead now hellbent on exacting revenge.

The dynamics of the fight changed immediately. Kick, punch, steal weapon, disarm, swing, punch, kick—Kid Flash was a yellow-and-red blur rapidly debilitating the Light's forces, pouring vengeance upon each as if they had been the one to murder his best friend.

The one who had actually pulled the trigger had intuitively gotten lost in the crowd.

Artemis left Kid Flash's wake of destruction to the superpowered team members and instead fought her way to the small group hurrying Robin's body away. It only took a moment and three tranquilizer arrows to stop them in their tracks, the corpse dropping in a haphazard heap. She immediately crouched over Robin's form and checked to see if he might miraculously still have a pulse. He didn't.

One guard charged at her, but without even looking up from her friend's body, Artemis withdrew a hidden knife from her boot and gripped it, ready to swipe. "Do you really want to try that?" she challenged.

The guard reconsidered.

Now with a wide berth, Artemis carefully repositioned her fallen friend to be prostrate on his back, arms folded over his chest. "Uh, guys? I need a, um—a—" She paused the telepathic message to unsuccessfully swallow her emotions. She settled on waving her hands around to mime what she needed despite no team members being in eyesight, tears threatening to spill. "—A, um…a…the cover thing? F-for a cor-…when someone dies?"

"Some plastic sheeting would function well enough for now," Aqualad somberly replied.

Artemis found some nearby and neatly wrapped it around Robin. After securing the makeshift shroud, the girl hefted his body across her shoulders and made her way towards the exit with great difficulty. Some of the goons caught on to the fact she was taking the body and made to stop her, but a violent shockwave originating from just behind her heralded the arrival of Superboy. Fortunately, the remaining forces focused on them had the decency to let them take their fallen colleague, particularly with the threat of facing the infamously temperamental Cadmus escapee.

Unable to otherwise communicate with Kid Flash, Aqualad finally resorted to using his water-bearers to sweep up the crazed teen in a wave of water. Kid Flash wailed and fought against the water, but it was no use. The pair fled, leaving the storage wing of the processing facility in shambles.

Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed. Nobody dared acknowledge the return of the trauma which had haunted them all since that infamous 'Failsafe' simulation: A member of the team was down. Robin's body laid reverently in the center of the bio-ship, covered in its makeshift shroud of stolen plastic sheeting.

After nearly an hour of silence, Vlad cleared his throat. "There's no need for this."

A red-eyed Kid Flash glared up at him, fury nearly as fiery as the speedster's hair. "You have no right to speak."

"Once again, if you would only liste-"

"NO RIGHT!"

The other protégés shrunk at his outburst. The only sign of it having affected Vlad as well was the flinch he couldn't disguise quickly enough.

Kid Flash stood and approached the billionaire. "My best friend just died trying to rescue your evil ass," he growled, poking Vlad in the chest for added emphasis. "You have no right to tell us what we do and do not have to feel. Robin is dead, and 'Danny' is captive in his creators' hands. You have the right to disappear, and scamper back to your empty little mansion, and wallow with the weight of the Justice League's best protégé's death on your pathetic little chest."

"Kid Flash, you know that we are all aware of the potential consequences of this career," Aqualad said in his typical low tone. "Premature death is almost guaranteed for us. This extraction, while having a low perceived threat, was no different."

For a moment, the only sound and movement was the bio-ship coasting across the midwestern skies. Eventually, Kid Flash's scowl morphed into dejection. He dropped his pointed finger and slunk back to his chair.

After a hesitation, Vlad said, "Either way, Robin is not dead."

Everyone turned to him.

"That" —he pointed at the corpse— "wasn't the real Robin."

In an instant, Kid Flash had Vlad pinned to the wall. "Now you listen, and you listen good, Masters," he threatened. "If you think that I will believe you for one second-"

"Axion Labs."

Kid Flash stopped.

"I was there," Vlad said. "So was Luthor."

The speedster hesitated. "But-"

"Think, boy," Vlad prodded. "Consider everything."

—

"…The Kid Flash and Aqualad clones may have been prematurely eliminated. But at least the Robin is operational."

—

"CLIPPED WING."

"Robin? …Robin?!"

—

'Clipped Wing.' 'Red Sun.' 'Broken Arrow.'

CLIPPED WING.

Kid Flash loosened his grip. "Danny wasn't the clone…"

Oh-ho-ho I pulled a sneaky on ya there, didn't I?

Lots of notes for this week:

- I haven't decided whether or not Danny will replace Tim Drake in the continuity of this 'universe' - 90% sure he won't - so his purpose at this point is merely to introduce the Red Robin moniker for Tim to assume later.

- This chapter is dedicated to reader Davidscrazy234 who suggested in an early review that Danny should be paired with Zatanna. I know that scene isn't quite what you meant, but I hope you enjoyed it if you're still reading!

- Big props to the few readers who suspected and guessed that Robin was the clone! QuietLeaf and Bananarock59, for two. There might have been others, but c'mon, there's more than 260 reviews now which I'd have to sort through...

- My wonderful beta pointed out that the Cadmus clones' shutdown words are references to their weaknesses, but I for the life of me can't think of one for Robin which would work. I mean, what would I put, "Familial Sentiment?" So for now, Nightwing is (er...was) both this clone's shutdown words and project designation. I will make it very apparent should this change as I publish future chapters.

- A reader on AO3 (Nilorin_Z) suggested 'Clipped Wings' as the shutdown word for Robin's clone, and it is brilliant and I wish I had thought of it myself. The instances of 'Nightwing' have been now replaced accordingly. But 'Nightwing' is still important to the story, so don't forget it. ;)

- No real Easter Eggs this month apart from Danny mentioning the Trinity of Doom, Cyber Zombie Commando and Dead Teacher series, all of which were involved with the plot of the Danny Phantom show at one point or another. There's also a reference to Bobby Day's 1958 smash hit "Rockin Robin" later covered by the Jackson Five in 1972. And, of course, Danny Phantom's alter-alter ego Inviso-Bill haha

Let me know what you think! *maniacal laughter with a slight sadness at the corner of each eye due to the emotional weight of what I'm doing to the Grayson twins* Did any of you guys see either of those twists coming? Did I sufficiently [temporarily] rip out your soul?

And don't worry, I PROMISE a happy/satisfactory ending. ;)

-hiimian