CHAPTER SIX
THE REAL HEROES
"Okay, this should be easy then," Sam contemplated while lightly pinching her chin. "We'll just hang out at my house until they're gone."
Tucker jumped out of his stupor, quickly getting to his feet. "Are you insane?! This our chance to meet a super hero!"
"We're best friends with a super hero, Tucker."
"Danny doesn't count! I mean a real, famous and liked super hero. No offense, Danny."
"Literally all of the offense has been taken," Danny immediately responded with a flat glare.
"Tucker's right about them being famous, though. And do you know what happens when famous people visit a small city? Crowds. Crowds of shallow idiots. So, let's stay at my house, or at least away from them, until they leave."
"You guys aren't understanding! This is our chance to show them that ghosts are real!"
"Why would we want to do that? They'd just get involved and ruin everything."
Danny ignored her and continued, "once the effects of the PM wears off, I can just fly up to them and say, 'hey guys, I'm a ghost. Ghosts are real and there are a couple of them that want to take over the world. So just, be prepared.' And then they'd buy some of mom and dad's equipment, save the day and prevent the Earths domination, and I might even be recognized as a hero for informing them of the threat!"
"Again, I'm going to say, they'd just ruin everything." Sam emphasized.
Danny looked her in the eye and suddenly, Sam wasn't looking at the friend. She made in the playground all those years ago. She was looking at a man with a teenagers face. She would never tell to anyone of the small butterflies she got from his gaze.
"Sam. I nearly lost this time."
Tucker started to protest, but he didn't get the chance to make a sound when Danny cut him off.
"I ran away for crying out loud! I left you guys in Undergrowth's hands! I-I was scared of coming back. I didn't want to come back to find..." Danny dropped his head to hid behind his hair, "to find… that I took too long or that I still wasn't strong enough…"
His head snapped up and he continued as if the mood hadn't become so dreary. "Imagine if Frostbite hadn't found me and I froze to death in the Ghost Zone. Who knows how long it would have been before the Justice League caught on to Undergrowths attack, and who knows how long it would take them to figure out what Undergrowth was and how to stop him! They are practically defenseless against ghosts right now! We can't let the Justice League be taken off guard by a ghost attack. We have to tell them. We can't keep pretending like I'm strong enough to keep all of the ghosts at bay by ourselves. And what if I…if I…" Danny swallowed, then quickly asked, "what if I get hypnotized again? Whose going to stop me? Vlad? No. We have to tell them, you guys."
Danny waited for a response in a long stretch of heavy silence. Tucker and Sam looked at each other, then glanced away. Both of them disturbed by the images Danny's rant had imposed.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to do this, with or without you guys."
"Yeah, we know Danny," Sam sighed. "What do plan on doing?"
Danny smirked. "Like I said a minute ago, just wait for the PM to wear off and then-"
"Just be like, 'tada! I'm a ghost! We exist! Yay!'" Sam mockingly threw her hands in the air.
"Yes. Basically, but with a little less sarcasm."
"Hate to break it to you Danny, but I don't think that's going to work. It's only been two hours since Vlad hit you with the PM and I don't think it's going to take the JL another hour to get here. And I can bet you a million bucks that Vlad is going to make sure to set up preventative measures to keep you from doing just that. I mean, if Vlad is with them when you show up, it's going to be your word against his."
Danny groaned and muttered, "I hate Plasmius," before straightening up and saying, "we have an hour, we'll figure something out."
"Riiight. But for now, Tucker, go home and rehide the PM."
"Why?!"
Danny blinked at Sam in confusion.
"Because, Tucker, under your mattress is the first place Vlad would check."
"How did you kno-"
"Ask your dad to keep it in his sock drawer or something. Vlad isn't going to look in your parents room, trust me; I hide things from my parents in Grandma Ida's room all the time."
Sam, Tucker, and Danny, after Tucker followed Sam's suggestion, scrambled to devise a plan on how to get to the Justice League members and how they would get them to listen. Twenty minutes after the trio left the fountain in the park, the Justice League arrived in Amity and immediately went to the courthouse to meet with the mayor, the police force, and the fire department. It was seventy minutes after that, the trio realized that Plasmius had upgraded the PM device; Danny had yet to regain his powers and he showed no signs of regaining them anytime soon. It took Tucker and Sam another twenty minutes to calm Danny down out of his brash angry panic. From there, Tucker asked Danny if he had any ghosts in his thermos that they could show the League members. Which caused Danny to excitedly remember that he did, in fact, have a couple of ectopuses from the night before Undergrowth attacked.
Danny hadn't realized how many police officers Amity had, but it seemed that the whole of Amity Park's police department was here. All of them guarding the flimsy, portable fence that had been hastily set up as a barrier to keep the citizens and the absurd number of reporters and cameramen away from the courthouse and the jet casually parked in the front lawn. The crowd that held quick, thrown together signs of praise and protest quietly murmured in excited anticipation. Danny was sure that they didn't have that many news stations in Amity. The trio had squeezed their way through to the front and now gripped the fence to keep their spot as people bumped and pressed into them.
"So, um... Danny, what's the plan?" Tucker asked, looking highly uncomfortable with the vast number of people within close proximity.
"I don't know yet," Danny replied, not taking his glare off the front doors, where he was sure the Justice League members would emerge.
"We might want to come up with something quick. Something tells me that if Vlad has his way, the League won't be here long." Despite her dislike for the Justice League, Sam's voice held worry.
"I know that, Sam. But it's a little hard when there are so many guards and people!" came the snappish response from her tense friend.
He took in a deep and purposeful breath and slowly let it out. Once he was done, he guiltily glanced at his two friends to his left.
"We're just going to have to wait for the right moment."
Sam gave him an uneasy nod, while Tucker seemed to not have heard and was nervously eyeing the spaced out line of cops in front of them. Just then the crowds murmuring turned into a jumbled roar of excitement and shouted questions. The front door to the courthouse had opened and the mayor emerged. Danny's anger boiled up with new vigor. He was sure that if he had use of his powers that he would not have been able to hold himself back from attacking the man that leisurely strolled up to the podium and calmly took in the crowd expressionlessly. He didn't say anything, made no gesture for the citizens to quiet down. He just stood there, waiting.
"Huh, Danny?" Tucker whispered and unconsciously leaned way from the man at the podium not even a hundred meters away that his best friend seemed to be trying to kill with heat vision that he didn't have, "shouldn't we hide or something?"
"I am not hiding."
The intensity of the growl Danny spoke with caused Tucker to shrink back.
"Danny, calm down," Sam instructed, "you're going to miss the 'right moment' if you don't keep you head on straight. As a matter of fact, you'll probably do something to get yourself in juvie if you don't drop the ideas going through your head right now."
Danny's gaze snapped over to Sam. "But he-"
"Honestly, Danny! He hasn't even started talking yet and you're about to blow a gasket! We should leave if you can't get it together."
Sam held his furious gaze and Tucker awkwardly watched from the sidelines. Danny finally broke and looked away.
"I'm good."
"Are you?" Sam pressed.
"I'm good!"
Even though he had snapped at her, she could see him working to get it together.
"What is Plasmius doing?" Tucker wondered, bringing the attention back to the present issue.
"I don't know..." the goth provided helpfully.
Apparently, the people of Amity started wondering the same thing and quieted, waiting for their Mayor to provide them with answers or something. Once a relative silence took over the mass of people, a small vainglorious smirk made it's way onto the Mayor's face and he took a step forward, closing the remaining distance between himself and the podium.
"Citizens of Amity Park," his voice rang clear through the speakers, "though this weekend has been traumatic for all of us, we have walked away from disaster victorious without missing a step. There has yet to be a single reported death, and only thirty-two injured, not a small feat for a city wide disaster."
Sparse whooping and hollering started a full on cheer from the people pressed around the trio.
"And not even twenty-four hours after the attack and we are already have clean up committees of volunteers, donations from our good citizens to fund the reconstruction of the city, and the strength and kindness you have shown one another in this time makes me proud to call myself your mayor."
The roar of approval peaked to near deafening , while Danny silently watched. Vlad seemed so sincere, Danny might have fallen for it, if he didn't have the image of Vlad's haughty face from this morning as he sneered out the words "this... fine city" in his head. Looking over to his friends he saw Tucker with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clamped down on his ears and Sam's eyebrows furrowed as she chewed on her glossy purple lip. She met his eyes and he gave her a determined nod; Vlad may have the crowd under his thumb and possibly the Justice League, but they can do this. There was no way Danny was going to let the Justice League leave, ignorant of the potential dangers that lurk in Amity.
"Now, as you are all already aware, we have had the honor of receiving the aid of the Justice League themselves in investigating what transpired this week."
The speakers gave a low screech as the mayor spoke and a volly of mixed shouts emitted from his audience. He held up a hand in a placating manner, easily calming them down.
"Now, I am sure the League would have come to our aid sooner, if the plants had not cut off all our means of communication. But they are here now and they have come to the conclusion that our city is strong, resilient, coordinated, and in good hands."
Again, the crowd cheered their approval of the praises, but the more Vlad spoke the more uneasy Danny felt. Plasmius was good; it had only been minutes and he had the citizens eating his every word. The billionaire at the podium scanned the horde of people as they continued cheering. Danny's grip on the metal fence tightened and he steeled himself with stony determination as the Mayor's gaze locked onto his. The man had an unreadable expression that wasn't entirely blank and quickly moved past the small exchange.
"They have decided that our police force, the government agents, and any others working to stop those behind these disasters are capable of the task. As such, we do not require their assistance."
"Aw man!" Tucker bemoaned along the rest of gathered citizens. Although, there were a few lone shouts of "they shouldn't have come in the first place!" "we don't need them anyway!" and "that's right! We have the ghost boy!" Danny didn't know if he should scream in frustration or puff out his chest with pride.
"Danny!"
Suddenly Sam latched herself to his arm. He hadn't noticed her maneuvering around Tucker to get to him.
"I have an idea. But it's going to be cutting it close."
She sent a sideways glance at the closest officer to them, trying to determine the likelihood of him being able to hear her scheming. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she leaned in inconspicuously and ran through her plan. Danny liked the simplicity of the plan, but he couldn't help but ask about the minute technicalities that could present a problem, but Sam had an answer for every one of them. Vlad had resumed speaking, but neither of them payed attention, too engrossed in their discussion. Suddenly their conversation was drowned out by cheers and screams of excitement.
That's when Danny saw them: the superheroes. The real superheroes. The Flash, the Question, and the Superman, all walking up next to Vlad and the podium with more microphones than Danny thought reasonable. The cameras flashed and the people screamed and squealed. Superman had a kind and jovial smile as he waved to the crowd and as he shook the Mayor's hand. The hero before him with his bright red, billowing cape and the uniform that hugged the muscles that had caught planes and punched through mountains, with the masculine, yet kind, face and jet black hair, could only be described as just that, a hero. At that moment, looking at Superman, Danny understood why the majority of Amity didn't see him as a hero and he couldn't really blame them if that was their reference for what a superhero was. These were the people that would save the earth if he ever failed to.
"Hello, good people of Amity Park." Superman's voice carried through the speakers. "It is a honor and pleasure to stand among such a hard working, strong willed, and prepared community. The task force investigating the disaster have already determined the cause. They have found traces of a chemical compound with a name that I'm currently unable to pronounce," Superman admitted and the Flash looked like he wanted to say something, but was dissuaded by a slow shake of the head from Question, "in the plants that had been previously stollen from Axion Labs. The compound had been slightly modified, but the scientist of Axion Labs say that there is no mistaking it. The compound was most likely administered to a single plant as a test without the proper precautions. As it was designed to do, the plant grew to unnatural sizes. The compound was released into the air via the original plant's pollen, which caused a chain reaction causing all of the plants in Amity Park to grow exponentially. Thankfully, a flaw in the compounds design stopped the plants from doing anymore damage than they already had. Plants that are given the compound only survive up to two days. Unfortunately, a fungus with hallucinogenic properties had been effected by the compound, which may have caused unexplainable behavior and memories for the majority of Amity's citizen. There are no long term effects of the fungus, but if you do start displaying concerning symptoms, please do not hesitate to visit a doctor."
"What?" Sam hissed furiously. "This is a load of bull! Do they honestly believe all that?"
As Superman continued to talk about the culprits, Danny shook his head. "It doesn't matter now, we don't need them to believe that this was a ghost attack, we just need them to believe that ghosts exist."
Danny's eyes widened at the sting of curses that Sam spat out.
"Danny."
"Ye-yeah, Sam?"
Her piercing violet eyes bore holes into his. "You had better make this work. Because if you do than I'll have an in with the League and can chew their sorry a**** out for incredibly stupid they are."
"…right…"
"He's wrapping it up, so hurry and get into position." Sam sent a scathing glare at the man at the podium.
"Right." With that Danny did his best to high tail it out of there, but the crowd was reluctant to any shuffling about.
Danny made his way towards the nearest officer, keeping a tight grip on the fence and calling out, "Excuse me! Excuse me! I dropped my cellphone!"
Mostly people ignored him and he had to shove his way through, receiving a few disgruntled glares. He didn't have to go far, but once he got to his destination, the League members had already said their farewells and were at the bottom of the steps. Before he gave the signal, his attention was drawn to Vlad, who was staring questionably at him. Danny sent him a smirk that made the Mayor faintly scowl, before he once again moved on. Leaning over the fence, Danny looked back at Sam, who was anxiously waiting for him to give her the go-ahead, Danny nodded ever so slightly and she immediately got to work.
He watched the officer in front of him as his attention was drawn in the direction that he knew Sam and Tucker to be. At first the officer maintained a professionally stoic face, but it eventually concern leaked through. He grabbed the walky-talky on his front pocket and spoke into it.
Danny's grip tightened on the fence and he bounced on his feet as he watched the heroes slowly made their way to the jet.
"C'mon Sam, hurry," he whispered.
The officer's eyes widened and he quickly left his post, speaking urgently into his radio. As soon as the officer was out of range, Danny hopped the fence and ran like his life depended on it. Curiosity momentarily took over and he glanced back at his friends what he saw nearly caused him to trip; Tucker lay on the wrong side of the fence with his glasses askew on his face, apparently unconscious. That had not been a part of the plan. He didn't have time to worry about it though, several police officers had noticed his escapade and were now closing in on him, looking like they're about to tackle him to the ground.
He didn't have far to run but already there was an officer on each of his sides and another, a blonde in his early twenties, had managed to get in front of him, cutting him off. This didn't slow Danny down as he ducked a grab from the middle aged cop to his left and actually slid underneath the blonde, probably staining the seat of his pants on the lawn grass. Eyes locked on target, the Justice League members not fifty feet away, he expertly sprung back up, not losing a bit of momentum.
The three heroes had halted their journey to the jet to watch the commotion. Question and Flash would not have stopped if Superman hadn't. They usually don't stop for crazed fans as it usually causes the situation to escalate and creates more problems. But Superman recognized the kid, Daniel Fenton, the son of the "paranormal experts" that were consulting for the investigation and, coincidently, the source of Dick Grayson's stress and absolute joy this last month. Superman remembers seeing Nightwing at the watchtower a few weeks ago, humming and practically bouncing down the hall. When he inquired about his good mood, Nightwing grinned so brightly it was impossible not to join him and said that they would have to meet up as civilians to talk about it.
And last night, Nightwing had been more panicked than Superman had seen him in a while, all out of concern for the kid who had just set up a diversion with his friends and was now out running the Amity Park police force… almost. Just as Daniel got up from his slide, the very officer he had slid under was quick enough to turn around and grab the back of Daniel's shirt. He would have fallen on his butt with the sudden stop if the blonde cop hadn't yanked Daniel back and pulled him into a not-so-friendly-hug.
"Wait, wait! No wait! I need to talk to-Oomph!"
The officer forced him to the ground and began the process of cuffing him. Daniel didn't resist or fight back, but he did work to get his face out of the grass to verbally protest. Before the young officer could actually get the cuffs on, Superman spoke up.
"Excuse me, officers."
Everyone within proximity to hear seemed to freeze, all staring astonished at the speaker.
"I understand you are just doing your jobs, but would you mind letting him go so that I can hear what he has to say?" Superman walked toward the group of police men and the fallen boy, who was staring with his mouth hanging open.
Officer McCartly, the young blonde currently on top of Daniel, nervously glanced up at the senior officer. The elder gave him a small curt nod, and Officer McCartly got up.
"Uuh, Superman? Waddya doing?" Superman heard Flash ask, but ignored him. Instead he bent down and offered Daniel a hand up. The boy quickly closed his mouth and grabbed onto the extended hand, but hardly used the support as he got up. As he did so, the volume of the crowd behind him lowered, as if they hoping to hear what Superman had to say to the delinquent. Looking into the eyes of heroism as they stared kindly back, Danny was sure that the only reason he had made it this far was that the stars had predestined for that obnoxiously loud voice to shout, "Fentina!?" in this very moment. Danny cringed but refused to acknowledge Dash any further. Superman either missed the nickname or ignored it.
"Now son, what was so important to say to us that you set up a diversion with your friends to make it past the police officers?"
Danny shrunk into himself a little bit. The policemen still hovering around all scowled at him. But before he could say anything, the dutiful Mayor of the City butted in.
"I would like to know as well. Really Daniel, that was quite devious of you." Vlad nodded to the policemen and they dispersed, and he continued without waiting for a reply, "gentlemen, this is my nephew, Daniel Fenton."
"We are not related." Danny bit out.
By now, the other two heroes approached as well.
"Well, not by blood," Vlad somewhat relented with a 'friendly' smile that irked Danny.
"It is good to meet you, Daniel." The tall hero politely tried to get the conversation moving.
"Danny. My name is Danny." He took a breath to reign in his temper, then insisted urgently, "you can't leave yet."
The Flash raised an eyebrow and asked, "and why is that, kid?"
Danny sent an involuntary glance at Vlad, who stood quietly with a completely neutral expression. The unconcern the man displayed caused Danny's confidence to falter just enough for him to question the likelihood of this working. But he squared his shoulders, looked Superman in the eye, and stated, "the ghosts are real."
"Oh boy, not this again," Flash drug his hand over his face, "look, kid. Your parents already went through this with us, we've had all the convincing we need. Trust me."
Superman sent Flash a disapproving frown, then turned back to Danny.
"I'm afraid he's right. We've been informed of the problem already, but your parents seem to have a handle on it."
"No, no! You don't understand! They're are actually real! Here..!" Danny desperately fumbled with the thermos lid, but before he could get it open a firm hand covered his, stoping his efforts. Looking up, Danny saw Superman worriedly look over the contraption, before meeting his eyes.
He got down on one knee and placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Listen Danny," he began as he easily slipped the thermos from the wide eyed boy, "I understand that what happened this week was frightening. But I promise you, everything is being taken care of; you're safe. We wouldn't leave if you weren't."
"But…but… You are! The city…" Danny hesitated. If he said that the city wasn't safe, he would be admitting to Vlad that he couldn't handle the ghosts, but if he didn't say something the heroes would leave. A wave of confusing emotions crashed around inside his head, making it impossible to think.
Superman stood up and Danny's eyes watched his only hope to get the Justice League to listen as the hero handed it to Vlad. He met the man's pitying gaze and tasted bile coming up his throat.
"I'm sorry, Danny," Superman spoke sincerely, "but it's time we leave. Trust Mayor Masters, trust the police department, and trust your parents, okay? You're safe."
The teenager stood there, his mouth working to get something out as the heroes began boarding the jet.
"Wait! No, don't-!"
A large hand rested on his shoulder, squeezing too tightly to be friendly. Flash and Superman gave one last wave farewell to the crowd and to Danny. When the jet sealed itself, the hand lightly pulled, urging him to step back. Danny growled and ripped away from the contact. Surprise flickered across his face as the senior officer stood there with his hand still outstretched. Danny could feel Vlad staring at him, the whole town staring at him. But he didn't look, he didn't wait for anyone to say anything. He didn't want to hear it. So, he ran.
He shoved through the crowd, who eventually gave him room to pass.
He hadn't consciously stopped running, but before he knew it, he found himself walking with his hands shoved in his pockets towards FentonWorks. Most of the windows were smashed. A large gaping whole took the place of a second floor window. Rotten vines still clung to the red brick. The front door hung loosely on one hinge. Quietly stepping around the door, Danny entered the silent house. With no expectation of the lights to come on, Danny flipped the small switch on the wall. The soft click filled the empty hallway and did nothing more. He stepped further into the house, glass crunching under his shoes.
Several steps from the stairs were missing. The banister splintered and bent the wrong way. The living room and the kitchen faired no better than the stairs. The refrigerator had been tipped, and the sink no longer had a faucet. The cupboards contents spilled onto the counters and floor. Back in the living room, stuffing from the couches littered the ground. It honestly looked more like a giant rabid dog had been set loose in house rather than killer shrubs. But the stiff, black, draping, plants that clung to everything proved otherwise.
Danny attempted to use the ruined stairs to get to his bedroom, but the first step crumpled beneath his foot. He slowly stepped back, staring at the damage blankly. Against his will, his breathing picked up and his blank stare twisted into a heated, disgusted glare. With a cry, Danny swung and punched the wall.
The familiar rumble of an engine and screeching tires pulled up to the front of the house.
"Let's do this, Maddie! No way us Fentons are going to let some plant damage keep us out for long." His dad excitedly proclaimed as several car doors shut.
"Um, Dad, realistically, it's going to be a while before the house is inhabitable. The damage is pretty extensive." Jazz' flat response came.
Maddie, with her hood and goggles on, first approached the house. Danny watched her inspect the front door, before wrenching it from the frame and dropping it into the yard. She turned back around with her hands on her hips, ready for the challenges ahead of her. Her sturdy demeanor dropped and she gasped when she saw him.
"Danny! My baby boy!"
She rushed forward to envelop him in a tight hug, but he stepped back and pushed her arms away, refusing to look at her. She pulled back.
"Sweetheart, are you all right? Where have you been?"
"Danny is already here? See, Jazzy-pants? I told you he would be fine!" Jack stated with pride as he and his daughter entered the house.
"Danny! You shouldn't run off like that! Especially with out a cellphone! Oh my- it smells rancid in here! What is that?"
"It's just the mildew and dead plants, Sweetie." Maddie answered, tearing her gaze from the silent teenager who still wouldn't look at anyone.
"All right, Fentons! We have a lot of work to do! I say, we start by burning all of this ghost forest gunk." Jack kicked at the dead leafs on the ground to emphasize his point.
"We're moving it all to the back yard first, right Dad?"
"Right!" Jack beamed. "Danny, you go see what tools you can find that we can use to get this stuff out."
When he didn't receive a response, he grabbed the teens shoulder. "Dan-?"
Danny whacked his hand away and yelled, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
They all stood in shocked silence, staring wide eyed at the outraged glare he was giving Jack.
"Dan man? What-"
"ALL OF IT! ALL OF IT IS ALL YOUR AND MOM'S FAULT! YOUR STUPID OBSESSION RUINED EVERYTHING!" He screeched.
"Danny!" His mom and Jazz gasped together.
"NO! SHUT UP! I just, I just, I HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF YOU!"
He briefly registered his dad's hurt expression and how he subtly reached out for him, before he darted out the door.
Dick bounced his knee as he sat on a wooden bench in the city square near the courthouse. It had been twenty minutes since the League members had left and the majority of the crowd had dispersed. The barriers had been taken down, and the police had left. Small groups of people still lingered, socializing as they waited for the possibility of something else accruing. His fingers began to drum on his knee. He checked his watch.
A large white limo pulled up to the courthouse stairs to his left. When he heard the doors open behind him, a group of reporters flocked past him. Turning in his seat he saw the mayor, Vlad Masters, easily ignore the cawing mass that tried to swallow him. Several men in uniforms got the them to back up as the chauffeur opened the car door. Masters by chance looked up directly at him. Dick watched the mayor take a minuscule double take. The mayor's eyes lingered, before he disappeared into the car.
Dick didn't watch the limo as it drove off, instead he checked his watch again and glanced around the perimeter. This time, he spotted who he was waiting for. Clark Kent easily strolled in his direction and gave a small wave near where Dick had parked his motorcycle. Not returning the greeting, Dick jumped up and closed the remaining distance.
"Uncle Clark! Have you found them, have you seen him, are they okay?"
"Yes, Dick, I've seen all four of them. None of them are injured. Danny has a small electrical burn on his back and he's sporting a couple of bruises, but that's it. He's fine, they're fine." Clark smiled.
Dick sagged into Clark, hugging him tightly. "Oh, thank god!"
"Didn't Bruce say to stay out of Amity until at least two hours after the news had been on national television, and not, you know, ten minutes?"
"It was advised. But that's unimportant!" Dick dismissed as he stepped out of the embrace. "Do you know where they are, where Danny is?"
Adjusting his glasses, Clark briefly scanned the crowds. "About that... he, uh, actually slipped past the police to talk to me. Well, he tried, but they got him at the last second. He set up a diversion with his friends and everything! I was actually impressed."
"Please, tell me you listened to what he wanted to say."
"Not as much as he would have liked, I'm afraid. I did try and listen, but I was unable to hear him out. The crowd was getting anxious with the delay and I was worried that more people would start trying to get past the police." Clark rubbed the side of his head. "He was trying to tell us that the ghosts in the town were real with one of his parents devices, but we had already been through it all with his parents and their inventions were… less than predictable. I'm sorry, Dick, I wanted to listen to him more, but I didn't… yeah, he didn't take it very well."
"Clark, it's okay. I think you made the right call. Not the one I would have made, but I'm slightly biased."
The man of steel chuckled, "I know. But he wasn't with his parents and he ran off without his friends. I'm not sure where he is now."
Dick heaved a sigh and shifted his weight. "Hopefully, he's at his house. I'm going to head there and at least meet up with his parents."
"Alright Dick, the best of luck to you and be careful."
"Thank you so much, Clark. You've done me so many favors today," he said as he swung a leg over his motorcycle.
"No, the crisis needed to be investigated, thank you for bringing it to our attention. I honestly think we should be watching this city a little more closely. It's a hotspot for the unusual."
"That," he shoved on his helmet, "is a truth. I'm off. thanks again!"
"You're welcome, and again! Be careful!"
Dick sped off, giving Clark a small salute.
Pulling up to FentonWorks, he spotted Jazz sit on the front stairs buried in a book. She looked up when the engine cut off, and delicately wiped at her bight pink nose. When he pulled his helmet off her eyes widened.
"Dick?! Did you-did you drive all the way here on that?"
"It's good to see you too! And yes I did. No one was answering my calls, and I got worried. Are you all all right?"
"But- you know what? I don't care." She closed the book and stood up. "Where all fine, uninjured, physically that is. Thank you so much for coming all the way here just to check."
"Physically?" He pressed, taking in her wet eyes and slightly runny nose.
"Yeah." She bit her lip and looked away. "Danny, he was here before us, I don't know why though he said he was hanging out with Sam and Tucker, but when we got here he… I don't know! He just exploded and he was yelling and I don't know why! But he said- he said some things I know he didn't mean and he just ran off without- without… he was really upset, Dick…"
She sniffed again and hugged herself tightly, but kept her head up. The deep concern lined on his forehead and his piercing blue eyes wholly focused on her every word.
"My parents are inside. We had a.. um yeah. They don't understand what happened either. I stole the keys to the car to keep them from going after him, so he would have time to cool off. But I don't know if- if any of us will be a comfort right now…"
Her tears began to spill over, but she harshly rubbed them away.
"Dick, could you go and talk to him? And just- and just… I don't know, help him somehow?"
"Yes, of course I will, Jazz. Do you know where he went?"
"Um, yeah. Sam and Tucker were here a while ago, looking for him too. They found him near the lake in the park, the west side. He goes there a lot, when he's dealing with stuff. But Sam texted me to let me know they found him."
"So his friends are with him?"
"Yeah, but they're not… they won't… could you still go to him? Please?"
"I will, don't worry, I will. But I think I may know what he's upset about. A friend of mine, a reporter, was there when the Justice League spoke to the city and he said that there as a kid, who looked like me, that made it past the barriers and tried to talk to the League. It looked like they didn't listen."
Jazz cupped a hand over her mouth.
"I'm going to go find him now, but could you point me in the direction of the lake?"
"Oh, um, yes of course."
Tada!
Doing the laundry is very good advice.
Rosy is done here...
for now.
Date Posted: 11-5-17