AN: People seemed concerned about the fact that I killed Dani. To which I say: Did I say she was dead?
We gonna do another time jump here because it would be weird if the very first mission Danny went on JUST HAPPENED to be relevant to the overall plot. That's something that bothered me about the original show, that almost all of their missions coincidently involved the Light's plots. So from here on out, you can pretty much assume that they are going on other missions that I don't talk about because they would be fairly pointless side trips from the main story. Cool? Great! Let's go.
I'm not making any money off of this, because I don't own any of these characters. Which is a real shame. I could some extra thousand dollars.
Robin narrowed his eyes, staring at the building. Security was tight, but not the worst he had ever seen. Definitely not worse than any he had infiltrated before. Unfortunately, it was worse than anything he had tried to infiltrate with the team before. He wasn't confident in their ability to get in unseen.
"What do you think Rob?" Kid Flash had run out of patience. "Can we get in?"
"I can get in. Not so sure about the rest of you."
"Hey!" Miss Martian protested. "I can engage camouflage. They wouldn't see me."
"Maybe not," Robin acknowledged. "But they have thermal scanners as well. They may not spot you with the naked eye, but your heat signature would give you away."
"... oh." Miss Martian's voice was very small.
"What would you suggest Robin?" Aqualad asked. He knew that the Boy Wonder was best equipped for these types of scenarios.
Robin thought carefully, taking another long look at the building. He discarded several plans before finally making a decision.
"I could deactivate the security systems, but I need to be in the building to do it."
"How are you going to manage that?" Artemis asked, fingering her bow. "You got some super secret Bat trick that lets you become invisible to thermal scanners.?"
"Well, yes." Robin said with a smirk. "But I was thinking it would be easier to just use Danny."
"Wait, what? Me?" Danny sounded completely shocked that Robin would want his help to sneak into the building.
"Well, yeah." Robin wasn't sure whether he was amused or frustrated at Danny's surprise. "You can become completely undetectable to all known types of security systems, except ghost ones, and you can even get past those by using your human half. You're kind of the perfect safe breaker, Danny."
"Oh. Right. Sorry, it's just… the idea of using my powers that way… reminds me of someone I knew once."
Robin and KF exchanged a glance. They knew there was a lot in Danny's past that he didn't like to talk about. It hadn't been a problem yet, and they hoped that it wasn't about to.
Aqualad seemed to be having the same idea. "Danny, if you are uncomfortable, you can wait in the bioship."
"What? No! I'm fine guys. I am one hundred percent committed to this. It was just a passing thought, not a big deal at all. That man was far from the worst thing to happen to me."
Robin was relieved to hear Danny sounding more like himself. He could get into the building alone, but it would be much easier with Danny's help.
"Well, you ready to go then?" he asked cheerfully.
Danny's determined voice came through the mind link. "Let's do this."
Danny floated over to Robin, grabbing hold of him. Both boys vanished from sight instantly. Danny carried Robin over to the building, phasing through the wall. Robin wasn't sure he would ever get used to the feeling of going intangible. The closest he could get to describing the sensation was a weird tingling, but that didn't really do the feeling justice.
Once inside, Robin used the mind link to direct Danny to the nearest terminal he could use to access the security system. Danny set Robin down before grabbing hold of the terminal. Once the terminal was also intangible, Robin was able to interact with it. He quickly got to work, creating loops and blind spots in the buildings security system.
Robin had been shocked at first when learning about Danny's different abilities. Many of them made absolutely no sense, breaking the laws of physics in a way that not even magicians were capable of. When asked how his powers worked, Danny had just shrugged.
"Ghosts are from a different dimension." he'd explained. "They borrow physics from there. I mostly just don't question it."
Any further attempts to figure out Danny's powers had ended the same way. Danny brushed off the exact explanations on how his powers worked, more focussed on learning to control them. Everyone else had given up eventually. Kid Flash had held on the longest, determined to figure out the rationale behind ghost abilities, but without access to more ghosts, or better yet, the Ghost Zone itself, it was hopeless.
Robin had adopted Danny's mentality on the issue. It worked, knowing exactly how was secondary. That didn't mean he wasn't amazed about the fact that he could hack a machine while being completely intangible. He was, but he cared more about doing his job than he did about marveling at this anomaly of science.
"Done." Robin said, pulling away from the terminal. "You guys should be able to get in now, as long as you aren't spotted by any guards."
"Good job." Aqualad turned to the rest of the young heroes. "Team, split up and look for signs of drugs. Batman was sure that a big deal was going down tonight. We need to know who is here and what they are selling."
"I still say this is a waste of our time." Superboy grumbled. "I mean, a drug deal? Couldn't the police handle this?"
"Batman heard that there were supposed to be some big players here tonight," Robin reminded, creeping down the hallway with Danny hovering close behind. "But he couldn't figure out who. Whoever it is, people are too scared to talk. That doesn't bode well for anyone. That plus the weirdly strong security suggests that this is a big deal. We have to find this mystery seller."
Talk left off at that point. The team moved through the building silently, avoiding guards as they went. Patrols became more frequent the closer to the center of the building they got.
"We're close." Robin said, ducking back around a corner as he spotted a pair of guards heading toward him. Danny grabbed him, turning them invisible as the guards passed by. Once the guards were gone, Robin looked again, spotting a pair of heavily armed doors at the end of the hallway. The guards that had just passed them must have been replaced by the ones currently on guard. "I think we just found the room where it's going down."
"Well of course you did." Kid Flash complained. "You guys had an obvious advantage. 'Let's put our two sneakiest members together, they'll be completely unstoppable.' Not like some of us could have used Danny's help more than Mr. I Can Disappear On Command."
"What, this too much of a challenge for Baywatch? Need the ghost to hold your hand?" Artemis asked sarcastically.
Danny shifted uncomfortably behind Robin. "Um… maybe if I learned to duplicate, I could-"
"No, Danny. Members of this team need to learn to act on their own. And to not sidetrack the mission with pointless complaints." Aqualad's voice held a touch of reproach.
"Ugh, fine. I'll complain when we get back. Happy?" KF snarked.
"No one is ever happy to hear you complain." Artemis said bluntly.
"Enough!" Aqualad yelled. "Danny, Robin, enter the room and report. We will make our way toward you."
"Roger that, leaderman!" Robin said cheerfully. Danny grabbed his hand and phased them through the wall, bypassing security completely.
Emerging from the wall, Robin sucked in a quick breath. The room wasn't very big, but it was packed. Chairs were set up around a makeshift stage. In the center of the stage was a lead case, set on a stool. Two guards were standing over it, clearly protecting it. Robin narrowed his eyes. That was the merchandise, he was sure of it. Most of the chairs in the room were filled, and those that were empty were quickly filling. Robin looked over the attendants. It didn't look good.
"Robin? What do you see?" Aqualad's voice startled Robin into action.
"It's not good," he admitted. "We've got lots of really bad people here. I see at least three high level mobsters, the leader of Intergang, a couple of metas, and- holy crap, is that Lex Luthor?"
It was. Robin and Danny watched in disbelief as Luthor himself entered, accompanied by his bodyguard, Mercy. He appeared to be the last to arrive, as all the 'guests' settled down upon his arrival, watching the stage avidly.
"We're out of time. The buy is going down. You guys need to get in here now!" Robin started toward the stage, dragging Danny behind him.
"Um… Robin? What are you doing?" Danny tried to slow down, but Robin was relentless.
"We need to get into position." Robin snapped. "Whatever they are selling, it's bad enough to get Luthor here. We need to be ready to grab it when the rest of the team gets here."
Danny looked uncertain, but he let Robin drag him over to the stage. Robin crouched on the edge of the stage, ready to spring into action. The seller would be emerging soon, and Robin needed to be in a good position to take him out.
"Uh, Robin? Can we move? Something about the stage makes me feel… weird."
Robin glanced back at Danny. The halfa did look a little strained, but that was to be expected. Holding his invisibility for a long time tended to drain Danny, especially when he was making someone else invisible as well. Based on their practice sessions, Robin knew that Danny could hold on a bit longer before things became serious. Long enough for them to apprehend the seller.
"You'll be fine." Robin finally decided. "It won't be much longer now. Get out of the way when the fight starts til you've recovered."
Danny looked uncertain, but before he could argue, a man stepped out onto the stage.
Robin's heart dropped. He swore violently, causing a storm of complaints to come over the mind link.
"What was that for?" KF whined.
"Scarecrow. He's the seller." Robin spat. Before he could continue, Scarecrow spoke.
"Welcome everyone! I am so glad that you could join me this evening. I promise you, the product I am about to show you will be worth every penny you pay for it."
Scarecrow walked over to the case, rubbing a hand along it lovingly. "I know that you are all aware of my work. You wouldn't be here otherwise. But I assure you, this is unlike anything I have done before."
"We're in position." Aqualad's voice cut across Scarecrow's. "Should we engage?"
"Not yet." Robin said quickly. "We need to know what's so special about what Scarecrow is selling."
Scarecrow walked to the front of the sage, looking directly at his audience.
"Let's be honest. No one here is really worried about 'people' anymore. All the great heroes are 'superhuman.' That means that many the things that would completely incapacitate a normal person will have little to no effect on the people we want to hurt most. The oh so holy heroes."
Scarecrow spat on the ground before continuing.
"Even I have face this problem. My lovely fear gas, which I have put so much effort into, won't even effect half of the Justice League." Scarecrow paused, before continuing with a truly horrific grin. "At least, until now."
"Robin!"
Danny's voice was desperate, but Robin ignored him, too caught up in what Scarecrow was saying. If what he was implying was true…
"That's correct! I have created a new version of my fear gas, one can affect any living creature in the universe, at least, that we are aware of. It will even influence androids, which I am particularly proud about."
"That doesn't sound good." Superboy muttered.
"What? What doesn't sound good?" Artemis asked, frustrated. "Not all of us have super hearing!"
"Scarecrow's created a universal fear gas." Robin said grimmly. "You could take the whole league down with something like that."
"ROBIN!"
Robin finally looked at Danny. He was shocked to see how terrible he looked. As if he was on the edge of panic.
"Danny?" Robin asked, but before the halfa could respond, Robin attention was directed toward Scarecrow once more.
"Behold! The Ultimate Fear!" With a flourish, Scarecrow opened the case, pulling out a capsule of gas.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Robin stared at the capsule, mesmerized by it. Even when it was contained, the gas gave off waves of fear. The light glinted off the surface, distorting the image. Robin had been on the receiving end of fear gas often enough to know what the hallucinations it caused looked like, and the capsule itself gave off the same vibes that the hallucinations did. He could scarcely imagine what it would be like to be caught full force by the effects of the gas.
Behind him, he heard Danny moan, and then suddenly, the invisibility dropped, leaving Danny and Robin in full view of the assembly.
Multiple people in the audience shouted in alarm, but Scarecrow merely grinned.
"Ah! The little birdy has joined us! Where is the Bat? I would love to test my new formula on him."
Robin didn't say anything, glancing at Danny. The halfa was curled up on the ground, breath coming quickly. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and Robin could see the tremors in his hands. Robin cursed under his breath. Of course! Ghosts were made of emotions. Danny himself had told Robin that ghosts felt things more strongly than humans did. If Robin was feeling the effects of the fear gas, than Danny must be absolutely terrified.
Scarecrow caught sight of Danny and grinned.
"Who's your little friend?" he cooed. "He doesn't look like he feels too good, the poor thing. I would love to see him suffering from the full effects of my fear gas. I'm sure it would be beautiful."
"Get back!" Robin yelled. "We've been made!"
"Go! Now!"
At Aqualad's command, the team sprung into action, smashing into the room. The attendants leapt to their feet, some pulling out weapons, while others simply ran away.
Robin wanted to help his team, but he was unwilling to leave Danny alone when he was so close to the psychotic psychiatrist. Danny was nearly unresponsive at this point, curled up into a tiny ball. Robin wanted to get him off the stage, but he was sure that Scarecrow would react violently to any attempts to move away. His instincts screamed to attack the man, but he was hesitant to do so while he was still holding the container of fear gas. The last thing he wanted was for it to get released. Scarecrow, for his part, seemed completely unconcerned with the superteam that was taking out his potential buyers. He watched them closely, looking extremely happy.
Soon, only Scarecrow was left standing. The team approached carefully, surrounding the man, but not climbing onto the stage.
Scarecrow laughed. "I'd applause you all, but I'm afraid that my hands are full."
The whole team tensed as Scarecrow waved the capsule of fear glass. The man noticed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, does this make you nervous? It really shouldn't. In fact, it should make you terrified!"
"Give it up, Scarecrow." Robin said calmly. "You can't win."
"On the contrary." Scarecrow said with a manic gleam in his eye. "I think I'm the only one who will win. You see, the theory behind my fear gas is sound, but I haven't got to test it as much as I'd like. But then, a bunch of test subjects came to me! I really am the luckiest man in the world!"
Robin registered the threat a split second too late. He lunged forward, but he was too far away. With one smooth motion, Scarecrow pulled on his mask, before smashing the capsule on the ground. He ran away, laughing hysterically as all the teens flinched away from the gas that was filling the room.
Suddenly, Danny moved. Robin tried to grab the halfa, but he was too fast. Before Robin could blink, Danny was standing over the shattered remains of the capsule that had held the fear gas. A split second later, a shield sprang into existence, trapping the fear gas… and Danny.
There was dead silence for a moment, before the team erupted into chaos.
"What do we do we, what do we do?" Artemis yelled, yanking at her hair.
"Danny!" Miss Martian screamed, flying up to the shield and pounding on it. Superboy ran up to her, dragging her away from it as she kicked and screamed, even though he looked shattered as well.
"Oh no. Oh no oh no ohnoohno this is bad, badbadbad." Kid Flash started muttering, going faster and faster until his words were complete gibberish. Aqualad simply stared in disbelief at the shield that contained their newest member.
"Get a hold of yourselves!" Robin yelled. He could feel his own heart pounding unnaturally fast, and he knew exactly what had happened. "Some of the fear gas got into your systems! It's affecting how you react. You need to stay calm, or it will only get worse!"
Aqualad nodded, correcting his posture so he stood tall and proud once more. "Of course. You're right. Artemis, Kid Flash, go after Scarecrow, we can't let him get away."
Both teens nodded, still looking a little panicked, but feeling better once they had a purpose. Kid Flash picked Artemis up, and they raced out of the room, following Scarecrows trail.
"Superboy, Miss Martian, you're with me. We need to get all these people out of here."
Miss Martian took a deep breath and held out a hand, levitating several unconscious villains. Superboy began to pick up a few more, pilling them over his shoulder. Aqualad turned to Robin.
"Danny…" he said helplessly.
"I'll get him. Don't worry. Just get out." Robin said steadily. Aqualad looked at him for a moment, before nodding. He grabbed whoever was left before running out of the room, heading toward the exit.
Robin approached the shield cautiously. He rapped it gently, and was disheartened to realize that it was incredibly strong. Robin had hoped that the fear would cause Danny to lose control of his shield, like it had with his invisibility, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect. Danny was scared, and he was keeping his shield up in an attempt to protect himself. Unfortunately, all it did was keep him trapped with the thing that was hurting him.
Robin felt a wave of panic overcome him. Danny was trapped in a small area with an extremely high concentration of some of the most potent fear gas he had ever encountered. That could drive him completely insane, maybe even kill him!
No! He shook his head sharply, fighting back the fear. Danny wasn't dead. The shield was evidence of that. But he did need to get Danny out, and fast.
Robin reached into his utility belt, pulling out his rebreather. He stuck it in his mouth and took a breath to confirm it was working. He reached back into his belt and hesitated for only a second, before he pulled out a bat-a-rang made of pure ectoranium.
Batman had had a set made after he first learned about ghosts. He had insisted that Robin carry at least one with him, just in case. Robin had hated it at the time, but now he thanked his lucky stars that Batman was so paranoid.
Robin held the bat-a-rang firmly, then stabbed it into the shield. It pierced about halfway through, and cracks shot away from the impact point. Robin grit his teeth around the rebreather, and twisted the bat-a-rang sharply.
The shield shattered, and fear gas flooded the room, blinding Robin for a moment. He shuddered as the fear gas swept over him. It felt slimy through the material of his suit, and he felt his heart rate increase even more, even though he wasn't breathing it in.
Robin squinted, trying to find Danny in the haze. He stepped forward carefully, not wanting to trample the terrified halfa. He finally spotted his hunched figure on the floor.
Robin fell to his knees beside the stricken halfa. He slipped his arms under Danny's, clasping them in the front, before standing up, dragging Danny with him. Danny didn't struggle. He was limp in Robin's arms, but the Boy Wonder could hear him sobbing.
Robin's heart was breaking, but he didn't bother trying to comfort Danny. Nothing he said would help at this point. He needed to get Danny out of the fear gas and then administer the antidote that he always carried with him. He could only hope that it would work on this new version of fear gas.
"I'm sorry!" Danny suddenly screamed. Robin jolted so badly he nearly dropped Danny, but he managed to hold on and keep moving.
"Mom! Dad! No! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. I tried to save you! I promise! It wasn't my fault. It wasn't!"
Robin froze. Those words hit far too close to home. For a second he was overwhelmed by a memory of death, of the two people he cared about more than anyone falling to their deaths. He could feel the fear gas struggling to take hold, to lose him in grief and fear. He yanked his mind out of the memory and continued, doing his best to ignore Danny's screams and tears.
After what seemed an eternity, Robin staggered out of the building. Superboy ran up to him, grabbing Danny out of his arms. Danny screamed, fighting to get away, and begging for them not to hurt him. Superboy looked panicked, but he managed to keep a hold of the struggling halfa.
Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out the antidote. He grabbed Danny's arm and stabbed the needle into it, injecting the medicine. Danny stiffened for a second, then went completely limp, passing out.
Robin let out a sigh of relief. It was working the way it was supposed to. He spat out his rebreather and gave Superboy a weary smile.
"It worked. He should be okay now."
Superboy relaxed, loosening his grip on Danny. At that moment, Kid Flash zoomed up, putting down Artemis.
"Well?" Aqualad asked, taking in the fact that they were alone.
"He got away." Artemis scowled. "I don't know how. It's like he just disappeared!'
Robin sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"All of Gotham's villains are like that." he admitted. "I think they get it from Batman. That's the only thing that makes sense to me."
Artemis and Kid Flash looked a little comforted by that fact, when they suddenly spotted Danny.
"Danny!" Kid Flash zipped over to the prone boy, looking at him worriedly. "Is he okay?"
"I gave him the antidote." Robin said quickly. "He should be fine. Come on. We should head back to the Cave. We could all use some fear gas antidote, and I don't have anymore. Plus, Batman needs to know what the Scarecrow has done. He needs to be apprehended before he can make any more of that gas."
The team nodded in agreement, and they boarded the bioship. They were unusually silent as they sat down. No one thought that this mission had been a success.
Robin stared down at the building as they pulled away. His one comfort was that no villains had managed to get anything out of the meeting. At least they hadn't messed that up.
Lex Luthor stepped out of the building, pulling off his mask. Mercy followed him, on high alert, but it was unnecessary. The teen heroes were already gone.
Luthor trapped him chin, contemplative. He smiled at Mercy.
"Well, that was unexpectedly fruitful." he told his bodyguard, walking toward his car. "Contact the Light. Tell them I've found our missing halfa.
AN: Oh no! Now the Light knows where Danny is! And Robin has got a peak at Danny's past. What is going to happen?
You'll have to wait to find out.
You'll notice I called Danny 'Danny' the whole time. The reasoning is that they can't use Phantom (I doubt Danny had told them that name) and since they communicate through telepathy, a 'superhero' name isn't super necessary right now. Honestly, I just didn't know what to call him. What do you guys want his new Superhero name to be?
Anyway, bye for now!