The medbay has gotten a little suffocating.

There are people there now, all sleeping. Superboy, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Robin and Zatanna are all dozing around me. Amo doesn't show up. The lights are all off, but she doesn't come out.

I can't relax with the people here, so I can't sleep. I try to read, but I'm not relaxed enough for that either.

So I get bored. It doesn't take long, actually. Only about twenty minutes.

That habit's probably going to get annoying soon.

But more than my boredom, I'm curious. What's beyond the medbay?

I glance around at the sleeping forms, kind of wishing Robin was awake so he could show me around, but he's dead out. He hasn't even shifted since he fell asleep.

My power had also been slowly building up, pressing against my chest, and I kinda wanted to try it out again. I slide off the bed, letting my flight kick in so I can hover. This feels cool!

I move forward, slipping instinctually into the previously forgotten habit. When I reach the door, I phase right through, another instinct.

Okeedokee… Right or left?

Huh, let's go right. Why not?

I float silently down the halls and come into a big cavernous room with the biggest TV I've ever seen. Well, I don't remember any specific TVs, but it's has to be the biggest. It's as big as the wall.

There's a kitchen with all these shiny appliances, dining room with a huge table and comfortable chairs, a living room decked out with books and couches, and a foosball table. Wow. This place is nice!

I follow another hall and find a huge training room. There's all kind of gymnastics things, a running track, weight training, a pool, mats. There are even rings hung from the ceiling.

I don't actually stop and use any of the stuff; I'm just looking. Exploring is one thing, but I don't have permission to touch any of this stuff. Though I doubt they'd be too mad, if they're anything like Robin.

There's a hallway of doors that I assume are bedrooms based on their plaques (they have names), a room with a ship that also has ocean access, a library, and the biggest room.

It has a huge computer with several screens accompanied with a work station that has a couple things scattered on it. There's a weird glass plate on one side of the room, too, and a huge contraption set inside the wall. Otherwise, it's empty.

Okay, well. Now what.

There are no windows, I notice. Are we underground? Given the amount of stone, I wouldn't be surprised. But it doesn't really… smell like it. Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy. But being underground has this certain smell. Like dirt and moisture. This place smells more like sea water and rock.

A shadow flits across the darkened floor. At first, I expect the worst, but I soon recognize this particular shadow. Amo.

I approach it, but it flits away. I try again with the same result.

Is… Is this a game?

I follow warily, not interested in a game of tag. Amo leads me through the halls again and into the sea access room. It climbs up the walls. I lift myself higher. It moves onto the ceiling, flitting over the top of the ship.

It's a hatch.

So?

Amo disappears. I don't move. It comes back, as if wondering why I didn't follow. Then, it disappears again. Still, I stay where I am.

Amo comes back agitated. It circles the hatch three times impatiently before disappearing again. Finally, I stick my head up through the hatch. It's a large space, big enough to hold the ship obviously, and it leads far up to another hatch. Amo is here, and as soon as it sees me, it rushes up.

This time I follow contiguously up through the hatch.

Immediately I'm glad I did. Amo led me right up to the outside. And the stars are out!

I fly higher, amazed at the feeling of outside. The wind bites into my clothes, but I find the cold the perfect temperature. Underneath me is a mountain-of course!- to my right is a small town, my left there's an endless ocean, and above me the infinite stars.

My eyes expertly pick out the constellations. I know through the placement of the North Star that it is November/December. I might be off, but it's at least the winter hemisphere. I glance around me, all the quiet and open space.

Without a second thought, I drop my flight.

The ground rushes up to meet me, and I pull up at the last second. Following the mountain shape closely, I make my way towards the ocean.

I fly close to the waves, but not so close that I get wet, though I do get sprayed. My cheeks sting with the wind and salt water, exhilarating me. My speed continues to pick up until my legs change to a weightless tail.

This… this is the feeling I had remembered that had made me try for escape. This… This is everything I've been waiting for. Here, I'm alone, I'm in this vast expanse that I can do anything in.

I'm still healing though.

After a while, I get tired from the flying, my body wishing for the bed again. Instead of going back to the beds, however, I pick a ledge on the mountain and land there. I sit up against the mountain, my back on stone, and keep my eyes open, taking in all I'd missed.

The moon moves slowly through the sky, a crescent sliver that blocks out certain stars as it slugs by.

Hours pass, and the moon disappears behind me.

With my hearing, I detect a small woosh from behind me and soft footsteps. Luckily, I'd already marked in my head who it was, and Jazz comes up behind me. I turn to her, slightly defensive, hands placed on the ground in case I need to jump up quickly.

"Don't worry, I didn't come to talk," she tells me. "I just knew you were up here, because, well, it's you." I give her a look that begs her to stop before she starts spazzing out. She sighs. "Can I watch the sun rise with you?"

Slowly, I nod, and she sits down beside me, pulling her knees up to her chest with her arms and setting her chin on the top of her knees.

The sky alights with brilliant oranges, pinks and reds, melting the stars away from the sky. Jazz watches with a faraway look in her eyes, says nothing. When the sun rises out of the water, she stands up and offers her hand. "Batman says he's going to see if he can take off your casts today."

Reluctantly, I take her hand, and she pulls me up. "It's only been a few days," I inform her.

She shrugs. "But you don't argue with Batman…"

Guess not. She leads back through the way she came, which leads to the living rooms. From there, we go back to the medbay.

Everyone is gone, except for Robin, Batman, and a leather-clad woman with long blonde hair. "Found him," Jazz tells the occupants, as if it weren't obvious.

"Sit."

Somehow, Batman's voice is stern and leaves no room for question, but he still manages to get his good intentions across. I follow his command, perching on the edge of the bed facing him.

"Hand."

I proffer my hand, and he takes it, placing something square on it. He looks at one of TVs mounted around the room, which shows an xray of a hand; perfectly healed.

"How did it heal that fast?" the woman in black asks, looking at the xray intently.

"The cast sends ultrasound waves that speeds the healing process," he answers. "Combined with an IV of calcium and iron supplements and his natural healing ability, it's rate is expected."

Oh...kay…

"So it comes off?" asks Robin, apparently awake. With his mask, it's impossible to tell if his eyes are open or closed.

"Yes. Canary, cast saw."

I'm still looking at the xray, but when he says this, I whip my attention to that. Batman picks up the saw, which isn't very big and turns to me.

Everyone can see the look of petrification on my face, because Batman moves no closer and everyone exchanges glances.

"Danny," Robin offers first. "I've gotten a cast off before. The saw doesn't get anywhere near your skin; only the thickest parts. The rest is pried off. Seriously, all it does is tickle."

"It will be loud, but it's only noise," Jazz offers next.

Batman waits for me to accept this and patiently holds his hand out for mine. I finally decide it's okay, it's okay. It's okay.

I squeeze my eyes shut and repeat the mantra over and over again in my head. It's okay, it's okay…

Batman turns the saw on.

Visions flash before my eyelids of pain and blood, the sound, the sound that was always the warning of it's pain…

In less than a moment, I'm on the opposite side of the room, my hand protectively over my chest, my back pressed against a corner.

He turns it off, but I'm no better. Nobody moves. I stay in my corner, having a staring contest with them.

"It has to come off," the woman-Canary- prods gently. I don't move. She turns to Batman and mutters softly, but I still hear her. "We could try again later, ask him if he wants to be sedated."

I shake my head.

"Do you have a better way?" Batman asks, setting the saw down. When that still doesn't calm me, he puts the entire thing away.

Robin gets off his bed, walking towards me at his normal sauntering pace. The two women give him a wary glance, like I'll run off. He just snatches my uncasted wrist and starts dragging me back over to the bed.

"Like he said," Robin remarks in that sassy tone of his. "You got a better way?"

I hold out my hand, turn intangible, and let the cast fall off.

"Huh," he says, surprised, then grins. "I suppose that is a better way."

Batman is completely unfazed by the turn of events. "Can you move it?"

I wiggle my fingers. They ache from being in the same position for so long- straight out- but otherwise move fine.

"Your arm?"

I misunderstand. When he said 'your arm' I thought he meant take that cast off, too. Too late do I realize he meant 'let's check the xray on your arm'. I wonder if this ever happens to the people on his team. Batman is on a team, right?

But the cast falls off, and my arm feels fine. I rotate my shoulder, same result.

"Completely healed. You no longer need to stay in the medbay." Batman stops for a second, plunging the room into silence. "Understood. Robin, set Phantom up in a room. Canary, we're needed elsewhere."

She nods, and they leave.

"So, a room?" I ask nervously, staring at my hand, which is flexing open and closed.

"Nah. First, how about…"

I realize the end of the question requires looking, so I glance up to see Robin holding up my suit. I break out in a huge smile.

"Definitely."

:):):):):):)

Three thousand reads! WOW!

I am going to post my other story, but I'm also taking reposting as an opportunity to do a little modification, so give me perhaps a week. It's called Set Alight. Or will be, anyhow.

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