The Pavilion, Festival of Peace
-:-
"You were so busy preparing for the opening ceremony earlier, that I hadn't gotten the chance to tell you how handsome you look today."
Phantom ended up wearing the same outfit from the ceremony, including his cape that draped around his shoulders with a green liner, held up by the pin from Frostbite. Due to formalities, and much to his chagrin, he was required to wear both the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage.
He smiled up at his godmother with a blush. "Thank you, Mama," he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.
She pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, practically knocking the wind out of him. "Oh, you are much too cute at times, my son! So modest and blush at even the slightest of compliments!"
He felt his ears start to heat up as his blush grew and he started to softly exclaim for his godmother to put him down as people were starting to arrive at the Pavilion. Thankfully Frostbite had been nearby and saved him from the embarrassing display.
The half-ghost took a calming breath while he watched more people starting to walk up to the venue.
The Pavilion was a large Greek-like structure that looked closer to an ancient temple than a regular pavilion, but the people didn't seem to pay it any mind. With four sides, all lined with tall columns, people could enter and exit from any direction, at least that would be the case if one side didn't have long white see-through drapes with guards posted between every column.
Phantom sighed as he already dreaded the thought of having to sit in front of the drapes smack-dab in the middle, let alone at the long table designated for various rulers. Other visitors, which were VIPs or members of royal courts, could take a seat outside of the pavilion, on the blankets around the center of the pavilion, or could stand if they really wanted to.
Sometimes playing politics really did suck… especially when the majority didn't get to attend stuff like this.
'Maybe I can come up with a way that could make this more inclusive…'
The heir tucked away the idea to discuss with Pandora and Frostbite later and smiled as he saw Fright Knight, his assigned guard, bow his head to him, standing next to where he'd have to sit. He nodded and walked over, electing to stand by his chair next to Fright.
"Do you like the decorations that Lady Pandora and her people picked out, my lord?"
The teen rolled his eyes at the title, but he knew to argue with the ghost knight wasn't going to get him anywhere.
He looked around and noticed that besides the white drapes behind him, there were several blue-lit torches hung around the inside and outside of the pavilion as well. White and gold flowers hung from the torch holders, all of them seeming to glow in the almost ethereal lighting.
There were long white tables set up in a way, that kinda resembled a potluck or buffet-style; two tables set vertically from where the half-ghost stood on each side of the pavilion. All four tables were full of color as there seemed to be hundreds of different foods and delicacies set out on each one. Plates, bowls, and silverware were stacked on either end of each table, along with napkins and goblets of all kinds.
He smiled as he heard Pandora and Frostbite laugh together before remembering Knight's question.
"I do actually. It feels a lot like Pandora's Acropolis and reminds me of good times," he replied.
"I am glad, sire. Shall I pass along your gratitude?"
Phantom chuckled, "No, no. I can tell her myself when I get the chance. Thank you for the offer though."
The knight bowed his head. "Of course."
The other shook his head with an amused smile.
They continued to watch people come in until the major crowd showed up, including the other rulers. Pandora and Clockwork sat on his right and left, respectively, while Dora sat on the other side of Pandora, and Frostbite sat on the other side of Clockwork. The other rulers were on either side of them and continued for about six seats. Hades was the last on the right, and Helenia was last on the left.
Once all of the rulers were present, the teen looked over and nodded to Pandora, who in turn stood up and cleared her throat. All of the other rulers followed suit.
"What a fine day the Ancients have graced us with! For not only has fortune graced us to be with friends, new and old, but it has also granted us to be with our future king!"
There was a round of applause and cheer, some more enthusiastic than others. Pandora raised her four arms and they quieted down relatively quickly.
"I hope you all will enjoy this year's feast and the entertainment provided. I do not wish to keep you from the feast any further, so please, enjoy!"
The decent-sized crowd cheered briefly before flocking towards the tables or going into small groups around the Pavilion, all being mindful to avoid the various performers in the center of the room.
After about thirty minutes had passed, people began to come up to the ruler's table and 'pay their respects'. Royal after royal, noble after noble, court member after court member, they all offered gifts (which were politely declined), well wishes, and blessings. Luckily, by the end of the huge rush of people, it had quieted down and people were back to enjoying the food and entertainment.
Phantom smiled to himself as laughter, awe, and excited chatter filled the air.
"Enjoying the peace?"
The Halfa almost jumped out of his skin, forgetting that Clockwork was sitting next to him. The smug look on the Time Master's face told him that he seemed aware of that too.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes he picked up his goblet and took a sip of water. "For as long as we have it," he mumbled.
The teen paused and made a slight frown as nothing happened.
"Something on your mind?" His overseer asked.
"It's nothing, I-"
"Baywatch you gotta be considerate!" A familiar feminine voice harshly whispered.
"Hey! I was eating that!"
He let out an exasperated sigh as he put his cup down. "And there it is… Can't believe he's late even to his own cues."
The Time Ghost chuckled knowingly next to him.
"Younger Justice League!"
The ghost teen mentally facepalmed as Pandora sat next to him with an excited smile as she beckoned the two Team members over.
"Yeah, Pan- OOMF! I mean, yes, Lady Pandora?" Kid Flash winced as he rubbed his side.
Pandora let out a hearty laugh as she patted the ghostly teen's shoulder next to her. "My son, your friends are so much fun, I quite like the blonde-haired archer."
"Uh, thanks? Anyways, did you need something?" Artemis asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh no, not at all. I just wanted to see how you were doing and if you were enjoying yourselves," The Greek ruler beamed.
The archer blinked. "Um- it's nice, I'm not really the kind of person for fancy stuff, but it's nice."
"I'm so glad to hear, please tell your other friends that all of you are welcome to come to chat anytime throughout the feast," the four-armed ghost smiled.
"Thank you for the kind offer, Lady Pandora, but that won't be necessary." She then turned and bowed to Phantom. "Have a nice night, your majesty."
A sharp pang went through his chest as he watched the two heroes walk off without another word.
Pandora must've noticed his energy shift because she discreetly and gently placed her hand on top of his and looked at him with a curious frown.
He gave her a reassuring smile before politely removing his hand from underneath hers to take another sip of water.
Clockwork hummed disapprovingly next to him.
"I take it the meeting did not go well…" he breathed just so the teen would hear him.
The crowned prince steeled his expression as another group of ghosts walked up. "You already know the answer to that," he breathed back, a slight bitterness in his voice.
In the middle of the approaching group was none other than Sir Reginald, who was looking a little darker blue in his cheeks.
"Lord Ffffffantom!"
The Halfa couldn't help but chuckle before bowing his head back at the cheery Sir Reginald.
'Looks like somebody had too much to drink…'
"Good evening, Sir Reginald. Are you enjoying the festivities?" The young heir asked with an amused smile.
"Oh quite, my lord! Dare I say, it's the best festival I've been to by far!"
He heard Dora, Pandora, and Frostbite all chuckle beside him.
"That is great to hear, old friend. Perhaps you should try drinking some water, yes?"
"Oh, but of course, my friend! After I share just one-Two- Four more drinks with these fair ladies!"
Phantom shook his head as he smiled. "Very well, I wish you and your company good health and a great rest of the night then, hm?"
"Oh thank you! And to you as well, my lord! Come now fair maidens! Let me tell you the tales of my oldest friend, my dear friend Robin of-"
The heir and the other rulers started laughing as the old knight's group wobbled away. It was the first genuine laugh he's had in a while and it honestly felt great.
Though they decided to attend the feast last minute, via Lady Helenia's invitation, Superboy couldn't help but wish that they hadn't.
Every ghost and ruler he saw dressed in formal attire made Superboy feel more and more out of place. Even more, he and Miss Martian hadn't gotten the chance to talk to the rest of the Team about what they had learned yet, so the tension was still pretty high between everyone.
Hearing laughter, he turned to see Danny, Pandora, Dora, and Frostbite all laughing together as a group of ghosts walked away.
'How long do you think it's been since he's laughed like that?' M'gann asked no in particular over the Mindlink.
Superboy felt a pang of guilt and looked away from the scene. Continuing to eat without a word.
Kid seemed to not share this feeling-
'Seems like he's having a great time without us, just like he wanted right?'
Artemis rolled her eyes, but no one made any kind of comment.
"Uh, guys? Possible trouble at ten o clock," Beast Boy whispered nervously.
Superboy raised an eyebrow but discreetly turned towards where the young shapeshifter's line of sight was, and instantly felt uneasy as two ghosts, or should he say floating eyeballs in long white and gold robes, were walking towards the royal's table.
"Whoa, are those the Observants Danielle was talking about?" Kid Flash awed.
"Given that she kept calling them the 'floating eyeballs', I think it'd be safe to say yes," Artemis glared.
The Team watched as they briefly walked up to a few of the rulers and shared a word or two, before finally stopping in front of Phantom.
Superboy turned his head away to avoid suspicion and trained his super hearing towards them.
"-old you to leave it be and focus on maintaining your presence!" One angrily whispered.
"My apologies, I didn't realize the burning crown on my head wasn't a big enough presence," the Halfa replied sarcastically.
"Don't get smart with us, Phantom. You have a duty-"
"You're right, I do have a duty, both as the Protector and as the future king. My duty is to make sure that everyone here is safe. Not just the rulers. Not just your section of the Ghost Zone. But everyone in attendance. If you're not satisfied with that decision, then speak to me after the feast is over, not during."
"This discussion is not over. You will be hearing from us, we can assure you of that," The first observant growled.
"Fine. Now don't you have a timestream to be watching?" he glared.
Superboy shifted his gaze over to the table and saw two grumbling Observants walking away from a particularly 'turbed' Phantom.
Nightwing startled him by asking if he had heard anything via Mindlink.
The teen rolled his eyes, 'Nosy as ever…'
He quickly relayed everything he had heard over the Mind Link, his teammates remaining mostly quiet during his explanation.
'Wait, they're upset he's doing his job?'
'Sounds like it…'
'Ugh, I hate politics.'
'Maybe they didn't want him getting more involved with the investigation of the assassination attempt. Since he was revealed to be the Ghost Zone's future king, maybe they want him to focus more on other stuff.'
'That… actually would make a lot of sense, Z.'
'I have my moments.'
'Anyways, why would they be upset with him getting involved? Wouldn't that just show he takes his job as a protector pretty seriously?'
'Remember, we were told that the Observants don't like Danny because of what he is. They could just be giving him a hard time just because they feel like it.'
'Why don't we see if we can help out?'
The group went silent for a beat or two as they all mentally cringed at Beast Boy's proposal.
'Sorry Beast Boy, but after the discussion we just had with Phantom earlier today, I don't think that's going to be an option.'
'Oh right…'
Miss M mentally nudged Superboy and he looked over and understood the silent nod.
'Actually, we wanted to talk to you guys about something we learned about-'
'Uh so about not wanting to draw attention to ourselves?'
Everyone turned to see Klarion the Witch Boy walking up the steps of the Pavilion right towards them.
They held their breath as the smug-looking villain got closer and closer, his cat purring all the while.
He stopped briefly in front of them with a mischievous grin and a daring look in his eyes.
"Good evening, Justice brats…"
No one responded, they only glared.
"Now, now, that's no way to behave at a festival such as this, is it?"
"What do you want, Klarion?" Zatanna asked through gritted teeth.
The sorcerer smiled deviously. "Me? Oh nothing, just came to wish the future king a long and prosperous rule. It isn't every day a crowned prince shows up in the neighborhood now is it?"
Zatanna took a threatening step forward. "I swear Klarion if you-"
"If I do what? I haven't even done anything to warrant this type of treatment, and yet here you are treating me as though I'm the one planning to assassinate the new prince with poison."
Superboy's world froze for a brief moment, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?" BB whispered out loud with a frightened look next to the clone.
"Ta-ta~"
The Witch Boy chuckled as he walked right through their group and made a bee-line for the table where Hades sat. The Greek god nodded and smiled as Klarion approached him.
Beast Boy flipped around with panicked eyes. 'Guys we have to do something! They're planning on poisoning Danny!'
'Yeah, but what are we supposed to do?! We already look bad as it is, and if we start a scene, people are gonna flip!' Kid retorted.
Aqualad stepped forward. 'Calm yourselves. For all we know, he could be trying to bait us with false information to start a scene.'
'Aqualad's right. Without evidence, we could spread unnecessary panic. However, we can't take this lightly either Kaldur. If there is an assassination attempt, and it was revealed that we were made aware of it and chose to do nothing. That could lead to other conflicts. But, if we can prove that we were right all along about Hades, and with Klarion here, we may just have the evidence we need. So, I have a plan just in case-'
As Nightwing laid out the plan, Superboy watched as Klarion walked up to Hades and gave a slight bow. Hades smirked back and bowed his head back, the former taking this as permission to whisper something into his ear that Superboy couldn't understand. Hades frowned for a split second before smiling deviously and nodding.
'So is it confirmed?' the Team leader asked the clone.
He glared at the table. 'If Hades and the Light might be working together? It's pretty convincing based off of the guy's reactions, but I couldn't understand what they were saying so I can't say for a fact.'
'We need solid evidence, is there any suspicious activity going on around them. A third party perhaps?'
Superboy's eyes locked onto a jittery ghost server near the rulers.
'The servant near Pandora, he looks particularly nervous about something,' he pointed out, the rest of the Team following his eye line.
'That may be it then, Team let's get ready in case we need to interfere,' Nightwing ordered.
All of them nodded and got into their pre-determined positions.
The clone watched as Klarion finally decided to walk up to Phantom, who seemed to be relatively calm, while the black knight next to him seemed on edge.
"Crowned Prince of the Infinite Realms! It is an honor to meet you," he announced with a low bow, grabbing the attention of most of the ghosts. "I was sent by the Lords of Chaos to bestow a gift-"
'Be ready…' Nightwing's determined voice rang over the Mindlink.
"A gift from a Lords of chaos? Don't be absurd!" a random ruler huffed from the right side of the table.
Klarion sent a brief glare, silencing the other. "Do not take this gift lightly, good sir. The Lords of Chaos are rarely this generous!"
"Enough, both of you," Pandora demanded, her tone clearly unamused as she stood up. She looked to Klarion and bowed her head out of respect. "The Heir has already politely declined all previous gifts as a gesture of remaining politically impartial. While the Heir would be honored to receive a gift from the Lords of Chaos, it is not necessary."
"So what I hear is that the Heir wishes to decline the gift that is meant to be a gesture of peace?"
Quiet murmurs broke out from the crowd.
Superboy glared at the sorcerer's back, knowing full well that Phantom would have no other option but to accept the gift.
"What is it that they wish to bestow?" Pandora asked, not bothering to hide her disgruntlement.
The clone became even more upset as Klarion grinned, as though he was winning a game.
'Steady…' The team's leader soothed.
"Their regards mainly, but also-" Red chaos magic floated above the table towards Phantom's goblet. It transformed the silver goblet into gold and was now embellished with dark red stones.
The sorcerer bowed his head and had a mischievous grin on his face. "A toast to a long and prosperous afterlife…"
The nervous servant noted from before, walked up and poured what looked to be water from a pitcher he held.
Phantom hesitantly stood and raised the goblet, to which the rest of the room followed suit.
Klarion grinned as he materialized his own glass and raised it.
"Long live the king~"
"Long live the king!" the room chorused.
The world slowed down as Phantom raised the glass to his mouth and the cup started to glow a crimson red.
"Now!"
The world sped up again and KF was the first to move as he snatched the glass out of Danny's hand and ran into the center of the room. Beast Boy rammed into Klarion as a rhino, sending him flying into one of the columns. Superboy charged at Hades and quickly restrained him.
"What in the Ancients do you think you're doing?!" An unknown ruler roared.
"Saving your future king! The Light and Hades have been working together to try to assassinate Phantom!"
Phantom watched the scene before him as it played in slow motion, yet, at the same time, seemed all too fast for him to be able to stop anything.
His eyes widened as he watched Kid Flashing running towards the center of the Pavilion with the goblet that Klarion had transformed.
'No…'
Beast Boy had rammed into Klarion, the latter's body being launched near the closest pillar, while his cat ran to hide under one of the nearby tables.
'No, no, no!'
Lastly was his best friend restraining Hades' arms behind his back, a look of pure rage coming from both individuals.
'What's going on?!'
"What in the Ancients do you think you're doing?!" The ruler that was sitting next to Hades roared, bringing Phantom back to reality.
"Saving your future king! The Light and Hades have been working together to try to assassinate Phantom!"
'Shit…'
Most of the crowd gasped in shock.
The Halfa quickly began to try to rack his brain as the rulers and crowd began to become more and more outraged.
"This again?! How dare you make such accusations!?"
"Again?"
"Have they made these claims before?"
"How could this be?!"
"Liars!"
He needed to find a solution and fast. Maybe take the Team to the King's Tent? No, the rulers would demand answers and a say in the verdict.
"But what if they're telling the truth?!"
"What if it was one of us?!"
He needed to intervene before this got any more out of hand. But what to do?
"Calm down all of you!"
"Easy for you to say!"
But what could he do? It doesn't help they've been getting attention ever since they got here, and that's not counting the human part of it. Then there's the accusing Hades thing.
The Ring of Rage was beginning to hum with power again, making his thoughts even more jumbled as he tried to focus on the situation. Not like the sounds of shouting and arguing were helping- 'UGH! If they just listened to me they wouldn't be in this mess! Or if I told Clockwork to shove it, then they wouldn't even be here! Why must they always try to butt in?! What happened to heroes who believed that despite what someone may have done in the past, everyone deserves to be protected?!'
He looked up and noticed several children hiding behind a pillar watching the scene with fearful eyes, and he felt something in his mind snap.
"That's right! And we have the proo-OOOF!"
The crowd screamed as a giant green ectoplasmic energy tendril threw KF into a nearby column and kept him there.
"Kid! HEY!"
More tendrils appeared and restrained all of the team members' arms behind their backs, one by one, each caught by surprise as they came from different directions. They were then all dragged to their knees by the tendrils into a single file line, including Kid Flash, who surprisingly hadn't spilled the drink.
Hades and Klarion were released but were kept next to Frostbite and Pandora in front of the table.
Phantom willingly let his aura project itself, covering the entire Pavilion space. All of the torches turned a radioactive green and a cold chill blew through the building, causing most of the crowd to start grouping together to stay warm. Several people shivered as the Pavilion's foundation turned purple and the décor blue.
The Team only then seemed to realize that the half-ghost was beyond pissed.
"Danny we can- HEY!"
The knight that was once beside him now held a sword tip to Beast Boy's throat. "Silence would be the best course of action for you, human."
"How dare you…"
The room became deathly quiet as his voice echoed in a bone-chilling way.
"How dare you disturb the peace that so many have faded or died to have! How dare you accuse those who have attributed to these festivals for eons while you have only been here but three living realm days! And how dare you break your oath as heroes to protect the innocent!"
A dull glowing ethereal frost was beginning to spread across the floor, no one daring to move an inch for fear of upsetting the halfa further.
"Is this what you do now?! Do you go out attacking everyone you suspect is a criminal and expect it to be seen as justice?! Do you go out and attack unarmed people because your gut told you to?! Is that what you do?!"
The team seemed to be stunned, not a single person offered an explanation or any kind of comment that would've helped him feel like he wasn't talking a brick wall.
He glared fiercely at them. "This ends now."
The ectoplasmic tendrils pulled them onto their feet, except for Kid flash, who was released.
Phantom was too riled up to say anything else, gesturing for Fright Knight to continue.
The knight sheathed his sword and cleared his throat before glaring at the speedster and the Team. "Do you have evidence to back your claims, Justice League?"
Kid gulped before also clearing his throat and gave his own determined glare back. "Yes, we do."
"Then present you're 'evidence' before the King."
"But then someone will have to drink-"
"Why should anyone have to drink anything for proof? You said you had proof did you not?"
"Yeah well I don't have the rest of it on me, so for now-" Kid retorted as he shifted his weight uncomfortably.
Several disapproving murmurs and comments were made by the crowd.
"Did you hear that? He said they don't have it!"
"How careless!"
"Disgraceful!"
"SILENCE!" Phantom demanded, the ground seeming to vibrate with power as his voice rang out.
The room went quiet and Fright Knight sighed as he turned back to Kid Flash.
"If you have no evidence then-"
"If he shall grant me permission…" Stephen, the servant who was serving drinks for the ruler's table, stepped out of the crowd and bowed his head deeply towards Fright and Phantom. "I would drink from it, my lord. It is I who poured the drink, thus I feel like it should be I who tests it as the responsibility would fall into me."
Phantom's eyes softened as he saw the servant attempt to hide another fearful shiver. He barely knew the servant, but he did know that he wasn't the kind of guy to go and poison someone's drink. The kid couldn't even stop himself from tripping over his own two feet, let alone be part of some assassination attempt.
He looked over at the Team and couldn't stop the multiple emotions pooling into his chest. He knew what would happen if they were wrong. He knew what he'd have to do… and yet, that didn't ease the pain he felt in his chest nor the guilt he felt strongly at that moment.
The Heir nodded for the servant to continue, which seemed to surprise quite a few guests, including some of the rulers and Team members.
The soft-spoken servant smiled appreciatively and carefully grabbed the goblet from the speedster.
The servant rose the cup to his mouth and shakily breathed, "For King Phantom…"
He then took a swig from the cup and waited with closed eyes.
Phantom's protective instincts were being driven mad as he waited for what felt like an eternity.
After a minute of silence, the servant kneeled in front of Phantom and offered the goblet.
"It is clean, your majesty."
"What no way! He has to be in on it! There's no way!" Kid Flash roared in disbelief.
Phantom would've loved to feel relieved at that moment. And for a split second, he was, knowing that Stephen was alright; only for it to quickly turn into dread as he knew what he'd have to do.
He briefly caught Superboy and several other Team members' eyes widening with fear as the Halfa took the goblet and drank from the cup without hesitation.
The tension rose as he stood perfectly still with his eyes closed. Suspense choked the crowd into an uneasy silence.
When he opened his eyes and looked at the team; guilt, regret, and sadness were all that he felt.
"It's just water…" he announced evenly.
The crowd burst into harsh whispers and boos.
"No! No, they're definitely up to something! You didn't hear what Klarion said, and didn't see the way Hades and Klarion were interacting! You didn't see the guy talking to the hooded figures and threatening them for stuff!" Kid Flash grabbed Danny's arm. "Danny come on, you have to-"
He was interrupted when the Fright Knight had a sword to the speedster's neck in milliseconds.
"Enough, Fright Knight," Phantom ordered with a slight glare. The guard sheathed his sword and kneeled as the crowd continued to whisper.
Ice suddenly crawled up and around Kid Flash up to his neck before he was moved telekinetically in line with the other members.
Phantom looked between the crowd and the Team.
'I don't have another choice do I?' He thought bitterly to himself.
He felt two presences behind him.
"Kion vi atendas?" One of the Observants from earlier whispered fiercely. (What are you waiting for?)
"Forsendu ilin jam!" The other harshly whispered. (Send them away already!)
Phantom turned his head and flashed his neon green eyes threateningly. "Alia vorto kaj estos vi kiun mi konsideras jeti en la Unworld," he growled quietly. (Another word and it will be you who I consider throwing into the Unworld.)
Both Observants flinched and floated backward silently.
He tried his best to keep his expression unreadable as he turned back to the Team, the uneasiness and emotional pain in his chest getting worse.
"Hear me."
The crowd went quiet instantly.
"As punishment for breaking the zero fighting tolerance rule, I hereby banish the Justice League from the Interdimensional Festival of Peace-"
A portal opened behind them and multiple guards from different kingdoms marched in front of them crossing spears, creating a barrier/fence.
"What?!"
"No!"
"Phantom wait!"
"-You nor any other members from the League will ever be allowed to set foot on these grounds again-"
The guards slowly began to push them back toward the portal.
"Wait! Hear us out!"
"-For if you ever do return, you will be banished to the Unworld, without hesitation."
They were at the edge of the portal now.
"This is so unfair!"
"Phantom!"
His eyes softened and he couldn't stop his guilt from showing as he locked eyes with multiple members. "I will not hesitate to do what I must to protect my people… because ally or not, no one disobeys the laws without facing the consequences."
With one last shove, the Team fell through the portal with surprised or angry shouts.
Mount Justice
June 21 15:32 EDT
Superboy let out a pained grunt as his back hit the floor, opening his eyes to see the cave ceiling.
"We're home?" he groaned out loud.
"Team!"
Connor turned his head to see Black Canary and Batman running over to them.
"Canary?" he asked, still dazed from hitting the concrete floor.
The woman in black ran over to him with concern in her eyes. "Conner, are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay," He reassured the den mother as he sat up. "How long have we been gone?"
"Two days luckily. We were told time between here and the Ghost Zone could be altered, but we were reassured that you wouldn't disappear for a year."
"Oww…"
The clone looked over to see the rest of the team, unharmed and also beginning to sit up.
"We had planned for an absence of up to a week. What happened?" Batman demanded, probably noticing the tension in the air.
"We-"
"Oh, I'll tell you what happened! We-! OW! STOP HITTING ME!"
"If it wasn't for you we wouldn't even be in this mess!" Artemis scolded Wally with hands on her hips.
"Artemis, Wally, calm down. Kaldur, what happened? And where is Danny?" Canary asked while looking over everyone.
Kaldur sighed and frowned at the two Leaguers. "I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but it is because of Danny that we are here."
The two shared a glance before Batman turned toward the Team's leader with narrowed eyes. "Explain now."
The Team remained silent, only offering small comments here and there while Kaldur caught the leaguers up to speed on everything that happened at the Festival of Peace.
Once everything was explained, Connor noticed Canary to be in deep thought.
"Canary?"
She sent him a reassuring smile. "I'm alright, I'm just… trying to process. While I would like to say this is out of character for Danny or Phantom, it's not like it's completely out of the ordinary."
The team froze at that.
"Would you mind elaborating?" Kaldur requested.
She nodded. "As far as we know, ghosts run off of obsessions, it's the very nature of their beings. However, they are not always verbatim. Danny has shown that while he might have an obsession, protection would be considered a broader one. He feels the need to protect, whether it be his friends or his family-"
"Or his people?" M'gann guessed.
"Or himself…" Wally grumbled.
"So you're saying that his obsession made him do all of this?" Dick asked skeptically.
"I'm not saying it's the answer, but it is definitely a possibility," she sighed.
The team looked conflicted.
"Look…" Canary crossed her arms and Connor suddenly felt like he was being lectured by a parental figure.
"I don't like what he did either, but maybe we're not seeing something that Danny did. So I suggest, that when he does come back, calmly, explain your side of things, but also allow him to explain his. Danny usually has a pretty good reason for why he does things, and I'm sure he'd be more than willing to explain if you just ask. You'll never know if you never ask."
Kaldur nodded appreciatively. "We will consider your advice. We have much to think about and discuss."
"Okay, I'll come by again tomorrow afternoon, but if any of you need anything, just call."
"We will. Thank you, Canary."
The Pavilion, Festival of Peace
-:-
About two hours later, most of the rulers and other guests had started to filter out of the Pavilion to enjoy any late-night activities or to return home. Half of them went up to the royal's table to say their farewells to the prince or to wish him good health before they left.
Phantom seemed to be in deep thought when he walked up to him.
He cleared his throat and waited for the young ghost to respond.
The teen looked like he was about to roll his eyes but immediately stopped upon seeing who it was.
"Mr. Marduk? I thought you had already left?"
The large man smiled. "No, I've simply been watching and enjoying the festivities on the side. May I?"
Phantom didn't smile or chuckle, though he wasn't expecting him to, as he motioned for the other to take Pandora's seat, who had dismissed herself earlier.
"Dejavu huh?" the teen mumbled.
"It would appear that way…" The man commented with a slight chuckle.
Marduk read the silence as Phantom not really in the mood for starting the conversation.
"Lord Phantom-"
The boy hummed disapprovingly in response as he watched the water in his glass.
He covered his smirk with feigned concern as he turned toward the teen. "My apologies, Danny."
He gently grabbed the Halfa's hand, careful to make sure it was exactly the same way he'd seen Lady Pandora had done so earlier.
"You did what you had to do," he stated solemnly.
The half-ghost frowned but remained still.
"It might not feel like it right now, especially since they're some of the people you are considering to be your home right now. But I can assure you, that you did what you had to do to not only keep your people safe but them safe as well."
That's when Danny finally looked up at Marduk.
"Then why does it hurt?"
He reassuringly tightened his hold. "Doing the right thing doesn't always feel like the best thing in the world, sometimes it takes sacrifice…sacrifices we don't want to make. Look over there."
Danny took his hand back as he looked out to where the man was gesturing and saw the group of children that were laughing and playing around one of the columns.
"You made that possible at the end of the day."
Marduk watched as the teen cracked a small smile at the sight. "Yeah… yeah you're right."
The man had to hide yet another smirk.
'All according to plan…'