Buh - team dynamics are hard! If anyone's interested, I now have a new tumblr for YJ stuff: yjincursion .tumblr .com

If you wanna chat about anything season 1 related, tag me in a post there (I'm under the impression tumblr is a platform...) or reblog one of my posts. I like to talk about plunnies and premises I don't have time for :D

x.x

Wulf was gone, and all five members of the group had turned to face Danny. He could look into each of their faces. Ten eyes stared at him with dazed fixedness, as if staring through him. Superboy, near him, felt suddenly remote. Danny almost waved, just to see how they'd react.

"Um, Hi?" he said.

Before anyone could answer, a roar entered the valley. Two more black ships appeared, their canons glowing with inner red fire. Danny went intangible, and looked about him. The others were still exposed to the elements.

The group startled into action.

"We need to get the weapon onto the bioship!"

"With those ships in the air?"

"Superboy, Miss Martian, get them into the lake," commanded the apparent leader, and suddenly he was wielding two white, snake-like whips. Superboy left Danny and ran towards the ships. Miss Martian – the green girl – took to air. Danny watched them in wide-eyed silence.

The two who'd spoken first dashed towards him over the snow. They passed him with a brush of air and leapt up onto the downed ship. The canon had fallen against its top as if dislocated, and the smaller of the two rounded it like a curious weasel while the larger stood back with arms crossed. Shorty took a circular blade from his belt and bent down to slash the wires that rooted the canon to the ship.

The taller one's eyes came down upon Danny, untrusting and angry.

"Um," Danny uttered.

This boy didn't look like he had the crazy strength of Superboy, and the smaller one definitely didn't – how were they going to move the canon? He could help. Danny floated closer, and, feeling he was about to poke a snarling pitbul, he approached them on Shorty's side.

"I can move the canon," he told Shorty. Shorty seemed to ignore him. "I mean, your strong friend's kind of busy!" Danny protested, pointing skyward. Superboy and Miss Martian were attacking the ships mid-air. "I want to help!"

Task finished, Shorty stood and returned the blade to his belt. The canon creaked and sagged a little, but was still mostly upright. Shorty's expression was hard to read behind a domino mask, but there was tension around his mouth. He pointed over to a jagged, frosted rise, nearby and bare. "Our ship's hidden over there," he told Danny. "We need this canon on the roof. Can you do that?"

"Yeah! Easy!" Danny cried.

He flew up and hovered over the canon. He had tried carrying heavy things like this before, but it never worked unless he turned them intangible. Shorty scrutinised him as he darted underneath and placed his hands against the bottom of the barrel. He reached out with his aura, annexing the canon and feeling its inertia vanish as he turned it intangible. New sensations came to him: the chill of the frozen metal, the cooling heat of the gun. Ugh, heat.

He heard a roar of anger – Superboy's – and a yellow beam spotlighted the snow for the first time since Wulf had vanished. The canon didn't slow Danny down. The beams swept over him and the world flashed yellow as he followed Shortie's directions.

He looked behind him, but could see no sign of Shorty and Grumpy. He searched the snow, and caught sight of a purple outline – Shorty's ship. With a little trepidation, he flew over to it. Even when he was just above it, it was hard to make out – it cast no shadow. He began let his intangibility slip.

The weight of the canon returned, and Danny found himself pushed down towards the ship. The translucent purple shape approached quickly – too quickly for Danny to stop. Wide-eyed, he held tighter to canon and reached for his intangibility.

Danny and the canon passed down through the ship harmlessly. With a grin, Danny zoomed right back up and out.

Grumpy appeared next to him, piggybacking Shorty. "You need to put it down!" called Shorty.

"I can't! It's too heavy!" Danny argued. Another yellow beam reached out and touched the ground far too close to them. Miss Martian and Superboy couldn't be doing well. Danny looked to Grumpy and Shorty.

"Now you've done it," Grumpy snarled at him. "The aliens know exactly where our ship is!"

Now, that really was not fair – Shorty had told him to come here. Danny huffed - and then noticed the beam rippling over the ice towards them.

"Grab onto me, I'll turn you int—!" Danny yelled. The two leapt for him as he started speaking, and he grabbed them, ready to turn them intangible. They were warm as they passed through his still-intangible body, warm in a way that made him shiver and frown. His words broke off. The yellow curtain approached, and his heart became lead in his mouth. Grumpy and Shorty thumped against the biosip below him.

A heartbeat away from the ship, beam vanished.

Danny sighed, a tiny whoop escaping him.

The ship that had fired it careered off course, falling into the lacke with a crash. Danny looked about for the other one, and found its wreck mostly hidden by lake ice.

Miss Martian descended and approached. Danny's smile closed and found himself blushing. "You can release it now," she said told Danny tiredly.

Danny shook his head quickly. He was holding the canon from underneath – he'd be crushed!

"Here," said Superboy, placing his arms under the canon in preparation to hold it. Danny muttered to him to prepare himself and went tangible. He slipped to the side as the canon fell. Superboy caught it before it could crush him against the bioship.

"Thanks," Danny said.

"The enemy ships have been destroyed," said another voice. The leader had arrived now. He looked at Danny with steady eyes that made Danny squirm and fidget. "I think it is us who must thank you," he said.

Danny found himself blushing. He slid down the side of the ship and came forward to meet Leader. Leader held out his hand for Danny to shake. Danny clutched it. The hand that closed around his seemed powerful, and aware. Warm.

Danny's whole body suddenly felt heavier.

"Thank him?" Grumpy interrupted, and Leader's hand slipped away. "He almost got Rob and I k—" Grumpy broke off, staring at the ground. His face twisted, tears appearing in his eyes. "You want him on the team? ARTEMIS IS GONE AND YOU WANT HIM ON THE TEAM?" he howled.

Danny watched in puzzlement, and looked to Leader for the verdict. The portal was gone, and it would be difficult to find his way out of here alone. He had no idea how to look for a new portal, either.

"Right now we do not have the luxury of picking and choosing our allies, Kid Flash," the leader answered, and Danny relaxed. He grinned with relief.

"I am Aqualad, of the Justice League, and the leader of this team. My companions are Kid Flash—" Grumpy shot him a glare "—Robin—" Shorty nodded "Superboy and Miss Martian," he gestured to the two who were connecting the canon to the bioship.

They paused, expectantly. "I'm Danny Phantom," Danny introduced himself.

"Phantom. We would be grateful to have you by our side."

He was ushered into the bioship, and seated at a spare seat by Miss Martian before she took the controls. Kid Flash looked at his poisonously, and Robin wasn't looking at him at all. Not even Superboy looked at him. Miss Martian began their flight with tears in her eyes.

The bioship was warm, and Danny felt tears coming to his eyes like thawing icicles. Tiredness clutched at him, and despite the sudden agony that pulled at him was Wulf gone? Where was he? Had Wulf betrayed him? he was pulled into sleep.