Friend: *Sitting on a beach in Hawaii* Aah, finally a day to just relax and- *Phone rings, friend sighs and answers* Hello?... Hey ninja, what's up?... Ninja, I can't hear you with that machine gun in the background... Okay, better... How big is the mob?... Man, you must have done something pretty bad... You're about ot be burned at the stake!?... But they can't find any matches. You're such an idiot. *Garbled yelling comes from phone* Okay, okay, fine. You can use my fall out shelter. But if you get blood on the carpet I'll kick your sorry hide to Uranus... Yeah, yeah, glad your brother's okay... Uh huh. Yeah, see ya. *Hangs up* Why does she get herself into these situations? *Presses telaport button*
IN GHOST ZONE
Me: Ha! He said yes! Prepare to be teleported!
Other friend: Finally! I thought I was actually going to be burned at the stake!
Me: He can't teleport us all the way. Hopefully there'll be a bunch of giant cats for us to ride on on the near future.
Other friend: I hate you so much right now.
Me: I love you to, honey wasp kitten baby!
Danny's head felt like it had been chewed on by a giant rat. And, due to one of the GIW's stranger experiments, he could actually vouch for that fact. He tried to sit up, but felt his arms firmly strapped to something. He scowled to himself and sighed. Isn't this situation familiar? He thought ruefully, blinking his eyes open. Although there was no point having them open, he felt better doing it, like he still had some vestige of control over his life. He felt the thick layers of gauze over his eyes, realizing that the bandage had been replaced.
"Ah, you're awake. Now we can start."
Danny sighed. Should have expected that. "Go die in a hole, Z."
The voice sounded pouty when it responded. "Well, that wasn't very nice." His voice grew colder. "You've given us quite a bit of trouble today, haven't you?"
Danny said nothing, mentally preparing himself for what he would have to endure.
"Breaking out, trying to sneak away, giving the other subjects their chance to escape. Even gave poor, defenseless me a nasty bump on the head."
Despite himself, Danny felt a tiny flicker of pride. The others had gotten out. Sure, they had basically thrown him under the bus to do it, but at least he knew that he had meant something. Even if it was only a distraction.
"Don't look so smug. We'l find them soon enough." He heard the dreaded clinking and his face hardened. No way. No way were the GIW going to squeeze this out of him. "As for you… well, bad boys have to be punished."
Danny clenched his teeth. This was going to be a rough day.
"It doesn't't have to be this way." Z was breathing in his face again. Danny gagged inwardly. "Just tell us what you know, and you can go back to your dark little cell like a good patient."
For a moment, Danny was tempted. It would be easy- just tell them what he heard and he could go to his cell and sleep. They probably already knew everything, and besides, he couldn't't tell them much more than they could see from the cameras. Then he refocused on Z's breathing, and he knew he couldn't't. There was no way he was going to let allow them to catch his knew friends. Whatever thing the GIW had planned for them, they didn't't deserve it. He glared ahead, jutting his chin in defiance. "Give me your best shot, you psychotic slimeball."
He heard the blade before he felt it, his scream nearly drowning out Z's next words.
"Wrong answer."
-Line break-
The team, not for the first time, was conflicted on what to do. If what Super boy said was accurate, Danny had just saved them from a bunch of psychotic government agents.
"We should contact the league." Aqua lad said, his eyes scanning the group's faces to see their reaction.
Miss Martian protested almost immediately. "We can't just leave! What about Danny?"
Flash gestured at her. "I agree with Miss M. We can't just leave the guy!"
Artemis looked peeved. "Guys, we have to be real here! This is a government facility! Government! If we start sniffing around, they'l just hide everything and act like it didn't't happen."
Flash's face reddened. "That doesn't't mean we shouldn't't try! And what do you know? You've barely been on our team for a day!"
Flash instantly regretted the remark. Artemis's face darkened like a thundercloud. "What would you know? The only thing that you ever do is go fast, and right now we need to stop and THINK! Oh that's right! Your brain couldn't't possibly process anything but Miss Martians-"
"Will you all be quiet?" Robin snapped. "I'm trying to hack a mainframe here!"
They all lapsed into silence, Flash and Artemis glaring at each other and Miss M having some rather insecure thoughts about what parts of her Flash thought about. It was lucky for everyone else that they weren't psychically linked right then.
"Got it!" Robin said triumphantly. He pulled up a hologram, and everyone crowded around to see. "I've hacked into their mainframe. We should be able to see pretty much anything we want."
Aqualad took charge. "Let's find out what this place does."
Robin nodded and tapped a few keys. After a minute of silence, he finally found what he was looking for. "We're in the facility of the 'Guys in White'." Flash sniggered at the name, but Artemis's glare made him quickly sobered him. "They specialize in the field of 'Specterology'."
Flash snorted, but before he could comment, Miss Martian asked, "What's Specterology?"
"The study of the spirits of those who have passed." Aqualad explained. "Ghosts, if you like."
Flash looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Robin said, "I found Danny's file."
Everyone crowded around once again as he opened the file. "Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom. Only known halfa?" Robin looked questioningly at the others, but they seemed as lost as he was. He continued, "Status: Defiant, restless, blind."
"Wait." Flash said. "He's blind?"
They all looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces. The clumsiness, the running into walls, not always looking at them when they spoke. How had they not realized it?
They continued to read in silence, each of them growing more horrified the more Robin dug. Nearly all of the experiments had video's, but luckily, Robin didn't have the nerve to watch any of them. But that didn't stop them all from cringing at the attached description of each experiment. Heat tolerance, drowning... vivisection. This kid had gone through it all. No anesthetic, no mercy. The worst thing was, a lot of experiments weren't even for research purposes. They merely existed to cause him pain.
"This is wrong." Robin whispered.
Superboy, who's face had gone nearly purple with rage, decided that enough was enough. He stomped over to the wall and looked at the others, waiting until he had their full attention before he spoke. "I don't know about you people, but I'm going after that kid."
He lifted his fist to punch the wall, but was stopped when the wall suddenly lifted. "There they are!"
A group of men in white lab coats stood on the other side of the wall, all of them carrying glowing green guns. They immediately began shooting, and the team scattered as the beams sprayed down the hallway in erratic arcs. Kid flash weaved between them and crashed into the men, taking out three. Superboy jumped in, knocking out the other two faster than they could blink.
They all looked awkwardly at the unconscious men before Kid flash said, "Well, there's no turning back now. We gonna rescue this kid?"
Artemis elbowed him. "Obviously, doofus!"
Kid flash rubbed his arm. "What happened to 'we can't get involved'?" He grumbled.
Artemis gestured toward the pile of unconscious agents. "It's a little late for that." She lifted her bow, her fingers clenching it tightly. "Besides, no one deserves to be treated that way." She glared at nothing, and for a moment, Kid flash thought he saw tears in her eyes. Then it was gone, and he figured he must have imagined it.
"I agree." Aqualad said. He looked at Robin. "Robin, can you find him?"
"On it." Robin said, tapping at his wrist hologram. Superboy growled impatiently, grinding his combat boot against the floor. Miss M had a vacant look on her face, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she thought of how lonely Danny must be.
"Got it!" Robin announced. He began running, the others following close behind. "We're close."
Artemis ran behind, her heart heavy but her mind determined. Hang on kid. She thought. We're coming.
-Line break-
Danny had thought that he knew what torture was. He had been wrong. So wrong.
It wasn't the cuts themselves that were the really bad part. Not even the electric shock was the worst part. No, it was the moment after, when his body registered that the pain had stopped. It would then start to relax, only to have pain sing through his nerves from the dozens of shallow cuts on his body. It was absolutely excruciating.
"It can all stop. It can stop right now."
He knew, he knew it could stop. But it wouldn't. He couldn't break, not after this much. Not after everything. But it was so soothing- how could a man as evil as Z speak like velvet?
"It's not as if they care about you. Everyone who ever cared about your sorry hide is long dead."
No. That was his immediate thought. And yet… how could he argue? All of his family and his friends had been killed. He remembered. He felt so strangely warm- what was going on? A little voice was screaming at him that something wasn't right, but why should he listen? All that little voice ever did was bring him trouble.
"Every person who ever gave two cents what happened to you is dead." Z persisted. "What have these people ever done for you? If they ever did anything to help you, it was out of pity, not caring."
He made a good point. These people he had met- he barely knew their names. Why on earth would they do anything for him if it wasn't out of pity? He was stupid to think that anyone could ever love him.
There was that little voice again. What was it trying to tell him? Oh, who gave a crap? Not him, certainly. He should really be telling Z everything he knew- it seemed logical. Who would even care if he didn't? He was just a useless halfa, a freak of nature, an impossibility that would soon be fixed. Who was he to argue with a voice so silky?
"When they find out the truth about you, they'll reject you, just like everyone else did."
Everyone? Danny scrunched his eyebrows slightly. That didn't seem right-
"Your own mother and father didn't love you."
Danny's unseeing eyes widened. Suddenly the warmth cleared away and was replaced with nothing but cold. He registered the smell of something sickly sweet, and he could think again, could remember. Their last words…
Danny stared at them in shock. He felt he should be running to them, getting medical attention, doing something. But all he could think of was the sight before him. His mother and father, both shackled to the wall, both with bloody holes through their stomachs. The only ones left, the only ones still breathing. Dyeing in the exact same position everyone else had.
His father coughed, blood splattering across his front. "Danny…"
Danny stumbled over to them, his hands shaking as he fell to his knees in front of them. Their blood soaked into his jeans, but he couldn't feel, couldn't think.
"Danny…" Jack coughed. "Danny, listen to me."
Maddie lifted her head, seeming to know what her husband was going to say. "Danny… it's going to be hard for you." She coughed as well. "P-please honey, don't give up."
"You're s-strong son." Jack rejoined the conversation. "B-be strong. No m-matter what these g-goons say, know that…"
"We love you." Maddie finished.
"G-ghost or n-not." Jack whispered. He shuddered, then went still.
"We… love…you." Maddie breathed. She closed her eyes, shuddered and jerked, then was completely still.
Danny stared, his mind unable to comprehend what he was seeing. "No…" He whimpered. "Please… please no." He scooting forward and touched his mother's hand, feeling that the warmth was leaving it even as he looked. "Not again…" He whispered. Turning toward the mirror that he knew was a window, behind which they were watching him. Like they always were. "Please."
But no one listened.
Danny felt a red hot fire of anger catch inside him, and he made no attempt to repress it as he remembered all too clearly what had happened that day. "How dare you." He whispered, his hands clenching into fists.
"What was that?" Z's voice was still smooth, still silky, and Danny hated him for it. He allowed this to fuel his anger, his eyes clenching shut as tears burned his eyes. Tears and something else.
"Was there something you wanted to say to me, patient?"
Danny clenched his teeth. His voice quavered as he spoke, but there was no denying the conviction in it. "It's gonna t-take more than ghost-n-nip to get me to talk, Zero."
There was an unmistakable tone of relish when Z replied, "I was hoping you'd say that."
-Line break-
After a while, they no longer needed to follow Robin's lead. They could hear exactly where he was.
Kid flash, naturally, got there first. What he saw made him sick.
Danny was lying strapped to a table, bleeding from shallow cuts all over his body. The smell of singed flesh permeated the air like a virus, bloody bandages wrapped around his head. He was gasping and huffing in obvious pain, his limbs jerking as he attempted to get out of the restraints.
Kid flash zoomed over to the control panel, franticly searching for the way to open the restraints.
Superboy came out of nowhere, smashing the control panel with the ferocity of a wounded snake. Flash looked at the smoking ruins, turning to see Danny's restraints fall open. "I… guess that works." He muttered, running over and catching Danny as he fell.
"N-n-no…" Danny moaned, squirming slightly. Artemis, to everyone's shock, was the one to reach out and take his hand. "It's okay, your safe now."
"Y-you don't understand." Danny coughed. "I-it's a-"
"A trap." They all turned, Aqualad's heart sinking as he realized what he had let his team walk into.
The man was tall and skinny as a rake, smirking at them with a smile that was too wide for his face. He had bleach blond hair, with a purpling bruise on the side of his head. Blood was splattered over the sleeves of his lab coat, blood that was obviously not his own. He had a butcher knife in his left hand, the blade stained red. "That's my toy you're playing with." The man purred, his voice sickly sweet, but his eyes flashing with anger.
The man moved with catlike speed, managing to catch Artemis by the neck. He dragged her close to him and began to say, 'no one move', but was stopped by a beam of green light smashing into his chest. He screamed and fell to the floor, letting Artemis go. Robin leapt to his feet and punched the man, knocking him out. They all turned around, trying to figure out where the beam had come from.
Danny had propped himself up on his forearms, his face creased from the effort that it took. His hand was smoking green, the palm pointed at where the man had been. He panted, a small grin on his face. "Such…a… freak…" He managed, before collapsing on the floor.
It took them all a moment to recover from that, but eventually, they were once again running down the hallway, this time with Danny in Aqualads arms.
"Why are we running?" Kid flash questioned. "There's no one here."
A group of men rounded the corner behind them, shouting and attempting to pull guns off their belts.
Robin scowled. "You had to say that." He threw a pair of disks behind them, collapsing the hallway and buying them a bit of time.
"Robin, can you please get us out of here?" Artemis pleaded, firing an arrow filled with foam behind them to further hinder the agents.
Robin pulled up a schematic, his sharp eyes scanning over it quickly. "Right!" He yelled, and they all swerved.
This continued for several minutes, more close calls and several curses that the Dark knight would not have approved of, Robin finally managed to get them outside. They all ran out, shocked to see who was waiting for them.
All of their mentors stood with their arms crossed, looking like they had all gotten together and eaten something nasty before arriving. The team looked at each other, all feeling a little betrayed despite the fact that they could really use the help.
"I said we should contact the league." Aqualad said. "So, I did."
Superboy probably would have knocked his lights out, but was forestalled by Batman. The Dark knight stepped forward, his face neutral. In a low voice that broached no argument, he said, "I expect a full explanation at Mt. Justice."
To the team, he may as well have passed a death sentence.
