Chapter 10:
Third Person:
The team led Danny to Mount Justice to be interrogated by Batman and possibly a few other members of the League. Of course, Artemis and Kid Flash believed they had a good handle on the situation and were in control. Robin and Kaldur, however, could easily tell the only reason the Poltergeist was going with them because he wanted to go. If he didn't want to go, then he wouldn't. As soon as the team was a bit a ways ahead, Robin stood back to walk beside the Poltergeist- his hair was still flickering in and out, occasionally turning to normal hair and his eyes were bright green instead of red-green, but Poltergeist didn't seem to notice. He was too busy staring at awe at everything, his hands still cuffed into specialized handcuffs (made to hold people with the ability to pass through objects).
"Why are you here," Robin whispered to the Poltergeist.
Superboy looked over briefly with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't say anything- he just gave a hard look that made Danny take a step back briefly.
"'Cause I'm bored," the Poltergeist gave a shrug, "And you guys did catch me. I don't think I can get out of these things."
He waved his wrists up briefly as if to show Robin the cuffs. Robin glared briefly but left the topic alone. There had to be a real reason Poltergeist wanted to be there- was he trying to infiltrate the League or the team? Catch them off guard? Did he decide to go straight and become a hero? If so, why? Why go from being a thief to a hero? Did his eye color have anything to do with it (before it was red-green, the red almost taking over, but now after he 'saved' the team, it's all green)? Did his hair flickering in and out have any connection to it? Most importantly, what kind of answer is 'cause I'm bored' anyway? He is way too whelmed, maybe even under-whelmed. At this point it would be a lot easier to figure him out if he was over whelmed and I never say that!
The Poltergeist (Danny) still looked around in just absolute awe. The place was awesome and really gave that 'hero' vibe. This place nearly makes me wanna be a hero again… He stopped briefly, causing the team look back at him in confusion- they were almost to the interrogation room where the League awaited. They saw Poltergeist's face of confusion, in thought. A hero… Do I want to be a hero again? I mean… It was kind of nice to help people… Breaking laws is fun, but taking down those that break laws is even more fun- kind of makes me feel a bit more completed… But is that even possible for me to be a hero again? Can they even let me be a hero again with everything I have done? I will talk to Gear about it later but it wouldn't hurt to talk to these guys too right? I mean they've been heroes a lot longer and they barely get bad credit.
"Uhh guys," Kid Flash said over the link, "Is it just me or his hair-"
"-Turning non-flaming and actually to normal white hair? It's not just you," Artemis stated.
Poltergeist shook his head, a few white locks getting into his face as he looked up at the group with a big smile. The team almost didn't recognize him since his hair wasn't in flames and his eyes instead of red, were actually glowing vivid green. Plus the smile on his face seemed sincere like he just found out something happy. Before the team could question the change in Poltergeist, they arrived at the interrogation room. Superboy was the one to nearly shove the Poltergeist into the room before slamming it, causing Danny's eyes to flash bright red briefly as he glared at the door. He shook his head and took a seat across the table.
In the other room, the team (minus Kid Flash, who went to get snacks) along with Red Tornado watched the interrogation through a one-way mirror (reinforced so nothing short of Superman could break it, but not even Superman could see through the lead mixed with it). Robin turned to Superboy,
"Was it necessary to shove him? Dude, you need to stay whelmed."
"I'm perfectly calm," Superboy growled.
Robin shrugged, but it was obvious he wasn't convinced. He turned his attention back to the interrogation. The Poltergeist was taking in his surroundings, he noted, but seemed a bit in awe of the League members in front of him- Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary. His green eyes were nearly bulging before he regained some control. Don't geek out- it's just the Justice League… Don't make a geek out of yourself… I am a thief- well ex-thief, I guess… I do not fanboy.
"You are the Poltergeist," Batman asked to confirm the information he was given.
Poltergeist goofily smiled,
"Yes, sir. That's me."
Batman didn't look so convinced, but he didn't comment on it. He continued,
"The was a message, shortly before the team first encountered you, stating that you were a friend, and signed simply by Someone smarter than you-"
"-Quam Tu," Potlergeist explained, "Quam Tu probably did that. She has an issue with interfering with my life- though I guess that's reasonable she's practically my mentor in a way…"
Poltergeist looked away thoughtful while the adults shared a look. Quam Tu- The Quam Tu was the practical mentor of the seemingly sort-of naïve boy in front of them.
"Quam Tu is a chick," Robin muttered to himself in the other room, "Interesting."
"How," Batman said simply.
"How? Well uh we knew each other before all the criminal stuff- since I was like four? She's a good mentor and practically family, despite everything I mean. Like she drinks a lot, and I do mean a lot and she is kind of an alcoholic but she's not bad. She cares about me like a little brother and she takes good care of me. Plus because she's a criminal too so she can't really be a hypocrite and get onto me, though she honestly couldn't care less about what I did long as I didn't hurt anyone or mix liquor with drugs.."
The fact that Quam Tu was an alcoholic was information that both Batman and Robin stored away for later, hoping that it would be a clue to get closer to her identity.
"What are your abilities?"
I can't tell them all of them, Poltergeist mused, otherwise I'd have nothing to shock them with in the future.
"Basic ghost abilities."
"Which are?"
"Flight, intangibility, ectoplasmic blasts, invisibility."
Poltergeist counted the abilities on his fingers as he listed him,
"Oh! And overshadowing!"
"Overshadowing?"
"Some might say it's possession," Poltergeist got a brief malicious grin on his face before it went away, "It's my least favorite power. Basically, we can possess anyone and use them- like puppets. We control them, take away their free will. The only way we get out is if we get out ourselves, another ghost pushes us out, or if the person has extremely good will power that could possibly overpower us."
Batman narrowed his eyes, knowing that the Poltergeist could overshadow anyone was not something pleasant- the kid could even overshadow Superman. Black Canary stepped forward,
"Why would you steal all those things? The tide jewels? All the paintings, statues, and other gems?"
"Why not," Poltergeist grinned maliciously, his eyes turning red briefly before they turned bright green again.
"I mean," Poltergeist continued, "I wasn't hurting anyone, so why was it so wrong? Besides, I have to stand on my own and provide for myself. Good ol' Quammy can't provide for me forever. Besides, people always thought I was evil anyway and I got tired of it."
She deals with a lot already. I just wanted to give back- but my original intention was to become the menace everyone already thought I was. I never hurt anyone- I overshadowed the guards and had them tie up themselves as well as knock them out. He scowled momentarily.
"And what are you," Martian Manhunter pried.
"A ghost," Poltergeist said, he looked down slightly, avoiding eye contact, "I'm dead. But because I literally am a sort-of poltergeist, people thought I was evil when I wasn't. I just… Decided to become the menace they all thought I was and I came with the err- partners- because well, I… I kind of wanna live the straight life now…"
"You claim to be a ghost," Batman looked up and if possible, even raised an eyebrow, "Explain."
"I died, I came back due to ectoplasmic residue in the area," Poltergeist said formally.
"Who were you before you died," Batman demanded.
"Not that I don't trust you, of course, but… I don't trust you," Poltergeist shook his head, "Sorry, but the whole 'who were you before you died' and 'how did you die' is actually really insulting to ghosts. I mean really, dying is a traumatic thing to happen in your life- afterlife…"
Poltergeist looked around the room again, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Robin was muttering to himself about the different possibilities of ghosts while Batman went over similar possibilities and theories in his mind. Black Canary's heart was heavy since the Poltergeist was only sixteen and already dead. Martian Manhunter, along with Superboy and Artemis weren't sure whether or not to believe what the Poltergeist was saying. Red Tornado felt indifferent. M'gann believed him full heartedly and she felt a bit saddened that not only did someone die, but their death caused so many people to believe they were bad that they actually became a thief. It was a sad story. She briefly wondered how Poltergeist died, who he was, and when he died.
"When did you die," Batman asked firmly, "And why are we supposed to believe you?"
"I died about two years ago," Poltergeist mused, "And I don't really expect you to believe. Three years ago, I didn't even believe in ghosts. But they're real alright, and just like people some are good, some are bad, and some are in between. But there are a lot of ghosts though so unless you know for sure if it's good or bad, and you have the correct anti-ghost equipment then it's best to stay away from it."
"If there's so many ghosts, why don't we see more of them," Black Canary questioned.
"Maybe you just haven't been looking," Poltergeist said vaguely, "I mean, the problem got so bad in Am- I mean, in a town, that the government even had an anti-ghost branch. Granted they were dicks and didn't care if the ghost was good or bad and usually hurt normal citizens in the process of trying to get a ghost… And they never even caught one ghost because they were so incapable… They might've blocked any media from getting out of the town to keep it 'under control' because ghosts centered around there. Aside from that town, there was not many ghosts since most stayed in the Ghost Zone- it's a dimension parallel from ours and connected to ours too. Plus natural portals are random and if you go through them you don't know when or where you'll end up- you could end up in the 1800's, on Earth, or even on a different planet maybe. I don't know for sure… It's been awhile since I've been there…Not many people even know about the Ghost Zone."
Batman's mind buzzed with questions.
"If not many people know about it, why tell us? Why did they central around the one town and you said natural portals, are you to say there are unnatural ones?"
Poltergeist furrowed his brows before shrugging,
"I told you because I want you to trust me. I honestly am trying to go straight. After saving the partners from the ghost it reminded me that… I don't have to be bad because people think I am. Become who you are, not what people want you to be- least that was what I heard… Okay as for unnatural portals, there were only two in existence. One was in that town and poorly maintained by the inventors so a lot of ghosts came out of it."
"Because mostly bad ghosts came from it and the inventors,"he spat out the word 'inventors' the same way Draco Malfoy said 'mudbloods', "were ghost hunters with biased opinions, everyone believed that all ghosts were evil and couldn't feel pain."
Poltergeist scowled as if remembering a bad memory- it didn't go unnoticed. Couldn't feel pain… I felt it… I felt it when they tied me up and exterminated on me weeks before the town went up in flames… It's sick to think I once thought of them as parents…
"Can they," Batman asked- curious to hear the Poltergeist's opinion about it.
"They can- ehem- I can," Poltergeist answered as soon as he registered the question, "I think other ghosts have it too, but I do have accelerated healing. I scar like people though. Though Quam has this weird theory about the scars only showing up because ectoplasm was involved when making them like ectoplasmic powered weapons or ectoplasm coated tools or knives or because they were created when I was physically weak."
Or when I was in human form, Poltergeist mentally added.
"She's probably right."
Poltergeist looked toward the exit,
"If this is over, can you undo these cuffs? I think it's chaffing around my wrists."
He said he gets scars yet not a single one is visible on him, Batman narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Poltergeist noticed the way Batman was looking at him and put his hands up in defense,
"Woah that's almost as scary as Quam's glare she gives me when I do something stupid… Why are you glaring?"
"You said you have scars," Black Canary took control, "Yet-"
"-Yet you can't see them," Poltergeist shook his head, "Yeah I know. Tutu, I mean Quam Tu, fixed me up this holographic ring to hide my scars… I… I don't really like looking at them… It's personal."
Poltergeist fidgeted obviously uncomfortable. Batman narrowed his eyes, causing Danny to let out a sigh of frustration.
"Alright! If I show you the scars will you believe me," he pleaded, looking up at them with big puppy dog eyes.
Batman didn't say or do anything before Poltergeist looked down at the ring. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Slowly, he turned the ring and wiggled it off his finger. As soon as he opened them, he saw Black Canary's horrified expression, Batman's face looked less surprised but more saddened, and even Martian Manhunter looked taken back. Behind the mirror, the team looked horrified.
"What happened to him," Artemis whispered.
The burn scars went across his face, scarring up a bit of his features, and even went all the way down his side, showing through the opened vest. The next most obvious scar was the ones on his chest- the large 'Y' shaped one that went from his shoulders to his naval and a few minor minor scars going across it. Batman and Robin noticed the scar on the Poltergeist's hand.
"Explain," Batman said firmly.
Poltergeist stood from the chair and shifted his weight from foot to foot before taking a deep breath- Batman, Robin, and Kaldur were the ones to make note of it because if he was a ghost, why did he need to breath? Poltergeist gulped and raised both his wrists (due to the cuffs) and opened his palms. He showed the scar on the hand,
"That scar is from my cause of death, as is a few others."
He motioned to the burns,
"And the burns are from a fire."
"And the ones on your chest," Black Canary pried.
Poltergeist looked away,
"Those are the ones from the people who said ghosts can't feel pain…"
His fists clenched and his eyes turned red as he looked back at them, his hair threatening to go back in flames,
"I felt it…"
When Kid Flash ran back to the interrogation room, several chips and cookies in his mouth and in his hands, the door to it opened, causing him to trip. Poltergeist stepped through the door, the cuffs off his hands, and looked to the fallen partner. He raised an eyebrow,
"Watch that step, I hear it's a dozy."
KF scowled as he got up,
"What are you doing? How did you get out of your cuffs?"
Poltergeist smiled,
"I didn't- they let me out."
The team along with the League members stepped out of the rooms as well. Robin laughed, seeing Kid Flash's expression.
"He's on probation, KF. A member of the team!"
"Unless he proves to not be telling the truth," Batman warned, sending a warning glare towards the oblivious Poltergeist.
Kaldur clasped a hand on the Poltergeist's shoulder and he turned to Kaldur with a smile. Kaldur didn't return the smile, still being wary, but he gave a firm nod.
"And we are happy to have him on the team as well."