Author Note: Thank you for all the favorites, reviews, and follows! Tomorrow, I may not get a chance to upload the next chapter until later that day (like real later) if at all because tonight I am having a sleepover- a Sweet 16 Birthday Party sleepover (even if technically, my birthday isn't until next week). I am so excited!
~CWA

Chapter 15:

Third Person:

Black Canary watched as the Poltergeist took a seat across from her. The holo-ring he wore hid his scars, but it did nothing to hide his tired and sad eyes. His hair was a mess and his white aura was dimmer than usual- as was his green eyes. He slouched into the couch, laying down on it so he was resting his back and legs fully. He drifted on and off from sleep until Black Canary finally cleared her throat.

"Poltergeist, is there anything you want to talk about?"

He sat up a bit straighter an swung his legs over so he was sitting correctly.

"I don't know," he whispered.

His hands were still shaking a bit as he was still trying to get rid of all the flashback images running through his mind- his mind wasn't even entirely awake yet, but he knew he had to tell someone what was going on. If he didn't tell someone, it would just get worse. Jazz would want him to speak up. So that was what he was going to do.

"What about the nightmare? Superboy told me that he and M'gann woke you up from one?"

"…Yeah," Danny whispered, "I… I did have a nightmare."

Black Canary leaned forward slightly,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Danny's grip tightened slightly as he took a shaky breath.

"I… I should… My… My sister and my other sister would be want me to… Jazz used to say it was unhealthy to keep things bottled up…"

"Jazz was your sister," Canary asked to confirm it.

Danny nodded.

"Y-yeah. Older sister…"

Danny took a shaky breath,

"My nightmare wasn't something I- it wasn't fake… It was memories."

"Memories," Black Canary gently questioned.

"From when I was… I… I was experimented on."

Danny's body shook slightly as Black Canary's eyes widened.

"They said ghosts couldn't feel pain," Danny continued, "They said… They said I wasn't their son b-because I'm a ghost."

His eyes started to tear up,

"I am their son… I was their son… But they experimented on- I was down there for two weeks! B-Before the fire… The fire enabled my friends and my sister to save me. But I was burned by it- the scars on my face and side… But th-they… They didn't survive."

He choked back a small sob as he leaned forward. Black Canary watched him and listened to him intensely.

"They- my best friend, my girlfriend, and my older sister…. Gone… She… Sam died in front of me!"

He looked up, the tears silently going down his face,

"She died right in my arms… I was too weak to save her! I just… I loved her…"

Danny put his head down as the tears ran down his face. A part of him felt a bit better getting everything out. He had bottled so much up and to just let go of it all and finally cry about it after a while felt nice. He was surprised, however, when he felt Black Canary hug him tightly, so tightly he had to gently push her away so she didn't hurt his ribs. Her eyes were obviously saddened by his confession, but they held no judgment. She wasn't mad at him for not being able to save anyone. He remembered that at first, Gear was a bit mad at him for not saving Jazz- a week and three drunk nights later, she was alright though and she forgave him (and he forgave her).

Before Black Canary could utter any words of advice about grieving or how it wasn't his fault or that he wasn't weak, the alarm went off and Robin rushed in. He looked at the Poltergeist, who looked worse for wear and had red eyes (not actual red eyes- they were pink, a sign he had been crying) and then at Black Canary, who looked like she was about to cry.

"Uhh sorry… But Poltergeist, if you are feeling any better, we could use your help. We think it's another ghost attack."

"Another," Poltergeist whined, instantly returning to normal (or at least appearing so), "Ah man… I'm alright- I'll fight."

Robin laughed slightly as they both left the room. Thankfully, Danny was used to the odd sleeping hours from back when he first got his powers. Often, it was more than just two ghosts, it was every night (including school nights), and he hardly ever got more than four hours of sleep. At least this time, he can get the ghost issue wrapped up and no matter what, he can sleep in tomorrow unless they get a mission (which if he was lucky, they may let him skip because of the ribs).

"Dude," Robin asked, "Are you sure you're-"

"-Whelmed," Danny finished with a twinkle in his eyes, "Totally. Let's go kick ecto-ass- I mean butt."

As soon as they arrived at the scene, Robin had yet to even ask why Poltergeist (or rather Danny according to Batman's files) was crying and honestly, he didn't want to ask because whatever happened in the therapy sessions were between Danny and Canary. It wasn't his business. Danny did seem to be doing better- his eyes weren't red and according to him his ribs were almost healed up.

The scene, however, was something a bit different. Multiple ghosts, dressed what appeared to resemble some sort of police officers, were storming the streets. The one ghost that seemed to lead them was the one that was pure white.

The Poltergeist gave a small growl that caused the team to look over at him momentarily. He didn't pay any attention- his focus fully on Walker.

"His name is Walker," Danny informed them, "He runs the prison in the Ghost Zone and entraps any that doesn't follow the rules- or at least his version of the rules."

"It couldn't possibly be that bad though, right," Kid Flash asked.

"No it's bad. He once imprisoned me for like a thousand years for bringing something from this world into the Zone. So within like a day or two of being there, I busted out."

"How did you manage that," Artemis questioned.

"…Big prison break… It's okay though! Most of them were there because of the unfair rules Walker has like the thing about the orange socks!"

"That's nuts," Robin shook his head, "Are there any rules that actually make sense?"

"The only that has made sense to me is the Christmas treaty. No ghosts fight on Christmas. If you do, it gets ugly. I mean, they're really serious about it so you can get imprisoned for like ten thousand years."

"I know you're there, punk," Walker called out loudly.

Poltergeist and the team shared a nod as they all went into action. Kaldur and the team settled for fighting with the guard-like ghosts while Poltergeist confronted Walker.

"Hey Walker! Looking for me!"

Poltergeist floated with his arms crossed smugly over his chest. His cloak floating around him majestically. Walker narrowed his eyes,

"New look, punk? Doesn't matter. Word is that you've been breaking the rules here too… Like breaking the rules in the Zone wasn't enough for you, punk."

Poltergeist rolled his eyes and got into a fighting stance. He briefly looked over to see the team was holding their own- mostly because the ghosts weren't going intangible so they were able to hit them. He gave them a firm nod before he turned his attention back to Walker, who was up to him by now. Walker used his fist to hit Danny, hard. Getting thrown back a could of feet, he regained his balance and rubbed his jaw.

"Nice hit, you've been working on it."

Walker offered no comment as he went to attack again. Poltergeist vanished briefly to reappear behind him,

"You know what? I'm sore. I'm tired. I'm not in a good mood… Time we finish this."

"Guys, watch out- hit to the high points nearby," Poltergeist warned them.

Robin looked over curiously as Poltergeist summoned a large ecto-blast, it was larger than previous ones he had used. The team scattered as Danny fired the blast at every ghost near- it was like one large wave of ectoplasm that knocked out each of the nearby ghosts in one hit. When it was finished, he was a bit out of breath and a bit out of energy, but he was still standing whereas the other ghosts were defiantly not standing. He used the thermos and sucked each of them up, ignoring the faint curses from Skulker's voice coming from inside the thermos. His sudden burst of power didn't go unnoticed by Robin- who wondered just how much power the Poltergeist had and how much he hid.

Danny looked to the team with a sheepish grin,

"I am so thankful it's a weekend… If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep until noon… Maybe even till three…or four…"