TO PURPLENIGHTWING: Danny doesn't die! Calm down, and check your PM box for me please! I explain some stuff there!
Ch.23: Oh Kids
Mount Justice: February 1, 22:23EDT
It was a little over a week after Danny got back. The Team had spent more time in that short week than a married couple does in a month, since Danny had been gone for a month. It put most relationships to shame. And it just so happened that the Team had a mission that night. It was supposed to be simple. The Dark Knight of Gotham had a feeling a Cobra-Venom deal was going to go down and sent the teens to see if he was right, though the Dark Knight felt there was more to it than that.
Tis why Batman stood in the hanger waiting for them.
The Bio-ship landed and Aqualad, Megan, Artemis, Superboy, Rocket, and Zatanna emerged from the ship, white as ghosts. Batman narrowed his eyes. "Where are Kid Flash, Danny, and Robin?"
The teens shared a look. "Uh…"
A small black and white form and an even smaller red and black form zoomed from the Bio-ship and latched themselves onto Batman's legs. They hardly reached his knees.
"Batman!"
The Caped Crusader looked down and saw his two protégés hugging him. Danny looked about six. Robin looked about four. Danny's clothes fit him just fine, since his hazemat suit was self-mending and was capable of fitting to match the donor. Robin only had his tunic and his utility belt wrapped tightly around his waist.
Batman sent a full-force glare on the teens. "What happened?"
The seven teens looked about ready to faint. They pushed Aqualad forward, since he was the leader. Aqualad was just as nervous as everyone else. He rubbed his neck. "Well, your mission was more than it seemed, as you had suspected. Klarion the Witch Boy appeared as we were leaving, and cast a spell and a blast was sent from his hands towards Robin. Danny had countered the spell, pushing Robin out of the way. They were both hit with the blast and shortly after we retreated, they turned into a six and four year old."
Megan walked forward and stood by Aqualad. "Originally, Robin and Danny both had their teen personalities in their child bodies. That's why Kid Flash is like that." She pointed to Kid Flash who emerged from the Bio-ship. Actually, he more or less rolled. He was bound in green ectoplasm and a gag was placed firmly over his mouth.
"Seems that he got over the concussion fairly quickly." Artemis commented. Zatanna nodded.
"We beat up Wally!" Danny said happily. He probably has wanted to do that for some time.
"Are you proud?" Robin asked innocently.
What? They're the protégés of Batman! What else would you expect?
To everyone else's shock, Batman smirked and ruffled their hair, earning small giggles.
"Well they used to have their old personalities." Rocket said, watching her teammates. The words 'and now they've been reduced to kids' hung in the air.
Kid Flash continued to struggle against his bonds. Obviously, it wasn't working. He glared at his two best friends.
"Why did you beat up Kid Flash?" Batman asked Danny and Robin.
The two pouted. "He laughed at us!"
Kid Flash rolled his eyes and shouted something incomprehension-able. Batman rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. When he looked down, his protégés were gone. He cursed loudly.
Everyone looked around, except for Batman. He merely looked up at the dark rafters. "Get down from there."
Megan was horrified. "They're up there!"
Batman shrugged. "They hang from chandeliers all the time."
Megan almost fainted.
"If you want us to come down, you have to come and get us!" Danny's voice mocked. Robin laughed after.
Batman didn't move from his spot. "Get. Down. Now."
The two boys laughed. "No!"
To the teen's horror, Batman shrugged and started walking away.
"Wait, where you going?" Robin asked from the rafters.
"Home." Was their curt reply.
"No!" The boys pouted.
Batman kept on walking.
"Wait a minute!" They both cried. Batman stopped and the two boys fell from the rafters onto his shoulders. Actually, they were more or less hanging from his shoulders.
"We were just joking!" Danny said.
"Yeah! Don't leave us!" Robin said.
They both looked close to tears. Batman smirked. "Don't do it again and I won't."
The two boys nodded eagerly. Batman then silently left, heading towards the Zeta-tubes, two boys hanging from his back.
The teens who had been watching could only stare.
Batman… was good with kids?
All logic just flew out the window. For all they knew, Wally was a wizard in disguise, Megan was a fire-breathing dragon, Superboy was a unicorn, Aqualad was a demon spawned from Satan, Rocket was Taylor Swift, Zatanna was actually a guy, and Artemis was a mermaid and in love with Cody Simpson.
Of course none of that was true…
Right?
Speaking of which, Kid Flash was still tied up.
Before Batman walked into the Zeta-tubes, he went to talk to Black Canary. The blonde could only stare blankly at the two kids who were once teens.
"Mind explaining?" She asked.
"Klarion."
"No good brat."
"That's what I said!" Danny said excitedly and laughed with Robin. Canary smiled and looked to the Ghost Boy and trapeze artist.
"I'm sure you did. Now, what do you need, Bruce?" Canary asked, mindful so no one could hear.
"My other job is going to be taking up a lot of time in the next few days. I can watch them tonight but not for the next few days after and then I have to find how to reverse this." Batman answered.
Canary nodded. "You want me to watch them?"
Batman nodded back. Canary shrugged. "Ok. Just drop them off here tomorrow and Megan and Zatanna can watch them until I can pick them up."
Batman turned around. "See you soon."
Canary waved. "See you."
Batman finished his trip to the Zeta-portals and did the override since it didn't recognize Danny and Robin, the ones still hanging from his shoulders. Then, after doing that, he walked in and into the Batcave.
The two boys dropped from his shoulders and ran off, giggling as they did, scaring the crap out of Alfred.
"Mind explaining, sir?" He asked.
Batman walked past him. "Long story short, spell from Klarion."
Alfred sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"
Batman chuckled, pulling off his cowl. He could hear his two protégés in the rafters… again.
"Boys, get down from there!" He shouted.
"No!"
He looked at them, dead panned. "I'll give you ice-cream."
The two boys wordlessly fell from the rafters again and landed in their mentors arms. Danny was still in ghost form.
"Why don't you change back?" Bruce asked.
Danny grimaced. "I don't want to end up like him!"
Robin growled and they started fighting.
Bruce sighed and separated them by holding their chests on either side of him. They still tried to claw at the other though.
Bruce took them upstairs after changing and found some pajamas that were Dick's from when he was nine. They were still too big but at least they weren't tripping as much. He texted Dinah to get them some clothes for tomorrow and that he'd pay her back. She answered saying she would and that he didn't need too.
Then, they went to the kitchen and all got some ice-cream. They learned something new that night.
You can't give a six-year-old Danny ice-cream.
Wanna know why?
He goes insane. Danny gave the saying 'bouncing off the walls' a whole new meaning. It made things worse when he transformed and started using his ghost powers. Alfred, Bruce, and even Danny's Totems spent the whole frikkin night trying to-
A) Calm him down
Or
B) Ware him out so he'd fall asleep
Dick, for the first few hours, watched and laughed his butt until Danny grabbed him and took him for the ride. So, then they had two kids to capture. Dick passed out not too long after Danny grabbed him, but the Ghost Boy was still going strong. At seven thirty a.m., Danny disappeared. They searched the entire house and found Danny in a sugar induced coma in one of the drawers in Bruce's desk.
Bruce would've passed out too but he had work to do and a meeting to get ready for. So, the billionaire playboy was very edgy the entire day. He did most of his work at home and left Lucius Fox to set the meeting up. Danny and Dick both woke up at ten and started playing with the normal energy of kids their age. Bruce was so thankful he hadn't got rid of some of the toys Dick had when he was younger. It kept the two little demons occupied.
When he saw that the schools were letting out and that Megan, Superboy, and Zatanna would be at the Cave, he had Alfred pack some overnight bags and got Robin into some civvies that still didn't fit him and some small sunglasses. Danny was just fine in his normal hazemat suit.
Bruce changed into Batman and thanked Alfred for the overnight bags. He gave the bags to the respected kids and ushered them towards the Zeta-portals, telling them that they'd be staying with Canary for a few nights.
"Robin; A05"
"Phantom; A06"
"Batman; 02"
The two boys and their mentor exited. Megan flew up a few seconds after their arrival. "Hi Batman! Danny! Robin!"
The two boys waved. "Hi Megan!"
The Martian smiled at the two sweetly. "Is there something I can do for you Batman?"
"Can you watch them until Black Canary picks them up?" The Dark Knight asked.
Megan nodded. "Of course! Do I need to do anything special?" She asked.
"No. Just don't give Danny any sugar." Batman replied.
Megan nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, why not?"
Batman turned and walked towards the Zeta-portals. "You don't want to know."
Megan stared after him confused. "Ok?"
The computerized voice announced Batman's departing and Danny and Robin waved. "Bye Batsy!"
Batman nodded at his protégés before disappearing.
Megan kindly ushered the two boys to the living room, where the other two teens living there were working on their homework. Danny and Robin sat on the ground and started playing with the older boy's stuffed animals.
Zatanna and Superboy stared.
"It's hard to believe those two are our overly serious and freakishly childish friends." The magician said. Superboy nodded in agreement with Zatanna.
Megan joined Zatanna and Superboy. They all had Math class together and Zatanna and Superboy were trying to help Megan understand algebra, and they were failing. Megan rubbed her face and looked to where the two kids were.
They were gone.
She shot up. "Where are Danny and Robin?!"
The other two teens looked to where she was and saw the missing kids.
"Oh no." Superboy said.
Zatanna nodded. "Oh yeah. Finding a ninja and a Ghost Boy is not going to be easy. Split up. Well find them faster."
The teens split up, abandoning their work. Megan easily found Robin in the air vent with her telepathy but Danny remained off her radar.
Which sucked. Because they found Robin in an air vent, a place a four year old shouldn't be able to get to. How were they supposed to find a six year old with ghost powers?! Why couldn't this be easier? And it got even more ridiculous when Wolf wouldn't help!
Robin giggled.
He knew something.
"Robin, where is Danny?" Zatanna asked sweetly as Megan held him, not daring to let him go for fear he'd run off again.
Robin giggled and shook his head. "Danny made me pinkie swear I wouldn't tell you where he is!"
Zatanna growled. "I hate brothers."
Superboy started using his thermal vision to try and find him. He was having no luck since Danny could change his temperature to match the air around and vice versa.
They continued to search after putting Robin on a telekinetic leash. Even with it, he almost escaped five times, five frikkin times!
Dinah walked in and saw the searching teens and Robin almost escaping again. She raised an eyebrow. "Would someone please explain what's going on?"
All the teens came to her in a rush.
"Danny's gone!"
"He disappeared!"
"Can't find him!"
Canary held up her hand silencing them. She walked forward and picked Robin up. "I'm guessing you won't tell me where he is, will you?"
Robin shook his head. "Nope!"
Canary rolled her eyes. "Then he'll be in one place."
The teens followed her as she walked down the hall and into Wolf's section of the hanger. She walked behind the giant wolf and picked up Danny who giggled and struggled in her grasp.
Their friend was working with the enemy.
Traitor.
Wolf smirked in a very humanoid way. Superboy glared. "Traitor."
Wolf gave a small puff of air, sounding a lot like a chuckle.
Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "He's laughing at us, I can feel it."
Megan sighed. "It was so obvious too. No wonder he wouldn't help."
Canary chuckled. "Danny does have a way with persuasion."
Danny took out a bone from grandmother knows where and gave it to Wolf and patted his head.
Superboy continued glaring. "Traitor."
Danny laughed and high-fived Robin. Canary only smirked. "Don't feel bad. When Danny first showed up, he'd always hide in Batman's closet on the top shelf when he felt nervous. The first time he disappeared was freaky. We searched the entire day, to find him passed out in the closet. The second time we didn't dare think he'd hide in the same spot."
Danny giggled. "It was funny." He said plainly.
Canary rolled her eyes with the other two girls.
Superboy continued glaring. "Traitor."
Canary shifted the two boys and set them down. "Go get your bags and we'll head to my house, ok?"
The once teens ran off to do as told.
"Oh!" Megan said, remembering something. "Batman said that Danny's not allowed to have sugar."
Canary nodded. "I heard. He texted me and told me that he gave ice-cream to Danny and then he went into an all-nighter sugar high."
The three teens grimaced. "Oh, that's an awful thought."
Canary nodded. "Yeah, Danny broke a few vases and fell asleep in Batman's desk drawer."
"His desk drawer?" Zatanna asked, unbelieving.
Canary nodded. "The 'little demon', as Batman called him, has always found ways to get in weird places."
Danny ran back without Robin. "Robbie's hiding in the oven and won't get out!"
Canary went wide-eyed. "And Danny taught Robin a lesson."
The teens and the adult got Robin out quickly, since it was the oven.
Canary picked the two up and headed for the Zeta-tubes, their backpacks on her back. "Say, where's Red?" The blonde asked.
The three teens shared a look and Superboy saw something. He picked it up and read the note. "Apparently, he's busy fighting someone in the next city over."
Canary nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll call in when I get the chance."
The teens nodded back. "Ok, bye Canary!"
Canary smiled. "See you later."
She walked down the hall and towards the Zeta-portals. Once out of sight, she gave a look to both boys. "We do not hide from our babysitters, alright?"
The two boys laughed.
Canary took them into the portal and was sent to Star City, also known as Oliver Queen's penthouse. After she exited, she changed into her civvies and got the boys to do the same.
Oliver watched Dinah exit the secret room where he kept the portal and instantly spotted the two boys. "I didn't think you actually meant they were turned to kids."
Dinah glared. "What else could I have meant?"
Oliver shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me that."
The two boys waved. "Hey Uncle Ollie!"
Oliver smiled. "Hey boys. Is Auntie Dinah being nice?"
The two boys nodded.
Dinah shook her head. "I'm taking them to my apartment now."
Oliver shrugged. "Ok. I'll call you later. Text me if you need anything."
Dinah nodded. "Alright. Talk to you later."
Oliver nodded and let Dinah leave.
The undercover heroine drove the two boys' home. Then once she unlocked the door, she let them run wild in her apartment after getting them changed into more reasonable clothes. Of course they were careful as Dinah worked on her computer but they were kids and they were going to do what kids do best.
After Dinah called it a night, she cooked her 'nephews' dinner. It was simple. Mac and cheese and hotdogs. Yum. They ate as much as they could which says a lot for Danny, who usually hardly eats anything.
Then, after everyone was done eating, Dinah took them to the couch and they watched 101 Dalmatians, since Dinah knew for a fact it was one of the four movies Disney has ever made that didn't have one of the parents die or are already dead.
Danny and Dick fell asleep near the end, curled up by Dinah's sides. She picked them up when the credits started and took them to the guest room. She tucked them in before turning off the lamp and going to watch the news. Then she went to bed.
Dinah shot up when she heard screaming. She got up and ran to the guest room.
Danny was screaming in his sleep and Dick was scared out of his mind. Dinah kneeled next to the older boy and started shaking him awake. "Danny, Danny sweetie, wake up! Come on, wake up! It's ok! It's ok! It's not real!"
She should've known Danny's horrifying memories would be harder to comprehend with the mind of a six year old.
Danny's eyes shot up and Dinah took him into her arms as he started crying. "It's ok. It's ok."
Dick peeked out from under his covers. "Is it over?"
Dinah turned on the lamp and nodded. "Yeah Dick, it's over." She sat down next to the younger boy, who still had no idea what to do.
"Is Danny ok?" He asked.
Dinah nodded as she leaned back and shifted the form in her arms. "He's ok, just scared."
Dick titled his head. "Why's he scared?"
Dinah thought of a way to explain this. "Danny… fears many things but he doesn't show it. When he goes to sleep, he has to show it because he can't control it anymore. Get it?"
Dick tilted his head in confusion but hesitantly nodded. It was going to have to do for now.
Dinah helped Dick lean back. "Go back to sleep, Dick. Don't want you to be tired tomorrow."
The small boy nodded and crawled under his covers. Dinah turned off the lamp and got up, Danny still in her arms. She started to walk out but Dick stopped her. "Will Danny be ok, Auntie Dinah?"
The heroine paused. "I think he'll be fine, Dick."
This seemed to ease the protégé of Batman to sleep.
Dinah took Danny to her room and laid down, the boy still sobbing into her chest. He started sputtering out nonsense but the woman was able to make out the details of flagellation and flaying, both methods of torture. Yeah, that would have to be painful for a kid to comprehend.
Eventually, he did fall back asleep, curled up next Dinah, to wake up screaming a few more times during the night, all for some different nightmare or another.
At six in the morning, when the sun hadn't even come up yet, Danny refused to fall back asleep. Dinah, knowing when Danny refused to do something he wasn't going to do it, got up and took Danny out to the couch to watch TV. He looked about ready to pass out.
Danny could stay awake for weeks on end if need be, which he had to when he was captured both times. But in the body of a kid, he did not have such luck.
Two hours later, Dick emerged from his room, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he walked to the couch and climbed up and sat by Dinah. "Morning Auntie."
Dinah smiled and ruffled the small kid's head. "Morning kiddo."
Dick then went on to explain a weird dream where Batman married Wonder Woman and they lived happily ever after.
"Do not mention that to him, got it?" Dinah said.
Dick looked at her weirdly. "Why not?"
Dinah patted his head. "No reason."
Dick nodded, still confused. "Can we have breakfast?"
Ah yes, the one thing that did make sense in the strange world; food.
Dinah nodded and got up. She grabbed two blankets first and gave the bird one to Dick and the ghost one to Danny, who hardly noticed. Then she went to the kitchen to make pancakes.
Dick poked the hybrid. "Hey Danny!"
The halfa looked at his brother.
"Yeah Dickie?" Danny asked, his words slurred.
Dick chuckled some but didn't mention anything. "You want to play a game?"
Danny nodded, though still tired. "Could you go get the stuffed animals?"
Dick nodded and ran off to get them.
Together, the two boys played on the couch with Danny's Totem animals. Dinah watched them, amused as the phone rang. She grabbed it, pressed the button, and put it on her ear and pushed to her shoulder as she took her hand away. "Hello."
"Let's make this quick. I don't have a lot of time."
Dinah smirked, amused. "Well good morning to you too, Bruce."
She heard the man on the other side sigh. "I'm serious, Dinah."
She continued smirking and placed her bowl down. "And I was joking. What's up?"
"How did last night go?"
Dinah turned around and leaned against the counter. "Fine. The boys behaved after hiding from their babysitters. Then, Danny had around six to seven nightmares."
She heard Bruce sigh.
"How bad?"
Dinah took a small glance behind her and saw the two boys playing, totally unaware.
"Horrible. I hope you know Danny left out flagellation, flaying, choking, high pitched noises, and strappado." She could practically hear Bruce grimacing.
"No, I didn't know."
Dinah sighed. "Didn't think so. His mind focused on those events last night." She said.
Bruce sighed. "Can I talk to them?"
Dinah nodded but she knew Bruce couldn't see her. "Yeah, here's Dick. Dick! Bruce is on the phone!"
The boy came running and took the phone from her hand eagerly. "Hi Tati!"
Dinah raised an eyebrow at the name but didn't ask.
"I had a weird dream last night!"
Dinah tried to get Dick to stop but he went on about his dream anyway. Dinah face-palmed.
Fail.
Dick showed confusion on his face. "Tati, you there?"
He brightened. "Yep!... Ok! Hey Danny! Bruce wants to talk to you!"
Dick ran to his brother and gave the phone to him. Danny took it, rubbing his eyes. "Hi Paĉjo."
Dinah scrunched her face. What was with the nicknames?
The heroine listened to Danny's side of the conversation. He was answering all of Bruce's questions and was adding some input. When he was done, he gave the phone back to Dinah. The heroine pressed it to her ear.
"I'm back." She said.
"Ok, just wanted to say bye." Bruce said.
Dinah shrugged. "Ok. Bye. Wait a minute, I've been wondering, why isn't Alfred watching them?" She asked.
"When Robin was nine Alfred had a hard time watching him. Now there's two and they're younger. The mansion would be burned to the ground, something illegal would've happened, or one of them would be missing when I got back."
Dinah thought about it.
Yeah, she could see that happening.
"Alright. Oh, and Diana emailed me last night. She's going to take the kid's to her place." She informed.
"What a coincidence." Bruce mumbled.
Dinah smirked. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Sure."
"Goodbye Dinah." Bruce stressed.
Dinah smirked. "Goodbye Bruce." She hung up and placed the phone back on the counter and got back to making pancakes.
Dinah picked up Danny since he was incapable of walking. She and the two boys were going to meet Diana at a café. An hour before the respected meeting time, Danny became incapable of pretty much all movement, his energy draining quickly.
Dick looked at Danny funny. "What's up with him?"
Dinah gave small smile. "It's nothing Dick. Danny's just really tired."
Tired is an understatement.
Dinah led the two boys down to her car. Dick climbed right on in and buckled up. Dinah had to open the other car door and place Danny in his seat. After she buckled him in, she went to get into her seat but Danny grabbed her before she could.
In the back of her mind, she remembered Bruce telling her about how Danny would be half-conscious and become clingy. Really clingy.
"Danny, can you let go?" Dinah asked softly. The Ghost Boy shook his head. Dinah looked to Dick. "Can you pass me one of his plushies?"
Dick nodded and grabbed a black snake; Amoux.
Dinah took it and pressed it to Danny's clammy hands. He hesitantly took it and let Dinah go. The heroine got up and shut the door and got in her seat. She turned the car on and backed up. She drove from her apartment and to the little café a few blocks away.
Diana made it to the café before Dinah did. She was waiting in a booth and reading as she waited. She smiled as Dinah approached, carrying the two boys in her arms.
Dinah slid into the booth, still holding Danny. Dick crawled after her. "Hi Auntie Diana!"
The Amazon smiled at the young boy. "Hi Dick! Did you enjoy your time with Aunt Dinah?"
Dick nodded eagerly. Diana continued smiling and looked at Danny. "Hi Danny." She said quietly.
The small boy nodded, closing his eyes, but refusing sleep. Dinah smiled apologetically. "He had a rough night."
Diana nodded in understanding. "Bruce called and told me. So, I got the boys these."
Diana took out two notebooks and placed them on the table, along with some colored pencils.
Dick took the red one and one of the packets immediately and started drawing, fairly well too. Danny opened his eyes and then took his, also starting his own drawing.
Dinah gave Diana a grateful smile. "Thanks. Danny hasn't been very active today."
Diana nodded. "Oh, it's nothing. Did anything interesting happen last night?"
Dinah smirked and told Dick to tell her about his dream. The young boy went into full detail, making Diana turn red.
As Dinah laughed at Diana's expression, Danny tugged at her sleeve. She looked down. "Yes Danny?"
He wordlessly held up his notebook. Dinah took it and almost threw up a little.
The picture was plain and clearly of a lab. It showed a glass window with pure green blood written to make the word 'Help'. There was shadow in a corner by the window. One white boot peaked out from the shadows and there was also the outline of a person in the shadows.
Dinah forced a smile. "It's pretty Danny. May I take a picture?"
Danny nodded and allowed Dinah to take a picture, which she immediately sent to Bruce.
After, she found herself enjoying Diana's company as Danny started drawing pictures of his Totems and his Dragon Form.
When they had finished their food, Dinah told Diana all she could to help with Danny's nightmares and then let the woman take them, heading for a Zeta-portal that would take them to Washington D.C.
Dinah got into her car and brought up Danny's pictures. She shook her head. "He needs a lot of help if he's going to stay as a six-year-old."
Diana smiled as Dick and Danny danced to the music playing, one of them weaker than the other. She felt bad for Danny but knew she could help so she didn't give up hope. Besides, he wasn't going to stay like this forever. He'd be ok once he was turned back. He'd be ok. He was strong. He could do it.
The last few days had been very stressful for Diana. Danny continually had nightmares, scaring the crap out of Dick in the middle of the night. Then, he refused to sleep and became even more tired. Then, she was called to Mount Justice and was supposed to bring the two kids. She had Danny transform into Phantom before leaving. Then, the Zeta-ed to Mount Justice.
She did not expect to see the Team running around, children just like Dick and Danny.
All of them were playing and Dick easily squirmed out of her arms and joined. Danny didn't even try. He was limp in her arms and she had a vice like grip on him because she didn't want to drop him.
The kid's mentors were watching, desperately trying to calm their partners down, failing miserably at their job.
Megan was flying all around, happy as can be. Her uncle was behind her, trying his hardest to get her to stay still.
Wally was running around, laughing his butt off. Flash was running after him but his advanced speed did not help him in this case.
Artemis was on the verge of tears because of childhood trauma, and Green Arrow was doing his best to try and cheer her up but only accomplishing making her even more upset.
Superman was trying to keep Connor from getting away, speaking that the boy was a lot more active now.
Rocket dodged everything her mentor, Icon, did.
Zatanna was looking forlorn.
And Kaldur was playing by his mentor's feet, Aquaman more than happy to not be one of the others.
Robin had disappeared.
Diana looked to the side and watched as Dinah froze at the scene. She must have been notified only a little earlier. The two women watched as the mentors tried desperately to calm their little ones. That is, until Dinah decided enough was enough.
"STOP!"
All the kid's turned to Dinah, surprised by her yelling.
"Artemis, Zatanna, come here." Canary said. The two girls got up and walked over to the woman. She easily picked them up, instantly comforting the two.
"Now boys, calm down and sit down. Rocket, M'gann, that means you too." Canary instructed. They did as told. They heard chuckling.
"Robin, get down from the rafters."
They heard an 'awww' before Robin was next to the other boys, Rocket, and Megan.
The men could only stare as Dinah took charge and the kid's actually listened. The little demons listened.
"How did you do that?" Flash said, amazed. The two women raised an eyebrow.
"I think these men have no paternal instinct, what's-so-ever." Diana said, shifting Danny a little. The men in the room, their pride hurt, glared.
"Hey! They're little demons!" Flash yelled.
Dinah sighed. "No. They're hyperactive."
Diana glared. "You need to keep them occupied."
"And how do you do that?" Superman questioned.
The two women smirked. "Who wants to play Duck-Duck-Goose?"
All the hands of the children shot up. "ME!"
The men's mouths gaped open. Diana wrapped Danny in a blanket and handed him off to Green Arrow. "Hold him for a second."
The men watched as the kids were directed in a circle and the women did Bubblegum-Bubblegum to decide who would be 'it' first. It came down to Zatanna and the girl started walking around the circle.
Dinah walked over to Green Arrow, and took Danny from him, cradling him to her chest. "Poor baby, he's exhausted."
Danny curled into her chest and let himself be taken over to the circle and watched, eyes almost completely shut.
Diana had joined the game and was cheering the kid's on. Eventually, the men were dragged into this and were playing along, this being torture to them.
They fight giant monsters, psychotic villains, and are always losing to arguments to Batman. Yes, this would hurt your pride too. You can't blame them.
After they got bored with that game, they decided to play hide-and-seek. Doing Bubblegum-Bubblegum again, Rocket was it. Before they started, Diana stepped in front of Robin. "You're not allowed to hide in the over, the washer, the dryer, the air vents, the rafters, the microwave (he did it at her house), or any other place of the like, understood?"
Robin pouted. "Why not?"
Diana crossed her arms. "Because it's dangerous, now am I clear?"
Robin nodded.
Surprisingly, Robin actually listened. Though he still found random places, like Superboy's dresser drawer. They're still trying to figure out how he shut it again. Or how he opened it in the first place.
Dinah stayed with Danny though, trying to urge him to sleep. It wasn't working, if you were wondering. Danny has a will of iron. When he doesn't want to do something, he ain't going to do it.
Batman showed up a little later, in the middle of a round of hide-and-seek in the dark.
It had escalated quickly.
Some of the lights were on, but most of them weren't.
Dinah had gotten off the couch upon hearing of his arrival, and walked down the hall. Danny had continued to cling to her, digging his head into her neck. Dinah smiled at the Dark Knight. "Glad to see you finally made it."
The Caped Crusader wordlessly saw Danny and his exhaustion. He didn't need to ask.
"Hasn't really slept for days."
Batman sighed. "Just what we need."
Dinah silently handed Danny off to his mentor. Danny more or less passed out, then and there, transforming back, low on power. Batman pulled the blanket closer around the small boy, and made a sort of hood out of the top. Danny just reinforced it by curling deeper into it.
At that moment, Flash came sneaking in. Megan was it, so…
He screamed once he saw Batman and Dinah watching him. A small laugh came from the hallway and Megan pointed at Flash. "I found you!"
The Caped Crusader raised an eyebrow.
Dinah patted his shoulder. "They're playing hide-and-seek."
The Dark Knight smirked. Flash growled before trudging off to go count. Dinah waved after him and Batman continued smirking.
"Have you found a way to reverse the effect of the spell?" Dinah asked.
Batman raised an eyebrow again. "How do you know all of them were hit with a spell?" He asked.
"J'onn told me while he hid."
Batman nodded. "No, I haven't found a way to reverse it yet. I was going to pick up the boys here and take them home to finish my work."
Dinah nodded. "I don't think you'll be able to take them home though. They're way too wrapped up here."
Batman looked down at Danny, who was hiding in the blanket. "I don't think he'd be able to even try to object."
Dinah sighed. "You can work in one of the spare rooms."
The Dark Knight nodded and wordlessly started walking away.
He walked into one of the spare bedrooms and laid Danny on the bed. He fixed the blanket to be more comfortable around him and then he went to work on one of the laptops.
He found nothing. Nothing. It was frustrating. He would ask Danny since the boy had counteracted the spell in some way when he and Robin were hit. So, obviously, he knew what spell it was. But Danny was still unconscious on the bed behind him and he didn't have the heart to wake him up. You wouldn't either if you knew he had been up for a few days in a row.
Batman nearly had a heart attack when Danny started screaming bloody murder. He was quick to turn around and shake Danny awake. After waking up, the small form burst into tears before gripping his mentor like a life-line.
The Caped Crusader pulled him into his lap, still sitting in the chair, and leaned back. He rocked Danny back and forth for a long while. It got the desired effect and Danny ever so slowly calmed down. The entire time he had been saying something into his chest but it was in-comprehendible. He didn't dare interrupt though; it might make him even more upset.
When the small boy was calm again, the Caped Crusader turned back to his work wordlessly but didn't dare let go of Danny. The kid's grip said he wasn't letting go anytime soon.
After awhile, Danny grew curious and watched his mentor work. "Whatcha doing?"
Batman smirked. At least a little energy had come back into the kid. "Trying to figure out how to reverse the spell that made you a little kid."
Danny shrugged. "Well, that's easy. Klarion's spell was a beginner's spell. I can easily reverse it. I think Klarion thought I didn't know his stupid spells and decided to use it because he thought I didn't know it."
Batman looked at his protégé, shocked. "You didn't tell me before, why?"
Danny shrugged. "You didn't ask."
The Dark Knight almost face-palmed. Kids will tell you what you want and nothing more. He should've known.
He picked the boy up and left the room. He had to wait another frikkin round of hide-and-seek for everybody to come around and see what he wanted. He was thoroughly ticked off because of it.
"Danny here knows how to reverse the spell." Batman announced.
Flash raised an eyebrow. "You finally found out?"
The Dark Knight let out an irritated puff of air. "Actually, Danny knew since this started."
The adult's mouths dropped open.
"Why didn't he tell us before?!" Flash screamed, being rash.
"You didn't ask." Danny said.
Most of the adults did face-palm that time.
Danny told all the kids to sit in a circle. Danny himself sat in the middle of said circle. He closed his eyes and got in a meditation position. He peeked one eye open though. "If we faint, it's normal for this spell." He said and muttered two sentences under his breath.
A silver aura appeared around the boys and the girls were enveloped in a golden aura. Danny was mixture of both but with scarlet. As Danny said, the kid's passed out, including himself. The kid's grew back into their teen forms and their clothes grew with them, thank God.
About five minutes later, Robin woke up, followed by Wally, Artemis, Megan, Rocket, Zatanna, Superboy, Aqualad, and then Danny.
"Uh, my head is killing me." Robin complained, holding his head.
"You can say that again." Wally muttered.
"My head is killing me."
Wally glared. "I didn't mean it literally."
Artemis groaned. "That was me, you idiot!" The archer slapped her boyfriend.
"Man, I hate that spell." Danny muttered, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Why am I so tired?"
Batman raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"
Danny thought for a moment. "I remember coming out of the Bio-ship, having the sugar rush of my life, hiding behind Wolf, and then being taken to Aunt Dinah's place. After that, it's kind of a blur."
"That would be because of your lack of sleep." Dinah said.
"Oh." Danny muttered but shrugged. "Well, I probably don't want to remember that time either so…"
Dinah nodded. "Yeah, probably not."
Danny gave a small tired smile. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Might as well have energy for tonight's patrol."
Before anyone could say anything else, Danny had fallen back into unconsciousness on the floor.
Batman rolled his eyes. "Robin, we're heading to Gotham." The Dark Knight threw Danny over his shoulder and headed towards the portals, Robin laughing behind him. The young teen waved at the others before they were transported to Gotham.
The others just stared at where they disappeared. "That wasn't weird at all."
Artemis glared at Wally. "You're surrounded by scientific impossibilities and you've never said anything like that before."
Wally shrugged. "It's a normal occurrence being surrounded by scientific impossibilities."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Of course."
One day.
They were all gone. In one day.
It freaked people out when a protégé was kidnapped. But when all of them go missing in one day, the entire Justice League goes into a full blown panic. Even Batman, the cool calm and collected one, was near hysteria.
Who in their right minds would kidnap every protégé known in the Justice League? Whoever it was was going to get a fate worse than death when the Justice League finds out who took them. Because you mess with one of the big guys kids, you're screwed. But you mess with every single last one of them, you're so screwed it's beyond human comprehension. No one messes with their kids, no one, and gets away with it.
Elsewhere in the United States…
On the side of a secret facility for fagins*, there was an explosion. It rocked the entire building and covered the area in rubble, dust, and dirt clouds. Out of the same area rushed nine teens. There were five boys and four girls. The first boy had green eyes and white hair. The second had a lanky figure, black hair and blue eyes. The third had dark skin, blonde hair, and pale green eyes. The fourth had ginger hair and forest green eyes. And the last had a buff build with blue eyes and black hair.
The first girl had long blonde hair and dark grey eyes. The second had green skin, red hair, and amber eyes. The third had black hair and blue eyes. And the fourth had dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes.
The nine friends ran, followed by gun fire.
"You want me to get us out of here?!" Shouted the white haired boy to their leader, the dark skinned boy.
He nodded in response.
"Some of us do have powers, ya know!" The dark skinned girl shouted over the ruckus.
The white haired boy laughed. "Yeah, I know! But then how would you keep up with me?" He shouted back and then jumped into the air. "If you can fly, grab someone who can't!"
The black haired girl grabbed the lanky black haired boy and the blonde haired girl. The dark skinned girl grabbed the dark skinned boy. The white haired boy grabbed the ginger haired boy. And the green skinned girl levitated the last boy.
They all took to the air, and Danny led the flyers above the clouds. Danny turned to them, still dodging blasts that came their way. Four giant birds appeared around him. One was a white raven, another was a black fire bird, the third was a black storm bird, and the last was a blue ice bird.
"Zatanna, drop Artemis off onto Isis!" The blue bird flew under the black haired girl and she let go of the blonde. She landed safely on the back of the giant bird. The Ghost Boy dropped the ginger behind the blonde.
"Mystery, you're with Dick and Zatanna! Raul, you're with Megan and Superboy! Marrok, that obviously makes you with Kaldur and Rocket! Now, hurry up! They're onto us!"
The rest of the flyers dropped themselves onto the backs of the birds, and they took off with a speed they would never be able to match. The white haired boy was leading, going slightly faster than the giant birds.
In just a few minutes, they had out-flown the people shooting behind them. The white haired boy slowed his pace, matching that of the birds'.
"Where we going?" The lanky boy said on the raven.
The white haired boy frowned. "I don't know! We have nowhere to go! We don't really have a destination, do we?"
The blue eyed boy shrugged. "I guess not!" He shouted.
"Then what are we going to do?!" The ginger asked.
The white haired boy shrugged.
"We travel and try to find a home!" The dark skinned boy shouted over the wind.
The white haired boy nodded. "Yeah! We'll go where the wind takes us! Which means we're going the wrong way!"
The birds turned sharply and headed in another direction. The riders screamed but the flyer laughed, the sound resounding through the air below. No one was there to hear it though.
*A fagin is a person who teaches children to become criminals.
I am SO mean. If any of you follow The Abused and notice the way Robin and Danny were acting was like the Danny in The Abused... Well, where do you think I got the idea for The Abused? XD
Kadzait: Can you not leave us with a cliff-hanger?
No. XD
Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: Kkrraakk, Lunabane, Not-Gonna-Update, Theboblinator, and GreyAngel564.
Thanks to the Theboblinator, GreenDrkness and Dark Angel of Wind for favoriting me!
Em: Hahaha! It's ok! Vacation's are a blast so... Except when your mom wants to go to Belize... -.-' And Dani will show up eventually... I think...
DannyPhantom619: O.O. Ok then...
Whirlwindwonder: AWWW! THANKS!
Bibbledoo: I have noticed you have violent tendencies. *evil smirk* We have that in common.
Guest(1): He probably would have but that's the thing about Batman that makes him hard to write. HE PRACTICALLY KNOWS EVERYTHING! Grrrr... I made a lot of people so you ain't the first. XD HAHAHA! That'd be cute! XD
Lee: Dude... Your review made my day. I was so happy. XD I'm glad you loved this so much! And AWWWWW, you love me that much?! I love you too! ... If it makes you uncomfortable, ignore the last note. XD
Hitmoi-tama: ...*opens and closes mouth like a fish* Actually, I can't remember when I put her in... -.-'
Breyannia: Too many questions I don't have answers for! XD We're just gonna go with the flow on this story. :D
Skymuse: ...I am so sorry for making that last chapter sound so much like an ending...Honey, this story ain't ending for a long time. Don't worry. XD
EternalMadameBlaze: Good cause I like my skin on me. XD
Theboblinator: Glad I could make you laugh. :D
Anonymous: XD
KuriMaster13: EVERYONE DID! It was so funny!
Sakurastar: *cough-hint noted-cough* XD
Zoeshade: *big stupid grin* THANK YOU SO MUCH! :DDDDDD
BringbackDannyPhantom: Oh thank goodness... You people finally put away the weapons... :D
GreenDrkness: I would just like to thank you personally for spamming my inbox with love yesterday! XD You always were one of my favorite reviewers!