Ch.25: Torture
This had to be counted as child abuse. It just had to. Because Bruce totally deserved to go to jail at the moment. How could he make them go to his stupid charity ball like this? It was torture! No teenager wanted to be at one.
"Bruce, why?" Danny whined. He wore a suit with no tie. He ditched it a long time ago. Dick stood on Bruce's other side, and had followed his brother's idea of a tie earlier.
"This has to be a cruel and unusual punishment!" Dick also whined.
Bruce just chuckled. "You've faced worse than this."
The two boys shook their heads. Bruce just smirked. "You two are embarrassing yourselves, you know that, right?"
The two glared, both crossing their arms in sync. Bruce frowned. "Do you know how creepy it is when you do that?"
The two smirked and Bruce rolled his eyes. "It was you guys who rigged the alarms to go off in five minute intervals at Wal-Mart."
The two boys burst into laughter and high-fived.
"That was hilarious." Dick said and Danny nodded.
Bruce rolled his eyes again and looked at his guests.
"I don't want to be here either, you know." He mumbled so only his sons heard. They both smirked at him evilly in reply.
"Look, if it isn't Bruce!"
Danny paled and Dick looked at him weirdly. Danny shook his head. "It can't be…"
Juan and Isabella Sanchez walked forward with their daughter, Paulina Sanchez. As in the same girl who ruled Casper High.
"Hi Danny! It's been so long!" Paulina said, faking happiness and hugging Danny tightly. He forced a smile and hugged her back but Dick and Bruce hid their amusement at his silent plea of 'I'M ABOUT TO DIE OF SHALLOWNESS!'. At least, that was what his eyes said to Bruce and Dick.
They broke apart and Danny tried to keep the Latino girl at arm's length.
Juan chuckled. "It seems that they really hit it off."
Bruce smirked. "Yeah."
Danny gave him a secret 'I hate you' look. Bruce continued smirking. Dick was laughing behind his hands.
"So Danny, where were you the year you disappeared? You know, before Mr. Wayne adopted you." Paulina asked.
Danny forced a smile. "I was in different foster homes, believe it or not. Bruce just made it a lot easier on me when he adopted me."
Dick slung his arm around Danny's neck. "He became my older brother and from that day forth, partners in crime."
They both laughed.
"Remember when we kicked Wally's butt?" Dick asked and they both laughed, confusing Paulina.
"Fen-turd?"
Danny paled again. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
Dash appeared from the crowd, gaping at Danny. Dick gave Danny an evil smile. "What was that?"
Danny glared at him. "We never speak of this again, understood? Wally does not need dirt on me. Cause I can totally give him dirt on you."
Dick paled. "You wouldn't."
Danny smirked. "I would."
Bruce sighed. "For once, could both of you not get into the prank war conversation? It happens at least once a day."
The two crossed their arms at their mentor. "We have dirt on you."
Bruce glared at them. "Enough with the dirt. And remember, I know more about you than you two know yourselves."
The teens growled but let it drop and turned back to the two teens.
"So Dash, how's it been?" Danny asked, not really paying attention.
Dash looked him up and down. "Uh, fine?"
Danny nodded. "You plan on getting a football scholarship?"
Dash nodded. "Yeah, coach says I got a shot."
Danny shrugged. "Ok, anything new?"
This is how Danny and Dick get out of talking. They let the other person talk about themselves. Works every time.
Paulina stepped in. "Enough about Dash. What about you Danny? It's been so long. Two years almost."
Well, it worked every other time.
Danny shrugged. "Nothing much. I'm close to Bruce and Dick. Bruce's co-workers and their kids hang out with us a lot. It's a good break from Gotham Academy."
Paulina batted her eyelashes, obviously flirting. "Who are your friends?"
Danny shrugged. "No one important. But their names are Raquel, Kal, Connor, Artemis, Wally, Megan, and Zatanna."
Paulina gasped dramatically. "That's so cool!"
Dash slung his arm over Paulina in a possessive manner. "Got a girlfriend Danny?"
The teen in question shook his head. "No." Then he smirked. "But my brother over here has a crush on Z-Z!"
Dick glared at him. "I do not!"
Danny smirked and slung his arm over Dick's shoulders. "Denial. Tis not just a river in Egypt."
Dick gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes and then glared at a chuckling Bruce.
"So, wanna go somewhere else?" Dash asked.
The two brothers grimaced. "We can't."
Paulina raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
The two pointed to their smirking father as he talked to his 'friends'. "We have to stay within twenty feet of him."
"Uh… Why?"
"Because this is a punishment for rigging the alarms at Wal-Mart." Danny mumbled.
Dick smirked. "It was a great prank though."
Danny smiled along with him. "You bettcha, Dick."
"Ah, Pamela! Jeremy! Great to see you!"
Danny whirled around and his blue eyes met violet.
"Danny?"
"Sam?"
The two just stared at each other for a minute. Dick looked between the two and took a picture. "My brother, finally dumbstruck for once in his life."
Danny rounded on his brother. "Send that to Wally and I'll send him that picture!"
Dick was horrified. "You wouldn't!"
Danny smirked evilly. "I would."
The older of the two turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He was surprised when his childhood friend gave him a peck on the cheek. He turned a deep crimson.
Paulina and Dash's mouths dropped open. Dick followed suit. Bruce smirked. Pamela and Jeremy were horrified.
"I think that was a little late." Sam said.
Danny smiled and slung his arm over Sam. "I take that back, Dash. I do have a girlfriend."
Sam smirked.
"Ha! This is so gonna be fun!" Dick shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
Danny looked at him weirdly. "At least I can admit I like her. You... Not so much."
Dick turned red in anger. "I do not like Zatanna!"
"Yes you do." Bruce said, before going back to his conversation with the adults.
Danny laughed at Dick's expression. The younger lunged, but his arm was quickly pinned behind his back. "Come on Dick, your left side was open. Seriously?"
Paulina, Dash, Pamela, Jeremy, Isabella, and Juan were left astonished. Sam was smirking in amusement. Bruce was annoyed. "Boys, could you not do that here? I am well aware you both have a deep obsession with sparring and martial arts but I have told you before. No going at each other's throats in public."
Danny released Dick and the two smiled, happy as can be. The change was so drastic, most people had whiplash. "Yes, Daddy."
Bruce rolled his eyes. "You two can run off now. But please don't break anything or kill each other. Alfred would kill me for letting you two get blood on the carpet."
Danny smiled at Sam, Dash, and Paulina. He was too caring to leave the latter of the three behind. "Come on guys. We're ditching this joint."
Bruce rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad."
"It's a cruel and unusual punishment!"
The five teens ran off before Bruce could get another word in.
"Uh, should we trust your wards?" Pamela asked.
Bruce smiled. "Don't worry about them. Nothing too bad could happen." That I know of.
Danny and Dick sat in the principal's office. They were pretty sure they had no pranks set up as of lately.
They both scrambled to sit correctly once they heard the door start opening. They sat up straight with fake smiles.
Bruce was, sadly, late to picking them up. He had apologized multiple times saying that the meeting went longer than normal with LexCorp. They both said it was fine and to kick Luther's butt out of town. Faggot.
Their principal, Mr. Striker, walked in and sat at his desk with the school nurse and the school councilor, Mrs. Amy and Mrs. Stacy.
Dick and Danny shared a bored look that said 'Here we go again', and sighed. This was like the fifth time for Dick, and the second time for Danny. The first time was annoying for both of them.
"Good day boys. How has your day been?" Mr. Striker asked. The two boys shrugged.
"I got an A on a test." Dick said.
"And my science teacher said I'm a total genius when it comes to chemistry and inventing." Danny said.
Dick scoffed. "Your mother is an inventor."
Danny smirked. "You're just jealous because I got that one experiment right when yours exploded."
Dick rolled his eyes.
"Anyways…" Mrs. Amy trailed.
"Is anything going on at home?" Mrs. Stacy asked.
"Uh, Dick and I are learning fencing." Danny said.
"Danny and I are about to beat a game." Dick continued.
"Dick hangs from chandeliers."
"Danny causes things to explode."
"Alfred's stalking us over the intercom."
"Bruce found Danny sleeping on his top shelf."
"That was when I first got here."
"You still did it."
"Whatever. At least I don't hang from chandeliers."
"It's sparkly and off limits. It's practically screaming for me to hang off it. And you do it too!"
"Touché."
The adults watched the kid's banter un-amused. Mr. Striker sighed. "This is not the first time we've been here, boys. People think Mr. Wayne is abusing you. If he is, tell us so we can help you."
Danny and Dick both sighed and slumped in their seats.
"We appreciate your kindness." Dick started.
"Really, we do." Danny said.
"But Bruce is not beating us."
"He's an awesome guardian."
"Wouldn't want another."
"He's helped us through a lot of hard times."
"He makes more scarifies than he lets on for us."
"Who the heck keeps saying he abuses us?"
"Cause they need to do their math again."
"He makes sure we have everything we need."
"And I really want some of Alfred's not-so-famous-but-should-be peanut butter chocolate chip cookies."
"Right there with ya, Dick."
The adults sighed. Every time they had this discussion, the two boys would stick up for Bruce whole-heartedly when they shouldn't.
"Boys, people say that Mr. Wayne has a bad temper. Then you two come to school with scratches and bruises, sometimes worse." Mr. Striker said.
The two glared.
"Bruce may have a temper issue." Dick started.
"But he doesn't take it out on anybody, least of all us. Unless you count leaving me to the hounds as abuse." Danny said.
The adult's eyes widened.
Dick laughed. "That was hilarious! Remember when he made us go to that?"
Danny nodded and smiled. "And the time he pushed me into the drift!"
Dick nodded. "And the time you fell into a coma!"
Danny chuckled at the memory. "Yeah, and the time he kicked our butts!"
The whole time the adults had no idea what the heck they were talking about, but it didn't sound good.
"Ready to go home boys?" Bruce asked walking in.
"You're not taking them anywhere!" Mrs. Stacy shouted.
Bruce sighed in annoyance. "Boys, what did you say?"
They only chuckled in response.
"We told them how you left me to the hounds, made us go to that, pushed me into a drift, fell in a coma, and the time you kicked our butts." Danny explained.
Dick laughed. "Yeah, and that's not even the worst of it!"
Mrs. Amy was about to faint.
Bruce sighed. "Next time, tell them in a language they can understand. We know full well what you both mean, but them, not so much."
The boys laughed. "What do you mean?"
They looked at their teachers and grimaced.
They looked horrified.
"Oh…" The both muttered.
Bruce nodded. "Pretty much."
The boys chuckled and looked at each other.
"Maybe we should…" Dick trailed off. Danny nodded. "Yeah…"
"What are you going to do?" Mr. Striker asked warily. Bruce clamped a hand on the boy's shoulders. "They're going to clarify what they meant. They like to over-exaggerate everything."
The two boys glared.
"Anyways, the "hounds" were my aunts. It was New Years and all my friends were making out and I was laughing at them. My aunts decided to say 'Hey! Danny's free!' and instead of making out with their boyfriends, they went for me. Now we call them the "hounds" when we refer to that incident." Danny explained.
Dick nodded. "Yeah, and the dreaded that was a charity ball. You'd be surprised how boring they are."
Danny sighed, but nodded. "And Bruce pushed me into a snowdrift after I threw a snowball at his face."
Dick laughed out loud at the memory. "And his coma was sugar-induced. He had too much ice-cream."
Danny sighed at the beautiful memory. "Best sugar high ever."
"You were up all night and slept for two hours. I don't even think it could be considered a coma." Bruce interjected. The two boys shrugged. "And I kicked their butts while I was teaching them self-defense. They both sucked at the time."
The boys chuckled but didn't deny the fact.
"Uh, I see. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." Mr. Striker said.
"Can we leave now?" Dick asked hopefully.
Mr. Striker sighed. "Yes Richard, you may leave."
The two boys cheered before rushing out. Bruce sighed, rolled his eyes, and gave a goodbye before following.
As the boys walked, Bruce smacked their heads. "How many times have I told you not to use your code talk in public?"
The two boys grumbled.
"At least seventy-nine times." Dick said.
Danny shook his head. "More like one hundred ninety-five… thousand."
Danny and Dick both tip-toed as they walked up to their unsuspecting mentor, goofy grins on their faces.
"Don't even think about it."
They quickly turned around and tip-toed away, pretending not to be there.
Dick and Danny both stared at the cookies. They reached out and-
"Go back to bed, Masters Daniel and Richard."
The two boys screamed in frustration.
"Curse you Alfred and the intercom system!" Danny shouted.
Dick kicked the side of the cabinet but ended up screaming in pain. Danny laughed at his misery.
"How many times will I have to tell you? No midnight snacks."
Dick screamed and dropped to the floor. He started army-crawling out of the kitchen as Danny and Bruce watched. Danny shrugged and dropped to the floor.
"Wait for me Dick! One for all and all for one, right?"
"Not when it comes to Bruce! It's every man for himself!"
"Gee, thanks, you're a great brother. Feeling the love, through and through."
Bruce chuckled at their (crawling) retreating forms before grabbing a cookie and leaving.
"I thought it was no midnight snacks." Alfred said, walking up behind him.
Bruce shrugged. "That rule's for them."
Dick screamed as he ran from his blood-lust brother… in the park. "Danny, stop it! I said I was sorry!"
Danny growled. "That was my favorite shirt!"
Dick scoffed. "It looks like all the others!"
Danny growled again. "It had a blood stain in it! How else was I supposed to tell it apart?!"
The Ghost Boy lunged and then Dick and Danny were rolling around in the grass.
The other pedestrians watched with blank stares.
Bruce sighed and rubbed the sides of his face. "No killing each other." He said plainly.
"I make no promises!"
and
"Bruce, HELP! HELP ME! I'M BEING MAULED! I'M BEING ASSAULTED!"
were his answers. Dick, for extra measure, adding sobbing noises to his plea.
It was abruptly cut off by Danny's cry in pain.
"You bit me!" The Ghost Boy shouted as Dick scrambled away. He was tripped when Danny grabbed his leg, sending him to the ground again.
Bruce face-palmed, and rubbed his temples again. "One day without them trying to rip each other's throats out would be nice…"
(Day After the Team Gets Their Memories Back)
The Team stared at the two black haired, blue eyed boys in front of them, with their mentor behind them. Most of the other teens were gaping, all except Wally. Danny and Dick were just watching amused.
"So let me get this straight. You're Danny Fenton and Dick Grayson." Artemis said and scoffed. "I should've known."
The two boys chuckled. "We told you this would be funny some day." Dick said.
Artemis shook her head.
"I think we should've known. I mean, how else is Batman supposed to afford all his fancy toys?" Zatanna asked.
"We have our toys too! I have my own lab!" Danny said excitedly.
"Why do you have your own lab?" Rocket asked.
"I like to invent stuff. Speaking of which, hey Bats, I finished modifying the machine guns in your car to be able to switch to ecto-powered bullets." Danny said.
Batman nodded, stoic.
"What about all the explosions you make?" Dick asked.
Danny sighed. "I think the Box Ghost comes in and sabotages my work. Cause I always put the cap on and then I add the other components and then it explodes when I know I put the stupid cap on."
Dick grimaced. "I hate the Box Ghost."
Danny scoffed. "Who doesn't?"
"Lunch Lady."
"Don't you dare bring that mess up."
The Team just stared.
"So, anything else we should know?" Kaldur asked. The two boys shrugged.
"No, I think unveiling ourselves pretty much covers it." Dick said. Danny nodded.
"Are you ready to leave? We're late for patrol." Batman asked. Danny let the ring appear around his waist and Dick slipped his mask on.
"Yeah, yeah. We're coming." The two grumbled. They jumped up and followed the Dark Knight to the Zeta-portal.
The two boys turned back to the astonished teens before they could leave though. "If you want to know anything, shoot us an email!"
And then they were gone.
Artemis plopped down on the couch. "Is anything wrong, Artemis?" Paula asked her daughter.
Artemis sighed. "I found out that I'm friends with Dick Grayson and Danny Fenton. Other than that, no, nothing new."
"HIT THE DECK!"
BOOM!
"Again? Seriously? That's the third time something's exploded this month!"
Danny walked into the room, Batman tense at his side. They both were uneasy and Danny fingered something nervously.
"Hey Danny!" Dick said and smiled at his brother.
Danny forced a smile. "Hey Dick."
Aqualad tilted his head. "What is wrong, Danny?"
The boy in question looked at the thing in his hand. Batman grabbed his shoulder.
"You don't have to do this." He whispered.
Danny looked at him with determination. "Yes, I do. We've been through so much and yet they know nothing of that time."
Batman frowned. "They don't have to know."
Danny wordlessly threw Zatanna the thing he was holding. It was a USB.
"On that are videos I made every day since I've met you. You all know I went missing a year before I came back from the dead. The first video you'll find explains everything. Though it doesn't explain where I was the second, you'll figure it out. I want you to only watch the first video. I go into more depth as I go on. I don't want you to know the full details. That place is reserved for only Bats and Canary. They can take that burden." Danny said and sighed. He gave another strangled sigh before turning around and walking away.
Batman stayed, very unhappy with the decision. "Watch it and get it over with." He mumbled.
Zatanna gave the USB to Dick, who set the whole thing up. Danny appeared on the giant screen, Monster by Imagine Dragons playing in the back. The screen-Danny appeared very uneasy. Before becoming agitated and sighing.
"Do I have to do this?" He asked to someone off the screen.
"Yes."
The answer was muffled but obviously Batman's. Danny glared to the side and drummed his fingers uneasily.
"I hate Canary's therapy, so far…" He mumbled and gave another, long sigh.
"Where should I begin?" He asked himself and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
He sat up but his gaze was never on the camera. "I guess I'll start from the beginning, I guess. I had just come home from yet another ghost fight. Skulker was trying to kill me and hang my pelt on a wall and I, obviously, beat him. He had been getting easier to deal with and still is easy. Then again, I could barely fight anybody when I escaped, so…
"You're getting off topic, Danny… Anyways," He grew very solemn as he stared out his window. "I walked through my door and there they were… My family dead on the floor. Who knew my head-strong family would be killed by nothing more than a low-life thug? I always thought it'd be because they were fighting a ghost… I sat in their blood for the whole night, sobbing. I was so pathetic but what else could I do? They were dead, I could do nothing more…"
No one was surprised by Danny's speech. They had heard how Danny's parents and sister were brutally murdered. It had been all over the news at the time.
Danny sighed to himself. "In the morning, I got up and ran. It was a stupid idea, really. I wasn't going anywhere specific. I hadn't even known which way I was going. All I had known was that I had to leave, and leave I did. Sam and Tucker were probably devastated. I'm surprised no one found out about my secret since Danny Phantom disappeared the same day…So many dense people in this world today, huh?"
Danny chuckled hollowly but his gaze never left the window. "And figures it just goes all downhill from there. One night, I ran from the only people I might actually fear. The G.I.W. The night wasn't horrible itself, I guess. I mean, I did find out about my Totems that night. Even if I might've accidently forgotten about them for the next year, but who could blame me? The G.I.W., they…"
Danny's lips were pressed in a thin line. He took a shaky breath. "They did to me what they did to other ghosts. I became a weapon and an experiment. They found out about my Halfa status. I was nothing more than a new species that needed to be studied in their eyes."
The teen's eyes went wide and Batman clenched his fists angrily.
Danny tilted his head. "Bruce, Alfred, and Dick told me that we fall to pick ourselves up. I always answered what if you're pushed? What if you didn't fall? What then? When you fall, you have an idea on how to pick yourself up. But when you're pushed, it hurt you. You can't get up by yourself. You don't know how then. You don't know how you're supposed to get past getting cut open like a corpse. Or being injected with Lord knows what. And sometimes almost being drowned and induced with so much fear you never know what to do anymore. What then, I asked. What then? And I didn't even escape! The boat coming back from Europe blew and I almost died again. Sometimes I wish I did."
Some people gagged and they all looked sick. Batman remained passive.
"The injections weren't always horrible. Sometimes they helped me heal. And sometimes they were so bad I went through withdrawal. The effects were miscellaneous and unpredictable. But they weren't always bad.
"And the tests they did were challenging. It was hard to move with so much pain but it's the only reason I'm here. They were increasing my endurance. They wanted me to become a weapon after they found out everything they could. They just put the chip in early because they had nothing else scheduled that day. But nothing compares to the one thing I can never forgive…"
Danny shook his head, and forced himself to breath.
"I guess after the boat blew, it was 'easy-going' from there. Surviving the ocean was not nearly as hard as anything else. I remember on the way to Europe someone tied me up and threw me over the side of the boat to be dragged behind it. The rough waves almost drowned me but that's off topic. What I'm trying to say is, surviving was natural to me. And my Totems only made it easier. Though I did have a fractured skull, shattered spine, immobility in legs, and a fever, if I remember everything correctly. But again, it wasn't hard.
"The vivisection was always the worst. They said I was incapable of feeling pain and therefore, didn't need pain medication or anesthesia. I would scream, and scream, and scream some more. They always told me to stop faking. But the damage was always done. I don't think they know what it's like to have someone hold your organs in their hands, and feel things snap, and find out what it is when you start retching blood."
Danny shuttered, a tear escaping his eye, and he grabbed his chest painfully in remembrance. He shook his head and his breathing became ragged. "I can't do this… I can't do this…" He got up shakily, still clutching his chest painfully and reached out. "BRUCE!" The video cut off, leaving everyone in silence.
Batman turned and stalked out of the room.
Dr. Fate released another golden blast at Klarion. The Lord of Chaos held up a red shield before returning with his own crimson blast, which Dr. Fate promptly destroyed.
"Give it up, Klarion! We have been through this thousands of times!" The Lord of Order yelled.
Klarion scoffed. "So what? You expect me to just stop!"
"No, but you could take a break and maybe come up with a good plan!" Natick yelled, jumping into the fray and releasing a gold wave of power. Klarion was knocked onto his back. He quickly got up and growled. "Teekl, get him!"
The cat ran forward, changing into his big cat form. He growled and charged.
Natick growled back. "Lone, bind!"
In a flash, he had become the black Amarok. The two creatures lunged and began beating the crap out of each other. Klarion and Dr. Fate followed suit. The street was a warzone.
Natick, still as Lone, tackled Teekl to the side and began swiping his claws at the cat's face. Teekl bit down on the Lord of Order's paw and sank his fangs deep into his paw. Natick released a howl before using his free paw to swipe it across Teekl's face.
Natick panted, his paw hovering over the ground and bleeding. Teekl got up, his face dripping blood. The two animals growled at each other savagely.
In a blur, Teekl charged furiously. He bit down on Natick's furred neck and began thrashing his head back and forth. Natick howled in pain as his skin was ripped and torn. Teekl threw Natick away, blood dripping out of his mouth.
Natick rolled on the ground and shifted back to his human appearance. Blood was all over his throat and shoulders, staining his garments, as well as on his injured hand.
Dr. Fate, from the corner of his eye, saw Teekl stalking towards his good friend with murderous intent. He also saw Natick lying on his side, trying to regain his bearings but being unable with so much blood loss.
The Lord of Order saw red.
Dr. Fate released a large blast at the big cat, as he tried lunging for the younger Lord of Order. Dr. Fate released another large blast at Klarion, who rolled back farther down the street. The older Lord of Order landed on the ground and began stalking towards the Lord of Chaos.
Klarion scrambled to his feet, fearfully. He had never seen such a look in Dr. Fate's eyes before.
"You little brat… You're going to pay…" The Lord of Order hissed.
"Uhhh…" Klarion muttered before calling his familiar. The big cat raced past the Lord of Order and into Klarion's arms. The Lord of Chaos created a portal before getting in and retreating. Dr. Fate threw a blast but the portal closed too quickly.
Dr. Fate cursed under his breath, ready to destroy something in anger when his comrade groaned in pain. As the older Lord of Order raced to Natick's side, there was a flash and Natick became Danny, remaining as bloody as before.
"Natick, are you alright?" Dr. Fate asked as he dropped to his knees beside his friend. Danny waved Fate off. "I'm-a fine, Nabu… Isis got's me covered."
The ice-bird, appearing as small as a rabbit, appeared beside Danny. She hopped into the crook of his neck and snuggled down, ignoring how the blood stained her blue figure. A blue aura surrounded her and Danny's skin began knitting back together.
"Isis 'got's' me? Natick, I have never heard such improper grammar come out of your mouth, ever." Dr. Fate commented. Danny hummed with a smile. "If I was coherent, I might care…"
Dr. Fate rolled his eyes. "The little…"
"I BELIEVE I CAN FLY! I GOT SHOT BY THE FBI! ALL I WANTED WAS A POPSICLE! INSTEAD, I ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL!"
Kaldur, Artemis, Wally, Megan, Raquel, Connor, and Zatanna shook their heads as they watched Danny fly around Mount Justice at super-speeds with Robin on his back. The song Danny sung irritated Robin because he thought 'FBI' should be 'GIW', 'popsicle' should be 'ecto gun', and ' the hospital' should be 'area five-one'. You could hear their bickering, even hundreds of feet in the sky.
"Can they go a day without threatening each other?" Connor asked.
"No. No they cannot." Wally answered, crossing his arms.
Danny, who was sneaking back to his room after stealing the fifth cookie that night, pushed up against his wall when he heard something or someone suspicious. Peaking around the corner, he saw another being, one with a ski mask and black clothes, tiptoeing down the hall. He carefully followed behind the intruder, barely making a sound.
The raven-haired teen, using his telepathy, nudged Bruce's and Dick's minds.
"Pssst… Wake up… Guys… Wake up… Guys! Come on! I got something to report!"
Danny mentally growled when they didn't even stir. And these people claimed to be light sleepers…
"WAKE UP, YOU IDIOTS! WE GOT TROUBLE, FOR THE LOVE OF FUDGE!"
That woke them up.
The two brains jolted awake and both groaned in their heads.
"Dude, was it necessary to wake us up?" Dick questioned.
Danny sent them mental images of the intruder as he quietly ran down the hall after the culprit. "What do you think, Fool?"
"Boys, enough bickering. Danny, you keep trailing. We'll be there in a minute. Then we'll do a coordinated attack, understand?"
"Yup."
"Good."
Danny, as he ran past a decorative table, grabbed a vase and began trailing after the intruder again.
The robber, encouraged by not being heard or seen (or so he thought) by anyone, began picking up speed as he ran down the hall. Danny picked up speed as well, ready to use the vase.
As the invader ran by, yet another, hall, he promptly ran into a baseball bat before Dick jumped out from the opposite hall and thwacked the person upside the head with a very heavy, very big, very metal candlestick holder. The poor idiot stumbled around the room before Danny broke the vase by smashing it against his head. The invader stood, head lolling around, before he received a face full of carpet.
Bruce flipped on the switch, holding the baseball bat, and the poor fellow laid in the middle of the hall.
Danny dusted off his hands with a smirk. "Well, that went well."
Dick cackled next to him, flipping the candlestick holder around. "It went well, indeed."
Bruce rolled his eyes at the two. "Alright, let's see who the poor sucker that we beat the crap out of is."
The adult removed the ski mask. Dick's face went immediately turned horrified as Danny turned around and rested his head against the wall, laughing. Bruce covered his face with his hands with a 'ooohhh-crap' look. Danny turned back around and leaned against the wall, an amused smirk on his face, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Dick, I thought we told Wally to stop sneaking in the mansion in the middle of the night for this exact reason."
Zatanna made a break for the next barricade. She yelped and fell onto her back as she was shot. As she lay still on the ground, she groaned, looking at the bright, yellow stain on her vest. There was a loud 'YES!' in the distance that sounded a lot like Danny.
"Frikkin sharp shooters… Wait a minute, I thought Batman doesn't use guns!" Zatanna yelled the sky.
Dick landed behind the barricade she had been rushing towards, cackling. "He doesn't. But he takes Danny and I to the local shooting range every other week so if we were ever in a situation where we absolutely needed to use a gun, we knew how to use one and use it well."
Zatanna growled. "Even when that man has limits, he doesn't."
Dick cackled again. "That's how Batsy rolls. And that's why you guys still can't beat Danny and me at paintball."
"Alfred, I don't wanna!" Danny whined. The butler rolled his eyes as Dick continued rolling on the floor, laughing his butt off.
"Master Daniel, don't give me that sass-"
Dick's laughing became louder.
"It was not I who set up the lunch date between you and Master Bruce and the Sanchez's. If you want to complain, do so to your mentor." Alfred said, drawing near to the end of his stick as Danny continued to whine pathetically and Dick rolling over his newly-vacuumed carpet.
"But Alfred, Bruce told me to shut up and complain to you." The raven-haired teen pouted.
The butler released a long, loud, agitated sigh. "I raise the boy and this is how he repays me…" He muttered.
"ALFRED…" Danny whined again.
Dick seemed to be calming, his laughter becoming smaller. Though that may be just be him passing out from his lack of breathing in the past five minutes…
"Daniel, stop releasing that god-awful noise from your mouth." Alfred complained.
Dick's laughter increased in volume again.
Danny glared at the butler. "Well thanks. I come to you for help and this is the advice I get?"
Alfred stopped in the middle of his work. "Daniel, that was not asking for help. Not even mildly close."
"I know…" Danny grumbled.
Connor exited the bay doors, texting Megan. He was heading to school. His girlfriend had gone ahead to help set up for some dance or another. He had just put his phone in his pocket when a literal mud pie was thrown in his face and all over his clothes.
His head snapped to where it was thrown with a murderous look on his face.
Danny and Robin were staring at him, horrified, more mud pies in their hands.
"Dick…"
"Yeah Danny…"
"That's not Wally…"
"I know…"
Connor continued glaring at them. The two younger teens chuckled at him with innocent looks.
"On the bright side, it didn't get on your phone…" Dick commented, chuckling.
"This was my favorite shirt." Connor said, voice showing his anger.
The two boys paled. Danny opened his mouth.
"RUN! FRIKKIN RUN!"
The two raven-haired teens scrambled from their spots and began running in the opposite direction of Connor, screaming, heading straight for an emergency door. The bigger teen ran after murderously.
Danny and Robin dove through the door and quickly slammed it behind them, locking it. Connor started for the bay doors but that shut too. He used his x-ray vision to see Danny and Robin, still screaming, running down the halls towards the Zeta-portals. As they ran by Wally, they shoved the remaining mud pies in his face and continued screaming and running in panic towards the portals.
Connor growled.
Revenge would come.
He didn't think a theory could go so badly.
Batman shook his head as he stared into the open doorway, the door halfway on its hinges.
The teens, normally, would have been fine in each other's presence for long periods of time, if Danny and Dick weren't being the latter of the two.
It happened to be "Random Friday" though and it had been ticking the other teens off rather quickly. The two raven-haired teens had been saying random things out of nowhere, interrupting conversations in the process, as well as starting various flash mobs.
They had been saying things such as these: "Happy birthday!", "I like potatoes", "I'm sexy and I know it", "They should invent a clear toaster so you can see how toasted your toast is while it's toasting", "I had a dream…and then I woke up", "Monkeys eat clouds", "Purple pickles", "Don't do it. It. Don't do it.", "PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!", "You want a plant?", (while touching someone) "I'm… Not… Touching you… I'm… Not… WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! EVACUATE THE BUILDING!", "Eggplants do not look like eggs", "Tree", and "If you cut one corner, you get two more".
That last one was the only profound thing they've said all day.
"Random Friday" was the exact reason Batman made the teens have a sleepover at Mount Justice. Of course, he hadn't expected things to go so badly…
To put in simply, the Team was sleeping in a dog-pile. Dick and Danny were on the bottom, both were gagged and bound on their wrists and ankles, the latter of the two with ghost-proof restraints. The two were laying side-by-side while Connor laid across them vertically. Wally laid on top of Connor, face in his hair. Artemis was on top of her boyfriend, laying horizontally across him on her back so she hung off him like saddle. Kaldur was on top of her and his head was in-between the 'V' of couple's bodies. Megan was on top of him, followed by Zatanna and Raquel.
It was one of the most pathetic things ever.
To make matters worse, the room they had been staying in was completely and utterly destroyed, as a fight had gone to down to get the two boys to shut up.
Batman just sighed, rubbed his face, and left.
The two boy's eyes snapped open and, if they could, they would've smirked.
A few minutes later…
CRASH! BANG! ZROOM! CRASH! SCREECH! BOOM! SNAP! BONG!
"PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!"
"DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!"
"IT'S RAININ' MEN! HALLELUJA! IT'S RAININ' MEN! AMEN!"
"SHUT UUUUUUPPPPPPPPPP!"
"GHOSTBUSTERS! IF THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE IN YOUR NIEIGHBORHOOD, WHO YOU GONNA CALL?! GHOSTBUSTERS!"
"STOP SINGING, YOU-"
"I CHOP DOWN TREES, I WEAR HIGH HEELS, SUSPENDERS, AND A BRA! I WISH I'D BEEN A GIRLIE! JUST LIKE ME DEAR PA-PA!"
"Excuse ME?!"
"I AM THE BADDEST OF THEM ALL! IF YOU AIN'T BOUT MONEY, THEN I DON'T MESS WITH YA'LL! YA'LL THINK I DON'T GET GIRLS, CAUSE I AIN'T VERY TALL! IF SHE SEES MY STACKS, I BET YOU THAT SHE CALLS!"
"Ok, I am officially lost!"
"CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT?! IT IS WHERE WE ARE! IT'S ENOUGH FOR THIS WIDE-EYED WANDERER THAT WE GOT THIS FAR!"
"WHAT?!"
…
"Bats, I think we should check on the kids…"
"Not on your life, Canary. It's a frikkin warzone in there."
…
"I'M GONNA LIVE MY LIFE SLOW AT A COMFORTABLE PACE! THEY CALL ME GRANDAD CAUSE IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER MY FACE! MY BEHAVIOR'S CONTROLLED! NO NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF TONIGHT CAUSE WE'RE GONNA DIE OLD!"
"YOU'RE STILL IN YOUR TEENS!"
"ONCE I CALLED YOU BROTHER! ONCE I THOUGHT THE CHANCE TO MAKE YOU LAUGH WAS ALL I EVER WANTED!"
"They're too confusing… GET THEM!"
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
CRASH! BANG! SHATTER!
"CAN'T TOUCH THIS! DA-NA-NA-NA! NA-NA! NA-NA! CAN'T TOUCH THIS! DA-NA-NA-NA! NA-NA! NA-NA!"
"WANNA BET?!"
"I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY CAR! TOO SEXY FOR MY CAR! TOO SEXY BY FAR!"
…
"I honestly think we should call in the army for this mess."
…
"JOY TO THE WORLD THAT BARNEY'S DEAD! WE BARBEQUED HIS HEAD! DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE BODY! WE FLUSHED IT DOWN THE POTTY! AND AROUND AND AROUND IT GOES! THE TOILET FLOWS! AND AROUND AND AROUND IT GOES-ES-ES!"
"I'm going to be very unlike myself real quick: AMEN TO THEAT BROTHERS!"
"THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY, HA HA! THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY, HO HO, HE HE, HA HA! TO THE FUNNY FARM WHERE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL ALL THE TIME AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO SEE THOSE MEN IN THOSE CLEAN WHITE COARTS AND THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY, HA HA!"
"Again, AMEN TO THAT!"
"HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MILES IN-BETWEEN US WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! BABY, BECAUSE THERE'S NO LEAVING ME! I'LL BE THERE!"
"AND NOW THEY'RE CREEPY STALKERS!"
"COME UNDONE! SURRENDER IS STRONGER! I DON'T NEED TO BE THE HERO TONIGHT! WE ALL WANT LOVE! WE ALL WANT HONOR! BUT NOBODY WANTS TO PAY THE ASKING PRICE!"
"DON'T GET SENTIMENTAL ON US!"
"OH MY SWEET LITTLE DARLING DEAR! WHEN THESE WORDS REACH YOUR EARS, I'LL BE LONG GONE FROM HERE! ALL ALONE IN A RAILYARD, THE SHRILL WHISTLE BLOWS! OH WHERE I'M-A GOIN, REALLY GOD ONLY KNOWS!"
"What?"
"I'VE GOT EYES IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD AND I CAN SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS (GOING WITH THIS)! I'M NOT SURPRISED! YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL AND MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT! IF I WAS WISER, I WOULD NOT HAVE LET MYSELF COME HERE TONIGHT!"
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
"DON'T YOU HEAR ME CRYING?! CRYING! COME TAKE ME AWAY! I HALLOW THY NAME!"
"Ok, I am officially lost. They passed Happy Meadows and entered Depression Sea."
"WHEN I SEE THAT RED LIGHT, ALL I KNOW IS GO!"
"I TAKE THAT BACK!"
"THE NOOSE IS FALLING! AND ALL MY FRIENDS ARE CRAWLING! THE NOOSE IS FALLING! AND ENEMIES ARE RISING!"
Face-palm.
"Why do you want to see this?!" Danny yelled up to his friends, fists on his hips as he stood across from Canary in the middle of a canyon. The Team, Batman, and quite a few other Leaguers were standing around, waiting for the action.
"Dude, your Ghostly Wail vs. Canary's Canary Cry! Who wouldn't want to see that?!" Wally yelled down.
"But my Ghostly Wail drains me!" Danny whined.
Canary rolled her eyes. "Danny, they're never going to let you get out of this. The faster we do it, the faster you can pass out on the couch."
Danny grumbled. "Fine..."
The two took stances, both faces determined. The Team and Leaguers above got ready for the action, rubbing their hands in anticipation. Except for Batman, who remained stoic as ever. (killjoy)
"Fire!" Robin yelled.
Canary immediately started her Canary Cry but Danny had a late reaction as he had to draw in a breath. The Canary Cry had just almost hit Danny when his Wail started and clashed with hers. Being so close, the shock wave that came from the impact knocked Danny back some.
The heroes watching above covered their ears, grimacing. They hadn't realized how loud this would be.
Even with a late start, the green sound waves of the Ghostly Wail began overpowering the Canary Cry. The blonde haired woman was pushed back, her boots digging into the dirt to keep herself upright. Danny used more power and the green sound waves overpowered the Canary Cry and threw Black Canary into the far, canyon wall before she crumbled to the ground.
Danny also collapsed to the ground, panting dry breaths, his arms around his middle. He looked up with his dreary eyes to his mentor, as the Dark Knight kneeled down next to him and placed his hand on his back. Robin was behind Batman, a giant grin on his face.
"How's Canary?" Batman called to the others beside the unconscious woman.
"She's fine! The blow to her head knocked her out. Once she wakes up, she'll be fine." Superman informed. Batman nodded in understanding.
Danny tapped his mentor's arm. The Dark Knight looked back towards his second protégé.
"That was fun and all but could you catch me?" Danny asked, right before he passed out and fell into his mentor's waiting arms. Batman patted his head.
Some of those ideas came from Heather. Thanks Heather! And the last scene was for anyone who really wanted to see the Ghostly Wail vs. Canary Cry. XD
Kadzait: This chapter was a mess.
I WAS BORED, ALRIGHT NANCY?!
Kadzait: NANCY?!
Hey, if anyone can tell me every song I used in the scene with Random Friday, you will get a virtual cookie. :D
Reviews:
Skymuse: Hahaha! That he does!
Etrigan the Demon: AWWWW, thanks dude! Glad you lovin this!
Bibbledoo: I would love to go to the GIW base and kill all the agents with you. *grabs bazooka* Let's do this.
KuriMaster13: Actually, we never find out who kidnaps them. Oops?
Azorawing: That's fine, Chickadee! And I'm glad you loved all the updates! XD Makes me happy! And yes, Vlad is a failure in life. To see more of his failure-ism, go check out my other story 52 Ways to Annoy Vlad Plasmius. XD
Supaherlena02: Alright then... I'm gonna hope that's a good thing. :D
IWasNeverReal: I know, right? I think you might like this chapter a ton. XD
Anonymous: Yeah, I know. Seriously, right? XD
Sina Xiel: Hahaha! SUCKER PUNCH VLAD TIME! :DDDDDD
Lee: Thanks! :D
ShadowNox: Whenever you get to this chapter, glad you started reading this and I have no idea why they decided to speak German in ch. 17. I was not the one to come up with the spell. :D
Guest(1): XD You're welcome!
Breyannia: Hahaha! I actually haven't listened to those songs in forever! Whoops! And Vlad totally deserves everything you just said. :DDD