Arc 4 pt 2 : Where There's A Will, There's A Way
Robin wakes silently, not allowing himself to give an outward sign of his consciousness. He slits his eyes open, thankful that his mask hides the movement, and surveys what little he can see around him.
He's in a room wherein everything is white. White walls, white floors, white lights, white everything. He, himself, seems to be tied to a white chair, with equally white restraints.
Off to his left, he hears someone groan, which means he isn't the only one of his Team in here. That's good. They can work together to get out of this.
He looks out of the corner of his eye, trying to spot who's with him, but since he doesn't want to turn his head, he can't.
"Rob!" A familiar voice hisses. Well, that answers that question. KF is here. But, no his voice is coming from the right. What? "Rob! Wake up!" A beat of silence at Robin's continued stillness (he didn't want to give himself away so quickly, he needed more information about their situation). "Are you really unconscious or are you just doing that Bat thing were you pretend to be out cold?" Kid Flash asks in a deadpan voice, and Robin almost snickers. Wally knows him so well.
"Leave him alone, Baywatch." That was Artemis, to his left, which meant that the whole Team is probably in here, even if he can't see them.
"Yeah, Wal-Kid Flash." That is Miss Martian, also to his right. "He took a really hard hit to the head, he was in front of us, after all."
"Guys," Rocket groans from his left. "Please, stop talking. My head hurts to much to listen to your arguments."
There's a soft "Sorry, Rocket," from Miss Martian, and everyone is quiet for a few minutes.
Finally, the silence gets to be to much for KF. "Seriously," he says, "when are they gonna like, interrogate us or something. All this sitting and waiting is making me bored."
"That's a good thing," Robin can hear the eye-roll in the archer's voice.
"Look at it this way," Miss M. chimes in. "They aren't in here with us, which means they still haven't caught Superboy, Aqualad, and Zatanna, yet. So, there's a chance they'll get word to the League, and rescue us."
"I wouldn't be to sure of that, children."
Robin keeps extra still at the sound of the new, echoing, voice. It sounds vaguely familiar, and sleezy, like your typical cocky villain. Robin dislikes (heavy on the "dis") it instantly.
"Our newest minion made certain they wouldn't be a problem."
Robin hears Miss Martian gasp at the same time as Artemis shouts "Phantom!".
Robin forces himself to stay still. He has to focus. Now that no one is paying attention to him, he can work at getting out of these ropes, and escaping.
"What have you done to him?!" Artemis continues speaking harshly.
"Why, my dear, I have done nothing to him at all. As a ghost, I am currently unable to lay a finger on him. My comrades, on the other hand... Well, let's just say you will find out for yourselves very soon." A pause. "Remain here with them, Little Badger. We don't want them to escape before we can extend our hospitality to them, now do we?"
As the others fall silent, Robin succeeds in getting his right arm free. He quickly grabs the rope before it can fall, and starts working at his left.
"Phantom." Wally says. "Dude, snap out of it!"
"That's not going to work, Kid," Miss Martian says.
"I don't – wait what are you doing?!" KF shouts. That... doesn't sound good.
Robin turns his head as subtly as he can, catching a glimpse of Phantom, red-eyed and wearing a suit that looks a lot like the one Robin had seen in the earlier pictures taken of him, reaching out and placing a hand on Kid's shoulder. Robin's breath gets caught in his throat. Phantom... Was Phantom going to hurt Wally?
The answer is, thankfully, no.
Both teens become partially see-through, and the ghost pulls the Speedster to his feet.
"Uh, wha..." KF says, wide-eyed.
From his seat, Robin sees Phantom close his red eyes, opening them a moment later to reveal his normal radioactive greens.
"Sorry if I scared you," he mutters quietly. "I've been having a bit of trouble keeping focus when in Plasmius is around." He leaves the Boy Wonder's sight, probably freeing Miss M. "Anyway, I managed to get the other three in here after Superboy jarred loose whatever thing they were using to keep me under their control."
Robin feels the rope on him give. Hands free, he swiftly grabs and flicks two birdarangs to sever the ropes on his legs before standing and drawing everyone's attention.
"I told you." KF says, giving Artemis and Miss Martian a superior look.
Artemis scoffs. "Whatever."
Phantom snickers as he flies over to and frees her. "As I was saying, they're collecting some data from the computer rooms, and will meet us out at the Bio-ship."
He frees Rocket, who continues leaning on him for support. "Oh, I don't feel good." she moans.
"Then let's get you out of here," Phantom returns. "Everyone, hold still."
Robin feels a twisting sensation in his gut, before the world dissolves into a swirl of color and the feeling of moving at great speed. The ground disappears from beneath his feet, then returns a moment later in the familiar setting of the Bio-ship, their three other teammates already waiting for them.
Phantom grunts and staggers under Rocket's weight.
"Phantom!" M'gann cries, and Wally uses his super-speed to zoom to his side.
"Miss Martian," Aqualad speaks up in his "leader voice" as he moves forward as well, taking Rocket to rest her in a newly formed seat. "Get us back to base."
"Right," she moves to follow his order.
"Robin, help Kid get Phantom settled." Aqualad continues, and Robin obeys, taking the ghost's other shoulder and moving him to a chair. "Artemis, Zatanna, tend to Rocket."
Once Phantom's seated, the buckle snaps in place and a med-kit forms from the floor.
"I'm sorry, guys," Phantom says tiredly, eyelids drooping. "That..." he yawns. "...took more out of me then I expected."
"It's okay, Phantom," Robin says with a smile. "Happens to everyone."
"Maybe," he murmurs. "But... I didn't... want for you... to find out this way."
"Dude," Wally says, "what are you talking about? Find out what?"
Phantom gives them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry." His eyes fully close, and Robin startles when a ring of white light appears around his waist, then splits in two, traveling up and down his body. Where the rings pass, he changes. Body-suit becomes a t-shirt and jeans. Boots become tennis shoes. Skin turns from tan to slightly pale. White hair becomes black.
"Guys," Superboy says, "he has a heartbeat."
Robin feels his stomach drop. That... That should not be possible. It-it's impossible. It just...
Robin pulls a glove off, struggling with for a moment in his haste, then takes the other teens wrist in hand. It takes a second, but the Boy Wonder can feel it, the sluggish pulse under his fingertips. He leans back on his heels, gazing up at the others and nodding in disbelief.
"M'gann," Aqualad says, "send a message ahead, we need to make sure they now before they start treating him."
"Message sent." She confirms, and Robin focuses back on caring for his unconscious teammate.
~! #$%^&*()_+
Robin fiddles with his wrist computer, pulling up pages just to exit out of them again, as he and the rest of Team await the verdict on Phantom's condition.
When they had gotten to the Cave, Batman and Black Canary had been waiting for them with two doctors and five nurses they have on pay-role who had experience dealing with unique physiology and keeping secret identities. They had disappeared with Phantom into the Cave's med-bay and told the teens they would be alerted when they were done. Only one of the nurses had remained behind to tend to Rocket, and, after making sure that none of them required medical assistance, left to join her comrades.
That had been five, six hours ago, and the teens were still waiting for word on their teammate.
Finally, Conner stands, facing the hallway leading to the infirmary, and the Team knows they're finished.
Batman walks through the doorway, and scans his eyes over them. "He's awake," is all he says, then he swoops out of the room with the teens scrambling to follow.
The Dark Knight leads them in, and Robin immediately only has eyes for his not-so-ghostly teammate.
Phantom is sitting on his bed, back against the headboard. He looks over at them, with icy blue eyes, then quickly looks away, using one of the nurses adjusting his pillow as an excuse to do so.
"Team," Batman says, "meet Daniel Fenton, the civilian half of Phantom. He has just come out of surgery to remove a mind control chip, different from the Starro Tech, an hour ago. The only reason you are being allowed to meet him –" here he glares at Pha-er, Daniel, who shrinks into his bed "– is because of his super-healing, which has taken care of the majority of the incision."
With his piece said, Batman swoops out of the room, the medical team following in his wake.
Black Canary stops by them for a moment, a small smile on her face. "For what it's worth, happy Thanksgiving." Her eyes flicker to Daniel. "All of you." Then she's gone, too.
The teens stand there, not really sure how handle the night's revelations.
At last, the silence is broken.
"I'm sorry." Daniel says. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I just –" he takes a deep, shuddering breath "– I've been alone in this for so long, with only my friends and my sister for any kind of support, and I just... I couldn't find a way to tell you." He finally looks at them, meeting their gazes one-on-one before settling on Aqualad, then looks down again, his bangs shadowing his eyes. "I understand if you don't want me around anymore, and I'll leave without a fight."
Robin's stomach clenches. Did Daniel actually think they would kick him off the Team?
"Phantom," M'gann says, "er, Daniel?"
Said teen flinches. "Danny. Please."
"Right, Danny," she says. "We don't want you to leave."
"Yeah, dude," Wally adds.
"You are apart of this Team." Kaldur confirms. "You belong here."
"And," Robin says as he moves to perch on the edge of the bed. "You'll never be alone again."
Artemis nods. "If you ever need help, just let us know."
"You're our friend, Danny," M'gann finishes. "We take care of our friends."
"I –" a watery smile is sent their way when Danny raises his head. "Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me."
"Great," Wally claps his hands. "Now that the mushy stuff is over, lets go get something to eat. I'm starving."
The room can hear Danny's stomach growl in agreement, which sets everyone laughing.
~! #$%^&*()_+
(AN)
There we go, chap. 14.
I'm... not quite what happened. The big reveal wasn't supposed to be until the fifth Arc. It kinda just... snuck up on me, but I'm actually quite happy with it, which is why I'm keeping it this way.
Review answers!
kimcat : I think I will have fun with this, too. And I hope this meets your standards. Thank you for reading.
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