TW: Graphic Depictions/PTSD/Violence/Torture
Bialya
June 26 14:45 UTC+2
It was quiet... too quiet for his taste.
The first sound he picked up on as soon as he started coming to was a low humming of electricity, akin to the sound of machines. But after checking that all his limbs were free of any restraints, the half-ghost teen could safely assume it wasn't any kind of medical equipment. Which you'd think would've helped him feel better in this scenario...
There was no clicking of keyboards, no pencil scratching, no excited or nervous footsteps of scientists or random coughing fits. It was just... quiet. And that unnerved him more than any snap of latex gloves could.
So there he lay, on something comfortable, debating if he should open his eyes or not. He could continue to lay there as still as possible, continuing to feign unconsciousness, but only clockwork knows how long he'd have to lay there and wait. On the other hand, if he opened his eyes, that would signal to anyone nearby or any cameras that he was awake and they would feel inclined to begin whatever experiments or tests they wanted.
He steeled his expression as he mentally frowned. 'Actually... what do these people want from me? If they were interested in what ghosts were, then maybe I could see them running some tests and stuff. But considering the fact it feels like I'm laying on a bed- unless they were into that weird mental torture stuff like 'giving a false sense of security' thing- then that's probably not the reason why they decided to capture me.'
Right now he had two choices; get out ASAP or play the long game. Getting out might not be the easiest thing, but he felt pretty confident that he could do it. Even if they managed to catch him, holding him was a different challenge altogether. Playing the long game on the other hand, which would involve him having to go along with what they asked (without causing suspicion by having to fight back a little here and there), would give him a chance to figure out their plans. Then he'd be able to report back to the Team-
His thoughts froze as he remembered Nightwing's threat before he was taken, the air around him cooling slightly.
'Would I even be welcomed back? What would they even say to me if I managed to escape? Would they care-?'
A brief sharp pain went through his core and he quickly shook the thoughts away, chastising himself.
'Now's not the time, Fenton. I'm in an unknown facility with possibly the most dangerous criminal organization on this Earth, I can't be worrying about teenage drama. You're the Ghost Zone's Protector for crying out loud! This shouldn't be about you, this should be about if-whatever these guys wanted-could be a danger to anyone! You-'
You are our future.
The Halfa mentally grimaced as Clockwork's words popped into his mind. Now was so not the time to be thinking of self-preservation versus-
You are still not being mindful of how your decisions will affect your future.
Phantom's eyebrow twitched. 'And last time I checked, this was MY decision to make! I can handle myself! If people were put into harm's way when I could've prevented it-'
"Hello, Phantom."
Danny's eyes shot open as he abruptly sat up, briefly noticing the dim lights in the room before a wave of dizziness sucker punched him in the gut. His vision swayed dangerously and he elected to close his eyes in hopes it would help it subside.
He let out a discomforted groan as he pulled his knees closer to his chest so he could rest his head on them. The feeling of a thin comforter on his forehead was the only confirmation he needed about his previous theory. However, he wasn't expecting to feel the fabric so clearly against his hands.
Without opening his eyes, he started to focus on himself, noticing that even though he was in his ghost form, his jumpsuit seemed to be absent and was instead replaced with a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants. Even his boots were missing and were instead replaced with socks. And the feeling of being gloveless in his ghost form felt a little more than odd.
He heard a small chuckle and a chair being dragged across the floor.
"I apologize if I startled you. I had come in to check on your condition, as I must admit, we were all a bit concerned. You hadn't woken up around the time that was estimated for the dosage given to and we started to fear we accidentally put you into a coma. Then again, seeing as you are a teenager, sleeping in shouldn't be all that odd for your age. But I must say, three days is pushing it."
'Three days? Jeez, and I thought Tucker's joke was bad enough,' he thought as he recalled the aftermath of Pariah Dark.
Danny did his best to hide a wince as he forced himself to look up at his unexpected company.
The first thing Phantom noticed, was the newcomer's hair- well more like the lack of - which was causing the overhead lights to reflect off his bald head. The man was wearing a black business suit, which Danny honestly wouldn't have minded if the guy didn't have a carbon copy of Vlad's sly smile. It didn't help that he sat next to his bedside in a very 'I'm a businessman and I'm better than you' entitled kind of way either.
The second thing he noticed, was that he was in what looked like a bedroom instead of a barred cage or cell. Another surprise considering the circumstances in which he had gotten there. While the room was mostly white (much to his chagrin), there was a hint of green coming off the door and walls that looked suspiciously similar to a ghost shield. The room had a bed (also white), a white door that led to a small bathroom with a small shower (at least he had some privacy), and a solid grey metal door that most likely led to the rest of the facility or wherever they were. He only noted one camera which was in the opposite corner of the room, but he'd be cautious in case there were any hidden ones.
The man beside him cleared his throat, gaining the teen's attention.
"Are you feeling off at all? My team of scientists and doctors admitted they could only report so much given you were unconscious."
His weariness was instantly back as he sent a glare toward the man, but before he could make a remark the other held up a calming hand.
"All tests were only surface and observational. The closest to invasive I allowed was blood samples, even that was kept at a bare minimum as it was only to ensure the sedative didn't cause any severe or permanent side-effects."
Danny was admittedly surprised by the response. Looking down, he noticed that they had in fact changed him into a shirt and sweatpants, both colored black. His body didn't hurt either, aside from the dizziness earlier, the only achiness he felt was in his throat. He even felt well-rested too. Though the idea that multiple people had looked him over whilst unconscious was more than a little unnerving, he hadn't expected his captors to treat him so... humanely.
"Phantom?"
The teen blinked as he realized he still hadn't answered the man yet.
"I feel fine." The teen winced a little as he noticed how hoarse his voice was. Though it was probably just from misuse and the failed Ghostly Wail attempt.
The man hummed in thought for a moment before motioning towards something next to the ghostly teen.
Danny turned to see a glass of water along with two plain white pills on top of a white end table. His glance of uncertainty didn't go unnoticed.
"We figured you'd be dehydrated when you woke up, seeing as we weren't sure how your body would react to an IV. The pills are vitamins given that you haven't properly eaten in a few days."
The halfa frowned as he grabbed the glass of water, electing not to take the pills. He hesitated before taking a sip of water, and after determining it was just water, he took a few more sips.
He held the glass in his lap unsurely as he thought about what to say next.
He could choose to act naïve and ignorant, but that may just land him in more trouble, as well as it would take longer to get answers. On the other hand, playing the 'crowned prince' role could be taken the wrong way and they might try to hold his friend's and people's safety over his head. Either way, it wasn't going to be as easy as just getting one of them to monologue.
The teen took a shaky breath and cleared his throat as he continued to stare at the glass.
"Why are you doing this?" he finally asked with a calm demeanor.
"I'm afraid I don't understand the question son," the man replied with an apologetic smile.
Danny grimaced at the phrase, reminding him of certain fruitloop again. "Water? A bed? This?" he asked gesturing to the room. "Why?"
The man raised an amused eyebrow. "Did you expect something different?"
Danny's eyebrows furrowed. "Given what I am, I…I guess I was just expecting something else," he admitted.
The other chuckled. "A cage perhaps?"
The teen frowned but didn't respond.
"Son, we are not savages; not all of us anyway. I'm a little disappointed that you expected that of us at all," the man retorted with a slight frown.
Danny sent a weak glare. "I don't even know who you are, sir. Let alone what you or your organization are capable of. It's not exactly like you guys have a brochure," he retorted.
The man smirked. "Oh? And why pray tell, would you think I'm part of an organization?"
Danny had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he placed the cup back onto the table before turning back to the man.
"Firstly, you've referred to yourself as 'we', meaning there's more than one of you. And not to judge a book by its cover, but seeing as that you're wearing a suit, I highly doubt you see yourself on the same level as your employees, or 'scientists'."
The man watched him with curious but attentive eyes. He amicably gestured for him to continue. "And secondly?"
Danny waited for a moment as he watched the man's expressions and body language. "Based on how everything played out, Klarion was meant as a distraction to give Sportsmaster and the other guy a chance to capture me. Given that Klarion was said to be part of the crime organization known as the Light, I think it'd be safe to say the Light is who ultimately captured me. Plus, with Klarion being at the Festival of Peace, it would explain how you guys managed to ghost-proof these walls and get your hands on blood blossoms."
The man offered a few congratulating claps with a small amused smile. "Very perceptive of you. You'll have to forgive me for regarding you as naïve before. Clearly, you are more than capable of making your own observations. Yes, we are known as the Light. Though, crime-organization? Must you be so distasteful?"
The teen gave the man an exasperated look. "And what would you call an organization that's been rumored to steal, kidnap, and otherwise terrorize others? Mr.-?"
"Touché, son. My name is Lex Luthor, CEO of LexCorps and one of the founders of Cadmus Labs, as well as one of the members of the Light." He answered with a prideful smile.
'Luthor... Lexcorp... I think I might've heard his name or his company's name on the news once or twice. Wasn't he-?' The half-ghost's thoughts screeched to a halt as he suddenly remembered that the man before him was in fact a millionaire. The likeness between his ex-arch enemy and the one next to him getting dangerously closer by the minute. 'And knowing my luck? This one is going to be a fruitloop too... '
Danny took a moment to reign himself back in before nodding his head politely to the man beside him. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Luthor. Now, not to seem ungrateful, but can we skip to the part where you start monologuing as to why I am here?"
The man smirked and laced his fingers together as he straightened his posture. "Straight to the point I see. And for the record, I am not a fan of monologues, too time-consuming in my opinion."
Danny raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as he waited for the man to continue.
"You are here to assist us with something we've been experimenting with lately. After that, we plan on bringing you further into the Light."
'Somebody's confident…' Still, he had to keep this conversation going if he wanted answers sooner rather than later.
"And you had to kidnap me to do it?" he scoffed with mock disbelief. "Why not just ask me like a normal person?"
"Oh please Daniel, do you honestly believe you would've helped us voluntarily?" the man retorted with a knowing look.
The alarms in the back of his mind started to go off as he felt a chill run down his spine. The new adrenaline rush begged him to move, but he fought against it and stayed still in his bed. His knuckles went white from holding onto the sheets so tightly.
The halfa's eyes flared as he outright glared at the smug man next to his bedside. "How do you know that name?" he demanded with an icy tone.
It was one thing for them to know his alias, it was a whole different story for them to know his true identity.
'Could it have been Klarion?'
"You're proving my point you know…" the man replied teasingly, pulling the other back to reality.
'Fruitloop…'
The teen continued to glare but ultimately decided to move the conversation along in hopes of getting any answers. "Fine. What kind of experiments are we talking about?" he asked curtly.
Luthor raised an eyebrow at the newfound hostility but didn't comment on it. "Energy sources, mostly. We're curious as to if and how one can use ectoplasmic energy as a resource. We believe, with your knowledge and talents, that you could help us in this endeavor."
Danny's glare slowly dissipated as concern spread across his features.
Growing up in a household with two ghost hunters and inventors gave one perspective and first-hand experience. Including how dangerous, unpredictable, and unstable ectoplasm could be. The numerous lectures and simulations on why changing the ecto filter was so important are the perfect example of that. So hearing that an entire criminal organization wanted to try to replicate this idea (if they even heard about it before) was worrisome on multiple levels.
"Mr. Luthor, you are aware that working with ectoplasm is virtually impossible correct?" he inquired with an even tone.
The man's amused smile faded into something more curious as he watched the change in the teen's demeanor. "How so?"
'Okay… so I know this might count as helping the enemy… but I'd rather not be responsible for a nuclear fallout or something. Plus, Luthor hasn't seemed to lie so far, it'd only be fair if I returned the favor.'
Danny sat up straighter before he went into his explanation. "Ectoplasm can behave like several different types of energy and is highly unstable. While it usually depends on the ghost, raw ectoplasm is extremely dangerous to work with. It needs to be constantly moving, monitored, and filtered for it to even be usable. If the ectoplasm becomes unstable it will actively search for another way to try to remain active."
The man put a hand up to his chin in thought. "Will? Are you saying ectoplasm is alive?"
Danny shook his head. "Organic? Yes. Sentient? No."
The half-ghost waited for Luthor to process the information, noticing that the man was considering the teen's words; which he needed to if he wanted to keep his fancy base.
"What do you mean to search for another way?" the man asked, his tone intrigued.
"If it can't find an object or a host to attach itself to, then it'll choose another energy behavior. Nine times out of ten, it chooses nuclear."
"So weapons or generators could spontaneously combust at any given moment?"
'So it was weapons,' the teen mentally noted.
"If you managed to get it into a weapon, then yes. Mr. Luther, I don't agree with your methods, but I'm telling you that what you're trying to do will literally blow up in your face. A single test tube of unstable ectoplasm could blow up an entire tank, what do you think it'll do to your men or your base?" Danny urged.
The CEO seemed to consider the teen for a moment before nodding to himself with an appreciative smile. "Very well, I will pass on this new information. In the meantime-"
Luthor waved his hand lazily next to him, and the metal door opened instantaneously.
Phantom quickly forced his body to move as he jumped out of the bed and slid over to the opposite side of the room ready to defend himself.
Sure enough, four black- tactical-armored men came into the room, all guns trained on the half-ghost.
"While I've enjoyed our little chat, I'm afraid it's time to get to business. We're going to need to run a few tests now that you're awake. Do them willingly and we won't have to resort to harsh methods. Do you understand?" the man stated calmly and coolly, as he stood up from his seat.
Phantom glared defiantly at the bald man as he made his fighting stance more pronounced.
'I know I decided to do the long game, but I am not liking where this is going,' he thought as he analyzed the four men opposing him.
While the guns looked relatively normal, it was the faint glowing green lines in the cartridges that made him uneasy. Just like the door and walls, they must've found a way to effectively make ammo that worked on ghosts. The best guess was they used ectoranium-infused bullets or weapons (or alloys to save on material) since Luthor was asking him about properly using ectoplasmic energy. It would also explain why the door glowed green.
After another beat, Luthor sighed again, "Very well, have it your way."
A high-pitched ringing abruptly bombarded his ears from all around him, the sound seeming to vibrate through his entire head. Gritting his teeth, he instinctively went to cover his ears as he fell onto his knees.
"Like it?" He barely heard Luthor ask. "We use this same technology to incapacitate Superman and Project KR, or as you may know him, Superboy. Super-hearing does have its setbacks doesn't it?"
He felt two of the men each grab an arm and they hauled him onto his feet, while Luthor walked up and clicked an inhibitor collar around the teen's neck, his natural glow dimming instantly as his ecto-energy was suppressed.
The ringing finally stopped, and Phantom looked up to glare at the smug CEO.
"So what now?" He asked bitterly. "You going to tell Thing 1 and Thing 2 to do something or are we just going to stand around and talk about the weather?"
Before the men could do anything, Luthor held up a hand. "Let me deal with him." The businessman turned to Phantom with a knowing smirk. "It'd do you good not to disrespect anyone here, Daniel. Especially when we have friends like Psimon roaming these halls…"
The ghostly hero continued to glare at the man but made no further comment as he was escorted away.
Mount Justice
June 26 08:00 EDT
"What do you mean you can't find him?"
Conner crossed his arms as he glared daggers at the Dark Knight of Gotham.
It's been three days and yet the League still hadn't found any clues as to where Danny was taken. To make matters worse, Batman didn't seem to be making it a priority to find their missing teammate and instead decided to focus on recent break-ins to museums and millionaires' personal collections. He wasn't even allowing the Team to investigate for themselves!
The Leaguer's eyes narrowed back at the clone. "We assume that Deathstroke didn't just electrocute Phantom as a warning, but as a way to short-circuit any kind of tracking device he may have had on him. There's been no sign of boom tube activity, otherwise, we would've sent someone to try to investigate the source."
"But they used one at the old Cadmus building," Zatanna pointed out.
"While that is true, they were smart about it. They had made sure that multiple boom tubes had been used at the same time so they we wouldn't be able to trace it," Black Canary explained with a disappointed frown.
"Do not fret, Team. Batman, Canary, and I are working as fast as we can to try and track down where they went." Martian Manhunter added attempting to reassure the Team.
Conner could trust M'gann's uncle, maybe even Dinah, but it was Dick's mentor he was skeptical of.
"But that's what's worrying us," Zatanna voiced. "They used one of those boom-tube things and could've literally gone anywhere. He's already been missing for three days. Who knows what they might be doing to him right now?!"
"What would they even want from Danny anyways?" Artemis scowled.
"Why don't you go and talk amongst yourselves to see if you might be able to come up with any ideas? The League will send a few people to go back to the building site and look for more clues there." Black Canary suggested with an encouraging smile.
The team reluctantly split up, some headed for the living room and kitchen area, while a few followed the Leaguers to head for the Zeta tubes.
Conner felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Superman with a concerned frown.
"How are you doing?"
The teen frowned and crossed his arms. "About as good as any person when their teammate is captured," he growled out.
"Do you want to uh- talk about it?"
Without thinking he had shaken his head, the old habit of immediately rejecting his help still lingering from when Superman had wanted nothing to do with him.
But it's not like he wanted to talk anyway, he needed to move. He needed to do something. Anything! Talking won't solve the problem or find Danny!
The leaguer frowned and rubbed his neck awkwardly before turning to head to the Zeta tubes.
"Hey…"
Conner raised an eyebrow as he looked up to see a determined expression from the other, catching him off guard.
"We'll find him, and if everyone does their part we'll be able to get him back sooner than later," the other reassured.
The clone's eyes softened as he nodded, but remained silent as Superman left.
He grunted as the Zeta-Tubes sounded off and then also took his leave to meet with the others in the living room.
Upon arriving, he noticed Gar had chosen to sit on the couch with M'gann's favorite show, Hello Megan, playing on the tv. He had his legs pulled up to his chest and was loosely hugging a pillow as he stared blankly at the screen. Conner then noticed everyone else had gathered around the kitchen area to throw around ideas. Z and M'gann stood in the kitchen, while Artemis and Kaldur sat behind the bar top.
He grunted softly as he pulled up a stool and listened in.
"Mind control chip?" Artemis offered.
"While that would be their style, I don't think they'd try the same thing twice," Zee countered.
M'gann nodded in agreement. "Plus, with Danny's halfa status, I don't even think that technology would work on him."
"Oh right, the intangibility thing plus the ectoplasm thing," Artemis recalled.
"Energy source?"
"Hmmm, I don't know… Didn't Danny once say that raw ectoplasm is super unstable?"
Connor nodded. "It's why he doesn't let Dick or Wally mess with his ghost weapon stuff. Without the right knowledge or experience with ectoplasmic weapons, you could accidentally blow yourself up."
Kaldur hummed in thought. "Moving on. We know that the Light has developed some new tactics specifically made for Danny's ghost half, as we've all come to witness. Therefore, they must know that he isn't an easy being to hold."
"Which means they must've been planning this for a while," Conner grunted as he crossed his arms.
"Precisely. So if, in theory, they were able to successfully hold Phantom, why would they need to and what for?"
There was a brief silence as everyone tried to rack their brains for ideas.
Conner's mind wandered back to when he used to be in the hands of Cadmus, and he couldn't help but grimace at the thought. At the time, Cadmus had wanted to use him to 'replace' Superman, which, if he was being honest with himself, was just an excuse to use him as- Oh…
"A secret weapon?"
All eyes were on Conner, and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
He grunted and crossed his arms. "Nevermind, it was dumb."
Kaldur shook his head and nodded reassuringly. "Please go on, Conner. No ideas are bad ideas here."
"Unless you're Wally. Then all ideas are bad ideas," Artemis grumbled with an eye roll.
The clone cleared his throat before continuing. "What if they want to make him into a super weapon? Like to replace me or something."
The others shared looks that he couldn't quite decipher.
"Well," Artemis started cautiously. "It has been theorized that Danny could go toe to toe with Big Blue and have a winning chance."
"Yeah, but how would they even convince him to do that? He doesn't like hurting humans. It took us forever to convince him that knocking out the bad guys that even looked remotely human was fine," Zatanna pointed out.
"Maybe they'll use Psimon," Artemis suggested.
M'gann shook her head. "Psimon is powerful, but Danny's mental barrier is difficult to get around, even for me. He managed to catch Danny off guard last time, but now that Danny's felt his mind touch, he'll be on the lookout for it. So, if they do use Psimon, he won't be the main source."
"I hate to even think this but, do you think they'd torture him?" Artemis asked as she crossed her arms.
The room went quiet again as the teens all grimaced.
"It is not beneath them," Kaldur stated slowly.
The tension in the air rose as the stakes suddenly felt much more real.
Conner sneered as he thought about what they would do to try to break his teammate. Torture was low, but not for the Light. If they wanted results, they were going to get them, one way or another. And yet… and yet he still had hope. Danny could be cunning and headstrong when he wanted to be. He hadn't let the Observants completely push him around, so why would he let a few human villains?
He looked up with renewed determination. If there was one thing, beyond a reasonable doubt, that was true about Danny, it was his iron-clad will.
"Danny's stubbornness wouldn't let something like that get to him so easily. He's probably giving them a hard time now, even as we speak."
The other team members stared at him for a moment, before also gaining more determined and confident looks.
"You may just be right about that," Kaldur smiled. "Let's wait for the others to get back and inform them what we've come up with so far."
Bialya
June 26 17:02 UTC+2
Phantom gasped for breath as the machine was cut off again to prevent it from overheating.
His body trembled as the electricity's effects lingered on, his arms sore from tugging against the wrist restraints.
'Now this definitely feels familiar…'
The machine looked and functioned almost exactly like the machine Vlad had used to try to extract his transformation DNA. The only differences were that this one was silver and black and that it could last way longer without overheating.
"All this pain could go away in an instant, all you would have to do is transform, Daniel."
'Oh right…'
It shouldn't have come to be a surprise that the Light knew about his halfa status. And yet, Klarion sharing both his secret and his real name kinda did come off as a surprise. He didn't even think the brat of chaos bothered to remember his alias, let alone his full name.
"Getting bored?" The teen chuckled dryly, smirking at the bald businessman through the reinforced glass. "It's only been- what? An hour? And already you're- ACK!"
The inhibitor collar sent a quick jolt of electricity down his neck as a warning.
"It's been an hour and forty-five minutes, Daniel. Surely you must be getting tired of this?"
"Yeah well, you know what they say; time flies by when you're being tortured and held against your will…"
Luthor sighed as he walked back to where a few scientists were typing and scribbling down notes. One scientist, in particular, had his hand hovering over the controls for the machine with a blank expression.
"Again, this time increase the power by two."
The scientist nodded and turned a few nobs before pushing the lever forwards.
Phantom grit his teeth and closed his eyes as another onslaught of electricity bombarded him.
He didn't know how many times they had turned it on since they hooked him up to the machine, but he did know that his body wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer.
'He's definitely persistent I'll give him that, ' He thought trying to distract himself.
The shocks continued on so he turned to his thoughts.
'So Luthor, Klarion, Sportsmaster, and Count Vertigo are all a part of the Light, good to know. Does that mean the ninja guys were hired or is there a leader who is also part of the criminal organization?'
A particularly nasty jolt sent his nerves aflame for a brief moment.
'I'll put a pin in that,' he thought with a grimace. 'Okay let's think of something else. Right, Luthor… '
Luthor wanted the teen to transform so they could study how he transformed and how his vitals differed in each form. Kind of made him uncomfortable to know they studied his vitals when he was under, but not nearly as much as he was uncomfortable with the idea that they might try to use the data to make more halfas or whatever other evil plot they had in mind. Nothing else was really explained or revealed, so he still didn't know exactly why he was captured other than Luthor wanting to make ecto-weapons or something similar. Which didn't make sense, since they really couldn't hurt humans that much, and mid-morph DNA data wasn't a factor in ecto-weaponry.
Another painful jolt sent him spiraling out of his thoughts.
'They must've turned up the power again, ' He thought as he closed his eyes again.
'What do they want from me? Knowledge about ghosts? Maybe, but they only really seemed interested in my halfa status so far and they would've been able to collect a lot of data from the festival. Power? Already on the table thanks to Luthor's admittance. But there's more… there's an 'after'. An evil sidekick then? A weapon? Though most mind control methods probably wouldn't work because of my mental barrier due to the whole Freakshow incident and my halfa status. So then wh-'
Phantom's core suddenly convulsed and his entire chest seized up, his thoughts first flashing back to the accident that made him a half-ghost, then to his parent's lab with his mom standing over him. He tried to breathe but for some reason found he couldn't. His body didn't want to respond to him, making his panic spike even more. It started to feel as though his core was burning from the inside out, as though it were being held over a fire. When it became unbearable, he couldn't do anything else but scream.
The halfa felt his transformation rings appear and tried desperately to fight against them. Yet they still inched further and further apart until they finished their transformation and fizzled out entirely. The pain in his core disappeared, but the electricity hadn't stopped and instead only felt more intense as he continued to cry out in pain.
"We got it!"
"Kill it!"
The machine was quickly shut off, allowing Danny's trembling form to once again catch his breath. His black borrowed clothes were replaced by his usual white shirt, blue jeans, black sweater, and red shoes.
He felt his ice abilities start to subtly cool off his fatigued body in an attempt to offer some kind of relief. Luckily, whenever the collar was on, it doesn't shut off his ice powers, otherwise, he would've been starting to freeze solid by now (not that the Light knows that). Though at that moment, all it did was remind him of the dull ache in his core.
"Did you get all that?" He heard Luthor ask someone.
"Yes sir."
"Good, let him out."
"Y-yes sir."
A high-pitched beep sounded off next to his ear (the inhibitor collar being turned on again, he guessed) and several hurried footsteps were heard right before the restraints were unlocked and the pod door opened.
He felt several gentle but firm grips on his arms and he was pulled outside of the pod. One of the scientists helped him regain his footing and let the teen lean on him for support.
'Ha… the Guys in White would never… ' he thought with bitter amusement to himself.
Footsteps were heard again, but he didn't bother to look up. Instead, he focused on trying to stand so he didn't have to lean on the nervous scientist.
Danny unintentionally flinched as Luthor grabbed his chin and brought his head up to observe him. The man moved his head side-to-side with a look of un-impressed amusement.
"My, my, no wonder you were able to conceal yourself from us for so long…"
The teen glared daggers at the man, before snatching his head away from the man's grasp.
"Do you require him for anything else today?" Luthor asked without looking away.
One of the scientists fixed his glasses as he nervously cleared his throat. "Yes sir, we still need to check the difference between his vitals in this form compared to the other one."
"Very well. Call me when you've finished collecting and analyzing the data. I have a meeting to attend."
"Yes sir."
He gestured towards the man that was still holding his arm. "After you are done, get someone to go with you to take Daniel back to his room. I doubt he'll give you much trouble, but if he does, Deathstroke or Sportsmaster should be nearby."
"Of course, Mr. Luthor," the man shakily replied.
Danny had waited until the businessman had completely left the room before collapsing onto his knees, startling the man next to him.
His forehead was drenched in sweat from his effort to remain standing and fatigue made his entire form tremble.
"Quick grab my kit!"
Rushed footsteps were heard as his world faded to black.
Vandal Savage heard hurried footsteps from within the room and frowned.
Opening the doors, the room was bustling with scientists and doctors running from one end of the room to the other. Four of them were hurriedly looking over an unconscious raven-haired teenager lying on a medical bed hooked up to an assortment of monitors.
Savage remained silent as he walked with his hands behind his back towards the gurney.
Slowly the entire room was brought down to hushed whispers upon noticing the man's presence, the men standing near the teenager became completely silent.
"How long has he been out?" Vandal asked as he got a closer look at the boy's different appearance.
"Shortly after Mr. Luthor left, sir."
He hummed in thought as he watched the teen's chest rise and fall.
'He looks like any other teenager… how typical, and yet, a perfect disguise. He has potential for both covert operations and for being a formidable powerhouse… '
"No wonder the League wanted to hide you away…" he chuckled thoughtfully.
After a brief silence, one of the doctors walked over and held out what looked to be some sort of firearm.
"We found this on his person, sir. We weren't sure who we should send it to."
Savage gently took the device and expertly began to analyze it.
It was reasonably small and compact, perfect for hiding it on your person without causing suspicion. The neon green detailing on the mostly grey/silver gun seemed to glow faintly, but not unless someone was to really look at it. There was a knob on the side, unlabeled, next to a panel that looked as those it was removed frequently. Savage carefully removed the panel and looked over the now visible internal components. While there were quite a few different colored wires seemingly scrambled and crossing over one another, it was the faintly glowing green glass and metal tube that caught the man's attention.
He raised an amused eyebrow as he replaced the side panel and put the weapon into one of his inner coat pockets.
"I will bring this to Luthor once he returns. I'm sure he'd be very interested in the components within."
A silence range rang throughout the room as the workers awaited their next orders.
Savage looked back at the teen, studying his face for a moment, before turning to address the four men in front of him.
"You have until tomorrow morning to make your reports on his health."
"Yes sir."