Chapter 11
Unknown Location, September 4, 2010
The air was dry and hot, sand shifted and rolled down dunes, the sky dark and glittering with stars.
His mind was quiet, breathing coming out slowly. His core was calm.
Celeste blue skin was bathed in the light of the moon and stars above, toxic green eyes glowing ominously in the darkness.
Danny was staring at the moon blankly.
Where had Clockwork sent him this time?
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
Robin, Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Artemis all of them missing six months worth of memories had just been reunited.
"KF!" Robin exclaimed cheerily, "Man, it's good to see a familiar face," They clasped hands.
"Hey, Rob," Wally beamed, "Memory loss?"
"Six months!" Robin exclaimed, just as annoyed as his friend, "Let's hogtie these creeps," He referred to the Bialyans who'd been attacking them moments prior, "And compare notes."
A little while later after tying their attackers up Miss Martian gave them the rundown of what she remembered.
"So...we're a team?" Robin repeated, surprised.
"The four of us and Superboy," She confirmed.
"Superboy?" Artemis repeated, "Feral boy?" She looked to Wally.
"I mean," He pursed his lips, "We both did think his costume was reminiscent of Supermans. Some teammate," Wally huffed, "He attacked us."
"He didn't know who we are," Artemis reminded him, "I don't know who we are."
"I remember Batman ordering radio silence," Robin said, "Our team must work for him."
"How do you know we don't work for my mentor?" Wally wondered, jabbing a thumb into his own chest, his clothes returning to their normal red and yellow as opposed to black and grey, "Whoa! This is so cool!" He gushed, tapping the symbol on his chest some more, watching the colors change in awe.
Artemis and Robin both pressed their own symbols, nothing happening.
"We look ridiculous," Artemis stopped tapping her emblem, "Quit touching yourself!" She hissed at Wally, "We need our memories back."
M'gann concentrated, eyes glowing white as she utilized her powers, pulling her friends into her mind.
"I brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far," she explained, standing by their sides as they looked on at various memories, "But I need your help. Together, our broken memories can form a whole if you open your minds to mine."
"You want to paw through our private thoughts?" Artemis stumbled backward.
"I have no wish to intrude," M'gann hastily ensured, "But-"
"You need to hack our minds to grok what happened to us," Robin put his hands on his hips, "Got it. Go."
"My brain's all yours," Wally sang, "Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you."
"Or underwhelm you," Robin cut in, "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"
Wally moved next to Artemis, taking her hands in his, smiling at her and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Last six months only," She warned M'gann, "And only what you need."
M'gann nodded in understanding, her mind reaching out to theirs, connecting.
They remembered Batman's words the day prior.
"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements, non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site and what landed there. Bialya is a rogue state ruled by Queen Bee and not a member of the league's UN Charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times. You'll land in Kourak on Bialya's border, two clicks from the hot zone."
They remembered landing and scoping out the terrain. They remembered Superboy enthusiastically volunteering to carry the machinery.
They remembered that while he took it to a pre-determined location Wally, Artemis and Robin studied the Bialyan forces. They remembered how the trio lay on a ridge overlooking a campsite.
The group remembered Robin powering up the machine and tracking the source of the non-terrestrial signature to the source.
"I'll check it out in camoflage mode!" M'gann volunteered.
"Good idea," Kaldur's voice rang out, "Go. Maintain telepathic contact."
"I will, Aqualad," M'gann chirped, she faltered, frowning when her gaze landed on Phantom, staring intently at the stars, "Phantom? Is everything alright?"
"The air," He muttered, "Can't you feel it? There's something nearby...it's screaming."
The group snapped out of their memories.
"Phantom!" Robin and the group exclaimed, "Aqualad!"
"Where are they?" Robin pressed urgently, "What happened next?"
"I don't know!" M'gann exclaimed, "That's the last thing I, we remember."
Wally and Artemis yanked their hands away from each other.
"We landed 24 hours ago," Wally said, "If Kaldur'ahm's been wandering the desert that long well...that's not good for a guy with gills."
"Now that I know to look for him and Phantom," Robin pulled up a hologram map, "Crap, I can't find Phantom, but Kaldur's close but he's not moving!"
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
Danny knelt in the sand, gingerly picking up some of it, allowing the sand to fall through his fingers, green eyes taking in the sight.
Earth, his lip curled. He was in the land of the Living once more, probably trying to handle some mess up in the timeline again.
Did Danny really not get to spend the day with his eldest? Clockwork was so screwed when Danny was done, and he better get to go back to the moment he left.
Danny could hear screaming in the distance with his sensitive ears. Ah, must be what Clockwork sent him here for. With a heavy sigh Danny followed the sound of the screaming.
He noted he was for some reason subconsciously having himself wear something that resembled a hero costume, that wouldn't do. So, clicking his tongue, Danny changed his attire to something more appropriate for the desert. In a flash of green light he wore only loose pants with pieces of the waist cut out.
i'm acc obsessed with these pants now
He floated over the sand, he personally had to agree with Anakin Skywalker that it sucked.
Danny moved leisurely over the sand. He came upon a tent and floated through the front flaps.
Toxic green eyes taking in the sight before him. There were people in lab coats prodding and sending jolts of electricity into a new genesis sphere, experimenting on it all the while as the sphere whirring in agony. Blindfolded and bound to a table was a humanoid figure, a child judging by the size and he was screaming and snarling at the figures around him.
"Mmm," Danny hummed, "What seems to be going on here?"
"An uninvited guest," A voice cooed, "Psimon says...suffer!"
Danny could feel it, the wave of psychic power barelling towards him. His eyes merely glowed a shade brighter, casting the wave back at the psychic and the scientists.
Screams rang deliciously through the air, Danny closing his eyes in content as he soaked them in.
"Psychics," His lip curled in distaste, "I've found often have very weak bodies. Shall we test that?"
He stalked toward the psychic. He lifted the man off the ground with ease, gripping the front of his clothes, looking into pained eyes.
"You have the gall to try and poison my mind?" He sneered, "Have you, human, any idea who I am?"
In response the psychic merely trembled.
"No," Danny sighed, "I suppose you wouldn't."
The psychic seemed to gather their courage and they jerked, presumably trying to strike Danny across the face. The Ghost king didn't let that happen, though, catching the man's hand with ease, still holding him with his other hand.
"What-what are you?" The man whimpered.
"Who said you get to ask questions?" Danny growled.
The psychic wisely clamped his mouth shut.
"You humans," Danny chuckled wryly as he twitched his hand, shattering his arm, "So fragile."
The psychic screamed in agony.
"Now...where do you think you're going?" The entity eyed the scientists who were inching for weapons and the door.
Wordlessly the shadows in the tent reached out, coiling around the scientists. The shadows crawled up them, consuming them and once Danny had gauged the shadows had cut off their air long enough, he called back the darkness, the scientists collapsing to the ground, unconscious, like puppets whose strings had been cut.
"You like to break minds, do you?" Danny cooed, directing his attention to the psychic, trembling in terror, "Well, let's hope you can handle what you dish out~"
The Ghost King reached out and gripped the man's head tightly.
The psychic convulsed under Danny's hand as he overloaded his mind with noise and feelings...as he broke his mind and healed it and broke it again all at the same time.
When Danny was satisfied...he released the drooling psychic to the ground, rounding on the new genesis sphere.
"I assume I'm here for you," He hummed.
He moved forward and swiftly and easily destroyed the restraints around the sphere. The sphere that leapt forward and hurried over to the restrained and blindfolded boy, still roaring.
Danny followed the sphere, stopping before the boy.
"I don't know if I'm here to kill you or save you," Danny hummed, studying the snarling figure before him.
The tent was silent, save for the faintly beating hearbeats coming from the unconscious scientists in the room, the boy's snarling, and the sphere's worried whirring.
Danny touched down on the ground as he slipped into his less ghostly, but still ghostly form.
Without much care Danny sliced through the boy's restraints. They fell forward and Danny was prompted to catch him but he ignored that instinct watching the boy fall to his hands and knees, wild eyes glaring heatedly at him.
"Do what you wish," Danny said dismissively.
He turned and walked out the tent, ignoring the new genesis sphere and the boy behind him.
Danny still agreed with Anakin Skywalker that sand sucked but...he did have to admit it was feeling nice beneath his feet. It was still warm from basking in the sun all day and it was soft, Danny allowing himself to get comfortable as he walked through the desert.
"The hell is this?" Danny pursed his lips, studying the small device in his ear, a communications device?
He removed the small device and promptly squashed it between his fingers, whatever, it probably wasn't anything important.
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
The rest of the team was on the bioship. They had just recently picked up Kaldur and hooked him up to an iv, getting him some much needed hydration and nutrients. He was well enough now that M'gann gave him his missing memories.
"Any sign of Phantom or Superboy?" Kaldur called out weakly, leaning against Artemis for support as they flew, low, through the air.
"Nothing yet," M'gann frowned worriedly.
"Getting some kind of energy reading here," Robin pulled up a map.
As the bioship changed course, heading toward the source of the energy their comms gave a faint crackle.
"That was Phantom's!" Robin identified, "His comm must've broken!"
The bioship eventually reached a tent which they hovered over, the team descending and carefully slipping into...taking in the devastation with wide eyes. There were limp bodies littering the tent but none were in such bad shape as a man who was drooling, eyes wide and unseeing as he muttered incoherently.
M'gann gasped as she looked on at the broken and the beaten man before her, remembering how they'd lost their memories.
I'm in, she said as she drifted into the tent.
Good, Kaldur praised, But tread carefully. Camouflage is not invisible.
They're testing something, M'gann said through the link, hovering over the spinning sphere, There's someone in pain, She reached out for the sphere, Hello? Can you hear me?
I can, An unfamiliar voice rang through their link, And an open mind is a dangerous thing.
Someone's hacked out link! M'gann cried out.
Build a firewall and backhack, Came Phantom's immediate suggestion.
Psimon can't see you, The figure spoke.
You think this loser's name is Psimon or that they're introducing 'Psimon?' Phantom had his priorities straight.
Psimon can't catch you. But Psimon can make you all FORGET!
The team screamed in agony as their heads burned.
Yeah, his name's definitely Psimon, were the last words, sent by Danny, through the link before it was completely severed.
They all clutched their heads, screaming in anguish. Superboy fell to his knees, everything he was burned out of him. With a roar he lept off into the distance. Kaldur whimpered and cried as he stumbled in a different direction across the desert. Robin, Artemis and Wally were the same as Kaldur, stumbling aimlessly across the sand. Phantom however, he collapsed into the sand, bach arching as he let out an earsplitting scream, memories burned out of him...in the next moment he was shooting into the air, crashing into a dune as he frantically flew away.
"This...this is the man that took our memories," She identified.
"Who...or what did this to him?" Wally asked fearfully.
A low growl filled the tent as none other than Superboy glared at them.
"Superboy, we're here to help," Robin said gently.
He merely barred his teeth, roaring at the group.
"M'gann," Kaldur commanded.
"Got it!" She froze Superboy in space and moved forward, putting her hand on his head, sharing with him his forgotten memories as well as accidentally letting a memory of her own slip through into his head.
Superboy blinked and stilled.
"I...what happened?" He blinked rapidly.
"You're okay!" Wally gasped in delight.
"Where?" He frowned at their surroundings.
"We had a mission to Bialya and a psychic made us forget the past six months of our memories," Robin explained.
"I remember now," Superboy nodded.
"Superboy, who did this?" Kaldur asked, "Are they still around?"
"I..." Superboy exhaled shakily, eyes blown wide, "It was Phantom."
"What?" Robin's breath caught in his throat.
"I was blindfolded, I couldn't see him but his...his voice was different. He was...colder, more violent. He...taunted the psychic, destroyed his mind I think. He...he seemed to not know what to do, he seemed to be waiting for someone to tell him what to do 'cause he...he didn't know if he was there to save me or kill me. Ultimately though he released me and then...he left," Superboy had his clenched fists, "I lost six months of memories and turned into a raging beast...how could he have turned into a shadow of himself?"
"I...I don't know," Robin admitted, "But we'll help him."
The sphere whirred and nudged Superboy.
"Can I keep it?" The boy asked the team hopefully.
"Um...sure," Kaldur shrugged.
Sphere whirred more energetically and zipped out the tent, the team hurrying after her.
"Footsteps," Robin noted.
"Phantom?" Wally asked hopefully.
The team took off, running along the footsteps...and there he was.
Standing atop one of the sand dunes, hands resting behind his back was Danny...without a shirt. Robin's face exploded red but honestly he was less focused on his crush being shirtless and more focused on him being safe.
"Phantom!" Robin cried out for him with a beaming smile, thank goodness he was okay.
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
"Phantom!"
Danny turned sharply, studying the group before him.
"You know me, little human?" Danny cocked his head to the side.
This human was had raven black hair and was dressed as a hero, Robin, if Danny wasn't mistaken. Lady Gotham adored him. But...Lady Gotham's subject spoke of him with familiarity, why? Was this the future? A future where Danny had not been careful during his missions and had gotten on the heroes radar?
"I...of course I do," The hero mustered up a smile.
"Of course you do," Danny repeated coolly, "Human tell me, how do you know me?"
"We're teammates, we're on a mission right now, a psychic made you forget six months worth of memories so-so I know you probably don't believe me-"
"You would be right," Danny said dryly, "I do not believe you."
"Valid," The hero winced, "But...just tell me what to do. Tell us how to prove we're friends, teammates," He stressed.
"Why would I join the Junior Justice League?" He eyed the heroes.
"Because-"
"Silence, Martian," Danny sneered, eyes burning brighter, the hue around him strengthening, "Gotham's protector and I are speaking. Answer my question," He instructed.
"You were in space," Robin said.
"I often am," Danny said coolly.
"Yeah, but-but you were in space and one of the Justice League members found you and brought you to the..." He hesitated for only a moment, "Watchtower."
"And I would let this happen, why?" He rose a brow.
"You...said you were feeling sad and alone and just let the Justice Leaguer bring you to the Watchtower."
Danny's brows furrowed.
"What day would this have been?"
"May fourth," Robin said.
"Ah," Danny nodded in understanding, "A day of weakness that led to me joining a team," His lip curled.
"A day of weakness?" Robin repeated, "What...makes you weak that day?"
"May fourth," Danny said coolly, "The day I lost my sister."
"Your clone?" Superboy's breath caught in his throat.
"Ah, so I've told you about them?" Danny rose a brow, "Why?"
"I'm-I'm a clone too," Superboy said, "And when you found out that my template rejected me you...you claimed me as your brother."
"A foolish thing for you to accept and even more foolish of me to declare you as such," Danny scoffed darkly, "My kin never last long."
"..." The group was silent.
"I can help you regain the pieces of yourself you've lost," M'gann stepped forward.
"You can never return to me what I've lost," Danny said coldly.
"Perhaps, but I can return your memories to you," M'gann said gently.
"Come now, Martian," Danny chuckled darkly, "I would not trust mine own with my mind, why would I trust you?"
"The piece of the sun," Robin breathed out.
Danny's gaze snapped to his.
"What did you say?" He questioned.
"You think Batman's a vampire, right?" Robin pressed.
"Anyone with eyes can tell that Batman is a vampire," Danny scoffed, ignoring the snickering from a few other members of his apparent team.
"Right well you gave the necklace, the piece of the sun encased in ice to an associate of Batman's to keep him safe."
The piece of the sun encased in ice...
It was an object of Danny's that was incredible important to him. He didn't usually give it away so...so to have done so now...these heroes must be right, he must trust them, or at the very least care for them.
"You care about him," Robin continued, "And you care about us so please...please, you have to remember."
"And all I have to do is let the Martian into my head," Danny pursed his lips.
He bent his head back, peering at the stars, his stars.
"You must've led me to them," He whispered to Ellie, the words reaching the Team's ears, "Nobody's ever found me in space before."
"O̷̧̦̫̓ͅȑ̸̨͖ ̵̔Ĩ̶̛́̎͒ ̶l̷̽͌e̴͑̑d̷̛̑̓̕ ̸̒t̷̘̦̮͗͒̋̈́̔h̵̻̀e̵m̵̜̱̮̱̈̄ ̷t̵̅͋ô̸̂ ̷̓y̴̗̘̍ó̷͗̽u," Clockwork drawled, crossing his arms looking not very intimidating as he looked like a five year old. He floated behind the team, visible only to Danny.
"So you do mean something to me," He studied the team more intensely, "Very well, Martian," He met her gaze, "I will let you into my head but know if something is amiss...I will destroy you."
"..." The girl silently gawked at him, as did the rest of the team.
"What?" He snapped.
"Sorry, you're just so...different," Artemis shifted from foot to foot, "It's...startling. Like, the first time we met you snuck into my window to talk about hello kitty pajamas."
"As one does," Danny crossed his arms, "Oi, Martian, are we gonna do this or what?"
"R-right!" She scrambled forward.
Danny grew tenser and tenser, muscles tightening, coiling prepared to snap and lunge at her, preparing to tear her to pieces, but Danny pushed away his instincts to maim and hurt and destroy and instead let her approach. The girl stopped before him...and reached out for him.
She put her hand to Danny's head...and memories and feelings coursed through him.
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
Dick watched nervously as Phantom's eyes glowed green as M'gann returned his memories to him.
With a sudden gasp, Phantom fell to his knees, gasping.
"Freakshow!" He gasped.
"Phantom?" Dick called out hesitantly.
Wide, disoriented eyes met Dick's and he sighed in relief when he saw the confusion but affection in the boy's gaze.
"My head," Phantom whimpered, "What-what happ..." His eyes widened, "No...no, no, no, no," He looked to Superboy in horror, "I...I almost left you. I can't-I'm sorry," He cried, "I'm sorry."
Superboy was by his side in an instant.
"It's okay, it's okay," He soothed his brother.
The rest of the team hurried to their friend and joined in on the hug.
"You have nothing to apologize for," Dick said, struggling to keep his voice even, "You've done nothing wrong."
...And Phantom just cried louder.
★・・・★・・・★
Bialya, September 4, 2010
Quite a bit of time passed before Danny calmed and he relaxed in his friends embraces.
He was...numb and silent as they guided him into the bioship, flying back toward the Cave.
Danny...Danny couldn't believe himself.
You'd think subconsciously he would've recognized people who meant so much to him and he would've let them in immediately but...but he didn't...and Danny was mortified.
He'd hurt so many people, not that they really even mattered, but he...he left Superboy behind, he left his brother behind and if Clockwork had given him a sign he would've killed him too! And all those things he'd said! He was so cold to all of them! He couldn't believe himself!
Danny eventually calmed, the Team may have said he had nothing to apologize for but they were wrong and Danny was adamant to make things right, he'd do anything to make things right.
It was here that Danny rubbed his arm subconsciously and noticed something.
Brows furrowing, Danny looked down at himself.
"Why am I not wearing a shirt?" Danny gawked.
The Team burst into laughter and Danny softened, laughing along with them as he changed his clothes back into his usual uniform, domino mask coming up over his eyes again.
★・・・★・・・★
★・・・★
★・・・★・・・★
Batcave, September 5, 2010
It was a little past Midnight when Dick returned to the Cave from the other Cave.
"Dick," Bruce greeted, "Tornado said the mission was a success and that you guys managed to retrieve the source of the power surge?"
"A sphere," Dick nodded absentmindedly.
"He...also said some complications arose on the mission," Bruce said, "What...kind of complications?"
"...There was a psychic that made us forget six months worth of memories," Dick said, Bruce sucked in air sharply, "M'gann was...lost. She didn't know why she was on Earth. I wanted to know why Bialyans were in Bialya. Wally knew he'd been out there for more than 24 hours 'cause he didn't have any energy bars. Artemis thought she was on some mission from her dad, she thought he wanted her to kill Wally. Kaldur was unconscious because of dehydration. And since Superboy didn't exist six months ago he was...feral."
"And...Phantom?" Bruce asked cautiously.
"He was...he was just cold," Dick shuddered as he remembered those blank eyes peering into his own, "He was...different. He...he hurt some people and really messed up the psychic, valid but...scary. When we found him..." Dick trailed off/
"Go on," Bruce encouraged.
"When we found him...and I called out to him...he turned...and it was like he was looking through me. His eyes were cold and empty and...and it hurt to have him look at me like that...with...with nothing in his eyes."
Bruce wordlessly took Dick's hand in his own, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"He...called us the Junior Justice League and when M'gann went to answer he snapped at her," Robin said, "He only wanted to talk to me and...and he called me 'Gotham's protector.' He recognized me but he didn't know me and...that almost hurt more."
Dick leaned against Bruce's chest, man holding him in a loose hug, rubbing his back soothingly.
"He...he ended up revealing that May fourth, the day...the day he was brought to the Watchtower was the day he lost his sister."
Bruce tensed.
"And...and Superboy brought up that he was a clone too, like Phantom's sister and...and that Phantom, when he found out Superboy's template rejected him, accepted Superboy as his brother. Phantom...Phantom said that was foolish of himself and that his family never lasts long."
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut in empathy for the boy.
"It...it really seemed like he was just gonna leave until I mentioned the piece of the sun he gave Alfred, and that you're Batman. He...he finally let M'gann approach him and give him his memories but I have a feeling that if I didn't know about the sun in the ice...he would've gone...and we never would've seen him again. It's just..."
Dick let out a strangled cry and hugged Bruce tighter, burying his face in his chest as he cried harder, Bruce holding him closer.
"I can't imagine losing him!"
★・・・★・・・★
★・・・★
★・・・★・・・★
Undisclosed Location, September 5, 2010
Meanwhile Queen Bee was adressing the rest of the light.
"We have lost the new-genesis sphere," She admitted, "And Psimon is undergoing procedures to try and repair his mind."
"I shall pay the expenses for his surgery," Lex Luthor reassured.
"Thank you," She smiled curtly, "Before Psimon lost consciousness he managed to project to me the image of his attacker. This is them."
On the screen before them was a looming figure. He had celeste blue skin and white hair that was captured mid-motion in the image from Psimon, his hair waving in the wind. His eyes were a toxic green, burning brightly as they glared into Psimon's eyes.
Klarion leaned forward, intrigued.
His father looked...upset in the picture, Klarion had never seen him upset before, no, no, his father only ever looked to him and his siblings with adoration, even when confronted by enemies before his children he was sure to present a calm front to them but this picture...this picture showed off his father's lividity, his rage...and it was beautiful.
Ra's al Ghul's flinched back at the toxic green of the man's eyes.
That green...that green was the color of the Lazarus Pits. This...this must be a creature of the pits, he knew the legends of them, of course. He knew how they were the blood of the Ghost King Lazarus...and he knew that Lazarus' rage could latch onto those who go into his waters, he remembered how the rage that drove him to kill his wife, his beloved Sora, had not been his own.
The image of the man certainly looked how his rage had felt. This must be him...the great Ghost King Lazarus.
Vandal Savage's breath caught in his throat.
There...there he was. The proof of all he'd been doing was worth it was standing right in front of him.
He remembered all those millenia ago as he lay dying how that man came to him. Floating, glowing ethereally. He remembered the awe he felt as he looked upon the figure.
He remembered how the man, his god, gifted him with renewed life. How he'd given him his immortality.
Everything Vandal had done since his god left one day had been to find some way back to him...and there he was. Everything was worth it and everything would be okay because soon...soon Vandal would be by his god's side once more...as things should be.
O̷̧̦̫̓ͅȑ̸̨͖ ̵̔Ĩ̶̛́̎͒ ̶l̷̽͌e̴͑̑d̷̛̑̓̕ ̸̒t̷̘̦̮͗͒̋̈́̔h̵̻̀e̵m̵̜̱̮̱̈̄ ̷t̵̅͋ô̸̂ ̷̓y̴̗̘̍ó̷͗̽u -- Or I led them to you