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Chapter Text

The clone kryptonian huffed as he raised his arms to block his face from getting hit by some goon. He recovered quickly and punched them square in the jaw. He made sure to pull his strength as to not cause too serious of a damage against the person. His punches were meant to stun, not kill.

Taking his eyes off the group of people in front of him, he glanced around at his teammates.

He had been told that he should be more aware of his surroundings and teammates, not just the civilians and the villains. It made sense; they were like that with him, it only seemed fair that he would return the favor. Through both his glance and super-hearing, he noticed that no one needed his help. Not even the newer recruits.

An odd pang felt inside of the half human as he noticed this. However, he was quick to get over it as he gave out a roar and charged into the fray of his own group of goons. He picked up a couple before throwing them against a swarm of others. He then threw a few random punches at the meater ones to knock them down.

'Connor!' A voice shouted in his head, causing him to wince. This minor second of hesitation caused him to be electrocuted.

It hurt. A lot.

Groaning, he fell to his knees as the electricity was pulled away from him. Before he had a chance to stand up, something hard slammed against his back, pushing him all the way into the now cracked concrete. A gaspy yelp left his lips, inaudible to any of his teammate's ears. Grimacing, he quickly slammed his foot behind him, slamming it against someone's chest. Because of the pain, he couldn't focus on correcting his strength. However, seeing as he hadn't heard bones breaking and a numbing feeling was beginning to take over his leg, he assumed the attacker was fine. Mostly.

"Superboy! You okay, man?" The red-haired speedster called, knocking down the remaining unit of goons that had surrounded him. Carefully, the yellow cladded hero grabbed a hold of the slightly bigger hero's bicep, pulling him up. "That looked like it hurt." He joked, grinning widely.

The black-haired hero scoffed, yanking his arm from the other, moving back a bit. Kid Flash had little concept of personal boundaries. Then again, he was friends with Robin and that kid really had no concept of such things.

"I'm fine." He snapped, rubbing his face.

Instantly, he felt the domino mask that covered his eyes and the upper part of his face before dipping down at the sides. For whatever reason, he was given this to wear. He assumed it was to help hide his identity. But Superman never had to wear one, as far as he knows, and no one knows who he is! Then again he doesn't know who Superman is...

"Whoa! Just tryin' ta help!" The speedster raised his red-gloved hands in a surrendering fashion. He then laughed a little before giving the kryptonain a salute and rushing off.

The black-haired boy sighed under his breath, gritting his teeth. He hadn't meant to say that. He meant to say thank you. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he quickly got control of himself and went back into the fight. Listening to the mental orders that Aqualad was giving him and the rest of the team to make the fight end faster. Once the mission was done, they all headed back to Mt. Justice with the info they needed.

"Connor? Are you feeling okay?" The red-haired Martian called, floating in front of the only other full-time resident.

'No.' He thought, but his mouth wouldn't move. He wanted to tell her that he felt awful! He was tired and his body was beyond sore! He wanted to say a thousand different things about how he felt inferior to all of them, how he felt like he couldn't relax, how he was constantly being compared to Superman! He wanted to blurt it all out! Yet, he couldn't.

"Yeah, just need a shower." He grumbled in a gravely sort of voice.

He watched as the other alien searched his eyes and face, there was worry clear as day on her face. She knew something was wrong. She knew that, but she didn't push, nor did she try to search his mind for the answers. She didn't want to cause her friend and roommate to feel uncomfortable around her again. Besides, this wasn't Mars, she had to obey the rules of Earth now.

With a hesitant smile, she let him be. An invisible sigh left his lips as he moved toward his room.

"Superboy." The deep, accented voice of the leader called out. Said teen stopped and turned to his leader. "Is something wrong? You seem... Distracted?" Aqualad hummed, placing a firm hand on the broader teen's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to ease your worries?"

Again, the urge to tell was right at the tip of his tongue. Aqualad wouldn't judge! But he might try and help or tell the others. The others might look at him with pity than understanding... He didn't want pity. He wanted understanding! At least someone who just tried to get to know him before he was a weapon or clone!

"I'm fine." Superboy growled, smacking the hand away from his shoulder. "Just tired." He softened his voice some, walking away from the Atlantean.

Kaldur frowned as he watched his friend walk away from him. Sometimes he wished he could read minds like the Martians. It would be easier to read the troubled kryptonian then.

The dark skinned Atlantean shook his head. No, that wouldn't make it better. That would be an invasion of Superboy's privacy. Something that he knew would only foster resentment.

With a quiet sigh, he left to find what else he could do and check in on the other teammates.

Superboy frowned a little as he heard the team leader turn from him. He clenched his fist before going to his room. He needed a moment to himself, to think clearly.

Chapter Text

Danny groaned under his breath as he was alerted by said breath of a ghost attack. It was in the middle of a test! An important one that he was actually able to study for! If he could finish it without being troubled, then he might not totally fail the class!

Glancing at the half-finished test, he decided to hurry with the rest of it. At least he's used to failing... Which hurt him a little on the inside.

"Mr. Soloman, I'm done, can I go to the bathroom?" He asked loudly, a deep blush forming on his face. He hated using that excuse, especially when the other students around him snickered.

The greasy looking teacher, that most of the students were sure was dead, grunted and waved his hand. Danny nodded to him seeing as his throat dried from the mocking gazes. He hurriedly picked up his test, scanning over it to make sure he really did finish it, before he handed it in. After that, he rushed out of the boring room and down the hallway to the bathroom. Once there, he gave the broken and dirty place a look over, making sure he really was alone. He was.

"Going ghost." He muttered, quickly a silver ring formed around his stomach before splitting in two. In a matter of seconds, Danny Fenton was gone and replaced by Amity Park's small time ghost hunter/hero: Danny Phantom.

Phantom turned intangible and invisible. He hoped it was some low-level ghost. Maybe that damn Box ghost. At least then it'll take a few minutes.

"Well, well~ If it isn't the halfa~" A familiar deep voice shouted from above the half-ghost.

Quickly, Phantom ducked under a hook. The white-haired teen groaned, a light scowl plastering on his soft face. Swiftly, he whirled around and fired off a series of shots at the metal ghost hunter. Only two actually landed, the others either getting blocked or missed. You'd think he'd be getting better at aiming after being a ghost hunter for some time now.

"What, no quippy one liner from you~?" Skulker laughed, quickly riding his motorcycle around the teen.

Said teen groaned under his breath again. He had to rush to finish a test, for this?! Honestly, he'd take about anyone other than him!

"I was in the middle of a test, you metal head!" He snapped, quickly firing off more blasts before forcing himself to make a shield as the metal ghost fired off his own shots. Unlike the last time Danny fired at him, more actually landed, disorientating the hunter ghost.

Taking this to his advantage, he grabbed the Fenton Thermos and dragged the metal head into it. With a heavy sigh, he speed off back to school.

Just as Danny Fenton was leaving the bathroom, the bell for the next class rang. It was Mr. Lancer's period now. Great.

"It's nice of you to join us now, Mr. Fenton." The balding teacher ruffed out.

"Y-Yeah, sorry, Mr. Lancer." The somewhat timid teen muttered.

The fat teacher waved him away, allowing him to sit near his friends. He looked tired to them, bored to everyone else. Sam and Tucker shared a look. They both knew that Danny only looked that tired and late to class was if there was a ghost attack.

The two quietly shook their heads. They try to help the best they could, but there was only so much non-ghost people can do. Honestly, some nights, even with the help of the Fenton parents, unbeknownst to said people, they all would get maybe five hours of sleep! It was worse if the "big ones" joined forces and all that.

"Okay, now that everyone is in class-" Mr. Lancer started, only to be stopped once some A-Listers showed up. The old teacher narrowed his eyes but said nothing to the group. "As I was saying, now that everyone is in class, I have an announcement!" He cheered as if any of his usual announcements were a good sign. They rarely were. Half the class groaned, expecting a test or some tough assignment that even the A-Listers would have to do. "Now, now! It's not a test or an assignment... Mostly." The last bit was mumbled to himself, but Danny heard it. "Anyway! It's actually about a field trip. It'll be-"

Before he could actually finish what he was saying, a blond jock stood up and hollered loudly. This quickly got most of the class to do the same thing. A field trip usually meant something out of Amity Park, the world's most haunted, and most boring, place to live. Sure, they had ghosts and Vald Masters as Mayor, but that was all it had.

Danny bowed his head, subtly covering his ears at the hollering. Even without his heightened sense of hearing, all this noise would've been painful. He never liked having class with Dash. Not only was it a way for Dash to originally threaten him for his homework, but it was just always so loud and noisy.

"Alright! Quiet down!" The bearded teacher called over the noise, silencing the teenagers once again. Clearing his throat while fixing his already straight tie, a nervous habit that the students had picked up on. "Yes, we'll be having a field trip outside of Amity Park, but we'll be joining two other schools as we explore Metropolis, home of Superman!" Mr. Lancer threw his hand right hand out, waving it from left to right, a large grin on his face.

The students were oddly quiet, blinking in silence. The green-eyed teacher blinked before hunching slightly with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"As much as you're on the internet." He grumbled before taking a deep breath and glaring at the students before him. He opened his mouth, likely to explain who Superman was.

Suddenly, Paulina jumped up, an excited squeal leaving her lips.

"You mean the alien superhero!" Her words quickly got everyone excited, all talking about some alien superhero or another. Seeing that the classroom was now buzzing with new excitement, Mr. Lancer straightened his back and grinned.

"Yes, he's a kryptonian." He said in an almost proud way. Like he knew the hero personally. "Anyway, as I said, we'll be joined by two other schools. The first one being Gotham Academy- who had funded this trip along with billionaire Bruce Wayne- and a school from Happy Harbor." He waited for someone to interject, when no one did, he went on. "This field trip will last for at least two to three weeks, be sure to bring enough clothes for then or money to do laundry. Also, the only meals that will be provided for free, is lunch. To get all three meals, either sign up for that," he motioned to his desk where there were papers. "Or make sure to bring some money to spend on getting food."

The class laughed and groaned at this. Danny lightly bit his lip. He had some spare money to maybe buy some food, but then what about washing his clothes? He knows he'll never bring enough to last him nearly a month!

"Don't worry about the food, I'll buy." The gothic girl gave her blue eyed friend a soft smile, helping him relax.

"There better be some meat." Tucker grumbled, pouting heavily.

Quickly, the two glared heavily at each other, scowling a little. The black-haired boy chuckled at them, relaxing more. Their little squabbles were always something to find interesting and were always the same. He'll have to make sure to bring some money anyways, not just for laundry but also for Tucker's meat obsession.

'Wait...'

"Guys, what about... Our activities?" Danny popped up and turned to the two bickering teens.

They paused in their bickering to contemplate this. They then frowned and shrugged. There was no way that Danny could be gone for nearly a month. Just letting one ghost off the hook would basically mean the end of the world! The town would be crawling in ghosts by the time they get back!

The boy Fenton laid his head down in his arms while Mr. Lancer blabbered about the rules and all that. There's no way he can go on this trip.

Chapter Text

Connor scribbled down the boring basics of what was being said by the history teacher. He wasn't really paying attention, nor was he actually learning anything from the guy. He knew most of what was being taught anyhow. Besides that, he could just look at the chicken-scratch that was his notes.

'Connor, are you okay?'

Said clone narrowed his eyes as his body tensed. He really didn't like it when Megan did that. Yet, there was no way for her to actually warn him when she was going to do that.

'I'm fine... Didn't get much sleep last night.'

The Martian smiled a little in his direction, believing him. He wasn't lying, so what was there not to believe?

"Alright! That's all for today's lesson." The old teacher started, motioning for the students to begin cleaning up. "But there is an announcement for the upcoming field trip." The room became tense. Everyone was wondering if the field trip was canceled or something like that. "Another school has been added to come along with us and Gotham Academy." The room waited for him to go on. "The school is from Amity Park, a small-town school. This means some of your pre-formed pairs will need to break up to fit the new students." With that the bell rang, dismissing the students.

Quickly, everyone left to enjoy the next few minutes before the next session of Hell that is school. Megan skipped over to the other superhero, smiling just as cheerfully as always.

"Wow! I never heard of a town named Amity Park! Have you?" She tilted her head, her book bag being held in front of her.

The half-kryptonian shook his head. No, he hadn't heard of such a place. It wasn't in anything that Cadmus had forced upon him.

He paused for a second in grabbing his closed bag. He didn't know anything on this Amity Park, it was something new. Something untainted by Cadmus and any other supervillains.

He carefully bit the inside of his lip, stood up and walked out with Megan doing the conversation for him. A couple of students looked at the odd pair, but quickly minded their own business. This minding wasn't because of any horrible fate or a glare, but because it was commonplace. Honestly, if Connor didn't know she was a Martian, he might've guessed she was some form of speedster with how fast she was talking!

Occasionally, he would nod or give a yes or a no or whatever else she was looking for in a response. He could tell with how her eyes glimmered and he would listen to at least a few sentences here and there.

After a while, the two split up to go to the rest of their classes, which Connor did nothing other than answer a few questions and scribble down some notes. It would at least make it seem like he was being busy.

After school was done, he and Megan made their way back into the Young Justice headquarters. This was mainly so they could grab their packed bags before heading back to the school. The other team members knew what was going on, so they didn't have to worry too much about not seeing them. They know that they can just alert them if they needed help.

Back at the school, there were a lot of kids, most of whom were talking about possibly seeing Superman or maybe Supergirl, despite that Supergirl worked in another city. It didn't matter to the happily chattering students, some wondering if they could get pictures of them.

Connor gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes a little as he felt jealousy and rage fill his heart. Two full Kryptonians that neither talk to him. As if saying he wasn't good enough to be acknowledged, even privately.

'It's alright, you're just as good as them.' Megan whispered in his mind.

He winced a little, but vaguely nodded as to not stress her. This was supposed to be a fun field trip, but whatever. He can at least avoid Superman and Supergirl. He can hear just as well as them.

"Alright! Single file lines! Three to a seat!" A teacher called over the wave of students.

There were a few clumps of bodies here and there but getting on the bus was somewhat smooth. Megan and Connor were able to sit next to each other, but there was one other person there with them, so they couldn't really talk-talk.

Eventually, the bus began to move after everyone was on board. There were at least 68 students on the bus with four teachers, so 72 people going on the trip. That was going to be a lot of students to keep track of. Too many students that could need help in a big city like Superman's home.

This was just going to be a long trip that was going to exhaust him. Both emotionally and physically. He wasn't looking forward to it.

Chapter Text

As much as Danny tried to not inform his parents, or Jazz, of the field trip, they still found out. Apparently, Mr. Lancer thought it would do Danny some good to get out of the ghost ridden town and see new sights. He probably thinks that this will help motivate the young teen to work and study hard to get out of said town. Of course, the two ghost hunters agreed to this, probably going with the idea that it would keep him safe for a little while.

Of course, they gave him roughly thirty dollars to do his laundry while Jazz gave him a hundred more with a wink. He gave the three of them a soft smile and hugged them. Clockwork, Wulf, and Frostbite had promised to help Jazz keep things in order without getting caught by the parents. This didn't ease too much of his worries, but he was going to be forced to go one way or another. Besides, if things got really bad, Wulf would come get him.

After packing what little clothes Danny did have along with a new pair of shoes he had yet to wear, he was off to the school. Quickly, he spotted his friends, both of them seeming to be in an argument. A quiet sigh left him as he slumped some. Why were the two of them friends if all they ever did was fight? Did they enjoy fighting? It was always about the same things, or things that fell under the same umbrella. Sure, at times the fighting could be relaxing, a peaceful constant in his ghost heroing days. This was not one of those relaxing time.

"Hey, guys!" He shouted, quickly forcing a bright smile to cross his face as he finally made himself known to the duo.

Swiftly, whatever fight they were having disappeared. They still glared and looked annoyed with each other, but it at least stopped. Sam suddenly handed something to Danny. A face mask.

Its main color scheme was red and white, the white being the base coat with the red highlighting the edge of the mask and the circular air filtration on either side of the mouth area. The red also took on the form wisps flowing around the mask like gas. The filtration looked like a new model, and was designed with little ghosts on it. It was a unique type of mask, maybe an expensive one.

Danny looked up to Sam, seeing her give a soft smile before tapping her nose. The halfa winced.

He forgot about a recent development that he's been having issues with. Lately, his sense of smell has been heightened, just like his sense of sight and hearing. Like the last two, it wasn't just affecting his Ghost half, but his Human half as well. He's gotten used to breathing in all of Amity Park's air, but a city? Cities weren't just full of people; they were also full of cars and different smelling things that would collect together to form another smell. Good and bad. Something that definitely would knock him down.

Gripping the mask a little tight, he gave his vegan friend a grateful smile. With that, the Casper High students went aboard the bus. The trio of secret heroes threw their bags into the compartment area above their seats, sighing a little.

Sam sat by herself, much to Tucker's annoyance. Not that he didn't enjoy Danny's company, it's just the dude was physically cold and seeing how nervous he was, he was only getting colder! Sam actually liked the cold, Tucker doesn't! Besides that, he was trying to get the two together! He could tell Sam liked Danny and he remembers Danny saying he liked Sam! Of course, that was when they both were sick and slightly delirious... Anyway, his main question was why Danny wasn't making a fucking move! The dude can quip like no tomorrow with ghosts actively trying to fully kill him, but he can't ask a girl he's known for years out on a simple date!

With a soft sigh, the techy teen glanced at his two best friends. He really hopes that during this trip that either they get together or they talk about their feelings and get over them. At least then it wouldn't feel like he's being a third wheel half the time.

Chapter Text

Connor shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He quickly spotted Artemis and Robin, not that hard when apparently the two knew each other in civilian form. Well, it most likely was Robin who figured it out and then Artemis later on. Anyway, the two were talking about how the three schools were actually splitting and mixing everyone together in hopefully teams of three or four, he wasn't really paying attention to all that.

A quiet scowl formed on the clone's face. He didn't want to be in that big of group. Too many new people, and without Megan, it'll get tense, fast. He didn't know how to talk with people, it being difficult considering all he really knows is how to be the raging Superman Clone part of the Team.

The scowl disappeared at the thought of the Team. He knows they don't see him just an imperfect Superman clone, but... He doesn't believe they really see him as anything more than a weapon or a comrade. He almost wants them to pry into his head or force him to talk about his feelings! At least then, he could really see how much they wanted to know his truest thoughts and feelings. At least then, he really could release all these pent-up emotions that just whirl inside of him.

Sighing, he watched as the last bus slowly pulled up with the name Casper High School poorly painted on. The bus looked a little awkward and seemed a bit old. However, he didn't need super hearing to hear the cheering and jeering that some students were doing on the bus. It looks like Amity Park's school was going to be a loud and noisy bunch.

Soon the bus stopped and the moment the doors opened, a herd of students rushed to get out! The first ones to the ground were some dumb looking football players and pretty girls that wore a little too much make-up and way too tight of clothes. Everyone else seemed boring and blended into obvious cliques. Then Connor noticed three students that stood out to him.

No, they didn't stand out because it was a new clique or anything like that really. They stood out because the trio was all different. The lone girl was obviously the tomboy-goth of the group. The dark-skinned boy had many pockets and was messing with what appeared to be an old PDA, Connor wasn't really sure what it was. The last boy was just plan looking, but wore this bright white and red mask, the colors the same hue as his shirt.

Danny felt eyes on them. They weren't threatening, but they really didn't make him feel good. Usually whenever he felt eyes on him, that usually meant a fight was about to start, or he was just going to get beaten on. Looking around, his eyes soon landed on a pair of deep blues that seemed to swirl with so many emotions, rage and sorrow being the main fore fronters.

Connor tensed a little as the plan looking ravenette looked at him. His breath got stuck in his throat oddly. He hadn't seen eyes that icy of a blue before. They were so cold and calculating looking, yet there was this odd tiredness inside of them. Those eyes, as youthful as they appeared, were so old. Those eyes have seen many things. Not all of them good.

"Alright, everyone! This is..." Some teacher paused for a moment, looking over to the old bus. "Casper High! Amity Park's school." They gave a soft laugh before allowing one of Casper High's teacher step up.

"Hello everyone, we're Casper High. I hope we all get along and form new bonds and friendship. I will be reading a list of names, and these will be your teammates for the rest of the field trip. No exceptions unless there are problems." There was a subtle pointed look towards the trio, causing the white-shirt male to bow his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

Connor felt his usual stoic face fall into a frown. Was that kid a troublemaker? He didn't seem like the type. Maybe it was just some form of misunderstanding? That seemed more like it, the kid seemed like the type to be in the wrong place and wrong time.

"Megan M'orzz, Sam Manson, and Paulina Sanchez." At the sound of his teammate's name, he refocused.

Two girls from Casper High glared at each other, it was the gothic girl and some girl wearing a pink crop top. He could see that these two weren't going to get along at all. Megan was going to have some work to do.

"Connor Kent," He focused back on what was happening. "Danny Fenton, and Dilan Bishop." The plain looking kid from across Connor popped his head up, looking around some. It seemed he was either Danny or Dilan.

After that, the teacher went on. Some of the Casper students cheered and were rowdy till the main teacher would glare at them. It wasn't long before everyone was told to find their groups. Though he didn't understand why they couldn't get into them sooner.

The red-white mask wearing teen soon was guided over to where Connor was along with a brunet wearing a Gotham Academy Uniform.

"H-Hi... I'm Danny." The mask wearing teen said, giving a short and shy wave.

"Dilan." The Gotham kid grumbled, loosening his tie. He looked bored and seemed to be someone who wouldn't be doing much of everything.

Connor nodded to the two, grunting out his name. The two nodded, but Dilan looked a little annoyed. The other groups were talking with each other while their group wasn't saying anything. Looking around for a few minutes, Dilan suddenly just left the two. Neither one of them tried to stop him, only watching as he joined a duo group. One of them seemed to be his friend.

The two dark haired teens looked at each other before looking away. It seemed neither one of them was good with new people... Great.

Chapter Text

After everyone was in their groups, they were further split with three main teachers. Each of these groups would have a different activity or part of the trip. This was the main reason why it was to take almost a month; so everyone could get through all the main activities and places.

Danny looked back to see Sam and Tucker were part of his group. He snorted under his breath as he saw Sam was with a cheerleader-sunshine type of girl. Looking at Tucker, it seemed he was making good friends with a tall blonde and a short dark-haired kid from Gotham.

"Are those your friends?" A gruff voice next to the ghost-hero murmured.

He flinched a little at the sudden sound before looking at the muscular teen next to him. Honestly, he wasn't expecting this guy to be as muscular looking as he did. He reminded the small teen of Dash, if said blond wore darker and tighter fitting shirts. However, those deep blue eyes were kinder than Dash's blue eyes. Actually, now that he was closer, those deep blue eyes were like the ocean. They swirled and turned with so many thoughts and feelings, those feelings dragging you in and consuming your rational mind.

"Uh... Is something on my face?" Connor moved back from Danny, shifting his weight at the intense stare the other was giving him.

Blinking some, a quick blush burned his face as he shook his head swiftly. The shaking of his head caused his untamable hair to bounce around his face before calming down. Clearing his throat, he finally answered.

"N-No, you don't... A-And yeah, they're my friends..." He motioned with his head to the two.

The two went silent again, neither one really looking at each other. Instead, they were observing everyone else around them. Everyone seemed to have taken to their new groups quite well, the talking reaching high volumes that were beginning to hurt the two's super hearing. Looking at the friends, they saw they were doing better than them.

Sam, despite being in a group with Paulina, didn't look ready to kill someone. In fact, she seemed to have quickly adjusted to Megan's- if Danny remembered her name correctly- hyper and cheerleader attitude. Tucker was also showing- and probably explaining- his personally made phone and the firewall he had set it up with. It seemed the little kid of the group of taking it all in, the shine in his eyes and the wide- almost creepy- smile showing his interest. The blonde of the group only had a small smirk and just looked at the two tech nerds with amusement.

Connor gritted his teeth as he saw Megan hug and be all friendly with the gothic girl, her smile wide and bright. She looked as if she was with one of the other teammates. Then there was Artemis and Robin, they too looked happy. Robin more so than Artemis. It was... Annoying. They and everyone else were talking freely with their partners, getting to know them! Yet, he could barely say a word. Barely make it sound like he wants to be there!

"Sorry." The two had turned to each other, muttering the very same word. They blinked at each other some, both looking confused. "Why are you-" They stopped, once again being in sync.

They both stood there in silence for a few moments before quietly laughing at how weird they were being. Politely, Danny motioned for the broader male to speak first.

"Sorry for being awkward... I don't have good... People skills, nor much to say." He said truthfully. The two of them likely wouldn't meet again, so why lie?

The shorter male chuckled and nodded. "I was saying sorry about that too... Amity Park doesn't get a lot of new people, so... Meeting new people is... Stressful, to say." He looked off to where his friends were, using them as a source of confidence at the moment.

Connor looked over to where Danny was looking and sighed through his nose. He understood that well. After all, he wasn't really sixteen years old, and the only people he usually interacts with are villains, his teammates and the few schoolmates that tolerate him. This probably would explain why he had such bad people skills.

The icy blue-eyed teen glanced up at the other. Okay, so the two of them were awkward, but at least they understand why a bit better... Maybe the two of them could enjoy the field trip together? Hopefully.

Chapter Text

Mr. Duncan, Gotham Academy's History Teacher, had brought Danny and Connor's group to a History and Art Museum mix. Thankfully, the only thing they had to do was write a couple of pages on the group's favorite exhibit or art piece. Basically, whatever caught the group's attention the most.

The two teen boys didn't really know where to go, so they just walked around. They did pause at a few unique looking items, but nothing that really got them talking. That's till Danny spotted something a little further away.

Connor turned to his partner as he heard them gasp. His eyes widen some as he saw those icy blue eyes brighten and soften with childish wonder and happiness.

"Look!" He squealed, tightly grabbing onto the bigger male's arm, pointing towards an archway. This archway led to another section of the Museum, but from the doorway, the kryptonian could see space themed history items around. "Can we go there?" The smaller male's voice pitched some, cracking in excitement.

Odd laughter bubbled and swelled inside the broader teen. The kid oddly reminded him of Robin, just less deadly. Besides, it was interesting to see such childishness in such serious and cold eyes.

"Su-" Before he could finish, he was suddenly yanked by the other. The clone gasped quietly and stumbled some as he was forced to follow the other. A slight confused look took over his features as he glanced at the other black-haired teen. They were a lot stronger than they looked.

Blinking, Connor looked the smaller teen up and down some, analyzing him. The clothes that the other wore basically hung off of him from how loose they were. They were only fitted enough as to not show too much. Besides that, he looked scrawny, thin with almost no real muscle. Except, if you looked at his arms, you could see lean, toned muscles hiding there.

The dark-haired hero narrowed his eyes. Was the kid trying to hide that he had muscles, or was this just something he was gaining naturally in some way?

"Look!" The shorter teen squeaked, looking back at the other with glimmering eyes. That glimmer was quickly dampened as he saw the slightly glowering look he was being given. Quickly, he released the broader teen. "S-Sorry..." He murmured.

The black shirt wearing teen blinked some, his expression subtly changing into confusion. Why was the other saying sorry to him? His eyes soon widen a fraction as he realized what he had been doing.

"O-Oh! No, you're fine!" He muttered, opening and closing his mouth some as it was the other's turn to give a confused look. "I-I just noticed that you're stronger than you look."

Danny's eyes widen when he was told this. He didn't even realize he had used some of his ghost strength to pull the other.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Panic was clear in his eyes and voice as he took a cautious step forward to examine the other's shoulder and arm.

"No, no, I'm fine... I just wasn't expecting someone as scrawny as you to be able to pull me." He stated, moving his arm some to show that it was indeed perfectly fine. There wasn't a hint of a bruise or popping bone or anything like that!

The shorter teen sighed softly, relaxing as he nodded a little. At least he had enough restraint to not cause any damage.

After that, the two explored the Space area of the museum. Connor wasn't really impressed with any of it, seeing as he had gone into space a couple of times before. Yet, his partner had the complete opposite reaction! He was zooming from one show and art to the next! The kryptonian could tell that the other was smiling widely from the displacement of his mask and how bright his icy eyes were.

"You really like space?" The broader teen decided to finally ask as the two of them went to another show piece.

"Yeah! I always wanted to be part of NASA o-or an astronaut!" Danny's voice was really light. "That's probably why out of all the Justice League, I like Superman and Martian Manhunter the most! They're living proof that there's more to this Universe!" His eyes seemed to have shifted color some, turning for that icy blue to something with a greenish hue.

Deciding to ignore that, Connor gave a bitter like laugh. "Yeah... Does that mean you like Superboy too? Considering your criteria?" It was meant as a joke, but a stinging pain formed in his chest. It didn't feel fun.

That glow on the other's face softened a little as he gave the maybe nod. "Even with those two as my favorite alien heroes, I like Batman and Superboy as heroes in general." He stated.

Raising an eyebrow and tilting his head, the two walked on to the next peice.

"I like Batman because he has the brain power to take down any of the other Leaguers. Like, his main place of being is Gotham City, a city filled with crime and insanity! It'd be stupid of him not to have a plan on taking down literal Gods!" Danny threw his hands up in the air, getting a soft chuckle from the clone. That made sense.

"And Superboy?" He asked, a slight tone to his words. The shorter teen ignored that as he went on to explain himself.

"I know you think I like him because he's closer to being an alien and all that, but... I feel more connected to him on a personal level..." There was a pause between the two before the ghost teen went on. "He's Superman's clone, everyone is basically going to be expecting great things from him. Expecting him to either be Superman's downfall or to take his place. Everything he does or would do, is constantly being watched, the best one can watch a superhero that's not really active." He gave his best amused look with the mask on. "From what I know, Superman doesn't spend that much time with him, meaning Superboy has to learn to control his powers from others or from trial and error. He probably feels like he has the world on his shoulders, and no one is helping him. Where all he can be, is a weapon to use." The two of them stopped in front of a painting, Danny's head down. "I... I understand something close to that..."

The two of them stayed quiet, one out of embarrassment and sorrow, the other out of surprise. Superboy wasn't expecting someone to know that. To see that! This kid, who doesn't even know him, knows so much already! He knew what the clone was feeling, how it felt! And they said they felt something similar? Was that really possible?

"O-Or I'm inferring too much! Who knows! Maybe Superman and Superboy know each other in their civilian forms and are on really good terms!" Danny waved his hand around some, his pale face heating up.

Connor gulped before offering a smile to the smaller teen. At least they weren't pretending to know him, even if their words hit far too close to home.

"Don't worry about that. We can only infer what we see and hear." He chuckled softly, before looking to the art piece the two of them had stopped at.

It was quite a beautiful piece of work, expressing the sorrow of a dying world with the wonders of a star being reborn.

"Should we do our paper on this or the exhibit?" The taller teen looked down at the other, who had started to read the plaque.

The other looked up, his hair bouncing in his face before he gave a firm nod. The two smiled at each other as they continued to walk around the room, no longer talking. At least the tension between the two of them was gone.

Chapter Text

After a few hours in the Museum and going out for a quick lunch, the B group went to their "dorm" rooms. Every group had to share a room with each other, which meant there were bunk beds in every room along with a large closet and a single desk and chair. The rooms were honestly cramped looking, but neither Connor nor Danny cared. In truth, the small room felt more comforting.

"This is about the size of my room back home." Danny told the other black-haired teen.

"Same, but the rest of the... house is far bigger. Especially the kitchen and living room." The two shared a soft laugh at that.

It wasn't long before they both had their clothes in the closet. They looked between the two of them and then at their clothes. Neither of them brought a lot with them, it was to the point, they really were only taking up a fourth of the entire closet and shelving space in total! It was amazing!

Danny couldn't stop himself from laughing, looking up at the other who gave him a quizzical look.

"Looks like we'll be doing laundry." He motioned with his head toward the clothes. It took a couple of moments before the broader male chuckled and nodded.

Suddenly, there was a knock on their door. They both gave each other a confused look before Connor opened it. Waiting outside was Megan and the gothic girl. Both of them looked annoyed, which surprised the strong teen.

"Sam? What's-" Before Danny could finish asking, Sam pushed passed the broader teen, a scowl already on her lips.

"That damn Paulina! She had to bring her entire closet with her! She took up the entire closet!" The black-haired girl ranted, the scowl growing. "Honestly, who does she think she is! She can't leave us without a fucking closet!" The girl threw her hands up in the air as if to help her story.

Connor glanced at Megan, reaching out to her through the link.

'Is that true?'

'Yes.' Surprisingly, there was a bitterness to Megan's voice. Paulina clearly got on her nerves, something he thought was nearly impossible to do.'She's far too entitle! And she made us do all the work! Sam was right about her... She's just fake.' A pout was now on the red-haired Martian's face after that.

Soon the two boys caught each other's eyes. They still had room to fit clothes, even if that wasn't the girls intentions. Sam just wanted to rant and Megan just wanted to get away from Paulina in general.

"We have room." Connor's deep voice called over Sam's ranting one, stopping her. She looked at the other, as if finally noticing him. Her cool, violet eyes looked him up and down before she leaned over to Danny's ear.

"He reminds me of Dash. Is he?" She whispered, to which Connor pretended to not have heard it.

Danny gave a short shake of the head, his friend relaxing some. She looked him up and down again, biting her violet-painted lips before sighing and looking to Megan. The two girls looked at each other for a brief second before Megan gave Connor a bright smile.

"Thank you! We'll try and not take too much space!" She chirped before motioning for Sam to follow her. With that, the two girls left, closing the door behind them.

The boys stayed silent for a moment before they both quietly laugh. Sighing some, Connor stretched a bit, glancing over at his roommate. Currently, he was looking out over the city, a glow in his eyes like in the Museum. Thinking about it, this was probably the kid's first time in a big city...

"Want to go shopping?" This caught the other's attention, who looked confused. "They said they'd only be providing free Lunches, everything else we'll have to buy."

The icy eyed teen nodded, their eyes crinkling at the edge with a small smile.

"Okay, let's go."

Chapter Text

Before the two boys had left the hotel area they were staying, Danny got some money from Sam for the food. The two girls had looked surprised when they saw the boys enter, asking what they would want from the store.

"I didn't expect them to be friends this fast." The girls muttered together. They blinked before giving each other a confused look.

"Connor has a bad temper and is socially awkward..." Megan explained simply, seeing as Robin told her long explanations make it seem like she's lying.

"Danny's bullied and hasn't met any new people since he was basically five." Sam winced a little as she said this. She was sure that Danny wouldn't want her sysug that too loudly.

The two girls looked at each other before smiling some. Their guy friends definitely needed to have someone else to hang with other than them. The boys needed each other.

While the two of them were walking around the big city, Connor noticed that Danny was scanning his surroundings. Now, he normally would've brushed that off, but what Danny was doing was familiar. Robin did this when they were in civilian clothes. Yet, Robin did that to scan for potential areas to hide and change or areas where villains could be sneaking about.

The superhero was a little confused on why a normal person would need to get in the habit as something like that but pushed it aside. Maybe something had happened to him to make him gain this habit? The thought worried Connor a little.

"What does your friends like to eat?" Danny hummed, looking up to the taller teen.

Connor paused a little to think about it.

"They'll eat anything, though Megan likes to bake cookies." He stated with a shrug. He then laughed a little as he thought of Wally. "Actually, there's this one friend, Wally, he'll eat everything if he could." The two of the snorted and laughed a little.

"Well, if he likes meat, then Tucker probably would like him! Tucker loves meat! Sam, on the other hand, hates meat. Complete vegan." The two boys laughed again.

"How do they get along then?" Connor snickered a little, smiling softly.

"They don't! Dear god, do they just argue and argue!" He cried out, shaking his head. "When they're not arguing about food, they're arguing about something else. It really hurts that Tucker is a... try hard flirt with half the girls in our school." Connor snorted. He could definitely see Sam and Tucker getting into a fight over that.

"How the hell are they friends then?" He raised an eyebrow, looking down at the plan looking teen.

A scoff and a shake of the head was his main answer. "Like I know. We're all really just friends because we don't fit into one category. Tuck's the tech-meat guy, Sam's the gothic girl who will kick your butt, and me... Just the family disappoint." He said that in a joking way.

Connor knew that wasn't a joke. He didn't need to be superhuman to know this. He could tell from how tense he had gotten, that he genuinely believed what he said. As much as the hero wanted to ask about it, the shorter, black-haired teen had quickly changed the subject.

"So, what should we get that could last us at least a week." His tone was lighter and still held a joking tone.

The broad teen nodded, chuckling some. "Maybe we could try making pasta dishes? They'll be more filling, right?" He looked to the other, who nodded some.

The rest of the walk became silent, neither one knowing what to say or ask. It wasn't really awkward, but it could've been better.

In the store, the two separated with two different carts. Connor said he was going to get the meat and some sugar foods while Danny went to get Sam her vegan foods. He's went shopping with her before, so he knows what kinds she'd like and all that.

After they came back together, they went down a few isles to grab what they thought everyone would like or to help them pull actual meals together. Once again, it was silent between the two of them with only a glance at each other for confirmation. This silence between the two was better than before despite that there was no attempt made by either of them to say anything. They didn't really need to say anything.

Maybe that's why it got better. They just subconsciously understood each other.

Chapter Text

"Hey, I should carry the cold food, they'll stay cold longer against me." Danny gave Connor a serious look as the two of them were trying to evenly divide the purchased food. They had completely forgot the hotel was a little way from them. And they can't use their powers with the other literally next to them.

The clone raised an eyebrow before nodding softly and handing the other the cold food. He did keep the heavier items like the chicken and beef, seeing as those can be out of the chill for a good minute or two. Besides, he didn't know how strong the other really was and he didn't want him to strain himself too much.

"What'll we make tonight?" He asked as they started to walk out of the store.

Danny hummed a little, thinking. "Well, no matter what, I have to make something vegan for Sam... She'll have my head if I don't!"

The two laughed at them, smiling a little to themselves.

"Maybe some chicken Parmesan?" Connor offered.

The halfa grinned at that, mutely nodding to the other. That was one of the few dishes he could do easily enough.

After that, they hurriedly walked with their groceries in hand. Thankfully no one seemed the pay the two any mind. Which saved them some embarrassment.

Despite how far they had to walk, they walked mostly in silence after discussing what they should make for meals throughout their visit. Both had also noticed how the other never seemed to tire from holding so many heavy groceries at once. Not that they had a proper frame of reference to really say otherwise.

Eventually the two were in the shared apartments and had the food somewhat organized into the common room fridge. The two nodded at that.

"I'll start on making dinner, so you can relax." Danny shifted his mask as he spoke, looking like he was going to take it off.

"I can bring our work out here and keep you company." Connor offered, though he was a little unsure why. He just felt calm around this tiny human, and he didn't want to be alone just yet.

The pale skinned teen paused for a moment before nodding, finally moving his hands to take off the mask. Now, the clone didn't know what he was expecting underneath the mask, but it wasn't to see a rather cute faced, blue-eyed teen. His smile was a bit nervous, yet there was a hint of mischief swirling within.

"Alright."

With that one word, the two began to do their own tasks. Occasionally, Danny would pause and look at what was being written and help Connor add more clever words or his own input on the event. To stretch his legs, the young Kryptonian would stand up and offer to taste-test the food. They both quickly found the other to be more than they originally thought.

"I didn't really peg you as the smart guy. At Casper, people with your build usually are A-listers, and they aren't the smartest. They usually pick on those that are weaker or smarter than them." Danny muttered, looking away.

For a moment, Connor thought he saw the other's blue eyes flash a deep green, but it happened too fast for him to be sure.

"I didn't peg you to be a good cook." He said, his eyes naturally looking the smaller male up and down. The teen was definitely on the thinner side, kind of like Black Canary, if she lost several unhealthy pounds.

"Oh!" A cheery laugh slipped from the other's lips as he patted his somewhat hollowed cheeks. "Thin?"

"Of course, you're thin! Your parents are good-for-nothings when it comes to you and Jazz." Sam's voice called through the room, practically stomping in while lightly dragging Megan.

"Sam, harsh man." Tucker whistled, hurrying in with his new Gothamite friends following.

The others looked at each other, confused.

"Why are Danny's parents good-for-nothings?" The red-haired lady asked cautiously.

Danny tried to wave them off, but silenced himself when Sam gave him a glare worthy enough to be called a Bat-glare. She then went on to tell them all about what usually happened in his house. No sugar-coating.

"It sounds a lot worse than it-"

The boy instantly ducked as his girl-friend made a jerky move like she was reaching for something behind her back. A move his mother would make when she was getting out a ghost blaster.

"You were saying?" She practically hissed. "And then there's the food." Her violet eyes narrowed, a scowl forming on her lips.

The halfa sighed as he got back up, and nodded.

"Yeah... I can argue with the other stuff, bad things and accidents happen... But the food... Yeah, most of it comes back to life..." He winced as he mentioned that, quickly distracting himself with setting their plates.

"Comes back to life?" The youngest of them piped up, seeming invested in what they had to say now.

That got Sam and Tucker to agree, both talking about the food that had nearly eaten them! To say the least when they were done, the young justice could see why someone as protective as Sam would call Danny's parents no good.

"Well, dinner is done... And it won't move!" He gave them all a look, a look that meant for them to drop the parent subject.

They faithfully did, though it was clear they were going to talk about it later. Not that Danny really wanted to. He knew his family was strange, but he really, really didn't want to talk about them with new friends... He didn't want them to think he was too strange to be around. He was quite liking Connor's company.

Chapter Text

The first week in Metropolis was rather fun. There were the little projects that they did. One of them was to create an artwork or write a historical fiction piece that could be found in their section of the Museum. Of course the two secret heroes made a model of an alien homeworld. Connor admitted he was crap with building things, to which Danny was fine with, letting Connor be the "artist" of their alien world while he built it. They surprisingly got an A.

Also since learning of his less than stellar eating habits, Connor seemed to have been doing his best to feed him, making sure that he actually remembered to eat... A habit that not even his friends caught, namely cause they weren't too good with eating food either. So, the three of them had gained some proper weight to them and their bodies. An ache that Danny never even noticed fading away.

Without having to worry about ghost attacks, he had also been getting some good sleep as well! It was absolutely wonderful!

Then a ghost attack happened when they were exploring the beautiful outdoors in a place called Metro Park. The ghost in question? Shulker, of course!

Danny groaned under his breath, fiddling with his breathing mask. He knew he would have to remove it for the fight, the design was too unique for people to not notice. Especially Connor!

"We need to hide." He grabbed Connor's wrist, half dragging him away.

"What the hell is that? An alien?" The larger teen's voice sounded a mix of annoyed and unsure.

Laughter unwillingly broke from the Halfa's lips, his nose wrinkling underneath his mask.

"If only." Was his response before the small teen shoved the larger into a small hiding hole. It was just big enough for one person, which was a good excuse. "Stay here. We know how to deal with this."

"Wait we? Danny, what-" The thin male was gone before Connor could finish his questions, making him scowl lightly.

Danny had turned invisible, giving the larger teen a soft smile before he rolled his shoulders back. Honestly, this was supposed to be a nice day out in the sun that Metrpolis was well known for! Now Amity isn't a gloomy place like Gotham, but with how many ghosts that can effect the weather, getting a simple sunny day was rare.

"Hey, tin-head! This was supposed to be my vacation!" He revealed himself to the raging ghost, making his face screw up in misplaced smugness.

"Phantom! Your pelt shall be mine to hang off my wall!" He fired a shot from his ghostly shotgun.

With boring easy, Phantom evaded the attack, rolling his eyes.

"Really?" He groaned, his nose wrinkling. Without his mask the scent of the city was now lurking around him, but he had to focus. "Pick one! Like Ancients! There isn't enough of me to be both a carpet and a wall trophy! Seriously, didn't we already have this conversation!" His hands glowed green like his eyes and fired off a few shots.

The other evaded the first valley but got snagged by the second. He growled and tried to start a physical brawl. Which honestly didn't make the most sense seeing as Skulker was far better with his weapons than his hands- just barely.

"You're just a whelp that needs to be taught a lesson! A lesson you'll never forget!" The tin ghost tried to grabble Danny.

Being the squirmy snake that the teen was, he slammed the heel of his boot into the other's chin.

"Yeah? First learn which way you want to skin me." He snapped.

Skulker broke away from the fight to try to shot at the younger ghost. He jumped into the air, willing his feet to stay feet. While he's out of Amity, it would be best to pretend not to be ghost. Not when GIW could be anywhere. Even if their equipment dings, it wasn't as likely they would try anything in Superman's city. Hopefully.

Cocking his fist back, he slammed it into the other ghost multiple times. Of course the larger ghost retaliated with hits of his own. It wasn't long till he got idiot's head off, his metal body falling to the floor.

Phantom laughed as Skulker kicked his little legs, trying to right himself. "Seriously, for the supposed best hunter of the realms, you need to up your game." He happily pulled out his Fenton patented thermos to soup the ghost.

The white-haired teen huffed in pride, capping the thermos when it was done.

"You know, for interrupting my vacation, Imma leave you in here for a week." He shook the canaster with an impish smirk.

Slowly, he floated back down to the ground, sighing heavily. As far as he was aware, no one was nearby, having run away. Even the people from Amity had done the safe thing and left the area. Just before he transformed back, he saw Superman fly down to him, his cape billowing out like large wings of justice.

"Whoa." Phantom blinked a couple of times before taking a step back. He wasn't really expecting the Big Man himself to show up... Though now it felt silly for him to not think the superhero wouldn't check in on the strange fight that singed and burned a few places in the once pristine park. "Um... Sorry about this..." He raised the canaster, naturally giving it a little shake.

Superman thinned his lips, narrowing his eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked in a rough voice.

It sent nervous vibrations down the Halfa's spine. He really didn't want to deal with anyone from the Justice League as Phantom. Sure, the Leaguers weren't connected to any government agencies, but he was still nervous.

So, he shrugged a little, taking another step back as he glanced around, trying to find a distraction of sorts. He then found Connor, making him tense. He then focused back on the alien. He really wished he could fanboy, but he really needed to get out of there.

"Can't really say..." He looked around again, being as subtle as possible. "But uh, perhaps we'll see each other another time?" He gave a shrug, going invisible a second later.

Not wanting to stay there for another second, he rocketed into the sky. He looked down, seeing Connor stepped out from behind some of the trees that he was hiding behind. He was looking around, probably trying to find Danny.

Said halfa smiled softly at the sight, a warm feeling exploding in his heart. Then he saw something white. A white broad shoulder button up jacket.

So, they were there. Crap.

Chapter Text

Squirming a little, Connor shuffled out of the hole and moved to where he thought he had seen Danny run off to... Except there was no heartbeat nor were there any heat signatures that were human. It seemed everyone had successfully ran off, but where was Danny?

"Hey, tin-head! This was supposed to be my vacation!" A familiar voice shouted.

Snapping his attention to where the mysterious creature was, a new one had appeared. They looked like Danny, but they had white hair and toxic green eyes and wore a white and black hazmat suit. Then there were the subtly pointed ears and fangs that Danny definitely didn't have. Also, no heartbeat and their temperature was far too cold for it to be human. Unless someone's talking about a meta-human. He doubted that's what these creatures were.

The two of them bantered, getting a few nasty hits in on the other person. It was a rather quick brawl though as it wasn't long before the metal man's head was knocked off. As violent as that sounded, and looked, the guy seemed fine. He was screaming and kicking tiny legs back and forth as his metal body fell to the ground with a strangely soft thump.

"Seriously, for the supposed best hunter of the realms, you need to up your game." The strange white-haired entity laughed as he pulled out a thermos?

A bluish-white light expelled from the item, wrapping around the glowing metal body and the flaming head. The weird creature tried to run away, squealing in a language that Connor didn't know or understand. It was echoing and sounded as if there were several others talking at the same time. However, he was still sucked into the strange thermos.

The white-haired teen huffed in pride, capping the thermos.

"You know, for interrupting my vacation, Imma leave you in here for a week." He shook the canaster with an impish smirk. It was very reminiscent of a person that he was looking for.

Conner took a cautious step out as Superman flew down from the sky with his large and bright red cape billowing around him. The clone swears Superman had one of the magic users within the League to make it do that.

"Whoa." Phantom's impish smirk, that did look cute and strangely familiar, fell into a shocked look. He blinked his toxic eyes a couple of times before taking a step back. "Um... Sorry about this..." He raised the canaster, giving it a little shake.

Superman thinned his lips, narrowing his eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked in a rough voice. It was strong and confident, not something Connor ever heard directed to him.

Phantom shrugged a little, taking another step back as he glanced around. His twisted eyes found Connor's blue ones. For the briefest of moments, they were the iciest and deepest of blue that he had only seen from one person.

"Can't really say... But uh, perhaps we'll see each other another time?" He gave a shrug before disappearing.

Superman frowned before giving a heavy sigh. He then turned to Connor, his face tightening in the way it always did whenever he was involved. Whenever his attention was on his young clone.

"Uh... Are you hurt?" Such a normal sentence that sounded so constipated and tight.

"I'm fine." The clone grumbled, his attention not really on the superhero. No, he was trying to find Danny.

Danny had a unique heartbeat and heat signature. His heart was slow, like he was sleeping, with a low heat signature, not dangerously low but low enough to be noticeable. But it was his, and Connor was certain that he could find the other if he could just find that familiar heartbeat!

Then it appeared. The sleepy heartbeat drummed from nearby, hiding behind a tree.

"Danny?" Connor was by the tree in seconds, leaning around the corner.

Said dark-haired teen looked up from his crouched position, blue eyes wide. There was a mild look of fear, his body tensing and his heart speeding up.

"Danny," The clone moved to kneel before the other, showing his palms. "It's okay, the fights over."

Those fearful blue eyes calmed, his heart slowing to his normal. A shaky smile formed on his face, a hand grasping his.

"Yeah... I heard... Just um... Bad feelings?" His brows were furrowed, lips thinned in uncertainty.

The larger teen nodded, not questioning anything. From everything that Sam and Tucker had secretly told him about the Fenton parents, he could understand how the fight might've triggered something.

"Need another minute?" He asked, being gentle as he squeezed the smaller's hand.

Danny shook his head, his smile turning a bit more mischievous. His nose then wrinkled, like he smelled something bad. He practically tore his hand away, fumbling to put his mask back on, coughing a little.

Connor patted his back, once again being as gentle as he could. He never really understood why Danny wore the breathing mask, seeing as he was beginning to take it off in the apartment. He guessed he figured out why now.

"Ah, are you okay, kid?" Superman had floated over, kneeling on the other side of Danny.

He jolted, flinching away from the alien. His eyes then crinkled a little, his hands grabbing onto Connor's bicep. Right, Danny was obsessed with space and everything dealing with it. Especially aliens.

"Superman!" He cheered, squeezing the limb in his hands.

The Man in Blue gave a soft smile. It was such a soft look that briefly there was a flash of anger, of jealousy of someone being given such a soft look. Then it was gone when he saw how excited and happy Danny looked.

"Hello, you're not hurt, correct? The fight was close to your tree." The Man of Steel lightly tapped the thick tree with a friendly smile.

Danny gave a rushed nod, turning to look at Connor. It was as if he was waiting for something?

"Yeah, I'm good. Skulker is always trying to pick a fight with Phantom." He gave a shrug, relaxing into the broader man.

Superman's brows furrowed in confusion. "You... You know them?"

The masked boy nodded, glancing back to his partner. The two of them stared at each other, like they were trying to have a conversation.

Wordlessly, Connor sat cross-legged, pulling Danny into his lap. The smaller boy tensed for a second before going limp. The stronger man placed his head on the smaller one's silently watching the interaction between his "father" and his newest friend.

"Yeah, I know 'em. Phantom's the local... uh... I guess you could call him a wrangler."

"A... Wrangler?"

The clone hadn't seen such a confused and conflicted expression on the Kryptonian.

"Yup! A ghost wrangler."

Superman opened his mouth, likely to try and get more information, but the teacher called for everyone to return to the group. Which meant he wouldn't be able to ask anything else for the moment.

"Can you carry me?" Danny asked, tilting his head back.

The usually angry clone hummed, easily shifting to carry his friend bridal style and left to return to the group.

"Kon-El..." The whispered name made said clone pause in steps, but he didn't stop.

It wasn't just because there were other people around, but also, he was feeling petty. Superman had been ignoring him since he was discovered and rescued. Superman may have been half his genetic template, but there seemed to be no connection, and it was such bitter pill to swallow.

Chapter Text

Danny could walk, he really could... But he felt strangely tired. He didn't understand why exactly but seeing as Connor wasn't complaining he didn't feel so guilty. He also didn't feel embarrassed, even as others from their group began to whisper about them.

"So tired." The halfa muttered, laying his head against Connor's shoulder.

The broad man chuckled, a hand patting his back.

"Get some sleep." His voice made his chest rumble in a comforting manner. It made Danny sigh heavily and happily.

"You're warm." He nuzzled his head into the crook of Connor's neck.

Usually, Danny did his best not to be near warm entities as it would make his core act up. Connor seemed to be different, his warmth was being welcomed like a campfire on a freezing night. Like this warmth from this person was complimenting his core. Then again, it could also be because said halfa was just tired.

The taller man chuckled again, shifting his grip so it would be more comfortable for the smaller male.

More whispers appeared, a couple people even snickered.

"Are they dating?" A person too close said too loudly. Like they wanted the men to hear.

Danny glanced to them, feeling his face warm a little. Most of the expressions that were being given weren't malicious, just curious or confused. It made sense, it hadn't been that long since the two were partnered.

"I'm not heavy, right?" Danny pulled further away, tilting his head. Guilt was now eating at him.

The larger male just gave him a comforting smile and shook his head.

"You still barely weigh anything. Like a bowl of grapes."

The halfa turned his head away with a snort. Then, he gave a challenging sort of look.

He opened his mouth to say something more but froze.

Standing at the entrance of the park was them. Their large white jackets reflecting the light of the bright sun with their thick sunglasses rested perfectly on their face. A distant ping, a constant noise that was picking up speed the closer the two of them got, sounded from one of them. Yet, they made no move to do anything as Superman was floating in front of them. He didn't look too pleased.

"Danny?" Connor frowned as he looked between his new friend and what had got his gaze. "Do you know them?" He had never seen men dressed like that before. They looked like government agents with their pearly white suits, but they had a vibe about them... An awful, disgusting vibe that made him sick with grief and trembling with wrath that he knew wasn't his.

The smaller male clung closer to him, his grip tightening a noticeable degree. His heart was beating at a normal, human pace and his breathing matched. He was beginning to panic.

Connor's sharp blue eyes drifted back to the men in white. They had to be the cause of it. Before he could do anything, green lights were shot at them.

The larger teen pressed his friend close to his body, jumping out of the way. The shots swished passed them, burning the grass where they stood. The halfa winced, his nose wrinkling. Proper ectoblast weapons shouldn't be burning items, maybe a bit of singe. That meant these weapons were going to do real damage to normal humans. Damage that these bastards were going to use as evidence of ectoplasma corruption!

More ectoblasts whizzed past everyone, screams echoing. The halfa should do something, he knows he should! But he couldn't. His body felt so tired and heavy, despite his core thrumming with power.

Then Danny was stolen from his friend's arms.

The panic attack he was just barely suppressing took hold as the GIW began to pull on him. He struggled and struggled, but they pulled and pulled. They were trying to get something on him, and he desperately didn't want whatever it was! He knew it would only cause pain, and he didn't have a home field advantage to escape them should they bring him to their base!

Then he was out of their hands, pressed against a broad chest that was warm. With the briefest glance, he instantly clung to his savior.

"What the hell is going on!" Connor's voice was booming, sounding over the screams and rushing blood.

"This is a government order! Hand over the contaminant." An older looking man hissed, a collar in his black gloves.

The large teen growled, using his frame to shield the other from their black lenses.

"Government order?" Superman growled, swiftly using his heat vision to melt and disable the weapons they were so haphazardly shooting into the park. "I would like you to politely leave."

"Who are you to give us orders, alien?" The older man growled, clutching his disabled weapon.

Superman scowled, finally setting a foot on the ground, in front of Connor and Danny.

"I am Kal-El of Kryptonian. I am protecting the innocent from your tirade." He pointed to his side.

Taking a daring glance from the welcoming darkness he had in his new friend's chest, he winced. The park that had once been cleaned and trimmed properly, was now partially on fire. The grass and dirt were burnt with park benched tipped over even though they were bolted down. Trees now were burnt, toppled, made into swizz cheese, or had one large hole somewhere on it. Most of the trees and grass were still burning. The worst of it was the people. A number of people had burns along their arms, legs and backs from running. Those that had gotten properly hit were bleeding.

Thankfully, the firefighters and ambulances were already helping with everything. So, Superman was no dealing with them. With the GIW.

"Agent Z..." A middle-age looking agent stepped forward, their lips drawn tight as they surveyed what was left of the park.

Everyone was glaring at them, especially those that were from Amity Park. Actually, Dash was hauling ass over to where Danny and Connor were.

"Fine. We'll leave for now." Agent Z cocked his head so it was clear where he was staring at.

Connor moved Danny behind him, scowling back. His eyes burned a little, just in the back, but he didn't care. If this Agent Z tried anything.

"Fenturd!" Dash called, grabbing at Danny's shoulder, pulling him from the Happy Harbor student. "Ya good? Saw them try to put a damn collar on ya?"

If it was any other time, the halfa would've almost laughed at the thought of the GIW managing to get so close. If it was any other time, he probably would've made a snappy or quirky remark to make his biggest bully angry at him. But he didn't feel right.

Shakily, he grabbed onto Dash's thick hands, trying to focus on those conflicted eyes.

"Not so good..." He slurred, before it felt like he was falling.

Chapter Text

"Danny!" Connor pulled the unconscious teen from the blond jock. He didn't like how tightly he was gripping the frail teen.

The teen was ice cold, his skin quickly glowing with sweat. He was breathing shallower than ever, his heart practically was dead!

"Tucker! We need to get him to Tucker!" Another jock from Amity shouted.

The blond paused before nodding.

"Y-Yeah, Kwan's right!" He looked toward Superman with a sort of hopeful look.

The Man of Steel looked like he swallowed something sour. Thankfully, one of the teachers was already calling one of the teachers while another was pulling one of the EM's over to take a look over the kid.

"Son, I need you to release him." The older man gave a thin smile, his hands reaching out.

"No." The growl that slipped passed his lips cause the people near him to take a few steps back, even Superman took a step back.

Just the thought of someone taking Danny from his arms made the hairs on the back of his neck stand and his gut feel heavy. Danny was sick. Those bastards had done something when they had grabbed him, he was certain of that! There was no other reason for him to suddenly pass out like that! And what the hell were they saying about contaminant? Like Danny had a disease?

Or was the disease.

"Um... Kid, you-"

Superman paused, his hand inches above Connor's shoulder, stilled by how red his eyes were as they glared so murderously at him.

"No." He repeated again, pulling the limp teen closer to his chest.

He could still hear his heart, still hear him breathing. He was cold, yes, but he couldn't let him go. Why couldn't he let him go?

"Danny! Big-Man!" Tucker shouted, heaving a little as he stopped in front of the duo.

Sam wasn't far behind him, hanging back with Megan who was strangling wearing a gothic red coloring of her usual outfit. The two weren't saying anything, though Megan's expression was tight with an angry fire in her eyes.

"Connor." The red-haired mind reader pressed a comforting hand onto his bicep. It felt like acid as he knew without words of any kind what she wanted him to do.

"I can't..." He hissed for her, a sense of unease growing as he could feel Danny's heartbeat continue to slow unnaturally.

Megan looked to Sam, a desperate sort of look.

The gothic girl stepped forward; a firm look on her face.

"We'll be there."

Like ice, he realized all he was doing was holding Danny hostage. He was going to kill Danny because he was terrified of something else happening to him. Burgeoningly, he released his hold of the thinner boy to the paramedic, who rushed away with Tucker scurrying after, a PDA clutched tightly in his grasp.

Sam grabbed his arm then, beginning to drag him away from the crowd that had formed. No one dared tried to stop them, not when Sam looked like a small version of Death.

Connor felt like he wasn't even moving. Like he had no control over his body. It took him a minute to realize he was somehow back to the apartment building, his minor burns wrapped. He could just tell they were wrapped by Megan, and usually that would make him feel some form of calm, but he couldn't feel that. Not when his body was burning with the need to know how Danny was.

"He'll be fine." Sam's voice cut through the air, tense and sharp in a way that exposed how enraged she truly was.

"How can you be so sure?" He growled, feeling so very bitter about everything.

"He's a fighter." She said it like that was supposed to save him! To make any sense of what was going on!

"Why was he attacked?"

Her purple hued eyes narrowed, her lips thinning.

"Attacked?" Her voice sounded strained.

"Yes! Attacked!" He stood up from his bed, hissing. "By these bastards wearing all white! Like they're some kind of doctors!" He ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tightly.

"They were here!" Sam grabbed him by the front of his shirt, dragging him down.

Connor's brows furrowed, confused on what she meant by they. She spoke of them the same way the Young Justice spoke of Cadmus. Like he was supposed to know who they were.

Sam pushed him away like he had burned, like he was the only holding her. She then scrambled out of his room, her heart thundering loudly in the beginnings of a panic attack. Which only made him feel worse and worse!

Sitting back down, he placed his head in his hands. His body was shaking, and he had to clench his teeth from chatter. What made it worse was what he could hear from across the hall.

"Tucker! They were here."

"They? The ghosts? Yeah, I kinda figure-"

"No! Not them. It was the Guys In White." Her tone had fallen hushed.

There was silence on the other side before a several sharp intakes of breaths.

"Shit, shit."

The line went dead, and Connor just couldn't stay there anymore! He had to do something, even if that wasn't as Connor Kent but as Superboy.

Chapter Text

Danny felt like he had just lost of a fight with Skulker and Ember. With a pounding head and throat as dried as the Saharra, he kept his eyes closed and did his best to breath evenly. He could hear hush chatter around him, not that he wanted to pay attention to what was being said as he kind of wanted to go back to sleep.

Except he was freezing. Freezing in a way that he was painfully familiar with. He apparently hadn't been using his core all that much, or he had exhausted his natural ectoplasma reserves to the point that he was now in overproduction. Neither one brought great joy to him. But he couldn't remember what he had done to have forced this to happen!

Groaning, he slowly sat up. A constant beeping that he had been ignoring pulsed like a drum in his ear, telling him he was in one place that he didn't exactly want to be. A hospital.

"Dude." Tucker's voice was whispered, his scarred and calloused hand grabbing his wrist. "Don't worry... I got you." His scarred thumb rubbed his hand, it being a nice and comforting feeling.

There was a heavy and tired sigh, like someone was just waiting for an excuse. Danny's heard that sigh plenty of times. Mostly from Vlad when they couldn't actively fight, but still.

Looking toward the end of his bed, he saw a doctor and nurse standing there. Both looked greatly annoyed. The nurse held an unopened syringe to pull Danny's blood... Which definitely wouldn't be good as then they would openly see that it wasn't normal blood with it being a dark red and toxic green mixture.

"You are awake now." The doctor's words felt icy and angry. "Can we get your permission to take your blood?" There was a pointed way that the doctor looked at Tucker that Danny didn't like.

"N-No..." He muttered softly.

The look of exasperation wasn't lost on him. Their looks were almost murderous.

Clearing his throat, he sat up to the best of his ability.

"I have... a condition," that totally wasn't a lie, "that makes it hard for doctors to draw my blood... T-Tucker here has all the necessary info, promise!" The doctor and nurse still gave him a disbelieving look. "I-I'll sign whatever waver you want, but just listen to him..." His head was pounding again.

His geeky friend instantly had him laying down, a hand firmly placed on his shoulder as if it would keep him down. Not that Danny really wanted to get up. Instead of listening as the three of them were talking, he rolled his head so it was trapping the hand. He felt better when he could feel Tucker's skin.

"Hey, Danny, wake up." He could vaguely hear Sam's voice, her gentle hand rubbing his back.

"Five 'ore 'inut..." He mumbled, pressing his head further into his crappy hospital pillow. Hadn't he just closed his eyes?

"Come on, man..." Tucker was also now rubbing his back, making it hard for him to go back to sleep.

With a whiny huff, the halfa rolled over and was carefully helped into sitting up. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a couple of times before he noticed two large men, one shadowy and the other like a blood lined sky.

Danny tilted his head as the blurry figures transformed into the known hero Superman and the vigilante Batman. Next to each of them was Robin, a green skinned woman that was floating between the two, and-

"Wow! Superboy got a makeover!" He cackled almost drowsily, leaning into Sam as he hummed.

It was true. The few pictures there were of Superboy, had the clone wearing a plain black shirt with the red symbol and tan pants. The images were from far away and there was always something that found a convenient way cover his face. So, they didn't really show off his muscles- which likely were hell to keep- nor how sharp his jaw line was and his wavy midnight black hair.  Currently, Superboy was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with that familiar red symbol. He was also in black cargo pants, black combat boots that had dull red shoe lacing. Now, it sounds similar to his usual clothes, except they didn't look like regular fabric. Perhaps it was similar material to Superman's own clothes. Just more tactical and stealth appearing.

He was now wearing a black domino mask rimmed with a dull red lining it as well. It officially gave him a mysterious, dangerous, and a strangely alluring aura. Something that Danny can properly think about later.

"He's a bit out of it..." Tucker fiddled with his PDA with one hand, the other firmly holding his best friend's shoulder. What he was doing with said PDA was something that a more awake Danny could ask.

Batman silently moved forward, his shadow of a cape opening to reveal a heavily armored suit that probably was fireproof with how paranoid the Bat was known to be.

"We still need answers." His voice was deep and devoid of most emotion, but Danny could just tell he was worried. There was no outward sign of that worry, but Batman still was worried.

"Answers?" The Halfa repeated, attempting to properly sit up but he only succeeded in flopping back into his friend.

Superboy's lips thinned, his shoulders rolling back.

"You were attacked by people claiming to work for the government." His voice was deep, almost lulling Danny back to sleep.

"Oh, yeah... They are." He mumbled, eyes fluttering close till Tucker gave his shoulder a couple of hard squeezes. He pouted, but continued. "They're the Ghost Investigation Ward, but we just call 'em Guys In White cuz they all wear those biiiig white jackets. Freaky man..." His words began to slur more, him leaning even more heavily on Sam.

"Don't you Justice Leaguers know this stuff?" Sam's voice was sharp and rude. He could feel her arm wrapping around his back, pulling him closer to her.

The Leaguers frowned deeply.

"No." Was all Batman said before disappearing with Robin.

Superman looked between the Cape Crusader and the teens. With a heavy sigh, he moved forward and handed the dark teen two items. Danny didn't really care to see what kind of items they were.

"We will come back once we..." He paused, lips thinning as he turned to look to his clone. "We will be in contact." He then left.

The floating woman placed a hand on Superboy's back, pulling away a second later like he shocked her. With a deep frown, she flew out of the room.

Superboy stayed, shuffling a little. He looked like he didn't want to leave. Like he had more to say.

Danny grinned at him, clumsily waving before accidently smacking himself. He pouted before giggling.

"Can I sleep now?" He was looking toward his friends.

Tucker gave him a sweet smile, easing him back down.

"Yeah, we'll talk more." His words were whispered, patting Danny's stomach.

The halfa didn't say anything else, just going back to sleep curling closer to Sam. There was a bit more talking, but he didn't care. He'll ask about it later.

Chapter Text

Connor felt like punching someone. Felt like his insides were boiling and freezing over and over again! He just wanted to do something!

Yet, he could do nothing. The team was called in on an emergency meeting with the main Leaguers. He knew what it was going to be about. It had taken some carefully chosen words, definitely not his strong suit, for them to open up. And he hated every second of it.

"You are called here today for a future mission."

"A future mission?" The blonde archer raised a sharp eyebrow. Then her expression softened. "Is it... It's about that attack at Superman's park?"

"Wait, there was an attack at Sup's park?" Wally squawked, looking between his friends.

Kaldar said nothing, eyes narrowing as he thought of a quick list of who would try something. It was long, from individuals to hired guns to several organizations.

"Yes," Batman's single word had everyone standing tall once again. With a press of a button, the screen turned on to a captured picture of the bastards that had attacked Danny. "These men claim to be legally working as Government agents."

Superman stepped forward.

"They called themselves Ghost Investigation Ward. Claimed that they were there because of a new hero named Phantom." Another key was pressed, showing a blurry picture of the teen that had flown in.

Zatanna raised her hand.

"Why are they going after a ghost?"

Superman turned to look at Batman, who nodded to him.

"Because it's illegal to be a ghost."

Surprised shouts and annoyances were spoken. Many magic users were talking about how becoming a ghost was impossible to stop once in the process and that it was a violation of some ancient right? Connor didn't care to hear any of it.

"What about Danny Fenton? The boy they had sent to the hospital?" He shouted over the noise, a deep scowl twisting his expression. "He's alive and human."

The Cape Crusader stepped forward, silently clicking on his keys. A few seconds passed before an approved bill appeared.

"This states that anyone contaminated with something called ectoplasm to an unnatural degree will be seen as non-sentient and non-sapient, therefore not human nor protected under the Meta Acts. Anyone housing, hiding, or knowingly helping these people would be charged and arrested." It was rare to hear pure emotion in the Dark Knight's voice, and the utter disgust and rage that filled it sent trembles of fear running down his audiences' spines.

Several Leaguers jumped to their feet, Aquaman slamming his hands on the table.

"That's utter bullshit!" His voice boomed.

"Are they crazy! Are they trying to start a war?" Zatanna hissed, her eyes wide with horror.

More voices shouted their disapproval, about how this Bill was the beginning of loopholes to still persecute Metahumans! There was more, but the noise was beginning to grate on Superboy's enhanced hearing.

"What about people like Danny?" He snapped, pushing forward to glare at the two leaders.

They stayed quiet for a long moment before Superman's expression turned tight.

"People like him would be contained and..." He screwed his eyes shut, turning his head away. "They would experiment on him as if he was a nonentity."

The clone's heart paused. It felt like he couldn't breathe. The room was too small and too big, too crowded and not filled enough.

He growled, narrowing his eyes.

"So, they're worse than Cadmus?" He needed to focus. He had to know what was going if he wanted to protect his new friend.

No one objected his words. Instead, they went into what the future mission would look like. The infiltration, the ability to condemning of what they were trying to do, and more things that Connor just pulled away from.

His frustration was too much, he had to leave for the safety of his friends and for his sanity. As he stormed out, he felt someone follow him. He didn't bother trying to figure out who, it didn't matter in a way.

"Uh... Superboy!" Superman's voice seemed echo in an irritating way.

The clone paused in his walk, glaring at his DNA donor. The man had never given him the time of day before, and he wasn't about to be toyed in hoping they could have some sort of familial relationship.

"What?" He snapped.

The Man of Steel paused for a second, a hesitant expression appearing on his face. Then it hardened and he drifted closer.

"I wanted to talk." His voice was strong, but Connor could hear the waver in his words.

"Talk? Now?" The younger man snarled, his chest burning in anger and something else.

The Kryptonian flinched, his eyes glancing to the side.

"I... I figured you'd have questions..."

"Questions." He repeated, feeling bitter. He had many questions about who he was, about a heritage that he was made to keep, about Superman as a person. Yet one stood out more. "Why are they doing this? Making these damn laws that just..." Superboy gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.

The older man sighed heavily, a kind look eclipsing his uncomfortable one.

"Because it's the government... They're ordinary people with no powers..." The alien moved closer, hesitantly placing a hand on his clone's shoulder. "They're scared, so they're trying to do things that keep them in power."

"Power." Superboy crossed his arms, but he let the hand rest upon his shoulder.

"Yeah..." The alien tenderly squeezed the teen's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll fix this... Make it safe for your friend."

Connor finally brushed the other's hand off, turning away.

"Whatever." He grumbled. He began to move toward the Boomtubes, but paused. "I'm going to see Danny."

He hurried away, not wanting to question why he just told him that. The man who had been avoiding him didn't need to know where he was going. He didn't.

"Okay... Be safe."

Chapter Text

Because of the GIW, the trip was shortened. Danny was not happy about that. He wanted to spend more time with Connor in a fun and relaxed setting. The guy had been really nervous about leaving him alone in the hospital, so he didn't unless it was absolutely necessary. It was really sweet and it made Danny's Core feel sweetly warm

"Can't believe tonight is our last night." The thin teen whined, laying on top of the other.

How they ended up cuddling, Danny couldn't really tell you, not that either minded. It felt comfortable and they were by themselves.

"Yeah..." Connor held the smaller teen closer, covering his vital spots with his arms.

Seeing Danny in that bed, loopy for a few days without any medical reason... It filled his chest with an emotion he hadn't truly felt before: worry. Seeing him surrounded by the pale blues and off white of the hospital room and bed made him look frail. He could hear the doctors, his real doctors, talking about how malnourished he was. How he seemed to consume everything in front of him, but with no real signs of gaining any weight.

Glancing down, he saw the very person he was worrying over gazing up at him. The edges of his eyes were turning into a sharp green, the color bleeding into his icy blues in a beautiful ombre effect.

The clone raised a hand and began to comb his fingers through the messy black curls of his friend. The human closed those enchanting eyes with a heavy and happy sigh, seemingly going boneless on top of the half Kryptonian.

"We should exchange numbers." Danny murmured, words slurred ever so.

The large hand stopped, tensing a bit.

"Really?" There was a sense of disbelief in the large man's voice.

Those eyes, now completely blue, opened. He tilted his head to the side, pressing his cheek to the clone's broad chest.

It was such an adorable expression.

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I want to stay in contact?" He hummed, eyes drooping a little.

A smile formed across the large clone's face. He just hummed in response, relaxing into the bed. He felt sad at the thought of not seeing the other, but at least they would be able communicate.

The two stayed curled around each other for several more minutes before Danny sat up and grabbed their phones. With smiles on both of their faces, they each put in their number, sending quick messages.

"Pfft, thanks." Danny hummed, putting the phones back down.

He then pushed the broader teen to lay on his back again.

"Am I just a bed to you?"

"Yes." 

The two quietly snickered, closing their eyes and just going to sleep like that. Neither felt like moving, they were too comfortable.

Like a dream, though, they were rudely awoken by their alarms. Alarms they as they didn't want to pack their things just yet. Meaning, they only had a few hours to pack everything and truly say their final goodbyes. They really didn't want to leave.

"You two are practically cleaning to each other." Tucker lightly patted his friend on the back, snickering ever so.

Danny gave a nearly murderous glare to his darker friend. Said geek was unphased by the glaring, his smile twisting ever so. It appeared teasing and enlightened, as if Tucker had been previed to some important information.

Danny just turned away, leaning against Connor.

"Maybe during our school's break, we can hang out?" He hummed.

The broader man nodded, a smile on his lips.

"Of course. Maybe I can visit?" He tilted his head to the side.

Danny's lips thinned, his expression shifting. He didn't know how to feel about that.

"Maybe... Amity..." He looked to his friends for help.

They just looked away and started talking with their partners. He wanted to call them traitors, but they generally looked happy talking with them. Hell, Sam was smiling so kindly to the sunshine cheerleader!

"Is Amity... Not friendly to outsiders?" Connor tilted his head, a puppy dog expression on his normally stoic expression.

Danny bowed his head, scratching at the back of his head.

"Yes and no? It really depends, but it's... It's basically haunted and covered in government personal." His nose scrunched up. "I don't think it'd be a great place to visit."

A frown tugged at the broader teen's lips. Then he smiled softly, placing a firm but kind hand to his friend's shoulder.

"I get it. Then Happy Harbor? We have a beach nearby." He offered as a replacement.

Danny felt his shoulders relax, his lips pulling into a sweet smile of his own.

"I would love to see the beach, maybe we can watch the stars too?"

Connor nodded, laughing under his breath. Honestly, his friend was so obsessed with stars. Maybe he could get away with bringing him to the Watchtower, of course at a later date. He didn't want to ruin what he had with the human with the knowledge of what he was. Hopefully, when he does learn it wouldn't change anything.

Chapter Text

"Frostbite! I need help with something!" Danny's voice bounced off the crystalized structure.

"Great one?" The large ghost floated over to where his Crown Prince was floating.

The yeti like ghost bowed deeply, a broad smile on his fanged lips. It was rare nowadays for the Crown Prince to come to him with questions. He was sure there were plenty of questions that the young ghost had, but Frostbite was also sure that the boy didn't want to be seen as bothersome. Or he hadn't thought of the questions just yet.

"Frostbite! Okay, so I went on a school trip for like three weeks, was supposed to be a month."

The yeti nodded, chuckling a little at the rambling boy.

"Yes, I am aware of it." He hummed.

The boy gave a shaky smile, nodding.

"Uh... Right, Jazz let you know?"

The yeti nodded. "Yes, the First Duchess had told me and Wulf of your journey."

Danny gave another wary smile. He wasn't sure when it started, but the ghosts started to refer to Jazz as the First Duchess despite not being a ghost. They also referred to Dani, or Elle as she was beginning to call herself, as the First Princess. Claiming her as his 'daughter', not that either Dannys minded. 

"Right, of course she did. Uh, but Skulker attacked and afterwards I felt..." A frown graced his lips, brows pulling together. "It felt like my core was going into either over production or was lacking ectoplasma."

Frostbite's wide smile slipped into a concentrated frown. A claw hand rubbed at his chin, eyes closing as he thought on it.

"How long was the fight?"

Danny paused to think back to it.

"Less than twenty minutes."

The yeti nodded slowly, still thinking. The silence seemed to drag on, making the teen fidget.

"Well?" He asked after what felt like forever!

The yeti ghost opened his eyes, looking to his future king.

"I believe the First Duchess mentioned that you were in a human hospital?"

The halfa nodded with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah?" A memory appeared, making him jump a little. "Oh! The GIW were there! Do you think they had something in the air that could've affected me?"

Frostbite nodded, but his expression said another thing.

"That could be it. Though it could be two other things..."

Worry bloomed within the teen's gut. It felt like he swallowed some Blood Blossoms, a sickening warmth filling his stomach that crawled up his back to his settle on his cheeks. His throat closed up, tongue feeling too large.

"What... What are the other options..."

The giant ghost that usually did his best to console and calm the new King, did none of that. He just smiled warily.

"The first one is that your core has become over saturated with ectoplasma that if you are outside ectoplama rich areas, it would," He grimaced, "it would cause you to overproduce to compensate."

Danny winced, placing a hand to his chest. Did... did that mean he was limited to a certain area? Would he not be able to see Connor? He... He had kinda hope to show him this side of him, when they got closer and the halfa was surer his new friend wouldn't hate him.

"The second one, is that you are going through puberty."

"Wait, what?" The young ghost's voice cracked; eyes wide as his face glowed with more warmth. "But I already went through it!" His voice turned whiny, a pout forming.

The smile returned to the yeti, his posture relaxing.

"I will be needing to run some tests, if that is alright with you, Great One." The yeti bowed.

"Can it be fast though?" The teen planted his feet to the ground, crossing his arms. He really wanted to know what was wrong with him.

The other ghost laughed at his impatient Crown Prince, nodding simply.

"The tests are simple, Great One! They'll be done in a few minutes. Arm?" Somehow the yeti produced an empty syringe out of thin air.

Danny shrugged, pulling off one of his gloves and rolling up his sleeve. He paused for a minute as he stared at his Lichtenberg scars. They were glowing a toxic green in the middle that faded into an icy blue at the edges before the skin. The scars were pulsing in a steady beat with what would've been his heartbeat.

"Ah!" Frostbite hummed, a wide smile on his face. "There will be no need for further testing."

Toxic green eyes looked to his mentor, raising an eyebrow.

"It's puberty isn't it." Danny grumbled.

The yeti just laughed and nodded.

"Ghost's go through two stages of puberty, you are going through the first stage! This will mostly affect your core and your strength."

Danny tilted his head to the side, humming a little.

"So... I'll become stronger?" Frostbite nodded. "And why did it affect my energy?"

"Because Ghosts that go through their first puberty tend to hibernate or stay within ecto rich areas."

The halfa nodded.

"So, if it wasn't for the trip, I wouldn't have noticed this?" Frostbite nodded again. Looking away for a moment, a question popped into his head. "What about the second puberty?"

"That one affects your physical appearance! We Ghosts age to how we emotionally and physically feel, not chronologically." The white-haired boy nodded, a serious expression on his face. "We do have minor control over how much older or younger we are, but most tend to prefer toward their emotional state."

A snicker came from the younger, but he refused to say why he was suddenly laughing.

"So, nothing's wrong with me? I'm not like being poisoned or anything?"

"You are perfectly healthy."

"And why am I going through this, I'm basically a newborn ghost!"

"The first stage of puberty usually happens to a ghost when they have accepted their death completely. It is why you see ghosts like Youngblood."

Another nod came from the teen, a frown on his face. He hadn't realized that he had accepted his partial death. He didn't know when that had happened. Did it matter now? Not really, but damn was this going to be annoying to deal with.

Chapter Text

Connor looked at the small grouping of fliers for what felt like an eternity. The fliers were for a number of different clubs and after school activities, though about half were for the boys' sports. He wasn't sure which one he wanted to try. He hadn't thought of it.

"Are you really going to?" Megan was gripping the back of her chair close to white knuckles.

She was barely restraining herself from screaming and jumping up and down, though her tense body made it all too clear she could in a second.

A faint pink colored Connor's cheeks.

"Yeah... Danny.... Danny said that he would like to see what I like to do for fun..." As the clone spoke, he turned his head in embarrassment.

Megan clapped happily, spreading the fliers out more. She pulled two fliers, the boy's wrestling team and the engineering club.

"I think you'd like these clubs better." She offered with a smile.

His lips set in a thin line. Engineering sounded interesting, challenging in a nice way. The wrestling... He could accidentally kill someone, he didn't want to do that. Taking another look, he paused as he saw that he had grabbed one for the astronomy club. He hadn't even realized that he had taken one.

"I'll... I'll into these three." He smiled weakly to his friend.

She happily smiled back, her body almost vibrating with how excited she appeared. The teacher finally arrived, beginning their lesson on something that Connor had already learned. It felt like the day was going on and on for no other reason than to make him squirm.

Thankfully, the school day did end. While Megan went to her cheer practice, the clone went down the hall toward the engineering club. He wanted to try that first.

He knocked carefully, a nervous feeling crowding in his chest. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Yes?" The door opened to a weak looking man that had shaggy and very greasy hair. Instantly, his welcoming face dropped into a look of fear.

"Um... Hi... I'm here..." He showed the flier, lips thin. "To Join?"

The greasy haired teen swallowed thickly, taking a moment to nod and opening the door further.

Connor didn't know what made everyone around him nervous, he couldn't think of anything he had done to warrant such timid behavior. Then again, he did hold an imposing body type. At least that's what he had heard.

For the next half hour, he listened and watched as the other members tried to build a miniature version of the Mars Rover. Of course, they had wanted to use the naturally cloudless sky of the red planet, but the problem was there was little to no backup power being stored. It took the clone less than half his current time to figure out the problem.

By the hour mark, they had successfully built a functioning model with a working power source and backup power easily and quickly being stored. The way the humans looked to Connor made him feel light within his chest, but awkward nonetheless.

Wordlessly, the greasy haired teen, named Markus, handed him a schedule sheet. He was smiling a bit crookedly, but it was warm and friendly.

"See you next time! Maybe we can try and build a bigger model?"

Connor hummed, nodding simply before leaving to try his hand at the other clubs. He wanted to at least try two of them. He didn't need any more than that. Didn't want any more than that. He could ask the others what they liked doing in their free time, maybe ask them to take him with so he could get a feel for it.

He definitely liked engineering though.

Chapter Text

Danny winced as he was slammed into a locker. He gave an unamused look to Dash, who looked unsure. He had been getting that look since they got back. He wasn't sure why, since nothing really changed with how any of the A-Listers treat him.

He was sure that something was happening with them... He was also sure that he could possibly find out if he went Phantom, but at the same time he had a feeling that it would be bad. Having stayed alive as Phantom within his own home and with the GiW hunting him down, he learned to trust his instincts. Sometimes they were wrong, but at the same time it wasn't that often.

"You'd think they'd be more gentle after the week you had." Tucker hissed, glaring at the jock.

Danny offered a smile, shaking his head quietly. He didn't want his best guy friend getting his ass handed to him.

"I could take him." Sam growled, cracking her knuckles.

The halfa raised his hands, feeling like he was talking to brick walls.

"Yes, you can, but should you?" He eased her hands down. "He's human..."

The gothic girl huffed, pulling away. He was definitely gonna have to make it up to her and Tucker... And honestly there was only one way he could think of that would allow them to calm down with interactions like this.

Though maybe he could avoid that? He didn't want them to get hurt. He was half dead, he healed faster from most injuries... Then again he was also apparently going through a ghost puberty and he didn't know how that was affecting his powers. Frostbite had told him to try and not over use his powers, especially his Wail.

"Hey!" The teen rubbed his forehead, pouting as he glared at his friend.

"Dude, you were overthinking." Tucker lowered his hand to crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow. He looked unamused in a way. "So, what were you thinking about?"

His two best friends for years were looking to him. Waiting for him to confess his thoughts like he usually did. They knew of him being Phantom, knew of every fight he had been, of the dangers being found out would do...

"It'll put you in danger." He admitted, lowering his voice more. His eyes naturally darted around the hallway. There was enough chatter for his mumbled words to be drowned out.

Sam scoffed, fondly rolling her eyes before playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"No more dangerous than hanging out with you on a regular."

Tucker nodded with his usual big smile.

"Seriously, dude, just being near you is dangerous." His tone was teasing, him throwing his arm around the other's shoulders. "And you'd never get rid of us. I'll just continue to reincarnate and I'm sure Sam over there would just turn into a ghost or something similar to haunt you."

Said girl huffed in pride, through her own arm around his shoulder. Tilting her head, she gave him an expecting look.

"Come on, we've been through a lot together, so what were you overthinking this time?"

He took a deep breath, leaning his head onto Sam's.

"You're right..." As he took a deep breath the bell rung for class, making him groan under his breath. "I'll tell ya after school."

The two opposing friends gave each other looks before giving him one as well. Tucker shook his head as he detached from their weird huddle.

"Fine, but don't even think about ghosting us." There was a spike in his voice that made Danny whine a little. That was Tucker's "we'll employ your own parents to hunt you if you disappear" voice.

"Yes, I promise."

The two didn't really believe him, but let it go in favor of not being yelled at by Mr. Lancer.

In the end, they did get yelled at for being distracted or using the bathroom too many times. Embarrassing for the three of them as the school day never seemed to want to end. Thankfully, it did without any further embarrassing events and the three teens were able to leave for the Fenton's like usual.

"So?" Sam took Danny's sole chair, straddling it so she could use the back to rest her head on.

Tucker jumped on the other boy's small bed, waiting with an almost knowing smirk.

The halfa sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"I... I want you guys to properly join me... No standing on the sideline, no hiding in the shadows, no..." He groaned softly, lips tugging into a sneer. "No being sidekicks." The word felt dirty. They weren't sidekicks, they were his friends! The people he trusted in the whole world!

Their eyes widen for a moment but then Sam jumped up, pumping her fist in the air with a whoop.

"Finally! Thought I would have to kick your ass!" She teased, a strange glow appearing on her face as she smiled far brighter than he's ever seen her.

"Yeah! Now, I may not be as physically helpful in the field, but I can definitely do damage where it counts." The tech genius winked at the two of them.

The three of them burst into loud and happy laughter. Sam leaned back in the chair, her grin falling a little as she took on a more serious expression.

"Alright, before we get too far ahead. Identities and weapons?"

Danny nodded, crossing his arms.

"Why not our game handles?"

The two of them gave him unamused expressions.

"Yes, where any half-rate hacker can find them." Tucker rolled his eyes. He then paused, tilting his head down into his hand. "Actually, that would mean I would need to upgrade my equipment..."

"I can get you the stuff later." Sam hummed with a smirk. She then focused back on Danny. "Besides, you're known as Phantom, why can't we be called something equally cool?"

The half nodded in agreement. As cool as their gamer tags were, they would be found out too easily.

"Well, I can be called Pharaoh, seeing as that was my past life?" Tucker gave a sheepish looked, a look the two knew very well.

"That's already your tag, isn't it?" Sam looked almost impressed.

He shrugged without another word. She groaned at him, tilting her head back.

"A name... A cool name... That doesn't lead back to me..." She was tapping her fingers on the top of the seat.

Danny leaned against his wall, mind racing. Sam was something special. She was strong, independent, bright and dark at the same time, determined... Honestly, she was just too many things that he really didn't know what to call her.

"We can stick with Doom for now, and figure it out later?" He offered.

She glared at him but relented.

"Yeah, for now!" She bore her teeth at him, almost looking ready to snap his head off.

The dark-haired boy raised his hands in surrender, nodding quickly.

"Absolutely!"

The room was silent for several minutes before Tucker coughed.

"So... DOOM?"

Chapter Text

Superboy glared at the wall, attempting to see into the building. It looked unassuming, like a normal office building. However, so did Cadmus and there was reason to believe that this building was the same.

'I can't see. Must be lined with lead or some alien tech.'

Mental groans sounded from a few members.

'Seriously?' Rocket growled. 'Why is it always alien tech?'

'This isn't that unusual for our missions.' Miss Martain looked to her fellow alien, offering him a weak smile. She wanted to know if she was right. 

He said nothing, keeping watch of everything. They didn't need to be surprised by someone coming out for a smoke break.

'How should we play this?' Zatanna hummed.

'We need to get inside.' Robin hummed, his gloved hand reaching out of the bushes he was hiding in.

'I don't see a way in.'

He really didn't. The doors were locked via a key and a magnetic lock. What he could see was that they were also guarded by lasers and a vibration device. Hearing wise, there were moving cameras as well. Without him being able to completely see in, he didn't feel entirely comfortable just going in blind. Even if that was the memo.

'We will need a diversion...' Aqualad's voice cut through the long silence. 'Kid Flash, Robin, Rocket, make some noise in the west field.'

The three of them echoed an agreement, KF zooming off to grab each other them.

'Try and make it green.'

'Green?' He could feel Rocket's questioning look from where he hid.

'Their weapons and the ghost's glow green and cause green fire.' He didn't want to explain any more... Well, not that he would actually be able to explain anymore.

'He's right. The footage from the park did show their powers glowing green.' There was a note of excitement within the Gothmite's thoughts, and Connor didn't really want to know why.

'Alright.'

They went silent. Everything went silent. Every heartbeat thumping even softer and slower.

Superboy tried to focus on his teammates' hearts, tried to keep track of them, but he couldn't. He could only hear his and it was uncomfortably loud. Thundering in his chest like an annoying drum.

'Superboy? Are you okay?' Megan tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to her.

She had dropped her camouflage, keeping her hood up. She looked worried, her eyes flitting across his face.

'Heart... It's beating weird.' He pressed a hand to his chest, a frown deep on his lips.

She frowned as well, raising a hand. She hesitated, looking to him briefly before pressing it to feel it thundering faster than she ever had felt it.

'Try and take slow, deep breaths. Think calming thoughts?'

Seemed he would have to go to the medbay when they get back to the mountain.

A large explosion of green filled the sky and alarms rang loud enough to make him wince. He could also hear that the alarms were going beneath their feet, deep down.

Men and women dressed in thick white clothes with black sunglasses rushed out of the building, armed with those strange guns.

'Good job, team. They are coming out armed, be ready to disappeared.'

The chilling laughter of the Robin made the original members smirk, the sound a comfort in the dark. They could see how the agents tensed, and fear ran through them like a storm, still they marched onward.

'Move in.'

The rest of the team slipped inside, disappearing within the long and winding hallways. Now that he was inside, he could see through the floors.

'The labs are below us. Elevator twenty feet ahead. Left.'

Kaldur nodded, sliding to the edge of wall before a junction, glancing down the hall. He continued onward after a minute.

'Robin, Rocket, Kid Flash, status?'

'Got into their equipment, fried their security.' There was a chilling way the youngest thought those words. It felt like he was still attempting something.

'The guys we got out here are searching in a grid formation with some weird goggles. They're able to track me, Kal.' That made the team look at each other, their backs straightening.

What type of tech were they developing that it was capable of tracking a speedster? Sure, Kid wasn't the fastest speedster, but they still shouldn't have equipment capable of tracking him.

'Rocket, report.'

'Trying to pin a few down, but whatever they're shootin' it's breaking my kinetic bubbles too easily.' There was a note of panic in her voice.

The Atlantean gritted his teeth, clenching his hands into fists.

'Fall back. We will finish the mission.'

'Already inside.'

Superboy looked around, instantly spotting the small human body of the Gotham hero. Aqualad looked to him, making him nod toward where they were already heading.

The inhuman sighed heavily both within his mind and out loud.

'Cameras?'

'Hacked till the thirtieth floor.'

The leader nodded, already continuing on.

'Still want us to fall back?' Rocket sounded annoyed. Probably because she was being sidelined again.

'No, I need more diversions outside.' Robin sounded almost frantic. 'Hit and run tactics. KF, you move Rocket and Rocket can cause minor explosions throughout the forest and a couple other buildings.'

'Bossman?' The annoyance in her voice had softened, shifting ever so into excitement.

'Sounds like a plan. If it gets dangerous, retreat to the Bioship.'

Megan floated over to them, her lips pressed thin in a rare expression of anxious worry. Connor hadn't seen that look since she tried to hide that she was truthfully a White Martian. Except this was worse.

'M'gann?' Zatanna reached out, but the Martian flinched away, eyes now focused on the teammates in front of her.

She gave an apologetic smile.

'Sorry! Uh... Yeah, she should still be cloaked...'

'Should be?' He couldn't stop himself from questioning her words. Unless attacked, the Bioship's cloaking never seemed to falter in the field.

The telepath's weak smile vanished, her brows furrowing deeply.

'I... I feel something... Someone is pressing on my skull... Like...' She floated closer to her fellow alien, wrapping a shaking hand around his bicep. 'It's like they're trying to communicate but can't.'

His permanent frown deepened. That... That didn't sound good.

'Then lets hurry.' Robin looked unamused, which made that sinking feeling even worse.

No more thoughts were spoken through the link as the elevator sunk to the lowest floor they could go. The door opened to a brightly white hallway with even whiter lights.

It felt nearly maddening to see only white, to see such a clean and pristine white! Aqualad gave everyone a look, splitting them each into three groups. Robin handed Artemis a bat-themed stick, simply telling her to put it into any terminal or computer they came across.

Miss Martian took the lead on guiding them through the winding hallways with Robin making a map of where everyone was going. He was looking more and more serious, more like Batman with how his lips were beginning to curl into a scowl.

'Robin.'

Looking to the person calling his name, he was met with a questioning glance. He could only shake his head.

"There's too much empty space." He murmured aloud.

Superboy gave him a confused look till he saw the map. True they were split into two groups and doors to rooms could be anywhere, except Zatanna had been using a new spell to help lessen the time for searching. There just didn't seem to be any doors!

"MM." His voice made the Martian pause in her flight, glancing back to her friend. "Can... Can you density shift?" He motioned toward a wall that led to another empty mass on the map.

She furrowed her brow but nodded. Gliding till her feet touched the ground, she took a deep breath and shifted, sliding through the wall.

Instantly the sense of her vanished, making Superboy's heart drop. There were only a few reasons that would happen, and none of them were good during a time like this! In a place like this!

"Superboy, breathe." Robing grabbed onto his shoulder as tightly as he humanly could. "She'll... She'll be okay, she's strong." His hand was shaking.

Something clicked and a door finally revealed itself by sliding open. Megan leaned against the frame, eyes wide with her mouth agape. She looked horrified, frozen in terror!

The clone rushed to her, pulling her into his arms while the human ran into the dark room. He could've used his vision to see what caused his first friend to become a statue, but... He couldn't. It felt like he already knew somewhere deep within his mind.

He just held her close, cradling her shaking body.

"Comms active, I got what we need." Robin sounded shaken, his gloved hand weakly tugging on the half Kryptonian's sleeve. "Let's get out of here."

None dared to argue.

Chapter Text

Danny twisted to the left while Sam twisted to the right, both dodging a blast from one of Technus's newest machine body.

"He really doesn't learn, does he?" Tucker grumbled into their ears, the distant sound of keys clicking.

Sam scoffed, twirling the Fenton bo-staff. The green seemed to pulse in time with her growing annoyance.

"Can I just whack him?" She growled.

Danny hummed, tapping his chin in thought while the electric core ghost went on some rant about something.

"Sure, but be careful. Don't get elec-"

Just as the halfa was talking about it, the other ghost grabbed the black clad girl and surrounded her with electricity. She gave a brief scream before something strange happened beneath her.

Thick, dark toxic green vines sprouted forth and attacked the crazy ghost. The vines wrapped around the junk that formed the ghost's body, a few of the thinner ones slipping between the cracks to get at his true body.

"W-What! What is going on!" Technus screamed, dropping the black clad human.

A thick vine with a wide leaf caught the girl, slowly easing her down. Though, it didn't look like she noticed it as she stared at her hands in wonder.

"Doom!" Phantom tenderly grabbed her shoulder, hands shaking ever so. "A-Are you okay?"

"I... I feel..." The gothic girl clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Her vitals are weird, Phantom... They're... Kinda like yours." Tucker's whispered words made Danny freeze.

"Like... Mine?" Guilt began to gnaw at his gut. Maybe this was- "Ow!" He glared into the black void that was his friend's helmet.

"I'm still alive, idiot! It's just..." She tilted her head a little, probably biting her bottom lip like she usually did when she was thinking deeply about something. "Undergrowth."

The name made the teen stop fidgeting. He turned back to look at the plants that were fighting with the ghost... Well, more like tossing and playing with him as he tried to escape with every chance he got. So, far Technus was failing at every chance he got.

"Oh... Did... Did he..." He pointed his thumb toward the new mess that would surely annoy the GIW in town and his parents.

Sam nodded, clenching and unclenching her hands once more before snickering.

"What terrible luck for them~" Her voice naturally distorted itself, the ground glowing and ever so bubbling under her feet.

Danny raised his hands in surrender, floating back into the sky as to not accidentally become apart of whatever thought she had. She was terrifying for a reason.

"So... New name for her?" He asked his only guy friend.

"Definitely." The tech genius agreed easily.

"So... What's the new name?" He hummed, reclining in the air as he let Sam work out any aggressions she had on the basically immortal ghost.

There was a pause, plenty of keys being pressed at a rapid pace. There was also the sound of him slurping on something, which Danny will be jealous of later once he finds out what.

"Plant names?" Tucker suggested.

Glancing down at their friend, who was more than happy to test out her newly acquired power, he nodded.

"Undergrowth gave her his blessing, and it's her." He gave a nearby camera a raised eyebrow look.

"I've got a couple?" Phantom nodded, doing a go-ahead motion with his hand. "Belladona-"

"Too girlie and she's not poisonous... Well, at least not like that." He instantly interrupted.

"Fair enough." Pharaoh laughed, typing a bit more. "There's Nightshade? Pretty, and for the untrained eye looks like a snack."

Danny chuckled, nodding his head for a moment till he saw a tint of Clockwork green flicker in the corner of his eyes. Which made him groan in annoyance. Even he was in one this?

"Not that one. I think CW doesn't want that one."

The darker boy sighed heavily, a pout practically being heard over the coms.

"Umm... Helecho, which on a quick look seems to be a word for a fern in Spanish." The two hummed together. "Not enough knowledge, so back burner?"

"Back burner." Danny agreed.

"Yo! Phantom!"

Upon hearing his alter ego's name, he naturally pulled out his Fenton Thermos, uncapping it and pointing it to the downed and tired Technus. Seriously, those plants weren't a joke when Sam was simply possessed, they're even less of a joke now that she has control of them. Apparently despite being an Ancient of plant life, Undergrowth clearly didn't have an imagination.

"I will be back for my revenge!" He cried out as he was dragged away.

Everyone on Team Phantom rolled their eyes, snickering a little. Then the most powerful of them saw a green sticky note floating just above his nose like it was always meant to be there. It was a bit annoying that the Master of Time mostly communicated with him through sticky notes, but at least he was communicating with him.

Picking it up, he quirked an eyebrow.

"Foxglove?" He called out the name, looking to the black clad girl, who looked to him.

"New name?" She paused for a second then nodded. "I like it. I feel like it suits me. At least better than Doom."

Tucker made a noise of agreement after a few seconds of typing.

"Says here that if ingested it can cause a variety of heart problems that can led to death, but those same poisons are sometimes used to help with heart problems. Huh... That actually sounds interesting." There was more typing noise but further away, he was likely using his separate computer to look up more facts about said plant.

Sam made a smug noise that caused the typing to stop.

"Oh shut up." Grumbled the tech genius.

The goth girl simply hummed, ignoring the other easily enough.

"Alright, new name's Foxglove." She puffed up her chest, settling her hands behind her back with her feet spread shoulder length apart. She was kind of standing like a solider would when they were... Would it be at attention or at rest? Danny wouldn't know the difference, but he knows the visual.

Suddenly, Tucker, dressed in dark gold and ecto-green, jumped onto the rooftop the ghost wranglers were standing on. He ran over to the two of them, grabbing onto their arms.

"Guys!"

The two gave him a startled look, both grabbing onto him.

"Dude! Did... Did you use the 'only in an emergency' tele-"

"Yes!" Even with his falcon mask, the other two could practically see his panic and bewilderment. "Because you would not believe what I-"

A sense of dread filled their stomachs, making their eyes zip over to the thickest shadow. A shadow that felt off in every way. Every part of their souls screamed danger, and for two of them it was familiar enough to put them at a sort of ease.

"Batman." The newly named ghost wrangler growled, crossing her arms. "Never thought that we'd see you here."

The Dark Knight stepped forth into the moonlight, a sort of smirk playing at the edges of his lips.

"I had heard there was only one ghost... Wrangler, I assume is the term you prefer."

Phantom nodded, his body relaxing a little. He was kind of loopy the last time he met the Big Two, but he had a sense of... Comradery with the older man. Don't ask him how or why, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone, though he bets Clockwork would know why. That is for later Phantom to worry about.

"Yeah... What are you here for?" He narrowed his eyes at the Leaguer.

Sure, he felt that comradery, but he also didn't exactly trust people that had turned a blind eye to Amity Park for so long.

The man stood taller, his gaze seemed to flicker over the three of them.

"Sankta merdo..." Pharaoh muttered under his breath, moving further behind the two true fighters. (Holy shit)

Batman hummed.

"I was here to recruit Phantom, to help us with taking down the Ghost Investigation Ward."

That made the three teens pause for a second, the teens looking to each other. With their eyes they were talking, asking whether this was a good idea or not. They would finally have true power to shove those idiot GIWs somewhere so far in the Ghost Zone not even the Ghosts would know what to call them!

Foxglove took a step forward, twirling the Fenton bo-staff like the expert she basically was.

"If he's going, then we're going."

The bat-themed vigilante looked between the three, lips vaguely quirking into a smirk. It was a bit strange to see him being soft, seeing as he was rumored to be the meanest and most cunning vigilante there has ever lived. Yet, they weren't going to back down from a human man, no matter how cunning he was.

"And what are you?" It was like he was playing with them, a game they were more than happy to play.

Phantom floated forward, eyes glowing brightly with his sharp grin.

"We're Team Phantom, of course."

Chapter Text

Superboy blinked slowly as he looked at the teen from a few months ago. The same teen that had beat up Skulker, a ghost as Danny had put it. He wasn't convinced on that front, but he wouldn't say as such in front of him.

However, the ghost wrangler wasn't by himself. By his side was one other person, who was covered head to toe in dark armor accented by two different greens, the same toxic green as the ghost's eyes and an ivy green. Something about the armor made his insides crawl in a manner that felt unnatural. Then there was their helmet that had a large black void that reminded him too much of the being controlled.

"Hello!" The wrangler waved to them, looking more friendly than before.

"Oh! New friends?" Miss Martian smiled to the pair.

"Yes," Batman hummed. "They are heroes from Amity Park."

The team looked to each other, only a few of its members knowing of the place.

"Amity Park?" Kid Flash raised a hand. "Haven't heard of it!"

The Dark Knight nodded his head, seeming to sigh a little. If anyone had to guess, the Crusader was annoyed by something. Which only made everyone else more tense and antsy.

"That is because the town is not only small and out of the way, but the Ghost Investigation Ward has also caused a national information blackout."

Megan paled at the name, her floating back dropping till she was on her feet. She still needed to be held up, so Artemis pulled her into a side hug. The young Martian hadn't told any of them what she or Robin had seen, but it appeared to be bad. Horrifically bad.

The holo screens behind the Dark Crusader flickered, the pale blue turning to that toxic green the two new recruits had. It seemed to be their color.

"I was also responsible for that. Didn't know who here we could trust." The voice that echoed throughout the cave sounded robotic with an electric ring to it.

"What-" Robin took a step foreward, voice raised with annoyance, but he was just as quick to silence himself and move back in line.

The green morphed into an Egyptian figure head, specifically Horus.

"Names Pharaoh, I'll help with the hacking."

"Just the hacking?" Zatanna had a minor scowl on her lips.

The figure head nodded, looking apologetic without being uncanny.

"I'm terrible in a fight."

The armored wrangler scoffed, the sound having static scrambling it.

"You can say that again." They hummed.

The figure head groaned, rolling to the side.

"I thought we talked about this."

And like that, a fight ensued between the two. The armored hero, quickly being named as Foxglove, made violent motions and very creative threats to Pharaoh's person. That didn't mean Pharaoh was weak willed, nope, he gave just as many creative threats. It seemed to have made it worse as the two soon stopped speaking in English and instead went through a series of dead languages, possibly still cursing at each other.

Phantom only shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. It looked like he was seconds away from screaming at someone! Then again, Superboy didn't think he could blame the other. Not if he had deal with these types of things.

"Enough."

For a second the clone's mind did a record screech and freeze. For another second, he thought he saw the Dark and stoic Knight smirk. Within the third second, he realized what happened.

That single word, a word often spoken from Batman, had stopped the fighting with ease... Except Batman didn't say the word. Phantom did.

He gave his friends- they had to be friends- a disappointed look.

"We talked about this." He shook his head again before facing the rest of them with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, they're always like this."

The two made a noise at that but said nothing to actively disagree with his assessment.

Kaldur'am stepped forward, offering his hand in friendship.

"I am Aqualad, Kaldur'am. It is an honor to meet with you."

The boy's sheepish smile brightened, as did his eyes, as he grasped the Atlantean's hand.

"Honor's mine. I have like a ton of questions about Atlantean technology. Mom and Dad keep fishing it out."

The cream-haired teen quirked an eyebrow at the statement, his cool grin never faltering.

"I will answer as many as my King allows."

The boy's smile turned into an adorable pout.

"I guess that's fair."

Someone cleared their throat, making the two leaders back away. It was Rocket, her dark eyes looking between the two of them. She seemed unusually worried about something.

"Who's going to be the leader?"

Phantom tilted his head, looking deeply puzzled. Silently, he pointed a finger to the boy in front of him.

"I'm like a hundred and ten percent sure he's still in charge?"

Foxglove just shrugged. It seemed they couldn't care all that much.

"Fox." The young teen snapped his attention to his friend, almost scowling.

There was a tense silence between the two that felt off putting and made the hair on the back of Superboy's neck rise.

He didn't know what to think about all of this. Didn't know what he should do or say. Should he welcome them or scowl? His emotions felt... Mixed. Like disappointment and rage but also satisfied and happy?

He would need to sit and meditate somewhere. Something new that Black Canary had suggested not too long ago.

"That is enough introductions for the day." Batman made a motion and the screen that Pharaoh had taken over changed back to the peace blue, except for one corner.

The screen showed something that made the pit of Superboy's stomach drop and his mouth felt like it was filling with bile.

Deattached limbs, organs, and even flayed pieces of flesh were being stored in small tubes filled with a thick liquid. The worst part was the people that were crammed into some of these tubes. There skins were varying shades of green with a couple being ghastly white. The ones with ghastly white skin appeared to have scars lining their exposed body as there were barely any clothes to keep themselves modest any longer. The others looked to be in different stages of grief and panic, clawing and screaming in desperation. The floor was covered in what could only be considered the species' blood and that liquid.

"This is what was found by the Young Justice. It is why you were called in, Team Phantom."

Looking to them, the clone felt a sense of terror wash over his spine. The once jovial boy looked at the photos like they had personally murdered his mother. He looked ready for war, ready to kill.

"I am very glad to know that the Justice League told me about this." He turned his head toward the bat-themed vigilante. "Or else I would have been very cross." His green eyes were swirling, consuming his eyes like pits of hell.

Batman wordlessly nodded to the boy, saying nothing about the hidden threat. Instead, he went on with more of what was captured. More of the experiments and torture that was conducted in the false name of science.

The teen's body stayed tense, his eyes reading every line meticulously. His jaw kept clenching and relaxing. He appeared as if he was barely suppressing rage, but in truth he was frightened. Like he knew almost personally what these men were capable of. Or that he was fearful of what they would do should they get their hands on him.

Moving quietly behind the shorter teen, Superboy mindfully placed his hand on his shoulder. Haunted green glanced to him in a questioning manner, all others too focused on the debriefing to notice them.

"I understand... I will help..."

Those eyes widen a fraction, the tension within his shoulders seeping away. A half smile graced his lips briefly before he refocused on Batman. The clone did the same.

Chapter Text

Danny raised his arms to block a roundhouse kick from Black Canary. He grunted a little as he had to ground his feet into the ground as to not stumble back. For a human, she certainly packed a punch or kick at the moment. Though, despite blocking her kick, she had dropped to the floor and swept his legs out from under him.

The white-haired boy groaned as he pushed himself up. He had thought his fighting skills were decent, but then again his fighting skills were mainly from fighting ghosts. And ghosts don't fight like normal humans, nor do they fight on the ground so often.

"That was a good block, but can you tell me what you had done wrong?" Canary offered her hand to him.

He sheepishly smiled as he took her hand.

"I'm too stiff and wasn't fast on the uptake of feet swiping."

His new team chuckled behind him, making him look even more sheepish. Sam, or Foxglove, shook her head.

For the training, she was wearing an armored crop top and just above the knee shorts along with a creepy marionette mask covering her face. She had decided on this type of outfit because the armor that she usually wears has sensors that tell her about attacks. She wants some experience outside of that. In that vain, Tucker, or Pharaoh, was also there wearing basically a regular work out shirt and shorts with his own mask. He claimed that he wanted to actually help them in fights, at least in their hometown. To which was always welcomed.

"Why are you stiff? Haven't you been at this for like years at this point?" Wally raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with almost a pout.

Since joining the team, a few of the members have been spending time with the Phantom team... Artemis may have taken to talking to the white-haired teen quite a bit, and it seemed the speedster was beginning to get just a bit jealous.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. He didn't need to say anything when Sam smacked the back of the speedster's head. He whined and held it like she actually hurt him... Then again, Sam might have hit him harder than he thinks.

"We fight ghosts, they fly." Even with her voice being modulated, the tone was very clear.

"Oh..." Wally glanced to Artemis, who was giving him an amused smirking look. "Right... I forgot."

Phantom floated over to him, patting his shoulder.

"It's cool dude. Besides, I have human government agents to fight. It's best I learn to fight like a human so I don't accidentally kill them."

"Well, since Wally wanted to ask questions, I think he should demonstrate his skills." Black Canary had tilted her head up and to the side, almost smirking down at the teen.

The red-haired speedster grinned, already bouncing on his feet.

"Hell yeah! You're in for the ride of your life, Sugar!" He hurried up to the glowing platform, without wasting his power.

Danny couldn't help but to snicker as he leaned onto Superboy's shoulder.

"Bet he doesn't last a minute."

The whites of the clone's mask moved toward him before back to the platform.

"I say ten seconds." The playful smirk on his face made Phantom's core buzz with happiness.

It had been like this between the two since that first meeting. Well... More like it had been like this after they had a quick sparring match. It was actually fun! Hella fun!

Danny could remember how after the briefing, Batman had them have a friendly sparring match. He claimed it was so everyone could feel each other's weaknesses.

"So, speedrunning trust and understanding. Got it!" Danny grinned brightly, trying to shrug off what he had witnessed before.

The sight of his subjects having been torn apart and subjugated to torture in the pathetic excuse for science. His main obsession was hurting at the sight. He may be contemplating releasing Dan... If only for a minute to truly show how wrong it would be to continue antagonizing the Realms.

Of course, that would be an entirely different situation at that point. Dan needs a little longer to stew and reform.

"I suggest the strongest fight Phantom." Foxglove huffed, crossing her arms.

Eyes instantly went to Superboy since he was more durable than everyone else. It was a reasonable thought process anyway.

"Sure... I can fight him." He didn't sound so certain.

The two of them made their way to the glowing platform. They stood close to the middle, Danny floating a little. He didn't entirely trust that the floor itself wouldn't shock him. He's had that happen too many times for him to be completely comfortable just standing.

"You good with me floating?" Danny offered him a smile.

Superboy centered his body, raising his fists as an answer. The ghost boy stretched quickly before forming his hands into fists. The two started at each other for a minute, then Superboy charged.

His punches were fast, and the rippling of the air that brushed against the halfa's cheeks told him that they would hurt too if they landed. He twisted within the air to avoid another barrage of punches.

Laughter slipped pass his lips. He could feel his core basically purring in happiness. He hadn't really fought any livings that weren't actually trying to kill him, so this was a bit exciting!

Faking a left, he swung his fist to hit the super teen square in the chest. He wasn't sure how durable Superboy really was compared to ghosts, so he'd preferred if all he broke were ribs than a skull.

The half-kryptonian's masked eyes widen for a second, arms raised to block the strike with his feet spread to take the impact. Well, he definitely was durable as he took the punch with a huff, but he had skid back a couple of inches.

The two stared at each other for another few seconds, then it Phantom that had charged at him. The pair of them tried blows, trying to knock the other down, using what they could without lethal force to get the job done, but it seemed they were even matched in a way.

By the end of it, the two began talking about their respective fighting styles, which led to Danny suggesting a few fighting styles that he believed would work well with a half kryptonian's strength. It was fun.

"Can anyone tell me what mistake that Kid Flash made? Again?" Canary patted Wally's back. He only winced with a pout, shuffling over to Artemis.

"Guess you were closer." Superboy nodded, smiling a little.

Danny playfully bumped their shoulders.

"Chocolate chip cookies please?"

Yes, the payment for losing any bet is to bake the winner's choice of sweets. So far, Danny has taken Sam's lucks on bets, which was good as he didn't want his new friend to get hurt.

"Sure, mind if I do something new with them?"

Draping himself along the broader teen's shoulders, the ghost wrangler grinned. 

"Can't wait to try it."

Chapter Text

Connor looked at his phone, a deep frown upon his face. It had been a few days since Danny had last texted him. They were mid conversation about seeing each other, when he went silent. Danny wasn't known for silent treatments.

It was a thing he had... He never liked that type of trope in books and shows, felt like it was wrong. Danny had laughed and agreed with him, held his hand as he looked him in the eyes and promised. He had promised to always communicate as clearly as he could.

"I don't like this." He murmured to Megan.

After the trip, she had started incorporating darker colors into her outfits, though they stayed mostly bright and pink. She also seemed more confident and surer of herself, which a lot of people noticed and complimented her on. At the moment, though, she was just his teammate, who was giving him a worried expression.

"I know..." She murmured, her face scrunched.

He drummed his fingers along the desktop, his jaw clenching tighter than it probably should. They sat there in silence for a long minute till the school bell rang.

"Alright, Class you know the drill. Homework is in the tray. Don't forget it this time, Trevor." The tired teacher gave a ginger-haired boy shrug with a smirk.

Megan hopped up, her bag properly resting on her shoulders along with the next classes books in her arms. She zipped between their fellow classmates to get her homework. Last time she tried to get Connor's too, he gave her an annoyed look. So, unless he asked, she didn't grab his.

He followed soon after, walking right next to her.

"He's never this silent... Even if he's not texting, he's at least sending memes, o-or the latest NASA article." The clone began to ramble.

He felt a nervous sort of energy bubbling in him, twisting and compressing. It felt like rage at certain points. Felt like he was shaken soda bottle ready to pop, and all he could do was talk. Everyone stared at them as they walked by, their brows furrowed in confusion as they watched the usually stoic and quiet tank of a man talk his cheerleader friend's ear off.

She nodded and patted his arm like she was listening; she probably was because she was just that type of person, but it did make him feel better just to talk.

This continued throughout the day, him barely paying attention to anything as he tried to text Danny multiple times only to receive nothing. Then he and Megan had to go home. They sat in silence for a minute, doing homework.

The scratching and erasing of the pencils was slowly driving the Kryptonian clone crazy. He needed to do something. H-He had to do something! But what? What could he do?

"Young Justice, calling Young Justice." The voice of Batman echoed throughout the mountain.

Connor stood up, marching to his room to change into his gear. He was out before Wall entered, as well as the three new recruits.

The zetatube sounded off, the robotic female voice echoing as a blur of yellow zoomed over to the group.

"Sorry for being late." Wally laughed awkwardly, tilting his body toward Megan. "Just had to make sure I looked perfect for you."

Superboy rolled his eyes at his over-the-top flirting. He really needed to get his head in the game.

The tubes went off once more and Superman, Batman, and Phantom's group entered. Phantom looked exhausted, being partially carried by Foxglove.

"This is an emergency meeting," Batman growled, head tilted ever so to keep an eye on the exhausted hero.

The white-haired boy looked like he was seconds from sleeping, head on Pharaoh's shoulder. At least till said teammate jolted his shoulder to wake him.

The ghost boy whined but floated over to where the two big ones were. His floating looked a little more force than usual.

"Alright," the word was slurred ever so, "The GIW, uh... We did tell ya about them riiight?" He looked to his friends, who both face palmed.

"I knew we should've just let him sleep." Pharaoh muttered.

"Like staying home would've let him." Foxglove elbowed the other.

"Yes, Phantom, we are aware of them and what they do." Superman's voice was strangely kind. Just simply kind to a dead child. Superboy tried his best not to feel jealous.

"You claimed that they were doing worse?" Batman's voice appeared the same, but Superboy could hear the minor tremor in his heartbeat.

Phantom hissed naturally, glaring at nothing.

"I know what they're doing with my people." The rage on his face caused his two companions to stand straighter.

The room felt cold, ice forming underneath his floating feet. His eyes burned a horrific green glow that screamed of those that died frozen, snowy deaths.

He looked so beautiful.

"What are they doing?" Robin stepped forward.

Superboy stepped after him, crossing his arms.

"More importantly, how can we help?"

The hauntingly beauty that Phantom had become softened. He floated back to his friends, little snowflakes falling to the ground.

"They're using the echo to make machines and weapons that can hurt anything not human." Foxglove scoffed at her friend's words.

"They make them so fucking wrong." She hissed.

"Wrong?" Batman was glaring, except it wasn't at her.

"Yeah," Pharaoh snapped his fingers and the blue screens turned green. "Very wrong."

The screen showed plans, formulas, everything on how to make the weapons. The Kryptonian clone didn't understand what most of it said, but it looked wrong.

"The weapons from the park." He finally spoke allowed.

Superman nodded with a grim expression.

"Yeah. They're not supposed to do that?" His attention was on them.

Phantom was partially asleep, laying causally on Fox's back. Pharaoh gave a sharp laugh that didn't sound normal for someone who'd snort and try figuring out words and their meanings with Robin. Even through the mask, anyone could see his anger.

"Not even close. It's not supposed to cause fires, echo only affects echo." He huffed

Superboy frowned more. That sounded very wrong.

"Are they just trying to kill humanity?" He asked.

"Probably." Phantom muttered with a slight hiss. "Only would destroy themselves." 

"What can we do?" The clone asked again, taking a step toward them.

Fox looked him up and down before nodding.

"Yeah," she sounded a bit too happy, "we're gonna blow up one their lab."

Chapter Text

Danny hadn't slept in days, hadn't been able to text or call Connor in days either. He had spent those days trying to figure out what the GIW were doing. He had been shot and electrocuted many times, heard more and worse insults of his being, and had seen the body parts of his subjects. So, his temper was at an all time low.

Honestly, everyone was lucky that he hadn't gone off by himself! Then again, he was trying to get in the habit of relying on his teammates and trust in their abilities. Plus, if he was the one to take them down, they'd likely just spin it as something evil. So, yeah getting the Young Justice involved was a smart choice that his tired brain could do.

"You should rest." Superboy's warm hand tenderly squeezed the halfa's shoulder.

The pair of them drew the short straw of being settled into the back since there was only so much room at the front. Ms. Martian had suggested reshaping the bioship, but his friends were pretty adiment about him staying in the back. Of course that meant at least one more should've been put in the back as well, and Superboy basically volunteered.

Danny glanced at him, his vision swimming ever so. The dark colors merged, blurring into a monster. It corrected itself quick enough.

"No, it won't be good. I can-"

Superboy's mask lifted where his eyebrow was. He clearly didn't believe him. With a heavy sigh,  he reached behind him, grabbing a thick blanket from somewhere within the shadows.

"You'll be covered. No one will look." He tapped his mask.

Danny leaned as far away as he could in their shared seat.

"You know?" He couldn't hide the fear in his voice. He thought he had hidden what he was well! Heck, he wasn't entirely sure that Batman knew what he was!

The clone tilted his head in confusion. He was like a giant puppy.

"Uh, no? I figured it'd make you feel safer."

Green eyes scanned over that confused face. He was serious, truthful.

"Why'd you think that?" He mumbled, keeping his distance the best he could.

The Kryptonian tilted his head, a thinking expression appearing on his face.

"Don't know." He finally admitted, shrugging. "You've clearly been keeping yourself awake because of those guys... I guess its so they don't get you."

Danny looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was so exhausted. When, not if but when, they get into a fight... He'd be useless, a hiderance. Sighing softly, he gave in. He leaned against the bigger teen, closing his eyes.

"Wake me when we get there?" He was sure his voice sounded weak like a child's.

"Of course." It was like a comforting drum as the dull light of the room faded into nothing.

It felt like only a few minutes passed before a firm hand shook him awake. He slowly blinked, a bit of power coming back to him. He could at least now function, years of sleeping for a few minute, or hours if he was ever so lucky, had come in hand.

"We 'ere?" He slurred, wiping the back of his mouth. He was so comfortably warm.

"Yeah, we're here... Do you want to sleep more?" Superboy rubbed his back, keeping his hand above the blanket.

"Hmm..." It was such a tempting offer. "Nah... But can I just..." He paused, biting his bottom lip. He wasn't sure how to explain that he needed privacy to change back. He was sure he had felt him shift, felt his usually cold weightlessness shift into a cool human.

"I understand. I'll make sure no one comes down till you're ready."

Two simple sentences. Two simple sentences that lifted an invisible weight. It felt nice not having to beg or explain, just to have a quiet understanding.

They both shifted, the clone gently tugging on the blanket to keep it fully covering the halfa. He walked with heavy steps, making his location known. Danny still waited an extra minute before peaking out like a scared child. He was alone in the bay, the ship having formed a door for extra privacy.

Tenderly, Danny placed a hand on the bioship's wall. He sent a thankful pulse and she pulsed back with what felt like a smile. He pulled his hand away from the wall, letting the connection break. He then took his time folding the blanket, calming his heart as he tried focusing himself just like Frostbite had taught him.He had to just imagine that he was fighting against Vlad. Vlad always got under his skin, but he could handle him, could control his emotions for the most part...

"No, that's the wrong person." He groaned softly.

As much as he could control his temper with Vlad, it was always easier just to try and hurt the fruit loop. Placing the blanket on the seat next to him, he leaned his head back, trying to think of his other friendly rogues that he could try and control his anger with. It wasn't very easy considering ghosts mostly talked with their fists.

He shook his head, finally standing up and stretching. His bones creaked and popped satisfilying back into place. He slumped a little, sighing softly. With a buzz of power, Fenton became Phantom.

He took another deep breath before going to the door, opening it. Standing like a guardian statue was Superboy, who turned his head to look at him  when he heard the door open.

The clone offered him a smile.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, sorry for taking so long."

He went to open his mouth, but Kid Flash zipped between the two, groaning like a bored child.

"Yeah, yeah! It's fine, it's whatever! But lets go! Go!" He was bouncing on his feet, looking close to a glowstick with how his lightening curled around him.

"Dude. Plan." Danny reached forward and playfully wacked the back of his head.

The speedster pouted, but he did stop moving. The others soon moved in, Ms. Martian looking toward the halfa with a concerned expression.

"We were told you don't like telepathy?"

Danny felt a shudder run down his spine. It may have been a few years, but he could still feel that violation that left a horrific taste of rotten tomatoes within his mouth. With his whole being actually. It was disgusting. He didn't want to feel that type of violation again.

"Bad experiance." He growled.

Superboy nodded, an understanding expression. Danny wanted to know what happened for him to have the expression, but that felt invasive.

"We won't force you." He gave a hard look to his old teammates, specifically toward KF.

His face scrunched and he made a hard gesture, like he was arguing a point.

"You guys already set it up?" Danny looked toward his friends.

Foxglove shook her head.

"Neither of us joined."

Pharaoh nodded, looking rather confident.

"Like I would be able to focus with this veggie-head's thoughts."

"Veggie-head?" Sam growled, sneering at the meat-lover.

He sneered back, quickly opening his mouth.

"Yeah! All you seem to think about-" His voice echoed within the small room.

"Oh, don't you even start!" She pointed a finger at the nose of his mask, her voice echoing like leaves blowing in a storm.

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Both of you shut up."

They looked to him, their mouths open to defend themselves, but they quickly stopped.

"We can talk about this later. Also, I thought you guys were stopping this whole aruging over nothing?" He sighed like a disappointed father, whcih shouldn't have worked on his hard-headed friends, but they shifted their weights.

"Sorry." They nodded to the other, huffing a bit.

Danny nodded, proud of them before going back to the team. They were looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is... Is that how you guys operate?" Robin looked confused, perhaps a little conflicted.

"We've been friends since kindergarten, butt they act like they've been enemies for years."

"I think they have been enemies for years." Artimes snickered, giving the Phantom group a smirk.

Foxglove and Pharaoh huffed, but hadn't actually denied her statement... Which only made Phantom shake his head in another bout of disappointment.

Ignoring them for now, he turned his attention back to the green alien. It was nice to meet a living alien, but did he really have to deal with telepathy?

"Only connect to me when you have an emergency."

Ms. Martian nodded slowly, looking unsure.

Kaldur stepped forward, a palcating expression and body on display.

"We need not waste more time. We have to go now." His sharp eyes turned to the halfa, looking for his approval.

"Yeah, no more bickering. Keep comms active but low." His order was mostly for his friends since the other team didn't seem to use comms very often.

With that out of the way, and having wasted too much time, they finally left the bioship. They had landed just a klick from the base, which was good since Danny was sure they had something to see through invisibility.

"KF," he watched through his periferal as said speedster shivered in disgust, "take those guards out. You'll be faster than their cameras."

He hesitated, openly looking to the Atleantian. Seemed he agreed as the other teen did as the ghost suggested.

Danny looked to his best buddy, tilting his head. A feral sort of grin grew underneath that oddly shaped mask.

"KF, can ya get me? I think I can hack into the system."

Robin perked up. "I think I should join."

"You look for a map?" A suggestion that made the feral child grin like a unearthly creature.

"Of course."

The two were gone in a blur, quickly seated by the control panel that both of them somehow were able to plug their devices into. The door opened in a few seconds and then Robin stood up a few seconds after.

"Cameras and all other things are repeating."

The rest of the Young Justice hurried over, carefully creeping down the long hallways. Robin pinged everyone a copy of the building, highlighing different areas per person. Well, everyone except Danny since he didn't have their wrist thing.

"I'll go with Danny." Superboy nodded to Kaldur and Robin.

"Then me and Robs will go to the main control area." Pharaoh wrapped an arm around the younger hero's shoulders. "We can keep them distracted with fake calls at least."

Fox cracked her knuckles, a sinister chortle sounding behind her mask.

"And send them to her." Robin playfully thinned his lips with the expression of regret.

"Then break." Danny was already walking, well floating. He didn't want to waste anymore time.

Something felt... Strange... Then again, he didn't get a lot of sleep and as his sister had repeatedly said, lack of sleep eventually equals worse paranoia.

Please just be paranoia.