WARNING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: THIS CONTAINS CHARACTER DEATHS

October 16

Robin knew something was wrong the moment Private Bard came through the Zeta instead of Phantom. He and Kid Flash rushed forward to help the injured soldier off of the arrival platform. Good thing they did, too, as Superboy materialized not long after. Landing like he had actually jumped through, Superboy took a minute to readjust to the now calm surroundings.

"They broke through." He announced, taking over supporting Private Bard as he guided the young man over to a safe place as they awaited the arrival of the others. "The shield broke, some men got injured but they were mostly fine."

"And Phantom?"

Superboy helplessly shrugged, not sure how to answer as they didn't particularly have a set order to leave in. With the chaos of the battlefield and the shield falling, there was too much going on to keep track of everything. Not that he would ever voice it out loud, but he had better things to focus on than some random new kid.

Slowly he hobbled Private Bard over to the med bay. Robin stood by the Zeta, contemplating going back to see what was taking so long. Why would he not have come through right after like he said he would? Did something happen after the enemy broke through the shield that was keeping him there?

Or worse?

He was giving Phantom 10 seconds to come through the portal or he'd jump back in. It was taking too long and there was no way something didn't go wrong. Cursed be his brother and their shared stubbornness. He slightly sympathized that their parents don't need to deal with their teenage selves. Clearly, being stubborn to a fault runs in their DNA. Would it have been worse if they both grew up with Batman? Or would it have been better if they were still just at the circus?

Honestly, not something he should be thinking about at the moment. Or ever.

And then it happened.

The relative silence of Mount Justice burst into chaos.

With barely any warning, Phantom appeared form the Zeta tube. He looked completely out of it, off balance and unfocused. Stumbling forward slightly, barely managing three steps before he collapsed to the ground. Small whispers of curses his parents would never have approved of spiraled into eventual screams of pain. Near exactly as Phantom's screams started, so did M'gann's.

A guttural scream escaped Phantom's throat as he clutched his arm in pain. Small green shockwaves escaped his mouth as the ground trembled at the force. Robin stood frozen in shock. Never had he ever imagined he'd hear such primal pain from his own brother. His own voice.

How could he not have thought about how the Zeta may have been an issue as Phantom literally died in a similar situation. He wanted to rush forward, hold him and tell him it wasn't real.

But it was.

His pain was real.

It's a miracle he was even still able to see him as the shock from the pain was clearly giving him control issues. Another set of shockwaves tore through Phantom's frail body. Had he already lost weight again? Or did he always look this petite? Robin wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Nobody moved a muscle as M'gann screamed out in pain as well. Clutching her head, she dropped to her knees as tears started flowing from her eyes. At her cry, Superboy rushed back into the room. Within seconds the clone was trying to comfort M'gann as the curled in on herself. "What happened?!" He tried hard to cover up his anger as to not scare M'gann.

Robin didn't know what to do, staring between the two. Years of training and now as acting leader and he just watched. Watched as both his brother and his friend screamed out. Watched as Superboy helplessly tried to whisper comfort while Kid Flash hovered around. "I don't know man, it just happened when the kid collapsed."

Robin took a deep breath, trying to compartmentalize. Superboy had M'gann, so he'll go for Phantom. Somebody had to get him calmed down even with his powers acting up.

Martian Manhunter 0 7

He rushed over to his brother, eyes widening in fear as the Zeta started up again. Wasting no time, he tried to carefully get a grip on Phantom's hoodie and dragged him over to the side. The movement jostled him, causing another series of screams and sobs to tear out of his throat. Robin felt like he could feel his ears bleeding as small shockwaves still came from the screams. His once sturdy grip on Phantom dissipated as the ghost unintentionally phased through.

Still, he didn't stop. Trying to find a new place to hold onto Phantom, Robin grabbed him in a back hug and lifted his ball shaped brother just enough to move him to a safe distance. Again it caused more pain as a smaller sized shockwave threw him off balance. Robin took the brunt of the fall, falling flat on his ass while he held onto Phantom as much as he could.

Luckily, neither were hurt as Robin clutched his curled up brother closer. With Phantom's back to his chest, the accidental power releases didn't cause him any issue. He stayed quiet, running a hand through Phantom's hair. Right now he didn't care how it looked, he cared about making sure Phantom felt the comfort through the pain.

Manhunter materialized just as Phantom's sobs started to be cut out by gags and dry heaving. The elder Martian nearly collapsed right in the exact spot Phantom had been just a few seconds earlier.

Kid Flash rushed to the man's aide, catching him before he could meet the floor in an intimate way. Much like M'gann and Phantom, Manhunter also gripped his head in pain yet again. Whatever affected M'gann also affected Manhunter. The man was struggling to hold onto consciousness as Kid Flash led him off to a different corner of the room.

The Zeta platform powered down as Martian Manhunter was guided to sit down. "Where is Aqualad?" The speedster asked, concern for his leader and friend laced heavily in his voice.

Robin watched the elder Martian remain quiet, eyes transfixed on the floor. "J'onn? What happened to Kaldur." It wasn't really a question. They all knew, deep down. He just needed to hear it. Phantom's cries were quieting down into small sobs, body still shaking but at least he seemed to be regaining control of his powers.

"There was no more time. He saw more benefit in my survival than his own."

"We have to go back!"

"The hall is probably damaged if not gone already, the closest is 3 miles away-"

Robin tuned out the argument that ensued. Kaldur, his friend, his co-leader. Gone. The second member of the team they lost and now? Just like the last time they lost their leader, the team was falling into chaos. With a member of the League here, J'onn would be next in line to take over command. But, the man looked worse for wear than before.

Slowly, he got up. Making sure to support Phantom as he went, he brought both of them back up to their feet. "Enough." He half growled, Kid Flash and Superboy stopping mid argument as he did. "If you want to argue, do it somewhere else but not here. Take 15 to calm down and get any injuries sorted in the med bay. Kal is gone but that doesn't mean out fight is over." He glared at them, no actual malice behind it. He had to step up, he had no choice now. They all expect him to take lead anyway and if he learned anything, throwing in a Batglare usually worked to get people to listen.

Not even looking back at what they were doing, Robin started guiding Phantom over to the med bay. It helped that his brother floated more than walking so it wasn't too much effort. He was still holding onto his arm so other than holding his shoulders there really wouldn't have been a way to help without outright carrying him.

Due to a lack of privacy, Robin set Phantom down on a chair and collected most of the supplies he would need. The only thing he couldn't take with were the double shot of localized painkillers he had to inject into his brother's arm. After throwing the used needles into the medical waste bin, the two wandered off with their loot of other things.

Without uttering a word, they made their way over to Robin's room. With Phantom in the lead, he typed in the code to let them both inside. He sat down at the empty desk while Robin laid out the supplies. Before starting the bandage, he slapped on a cold patch onto Phantom's forehead. Judging off the beads of sweat, he likely was running a bit hotter than he should.

With a little hesitation, Phantom pulled his arm out of his hoodie. With scissors he borrowed from the med bay, Robin carefully cut off the glove. The fabric clung to skin in some places, requiring the glove to get cut up beyond repair. Green sticky ectoplasm oozed from the reopened Lichtenberg scar. With support underneath so it doesn't drip everywhere, they calmly went to the en suite bathroom to rinse it all off. The cold water felt comforting against the still pulsing pain in his arm.

Once Robin was satisfied with the cleanup, he gingerly patted everything off with a paper towel. The routine of putting on the cooling gel and compression bandage was something they had a bit too much practice with. "Ah, I should have some of your meds here. Alfie gave a few to keep just in case." He wandered over to his bed and opened a hidden compartment.

He frowned at the empty drawer. He could have sworn he put them there earlier this morning. A sharp pain shot through his head as he tried to remember. The more he tried to think, remember what the blurry memories are hiding, the more his head hurt.

Maybe he forgot them after all? Chances that the stashes in Gotham survived this long are slim to none.

Robin slumped to the ground, letting his head fall onto his knees. How was he supposed to lead the team? Lead the new Justice League? Last time he was in charge it went horribly. How was he supposed to live up to the expectations, Batman's expectations, all on his own now. There was a reason Kaldur was the leader. He isn't ready yet, he can't do this alone.

"Nini?" Phantom hummed, looking down from his perch on the desk chair. "I-" He paused, not sure how to word what he wanted to ask. Did he even have the right to ask anything like this, something so selfish? "Will you be my co?"

Phantom tensed slightly before he let himself slip down the chair to be at eye level with his brother. "I'm...not sure if that's the right thing to do here." He pulled his knees to his chest with his right arm, letting the bandaged one rest in his lap. "They don't know me, all they know is that I'm the reason Aqualad, General Eiling and the soldiers didn't make it out. That I wasn't strong enough to keep them safe. They won't accept a stranger just because you said so. I'm not leader material." He shuffled closer, letting his back lean against the bed as well.

Robin looked up with a frown. "That's not true. No matter what we did, we were going to lose people there. We were outnumbered and out gunned from the start. That isn't your fault, especially when you shouldn't be pushing yourself the way you have been. If anything, you helped save lives."

"But if I hadn't argued, just left when you told me to, then the team wouldn't be down another member."

He inched a bit closer, just enough to rest his head on Phantom's arm as well. "This isn't about the team. I need you to be my co. I wasn't supposed to take charge for another few years, yet here we are. Kal is gone and I can't do this on my own, Nini." He pleased again, looking into masked eyes and hoping it had the right effect.

Phantom looked unsure, still not sold on the idea he is worthy of leading a team who probably won't even like him. Robin noticed the hesitation, softly poking an elbow in his brother's ribs. "Come on," he sing-songed, "Believe in yourself a little."

Phantom let out a snort, unable to keep a straight face with how Robin was looking at him. "Believe in myself? The same person who got me into this mess?" For what felt like the first time in forever, but really had only been about half a day, they shared a laugh. It almost felt illegal given the circumstances but a lot of the stress from before melted off their shoulders.

Maybe, just maybe, things would get better from here on out.