(no warnings this chapter)

november 5

Walking back into the training room was nothing but sheer awkwardness. Silent tension rose the moment they came into view of the others, but not entirely by their own doing.

From the looks on everybody's faces, they too had called their junior police forces. At least those with cities to call. Though Gotham wasn't the only one with a junior police force, hers was one of the best equipped with how often things went wrong. But that didn't mean any of them were properly prepared to handle a catastrophe such as every adult going missing. A fact everybody had seemed to realize once they made their own calls.

"Even Atlantis reports of missing adults. But the academy is well equipped to defend should the need arise." Kaldur confirmed, finally breaking the frozen over silence. Though he seemed as collected as ever, it didn't take a genius to know even he was worried for his people. With the Justice League systems down, so were the Zetas. Should a need to escape or receive aid arise, Atlantis was on her own. As were most of the cities as their only currently present mode of transportation was on foot, Sphere or Bioship.

That wasn't a lot of options for them being the acting Justice League for the second time in only just a few weeks.

Robin stayed silent, waiting for Kaldur to start setting up a plan. To start delegating tasks just so he can say he won't do whatever Kal needs him to do as he has to go back to Gotham. Glancing over to his brother, he knew they were on the same page of just waiting to see when he'd snap into action. The team chose to treat Robin like he was demoted even before the official call came through, now they'll get to witness what happens when one refuses to respect seniority.

Call it malicious, but at least they were compliant. Judging off of what happened the previous time, it doesn't matter what they do. They'll be blamed either way.

The silence that settled was a different flavor of awkward this time around. No longer just due to the Bats returning, now they were all expectantly waiting on orders from Kaldur. The Atlantean in question seemed to not be aware of the expectation however. Whether it was due to being blissfully unaware, overwhelmed by the facts or simply too insecure to make a decision given last time, they weren't sure.

What he did know, was that Phantom was getting impatient being a good little soldier. "So what's the plan?" He called out, not caring to correct his tone. They were wasting precious minutes that could be spent going out and helping people. Seconds that could make the difference between safety and far too many people joining him on his side of the veil.

While his remark was met with a handful of glares, it did seem to snap Kaldur out of whatever mental block he was experiencing. "Right." He muttered absentmindedly, moving to face all of the team at once. "Our first step should be getting refugee camp set up at the school's gym, as we are in a city without hero's."

That sounded like a solid first step, it wouldn't have been either of their choices but it was needed nonetheless.

Kaldur turned to face Robin. "Robin, set up a comm center to surveil internet activities. The youth may have more answers than we're aware of."

"Pass." The boy wonder dismissed, already annoyed enough at having to wait ages for basic instructions and just wanting to speed things up. "A trip to Gotham is needed to reboot the system manually. No bueno trying it remotely." Phantom bit his lip, trying to not smirk as he could see Kaldur's eyebrow twitch.

"Unless you want to do this whole thing old school, because it's not our choice to make as nothing but your simple subservient team members." Phantom added on with unnecessary seriousness, clearly jesting with his performative little bow at the end.

"And this information was withheld until now for what reason exactly?" Kaldur pinched the bridge of his nose, already tired for the next week.

Phantom rolled his head, floating up just a bit so he could support his elbow on his knee. "Well, great leader, we were waiting to see if Bioship was available for a drop-off or if the Batwing had to be called up. Plus you could have asked about the Zetas when we mentioned before that the system is down." Now Robin too was fighting a giggle just at the absurdity of how annoyed the team looked. Really, it was Kal's fault for not asking about getting their most important piece of equipment fixed first.

But who were they to make such bold suggestions.

"She hasn't been affected by whatever spell was cast so she should be able to bring you to Gotham." M'gann offered helpfully, predictably being one of the least upset at the not so subtle disregard for basic respect from the two youngest.

Artemis scoffed, arms crossed as she glared at the Bats. "Why doesn't Phantom go then? He can fly so there's no need for either Bioship or your stupid plane."

Robin matched her stance, cocked hip and all as he mocked her tone. "Because," he dragged out, "he doesn't know every single protocol for the reset yet. The Batcomputer is a whole lot more complex than your basic tower." Though it was true, it was to nobody's benefit to admit Gotham also simply needed a familiar face. And both of them going was simply a waste of resources as it wouldn't speed anything up. Sure he could keep up the act of Richard Grayson for appearances sake, but that would bust their whole shtick sky high.

This time it was Wally's turn to scoff. "Not medically cleared and untrained? Wow, we really hit the jackpot having you on our team." Though Wally himself earned a few soft glares, nobody actually spoke up against it.

"Yeah, well, what do you expect when you're forced to come out before you're ready." Phantom mumbled, mostly to himself, but that didn't stop Conner from overhearing him anyway. Damned be the super hearing, can't even complain in peace anymore. "If you need somebody on comms, I can do it."

"Yeah right, let's let the least trustworthy person to ever exist man the comms and investigate the issue he definitely didn't have a hand in creating."

Although he tried to hide it, Phantom couldn't stop his eyebrow from twitching as he desperately tried to disperse the energy building in his hands. "You know, if you have such an issue with me staying here, why don't you do it yourself?"

Inching closer as the tension between the two rose, Wally stepped closer to the still floating boy. "Um, duh. I'm a speedster, I'm the fastest bet to collect as many kids and get them to safety. I can't stay here and play dispatch."

Phantom, never one to let himself be intimidated by somebody taller than him, floated up just so he could glare at eye height with the ginger. "Um, duh," he mocked once again, "You're not in your suit, that would be suspicious. And you can't speed in civvies without burning up in .2 seconds. Plus, what would happen if a kid wiggles free when you're going a hundred miles an hour?"

Before it could get physical, Kaldur pulled the two apart. Or rather, held onto Wally's shoulder as Robin tugged Phantom back by the cape. "That is enough." Kaldur's voice cut through, finally having found his lost authority. "While Kid is right about being the fastest," Wally preened with satisfaction at the support, "Phantom has a good point about you not being able to use your powers."

"WHAT?"

With a hardened stare, Kaldur silenced Wally before he could complain any more. "You have more than enough knowledge to handle the investigation on your own until Robin returns from Gotham." He gave an extra squeeze to Wally's shoulder before removing his hand. "I shall remain here as well, given that my physique isn't well suited for covertness of this kind." He stared at his hands, webbing and eel tattoos a stark contrast to what children would be expecting to see from a normal human teen. It would do them no good to have their base discovered by having somebody like Kaldur walking around.

"Oh no, Wally's much better suited for the field." Phantom perked up again, absentmindedly scrolling through Twitter and Threads to look for any Gotham flavored clues as to what could have happened.

Wally grinded his teeth, hands shaking once again as he took a step forward, only to be blocked by Kaldur. "Then why the hell did you complain in the first place? Are you just trying to sabotage the entire mission?"

Phantom barely lifted his head to glance up at the vexed speedster before scrolling through countless of panicked messages. "Because you can't speed, but that doesn't mean you aren't the best option to be the supervising member while everybody else goes in the field. Lightning fast reflexes makes you the best option in case something were to go wrong while we're out."

While Wally was still fighting to not jump the floating brat, Kaldur looked over to Robin for any help. Whether that help was to shut Phantom up or speak up in defense of their side, he neither knew nor cared. It's not like any lies were said either so it mostly just felt like an issue of egos clashing once again.

What else was new.

"Whelp, now that we got that figured out." Robin cheerfully proclaimed, not even caring how his disregard for the tension unfurling before him put the rest of the team on edge even more. "I'll be off to make sure my city doesn't implode. Try to stay whelmed."

Kaldur looked like he wanted to say something, give any additional command, but everybody knew he wouldn't listen anyway. Not when he enjoyed the spectacle Phantom and Wally created just as much as he enjoyed setting it in motion in the first place.

Clearing his throat, the Atlantean grabbed the attention of the remaining team members once again. "With that...out of the way." It sounded more like a question, but Kaldur kept going. "I suggest to group up to look less suspicious. Zatanna," Kaldur turned to face the young magician directly, "since you are neither a member of the team nor the League, it is your choice if you join the others or remain here."

Zatanna looked around the group of teens before finally landing on Phantom. He did a great job at looking like he wasn't even paying attention but she could feel his nervousness at being left with the team without Robin to back him up. "I'll stick with Phantom." She declared, not giving the Atlantean a chance to object. He hadn't the first time around when she came along on their mission and he didn't look like he would this time either.

Artemis, on the other hand, didn't feel a need to be complicit in her demands. "So we can all get crucified when your dad comes back? Yeah, no way." Once again nobody really spoke out against the comment. Well, except for Phantom's exasperated sigh before he returned to scrolling once more, still having no luck at finding anything useful.

Kaldur decided to simply go with it, not wanting to delay their mission any longer. "Thank you for volunteering, Artemis."

The blonde sputtered in protest, surprised at the turn of events. "Wha-I didn't-Fine, fine, I'll go with him." It didn't last long before she gave in, feeling the pressure to remain complicit as everybody was starting to feel angsty from wasting so much time on trivial discussions.

"M'gann, stick with Zatanna. Conner, you'll have to do on your own after Wally gets settled." Kaldur rushed through splitting up the groups before calling attention to the two resident aliens. "See if you can contact any of your classmates. The more looking out for the children, the better your covers will be protected once it is time to leave."

Sensing that was the end of it, everybody slowly filtered out of the room. Zatanna waited until Phantom floated up to her before they both made their way towards the ramp. Having the most ease to fly others over rather than walking, Phantom offered to carry Zatanna and Artemis while M'gann helped Conner and Wally stealthily get within city bounds.

Before they took off, Phantom couldn't help but look back over his shoulder. Wally was trying to melt holes into the back of his skull, but that was no surprise. Meeting Conner's eyes however, he could feel the clone's eyes scan every inch of his body, desperate to find an answer. Whatever the answer was, Phantom didn't know. But it didn't seem like Conner found what he was looking for before they left for Happy Harbor City.

(apperantly i have 0 patience so will be releasing dailies for a whole week just to get to the big hurties faster, prepare)