no warnings

November 5

Danny let it happen, letting himself be dragged all the way over to the hangar. Not that Dick minded, the legless thing his brother had going on helped make it easier since there was no risk of him stumbling. Really, it was more like holding onto a balloon of a brother than an actual person.

The moment they entered the hangar, Bioship immediately woke up from her sleep state and ushered them inside. Like he could feel the same itch, Danny turned them both intangible for just long enough so that their masks could fall off without needing to rip off the layer of skin it was attached to. Knowing how this usually went, they both felt safer like that rather than being forced to keep the mask on.

Literally and figuratively.

Feeling Bioship's guiding touch did snap Danny out of his balloon like state as he let himself flop to the cushions prepared for him. Dick watched, intrigued by Danny's trust that Bioship would catch him.

Trying it out for himself, he let himself fall in a way he could still catch himself. He wasn't sure what to expect but it certainly wasn't a soft beanbag like blob Bioship made for him. It did get him a little jealous, seeing as Danny got a mount of bloblike pillows while he only got one. Looking over to Danny again made him realize exactly why Bioship made more separate shaped cushioning for him.

There laid Danny, eyes still somewhat glazed over. Bloblike pillows all around him and covering him in what looked like oversized bubble wrap by this point. While Dick was content with just the beanbag, Danny had cocooned himself completely.

It did look insanely cozy.

Bioship reached out with a tendril, patting her precious cargo like they were her kittens to take care of. Well, they kind of were, considering she specifically requested them to come over. No doubt Bioship could feel the tension through M'gann's connection.

Bioship changed her entire interior design. No longer the usual cockpit-esque layout, everything except for their bedding melted away. Bioluminescence dimmed until the only thing that remained was Bioship's masterful rendition of the night sky. If he had to wage a guess, it was Mars' sky rather than Earth's. Danny seemed rather content, however, eyes slowly showing more signs of life again as he looked over every constellation.

A small tendril split off from the one patting Robins head. Forming a question mark alongside a figure of what must be Cujo and some children, Dick got the gist. "Oh, yeah. About that." He looked over to Danny, not sure how to broach the subject. "It wasn't too hard to reset everything. Our, ah, neighbor boy helped."

Dick saw Danny's eyes tick over to him before his vision was swarmed by various figures that were flashing too fast for him to understand. Dick reached out to the spasming tendril and held it gently to calm Bioship down. "It's nothing too bad, I think," he chuckled awkwardly. "As it turns out, kid knew all along. He was there when..." Finishing his sentence wasn't even needed as he knew full well Danny knew what he was talking about and Bioship could sense the less than pleasant shift.

Sinking in a bit deeper into his beanbag, Bioship held him close. Now he knew why Danny cocooned himself earlier. Getting gently swaddled by a symbiotic alien space ship was oddly comforting.

Oh how he hated to ruin their comfort. But he had no choice, not with how angry Danny looked earlier and how quiet he was when Wally wouldn't shut up. Something happened and he has no actual proof of it without hacking into every single security camera in Happy Harbor. "What about you, Ni? How were things on your end?" He just had to know who all needed a reminder of exactly why the Bats are the most feared heroes despite being only human.

"Met some kids," he started off sounding somewhat dreamy, like he wasn't quite aware of where he was anymore. "One of them gave me a flower." He smiled at the memory, fading just as fast as it appeared. "She, her name, it...Sam." His voice started wavering, eyes undoubtably watering before he remembered how to bottle things up.

Dick didn't even comment on how the temperature dropped around them, breath a degree or two away from being visible. "They thought I was going to hurt them. I would never-" He took a deep, steadying breath. "So I went to fly a little before I could tell Cujo came back and I figured it meant you were back too so I just." He made a whooshing motion with his hand, twisting with it so he could face Dick. "And you saw the rest." He wriggled deeper into the pillows, letting Bioship engulf him until only his head was still popping out.

Dick reached out, aided by Bioship moving their pillowing closer together. While putting his hand in the opening Bioship made felt weird, it only lasted for a split second as being able to hold Danny's hand made it worth it. Rubbing circles on his palm, Dick desperately tried to find words to comfort him. Tell him it'll be okay and they were just stressed.

But there's only so much smooth talking one can do and not betray the person you're trying to help. He was stuck between wanting Danny to feel better and wanting Wally to quit acting like an ass and be his friend again. While he genuinely didn't agree with whatever crawled up Wally's ass lately, he couldn't deny that part of himself that longed for the information Danny keeps hiding away. Wally brought up some of it, but Dick knew there was so much more where that came from that none of them had even the faintest idea about.

Whether it was the Bat training in him, or his natural curiosity about his brother's life, he wasn't sure. But there was something big that Danny was still hiding, and it would be a lie to say it didn't bother him.

But taking Wally's route and forcing it out of him wasn't the right thing to do either. Whatever happened to him over those years they didn't talk, it changed his brother. For better or for worse, he isn't the same kid that protected him in juvi. The same kid who took the blame when Dick talked him into eating snacks right before dinner. The kid who would have thrown his life away if it meant Dick got to be happy.

Dick owed him so much for everything Danny did for him growing up. What right did he have to make Danny talk about things he clearly didn't want to even think about.

"You know, she said she was proud of me." Danny mused, eyes tracing constellations once more as he messed around with Dick's hand. "The little girl, I mean." Squeezing and pressing around like it was the first time he held a human hand in his life.

Dick felt a small smile creep up. "Yeah?" He could remember his first civilian interaction too. Being praised by family was a whole lot different than strangers. Strangers don't have any obligations or higher expectations. A simple thanks or like Danny, being told they're proud? Even after so many years, it still made him feel warm inside. He could only imagine what Danny must be feeling getting to experience that likely for the first time in his entire career.

Danny opened his mouth to say more, but Bioship warned them of somebody approaching. Their cozy little den quickly faded as she brought back the usual set up. Holding up their masks for them, they quickly pushed them back on, thankful that the glue still adhered enough to do so.

Dick made a mental note to ask Bruce to reformulate the glue. With the amount of hours they had to wear them, it was a wonder he didn't get any skin irritation from ripping them off just as much.

Readjusting in their now normal and much less comfortable seats, they waited to see who was coming to bother them. The soft swoosh of the hangar door opening let no footsteps follow. M'gann floated over to the two, eyes looking over Bioship's interior as if she could tell it was morphed just moments before.

Under the pressure of Robin's unrelenting cold stare, she broke her eyes away from Bioship to look at the boys. "Right, ah." Well, more like Robin as she was blatantly ignoring Phantom. "Aqualad asked me to come ask you to set up everything for the emergency broadcast."

Robin eyed her suspiciously, glancing over to Phantom who had a deep frown scrunching his face. "And why doesn't our exceptional leader do it himself?" He was tempted to add Wally on the list but he chose to not have that name leave his mouth for the time being. The red head had hovered over Robin's shoulder since day 1, not out of condescension but sheer curiosity. At this point he'd be surprised if the speedster wouldn't be capable of doing some minimal stuff like setting up an emergency broadcast.

M'gann fiddled with her hand, twisting around her bracelet as she avoided eye contact. "Well, he tried and it didn't quite go as hoped." Meaning they probably managed to lock themselves out by failing to follow basic instructions. How utterly unsurprising. But again, who was he to judge. He was just an insolent child to them after all. Only useful if they needed something from him.

Robin sighed, not liking where this was going. He had hoped he wouldn't have to do that whole thing a second time this soon, but the longer time ticked on, the more it felt like they were living in a déjà-vu.

He was seriously contemplating just saying no. Having them figure it out on their own, but that wouldn't be the hero way of handling things. As much as he wanted to stick it to them, he knew he'd ultimately rise above pettiness and do what's right anyway. It's what made him get to the point he was at before they failed to rise above their own petty hurt feefees.

"Tell Aqualad he'll do it on one condition." Phantom spoke up, not a trace of his previous driftiness visible. It took everything in him to not snap his head right at his brother when he spoke up. Whatever made him be able to speak up, he didn't want to ruin his regained voice by acting without a hint of tact.

M'gann didn't have that foresight, however. Eyes making direct contact before she looked away once more. "I don't know if he'll...I can ask." She started, caving under the pressure of the two sets of eyes boring a hole into her soul.

Phantom sat straighter, an air of something Robin couldn't quite place his hand on surrounding his being. He hated the thought popping up but it was again one of those things he just wished he could ask his brother about. There was just something in moments like this that made it clear he went through things Robin couldn't even think of happening. Something that made him mature far beyond his years and hold authority even the League struggled to maintain.

"When you address the people, I want to say something too."

He didn't even leave any opening for objection, not from M'gann at least. It was a weird thing to bargain for. Getting a chance to speak up was something they allowed everybody to do last time, in there. But the parallels were starting to become painfully obvious and it was hard to ignore the added stress it gave everybody who had to live through the later stages.

M'gann floated away without another word, seen out by Bioship who morphed back into their little den when she was gone. Dick stared at Danny, the air of authority completely replaced by a nervous mess. Maybe it was just an act to get M'gann to agree, but he couldn't rule out other reasoning either.

Danny looked over, hand protectively wrapped around where Dick knew his scar ended. "Do you think they'll let me?" If Dick had any doubts, he was certain now. It had to have been an act.

He shrugged, not quite sure what to expect from them. Years of knowing the pair meant nothing in this very moment. It could go either way, pressured by needing Robin to fix their mess or betting on his sense of morality and fixing it anyway. But he had a feeling Danny knew as much.

Said boy sighed deeply, legs folded underneath him as he curled up slightly. "They didn't back then, and I kinda get it, I do." Danny rambled, rubbing the paw pad on his palm like he would actually feel the pressure down to the bone. "I... there is something I regret not having done in there, even if it was just a simulation. I don't want to make the same mistake this time. Even if it turns out we got stuck in another stupid simulation." He soullessly laughed at the thought. That would probably be the worst luck ever but when had luck been on their side.

"Hey," Dick called out, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. "If they don't, how exactly would they stop us from doing it anyway. Clearly they can't work my simple programs on their own anyway." Managing to get a small chuckle out of his brother was more than enough to call it a victory. "I don't care what they say, if you got something to announce to the world, then as Batman's second protégé that is your right."

While his eyes were hidden behind the mask, Dick knew Danny's eyes lit up at the mention of Batman. The trust the man had in the both of them to handle any situation to the best of their ability. They both knew the man would encourage a little mutiny when the idiots in power were, in fact, being idiots. As it stood, their hierarchy was filled with idiots at the moment, placing the two most equipped members on the very bottom tier. If that didn't beg for some disobedience then what would.

Luckily, their idiots in power had found a handful of their lost braincells and agreed to Phantom's request. Though it seemed like there was quite some disagreement with it still as a certain speedster refused to appear in the same frame as the ghost.

Because that was the mature way to handle things.

Not that it mattered much, Phantom was going to have to take center anyway and what better way to give him that by giving him his own solo frame. But they'd be insane to think he wouldn't stand right by his brother's side as he did so.

Walking back to the main training room, it was immediately clear that the discussion was still unfolding. The not so hushed whispers of a certain ginger and blonde duo making its way down the hall. At least they had the decency to shut up when the pair walked in. They could have done without the blatant glares but at this point, it was starting to become the norm.

Ignoring the hostility, they walked up to the main platform. Holding back a massive sigh, Robin took over the tab Kal left open while Phantom opened his own. If they wanted to pull this off without the entire thing breaking, they had to hotfix some of Technus' code into it real quick. Considering Phantom was the one who worked with it the most, Robin left it to him while he worked on fixing whatever they broke in his own program.

Living up to their expectations, neither was surprised when they each got a judgmental stare over their shoulders. While Wally hovered over Robin's, Conner stood watch over Phantom's. What either of them would know about the coding was beyond the greatest minds known to Earth, but if it made the team feel better, so be it. Just another thing to add to the long list of disrespect they were expected to put up with.

"What does that do?" Conner asked curiously, spooking Phantom with the sudden breath on his neck. He glanced up at the clone, forehead accidentally bumping into his chest at how close the clone had been standing, not sure what to make of the question. It didn't sound interrogative but far from innocent either given the subject.

He didn't want to think the worst of the clone either, given how quiet he had been for most of their time spent together. Though it didn't give him too many friend points as remaining quiet was not that much better than being an active participant. Still, after their explosive initial meeting, it had mellowed out. "It's to make sure I don't accidentally fry the network. Ghosts and tech, especially cameras, don't go too great together." Phantom finally explained, the faintest of fuzz blooming in his chest as Conner nodded, eyes trying to follow along.

"What language even is that? It doesn't look the same as Robin's."

He glanced over to Robin's screen as Conner's pointing oh so helpfully alerted the others of the small questions he'd been asking. Had it been whispered all along? He didn't want to think too much about it. "That's because Robin has human code and mine's ghost code. A friend of mine made it and it's easier to integrate it as is than translate it and hope for the best." As anyone in the coding scene could tell you, the chances of the code acting the way it should was rather small. Especially considering the volatility of the ecto-tech behind Technus' code in the first place. Who knew if translating ghost code to a living language would ruin the whole thing.

Whatever Conner was going to respond next was not so casually scoffed away by Wally. "Yeah, sure. Another totally existing ghost." He rolled his eyes, strands of hair falling in the way as he fixed his goggles on his head. "And when, pray tell, will we ever meet these non-imaginary friends of yours."

Wally choked on a yelp as Robin stepped back, purposely crushing the speedster's foot under all of his weight. "My side's ready to go. All we need is the camera set up and figure out what to say." Heeding the silent warning, Conner stepped back as well. Though Phantom didn't try the same as the clone didn't do anything quite as annoying as the speedster's existence had been, he did appreciate the gesture.

What he appreciated less was how they almost immediately delved into another argument, mostly about who would be doing the main part of the broadcast. Under usual circumstances, it would have been Kal, Wally and Robin handling it. But given that Robin wanted to stand to the side with Phantom for his section, and Artemis and Conner were both not that, yet way too all the same, recognizable, they were somewhat forced to go with M'gann as third speaker given her likeness to Manhunter.

There was a good reason public appearances were always done by the same handful of Leaguers. Recognizing the heroes speaking came before ego after all. But that didn't mean they had to put their secret identities at risk. Given that Conner's whole thing was hoping the muscles distracted enough from his face, plastering it all over the world would do absolutely nothing for his anonymity. It was mostly also just misfortune that Artemis had been in the hero game for less than what Conner had lived so far so it excluded them both.

They were all set on doing things right this time, wanting to prove they had learned from their training even if it came at a heavy cost.

Setting everything up didn't take long at all. Conner even volunteered to play camera man to make the transition easier. It was just the matter of pressing a simple button but his willingness to help wasn't lost. Even Zatanna had taken a break to come see what they were doing, Cujo still hovering by her side. Wolf had also come to watch the teens prepare, keeping an eye on Cujo at all times.

Phantom pulled up his hood, seeking comfort before addressing the public for the first time. He'd never quite been a fan of public speaking, but for this, he was willing to cope with the unease it brought. He felt Robin's hand on his shoulder, squeezing a bit too hard to be reassuring when Kaldur began his speech by introducing his friends. The small slight didn't go unnoticed, but they had bigger things to worry about.

He kept an eye on the screen Conner had angled to them so they could see what the camera saw. The different pop ups for the auto translation software were all running smoothly as well. On all accounts, it was going as well as a not highjacked Justice League transmission would go.

That was, until it was finally their turn. With Artemis giving them a countdown, they straightened out as their time was closing in. Robin wasn't stressed, he had done speeches so often they even wormed their way into his dreams sometimes. But this wasn't his speech. This was wholly Phantom's moment.

A sense of pure pride filled his soul when he saw himself reflected on the monitor. Not glitching at all as their background was replaced by Batman's symbol. It felt right, like this was where they belonged.

"À̵͇ŭ̷̫̋s̵͙͐k̸̤͊u̵̽ͅl̸͍̀t̷̙̆ü̴͇ ̶̪̂m̵͈̉i̴̠͆n̷̰̔,̸̭̐ ̶̘͒m̸͙̒i̴̮͊ḁ̸̿ ̸͎̀p̴̪͊ö̷̜p̶̫̋o̷̿ͅl̵͉͠õ̴̫.̸̰̅ ̶̙͝." (Hear me, my people) The moment Phantom opened his mouth, the previous calm in the room vanished. Cujo's head snapped up, standing at attention as much as a pup his size could. Beady eyes transfixed on Phantom as the boy spoke. "M̸̛̩i̷̧͊ ̴̑͜s̷̪̄c̸̗͊ȉ̵̢à̶͜s̵̳̓,̸̬͊ ̵͓͌ḳ̶̎e̵͖͌ ̵̟̒n̴̲̉e̷͚̾ ̷̱͝ȩ̴͌s̸̱̄ẗ̷̹a̵͚͆s̸̰̋ ̶̙̉m̵̭̄i̴̯͛ã̶͍ ̶͔̕t̶̞̃a̴͎̿s̶͔͊ḵ̴̾o̶͉̓ ̴̟̃p̸̳͒e̸͍̍t̶̝͒í̵̥ ̶̘̓t̴̡̀i̷͕͒o̸̖̓ǹ̶̟ ̴͚͘d̸͙̚e̶̳͑ ̷̩͐v̶͕͑i̷̛̯,̵̗̈ ̸̗̅ś̴͇e̷͓͗d̴͔̉ ̸̫͋b̷̻͋o̸̗͒ṉ̴̄v̸̺̈́ŏ̴̼l̸̨͊ù̸͍ ̵̭̃ä̷̺ŭ̵̮͊s̵̯͒k̵̩͒u̴̠͝l̷̟̊t̴̹͒î̶͇ ̸̱͠ṃ̵͌ị̵̉a̷̖͂j̵͉͆n̸͐ͅ ̴̟̋v̷͈́ỏ̵̠ŕ̷͚t̶͉͆ŏ̵̠j̷̢̊n̴̻̐.̴̩̏" (I know it is not my place to ask this of you, but please heed my words.)

Conner started panicking as the translation software failed to capture any of the things Phantom was saying. Wally pushed him to the side, trying to see if he could find what exactly was going wrong without cutting the broadcast off. Not that he could, as it seemed that it had taken a life of its own. The faint green hue on the holograms being the only hint that they were not the ones manning this thing any longer.

Phantom kept his head held high, voice as steady as his natural echo allowed. "K̴͇̋v̷̟̈́a̴̫͑n̵̰̊k̵̪̎à̸̭m̴̰͊ ̷͈̔i̷̫͠l̸̛̲i̵͍͘ ̸̬͘n̵͇͂e̵̬͐ ̷̡̇ḙ̷̈s̴̻̄ť̴͉a̶̢͠s̷̛̬ ̶͕̀d̵͉͛ê̶̦ ̵͕́ň̷̬î̸͍å̸̫ ̷̱͒s̸̜̓p̴͚̊e̴͙̔c̸̰͗o̸̟̊,̸̣͒ ̶͓͒ḿ̵͉ȉ̴̠ ̵͆ͅp̸̬̚ȇ̷̘ẗ̷̞́ä̴̡́s̴̮̈́ ̴̳̂v̶̗͠i̸͚͗n̷̮̕ ̵̘̓z̸̖̈́o̶̞̅r̵̮͒g̶̼͛i̴̲̎ ̵̻̈́p̶̪̑r̶͔̈i̸̼͌ ̶̻̀ĉ̵̫̚i̷̞͊ú̶̹j̸̛̤,̷̦̄ ̸̱̔k̵̦̆ḭ̷͌u̴̲͋j̸̭̾ ̸͚̀e̵̡̍s̴̡̈t̶̩́a̴̱͝s̷̨͂ ̴͕͂p̷̛̣r̷͚͌o̵̱̕k̶̺͒s̴̱̔i̵͓͆ḿ̶ͅǎ̴̢j̸̭͆ ̵̻̅a̷̝̒l̵̘̀ ̸͙̓v̶̡́i̶̳̍.̴̤̕ ̴̗͛" (Though they are not of our kind, I ask of you to care for any whom are near you.) An invisible force surrounded him, hood and hair alike softly tussling in the unseen wind as he spoke.

Robin could sense their stress, see his own software fail. But he didn't worry. He had heard his brother speak like this before, when he was arguing with Frostbite. It felt slightly different, like there was an added echo that distorted any word he tried to listen to. But seeing how Cujo, their only other ghost present, reacted, he'd wage a guess that this wasn't meant for living ears.

If Phantom noticed the unease growing by the second among the team, he masterfully hid it. "N̵͖͋e̵̘͗ ̸͓͝l̶̜̾a̴̳͝ś̸͇ṷ̷͌ ̴̩͐p̸̡͝a̴̓͜s̵̼͌í̴̻n̸̳̈́ẗ̷̨́ȃ̸̦j̴͔̔ṅ̶͚ ̷̡̅p̶̻̀l̷̛͚e̶̮͗n̵̟̈́d̵̯͘o̷̙͋ĵ̷͖ň̶̹ ̷̤́m̵͚͝ḁ̸͘l̷̳͗h̸̤̉e̵̩̐l̸͕̇p̷͑ͅï̷̯ ̶͖͝n̶̻̆i̵̛̮a̸̘͂n̸̡̔ ̴͓̅ḱ̶͕ŭ̵̱n̵̳̓ï̷̗ĝ̸̣͋o̵̻͒n̴̲̓.̷̘͛" (Do not let past grievances stand in the way of coming together.) Zatanna held onto Cujo as the pup was inching forward, trying to get closer. She wasn't sure if the thing Phantom added was capable of handling two ghosts, and she sure didn't want to find out during a moment like this.

"E̴̥͆s̸̨͒t̶̨͛ủ̶̯ ̴͖̎l̴͎͊â̷̢ ̸̱̈́ŝ̴̝̈́ȁ̶̰ṅ̸̖ĝ̴̯͒o̴̥͊,̴̲̽ ̸̼͊k̴̳̓į̷͗ú̵̝n̸̠̈́ ̶͜͝v̵̝̋i̵̥̎ ̴͙̕v̵̲̄ȯ̸̢l̴̯̿ą̵͌s̷͇̑ ̵͕̀v̷̧̇i̶͎͊d̸̂͜i̵͙̊ ̴̱̉è̸̪n̷̙͑ ̶̤̀ā̷͉ḽ̵̈i̵͔̿a̵̬͂j̵̧͌,̷̰͊ ̶̘̎k̶̞̐à̵̞j̷̰̉ ̸͖̈́n̵̫̈́i̷͕̐ ̷͕́k̴̻͐u̶̹̕ṇ̴̋e̶̪̎ ̸̲̾d̷͍̉e̷̡̊f̷̹͝e̷̢̓n̶̖͆ḑ̴̕u̷̳͋ ̷̬͒p̷͎̚l̶̙̓î̴̥ ̶̨̂b̸͇̋ő̷͕n̵̩̑a̸̘̽n̵̦̋ ̵̲̐e̵̲̔s̵̡̓t̴͇̂õ̷̘ṋ̸̃t̸͖̿e̶͔̓č̷͚ŏ̸̗n̶̛̞.̷͎̅" (Be the change you wish to see in others and let us stand for a better future together.) The moment the final echo disappeared, the entire program shut itself down. Cujo rushed over to Phantom, phasing through Zatanna's hands in desperation to get back to his boy.

Phantom caught himself, feeling weaker than he thought. Running a hand through his hair, he adjusted his hood just in case. Cujo pushed back, paw to chest to make sure his boy would stay standing upright. Robin caught Phantom's energy drop, stepping closer to support his brother as well.

Once again completely ignoring the other beings in the room, the pair retreated back to Bioship with Cujo's help. They knew full and well had they stayed any longer, they were guaranteed to get into another explosive argument. That was about the last thing either of them wanted or had the mental space for.

Phantom felt rather drained from what he had just done, while Robin was in awe at what just happened. It was another one of those signs, those little things his brother let slip that there were clearly things going on that he didn't know about. Things that allowed him to elicit such a reaction from Cujo, one were to think the pup was raised in the army and given an order from command.

It intrigued him more than it was off-putting to be so blatantly shown that something else was going on. It was hard to remind himself not to push Danny too much. He was a person with his own life and right to privacy. Even if Dick would have shared whatever he could, that doesn't mean Danny had to hold the same convictions. Dick had no right to pressure for information after not being there to help him through it in the first place.

He'd simply have to live with the consequences of his own actions, even if they were less than enjoyable at times.

Bioship welcomed them back with open tendrils, already having prepped their little cozy den once more. At this rate, Dick was going to start hanging out here more than his own room. So long as it didn't put too much pressure on Bioship to keep up the act for M'gann at least. They were bonded, not the pair currently hiding in her safety. It wouldn't be fair to either to encroach on their bond.

Their quiet moment was interrupted by Bioship warning them once again of somebody approaching. This time, however, she didn't morph back into the usual set up. When Zatanna appeared from the hallway, Bioship greeted the girl with another beanbag just for her.

Nervously, the girl sat down, hugging Cujo close as the pup wandered over again. "Do you guys really think I can do this?" Her voice was quiet but she dared look between the two swaddled boys.

Robin grinned wildly, sitting up slightly straighter without disturbing Phantom's comfort too much. "Of course, Z."

"He may be an ass sometimes, but you have your father's blood in you, Tanna. Whatever he can do, so can you." The ghost added on, energy slowly returning as the stress of his actions slowly left his system.

Zatanna visibly relaxed, shoulders sagging as she breathed in deeply. Nuzzling into Cujo's soft fur for a last time, she looked up to her two friends. "Then I think I'm ready to try my father's spell." She got up with the support of Bioship, holding a hand out for each boy as they were less gracefully brought back to their feet.

Once again trudging the path back to the main training room, Robin wasted no time pulling up a gigantic holographic globe. He didn't want to rush Zatanna into anything, but the sooner they had the location, the sooner they could go there, kick some ass and fix everything.

Zatanna stepped forward, wand in hand to help channel her magic onto the hologram. Closing her eyes, she focused on the energy around her, the quiet hum of the mystic arts that enveloped the planet. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros." Zatanna didn't dare open her eyes until she heard the beep of the map.

"Coordinates locked on Roanoke island." Phantom informed as Robin bounced over to Zatanna.

Embracing the girl in a big hug, Robin beamed. "You did it! I told you you could do it." Zatanna blushed slightly, returning the hug as she mouthed a thank you to Phantom.

Any further celebrations had to be put on hold as the group jumped in surprise at the sudden burst of lightning just a few feet from where they were standing. On high alert, the team stared at the intruder as the boy gleefully looked around. "It works!"

(a/n: might need to go on a little week-long break again bc fuck haters discrediting the years of work ive put into building up character dynamics, research to make this as real life and canon accurate as possible and subtle forshadowing for things to be revealed in the future bc of their own biased hypocritical shit eventho i warned them to stop multiple times. if the dailies stop just know ill be back in a week exactly)