Happy WIP Wednesday! So last week, we had a tie between Bring Me Home and Answer My Call. The tie breaker didn't come in until Monday after I'd already finished the entire Bring Me Home chapter and half the Answer My Call one.
So y'all will be getting two fic upates today then I'm going to sleep. I'm tired after a full day of work with a call out. XP
If you want a say in next week's update, vote in the poll!
Welcome to Arc 3 of Bring Me Home! 🎉🎉🎉
Story Summary: Danny's parents find out his secret. It doesn't go well. But he's not alone. His friend Tim Drake, better known as Red Robin, and the Young Justice will not let him suffer.
Word Count: 1.7k
Warnings: fanon-typical violence. This is my dissection fic, but I don't think I crossed the line into graphic. Let me know if you disagree.
Arc 1: AO3
Arc 2: First, Last
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Danny waved goodbye to Sam and Tucker as he made his way home from school. They had a long weekend and he planned to fall into bed and take a long nap. And then maybe grab some midnight tacos as Phantom for dinner.
He hummed as he thought about how awesome those tacos would taste when reached his home. Still lost in his daydreams, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Only for electric pain to shoot up his arm. Danny screamed, paralyzed to the spot. He tried to pull his hand back, but something held him in place. He fell to his knees, arm still held out and radiating pain through the rest of his body.
“What? Danny!”
“M-mom?” he forced out between cries. “Hurts!”
He could feel his transformation tugging on his core and he tried to force it back.
“Jack! Quick, it’s Danny!”
“Please,” begged Danny. Even kneeling was getting to be too much. Blackness was threatening the edges of his vision so he closed his eyes. He had to keep from transforming. He had to.
He didn’t even have the breath to scream anymore.
He heard his dad’s voice. There was a flash of light. And then nothing.
---
The first thing Danny was aware of was that everything hurt. His muscles were aching and his right arm was practically numb. The next thing he noticed was that he way lying on something hard. He tried to roll over, only to realize he was strapped down. And not just at his wrists and ankles, but also at his waist and neck.
His eyes flew open in shock and he yelled in panic. Had Vlad gotten him?
“It’s awake, Mads!”
Orange filled his vision as his dad leaned over him.
“D-dad?” asked Danny. He felt his core humming in his chest. His core, not his heart. He twisted his head just enough to see a black jumpsuit.
He was Phantom. His parents knew.
His dad’s face contorted with anger, an expression he’d never once seen there before. “Don’t you dare call me that, impostor! What have you done with my son?”
“Dad, it’s me. I swear. I—I can explain.” He tugged on his restraints, trying to phase through them. Only to scream as the anti-ghost shielding shocked him.
His mom’s steps echoed from out of sight. “You aren’t escaping us that easily, ghost,” she spat the last word. “How long have you been possessing Danny?” She finally came into view, goggles blocking her eyes and her mouth hard.
“I’m not possessing him, I am Danny!”
She sneered. “Jack, now.”
“Release our son!” shouted his father. Then he pulled out a spray can and held down the nozzle.
Danny saw the mist approach him and scrunched his eyes closed as he turned his head to avoid the spray. But of course it was impossible. He whimpered as it settled on him, tiny pinpricks of burning. As he lay there, the feeling grew more and more intense until he couldn’t help but cry out.
And that’s when he breathed it in.
It was all agony, inside and out. The mist settled in his lungs, pure fire trying to melt core.
With a flash of light, he was Danny Fenton again. His heart beat in his chest and his lungs screamed for oxygen. The pain didn’t go away, but it lessened. Danny gasped in deep breaths, his limbs shaking in their restraints as he tried to push through the pain.
“Did it work?” asked his dad.
Fingers brushed his hair off his forehead. “Sweetie? Are you back with us?”
Danny opened his eyes, tears gathering and looked up at the face of his mother.
Her expression turned from hope to hatred so fast he thought he was dreaming. “Green eyes, Jack. The ghost is just trying to trick us.”
“The ghost repellent has never failed before. How are you surviving, ghost?”
Danny screwed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see his parents’ faces. “It’s me, I promise. It’s me. I’m alive. I’m alive.”
“Stop lying!” screamed his mom.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his side, followed by a wave of agony. He felt like he was being electrocuted again. In defense, he transformed back into Phantom—his ghost form was so much more durable.
But the pain only got worse. He screamed. His wail was crawling its way up his throat, only to fizzle out into a wave of electricity when it hit the anti-ghost restraint strapped around his neck.
“Loud, isn’t it?” asked his father.
“Let’s shut it up, Jack,” said his mother.
“No, no please. It’s me, Danny!”
They ignored him, though. The pain stopped just long enough for him to gasp in a few breaths. Then piece of metal was being fixed under his jaw and over his mouth. His head was yanked up so it could be strapped in the back. Danny tried to yell into the muzzle, but it muffled all sound.
After that, he lost track of what they did. So many inventions were taken out, used, and discarded. Anything to destroy the ghost part of him or force him out of his living body.
He wished he could obey. That he could just be their son again and not Phantom. But he’d learned many times over the last three years that it was impossible. He was both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom and spitting himself apart would only ever lead to destruction.
He didn’t know how many times he was forced into a transformation as his body tried to choose the form more resistant to the torture. It didn’t seem to matter, though, if he was Fenton or Phantom. His parents would check his eyes or use the ghost tracker and then the next wave of pain would wash over him.
Eventually, however, even his parents ran out of inventions to use.
“This isn’t working, Jackie.”
“What if we can’t force it out, Mads? What next?”
“We’ll cut it out. You know we’ve long hypothesized about the existence of a ghost heart. What better way to test our hypothesis than cutting the parasite out of our own son?”
Danny’s eyes flew open and he tugged with aching muscles, twisting as much as he was able. His muffled protests were ignored just as much as his words had been.
“Where do you think it’s hiding its heart?” asked his dad.
“We’ll use the Fenton Scanner to find the areas of densest ectoplasm concentration and search each of them.”
His mom stalked out of sight and Danny could hear her rummaging through various bins and cabinets looking for the scanner.
His dad, however, stared down at him, eyes hidden behind his goggles and his mouth in an uncharacteristic frown. “If you’re still in there, Danno, we’re gonna get rid of it. We’ll free you, son.”
Danny wanted to tell him he wasn’t trapped, to say again that he was himself, whatever he looked like. But all he could do was whimper and blink away the tears.
Then mom was back, a small scanner in her hand. She pointed it at Danny and he tensed, expecting more pain.
But he felt nothing. Soon enough, the device beeped and she waved over his dad.
“Look at this, sweetie. It’s working better than I expected. Only two main areas of ectoplasm concentration: his brain and his chest.”
“That’s awfully close to his heart, Mads. I don’t know if we can remove it without hurting Danny.”
“If we don’t remove it, he’ll be dead anyway!” Her last word caught on a sob.
Danny was crying in earnest now, too. This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t. How long would it take anyone to even notice? Jazz was away at college, Tucker had plans with his parents all night, Sam was trying to get along with her parents to get out of a rich-person function later in the month, and he and Tim didn’t have a check-in until Sunday.
Could he survive his parents for two whole days until then?
He forced his eyes open to see his parents hugging. All he wanted was to be between them, caught up in their embrace. But instead he was strapped down to a hard, cold table.
They separated.
“Hold him still, Jack,” said his mom.
So Danny did the opposite. He ignored the ache of his muscles, the way they protested, to twist and yank and move as much as he could.
But his father’s hands were big and he was strong and Danny was tired. When his dad spread his hands over his shoulders and pressed, Danny couldn’t fight back. Above him stood his mom, holding a scalpel that glowed green.
Danny closed his eyes tightly when he saw her lower the blade. He couldn’t watch this. Then agony as it sliced through his skin.
Danny screamed into the muzzle. The pain was so intense that he could focus on nothing else. He didn’t know if his parents were talking to each other. He didn’t know what they were finding inside of him.
Instinct forced him to hide his core, to push it smaller and disguise it. But he knew that nothing would stop his parents forever.
He had no way to judge the passage of time. It felt like an eternity; it felt like a second.
Then the hands on him ripped away suddenly and new shouts, new voices, rang out in the lab.
Danny blinked his eyes open to see Sam and Tucker above him. Sam was paler than he’d ever seen her and Tucker didn’t look any better. He tried to talk to them, but the muzzle still covered his face.
Sam turned her head away and shouted, “Kon!”
A moment later, Superboy was landing next to her, his face grim. Then Danny’s restraints, muzzle included, fell to pieces. He was free.
He pushed himself up, needing to see, only to cry in pain and fall back down when the cuts on his chest protested the movement.
Sam and Tucker shouted at him, told him to stay still. Their words were fuzzy and hard to focus on. Everything was hard to focus on. But in the brief moment of time he’d been able to see more than the ceiling above him, he saw Tim in full Red Robin get up using his staff to keep his parents away.
Tim was here. And the world went black.
-----
Next
I no longer tag, but if you want notifications when I update, check out the Subscription Post.
After about 40k of writing, we're finally back to the scene that started it all! Only now with 4x the number of Young Justice on hand. About three years have passed between Arc 2 and Arc 3, so they've all gotten quite close. There's group chats. So many group chats. Danny's met more members of the Young Justice (and I may write a few of those meetings in the future which is 80% why I decided to make this a series rather than a single work on AO3).
But on the rescue team we've only got Red Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Impulse.
I'm about a third of the way through with major edits for Arc 2. So I'll probably start cross posting to AO3 quite soon! Main changes are in what Tim tells Bruce about where he is and what he's up to.
Adrenaline coursed through Danny’s veins as he made the mad dash to Wisconsin. Vlad had been right, they had turned on him. He could still hear the shrill whine of his mother’s blaster as she aimed it at his chest. He could see the tears in Val’s eyes as she told him to leave before she destroyed him.
Danny blinked away the memories, the tears they had brought getting lost to the wind and the rain.
His injuries were screaming at him, vying to make themselves known. Wisconsin never seemed so far away. A searing pain, like a fire lit against the skin of his abdomen, sent him careening into the trees below. Branches and twigs tore at him as he fell, each clawing for a chance to leave their own mark on the ghost boy, stopping only when the ground itself rose up to meet him.
And suddenly he didn’t feel the pain anymore. He knew he should. There was a pool of something warm and wet spreading out from beneath him, which definitely wasn’t good. It could just be the exhaustion mixed with the adrenaline. Right? Maybe he just maxxed out on pain and his brain decided to turn off the voicemail. Except all that was worse.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been hurt, he could fix this. His bag had landed a few feet away, if he could get to the first aid kit he could put himself back together enough to get to Vlad. He was sure of it. He would be okay. He always ended up okay.
No matter how much he stretched, how much he told his body to just get the hell up and grab the kit, he couldn’t. All he could do was lay there as the pool of liquid beneath got deeper and deeper. He was going to die here wasn’t he? For real this time. No more second chances. No more transforming in back alleys, no more going back to being alive. This time he would just be gone.
He should have listened to Vlad. Or at least told him what he was planning to do. He should have listened to Jazz, should have taken more precautions, should have had an actual plan. There were so many should have’s, so many thing he could have done differently. But instead he put his faith in the ghost hunting fanatics. The parents who had accepted him in almost every other timeline, and now he was bleeding out, alone, in the middle of the woods, unable to even sit up. Helpless to do anything but think about all the things he hadn’t done right.
Then a light broke through the black. Small at first but soon blinding in the dark and the rain and the trees. For a moment Danny thought it might be that white light everyone warns you not to go towards when you’re dying. Which was ridiculous in this situation, Danny couldn’t even sit up much less move towards something.
Then it started moving towards him, and he worried just a little bit more.
But then there was shouting too, as the light got brighter, and footsteps. And people. Maybe he wasn’t dying. Maybe he was saved. He let his eyes close as the relief washed over him. Someone had found him.
There were hands sliding around his limbs, then he was moving. The pain bloomed across his body with a new vigour. Their movements were sharp and jarring. What little air had been left in Danny’s lungs escaped with a painful gasp, and a bad feeling formed in his chest that screamed danger, but he dismissed it. He’d been found, he was safe.
They finally stopped in a bright area and Danny was set down on a hard surface, the back of his head hitting hard against it and lolling to the side. Then there was a prick in his arm. It was hardly noticeable through all the pain, but it felt like a… a needle.
That- why was there a needle?
Danny forced his eyes open, just to check. He was sure everything was fine. He was- he was safe now.
The men in white suits milled around in his vision just as something heavy clamped around his wrists.
He was not safe.
A grinning face leaned in close as Danny tried and failed to struggle free.
“Sleep well abomination, you’ve got a big day tomorrow,”
Danny woke slowly this time.
The gradual return of his senses brought alot of pain though. He couldn’t even count all the places that hurt. He was sweating bullets, his sheets soaked through. (huh, sheets, those were new.) ‘
He was still breathing, that at least was a good sign. He focused on keeping his lungs doing that and his eyes stuck shut as he took stock of his surroundings, he was in a new place, he had to be careful.
The ever present smell of antiseptic was potent, barely masked by the faint citrus scent he had picked up on last time he was awake. There was also a faint buzzing in the air, accompanied by the slow beeping of medical equipment. He could exactly where each line pierced his skin to connect him to the accursed things. He couldn't feel anyone watching him though, making this the perfect time to escape.
In an Instant, Danny’s eyes were open and he began the arduous task of removing each and every one of those needles and tubes. Ridding himself of whatever poison those bastards were pumping into him. There was a ridiculous amount of them, monitoring literally everything that could be monitored, like whoever had put them in didn’t even know what they were looking for. Idiots.
Once they were all off, Danny swung his legs over the side of the cot he’d been put on. (No straps either, must be more security measures than he could see. That or they were getting cocky. Danny hoped for cocky.) Sitting up so fast had caused a headache to bloom behind his eyes, but he pinched it back, it was just another pain to deal with later.
This room was sparse but still a lot better than any of the other GiW holding cells he’d been in. In fact, it was set up more like an ICU than a holding cell. A row of cots lined one wall, and shelves stocked to the brim with medical supplies on the other. It was… different. They usually just shoved him back in a dingy cell that hadn't been cleaned in months, after messing with him.
“You’re awake.”
The ectoplasm in Danny’s blood ran cold, his breath catching. He had been certain the room was empty. His back was to the door, so he couldn’t see whoever had spoken, but his mind was wiring almost as fast as his eyes darted around the room, searching for an exit, any chance of escape. He couldn’t get caught. Not now that he’d been seen up and moving, trying to get away.
The walls were probably coated with a ghost repellent, no chance of phasing through them. No vents either. The door behind him would be the only exit, but with it blocked fighting would be his only way out. Could he do that? Could he have the energy to actually get out. There was no doubt there were more agents. Getting past whoever was in the doorway would only be the start. Could he do that? Really?
Danny forced himself up onto wobbly legs. He could. Fighting was what he did best. He’d had two years of practice. He took a steadying breath ( It was a real testament to his nerves that he hardly felt it past his chest) and turned around, coming face to face with… a girl?
She looked about his age, but with a sandier, more monochrome complexion. Her eyes though, they were a piercing, icy blue. They cut into him, sharp, critical. Danny felt himself wobble a little under that unnerving stare, but the girl didn’t say anything, didn’t move even, just stared.
Danny took a shaky step back, then another, keeping his eyes on the girl the whole time. Every step was harder than the last, every breath was worse. Each pass of air rubbed at his throat, stinging like the biting wind during flight. Each movement was a battle against gravity to maintain balance and to lift his feet just enough to shuffle backwards. His feet dragging against the course concrete, the cold of it sending shivers up his spine.
A stray power chord was all it took to throw his hard won balance to the enemy, and he stumbled. The backs of his knees collided with something hard, and gravity, ever unsatisfied, took hold and brought him down.
Searing pain struck like lightning through his body, Stabbing pains where his skin pulled and twisted across his chest. Fire burnt deep in his muscles, the tense pressure all along his arms and legs, he swore he heard popping. It all hit him at once, shoving the air out of his lungs in one dizzying wave. He gasped for air but that hurt too.
“Are you alright?” The girl’s voice was much closer now. Danny opened his eyes (He hadn’t realized he had screwed them shut) to find her face mere inches from his.
He cried out, or he tried to. He felt the air pull from his haggard lungs. He felt it push through his throat, tearing and burning, but all he heard was a raspy hiss as he scrambled backwards over the cot he had fallen on, kicking out with both feet as he went. His first kick landed with a weak thump against something soft, the second sailed straight through the girl’s torso, sending a shiver through his whole body. Then he fell over the side of the cot, twisting violently and landing on his right shoulder, hard. He definitely heard popping this time as he rolled onto his hands and knees and scrambled away.
He heard her say something, but he wasn’t sure what. Probably an order to stop. Danny kept crawling. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going, he just wanted away. Preferably before reinforcements showed up.
He reached a corner and stopped. Two stone walls met seamlessly in front of him. The angle perfect and smooth, as if the room had been carved from the rock rather than built by it. Just like his parents’ lab. Just like the corner a much smaller Danny would tuck himself into while his parents worked.
This Danny wedged himself between the walls, tucking his knees up to his chin and his hands clasped behind his neck. He looked back. The girl was advancing on him, looking much less happy than before. Her form was blurring at the edges, particles swirling around her in an angry cloud, almost like smoke.
“Hey,” she said, voice tinted with a forced sounding sweetness to hide the rougher tone that sat just left of anger. Danny knew that tone, knew what it meant when people spoke to him like that.
We promise not to hurt you Danny.
We’re glad you're here Phantom, don’t worry it’s just a few tests.
I promise I won’t be angry, Daniel, just come here.
His body moved on instinct. He just grabbed and threw.
Whatever it was sailed right through the girl’s forehead.
There was a second when nothing happened, just silence. Then the cloud swirled faster and faster as she descended on him, filling the room in seconds. There was no more forced compassion. Her anger and indignity was almost tangible in the air. The overwhelming emotions pressing in on him as cold bursts of air tore themselves from his chest.
The girl was gone, but she was still there, swirling in the cloud as the pressure built and built. Danny clamped his hands over his ears and pulled himself into a tight ball. Hot tears ran down his face as he did everything he could to block it all out. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t- why did he think he could fight this. Fight them. It all ended the same. Always back on that table. Trying only made it worse. Why- Why -why whywhywhyw-
Then it stopped. The pressure in the room eased substantially, and it finally felt like he could breathe again.
“Robin!” the girl cried, her tone suddenly cheerier, “He won’t listen to me,” she whined, “I’m trying to help and he won’t let me!” there was a pause. Danny didn’t dare uncurl himself enough to see why.
“Secret…” Someone started
“What happened?” A slightly higher voice cut in. It was laced with a sort of clinical calm that set Danny’s nerves on edge.
The girl huffed, “Why are you mad at me? He’s the one that won”t let me help!” Danny flinched, he could feel the new eyes turn on him. He just wanted them gone. He wanted to be gone.
There was a deep measured sigh before the second voice spoke again. “We’re not mad at anyone,” they said in a carefully regulated tone, “I just need to know what happened so I can know how to handle this.” Handle? Was the owner of that voice his new handler? What happened to agent H? No, no it didn’t matter, he couldn’t go through anything like him again.
“Oh,” the girl said, “Well, he woke up again so I tried to talk to him, but then he, like, freaked out and attacked me. He’s not responding either.”
A hand grazed Danny’s back without warning, he threw himself forward and batted it away with a feral hiss. The hand pulled away and he shoved himself back into the corner.
“Did you fight him back?” the first voice asked. It was alot closer. Probably the owner of the hand.
“He attacked me.”
Someone sucked in a sharp breath.
“Thank you Secret, we’ll take it from here.”
“No problem Rob!” A few seconds passed before her presence was fully gone, leaving Danny alone with two unknowns. Not that three enemies was better than two.
What was her deal? She felt- well, she felt like a ghost. The way her emotion had felt so tangible in the air around her, that was unmistakably a Ghost Thing ™. But he’d never seen a ghost like her.Not only in the way she looked but also in the way she acted. Danny had definitely never heard of any right- minded ghost (Or as right-minded as any of them were) working with the GiW. What had they done to her?
Danny tensed as something was set down inches from his face.
“Hey.” The voice was a lot softer than it had just been. It was using that same tone. “Sorry about her, Secret isn’t too great with people yet.”
“Isn’t that an understatement,” the other voice snarked. Then there was a pause and a mumbled sorry.
“I’m Robin, and this is Superboy,” Superboy? The Justice League publicity stunt? What was he doing at a GiW facility? Danny loosened the tight knot he had curled into, just enough to peek at the two people kneeling in front of him. Sure enough, he recognised Superboy from TV. The Kryptonian was the one sitting closer to him. He looked more nervous than the other one. Robin, he had said, that name sounded familiar he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“We’re here to help you in any way we can, okay?” the barest hint of a smile crossed Robin’s face. It was hard to tell if it was sinister or genuine. “We have water, if you would like it.”
Danny would be a liar if he didn’t admit how much he actually would like some. His throat was insurmountably dry which was only making breathing harder. A task that was getting more and more difficult by the minute. But that didn’t mean he could trust anything they gave him. It was probably drugged. That’s the only reason they would have to even offer. Afterall, ghosts didn’t need food or water, it was just a vanity for them. Or at least that’s what they would always say whenever he had begged for just a scrap.
Still, he couldn’t help but want.
The two were still watching him. And, well, they didn’t really look GiW. They were both dressed up in hero outfits. Superboy was obviously wearing his signature look with the jacket and the S crest. The other boy, though, was dressed like a traffic light. Yellow cape, green gloves and boots, and a red suit. Most of all though, they looked Danny’s age. What were they even doing here? This was all too bizarre to trust. Or… too bizarre to not trust?
Ancients, he was thirsty.
He risked breaking eye contact to let his eyes flicker over to the clear plastic cup they had placed in front of him. The liquid inside looked like water, but that was no guarantee. Slowly, he reached a hand out to snatch the cup. Neither of them flinched, just watched. The liquid was clear. Even with his senses dulled as they were, Danny’s were still better than most. There were no floating particles, no odd smells, no physical tells that this wasn’t just ordinary water.
He took a hesitant sip- a small one, just in case- and still nothing. It tasted like water, clean water, no dirt or minerals to hide the taste of the sedative. At least 80% sure that the water was just water, Danny downed the rest of the cup in one go, swiping the excess off of his parched lips with the back of his hand. The immediate relief on his throat was bliss, but he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. There had to be a reason they had given him that.
Superboy took the cup and got up.
Where was he going? What was he doing with that cup? Had that just been a ploy to get his DNA? No that was ridiculous, if they wanted his DNA they would just cut him open and take it. But then why did he take the cup-
Then Superboy was back, the glass refilled. Oh.
Danny took the cup gingerly, eyeing the Kryptonian curiously.
“Can you tell us your name?” Danny’s eyes snapped back to Robin as he spoke. Strange. Shouldn’t they already know his name? Agent H had known his name, boasted about it even, used it against him. Were these people attempting an opposite approach? Pretending to be friendly to lure him into a false sense of security? That sounded like something they would do, but something about that thought felt wrong in an unexplainable way. Whether they were playing a game or not, though, his name, that was a powerful thing to give to people he didn’t know. They had given their names though. Obviously they were codenames, but still, that was more than he’d gotten from previous agents. They had never introduced themselves, Danny had had to learn their names by listening to conversations. So maybe…
“My..” name is Phantom, he said. Except, he didn’t. He choked on the first word, his voice was raspy and cracked and his throat felt weirdly full as he took a sip of water and tried again. “My-” It wasn’t even a whisper. His throat was burning as if set on fire. He was moving his lips, forming the words, but nothing was coming out. Even though he could feel the air moving through his throat. Robin only looked, disappointed? Sad? As he watched Danny struggle for his words.
Danny was only vaguely aware of his breathing getting faster and faster. Each breath bringing only more fire. His hands flew up to clutch at his throat, maybe to check it was okay, maybe to stifle the increasing speed, but there was something wrong. It felt wrong, it- One of his fingers slipped into a channel, feeling the ridges where his skin met with some rubbery material.
Ancients, there was a hole in his neck.
His lungs kept pulling in air at a rapidly increased rate. Why? He was a ghost, ghosts didn’t need oxygen. It was a non-necessity and all it did was hurt. He just- he needed it to stop.
“Hey, hey, breathe for me okay?” Robin said, trying to soothe him. Danny tried to look at him, but there was a light flickering just behind his head. It was just- on and off, on and off, again and again and again and again- Danny looked away. His gaze fell on Superboy. He was glaring at Robin.
“Here, try to match my breathing, okay? In for six, hold for three, out for six. Got it? Again.” Robin was demonstrating the technique, trying to get Danny to follow along. But Danny didn’t need to breathe, he needed to stop.
“It’s okay, you’re safe. We’re at Mount Justice, the old Justice League base. We rescued you on a mission. You sustained multiple injuries from your captors. Chiefly to your voice box, we had to install a laryngectomy tube so you could breathe, but you have to calm down before you damage it further.” If Robin thought that little infodump would calm him down, the dude seriously needed to work on his people skills.
It was only by some miracle that Danny managed to get it under control. He started by matching Robin’s pace, then slowing it down until he was hardly breathing at all. For some reason that seemed to worry them more than the hyperventilating. There really was no pleasing some people. He chugged the rest of the water to hopefully relieve his throat a little.
“Hey, hey, hey, you still need to breathe, okay? You can’t just stop.’’
“Back off Rob.”
“Not now Superboy, I know what I’m doing.”
“Yeah? Well I don’t think you do. Back off a little.”
Danny flinched away from the yelling, curling back into himself just a bit more. It would be nice if they could both leave, actually. Danny had a lot to process right now, and their bickering wasn’t helping. There was already so much noise, and their voices were getting louder, and that light was still flickering just at the corner of his vision. On and off and ON and OFF and ON AND OFF AND-
The door flew open with a loud bang, there was a streak of red and white light then-
“Morning! How are you feeling dude? These two bothering you? Are you hungry? Want a snack? I have Trail mix, Mars Bars, chips, fruit leather, and a granola bar. I just came form school though so they aren’t the good ones y’know? Just the gross high calorie ones that Max makes me carry around in case of emergencies. Actually- scratch that. You probably shouldn’t eat those unless you have, like, a suuuuper fast metabolism. They might, like, destroy your liver or something. That or give you the sugar high to end all sugar highs.” The boy was in Danny’s face before he had even had time to process his arrival. A buzzing started in his ears, getting louder and louder as the boy talked, his fire engine red hair bouncing with each wide gesture he made.
Danny pressed himself further against the wall, willing his body to just go through it already. Anything to get him away from all this.
The buzzing sound hitched, then something lurched in Danny’s chest, and suddenly he was falling. Falling through the cold stone and away from the noise.
He landed in what looked like a supply closet, amongst seemingly endless rows of dusty shelves and unopened cardboard boxes. It was dark, though, and the floor was cold, the chill was grounding. The buzzing had stopped, leaving him in total silence. It was nice. He almost didn’t want to try standing or leaving. Maybe he could just stay here for a bit.
He crawled under the nearest shelf and curled up with his back pressed against a heavy crate.He shivered as his exposed skin made contact with the frigid stone. The only thing separating him from the floor was the thin hospital gown he had been changed into at some point. The front was soaked with blood and ectoplasm, which were probably the stitches he’d popped earlier. He pulled at the fabric a bit to see if that was a now problem or a later problem. He settled on later. Just the thought of getting up now made him feel nauseous.
Which meant he probably wasn’t escaping anytime soon. Even with the new knowledge that walls were not, in fact, ghost proofed, if he didn’t even have the energy to sit up and look through a few boxes, then he definitely didn’t have the energy to phase himself out of the- Robin had said they were in a mountain? Yeah, that wasn’t happening. He couldn’t even feel the ectoplasm under his skin, the ever-present, comforting hum wasn’t in his chest anymore. That buzzing had been the closest thing he’d felt to it since that third week when they had started the operations.
One hand found its way to his neck, bare fingers ghosting over the uneven ridges left behind by careless stitches. He could still smell the rubber, feel the sting of the antiseptic, see the leering grin on his face as they poked around his chest cavity, knowing just where to squeeze to force a scream.
He shook his head to dislodge the memory. Ancients, Ancients help him.
—------
He woke up later, back in the cot. The lines were returned to his arms and face. The light was still flickering. There were no people.
There was a glass of water set on the side table, next to a note.
‘We’re sorry. You are safe here. We promise.’
Danny didn’t know what to believe anymore. He crushed the paper into a ball, and threw it away.
Ahhhh, i know its been literal months since i posted the og part, but ive been working really hard on this and i finally think im ready to post it? Maybe? It will not be a quick update schedule bevause im always changing things, but i hope you all like it.
Of course the one time I actually fill a prompt I forget to save it and end up losing it to the tumblr void.
Alas, if I find it I'll link it but until then, have this.
Tw: light gore, mentions of vivisection
____________
This wasn't the team's first lab break in and it definitely wouldn't be their last. That is to say, they've seen alot of shit. Alot of mad scientists and what resulted from their insanity, their cruelty. But they had never expected to find something like this on what was supposed to be a low stakes mission.
Robin had been the first to find the dingy little cell, not far from the main lab, and stood stunned in abject horror as the others came in behind him.
"Oh god," he heard Arrowette whisper, followed by a litany of strangled gasps and the sound of Superboy's knuckles cracking.
It was terrible, but Robin couldn't manage to tear his eyes away from the curled up teen tied to the wall.
The boy was unconscious, his stark white hair, matted with grime and some green substance, covered the top of his face, a muzzle covered the bottom. What was left visible was littered with cuts and angry purple bruises. Whatever clothes he had been wearing were tattered and torn, displaying yet more injuries.
What was probably the worst, as far as Robin could tell, was the dirty gauze haphazardly taped to his neck. The dressings were soaked through with more of that green liquid, which Robin relised with a hobble sink to his gut was probably the kid's blood.
Robin swallowed the bile threatening to rise to his throat and turned back toward his team. He took a deep breath.
"Okay, new plan," he said, doing his best to keep his leader voice, "Superboy, you get those chains off him. Team, this is no longer an Intel mission, this is search and rescue. Impulse, Secret, Arrowette, fan out. Check the rest of the building for any other prisoners. If you find anyone then report immediately. WG, you call back to Red. I'll see what I can pull out of their database. Remember to keep your heads."
A round of nods was all he got in return before everyone set out on their tasks.
Robin had just wormed his way to into the system when Superboy walked in, the unconscious kid in his arms, and a seriously pissed expression on his face.
"I never thought Cadmus could go this far," he growled, brows furrowing.
Robin grunted on acknowledgement, then made a light sound of surprise as the archaic system finally loaded.
"Well then it's a good thing we aren't at Cadmus then," he mumbled disbelieving as he dove further and further into the newly available files. Quickly, he pulled an empty USB from his utility belt and set to work downloading what looked important, facility locations, blueprints, documents, research, etc.
"Where are we then?" Superboy asked, setting the kid down to peer over Robin's shoulder.
"Some place called the GIW, ghost investigation ward," Robin murmered, "according to these files, they're some kind of government org, designed to hunt and study ghosts. Our guy over there," he jutted his chin toward the kid, "is apparently really powerful. They have alot of files on him and something called the ghost zone."
Suddenly they were interrupted by a serious of loud crashes followed by shouting and Impulse zipping into the room.
"Heyguyswegottago," he sped out before taking in a huge lung full of air and continuing at a slightly slower pace. Slightly. "Reinforcements just arrived and they don't look like they're happy to see us. We couldn't find anyone else other then some asshole scientists. Cissie kicked their butts."
Robin nodded and pulled the USB from the port. "Tell the other to meet back at the super cycle, it's time to go." Impulse nodded and sped back off.
--------
It wasn't their best escape, but it certainly wasn't their worst. Those GIW agents were persistant bastards but it wasn't anything the supercycle couldn't handle.
They were en route back the cave when Superboy called out, "Hey Rob, you might wanna see this." He and WG had been tasked with administering first aid (to the best of their abilities) to their rescue, so that wasn't exactly something Ribin was thrilled to hear.
He let Supercycle switch to auto pilot before climbing to the back seat to see what had his team so freaked out. And yeah. That would do it.
If he thought the neck wound was bad, that was nothing. What was left of the kids torn shirt was removed to reveal a massive Y-shaped incision across his chest. The scars were red and inflamed, mottled with angry bruises and so, so many tiny holes, giving the impression that the wound had been stitched uo and reopened on numerous occasions. The implications of the wound was clear.
Robin set his jaw as he met Superboy's eyes. The confusion was prominent. he didnt know what to do.
"Just do you're best to clean it for now," he said, "we'll have Red look at him when we get back to base."
As Robin settled back into the driver's seat, he mentally added the GIW to his list of enemies. Anyone who had the power to do that, government or not, was going down
The Fentons suddenly dying in a freak accident and almost immediately returning as ghosts- only to realize that if they are ghosts, they feel too real to be mere simulations and/or imitations of the real thing. And if what they are feeling feels real enough to matter, then what does that mean for the boy in their basement?
They had cut him open, this ghost boy that's claiming to be their son, not thinking much about the damage they put his ectoplasm through. And surprise, surprise! They have a change of heart after they realized that Phantom may be a real boy.
So, they try to sew back together his wounds... But it's not going well. They arrive at the operating table, only for their hands not to properly interact with the medical equipment.
They lose time trying to interact with the real world. Phantom has not jolted or reacted in any way in the entire time they've been trying to save him...
But the real horror starts to creep in when the ghost boy suddenly turns into THEIR BOY.
Their mental scream summons Martian Manhunter into their town.
It's a Danny Phantom vivisection fic I read a while back and it's one of my favorites ever, so I'd really like to find it again for a reread. I believe it was on ao3 and had multiple parts.
The overarching plot is Phantom gets captured by Maddie but she doesn't tell Jack. Jack and Maddie believe Danny has been kidnapped but the authorities brush the case off as a standard teenage runaway. Maddie and Jack spend all day searching for their lost boy and while Jack sleeps at night, Maddie sneaks off to torture Phantom, believing he was the cause of Danny's disappearance. Maddie eventually decides to let him go and Danny shows up in the middle of the night the next night, blind in one eye. She knows almost immediately how badly she fucked up.
Some standout details:
one of the first things Maddie does is cut Phantom's eye
Phantom refuses to tell his mom its him because he knows how much it would hurt her to know she hurt her son
Maddie fixates on how realistic and accurate Phantom's inner anatomy is to a human's
Phantom is uncomfortably restrained in a clear box
Maddie does something to prevent his ghostly wail so it's hard for him to speak (cuts his vocal chords I think) ((or maybe it was just a gag/muzzle...)
Please help me find this fic!!
Edit: Found the fic!! Here:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
