Chapter Text
Danny was vaguely aware of multiple things happening around him. Someone was giving orders. Someone was talking to him and running their fingers through his hair, but he couldn’t make out the words though the words brought him some level of comfort. Someone was removing the muzzle around his mouth. Someone else was removing the multiple ghost proof straps and clamps various parts of his body. And someone else was getting very violently sick. As he became more aware of his surroundings, the words being spoken above him began to make more sense.
“Wes, pull yourself together! You can be sick later. Right now Danny needs us,” Valerie snapped at the red-headed teenager being sick in the corner. He wiped his mouth and nodded. He ran out of the room and came back in with a gurney that he had noted when they had rushed into the room. He then moved to help Tucker finish unbuckling and unstrapping Danny from the metal lab table. Wes and Tucker gently moved Danny over to the gurney and then began the process of re-strapping him down and trying to avoid the Y-shaped incision across his chest, which was proving difficult due to how large the incision was.
“Wes, you and Tucker are on gurney duty. Jazz, you stay by Danny’s side. Whatever you’re doing is keeping him calm. Keep doing it. Sam, take point; you’re the better shot. I’ll take rear guard,” Valerie barked more orders once Danny was secured to the gurney without aggravating his various wounds any further.
The five teenagers quickly jumped into action with Sam leading the way. Sam was vicious in taking out any GIW agents she came across, her face twisted into feral snarl as she blasted another agent. Tucker and Wes ran keeping the gurney steady, and Jazz kept Danny calm as he regained consciousness. Tucker would occasionally consult his PDA and tell which hallways to turn down, while Valerie kept their backs well guarded.
“Wait! Turn in here!” Tucker shouted. He and Wes skidded around a corner nearly toppling the gurney in the process but managed to make the turn. Danny groaned as the straps dug into some of his wounds.
“Tucker! WHAT THE HELL!” Four voices yelled in sync. The tech wiz ignored them and instead made his way over to a bank of computers sitting against a wall. He sat down in the chair that had recently been vacated. His hands flew furiously over the keyboards, and then a green glow settled over the room. The other teenagers could also hear some sort of electric buzzing whining. Tucker sagged in relief as both the ghost shield and what was essentially a force field straight out of Star Trek activated around them.
“Tucker, Report!” Valerie bit out.
“This room is essentially the brains of the entire GIW. AND. It’s got everything I…we need to patch Danny up, get help, and keep us safe until help arrives,” Tucker said in explanation as he turned to face the others.
“What sort of help?” Sam asked carefully. They had been trying to call for help for the last year, but no one had ever come so they had all but given up.
“About a month ago, Technus and I managed to hack one of the databases of the GIW. We found out that the GIW began operating not long after Danny opened that damned portal.” There were shared looks of disbelief going around the room.
“Tuck, that…that doesn’t make any sense. The GIW has only been around for like 6 months or so. Since the incident with Pariah Dark,” Jazz said carefully.
“Officially, yes. But. Amanda Waller, the official in charge of the GIW has a very, very long history and grudge against ghosts. It’s even worse than the Fentons. Unoffically, some of the ghost hunters that started appearing after the portal opened were GIW agents. Waller was even among them. They were trying to get an idea of how bad it was. One of the agents was a hacker as good as me. They were the ones who essentially put Amity Park in an information black out, the reason our calls to the Justice League never got out.” Tucker ran a hand down his face. “I thought it was due to all of the ectoplasm and ghosts. I never thought…” Sam came up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder as he trembled, blaming himself.
Jazz paused in treating Danny’s wounds to turn to the younger member of Team Phantom. “Tucker, this isn’t your fault. These are grown-ups who have years more experience. You couldn’t have known. None of this is your fault,” she said gently. He looked up and gave her a shaky smile. She nodded and then continued to patch up Danny’s wounds to the best of her ability.
“Anyways…this room, like I said, is the brains of the GIW. I can use it to get beyond the information black out. I can get Danny help. REAL help. From the Justice League. I have a flash drive with me with everything that’s been happening over the last year. The ghost shield and the force field will hold for 48 hours, and there’s food and medical supplies that will feed a small army for 6 months. What do you say?”
“I say do it. Danny should never have been put in this position in the first place,” Jazz said after a moment of silence.
“Jazz?” Danny moaned out.
“Danny, I’m here,” Jazz practically teleported back to her brother’s side.
“Wha’ happ’d? Wher ‘m I?” he slurred.
“We rescued you, little brother. Did you think we wouldn’t come for you?” she replied softly as tears leaked down her face. She carded her fingers through his hair, and he leaned into her touch. Tucker’s fingers clacking on the keyboard was the only other sound in otherwise silent room. Jazz and Sam finished cleaning and dressing Danny’s wounds as he slid unconscious. But he remained in his Phantom form which was better since everyone knew his accelerated healing factor was ten times faster in ghost form than in his human form.
Tucker’s shout of joy brought everyone out their spiraling thoughts. “Hello. Is this the Justice League? PLEASE! We need help!”
“Kid, this isn’t a line for pranks,” came the gruff reply.
“You don’t understand! They’ll kill him! They’ll kill Danny!” Tucker responded in desperation.
“Green Arrow. Stand Down. I’ll take over,” said a different voice. Suddenly, the camera lit up, and they were indeed facing the Justice League. Whatever the Justice League members had been expecting it wasn’t a room of six teenagers, one of whom was passed out strapped to a gurney and clearly in need of immediate medical attention. This caught the attention of all JLA members who had been in the meeting that Batman had called.
“Batman, this is pinging just outside of Amity Park, IL,” said the Flash who had zipped over to the computer.
“That’s right. I have a whole flash drive of all the shit that’s been kept off of your radar in the last year. But right now, the most import part is getting Danny out of here,” Tucker responded.
“I’m assuming Danny is the one on the gurney,” Batman stated. Tucker nodded.
“Batman, if we launch a Javelin, we can be there in less than an hour,” Superman leaned in, in hands balled in clenched fists.
“How long can you hold out?” Batman asked instead.
“We’re good for a couple of days. Danny has accelerated healing, and we’ve patched him for now. But there’s a bigger problem. One we don’t have time to explain. Short version. Ghosts are real. Ghosts can and will overshadow...er…possess…anyone who they think would be ‘fun’ to overshadow, and right now, the only one who deal with that is currently out of commission,” Tucker said matter-of-factly while gesturing to Danny who was currently unconscious.
“Hn,” Batman grunted.
“Are you saying ghosts did THAT?!?” Superman exclaimed.
“No, this was caused by the Ghost Investigation Ward, or GIW. Legally, because of the Anti-Ecto Acts, and with Danny being a ghost, the GIW can do whatever the hell they want. This is all explained on the flash drive.” Tucker sighed as if all life had just been drained from him. Danny groaned, and all member of the JLA felt their hearts clench.
“What do you need?” Wonder Woman asked.
“An extraction for Danny at the moment. We can’t risk anything else at the moment. Nothing more. Just come in, grab Danny, and get the hell out of here. Once we can get some more Specter Deflectors built so we’re not risking an overshadowed Superman or other overpowered superhero, we can get in contact to get the rest of us out or even help with the ghost problem. But Danny is our priority. He won’t survive this place any longer,” Jazz said before Tucker could respond. The others nodded in agreement.
“What are your names?” Wonder Woman replied. The teenagers responded with their names, and Tucker gave his personal phone number so that the heroes could contact him when they were close for the extraction. “Where should we meet you for this extraction?” It appeared that none of them had thought that far, and Danny wasn’t in condition to be moved. “Are there any ghosts where you are right now?”
“Other than Danny, no. We already set the rest of them free. And Danny had already ordered them back through the portal so no one else gets hurt.”
They were interrupted by a flash of light and a scream. Danny had de-transformed. Things had just gone from bad to critical. “OH SHIT! OH SHIT! OH SHIT!” Tucker was panicking.
“Tucker, what’s happening?” came Wonder Woman’s calm voice which helped to calm Tucker down.
“So Danny is…well, it’s super complicated. But, our time for extraction just got shorter,” he said between breaths as Diana watched the three girls behind him scramble to wrap more bandages around the now distinctly human teenager.
“Batman, be advised the situation has now turned critical. Danny apparently has two forms. He has transformed back to his human form and is losing blood faster than he can be bandaged,” Diana advised her friend.
“Hn,” he grunted, but she could hear the panic even if he didn’t fully vocalize it. Superman responded with an ETA which she relayed to the panicked teenagers who were trying to keep their friend alive.
She watched with bated breath as the Javelin landed outside the facility where Danny had been kept. She watched the cameras as the heroes trekked through the halls as they beat the agents in garish, glaring white suits with obnoxious black goggles perched on their faces. Most of these so-called agents didn’t even seem to have actual combat experience or were used to fighting something else. If Tucker was to be believed, they were used to fighting something that couldn’t necessarily hit as hard as Batman and Superman were hitting.
“Tucker,” Wonder Woman called out to the teen as he startled at his name. “Batman and Superman are outside your door, but can’t get in. There seems to be some kind of shield. And that shield is also interfering with them trying to call you.” She watched him press a few buttons on the keyboard and then her teammates were in the same room as the teenagers. The redheaded teenager who seemed the oldest pressed a soft kiss to the forehead of the one on the gurney, and then Superman picked up the child, and both adults were running back to the Javelin.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Tucker cried softly as he watched his friend being carried to safety.
“Please, get the rest of you to safety as well. We’ll be in touch,” Diana said softly as she watched the weary teens make their way out of the now smoldering building. Batman and Superman hadn’t been gentle. The five teens found a van, and one of them, likely Tucker, got it running, and they were off. She pinched her nose trying to stave off the headache she could feel building. She heard a sigh from many of other members who had been present watching the whole thing. Danny was now safely away from those bastards who dare to hurt a child. Batman had the flash drive from Tucker. And hopefully soon the mystery that one Danny, who was apparently both ghost and human, would soon be solved.