Disclaimer: Don't own Danny Phantom or any of the other cartoons that shall appear in this fiction. To be honest, I wanna know the guy that got sued for lying about his lack of ownership that made the rest have to write these disclaimers. Seriously, it's called "Fan-Fiction!" WHY WOULD THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS BE ON HERE?
This chapter is a Danny Phantom/Young Justice x-over.
Ch.1: Hypnotic Voice
Danny pressed his ear to his bedroom door and listened to the signs of his parents walking up the stairs, passing his room, and entering the room just down the hall. He waited patiently for their door to close; sounds of them rummaging around in their personal space still echoed through. However, tonight was a particularly restless night for him and Danny cracked the door open.
His pupils immediately shrunk in size a little as the light coming from the cracks around his parent's door caught his blue eyes. Through the crack, he watched the shadows in the small amount of light as his parents roamed around their room, getting ready for bed. Danny didn't know how long he stood there, just watching the shadows, before all the lights turned off and let the hallway fall into darkness, making the still air feel eerie.
The black-haired teen flipped the hood of his black jacket up before opening his door. Danny silently stepped into the hallway, pulling the door close behind him. There was an almost inaudible click as it locked in place and the fourteen-year-old quietly began tip-toeing down the hall. He avoided the floorboards he knew creaked and winced every time something shifted under his feet. However, the sounds that were like thunderclaps to his ears didn't make it to his parents' room.
Danny slipped by his sister's room and craftily edged down the steps. It took much longer to travel down the steps than it did journeying down the hallway but he was also quieter. The teen didn't let his timing get to him though. Once he got out of the house, he'd be snappy about his mission and get back home in time to sleep peacefully for a few hours before school.
As his feet landed on the main level of the home, Danny paid less attention to his steps as he scurried to the front door, unlocked it, grabbed the keys from the table sitting beside the exit, and slipped out. Closing the door quietly behind him, Danny re-locked the house behind him and slipped his keys in his pocket.
Outside the house, the street was quiet and abandoned. All the homes up and down the street were dark and silent, except the occasional one that housed a night-owl. Even then, one could only see the lights from the TVs through the closed curtains. Lining the road, street-lights lit the street up for anyone who decided to drive or walk around at this time of night.
Sitting in front of Danny's house was a black Suburban, silent and idle with blacked-out windows.
Without thinking twice, Danny hopped down the couple of steps leading to his front door. He waltzed to the car, opened the passenger door, and got in, shutting the door behind him and sending a shock through the quiet air outside. Danny slipped his seat-belt on and leaned back, tapping his fingernails against the door beside him as he ignored the smell of smoke tickling at his nostrils.
"Well, look who's early tonight. It's only 10:30."
Danny rolled his eyes at the familiar voice, looking to his side to gaze at the toned figure next to him. "I got lucky. My parents went to bed early. Now don't make us late and begin driving already."
The man in the driver's seat rolled his eyes and scowled at the snappy command of the much younger teenager. However, he did as he was told and started the car. The floodlights flooded the road in front of them with light and he pulled from his spot on the curb, driving down his lane and coming to the stop-sign at the end of the road, stalling him from pulling into the street that slithered throughout the entire neighborhood.
Danny, for the billionth time, looked his 'escort' up and down with dull, blue eyes. He recognized the familiar bright green mohawk of the adult, as well as the piercings sticking out from his lip, ears, and nose. The leather jacket looked new, though. It was probably to replace the one he had before, which had been super old and had tears and holes throughout the fabric. A choker held onto the man's throat tightly, a skull pendant hanging from it.
The man, for as long as Danny had known him, had always been called Skulker. No real first name; no last name. There was no other information Danny had been given for him to look up the man. He'd tried prying one time but that had ended with failure and a bruise on his cheek; something he did not have fun explaining to his parents the next day.
The teen guessed it was alright with him, though. After all, Skulker only knew him as Sandman.
The drive was silent until Danny slipped his iPod out of his pocket and stuffed his headphones into his ears. Danny pressed the home button and squinted when the screen lit up, shining light in his face and eyes. The teen turned the brightness down before opening his music, pressing the first song that he thought would be remotely good. He locked his phone again before staring out the window, watching as they passed dark shapes and figures. There was the occasional street-lamp that reflected off the blacked-out windows.
The drive was roughly twenty minutes and Skulker stopped the car in front of a large, run-down office building with three levels. It was sitting in the middle of a sketchy neighborhood and most of the buildings were dark and quiet. Even the office building they had approached seemed to be untouched by any conscious person.
"I'll be back." Danny stated as he turned off his music, wrapping his ear-buds around his iPod. He opened the door to the car and slipped out.
As he was shutting the door, Skulker said, "I'll be waiting."
Danny nodded at the window, even though he couldn't see Skulker behind it. He turned on his heel and walked towards the building, fixing his hood better around his head to keep it shadowed and unseen. The blue-eyed teen opened the door as he reached it, slipping inside and letting it fall gently closed behind him. The teen's footsteps echoed around him as he sauntered down the hall. He weaved through the building's lobby area and a few more hallways before coming to a door in the back of the building. Danny stopped in front of it and knocked on the door.
A muffled "Come in," sounded from the other side. Danny grabbed the doorknob, twisted, opened the door, and entered silently. He shut the door behind him, though there really was no need to. He and the man in the room were the only ones in the building; possibly the only ones on the block.
The room Danny entered was much nicer than the rest of the building with full furnishings and up-to-code safety precautions. Since it was dark, one couldn't tell if it was clean or not but Danny had a feeling it was. He didn't understand why anyone would bother though. All meetings took place during the night in almost complete pitch-black. The teen didn't question the boss-man about it though.
The 'boss-man' was sitting at his desk, playing with something in his hands. Danny wasn't sure what it was; it was too dark to make out the shape. Really, the only thing he could tell about the other male was that he had silver hair, which reflected off the light from the street-lamps outside that slipped through the shades.
Danny didn't care he didn't know what the other looked like. The other had what Danny wanted and gave it to him when he got things right.
"Who's the target, Plasmius?" Danny asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He stood at an angle with more weight falling to one leg more than the other. The teen let his shoulders droop, his dark figure looking much more relaxed than it should be.
The man behind the desk, Plasmius, pulled open one of his desk drawers, rummaged around with the contents inside, and pulled something out. While shutting the drawer, the man laid something on the front of his desk, silently inviting the younger to take whatever he had laid down. As Danny paced forward, Plasmius stated, "Just grab the woman, take her to the drop-off point, set her up the way the client desires, and leave. When you get back, you'll get your payment."
"Understood." Danny responded, picking up the envelope sitting quietly on the desk. He slipped it into his pocket, turned around, and exited without another word, leaving the man to sit in the darkness alone. The teen weaved through the hallways expertly, fingering the envelope he had in his pocket. Danny resisted looking at it, though.
Exiting the building, Danny walked to the car, opened the door, and hopped in. Once safely inside, he took the envelope out of his pocket and opened it. He slipped the index card out of the sleeve and used his phone as a light-source to read what was scrawled across the stiff paper, making him squint at the light again.
"What's it say?" Skulker asked.
Once having read it, Danny slipped the index card back into the envelope and put it back in his pocket. Leaning back in his seat, the teen began looking through his songs again as he unwrapped his ear-buds, putting them into his ears. "You know that psychiatric office downtown?"
Danny pressed play at the end of his question, knowing Skulker wouldn't need to ask if that's where they were going. The two fell into silence again, an easy air between the two.
Looking out the window, Danny felt his eyes becoming heavy and debated closing his eyes. He finally allowed his eyelids to drift close, blocking his sight and allowing himself to be surrounded by darkness. However, it didn't take long for his eyes to reopen again while he sighed quietly to himself at the unfairness of the world.
It was a fifteen minute ride and Skulker dropped the teen off a few blocks from the psychiatric office, leaving Danny to walk the rest of the way. The teen was told where he would be picked up by Skulker before the Suburban pulled away and Danny began walking down the sidewalk, passing the small but loud crowds of people that were most-likely bar-hopping.
Two blocks from the office, Danny ducked into an alley and pulled out the envelope holding the information. He took out the index card and re-read what was written across its surface. Once everything was perfectly implanted in his brain, Danny slipped a cigarette lighter from his pocket (something he had 'borrowed' from Skulker) and flipped the notch. As the flame flickered in the darkness, Danny held the envelope and index card over the small flame, waiting for the fire to find a hold on the kindling.
After a few seconds of waiting, the flame caught and Danny released his hold on the lighter. He slipped it back into his pocket and exited the alley, dropping the burning papers into a trash-can as he passed. He hurried along at a reasonable pace, ignoring what could easily be a huge fire.
Maybe he would see something on the news about it tomorrow.
The rest of Danny's walk was uneventful and dull. As he came upon the psychiatric office, the raven-haired teen ducked his head and fixed his hood around his face better. He entered the building cautiously and noticed the security guard that immediately raised his head to look at him suspiciously. Feigning nervousness, Danny scurried over to the board that listed all the doctors in the building and barely raised his head to scan the block letters. For added effect, he rubbed his arm anxiously and clenched and unclenched his hand.
As he looked through it, he found the target listed: Dr. Penelope Spectra. Level 3; Room 305.
Danny hurried over to the security guard, gave the fake name Plasmius had given him, and kept his eyes rooted to the floor. The guard wrote all the info down before allowing Danny to continue his journey into the building. The blue-eyed teen continued his anxious façade for the cameras, shuffling his feet and keeping his head ducked.
After riding the elevator to the third floor, Danny padded to room 305 and knocked on the door lightly. Miraculously, it was heard on the other side and the teen was called in. The blue-eyed boy slipped inside, shutting the door behind him quietly and turning around, raising his eyes to look at the red-headed target grinning sickly sweet at him from her desk. Danny recognized her immediately but didn't remember where he had seen her.
"Hi! You must be Luke. It's so nice to meet you."
Danny nodded his acknowledgement, replying, "Hi."
The red-headed woman, Dr. Spectra, smiled at him and gestured for the teen to sit in the seat in front of her desk. She sat up straight, clasping her hands and setting them down in front of her. "Well, come sit down and we'll get started. The faster we get this done, the faster you can go home and get some sleep."
"If I get any at all…" Danny mumbled, mentally rolling his eyes as he shuffled to the seat offered. He sat down in it stiffly, clasping his hands in his lap and keeping his eyes downcast.
Dr. Spectra raised an eye at the younger boy and barely tilted her head to the side. "You have sleep problems?"
Danny nodded, playing with his fingers while he watched them. "Yeah. I stress over things a lot. It keeps me up at night."
The red-head hummed to herself before looking down for a moment while she scribbled something down on a clipboard. Dr. Spectra leaned back in her seat casually and set the board in her lap, obviously trying her hardest to ease her patient's anxiety. "I see. I'm surprised but I guess it should've been expected. Why didn't you tell your father about your insomnia?"
"Does my father need to know everything?" Danny responded, keeping his stiff posture and his eyes drawn to his fingers. He distantly wondered why Plasmius had to be his 'father.' Why not stepfather or something else along those lines?
Dr. Spectra raised an eyebrow at the teen but let the reply slide. She opened her mouth to ask another question but Danny raised his eyes, cutting her off. "Do I have to come and go through the front entrance? Can I take a back entrance next time?"
"There is a back entrance but it's for staff members only. I'm sorry." Dr. Spectra stated, frowning at Danny.
The teen shrugged but kept the eye-contact with the doctor. His fingers stopped moving and became still. His posture slowly relaxed and the red-head watched him curiously. Danny said, "That's ok, I guess. I just have one more question for you before we continue."
"What would that be?"
"Aren't you tired? Don't you wanna sleep?"
Dr. Spectra opened her mouth to respond but the only thing that exited her mouth was a yawn. Her form became completely limp as her eyes rolled back in her head and her eyelids closed. The clipboard slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor, the paper swooshing as it fell. The doctor stilled in her seat and breathed deeply as she slept.
"That was easy." Danny commented before standing up. He walked around the desk, stood by the woman's chair, and looked her over. A creep of envy stirred in his body at her peaceful form before he commanded, "Up."
The woman, eyes still closed and her head dangling limply on her shoulders, stood up from her chair obediently. Danny gestured to the seat he had taken and watched as she walked, zombie-like, to the seat before plopping down. The teen bent over, picked up the clipboard, and dropped it on her desk before falling into her seat and opening the internet to play around for however long he needed to.
Danny browsed the internet from eleven-forty-five until twelve-thirty, checking the time every few minutes. When the end of his 'session' began coming around, Danny cleared the history on the computer before closing his programs down. After, he looked towards the sleeping doctor and said, "I'm going to give you instructions now. Are you listening?"
Dr. Spectra bobbed her head unsteadily.
"Good. I'm going to leave in a few minutes. When I do, you're going to get your stuff and walk out the back exit like you're going home for the night. You're going to walk to the Dollar Tree two blocks down. If I'm not there when you are, you stay there until I come. Do you understand?" Danny asked.
The red-haired woman's head bobbed up and down again.
Danny stood up and walked around the desk. He stopped in front of Dr. Spectra's chair and leaned against the desk. Tilting her head up at him, the teen tilted his head to the side and hummed. "Open your eyes."
The doctor opened her green eyes.
"Blink occasionally."
Obediently, Dr. Spectra's eyes blinked at him. There was a few seconds of nothing before she blinked again.
"Smile a little."
The woman's lips twitched upwards, making her look tired but pleasant.
Danny nodded at his work, stating, "Keep that look on your face. It's time to leave. Get up and follow out your orders."
The woman stood and began trudging around the room, gathering her things as she had been told. Danny watched her, frowning at the way she dragged her feet unnaturally. Dr. Spectra looked like a smiling zombie as she turned towards the door. The teen shook his head at the unusual sight before snapping at her, "Walk naturally."
Dr. Spectra's movements evened out and she opened the door. The woman exited her office with Danny following behind. The red-head sauntered to the elevator while the teen ducked his head again; staring at the floor while he shuffled along beside her, pretending to be the anxious teenager he was supposed to be.
The two rode in silence to the main level, where they split up. Danny gave a tiny wave to the security guard as he passed and exited the building. He kept his façade up as he walked the two blocks to the Dollar Tree, where the doctor was just stopping to wait. As he passed her, Danny gestured for the woman to follow and whispered, "Come on."
The doctor joined his side and the two casually walked down the sidewalk, avoiding the occasional bar-hoppers and others roaming the street this late at night.
Skulker was waiting for them at the end of the block, unhappily sulking in his seat when Danny opened one of the back-doors so Dr. Spectra could climb inside as she was told to. The woman climbed inside, buckling herself in obediently while Danny shut the door and opened his, hopping into his seat.
"Give me my lighter." Skulker demanded.
Danny pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to the older male, smirking at the adult cutely. Skulker glared at the younger before starting the car and asking, "Where we headed to now?"
"We're dropping her off at the docks, warehouse two. It's just down the road." Danny responded, leaning back in his seat and keeping his smirk in victory on his face. He glanced at the older male out of the corner of his eye and saw he was probably going to be snappish for the rest of the night.
When they reached the docks and after the teen put a mask on, Danny and Dr. Spectra were dropped off at the entrance and the two walked to the nearby warehouse. The two entered through the open, front door and Danny led the woman to the center of the large structure, making her sit down in the chair provided. Once he had done that, a twenty-something-year-old woman appeared from behind a stack of crates and cautiously walked over, holding a knife. "Are you Sandman?"
"Yeah. How do you want me to leave Spectra?" Danny asked, hands on his puppet's shoulders.
The woman walked over, revealing how much or a wreck she was. Her dark brown hair was in a messy ponytail, strands falling in her face and sticking high into the air. Her makeup was put on half-heartedly and was running down her face with hot, angry tears. Her shirt and jacket were too big for her, falling off her shoulders. Her jeans were ripped. One of her converses was untied. "I don't want her to move but I want her to be aware of what's going on."
Danny leaned down and looked over the doctor's shoulder. "Hear that, Spectra? I'm going to snap my fingers and you're going to wake up. However, you'll think it's all a dream where you can't control your body and can't move. You can't escape whatever's coming to you. Understood?"
The woman's head bobbed up and down.
The teen raised his hand and snapped his fingers in front of Dr. Spectra's face. Her body swayed back and forth unsteadily and her open eyes, which had been glazed over before, slowly came into focus on the scenery around her. She tried to say something but no words came out of her mouth.
Danny walked out from behind her, saying, "The trance only lasts a couple of hours when I'm not around. You can have your fun but don't make it last too long."
The unnamed woman nodded at him and the teen left the warehouse, walking back to the car casually.
The blue-eyed teen hadn't expected to accidently stumble upon a group of teenagers to stumble upon him, wearing ridiculous outfits and wielding all sorts of weapons and their fists. Danny knew who they were upon looking each over, since all of them had a way of making it into the news quite often. It was obvious the group was searching for something and stumbled upon Danny on accident. He wasn't too worried about them though: his powers and mask would take care of everything.
His mask wasn't anything special, of course. It was just a plain, simple thing colored grey.
In other, simpler words, it was forgettable.
The obvious leader of the group of teens, a teen with dark-skin and short, light colored hair, stepped forward with two, glowing blue blades in his hands. Aqualad's expression was suspicious of the character walking through the docks late at night with a mask covering his mask and was also neutral at the same time. "Who are you?"
"Apparently, not the person you're looking for. So, if you don't mind, I'm just gonna leave and go home. I have things to do tomorrow." Danny answered, trying to slip further into the darkness of his hood. He wanted the ability to disappear but he had a feeling that went to someone else under Plasmius' careful rule.
"Ha!" Batman's sidekick, Robin, laughed, smile wide and, through his mask, eyes shining in amusement. "You think you're going anywhere? You're more suspicious than Harlequin walking her hyenas around Gotham and that's saying something!"
Danny raised an eyebrow at the jab and tilted his head to the side. "Uh-huh sure... Just so you know, I will be leaving and I'm going to go home and get some well-deserved sleep. You all may try and stop me but I will make this fight is short and sweet."
"Oh yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?" Kid Flash questioned. His smile mirrored that of Robin's, mischievous and taunting.
Miss Martian suddenly looked pale. "Guys, we need to-"
"Sleep."
Everyone, unceremoniously, collapsed to the ground in a heap while their eyes rolled back in their heads. Danny stared at their slumbering forms for a moment, feeling a creep of envy curling in the pit of his stomach before he roughly pushed it aside. He walked a little closer to their prone forms and, noticing the green-skinned girl was already stirring, commanded, "Sleep. Sleep until someone else finds you. Until then, dream about fighting and saving people. After all, isn't that what you do best?"
Everyone stilled and dreamed.
Danny nodded to himself before stepping over their bodies and walking away without a second though and without looking back.
When Black Canary and Batman found them a little while later, they were not happy and the teens were all confused.
Danny stared out the window, bored, as he waited for Skulker to pull off the highway and stop at Plasmius' office. He was impatient for payment and sleep. The teen looked at the time every few minutes, watching as the time drifted into the one o'clock region and continued to tick away. Danny growled in irritation occasionally, making Skulker look at him weirdly.
When they finally got to the office building, Danny took little time to hop out of the car and stalk into the building. He weaved in and out of the hallways and didn't knock on the office door when he got to Plasmius' office. He just barged right on in, saying, "The mission's over. I want my pay now."
Plasmius shrugged in his seat, gesturing to something on the desk. Danny paced forward, swiping the clear pill bottle off the surface and shaking it in his hand. The sounds of two pills jingled inside loudly, making all of Danny's nervousness and irritable mood fade away as he carefully tucked the bottle inside his jacket pocket. "Thanks."
Danny watched Plasmius' head nod in his direction. "Until next time, Sandman."
The ebony-haired boy walked carefully back to the door and stalled for a moment when Plasmius said, "And next time…"
"Yes?"
"Knock."
The teen gulped at the sharp edge in the boss-man's voice and nodded his head. He opened the door and slid out, saying over his shoulder, "Sure."
Danny retraced his steps and breathed only when he was in the car again. Skulker needed no cue to pull away from the curb and begin heading in the direction of the teen's home. The two were silent again and Danny rested easily in his seat, fingering the bottle in his pocket with care as he felt the rigid edges of the cap. It was soothing to his restful spirit.
Halfway to the house, Skulker asked, "What does he pay you with?"
The teen looked to the strange-looking adult and hummed in question. The green-haired man glanced at Danny, taking his eyes off the road for a split second, before refocusing on his task again. "I asked what Plasmius pays you with. Ninety percent of the time he pays people with something other than money. What does he give you?"
Danny shifted nervously in his seat, tightening his hold around the bottle in his pocket. "It's… A certain type of drug."
"You're a junkie?"
"I'm not an addict!" Danny snapped back defensively. He squared his shoulders and frowned at the road in front of him. "Look… Five years ago, I got the ability to put people to sleep with a simple command. In a terrible twist of irony, I developed insomnia from it. My parents tried getting doctors to help us but there was nothing physically, emotionally, or mentally wrong. We tried all sorts of medication but nothing worked. For four years, I hardly ever got any restful sleep.
"Then, a year ago, Plasmius came along. He sent me an email, explaining he could help me with my problem if I help him out with his agency. He said he had some medication that would help me fall asleep. After testing it and awaking refreshed, I was on-board, as long as I got to sleep."
"Do they have any side-effects?"
"Yeah. I sleep worse than before the next few nights unless I take another pill."
Skulker glanced at Danny but said nothing more.
They came to Danny's house a few minutes later and the teen got out of the car wordlessly. He took his keys from his pocket when he walked up the front steps and unlocked the door. The boy turned the knob and silently opened it, slipping inside and locking it behind him. Danny put the keys back in their spot before tip-toeing to the stairs, climbing the steps, and edging his way to his door, past his sister's room. The teen finally made it to his door, opening it and ducking inside, shutting it behind him.
Danny immediately went to his bathroom and flipped the lights on, taking the pill bottle from his pocket. The teen popped the cap off, let the two white capsules fall into his hand, and stared at them wistfully. He remembered a time when he only had to take one to get a good night's rest before his body adjusted to it and began suppressing its effects. He wondered if he'd become immune to this amount in the future and they'd have to up the dosage again.
Looking into the mirror, Danny glared at the dark crescent moons under his eyes, turned on the sink, and bent down to take a sip from the running water. As some of the water entered his mouth, he could vaguely hear one of the characters from his favorite TV show saying, "I drank straight from the tap, like an animal!" and smiled.
Standing up, Danny popped the pills in his mouth, threw his head back, and swallowed painfully. Taking a deep breath, Danny let his head fall back to look in the mirror. After staring for a few moments, he smiled, turned the lights out, and walked through the darkness to his bed. He fell onto the mattress and crawled under the blankets, lying on his side and staring at the clock.
The teen felt his eyes droop as he watched the time tick by slowly. Within minutes, Danny's blue eyes closed and he fell into a dreamless, restful sleep that he craved every night but hardly ever got.
Smiling, Danny slipped up beside his two friends and cheerily said, "Hello~!"
The girl, a goth with short black hair and violet eyes, looked to her side and grinned at the beaming smile Danny was wearing. Sam put her hands on her hips, saying, "Well, someone's chipper this morning."
"I got a good night's rest. Sue me." Danny responded, leaning against the girl casually with his elbow on her shoulder.
The blue-eyed teen's other friend, a boy with dark skin, turquoise eyes, and wearing a beret hat, gave his friend a happy laugh as he looked up from his beloved PDA. Tucker shook his head before asking, "Did you hear what happened last night at the docks?"
"No. What?" Danny asked, feigning ignorance and perking to attention immediately at the prospect of something interesting to talk about, like any other teenager in the world.
"Remember the school counselor that lasted, like, a month way back in the beginning of the year? Her name was Dr. Spectra and she had really bright red hair that we all agreed was coloring." Sam asked, making Danny nod his head. No wonder he had recognized the woman.
"Yeah. I remember her. She was creepy."
"Oh yeah. She was terrifying." Tucker agreed, nodding his head. "Anyways, apparently she was kidnapped last night and held hostage for forty-five minutes before a bunch of the Justice League's sidekicks accidently stumbled upon Spectra and the lady holding her hostage while they tried to find some high-class villain or something like that. Apparently, Spectra was brutally tortured during that time and now seems to be experiencing some weird trauma, swearing everything that happened was just a dream, despite her injuries."
"That's terrible." Danny said, face morphing into an expression of disgust.
"Oh, you haven't even heard the best part." Sam continued sarcastically, shaking her head as she looked to Tucker. She silently gestured for him to continue the story.
Tucker complied. "The 'best' part is that Spectra is going to jail too. Apparently, she's a psychopath that gets off on people's emotional destruction. None of the patients she's ever seen have never gotten better and usually resort to…extreme measures to take care of their problems. The only reason she was still in business was because of all the fake reviews she got. The crazy nut that took the woman hostage was one of the victims of Spectra's abuse."
"Well… I guess Spectra got what she deserved." Danny commented, shrugging his shoulders and frowning uneasily. His two friends nodded before they turned to where the bus was coming.
No one noticed Danny sigh to himself before forcing a smile.
Batman glared unhappily at the teenagers while Black Canary looked them over neutrally, arms crossed over her chest and a frown playing on her lips. Both adults were deep in thought and didn't seem to be completely mad at the teens themselves, if they were anything more than irritated. No, they were angrier with the situation that had manifested.
"So... This teenager just told you to sleep and you did?" Black Canary asked for the umpteenth time. The teens failed to say anything about her repeated question and simply nodded again silently. After all, no one wanted to upset an already thoroughly aggravated Black Canary any further.
"Mental manipulation or mind control?" Batman asked, turning to the blonde fighter to his side. It was the first time he had spoken for a long time.
Black Canary hummed in contemplation before shaking her head. "They're unlikely. After all, they said there was no invasion in their minds before they were all put to sleep. The boy simply spoke and they heeded. Is that correct, Team?"
The Team nodded again, not sure what else to say. They had gone over the entire encounter thoroughly, even going into the dreams they had had afterwards. While the dreams could have easily been a manifestation of their own imaginations, they didn't feel right leaving it out when it could easily have been the doing of the teen they had stumbled across.
"Megan, did you get anything off the boy when you entered his mind?" Black Canary asked, all eyes turning to the Martian, who shook her head sadly.
"No. There wasn't enough time. All I saw was his plan to knock us out quickly. I'm sorry." Megan said, frowning. She looked up when Connor put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, though it was small.
Batman and Black Canary looked at each other, contemplating things. The room was enveloped in silence again while the two older heroes tried to think of something they could do. The teens stayed rooted to their spots, watching the two adults and waiting patiently for instructions. No one dared to say anything.
Finally, Batman turned to the group and said, "We're going to find him."
Danny paced the length of his dark room, nervously brushing his hands through his hair and wringing them out afterwards as he thought over his options. He was all dressed up in his Sandman attire with his mask hanging around his throat and under his shirt. Thoughts raced through his mind, whizzing to him and running away all at the same time.
The teen pressed himself against the wall and shut his racing mind down for a moment. After a few seconds of complete stillness, he allowed everything to turn on again and calmed his thinking speed down to something that was manageable. Danny took a deep breath and began going over his plan. He released his breath as he accepted it as something he had to do.
It had been three weeks since the last mission Plasmius had sent him on. Danny had long since gotten over it but now his thoughts were on why his 'boss' hadn't sent him on any more. It wasn't unusual to have a break period but one this long hadn't happened in a long, long time. The teen had gotten used to having a good night's sleep a few times a month. He'd only had one this month and he was dying to have another.
The boy's thoughts wandered back to his chat with Skulker and he smiled hollowly, remembering how he had snapped at the older when he had told him what Plasmius paid Danny with.
"I'm not an addict!"
Danny was only now realizing how much of a lie that had been as he paced the room and pleaded with himself to just go to sleep.
The teen snapped to attention as he heard his parents walking up the steps to go to bed. Danny tiptoed over and pressed his ear to the door, waiting for them to pass, slip into their room silently, and close their door. Once the tell-tale click sounded, the teen opened his door and peeked out. Seeing the door closed, Danny slipped out and whisked himself down the hall. He hadn't waited for his parents to crawl into bed, he hadn't shut his door, and he didn't bother to watch his step as he rushed down the hall, down the steps, and out the front door.
Unlike all the other nights he had snuck out, there was no car outside waiting for the boy. There was no mission, even though he felt like he was on one anyways.
Zipping up his jacket, Danny began jogging down the street that would lead out of the neighborhood. When he came to the main drag, he turned down the direction that would lead him to the all-too-familiar sketchy neighborhood and broke out into a sprint. He panted and his muscles ached as he rushed along but a sense of urgency had overtaken him. The cars that passed him held tired drivers that would only realize how strange it was to see a teenager out running in the dead of night later on.
Danny wasn't sure how long he ran, stopping every once in awhile but never staying still for long. It probably took longer than he realized but Danny didn't care because he, eventually, did make it to the building. He wasted no time rushing inside, weaving through the halls, and coming to the door in the back of the building. The teen almost barged in before the words "And next time... Knock." surfaced.
Then he realized how far he had come for something so stupid.
The teen almost bashed his head into the wall. Danny hadn't thought he'd ever be so desperate and, staring at his shaky, sweating hands, he was beginning to understand how deeply he had sunk under Plasmius' control. He'd done a lot of things he shouldn't have and had become dependant on a drug, which only Plasmius could supply, which made him dependant on Plasmius. That made sure he did every horrible thing Plasmius to fuel his equally as horrible addiction.
"What have I done?" Danny asked himself quietly as he rubbed his face. Sighing, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. He waited patiently for permission to enter but he was never called in.
Cautiously, Danny opened the door and peeked in. His eyes widened when he realized no one was inside. After looking in all directions, Danny slipped in and walked over to the desk. He looked through the drawers, looking for the object of his muse. Danny didn't actually think he'd find the drug but it was worth a shot anyways, right?
Much to his surprise, he did find a small pill bottle in one of the drawers and heard someone click-click-click inside it. He popped the cap off and, with widened eyes, saw that there was a single pill in the bottom of the container. He spilled the capsule into his hand, popped the cap back on the bottle before dropping it into the drawer and shutting it. Getting up, Danny released the pill into his pocket and scurried to the door, slipping out of it quickly.
His feet were light as he left the building and began sprinting down the sidewalk. Danny panted as he tried putting some distance between the HQ and himself. He was scared to think of what would happen if Plasmius caught him now, stealing from him and running. The ebony-haired teen knew he would immediately start lying to the older man too, which just added to his list of offenses.
Danny stopped running a few blocks from the deserted building and stumbled into an alleyway. He was already out of breath but he wasn't too surprised. He'd run who-knows-how-long and who-knows-how-far only a little while before, barely stopping during his trek to take a rest. It was amazing he hadn't collapsed yet.
Pushing his back against the brick wall behind him, Danny slowly slid down the surface until he landed on the ground. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the pill, holding it reverently in his hands as he stared at it with contemplative blue eyes. A sigh escaped his lips as he rested his head against the wall behind him, finding a small slit in the rooftops above him, allowing him to catch glimpses of the night sky above him. The teen's palm closed around the capsule protectively.
Danny stared at the stars, counting them as he wondered what to do with the single pill in his hands. The dosage had long since become null to his body. There had to be another tablet to go with the first one for any instant effects to take place. Right now, that's all he wanted: for the world to fade away to instant black and leave him be for the time being.
As the blue-eyed boy lost count of the stars and started over again, he pondered just when he had become addicted and wished to restart. He'd never meant to take it this far.
When he lost count again, Danny sighed and closed his heavy eyelids over his crystalline orbs. His hand stayed clutched around the pellet in his hand as he drifted off to sleep, sitting in the dirty alley with his head lifted to the sky above him. His muscles relaxed and his breaths evened out and deepened. He became oblivious to the world.
The teen stayed like that for an hour or two before the dark horizon became edged with a low light, making the deep black become a midnight blue. The stars began fading from sight as the sun began breaching the horizon, getting a little closer with every minute that passed. The midnight blue painting the sky became a little lighter with each second.
Danny awoke as the sky turned into a deep violet specked with the few stars strong enough to continue shining. His eyes scanned his surroundings curiously as he took a deep breath, fist tightening around the capsule in his hand unconsciously. A deep ache had settled in the muscles in his legs. The teen picked himself off the ground, rubbing his face and trying to regain a sense of time. His location escaped him for a moment before everything came back to him in a flood. Eyes widening at his newfound time and place, Danny mumbled, "Aw shit…"
"It only gets worse from here."
The boy's head whipped up and he could feel all the color drain from his face when his eyes landed on the Boy Wonder crouching in front of his mentor on a fire-escape. Robin was wearing a humorous smirk while Batman's expression was set into a permanent scowl, as usual. They were just casually hanging out and Danny had to wonder how they had been there.
Just to make matters worse, Danny knew he was wearing the same outfit he wore the night he had run into Robin and the other teens. The teen's grey mask was peeking out of his collar as well, scratching at the skin that lay under his shirt. His fist was still clenched around the tablet and his eyes still felt heavy.
Danny could already tell it was going to be a really bad day for him.
"Sleep." The teen said, waiting for the two heroes to drop like logs so he could buy himself some time and hatch together a quick plan to get away. However, much to his shock, Robin only smirked wider in amusement while Batman's scowl only deepened. Danny desperately wondered how they were suddenly immune to his suggestive powers.
Robin reached up to his ear and tapped something inside. "Ear plugs~."
It was then Danny realized that, both times the Boy Wonder had spoken, he had talked at a volume louder than he needed to in an attempt to hear what he was saying. And considering all the skills the duo already possessed, it wasn't a too far-fetched idea that they could both read lips. It was the perfect combination to block Danny's suggestive powers and still be able to keep up with a conversation.
"Ah crap…" Danny mumbled to himself, backing away a few steps. He noticed the way Robin looked over his shoulder, gazing at his mentor with an amused smirk settled on his face. The ebony-haired took this small opportunity to turn tail and run, ignoring how his muscles protested bitterly against such an action. He weaved his way in and out of the back-alleys, easily getting lost in the labyrinth-like passageways.
The boy didn't make it very far before he was tripped by a yellow and red blur. Danny's hand released the tablet, which bounced a few feet away but the teen didn't make a grab for it. Instead, he lifted his head and shot a glare at Kid Flash as he grinned and the Dynamic Duo landed a dozen yards away, not at all impressed with Danny's show. Robin even laughed.
Knowing he was caught and there was no way he could escape, the blue-eyed teen stayed on the ground but sat up, sitting on his legs as he brought them under him. It wasn't very long before the rest of the group Danny had put to sleep weeks before surrounded him, along with a blonde dressed in black clothing, who Danny knew was named Black Canary from the news.
Danny watched as they surrounded him on all sides, passing looks back and forth while he waited for them to start questioning him. However, they never said anything, which confused Danny to no end. He looked back and forth between the heroes in front of him as they continued to exchange looks. When nothing continued to happen, his blue eyes drifted down and began staring at the white capsule lying in-between Robin's and Batman's feet.
The captured teen blinked curiously as Batman suddenly crouched and blanched when the Dark Knight picked up the tiny capsule, giving him a questioning look. Danny smiled nervously and chuckled through his clenched teeth, feeling his break out in sweat nervously. Batman's frown only deepened and he gestured to one of the girls standing behind Danny. The teen jumped when he felt a slight prod inside his brain and Batman's baritone suddenly asked, inside his head, "What's your name?"
Danny could only blink for a moment up at the black-clad hero, ignoring the embarrassed way his cheeks heated up when he could hear the other teens giggle hysterically to themselves, more than amused at seeing their newfound enemy so confused and shocked.
The black-haired teen tried to tell himself he shouldn't be embarrassed. After all, he'd never actually come across another person with meta-powers, to his knowledge. He'd assumed Skulker and Plasmius had them but their abilities, if they had any, were unknown to him. This was, honest to God, the first time he'd ever had other's attack him with their own abilities and gifts.
Impatiently, Batman sharply asked again, "What's your name?"
The teen's blank and shocked face melted into a glare but, of course, it couldn't level the look the Dark Knight was giving him. Danny ignored how foolish he must've looked and snapped back, "Why should I tell you?"
Robin gave Danny an appraising look for standing up to Batman in such a way, despite the older teen's obvious lack of knowledge on how to deal with such a confrontation. Kid Flash, Superboy, and Artemis cringed in sympathy, knowing full well that questioning the Dark Knight was never a good way to act in an interrogation with him.
Batman's glare stayed on Danny, though it seemed to have become darker in a few quick seconds. "You can either tell me yourself or I'll have Miss Martian rift through your head and tell us everything we need for you. Your choice."
Danny sighed and kept his own glare locked with the Dark Knight's, a sulking tinge added to his expression as he reviewed his options. He played with the ends of his jacket before mentally sighing. "My name's Danny."
"Last name?"
"Fenton."
"Are you the one that Penelope Spectra's captor referred to as 'Sandman?'"
"Yup."
"Do you work for anyone?"
"No."
Before the interrogation could continue, a feminine voice Danny recognized as the green-skilled from all those weeks ago spoke up, saying "He's lying."
Batman, once again, leveled another glare at the teen that continued to kneel before him. Danny's face had morphed into an unhappy scowl at being caught. The silent question of whether Danny wanted to have his mind invaded or not was clear across the Dark Knight's face. It earned an irritated sigh from Danny, who corrected, "Yes."
"Who do you work for?"
"Some guy named Plasmius. The only other guy I know that works for him is Skulker. Couldn't tell you much about them though."
Batman's eyes drifted from Danny's annoyed face to Miss Martian's, who stood a distance behind the ebony-haired boy. The red-head nodded at him, telling him silently that Danny was indeed telling the truth about not knowing anything else about the two men. It seemed they had kept everything about themselves a secret as an insurance policy if something like this ever happened.
"Why do you work for Plasmius?"
Danny stayed silent for that one. His blue eyes dropped to the floor and his hands, which had been rather still for the last few moments, began to play with his the end of his jacket again. The teen studied the concrete before being asked the question again. Sighing for umpteenth and realizing just how much his life had spun out of control, Danny lifted his head and looked at the tablet in Batman's hand, which was noticed by the hero, before his eyes continued traveling back up to the Dark Knight's eyes. "I have a problem that I don't quite know how to deal with anymore…"
I think ya'll seriously doubt how bored I get sometimes.
Alright, the first scenario is done! Don't worry; there will be lighter chapters. The plot I had going for this was just way too dark for humor (and the plot will probably be revisited sometime). Anyways, the chapter titles will tell whatever superpower Danny will have and, I have to say, this chapter title is inaccurate. Sleep inducement does put people to sleep but does not allow the inducer to control their enemy's deeds. Actually, almost all of the sleep powers I've read up on take place on a mental level, not physical like Danny's (which explains why he can't put them to sleep during their telepathic conversation). If you know what this would be called, please do tell.
On another note, if you read Medium, the set-up is going to be a lot like that. This will be marked as 'complete' but I will update to this spastically. Really, this is just random ideas I get and write while I work on other plots off to the side. Right now, it'll probably end up being my main muse for awhile.
And I haven't been completely inactive. I have a buddy named Fear the Fuzzy Bear and she does three word prompts and posts them to her story, Three Words. Authors such as awesomeninja09 and ShinyMudkipGirl also help her out. You guys should read it. It's a fun read. ^^
See you guys next chapter! And thanks to the 88% of people who voted yes (all 16 of you guys)! The 12% (which was, like, 2 people) who voted no aren't here so oh well for them... XD
EDIT: HerdingDog1 helped me think of a new name. Thank you to him!