Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's strange, really. I've spent all my life trying to break away from the shadows of the people who came before me. I've tried so hard to become my own person, not to let what they said or did define me and my future.

But now, those very shadows I've tried to escape have become my friends.

… … …

Harbor Warehouse 4A, Gotham City

Tuesday, August 26

10:11 P.M. EDT

"Artemis! To your left!" My modulated shout echoed from beneath my mask.

It's been six months since I've entered the field.

"Got it!" Three arrows zipped through the air, hitting their targets straight on.

A year since I've ended up with these strange powers.

"I'll take the right flank!" I jumped down from the rafters.

And twenty-four hours since my downstairs neighbor disappeared.

"Watch out!"

The masked men wasted no time shooting at me.

As I dodged the flurry of bullets, drawing their aim away from the very people we came to save, I focused on shaping the shadows. Using my powers to direct them like a brush guiding paint onto a canvas.

Soon, they called back out to me, agreeing to follow my vision.

I blinked, and the shadows gathered into my hands, creating the shape of tessen fans.

Grinning beneath my mask, I charged ahead, using the tessen to deflect the bullets.

A few steps closer and the men tried to fall back, hiding behind boxes that littered the small warehouse.

I kept pushing forward, deflecting and dodging with every step.

Soon, there wasn't anywhere left for the gunman to fall back.

In a matter of minutes, 5 gunmen dropped to their knees, disarmed by the moves Artemis ingrained into my muscle memory.

"Ghost, gunman to your left!"

I spun on my heel and dodged another bullet.

Only to quickly realize that the bullet was headed straight for the trapped children 30 feet behind me.

My eyes widened, and my breath hitched.

The shadows immediately shifted into tendrils, and I threw myself towards the bullet, just barely using the tip of a shadow to force the bullet to ricochet to the side.

Thump! The bullet bounced off the metal wall and embedded itself in a concrete pillar.

My entire body relaxed in relief, only to tense up once more.

It was like someone blew cold air on my right arm, numbness overtaking a section of it for a brief second.

"Oh."

My brain soon registered that a bullet grazed my arm.

The pain.

I gasped.

"Ghost, focus here."

Right.

I don't get the luxury of being surprised, not when other people are depending on me.

"I'm focused Artemis."

The shadows called out to me, each showing its own vision. Some would call this a sensory overload, seeing everything in the warehouse at once…

But this was where my brain truly thrived.

I shifted tactics, and the shadows followed my lead. Shadowy tendrils shot out, squeezing the throats of the remaining gunmen on the right side of the building. I could hear the men on the other side dropping like flies, Artemis's arrows connecting with every target.

Soon, the men slumped in my shadow's grasp, and their arms fell by their sides. I quickly loosened the shadows, and they hit the ground with resounding thumps.

A shooting pain surged through my head; a foreboding chill ran up my spine.

"Ghost!"

I turned to face the far side of the warehouse, my eyes making contact with the person I came here for, my downstairs neighbor who disappeared last night.

"Hey Jay—"

Oh.

I looked down.

That's a knife.

In my thigh.

A shadow whipped around, knocking down the thug who stabbed me.

The shadows moved and pulled the knife out of my thigh, throwing it right into the man's hand, severing his finger.

His eyes rolled back once he registered the knife embedded in the concrete floor.

I froze.

I never told the shadows to do that.

"We really need to get you help." Artemis ran up to me, her eyes widening at the blood dripping from my leg.

The trail of blood and the barely lit warehouse covered up what the shadows had done.

"I'm fine." I pulled away from her, my hands barely shaking as I hid most of my body beneath my cape. "We should free the kids before these idiots wake up."

"Right." Artemis sighed before turning her worried gaze away from me. "I'll get the kids stuck on the bottom."

We both turned our sights to the cages behind us. They honestly looked more fit to be used for animals, but instead, they were filled with children. Some of whom I recognized from roaming the streets of Park Row.

Others clearly had clothes more reminiscent of what someone would wear to the opening of an art gallery, or those fancy galas you only see on TV—not exactly befitting of a dirty warehouse.

I quickly glanced back at the kidnappers, who were all passed out.

Just in case.

I directed a shadow to pull down one of the rusty chains hanging from the rafters. More shadowy tendrils began to move around, dragging all the bodies to one pile. Then the shadows all came to a halt as I tied the chain around the bodies as tight as I could.

That's as much as I could do.

The shadows moved once more and wrapped around my waist, bringing me up to the top row of the cages. It was a miracle that the tower of cages didn't fall down. The metal frames of the lower cages looked so flimsy. Yet, somehow, they held everyone's weight.

"Ghost! Are you okay?" Jason asked from inside one of the cages, his small fingers trying to poke out of the wiry metal slits.

I could hear the sounds of children crying in the adjacent cages; others were hyperventilating. The shadows even showed me a few children who looked almost catatonic.

"I'm fine. Did they hurt you?" I used another shadow to look into the lock, prodding at the mechanism inside.

"Not really, unless you count the guy who hit me with a pipe and knocked me out. But that was before we got here."

Click!

"I think that counts." I pulled him out of the cage.

Jason looked seemingly fine, save for a bruise on the left side of his forehead. My fingers gently brushed against the bruise. He hissed as he swatted my hand away.

"We gotta help the others. Some of them have been here for like a week."

I nodded as the shadows also wrapped around Jason. He motioned for us to move down the row, and the shadows obliged.

"Hey, careful!"

One of the kids from the bottom bolted out of the cage. Artemis ran after the kid, only for the small kid to stumble.

I winced as he face-planted into the concrete.

It looks like I'll have to open the cages up one by one; a fall from this height wouldn't exactly be fun.

"Open this one first. She's been here the longest." Jason pulled me forward towards one of the cages.

As we both leaned forward, I could see Jason's nose scrunching up a bit despite his best efforts.

One of the wonderful side effects of wearing a full-face mask is the filters. Which came in handy as I witnessed the state this cage was kept in.

The girl was treated no better than a dog.

Her blonde hair was matted to her skin, and the cage was lined with damp newspaper.

"Steph, see? I told you someone would help us." Jason smiled and reassured the girl as I worked on the lock with my shadows.

Instead of Jason being as traumatized as the other kids, he was with me every step of the way as I freed the kids one by one. He reassured the kids in a way I couldn't.

He was surprisingly emotionally intelligent for a nine-year-old.

However, that didn't stop a few kids from running away as soon as they made it to the ground safely, Steph being one of them despite Jason's best efforts.

"Okay, that's the last one." I could feel sweat drip down my forehead as the shadows lowered Jason and me to the ground.

Using my powers all night to look for Jason had been no easy feat, and I could feel the toll it took on my body.

"Alright," Artemis stood up from where she was crouched down, speaking to some of the kids. "We should—"

Artemis' words faded in and out. For a moment, a shooting pain overtook my head again, and a similar chill from earlier ran down my spine. My vision involuntarily shifted to outside the warehouse.

"Cops, they're coming this way." I staggered a bit as my vision shifted back to the warehouse once more.

"Alright," Artemis shifted her attention away from me and to the kids. "Anyone who wants to go with the cops, stay here. The rest can come with us and we'll take you home."

One quick glance and it was clear that most of the kids from wealthy neighborhoods stayed. Which meant they probably would be more trusting of authority, and in turn trust the cops more than two random vigilantes.

A moment of silence was enough of a confirmation of that assumption.

I held up a hand and for a brief moment, I imagined all the shadows receding, hiding themselves behind me. A chill ran throughout my body. Although it was soon replaced with the feeling of electricity floating through my veins. My entire body felt lighter than before.

I opened my eyes.

I'm not sure when they’d closed. Now, instead of the open air, a blue portal opened before me.

I glanced to the side and watched all the children jump back, frightened.

"Let's go."

Artemis pulled me and Jason forward as the sound of sirens filled the warehouse and flashing red and blue lights filtered through the once-dark windows.

In an instant, we were on one of the rooftops nearby. All three of us ran over to the ledge.

I watched as cops ran out of their cars, bursting into the warehouse, guns drawn.

"You think they'll actually do anythin'?" Jason glared down as he leaned over the ledge.

"Probably not." My hand hovered over his shoulder, ready to pull him back.

I knew all too well how one word from the right person could dictate where this investigation would go.

"And that's exactly why I brought this." Artemis smirked as she pulled out a strange vial from her pocket.

"Ooh what's that?" Jason reached out to touch it.

I snatched it out of Artemis's hand and away from Jason.

"Don't touch it with bare hands. We don't know what's inside or where its been." I held the vial gently by the rim, my gloves squeaking against the glass as the tar-like liquid sloshed around inside it.

"I found a whole bunch of them in the crates, and the other stuff was full of medical equipment."

Well, this just got more interesting and a lot darker than your average kidnapping.

"So, they probably wanted organs?" Jason offhandedly commented as he turned to look at the police storming out of the warehouse, bringing out the remaining children.

"How did you even—?" Artemis was startled by Jason's bluntness.

"Possibly, but I doubt it. You'd want to keep the organs free of any damage or possible infections, so they wouldn't have left the kids in such filthy conditions for so long and they probably wouldn't have taken some of the crime alley kids since there's no guarantee— What?"

Artemis was staring, pointing between me and Jason.

"You're just casually discussing organ trafficking with a nine-year-old?" Artemis whisper-yelled as she pulled me away by my hood.

"I'm right here." Jason grumbled.

"Am I not supposed to?"

"Yeah, you're not!"

"But I'm the one who got kidnapped!" Jason interrupted.

"See? If I got hit with a pipe and dragged off to some random warehouse I would like to know why."

Artemis sighed. "Never mind then. I'll try to find someone who can analyze the liquid."

With an assassin for a sister and a villain for a father, I have no doubt Artemis could probably find someone.

Though as I looked back down at the vial, something about the liquid felt oddly familiar.

"No, please— stop! I'll do whatever you want!" I can't breathe!

Everything faded to black.

It's probably nothing.

BOOM!!!

Before I could say anything else, a thundering boom echoed through the air. All three of us turned right to see a cloud of smoke emanating from a few blocks away.

I quickly turned back to see the cops were still busy with the warehouse, not even bothering to drive the kids or thugs back to the station just yet.

"That's Gotham Academy." I raised a hand, and another portal flashed before us. "We should probably go check out what happened."

"No, I'll go. Your leg." Artemis pointed to where most of the dry blood caked my clothes.

"Oh." I looked down, the wound had already clotted up. "I'm fine."

"Okay, then where would Jason go?"

I narrowed my eyes as Artemis switched tactics.

"I'll make another portal."

"Wait, let me go too." Jason tugged on my cape.

"No way in hell. I'm not trying to get on Catherine's bad side."

Despite the lady's questionable life choices— she was still Jason's mother, and a terror when it came to anyone endangering her kid.

"I'm not leaving you behind." Jason stubbornly huffed.

I could see he was side-eyeing the gaping wound on my thigh.

"You both go home. I'll deal with whatever happened there. I'll call if I need back up."

Before I could protest, Artemis ran through the portal.

It shut with a snap! I grumbled as I tried to open the portal again, only to feel the entire room spin.

"Fine." It seemed like my powers were reaching their limit for now.

I should probably get my arm and thigh stitched up anyway. Or at least disinfected.

"We're not going to follow her?"

"No," I sighed as I pocketed the strange vial.

… … …

5th Floor - Westside Apartment Complex, Gotham City

Tuesday, August 26

11:45 P.M. EDT

"That hurts!"

My knuckles turned white as they gripped the ledge of the bathtub I was sitting on.

"If you can take a stab, then you can deal with getting the stab wound cleaned." Catherine continued disinfecting the wound.

"It's not like I intentionally got— ack! OW!"

"I barely touched it."

This is not my finest moment.

And of course, Jason was giggling as he stood in the doorway to the bathroom, holding a fresh roll of bandages and gauze.

"Here's the stuff Ma."

His footsteps echoed against the tiled floor as he entered the bathroom.

"Thanks baby," Catherine ruffled Jason's hair. "Though I might have to give that title to someone over here who can't—"

"I'm fine." I grumbled as I glared at her.

"Sure you are." Catherine smiled at me like I was a little kid saying something completely ridiculous.

I held back a string of curses as Catherine finished bandaging up my thigh. As far as she knows, I'm just a dumb teen who managed to somehow be at the right place at the right time and rescue her son.

I'm pretty sure if she knew what actually happened she wouldn't be so cheery right now.

"There! Good as new." Catherine remarked as I pulled down my pant leg.

She then helped me up, and Jason began throwing away all the leftover scraps when—

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!

Someone pounded on the front door.

"CATHERINE! Open up the damn door! I can't find the keys!" His voice came out slurred.

We all froze.

All the color seemed to drain from Jason's face, and Catherine looked at me nervously.

"You should probably leave. I don't think he'll be in the mood for any guests."

Right, the very reason why Jason ran out and managed to get kidnapped in the first place. The very reason why I come home some nights to find Jason had snuck into my apartment and was eating my chips like it was his first meal in days.

The man who was a pathetic excuse of a father.

"I'll go."

I grabbed my hoodie off the bathroom counter and dashed out of the bathroom and towards Jason's bedroom.

I quickly made my way to the bedroom window and slid it open, my sneakers clanging as they hit the fire escape.

As I turned back to shut the window, I paused.

A part of me wanted to go back in and drag Catherine and Jason with me. But, like mother, like son— the two were stubborn, and no matter how many times I've tried to convince them, they won't listen.

"I'm fine honey. You don't need to solve adult problems. I'll take care of things." Catherine looked at me with tired eyes.

Jason looked determined. "If Ma is staying then I am too!"

I sighed as I shut the window.

I trudged up one floor of the fire escape, taking note of the rust that coated the metal stairs. My eyes were eventually drawn above to the crescent moon above. I stopped at the edge of the fire escape, my hands resting on the railing as I looked to the city beyond me.

It was oddly peaceful and a beautiful sight.

Maybe if I were a photographer, or just a little bit crazier, I'd take pictures from Gotham's rooftops. Maybe I'd even get a picture of Batman looking over the sparkling night sky. It would make a beautifully haunting piece of art…

But unfortunately for everyone, I still have some preservation instincts. Also, I would prefer not to spend my time stalking a vigilante who could probably take me out with a single batarang. And also I just so happen to be a painter, not a photographer.

On second thought, maybe the preservation instincts weren't really all there.

I turned back to my window and opened it.

My thoughts reeled back in, focusing on the case at hand.

I climbed in and looked at the blood-stained suit lying on the carpet. I shook my head and quickly began throwing off my civilian clothes.

The dark green fabric of my suit clung to me, and I could feel the dry blood everywhere. I paused as my phone beeped from its place on the nightstand. An unknown number displayed on the phone screen.

I didn't bother with it. Turning around, I stretched out my hand; I had a job to do and a warehouse to investigate.

A portal opened once more, though it sparked a bit, wobbling unstably.

I pushed back through the aching that came with using my powers so much. I trudged through the portal, landing a block away from the warehouse.

My eyes adjusted to the scene once again.

Everything was eerily quiet as I made my way back.

I peered just around the corner of a nearby building, making sure the coast was actually clear.

It seemed the cops left just as quickly as they came.

I wondered if they'd called Batman or even the commissioner. Some of the kids locked up were pretty wealthy.

I slid the warehouse door open.

This seems like the type of thing Batman would investigate. He's always quick to stop Scarecrow or Penguin whenever they decide to hold a gala hostage.

I cringed at the state the warehouse was left in.

"Whatever happened to crime scene integrity?"

I could feel the room spin a bit as I switched between powers. Though it was a necessary risk.

With crates left open and equipment scattered all over the floor, it would be easy to add another pair of fingerprints to the mess. But it probably wouldn't be a good idea to leave any evidence behind.

Thankfully, there was so much blood smeared everywhere that it should be difficult to find any blood that had dripped from my thigh. Not that the GCPD would take the time to test the blood when the culprits were obviously apprehended.

I carefully stepped through the destroyed crime scene, making sure my boots didn't touch anything as I made my way to the center of the room.

"Alright, let's see what we can find."

I close my eyes, lifting my hands and focusing on every shadow in the room.

The shadows wanted to focus on different parts of the room, directing me every which way. But, eventually, I guided them to the crates.

One look inside and I could see tons of vials, all of them filled with the same strange black substance Artemis gave me. In the other crates, medical equipment, just like Artemis said.

But that's the interesting part.

"Those men, they were career criminals."

The equipment is far more elaborate than what you would normally see on the streets. And a quick sweep over the warehouse failed to reveal any hidden cans of Scarecrow's fear toxin or Joker's deadly laughing gas.

As my hand moved left, guiding the shadows alongside it, I kept searching through the crates. There has to be something else… Something to know who's actually in charge. After crate after crate, eventually, a pattern became clear. Some of the equipment seemed to have a strange logo imprinted into the metal. Though it's not anything I recognize.

The shadows eventually start searching beyond the crates and scouring the corners of the warehouse, eventually landing on one of the cages.

Inside is a broken phone.

I grinned as the shadows deposited the phone into the plastic bag I held out. As I stuffed it into my pocket, I felt my burner phone buzz in the other pocket.

I slid it out. Click!

"Artemis is everything—?"

"Ghost, I could use your help now!"

I just now realized my body was drenched in sweat, and dizziness hit me as my vision switched back from the shadows. A deep ache settled in my bones.

"Ghost?"

"I could portal once, maybe twice but I still need to get home."

"Perfect. We're in Gotham Academy's gym."

"I've never been inside there." I sighed. "It'll take me a minute to find you."

"Okay, but be careful. No one can see you, don't use your powers either until you find me."

"Got it."

Another power switch and stumbling through a wobbly portal later, I found myself outside Gotham Academy.

I pulled on each of the front doors till I found the one Artemis unlocked.

I stepped inside, trying my best to quiet my footsteps without the use of my shadows.

Now the fun part. One more power switch and my body will probably collapse, so I have the joy of running through the halls blind, searching for wherever the gym is.

Although it didn't take long to figure out the way, as a robotic voice and sounds of fighting echoed through the deserted hallways, leading me straight to Artemis.

I stopped right outside, peering through the gym door's windows to see three teens fighting a hulking metal figure in the middle of the gym. On the bleachers were some monkey robots and a crazy-looking man watching the scene with glee.

Artemis was nowhere to be found.

I pulled out my phone.

Click.

"I can't find a way to get into the room without someone seeing me," I whispered.

"Fine," Artemis whispered back. "I need a portal to cut the robot in half."

"Okay, but I wouldn't be surprised if something like that has the ability to put itself back together. A clean break might not be enough and I'm this close to—!"

It happened so fast.

One minute the fight was going well, the next, the kid with the yellow suit went flying through the gym doors and slammed into me.

"Ghost?!"

Artemis' voice cut out as the phone smashed against the floor. My entire body collided with a row of metal lockers.

"Owww," I groaned out as my body slid down to the floor.

"Who are you?!"

I look to my side to see the familiar-looking Flash symbol on the guy's chest.

"Definitely just a hallucination." My entire body ached from the unexpected body slam. "Anyways who are you?" I push myself up from the floor and grab my now broken cell phone.

"If you were really my hallucination, you'd know I'm Kid Flash."

"Then your fairy god mother?"

Just as the words left my mouth, Kid Flash pushed me out of the way as another person went flying through the air, hitting the lockers behind where I once stood.

Now this person I recognize.

"I think out of the two of us, I'm the fairy godmother." Kid Flash grinned.

"Sure, and I'm the next Superman." Robin got right back up. "Let’s go KF, we got a fight to finish."

"Which I can probably help with." I stepped forward.

Robin did a double-take, but before he could say anything—

"Access Black Canary."

An ear-piercing shriek echoed throughout the gym and hallway, and more importantly, I heard a familiar voice yell in pain.

"Artemis!" I dashed out into the open gym, with the other two heroes right behind me.

There I see Artemis and another hero getting up from the now-cracked gym floor.

"Normally, Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, but what's the point? You’re all such poor copies of the originals." All attention is drawn to the red-haired man lounging on the gym bleachers. "And look, you even brought in another Batman copy who's just as unimpressive as the rest of you."

So, once I use my powers, that Amazo robot will probably start creating portals left and right. That's fun.

Amazo immediately charged after Kid Flash and Robin.

"Ghost, this is Aqualad." Artemis gestured to the final hero right before she picked up her bow and charged towards Amazo.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"Same here."

Aqualad and I chased after her.

The battlefield was chaotic, and Amazo was cycling through abilities left and right, countering each of our attacks.

I could feel myself losing steam quickly, and my thigh was starting to hurt. Badly.

"Could anyone give me more info on what the hell is this guy's problem?!" I narrowly missed an energy blast to the face.

"Well first off, he's not really a guy." Robin responded as the two of us threw shuriken at Amazo, only for them to phase right through.

"Thanks captain obvious."

"My pleasure, but besides that—he can copy abilities and is controlled by that guy, Ivo, on the bleachers."

Amazo kept cycling through abilities, most of which were for heroes I never even heard of.

Hmm… "When he copies abilities, does he also get weaknesses?"

The two of us ran out of the way as Aqualad and Kid Flash tried to land a blow on Amazo.

"Yeah, but—" Robin pulled me out of the way as a chunk of the gym bleachers was ripped up and thrown our way. "Unfortunately for us, he already figured out how to avoid using Superman's abilities."

So, that Kryptonite Lex Luthor is always screaming about on TV is a no-go.

"Okay, then…" I might not have a magical rock or know other heroes' weaknesses— but I know my own. "I have another idea."

"Artemis—" By now she had fallen back with me and Robin, her arrows drawn as she looked for an opening. "Any more of those flash-bang arrows?"

"Nope."

"I have an actual flash grenade— would that work?" Robin held one out towards me.

"Close enough. Just throw it when I say to."

I took a deep breath in, hoping against my earlier assessment that I would not pass out in front of a giant robot that could probably rip me in half.

I pushed my feet onto the floor, willing another shift in powers.

The entire room briefly faded to black.

Then everything came back to focus. I grinned as I charged forward.

"Hey! Amazo! I bet you've never seen this before!"

Two long shadowy tendrils shoot directly at him, and of course, Amazo dodges them. For a brief moment, I lose track of everyone else, solely focusing on directing every shadow I could at the robot.

Then it happened.

One shadow shot out towards me. Its razor-sharp edge just barely grazed my arm.

"Robin, now!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and moved all my shadows away from Amazo.

All of a sudden, I felt an arm wrapped around my waist and pulling me back as the flash grenade detonated.

Everyone's yells mixed together.

"Everyone down!"

"No! Amazo!"

Then all at once the cacophony stopped.

CLANG.

Amazo's knees hit the floor.

"Artemis, foam arrows!" Robin's voice rang out. "KF, Aqualad you’re up!"

I opened my eyes, coming face to face with the boy wonder himself.

"That's one way to make a flashy entrance."

"I guess." I looked just behind him to see the foam harden around the robot and Kid Flash's hand phase through Amazo's head, ripping out the wires.

Aqualad went after the scientist guy who tried to scramble away.

"You're not one for quips, are you?"

My attention was brought back to Robin.

"—I am. Just not after seeing my friend and a bunch of other heroes nearly get ripped in half by a killer robot."

"That would be a bit of a mood killer."

"You don't say," I scoffed.

"Well, you did call me captain obvious."

"An astute name on my part—" The rest of my response was cut off by KF yelling about the police showing up to take Ivo away.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." I slipped away, waving at Artemis to follow.

The two of us ran out of the school building before the cops could arrive.

"That was…"

"Interesting." I smiled as Artemis launched her grappling hook.

She held out a hand, and I grabbed on as she used the hook to pull us both up.

"More like nerve-wracking. Sorry I had to call you in."

We both landed on the rooftop and started making our way back home.

"It's fine. But, if you're really feeling sorry you could always buy me a jumbo-sized bucket of Chicken Whizzies."

Artemis scoffed, "In your dreams."

… … …

6th Floor - Westside Apartment Complex, Gotham City

Wednesday, August 27

08:30 A.M. EDT

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"AHHH!!!"

Amazo! I closed my eyes and threw my hands up, creating a barrier with my shadows.

"You ran out of dino nuggets."

I opened my eyes slightly.

Only to be greeted by the dreary beige color of my bedroom walls, and Jason standing in my doorway holding a bag of chips.

"Also, these chips taste bad."

"Those were supposed to last me till tomorrow!!! And you don't get to judge my chip choices! Wait— that's not the problem." I sighed, letting the shadows fall down.

One of the shadows reached for my civilian phone as it kept beeping from my nightstand. My burner phone would definitely need to be replaced after last night's battle. And— I looked at the phone screen.

"I'm late for school."

Too bad I couldn't send the replacement phone bill to Batman or Flash.

"I start school tomorrow." Jason shrugged as he walked down the hall, acting as though he lived in my apartment.

Which in all fairness, he might as well.

I briefly looked at the many notifications on the phone, briefly pausing at the voicemail left by the unknown number last night. I sighed; it could wait until my brain was actually functioning.

A part of me wanted to rush, but chances are all I'm missing right now is who decided to throw a chair at the math teacher. Again. Plus, it felt like every inch of my body was covered in bruises.

That's the not-so-fun part about fighting a robot and getting stabbed.

Despite the hot August weather, I got stuck with a sweater and a long skirt.

Beep! Beep!

This time, my phone went off not from an alarm, but from— I looked down where my phone had fallen to the ground— Artemis calling.

"I thought you were in class."

"Which you should be too."

I sighed as I trudged over to the bathroom. "Okay, but hear me out— maybe there's more important things in life than waiting outside for three hours for firefighters to show up because someone decided to blow up a computer or flood the bathrooms."

The grey metal faucet creaked as I turned it on. One look in the mirror and it was clear I looked like death warmed over.

"Fine, then don't ask about how the field-trip to Wayne Enterprises went."

Wait—

I spat out my toothpaste, "You mean the place owned by the guy who donated to the new space museum!"

"It's owned by Bruce Wayne."

"Yeah, that's the guy!" Now this might be something worth caring about. "I'll be there in five." CLICK.

I rushed out of the bathroom and into the living room, grabbing my backpack off the couch.

"Jason, I'm leaving!"

Thump!

I paused, looking back to see what fell on the floor.

A small book.

"This doesn't belong to me," I muttered.

I picked it up, eyes widening at the cover. It was a sci-fi novel I had been wanting to get for a while. A paper bookmark slipped out of the book and fluttered to the ground.

I smiled at the two simple words, scribbled in familiar child-like handwriting.

Thank you.

Chapter Text

"That's one way to make a flashy entrance."

Dick grinned at the new girl. Ghost managed to turn the tables using her own powers, putting a swift end to the battle.

He couldn't help but be intrigued by her bravery and recklessness.

… … …

Front Entrance - Wayne Tower, Gotham City

Wednesday, August 27

09:55 A.M. EDT

Dick's musings about last night were interrupted by the sudden lurch of the bus.

Everyone was murmuring about visiting Wayne Enterprises, maybe even getting a glimpse of Bruce Wayne himself.

For Dick, though, this was just another Wednesday.

He rolled his eyes as everyone scurried off the bus, their anticipation only being fueled by a desire to climb the social ladder, not really because anyone had any interest in learning about biomedical engineering or how a company actually operates.

Dick nonchalantly strolled through the lobby of Wayne Enterprises. As he passed by the security desk, one of the security guards, Allen, waved at him.

Dick's dress shoes clacked against the marble flooring. He looked around to see not only other students wearing the Gotham Academy uniform but also some kids wearing Brentwood's uniform. Mingled among them were a whole lot more casually dressed teens, who were probably kids from the various public schools in Gotham.

Dick continued following the rest of the kids from Gotham Academy, though he really couldn't care less about the field trip.

Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the fight with Amazo. Ghost's quick thinking gave the rest of the team the opening needed to swiftly take down Amazo, which, although not planned, Dick knew that—

"Watch where you're going!" A blonde girl scoffed as another girl went tumbling to the ground. "Ugh, I can't believe that we have to take the tour with these kinds of people."

The girl on the ground stood out in her space-themed sweater and long skirt, definitely not something most people would wear in August.

Instead of getting up, the girl sat on the floor, seemingly staring off into the distance.

"Need a hand?" Dick strode up to her and held out his hand.

In return, he was met with piercing grey eyes, staring at him suspiciously. After a few seconds, she tentatively grabbed his hand.

"Thanks."

Dick pulled her up, and he couldn't help but notice how everyone stared.

Whispers rang out throughout the tour group.

"Why does he always have to act like that?"

"He should have just left her alone."

"Now she's gonna be all over him. Ew, but then again I heard Bruce Wayne—"

Dick glared at the gossipers, who in turn picked up their pace and walked away.

Cowards.

"We should probably get back to the tour." The girl commented as she poignantly stared at Dick's hand, which was still interlocked with hers.

"Sorry." Dick sheepishly let go of her hand.

For a brief second, her cold grey eyes softened.

"It's fine."

The two of them caught up with the tour group, staying at the very end as everyone began walking through the lobby.

However, Dick's patience for everyone quickly deteriorated as the group made their way through the first floor. He had fully intended to slip out and use Bruce's office to access the Batcave's computer, but a part of him wanted to stay near this girl he ran into. Something about her long layers of clothing, despite the weather, and the dazed look after being shoved to the ground— it raised red flags.

The two of them walked side by side, silent as the tour guide ahead espoused various facts about working at Wayne Enterprises and the various amenities offered to employees no matter their department.

Dick noticed the way the girl favored one leg over the other, occasionally pressing her hand onto her thigh. He also made note of her bored expression, the way her eyes sometimes fluttered close, only for her to jerk her head back and her eyes to widen once more.

"Dammit Artemis, I woke up for this?" The girl muttered, "There's nothing related to space here."

"So, you really like space then?"

The girl's cheeks instantly turned rosy pink upon realizing Dick heard her.

"Maybe." The girl tentatively made eye contact with Dick.

"Any reason why?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because anything else is more interesting than this tour."

By now, the tour was moving onto the second floor, though at this point it was hard to hear the tour guide over the other students chattering.

As they entered the stairwell, the girl next to him sighed, but he could see the way her eyes sparkled as she explained.

"Fine, it's because… Every time I see the vastness of space, it's a reminder that there's more out there." Her sneakers thumped against the carpeted stairs. "There's many things that we haven't seen, y'know? It also feels strangely freeing. I can't explain it, but you'd know if you just look at it."

"I get it. It's like imagining being free to fly anywhere, right?"

"Exactly!" She grabbed his hands, her entire face lighting up in excitement as the group exited the stairwell. "Imagine being able to fly, to feel weightless for a moment."

Dick smiled. "It's probably the best feeling in the universe."

She quickly realized what she had done and pulled away from him, rubbing the back of her neck as she awkwardly looked away from him, her eyes looking at the not-so-interesting plants and paintings that decorated the halls.

"Sorry, I don't even know your name and I just—"

"Dick Grayson." Dick immediately replied.

Though regret soon coloured the back of his mind, as he watched her tense up again. He braced himself for the shift in demeanor, the coldness or manipulation to set in. To realize just who he was and who he was connected to.

Instead, she introduced herself and smiled.

"So, Dick Grayson, besides our shared love of space— got any interesting rich people hobbies?"

Did being a vigilante count as a rich people thing?

"Not really, but my uh," Dick leaned in whispering, "Foster dad just so happens to work here. So, I just so happen to have access to the R&D floor. Which is infinitely cooler than this."

By now, the tour had stopped at some of the lower offices.

"So, is that an offer?" She whispered back, her grey eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Maybe."

"If anything goes wrong though, I expect to be bailed out, rich kid."

"Of course, it's only fair I help my accomplice."

"Truly."

The two of them quickly darted off from the tour group. Despite Dick's rather notorious reputation and presence, not a single person seemed to notice his escape.

Dick made a beeline for the elevators, and his partner in crime was a little behind him. He noticed her still favoring one leg over the other, her wobble becoming more apparent.

He slowed down a bit, allowing her to keep up. The two stopped in front of the elevator as he conveniently pulled out of his school jacket a duplicate of Bruce's keycard.

"You were planning to get away from that tour from the beginning."

The elevator chimed green as he swiped the card.

"I've been here a thousand times, nothing good to see anyways."

"So, then why bother with the R&D floor?" The two of them entered the elevator.

The door automatically shut behind them instead of staying open for a few more seconds.

"You wanted to go somewhere else. Right?" She leaned against the wooden elevator railing as Dick hit the button for the R&D floor.

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch."

"Well unfortunately for you, detectives need more evidence than a hunch."

"TV says otherwise." She laughed.

Dick scoffed as he leaned against the elevator wall right next to her. "Next you're going to tell me Superman is going to take over the world just 'cause Lex keeps yelling it on TV."

"No. I, like any sane person, know to trust Vicki Vale when she says that Batman is secretly Bruce Wayne's sugar baby."

Dick wheezed out the most unholy laugh, practically folding in half as his companion finished her sentence.

"Get up, someone's going to think you're dying!" She was laughing just as hard as him. "I'll get arrested cause Disney didn't teach me how to bury a dead body."

"I—" Dick tried to compose himself, "Fine Princess." Though his voice still sounded breathless.

"Princess?"

The elevator door dinged, opening.

"Yeah," Dick grinned. "Since apparently everything on TV is real now."

She rolled her eyes.

"Then I expect my prince in shining armor to at least be taller than me." She raised an eyebrow before walking onto the R&D floor, leaving Dick stunned.

"We're the same height!"

Dick ran after her. The two of them walked through the R&D floor with Dick playing tour guide as they passed by the windows, peering into the various labs. Along the way, he briefly explained the different pieces of research, from technology to more medical-related inventions.

"You've been here a lot."

Dick was immediately reminded of her earlier hunch.

"Still doesn't make it any less cool to see again."

"Mhmm." She regarded him with skepticism. "Wait, what's that?"

The two of them stopped at the large metal door that led into Lucius's lab.

"Can we go in there?"

"Probably not." Dick knew Lucius was probably in the midst of working on new Batman stuff.

Plus, he'd really rather not get ratted out to Bruce for skipping class.

"We should go."

"Go where?" A voice rang out behind them.

Dick could feel a chill run down his spine as him and his accomplice slowly turned back.

"Hey Lucius! We were just going to catch up with the school tour group." Dick grabbed her hand and tried to walk away.

"You mean the tour that's ten floors below you?" Lucius didn't look impressed.

"Yeah," She placed herself between Dick and Lucius, "I was just really excited to see all the cool stuff I heard was up here. And I kinda begged Dick to take me up here. We were just leaving."

The two teens quickly left the scene, though Dick could clearly see Lucius' skepticism.

"Say hi to Bruce for me!"

Dick was definitely going to hear about this when he got home.

The two of them made it back to the elevator, and Dick sighed as he hit the button for the top floor.

"Dick, was that door to Lucius' lab?"

"Yes, why?" Dick looked at her curiously.

"Do you know what kind of research he was doing?"

"Not really." Lucius and Bruce mostly kept their conversations to themselves, with Dick normally being sent away whenever they talked.

Dick never really cared up until this moment.

"Why?" Dick looked at her, now noticing her eyes taking on an almost unearthly grey glow.

"Just, answer me one question— what are your thoughts on metas?"

There was a level of seriousness and solemnness to her demeanor that Dick had never seen before.

Dick had a feeling there was more weight behind this question than he probably knew.

"They're people just like everyone else?" Confusion coloured the ending tone of his sentence.

She let out a sigh of relief.

"You have two USBs in your pockets, and a separate keycard labeled executive offices only. That's how I knew you didn't initially plan to go to the R&D floor, or at the very least, it wasn't your only stop."

Dick froze. He doesn't remember taking out any of those things from his pockets.

"Also, Lucius' lab, it had some vials full of this—" She pulled out a vial with a strange black tar-like substance, handing it over to Dick.

Dick's momentary shock faded as he picked up the vial, sloshing it around as he examined it.

"How did you—?" He raised an eyebrow as he turned his gaze back to her.

"The vial isn't from the lab. A friend of mine found it last night, on the street." She lifted her hand. "But as for how I saw everything—"

Dick watched as the shadows around him came to life, with one shadow pulling the extra key card out of his jacket's pocket.

The shadow then deposited the keycard into her awaiting hand.

"—There's shadows everywhere."

The elevator door dinged once more, and all the shadows disappeared.

Dick's brain was going a mile a minute to piece together just who this girl was. Clearly, something from Lucius' lab would never be just on the street.

So, either someone leaked out information and equipment—highly doubtful since only Lucius, Bruce, and Dick had access to the lab—or this stuff was already out of the lab and Lucius was analyzing it for Bruce.

Which means it was probably Batman-related.

"So, you want answers?" Dick walked through the now-open elevator door.

"That would be nice, considering how my friend found that vial." She handed the keycard back to him and followed his lead.

Dick knew damn well his cover was already blown; Lucius would talk to Bruce, and Dick would be doomed. But, if he was seen here, it would tip Bruce off to the fact that Dick may or may not be investigating something that Bruce had explicitly told him not to.

"Well Princess, just follow my lead and I'll see what I can do."

She nodded silently, and the two of them stealthily made their way through the floor.

Dick immediately clocked in where all the security cameras were positioned, making sure to evade their reach while simultaneously avoiding the occasional passing employee.

She was right behind him, though he noticed how sometimes the shadows would ever so slightly bend or she would whisper that someone was coming before he could see.

Eventually, they came to an impasse.

"The camera is pointed right at the door."

"Got it." She lifted her hand, and immediately a shadow surrounded the camera; it soon disappeared. "It's disabled."

Dick rushed to the door and swiped the keycard. The door swung open, and he pulled her in with him. Then they ran to Bruce's office, again using the keycard and this time pulling the door open.

The two of them slipped inside and shut the door. Dick activated the extra lock just in case.

He turned around to see her hissing in pain as she sat on one of the plush black leather couches tucked in the corner of the room.

"What happened?"

"It's fine." She rubbed the outer part of her left thigh. "Just stings a little."

"It's okay if you pulled a muscle, I know we were—"

"No, it's just an old injury."

Dick noticed how the sleeves of her sweater slightly rolled up, revealing deep purple bruises along her arms. He had a feeling that both the bruises and leg injury were recent. Though she definitely didn't want to talk about it.

"See, I'm fine now." She stood up, walking toward Bruce's desk. "We should probably be quick, hate to see you spend money on bailing both of us out."

"We wouldn't be sent to jail, they'd probably just call my foster dad since this is his office."

She ran her hand along the edge of the mahogany desk, "Damn he has a nice office, I bet this desk costs—" Her voice came to an abrupt pause.

Dick instantly followed her line of sight. The nameplate.

Bruce Wayne C.E.O.

"Oh, your foster dad is…"

"Don't make it weird now Princess." Dick avoided eye contact with her as he sat down at the desk, the all-black office chair squeaking as Dick opened Bruce's computer.

"Sorry, I don't normally make a habit of breaking into the richest man in the city's office." She walked behind the desk, eventually standing right beside Dick as he inserted the USB stick with the proper access codes Bruce uses to remotely tap into the Batcomputer.

"I'll keep that noted for the record." Dick responded as he began typing the second layer of access codes needed.

"But, I guess that's kinda on me for following a random rich kid I met a couple hours ago."

"Is that how you see me?" Dick felt mildly annoyed as he looked up from the computer monitor, staring directly into her hauntingly grey eyes.

Dick could feel a slight bitterness bubble up to the surface, a deep-seeded annoyance at never being viewed just as himself, only under the shadow of Bruce's wealth.

She shook her head. "No Dick. If I thought you were just some rich kid, I wouldn't have followed you in the first place."

"Then how do you see me?"

"Well…" She rubbed the back of her neck as her eyes darted away from his. "To me you're a bit of a dork, but like— in a good way. You notice things others don't, and you seem like the type of person to step in and help someone, even if it has nothing to do with you. Basically— you're the opposite of most people in Gotham."

"Really?" Dick wasn't expecting that honest of an answer.

"It also probably helps you have the same questionable humor as me."

"You got all that out of knowing me for two hours?" Dick turned back to the computer, ignoring the fact that the tips of his ears were burning.

"Yeah…" She trailed off.

Dick fell silent as the computer finally linked to the Batcave, and he began looking for anything that might be helpful to what she was looking for.

"Any idea what that black liquid might be used for?"

"Hmm… maybe—" She paused for a moment. "Metahumans?"

"You don't sound sure Princess."

"It's the only thing I could think of. I just can't figure out why."

Dick switched his search parameters, still not entirely sure what he should be on the lookout for when—

"What about this one?"

Dick felt her breath tickle his left ear. Her finger pointed at one file with a strange image, labeled Cadmus.

The very thing he planned on researching in the first place.

Dick clicked on the file.

"I saw that logo near where my friend found the vial."

Dick nodded as he did a cursory read-over of the document.

There was barely anything listed.

Just an address in DC, and the fact that it was a recently bought subsidiary company of LexCorp. However, the last line of information was a link to another document.

That was when both teens realized what they just stumbled upon.

"A chemical agent listed in internal documents as a way to stabilize meta-humans and potentially temporarily inhibit their abilities? Current test results prove this may not be the case?"

"That's not ominous at all." She muttered in response.

Then all of a sudden she stumbled back, and Dick turned to her. His eyes widened as she grabbed her head, pain written across her face.

"Someone's about to enter the room."

Dick quickly downloaded the relevant files to the other USB stick he carried. He then reverted everything so it looked like no one had ever been there.

"We can go through the vents." Wait, Bruce added new sensors to those a few weeks ago. "Actually, never mind." Dick quickly searched for any escape method.

He could go through the window but then how could he explain to her that he, a completely normal civilian, could—

The door handle jiggled as someone tried to open it.

"Dick, I know we only met a few hours ago, but do you trust me?" She suddenly grabbed his shoulders.

Dick searched her eyes. "Yeah, Princess." He watched as the grey colour blossomed into a brilliant electric blue.

"Then hold on tight."

All of a sudden, blue sparks crackled through the air—

And then he felt weightless.

Only to come crashing down into a dingy, barely lit storage closet.

His entire body slammed into the floor, toppling over a mop and a few boxes. His breath was knocked out of his lungs as she crashed on top of him, her face slamming into his chest. He watched as a bright blue portal shut above them.

"Sorry about that." She pushed herself up from on top of him.

Even in the now dimmed light of the closet, he could see how her cheeks flushed pink.

"It's fine. You did what you had to do."

Just as he finished his sentence, the closet door swung open.

And there was another Gotham Academy kid staring at him.

The three teens awkwardly stared at each other.

Dick's eyes widened as he saw a shadow come up from behind the random student.

"Damn you guys couldn't wait till after?"

Dick quickly latched onto the plausible misunderstanding, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer to him.

"So what?" Dick glared at the teen before whispering to her, "Don't knock him out. Just play along."

It would cause more problems than solve if she knocked out the other teen.

Dick then directed his words to the teen in the doorway. "It's none of your business what we do."

Her fingers intertwined with his, and she guided his other hand to rest on her hip.

"You’re ruining the moment." She glared at the other teen.

The kid instinctively took a step back, "Look I won't tell if you guys agree to give up the closet in five minutes. It took forever to find a place to—" He gestured to the vape in his hand.

"No, you're right Princess, the moment is ruined." Dick guided her out of the closet, his hand still sitting on her waist.

Dick purposely shoulder-checked the guy on the way out, sending one last glare his way.

The teen gulped as he immediately ducked into the closet, trying to escape Dick and his newfound friend.

"The rest of the tour group is in the cafeteria," she whispered to him as they walked further down the hallway.

Thankfully, the hallway was deserted.

Once they rounded the corner, Dick let go of her waist. The tips of his ears felt like they were burning.

She turned her face away from him, her hand covering her mouth.

"Sorry, I should have tried to find a place without anyone."

"It's fine Princess, we didn't have much time. Besides—was it that bad to be my girlfriend?" Dick deflected his thoughts away from the fact that his heart rate was a little faster than normal.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Beneath her hand, he could just barely see the way her skin was more flushed than normal.

"And if I said yes?"

"Then I'd be forever heartbroken!" Dick dramatically raised a hand to his face as he looked away in anguish.

She laughed at his display as they entered the cafeteria. "Get over yourself."

Dick quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I'll send you the files later."

She nodded as she typed out her number.

"See you around, Princess."

She grinned. "Of course, can't wait for our next heist."

With that, she ran over to one of the tables, sliding into the chair next to some tall blonde girl.

And he went back to his own side of the cafeteria with the rest of the Gotham Academy students.

"So where have you been?" Babs asked curiously as Dick sat down at the table.

"It's a long story."

… … …

Wayne Manor, Gotham City

Thursday, August 28

08:00 P.M. EDT

"So that's what happened." Dick sulked as he hid on top of a chandelier in one of the lesser-used dining rooms.

"See now I'm glad I don't live with Batman. I've done way worse than that and somehow managed to get away." Wally's voice rang out from Dick's phone.

"But, at least we have a lead on Cadmus. Even if I had to sacrifice myself for your benefit." Dick dramatically responded.

"Sacrifice noted and ignored. That's what you get for leaving me hanging dude. You don't disrespect the sacred high five."

"Wally this is why—"

Ding! Dick pulled the phone away from his ear, reading a text from the girl he met the other day.

"What happened?"

"She texted me." Dick read over her thoughts of the files they had pulled from Bruce's office.

"Oooh. Are you two gonna have another heist? Just saying you should take your so-called best friend on a heist once in a while too. I could totally help steal more stuff from Batman."

Dick rolled his eyes. "She's just helping me to put together all the pieces of this puzzle. Whatever Cadmus is doing, it's somehow made its way to the streets."

"Duh, big bad secret organization somehow tied to Lex? Of course whatever shady stuff they're doing is gonna spill out to the public. And she's from Crime Alley too, so of course Lex is gonna target people who already feel trapped."

"Yeah duh I know that, but there's something bigger going on Wal. Plus all those bruises she was hiding and the way she was walking? It's why I'm thinking you and me go meet her to see if we can—"

Dick was interrupted as he heard footsteps echo throughout the dining hall.

"I'll call you back Wal."

"Oh sure, leave me hanging again."

"I will." Dick smirked as he ended the call.

However, that smirk quickly disappeared as he peered down, only to see Alfred staring up right back at him.

"Are you done sulking Young Master Richard?"

"I'm not sulking! Tell Bruce to shove his—" Dick cut himself off at Alfred's glare.

"The two of you need to communicate."

"And he needs to understand that a partnership means trust! He needs to trust me to make my own decisions!"

"Master Bruce worries about your safety and your future," Alfred responded.

"He just doesn't like not being in control." Dick frowned as he swung off the chandelier. A few seconds later, he landed on the dining room floor with a flourish.

He also doesn't know what it's like to constantly be in the shadow of someone else. To know that one day he has to live up to a mantle far bigger than himself. A mantle that, perhaps, Dick is terrified of not being prepared for.

Alfred sighed. "The two of you are as stubborn as mules. Go talk to Master Bruce, now. I expect the two of you to have a civil conversation. Not another screaming match."

A part of Dick wanted to just walk away. He couldn't deal with Bruce again. But Dick feared Alfred's wrath more than anything else.

"Fine, I'm going." Dick huffed as Alfred led him from the far side of the manor, all the way to the library.

Dick raised an eyebrow, fully expecting Bruce to be brooding in the study,

"Neutral ground is best when resolving conflicts," Alfred answered Dick's unspoken question.

Alfred pushed the towering double doors open, and Dick was greeted by Bruce, who looked as equally unhappy to be there as Dick was.

Dick frowned as he sat across from Bruce. The two of them perched on identical brown leather sofas. The only thing separating them being a glass coffee table covered in books.

"Master Bruce, I expect that as a twenty-four year old man you'll be able to solve this problem quickly?" Alfred's biting remark and glare kept the two of them from even daring to move out of their seats. "I'll be back in an hour."

The door shut behind Alfred, leaving the library in silence.

"You skipped school. Twice."

"So? You dropped out of school."

Bruce sighed, "Medical school. Not high school."

"Point's still the same. There's more important things than sitting in a classroom B."

Chapter Text

6th Floor - Westside Apartment Complex, Gotham City

Friday, September 5

01:00 A.M. EDT

"Who're you texting?" Artemis peered over my shoulder, looking at my phone.

"The guy who helped with our lead on the vials." The two of us were sitting on the carpet floor of my bedroom, trying to piece together the clues we've recovered so far.

"I can't believe you're just acting like it's normal to be texting the son of a billionaire at one in the morning."

"I text you at one in the morning, don't I?" I cracked a smile at Artemis' incredulous look.

"That's different, we've known each other for over a year and a half. You literally met him a week ago." Artemis leaned forward more to read Dick's response. "And he's sending you Lex Luthor memes."

"Which is obviously why he's a vital part of our investigation."

Honestly, it was a bit of fresh air in the face of the few pieces of evidence we've been able to string together.

"Sure, but why does he keep calling you 'Princess'?"

Oh. Now that someone other than Dick has brought it up, it is a bit… "Okay, I think I should get us more Chicken Whizzies." I could feel my cheeks slowly beginning to grow warm.

Artemis pulled me back down before I could run for my beloved snack. "Fine, just stop." She sighed. "I can't believe you're still alive and Jason hasn't died from staying here so often. You both literally only eat junk food."

"Hey! I can cook pasta; that's not junk food."

It's kinda hard to learn how to cook when a person doesn't have time, and online recipes seem to think I must own an entire pantry's worth of random spices.

Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose. "When this is all over—" She picked up some notes lying on the tan carpet. "I'm having my mom teach you."

I could feel my cheeks really turn pink now. I averted my eyes to the papers on the carpeted floor, picking up another sheet of notes.

"Thanks."

"Consider it payment for the whole robot thing." Artemis awkwardly coughed as she handed me another piece of paper. "Look, what Cheshire was able to find."

I grabbed it, looking at the pictures Jade had sent. With her, it's always a 50/50 chance whether or not she'll help. But at least this time, luck was in our favor.

"Those are kids…" The picture is a bit dark and blurry, but they're being led into some building, surrounded by armed guards dressed in black. "Do you think maybe?"

Artemis' eyes widened as she reached for her backpack and pulled out her laptop. I quickly shuffled through the papers until we found the D.C. address Dick found for me last week. One quick look through street view maps confirmed our suspicions.

"Why are they being shipped all the way there?"

"Well, we don't know if those kids are from Gotham." The picture was from too far away to get a clear view of the children's faces.

Even then, millions of people live in Gotham, and kids go missing all the time. Trying to find a trail would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Maybe we should try tracking down one of the gunmen who—"

Tap tap! A light knocking on the window caught our attention. With a slight nudge, my shadows peered outside, revealing Jason standing on the fire escape.

I motioned to Artemis that it's fine, and she got up, parted the dark blue curtains, and slid the window up.

As she stepped aside, Jason stumbled on in, wearing some cute Wonder-Woman themed pajamas.

"Hey Jay, what's…" Artemis' words trailed off as the soft yellow lamps of my bedroom fully illuminated his face.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and his face was flushed, probably from crying.

I placed my palm on the floor, and the shadows briefly flashed an image of the apartment below me.

Catherine was fighting with her husband again. I could see shattered glass all over the wooden floors, blood was dripping from Catherine's arm, and Willis was screaming at her.

For a brief second, the image the shadows showed me overlaid with an all too similar memory.

"Baba!!!" I screamed helplessly as blood dripped down my father's leg. Glass littered the once pristine kitchen floors.

"We… should get back to work, Artemis." I motioned for Jason to join us. "Jason, we could always use another set of eyes."

Jason nodded wordlessly as he trudged on over and plopped on the floor beside me. Though one more look at his sullen demeanor and without much thinking, I pulled the small boy into my lap, resting my chin on his fluffy raven hair.

"I'm not a little kid." Jason mumbled as he picked up one of the papers I was looking at earlier.

"I know. But this helps me think better." I muttered back as I wrapped one arm around Jason.

I used my free hand to grab the paper with LexCorp's information on it.

"Artemis, were we ever able to find any public statements about why LexCorp acquired Cadmus?"

That question seemed to kick Artemis out of her shock. She immediately sat back down beside me, pulling her laptop into her lap.

"No, but it looks like Cadmus has a patent application currently pending that's for a product LexCorp hasn't announced. Which—"

The steady rhythm of our investigation continued, with the pieces of the Cadmus puzzle slowly coming together to reveal a strange trail of events. Clearly, the company's documents and announcements didn't follow LexCorp's typical PR strategy and R&D cycle.

What was even more strange was the lack of company documents or online presence for Cadmus pre-LexCorp buyout.

Though these patterns didn't explain the connection between Cadmus and why they would bring children into their facility.

LexCorp never even mentioned anything related to meta-humans in Cadmus' research.

"Do you think we should—" I paused as I felt a slight shift in the weight on my lap.

I looked down to realize Jason had finally fallen asleep.

One quick glance at Artemis, and it was clear her eyes were unfocused, tired.

"Were you saying something, Ghost?"

"We should call it quits for tonight." I carefully shifted Jason's weight as I stood up.

It was times like these that I was grateful Jason was rather small for his age, because then only the shadows would've been able to carry him to my bed. I gently laid him down, and Artemis passed me the extra soft blue blanket I always kept on my desk chair.

"Should we go check on Catherine?" Artemis asked as I put the blanket on top of Jason.

"No." I moved a few shadows to turn off the lamps. "She'll just kick us out."

The two of us walked out of the bedroom, the wooden floors of the hallway creaking as we headed for the living room couch.

I could feel my own eyelids begin to grow heavy. However, just as my body practically collapsed onto the couch, a sudden vibration in my pocket alerted me to an incoming text.

I think I found something that might help our investigation.

… … …

Antonio’s Pizza Stand, Gotham City

Friday, September 5

08:40 P.M. EDT

"Are you going to answer that?" Artemis motioned to the phone in my hand.

"I don't recognize the number." I shrugged, although something about the phone number looked familiar. "They could just leave a voice mail or— oh they're here." I grabbed Artemis's hand, dragged her down the sidewalk, and towards the pizza stand, where Dick and a friend of his were already waiting in line.

"How's it going beautiful?" Dick's friend waved at us as we approached them.

Artemis rolled her eyes. “It’s not too late to leave.”

Dick’s friend had on the most questionable-looking bright green jacket, and his whole outfit looked more fit for a beach in sunny Los Angeles than an evening in Gotham City. Dick on the other hand, more or less blended into the crowd and even had on a ball cap, the brim tilted down to obscure part of his face.

"Just try not to kill him?" I whispered to Artemis.

"No promises."

“Princess, meet Wally–”

“The one and only.” Wally winked, “So if you’re a princess what does that make your friend?”

"Not interested.” Artemis frowned as she crossed her arms.

“Ouch.” Dick turned the other way, though it was easy to see the slight upturn of his lips.

One quick round of introductions later, and now the four of us were waiting in line for some questionable dollar slice pizza. The stars that littered the night sky and the soft glow of streetlamps illuminated the crowd of people on the sidewalk, all lined up and waiting for pizza.

Despite Wally's flirtatious demeanor, it seemed that he, Artemis, and Dick could hold a semi-amicable conversation. I tried to keep up, but my mind kept wandering to Cadmus and its many unanswered questions.

My mind also couldn't help but wander to Jason and Catherine. Willis finally left this morning, and Jason seemed better than last night—but it still left me feeling uneasy.

“Everything alright?”

My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I processed Dick handing me a paper plate with the greasiest slice of pepperoni pizza I've ever seen.

"Oh." Our group was now at the front of the line. "I can—" I dug through my sweater's pockets for the cash.

Dick placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine, Princess. I already paid for it.” His warm smile made me relax just a little.

"Fine, but I have to pay next time." I nudged his shoulder a little bit as we all walked off.

Though I winced a bit as I realized that was the part of my arm I bruised yesterday.

Dick curiously eyed my sweater. "You have a lot of space-themed sweaters."

"You can never have enough." I grinned, trying to cover up the slight stinging pain. "Although they've been a bit hard to wear in— wait, I think Wally and Artemis just passed the entrance to the park."

The two were engrossed in some sort of argument; Wally's hands were wildly flying everywhere when—

Splat!

The pizza slid right off the flimsy paper plate.

We finally caught up to them as Wally mourned the loss of his pizza.

"Great, now I have to wait in line for another—"

BOOM!!!

Wally's voice is lost to a deafening explosion. Everything around me shook. I closed my eyes and raised my arms over my face as dust and debris flew straight at me.

“—leave!”

"Get out of the way!!!"

I lowered my arms, only to be met with a crowd of people running away. As people began to shove me to the side, I felt someone grab my wrist and drag me back into the nearby alley.

"Let go of—"

"It's just me!"

The shadows quickly receded. And my eyes were finally able to focus on who was in front of me.

"Wally? Where's Artemis?! And Dick?" I craned my neck to get a better view of the people behind him, all running past the mouth of the alleyway, away from something.

"No clue. I think they got lost in the crowd." Wally also turned around, now looking at the fleeing crowd.

"Then we need to go find them." I braced myself as I was about to head back into the fray.

"I can go find them, you should go home. A stampede like this is going to trample you." Wally then grabbed my hand, placing something small in it. "This is what Dick was gonna—"

"No way, I'm coming too. Artemis is my best friend, and Dick is my friend too. I'm not going to leave them behind."

Wally sighed. "Look dude, me and Dick can both tell you've got tons of bruises and scars underneath that sweater. Dick even told me about your leg injury the first day you two met." Wally let go of my hand.

I looked down to see a USB stick resting on my palm.

"Wally, wait! My injuries aren't—!" Before I could finish my sentence, he took off.

He quickly joined the crowd before I could even follow him, leaving me alone in the alleyway.

My shadows immediately started combing through the street to find him. I couldn't see a thing through the chaos; shadows were moving in and out as too many people rushed by.

I pulled out my phone and tried calling Artemis and Dick.

Nothing.

"Dammit." I rushed behind one of the dumpsters in the alleyway. A brief glimpse into the shadows, and it was clear no one was paying attention to me.

I placed my hand against the concrete floor beneath me. The air crackled, and blue-white sparks popped as flashes of colour all around me. Soon, a portal opened up, and my entire body fell through the portal.

My shoes thumped against the floor, and the flash of light receded. I scrambled to my feet and rushed towards the closet door, slammed it open, and dug through it until I found my suit and cape.

I dug through the pockets only to find two broken phones, the one from the warehouse, and my burner phone, which I hadn't had a chance to replace. I sighed as I placed the new USB into the suit's pocket and changed from my civilian clothes.

Just as I pulled the mask over my face, I could hear the floors creak by my bedroom door.

"Ghost?"

"It's me Jason."

The door hinges squeaked open as I pulled up the hood of my cape.

"You saw the big explosion too?"

I stepped into the hallway, and Jason followed after me.

"I heard it, but I have no idea where it came from—" My voice died down as I entered the living room and saw my TV on, playing the news.

"Dad broke the TV when he left. Ma told me to check what was going on ‘cause Ms. Cindy left her baby with us and she hasn't called back."

“At LexCorp’s Gotham satellite office a recent fire broke—” Another explosion followed the news anchor’s voice.

"Well that explains some things." I might be able to investigate the place while everyone else is evacuating. Hopefully, Artemis is making her way to the building or found some place safe alongside Dick and Wally.

For now, I had to focus on what I could do.

"You're going there."

I looked back down at Jason, who was right next to me, glancing at the TV. I noticed a bruise was forming on his wrist. It looked to be in the shape of a hand.

"Yeah," I patted his head, my fingers smoothing down his curls. "There's something strange going on there. I'll let you know what I find, okay?"

Jason turned to look at me, skeptical. "You promise?"

"Yeah Jace, I promise." I smiled before turning around.

With a slight flick of my fingers, I opened another portal and ran through it, preparing myself for the chaos on the other side.

And, oh was it chaos.

The portal opened into an alleyway right across from the burning office. Even from here, I could see the paramedics rushing around, people were screaming from behind the taped off the sidelines, and the smell of smoke was so dense that the filters in my mask could barely keep up.

Then I spotted a familiar blur of green. Artemis was running out of the plumes of smoke, handing over an unconscious woman to the paramedics. I rushed out into the open street, meeting Artemis just as she was about to head back into the fray.

"Artemis!"

"Ghost, I thought you were with—" Artemis gave me a look, not finishing her question due to the many people nearby.

"No, I got lost from everyone."

The two of us would definitely have to figure out whether or not Dick and Wally were okay. But before that, we had a larger problem to deal with.

Artemis sighed. "That's a problem for later. We have to clear out the last three floors." She shot her grappling hook out.

I nodded as she grabbed onto my waist, and her grappling hook retracted, pulling us up to the seventh floor. "We need to be fast, there also might be a chance we could find a missing link between Cadmus and LexCorp."

As we climbed through the window, a chunk of ceiling came crashing down a few feet in front of us.

"Yeah, if the building doesn't come crashing down first."

The two of us coughed as we tried to wave away the dust and smoke.

"Artemis, KF found some people on floor eight, he needs help."

I turned around to see Robin there, his hand bringing his cloak up to his face, probably to block out the smoke.

"We could use some more help." Robin waved at me with his free hand.

"I'm on it." Artemis was about to rush through the flames when I grabbed her hand.

"Here," I pulled off my cloak and hood and handed it to her. "It's flame resistant." And her suit left her arms exposed.

Artemis smiled. "Thanks."

I nodded before turning back to Robin. "Where do you need me?"

Robin raised an eyebrow before looking down at his gauntlet's screen.

"Aqualad will be here soon—KF and Artemis can take care of the last two floors. We need to finish this floor then do one last sweep of floor five."

I followed Robin as we began making our way through the fiery debris.

"Why floor five?" I asked in between our yells for any survivors.

"Some of the workers said that floor had the most offices and there's still a few people unaccounted for."

I frowned as we kept running through half-destroyed rooms. The more time we spent, the worse the outcome for survivors. This would be a lot faster with the shadows, but if the flames moved too much, then I ran the risk of slowing things down.

"There's someone over here!" Robin yelled over the crackling flames and creaking structure.

The two of us rushed over to find a little girl pinned to the ground, and a metal beam had fallen on her leg.

"What's she doing here? Isn't this place supposed to be an office?"

"People bring their children to work all the time Ghost, help me lift this up."

The little girl was unconscious, probably from the smoke.

"Alright." The two of us pushed the metal beam, just enough so its weight was now resting on a nearby chunk of scorched wall, instead of the girl's leg.

Robin was by the girl's side in an instant, and I crouched down, right next to him.

"Is it safe to move her?"

"Just barely, if we try to swing down from here with grappling hooks it might make things worse."

"We can use a portal." I opened one up right beside us.

Robin's eyes widened momentarily before he nodded and instructed me on how to pick up the girl without aggravating her injuries. I popped through the portal, causing a few paramedics to scream. Though quickly everyone went back to work, taking the girl from me as I went back through the same portal.

"We're done with this floor, can your portals take us to floor five?"

I shook my head as we rushed out of the room and towards the nearest staircase. "I can only make a portal if I’ve been to that place before or if my shadows have visited that place—" I jumped over a section of missing stairs, stumbling as I stuck the landing. "And I can't use my shadows here. It’s too risky." I eyed the growing light of the flames around us.

Robin hummed in acknowledgement. "Good to know."

The two of us finally reached the door labeled floor five.

This place was covered in a lot more ashes, and the flames were stronger. We began searching for any more survivors.

As minutes passed, it felt like hours; the heat was making my suit feel unbearably hot.

Though it didn't look like there was anything left, I paused as I stopped by a strange-looking door.

"Robin, I thought this was just offices." It reminded me a lot of the R&D labs in Wayne Tower.

"That's what the floor plan and workers said." Robin stopped by the door and hooked up his gauntlet to the keypad.

A few seconds later, the door popped open.

My eyes widened at the sight of what was inside. I rushed over to the nearest table, and there it was— the exact same vial I saw in the warehouse and in Wayne Enterprises. On top of that, it was lying next to similar equipment that I found in the warehouse.

"It's all connected." Robin commented as he picked up a notebook left behind on the counter.

"You and Batman were investigating this too?" I grabbed some of the extra vials and notes lying around.

Robin nodded.

I quickly went around the counters looking for anything else of importance when—

"Look out!"

I felt a hand grab my arm and yank me to the left. I blinked, my eyes dazedly trying to process what just happened.

"You okay?"

There was a hole in the floor where I had stood a moment ago.

"You pulled me out of the way. Again."

"You were about to become an actual ghost. Couldn't let that happen." Robin's slight smile caused the rising panic in the back of my mind to halt.

Right, there's no time to be shocked.

I used my free arm to open a portal.

"Thanks," I responded before pulling the two of us through the portal.

I distantly heard the crackling and popping of another ceiling beam crashing down.

We tumbled out and onto the concrete. I gasped as my back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

The portal instantly closed behind us.

"Ghost!" Artemis' face immediately came into view as she stood above me.

Within an instant, Kid Flash was there. He and Artemis helped us up. As I orientated myself to my surroundings once more, I realized Aqualad had finally arrived and was helping the firefighters to increase the strength of the hoses desperately trying to put out the flames.

Though I could still feel my body recovering, I rushed over to Aqualad. With his powers and my portals, we were able to gather more water and increase the strength of the hoses. I opened a few more portals to direct the water to areas of the building that were otherwise impossible to reach.

“It would appear that our work is done.” Aqualad's comment cut through my concentration.

The building was no longer flaming, simply just a wet pile of debris and ashes.

"That's good." I sighed with relief as I closed all the portals. My entire body felt like jelly; my muscles strained.

By now, the cacophony of people was dying down, and the police were starting to arrive on the scene. I quickly searched for Artemis, fully intending on leaving.

"You don't seem too fond of law enforcement." Aqualad commented as I switched my powers.

The shadows quickly led me to Artemis.

"It's Gotham. Everyone knows to be wary of them." Or at least everyone in Crime Alley knew to avoid cops like the plague.

The two of us made our way up the fire escape of one of the nearby buildings. As we reached the top, I caught the tail end of their conversation.

"We can't just go against Batman!" Artemis' voice was laced with stress.

Robin rolled his eyes. "He's off-world, and I get the feeling that if we wait too long, whatever happened here would be covered up."

"It kinda already is," Kid Flash responded as he held up his phone for the other heroes to see.

Aqualad and I walked over to the group, my shadows shying away from Kid's bright phone screen.

"Faulty building wiring?" Aqualad read out part of the headline.

"Considering the way the fire spread and that most of the fire damage was concentrated near this room—" Robin pulled up a picture of the room with all the strange equipment and vials. "Something or someone wants to get rid of some evidence."

Artemis' eyes widened, and she gave me a poignant look.

"Our next stop should be here." Robin pulled up another picture.

The D.C. address Dick found.

"How are we getting there?" I asked. This was the key to figuring out the case.

All gazes turned to Robin.

A feral-like grin spread across his face.

He pressed a button on his gauntlet, then turned around. Everyone watched as a black plane descended from the clouds, and a ladder unfurled, landing right beside us.

Kid Flash looked between Robin and the plane. "You didn't."

"I did."

Aqualad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Robin's grin grew. "I stole the Batplane."

Chapter Text

United States Airspace

Friday, September 5

10:30 P.M. EDT

Dick was fully aware that this would probably get him benched for a while.

But, he also knew damn well Bruce would have done the same thing in his position—if Alfred's story of how Bruce disappeared for a year to train around the world was any indicator.

“All I can tell you is the chemicals match down to the molecular level. But as for what it could be used for–” Wally leaned back against the counter, “I have no idea.”

Robin sighed as he paced around the Batplane’s mobile forensics lab. All he had was a bunch of pieces to this case, but no way to string them together beyond a few too many leaps in logic.

“Did you try running against all known chemicals that neutralize metahuman abilities?”

“Yeah, and I got nothing. Whatever it is– it’s not meant to incapacitate.”

Ghost was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, right across from Wally.

"But, it has to be something important. Otherwise why else would this be in two different places?" With her cape and hood back on, it was hard to see much of her body language.

"So then—we should wait until we get to Cadmus for any more leads?" Wally looked to Dick for an answer.

"Oh, actually." A little bit of shuffling, and Ghost held out some folded-up papers, a broken cell phone, and a USB stick. "This is all the evidence I have on me. I found the cell phone with the first vial, the papers were in the building and they mostly just repeat what was in the notes Robin found."

"I can look at the cell and USB, KF you can go through the rest of these papers?"

"Yeah." Wally nodded as he took the papers from Ghost.

Dick and Ghost then exited the room, leaving Wally to read the rest of the notes. The two heroes walked down the hall to the main computer room. Silence hung between them now that none of the other heroes were around.

Though Dick could feel two eyes staring into the back of his head. Ghost's mask may completely obscure her face, but Dick has spent enough time around people to know when he's being subtly stared at.

"Everything good?"

The door slid open into the computer room.

"How long have you been a hero?" Ghost asked from behind.

"Longer than everyone else."

"Well that's a given."

Dick began taking off the casing of the broken phone, placing it on the computer console. "What do you actually want to know?" Dick could tell by her hesitant and awkward tone that she was trying to brush around her main point.

Ghost sighed, voicing Dick's inner pain as he realized the phone's memory was soldered onto the motherboard. It would take the Batcomputer a while to run the various machines to desolder and read out the flash chips.

"You know what it's like to have friends who don't know your identity, right?"

Dick turned to her, curiosity colouring his tone. "Yeah."

"Then how do you explain to those people why you disappeared in the middle of something?" Ghost's fingers thrummed against the console as she leaned forward. Her head angled towards the slot where Dick had inserted the motherboard.

Dick paused, not really sure how to respond. He barely knew anything about Ghost, but based on the information the Batcomputer brought up about Artemis—

"You don't strike me as some rich eccentric person who could get away with not explaining anything."

"And you are?"

"Nope, but it would help."

Dick could hear Ghost huff in annoyance. He couldn't help but crack a smile at her expense.

"No wonder all the guys who work for Penguin think you're some sort of terrifying gremlin."

"See now they're just wrong." Dick leaned in closer to her, whispering in her ear, "I'm obviously Batman's lovechild with justice."

A strangled laugh escaped Ghost's mouth. She turned away, coughing as she tried and failed to cover up her reaction.

"But—" Dick's smile turned into more of a grimace. "To actually answer your question, just try to answer with the truth as much as possible. Eventually, it gets hard to keep track of all the lies." Dick tried his best to smooth out the hints of bitterness, worry, and sadness from his voice.

Ghost paused for a moment, then placed her hand on the computer console, next to his own hand. The two heroes' pinky fingers brushed up against one another.

"Yeah, it does get hard trying to remember who knows what sometimes." Even with the mask, Dick could imagine a soft smile accompanying her words. "So, I guess in the end, even long-time heroes don't know how to answer that question."

Dick let out a dry laugh. "You could always ask Batman. He always has an answer for everything."

Ghost crossed her arms. "Not sure he'd be willing to give advice to the person who helped steal his expensive plane." She huffed, " Let's just check the USB files."

Dick laughed. "Sure thing Prin—" He stopped himself. The banter between him and her, the near identical power set Ghost shared with her, for a brief second, his brain thought the two girls were one and the same.

A beep echoed through the plane's loudspeakers.

"Everyone, we are crossing the border between New Jersey and Maryland,” Kaldur's voice echoed throughout the speakers.

The two heroes quickly exited the room and ran towards the front of the plane, joining the rest of the team. Ghost slid into the seat by Artemis, and Dick took the seat next to Wally.

“As it currently stands, I haven’t found a place to land without causing a major disruption or putting us on the league’s radar.”

“Nothing says stealth like stealing Batman's plane." Artemis rolled her eyes.

Ghost elbowed her, and the two of them exchanged a look.

"Fine." Artemis muttered.

"We’re on a time crunch,” Robin redirected the conversation. “Batman already knows our target, but he and other leaguers are off-world. They’re set to come back in six hours. Which leaves us with this option.” He pulled out earpieces from one of the drawers and handed one out to everyone.

He had just the perfect plan in mind.

… … …

Calvert County, Maryland

Friday, September 5

11:00 P.M. EDT

“I’m in.” Ghost radioed over comms as Robin landed the plane.

The Batplane was now hidden in one of the many swampy marshes that littered Maryland.

“Coast is clear on both ends,” Kid Flash radioed next.

Robin got up from the pilot’s seat and motioned for Kaldur and Artemis to follow.

“Ghost, we're standing in the middle of the cockpit.”

“Alright, portal opening in three… Two… One…”

The air crackled to life and–

Pop!

The sudden feeling of weightlessness and light engulfed Dick’s vision.

Then, the team landed in the middle of Cadmus Labs' lobby. Robin quickly reoriented himself to his surroundings as he saw four guards lying on the tiled lobby floor, and a quick glance showed all security cameras had been shattered.

He saw another body lying on the ground a dozen feet away from the team. Just as Dick was about to turn, he noticed the body twitch. The man scrambled to his feet, diving towards the elevator door.

“Wha–!”

Robin immediately shoved past Ghost and Artemis, throwing a Birdarang at the man, pinning him to the wall by his lab coat.

Dick ran towards the man, with everyone else following.

“Couldn’t hurt to say heads up?” Artemis’s sarcasm echoed through the empty halls.

“Or maybe ask for a bit of help?” Ghost commented from behind as the guy managed to shimmy himself out of the lab coat and make a break for it.

Robin ignored them as he planned to throw another Birdarang, only for the guy to be pinned back against the wall by tendrils of shadow and water. The water quickly turned to ice, and the shadows slipped away.

“You're welcome.” Kaldur joined in the sarcasm, albeit with less annoyance and a subtle mischievous glint in his eye.

“I get it.” Dick huffed.

Robin and the group approached the lone scientist.

Only for the man to take one long sweeping terror-filled look at the teens and–

“Seriously! He just had to pass out on us!” Kid Flash groaned.

A shadow tendril emerged and slapped the man across the face.

He, of course, did not wake up.

“TV has lied to me… Again.” Ghost’s displeasure was evident in her voice.

Robin sighed. So much for an easy answer.

“I guess we'll take the elevator…” Robin turned the elevator, noting the key card reader by it. He swiped a keycard out of the now unconscious man’s lab coat.

One quick tap and the elevator door swooshes open.

“Thank you–” Kid Flash peered over Robin’s shoulder, “Dr. Desmond.”

The five teens dashed into the elevator.

“Aw, I thought this would be more ominous.”

“Ow– You just elbowed me!”

“You're stepping on my cape.”

“So much for stealth.”

“Everyone–!” Aqualad called everyone’s attention to the elevator keys. “This building only has two floors, and yet there are four levels.”

“Maybe it just has two basements?” Artemis raised an eyebrow as she leaned against the elevator railing.

Robin knelt down as he eyed a slight divot in the elevator’s right wall.

KF responded, “Sorry beautiful, but the official floor plans for this building only show two levels.”

Robin quickly cut off Artemis’s retort by prying open a previously hidden panel.

“This place has at least ten levels.” Ghost’s faceless mask was now in his peripheral vision as she knelt down beside him.

Her hands were pressed against the elevator floor.

“And you can tell that how?” Aqualad asks.

“The shadows–!”

Ghost’s explanation is cut off by the elevator abruptly closing and free-falling down.

“AHHHH!!!”

Ghost's hands quickly shot up from the floor, slamming them against the elevator wall. The elevator lurched and jolted, stopping it just as suddenly as it started.

“Someone from one of the lower floors must have called it,” Ghost’s modulated voice cracked from the strain of her powers.

“Everyone out, now!”

Aqualad, Artemis, and KF worked together to break through one of the ceiling panels. Meanwhile, Robin quickly connected his gauntlet to the once hidden panel, as he realized the intricacies of the wiring and technology far surpassed what a simple elevator would need.

As the gauntlet's programs bypassed security, he quickly came to realize that the panel connected into some larger system. His eyes stopped across a set of files titled 'Directory' and began downloading them to his gauntlet.

Artemis climbed out onto the elevator's roof and shot out an arrow with a grappling line.

Robin watched as the download bar began to slow at 80%.

Kaldur helped lift KF out of the elevator.

“I can’t hold this much longer,” Ghost’s voice strained as she was still kneeling next to Robin.

Kid Flash and Artemis then pulled Aqualad up.

“Robin!” Aqualad called out.

“Just one minute.” The gauntlet's screen showed he was 90% there.

“They’re going to get suspicious if I don’t send the elevator down now.”

“Ghost just let it down!” Artemis called out with worry.

Ghost and Robin shared a look.

"These files are important, I wouldn't be risking this otherwise." Robin watched as the download bar moved to 95%. "Just trust me."

Robin knew today was only his second time meeting Ghost, but he hoped that behind their banter was enough trust to know he wouldn't endanger the mission for nothing.

"… Okay." Ghost's voice didn't waver this time.

The two heroes silently stared at each other, and time seemed to stop for what felt like an eternity.

Then…

100% Complete. Data downloaded.

"Let's go!"

Robin ripped out the wires and pulled Ghost close to him. The elevator dropped down just as he shot his grappling hook up.

His arm curled around her waist, and she clung to him, her fingers digging into his back as the two of them flew up.

After a few seconds, his feet landed on one of the support bars on the elevator shaft wall.

Ghost carefully maneuvered herself, so her feet were on the bar, right next to Robin; one hand now gripping the wall for support and another holding onto his shoulder.

The two heroes sighed in relief as the elevator disappeared below.

“Look on the bright side!” Wally called from a few beams up, “If something did go wrong at least you wouldn’t need to change your name!”

Dick laughed as Ghost responded to Wally with a few choice gestures.

"Damn, at least we know you're definitely from Gotham."

“Kid, we need to get back to the mission at hand!” Aqualad brought everyone back on track. “We don’t know when that elevator is coming back up.”

“Which is why we need to head down–” Artemis jumped off the beam she was standing on, “Now!”

She flew down with only her grappling rope as support.

Aqualad just sighed as he followed suit.

“Last one there has to explain everything to Batman!”

“You guys don’t even know which floor we need to go to!” Robin looked back at Ghost in disbelief.

“We'll figure it out."

Dick had the feeling the teasing tone in her voice was revenge for his earlier antics on the plane.

"Come on."

She let go of him, grabbing onto Artemis' rope and sliding down.

After five minutes, it was clear they did not, in fact, 'figure it out'.

“The elevator is coming back!”

“We need to make it to level twenty-eight,” Robin looked at his gauntlet's screen, the files from the hidden panel helping to guide the team's way. “Security for the entire base is down there!”

“It looks like level twenty-six will have to do!”

Everyone heard the telltale whir of the elevator cabin making its way up.

Aqualad jumped onto the ledge by the door labeled ‘26’ and used his strength to pry the metal doors open.

Everyone else followed suit, tumbling into a rather pristine-looking hallway. Its plush maroon coloured carpet silenced every step the heroes took as they ventured further.

“This– is way more fancy than I thought it would be,” Artemis commented as everyone made their way down the hallway.

“Guess Lex’s money really does wonders to a place.” Robin remarked as he pulled up the map of level twenty-six.

It only listed a few offices. Nothing guaranteed to be important.

“People incoming!” Aqualad pushed everyone back from the upcoming intersection.

“This room is empty!” Ghost motioned to a janitor’s closet.

She opened the door, and everyone dashed inside, closing it with a soft click as heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Everyone was crammed in. Though unlike the elevator, not a single complaint echoed through the tiny space. Instead, it was quiet. Everyone waited with bated breath for the footsteps to pass.

Robin was the closest to the door, able to get a front-row seat to what the people passing by were discussing.

“How is project Kr doing?” A deep feminine voice resounded through the door.

The footsteps stopped in their tracks.

“It takes time to produce results Ms. Waller,” An accented voice responded.

Ms. Waller’s voice took on a sharper tone, “And additional funding requires results Dr. Jace.”

As the footsteps resumed, Dr. Jace hastily continued the conversation, “Project M has shown excellent results; round four participants show a seventy percent survival rate! Perhaps a demonstration will make up for the lack of progress on Project Kr.”

“Perhaps. I’ll be at the labs in two hours.”

“Thank you Ms. Waller!”

Robin could hear one set of footsteps walk away.

After a few seconds, he could hear another set of footsteps pace back and forth in front of the door.

Dr. Jace let out a sigh that soon turned to a frustrated groan as a robotic phone voice indicated she was sent to voicemail.

“Dammit Desmond, pick up! I bought you some time, but if my project goes down because you couldn’t deliver–” Dr. Jace stomped away, the rest of her rant becoming inaudible.

“... You think we’re the reason Desmond can’t come to the phone?”

“There is probably more than one Desmond in the building.” Aqualad tried to reason out.

“I hope so.” Artemis sounded unsure.

“Well, besides that unfortunate coincidence, we should follow Dr. Jace. Anything that says a ‘seventy percent survival rate’ is excellent— is probably cause for concern,” Ghost called out from the back of the closet.

“Ghost’s right. We need to find out what the purpose of Projects M and Kr is, and how this traces back to Luthor.” And with Aqualad’s approval, the team filtered out of the tiny room.

Albeit this time with a renewed sense of seriousness as the weight of everything came down on them. They all knew lives were at stake; it came with the job, and Dick had seen almost all the evidence gathered throughout the week, indicating that this operation tied back to various children missing around Gotham.

It finally sank in for everyone that what they were about to face was something much bigger than they initially thought.

The team made their way silently through the halls. Ghost and Robin took the front, clearing the path forward. Aqualad and Artemis were on the back end, making sure no one followed them. Kid Flash dashed around, hiding the bodies of the few unfortunate souls they ran into.

After a few minutes, they caught up to Dr. Jace as she was waiting for an elevator.

“Oh great.” Artemis expressed the rest of the team’s displeasure with having to deal with the elevators again.

A quick set of footsteps stomped through the halls behind the team, even catching Dr. Jace’s attention as she turned to look for the source.

Everyone quickly faded into the background, with Ghost grabbing Robin and using her shadows to hold the two of them against the ceiling and hide in between two support beams.

“Dr. Jace!” A young blonde man ran up to the doctor, waving a set of papers in his hand.

“What is it now Steve?”

“It’s actually Stephen, but that’s beside the point, I was looking through the old files of the round one subjects for Project M–”

“Which I don’t believe an intern is supposed to have access to.”

“I’m a senior intern now,” Stephen beamed with pride. “But I’m sure you’re just joking, anyways!” Stephen flipped through the papers and pulled out one with a bunch of test results and fancy data charts.

Robin used his mask’s enhanced vision to zoom in on the chart.

Subject: Female, age 14

Health Conditions: Malnutrition, lacerations along the left side of the face, twisted ankle, broken arm

Origin: Gotham City

Before Robin could continue reading, his attention was brought back to Stephen’s more excited ramblings.

“— Only she and two others survived the first iteration of the serum. I know we failed to bring in the other missing one and the third is still on life support, but—all I’m saying is that if we could find a way to bring her back in it might answer some of the missing pieces of the–”

The elevator dinged, stopping Stephen’s momentum.

“I’m going to stop you there Steven.”

“Stephen.”

“It’s a waste of time. We already have multiple subjects who survived rounds two through four who didn’t nearly blow up the entire compound. Plus, I’m sure the subject died by now given the fact that the meta genes in those individuals mutated upon activation. There’s a reason number three is on life support. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Dr Jace entered the elevator.

Robin zoomed in on her hand, noting that she was pressing the floor buttons in a pattern, rather than a simple floor number.

“So that’s how it works.” Ghost whispered as the elevator shut closed.

That left Stephen all alone.

“I see what she’s saying! I need to take initiative and find a way to bring back the test subject, like any good scientist she needs a bit of proof first before diving headfirst into such a project.” Stephen eagerly zoomed down the hall, “She’ll totally promote me once I give her a proof of concept!” He gleefully turned down the corner, his footsteps fading into the background.

Everyone dropped down from their hiding places.

“Anyone else think he’s crazy?” Artemis looked where Stephen had just ran off.

“Definitely.” Kid Flash responded to her.

“Let’s go, before anyone spots us.” Aqualad motioned for everyone to continue towards the elevator.

After a few seconds and a ping, the empty elevator opened for them. Robin swooped in and used the keys to input the same pattern Dr. Jace did.

“Now heading to sub level forty-two.”

The elevator dropped violently, and everyone grabbed onto the rails for dear life.

"Why can't this elevator ever be normal?!"

After a few seconds, the elevator jolted to a stop, sending everyone slamming into the floor.

“I think I broke something.” KF complained as the doors swooshed open.

This time, Aqualad and Robin took the front, leading everyone down the half-lit halls to the room on Robin’s map aptly labeled ‘Control Room.’

Thankfully, they didn’t run into any more people. Although it did send him on edge a bit that there wasn’t a single sign of life, not even Dr. Jace.

Robin also noticed how Ghost seemed to be lagging behind, having Artemis constantly pulling her along.

“Uh— anyone else getting some horror movie vibes?” Wally tried to cut through the tension as the team traveled deeper and deeper into the compound, with no sign of human activity, and the walls and floors now a utilitarian shade of metallic grey.

“Shut up, you’ll jinx it!”

“Well now that you say that we’ll be the first to die. It’s always the hot ones.” Wally lamented.

To which Artemis sighed. “On second thought, I think I’ll take my chances with the serial killers.”

The team eventually found the room, and Robin quickly hooked up his gauntlet to the door access panel. After a few swipes on his gauntlet's screen, he made quick work of hacking into the door.

As the door swooshed open, KF and Aqualad descended inside, taking out two guards. A third one attempted to run towards one of the control panels, to which Artemis’s arrow plunged straight through his shoulder, and Ghost uses a shadowy tendril to slam his body into the nearby wall.

As the third body slid back down, the man’s hand knocked against the control panel, causing the previously grey wall in front of the team to morph.

And reveal glass windows in its place.

Robin’s eyes widened as he walked further into the room. Step by step until his face was right against the glass.

He saw a courtyard, one made of dull gray metal and full of people in orange jumpsuits milling about. From the high view, he could see three floors that encircled this courtyard.

Each floor was full of prison cells.

The entire facility was designed as a panopticon, and here they were at the center of it.

“They’re all kids.” Ghost whispered as she stood beside him.

She tugged on his cape, pointing to the left side of the courtyard. “That’s Dr. Jace.”

Robin noticed a woman in a white lab coat amongst a sea of orange.

“It looks like we found out what Project M is.”

And it was probably linked to the evidence he received after his heist at Wayne Enterprises, a conspiracy that he spent hours upon hours talking about with a certain girl.

“Robin, take a look at this.” Aqualad called out.

But why would Lex buy out a place like this, and what was Cadmus doing before Lex bought this place?

Everyone gathered around the computer console. Aqualad was standing by.

“All these children appear to be from Gotham.”

There was a small profile linked to each child's image, a huge number of them coming from Gotham— a city known for having the highest homeless youth population in the United States.

Robin's face darkened as Aqualad scrolled through profile after profile.

"Stop." Ghost's voice sounded cold.

From the list of faces on the screen, Dick instantly recognized one.

His brain instantly recalled all the bruises she was hiding underneath her sweater, and the way she walked favoring one leg.

The evidence was pointing to one thing.

“They could be targeting kids they knew no one would care about if they went missing.” Kid Flash put together the pieces that were floating around in Dick's mind.

"I think I also found Project Kr." Artemis was on another computer, different files up on the screen.

Robin turned his attention to her. The screen was full of bio readings and data that Dick recognized as measurements of wave brain functions.

"We're probably going to have to split up." Ghost tapped the screen, "This one's on level thirty-five."

Robin frowned; the last thing he wanted to do was split the team when they were in the middle of dangerous territory.

"If something goes wrong with us investigating Project M, we might lose the opportunity to gather more information on Project Kr."

"Fine," Robin sighed. He pulled off his gauntlet, handing it over to Aqualad. "Use the map to find project Kr. Ghost's powers should make it easier to travel back here if something happens. Artemis and KF you're with me."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ghost and Aqualad rushed out of the room and towards their target, leaving Robin to deal with Project M.

Hopefully, he wasn't making a mistake.

Chapter Text

Sub-level 35, Cadmus Labs, Washington DC

Friday, September 5

11:55 P.M. EDT

This was definitely not how I imagined my Friday night would end up.

"He went through that door." Me and Aqualad tailed Stephen, the very questionable intern we encountered while following Dr. Jace.

The two of us slipped into the room, hiding behind a stack of boxes. A part of me had wanted to stay with the rest of the team, I know Project M is connected to the mystery me and Artemis had been slowly piecing together for a week now. And I definitely wanted to tear Dr. Jace a new one, or maybe she would mysteriously fall down one of those elevator shafts, which definitely would have nothing to do with me—

"Ghost—" Aqualad startled me from my thoughts. "Follow the men who went through that door. I'll take the right."

Right, Stephen had spoken briefly to some others in white lab coats. Though my leg was starting to burn in pain again, I nodded and quickly slipped through the room, entering the door on the left.

As I hid behind some more boxes, I overheard three scientists talking.

"Where the hell is Desmond?"

I winced.

"I don't know man, but we have to open the pod and check the specimen. If we miss the check-in I'm gonna blame you."

"Hey man! I got a family to feed, I can't lose this job!"

"I can't believe it, it's either lose my job or lose my arm."

"It can't be that bad."

"You didn't see what happened the last time we tried to open this. Jerry's still on medical leave."

"Jerry ate my yogurt. He totally deserved it."

I watched through the shadows as a pod in the middle of the room hissed, the glass slowly opening.

"That's messed up man."

The three scientists stood back.

"Well sorry Larry, but my yogurt is more important than Jerry’s liver. Hurry up and get that animal Jace brought last week."

They pulled out a strange-looking creature from a nearby cage. I watched in horror as a boy my age fell out of the pod, and the scientists placed the creature on his shoulder.

"Stand."

The creature, I could feel its thoughts. It forced the boys’ eyes open, causing him to stand.

I could feel the creature also reaching out for my shadows, invading the link between us, trying to force the same command onto me.

I tried to force the creature out of my mind. I refused to allow my body and shadows to become puppets.

Yet, my body, to my horror, stood up on its own.

"Let him go!" I screamed, fear flooding my mind as I realized this creature needed to be dealt with, now.

That fear seemed to force the creature to release its hold on me.

I charged at the three scientists, shadows lashing out and throwing them to the floor.

"Project Kr, attack that thing!" The scientist yelled, and the boy charged after me, his blank face leaving me perturbed.

"AHH!!!" I tried to put my hands over my ears.

Attack! Attack!

Get out of my head!

I gasped as a fist connected with my stomach, sending me across the room. Shadows darted around me, blocking another strike aimed at my head.

I don't want to attack!

Stop entering my mind!

Attack. Destroy. Obedience.

The entire world was blurry. My head. There are two voices, trying to override my own internal monologue.

Wait. Is someone else there?

I rolled to the side. A fist smashed straight into the ground where I once was. The floor cracked underneath the force.

I looked up. Those blue eyes weren't as blank as I once thought.

"Project Kr, kill that thing already!"

The red horn on the creature glowed, in turn, dimming the spark of intelligence in the boy's eyes.

"Kon-el wait!" The words spill out of my mouth without a moment to think.

His fist stopped right in front of my face.

"Kon-el, you don't have to listen to them if you don't want—" THWACK!

I felt something bashed into the back of my head. My eyes widened as one of the scientists approached Kon-el from behind.

Everything faded to black.

… … …

Location: Unknown

Date: Unsure

Time: Who cares, I'm in pain.

As pain engulfed my senses, I simultaneously felt hands prying open my mind. The shadows cried out, warning me, but that connection was soon drowned out by an influx of images, sounds, and information.

People, words, ideas— all drilled into my mind.

Any barrier between me and the onslaught of information was taken away from me. No shadows to protect me, all alone.

Memories invaded my mind, a pale imitation of what they should be. It wasn’t right. Every blade of grass beneath my feet, the glare of the sun, the cooling touch of metal— the sensations were wrong.

Something was missing.

I opened my eyes.

I was stuck in this tube.

I fearfully pounded on the glass encasing me. My hands slipped away from the glass as thick green liquid pulled them back.

Kon-el was stuck in this tube.

These things, these people, were constantly invading his mind, pulling and prying at any sense of himself, privacy, his thoughts.

“You’ve lived like this for years.” I whispered as I hugged myself, my nails digging into my arms.

I turned around. No longer was my body aimlessly floating in a vat of green liquid, though that didn’t stop me from brushing down my arms, and double-checking that the green liquid was no longer clinging to my suit. Instead, I was standing in my apartment.

The one paid for by the woman who abandoned me.

"You've lived like this for years." Kon-el responded.

I watched the scenery around us flicker. Different apartments, different years, but everything was always the same.

I was always alone. A burden that ruined everything.

I closed my eyes, refusing to acknowledge the very thing I always tried to run away from. My own incompetence.

"Don't look through my memories," I gritted out.

"I didn't have a choice."

I opened my eyes again and winced. Right, he of all people knows what it’s like to live with a mind constantly invaded. I could feel the low waves of anger radiating off of him.

"Sorry, I know you don't want this either."

One look at his narrowed eyes and furrowed brow, and his displeasure was evident.

"How do we get out?"

"I don't know."

The scenery by now had stopped at my current apartment. I looked out the living room window, and instead of the Gotham skyline, all I could see was nothingness. Just a blank golden glow reminiscent of the all too bright sunlight during golden hour.

"Would the door—" I turned around, only to see that the door to enter my apartment was missing.

Kon-el also turned around to look at the blank space behind him.

"What about the windows?" He turned his gaze back to me.

"Windows’ sealed in real life. But, maybe the fire escape?" I strode through the living room and down the hallway, soon ending right in front of my door.

The door creaked as I pushed it open.

Instead of being greeted by my bedroom in its usual half-organized state, I saw different photos hanging from the ceiling by threads. Kon-el raised an eyebrow as he looked at me. I shrugged in confusion.

I carefully walked up to the photos that were closer, gingerly lifting one up to my face.

"These are memories." I began darting through the photos, quickly realizing all the memories were related to Cadmus.

The warehouse.

The vials.

The destroyed crime scene, extra blood smeared on the floors despite us only incapacitating those thugs.

Cadmus' logo.

The number, and the voicemail I completely forgot to look at.

Dick, and our tour through Wayne Enterprises.

The link between Cadmus and LexCorp.

"A chemical agent listed in internal documents as a way to stabilize meta-humans and potentially temporarily inhibit their abilities…" I know that's not true.

Some of the photos were blank, completely black. I tried to focus on them, but everything around me began to sway. It’s probably best I don’t go passing out in the middle of this trip down hell’s memory lane.

I looked back to see Kon-el leaning against the wall, refusing to even so much as glance at the pictures.

"Do you know anything about this?" I pulled down and handed him the pictures showing the relationship between LexCorp and Cadmus.

Kon-el frowned, his eyes searching the pictures.

All of a sudden, the image on the pictures morphed; instead, one was an image of Luthor, just how I've seen him on TV. The other was Dr. Jace, from a distance.

Kon-el's face contorted in anger.

"They—"

The entire scenery shifted to black.

The pictures faded from our hands. I could hear faint sounds of yelling and alarms.

"Ghost!"

… … …

Sub-level 35, Cadmus Labs, Washington DC

Saturday, September 6

12:32 A.M. EDT

I gasped as my eyes flew open. My wrists chaffed against the restraints tying me down to some cold metal table.

"Ghost, please wait a moment."

My entire body froze as a green beam of light hit the restraints. They clanged as they hit the ground.

I looked up. Coming face to face with iridescent green eyes and long fiery red hair framing a beautiful face.

"Ghost we need you up, now." Aqualad's voice echoed from behind. His voice competed with loud, blaring alarms.

I turned around to see Aqualad helping Kon-el off another metal table. The entire room was bright and sterile. One quick look at a nearby tray with various scalpels told me everything I needed to know.

"Is everything alright? I did not hit an important organ, right?" The girl beside me began looking over my arms.

"I'm fine. Thank you—" I slid off the table, waiting for her to respond with her name.

"You are the most welcome!" She didn't seem to understand my implied question.

Aqualad led Kon-el to the door, and we followed suit.

"What's your name?" I asked directly this time.

"I am Starfire, but you can refer to me as Kori."

"I'm glad you two are getting acquainted but we have a major problem." Aqualad interrupted as we dashed into the hallway. "Robin has not responded on comms. Neither has Kid or Artemis."

"Where are they?" Kon-el asked.

"I'm not sure what level, Superboy, but they were investigating Project M."

I looked at Kon inquisitively. That name never came up in the—

His and Kori's faces looked pale.

So, they were aware of what was going on.

"We must get to your friends. Now," Kori's tone was grave.

We turned the corner and saw armed guards up ahead.

"Now it is." I pulled myself away from the shadows, wincing at the way everything seemed to spin.

I felt something snap painfully in my mind.

Superboy also jolted, tilting his head towards me.

I ignored everything, forcing the electrical feel of my power to flow through me. I quickly lifted my hand, creating a portal right in front of us. Without a second thought, we ran through it.

We landed back in the watchtower that overlooked the yard full of imprisoned children. I watched through the windows in horror as Dr. Jace and the rest of the team were at a standstill. The only thing moving was the incessant red blinking lights, which accompanied the blaring alarms echoing throughout the entire facility.

The other kids in the yard were standing still too, everyone looking at Dr. Jace with expressions of terror.

Her lips were moving, but I couldn't hear anything from up here.

"She's going to kill him." Pure anger and vitriol written across Kori's face.

Dr. Jace had an arm around a little kid; the boy was shaking in fear as a needle was placed right up against his neck.

On the other end of the needle was the black liquid I've been seeing in all those vials.

The linchpin between everything.

Superboy wordlessly walked up to the glass. My eyes widened as I quickly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't! We're too far!"

"If we make any moves it'll be too late." Aqualad pulled Superboy back.

Kon shrugged off my hand and glared directly at Aqualad. "We go now or—"

Kori gasped, and my attention was brought back to the window.

The needle plunged into the kid's neck; the black liquid being pushed into his body.

"Please no—!" Black liquid engulfed me, burning through my throat and filling my lungs.

I clutched my head, everything blurring in my vision, my body involuntarily shifted back to my shadow powers. A scream echoed throughout the courtyard. I looked back up and, through the glass, watched as all the other kids ran away. In a matter of seconds, the body of the kid Dr. Jace had injected— the boy’s small body morphed and stretched. Spikes began to grow out of his back, ripping through his orange uniform.

Dr. Jace's grin was disgusting, like a mother proud of the monstrosity she created. Only for the grin to soon freeze.

Halfway through the transformation, instead of a hulking beast ready to charge at Robin, KF, and Artemis—the kid collapsed.

His body was shaking and convulsing.

Then nothing.

“He’s not breathing.” I whispered out in horror; the shadows were unable to see the steady rise and fall of the boy’s chest.

Chaos ensued, and all of a sudden, armored men flooded the area.

Superboy punched at the viewing glass. Two well-placed hits, and the glass shattered. Everyone below looked up as Superboy jumped through the hole in the glass.

"Wait—" Aqualad reached out, but it was too late.

Superboy was gone, descending into the chaos below and kick-starting the fight between the men in military-esque uniforms and the rest of the team.

Kori flew through the same opening Superboy created, and she descended into the fight.

I approached the edge of the watchtower, glass crunching beneath my boots. "Need a hand?" I turned to Aqualad.

He sighed as I gathered some shadows, using them as grappling hooks for us to swing down into the battle.

"Thank you."

I nodded before jumping off. In a matter of seconds, I was down in the middle of the fight. A few shadows whipped around, knocking some of the armed men.

"Looks like everyone is here!" Robin yelled as he threw a few birdarangs into the men's guns, causing them to overload and blow up. "Fall back!"

At first, it was me, Robin, and Aqualad back-to-back. Soon, Artemis joined us. Then Kori. After a few seconds and a gust of wind, KF was with us.

"Sorry, I tried to get super maniac over there to listen, but he just keeps punching everyone. I had to pull some kids out of the way." As if proving his point, we all heard an angered scream.

"Someone needs to get Kon to calm down." I responded. "He's been stuck here for a while, and the people overseeing Project Kr…" I trailed off as I used a shadow to knock down some more guards.

"I always heard screaming from the room those men kept him in." Kori shot a star-bolt at another guard.

"Then it would probably be best for Ghost and Kori to get him to see reason."

"Kaldur's right, you both can deal with him. We'll figure out how to disarm the guards and get these kids out of here."

"It would probably be better if I used my portals to evacuate the kids." I get the feeling I would be more likely to inadvertently set off Kon, if our previously detached and borderline frosty interaction was anything to go by.

"She's right Rob."

All of us waited for Robin’s final call.

"Fine, Kori deal with Superboy. KF and Ghost are on evac. Aqualad and Artemis are with me on offense."

With Robin's final direction, everyone took off. Kid quickly scooped me up, and the entire world blurred.

"Start with the top floor. I can open a portal in each cell." Which would bypass the need to deal with security.

The world came back into focus as KF let me off at the top floor of the cells. He quickly went off to deal with the lone guards in this area. And I quickly shifted powers, though my entire body was beginning to struggle and ache with the constant switches.

I ran by each cell, looking for any children. Each time I found someone, I stopped and quickly explained where the portals led to, then opened one up for the kid to run through. This would hopefully leave them near a police station, or close enough. It's been so long since I was last in DC.

Eventually, KF came around to help me with calming down the kids enough to get them through the portals. It felt like hours, but it was probably only minutes that passed as we managed to evacuate the three floors. Only leaving the kids caught in the crossfire ensuing in the courtyard below.

"They just keep coming!" Artemis yelled as she shot another trick arrow at the soldiers, causing them to go flying backwards from the explosion.

"We lost track of Dr. Jace!" Aqualad yelled back.

"Fall back, our main priority is to save any prisoners."

It seemed Kori was able to get Kon to see reason, as now he seemed to be avoiding any children running around, terrified.

“Start directing kids to my portals and get the police to our location!" I yelled at Robin as we started evacuating the kids hiding or running through the battle.

I quickly took cover behind a chunk of fallen debris and focused on opening portals nearest to where the kids were starting to be cornered. Robin nodded as he directed the team to send the kids through the portal. He quickly weaved through the battlefield and grabbed his gauntlet back from Aqualad, most likely using the computer inside it to alert the police.

Every second felt like an eternity.

The gentle buzz of the portals was beginning to feel like someone was lighting my veins on fire.

I could feel blood begin to trickle out of my nose.

“We have most of them!” Artemis jumped down to help, taking out the soldiers who figured out I was the source of the portal and were closing in on me.

“Dammit, I can’t keep this up much longer," I gritted out.

"I know." Artemis gave me a worried glance as she shot down more men, her arrows piercing their shoulders or legs.

She barely had any arrows left.

"I found Dr. Jace," Robin called out over comms. His voice was icy. "Intercepting now."

I watched as Robin ran after Dr. Jace, only for the lady to hide behind another wave of soldiers.

I immediately closed all the portals despite the few children left. I couldn't let these men follow the other kids through the portals.

"I'm afraid you won't be intercepting anyone today." The entire battlefield came to a standstill as a woman's voice echoed throughout the room.

Her voice… A few words from her were enough to bring the entire room to silence.

The crowd of soldiers opened up as the familiar voice continued.

“You’re trespassing on government property.” A short woman with close-cropped hair emerged from the parted sea of soldiers.

Despite her short stature, her imposing presence more than made up for it.

“And who are you?!” Artemis angrily confronted her.

“I’m Lieutenant Amanda Waller, with the United States Army. You four are in violation of the Justice League’s agreement with the U.S. Military.”

“What agreement? I don’t believe the Justice League would sit back and allow illegal experimentation on children.” Aqualad stepped forward from his side of the battlefield.

Waller motioned for the soldiers to move, and Robin motioned for all of us to stand down, allowing the soldiers to push us all into the middle of the room.

We were forced to our knees, with our hands behind our heads as the soldiers pointed their guns directly at us. I could see the few children left cowering behind another chunk of debris.

“Every one of these children had their parents sign off on this.” Lt. Waller didn’t seem fazed by Aqualad’s accusations. “And what they’re doing is in service of their country, so we can be prepared for when people like you storm around without impunity.”

“Like us?” I narrowed my eyes at her words.

"Project Kr and the alien are U.S. property. I'll be in touch with the necessary people to deal with this violation." She turned around, ignoring my comment as she motioned to the soldiers. "Take those two away. And as for the rest of you— your League can’t protect you forever. Soon the tides will turn against you so-called heroes.”

The soldiers seized Kori and Kon as Waller confidently strode out of the room.

I felt a wave of nausea hit me as I switched powers.

As soon as the door shut behind Waller, everyone struck at once.

Kori and Superboy took down the guards surrounding them.

“We’ll have to take the rest of the kids up manually!” I yelled as I used the shadows to incapacitate as many soldiers as I could.

"AHH!!!" I screamed as a stray bullet grazed my leg, right where I was stabbed before.

Black spots began to fill my vision.

"Ghost!" I could feel someone wrapping their arms around me.

Everything was beginning to sound distant.

I hissed as someone picked me up; my head was beginning to throb right where I was hit earlier.

"I got you Ghost." I looked up to see Artemis, who was carrying me bridal style as everyone ran up the stairs. "I got you."

When did we leave the prison area?

I coughed; blood dribbled from my nose and into my mouth. The disgusting taste of blood was enough to keep me present. I watched as the rest of the team carried the last few children out of the facility. Everyone looked worse for wear.

My eyes immediately caught Robin's, who was running beside Artemis, and carrying one of the smaller kids.

“You good Ghost?”

“I’ll live.”

“There they are!”

I winced as I heard a booming male voice echo.

“Oh, this is just great.” Artemis grumbled.

“Everyone run!”

The rest of the team picked up the pace as Robin used his map to direct us up the stairs and through one final sub-floor. Eventually, we found the stairs leading up to the main floor.

The doors burst open as we ran through the lobby.

Instantly, I smelled smoke and something reminiscent of the smell of gasoline.

"Artemis!"

"I know!"

I used my shadows one last time to break the glass doors, allowing the team to run straight into the parking lot.

In a split second, the building exploded, sending Artemis and me crashing into the pavement.

"We made it out!" KF called from a few feet away.

"We did it." Artemis whispered out, looking at me with pure exhaustion.

"Yeah." I whispered back as I sat up on the pavement. I looked to see the rest of the team also doing the same.

Superboy seemed to be mesmerized by the moon. This was probably his first time seeing it. Aqualad looked just as exhausted as Artemis. Kori seemed to bask in the fresh air and freedom of the night. Kid Flash and Robin were grinning like madmen as they high-fived each other, immediately regretting it as pain surged through their hands.

And I— realized something was wrong. I practically dragged myself towards Robin, the black spots returning to my vision as I rested on the concrete like it was my bed.

"Ghost?" Robin's voice was laced with concern.

He tried to help me up, but I raised a hand. "I'm okay with the floor," My voice was airy and rough. "But, Robin, didn't you call the police here?"

Robin paused. "I did."

I barely was able to make out his movements; he clicked something on his gauntlet, and his face darkened.

"What?" I struggled to get up, and I felt a pair of hands pull me up. I looked back to see a sympathetic Kid Flash, helping me so I was leaning on Robin's shoulder, finally able to look at the video footage playing on his gauntlet's screen. "What happened?"

“This was the nearest station. They should have responded.”

I watched as Robin pressed play.

These were security footage from cameras surrounding the police station I sent the kids to. The footage first showed the kids all rushing to the station, some crying and scared, but all in the same prison-like orange jumpsuit. Officers immediately came out to greet them and escort them inside.

The footage sped up, and anger set in my bones as I watched the angle change, and the kids were now being led out of the police station and into various vans at the back of the building.

One of the vans opened—

Revealing Waller and Dr. Jace.

"We have to—!" I gritted out trying to get up on my own. My entire body felt like jelly, refusing to cooperate with me. "Those bastards!"

“We can’t.” Robin placed an arm around my shoulder, keeping me from face-planting into the concrete. "All of us are injured."

"Or in those two's case, they have no idea how to navigate earth." KF pointed to Superboy and Kori.

"We'll find them again."

I looked to the side, seeing Robin's normally smiling face was emotionless.

"We'll be ready next time."

I'll make sure of it.

Chapter Text

Conference Room 3—Hall of Justice, Washington DC

Saturday, September 6

05:00 A.M. EDT

"You broke into a government facility." Batman stood at the head of the conference room table, a looming presence.

Robin could sense the rest of the team glance between him and Batman, and waited for a signal on how to respond. Kaldur, Artemis, Ghost, and Kid Flash expected him to be the mediator.

Dick stood up from his seat, and the chair screeched against the floor. "So?" His hands gripped the edge of the grey table. "If we waited until the league came back from space then who knows what would have happened. Just look at how Cadmus was willing to blow up their own lab." Dick took a deep breath in. "They could've– would’ve gotten away with everything, destroyed all the evidence."

"They did get away," Bruce countered Dick's point. "Now, none of us know where Cadmus is operating."

Dick glared. His hands tightened their grip on the table.

Wally stood up from where he sat next to Dick and placed a hand on Dick's shoulder. "Yeah, but if Rob didn't make that decision— Superboy and Starfire would still be stuck in that place, and we wouldn't have saved the kids we did manage to carry out."

Kaldur then spoke up, "Robin made that decision with the knowledge we had at that time. It was clear that Cadmus suddenly started the process of cleaning up all traces of its Gotham operation and our only other lead was the address in DC."

Dick continued Kaldur's point. "It's entirely possible that either way Cadmus would have evacuated their DC location and then we'd be even more in the dark about how they operate."

The team silently awaited Batman's rebuke, and probably a life ban from any Justice League equipment considering the stolen Batplane…

Yet, much to everyone's surprise, Batman simply turned away.

"… I'll speak to the rest of the league. Expect notes on how to improve."

… … …

6th Floor - Westside Apartment Complex, Gotham

Monday, September 22

06:20 A.M. EDT

I sighed as I looked over the information Robin had sent me a week ago—everything from the phone that I had found in the warehouse—texts, addresses, notes…

I finally had the information I needed at my fingertips…

Yet, it didn't make any sense to me.

Maybe it was the leftover pain from the concussion; maybe it was the fact that all the information was translated from Markovian to English; but whatever it was, I just couldn't wrap my mind around what I was reading.

Then there was also the USB Wally and Dick had given me, which—had its own set of roadblocks to figuring out all the pieces of information.

My fingers brushed against the dark blue casing. I leaned back in my chair and picked the USB up from my desk, twisting it in my hand—like somehow staring at it from all angles would give me the secrets of the universe.

Instead, thoughts of a certain raven-haired guy ran rampant through my mind.

It's been three weeks since I met Dick, and yet for some reason every text, every call, every shared moment—even from a distance—made it feel as though we've known each other for much longer.

At first, everything had been about Cadmus and those files we found at Wayne Enterprises. But, after a bit, the conversation and texts slowly moved into talking about our everyday lives. Then one accidental meme I meant to send to Artemis—and the entire conversation kinda just devolved from there.

A smile involuntarily made its way to my face. Though it quickly faded as I shook my head, sending myself back to reality.

My eyes focused back on the USB in my hand.

I needed to find answers, and soon.

What that military lady said about children voluntarily being there didn't make sense.

I balled up my hand around the USB, the edges of it digging into my palm.

My thoughts wandered to the list back in Cadmus.

I leaned forward in my chair and pulled my laptop towards me. Plastered across my screen was a list of all the names I could remember on that Cadmus computer. Each name was crossed out except for my own, Jason's, and a few Stephanie's on the list.

A bunch of question marks surrounded mine and Jason's names.

I doubt anyone, let alone that woman, would remember me long enough to even bother with signing something for me to be in Project M. And Catherine would never let anything like this happen to Jason.

But considering the majority of people on that list were from Gotham? And the warehouse Artemis and I found Jason in?

For all I know, Artemis and Dick could've been next on that list.

Every day spent ticking by meant Cadmus was one more step ahead, potentially building up towards taking more kids.

I glanced back at the USB in my hand.

Robin never got a chance to look at it before giving it back to me, but I bet he would've probably solved the entire thing. And I'm here at this stupid desk. Not making any progress towards helping anyone. Instead, just thinking about—

Beep! Beep!

I sighed as I closed my laptop and picked up my phone.

"Artemis?" I coughed as I tried to make my voice sound a little less like I gargled rocks.

How many days has it been since I spoke to someone?

"Please tell me you didn't forget that we're taking the subway to Gotham Academy?"

"Oh…" Right, recently concussed and creating portals to a school I've only been inside of once? Not a good combination. "I'll be there in ten."

I paused as I heard a knock on my door.

"You were also supposed to get Jason too."

I sighed as I trudged out of my room and to the front door. "We'll be there on time. That's what matters."

I ended the call and opened the front door, only to be greeted by a very cheery and very hyper Jason.

"Hurry up Ghost! I heard the library there is huge!" The shadows closed the door as Jason barreled through the apartment and grabbed my arm.

"Give me a few, okay? I can't just show up on our first day there in pajamas." Though I’m tempted to.

"Fine." Jason huffed as he let go and made a beeline for my kitchen.

At this point, I'm pretty sure he likes my snacks more than me.

"Oh! The mail guy wanted me to give this to you." Jason dashed back over, dumped an envelope in my hands, and then went back to tearing through my snacks.

I curiously opened the unmarked envelope as I made my way back to my room, my shadows gathering my backpack and new school uniform.

The scrawling cursive handwriting, and the stationery was covered in beautiful, painted watercolor flowers.

I tried contacting you before, but you didn't respond. Sorry to send this. I need to speak with you urgently.

8:00 PM Thursday - 17 E 31st Street.

I slid on my uniform's skirt, frowning as the letter rested on my desk.

"Well that's not at all a creepy way to start the day." I muttered.

As I buttoned up my shirt, my thoughts wandered back to the mysterious phone calls.

I tried calling back, but the lines were disconnected. Or in one case, they only led back to the phone extension of some random intern at Powers Industries.

The one voicemail I did receive was just complete static for 20 seconds.

I slipped on my sweater, grabbed my backpack, and rushed to the front door.

"Jason, don't eat all my chicken whizzies again!" I yelled.

Jason poked his head out of the kitchen doorway as I was in the middle of slipping into my scuffed shoes.

"You can't prove I did it! Artemis likes them too!"

I rolled my eyes.

He rushed out the door with me, frayed backpack in hand. The two of us dashed for the stairs, weaving in between the various night shift workers and the occasional drunk person stumbling back home.

My dress shoes clacked against the concrete stairs as we descended the stairwell and exited the building. We dashed through the winding sidewalks of Gotham.

A dulled sense of pain shot through my head, and a shiver ran down my spine. My vision flickered between shadows.

I tried to stay close to Jason while searching my shadows for what they were trying to alert me to.

People crammed together on the sidewalks, a man loudly talking on the phone, kids ducking in and out of the nearby bodega— it all looked normal.

Yet this creeping, foreboding sense of danger lingered.

I couldn't find what the shadows were looking for.

As we entered the subway tunnel, I looked around one last time. Factory workers in their uniforms, children playing with each other and waiting to go to school, a brother and sister with red hair and freckles arguing away, a mom with a crying baby, a group of guys suspiciously dressed in all black. The subway station was filled with the colorful cast of Gothamites one would expect on a weekday morning.

So why was I still on edge?

Artemis waved to us from the edge of the platform. Even underneath the dim fluorescent lights, I could see the dark circles underneath her eyes.

"You're looking fabulous today." I commented as I took my spot standing next to her.

"And you're looking just as great." Artemis rolled her eyes and playfully punched my shoulder. Right where I got grazed by a knife last week.

I winced. "Don't be such a jerk."

"Then maybe don't get into a fight when you're recovering from a concussion."

"Ghost also tried going outside a few days ago." Jason leaned a bit forward while holding onto my sweater. "Ma caught her." He grinned at Artemis.

"Don't be a snitch." I swatted him back. "He's totally lying by the way."

"Nope. Ma yelled at her for being stupid."

"That sounds about right." Artemis laughed.

"Look— you were busy with the team." The subway finally pulled in. "And since I'm not allowed to start until completely cleared." All three of us boarded, pushing through the crowded subway car. "I had to find some way to continue working on our project."

I tried looking for some of the kids there that night. But it's kinda hard to look for people based on description alone. And as much as street kids fight with one another, they don’t rat out each other.

That left Steph as a last resort to track down.

But… how do I go about interrogating a traumatized kid, let alone actually finding her?

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Tell me next time instead of almost getting your arm cut in half. And you—" Artemis turned to Jason as the two sat down. "You take dino nuggets as payment to watch this idiot?"

"I can take care of myself just fine.” I huffed as I grabbed onto the handrail. The subway lurched forward, and the shadows grabbed onto my shoes, keeping me from slipping.

"I also take Magic Tree House books." Jason ignored my comment in favor of Artemis's deal.

"Really?" Artemis raised an eyebrow as she looked up at me.

"So if I buy a lot of them you'll be my double agent?" I grinned.

"Maybe." Jason smirked like he just conned me out of a diamond.

Joke's on him, I would have bought him the books anyway.

"Stop trying to bribe him." Artemis crossed her arms.

"You did it first."

"Someone has to make sure you don't fall off a building again."

I rolled my eyes. "It was one time!"

… … …

Gotham Academy, Gotham

Monday, September 22

07:45 A.M. EDT

"—Your League can’t protect you forever. Soon the tides will turn against you so-called heroes.”

Dick frowned as he paced back and forth in front of the courtyard's massive, ornate stone water-fountain. He had so many questions, so many thoughts swirling in his head.

That day in Cadmus was the nudge the League needed to finally start taking the team seriously. The team ended up with a new base of operations, training, and B agreed to start sending the team on proper missions.

But there still remained a lot of secrets.

Dick could see the way Batman, Huntress, and Question spoke in hushed tones whenever Bruce was called to the watchtower. Those three rarely ever spoke.

And the League refused to tell them anything about Waller. Just to stay away and call for backup if the team ever runs into her again.

Dick paused his pacing for a moment to glance at his phone.

His thoughts drifted to the other puzzle his mind insisted on piecing together.

Something didn't add up, the way Ghost got that USB so quickly. The similar power set… Although it wasn't uncommon for metas who are related to one another to have similar, if not the same, powers.

But the real piece of the puzzle that got his mind turning was her relationship to—

"So… TV was right, rich people like to brood and randomly pace back and forth."

"Princess," Dick slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket. "Glad to see the concussion didn't ruin your idealism about TV." He turned around to meet her gaze.

Ghost hadn't been seen in a while due to a concussion too.

"Of course not." Her breezy laugh echoed in his ears as she took a step closer to him. "After all, there's always a bit of truth reflected in art." And another step closer, leaning in.

Dick could feel the tips of his ears begin to heat up despite the fall wind.

"Look." She whispered and subtly nodded to the scene on the other end of the courtyard.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dick noticed a group of girls trying and failing not to get caught staring at him.

"Seems like entourages really do exist." She took a step back from Dick.

Dick rolled his eyes. "It happens the first few weeks every year."

He had a rather strange love-hate reputation among the students of Gotham Academy. Usually, there was more emphasis on the hate part.

Dick, for the most part, carried the stigma of his past, both from the circus and his many many suspensions throughout his five years at Gotham Academy. Yet, Dick's somewhat friendly demeanor, combined with being the foster son of the one and only Bruce Wayne, attracted a whole separate horde of people.

"Well, guessing by that reaction—"

Dick noticed her eyes flicker, their grey hue taking on a slightly uncanny glow.

"You’d probably wanna leave then. They're deciding which one should talk to you first."

Dick sighed. "It's way too early for this." He trudged away from the fountain, purposely giving a wide berth of space away from any of the students roaming around. "So, your powers let you hear from far away?" He whispered.

"Nope." She followed him, stray leaves crunching beneath her loafers. "Shadows can only see. That means a lot of lip reading." She paused for a moment; Dick watched as her eyes darted back and forth. "And it looks like the girls settled on sending Nancy as tribute."

Dick immediately grabbed her hand and sped up his pace. "Don't look back, and don't make eye contact."

He would take a moment to enjoy how the girl next to him had such a melodic laugh— but Dick was more focused on avoiding the inevitable dumpster fire that would happen if he had to deal with another random love confession this early on into the year.

"You got it." She gave Dick a mock salute. "But you'd probably want to know Nancy's picking up her pace."

Dick practically slammed the door open as he exited the courtyard and entered the loud, crowded hallway.

Though Dick's escape was soon cut off by a shout down the hall.

"Hey! Circus freak, we're not done! You owe me an apology after last time!" The voice rang clear above the chatter.

Dick turned to his left to see who was yelling at him. Once he recognized who it was, he fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Aaron— known for harassing many girls at Gotham Academy and destroying Babs's science fair project last May. Also widely known for losing a fight to someone a foot smaller than him. Aka Dick may or may not have decked Aaron.

Though despite the stain on Aaron's reputation, the large teen still commanded the halls. The crowd of bystanders parted like the Red Sea as Aaron stomped towards them.

"What the hell is this guy's deal?"

Dick turned to see that the girl next to him no longer had a playful expression. Instead, her face was scrunched up in annoyance, and her grey eyes were narrowed as she glared at Aaron.

"He's just—"

"Circus trash, tell your girl to quit looking at me like that!" Aaron stopped right in front of the two smaller teens.

"It's not a crime to look around." She took a step forward, angling her body to be between Dick and Aaron. "Although there's not much to look at."

Whispers and snickers rang out throughout the crowd of bystanders. Dick noted Aaron's friends making their way out of the crowd and lining up on the sides of the hall— blocking any chances of a clean escape.

"Oh so you moved on from the commissioner's kid to some alley girl?" Aaron made a grab for the girl's wrist. As he pulled her arm up, her sweater sleeve slipped down. Aaron eyed the band aids that covered parts of the girl's hands, and how her now bare wrist and arm were already covered in deep purple and yellow bruises. So much so that her normal skin color was barely visible. "I heard alley girls were good at getting on their hands and knees. Guess you're no different."

Aaron's comment was met by resounding silence. The entire hallway waited with bated breath for what would happen next.

Then everything happened at once.

Dick grabbed Aaron's wrist and twisted it.

Aaron refused to let go of the girl's arm. She glared at him, not reacting until Aaron turned his ire towards Dick. As Dick dodged a punch and kick, the girl let herself be pulled in just enough to—

Smack!

She headbutted Aaron straight in the nose.

Dick pulled the girl away from Aaron's now loosened grip.

As blood dripped down from Aaron's nose, the two teens took a step back. By now, the crowd of students were energized by the fight. People started yelling for either side, phones were out and recording, yet not a single person intervened.

"Walk away Aaron before you make things worse for yourself." Dick smirked, his sharp blue eyes focusing on every weak point in Aaron's stance.

But before Dick could do anything, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Dick looked out of the corner of his eye, his gaze met cold grey eyes as she shook her head. Her eyes subtly darted to where some of Aaron’s friends had moved closer. They were ready to pounce the moment Aaron called them in.

"You think you're so high and mighty just ‘cause you’re Bruce Wayne's sugar—!"

The crowd ducked out of the way as Aaron went flying to a nearby row of lockers.

"Wanna finish that sentence?" Dick's voice was deceptively calm and even, his smirk now completely gone. He stared at Aaron’s friends, daring them to come closer.

They all instinctively took a step back.

Dick stalked up to Aaron and stopped just in front of the bigger teen. Dick's final step slammed into Aaron's ankle, the heel of Dick's dress shoe grinding into Aaron's shin.

As Aaron yelped in pain, Dick felt someone pull him back.

"Dick, there's—"

"Everyone! Break it up and go back to class!" A teacher's voice cut off the entire exchange.

People from the sidelines groaned in annoyance as the fight ended just before it really started.

The teacher looked a bit on the younger side; his soft curly red hair, freckles, and doe-eyed appearance stood in contrast to his commanding presence as he ordered everyone to disperse.

In the midst of all the movement, Dick backed away from Aaron.

"Before we get caught." She tugged at Dick's arm, forcing him to turn away from Aaron.

"A bunch of people already recorded the fight. Running away will only delay the inevitable." Dick stood his ground as several teachers showed up.

Every single one of them, except for the initial red-haired teacher, glared down at the two teens and gave sympathetic nods to Aaron.

"So, Principal's office anyway?"

"Yeah, so—" Dick's sentence was cut off as the girl stomped over to Aaron and the two teachers currently helping Aaron off the ground.

Smack!

She slapped Aaron across the face.

"PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!!! NOW!!!"

… … …

Front Office, Gotham Academy

Monday, September 22

09:00 A.M. EDT

"And, they're still talking…" Dick sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Do these usually take so long?"

"You've never been to the Principal's office before?"

I averted my gaze from the Principal's door. Muffled shouts filtered out from behind the door. The secretary watched us warily from her desk on the other side of the front office.

"Well usually the school officer deals with this stuff, and by now everyone would have just been arrested." I shrugged.

My line of sight finally landed back on Dick, noting how he had been fidgeting the whole time we'd been stuck sitting on these annoyingly small plastic chairs.

"That's definitely not a depressing statement."

"I know right?" I let out a mirthless laugh.

My laugh abruptly cut off and trailed into coughs as the secretary lady glared at me. I don't think it'd be a good idea to get on her bad side, considering it's my first day.

"Can you see—?" Dick switched the subject, and I noted how his right foot now swayed from side to side.

I matched his rhythm, my left foot swinging to the side just far enough for the tip of my shoe to brush his.

"I stopped once Bruce started talking." Once they started discussing how to reach my 'aunt.' "Didn't feel right to look." I whispered.

More like I didn't want another reminder of how no one—

The door to the front office slammed open.

Catherine Todd stormed in, anger written all over her face as she marched up to the secretary.

Why is she here? Who called her? The contact info that Artemis and I gave the school should have led to Jade's old cell phone. No one was supposed to answer, no one was supposed to—

The secretary and Catherine walked right past me. Guilt welled up within me as I noted Catherine's waitress uniform peaking out from underneath her thin coat. The smell of maple syrup and waffles lingered in her wake.

CLICK.

The door closed behind them.

My heart felt like it was pounding in my chest. The whole world began to blur as I felt my powers force their way to the surface. Shadows' whispers flooded my mind. My entire body stilled as my vision suddenly shifted to the shadows in the Principal's office.

"Of course she doesn't have a real mother."

A gentle touch was enough to startle me back to my own line of sight. The weight on my hand was enough to ground me back in reality. Fingers pried at my own closed fist. My left hand stung from where I had dug my nails into my palms.

Blood smeared against the tiled floor. It looked a lot like the sunsets in Baba's paintings.

I said nothing as Dick slipped his hand into mine.

Baba never painted sunsets after she left.

Dick said nothing as I squeezed his hand.

Then he was gone. And all that was left was her.

"Why can't you do something useful?! All you do is paint! The least you could do is pay me back—"

"I should've punched that jerk." I whispered.

"M'Pretty sure you already broke his nose, Princess."

"It's not enough."

"—Stop crying. You have no one to blame but yourself. You should've done more."

A deep rumbling noise echoed throughout the halls.

Ping!

With our free hands, we both grabbed our phones.

Emergency Alert: Poison Ivy escaped from Arkham Asylum. Avoid all areas near Robinson Park.

My entire body tensed.

Normally, Artemis and I didn't go after anyone from Arkham. Usually, we left the crazies to Batman and Robin… But we might need to—

My escape plan… I need to— I…

Dick's thumb gently swiped over my knuckles. I turned to look at him. He was preoccupied, texting someone on his phone. His hair had fallen forward, obscuring his eyes.

His thumb was still tracing circles over the back of my hand. A part of me wanted to push his hair back.

The vibrations from my phone interrupted; the pattern for Artemis playing.

"B says we can go back to class." Dick stood up, still holding my hand.

I barely registered that he was leading me out of the front office. I couldn't stop staring at our interlocked hands.

My entire brain felt like one goopy puddle mess. It shouldn't be this goopy mess! I need to focus! Since when did I allow myself to get distracted by—

A spike of pain shot through my head.

"Run!"

A giant thorny plant tentacle broke through the hallway walls. Debris and plaster flew through the air.

That feeling of being watched came back in full force as we slipped underneath another plant that shot towards us. I pushed it to the back of my mind as Dick pulled me forward.

We ran through the halls, dodging the plants that sprouted up behind us. People's screams echoed as I tried to keep up with Dick.

"Escape plan?" Dick let go of my hand and jumped as a plant made a grab for his ankles.

"Uh— today's my first day." I slid underneath another thorny vine. "So, you can be the tour guide again."

"Just another way you failed to be of use." Her voice whispered in the back of my mind.

"You got it Princess." Dick grinned as he grabbed my hand again.

"Why are you letting someone else do the work for you? When did you become so weak?"

"I just need a spot to open a portal." Our shoes slammed against the wooden floors.

The wood cracked and splintered behind us as the killer plants were on the move. They were nothing like the plants Ivy used in her last attack.

If anything, they seemed engorged, the veins looking like they were ready to burst at any moment.

"You think plants can be mutated?" Dick muttered as we dodged another thorny vine.

"It's Gotham."

"Right, they’re definitely mutated—VINES!"

Dick pulled me back and into another hall. The vines started creating walls, blocking us off from escape.

Shadows showed most people were trapped in classrooms; we were some of the few people left in the hallway.

"After this, we should become vegetarians." Dick joked as he slammed open the door to an empty art classroom.

"I would rather not be on Poison Ivy's personal hit list." We rushed towards the windows, only to find they were covered by vines.

Dick and I climbed on top of the counter that was right below the windows. Plastic paint bottles splattered to the floor, and papers crinkled and scattered as we found our footing. We pushed on the windows with the help of my shadows, but they didn't budge one bit.

After a few more seconds of struggling, we both turned around, realizing the vines hadn't touched us.

"Fair enough. Now, the real question is why would Ivy go after this school?" Dick climbed down from the counter. "Usually she just sticks to the area around Robinson Park."

The doorway we entered was now also blocked by vines and more plants. Thankfully, they didn't seem to want to skewer us anymore.

My phone buzzed again, as I slid back down the counter, my shoes landing in the puddle of paint on the floor. I pulled out my phone, and my eyes widened as I looked down at the message Artemis sent.

We're trapped in—

The words all blurred together.

Someone's still watching me.

Shadows whispered, showing a myriad of Gotham Academy's plant-infested hallways. The shiver turned into sharp pinpricks along my spine. My vision began rapidly switching between each shadow, desperately trying to find the source of danger.

"Why couldn't you have done better?! Don't you understand!”

Why are these memories coming back now of all times? Stop—

“You're here thanks to me. I could've chosen to leave you with the state, but I was nice enough to give you one more chance." I said stop!

I could vaguely hear someone call out my name.

I can’t make the memories stop! My own mind is—

"—What's wrong?"

Why did she abandon me? Why wasn't I enough?

I could feel two hands cup my own. I looked up to see Dick's bluebell eyes. I'm not sure when, but somehow we were both kneeling on the cold paint-stained tiles.

Find her. Warn her.

My legs were covered in red and yellow paint.

I can't, there's too much interference.

"Nothing," I lowered my hands from the sides of my head. "Just too many shadows. I need to find Artemis and Jason, but I can portal you out of here."

Dick handed me my phone from where it had fallen on the ground, and we both slowly stood back up again.

"It'll be faster if we both portal out of here and find help." Dick raised an eyebrow and pointed to my arms. "Besides you're already injured."

I looked down. My sweater sleeves had ridden up, showing my bruised forearms. Right.

"You still need to prove yourself."

I was going to portal us to separate locations and grab my suit…

"They're not that bad, really." I frowned. "You know I just bruise easily."

If I can't do something as simple as finding Artemis by myself— then do I really deserve to be considered a hero? To stand alongside her?

Dick crossed his arms. "We both know that's the oldest lie in the book." He leaned against one of the charcoal-stained tables. His eyes flickered between my arms and the doorway. "I saw how you acted when that lady walked in. Did she—"

"Catherine has nothing to do with this." I held up my bruised arms. "I told you before. I'm fine."

The day after the Cadmus incident, I talked to Wally and Dick about the bruises. I couldn't admit I got them from running around Gotham at night with Artemis.

"I saw the scar on your thigh."

Stupid uniform skirt. "It's Gotham, Dick. Things just... Happen." I turned around, refusing to meet his eyes. "Just forget about it." I raised a hand, about to switch powers when—

I felt a hand gently rest on my shoulder.

•~•~•~•

"I promise not to say anything. I just want to know so I can help." Dick couldn't ignore the scar that clearly showed she had been stabbed at one point.

Then there were the bruises—purple and yellow, new and old, all overlaying one another— the way she just dissociated in the middle of the classroom, and also the concussion she had for the past few weeks.

It was adding up, and Dick couldn't ignore it if her safety was truly at risk.

He knew just how bad the foster system was even with government (albeit corrupt) oversight. How much worse was it when no one was looking? When no one dared to look into crime alley? When biology is used as an excuse for everything?

"We're seriously going to have this talk when the school is kinda currently being overrun by killer plants?" She lowered her hand and stared at the empty space in front of her.

"Ivy isn't going to kill anyone… Unless they're the president of an oil company."

"So we'll all just be lightly maimed?" She pointed back to the thorny plants. Her eyes never made contact with his.

"No, Ivy usually doesn't hurt kids." Dick knows something is off about this attack.

"Sure, whatever you say but look at— Hey, wait… Don't Ivy's powers also heal plants?" She rushed past Dick and knelt down by the plants.

"Yeah, they should."

"These… Don't look as healthy as the ones from last time. The shade of green is off."

Dick walked towards the wall of vines. He knelt down beside her, and his eyes narrowed as he realized what was wrong with the plants.

"Dick, what are you—!"

She scrambled to move away from the vines as Dick grabbed his pocket knife and sliced through one of the smaller vines.

Instead of attacking them, the vine remained motionless. Nothing else happened as glowing green liquid oozed out of the vine.

"That explains why they looked off." She frowned as she crawled towards him, tilting her head to get a better look at the plant. "That stuff isn't radioactive, right?"

"No…" Dick let the liquid continue to drip from the vine, splattering against the tiled floor.

If anything, the consistency and texture reminded Dick a lot of—

His eyes widened. He needed to get to the Batcave right away. Bruce probably already figured out a way to escape this place and was already racing toward wherever Ivy is holed up.

"We need to get out of here." Dick let go of the vine and stood up. "Now."

She pushed herself up from the ground. "Sure, but I—"

"You can't break through those plants to find Artemis. If even a drop of that stuff ends up in your blood stream there's no telling what it would do to you."

She paused for a moment, finally making eye contact with him.

"You know what it is." She crossed her arms.

"It's Bane venom."

"Are you sure?" She glanced down at the few drops on the floor. "It could be something new? Plus, wouldn't it be odd for Bane and Ivy to work together?"

"Princess, they all have a common enemy— Batman." Dick needed to leave, now.

"And we both know that's not the end of the story." Her hand shook as she raised it and opened a portal beneath them. "But fine, we'll leave."

Dick felt the familiar weightlessness of falling through her portals.

His shoes slammed against the carpet. The white-blue light faded, and his eyes widened as he realized he was in someone's bedroom.

She landed right beside him.

Dick swiftly regained his balance, and he took in his surroundings. He noted the mismatched furniture, dark blue blackout curtains on the window, a desk littered with tons of papers. But the thing that caught his eye was the stack of paintings in the corner.

The painting resting on the top of the stack looked familiar— the night sky, streetlamps, signs for cheap pizza, and the four central subjects. Dick could easily see the likeness to her, Artemis, himself, and Wally.

But interestingly enough, Artemis's outfit didn't match what she wore that day. There were more greens incorporated. And her outfit also differed from the purple space sweater she had worn that day.

If anything, the matching green colors were identical to— Ghost's costume.

Could she be Ghost?

No… The similar powers could be waived away, but everything else added up.

The line up with where she disappeared and Ghost showed up that day? The USB being in Ghost's hands despite Wally only having given her the USB ten minutes ago? The way both she and Ghost had a seemingly strong attachment to a tall blonde girl named Artemis? The fact that both Artemis's and Ghost’s costumes were made of the same green material?

Even a quick glimpse at Artemis's texts to her when she dropped her phone.

We're trapped in the library. Find a way in and bring me the bag in the corner of my room.

That wasn't an exchange two normal civilian friends would have.

When Dick saw Ghost without the cape, Ghost had the exact same body frame and height as her.

Artemis also mentioned to Wally during yesterday's training that Ghost got stabbed once in the leg recently.

Ghost… Just another person to remind him of a legacy Robin would have to live up to.

Dick barely registered Ghost's movement as she rushed to her desk, rummaging through the drawers.

A loose piece of paper fell onto the ground. Dick bent down and grabbed it. There was an odd, unsigned message. The stationery didn't look normal in the slightest. Too ornate, almost like it had been hand-made.

That's when Dick noted the stationery's flowery decorations.

Purple Hyacinths… Bruce always leaves them at his parents' graves every year without fail.

Rhododendron… Poison Ivy leaves these as a warning for street kids whenever she takes over Robinson Park.

Begonias… Talia sometimes leaves these flowers in Bruce's office.

"Do you have any idea who sent this?"

Chapter Text

6th Floor - Westside Apartment Complex, Gotham

Monday, September 22

09:35 A.M. EDT

Something felt off as my powers switched again. "Sorry for taking you here. It was the only place I could think of that where no one else would be." I rummaged through my desk, and my shadows flittered through the stacks of papers. "We can figure out from here how to—"

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

My phone went off with dozens of notifications. I pulled it out of my pocket, watching as a flood of information poured in.

The vines at the school must have knocked out the signal after Artemis's text.

Breaking news: Strange plants wreaking havoc on the Gotham-Metropolis Bridge.

Update: Killer vines on the loose? Just Another day in Gotham.

New News: Robinson Park to Bristol— Destructive plants everywhere!

I yanked my left desk drawer open, pulling out the new communicator Robin gave me.

27 New Messages! Artemis, KF(Kid Flash), Aqualad, Superboy, Starfire.

I shoved the communicator in my pocket and turned to finally face Dick. "Dick, those plants are all over Gotham. You should—" I froze as I realized what Dick was looking at.

"Do you have any idea who sent this?" His eyes narrowed the longer he stared at the letter.

"I don't." I closed the gap between us, hovering over his shoulder as I took another look at the message.

My gaze drifted across the unusually ornate stationery; the watercolor flowers sprawled across the page.

Purple Hyacinths—Sorrow and forgiveness,

Rhododendron—Caution,

Begonias—Beware…

My eyes widened as I realized what lay beneath the request to meet.

"Someone's warning you."

"I know." I grabbed the paper from Dick's hands and placed it atop the pile of blankets on my bed. "But we have bigger problems."

One more glance at the incoming headlines bombarding my phone screen, and Dick shook his head.

"Okay, I'll contact the Commish. You should stay here." Dick turned on his heel and headed for my window.

"Why would I stay here?" The words flew out of my mouth before I could think.

Why did I—? I should have kept my mouth shut. I had my out.

Dick froze, his hand still gripping my curtains. "Because it's safer."

I could've easily let him go and change into my suit.

"By that logic, you should stay here too." I took a step toward him.

"Everyone knows that during Arkham breakouts it's a fifty-fifty chance 911 will actually do anything. By now the lines are probably full too. It'll be easier if I go—"

"Then I'll go with you. Safety in numbers?" I closed the gap between us, reached over Dick's shoulder, and pulled the curtain open.

The fire escape looked even more rusted and banged up during the day. The streets below were eerily empty.

"Why do you have all those bruises and scars?" Dick whispered, still not looking back at me.

With daylight now pouring into the room, I could see how my arm and hand looked bad.

"I thought we agreed to drop it." But it wasn't that bad.

"We didn't."

"It doesn't matter—"

Dick finally whirled around. "Yes it does. The fact that over half your arm is the same shade as your sweater and you're still insisting on running into danger isn't cool. On top of that, you still limp when you run."

"Because that's normal for me!" I threw my hands in the air. "And why the hell do you think I would be okay with just letting my friend run into danger while I sit home and oh I don’t know, twiddle my thumbs?! Or wait for a casualty list with your name on it?! Wait to hear about all the people I could have helped and are now just another number on a damn list? My friends, my family— I need to help them." My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, and my head felt foggy.

"And they will get help without you running blindly into a fight without any weapons."

"And you really think that when everything goes to hell they'll actually get help? Dick, you do remember what happened to Gotham during the Thanegariean invasion, right?"

Dick winced. "I know. But you can't go out there without anything, without a plan."

"I have powers Dick! That's enough of a plan!"

I don't know why I'm acting like this.

"You can't just rely on having powers! What happens when someone manages to get an inhibitor collar on you?!" Dick yelled back.

He's right.

"I'd like to see them try! I'll take them down before it happens!"

Something inside me needs to push back. To believe that I still have the power to protect those I care about.

"You’re going to get yourself killed!"

The two of us were inches apart from each other—so close that I could see my reflection in his eyes.

"So what?! You want me to just be useless? To just sit there when I could've done something?" My nails dug into the palm of my hands. Everything around me felt hazy. "Dick, I have no idea why or even how I ended up with these powers." I took a step back from him. "Every time I think back to that night—" Useless. Abandoned. Finally, all alone. "Everything is just a blur. I see lights, hear someone's voice, and feel like something disgusting is crawling over my skin and suffocating me."

Dick grabbed my hands.

I belatedly realized I was shaking.

"I'll never know fully what happened. But at least let me prove it wasn't a mistake for me to get these powers! That something good could come out this! Let me prove I'm still useful. That I can help. If I'm not a hero then what was the point of—"

Dick pulled me in, his arms wrapped around me tightly.

"You don't need to prove yourself useful to anyone."

Snap!

A sudden pain jolted me out of it. I dropped my connection to the shadows. The fogginess in my mind lifted.

Horror set in as I hugged Dick tightly and buried my face into his shoulder.

My emotions, my thoughts, the memories…

Someone's tampering with them.

I'm a risk. A liability.

"We need to find Artemis. Now." I whispered.

•~•~•~•

Dick could feel the exact moment something shifted in the atmosphere. The swirling shadows at the corners of the room stilled, Ghost's eyes flashed from grey to blue, and she clung to him like he was her only lifeline.

Her voice was calm and even as she whispered.

"What's wrong?" He whispered back.

"My powers, something's wrong with them. It's effecting my emotions, my judgment. I need to find Artemis."

Dick remembered scrolling through every mission report on what happened that evening in Cadmus. Both Ghost and Superboy mentioned the same mind-altering animal.

"Artemis is still trapped. Why do you need her?"

"Because…" Ghost lifted her head. Her eyes darted around the room warily, like she was waiting for someone to pop out.

"You're fine. Nothing's going to happen." Dick couldn't hear anyone in the apartment or on the fire escape.

Ghost took a deep breath and turned her gaze back to him. Her electric blue eyes bore into his soul. "All the bruises and the stab wound you saw— it's because I've been tracking down everyone related to Cadmus. Artemis has been around me in-person the past few weeks. She might be able to tell me if there was any change in my behavior or powers. I only noticed something was off today."

"Okay, you can wait here and I'll—"

"No. Whoever is tampering with my powers knows I live around this area. Or at least frequent it. If you're seen leaving here, then it might put you at risk too." She clung tighter to him. "I don't know how much they figured out, but someone has been tailing me since this morning."

Dick paused for a moment, mulling over what he should say next.

Her gaze never wavered.

Dick let go of her waist; his hands moved to cup her cheeks. "Ghost, I'll be fine."

"… How can you be so sure?" Ghost's lips were pressed together, and her eyebrow arched as she looked at him with skepticism.

"We survived Cadmus together, didn't we?"

"Oh…"

He could see the gears turning in her mind as she let go of him. Dick's breath hitched for a moment. Ghost grabbed his wrists, pulled his hands away from her face, then—

She covered his eyes with his own hands.

"Hm, I guess we did… Robin."

Dick peeked through his fingers. He locked eyes with Ghost and noticed the slight upward tilt in her lips. "So—"

BOOM!

The entire room shook. Ghost stumbled into him. Screams echoed outside. Dick grabbed onto Ghost, stabilizing the two of them.

"You need to go with Batman."

"Yeah." Dick checked his watch, and all the silent notifications popped up one by one. "Looks like Ivy hasn't made any demands yet."

"That explosion doesn't sound like something the plants would do." Ghost pulled away from him and ran to her closet. She yanked the door open and riffled through some boxes. "Do we know if Bane's been spotted anywhere?"

Dick pressed his watch's side button, and a holo-map sprang to life. The blue light engulfed the bedroom. "So far— he's still in Blackgate. But, someone spotted Harley ten minutes ago in the diamond district."

"Where's Batman?" Ghost pulled down her costume from the top shelf, knocking several things to the floor as she ran to the other room.

"He's engaging Ivy in the park." Dick pulled up several security cameras showing the ensuing fight.

Outside the park were dozens of police and SWAT vehicles. Dick watched as Gordon yelled through a bullhorn, directing personnel every which way. As officers ran about and civilians screamed from the sidelines, Dick noticed a familiar face in the park.

"Dammit." Dick muttered to himself as he pulled up several more news feeds.

Sure enough, he spotted a certain someone from Cadmus running away.

"Is anyone else from the team coming?" Ghost walked back into the room, now in full costume minus the face mask.

"Last time, B was off world. But normally—"

"—No metas. Right?"

"Yeah, too many ways for a meta to be mind controlled in Gotham." Dick winced the moment he finished his sentence.

"It's fine." Ghost sighed. "I get it."

"Then you should stay here."

"We both know that Bane is somehow working with Ivy, Harley's out there, and—" Ghost tilted her head, looking past Dick and at the security camera feed. "Cadmus is still operating. We need to find out what's going on. Plus, Artemis is trapped in that school."

Dick frowned as logically it made the most sense. Either call in back-up, or Ghost had to come with him. Batman and Robin couldn't be everywhere at once.

Dick opened up the mission reports from Cadmus, briefly scanning through each one.

"That psychic animal you and Superboy encountered. It didn't effect anyone else." Maybe there was a way to mitigate the risk. "Maybe— something about your shadows makes you more vulnerable to psychic attacks. It didn't effect you went you switched powers."

Ghost nodded. "The mental link between me and Kon-el broke the moment I switched powers." Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she crossed her arms. "But there's still the issue of someone following me. So…"

"No portals."

"I have no idea if there's some identifying marker specifically attached to them." Ghost walked over to the bed, knelt down, and pulled out a box from underneath.

"Without the portals there's no way to get to Artemis."

"… I know." Ghost popped open the box, revealing a worn, green bow. "So, it's just us?"

"Just us." Dick switched back to the camera feed. "We'll go after Harley, look for any signs of Bane. I'll run a program that will follow that intern guy from Cadmus through Gotham." Dick tapped away at the holo-screen.

"You wanna see if he'll lead us to anymore people."

"Bingo."

That and he didn't quite trust Ghost around anyone from Cadmus.

Ghost slung the bow over her shoulder and made her way across the room. She pushed open the closet door and grabbed two jackets off the hangers, throwing one at Dick.

Dick caught it with ease.

"I take it we'll need to make a quick stop before confronting anyone?" Ghost zipped up the jacket over her costume and tucked in her cape.

Dick nodded as he slipped on the brown jacket and flipped the hood up. "Nearest safehouse is four blocks from here."

The two heroes slipped out through Ghost's apartment door. Dick ducked his head low and followed Ghost through the hallway. The stained carpet and dirty walls all passed by him in a blur as Ghost yanked him down a smaller staircase at the end of the floor.

The cramped stairwell led out a small side door and into a garbage-filled back alley. Dick boosted Ghost up a nearby chain fence, and she pulled him over the top. As both their feet hit the ground, the two ran.

Dick then took the lead point to the warehouse. With every second that passed by, he could see more and more vines filling the back alleys. Even for Ivy's powers, this was abnormal.

"It's never been this bad." Ghost muttered as she jumped over a particularly large plant that had pierced straight through a building and into the alley.

"That's why we need to figure out what's going on."

… … …

Diamond District, Gotham

Monday, September 22

10:30 A.M. EDT

"Come out, come out to play little Birdie! You can't just bring a new friend and not introduce em' to me!"

Survival instincts dictate that I probably should have stayed home.

"Go!" I whisper-yelled as I pried open the wooden boards covering the hole in the building's wall.

But my survival instincts were definitely buried six feet under the moment I first put on this costume.

A crashing sound startled the two girls as they crawled out of the opening and ran away. I darted over and hid behind a stack of boxes.

Footsteps echoed throughout the once-abandoned building.

I peered over the edge of the boxes, watching the battle unfold.

"How about you tell me about your friend Ivy?" Robin flipped over Harley, narrowly avoiding her giant mallet. "And maybe I'll be more inclined to talk."

Despite all the chaos, Harley deliberately avoided hurting the vines poking into the crumbling building.

"Now why would I go blabbin on the one person who's agreed to help me reunite with Mistah J?" Harley's back was to me.

I grabbed Artemis's old bow off my back and took aim.

"So you two have a deal going on?" Dick's escrima sticks clanged against the metal mallet.

Now.

The arrow shot through the air, but Harley was quicker. Instead of landing in her shoulder, the arrow lodged itself in her giant mallet.

"Found yah." A hidden knife unfolded from her sleeve and flew straight for me.

For a split second, I stood there, expecting shadows to stop it. Robin kicked out Harley's feet from underneath. Her body slamming to the floor startled me into running.

"Ow! Whatever happen'd to havin' manners." Harley was back on her feet a moment later.

Dick gave the signal to fall back. The two of hid on opposite ends of the building.

"We gotta keep her talking. Ivy still hasn't made any demands, and Bane's no where to be seen." Dick whispered over comms.

"Got it." I popped out of my spot and aimed another arrow. "Hey Lady! Whatever happened to clowns having funny jokes."

The arrow shot past Harley, grazing her cheek.

"I know, right? I've been telling her and Joker for years that I've seen better." A birdarang flew through the air. It cut through a hanging chain.

Harley flipped out of the way as the chain clanged against the wooden floor.

"Well would ya' look at that." Harley grinned. I ducked and rolled as another knife came flying at me. "The little birdie's got a girlfriend. Time really does fly!"

"Looks like she's got us all figured out Pretty Bird."

"But does she really, Princess?"

We circled around the edges of the room, ducking in and out from behind old furniture and boxes. Although I had to stop for a brief moment each time to aim my arrows.

"Look at that kid, yah finally found someone else who's just like you—" Harley didn't bat an eye as another arrow flew past her. "A performer."

"Well at least our performance is in sync." I jumped over a vine, noting how the ends had started to flower.

"Where's the other half to your act?" Dick's voice echoed across the room. "Let me guess, couldn't be bothered to show up."

"My puddin' would've been here if you and Bats just left us alone!"

"More like he needs to leave Batman alone. Everyone in Gotham knows Joker only lives to chase down Batman." My eyes widened as I realized just how many more flowers were blooming on the vines. Their sickly glowing green veins contrasted with the purple petals.

"So where does that leave you Harley?" Dick goaded Harley. "B told me Joker kicked you to the curb recently."

"Oh that's gotta sting."

"Both of ya's needa shut up! Once Mistah J sees how much work I went through to get him out, he'll take me back."

"Is he really worth dealing with Ivy? With Bane?"

"Of course he is! Just you watch! We're going to come up with even bigger smiles and laughs once Bane upgrades our arsenal!"

Robin and I stopped circling her, the two of us now hiding behind the same flipped-over couch.

"And you can't stop us!" A gun went off. The bullet flew above us and through the wall.

Robin grabbed my hand, and we ran as Harley began unloading the gun into the hiding spot we were just in.

"How do you know they'll uphold their end of the bargain?" Dick yelled over the gunfire.

"Yeah, I thought Ivy was only in it for herself and the plants!"

"Red might not be a free agent she used to be, but at least she's still reliable!" Bullets flew past us. "Y'know, maybe if I hand over one of yah's Red can join in on our little joke!!!" Robin pulled me in and grappled up into the rafters above. "After all, us girls gotta stick together!"

My eyes widen as Harley pulled a trigger switch out of her pocket. In a split second, she put on a filter mask.

Then at once the blossoming flowers below exploded, sending pollen everywhere.

I pulled out the filtered mask Robin gave me earlier, and just as I was about to put it on—

Crack!

The bullet went straight through the mask, shattering it.

The pollen fumes rose up and engulfed me as Harley began another round of shooting. I held my breath as the regular filters in my mask weren't designed to handle any of Ivy's plants.

Robin immediately flew back down, escriminia sticks knocking Harley's gun out of her hand.

As the two exchanged blows, I saw my opportunity.

I slid across the beam and pulled out a trick arrow. As I nocked the arrow, a bullet suddenly flew past me, grazing my cheek.

The sudden cut caused me to let go of the breath I was holding. I coughed as the pollen burned my lungs.

"Ha!" Harley yelled triumphantly as Dick knocked the new gun out of her hand.

Despite the burning in my lungs, I fired the arrow. "Robin move!"

The arrow embedded itself in the ground next to Harley, and foam rapidly expanded. Robin knocked her out, and the foam engulfed most of Harley's body.

I grabbed my grappling hook and swung down as the foam completely hardened. I then dashed out of the old building, leaving Harley's unconscious body.

As we ran through the alleyway, I could finally take a deep breath without everything burning. I pulled up the bottom half of my mask as I skidded to a stop, heaving and coughing as my lungs tried to expel the pollen I inhaled.

"Ghost?" Dick stopped right next to me as I leaned against the brick wall.

"All good." I heave out in between coughs.

Dick ripped off his rebreather and pushed it against my face. My hands shakily latched onto it. The filtered air soothed my throat, and my breathing evened out.

"I thought Ivy's plants only made you act weird. Not," I took another deep breath in. "Give you asthma."

"Those purple plants are ones that are supposed to make you more suggestible."

I moved to lean against Dick, one arm slung over his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "Seriously? You think maybe the venom messed up the pollen?"

"It's the same chemical composition. Otherwise the mask would have sent an alert." The two of us made a beeline for where Robin's bike was parked.

"So, then why the hell don't I feel—"

The entire ground shook once again. My head snapped towards the giant vines in the distance. The vines curled and writhed around before the green color vanished. They shrank and shriveled up before my eyes. The entire alleyway became deathly quiet.

Then everything happened at once.

Sirens blared in the distance. Car alarms and the sounds of smashed glass echoed. The scent of smoke and chemicals were heavy in the air. Someone with a black ski mask ran past the alley and across the main road.

Ivy's plants were gone, and now came the opportunists.

I pulled off the rebreather and pulled down my mask. The two of us found the nearest fire escape and scaled it.

My hands and arms burned every time I grabbed onto the ladder, but that didn't stop me from making it to the top of the building. Boots hit the roof, and I ran over to the ledge overlooking the road. A lump formed in my throat the minute I saw what was happening.

It was too perfect.

The sudden chaos was met with a swift reaction I've never seen in the few years I've lived in Gotham.

"No way the GCPD would ever be this quick." Robin voiced out a similar disbelief to my own.

Before we could say or do anything else, a sudden beep from both our communicators caught our attention.

"Batman has a mission for the team."

"That can wait, we have to figure this out." There are dozens upon dozens of police vehicles on the streets below. My line of sight narrowed in on the weapons they were using. They're nothing like the ones they've used before, yet they looked oddly familiar.

"It all leads back to Cadmus." Dick voiced before another beep echoed from our communicators. "B, what's going on?"

I turned to see Dick pressing on the comm piece in his ear. Though I couldn't hear what the response was, Dick's sudden shift to an emotionless expression told me everything I needed to know.

"Fine. We'll talk later." Dick's hand dropped from his ear.

I hesitated for a moment. Dick stared at the street below with an intensity I'd never seen before. Though I couldn't quite figure out the emotions behind his reaction, I reached out towards him.

"Robin?" I grabbed his hand, our fingers intertwining. "Are we—?"

Dick's eyes fluttered, and he turned to face me. "Let's go meet the rest of the team."

He pulled me a long, and with one last look back over the edge, I watched as the chaotic streets below disappeared from my view.

This ever-expanding puzzle has gotten more complicated than I ever could imagine.