Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time

Chapter 17 - Failsafe part 1

The air was stuffy, dusty and hard to breath when Danny woke up. He opened his eyes only to find he was completely encased in darkness, and he didn't understand why, where was he? He tried to move, to push himself up off the dusty, rough ground only for his back to hit something hard and solid. Danny turned himself over, so he back was lying flat against the ground and ran a hand along the surface that was trapping him. It fell cold, rough but stable, was he trapped under concrete?

Danny seemed to realise that he wasn't at school or in his room at Mount Justice, so what was he doing in his human form? He wanted to turn intangible and check out the situation, but know he had to change to do so first, just in case.

"Going ghost." Danny rasped as the dust attacked his throat and made it uncomfortable for him to speak normally. Bright rings circled his body, lighting up the area around him. He noticed a prone body lying a few feet away from him. As the light finished encasing him turning him into his alter ego, he crawled his way over to the unconscious figure. Before he could reach the figure the solid surface above him started to lift off, followed by a gasp and a thud.

The sudden brightness of daylight temporarily blinded Phantom making him cover his eyes against the attack.

"Uncle J'ohn!" A female voice gasped. He recognised that voice, but couldn't quite place it, his brain felt like it had been put through a mincer and tried to be put together again.

M'gann flew towards her uncle with her arm wide ready to embrace him when Aqualad ran in front of her and spread his arms to stop her. He looked back at her as if they were having a silent conversation again.

"But we saw them get disintegrated, you and Superman and everyone." Superboy blurted out. M'gann was already at her uncle's side helping him stand as he clutched his head.

He barely registered that there was someone beside him helping him to his feet.

"Phantom? You ok, dude?" He took a glance to his right and found Kid Flash helping him to his feet, while on his left Robin slung Phantom's arm over his shoulder to keep him upright.

"S-something's wrong." He faltered as he couldn't put his memories together quite right.

"Yes, I remember, but I cannot remember how I survived or how I arrived here." He took a glance down to his niece unsure of his answer.

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you." M'gann eagerly replied trying to make sense of the situation.

"Scrambling your brains along the way." Robin equally as eager joined in.

"If that's the case how is Phantom here then?" Kid Flash asked as he took Phantom's weight as Robin went to join the conversation.

"Maybe he was, what does he call it? Maybe he turned intangible as the beam hit him, doing the same to him as it did Uncle J'ohn."

"My mind is clouded; I feel certain we had something important to tell you." J'ohn hesitantly replied Phantom had to admit that his brain did feel like someone had whisked it up.

Kid Flash suddenly hit the side of his head with his palm and left Phantom's side almost sending him back to the ground, though Superboy soon took his place.

"I feel like a pass the parcel," Phantom muttered into Superboy's shoulder before the found the strength to right himself.

Superboy quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Like the children's party game?" He asked.

"That's the one." Superboy didn't bother to respond or ask any more questions.

Robin and Kid Flash both rushed on top of a destroyed spacecraft, a few members of the military, that Phantom had only just noticed, followed them out, Robin brought up his wrist holo-computer that showed the schematics of the Craft. They seemed to have another conversation inside their heads as Kid Flash pointed to the screen from over Robin's shoulder.