Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time

Chapter 19 - Failsafe Part 3 - Aftermath

The team woke with a start. It takes them all a moment to realise that they are not dead and for half of the team to realise that Martian Manhunter had not killed them. M'gann takes a glance at her teammates, sighing in relief that they are all there, and although they look shook up, they are alive.

"What happened in there?" Batman asked the older Martian.

"The exercise, it all went wrong," he responds, looking dejected.

"Exercise?" Robin asked as he slowly sits up, looking just as confused as the rest of the team.

"Try to remember." Batman insisted to his young protege. "What you experienced was a training exercise."

The team, except Artemis, all look confused. They were sure what they had just experienced was real. It felt real, looked real, so how wasn't it real? Wally and Kaldur were lying back, trying to process everything that went on, Connor was propped up and staring at the ground in front of him as he petted Wolf. And Robin was leaning on his elbow as he looked at his mentor, Captain Marvel and Martian Manhunter not far behind the bat.

"Manhunter psychically linked the six of you within an artificial reality," Batman began the explanation, "you all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train-for-failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"That was why you hardly grieved," J'ohn took over, "Even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes." Connor subconsciously pulls Wolf closer to him and scratches him behind his ears. "But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise. And her subconscious took control, making all of you forget too."

The team all glance at a growingly distraught M'gann, "I'm, uh, I'm- I'm so sorry." she struggled to look at her team and mentors.

"This isn't her fault! Why didn't you stop the exercise?" Connor growled, blaming the entire mishap on the people that were supposed to be keeping them safe.

"We tried. Phantom and I went in to try and stop it," Manhunter says firmly. "But M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. I realized I would have to wrestle control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within. But upon entering the reality I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly to remember why I was there, causing Phantom to forget his purpose there too."

"Phantom, he ended up remembering." Robin thought out loud, "he told us to wake up, is that why you went all terminator on us?" J'ohn nodded in response.

"Er," Artemis cleared her throat casting attention on to her, "speaking of Phantom, why hasn't he woken up?" She looked down. Everyone else followed her gaze. In her arms, laid next to her was Phantom's prone body, most thought it was an illusion, but they swear that his body looked like it was flickering in and out of existence. The grip Artemis had on Phantom was white-knuckled as if she let go of him, he would disappear forever.

Martian Manhunter hovered a hand over Phantom's head as his eyes turned white. "He is choosing not to come out, there is a lot of anger in his mind."

"Send me in there," Batman commanded.

"Bats, are you sure?" Robin spoke up, shocked that the dark knight would want to enter someone else's mind.

"I brought him into this, he is my responsibility." J'ohn nodded to his fellow hero and took him into the ghost teens mind.

The next thing Batman register was that he seemed to be in a blizzard, snow and ice was raging all around him with no sign of Phantom anywhere.

"Phantom! We need to talk." Batman called into the abyss.

"Why should I talk to you? You betrayed my trust!" The abyss called back raging; the blizzard picked up.

"Please Phantom." The blizzard abruptly stopped, and everything went still. A light flashed, momentarily blinding the bat. Instead of snow and white surrounding him, he stood in what looked to be a school's football pitch, the bleacher surrounding the pitch was completely empty. There were banners surrounding the bleachers with Casper Ravens on them with the colours red, white and black. He takes another glance around and notices that the surrounding are awfully dull, and the bleachers weren't as empty as he thought. There sat the lone figure of Phantom.

"I suppose you were on your high school's football team?" Batman asked, trying to ease the tension between them.

"Not even in the slightest," Phantom sighs, "Why'd you do it? Why'd you send me in when I explicitly said no? More than once I might add."

"It was the best option we had-"

"That still doesn't excuse that fact that you sent me into a dooms-day dream without my consent."

"Why didn't you want to do it?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you!" He shouts and for a moment Batman was attacked by snow. Phantom slowly composed himself, taking several deep breaths to stop himself for attacking the inconsiderate bat in his own mind.

"Help me to understand." Phantom debated telling Batman about Freakshow and how he used his mind against him.

"People have reasons for saying no to things, and to just disregard that for your own benefit, that's beyond inhumane." Phantom explained as calmly as he could.

"Then what's your reason?" Batman was really pushing this to Phantom's annoyance.

"Cause I had my mind taken over before, making me do things I didn't want to do, things that hurt people. I hate not having a choice when it comes to my own mind, I hate that bloody mind link the team have when instead of telling me about it they just invaded my mind! I hate that I was pulled into a mind thing that I didn't want to be a part of in the first place, and I hate that you've entered my mind and demanded answers from me! Is that enough or shall I go on?" The blizzard once again picks up in Phantom's mind and Batman feels himself being pushed out.

He was blinded once again by a bright flash and when he opened his eyes, he was back in Mount Justice. Batman takes a heavy sigh.

"What happened?" Robin asked his mentor.

"My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous... so damaging. In more than one way."

M'gann turned away for her teammates and the now awake Phantom, her hands were covering her face. Captain Marvel approaches the distressed teen and wrapped her into a much-needed hug.

They caught the end of Martian Manhunter's and Batman's conversation that they only just realised was taking place.

"You under state it." Martian Manhunter presses. "In terms of raw power, she has the strongest telepathic mind I have ever encountered." M'gann sobs in Captain Marvel's arms. "Stronger by far than mine."

"Phantom, you're awake," Artemis stated as she finally noticed the awake ghost teen in her arms. In response, he shrank into himself and turned himself invisible. Artemis frantically looked around herself for him since she could no longer physically feel him.

"Give him some time," Kaldur reassured the young archer, "he probably just needs some space."

"I'll set you all up to talk to Black Canary tomorrow until you feel like you no longer need to, Phantom included," Batman stated as he walked to the zeta tubes, Robin quick on Batman's heels. The other soon followed going to their own homes, for M'gann and Connor to their own rooms.

That atmosphere of Mount Justice was heavier than it had ever been before. Every member had felt the pressure of the world falling upon them, all of them unnerved and scared by the event that had just taken place. None of them would be sleeping soundly, not for a while at least.