Avoiding Past And Future

(49) Intermediate

Minor warning: one singlular mention of Zatara claiming Danny is a danger to others, Danny-typical self-blaming thoughts

October 17, evening

Paying no mind to the discourse among the mentors, everybody silently tracked the glitch moving across the screen. The camera wasn't the only one who picked up on the oddity as they watched Wolf's gaze track him as well. The snarling from the security footage once again getting on Cujo's nerves as the pup growled deeply.

Danny reached down to pick him up, cradling him to his chest so the ghost pup didn't have the space go hound-out so close to very expensive tech. Cujo seemed to calm down enough to let them focus back on the security feed.

The glitch was easy to follow, weaving between people and the tables until it suddenly stopped right next to Dick's unconscious body. Though it was hard to see, they could vaguely make out the glitching part reaching out towards Dick. Where once was just a camera malfunction, suddenly Danny blinked into view, holding onto Dick's hand.

They watched in silent horror as utter chaos erupted.

Wolf trying to attack either just Danny or both Dick and Danny. It was too hard to tell at this point.

Cujo appearing to protect them both. At least, they figured it was Cujo. Not even Danny had ever seen this form. Though the even larger size and literal flames were new, it did start to make at least a bit of sense as to why Cujo always felt warm. He had assumed it was just part of his ghost-animal physique but maybe some extra research might be warranted.

They watched Oliver try to shoot Cujo, utterly failing as the hound simply phased through it. Dick didn't understand why they were attacking Cujo. He wasn't doing anything wrong! They weren't even in any danger outside of Wolf going insane.

He understood even less why Barry thought it was a good idea to make a move on a clearly powered being. Any funny quips he had been thinking of were silenced when he watched the man fall down and collide with one of the tables. Blood started pouring from the man's leg. Even with speedster healing, a hit to the leg could make or break a fight for them. And this? This felt like the ball was fully in Cujo's court now.

Barry knew Cujo was just trying to protect them, right? They attacked him, they couldn't possibly fault Cujo for that.

Right?

At least J'onn seemed to be the calmest of the bunch, save for Batman of course as Arthur was visibly struggling to keep Wolf back. The man was busy enough trying to keep the simulation from collapsing or becoming an even bigger problem. Something he seemed to be doing quite well given the circumstances.

It helped them absolutely not one bit when Bruce pulled down the cowl. Whatever defense they could have tried to go with went up in smoke in that very moment. Even Selina, who had never spent time with the mentors before, could immediately pick up on a shift between them. The switch between following orders because they wanted to and because they had to was impossible to miss. The blatant glares as they watched Bruce walk away after lifting Dick off the table even less.

"Did you know about this?!" Barry asked Dinah, immediately limping back over to Wally once Wolf calmed down enough that they didn't need his help anymore.

Dinah looked at the speedster incredulously. "Exactly how did you expect me to know about this, Barry? I'm not a mind reader, no offence, J'onn." The Martian didn't give any indication he heard, nor cared for her words. Sweat was building on his forehead from the considerable strain he was under to keep everything from collapsing.

"I don't know!" The blond man bit out, wincing as he looked over his injury again. The cuts were slowly closing but nowhere near fast enough to heal before his dinner date with Iris later. Oh how she wasn't going to enjoy him getting injured during what was supposed to be a calm and safe training session.