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Really, Dick shouldn’t have been on this mission.
In fact, Dick should be back in Blüdhaven enjoying a well-deserved day off from both his civilian and his vigilante job. He’d pulled out all the stops, grabbing whatever over the top self-care bullshit tickled his fancy. Very rarely did Dick have a full day off. He was going to enjoy it, goddamnit!
Of course, it was only once he’d stepped back into his apartment that he got the damning text. Tim had been benched due to a fractured wrist, and his only chance to infiltrate this top-secret possibly extremely illegal and unethical government laboratory was tonight. If Dick didn’t step up then they risked having to wait another year to infiltrate, and Tim seemed pretty dead set that they did not have that kind of time.
So, here Dick was. Slinking through the hallways of the Ghost Investigation Ward (really, Tim?). The building itself was surprisingly clean and well maintained. His footsteps barely echoed, small tap tap taps as he tried to find the room Tim had directed him to. There were supposedly physical documents that Tim needed in order to properly shut the facility down that hadn’t been translated into digital yet. If they had kept all of their info on their servers then Dick was sure Tim wouldn’t have even bothered with physically breaking in.
Still as Dick crept closer to his goal, he found his suspicion rising. Sure, it was pretty late at night, but the lab was practically deserted. He hadn’t come across a single worker in the entirety of his infiltration. Sure, the route Tim had planned and sent Dick was created so that there was minimal contact, but Dick had expected to see at least one worker still wandering the halls.
He sidled up to his target. Like most of the doors in the facility, it had an electronic lock. Less convenient than a mechanical lock, but nonetheless easily picked. All Dick needed was to pull out a magnet from his utility belt and the door was swinging open as if it were never locked in the first place. Still, Dick remained light on his feet as he scanned the rows of filing cabinets filling the room. How long had this lab been active to still use a paper and pen filing system?
Dick didn’t have time to ponder. He got straight to work, flipping through files and grabbing what looked important. If Tim had had more time to explain, Dick could have more efficiently grabbed what his younger brother needed. However, Tim didn’t so he’d be stuck with whatever Dick decided to grab for him. Hopefully Dick’s years in the vigilante business would be enough to allow him to discern the useful documents at a glance.
Just as Dick closed the last of the filing cabinets, an alarm pierced through the air. He jerked, immediately hiding behind a cabinet as an automated voice began to play.
“Containment Breach. Lockdown will commence in t-minus 5 minutes. All employees please exit through the nearest emergency exit. Do not engage with the ecto entity. Containment Breach. Lockdown will commence in t-minus 5 minutes.”
A rush of footsteps raced past the document room. Voices cursed, though their words were drowned out by the wailing of the alarm. Dick shoved the rest of the documents in the bag he’d brought with him and slung it across his back. Tim could yell at Dick for what little he was able to bring back later. For now, Dick did not want to find out what a “containment breach” meant in a place called the ‘Ghost Investigation Ward’.
Sneaking back through the hallways proved a much harder challenge with the sudden uptick of workers flooding the halls. On top of that, the layout shifted on him. Metal doors shot up from the floors and walls, sealing different areas off before Dick could slip through. As the overhead speaker continued to count down, Dick hastened his sprint through the halls.
Every time Dick thought he’d found a straight shot out of the damn place, another door would seal him off. Dick was starting to wonder if this containment breach wasn’t for one of their specimens but for catching birds who should have been back home enjoying a bubble bath and marshmallow scented face masks. Tim owed him at least 3 nights covering his patrol after this bullshit.
Dick slid around a corner. Before he could even try and dash towards an exit, something slammed into his shin. He tripped, grunting as his shoulder hit freshly polished tile floor. Dick heard a tiny yelp from the tripping hazard. Rolling over, Dick sat up and stared at what had slammed into him.
A kid sat on the ground, holding a hand to his head. His white hair twisted in every which direction, glowing in the darkened halls of the Ghost Investigation Ward. Green tinged his skin. The boy wore a plain white shirt and shorts, though his clothes were stained with splotches of green and red. As the boy began to recompose himself, Dick noticed that it wasn’t just his hair that seemed to glow. The whole boy glowed as if someone had dunked him in glow in the dark paint. Scars crisscrossed the boy’s limbs, and while that concerned Dick, the brand across the back of the boy’s neck raised a million red flags.
Ph4n70m
The boy turned, his nose scrunched as he rubbed at his forehead. His eyes glowed brighter than the rest of him, luminescent green pools in the dark of night. As their eyes met, the boy froze. Terror washed over his face. The boy’s joints locked as he stared up at Dick, deathly still.
Ignoring the tearing in his heart, Dick held his hands up with his palms facing out. “Hey bud! I’m not gonna hurt ya!” He said, keeping his voice soft. Dick pulled himself to his knees, keeping every movement slow and deliberate. The boy’s gaze flickered between Dick and his nearest escape route. Dick so desperately wanted to scoop the boy up and get the hell out of there, but if his growing hunch was correct then that would just make the situation worse.
“My name’s Nightwing,” he said instead, “I’m here to help. Do you need help?”
The boy relaxed at Dick’s hero name. “Are you an experiment too?” The boy asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Dick could lie. That’d get the boy’s trust easier and let him get them out quicker, but what would happen after they’d gotten past the reaches of the Ghost Investigation Ward? Dick couldn’t hear any footsteps nearby and the 5 minute time limit had been repeating for the past 3 minutes. As much as Dick needed them out of there as soon as possible, all evidence pointed to him having at least a shred of time to try and build the kid’s trust without lying to him.
“I’m not an experiment. Are you an experiment?”
The boy frowned, shuffling a bit. “But you have an experiment name. You’re Nightwing and I’m Phantom.”
Oh Dick hated his hunches being correct. “Nightwing is my superhero name. Do you know what a superhero is?” Phantom shook his head. “A superhero is a person who helps those in need. Do you need help, Phantom?”
Phantom stared at Dick. The longer they sat there, the more Dick’s anxiety crept further into his chest. They needed to leave, but Dick couldn’t risk scaring the kid. If he had to, Dick was more than prepared to just scoop Phantom up and ditch the place. However, he’d prefer not scaring Phantom needlessly.
Swallowing, Phantom nodded. “I wanna leave. It hurts here.”
Relief really was one hell of a drug. Dick smiled. “Okay, I can help you do that.” He reached his hadns out, still keeping his movements slow and easily trackable. “Can I pick you up? I’ve got longer legs, so I can get you out faster if I carry you.”
Another nod. Dick didn’t waste time. Phantom was lighter than he expected, and Dick could feel the boy’s ribs as he settled Phantom to his chest. As worrying as Phantom’s lack of weight was, it at least allowed Dick to continue running through the hallways as quickly as he had before. Phantom buried his face into Dick’s shoulder as they twisted through the halls.
Dick cursed as another metal door closed in front of them. They were running out of viable escape routes. Shouting began to grow closer as Dick heard footsteps begin to run down the halls. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. He turned around, backing up against the door. It would’ve been fine if he’d been alone, but he had a kid in his arms. He couldn’t fight while keeping a hold on Phantom, and he couldn’t risk just putting Phantom in a corner while he took care of the Ghost Investigation Ward workers.
His back should of hit the door, but Dick felt himself slip through it. Surprise caused him to scramble for a moment, but Dick managed to land back on his feet after rolling into a somersault. Dick looked down at Phantom. “Did you do that, bud?”
Phantom tightened his grip around Dick’s neck. Dick felt a nod against his shoulder. Cool, great. So Dick had just saved a meta child whose powers weren’t just glowing in the dark.
Dick took a deep breath. “Thanks for that, Phantom. The bad guys were gonna find us. You just saved our butts.”
With a shaky breath, Phantom said, “I can make us invisible. Then the doctors won’t be able to see us.”
“Can you?” Dick smiled down at Phantom, despite knowing the boy wouldn’t see it. “That would be super helpful, Phantom.”
Phantom nodded. In the next few moments, Dick shivered as it felt like liquid nitrogen had been injected into his veins. Once the feeling faded to nothing more than background noise, Dick began to run again. He had doubted it had worked at first, but then they turned into a hallway full of scientists.
Dick practically slammed his back into the wall, holding his breath as the workers dashed towards the emergency exit. Not a single one noticed the vigilante nor the child that trembled in his arms. Dick didn’t dare move until the entire crowd had passed. Once the area was clear, he ran off again.
He wrenched open the emergency exit, taking the steps down two at a time. They were so, so close. Dick held his breath as they stepped outside.
A crowd of workers had gathered in the grass outside of the laboratory. Conversations melted into each other as the workers complained about the inconvenience of it all. Men in white suits were scanning the workers for something, yelling over them and demanding order and compliance.
Dick took advantage of the chaos to slip away into the forest surrounding the lab.
He didn’t stop running until all he could hear was his own breath. Even then, Dick continued for a few more minutes before finally slowing down. He took a moment to catch his breath as he adjust Phantom in his arms. “You can stop making us invisible now, bud,” Dick said, rubbing Phantom’s back, “we’re safe. The bad guys can’t catch us now.”
A full body shiver ran down Phantom’s form as the liquid nitrogen melted into warmth. Just as the invisibility fell, a white ring popped out from Phantom’s middle. As the ring passed over Phantom’s body, his skin lost its green tinge. His hair turned black, and the boy seemed to come alive. As the transformation finished, Phantom slumped further into Dick, panting.
Dick cooed, holding Phantom tight. “You did so good, bud. So good.”
“We’re really safe?” Phantom’s voice wobbled, thick with tears. “I don’t have to go back?”
Dick shook his head. “You never have to go back there, Phantom.”
“Danny.”
“I’m sorry?”
“My real name is Danny,” Phantom, no Danny, said as he pulled his face away from Dick’s shoulder. Dick felt his heart melt at clear blue eyes that shined up at him through tears.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Danny.” Dick smiled down at the boy. “My real name is Dick.”
“Dick…” Danny whispered in awe. Looking up, Danny gasped as he pointed toward the skies. “Dick, look! You can see the stars!”
Dick looked up. The starry night sky shone down on them, with the north star shining brightest. Dick’s smile softened. “Yeah, Danny. You can see the stars.”
He adjusted Danny in his arms. He’d have to figure out what to do with the kid later. Surely, Danny had a family that was missing him. However, seeing Danny marvel at the starry night sky, Dick figured that they could wait for another night. For now, he began to walk towards the nearest safe house.
He could give Tim his documents after he and Danny had a good night’s sleep.