Work Text:
“Oracle, are you getting this?” Red Robin called softly through his comms.
“Negative,” came the soft reply, as if Oracle was whispering, even though there was no one on her end to hear her. “Visuals cut out the second you entered. I’m assuming you’ve found this mysterious ‘Project Phantom’?”
Red Robin swallowed back the bile that was building in his throat. “Yeah. I found him,” he rasped out.
The chatter that had been present as background noise in his ear went silent. It was one of those pin drop moments. But the Gotham vigilantes had also feared something like this when they had gotten the news of the shady as shit lab. It had ALL of the markers. Human experimentation and trafficking. Black market organ donation and selling. Illegal weapons manufacturing, selling, and trading. And even the hint of drug manufacturing and selling. A real jack of all trades kind of deal. They had hoped that they were wrong, but Gotham just loved throwing its worst at them.
And now, Red Robin was looking at a containment pod with a humanoid figure inside. The figure was in a skintight black jumpsuit of some kind. From what Red Robin could see, the figure, teen, he didn’t look any older than Red Robin himself, had white boots, white gloves, and white wispy hair that flowed in the Lazarus colored liquid that the teen was held in. There was a mask coming down from the top of the containment pod hooked around the teen’s face. Red Robin wasn’t sure if the mask provided the teen oxygen or if it kept him asleep. Probably both. Red Robin wondered, however briefly, if the monsters who captured this mysterious Phantom ever actually fed him or took proper care of him.
Red Robin shook his head. Because the answer to that was Absolutely the Fuck NOT. Hood was already being generous by using rubber bullets on the meatheads in their pristine white suits. Who wore all white in GOTHAM? Although, Red Robin didn’t think he really cared all that much if a few of these fucks went to the morgue instead of the jail, especially since the “laws” that they claimed they were acting under didn’t exist. Red Robin hated nothing more than those who pretended to be government agents, and he just knew that B was having a coronary because how had the Justice League missed this. How in the FUCK had the Justice League or Justice League Dark MISSED THIS?!?!
Red Robin stalked over to the containment pod to see if there were any sort of controls that he could hack to open it. It didn’t take long to find the data pad and control panel. However, it took him roughly thirty long, agonizing minutes to hack the controls. He could hear his family fighting over the comms, but it didn’t sound like enemies were giving them too much opposition. Well-armed, yes. But knowing how to take down vigilantes, not so much.
But back to the containment pod. It seemed like every time he nearly had the door, hatch, pod, whatever, open, the code would change. Like it was alive. But Red Robin was faster, and he had Oracle on his side. So, eventually, the two of them were able to get the containment pod open. It slid open with a hiss. The whole thing was reminiscent of Luke’s recovery pod when he nearly froze to death on Hoth during “Empire Strikes Back”.
Red Robin jumped back so as not to be splashed by the Lazarus Water, but then had to dart forward to catch the other teen as he limply fell out of the pod. Red Robin laid him down on the floor as carefully as he could, and then sat back on his heels, taking a moment to process what the fuck had just happened. He shook his head, compartmentalizing. He took a sample of the liquid because while it seemed like Lazarus Water, it also looked cleaner…purer somehow.
Red Robin turned his attention back to the teen on the floor and began systematically checking him over any injuries. Red Robin had a small first kit in his tool belt that he hoped would be enough to help with any minor injuries he encountered. After his initial assessment, he realized that the other wasn’t breathing.
“FUCK!” He exclaimed out loud.
“What is it, RR?”
Red Robin cast around for anything that could help and saw an AED behind a glass case. He jumped up and shattered the case, not having time to look for the key. He sprinted back to the side of the teen and opened the kit. Inside was everything he needed to begin a different kind of assessment. He used the scissors that were inside to open cut away the jumpsuit. He inhaled sharply at the Y-shaped scar running his pale chest. He used the rag to wipe away the sticky liquid (Red Robin refused to call it Lazarus Water) away from his chest. He applied the pads in the appropriate places. And then he plugged the pads into place.
“Oracle, I pulled this guy out of containment, but I’m not getting any vitals!” He whisper shouted down his comms. Once again, his comms went silent. They were all praying they weren’t too late.
“Then, it’s a good thing you know what to do, and how fast you have to do it. Red Hood and Nightwing are enroute,” Oracle said in a barely calm voice.
The AED voice instructed him to begin CPR on the teen, so Red Robin did as he was told. He was thankful that Oracle begin playing a fast tempo music in his ears so that he could time his compressions to the beat. He felt the teen’s rib crack under his hands and gave a silent and tear-streaked apology. Red Hood and Nightwing burst in just as the AED gave the instruction to clear for shock. Red Robin’s hands shook as he pressed the button.
The electricity arced between the pads, and the teen thrashed and jolted on the ground. He screamed, and the sound was heartbreaking. Tears streamed down Red Robin’s face unchecked at the sound. From the noises the other vigilantes were making, it didn’t sound like they were unaffected either. A flash of light surrounded the teen at his waist, and then warped up and down his body. And then, the three vigilantes were no longer looking at a teen in what appeared to be a hero’s jumpsuit. They were looking at a black-haired boy dressed in ripped jeans, torn socks, a shirt that had more holes than Swiss cheese. But at least he was breathing, and the AED confirmed a heart rhythm.
He groaned and attempted to move his arm to his face, only his movements were stiff, and his hand ended up slapping his face. His eyes fluttered weakly, and then all three vigilantes were staring down into icy blue eyes. Granted they were glossy and unfocused but still blue. Red Robin could already hear the “adoption bait” jokes, even if B wasn’t the one to find him.
“Oracle, we need a med evac. Stat. We’re taking him back to the cave,” Red Robin called over the comms. There was an argument, of course. “SHUT IT!” He yelled. “Did I mention that I just solved our missing person case as well? Who just happened to be ‘Project Phantom’. They’re the same person. WE. ARE. BRINGING. HIM. BACK. TO. THE. CAVE.”
Red Robin spent the next few minutes ordering the older vigilantes to find something to cobble together to be able to carry the teen. Eventually, they were able to make a sling stretcher. It wasn’t pretty, but it would be able to hold the teen’s weight. Nightwing took one end, and Hood took the other. Red Robin stepped up next to the teen, and began carding his hand through the other’s hair, murmuring soft words of comfort. The teen seemed to relax at the familiar gesture.
When the hallway didn’t allow for Red Robin to walk next to the teen, he whined and whimpered. Red Robin was always quick to slot himself back in beside the other when they passed through the area. Once they were outside, they were met with the sleek outlines of the Batcopter hovering in the air. Batman had a frown on his face. Red Robin was tempted to flip him off. Instead, he asked Spoiler to lower the cage so that they could get the teen into the Batcopter. Batman was attempting to force them to maneuver towards the Batmobile when Red Robin flipped.
“You listen to me, Batman. I AM TAKING CHARGE OF HIM. FROM NOW AND UNTIL HE’S CLEARED BY…” Red Robin hesitated. He didn’t want to say Agent A because the white suited fucks had all gone by letter names, and the boy was semi-conscious. Red Robin didn’t want to say anything to trigger him into a panic attack. The boy was still clinging to his hand. “…PENNY-ONE AND THE DOC. YOU TOUCH HIM, AND I SWEAR BY EVERYTHING HOLY, I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN.” Red Robin snarled at his mentor. Batman stepped back in surprised at the sheer venom in Red Robin’s voice.
“Damn, Replacement. Tell us how you really feel,” Hood snarked but didn’t stop loading the boy into the cage that had been lowered. Hood made sure that the boy was secure before pulling on the cable twice to signal that it was ready to be hoisted back up to the waiting helicopter. Red Robin quickly scaled the ladder that had been lowered for him, and Red Hood went up after him.
Spoiler was silent on the flight back to the Cave until she wasn’t. “So, Penny-One, huh?”
“It just sounded right. I didn’t want to traumatize him,” Red Robin whispered as he brushed some hair back from the other’s face. The pinched look on the boy’s face faded.
“So, what’s his name?” Spoiler asked cheerfully as she dropped down onto the landing pad.
“According to the missing person’s file, Daniel James Fenton. Reported missing by his sister, Jasmine Fenton, and his two friends, Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley. His parents, Doctors Jackson and Madeline Fenton have been trying to declare him dead, saying that and I quote, ‘That ghost scum, Phantom, killed our Dann-o, and took over his body,’.” Hood and Spoiler sucked in a breath. The boy on the stretcher whimpered pitifully. “I know, Danny. We’ll get you somewhere safe, soon.”
Spoiler landed the Batcopter on the landing pad. Hood and Spoiler took up positions on the improvised stretcher, while Red Robin resumed his place next to Danny. It was a little awkward to transfer the teen from the stretcher to the waiting infirmary bed. And the newly named Penny-One wasn’t sure what he could do versus what he wanted to do considering where the boy had been found. He settled on an IV line since the boy looked absolutely malnourished and dehydrated, a blood pressure monitor, and pulse oximeter. He wanted to put an oxygen mask on the boy, but Red Robin told him that would probably trigger the poor thing considering where he was found. Penny-One nodded and put the oxygen away.
The blood pressure monitor had to be adjusted since the alarms kept going off. The boy’s heart rate and blood pressure were much too low. Penny-One hoped that this was normal for the boy, and that Red Robin had saved him, and that they weren’t about to watch the boy pass away. But the rise and fall of his chest somewhat reassured the field medic. He left Red Robin to stay by the boy’s side and went to see to the rest of his family and tend to their wounds. Most of the others only had small wounds, although Robin had a laceration that needed to be stitched up.
------------
For the first time in…well, Danny couldn’t remember how long it had been since his parents Maddie and Jack had turned him over to the GIW that he woke up and wasn’t in pain. He moved his hand only to find that it was attached to another hand??? Yeah, that seemed to be another hand at the end of his. He opened his eyes, and it took a few minutes for things to come into focus. There was a voice attached to the hand, and yet, another hand was gently scratching through his scalp. His core almost let out a contented purr. This brought him into an instant anxiety spiral.
“Hey, easy there. You’re safe. We rescued you. They’re never going to hurt you again,” the voice attached to both hands said gently. Danny wanted to believe it, but he’d been burned before.
“Wh…wh..who?” Danny rasped before coughing. A cup was pressed to his lips, and he felt cool liquid seep down his throat. When the cup was pulled away, he tried to chase the glass before he realized he was just too weak.
“Easy. We don’t know how long you’ve been without food or drink. We put in an IV just to give you some vitamins and help hydrate you. I’m Red Robin, by the way,” the voice finally introduced themselves.
Danny’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Red Robin, like the hero associated with Batman?!?! Danny blinked several times, and his eyes focused on where he heard the voice coming from. He saw a head of messy black hair not too different from his own. He saw a face with a black mask and white eyes. And then he saw the classic red, black, and gray uniform with the yellow bandoliers. Danny couldn’t help it. He gasped. He recognized the hero who stood by his bedside.
And then the torrent of tears was released. Red Robin stayed by his side throughout his breakdown, never once leaving.
“WHY? WHY ARE YOU JUST NOW COMING?” Danny got out around heaving sobs.
“Because the GIW blocked anything out of Amity Park,” Red Robin stated softly.
Danny looked at him with fear-filled doe eyes. “Wh…what?” he croaked.
“The Doctors Fenton have been on their payroll since 20xx. Long before they ever opened the Ghost Portal. Only they weren’t known as the GIW back then. They were known as Department of Extranormal Operations. And unfortunately, we…I…lost track of them after I thought I had gotten them shut down. They didn’t shut down. They just changed their name. When they heard what your…What the Doctors Fenton were working on, they offered them grants and contracts. But they had someone on their team block all information out of Amity Park regarding ghosts and ectoplasm. That’s why the Justice League never got your calls. Why we never got involved,” Red Robin explained, still carding rough hands through Danny’s hair.
“How…how…did you find all…<hic>…this out?” Danny asked hiccupping softly.
“Oracle…”
“ORACLE IS REAL?!?!”
“Oracle is very real. And on the ride over here, I was able to give her the hacking mechanism that I used to get you out of the containment pod. It helped her break through the information firewall. That and your sister and friends came to Gotham about three months ago to file a missing person report.”
“Oh.”
“I’m so sorry, Danny. You should never have had this happen. But I promise you, you are safe, and nothing like this is ever going to happen again,” Red Robin whispered softly, while helping Danny sip some more water.
Danny didn’t know if he believed the hero, but for now, his core was telling him that he was safe. He asked a few questions and was provided with answers. Then, he let himself slowly drift. Red Robin promised to stay with him till he woke up again. Said that he would be there, no matter what. The feeling of another core walking into the infirmary nearly startled him awake, but the feelings emanating from the core were the same as the words coming from Red Robin’s mouth. And so, Danny let himself sleep. And hope that when he woke up, he wouldn’t find himself strapped to another metal bed or back in that horrid tank.