A New Beginning

Chapter 3

Danny's gaze finally gravitated to whom he had deemed the biggest threat in the room, due to both level of concealment and difference in stature. This was a grown man, not a teenager, and he wore all black that canceled all skin besides his mouth. He had a cowl that covered his eyes similarly to how 'R' covered his that also had pointed tips that resembled the ears of a bat, which made sense when paired with the black and yellow bat symbol proudly sitting on the man's chest. He was very muscular, and Danny couldn't identify anything about him that said he was...enhanced, no outward physical attributes (like gills or green skin) and nothing inward (like electricity in his veins) that indicated that this threatening man was less/more-than-human. However, Danny knew from experience that normal human beings are not any less of a threat than non-human entities, he actually found them to be more threatening simply based off of the greed and superiority complex that drives their actions more often than not, at least that's what he's observed with his own personal experience when encountering the species. While he conceded that he used to be human, and part of him still technically was, he had been something other for far longer than he was ever human so he doesn't really feel like he can sympathize with the instincts and actions of humanity. The human man in front of him wore a permanent stone mask as his expression, and Danny knew that this man would not hesitate to take down any thing that was deemed a danger. Alpha was the word that seemed most fitting in the boy's mind and the primal part of him that had been awakened from the moment he didn't understand what was going on recognized the man's status as dominant. Not that the more evolved part of his brain cared about the man's perceived dominance.

Not once dropping his defensive stance, the scan of the group in front of him took a total of thirty seconds. The boy narrowed his eyes in suspicion and apprehension, and waited for one of the others to make the first move. He could tell from the slightly shocked expressions on two of the teen's faces, they were expecting a scared, broken little boy.

They weren't entirely incorrect with their assessment, Danny was terrified. His heart was beating a fast symphony in his chest and he was consciously keeping his body from trembling and his breath from hitching. He was also broken, in more ways than one, a fact of life (or half-life) he has long since accepted. But he was not a little boy, not in the ways that mattered. Not mentally, not emotionally. No, he was forced to grow up faster than any one should and so he was not a little boy that they could comfort and soothe. He was a trained weapon, a soldier, a tool to be used and thrown away once proven to be worthless. He's also not stupid, far from it, and deciding to trust these people right off that bat would be a very stupid decision made on his part.

The man in all black - Batman, Danny decided to call him - stepped forward, which the hybrid responded to by taking a step back. The man recognized the action and ceased his movement, instead he began to speak from the doorway in which he still stood.

"My name is Batman," Danny refrained from inelegantly snorting at the fact he had accurately predicted his name. The man continued, "you are in the Young Justice Headquarters." Danny blinked in shock, and confusion when the man didn't elaborate or explain. 'The Young Justice? Am I supposed to know what that is?'

"What do you mean? You've never heard of us?" The youngest of them asked flatly, but Danny could hear an underlining of disbelief despite how hard the teen tried to smother it. The absent-minded eleven year old jumped, both not realizing he spoke out loud and for being addressed directly. Danny, unsure of his voice and still very much distrustful of the odd bunch, only gave a single, sharp shake of his head to answer the boy's question. The boy that Danny decided to refer to as 'R' until he got a proper name and the boy with the hair like his sis--

--'Lightning', Danny decided, shared a confused look with each other while the others stayed stoic as ever.

"Dude, how long were you in there?" Lightning blurted out tactlessly, wincing as soon as the words left his mouth. He received a blow to the side by R and a nasty glare (but not the worst Danny's ever seen) from Batman.

The boy, however, took this in stride despite the hurricane of emotions brewing under his calm, warrior facade. "Seven years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 14 hours." He responded. The other's noticed a distinct accent that no one was able to place indicating that English was not his first language. The others stared at him with shock and pity in response to his declaration, even Batman and 'Gill boy.'

'I really hope I get some names soon.'

"Holy shit." R muttered under his breath, too quiet for any human to hear, but Danny heard it loud and clear and his calculating gaze snapped to the boy immediately, who almost recoiled.

Lightning, trying to dissipate the tension that circulated the small room, started to speak. "My name is Kid Flash, but most just call me Kid."

The other's seemed to catch on. "I'm Robin." R stated.

"Aqualad" Gills said.

'Pretend names it is, then.'

"Phantom. People call me Phantom."