The above artwork does not belong to me.

The Dark Knight knew that something was wrong.

When Dick got home, it was late. He seemed exhausted and frustrated. That wouldn't have been strange if he'd gone on a mission that day, but he hadn't. All he'd done was spend time with the team.

Richard threw his bag, which contained things he might need at the cave, on the ground and flopped on to the couch. He immediately began scrolling through TV channels.

"Long day?" Bruce asked. He was about to go on patrol, but he wasn't sure whether Dick was coming.

"I guess." Dick continued to switch channels with boredom. His eyes were glued to the screen.

Bruce opened the fridge, seeking a glass of milk. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

The Grayson sighed. "Not really."

Only Barbara and Bruce knew it, but Dick had a tell for when he was lying or being dishonest. "Are you sure that there's nothing I should know?"

"Mm-mm," Dick said, but when he still didn't look at his guardian's face, Bruce took the remote from him.

"Richard," Bruce said sternly.

Dick reluctantly dragged his gaze to Bruce's face. "Yes?"

"Do you really have nothing to tell me?"

There it was; his tell. When he wore a jacket, he would play with its zipper, or if not, the collar of his shirt. Currently, his fingers were picking at his t-shirt collar. He was definitely being dishonest.

Bruce folded his arms, causing Dick to realize that he'd given himself away. "Richard, what's going on?"

Dick smiled nervously. "Look, Bruce, it's fine. The team and I just got into a few arguments today."

That part was true, Bruce could tell, but there was something more than that. He didn't bother trying to scare Dick into telling him. Sighing, Bruce walked back into the kitchen to retrieve his milk. "I'll find out eventually, Dick. You might as well tell me now."

"Maybe," Dick answered, gazing at the TV again mildly before turning it off and getting up. Apparently he was coming on patrol.

◇◆◇◆

Dick rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses as he entered the cave. Last night had been long and boring. Nothing had happened but a few muggings, and there had been an uncomfortable tension between him and his mentor.

He was dressed in civies to avoid suspicion from Bruce, but he walked into the bathroom to change immediately. Except for Zatanna, Conner, Kaldur, and M'gann, he was the first one there. Well, the only others who weren't there were Atremis and Wally, but they didn't live there.

Miss Martian was in the kitchen, attempting to cook something that Dick assumed was bacon. Zatanna and Aqualad were at the counter, but Conner was nowhere to be found.

"Is Supey on guard duty?" Dick asked.

Zatanna massaged her temples. "Yeah, he's in the surveillance room. My shift just ended."

Robin was still a little angry at Zatanna for trying to read Phantom's mind after they'd agreed not to, but he shoved his feelings aside. "Have there been any new developments?"

Aqualad shook his head. "Phantom just sits in his cell. He has refused to go to sleep, or even lay down. I believe he is worried about something."

"Well, no duh. The guy's stuck behind bars," said Wally, speeding in. He carried Artemis in his arms.

She scrambled to her feet. "Wally! I could've walked!"

He leaned slightly closer, smirking. "Well that was faster, wasn't it?"

She punched him in the arm, her cheeks tinged pink. "Don't grin at me!"

Robin found himself cheering up at their antics.

Aqualad cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I do not believe it is the fact that he was captured that is weighing on him. There is . . . something else."

Robin rubbed his eyes for the second time. "We need to talk to him again. Except this time . . . this time it should just be one person."

He bit his lip. "Let's go to the surveillance room. We need Conner to be part of this."

Soon enough they'd all assembled in the small room. Conner crossed his arms as he listened, quietly considering their options.

"We need to send someone in there," Robin began. "We can try several different people, but there are a few of us that shouldn't go in there. Namely, Miss Martian and Zatanna. He doesn't like them."

"Perhaps we should begin with someone he will connect to easily," Aqualad stated. "Our goal should be to gain his trust enough for him to confide in us."

Artemis gazed at the wall of screens. "And if he doesn't?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Robin answered.

Aqualad continued. "I think the best people for this would be Wally, Conner, or Robin. Wally is the friendliest and most open; he should be the first. Then Conner, as he is fairly mild-mannered and indifferent. Robin, he may not like figures of authority. Therefore, as you help me lead this team, you should go last."

Robin nodded. "I agree. Any objections?"

No one spoke.

"All right, Wally's going first!" Kid Flash grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Let's see what I can do."

He zipped out of the room, arriving next to Phantom's cell in a ridiculously short amount of time.

The team could hear him perfectly from the surveillance room due to the speakers hidden in all of the cells. "Good morning, Phantom! How're you doing?"

The ghost raised his eyes blearily. "Not well."

This didn't seem to faze Wally at all. "Hey man, I'm here to talk to you one-on-one. Do you want to stay here, or go to the interrogation room?"

Phantom looked like he was about to say something rude, but instead paused and replied, "I need a change of scenery."

The ghost allowed Wally to place the ghost-proof cuffs on him and walk him to the interrogation room without a struggle. Kid Flash attached the handcuffs to the table and sat in the chair opposite of his prisoner.

"You're not resisting much, I've noticed," Wally said casually. "Is there a reason for that?"

Phantom shuffled his feet. "There's no point in wasting energy. I'm not stupid enough to do that."

"Yeah, good choice. You'd never escape anyway."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Man, I just don't want to give you a reason to keep me here any longer. I'm considered a hero, same as you. Why are you treating me like this?"

Dick was surprised at how well their conversation was going. He'd gotten Phantom to speak honestly much more easily than any of them could have.

"Well, you have your fair share of bad articles," Wally said in answer to Phantom's question.

"And you don't?"

The speedster paused at that.

"That's why I'm here, isn't it? You saw some article on how I'm terrorizing Amity Park." Strangely, he sounded almost . . . relieved. "Why didn't you just ask me about that instead of kidnapping me and stuff?"

"You're a superhuman, man," Wally said. "You're dangerous. What if you were a bad guy?"

"I'm a ghost," Phantom corrected. He tilted his head. "I guess that's true. But listen, if this is about the mayor thing, that wasn't my fault. I was framed for that. I wouldn't even gain anything from kidnapping the mayor."

"Who framed you?"

The boy paused, as if there was something he didn't want to tell them. ". . . Another ghost. An enemy ghost."

Wally nodded, not pressing the subject. He's being surprisingly smart about this, Dick thought.

"You seem like a pretty powerful ghost from what I've heard. So, how did you die, man?"

Dick face palmed. I take that back.

Phantom didn't say anything. Dick turned to complain to his teammates about Wally's stupidity, but the moment his eyes wandered to the door frame, Dick nearly jumped out of his skin. He recognized the silhouette in the doorway.

The Dark Knight spoke. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

◇◆◇◆

You guys, I've been trying to update more frequently. It's sort of (not) working out.

My schedule is weird, so it's difficult. Plus, I just moved not long ago. I now live in the mountains where the trees are beautiful and there's water everywhere, but the price I must pay is terrible wifi. Sigh.

Anyway, I've decided to answer last chapter's question. I'm fourteen. I just turned fourteen in January. I was actually thirteen when I wrote Phantom Falls.

Question of the chapter:
How do you think Batman is going to react to the team's dishonesty?

Oh, and also, Crystal013 made this wonderful fanart of Jazz for Phantom Justice. Thank you, Crystal!