The above artwork does not belong to me.

The team jumped, whipping their heads around to face Batman. None of them said a word.

". . . Look, Batsy," Robin began, "I know this is-"

"Robin, I don't wasn't to hear excuses from you. I knew you were hiding something yesterday. I've come to regret not making you tell me."

Batman walked out of the room. "Follow me."

Hesitantly, the team obeyed, giving Dick pitying looks. He was obviously going to be subject to the brunt of the Dark Knight's wrath.

Bruce stalked into the interrogation room and grabbed a terrified Wally by the arm. "I apologize for this team's behavior," he said to Phantom. The poor ghost had no idea what was going on and stared at them in alarm.

Batman dragged Wally outside the room to the rest of his teammates.

The team looked down at their feet, unable to make eye contact with their superior.

"Does anyone want to tell me why we have a teenage ghost in a containment cell?"

All was silent for a few moments. Kaldur then stepped forward. "We apologize. We had some suspicions about Phantom and wished to know more about him. We meant no harm to--"

"No harm?" Batman said very quietly. "No harm? Capturing a dangerous vigilante that we have little information on, without getting permission first, has caused no harm?"

"He's completely contained," Wally protested. "He can't get past the bars or the salt."

A glance from the caped crusader made Wally shut up real quick.

"How do you know that he couldn't get out if he wanted to? Has he tried to escape?"

"No," Wally said in a small voice.

Batman shook his head angrily. "You're all suspended from missions. I'm sure your mentors will have an additional punishment set up for you as well." No one dared protest.

He turned to Robin. "As for you," he growled, "you aren't allowed on patrol."

"What?" the Boy Wonder protested. "For how long?"

"I haven't yet decided, but your punishment would have been a lot shorter if you hadn't lied to me yesterday," he replied in a calm, measured tone.

The rest of the team's eyes widened, and Robin's cheeks flushed a bit.

"I didn't lie! I never told you anything other than the truth. I just didn't tell you everything."

"Robin, you were being dishonest. I might expect that from some other people I work with, but from you? I'm honestly surprised."

Why was Batman talking like this in front of the team? To embarrass Dick? The boy scowled in anger.

"I wouldn't be surprised, since I learned it from you!" he shot back. "I know that you don't tell me about tons of stuff. You still won't even let me go on certain missions. Don't you trust me? I was your sidekick at nine years old, shouldn't you have a little faith in me? You can't keep secrets from me and expect me not to do the same!"

"Robin, I am your guardian. I am your parent. I am raising you, and I expect you to tell me things that I need to know about."

Dick let out a frustrated yell. "Ugh, you're such a hypocrite! And you're not my parent! You'll never live up to either of my parents!"

There was dead silence. Everyone in the room was shocked at his outburst. Batman and Robin never argued like this, at least not in front of the team.

Richard glared at Bruce through his watering eyes, challenging him. And in the tenseness of the Dark Knight's jaw, Dick could see that his guardian was not angry. He was hurt.

Robin felt guilty, and then felt angry that he felt guilty. Batman shouldn't have started an argument in front of the team.

"You've just added a week to your punishment."

And then he turned his back on Dick without saying another word.

* * *

Danny could feel his energy waning.

He was tired. More tired than he could ever remember being.

Of course, his mind was so clouded that he could have been just as tired last week and he wouldn't be able to recall it.

The halfa struggled to stay alert as Kid Flash continued to ask him questions.

He'd almost let the fact that Vlad had framed him slip. Not that he wanted to protect Vlad, but it they investigated the wealthy man, then they'd find out he was a halfa, and then in turn find out that Danny was a halfa . . .

"So, you seem like a pretty powerful ghost. How did you die, man?"

KF's question took him by surprise. It took Danny a few moments to process what the speedster had asked.

"That's none of your business," he snapped, although his response lacked vigor.

The redhead smirked and was about to reply when the door burst open.

In the doorway stood a black-clad figure.

Danny found himself unable to speak. The man towering in front of him was a worldwide legend. The Batman. The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight.

And he looked absolutely pissed.

He stalked towards them and grabbed Wally by the arm with a steel grip. "I apologize for this team's behavior," he said to Danny.

He then dragged the young superhero out of the room, leaving Danny stunned in their wake.

The halfa could hardly believe that Batman had just apologized to him, but what he found even more surprising was the fact that the team of young superheroes had, apparently, disobeyed him. They would definitely be receiving some sort of punishment.

Danny did not envy them.

A more important thought pushed its way to the forefront of his mind: what was going to happen to him?

Obviously the team had done something wrong. Batman had apologized to Danny, and he wouldn't apologize to someone who was supposed to be behind bars, right? So was Batman angry that the team had taken him into custody, or was there another reason?

Cloudy thoughts obscured his mind, many of them fearful. What will Batman do with me? Will he question me? Does he think I'm some sort of villain? Will he lock me up somewhere? Will he put me in a lab?

As it was, Danny became so preoccupied with his hypothetical scenarios of everything that could go wrong that he made a terrible mistake.

He let his concentration slip.

And although he tried to resist the transformation, he was unable to stop himself from becoming human.

☆ ☆ ☆

Hullo, friends.

I'm going to start off by apologizing. I don't know why it took me so long to update??? End of the school year stuff?? Getting a new phone?? Physical therapy appointments?? I guess I could come up with an excuse, but I think I just became uninspired for a bit. I don't know why, but it just happens sometimes.
Anyway . . . Thank you to everyone who has stuck with my story do far. I'm particularly impressed with those who were around when I first began Phantom Falls and have kept reading. Thanks, guys!

Question of the Chapter:
If you could add any character from Danny Phantom, Young Justice, or Gravity Falls to this story, who would it be? It could be a funny side character, (like Soos), another hero, (like Flash), a villain, (like Guys in White), or someone in between, (like Valerie). Even someone from an AU. Who would you add?