The escape

Everybody gets a surprise

3rd pov

No one had really known what to do after the fight Superman and Phantom had. All the heroes were aware that both Batman and the several sidekicks had an idea to what Phantom's secret identity was, but none of them were really sure if others had gone or not. Most of the heroes had not gone, wishing to remain hidden, and being wary of him as well.

Not that any of them wanted him injured or killed, but he was a powerhouse, one that could very easily beat Superman and come out with some bruises and enough energy to take out the rest of the League.  None of them really wanted him to know who they were if he got angry at them and decided to visit them in civvies. ( Well, except Flash, Batman and Wonder woman, who had all taken Ph - Danny as he'd insisted, up on his offer to talk.) 

Either way, when the supers next saw Phantom, he looked better than he had before. Don't get them wrong, he looked healthy before, but now he glowed the way he should, being a ghost and all. The sidekicks were lurking around, since their training had been cancelled with Canary out and so they had been brought to the Watch tower. The team watched as Phantom interacted with his fellows, never treating them as above or below him. 

It was something they were awed by, especially since even Superman, the poster boy the Justice League looked down on some of the others, or forgot they weren't the same as him and overestimated them. Batman didn't look down on others, despite what everyone thought, but he had a hard time talking to others on even terms, so he let them think they were below him. Even if it made him uncomfortable. 

The team had been watching as Phantom talked to Batman, not only that, but he managed to coax several heroes over to talk to Batman and had then snuck off, leaving the heroes alone to talk. It had worked, to their surprise, with Batman making several "friends" - Batman had put the quotations there - before people started going home. That's the way it went for several days, and then the team were back in the cave.

Phantom stuck around the cave, even as Danny when there were no other heroes in the room except Red Tornado, who had known for quite some time, since he'd detected an anomaly in Danny's structure and confronted him, to make sure he was ok. It was a normal day, when everyone got the surprise of their life. It scared most of the older heroes, though they most likely never would admit it, though honestly, Batman, Canary and Red Tornado were absolutely proud and happy about it.

The heroes had come into the cave, for some kind of exam or something, of the team. None of them were clear on the specifics, but they went about their day as if the others were not there. However, they didn't get to chill with Danny like normal, so they hung with him as Phantom. The older heroes were going to give a demonstration of several different fighting styles before they left, for the team to find a style that worked best for them. It was going to be done in the training room, exactly as if the team themselves were training.

They watched with awe and a slight bit of anger - most of these heroes were afraid of Danny because of his powers, despite everything he'd done for both the planet and the heroes themselves. - but even they could not contain their amazement at all the different styles and strategies that they themselves could use. Already, they had several plans and ideas, when the last match was announced. It was Phantom against Green Lantern. 

"Oh, no way in hell! I am not going against Phantom, man! This is just revenge for the prank I pulled last week, isn't it?"

"GL, you know the matches are random until they're on the board. Stop complaining and do it. We can't become complacent and that means fighting against people stronger or equal to us in order to better ourselves."

Phantom had been floating in the ring since the match was announced, and was watching the conversation like a ping pong match. Obviously, this is something he was used to, if the way his eyes dull slightly, his arms cross, and he sighs, his head hanging a little. The Team saw all of these, but the other supers were too busy watching the ping pong match, and so by the time they looked, with GL finally entering the ring reluctantly, he was back to his usual self, even if his eyes were still very much duller than they were before.

The Team share a look - honestly, what is wrong with the older generation? - and then they go back to watching the fight, already knowing most of Phantom's, but still watching. They are surprised and awed when they still see some new moves from Phantom and a lot of news ones from GL. Phantom wins, though none of the supers are surprised. Even without all powers, Phantom had still gone hand to hand with his enemies, in a way almost all the others never had to do.

The supers are all readying to gather in the biggest room possible, in case the Team has questions, when they all feel the change in the Team's presence. They had felt it when it first happened - when GL started complaining -  but not really noticed it. Now, they could feel it and they all turned around. The team is standing around Phantom, and in front of him. Superboy and Robin both looked pissed, while Aqualad, and Artemis are acting as backup, the anger clear on their face. KF and Ms Martian are staying closer to Phantom, talking quietly with him. The heroes can see the way his eyes light up, and the surprise that follows that, followed by affection.

They share uncertain glances. Never had the Team stood as a united front before them, except when they were first determined to get the Team built.  Everything from there had mostly been on orders, though there were some exceptions. The Team were supercharged, their anger pretty clear in stance, face and aura. 

"Why were you so afraid to fight?"

"Are you kidding? Phantom is a hero no one wants to fight." Everyone can tell that was a mistake, the way Phantom's eyes dull, the anger increases, and the room tension increases.