Orbits of Glass
Chapter Seven
Memory Triggers…
It’s weird how little details set off memories. The smell of maple syrup or cigarettes always reminds me of my Grandma. She died when I was seven. The song ‘Better Days’ by Citizen Kane is the Fenton Family Road Trip song no matter where I am. The sound of frogs means summer camp. Robin’s eyes remind me of Jazz.
His eyes are like my sister’s. They are both a unique blue color. It is almost a green but not quite a true green because of all the blue. It’s not only the color that reminds me of Jazz. His eyes looked at me with the same compassion and concern that Jazz’s did when she used to speak to me. That one moment in the bathroom brought back the memory of the old Jazz.
Robin is a lot like my sister. I guess that’s what I’m getting at. They are fighters but now are damaged. Why he is in Amity, he won’t tell me. I don’t think he’s ready to deal with whatever it is. Like Jazz, he has his problems. He even deals with them like she used to do. Like Jazz, he sits by the windows and watches the outside. Jazz did that when she thought of the past. I wonder what he thinks about…
Danny stopped writing with a sigh. After a quick proofread he shoved the scrap paper into a hidden pocket. The short paragraphs would get transferred to his journal when he got home. The book contained memories and observations that he put to paper so he wouldn’t scream in the real world.
The therapist never read the journal but he did give Danny ‘assignments’ to write about. There was an actual list in the very front of the book. They were little diving boards when he needed to get an idea out of his system but didn’t know how to approach it. It was cheesy but it helped.
He never made it back to the apartment last night. He knew that Val and Damian wouldn’t expect him back anytime soon. Sometimes the only way to cope with his nightmares was to get out of the apartment (or house depending on where he was staying) and fly around. He had done speed laps around Amity after leaving the complex. It took a while for him to calm down enough that he could mentally string two sentences together. He spent his time flying trying to figure out what exactly upset him. Was it the dream or something else? Around lap seventeen he figured out the trigger was their unexpected house guest.
Robin disrupted their routine and was a victim of Spectra’s. True, Jazz had been victimized by Bertrand, but there was a parallel in their situation. There was just something in Robin that reminded him of his sister. It wasn’t just the eyes, it was… The closest thing to describe it was ‘broken confidence’. Like they had both been the most confident people in the world before their respective ghosts got a hold of them.
Sunlight crept over the horizon, signifying the end of the night. Wednesday had spent itself and now Thursday was dawning. He lifted off the roof that he had perched on to write. He looped around one of the smaller skyscrapers, his reflection absent in the mirrored windows. Sunlight passed through his transparent body and reflected off the building, temporarily blinding him.
Taking a couple of warm-up laps around the stationary building, he made up his mind and turned a new direction. He headed for a residential neighborhood a short distance away. The scenery became familiar and a neon sign greeted him as he stopped at a seemingly random intersection. A faint smile graced his lips as he viewed his home. On the outside everything looked the same.
Taking a breath, he flew into his old room and transformed into is human form. He sadly looked around. It was a shrine for the child he used to be before real and supernatural problems took over. Drifting past model rockets and posters, he phased through the door. The house was silent. It was too early for any of the residents of this house to be awake.
In the hallway he could see that his parents’ door was closed. He was unable to look in without setting off alarms so he settled for listening for sounds from outside of their room. Snores drifted through the door to reassure him that his father was asleep. If his mother wasn’t there then she would be in the lab out of his way. He started down the hallway, dancing a complicated path around ghost sensors and passive alarms.
He took the stairs to the first floor. At the bottom he moved in a new pattern in the living room to avoid the sensors there. Finally, in the kitchen he was able to walk normally. His parents never installed sensors since the lab was so close and they stored ectoplasm samples in the fridge.
He bypassed the stairs to the lab in favor for a room neglected for years. At one time it was an office, a forgotten space in the house. It wasn’t empty any longer. With a deep breath and steeled nerves he grabbed the door knob. This was the first door he had to open in the house and he knew that this room had an alarm system all of its own. He pushed the door open slowly and repressed his ghost powers as much as he could. In a practiced motion he sidestepped into the room while slapping the alarm cutoff. A single low note escaped but it ended quickly. Luckily, it wasn’t enough to awake the single occupant in the room.
A dim light glowed on the desk, casting its faint illumination to the corners of the room. He made his way deeper without a word, circling around a parked wheelchair and stopping by the bed. In the center was Jazz. Just looking at her you couldn’t tell there was anything wrong. There were no visible scars from the car accident. All the lacerations and bruises healed without permanent damage. The real damage, however, was on the inside.
Something had gone terribly wrong that rainy night two summers ago. The doctors were not sure exactly when ‘it’ happened. One minute Jazz had been a week out from college and the next she would never walk again. They never decided if it had happened during the car crash or if it was the events that followed that caused her paralysis. After she had awakened and after they did a battery of tests, the doctors found out that she had compression fractures in three of her vertebrae. A bone chip broke off the body of one vertebra and lodged itself in her spinal cord, severing a couple key nerves in the process.
It left her without use of her legs, bound to a wheelchair the rest of her life. She took it hard even with Danny and the rest of her family and friends supporting her. They tried their hardest to help her. No one knew that during that time Bertrand (Spectra’s little assistant) decided to make a nightly meal out of her pain. The result was devastating and Danny hadn’t been able to deal with Jazz. He loved his sister but there were hurt feelings on both sides. Now the only time he could talk to her was when she was asleep. It ended with a lot of one-sided conversations but he couldn’t abandon her as much as she wanted him to.
He quietly changed to his ghost self and settled on her empty nightstand. He came occasionally during these early morning hours. He didn’t dare come when she was awake, too afraid of her reaction. He wished he had the courage to wake her, to talk to her face to face. Instead he began telling her about the boy they found in the park with eyes like hers as Jazz slept.
oOo
It was finally Friday, the day that the stitches could come out. One week since the disastrous night in Gotham and his flight to Amity Park. Nine days since the funeral. Almost two weeks since he found out that he was dead.
“Just two more and then we are all done,” a voice interrupted his internal monologue.
“Sure,” he grunted in response. There wasn’t much he could do to speed up the process besides ignore the pull of the stitched and the freezing temperature in the apartment. It was something that seemed to be a constant. It was only warm during the day. The minute the sun started setting, and Danny or Val returned, the temperature would plummet.
Danny had returned just after four in the afternoon. It had surprised him and Damian when the boy opened the door and acted like he hadn’t disappeared days before. There was no explanation as to where he had gone, Damian refused to ask and Robin didn’t know how to bring up the subject. He was just back in their lives, taking over care of Robin while the older man left for the evening.
Without a word to explain where he had gone, Danny had just motioned for him to lay down before he got to work. That led to his current position: Robin Lying on the one couch in the apartment (minus his shirt) while Danny sat on one of the kitchen chairs. The dark-haired teen was hunched over, preoccupied with the delicate task of removing the stitches that had made a neat row on his stomach.
It was quiet as he finished up. There was no final flourish, just the statement that he was done. Robin was allowed to sit up and pulled the shirt back on. Danny didn’t look at him as he cleaned up the used thread and gauze.
“Thanks,” Robin said. Danny grunted a response as he threw away the used material. He returned to the living room and flopped down on the couch next to Robin.
“Boy, this is awkward,” Danny said with a hint of humor at the very awkward silence.
“We didn’t get off to a good start. Any way we can start over?” Robin asked as he turned towards the other boy. Dan smiled in relief. He nodded and let out a small laugh. “I had the same idea.” He cleared his throat and sat up straight.
“Hi, I’m Daniel Fenton. Danny for short.”
“Robin Price,” he responded. “My friends call me Rob.”
“Nice to meet you Rob,” Danny said as he held out his hand. Robin reached out and shook the offered hand with a smile of his own.
“Aww, isn’t that cute.” They both jumped apart. Standing in the doorway was Valerie, school bag dangling from her hand. She had a huge smile on her face as Danny threw a pillow at her. She easily dodged the projectile and entered the apartment.
“Don’t you ever make any noise,” he growled though his smile was just as big as hers. He left the couch and approached her. “Just give us a minute, Rob.” He grabbed the girl’s arm and the two disappeared into the kitchen.
“God, I’m glad you’re back,” he could hear the girl’s relief even from the couch. “Where have you been?”
“The spare room at Sam’s. I’m sorry that I made you worry.”
“You better be sorry. I…” She was suddenly silenced and Robin felt it prudent to turn on the TV and ignore the ‘conversation’ in the next room over. They returned a couple of minutes later, Valerie’s hair messier than before and Danny looking very happy. With that, the tension of the past week broke. Danny and Val settled onto the couch next to Robin. They were just normal kids watching a movie. For the first time in months Robin felt normal and safe. He was stretched out with his feet propped upon the kitchen chair. Danny and Val were cuddling to his left. Unfortunately the peace didn’t last.
A loud buzz cut through the air, startling the occupants. Val pushed herself off the couch and made her way to the buzzing comm next to the door. “Grey residence,” she said into the speaker while pressing the button.
“Valerie, it’s your Grandfather,” a male voice said through the speaker.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in a panic.
“I was in the neighborhood and your Grandmother and I thought it would be a nice surprise if we stopped by. We brought supper.”
“Dad’s not home.” She was stalling and looked over at the two boys on the couch helpless. Robin looked over at Danny and he seemed just as worried.
“Valerie, just let us up.” The voice sounded agitated. She sighed in defeat and pressed a different button.
“Damn,” she swore at the door, slamming her fist next to the comm. Danny went to her side and laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Do you want me to stay for moral support?”
“No. You’ll make things worse, unfortunately,” she said. “He hates you enough as it is.” He pulled her into a hug.
“Call me if you need a distraction or when they’re gone, kay?” he said.
“Ok.” She kissed him softly. He pulled away and heading out of the room.
“Robin, you’ll have to go with him,” she said as she pulled him off the couch. “My grandfather is very old-fashioned. He would freak if he found a boy here without my dad being home.”
“Are you going to be ok?” Rob asked. She didn’t answer as a knock sounded on her door.
“Second door on the right,” she whispered and pushed him towards the hallway. He didn’t look back as he entered the door she pointed out. He closed it behind him. Turning around he could immediately tell he was in a girl’s bedroom. Danny was off to one side picking up clothes and folding them into a drawer.
“There are shoes and a jacket on the bed,” Danny whispered sharply as he closed the drawer and then the closet doors nearby. Robin slipped on the jacket and did the best he could with the shoes. By the time he finished Danny had picked up the room and was slinging a backpack over his shoulder.
“Now what?” he asked quietly. Even through the closed door he could hear voiced in the main room of the apartment. He had a feeling that they had to get out of there before they were discovered by Valerie’s grandparents.
“We’re taking the back door.” Danny pushed open the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. Robin followed him and they made their way to the ground. Danny kicked the final ladder down and jumped the last couple of feet.
“So where are we heading?” Robin asked after following him down the ladder.
“We’re going to my house,” the other boy said over his shoulder. “My mom has some of my old clothes packed away. They might fit you better.” Rob nodded at the logic. The borrowed t-shirt of Dan’s hung listlessly around his frame, the track pants barely staying on. Valerie’s clothes probably would have fit him since they were close to the same height but there was no way he was going to wear a girl’s clothing. Well, there was that one time…
“So why did we have to sneak out?” Robin asked. Val had seemed worried and he was curious as to why.
“Val’s Grandfather doesn’t like me,” Danny told him.
“She said that he was ‘old-fashioned’.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he said with a chuckle. “He didn’t like the idea of her having a boyfriend. Then he met me.”
“And the fireworks flew?” Robin asked, figuring out where this was going.
“’A white boy dating his baby girl?’ It was ugly.”
“What were you doing that left an impression?” Danny flushed a bright red. Robin stared.
“It’s not what you think.” The Titan just raised an eyebrow.
“The old fart jumped to conclusions,” the flushing boy tried to defend himself. “That’s all.”
“Why would he think anything was going on?” a smile finding a way on his face.
“Umm…ididnthaveashirtonandwewerealoneinherbedroom… Oh Look! There’s the bus stop!” Danny practically ran to a bus stop to cover up his embarrassment. The titan just shook his head as he followed. The stop was simply a bench under an overhang incase it was raining. Robin leaned against the back of the bench as Danny collapsed on the seat and they began to wait.
It started off as a tingling on his neck. He shifted his feet wishing that the bus would just get here. Even better, that he still had his belt or even his bo staff. Danny remained oblivious on the bench. He couldn’t stand still so he started to pace behind the bench. Apparently this caught Dan’s attention, causing him to tip his head backwards. His glasses slipped to his forehead while he watched him pace.
“Are you ok?” he asked Robin. Blue eyes pierced his own.
“We have to go!” His order finally caused a reaction. Danny sat straight up and pushed down his sunglasses. He studied the shorter boy for a second and nodded.
“Alright,” and without another word he stood up and tugged Rob down the street. He was surprised that the other teenager didn’t question his behavior. If he were Danny he would have at least asked why. Instead he asked a different question.
“You don’t think I’m paranoid?” he had to ask, curiosity prodding him.
“You were uncomfortable,” Danny told him. “That was enough.”
“Why?” It wasn’t enough of an answer for the Robin.
“Haven’t you wondered why we haven’t left you by yourself?” Danny’s change in subject caught him off guard. Rob shrugged in a non-answer. He hadn’t thought about it. There were more important topics to consume his time. Danny sighed and started to explain.
“The ghost that attacked you belongs to a special family of emotion-affecting-and-feeding ghosts. Spectra’s effects can last long after she’s back in the Ghost Zone. We’re not exactly sure how long she had you under her control. The longer it is, the more severe the lasting depression. People are watched for weeks in case there are any problems.”
“How bad could it get?” he asked unconvinced.
“Eleven suicide attempts, two successful. One of the attempts was my sister.”
“Oh,” was all Robin could say.
“I’m one of the attempts too,” Dan said with a grim smile. “Ironically, that makes me an expert in spotting dangerous behavior.”
That stopped him dead. Danny kept going so he sprinted to catch up. He kept talking casually despite the subject.
“Spectra wasn’t responsible for that one,” Dan elaborated. “That ghost was Bertrand. Jazz and I were his last victims. I made sure of that.” The temperature dropped a couple of degrees. The Titan looked over at his companion and he caught the look.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically. “It’s still hard to deal with. It still hurts. She wasn’t happy after I stopped her attempt and confronted her about it.”
“But you saved her life. She could have died.” It wasn’t often in his line of work that the rescuee was ungrateful.
“Ironically she was screaming the same thing as she threw a telephone at me. She is better in that regard, she’s moved up to blunt objects instead of sharp ones.” They lapsed into silence for a couple of blocks.
“So,” Danny drawled out. “Why did the bus stop freak you out?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Robin told him.
“It would be better if you talk about it. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that public transportation doesn’t upset you.” Danny waited for an answer as they walked. He didn’t have to wait for long.
“It was at a bus stop in Gotham...where some guys jumped me. I woke up at your place the next day.” The silence that followed was very awkward. They continued until they reached a small park with a playground and swings. By this time Robin had started to limp and their pace had slowed. Danny entered the abandoned playground.
The titan took a seat on one of the swings. He sighed as he was able to get the weight off his sore ankle. Danny chose to sit on the merry-go-round in the center. Wind pushed the empty swings next to him, drawing Danny’s attention towards him and the swings. Robin took a steadying breath and asked the question that had been bothering him on and off the past week.
“So what exactly happened to me? The events after Gotham City are a little fuzzy.” Danny crossed his legs and stared off into space. Rob almost thought he didn’t hear the question but then Danny started to speak.
“The short version is that a couple of Ghost Hunters found you in the park. Spectra was attacking you, draining you of emotions. They captured her and brought you here. Val, Damian and I have been taking care you since.” He nodded along with the story. It meshed with the partial memories and weird dreams he was having but much more happened in his dreams. There was a woman who flew after the ghost. There was the man who was next to him while the shadow came after him. There was a bright green light that pierced his dreams. The memory was just out of reach, leaving an important gap. Dan’s story filled a small part.
The tranquility of evening was broken by a crash and screams. Danny stood up and turned towards the sound. Robin winced as another scream pierced the air, instincts trying to kick in. Danny’s back was to him but he could see that he was shivering in the warm air.
“Stay here,” Danny ordered. “Whatever you hear, I want you to stay here. I’m gonna get help.”
“I can help.” Robin started to stand but froze at Danny’s next sentence.
“You’re hurt. Stay here, Please.”
“Alright,” he nodded even though Danny couldn’t see it.
Danny pulled something out of his pocket. He half turned and tossed the object. “If I’m not back in ten, call 911. Tell them that there is a ghost attack near Westhill Park.” He clutched the phone as Danny ran out of the playground, leaving Robin on the swings. He took a left and disappeared behind a building.
“Sure. I’ll stay here…for ten seconds.” He shoved the cell phone in his pocket and left the swings to the wind and ghosts of the past. He was going to find Danny and find out what was going on.
Chapter Eight