Going Ghost! (Young Justice)

Chapter 211: The Strategy Room

[Third Person Pov]

Danny, Robin, and the others followed Aquaman into a private meeting room tucked deeper within the Atlantean palace, the atmosphere noticeably more controlled and guarded than the rest of the city. A large table stood at the center, though it wasn't a traditional one; its surface projected a detailed holographic map of Atlantis and the surrounding ocean, currents and territories shifting in real time. Several Atlantean soldiers were stationed along the perimeter of the room, standing at attention and keeping a silent watch over the meeting.

"Were you able to discover any valuable information regarding Mera's whereabouts since we last spoke?" Batman asked, his tone even and clinical, his gaze fixed on Aquaman without wavering.

"Actually, I have," Aquaman replied, his expression solemn but steady. "Finding Mera isn't too difficult with the assistance of Atlantean technology and magic. We've managed to trace her location. She's been taken all the way to the Bermuda Triangle."

Aquaman moved his hand across the holographic display, shifting the map until a specific section of the ocean came into focus. A single green dot pulsed faintly on the projection, surrounded by several red markers that flickered ominously around it.

"What we're still trying to determine," he continued, his voice tightening slightly, "is why they've taken her, and what exactly they intend to do with her."

Danny casually raised a hand, not seeming particularly intimidated by the room or its occupants. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but can I ask for a quick summary of how Queen Mera was kidnapped in the first place? Feels like that'd be useful information to have before we jump ahead."

"It's all my fault…" Jackson spoke up, his voice heavy as he stood close to Arthur, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"Kaldur'ahm," Arthur said, turning to him and placing a firm hand on his shoulder, "it's not your fault. You can't keep blaming yourself—"

"Forgive me, your majesty," Jackson interrupted, bringing a fist to his chest as he bowed his head. "However, I was with her. I wasn't able to do anything but watch as they took her. This failure lies solely on me."

"You're being far too hard on yourself, son," Aquaman replied, shaking his head before redirecting his attention back to Danny and Robin. "We received a distress call from one of the settlements outside the city. They were reportedly under attack by pirates. The situation already felt unusual, so Mera chose to investigate personally. She took Kaldur'ahm and a small group of guards with her."

Arthur's expression hardened as he spoke, his jaw tightening. "It turned out to be an ambush."

Jackson picked up from there, his tone more controlled now, though the weight of the memory was still evident. "It was strange, to say the least. I could tell something about it wasn't right almost immediately, but her majesty couldn't see what I was seeing. That's part of why she was overwhelmed. There was a specter present… and despite appearing as nothing more than a child, he was clearly the one in charge."

"Wait," Robin said, frowning slightly as he processed that. "So you're telling me a ghost kid was leading a group of pirates and managed to kidnap Queen Mera?" His expression shifted into something between disbelief and confusion.

Danny had a hand resting against his chin as he looked down at the floor, thinking it through. "A pirate ghost kid… and the queen couldn't see him, but Jackson could…" he muttered under his breath, his eyes slowly widening as something clicked into place. "Youngblood."

"Youngblood?" Garth repeated, glancing toward Danny with curiosity.

"You know who this pirate ghost is?" Batman asked, his attention sharpening as he turned his gaze directly onto Danny.

"I have my suspicions," Danny answered, offering a slightly stiff grin, clearly not intending to say the name out loud in the first place. "But I could be wrong. This might not be accurate."

Batman gave a small motion with his hand, signaling for Danny to go ahead and share whatever he knew.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, clearly a bit reluctant as he tried to frame it in a way that didn't immediately raise too many questions about how he knew any of this. "Youngblood is… basically the ghost manifestation of children who died while holding resentment toward adults," he explained, keeping his tone casual, like it was secondhand knowledge. "The reason Queen Mera couldn't see him while Jackson could is pretty simple when you think about it. He doesn't like adults, so they usually can't perceive him."

"I see," Aquaman murmured, his expression tightening slightly as he considered that. "So only the young are able to perceive him… that alone makes him dangerous."

"Can you guess what he's planning?" Robin asked, directing the question at Danny, though it was clear everyone else in the room was waiting for the same answer.

Danny shook his head. "Not really. Not until I know more about what's going on. I only ever heard about him in passing, so I don't have the full picture."

He shifted his attention back to Aquaman. "You said Queen Mera was taken to the Bermuda Triangle. Is there anything specific over there we should know about?"

"It's where the Kingdom of Xebel is located," Arthur answered, moving his hand across the holographic display as a more detailed projection of a hidden kingdom appeared. "It's Mera's home… her people's original realm."

"Realm?" Robin echoed, brows furrowing. "So what, another dimension? If they took Queen Mera there, maybe they're trying to gain access to it."

It wasn't a bad theory, and judging by the looks exchanged around the room, others were already building on it. The discussion picked up quickly, voices overlapping as ideas and possibilities were thrown out, questioned, and reshaped in real time.

Danny didn't join in. He stayed where he was, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, his gaze lowered to the floor as he thought through everything quietly on his own.

"What's on your mind?"

Danny looked up, expecting to see Robin or maybe one of the Atlanteans addressing him, but instead it was Batman standing there, watching him closely.

"You actually want to know?" Danny asked, one brow lifting slightly.

"You're the reason we were called here," Batman replied evenly. "You have the most experience dealing with ghosts and entities like this. Your input has value."

There was nothing overly warm in his tone, but it wasn't dismissive either. It was straightforward, like he was just stating a fact.

Danny let out a small breath, scratching the side of his head before answering. "Alright… well, whenever ghosts and dimensional stuff start overlapping like this, it usually points back to the Ghost Zone," he said. "And if I'm being honest, I don't think Youngblood's real interest is Xebel. At least not in the way we're all thinking about it."

"You believe his interest isn't Xebel, but something connected to the Ghost Zone?" Batman asked, his expression turning more thoughtful. "…That's a reasonable possibility."

"I'm sorry, the Ghost Zone?" Tula spoke up, her confusion mirrored by Garth and Jackson.

Danny and Robin exchanged a quick look before giving a brief explanation, keeping it simple but clear enough to get the idea across.

"…Overall The Ghost Zone is basically an endless dimension," Danny finished, "with entrances and exits scattered across different points in space and time."

Aquaman's gaze shifted back to the holographic map, focusing on the Bermuda Triangle as everything started to connect. "So what you're suggesting is that the Bermuda Triangle isn't just an access point to the Kingdom of Xebel," he said slowly, "but also an entryway into the Ghost Zone. And while it may appear that Youngblood is targeting Xebel, his true objective could actually be the Ghost Zone."

Danny gave a small nod. "It's still just speculation. I can't say any of this with complete certainty," he admitted. "So whatever plan we come up with next, we should do it with the understanding that we might be wrong, and be ready to adapt to whatever we actually find when we get there."

His eyes drifted back to the projection, his expression thoughtful as the weight of that uncertainty settled over the room.

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