Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot (obviously...).
Danny sighed beside his friend, pulling at his blue tie in irritation at the pesky thing. His blue eyes roamed over to his cocoa-skinned friend next to him, noticing how Tucker did the same to his own green tie. On his other side, Sam had her arms crossed over her chest as she brooded, her violet dress tight against her torso but loose around her legs.
"Why are we here again?" Danny mumbled, leaning closer to his female friend with a pouting look.
A small, evil grin overcame Sam's face as she narrowed her eyes at the crowd around her. "Well… I'm still ticked at you two for sneaking bacon into my sandwich so let's just call this revenge, shall we?"
Tucker gave her an astonished and bewildered look. "Are you kidding me?! You spit it out, like we knew you would!"
"And come on, it was bacon." Danny continued with a dry look upon his features. "You can't tell me you didn't like it a little."
Sam looked between the two expectant boys with a furious look. Her violet eyes moved back and forth between the two before she finally caved and held her hand up. She showed them about an inch between her fingers while she mumbled "I liked it this much but I will not give up my vegan status ever."
Danny and Tucker looked at each other excitedly and did a little fist-bump.
"Bacon is able to convert even the strictest of vegans." Tucker mumbled, glancing dreamily into the distance where a hallucination of meat-wonderland laid.
While Danny laughed quietly to himself, Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head, mouthing 'stupid boys'.
Tucker looked down from his dreamy, meat heaven and turned to Sam, asking "So how long do we have to wait before we can leave while still being polite?"
"An hour…" Sam mumbled unhappily.
"And how long has it been?" Danny asked, hopefully.
Sam looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "It's been five minutes."
"You're joking…" Tucker said, fear and horror shining in his eyes.
"Nope..." Sam said, pulling out her phone and showing the two boys the time. The blaring, white numbers showed that it really had only been a couple of minutes since they had gotten to Bruce Wayne's fundraiser for one thing or another. None of the teens had been paying attention to whatever it was sponsoring since it seemed the billionaire had one every other month.
Danny groaned, head falling back so he could look at the ceiling above him. Tucker moaned as well, putting his forehead on the ebony-haired boy's shoulder. In sync, the two looked at Sam and plainly said "You suck."
Sam made a gesture with her arm while she bowed to them. "It's been my pleasure, boys."
The two boys let out long sighs before the three began looking at each other blankly, unsure of what to do next. They averted their eyes awkwardly, glancing around the ballroom. They could see the Manson parents on the other side of the large room, chatting with some other high and mighty citizens. Ida was by the refreshments, eating some of the snacks while talking to an older man in a tux, looking oddly like a butler.
Bruce Wayne, the host of the fundraiser, was in the very far corner of the room, talking and laughing with a red-head reporter.
"So…" Danny started, looking between the two friends at his sides. "I would ask how life was going but we practically live with each other so that's not going to work."
A dry laugh fell from Tucker's lips. "Uh, yeah, no…"
Sam leaned against Danny, elbow on his shoulder and her free hand on her hip. "And that's what makes us oh-so-special!"
They all laughed again before beginning to discuss some of the assignments they had to turn in for school in the near future. Some of the work Danny didn't understand because he had missed the class but Sam and Tucker were more than willing to explain how to do the work so the boy could get a good grade.
In-between topics, the two boys checked the time with ever-growing hope before it was brutally crushed by the clock on Sam's phone.
As the two boys moped around after finding out about the time again and whined pathetically, Sam began gesturing wildly but discreetly for the boys to zip their mouths. They gave her confused looks, not sure why she was doing such a thing while she casted nervous glances over their shoulder.
The two turned their heads over their shoulders. Small yelps escaped their mouths and they jumped back, bumping into Sam.
Bruce Wayne looked at the three with an amused smile.
"Nice going, doofuses…" Sam mumbled in their ears, pressing a hand nervously to her chin.
"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Bruce asked, his amused grin still playing on his lips.
"Oh, just a little bit…" Tucker assured, though he didn't sound very convincing to his friends or to the billionaire in front of him. Bruce looked between the three, noticing the nervous, shifting eyes and stiff postures. Danny coughed into his sleeve.
Bruce grinned a little wider. "Are you three having fun tonight?"
Sam mumbled a small 'huh-ho' and answered "Certainly, Mr. Wayne. My friends practically begged to tag along with me and my family."
"It's Bruce. I'm not that old. And you lie."
Danny and Tucker shut their eyes tightly beside their female friend. Sam nodded to the ebony-haired adult. "Glad you caught that."
Tucker made a small sobbing noise. "Why, Sam?"
Sam shrugged. "I did, technically, lie and if he caught it… Well, good for him. What do you want me to do? Make it worse by lying more to try and be polite?"
"Yes, actually…" Danny mumbled, rubbing his face while he sighed.
"Well, I'm glad she didn't." Bruce stated, making the ebony-haired boy blush. "It's fine. I honestly can't stand being here most of the time either."
"Then why do you host so many?" Tucker asked.
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. "Well, why not?"
The Trio looked between the three of them, trying to comprehend what the heck that meant. Bruce nodded once to them, saying "Well, it was nice talking to you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here."
They watched the billionaire walk off, easily engaging with a pretty girl in an emerald green evening dress.
"What. Just. Happened?" Sam asked, totally confused. The two boys shrugged, looking after the ebony-haired adult with wide and bewildered eyes.
The three slowly began engaging in another conversation again, trying to shake off the encounter with the strange billionaire but getting no reward for their effort. They went back to discussing things, such as schoolwork, the new version of Doomed that was going to come out the next month, and the ghost attack rates that were, fortunately, dropping.
Just as they decided to get a snack from the refreshments table and talk to Ida, the room shook, just as Danny's Ghost Sense went off, and a hole was blasted in the roof. The three wondered how much structural damage there was as some of the rubble fell, nearly crushing a couple people. The ballroom was on the ground level of Wayne Manor. A random hole in the middle of the building couldn't be good.
As dust and dirt fell into the ballroom, clouding the area with brown smoke, people ducked away from the hole and the grime, preferring to keep their attire as clean as possible and their lives still intact.
In the middle of the dust cloud, an eerie blue and green light appeared. As the cloud settled, all the grime falling to the floor and gathering there, people gasped at the site of a robot with a flaming, green mohawk floating in the air with a sinister smirk.
Danny groaned quietly, putting his face in his hands. "Kill me…"
What happens when the Trio is forced to go to a fancy ball, where they're supposed to be prim and proper? A ghost attacks. Well, isn't that typical?
Sam grabbed her two guy friends, discreetly dragging them to a hallway just off of the ballroom. It was shadowed and easily covered their forms, veiling them in darkness to hide their small forms.
Danny sighed but got ready to say his "battle cry", or so Sam and Tucker called it. Just as he said "going", the rest of the chant died on his lips as he stared into the ballroom with big, blue eyes. The other two mumbled questions but the teen could only point into the ballroom. They turned and their eyes widened.
Batman, Gotham's Protector, was standing silently in one of the entrances to the ballroom, veiled in the same shadows the Trio was. His eyes were white slits, glaring at the back of Skulker's head menacingly.
"How'd he get here so fast?" Tucker whispered, totally astonished. He lightly slapped Danny on the arm and whispered "You can't even do that."
The Ghost Boy glared at his cocoa-skinned friend. "…why do I hang out with you?"
Sam looked over her shoulder, staring at her ebony-haired friend with intense violet eyes. She grabbed his shoulder, shaking him a little. "What are you still doing here? You should be helping Batman out."
The violet-eyed girl pointed to where Batman was interacting with Skulker now, slipping regular old bat-a-rangs into his hands, his glare still etched onto his face (permanently). Both combatants were ready for the other, forms stiff as boards and ready to spring into action. The Trio knew who would win without too much effort. Ghosts had the upper-hand in quite a few fights.
With the last word in the two's 'discussion', Batman threw his bat-a-rangs towards Skulker. The specter let the weapons fly through him with a smirk. This did not deter the Dark Knight in the least; the Gotham Guardian easily jumped into action with scenarios running through his mind on how to defeat his enemy, despite Skulker's intangibility.
Danny looked at Sam with wild eyes. "Are you kidding me, Sam? That's Batman! I don't think he's ever been defeated in a fight! Though I could be wrong…"
Sam glared and smacked the boy upside the head, earning a yelp. "Don't you care give me that crap cause Batman's intimidating. Go."
"But this is his city! Don't you know anything about superhero territory?"
"Yes because you sometimes have a problem shutting up." Sam shot, earning an amused snort from Tucker and an indignant whine from the ebony-haired boy. "This may be his city but that is your enemy. Therefore, you are, technically, allowed to interfere and take care of business." Sam pointed to where the fight was unfolding; Batman was having his butt handed to him. "Now, before I really get ticked, go."
Danny whined, muttered 'going ghost', and allowed the blue-white rings around his waist. They split with a small whir, energy and power pulsing through the rings. The two rings ran up and down his body, changing his attire into that of his superhero alias: Danny Phantom.
The Ghost Teen straightened himself out, turning intangible and falling through the floor easily. Gliding through the floor and walls with little thought, Danny flew up to the second floor and floated above the hole, noticing it went through every level of the building.
Wincing, Danny wondered how much would come out of Bruce Wayne's wallet to fix that.
Shooting down, Danny rammed into Skulker, whom was easily dodging another attack from Batman. The Ghost Teen stopped himself from crashing into the floor though; something the older specter couldn't seem to do with such a shock to his system.
While dust flew throughout the area of the crater Skulker undoubtedly made in the marble floor, Danny turned to Batman, the unhappy-at-having-a-teenager-invade-in-his-fight hero, with a quick "This is totally superhero legal! He's my villain! I swear! Ain't that right, Skulky?"
The robotic-ghost stood up, still in the middle of the crater. While shaking the grime from his head, a big grin overtook Skulker's face as he took in the sight of the Ghost Teen. "There's my prey!"
"See, he's my- What?! I thought we got over the whole 'prey' thing! Dude, do you know how nasty that is?" Danny asked, quickly turning to the older ghost with a bewildered look on his face. It was quickly replaced with a shudder and a disgusted frown.
Batman looked between the two specters, a small 'what?' falling from his lips.
"I will never be over you until you are mine." Skulker stated, nothing but truth lacing his voice as he gazed at Danny with a predator's eye.
Danny shuddered again. "Oh, that sounded so wrong. Why couldn't you have been specific, for once? You know with the whole 'head on a plague' and 'pelt at the foot of my bed' thing you got going for yourself?"
Skulker shrugged, ignoring how disgusted the younger boy was, and easily pulled a blaster on him. "I'll do and say as I please."
When a green blast shot from the barrel of the gun, Danny quickly shot himself up before turning himself in the direction of his opponent, shooting forward and shooting a dozen green blasts as he flew by, most landing on their mark while some missed, exploding against the floor and walls.
Danny took a distance approach to defeating Skulker, knowing the hunter had a bunch of blades on his person and other close-range weapons. Avoiding Skulker was easier said than done though, as the hunter was eager to get into close combat and slice the teen to itsy-bitsy pieces.
Off to the side, Batman watched the unfamiliar teen battle Skulker, preferring to keep the civilians safe than just standing around and doing nothing.
Sam and Tucker quietly cheered their friend on, wincing with each bruise, gash, and scrap he received when he battled. Much to their relief though, Danny had gotten much better at battling his dead enemies, dodging blows faster and quickly returning them, even hitting most of the time. Of course, he still wasn't the best. If only there was a person who could mentor the boy that wasn't a complete Fruit-Loop…
Danny struggled in the hold Skulker had him in. It almost looked like the two were hugging, if it weren't for the fact that Skulker was deciding which knife he wanted to use and Danny was groaning as he tried to wriggle from the other's grasp.
The Ghost Teen brought his legs up and planted his feet on Skulker's chest, earning the attention from the robotic-ghost. Danny turned his flight on abruptly, sending him flying from the other's grasp and he quickly put on the brakes, stopping himself at the perfect distance for an ice-ray that would hit Skulker only and maybe a little bit of the floor behind him but no civilians.
Danny put his hands together, smirking at the still shocked robotic ghost. Pale blue light emitted from his hands and, pointing it at Skulker, he said "Tell Ember I said hi next time you see her. She might not be able to hear you, though, while she yells at you."
The ice-ray flew from his hands, hitting Skulker square in the chest. He instantly froze over, a stunned look on his face as he started dropping from the air. Danny quickly drew his Fenton Thermos from his N-Space pocket, aiming it at Skulker's falling form. It stopped falling abruptly, encased in another blue light, before he flew towards the opening and shrunk into it.
Danny let out a whoop, catching his friends doing the same in their shadowed hideout. He turned around, turning to where Batman stood with his stoic face as he helped a woman up from the floor.
The Ghost Boy chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit. "Um… Sorry for the mess?"
A small glare (because Danny knew the Dark Knight could make a harsher glare than the one he was wearing now) was directed towards the teen while the Caped Crusader crossed his arms over his chest quietly.
Danny continued rubbing the back of his neck nervously, looking around the room before he sighed. "This wasn't my idea! …the little angel on my shoulder told me to do it."
Tucker leaned closer to his female friend. "If you're the angel, does that make me the devil?"
Sam thought it over, mulling over the answer. "I think our places on his shoulders switch places depending on the situation."
"Ah, that would make sense."
"It would, wouldn't it?"
Batman looked at the teen flying above him, unimpressed and irritated. "The little angel on your shoulder told you to?"
Danny hesitantly nodded, pursing his lips together tightly to form a grim line across his face. "Yeah… Yeah it did…"
"You know, whenever I find a Meta talking about things like that, I send them to Arkham. You know that, right?" Batman asked, tapping his fingers against his elbow casually while he stared at Danny with the coldest eyes the teen had ever seen.
At the question, Danny froze and began laughing nervously. "Oh, look at the time! I really should be going…" In a burst of speed, Danny flew into the wall behind him, shouting a 'sorry again!' over his shoulder as he did.
Batman dropped his hands to his sides again, mumbling curses under his breath as he did. Looking around the mess of a ballroom, a bigger frown appeared on his lips and the curses became a little louder and a little bit more creative as he surveyed and added up the cost of the repairs mentally.
Danny slipped back into the hallway, easily falling to the ground beside his friends. He allowed himself to transform back into his human form with a burst of light from the rings that always magically appeared around his waist.
His two friends grinned at the ebony-haired boy with a smug look in their eyes.
"Now was facing Batman that hard?" Tucker asked teasingly.
Danny glared. "Yes. Yes it was."
Bruce leaned back in his seat, re-watching the surveillance footage again for the sixth time in the past fifteen minutes as he put his black-gloved hand to his cheek. His keen, blue eyes drank in every detail they could find, everything from people's reactions to the way they reacted to the ghost that suddenly appeared as he blasted the roof out.
Bruce frowned really deep at that scene, shaking his head and feeling the fabric of the cowl pooled around his neck brush against his skin.
Finding nothing interesting again, Bruce rewound the footage and began watching it over another time. Out of the corner of his eye, the Dark Knight saw something he hadn't seen beforehand.
It was the three teens that he had talked to before he had gone hero on them. Their expressions were mortified, yes, but for another reason than just being terrified of a strange being that had crashed through the roof of a building with little problem.
No, their expressions showed how familiar they were with the setting and how mortified they were that it followed them from their home.
The ebony-haired boy, Danny, had an exaggerated-exasperated look on his face as he glanced over his shoulder at the ghost before they fell easily into the hallway that had been shadowed to scare off people from traveling down it without permission.
Bruce leaned forward, typing quickly on the keyboard. The footage changed from the ballroom to the darkened hallway where the teens were taped yelling at each other in low whispers. The girl, Sam, was particularly brutal with Danny, telling him something in a deadpan way. The boy pouted and whined, mimicking an unhappy child, before two blue-white rings appeared his waist. They split and changed his appearance into that of the specter that had fought Skulker.
The billionaire stared at the screen in front of him with a slightly gaping mouth, his eyelids drooping. His whole expression said "Are you kidding me?"
Alfred walked up behind him, holding a tray with tea on it. He watched the footage with almost bored eyes, setting the tray beside Bruce softly, not daring to make a loud sound with the metal and not wanting to spill the contents all over the place. "I see you found your little helper."
"They just keep getting younger… Next thing we know, his random second-cousin is going to join him or something… " Bruce mumbled, leaning back in his chair while he face-palmed.
Well... It won't happen exactly like that, Bruce, but pretty dang close.
Hey guys~! I made a one-shot dedicated to Lalenja! She asked me to write a 'scene of a typical fundraiser from my point of view'. ...that was way back at the first chapter of Dark-Net. Is this late? Extremely.
Moving on, action scenes are not my think and, hey, it sucks! Whatever.
Hope ya'll enjoyed! Do whatever! I don't care either way! I need to go and make another one-shot now (been wanting to do this next one for a while now).
If ya'll need me though, I will be drowning my disappointment of not getting to run the Murph Mile with one of my favorite coaches by replaying a funny, Irish jig over and over... Still upsetting... *shakes head*