Yes, I'm horrible, starting a new fic with others still in need of updates. But you see dear readers, there is this dreadful condition called 'writer's block' and I've contracted this deadly disease and the only cure is letting out random plot bunnies. And this little one I call Rupert, say 'hi' Rupert!
Rupert: *Grins at you with his razor sharp teeth*
There's a good boy! Well, enjoy Rupert's idea!
'Come on, Fenton! You can do this! Just a few more months, and you're home free!' At least, that's what Danny told himself. He thought that daily, as the sun went down, for the past two years. Ever since before his sixteenth birthday, since the day his parents and sister died, Danny had been running. Running from the one man he swore he'd never go to if the unthinkable happened, Vlad Masters, Danny's legal guardian.
'Just a few more and Vlad can't get to me. Then I can go home.' Yes, a few more months separated Danny from freedom of Vlad. A few months and Danny would be eighteen, legally an adult with no need of a guardian and in control of all his family's assets. Danny smirked at the thought of suing 'uncle Vlad' for stealing his parents' copyrighted inventions and making a profit off it. Oh and there was also the illegal cloning thing, the abuse, intentional murder, embezzlement and theft. Yes, Vlad will be going away for a long time especially if a certain half ghost teenager 'slipped' another ghostly secret of Vladimir Masters.
All these thoughts were going through Danny's head as he walked down a deserted street. A city limit sign came to view.
~Jump City~
Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beastboy were enjoying the sunny weather at the park, one of their few 'days off' to be normal for once. Cy was cooking some hotdogs while BB and Star were playing catch with a Frisbee. Robin was setting up the picnic while Raven was reading underneath a tree.
"Yo! Come and get it!" Cyborg called out signaling the finished food. All five teenaged superheroes gathered at the blanket to eat.
"Excuse me?" the Titans turned to see another teen with bright blue eyes and shaggy black hair. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled and he had three bags on his back, none of them looked light in anyway.
"Can you point me to a soup kitchen or something?" The Titans shared a look.
"Why don't you join us?" Beastboy offered and the others nodded.
"Oh yes! You must join us while we partake the dogs of hotness!" Starfire said happily.
"You wanna try tofu-dogs?" BB asked as he held up the pre-offered item as a way to tempt the stranger, "It's full of tofu-y goodness." He finished in a sing-song voice.
"Um, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to intrude or anything."
"Hey, it's cool." Cy said, "Not a problem, man."
"I'm Robin," started the Boy Wonder, "And this is Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy, and Raven." Each of the others said their hellos in their own way. Quick as a flash, Starfire was next to the newcomer.
"Please, I must ask," Here she took a large breath, "What-is-your-name? Where-do-you-come-from? What-is-your-favorite-color? And will-you-be-my-friend?" She let out her remaining breath in a rush.
"Uh…" Only Robin and Raven noticed his discomfort, Raven noticed because of the emotions running off of the dark-haired boy in front of her teammates, Robin noticed when the stranger tensed into a defensive stance when Star floated up to him.
"Could you say that a little slower, please?" Starfire nodded and repeated herself at a normal pace.
"My name's Danny, I came from…out east, blue…or red, and sure why not."
"Glorious! New friend Danny, will you now be joining us?"
"Yeah, man, take a load off." Cyborg went to help Danny with his bags.
"No! I mean, no…thanks. I got it." Robin's eyes narrowed. Why had he freaked like that? It's obvious this kid was on the streets, but to jump like that was strange to say the least. Danny put down his bags, far enough away so they wouldn't be obvious but close enough to be grabbed at a moment's notice. Danny was a runaway. But what was he running from? Or who?
"You sure I'm not being a bother?" Danny asked again.
"No bother at all." Said the Boy Wonder as he took a closer look at Danny's appearance. Danny was skinny; Rob couldn't tell if that was natural or from lack of food but judging by the way Danny never took his eyes off the hotdogs, he figured it was the latter. Danny was also covered in dirt and grime, like the boy had been on his own for awhile and hadn't had a decent shower in just as long. Robin noticed how Danny kept looking around before he sat down, like he was expecting something to happen or making sure no one was watching. Robin watched as Danny ate, he was controlling himself, forcing himself to not take too big of a bite and making sure everyone had one more before grabbing another for him; all while keeping a watch on his surroundings and an ear on the conversation happening around him. Time to start asking questions.
"So, how long have you been on the streets, Danny?" Danny coughed on a bight of hotdog.
"What makes you think I'm living on the streets?" Robin dished out the facts that pointed to Danny being a runaway. "Fine, okay, yeah. I've been on the run for…two years, I think?" he admitted but then glowered at the masked boy sitting across from him, "And I'm not going back, not yet." They all blinked in surprise.
"But you want to go back, right?" Beastboy asked.
"Yeah, eventually. But I can't right now, it's better for everyone if I just stay away for awhile longer."
"How much longer?" Asked Cyborg.
"Three or four more months," Danny answered with a shrug, "just until my birthday."
"Why would you have to wait for your birthday?" Robin said in a low voice; he didn't mean to ask out loud, but he did and Danny heard.
"Look, I'm not really comfortable answering a bunch of questions right now. I just met you guys and, well, there are some things that I need to keep to myself. Why I'm waiting is one of them, okay?" The team nodded.
All through the picnic and the small Q&A, Raven had been trying to read Danny's emotions. They were confusing and jumbled, some were hidden others were being reigned in and others still were out there for anyone to see. What made it worse was the fact that they were all intensified to an extreme yet hidden by an invisible and impassible wall. Danny had a very strong mental shield, no cracks or breaks anywhere; there was no way in. The emotions Danny showed were…muted, like he didn't really feel that way, like he was the one wearing the mask not Robin. Time to break the ice and ask her own questions.
"Do you have a place to stay?" Most people jump when she decided to speak, they just forgot she was there and conversed with her friends. Not Danny, he was aware from the very beginning that she was there.
"Not currently, but I'm gonna find a shelter or something. You don't have to worry about that." The last line was obviously directed at all the Titans though Danny's gaze never left Raven's.
"Would you care to do the sleep over with us?" Star asked timidly looking between Robin and Danny to make sure it was ok with either boy. Danny made an unintelligent sound of indecision.
"Fine with me." Robin said, deciding for the other boy.
"Okay, but I reserve the right to leave when I want to, no questions asked." Robin and Starfire nodded, both happy with the answer and the chance to get to know Danny better.
"Alright then, let's pack up." Soon after, the empty basket that had held the food, the blanket, the equipment and two of Danny's biggest bags were stuffed in the trunk of the T-car. Danny had refused to part from his purple backpack saying that it had some fragile things inside that he didn't want to get broken. As it was, there was little room in the vehicle until BB transformed into a kitten and sat on Star's lap much to her enjoyment.
~Titan Tower~
"You realize that you guys live in a giant letter, right?" Danny monotoned. He was only slightly impressed when the T-car hovered over the ocean to reach the island home in the bay of Jump City. Even less impressed by the gigantic 'T' shaped tower situated on the island.
Once they all exited the car, BB turned back to his human form.
"That's because we're the Teen Titans, dude!"
"Well, that explains why it's a 'T'…" Danny said as he grabbed his bags before anyone could help lift them, he didn't want anyone of them to figure out that he was anything other than a normal runaway kid. If any of them even tried to lift his bags, they would find almost six-hundred pounds of weaponry within the jumble of clothing. His most important items; the ghost files, the thermos, some books his parents' wrote, and a time medallion; were in his purple knapsack on his back and never out of reach. Those were the only things that kept him sane the last two years along with photos of his family and friends that he hid in one of his other bags.
"Can I use the shower real quick?" Danny said once he gathered the bags.
"Sure, dude! Follow me!" BB said as he turned into a puppy. Danny stared at the green changeling, he looked like Cujo's little brother. Beastboy wiggled his little tail and bounded off into the tower; Danny shook his head and followed after.
After his shower, Danny followed Beastboy around the tower as he explained each level of the monster 'T'. Despite its large size, the tower had only five floors. Starting at the very top, at the cross section of the 'T', was an Ops. Center/living room/kitchen. The center of this room was taken up by a circular couch and there was a large TV displayed proudly in front of said couch. A computer to the right of the TV, a very expensive looking computer too. The kitchen area looked like it was ready for any chef to waltz right in and prepare a full seven course meal for ten.
'Where did they get the money to pay for all this?' Danny thought.
The next level was the girls' rooms; Starfire's room was on the west side of the building while Raven's was closest to the center of it. Danny noticed how BB looked down one corridor with a frown but he didn't comment on it and the tour continued.
The next level was the boys' rooms. Cy was on the south side, BB on the east and Robin got two rooms in the center and west of the building leaving only one room open to Danny on the north side of the tower. Each of these levels had one bathroom each.
The fourth level was a training area and also a medical facility. Both sections looked state of the art and very high tech.
The last level of the tower was an underground garage. Danny could see the T-car and a red motorcycle neatly parked next to what looked like a spaceship that had five control pods.
"Thanks for the tour." BB smiled at the visitor.
"No problem, dude. Just remember to not go in Rob or Rae's rooms. They get touchy over their stuff." Danny's hand subconsciously went to the strap of his bag on his back.
"Yeah, sure, I'll remember." BB's eyes softened, he never told anyone about his short time alone before he joined the Doom Patrol. And that's the reason the shape-shifter's heart went out to any runaway he came across, like Terra.
~Somewhere in Wisconsin~
Vlad paced in one of his overly large lounge like rooms. Who knew it was so hard to locate one seventeen year old boy? Sure there had been sightings and rumors, but as soon as they could be confirmed that it was indeed Daniel, the boy disappeared like a ghost and would pop up again in some other backwater town far away from where he started out. And the process would repeat, with Vlad getting closer each time. That's all that separated Vlad from his goal, time; and Vlad was a patient man. Though time was also against him as well. In three months time, the boy would legally be an adult and forever out of Vlad's grasp, him and all of the things he inherited. Jasmine was too smart for her own good sometimes, the blasted girl convinced her parents to add a clause to their will stating that if anything should happen to the elder Fentons while their children were still minors, the children would have to consent to and be present for any dealings with their inheritance. Daniel was the sole heir to the Fenton Family name and thereby owned all of his parents' inventions and royalties gained from selling them. Daniel could be a very wealthy individual and a rival in some of Vlad's companies if the man didn't secure a merger or take-over soon. Worse yet, the boy could ruin him if he wasn't silenced soon, and permanently.
Hi again! So did you like chapter one? PM me for anything you have questions about and I'll do my best to answer. Say 'bye' Rupert!
Rupert: *Grins at you with his razor sharp teeth*
You don't say much do you, buddy.
Rupert: *Still grinning at you*
Didn't think so…Till next time! The PSC~~OUT!