So, as some of you may know because you've been reading my other stories and are loyal readers, I had decided to write a crossover story for Danny Phantom and Young Justice. Well, I have started one called Polar Opposites, but that was purely on a whim, and not what I had originally planned to do. This is the original idea I had come up with for a crossover story, and I have to say, I'm very proud and excited for this series, even if I don't get a lot of people reading it. I was inspired by CyberActor15's story, which got me to reading other crossover stories. So now, I present the first chapter of the Phantom Light Trilogy, Resurrection. Enjoy!
Prologue
The sky in Gotham City was always known for being dark and downcast, a site so depressing that no one was ever surprised by the presence of rain as a light storm overtook the city. For many people, the rain was symbolic; to some it meant a sort of calm, or peace as the water tapped against their windows. Others would say it reminded them of death, not just to a person, but to the city, and that the sky was weeping, mourning because of the lost. While others still, claimed that it was a sign of something new. A fresh start. A rebirth. And it was this thought that unsettled Robin the most as of late. Sitting perched on the side of a building, the Boy Wonder kept his eyes on the hooded person below him. Placing his binoculars back into his utility belt, he calmly placed a finger on the comlink in his right ear.
"Target spotted and in site, heading toward the warehouse district," he relayed.
"Copy that, Robin. Keep eyes on him and stay out of site. We're on our way," Batgirl said back.
"Do not engage the target and do not take any unnecessary risk," Nightwing added. Robin narrowed his eyes, focusing on the target they had been searching for while clenching and unclenching his fists.
For as long as he could remember, ever since he took up the moniker of Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing had felt the need to constantly remind him of one of Batman's most important rules: Never take unnecessary risks. Though he was grateful that they cared so much about him, Timothy Drake, the third Robin and fourth child to be mentored by the Bat, was beyond annoyed at their constant reminder of this rule.
Tim had confronted both Dick and Barbara multiple times about it, but the result was always the same.
"We're just looking out for you, Tim," Barbara would always say to him.
Sure, he didn't have as much experience as Barbara, and nowhere near as much as Dick, but they felt the need to always look after him and remind him of this which always seemed to rub Tim the wrong way. He felt as if they were treating him like a child or more accurately, the unknowledgeable little brother that had to be looked out for so he didn't fall behind. Someone who they would have to babysit.
Of course it didn't help any that Batman was still off world with the rest of the original League that were on trial, leaving Nightwing in charge of everything. Not that it would have mattered; just because Batman didn't say anything during their arguments, doesn't mean he would have agreed with Tim. No, he probably would have backed up Dick and Barbara one hundred percent. It was his rule, after all.
Biting his tongue, knowing that a snide remark would probably only come back to bite him in the butt later, Tim gave a simple "Understood," before releasing the button and pulling out his grappling hook.
Batgirl sighed as she turned and headed toward the direction of Robin's tracer, switching the frequency so as not to be heard by unwanted ears.
"Dick, maybe we should tell him. You and I both know this isn't just going to go away. He's not just gonna let this go…" she said, hopping onto the next building.
"Negative. You know it's for his own good," Nightwing replied.
"I don't see how babying him so much is for his own good. Tim's very capable and deserves a little leeway. He's proven that multiple times, and constantly reminding him that he needs to be careful doesn't show that we even acknowledge that."
"What are you getting at, Barb?"
"I just…I don't think we need to constantly treat him like he's some inexperienced rookie. I know what happened before was rough on everyone. I still can't think about it without my chest getting tight, but Tim's different. He's not Jason," she said sympathetically. The line was quiet for a while and Batgirl was beginning to suspect that they had been disconnected, until she finally heard him reply.
"I know he's not, Barb. But I will not sit by and let what happened to Jason happen to anyone else, especially not the two of you. I won't bury him another one of my brothers."
That hit Barbara hard as she remembered when Bruce had told her and Dick the news on what happened to Jason. She remembered all the tears she had shed for the young man, as well as the rage she and Dick shared at hearing what the Joker had done. If it hadn't been for Bruce being there to comfort the two and to keep them level headed and grounded, they probably would gotten themselves killed trying to get the Joker. She remembered the burial. It was small, simple. Only members of the League, their sidekicks, herself and her father had been there. Everyone gave their condolences to the Bat family, but knew the pain would take a while to heal. Even when Tim had joined them, they felt a twinge of lost about Jason. Of course Tim knew about Jason, and he was shocked to think something like that happened to his predecessor, and vowed that he would always keep his anger under control. Barbara liked to think that Jason's story had helped Tim to focus as he realized early on that they were not invincible, and that one mistake could be the end of it all. But that didn't stop her from worrying about him.
Batgirl said nothing as she continued to make her way to the docks.
Thirty minutes later, the three apprentices stood on top of a warehouse across from where Robin had followed their target. The rain had stopped not long ago, leaving a thick layer of moisture to linger in the humid summer air.
"Good work, Robin," Nightwing complemented as he placed a hand on his shoulder before pulling up the holoscreen on his wrist.
"Thanks, but…are you sure this guy is supposed to be dead? He seems pretty alive to me," Robin asked.
"Greg Raymond. Born July 17th, 1990, died December 11th, 2006. One of the city's most notorious teenage mobsters, he was destined to take over for his father, but was gunned down at the families' hideout along with twelve others. Apparently this is the hideout of his murders."
"So why come here? Do you think he's trying to revenge for trying to kill him? Or maybe he faked his own death?"
"Not for ten years. He would have surfaced by now if he had."
"Sounds like someone is up to something big," Batgirl said, crossing her arms. "So, what's the-"
A loud explosion caught them all by surprise as the building in front of them was engulfed in a mass of fire and debris. Windows exploded as large clouds of smoke pour out of any and all openings that the building had. The three vigilantes looked on in shock as the blaze began to engulf the building before anyone spoke.
"Well, we can rule out him working with them," Robin said though he received no answer from the older two. Looking down, they all caught site of a lone figure running out of the building, showing no indication of being caught in the explosion that had caused the fire. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the escaping person was their target, making a hasty getaway from a crime that they had no doubt he caused.
"Let's move!" Nightwing called. Without a second's hesitation, they quickly began to sprint, leaping across and down onto some crates, allowing them to get closer to the ground as well as their target.
As the hooded teen ran, Nightwing lead the pursuit, Robin and Batgirl bringing up the rear, but not far behind. It was easy for the three to catch up to him, and as they jumped down from the top of the crates, they surrounded the boy who came to a stop, head held down and unmoving, showing not even the slightest hint of surprise.
"Hold it, Raymond," Nightwing said, eyes narrowed, but couldn't help the feeling of deja vu that pumped through him at the site of the blood red eyes that looked distant and angry. Upon closer inspection, he could also see that his skin held a slight green hue to it, confirming that something was off about the person in front of them.
"Well, well. I had heard dat da bat had a buncha cronies of his own. Guess da rumors are true," he said in a thick accent.
"We've got some questions, and you've got the answers," Robin said in a monotone voice.
"Sorry, but I ain't no squealer. You want answers, talk to da Phantoms." With a wicked grin on his face, Greg pulled out a Tommy gun that he had hidden under his jacket, and opened fire. The three reflexively scattered out of the way, hiding behind various cover, and giving him an opening to run. Robin quickly chased after him, pulling out and tossing a birdarang to attempt to slow him down. As the red projectile sailed through the air, it hit its mark; the middle of Greg's back, causing him to stumble as he rounded a corner. The three heroes rounded the same corner and were all surprised to find that he had vanished.
"There!" Batgirl yelled as she pointed to an open manhole cover. They each pulled out their weapons before one by one jumping into the hole and straight into the sewer. Nightwing held his Eskrima Sticks, Robin his boa staff and Batgirl, a variety of batarangs, and scanned the slightly narrow tunnel, but found it to be empty of life save a few rats.
"Damn it! There goes another one. How do they keep getting away?" Robin said in frustration as he put his weapon away.
"Just like all the others," Nightwing said as he turned to look at his partners. "Now I'm positive that this is no mere coincidence. Something is going on."
"So what do you think?" Batgirl asked. "There doesn't really seem to be any real connection between the people or a pattern other then the fact they're all listed as deceased, the green coloring in their skin and the red irises."
"Not to mention that they all seem to know the same disappearing act," Robin commented.
"There's also the fact that they all mentioned the same person. Or, people. Someone called the Phantoms," Nightwing said as he brought up his left wrist and allowed his holoscreen to come to life. As he began his search, the other two looked at each other, a little confused, and turned back to him as the screen rang out, indicating a match in the information he'd been searching for. "The Phantom Trio of Amity Park, Illinois, commonly nicknamed "The Phantoms", is a trio of ghosts, two teenagers and one preteen, who have a reputation for protecting the town, but also for being a menace, causing damage on an almost daily basis."
"Ghosts? That seems…" Robin trailed off, trying to find the right words.
"Illogical? Farfetched? Nonsensical?" Batgirl said.
"Exactly."
"Illogical or not, we need to investigate this trio," Nightwing said, turning back to his partners. "Call up the Team. We're getting to the bottom of this."
In the town of Amity Park, there were always two things that were certain. The first was that Ghost attacks were a daily occurrence. Everyone in town was accustomed to the unusual disturbance that was a ghost attacking their town. The second was the appearance of the town's "Protectors", the Phantoms.
Daniel "Danny" James Phantom, the only male and the, what most would believe, leader of the trio, was the most well known and easily recognized member, having been around the longest and having much more press coverage then his other two counterparts. Unknown to anyone other than a select few, the town's hero was nothing more than a sixteen year old by the name of Danny Fenton, son of the famous Fenton Ghost Hunters, Jack and Madeline Fenton. After an incident involving his parent's invention the Ghost Portal, a device designed to allow humans access to the realm of the undead, Danny acquired the powers of a ghost, and has take it upon himself to protect the town and those he cares about from ghosts.
Samantha "Sammy" Marie Phantom, the eldest of the two female members, was the last to receive her ghostly abilities, but has been around since the beginning of their adventure, and it was because of her that Danny gained his powers in the first place. Most know her as Sam Manson, a gothic sixteen year old ultra-recyclo vegetarian who was very outspoken when it came to her beliefs. She also happens to be one of Danny's best friends as well as his girlfriend. After an incident when she was made the caretaker of an army of ghostly plants, Sam has dawned her own hero persona and had made it a point in assisting Danny in any way possible. However, she has made it known that she hates the name Sammy, and often gets annoyed with the press at their constant use of the nickname that she has reserved only for Danny when they are in private.
The third and final member of the group was Danielle "Ellie" Lilith Phantom. At the age of twelve, she was both the youngest and the most unique of the three because although she is biologically a pre-teenager, chronologically, she was but a year old. Created using the ghost DNA from Danny and the human DNA of Sam, Danielle came into existence, believing herself to be a clone of the two. Originally, she thought herself an enemy of Danny, and tried to capture him for her creator, but eventually turned on him and helped Danny. After a few months, of roaming around on her own, Danielle, who preferred the name Dani, was over overjoyed to see her DNA donors again, who, after a long amount of consideration, realized that based on the process used to create her, they were her parents. After this revelation, Danielle started living with her mother whose family was rich and had many spare rooms she could hide in without being found by the Manson family. Upon her first big media appearance, many asked where she had come from and her relation to the ghost boy since the two looked so similar. Danielle, following the plan put together by her family, told everyone that her name was Ellie Phantom, that she was the cousin of the infamous Danny Phantom and that she was here to help him protect the town.
Though everyone believed that the three ghosts did everything on their own, they knew it wasn't true. Along with their friend and techno genius of the group, Tucker Foley, psychiatrist and ghost hunter trainee, Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton, and fellow classmate and ghost hunter, Valerie "Red Huntress" Grey, the self-dubbed Team Phantom worked hard to keep the town safe from the dangers of the spectral universe. However, not all dangers were ghost related, and as of late, recent events have begun to play out that would open a whole world of new things for the group.
"She's heading west toward the park!" Danny shouted into the mouthpiece of his Fenton Phone.
"We're ready for her, Danny. She's not getting past us this time," Sam said as she and Danielle hovered in the air invisibly. The night was unusually peaceful. That is, until the appearance of the woman that they were currently chasing after. Though it wasn't unusual anymore for them to do a more normal style of crime fighting, the trio was getting to be beyond annoyed that this woman had outsmarted them as many times as she did already in one night.
Flipping over the gate, the woman made a dash for the tree line, only to stop short as the two female hybrids appeared before her, blocking her path. Turning around, she wasn't the least bit surprised to find Danny come up right behind her, completing the circle that they formed to surround her.
"Well well. If it isn't all three of the Phantom Trio. Looks like you finally caught me," she said in amusement behind her grinning cat mask. "Good thing too because I was getting tired of all of these cat and mouse games."
"Who are you?" Danny asked, unamused with the woman in front of him.
"Name's Cheshire. And I've been hired to give you a special message."
"A message from who?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Sorry, but I've been paid a very generous amount of money from my employer to not give anything away. You'll just have to figure that out on your own," she said, pulling a couple of small pellets from her pocket. Danny's eyes grew wide in surprise before he grew angry and charged at her full speed, but it was all in vain as Cheshire threw them onto the ground, setting off a small flash and engulfing the area in smoke. The flashes temporarily blinded the trio, making it near impossible to see each other.
"Sam! Danielle!" Danny called out to his partners as his throat became dry and his lungs contracted unconsciously. Though the pain was there, it was minimal as his ghost half allowed him to go longer without breathing then a normal person.
"I'm fine, Danny," Sam said, coughing a little and waving the smoke from her face.
"Me too," Danielle said as her vision began to clear and she spotted the two older halfas. As the smoke vanished, they all looked around for any sign of their previous target, but found nothing out of place. "Where's Cheshire?"
"Gone," Danny said, noticing a small silver box on the ground in front of him. Walking over to it with caution, Danny bent down and picked up the object as two white rings appeared around his waist and travelled over his body. Behind him, Sam and Danielle were doing the same.
"What do you think she wanted?" Danielle asked as the last ring went over her head, changing her eyes from green to blue, bringing color back to her skin and replacing her favorite red denim beanie on top her head. As the rings disappeared, leaving her in her human form, Danielle had on a pair of skinny jeans, a black short sleeve shirt with long red sleeves under it and matching red kicks.
"She said she had to deliver a message to us," Sam said, also in her human form. Her jeans were all black, matching her bulky combat boots that she always wore other then on special occasions. Her long sleeve purple shirt hung off her shoulders revealing her bra straps. Under her sleeves on her forearms were her favorite spider fishnet gloves that left her fingers exposed. "What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure it has something to do with this," Danny said, showing the girls the box in his hand. Danny's attire hadn't changed much over the years. He still wore his same blue jeans, and had replaced his normal white t-shirt with an all black one that matched the watch on his left wrist. His normal shoes were replaced with all white kicks, and his upper body was covered in a white hoodie that he wore all the time, leaving it open to show off his shirt. At first, many people believed that he was weird wearing a hoodie during the hot summer weather, but Danny hardly noticed it because of his ice core which kept him naturally cooler than any normal human.
"You think it could be a trap?" Sam asked, eying the box suspiciously.
"Think Vlad, sent it?" Danielle asked in disgust.
"I wouldn't doubt it being a trap, but as for it being Vlad's handy work, I don't think so. He's not one to use human lapdogs to do his bidding."
"Well, maybe we should call Tucker and have him look at it," she replied. Before any of them could reply, the box began to hum like a computer coming to life, startling the three. The top of the box slide open to reveal a small lens as it rose from the center. A bright light projected from the lens, creating a holographic screen before them with a password screen that flashed before a window looking like a letter head appeared. Each member of the trio held their breath, waiting for something to happen, which didn't take long as words began to type out across the screen. As the message finished, a look of contemplation etched across Danny's face as he read the message out loud.
"Hello, Phantoms. We have been keeping our eyes on you, and we will be in contact soon. Prepare to see the Light."
"The Light? What's the Light?" Danielle asked.
"More importantly is who's been watching us and why are they going to be contacting us soon?" Sam said, turning to Danny who nodded in agreement.
"I don't know, but whatever it is or who it is, it can't be good. Which mean we're going to have to really keep on our toes until we get this all figured out. Let's get this thing to Tucker and see what he can tell us."