A/N
Thankyou to all my lovely readers and reviewers.
Not much to say today, except that I don't own TT or DP. Obviously. Hope you enjoy.
The headlines screamed murder in block writing.
Tragic accident or ruthless killing?
Father and son lose their lives in vicious ghost attack.
Daniel and Jack Fenton murdered by malevolent Phantom.
A boy in a black hoodie stood at the newsstand, glistening green eyes reading every one. His hands clenched and unclenched in his pockets, the black hole in his heart seemingly sucking away every good feeling he'd ever had.
His father. Dead.
His mother. Hospitalised.
His sister. Alone.
Danny Phantom's shoulders began to shake and he squeezed his eyes shut against tears that wouldn't come. His fault, all of it.
Jack had been killed instantly, his body charred and burned in the explosion. Maddie had been saved overnight, doctors managing to stem the internal bleeding resulting from being thrown violently against the wall from the force of the blast. Jazz had been upstairs, woken up by the huge explosion that shook the entire house, but she was unharmed. Danny wondered if she really believed him to be dead.
They never recovered Danny Fenton's body. The police said it had been destroyed completely by the blast; completely blown apart. When the fire department finally cleared the area as safe to investigate, all they'd found was the silver-haired Phantom, huddled against the far wall and howling for forgiveness.
It had been a week since then.
The clouds that had settled over Amity Park a week ago still hung in the sky, a downpour of rain splashing over the city. Danny barely felt it as he walked away from the newsstand, head turned downwards so no one would see his face. He couldn't hide now – not as Fenton, who was supposed to be dead, and not as Phantom, who was the murderer. He stayed as Phantom most days. Why turn back into Danny Fenton, who had nothing left but an unconscious mother, a dead father, and a distraught sister? He couldn't face them. Couldn't face Tucker or Sam. Couldn't face Vlad Masters, who'd come to Fenton Works almost every day and called his name over and over.
Couldn't face anyone.
Danny Phantom walked towards the cemetery, knowing his clothes were soaked through yet not feeling the cold. He passed through the iron gates, seeing a crowd of people huddling under black umbrellas a little way away. He walked a little closer to them, hovering along the outskirts of the mass of people all in black.
It seemed the whole of Amity had turned out for Jack and Danny Fenton's funeral.
Danny disappeared, walking calmly through the crowd until he stood at the very front. Two marble gravestones stood side by side; father and son. Danny scowled at the wrongness of it all. All around him, people sobbed with loss. Tucker and Sam sat in the very front row, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks stained with tears. Tucker held Jazz's hand as she wailed, she and Sam leaning into one another for comfort.
Vlad Masters sat beside Tucker, head bowed and shoulders shaking with the force of his sobs. Beside him was Mr. Lancer, drawing in ragged breath after ragged breath. Friends of his parents, classmates of his, people who knew the Fenton's by name; all of them there to witness the burial of Daniel and Jack Fenton.
The priest giving the sermon finally stopped talk, and Danny was drawn from his thoughts by Jazz standing up to speak. He squeezed his eyes shut as she walked right through him, watching goosebumps prickle on the back of her neck. She took a deep breath, not bothering to wipe at her eyes.
"Thank you for coming today," Jazz began, her voice hitching in her throat, "I really appreciate it, and I know my Mom would too." Her hands were shaking so she clasped them together. "My Dad and my little brother were two of the most amazing people I ever knew. What happened wasn't fair to either of them, and... and..." She was shaking uncontrollably now. Sam and Tucker were suddenly beside her, steadying her. "I'm sorry." Jazz murmured, half to the gravestones and half to the crowd of people. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Danny felt a scream building up in his chest, so he ran. He ripped off his hoodie and kicked off his shoes, struggling out of his jeans and leaping into the air. The DP symbol on his chest seemed to burn against his skin, rain running down his face. He opened his mouth and howled, his ghostly wail tearing through the air. He heard shouts from below, angry roaring and disgusting shouting.
One agonised cry rang above the rest, ripping from his sister's mouth. "Daaannnyyy!"
It reminded him so much of his mother's that it hurt.
Danny wasn't quite sure what had happened in the split second before the lab had exploded. One moment he'd been flying through the air, hoping to knock Skulker out of the way before he could fire the gun, the next he'd been falling, two blue rings passing over his body and turning him back into Danny Fenton. Exhaustion had kicked in right when he needed strength the most.
His mother had called his name then, not having seen the transformation. She only saw her son and her husband lying on either side of the hunter ghost, a grenade and an ecto-bullet about to collide in mid-air.
He didn't know how he survived. He'd woken up hours later as Danny Phantom, his mind shutting down as he saw his father, charred and burning on the tiled floor. Then the police had shown up, screaming at him and ordering him to come with them, and he'd simply melted into the wall and hidden himself away, shaking with tearless sobs until he could finally control himself again.
He couldn't stay in Amity. The only thing to do now was to run. Run until he collapsed. Run until he had no idea where he was, or how to get home. Run until he could forget what he'd done. Self-imposed exile was a fitting punishment for a murderer, after all.
Danny Phantom flew on, eyes burning and chest aching, knowing he could never come back.
"Okay, how about this one? A blonde walks into a bar and –"
"Do you mean the place where humans above the age of twenty one often go to drink alcohol, or the metal pole?" Starfire enquired, glancing at Beast Boy. The green changeling grinned. The two walked through along the sidewalk, the last rays of sunlight shining across the bay. They were just finishing their last sweep before heading home, patrol over for the day.
"The alcohol one. Anyway, so she walks in and sits down, and –"
The sound of screaming cut through the air, shrill and terrified. Starfire and Beast Boy whirled around to face the noise, eyes scanning for any signs of distress.
Then the air around them exploded.
"Ghost boy!" A voice bellowed from within the cloud of dust, "Surrender yourself now!"
The two Titans watched in astonishment as the dust cleared, revealing two men dressed completely in white. Guns rested on their shoulders, eyes covered by tinted black sunglasses even though the day was quickly becoming night.
On the ground a little away from them was a boy, his snow-white hair coated with black soot and his eyes downcast. He tried to scramble away, but one of the men fired his gun, sending the boy flying.
"Hey!" Beast Boy cried, outraged, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Starfire's hands lit up and she rose into the air.
"Leave that boy alone." She ordered.
The men turned to glare at the two teens. "This is official Guys in White business, ma'am. Clear the area."
"You can't just attack people in the middle of the street, dude." Beast Boy shook his head, "Drop the guns."
"I repeat – clear the area. This ghost is a danger to society and must be taken in for questioning."
Beast Boy cast a sidelong glance at Starfire. "Did he just say ghost?"
Starfire nodded, eyes wide. "I believe he did."
"I'm giving you kids two minutes to clear the area, before –" Whatever the man was going to say was cut off by Starfire, who fired a starbolt directly at the gun resting on his shoulder. It spun away and skidded across the ground, and for a moment nobody moved. Aside from the two Titans, the boy on the ground and the Guys in White, the street was completely empty.
Then, the remaining man fired a blast at Starfire.
Thinking quickly, Beast Boy quickly shoved Starfire out of the way, morphing into a wolf and leaping at the man with the gun before he could make another move. Starfire picked herself up and hurled a starbolt at the unarmed one, sending him flying backwards.
The guy in the white suit cried out in pain as Beastboy bowled him over and held him down, his sharp claws digging into his chest. The other guy looked bewildered for a moment, staring between Starfire and Beast Boy.
"Who are you kids? More ghosts?" He demanded, frantically looked around for his gun. It was nowhere in sight. "Where the hell is –"
"Ghost boy!" His partner yelled, "D, watch out!"
Beast Boy morphed back, raising his head to see what the other man was looking at. His eyes widened.
The white-haired boy had risen from the ground, shaking hands clumsily fumbling with the giant weapon. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" His voice was softer than a whisper, his luminescent green eyes shining with anger. His voice rose to a trembling scream. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
Beast Boy cursed, barely managing to roll out of the way before the boy pulled the trigger, an explosion of energy bursting from the gun and searing towards the man on the ground. He screamed in pain as he was hit, the force of the blast sending Beast Boy stumbling. Starfire rushed to his aid, kneeling beside him on the bitumen and staring in shock at the boy.
The boy staggered, his clothes torn and his movements sluggish. He took another step and fell, head crashing against the pavement and eyelids falling shut. The two Titans ran towards him unthinkingly, Beast Boy clumsily feeling for a pulse on the boy's neck.
"Holy crap he's cold." He murmured, "I can't find a pulse! Star, call Robin or the hospital or something."
Starfire pulled out her communicator. "Robin, please answer! We are in need of your assistance!" She cried, hovering nervously beside Beast Boy, who had returned warily to the boy's side.
"What is it, Star?" Robin's reply was unhesitating, prepared.
"Robin, Beast Boy and I have stopped a..." she paused, unsure what to call it, "A shooting, and a boy is hurt."
"I can't find a pulse, Robin, but he's breathing." Beast Boy called. He spared a glance for the two men, but he could see the rhythmic rise and fall of their chests and so ignored them. Sirens sounded in the distance, and Beast Boy felt a flood of relief. The police could deal with them.
"Starfire, Beast Boy, bring him back to the Tower. Cyborg will get the infirmary ready." Robin said firmly after a few seconds deliberation. "He'll be okay, Star." He added as an afterthought, seeing the princess' distraught expression.
"I shall carry him." Starfire nodded as the communication cut out, turning to Beast Boy. "We need to fly fast."
Beast Boy stepped aside as Starfire pulled the unconscious boy into her arms. Although she was resistant to the cold, even she could tell that the boy's body temperature was far lower than normal. She frowned.
"I hope we are not too late." She murmured before kicking off into the sky, hearing Beast Boy's shrill falcon cry as he soared after her.
