CH3
Raven did as he said. She placed her hand on the cover, cleared her mind, and thought 'Daniel Fenton'. She opened it to the first page and stopped at what she saw. She was surprised to say the least. She was berating herself for not noticing it earlier. It was obvious. And yet, such a small change as a small eye mask, and some bright clothes hid Robin. Why couldn't a different hair color, a different eye color and a tiny change of clothes hide Danny? His face was the same, and so was his voice. How could no one notice what this book told her after just a few seconds?
On the first page were two pictures and two lines of text. One picture was a portrait of a young man with raven hair and sparkling eyes, a smile on his lips. The other was a portrait of a scowling snowy haired man, with glowing eyes, very similar the one on the left side of the page. Under the left it read Danny Fenton. Under the right, it read Danny Phantom AKA Thanatos. But how could he be alive and yet claim to be dead at the same time? The book started to scrawl out an answer and she slammed it shut. If she was going to learn anything, it was him that was going to tell her.
Raven was tempted to use the book to look into the pasts of her team mates. She was sorely tempted, but she resisted. Just barely. After two days of studying herself in the book, she was satisfied, and ready to return it. She would go back later to borrow it, but for now, she was satisfied. She was still curious about Danny, but she didn't need the book to satisfy her curiosity, not when she could ask the source. But first she was going to have a talk with someone. She had to make a phone call first though. She didn't know Danny's number so she used the book. He was right, it was a useful tool. She called him and he picked up.
"Hello?" he sounded like he had just woken up, it was Saturday after all
"It's Raven." she said
"Oh." dismissive "Oh." realizing "Oh." depression, then apprehensively he asked "So...what did you learn?"
"I learned Fenton and Phantom. Thanatos? Really? Was really the best you could come up with?"
"It was an on the spot thing, I didn't think I'd ever use it again!" he defended "So...what else?"
"Nothing else."
"What do you mean?"
"You could have invaded my privacy a lot more than learning my species and, inadvertently, my father's plans, but you didn't. I gave you the same respect when I realized who you were." there was silence "I was thinking of returning the book today."
"Uh, yeah sure, come on down, but uh, can you do it before...six?"
"That's reasonable, but I have a request..."
623623623
Raven walked into the common room, book in hand. It was eleven in the morning and everyone was sitting around. They noticed Raven come in. She was usually the first up.
"Robin, we need to have a team meeting." he gave her a curious look but said
"Sure, uh, everybody, get in here." Soon everyone was on the couch. "So what is it Raven?"
"I have something to show all of you."
"What?" she held up the book
"Look inside." the team crowded around but when they looked inside Beastboy screwed up his face
"Dude, it's just a bunch of blank pages."
"Please friends, I do not understand." Robin knew better though
"It's magic isn't it?"
"Probably. Cyborg, may we use you as an example?" the teen was confused but went along with it.
"Uh, sure?" Raven took the book, closed it and after clearing her mind and pictured his face, opened it for everyone to see. There was a picture of him before the implants, and a picture after, each labeled. The before was labeled at Victor Stone, the after as merely Cyborg. She began to read the next page.
"Victor Stone was a straight A student with two loving parents who passed on their genius level intellect to him. In high school Victor began to make some new friends who got him into sports, much to his parents disapproval." Cyborg paled "He began to train his body so it would be equal to his intellect and after two years of intense effort, he succeeded. One night when he was visiting his parents at S.T.A.R. Labs his parents were working on a project involving dimensional gateways wh-"
"SHUT UP! How are you doing that!" Everyone looked in surprise as Raven turned to the back and Cyborg tried to understand.
"Page one, identification. Page two, description. Page three, initial history. Page four, family tree, mother. Page five, family tree, father. Page six, abilities and attributes. Page seven, friends. Page eight, enemies. Page nine, weaknesses. Page ten, history chapters list. Page eleven-" Cyborg had snatched the book out of her hands and was going through it page by page by page by page.
"No way. No way man! NO WAY! How does it know this? I never told anybody about this! This can't be right! Are these stats accurate?" He stopped going through it for and looked at Raven. "Raven, what's with this book?" He was seriously freaked out.
"Place your hand on the cover and clear your mind, then think of a name, first and last, or a clear picture of someone's face, and it will tell you almost everything you care to know about them. If it's not listed you can ask it specifically just how you would summon other information. For example." she took the book back "How tall is Cyborg?" She opened the book to his portraits and turned the page, the only thing written on it was 6' 5".
"Yo man, this is...I don't know what it is, but I don't think I like it." Robin spoke up, determined.
"Neither do I. Raven...why are you showing us this book?"
"It was made so a person could reflect upon their life, their actions, and come to peace, or at the very least better themselves. It's a heady thing. That's not all it can do either, it can answer mundane questions too, or help recover lost memories as I have discovered. I am offering each of you the chance to explore the book before I take it to Danny today." Robin shot up.
"Danny! That jerk? Raven I forbid you to give it to him. Why would you ever even think of giving that guy something like this?" she rolled her eyes
"You can't forbid it Robin, it's his book."
"Say what?" this was Cyborg surprisingly enough. "What's a dude like him doin' with a thing like this?"
"It doesn't matter." Robin said "He won't be getting it back." everyone looked at him "I don't trust him, especially with this kind of power. Do you even realize what he could do with this? He could let out the secret identities of every hero in the world! Find anyone, anywhere, know their deepest darkest secrets! Do you trust him with power like that?" that got uneasy looks from everyone but Raven.
"It doesn't matter Robin, he said he made it. He also said he made it so he could reflect on his life. Looking in this is his personal private hobby and I bet he could easily make another." that surprised everyone "Do you really want two of these things floating around Robin? Right now he's letting me borrow it. I called him today and asked if he would let me offer each of you a chance at it and he agreed, but only for an hour each, afterwards you would have to ask him for it."
"I don't like this."
"You don't have to Robin." she sighed "Look, he obviously hasn't unmasked any heroes and I don't think he'll start now." he was unconvinced "In the place he kept this book there were several others easily a thousand times more dangerous. Books that could end the world or even the universe, books to change time, control hearts, alter and disrupt reality, traverse dimensions, kill masses with a thought." Everyone's eyes widened at that
"AND YOU JUST LEFT THEM THERE?"
"Don't yell at me Robin. I said 'could'. The same books can easily be used to reverse those said effects, repair reality, restore the time stream and save countless lives. All knowledge is to be judged in application, not existence. Even books preaching hate can be useful in deciphering a madman or in teaching the end result of wrongful actions. Compared to the aforementioned books, this book isn't all that dangerous, merely a 'useful tool'." she said, using Danny's words "It's a tool and he's letting us use it. It would not be wise to refuse such an offer. I suggest you take it. So, who want's to go first?" Cyborg was nervous and quiet.
"Uh, since I'm sort of already in it right now, maybe I could?"
"Alright." she handed him the book "Bring it back when your hour is over." He nodded and headed off to his room "Who wants to go next?"
"Friend Raven, might I be next?" asked Starfire.
"Then me! Then me!" insisted a certain hyper changeling. Robin had a look on his face
"I want to spend a little more time with it Raven."
"It won't work Robin." Robin knew she was smart but he didn't expect her to figure it out so quickly
"What?"
"He set locks on the the book so that if you asked about him or Thanatos it wouldn't work."
"How do you know?"
"He told me when I asked to let you use it. He also said that it was to annoy you since he won't talk to you and you can't talk to Thanatos ever since he blew up and attacked that robot thing."
"Fine, but I'm going to talk to him."
"No you're not. Not for the next four four days. He banned you from his store for a week, remember?"
"How did you know that? You weren't even there!"
"Beastboy wont shut up about it." Robin looked at Beastboy and Beastboy ran away.
"I'm going to get him later."
"Beastboy or Danny?"
"Yes."
"Well, don't try anything too drastic, he let me use the book on him and he would most assuredly win if you fought." many things crossed Robin's face before he settled on one.
"Why did he let you use it on him?"
"He had his reasons."
"Why are you suddenly defending him?"
"Because...he knows things about me that you don't, and he didn't even blink when he saw the worst side of me. He accepted me." Robin's mask narrowed
"He used the book."
"Yes, he used the book. But he only asked what I was. Inadvertently he learned something else. I can sense when people are lying and he wasn't."
"Raven, that he used it at all shows that he can't be trusted."
"Please, friends, no more arguing over new friend Danny. He has not harmed us in any way nor has he betrayed us. Should we not merely talk with him?" Raven looked at her optimistic friend, who was right for once.
"Starfire, that's exactly what I plan to do. I'm going to talk to him when I return the book." she began to leave "And Robin, I talked to Thanatos, he said that the whole Thanatos thing was an on the spot name, he said to tell you that his real name is Phantom. Just Phantom."
623623623
I hung up the phone and went back to sleep for another three hours. I'd stayed up late last night and now I'm tired. And hungry, but mostly tired.
I woke up again and checked the time, just after two. I can work with that. Sit up, yawn, go to gym. Set the iPod on shuffle and blast music through the gym. Eminem, Godsmack, Metallica, Gaga, Metallica again, Kiss, Poison, the Beatles, Drowning Pool, Bach, 3-OH-3, Joe Satriani, Paramore, Miley Cyrus...party in the USA only, I swear, Disturbed, Papa Roach, Katy Perry, Metallica again (thank you Ember), No Doubt, Bowling Soup, Elvis, the Gorrilaz, Nickleback, Eminem again, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, Pink!, and on and on. Two hours after I started I decide that it's enough for today, so make my way over to the shower. I need a shower, a nice long luxurious skin scalding shower, because today is Saturday. The store was closed on Saturdays. I see my friends on Saturdays. I can work out however I want on Saturdays. Saturdays, are my days, and I love it. Well, at least I tried to take a long shower, midway through my ghost sense went off and a chill went down my spine. Really? Now? Not an hour ago when I was working out and ready to kick but? Then again it might just be an early visitor. *sigh* Time to get out. I phased most of the water from myself and put a towel around my waist. Hardly three steps past my bed I hear
"Eeeeee! Danny!" there's white and black blur half a second before it barrels into me. I'm on my back, the blur on top of me and I'm feeling very dazed, for now. "Hey." I look at the blur and say in a perfectly pleasant, obviously fake voice
"Hi Dani. What brings you here so early?" she sat up on me
"Wulf wanted to ask Emily out on a date. I was his moral support."
"Really? What did she say?"
"That he can't come to dinner with everyone else tonight because he'll be taking her out." Dinner, what time was it? Survey says - 5:12 - damn, time flies.
"That's nice, can I put on some pants now?" A new voice came
"I think we would all appreciate that." I look over and see, what do you know, Raven.
"Raven, of course, can this get any more perfect?" I look at Dani and she smiles sheepishly
"Did I mention I brought someone over? She says she came to give something back."
"Dani, what did I tell you about bringing strangers into my house?"
"But she's not a stranger! She's Raven! A Teen Titan! Just like you!" she hits me, hard
"Ow! What was that for?" I rub arm. What? She has super strength.
"Why didn't you tell me you're a Titan?"
"I don't want to be a Titan, don't you watch TV? Me telling everyone that I'm done with the hero business was all over the news." She rolled off of me and dropped her head over the side of the bed with her feet on my stomach "Comfy much?" she shifted her feet a bit and turned over into her stomach
"No, your stomach isn't a good foot rest, your abs are too hard."
"Well then, sorry I work out. TV?" she shifted again, she was nervous.
"I don't watch TV, it doesn't fit in my backpack. Hey...can I crash here for a while?"
"What? Yeah, you can crash here, you're my little girl and it's your house too. I left your room the same." Dani jumped up and kissed my cheek
"Thanks Daddy." then she left to put her stuff in the bedroom. I sit up and find Raven giving me a strange look, dear lord, is that all she does?
"What?"
"She has a room?"
"She's family. Mind turning around?" she stared silently for a moment then turned. "What's wrong with my baby having a room," I put on some underwear under my towel then tossed it on the bed. Pants next. "a place to come back to when she get's tired of drifting?" Boxers, check. Pants, check. "You can turn around now." I was rooting around for some deodorant and a shirt. Socks? Nah. Not for a while.
"Why not just go invisible?" I looked at her.
"Just because you can't see anything doesn't mean it won't be freakishly awkward to have you looking at me naked, even if you can't see anything." she seemed to think for a second
"Good point. Danny, I need to talk to you." a chill crawls down my spine and I turn to the doorway, that girl.
"Just a sec. Dani, I know you're there." she fades into sight
"How do you always know?"
"Because," I create a duplicate behind her and through him I say "I'm everywhere." She freaks and squeals. I of course, laugh
"Danny! Don't do that!" she hits the duplicate before it fades and she pouts at me "It's not fair, you know I can't do that yet."
"Fair-schmair, don't spy on me."
"Are you two always this mature?" we both look at Raven and say
"She/He started it!"
"Azar, you two are like Beastboy and Cyborg. All of you are so childish." Dani flew up to the ceiling
"I'm three, I have an excuse." Raven looks at me
"Hey, I'm her father and thus a recovering mental patient, you really expect me to act normal?" Sam. Crap. Well, this is shaping up to be a fine day. Time for a white t-shirt. Spectra will be happy. "Why are you here again Raven?"
"The book."
"Oh, yeah." I make a duplicate to put the book back "Duplicates, gotta love 'em. So, how'd they like the book?"
"You gave her the book?"
"Do you even know which book we're talking about?"
"No, but whenever you give someone a book it's 'super important' or something." I rolled my eyes at her
"The book I made for myself." nothing "The big green one?" nada "The one you used to find out where Gerard Way lived so you could go haunt him?" she blushed "Ah, now you remember."
"Shut up." Raven looked at Dani
"Gerard Way?" Dani blushed some more
"He's hot." Raven shook her head
"No, I mean, who is Gerard Way?" Dani gaped at Raven and I laughed my ass off. Oh it was going to be fun to watch Dani talk about the singer to Raven who really couldn't care less past initial curiosity. And it was, for five minutes, then it was annoying. Fatally annoying.
"-and he-"
"Dani!"
"What! I was talking here!"
"You can torture Raven later, she said she needed to talk to me." Dani glared "When we go to Giovanni's I'll let you get two dishes." she crossed her arms and slumped down against the wall
"And two deserts." I rolled my eyes,
"And two deserts." she brightened immediately and ran over to hug me and kiss me on the cheek
"Thank's Daddy you're the best."
"Yech!" I push her off of me "Off with you devil child! Man the portal! Call in our orders! Raise the creature on the platform, Igor!"
"It's I-Gor!"
"Frau Bluka!" she immediately whinnied like a horse and we both laughed as she flew to the basement where I kept the ghost portal. Raven was looking at me weird again.
"I take it back, you two are weirder than Beastboy and Cyborg."
"What, you've never seen Young Frankenstein?" she shook her head, "Aw man, it's a classic. Wanna borrow it?"
"Danny."
"I know, I know, we need to" air quotes "talk." I said it in a mock ominous voice "But before that, I never got an answer from you. The book?"
"It...they were more somber when they returned it to me. They each had something to think about, or several somethings."
"Good. That's how it's supposed to work." I'm off in a daze for a moment, thinking sad thoughts. Sam. Smiling a sad smile. Sam. I shake myself free "So, what's up?"
"I want to talk to you about...you." I think for a second
"Here, let me get dressed up for you." she looked confused
"You are dressed." I smirked. A ring formed around my waist, pure contained white light, it split in two and they moved up and down my body changing me. I glowed, became insubstantial, my clothes were changed and all black, my hair went white and my eyes green. My core temperature dropped to below freezing while my skin only cooled by a few degrees. "Now, I'm dressed, mostly."
"Interesting." I walked to my dresser and exchanged my black shirt for a white one and a black tee over it. Both were from my dresser of Kevlar clothes. I cocked my head at her.
"Raven...do you want to go to dinner with me?" Raven stood shocked for a moment then blushed. Guess she wasn't expecting that.
"W-what? What exactly are you asking me?" I spoke slowly
"Do you. Want. To go. To din-ner. With me. At Gi-o-van-ni's." she was still blushing
"Where did this come from? Why are you asking me this?" I stared at her, what was she not getting? Still speakin' slow.
"Because we're about to go to dinner, at Giovanni's, and you still need to talk to me. I'm offering you free food and a chance to talk." I smile "The company isn't that bad either." She flushed. Now she was glowering at me. She was angry? Well, I was rude, but really, it was a simple question.
"I might tend to disagree with that. Also, don't talk to me like I'm a moron." Yep, she was pissed. I sighed, today was supposed to be a good day. Sam. When did the Titans start ruining my life? Sigh.
"Look, I'm sorry, today just didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked. You want to go to dinner? Not everyone is as much of a jerk as I am, and if it's any help Dani will be there."
"A fan girl raving about a singer is not my idea of 'help'." I chuckle
"No? Maybe I meant you'll be screaming for help after five minutes to get her to shut up."
"Hey!" a Dani complained "I'm not that bad." she crossed her arms and sat on the ceiling as a teen with short flaming red hair, sunglasses, red heels, and a red skirt-suit came in. Her voice was 'Peppy!' on steroids. The kind of peppy that drove people to random acts of violence.
"Actually sweetie, you are! Why do you think I always have you talk?" hello Spectra "Hello Danny-kins!" Raven looked at this new arrival
"Who's the teen business woman?"
"Spectra, she's a ghost who feeds on misery to keep herself young. Unless she feeds she gets older than dust." Spectra struck a pose
"And with the amount of misery you give off I'm able to stay young and beautiful for weeks at a time!" she pulled a small black bottle from...somewhere. Hammerspace much? "I can even bottle some for a sunny day, and let me tell you Danny-kins, you keep me well stocked!" Raven was wary of her
"I ask again, who is this?" *sigh*
"She's my therapist. It's her goal in life is to make me miserable. In return she helps me deal. So, why are you here" check watch "fifteen minutes early?"
"I want to talk to you about sharing your trauma with everyone! Not now of course, but think about it, we'll talk after dinner, 'kay?" Raven shied back from the sheer levels of pep in her voice
"Why is she so happy?"
"To annoy us. Effective isn't it?" Spectra put an arm around each of us
"It should be, after all, I've had ages to perfect it! Just think, when you grow old and die, I'll be thriving on the misery you're giving me right now! Isn't that fun?"
"Why do you keep her around again?"
"She may make you feel like crap half the time, but she actually is a great therapist. Plus, since she's tried to kill me, she knows about a lot of the stuff I've gone through." Raven shook her head
"Your logic is twisted."
"Wait 'til you see my house."
"What's this, your shed?" I roll my eyes
"My other house, in the ghost zone. My lair if you will."
"Is it really styled after Escher, M.C. Escher?" I laugh
"Yup, and I'll even let you throw Beastboy in there if he gets too annoying. The gravity in there is so messed up flight is impossible, and there are more rooms than there should be for doors. Unless you know the trick you can't get out. It's fun to watch people try though." I laugh again
"I'm almost afraid to ask, which work is it styled after?"
"Relativity, only its a lot bigger and a bit more spacious." She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I still was. But I point out "I could have gone for the second Metamorphosis, or Other World, or Convex and Concave." she took a moment to consider the physical impossibilities of such places existing let alone anything actually living in them, and shook her head, trying to clear it.
"Seriously twisted."
"Yup, that's me, twisted."
"Wait 'til you see the dipstick's house." We all turn at the intrusion
"Hey Ember. Hi Kitty, Johnny." they greeted me as they all came in.
"Dipstick." Ember inclined her head and came towards me
"Hey Big D." Kitty came over and hugged me.
"My man." Johnny and I did our little 'cool guy' hand thing. Ember stood next to me
"Took me three hours to get past the first door."
"Two minutes." bragged Kitty
"Four days." Johnny was sullen that it took him that long Ember punched my arm
"Ow!" I rubbed my arm "Why is everyone hitting me?"
"It's fun. And I lost my boot at your place, and I still haven't found it."
"Then you still haven't realized it yet. And stop drawing on my walls!"
"Navigation. I will figure it out one day, without you leading me around."
"Would you stop drawing if I just gave you your boot back?"
"Do you know where it is?"
"Yeah," I reach under my bed and pull it out "right here." she snatched it away and shot daggers from her eyes, ooh, she was irked "Now stop drawing on my walls!"
"Dipstick."
"Bitch." she shrugged, Kitty and Johnny smiled. Spectra was still smiling and Dani came down from the ceiling asking me
"So when are we leaving?"
"Now." We all looked to see a woman with long silky black hair covering one eye and going to the back of her knees. She wore, a blue chest wrap, four silver metal arm bands and several silver bracelets with blue harem girl pants and small blue slippers. She was a Woman, not just a woman but a WO-MAN. What was the most un-usual about her however was not her outfit or her being a woman, was that her skin was eerily glowing and green.
"Exactly how many people are coming?" Raven asked me. I shrugged and looked to Desiree who's walking closer
"Raven Desiree, Desiree Raven. Raven, quick survival guide, don't ever say the words 'I wish' around Desiree, she's a genie. She doesn't have to grant wishes anymore because of a wish I made," I hug Desiree "but she still has a sadistic streak and can twist words and bend meanings and implications like you wouldn't believe. She can create loopholes out of nothing and have you selling your soul for a chance at something you would never want in a million years." Desiree blushed, it was high praise for her "And we wouldn't have you any other way Desi. Do you know if Walker is coming? What about Pandora? Frostbite? Dorathea?"
"No, Daniel, they are not, neither are the Box Ghost or the Lunch Lady. There was an outbreak from Walker's prison and George (The Box Ghost) was harmed. Sue (The Lunch Lady) is tending to him." I paled and a shiver went down my spine
"Oh god, it's finally happening. Oh gross!" Everyone looked at me "I'll tell you later, I don't want to ruin your appetite." Now everyone was looking at me with that 'we desperately want to know what you know so spill it now' look "Trust me, you do not want to know." Shiver "Alright everybody, let's get out of my freaking bedroom and go to dinner."