Author's Notes: Alright, I've decided a few things location-wise. I know both Jump City and Amity Park are fictional cities, so location is sort of tricky. I did some thinking and this is what I got:
Amity Park, Oregon, USA: I'm borrowing this from another FanFic. To me it makes the most sense. According to Wikipedia, in "Fanning the Flames" Mr. Lancer mentions Northwestern Standardized Testing, so Oregon is as good a guess as any. It also makes it relatively close to: Jump City, California, USA: From the final season and the movie, Jump is definitely located on the West Coast. California is most probable. Having the cities in located bordering states makes it easier for the trip between the two.
Special thanks goes to "Me the anon one" aka Nonny. She's been such an awesome help in helping a newb such as myself, especially in this last chapter. Thanks to her for taking the time to beta-read this chapter.
Now, on with the story!
Chapter 6: Green Eyed Phantom
The journey from Amity Park to Jump City was going to be a long one; the Fentons were going to be stuck together in the Ghost Assault Vehicle, aka the Fenton RV, for sixteen hours. Maddie and Jack took turns driving, much to the Jazz's dismay. Unfortunately instead of relaxing in between her turns, Maddie spent her time trying to convince her Jack not to drive so fast. They were extremely lucky that they weren't stopped by the highway patrol. When it was her turn, Maddie would talk with her husband about how excited she was about their first big high profile job outside of Amity Park. Business had been unusually slow recently, partly due to Phantom's sudden increase in activity over the past year, which had left them with very few ghosts to hunt. By the time they arrived at the scene of a ghost sighting, Phantom would have already been gone, with their potential capture in tow.
Maddie was curious about what drove the unusual ghost. She and Jack both knew and subscribed to the textbook definition for ghosts: manifestations of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness. She believed that contrary to popular belief, ghosts were not always the spirits of the dearly departed, though a few were. Many times, they were just the intense emotions of a person that manifested itself into a being of energy. The seed of their creation was normally connected to their 'unfinished business' as it was commonly referred to. The reason, the motivation that kept them from simply disappearing? Their obsession.
Maddie couldn't quite figure out what Phantom's obsession was. Most, if not all ghosts she and Jack encountered were malevolent. Their aim seemed to be to terrorize and frighten the living and create chaos; the constant ghost attacks up until know were proof of that. But Phantom seemed to be different. Apart from the unusual situation when he had kidnapped of the mayor a year and a half ago, Phantom seemed to be actually helping, fighting off the other malevolent spirits He certainly was doing a better job than they were. He always seems to show up and do the job before they even get the call from the city's Ghost Watch line. She would love to know the reason why he fought his own kind.
The lack of work was even more prevalent during the past two weeks. There had been no ghost sightings, no ectoplasmic readings, nothing. They hadn't even seen the annoying ghost obsessed with boxes, who had a habit of appearing where you'd least expect him. The only activity they had seen was from Phantom himself, and from what she gathered from his behavior, he noticed the inactivity as well. She thought that maybe the new sighting in Jump City was related. She had an uneasy feeling about it, but at least they had found work.
While the parents were occupied absorbed with driving and each other, Jazz and Danny found ways to occupy their free time. Jazz spent her time reading books on the teen psychiatry, stealing concerned looks at Danny during the whole trip. The silence between them was unbearable for her. She thought fondly of the trip they had taken to Wisconsin for their parent's high school reunion. At least back then, they were talking to each other, even if it was just typical brother and sister bickering. Danny hardly even acknowledged her presence now, barricading himself from her emotionally and mentally.
Danny was all too aware of his sister's attention. He tried to ignore it as he contemplated his immediate plans. This trip was putting a damper on his plans training and his patrols. He also had to investigate the lack of ghost activity recently. He knew a major attack was imminent and he was worried that he wouldn't be there to prevent it. Unfortunately, his current situation couldn't be helped. His parents were insistent that he join in their little trip and he wasn't at liberty to refuse.
Danny for the life of him didn't see why everyone thought the Titans were so great. He had saved his town countless times. While they had numbers on their side, he had faced impending doom time and time again on his own; and yet they were the heroes and he was considered a nuisance. He was just as much of a hero as they were. He wondered how severe the ghost trouble was that the Titans had to call for outside help, let alone his parents. If they couldn't handle a few ghosts, then he'd just have to show them how it was done.
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"We must hurry, friends! Our guests shall be here very soon!" exclaimed an exuberant Starfire as she rallied her teammates for a most daunting task: cleaning.
Despite being superheroes known worldwide, the Titans were still five teenagers living together unsupervised. Needless to say, certain areas of the tower were in various stages of neglect and disorder. With adults present in the tower temporarily, Robin had ordered the Titans to engage in an impromptu cleaning spree. Starfire, in her usual bubbly way, rallied the troops on clean up duties throughout their home. She and her pet, genetically-altered killer moth caterpillar named Silkie, were taking up the task of cleaning the fridge, which was home to many forgotten leftovers from weeks and even months past. Much of the food was covered in strange colored fuzz, which Starfire and Silkie were disposing of by eating. Her fellow teammates, though a little disgusted, weren't worried. They had seen her cook and eaten much worse.
Beast Boy had won the unlucky task of cleaning the bathrooms throughout the tower. It was the last job he wanted, but he lost at drawing straws (which he suspected was rigged), so he was stuck. He gave a mock salute, hands donned in yellow gloves, head in a shower cap and toilet bowl cleaner held up high. He faced his first opponent (the downstairs bathroom) with a grim look on his face and began his rigorous task.
Cyborg was doing the heavy lifting. He moved various items and gizmos that were lying around, out of the way and into storage. The storage room itself wasn't organized very well, so he was forced to move various crates around to make space. Meanwhile Raven was in charge of making the guest rooms livable. She used her telekinetic powers to make the bed, dust and vacuum. She felt like a maid more than anything else, but she knew the work had to be done, so she didn't complain.
While everyone else was cleaning, Robin was making the necessary arrangements with city hall by securing payment for the Fentons if and when they completed their job. The treasury was being tight-fisted about allocating the funds. Although the city was no stranger to paying for combating the supernatural, they had a budget to keep. They also were reluctant and skeptical about dispensing money to so called ghost hunters. After much negotiation, the boy wonder was able to come to an agreement with the city that he hoped would please the Fentons.
By the time the tower was in decent shape, the Titans were all pretty worn out. It was late and they were lucky that no emergencies or return appearances from the ghost they encountered earlier had arisen. Thinking they had a few hours left before their guests arrived, they decided to get some sleep. They all mumbled their goodnights as they shuffled to their respective rooms. That is, had they tried to until an alarm sounded stating someone was at their entrance.
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"Ha! Told you I'd find it!" exclaimed a very excited Jack Fenton. Maddie didn't know how he did it (actually she had a sinking suspicion it was his haphazard driving) but the Fenton clan had managed to arrive ahead of schedule. The Ghost Assault Vehicle was now making its way through the streets, with Jack at the wheel and Maddie beside him, brandishing a map of the city.
"Do you even know what we're looking for, Dad?" queried a semi-conscious Jazz. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she woke up from her nap. Danny was already wide awake, his nose stuck in a book on the paranormal.
"Of course, I do, Jazzy-pants!" Jack replied boisterously. "Ghosts!" Jazz shook her head as Maddie gave Jack an exasperated look. She referred to her map again, trying to find her bearings. It was difficult, however, due to Jack unwillingness to slow down much since exiting the highway.
"I'm no genius, but I think that big giant T over there is our stop," said Danny, speaking for the first time the entire trip. The others looked in the direction he was pointing at to see a rather large tower shaped like a giant T standing on an island in the bay. Blaming fatigue for not noticing it earlier and ignoring Danny's sarcastic tone, Maddie instructed her husband to head towards the bay. They reached the entrance of a tunnel going underground toward Tower. There was a gate blocking the passage, obviously to ward off intruders. They drove up to a panel and pressed the call button.
To tell the truth, Jazz was getting pretty excited. They were mere moments from meeting the Teen Titans. Apart from her brother, these were the first heroes not related to ghosts she'd have met and she had Danny to thank for her interest. After finding out her brother's secret, she had done quite bit of studying on not only teen psychology, but the psychology of superheroes as well. The problems of the average teen compounded by the weight and responsibility of being a hero were an extremely interesting topic. Originally a side project to delve into the mind of her brother, it became somewhat of her main focus of study, especially after Danny's sudden change over the past year. She was even preparing a thesis paper on the subject. She was hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to get some insight from the teen heroes on the matter.
After a minute or two of waiting, the panel came to life with activity. They heard a slight yawn from the speaker (it was quite late at night/early in the morning) and a familiar face appeared onscreen.
"Titan's Tower. How can I help you?" asked a fatigued Cyborg.
"Ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton here, ready to kick ghost butt!" and enthusiastic Jack answered. Cyborg was slightly taken aback by the older man's energy. He gave the most welcoming smile he could muster in him sleepy state.
"Hey, y'all! Welcome to Jump City!" Cyborg greeted. A click and a whine were heard as a scanner scanned their faces and RV. The lights on the panel changed from red to green and the gate rolled up, revealing the tunnel leading to the island. "Just follow the lights to the garage. We'll be there to meet you." The screen went blank as Jack floored it into the tunnel.
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"They're here," Cyborg said with a yawn. The other Titans were all sleepy eyed; their rest having been interrupted by there expected guests arriving unexpectedly early. Well, most of them. Starfire was giddy, as always, eager to meet new faces.
"I thought they weren't gonna be here for another four hours?" complained Robin tiredly.
"Hurry! Let us go and meet our guests!" Starfire exclaimed, floating up a few inches while doing so. She flew towards the elevator, giggling the whole way. Robin smiled at his girlfriend's unending cheerfulness (a trait he loved about her). He and the other titans followed her to the elevator down to the basement garage.
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As soon as the RV came to a stop, Jazz jumped out, thankful to be on solid ground. Her father's driving always disturbed her. How a grown man could drive like he did and never get caught by the police was beyond her. But, she had to admit traveling with her father at the wheel was a lot faster than any other method. Maddie followed after her daughter, taking in her surroundings warily. Jack jumped out of the RV right after, brandishing a rather large bazooka. His eyes darted right to left, surveying the area for any threats. Danny was the last one to leave the vehicle. He also looked around, albeit more discreetly than his father. A door at the far end of the garage dinged, and then opened. The Fenton family turned their attention to the sight of the five Teen Titans walking out to greet them. Starfire flew ahead, a big smile on her face.
"Greetings, friends!" she began. "Welcome to our…" She wasn't able to finish, as Jack pointed his bazooka at the floating figure.
"GHOST!" her cried as he pulled the trigger before anyone realized what was happening. Fortunately for everyone, the gun was of the non-lethal variety as Starfire was now covered in ecto-foam tm. She gave a shriek as she flew behind Robin's cape for protection.
"Jack Fenton, you put down that Ecto-Foamer this instant!" fumed a rather flustered Maddie Fenton.
"But Maddie, it's a ghost! Its flying and everything!" Jack replied, pointing towards the now hiding girl.
"Jack, you just shot one of our clients," Maddie answered, trying to keep calm. "They're superheroes, dear. Of course they can fly." Jack looked back and forth between his wife and the girl still covered in Ecto-foam. The other heroes still had looks of shock written all over their faces. Realizing what he had done, Jack dropped the weapon and gave a sheepish grin.
"Uh, sorry about that," he apologized. A smack could be heard as Jazz's hand met with her forehead. Danny just shook his head. Raven surveyed the situation and wondered what the heck Cyborg had gotten them into.
"I'm extremely sorry about that," Maddie said to Robin. "Jack gets a little…excited when it comes to ghost hunting." She held out her hand. Robin took it in greeting. "Maddie Fenton, at your service."
"I'm Robin. Welcome to Titan's Tower," the leader of the Titans replied. Jack stepped up and also shook Robin's hand, nearly crushing it in the process. Robin wiggled the circulation back into his fingers as he glanced over to the two teens standing behind the ghost hunters.
"I hope you don't mind, we brought our children along to help," Maddie explained, answering Robin's unasked question.
"Yup! Ghost hunting is a family affair for us Fentons," Jack continued. "This is our daughter, Jasmine and our son Danny."
"Dad, please. It's Jazz," Jazz said, exasperated. She shook hands with Robin. Danny just shrugged, not saying a word. Maddie frowned slightly at his rude silence.
"This is my team," Robin began, pointing toward his fellow heroes. "You've already met Starfire."
"Greetings?" Starfire said meekly, her usual energy replaced with caution. She waved from behind Robin, keeping her distance from Mr. Fenton.
"And you've talked to Cyborg over the phone," Robin continued. Cyborg walked and shook hands with the couple. He then turned towards Jazz.
"So, how's that secretary job coming along?" he asked mischievously. Jazz blushed at the question, slightly embarrassed.
"Glad to see your hearing is back," she said jokingly. "Sorry about the yelling."
"It's no problem. It takes more than that to take me out," he boasted cockily. Jazz giggled. Danny wanted to gag right then and there. Was Jazz actually flirting with him?
"To tell you the truth, I've really wanted to meet all of you. What you guys do every day is really amazing! It's great to meet some real live superheroes" Jazz exclaimed. Danny's expression darkened at that remark. Robin coughed to get everyone's attention then continued with the introductions.
"And that's Beast Boy," he said pointing toward the emerald titan. At the sound of his name, Beast boy sprang to life in full court jester mode. He was a jokester at heart and he was ready to try out some new material on their guests. But before he could utter a word, he suddenly realized that Mr. Fenton was standing in front of him. In his hand was a notebook, which he promptly handed to Beast Boy along with a pen.
"Could I have your autograph?" the large man asked the teen, who was dumbstruck by the request. The green boy quickly shook himself out of his funk and signed the notebook. Jack Fenton sported a big grin on his face as he walked back towards his wife, exclaiming, "I got his autograph!"
"And Raven," Robin finished. Raven nodded to the new arrivals. She was doing her best to hide the fact that her interest was focused elsewhere.
Her first impression of the Fentons was definitely mixed. The father, Jack was a big bumbling oaf who was too hyper for his own good. He reminded her too much of Beast Boy, which explained the autograph scene. Maddie Fenton seemed capable enough. She seemed like an intelligent woman who knew what she was doing. She wondered how two people so different had ended up together.
Their daughter, Jazz seemed like an intelligent person, albeit a bit too perky for Raven's tastes. She did notice something, however about her. An emotion that seemed to waft from not only her, but the mother as well, though it wasn't as strong: worry. An overwhelming wave of worry could be felt coming from both the women. It was hard for her empathic senses not to notice. It wasn't their job that had them worried, however. Their thoughts of concern seemed to be directed at the last member of the family, Danny.
Danny was the most mysterious of the four Fentons. He hadn't said a word the entire time and seemed to give off an air of indifference, but at the same time Raven noticed he was all too aware of his surroundings. She observed that as Robin introduced each of the Titans that Danny had looked at each of them up and down, as though he were assessing their strengths and weaknesses with a glance. It was almost as if he saw them as a threat. When it was her turn for introductions, she could feel the chill of his attention as his intense glare bored through her. His electric blue eyes examined her only for a moment, but it seemed more like hours.
She stayed composed, not allowing the unsettled feeling that was gnawing at the pit of her stomach show outwardly. She glanced at Robin from the corner of her eye to see if he had picked up anything from Danny and found Robin's eyes were furrowed slightly, a sign he had suspected something, but he wasn't sure what. He escorted the guests to the elevator to take them to their temporary quarters, keeping up a cheerful demeanor, not letting on that he was troubled in the slightest.
"Let's see if we can get the foam out of your hair, sweetie," Maddie said to Starfire in a motherly tone as they walked through the hallway. Starfire smiled at the older woman's kindness. "We're not sure what long term exposure to living tissue would do." Starfire's smile faded as she turned slightly pale and gave a muted 'eep'. Raven couldn't but smile as she followed, observing from behind.
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Raven volunteered to escort the Fentons to their rooms so she could observe Danny a bit longer. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton shared one room, while Jazz and Danny shared another, much to the chagrin of Danny and the delight of Jazz. Raven could tell he wasn't happy about the living arrangements, but he kept silent. She let them know that breakfast would be served at 9:30, and then left the family to settle in. As soon as Raven was gone, Jazz began gushing about meeting the teen crime fighters.
"I can't believe we're actually in Titan's Tower, with the Teen Titans!" she exclaimed excitedly. Danny just rolled his eyes, then plugged his ears with ear buds and turned up his mp3 player. Truth be told, he felt somewhat betrayed by Jazz's remarks. Real superheroes? Was what he had to go through everyday not important? Wasn't he a hero? He felt his disdain for the Titans grow even more as he replayed the events of the night in his mind. He drifted off to sleep, drowning himself in dark gothic rock music.
As Raven made it to her room, her thoughts drifted back to Danny. There was something about him that troubled her deeply. She thought back to intense manner he had stared at all of them. She knew that the Titans, despite their almost celebrity status, weren't welcome by all and she could handle a kid who wasn't a fan. No, there was definitely more going on. Raven couldn't shake the feeling he reminded her of something, or rather someone. It wasn't just the stare, though, but his rather dark attitude, as though he felt the whole world would end any minute. It then dawned on her that his grim demeanor had reminded her of herself.
AN: Finally done with this one. Thanks to all who have posted reviews. Your personal replies are coming soon, so don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you. Special thanks to: Mako-Magic, phantomshadowdragon, dPhantoMfreak, Summers Rage, southernstarshadow, Sweeteen19, Ant Crown, Warrior of winds, teenyugiohpotterphantom, Pieling, Shiva the Sarcastic, Kradeiz, HiddenAuthor, Sasia93, Nonasuki-chan and, calamite. Thanks a bunch for your reviews. So happy you guys like the story so much.
-Your Friendly Neighborhood Funkatron (Now with more FUNK!)
