Alright! Please enjoy another chapter of The Phantom Leader! Made by yours truly!
Chapter 6: Return of the Hunter
Danny was flying home, carrying five large boxes of pizza. After visiting the police department to ask about the crime wave, Beastboy contacted to tell him it was Pizza night and asked him to buy some pizza. Danny, who has nothing better to do, went to the Pizza Place, defended himself from rabid fangirls and bought one Meat Lover's Pizza, one Vegetarian's Pizza and three pepperoni and cheese.
"Man, who knew fangirls could be so… Scary?" Danny shuddered, trying to forget what happened moments ago. His communicator suddenly started beeping. He answered his communicator to see Starfire's face.
"Hey, Star," Danny answered with a smile.
"Greetings, friend Danny!" She said, beaming. "I contacted you because you have been away for hours now and I wanted to confirm if you were alright."
"I'm alright, "Danny answered. "I just got attack from rabid fangirls."
Starfire's eyes started to glow menacingly. "Did they hurt you? Are you unharmed? Do you require back-up?" She said so quickly that her face started to turn blue.
"Starfire, I'm okay," Danny quickly answered. "It's just an expression."
Starfire breathed deeply, trying to regain the oxygen she lost. Danny chuckled.
"I'll see you la-," a blue wisp interrupted him. He stopped in surprise.
"Friend Danny? Are you feeling well?" Starfire asked, noticing that he stopped flying and talking. Before he could answer, he heard something behind him. He looked back and saw two missiles coming at him. Thanks to his reflexes, he managed to dodge them at the last seconds. They exploded, pushing him back. Of course, Starfire heard it.
"Friend Danny? What was that explosion?" She asked, worried.
Before he could answer, his communicator was blasted out of his hand.
"Well, look who it is," said a familiar voice. Danny stiffened, he hadn't heard that voice for two years. "If it isn't the whelp!"
Danny turned around and saw a robotic ghost with a flaming Mohawk.
"Skulker?!" Danny said, his eyes wide. "What are you doing here? How did you get out of the Ghost Zone?" He was pretty sure that he permanently closed the Fenton Portal and destroyed Vlad's portal before he left for Gotham.
"How I got out is none of your concern, Ghost Child," Skulker answered, charging his cannons. "And I'm here for one thing, to get your pelt and hang it on my wall!"
"Dude, even after two years, that's still gross," Danny said, preparing to fight an old enemy, while carrying five boxes of pizza.
Titan's Tower
Starfire was staring at her communicator, which was showing static. Danny's communicator has been destroyed.
"Friends!" She shouted, getting her teammates attention. "Friend Danny requires our assistance!"
"I'm pretty sure Danny can carry five boxes of pizza by himself, Star," Beastboy said, looking at her away from his video game.
"No! Friend Danny's communicator has been destroyed!" She said. That got everyone's attention.
"What do you mean, Starfire?" Cyborg asked, looking serious.
"Well, I decided to call friend Danny and see if he requires assistance, then he suddenly stopped then something exploded in front of him then his communicator broke off!" She explained, getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen.
"Well, where is he now?" Beastboy asked. The alarms started blaring. Cyborg tapped on the computer and saw Danny fighting some sort of glowing robot, while carrying boxes of pizza.
"I think he's in downtown," Raven answered, putting her hood up.
Downtown
Danny dodged another ray from Skulker.
"I'm impressed, whelp," he said as he dodge one of Danny's Ecto-rangs. "You seem to have improved for the last two years."
"And you haven't, Skulker!" Danny replied, throwing some disc grenades at the mechanical ghost. Skulker dodge them, almost getting hit by one.
"Your arsenal is very impressive," he commented, looking at Danny's utility belt. "Perhaps I should install that belt of yours in my armor after I got it from your lifeless pelt!"
"Seriously dude, you need a therapist!" Danny retorted, shooting a Ghost Ray at him, hitting one of Skulker's wings. Skulker fell and landed on the hard concrete."Or a medic."
Skulker stood up and charged at Danny with a glowing, green blade from his wrist. Danny ducked and kicked the blade, causing it to break from his wrist.
"You need an upgrade, Skulker," Danny commented, punching Skulker's jaw. Skulker stumbled back.
"And you need to learn from your mistakes, whelp!" Skulker said, pressing a button on his wrist. Danny saw something glowing on his feet. He looked down and saw a small, black box. He gasped.
"Oh no!" He tried to get away, but he was to slow. The box grew and surrounded his entire body. Danny struggled in vain, but his efforts were futile. Skulker, who was smirking, walked towards his captured prey.
"Well, I guess you forgotten about this little toy Plasmius built for you," Skulker gloated, patting the box. Danny's eyes glowed menacingly. Skulker noticed him and sneered. "And why are you wearing a mask, whelp? Playing dress-up?" He tried to remove the mask, but Danny was moving his head around that he couldn't grab it.
"Hold still!" He demanded. Danny stuck out his tongue. Annoyed, he pressed something in his wrist. The box started glowing and shocked Danny. Danny screamed as he felt the box trying to neutralize his powers. But thanks to his utility belt, he managed to stop morphing, much to Skulker's confusion.
"That's odd," he said, stopping the box. Danny was gasping, his eyes daze from the pain. "This usually morphed you back to human. Perhaps you need a stronger shock." He started to grin, turning a knob in his wrist. When he was about to press the button, something green hit would have hit the wall if he hadn't used his Ghost Powers to phase the wall unharmed. Danny raised his head and saw his friends, Starfire's eyes glowing like her hand.
Cyborg rushed towards the box, trying to open it.
"Press the button," Danny mumbled. Cyborg saw the button and pressed it, making the box shrink, revealing Danny's outfit covered with pizza. Cyborg caught Danny before his face hit the concrete.
"You okay, man?" Cyborg asked, concerned.
"Aside from getting electrocuted?" Danny asked, wincing "I feel great." He looked around. "Where's Skulker?"
"The glowing robot that was attacking you?"Cyborg said. "His over t-," he stopped when the robot vanished. "Where 'd he go?"
Starfire's eyes started smoking. "Wherever he has wandered off to, he will pay dearly if he ever returns!" She growled. The others were looking at her with surprise. She was usually the peaceful one in the team. Danny managed to calm her down. Then he looked at his outfit and groaned.
"I just had this dry-cleaned!" He said.
Unknown to them, Skulker was standing at a building, away from Danny's Ghost Sense, and looking at them with binoculars. He grinned, looking like a lion who found fresh meat after hunting for weeks.
"Looks like Phantom found some new friends," he mused. "Friends worth hunting!"
Titan's Tower
Danny, after removing the pizza sauce from his outfit by turning intangible, explained to them about Skulker, The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter.
"Ghost Zone?"Beastboy asked. "What's that, an amusement park?"
Raven smacked his head.
"It's a dimension where ghosts reside," she answered in her usual monotone.
Danny nodded. He took something from his belt, a USB, and installed it to the computer. He typed a few buttons and the screen lighted up, showing his DP symbol. Then he pressed another button and a picture of a robot with a flaming Mohawk appeared on the screen, the name SKULKER appeared on the bottom.
"This is Skulker," Danny explained. "One of the Ghosts I used to fight."
"One of the Ghosts," Cyborg repeated. "You mean there's more?" Danny nodded. "Why didn't you say that you had spooky enemies!?" Cyborg demanded. He knew that Danny was a ghost ( Well, half-knew, since he doesn't know about his half-human) but he didn't knew that he had a lot of angry ghosts enemies wanting to take his afterlife. No wonder he had Ghost Hunting equipment.
"I didn't think they would come," Danny answered, looking just as confused as Cyborg. "I haven't seen a ghost since I was with Batman. I thought they decided to give up. Guess I was wrong."
Now that he thinks about it, it was really odd. Why did they show up now? And where's Plasmius? He thought that the Fruitloop would have plotted a loopy plot to get him from Bruce.
Maybe that invisible enemy was Plasmius? Danny thought, worried. If it's him, the others are in danger… I have to tell them, he decided. They might be in danger if he won't tell them.
"Guys," he said, getting their attention. "There's something I have to tell you. About…My secret."
He was about to tell them, when the alarms started blaring. He turned to the screen in surprise, then he typed a few buttons. The screen showed a bunch of green, glowing animals. Danny stared at the screen in shock.
"Friends of yours, BB?" Cyborg asked. Beastboy shook his head, staring at the screen in utter disbelief.
"Skulker's pets," Danny answered. "Looks like he wants to play."
"Well? Let's go!" Said Cyborg, running towards the door, the others following him.
"Wait!" Danny tried to stop them, but they were already gone. He quickly followed them, making sure no one will get hurt.
Downtown
"Go on, my pets!" Skulker shouted, sitting on a giant three-headed bird. "Cause havoc to your hearts' content! Draw the so-called Protectors of Jump City, along with the whelp!"
"If you want us," shouted a familiar voice. "Then here we are, Metal butt!" The giant bird creature was suddenly trapped in a black dome. Skulker managed to get off the bird before he was trapped along with his bird. He looked at the rooftop and saw the Titans standing there, looking ready for a fight, especially Starfire. Skulker looked at them like he just won the lottery.
"What took you so long?" He said like he was waiting for them. "I thought you wouldn't come." He whistled and all of his pets gathered beside him.
"Titans, go!" Danny shouted. The Titans jumped towards the attacking the creatures. Beastboy morphed into a deer and tried to reason with the other animals. The animals answered him by slashing him with their long claws. Beastboy quickly turned into a bee and flew up. Then he turned into a gorilla and started swinging his fist at them. Cyborg was fighting a giant reptile-like creature, holding its jaws to avoid getting eaten. Starfire was firing Starbolt after Starbolt towards the flying green monsters around her, trying to avoid those sharp claws. Raven was beside her, blasting the ghost creatures with her magic. She seems to be the only one, besides Danny, having no problems fighting the ghosts. Danny was fighting Skulker with a pair of tonfas. The two supernatural beings were hitting, blocking and dodging each other, trying to hit their opponents.
"Your fighting skills have improved, whelp," said Skulker, dodging a roundhouse kick from Danny. "But you're still no match against me, The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!" He threw an uppercut to Danny, who nearly dodged it. "There's no way you can beat me!"
"Sorry Skulker," Danny said, blocking a kick with his tonfas. "But I have something that you don't."
"And what's that?"
"The element of surprise!" Danny threw an Ecto-rang that was hidden in his tonfa at Skulker. The silver projectile hit Skulker's forehead. Surprised, Skulker tried to remove it, but the Ecto-rang suddenly shocked him. Skulker's body went limp and fell to the hard concrete. Danny landed next to the robotic body and took something from Skulker's poach, a silver whistle. He took a deep breath and blew the whistle really hard. The green creatures suddenly stopped attacking and went towards Danny.
"Now let's see if I can use that," he said. He raised his hand and started to concentrate, focusing all his power. Then with a wave of a hand, a big, swirling green portal appeared in front of him. He ordered the creatures to go inside. The green creatures did what he told them. Just as the last creature went in, Danny quickly closed the portal, feeling very drained. He turned his attention to his friends, who were staring at him. Annoyed, Danny said, "What?"
"Dude, what was that swirly thingy?" Beastboy asked.
"It's a portal to the Ghost Zone," he said, panting. "It takes a lot energy to make one. I only use it for emergencies."
He turned his attention to Skulker. He walked towards him, grabbed his head and with one pull, took the robot's head off.
Beastboy screamed while Cyborg, Raven and Starfire all stared at Danny, shocked at what he just did. Danny noticed them and asked, "What's wrong? It looks like you've just seen a ghost?" He joked.
Cyborg snapped out of it and yelled, "Geez, Man! Why'd you have to pull his head off?!"
Danny raised an eyebrow. Then he laughed. He turned the head upside-down and pulled out a small green frog.
"Guys, meet Skulker," Danny said, holding the frog by his leg. "The Ghost Zone's Smallest Hunter."
The others stared at Skulker in disbelief. Then, Beastboy rolling on the ground, laughing.
"He's so tiny!" He laughed.
After that, the Titans went back to the Tower and started questioning Skulker.
"You'll never make me talk!" Skulker said, pounding his tiny fist on a glass jar surrounded with black energy that was his prison. "You will all fear me!"
"I hardly doubt that," Raven said.
Danny took the jar and glared at Skulker. Skulker stopped pounding and gulped.
"Now, tell us how you got out of the Ghost Zone," Danny demanded. "I'm pretty sure I closed the two man-made portals."
"I'll never tell you!" Skulker answered. Danny raised an eyebrow. "Raven, if you please?" He asked the empath.
Raven nodded and lifted the jar. The she started to shake the jar around, making Skulker sick. The jar stopped and Skulker was spinning around, greener than usual.
"So, you still won't tell us?" Danny asked.
"Alright! I'll talk!" Skulker shouted. "It was Plasmius! He made another portal and sent me to attack you!"
Danny stood there, still like a statue. Then he asked, "Anything else?"
"He told me to give you a message!" Skulker quickly answered. " He said 'Be prepared to face your worst nightmare'. That's all!"
Danny stood there, absorbing all the information. It's a good thing Batman trained him to hide his emotions, otherwise he would be panicking by now.
He took out his thermos from his belt and pointed it at Skulker. Before Skulker could react, Danny sucked him in the device and sealed it shut.
"Cool!" Beastboy exclaimed. He took the thermos from Danny and started shaking it. Inside, he could hear Skulker's "ouch!" "Is he inside this containment thingy? Cool! What is this?"
"It's a Fenton Thermos," Danny explained, sounding tired. "It's was created to capture and contain ghosts."
Starfire walked towards him and put her hand on his shoulder looking worried. "Are you alright, friend Danny?" She asked, concerned.
Danny gave her a small smile and patted her hand. "I'm alright, Star," he said. "Just tired. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
Before they could reply, Danny quickly left the living room and went to his room. He locked the door and went towards the bathroom. He looked at the mirror. Then he took off his mask, something he never did ever since he wore it. Danny looked at the mirror, staring at those dead green eyes. He could still see the despair inside them. The despair of seeing his loved ones die.
I can't tell them, he decided. I won't get them involved this mess. I won't let Plasmius hurt them.
Somewhere in Wisconsin
Vlad was sitting on a comfy chair inside his lab. He watched the Titans battle his pets and was very impressed.
"I could use these children as my pawns," he said, smiling evilly. He stood up and pressed something in his computer. A file with the words CONQUER appeared. He clicked the file and read some of its progress. He smiled.
"Soon, I will have two of the most powerful objects in the Ghost Zone," he said. He transformed into Plasmius, the black rings moving across his body. "And I will finally be the rightful ruler of both worlds!" He laughed, his laughter echoing inside his lab. Suddenly, a hologram appeared. The hologram looked exactly like Maddie.
"Good afternoon, my handsome, evil , future overlord," she said. "Would you like some tea and butter biscuits?"
"Ah, why thank you, my lovely hologram," he said, following the hologram to the kitchen.
Well? Was it good? Hope you like my ending in this chapter. By the way, can you draw a picture of Danny and Starfire and post it on Devianart? I can't draw very well. And Danny has to wear his Phantom Leader costume. Well, review answer time!
Justus80- I think you already know the answer.
NedFynTanon-Thanks. And Tony Zuko is the man that killed Robin's parents.
DanteTheEvilDevilHunterAssas in-Thanks!
nightmaster000- Yes, I will.
jeanette9a- Thank you!
numbuh13m- Nope, I will make some original chapters!
Lord Jace- Thanks! I'll try to twist twist some episodes.
Jadee H- Which one? Cuz both of them are great!
book phan44- …Yes…
newboy- Actually, he doesn't. His not as competitive as Robin, sometimes. And I guessing you already know the answer from reading this chapter. And yes, they will. But not today. And yes. The episodes that have occurred are Secret Weapons and The Fright Before Christmas. The episode that hasn't happen yet are Reign Storm. And you already saw Star's reaction when Skulker attacked Danny. I don't even wanna know what Starfire'll do if she heard about Plasmius. Oh, and I'll add some more Flashback about how Plasmius tormented Danny, you know, just some original stories so that the Titans will hate Plasmius even more. And thanks for the awesome reviews!
TitanX- Hey, I'm all about surprises!
lunalovegood0628- Because he doesn't want to rely on them too much. And he has other powers, but he doesn't have his ice powers yet.
Well, that's all! And please read my other story, The Phantom Dragon Slayer!
See you next time!