Sorry for not updating sooner. I would have had this up yesterday, but my birthday was yesterday and it kept me pretty busy.
Danny let out half a content sigh before muffling a belch and finishing the sigh. The other Titans, including Cyborg, could only stare as he set the empty plate on the two others he had finished.
"How long have you been starving yourself?!" asked Cyborg incredulously while the others continued to stare at the halfa. Danny seemed to think for a moment, punching something into an imaginary calculator that hovered in the air in front of him.
"About three days, though I was asleep or unconscious half the time." The Titans looked at him with disbelief as he got out of his chair and stretched a little before transforming into his ghost form.
"Besides," began the half ghost as pointed his glowing hands at the pile of dishes. All three plates and silverware began to shine with a thin green aura as they began to float into the air.
"It's the best meal I've had in almost a year." The dishware made their way to the sink as the knobs turned and water began pouring out of the faucet.
"Uh dude, what are you doing and since when could you do that?" asked the changeling as the sponge dove into the sink and began to scrub the dishes.
"All ghosts can use telekinesis," explained the half ghost has his eyes narrowed in focus, his right hand swirling in sync with the sponge across the sink. "This is just one of the things I used to do for practice. It's great for precision and control."
"Is there a power you don't have?" asked Beast Boy as the second dish was rinsed and put into the strainer.
"Oh definitely. I can't open portals to the Ghost Zone yet, or turn myself into green smoke yet, but I'll get there eventually."
"Wait, are you saying you're still getting new powers?" said Robin, his eyes narrowing at the comment. The last of the plates landed in the strainer before the green glow surrounding them and the halfa's hands disappeared.
"Yeah, but I don't use them in outside of training unless I'm sure I have enough control of it," responded the teen nonchalantly. Robin gave a quick nod of approval before giving a ghost teen a wicked smile.
"Since you'll be staying with us for a while, you're gonna need a tour of the Tower so you don't get lost. But before that…" Danny watched as the boy wonder pulled out a magenta wig from behind his back. Cyborg reached under the counter and pulled out a rubber chicken while Beast Boy whipped out a very small pink tutu. "…you have to go through the initiation."
Danny let out a sigh of relief as he entered the common room, glad to be out of that ridiculous initiation ensemble. Cyborg and Beast Boy were too busy playing each other in a robot combat game to notice the ghost teen's entrance. Raven looked up from her book and Starfire looked up from her preparation of her mutant pet caterpillar Silkie's meal, but otherwise ignored him. The ghost teen started floating towards the two yelling gamers, vanishing from sight as he moved. Slowly he moved his head between the two of them before reappearing and yelling out, "I CALL WINNER!"
The two Titans jumped and screamed in fear while the female Titans turned to see who was making the noise. Raven, Danny, and Starfire began laughing at the half-metal teen sprawled over the table and the green tabby cat clinging to the ceiling with its hair on end.
"Not cool Casper," growled Cyborg as the green tabby transformed back into Beast Boy and fell back onto the couch.
"So not cool," agreed the changeling before frowning at his character being destroyed by Cyborg's. "No fair!"
"Tough toenails grass stain," gloated the cybernetic crime-fighter as he started doing a little victory dance. "You can't beat me and my skills."
"Please," said the half-ghost as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I could beat you without using a controller." This caught everyone's attention, Beast Boy ooing as Cyborg quit dancing.
"Pretty big talk ghost boy, but there's no way you can beat me. I'm the video game champion of the Titans."
"Then let's make it interesting then," said Danny, a smug grin on his face as he looked the half-metal teen in the eye. "Loser has to go through the initiation again." Now everyone in the room had dropped what they were doing to watch the show that was starting.
"You're on."
Everyone sat on the couch watching as the two players selected their characters. Robin had even left the paperwork he had been filling out to watch the showdown. As soon as they finished choosing their characters, Danny set his controller on the table and crossed his arms.
"Friend Danny, Please reconsider."
"Yeah, dude. There's no way you can win if you don't use the controller!" added Beast Boy, his arms flailing in panic. Danny's smug grin grew even bigger as he stood up from the couch.
The instant the game shouted "FIGHT!", Cyborg's character charged Danny's immobile one. The charge stopped when the immobile character's was replaced by snow. A white ring appeared around the center of it, splitting so that it could travel up and down the digital fighter. The robotic fighter standing before Cyborg's was now in Danny's color scheme, with the ghost teen's DP symbol over its chest.
"How did you…" began the cybernetic crime-fighter, turning to the empty section of couch the half ghost had been residing in moments ago. The other Titans noticed the disappearance and began looking around for the ghost.
"Uh, where'd he go?" asked Beast Boy. The sound of glass being tapped brought their attention back to the television screen. Danny's character took a few steps away from the screen so his torso could be seen.
"So are we gonna fight or not?" asked the character, his voice sounding exactly like the ghost teen's.
"DUDE! That is awesome!" screamed the changeling as he pressed his face against the screen.
"Yes, this is a most amusing," giggled the Tamaranean while clapping. Cyborg just stared at the screen dumbfounded before glaring at the ghost.
"You're not the only one with a trick up his sleeve Casper," he growled as his thumbs began dancing along the controller. The blue robot character sprouted several rocket launchers and fired upon the possessed character. Danny flew straight towards the blue robot, the missiles passing through his intangible form. A surprised look came over the cybernetic Titan before he growling and making his thumbs move even faster. Sparks flew from the controller as his character began glowing and creating a glowing energy ball in his hands. A blue energy ray fired from the possessed character, striking the Titan's character and encasing him in ice. Danny walked over to the ice block and raised one of his white fists, flexing it as it went intangible.
"No no no no NO!" Cyborg chanted as he tried every move he could to break free from the ice before Danny destroyed him. His movements became more frantic as the ghost teen's arm passed through the ice and grabbed his character's chest plate. With a sickening crunch, the possessed character ripped the entire torso out of the ice, leaving the head and limbs encased in their frozen prison. The rest of the Titans cheered as the character returned to its original color and Danny flew out of the GameStation, with his arms still crossed and his smug smile still on his face.
"I believe you owe me a show," said the ghost as he threw the magenta wig at the mechanical Titan.
Danny was still laughing as he opened the door to his new room. Beast Boy had managed to record Cyborg's entire initiation and was now locked in his room with an angry half-robot threatening to bash the door down. Danny had only remained for the first few minutes of Cyborg's rant before deciding to head to bed. His room was painted to look like a starry night in the desert. Apparently the room had belonged to a former Titan named Terra. He tried to ask about her, but Robin had told him she was a tender subject for the team, especially for Beast Boy.
Danny transformed back into his human form and set his backpack next to the night stand near the bed. He pulled his hoodie off and had just tossed it to the side when he heard a knock at his door. Curious, Danny walked over to the door, searching the keypad for the right button for a moment before opening it. Standing in front of him was Raven.
"Are you sure it is here?" asked Blood as he watched the hundreds of ghost tattoos fly through the ravine.
""I'll never forget the place that meddlesome half ghost ruined my life," responded the criminal ringmaster as he joined Blood. A hooded person floated up through the bridge they were on and bow, extending both her arms to reveal red staff with a bat at the top. The moment the headmaster saw the artifact, he let out a little growl.
"I came all this way for a ghost controlling staff that is broken!"
"Yes, but what is broken can easily be repaired," replied Freakshow as he took the staff in his hands. Quietly, he began a slow chant in a language long forgotten, tapping the bottom of the staff against the ground three times as he spoke. A swirling vortex of red energy appeared between the bat's wings, the edges of which turned completely white before solidifying into a glass ball.
"Excellent," commented Blood as he walked up to the ringmaster. "Now let's go and recruit our new student."
By the power of the staff, I command you to review this chapter for the trilogy!
Seriously, review it.
