(Note: The Teen Titans are owned by DC Comics and Cartoon Network)
PREVIOUSLY on Haunted Legacies
Dani went to Jump City to find the Gem of Form, but attempted to steal the gem from a museum and was captured by the city's guardians, the Teen Titans! Now she waits in an energy cell, unable to escape. Meanwhile, Sam and Jazz prepare to spend Star's last night before her Christmas Vacation with her, but their plans are cancelled before their heads even hit the pillows. So they take off together to help Dani, while telling Star all of their secrets. Suddenly, at Titans Tower, something goes wrong...
Haunted Legacies Episode 10: The Gem of Form Part 2
"Cyborg, what's going on?" Robin strode into the suddenly dim lights of the Teen Titans' command center on the bottom floor of the tower. Cyborg and Starfire were already in the command center, examining the console near the large window, which was fogged over from the blizzard that now raged outside.
Cyborg's hands flew across the console in front of him with practiced ease, his metallic fingers moving with robotic precision. "The main generator's been kicked offline. We're running on the backup generator now."
"Could it be a system malfunction?"
"No way. The line's not responding at all and I just made repairs last week. It has to have been cut."
"But that's impossible. The main generator is in the basement. Nobody could get to it without going through the tower," Robin pointed out.
"Or going through the walls." Raven pointed out from the doorway leading into the command center. She entered the room and approached Robin, holding up the strange yellow stone they had caught Dani Phantom trying to steal. "I've examined this as thoroughly as I can. There's some kind of power hidden inside it, but its scope is too vast for me to pinpoint exactly what it does." She shook her head. "It's strange though. It's almost like it has gaps in its power... like there are pieces missing."
"So she was telling the truth." Robin took the Gem of Form from his good friend and held it up in the dim light. "Whoever would want this must be incredibly powerful."
"Powerful enough to knock the generator offline," Cyborg suggested.
"Does this mean that we are under attack?" Starfire's hands balled up in front of her as she glanced around nervously. "But I have seen no attackers."
"Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. They were just smart enough to knock out the tower's defenses first." Robin held the gem out to Raven again. "Take this somewhere safe. And keep it safe no matter what happens to the rest of us. If Dani is telling the truth, then we can't let this fall into the wrong hands. Got it?"
"Keep it? But Robin..." She looked up at his eyes, then nodded solemnly. "Understood." Raven took the gem from him before her body faded into the shadows of her cloak, melting into the ground and out of sight.
Robin turned back to his other teammates. "We've got to-" He jumped and whirled back toward the main entrance of the tower when he heard the thick steel doors begin creaking.
Robin turned to the door, reaching into his belt to draw forth a small metal rod, which sprang to its full length as a metal bo staff clutched in one hand. He heard Cyborg's thunderous steps move beside him along with the sound of his cannon charging up for combat. Starfire landed gracefully on his other side, her eyes and hands glowing with alien green energy.
The steel doors at the front of the tower groaned under the strain of being pushed from outside, then suddenly the edges burst inward and they fell into the tower with a pair of thunderous crashes that momentarily deafened the three Titans. The snow beyond the doors continued to come down in a torrent that blocked out the sight of the city, making it seem as if Titans Tower was the only piece of land in the world.
A stream of figures clad in white robes calmly strode across the fallen doors, splitting once inside to line the walls. Up the middle of the two lines of figures came one more clad in a white robe This one had a mane of light blonde visible under the hood. As she stopped in the middle of the main entranceway, the figure raised its hands to draw the hood back, revealing an older, wizened woman with cold blue eyes.
"What do you want?" Robin demanded.
"To the point. Very well. I am Athena, and we have come for the Reality Gem. They are ours by right, you see. So the right thing is to give them to us."
"Interesting argument." Robin smirked. "But somehow, it doesn't seem like you want to use the gem for the betterment of mankind."
"How we use it is up to us." Athena raised one hand, which began to glow with piercing white light. "Now give us that which is rightfully ours. Or we will take it by force." The robed figures lining the walls all held up their hands, and piercing white light began shining from their palms.
Robin's gaze swept across the entrance hall of Titans Tower. There were at least three dozen of the robed figured, and they all seemed to have powers comparable to the one in the middle. A battle would be difficult, if not impossible to win even with all five Titans. Down by two as they were, they might not even stand a chance. But they didn't have much choice in the matter, as surrender was never an option.
"You cannot win." Athena assured him. "You can surrender and give us the gem, or you can make us take it."
"Only one thing to say really..." Robin gripped his staff tighter and stepped forward. "Titans, go!" He leapt forward through the air, with Cyborg and Starfire behind him. But they had barely moved before white lightning flashed from every figure around them, and the world faded to white.
"It's so hard to believe..." Star stared at her redheaded friend in awe as the strange metal hovercraft they called the Specter Speeder flew through the thick blizzard that had engulfed Jump City several. They vehicle had been buzzing back and forth through the buildings for the last two hours searching for the building Dani described, but they couldn't see it anywhere. From coast to coast they'd searched, but there was no sign of a building in the shape of a giant T.
"Trust me, I know the feeling." Jazz shivered, breathing on her hands through her thick winter gloves. "I can't believe dad forgot to install a heater in this thing either. It's like a fridge in here."
Star shook her head. "Not that, about Danny. You mean all this time he's been a superhero and nobody ever knew it? And then he was turned into a girl by being mysteriously thrust into the body of his female clone, who is also a superhero, while his evil old-ghostly-half ran off with Paulina to terrorize the world in a fit of evil and megalomania? Now he's gone missing halfway across the country looking for an ancient magical artifact to become a boy again?"
"It does sound pretty strange when you put it that way." Sam said from the front, where she was steering the Specter Speeder and trying to peer out through the frost-covered windshield in search of their destination. "I guess after so long I've kind of gotten used to really weird things happening to Dani."
"Do you think Paulina's okay?" Star asked more softly.
"She chose to go with him." Jazz reminded her. "Sam saw it with her own eyes."
"I did." Sam confirmed from the pilot's seat. "Now if you two could help me find this stupid T building it would be a huge help. Because I'm just not seeing it."
"Maybe she meant a P building." Jazz suggested.
"No, it was a T!" Sam countered. "Besides, I haven't seen any P buildings either. Or B's. Or G's."
"Maybe E?" Star suggested helpfully.
"No! T!" Sam insisted.
"Fine, it's a T." Star raised her hands defensively. Sam huffed and turned back to watch where she was going while Star approached the window, resting her gloved hands against the glass and trying to squint through the wall of white powder that almost made the world around them look invisible. The fact that it was also the middle of the night didn't help them see any better. "Maybe we should find some shelter, I think the blizzard is getting worse."
"Star has a point." Jazz moved up to the front of the Specter Speeder, her hands jammed in the pockets of her thick coat to keep warm. "We can barely see the ground thirty feet from it, and we're not getting anywhere like this. Maybe we can keep looking after the blizzard lets up."
"Dani needs us right now, we can't just stop looking." Sam replied. "She has to be in this city somewhere." She looked down outside of the windshield, her expression going blank. "Are we even in the city anymore?" Star and Jazz joined her to peer outside downward. They could vaguely see movement through the thick cloud of snow, but it didn't come from cars or people. It was water.
"That's not the city. It's the ocean." Jazz pointed out.
"Great, now which way back to land?" Sam sat back and rubbed her eyes in frustration.
Star lifted her eyes from the ocean to see a wall of glass looming out of the blizzard in front of them. She let out a piercing shriek and pointed. "TEEEEEEEEE!"
"Whoa!" Sam reached for the control panel, but it was far too late. The Specter Speeder collided with the top floor of the tower, smashing through the glass and skidding across the floor inside. Star screamed as the sudden stop slammed her stomach into the seat in front of her, slipping her over it and down against the dashboard upside down. She heard Jazz and Sam scream at the same time over the sound of smashing glass and metal striking metal, but she couldn't see where they were.
The noise faded as the last of the glass crashed to the ground, and the Specter Speeder's engine shut down. Star blinked to try to clear her head, but her vision was still clouded when she saw a dark head move up in front of her.
"Star! Star, are you okay!?" Sam's voice shuddered fearfully.
"I'm okay..." Star's voice was shaking as she spoke. "Just woozy..."
"Hey, come on. Careful now." Sam grabbed her shoulders and carefully pulled her forward. Star winced as her bruised back slid against the control panel, but soon she fell to her butt on the seat with Sam holding up her torso. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." Star held up one hand to ward off her questions while she shook her head clear. When she looked around, she saw they were in a comfortably furnished living room, with a massive TV screen now lying smashed on the floor underneath the Specter Speeder. Star's gaze swept the dimly lit room, darting back and forth in a panic. "Jazz... where's Jazz?"
"Jazz?" Sam stood up on her seat. "Jazz!" She leapt onto the front of the Specter Speeder through the shattered windshield, carefully jumping off of it to the floor. "Jazz, are you okay!? Say something!"
Star climbed out of the broken windshield, careful not to touch any of the broken glass as she slid down the front of the Specter Speeder and landed on the floor. "Jazz!"
"Uhn..." They both fell silent when they heard a pained groan from further into the living room. They rushed forward toward the comfortable sofa in the middle of the room, and saw Jazz lying sprawled out on the floor behind it. Blood was leaking down her forehead and there were several shards of glass on the floor around her.
"Jazz!" They both rushed over to her. Sam dropped to her feet and gently lifted her torso off the floor, brushing her bangs out of the way to reveal the nasty gash on her forehead. "Star, get us some bandages from the glove box."
"Right!" Star rushed back to the Specter Speeder and returned a moment later with the bandages, handing them over to Sam so she could unwrap them and carefully wrap up the bleeding cut on Jazz's head. Jazz groaned again and opened her eyes, but they looked unfocused.
"Jazz, are you okay?" Sam asked worriedly.
"Let this teach you something... seatbelts exist for a good reason." Jazz groaned and put one hand tenderly against her bandage. Sam and Star exchanged a glanced and heaved a shared sigh of relief. She would be just fine.
"Who are you?" Sam and Star jerked to attention and looked to the side when they heard a sharp, commanding voice from the main entrance of the living room. A figure in a white robe was standing in the doorway, holding his hand out in front of him. The tips of his fingers were shining with light that shone across them like a powerful spotlight in the dimly lit room.
"Wait!" Sam stood up, holding out her hands. "We don't want to fight, we just want to see Dani."
"The phantom." The figure's hand grew brighter. "Then you would seek to oppose us too."
"Somehow, I don't think he's one of the good guys..." Jazz muttered, sliding back until her back hit the sofa.
"Anyone who opposes the Order of Chaos will be destroyed." His hand pulsed brighter, a ball of energy forming in his palm. Sam, Star, and Jazz huddled together close to the sofa, watching the energy ball grow in intensity.
"Azarath, metrion, zinthos!" A voice echoed through the large chamber as a thick black energy spread across a sheet of steel on the roof. Suddenly it came crashing down right on top of the white-robed figure with a sickening crunch and a clank of metal on metal. When the dark energy faded, there was no sign of the man who lay underneath. The three girls looked up from the steel to see a girl with gray skin and a blue cloak moving on top of it, a pair of glowing white eyes staring out from under a shadowy hood.
"Who are...?" Sam's voice shook.
"We don't have time. They're going to come looking for him." The blue-cloaked figure told them. "My name is Raven, this tower is under siege by powerful sorcerers, and we are going to get somewhere safe before we are all killed." She turned to march out of the living room. Sam, Jazz, and Star exchanged only a momentary glance before turning to rush out after her.
Dani leaned back against the back of her energy cell curled into a ball, watching over her knees as the white-robed figures hauled Cyborg across the prison, powerful white energy wrapped around his unconscious form. The figures thrust their hands forward, and the energy sent the massive man hurtling into the cell next to Dani, where his body slammed into the cold hard steel with a deafening crash.
"Cyborg!" Starfire floated into the cell and landed beside him, kneeling down to make sure he was okay, even though her own body was blackened as if tossed into an open flame. Other robed figures shoved Robin into the cell, slamming the door closed before he could turn and make a break for it.
Athena emerged from the crowd of white robes, approaching the steel cell containing the Teen Titans. Her gaze swept over the three of them, then settled on Robin, who was standing near the door of the cell with a defiant look on his face. "Our monitors said there were four of you in the city. Where is the fourth?"
"I don't know." Robin folded his arms across his chest. "She could be miles away from here by now."
Athena snarled. "And the Reality Gem?"
"Gone." Robin's face remained a calm mask. Athena stared at his face, then chuckled and shook her head.
"Maybe you're lying... maybe you're not. We'll tear this place apart to find out the truth." Athena told him. "And if we find that your friend has the gem, we'll tear her apart as well." Robin's face remained a cold mask until Athena turned away from him, approaching the glowing energy cell where Dani remained trapped sitting against the rear wall. "I suppose I should thank you for catching this traitorous wretch for me."
"You followed me here, didn't you?" Dani asked without moving.
"Very astute, child." Athena nodded. "We've been keeping an eye on you since the ritual. We knew you would go for the Reality Gems eventually. It was just a matter of waiting, and our patience has paid off."
"You're insane." Dani told her.
"Perhaps. But we have won." Athena held up her hand, pressing it against the energy field. "There's nothing you can do to stop us from getting the Reality Gem now. And once we have it, we'll be able to use it to find the other three. And then the world will be made anew." She pulled her hand away from the field and turned away from the cell, speaking to the other robed figures. "Come, we'll search the building from top to bottom until we find the Gem of Form." Athena left the prison with the rest of her group, leaving Dani and the Titans trapped in the cells.
Robin turned away from the front of the cell and approached Starfire, who was stroking Cyborg's cheeks and looking into his eyes. "How is he?"
"He has not responded to me." Starfire said worriedly. "I fear that he has suffered much damage. We must repair him."
"Not much we can do in this cell." Robin approached the bars and gripped one of them in a tight fist. "We designed these cells to hold anything... even each other if it became necessary."
"I'm sorry." Dani said softly. Robin and Starfire both turned to look at her through the bars of their cell and the energy field of Dani's. "If I'd just stayed home, none of this would've happened."
"Don't blame yourself. You didn't know they were tracking you." Robin replied.
"If they really do get all the Reality Gems... geeze, I really screwed up this time." Dani put her hands on her head. "The entire world could be screwed..."
Starfire heaved a deep sigh. "I wish Beast Boy were here. He would make the jokes and make things seem not so horrible."
"Don't give up yet." Robin told them. "Raven's still loose, and she's guarding the Reality Gem. She'll come through for us." He turned back to his friends and knelt down beside Cyborg. "For now, let's try to get Cyborg back online."
The wind was bitter cold as it swept through the black night sky, which was alight with glittering white snow that flew almost horizontal through the air. A pair of footsteps tromped across the snow-covered roof of Titans Tower, the white robes leaving a wide path in his wake as he moved. His hand was shining bright enough to illuminate the entire roof, but he could see nothing up there.
"There's nothing up here." His partner said curtly, clearly shivering. "If they did come up here, they must have left by now. Or jumped off the building and saved us some hassle. Either way, let's get inside. This cold is killing me."
"Yeah, let's go." The first man turned to head back into the door that led down into Titans Tower.
A small panel nearby lifted from the roof, plopping into the snow as a pair of pale hands gripped the side of the roof. Raven pulled herself up, the wind whipping her cloak around her body violently as she turned to help Jazz climb out of the small compartment. She was followed shortly by Sam and Star, who sat back on their feet to avoid kneeling in the thick, cold snow.
"Thanks." Jazz sniffed. "I think he was about to-"
"Who are you?" Raven turned on them, narrowing her eyes. "Don't think I didn't notice that you broke into our tower and destroyed our TV."
"Hehe... yeah, sorry about that. It was an accident." Sam cleared her throat.
"We're friends of Dani Phantom." Jazz said quickly. "We got a call that she ran into some trouble here in Jump City. We came to help her."
"The ghost." Raven nodded. "She's in the tower's prison." Raven reached into her cloak and pulled out a small device with a white T engraved on the front. "Robin's communicator signal is coming from there too, but I haven't been able to reach it. There are too many of those sorcerers wandering about. I can't get close without being spotted."
"Are you kidding? What you did in the living room was awesome! You could probably take them all out!" Star exclaimed.
Raven shook her head. "I caught that one by surprise. These people may be insane, but they're also powerful. And there are way too many for me to take on alone. I wouldn't stand a chance."
"If we could get to the prison and free Dani and your friends, do you think you could take them on then?" Jazz asked.
"Maybe. But I can't get close." Raven repeated.
"But if you can draw their attention away from the prison, maybe we can." Jazz replied.
Raven narrowed her eyes, as if examining the three girls from the deep shadows of her hood. "It's worth a shot. But I'll need you to do something for me." Raven reached into the depths of her cloak, and in a moment held up her hand with a dull yellow stone in the shape of a diamond laying in her palm. "Robin sent me away to keep this safe. If I'm going to be fighting, I need you to hold onto it for me."
Sam's eyes went wide. "The Reality Gem! Dani actually found it?"
Raven nodded and handed it over to her. "If this fails, you three are going to have to get that gem out of here. I've sensed how powerful it is, and it doesn't belong in the hands of a lunatic."
"We'll keep it safe. Just take care of yourself." Sam nodded and closed her fist around the gem.
"I'll be fine as long as you hurry." Raven took a small map out of her cloak and handed it to Sam. Suddenly Jazz sneezed and the other three turned to look at her.
"'Scuse me." Jazz sniffled. "I don't handle the cold very well."
Raven straightened her back and turned to walk toward the door of the tower. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go call attention to myself. Wait for my signal, then get to the prison" She pushed the roof door open and vanished inside the tower.
Star looked back and forth between Sam and Jazz. "Is every day this weird for you guys?"
"Eh, I've seen worse." Sam replied.
Jazz sneezed again, then wiped her nose with the back of her glove. "Ugh... what do you think the signal is?" Suddenly a beam of black energy burst through the middle of the tower, arching high into the snow-covered sky to spread into the form of a massive, black raven that screamed into the night for a moment before fading away. The three girls exchanged a glance.
"That was awesome." Star said appreciatively.
"Come on, let's go find Dani." Sam stood up and turned to head for the door with the others following close behind.
Robin wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before returning to work on Cyborg's chest plate, carefully trying to figure out how his systems worked and what would be wrong with him. The sweat was beading on his forehead, threatening to fall into Cyborg's systems, so he frequently had to wipe his brow as he worked. He narrowed his eyes in concentration, trying to hook Cyborg's backup power supply to his life support systems.
Suddenly Starfire sucked in a deep breath and blew on his face with a blast that blew his hair to the back of his head and sent his sweat flying into the wall with a sick splat. Robin looked up at her slowly. "Thanks, Star."
"I welcome you." Starfire smiled cutely.
"And... there we go." Robin slipped the last wire into Cyborg's power supply, and the blue circuitry on Cyborg's body flared to life, flashing with light before settling into a steady hum.
"Ooh..." Cyborg groaned as his cybernetic eye flashed to life and his human eye opened. "What happened? Did we win?"
"Cyborg! You have been repaired!" Starfire wrapped her arms around the big man's neck, squeezing him tightly. "It is most wonderful to see you awake!"
"I'm fine, Star. Well, except that I can't feel my right hand." Cyborg looked down.
"Sorry, I did the best I could," Robin told him with a trace of a smile.
Cyborg let Starfire help him to his feet, looking around at the bars that contained them. "So I'm guessing we didn't win."
"Afraid not. But Raven's still out there somewhere." Robin replied. "There's still a chance as long as she's free."
"Hey." The three Teen Titans looked over when Dani Phantom spoke from the next cell over. "Cyborg, right? I'm sorry for putting you through that. This was all because of me."
Cyborg waved off her apology with his left hand. "Bah. This kinda stuff happens all the time." He reached up and plucked his right hand off of his wrist. "Who needs this thing anyway?" He tossed it over his shoulder and held up the stump of his arm, which glowed with blue energy. "I'm gonna need this more once I get out of here and get my hands on those psycho jerks anyway."
"Ssshh..." Robin held up his hands suddenly. "Does anyone else hear that?" The four of them fell silent, listening. The sound of impacts and yells was coming through the walls, soon punctuated by the sound of a massive explosion that made the entire tower rock to one side, as if about to tumble into the ocean before it swayed back into place. "No. They must've found Raven."
"Sounds like she's giving 'em heck." Cyborg noted.
"We've got to get out there and help her. We've got to get out of this cell." Robin gripped the bars tightly.
"Step aside." Cyborg lifted his arm cannon.
"And we shall create a new door." Starfire lifted her hands, which began to glow with eerie green energy.
"Hold on!" Dani shouted when she saw the door on the other side of the bars beginning to creak open. In another few moments, a familiar head poked through, with shoulder-length black hair and deep violet lipstick. "Sam!?"
"Dani!" Sam flung the door open and rushed into the prison, running up against the energy field. Dani moved as close as she could, placing her hands over Sam's. "When I get in there, I am going to KILL you! What were you thinking!? You know I can't stand it when you run off alone half-cocked! What do you have to say for yourself!?" Sam snarled viciously.
"I... I... I..." Dani stammered nervously. "I love you..." She smiled.
Sam growled. "You love me? If you love me you won't make me spend four days wondering whether or not you're dead! When we get home we are gonna-"
"Jazz!" Dani looked over Sam's shoulder to see two more figures enter the room. The first was her sister, the second was... "Star?"
"Hey Dani!" Star rushed up to his energy cell. "Why didn't you tell me you were a ghost superhero? That's so cool!"
"Wh... what?" Dani looked at Sam. "You told Star!? I trusted you!"
"Oh you don't get to talk about trust, Dani Phantom! Not until I can trust you not to vanish without warning and get sent to JAIL!"
"Point taken..." Dani muttered demurely.
Jazz approached the second cell, in which the Teen Titans were imprisoned. "How do I open these things?"
"Control panel. Just punch 67490 into the keypad to turn on the emergency override. It should open all of the cells." Robin told her. Jazz approached the panel and punched in the indicated numbers. The loud click of a lock on the Titans' cell sounded at the same time as the energy field surrounding Dani vanished into thin air, leaving Dani and Sam leaning against each other.
Dani looked at Sam's eyes, but Sam pulled her hand back and slapped her across the face. "Jerk."
"You've got to hurry." Jazz pulled the door of the Teen Titans' cage open, letting them out of the cell. "Raven is holding their attention, but she can't keep them off for long."
"We'll go try to get her out of there. The rest of you get out of the tower and find a place to hide." Robin told them.
"I'm coming with you." Dani moved away from Sam to approach Robin with a solemn look on her face. "I'm the reason you were all put in danger like this. I'm not going to run off and let you deal with the consequences." Robin looked at him, then looked over his shoulder at Starfire and Cyborg, who were standing to each side of him.
"I welcome the aid of our new friend." Starfire nodded.
"We could use all the help we can get." Cyborg added.
"Looks like you're with us." Robin turned to look at Dani again. "Come on, we have to help Raven." He turned to leave, followed quickly by Cyborg and Starfire.
Dani moved to follow, but Sam grabbed her shoulder, spun her around on her heels, and caught her in a deep, passionate kiss. Dani's body went stiff in shock while Star gasped and Jazz just looked on with a hint of a smile on her lips. After a few moments Dani melted in her arms, going limp until Sam was holding her up with her arms around her torso, holding her almost parallel to the floor.
When Sam finally broke the kiss Dani giggled. "Wow... been way too long since I had one of those..."
Sam pulled Dani to her feet, holding her shoulders with both hands. "Be careful, Dani."
"Always." Dani grinned, her eyes flashing brightly with green ecto-energy. "I'll be back for more!" She ducked out of Sam's arms, then threw herself at the wall, phasing straight through it.
Sam stared after her, smiling to herself. Slowly, Star slipped across the floor until she was beside Jazz to whisper. "When did Sam become Gay?"
Sam turned to look back at her, amused rather than angry. "When I remembered the person who made me smile when I didn't think I ever would again." Star blinked, then blushed and nodded slightly.
Jazz stepped in. "Come on. We should try to get somewhere safe. Something tells me the worst may be ahead of us."
An explosion rocked the tower as a burst of energy detonated in the middle of the primary Titans command center. Raven's scream was cut short by the impact of her body slamming into the wall beside the large window, where she lay weakly on the floor. Her breath came in quick gasps and her flesh was blackened and burned. Her cloak had long since been destroyed by the onslaught of the three dozen figures who approached now to form a circle around her.
"Are you ready to tell me what I wish to know?" The one in the middle of the group asked, her blue eyes shining with anger. "Where is the Reality Gem?"
Raven raised one hand in front of her, taking in a painful breath. "Azarath... met-GRK!" Raven gasped in pain when a tendril of white energy leapt from the woman's palm, wrapping itself around her throat. Athena slowly lifted her hand skyward, and the energy bond between them lifted with it. Raven's back slid up the wall, until soon her legs were kicking desperately at thin air. She tried to pry the energy away with her fingers, and her eyes flashed in desperation, but she was too exhausted to fight back.
"The Reality Gem!" Athena's eyes flashed with crackling white energy. "Where is it!?"
Raven gasped desperately for breath, pulling at the noose that continued to crush her windpipe. Suddenly, the energy field that linked them together faded into nothing, and Raven fell to the floor with a heavy thump. She lay on the floor gasping for breath while Athena stood silent, looking down at her.
"What's wrong? Sister Athena?" One of the other white-robed figures approached her from behind.
Athena whirled around suddenly, her eyes flashing with green ecto-energy. "Guess again!" She raised her hands, and a pair of ecto-blasts ripped into two of the robed figures that surrounded her.
"It's the ghost!" The rest of the sorcerers raised their hands and unleashed a powerful volley of energy, but Dani slipped up out of Athena's body, letting the blasts slam into the psycho at full force. Athena screamed as the force of the blasts sent her sailing back into the wall with a painful grunt.
"Nice shot. Now let's see you hit the person you're actually aiming for!" Dani grinned. The sorcerers raised their hands again, but Dani faded into invisibility, vanishing from sight.
Suddenly a hailstorm of Starbolts rained down on the already confused crowd, detonating on impact with the floor and sending people hurtling through the crowd. They whirled to orient on Starfire flying overhead, but Dani popped up from the floor just then and kicked one of the sorcerers in the face, knocking him back into one of the other sorcerers, where they both tumbled to the ground.
Cyborg and Robin leapt into the fray moments later from the main entrance, and chaos descended on Titans Tower. Energy flares and Starbolts emerged from the ground seemingly at random, while Robin and Cyborg barreled through the figures like a pair of steamrollers, making their way toward the wall where Raven lay unconscious on the floor. Dani continued to weave through the crowd, adding to the confusion by knocking heads and then vanishing before anyone could figure out where she was. After five minutes she had half the crowd convinced the other half was betraying them.
"We're almost there!" Robin whirled through the air, smashing another sorcerer's face into the ground before leaping toward the edge of the crowd, finally emerging toward Raven. He leapt the rest of the way over to her, but at the last second a veil of white energy engulfed her and pulled her across the floor away from him. Athena held out her hand like a wicked claw, which clamped around Raven's throat tightly, holding her up on her knees.
"SILENCE!" Athena's scream was punctuated by flashing white energy that struck the ceiling like lightning bolts. Everyone in the crowd, friend and foe, turned to look at her as she held Raven up by her throat, dangling as limp as a doll in her grasp. "My brethren, do not fight among yourselves. Victory will be ours in mere moments." Her gaze swept the crowd. "Dani Phantom. Reveal yourself now or I will kill this girl. Three... two... one..."
"Wait!" Dani floated up from the middle of the crowd, becoming visible again. She held her hands above her head. "I'm right here."
"Over there. You too, alien girl." Athena jerked her head toward the wall, where Robin and Cyborg had halted their advance. Dani and Starfire floated slowly over to join them, careful not to make any sudden moves.
"Leave her alone, Athena. She has nothing to do with this. I'm the one who betrayed you." Dani said firmly.
"I'm not interested in you, ghost child. All I want is the Gem of Form. Now tell me where it is!" Athena demanded.
"Only one person knows." Robin stepped forward. "And she could've hidden it anywhere in this dimension or another. So if you kill her, you'll never find it."
Athena's eyes narrowed in anger and her fist tightened around Raven's neck, but she didn't make the final move. "Then we'll take her until we do." She whirled away from them, still holding Raven.
"No!" Robin and the others rushed forward, but mystical energies exploded from the gathered sorcerers, ripping into their bodies like lightning strikes. They were thrown back against the window that overlooked the city, which was hidden by the fierce blizzard that continued to rage through the night. The window shattered from Cyborg's massive girth, and shards of it mixed in with the snow as the four of them plummeted toward the ground.
Dani plummeted through the freezing air, shaking her head to try to see where the others were, but she could barely even see the side of the tower. She halted her descent and spun through the air until she was upright, turning to look back up at the tower. A scream barely had time to erupt from her lips before Cyborg came right down on top of her, knocking her into the black embrace of unconsciousness.
"It's been a while since the last explosion." Star stared up the side of Titans Tower, holding her jacket tightly around her. They could barely see the dim lights twinkling from some of the lower windows, but the top of the tower was completely hidden from their view. "Do you think Dani and the others won?"
"I hope so. If she dies, I'm gonna kill her." Sam retorted. Jazz sneezed in agreement.
"You should take something for that, Jazz." Star pointed out.
"Ugh, it's the cold. I hate the cold. I always get si-ACHOO!" Jazz sneezed again, then sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her glove. "Ugh..."
"Hey, quiet!" Sam grabbed their shoulders and dragged them down behind a bush near the entrance to Titans Tower when she saw a white-robed figure emerge, trailed close by over a dozen others. Sam's eyes went wide when she realized that something was being dragged by the one in the lead. Or rather, someone was being dragged across the snow like a limp doll.
"It's Raven." Star confirmed. "They got Raven."
"We can't let them take her." Jazz said urgently. "There's no telling what they'll do to her."
"How do we stop them?" Star asked.
Sam reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew the nondescript yellow gem, holding it in her palm. "We know what they want..." She closed her fist around it and stood up, emerging from the bush. Jazz and Star remained behind, watching from cover. "Hey! Psychopaths!" The figures all turned to look at her, gasping when Sam held up her hand, holding the gem between her thumb and forefinger. "Are you looking for this?"
"The Reality Gem!" The leader stepped forward, still clutching Raven around the throat. "Give it to me!"
"First give us the girl!" Sam shouted back over the roaring wind. "Then I'll toss you the gem!"
The leader of the cult raised the hand with Raven in it and let go of her. White light engulfed her body, and slowly it drifted closer to Sam. Jazz and Star rushed out from their cover to catch her, holding her between them before she could collapse to the snow once the energy faded. They moved back with her, moving behind Sam, who was still holding the gem in the air.
"Now keep your part of the bargain, child. And I will leave you in peace." The psychotic woman said in a cold tone.
Sam looked around quickly, searching for a way out. She didn't want to give something so powerful to a psychopath like this. But then, there was no guarantee it would work anyway. The woman's powers were great, but the Reality Gem was greater than a force of nature. Could she really control it?
Sam's eyes flashed at a sudden memory, then she smiled and closed her fist around it. "Catch!" She wound up and hurled the gem through the snow toward the psychopath.
"Sam! What are you doing!?" Jazz shouted, but it was too late.
The woman raised her hand toward it, and in a veil of light, the gem sped straight into her palm. "Yes! Just the first step on the road to shaping this universe to our wildest dreams..." She brought the gem down into her palm, then looked up at Sam and the others. "You have all been such trouble..." She raised the gem toward them, and it began to glow in her fingers. "Allow me to feel my new power."
"Sam..." Star muttered nervously, scooting closer behind Sam's back and clutching her jacket.
"Go ahead, psycho." Sam raised her arms to the sides. "Turn it on."
The woman in the white robe growled and the gem in her palm flashed. Suddenly one of the men behind her vanished, and was replaced by a tiny shattering squirrel, which shrieked and began darting around the snow-covered island. "What? What is this?" The woman exclaimed. "I didn't-" She didn't have time to finish before one of the other cultists transformed as well, into the form of a massive rhinoceros, which yelled in confusion while the people around it scrambled for safety.
"Some things the books don't tell you about these things, isn't there psycho?" Sam shouted over the wind. "The gem has the power, but the Gauntlet was the controller! Turn it on without the Reality Gauntlet, and it's as dangerous to you as it is to everyone else!"
"No!" The woman dropped the Reality Gem to the snow, but it continued to flash with yellow light. The snow around it melted into a river of water and flowed down toward the ocean while the panicked cries of the other cult members were replaced by the sounds of various animals, though a few simply ceased as they transformed into stones or plants. By now the cultists were trying to get as far away from the gem as possible, some had even begun to swim out into the ocean to escape the gem's wrath.
The woman whirled on them with an angry snarl on her face. "This isn't over! This isn't-" Suddenly, her voice faded into nothing as a small white dove appeared where she had stood moments before, its winds flapping furiously in the wind to stay airborne until it moved out of sight.
Sam moved away from her and darted across the snow, diving into it to cup both hands around the Reality Gem, closing her eyes and trying to stop it, as Danny had done the last time it went wild. She could feel it calming in her grasp, as its power faded into a steady pulse, then went away completely.
"Sam, you did it!" Star ran up behind her and tossed her arms around her in a tight hug. "You got rid of them for good!"
"Guess there are some things only experience can teach." Sam grinned and held up the Reality Gem.
"Sam!" Dani's voice shouted over the blizzard. Sam and Star looked over when they heard several sets of footsteps approaching through the blizzard. They came to a stop soon however.
"Whoa. Who robbed the zoo?" Cyborg looked around at the animals in confusion.
"More importantly, what happened to Raven and Athena?" Robin stepped forward.
Jazz's sneeze interrupted any answer that may have been forthcoming as she approached with Raven draped unconscious over her shoulders. "Can we talk inside over some mugs of hot cocoa?" She smiled. That sounded pretty good to everyone else.
"It's incredible that something like that exists." Robin nodded once they'd had a chance to sit down and discuss everything that had happened in the comfort of the downstairs command center. Raven lay on the couch nearby, resting but due to make a full recovery. "I've seen some strange things in this world, but gems that can reshape reality as we know it? That's far too powerful for anyone to possess."
"That's why Dani tried to destroy it." Jazz blew gently on the mug of cocoa she clutched in her gloved hands, blowing the steam out of the way so she could take a sip. "But I guess the gems don't destroy so easily."
"So then what do we do with this one?" Robin held up the Reality Gem in one palm. "We could keep it here at the tower, but what we do is pretty dangerous. I can't guarantee its safety..." He looked across the room at Dani who was sitting near the shattered window, staring out into the morning sun that assured them that the worst of the blizzard was over for now. When he looked back at Jazz, she was giving him a look of understanding.
"We'll take care of it." She set down her mug of cocoa and took the Reality Gem from him, cupping it in both hands. "You have my word. Nobody will ever get their hands on it again."
"I'm trusting you." Robin reached into his belt and pulled out a small device with a black and yellow T painted on it. "Just in case it ever falls into the wrong hands."
"We will. Thank you." Jazz took the communicator from him with a grateful smile.
Dani turned her head slightly when she heard a pair of thick steel-toed boots approach from the side. The footsteps faded as Sam plopped down on the floor beside him, looking out over the snow-covered city on the horizon. Sam scooted closer until their hips were pressed together, but said nothing. Dani turned to look at her, her beautiful face framed by the golden sun while the wind swept her black hair across her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Dani." Sam said softly. "I know how much you wanted to be a boy again."
"I should have realized it wouldn't work." Dani shook her head. "Even if I could make the Reality Gem do something, I couldn't control it. I should have known..." Sam slipped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, letting Dani's cheek rest against her shoulder while Sam's cheek rested on the top of her head. "The Gem of Form kept hope alive that I could turn back... and now..."
"It's okay, Dani..." Sam told her softly. "There might still be a way to turn you back in the future. There's no way to know for certain." She turned toward Dani, sliding a hand up to her chin to make their eyes meet. "We might find a way to make it work, or find something else that can do it... but that doesn't change the present. And nothing will ever change how I feel about you."
Dani smiled sadly. "I missed you so much, Sam..."
"I missed you too." Sam slipped her arms around Dani, and pulled her into a gentle kiss, closing her eyes in the golden light of the dawn. Dani closed hers as well, feeling for the first time since the change like her life was getting back on the right path after all...
Cyborg's sobs echoed through the living room upstairs, while Starfire hugged him from the side, stroking his bald head with one comforting hand. "I can't believe she's gone, Star... she was my best friend. She was the only one who really understood me!" Cyborg broke into another sobbing fit and collapsed to his knees. "Why couldn't it have been me? Why did it have to be her!?"
"It is okay, Cyborg." Starfire patted his head. "She would not wish for you to be sad over her."
"It was seventy-five inches, Star. Seventy-five inches!" Cyborg sobbed as his hands touched the top of the massive television that lay smashed under the Specter Speeder. "Gone, all gone... all gone..."
NEXT TIME on Haunted Legacies
One week to Christmas, and things are finally returning to normal in Amity Park. Dani has finally come to truly accept her fate, Sam has grown comfortable with the nature of their relationship, Athena and her cult have been defeated forever, and the Gem of Form has been hidden from the world, never to be misused for evil purposes. It's a perfect time to rediscover the flame that brought Sam and Dani together in the first place... and perhaps grow even closer.
Episode 11: The Thing That Lasts Forever