Ice Lightening

Chapter Nine

Putting Them Together

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty, and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."

~Malcom X~

Sharon watched silently as Danny slept on the couch. Virgil walked down the stairs to see her there. He looked at Danny and knew that Sharon was probably still trying to get over everything.

"So I'm guessing you're taking Danny's secret harder than mine," Virgil stated leaning against the couch. Sharon glared at him.

"I've already thought that you were Static before. But Danny…being Phantom of any of them. He's so far from Amity," Sharon whispered. "How'd he get here? Where'd he get those scars? Why is he here?"

"He was trapped in a lab because he had powers," Virgil informed. Sharon looked up at him. "He's here because we're the only ones who were willing to help him."

"That's what Dad told me," she whispered. "He also said that it was his parents that were the ones that had been the reason he was in there."

"Yes, they gave him away like an animal," Virgil spat, glaring at the wall. "Danny needed people to support him and all he got in return was hate. He doesn't deserve to be going through all this."

"I had a friend from Amity once. She believed that Phantom destroyed her life. I haven't talked to her in a while though," Sharon whispered. "I guess maybe I could ask her a few questions about it. I still have her email." Virgil shrugged.

"I guess if you wanted to," Virgil muttered. "Just…be careful not to raise any suspicious. Remember, you blow his secret, you blow mine as well. It's not that hard and some people already know that Phantom has been working with Static. It would be really dangerous if someone figured it out."

"Danny… I didn't understand why Dad had taken him in so quickly," Sharon whispered. "Now, why did Danny tell you guys who he was? That's something I don't understand."

"He figured out I was Static. He can detect bang babies," Virgil explained, looking at the teen who shifted on the couch. "Before you ask why, he was trying to find help. He had been on the street for a long time, and Pops was just trying to figure out who he was to see if he couldn't get him some help. Maybe find his parents and home."

"Can we trust him?" Sharon asked, looking at her brother in worry. "How do you know he won't turn on you?"

"I know a few things about him that he was terrified to tell others," Virgil answered, shaking his head. "I trust him because he deserves that chance. He's already proven his loyalty."

"How'd he do that?" Sharon asked, looking down while trying to figure out how he could have done that in such a short time.

"He was willing to help us even when he was terrified and wanted to do nothing but run from everything. He was afraid of going into certain places, even with his powers," Virgil stated. "He still stayed with us to make sure that we were safe. He's kind of like a silent guardian."

"I have to get ready for work. Even after yesterday, I still have work," Sharon sighed, going into the kitchen. Virgil looked down at his new friend and hoped that he was making the right decision. Static and Gear were going to contact the League later that day. Danny needed them if this was as big as he thought it was. Danny tried to down play it, but Virgil knew that whoever was after him had been hiding secrets.

Danny deserved justice, and Virgil knew that the League would be more likely to get it done than just him and Gear. They were well known, but not enough to where they were safe, and they didn't have enough backup to insure it.

Robert walked down the stairs and saw Virgil getting ready to go into the kitchen. He cleared his throat to get his son's attention.

"We have to keep strong tabs on him," Robert informed. "We can't let him go anywhere without someone with him."

"To make sure that he's safe," Virgil agreed, but Robert shook his head.

"To make sure that everyone else is safe from him. Virgil, he can be very dangerous," Robert warned. "He…Virgil, he's in deep trouble, and could be on the edge. He's not sure what side he's on anymore."

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked, looking back at Danny who had curled his legs up to his chest.

"He's awake," Robert stated going into the kitchen. Virgil gulped and walked back over to the couch where Danny had his eyes closed tightly.

"Danny, what happened? You were a little off yesterday, but you seemed okay later. What changed?" Virgil asked leaning over the couch. Danny shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it about them training you to be a killer?" Virgil asked. "You're not one. You've fought not to be one, and honestly, I can't see you as one. You're a good kid."

"No, it…just drop it," Danny whispered, looking away from him and tightening his hold around his legs. He didn't want to talk about it. It hurt too much.

Dakota Graveyard

Lancer sighed as he gently placed the black roses on the gravestone. He knew Sam would have liked them. She loved the color black, and he wished that he could've done something to save her, or at the very least her memory. Danny didn't deserve to be tricked like that, and Lancer was sure that this was probably the beginning of the end for the young hero.

"I wish that there was something I could've have done to stop this," Lancer whispered, looking at the other two graves. They were her cousins. It had been a dark rainy night when they were hit. The other driver had been texting and drunk driving. Lancer was pretty sure that was even worse than just doing one. He sighed again and got up slowly to avoid hurting his back. He had to figure out who the imposter was in Amity and why Tucker turned on him as well.

He wondered what had happened to Jazz. Why did she disappear? He looked at the date of the wreck on the stone and paused. It was a day after Jazz had disappeared.

Danny walked slowly behind the two as they headed back to the gas station. They had told him a bit about another hero named She-Bang and explained how she wanted to patrol with them that night. He said he wanted to stay at the house, but Virgil pushed him into going to stretch out his powers and that he needed to get out of the house. The only reason he had agreed was because Virgil promised that they were going in teams and Danny would be with Static.

"Hey guys," She-Bang smiled making Danny stop at the door and refuse to go in. Virgil sighed before pulling the hybrid into the doorway so they could at least close the door. "This must be your friend Danny. I didn't mean to come early, but my parents are still at work. I was bored."

"Danny, this is She-Bang," Virgil informed as he got out his Static outfit. "She-Bang, this is Danny, or Phantom. She-Bang is also Shanice from our school."

"Hey, why tell him that?" She-Bang stated, glaring at Virgil. He shrugged.

"He knows ours and he'll figure out yours when he meets Shanice, doesn't really matter," he stated as he headed into the back. Richie just leaned against the counter trying to figure out how to go about this. Danny pressed himself against the wall furthest from She-Bang while she looked at Richie sadly.

"Is he always like this?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the teen who was looking at the police scanner.

"Yep," Richie answered getting out some pudding cups and throwing them to both She-Bang and Danny who caught it without flinching. Richie smiled, glad that they at least got him used to having things tossed to him. Danny sighed and set the cup on the counter. "Danny, you okay?"

"No," he whispered looking at the ground. "I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Richie asked, slowly walking forward. Danny shook his head.

"Just bad memories that keep coming up," he whispered. "They're just ones I've pushed back for so long that it's almost like reliving it."

"Which ones?" Richie asked keeping a distance. Static walked in the room to see Danny looking even more down than when they got there.

"Ones from when I got out, the time when I completely lost it," Danny answered turning around and heading out. Static reached out to him.

"Danny, wait," Static raced after him. Richie sighed as he looked at She-Bang.

"That was Danny in a nutshell. Quite literally," he smiled, making She-Bang sigh.

"Danny, are you okay?" Static asked as he chased Phantom down. Phantom landed on the roof of some building and leaned against the side of the small wall at the edge.

"No, now stop asking," Phantom muttered. He would have lied, saying that he was fine if it wasn't for the fact that it was so obvious anymore. He was thinner than normal, he had been locked in a lab, and then he's not sure about what he had done to escape. Static gently placed his hand on the teen's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Okay," he whispered, sitting next to him. Phantom sighed and pulled his legs up to his chest. Static knew not to push him any farther than this. He really didn't need the teen to run off again, although, Phantom seemed to calm down a little after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Why do you guys even keep trying?" Phantom whispered, looking at Static. "I mean, why go through all the trouble of helping me and not knowing what I'm capable of."

"Because you need help," Static stated. "And, you have potential to be one of the greatest heroes ever. You deserve a chance to prove yourself, but I know that you're not going to be able to do it alone." Phantom sighed and looked back over the city.

"I might've killed people," he whispered. "What kind of hero does that?"

"A broken one," Static informed. "One who was in so much pain and desperation that they couldn't hold back any longer. But you don't know if you did or not. No one may have even died."

"Then why can't I remember? I've had time to actually start thinking about everything, and that's the only thing I can't remember. Everything else…it's so easy to remember like it had just happened, and the pain," Phantom whispered, looking back at Static. "Why can't I remember that?"

"Because nothing happened," Static whispered. "You had so much going on that it just locked that part away or maybe your head didn't deem it necessary after a while of being on the run. It had other things running though it and it was lost. It doesn't mean you did anything."

"How can you be sure?" Phantom asked, feeling like a weight was slowly being lifted. Knowing that someone believed in him so much when he barely believed in himself was helping him. Static looked over the city.

"After everything that happened to you, you're still willing to help those in need even ones who had hurt you in the past," Static informed. "That's how I know. It's who you are now, you're a hero." Tears slowly gathered in Phantom's eyes, but he held them back. Static would never know how much his speech truly helped the hybrid out of the dark hole, but, for now, he just wanted to work on getting to know the family that had willingly helped him even through all of this. They had already known some of his most darkest secrets. He may as well start learning about them as well.

Phantom and Static were on the east side while Gear and She-Bang were patrolling the west. Static looked over to his newest friend and saw the thoughtful look the hybrid had. He was just looking down at the city, something Gear hated to do at first because he was afraid to fall. Phantom seemed completely at ease though, and Static couldn't help but smile at the teen.

Phantom was relaxed, and he felt safe. It was strange since earlier he had had his life threatened, but the longer he hung out with the two heroes, the more relaxed he was becoming. The hybrid stopped in mid air, making Static pass him and turn around to face him.

"Danny, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned. Phantom shook his head.

"Thought I heard something," he whispered, looking down. It was then that he saw the two agents in white suits staring at him. He swallowed and looked up at Static with worry. "They're down there."

"Who is?" Static asked, flying closer to the teen and looking down. The two guys seemed to have glared at him before continuing to walk down the street talking among themselves. "Danny, I'm not going to let them take you. You're safe now."

"I know, but I'm afraid that they might hurt you guys to get to me," Phantom whispered rubbing his side. Static floated next to him before putting his arm around the teen's shoulders. Phantom only stayed and Static knew that he had come a long way from when they had first met.

"Do they know about your human half?" Static asked, cautiously knowing that Phantom seemed sensitive about giving information in the first place.

"I don't think they know who I am or what I look like, but I think they know that I'm part human," Phantom whispered as he headed back towards the center of the city where they were going to meet Gear so that they could call in the League and tell them about this. Static wanted to make sure that they had back up just in case everything went south. He didn't know if they would be willing to help outright or not since they were really busy, but maybe they could at least get a heads up that something big was about to happen.

"Alright, well, we'll just have to see what happens here shortly," Static smiled, hoping to be of some comfort to the teen. Phantom nodded as they landed on a building. Gear landed not a few moments later while She-Bang appeared from the side. Phantom backed slightly away from her, but stayed still.

"I have the number they gave us last time, but I haven't been able to get though," Gear stated. "I think they're blocking us out."

"They said we could call if we got into something too big for us. I wouldn't care if so much wasn't already at stake," Static stated, looking at the ghost boy. "I mean, these people won't stop, and I'm afraid of them figuring out where Danny's hiding."

"He could come to my house for a bit," Gear suggested. "Change it up a little to try to make sure they stay off the trail. We could alternate." She-Bang looked at Phantom with a smile.

"I'm sure my parents won't mind either if he's willing to let me help," she put in looking at the two heroes. Phantom looked at her with a small smile before looking out over his shoulder to the sudden police lights.

"We have to go," Gear stated as he lifted off the ground. Phantom floated while they all got ready to go. "We'll have to try again when we get to the station." Static nodded and they all headed to the ruckus.

There were officers surrounding a burning building while fire trucks and ambulances were pulling up and getting everything ready. Firefighters and paramedics were running around trying to get the fire under control as fast as possible while people were screaming from the building. Static nodded to Phantom as the teen disappeared into the building to work his way down from the top. Static and Gear landed in the middle while officers were yelling orders.

"Static, I'm glad you're here, can you get the top floors I think…" the chief asked when, suddenly, ice started forming from the top and slowly began to put the upper floors out.

"If I knew he could do that, I would've had him start at the bottom," Static smiled. "I have a friend who's up there now." After he said that, Phantom appeared with three little kids. Their parents immediately ran from the sidelines to hold them. Phantom smiled at Static before vanishing again.

"Is that the ghost kid I've heard so much about from Michael?" the chief asked, looking at Static. The hero nodded.

"Sometimes he makes everything really easy with this kind of thing," he said. "I feel like he could put me and Gear out of the game with what all he can really do."

"He's put out three floors and cleared them. The fire's under control and we asked him to make sure that people are out and not to worry about the fire. We have it," a fire fighter stated while he was taking in deep breathes. "But I would have some people on standby for him, he doesn't look that good."

"I'm on it," Static stated, pulling on his goggles and flying into the building. Gear did the same thing and followed his friend. They had to make sure that Phantom didn't over do it, and help him in any way they could. Gear got distracted by something else happening on a lower level leaving Static to find his friend.

Static flew into the building to see Phantom trying to get a young kid out of the closet.

"It's okay," Phantom coughed, covering his mouth while he reached out with his other hand. "I'm going to get you out of here and to your parents, I promise." The little kid shook his head before pushing himself farther into the closet. Phantom wanted to just grab him, but he didn't want to scare the kid. That's when the ceiling started to collapse in. Phantom reacted quickly by freezing it and creating a shield over the kid.

"Hey, kid," Static called, reaching out hoping to get him to come out. "We're here to get you out of here, but we have to get out now before the building decides to go." The kid looked between the hero and the unknown teenager holding up the ceiling. He ran into Static's arms and Static nodded for Phantom follow him out. Phantom looked like hell already. He needed to quit pushing himself so far. All Static wanted was for him to clear the top floors while he was going to work his way up.

When they got outside, She-Bang and Gear were helping the firefighters put the fire out. Paramedics came rushing at them as the building seemed to wheeze slightly before the top floor collapsed and shattered the ice. Phantom immediately put a shield up to protect them as it crashed down. Static looked at the hybrid worriedly, seeing that he was breathing heavily.

"Phantom, you okay?" Static asked gently, setting his hand on his friend's shoulder. Phantom tensed and looked at him.

"I'm fine," he smiled slightly, and Static could only shake his head.

"Don't push yourself, we can handle the rest," Static promised as Phantom dropped his shield. The chief came up to them and looked the small teenager up and down before smiling.

"It's good to see young folks with powers helping out instead of stealing and causing trouble," he informed making Phantom jump and turn around in a defensive stance. Static gently put his hand on the hybrid's shoulder.

"Yeah, now if only people wouldn't try to kill him, we would have an easier time," Static whispered, gently squeezing the teen's shoulder as the hybrid relaxed.

"I didn't mean to startle you…Phantom, isn't it?" the chief asked holding out his hand for the teen to shake. The hybrid nodded and shook his hand making Static smile. He knew that just a few days ago Phantom would have never even considered it. "My name's Johnson. I'm chief of the fire department here." Phantom nodded pulling his arms around himself and letting his cloak close around him.

"Do you know if there's anymore?" Static asked, looking at the once inflamed building. There was smoke rolling out of it and ice everywhere, but otherwise the fire was about out.

"I don't think so, but this was one heck of a fire. I believe arson may be the cause," he informed looking at the building. "It was suddenly up in flames and we're not sure if anyone got caught in the moments before we got here." Phantom narrowed his eyes at the building.

"Was it started on the first floor at the door?" he asked as he looked back at the chief. He nodded.

"That's what the 911 calls said. It had spread by the time we got here," he informed. "Do you have anything that could help?"

"Probably. There was a string of these things in Amity before I was captured. Me and the chief there started thinking it was the Guys in White trying to draw me out," Phantom explained. "The accelerant won't be easily identified since it's mixed with ectoplasm. It makes the fire burn hotter than normal and spread quickly, but it's easy to put out because it'll burn itself out at a certain temperature. However, since it's set to a building, the fire literally will fight itself, but it'll be too late to really do anything when the ectoplasm burns out and there were already people there."

"That would explain a few things," the chief whispered looking at the hybrid who seemed to be thinking over everything. "And you're going to end up my first suspect because of this."

"No he's not. I with him the entire time, and we saw a couple agents before seeing the fire. They were a few blocks away from the building," Static stated, defending his friend. Johnson nodded writing everything down.

"I'll contact the department in Amity. They might be able to send over some samples for us to compare," he informed. Phantom looked up at him.

"Use personal contact, cover any and all tracks and go though alias. Don't use your real name," Phantom warned. "Just tell him that Phantom asked to, and he'll do whatever you need if it'll help stop the Guys in White. If you try to go though normally, you'll never get a hold of the samples. They have too much reach." Johnson nodded realizing how much the ghost was trying. "Please, I don't know how far they'll go to make sure that those things aren't connected. They've done this and more. Killing is an option to them. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of them coming after me." Johnson nodded realizing how mature the kid was for his age. He didn't want anything bad happening to him for looking into something that should be simple.

"I'll make sure to keep the trail hidden," he promised as he walked away. Static frowned and looked at the hollow building.

"We need the League's help. They're going too far for us to keep up. I need to protect you while trying to protect Dakota at the same time. If they can really go this far," Static cut off, afraid of what they were capable of.

"They could destroy this entire city before the League could do anything," Phantom whispered, making Static look at him. Phantom looked at him sadly. "You know what they had done to me. What do you think they used the information that they learned to create? Clearly not to help humans, but to make weapons in order to destroy people." Static nodded before making his plate start to float off the ground.

"Come on, we have to tell the League about all of this," Static stated as Phantom followed.

"I'm close," Gear whispered as the screen began to open up. J'onn appeared.

"Gear, Static, this better be important," he warned glaring at them. Static nodded.

"It is, I think I bit off more I can chew in trying to save someone. There's this really big group who managed to almost destroy his entire existence and get rid of any evidence of him ever being alive," Static stated.

"I don't see how that's important," J'onn stated getting ready to cut the connection. Phantom pushed the two away.

"Then you're going to listen to me," he began. "They have created weapons based off what I can do and the powers I have. My powers…I've made mistakes, and if you're not going to take this seriously, then I can grantee that in the next three months, your League will be destroyed by those weapons. Any hero that survives will instantly have a target on their back while both Dakota and Amity Park will be nothing but flat land of what once were cities. They're not going to stop." Static looked at the angered teen. His eyes were bright green with power. He hoped that Phantom was lying, but something was telling him that Phantom had probably already knew what their plans were.

"They've set buildings on fire, killing people just to try to catch me, and once they had me, they…" Phantom closed his eyes and calmed himself. "Let's just say…they wanted me to be their weapon, and I have destroyed the League in a different timeline." Static and Gear both held in a gasp realizing that Phantom had just signed his own arrest warrant for the League. However when the ghost looked up, he was calm and collected. "I've learned from my mistakes, and I'm not letting anyone else get hurt because of me. I can't do this alone, no matter how much I wish I could. Static and Gear aren't enough either. We have to stop them before their weapons get to that point. I'm a hybrid, and they've been trying to make more."

"I'll send in a team," J'onn stated seeing the distress in the teen. He could tell that he wasn't lying, but all of this…it was a lot. If the teen believed he could really do that much damage, then they needed to act before the teen did anything insane.

Although something was telling him that the teen was the only thing that was standing in the way of whoever these people were from taking over the world at the moment. It was something he didn't very much like. He needed to do some more work before he sent the team.

He paced his study as plans formed. Phantom now had some friends that had already a reputation for being the hero. It wouldn't take long now. Phantom would be untouchable. He needed to be stopped though.

"Sir, Phantom's been confirmed in Dakota," Jazz stated looking at the man. He came out of the dark with an evil grin.

"It appears, my dear, that we have to cut off Amity Park and destroy it. Everyone is against everyone and now it's almost a full out war," Masters stated with a grin, making Jazz nod before looking back at him.

"Won't it alert the League?" she questioned.

"If it hasn't already," he informed. "But it's too late. Everything is already set in motion. All I need is Phantom gone or dead. I'm sure the League will take care of that if we play everything right and make sure the entire thing is on him." Jazz nodded before she left with a wicked grin. This was going well, all she needed was for Vlad to keep his end of the deal.

Danny: This has been edited by Mai'shardstyle. Dizzly's beta since she's tired of editing her own stories...

Me: It's me taking laziness to another level...XD

Danny: She's been going crazy this weekend because someone borrowed her horse for trail riding and she wanted to go with it, but her parents said no because they had plans with family...

Me: I would've had more fun trail riding...the cookout was boring, and I didn't have my horse...

Danny: She's a bit angry, and her horse decided that the first thing she had to do when she got home was stuff her face in the water...

Me: I love my goofy horse...she's so silly.

Danny: Anyway, she's not dead, and she's slowly crawling out of the hole...

Me: Guys, there's talk about Minecraft being put on the PS4...I WOULD DIE HAPPY IF THAT HAPPENED...

Danny: I'll go catch her, and also don't forget to review.