But they're far from clear...
Titans Phantom
Chapter 10: The Masks of Two Heroes
Part Two
The Titans burst through the main door leading to the living area.
"O.k. Robin what's the…" Cy trailed off not spotting the spiky haired teen.
"Robin?" Star asked as the teens looked around the empty room.
"You mean captain research, he's probably filling out note cards at the public library," Beastboy said tiredly, his eyes and ears droopy.
"I was."
"Arghhh!" BB yelled Robin appearing on screen.
"But then I spotted Red X pulling a robbery in the tech sector. I'm on it, get here as soon as you can." Robin disconnected leaving Beastboy agreeing to thin air, drool running down his mouth. Cyborg grabbed him by his purple uniform and pulled. "Arghhh!"
Danny had managed to infiltrate two of the three remaining buildings and so far all he'd managed to do was watch tech scientists go about their boring day and get a new intern to spill coffee on her white blouse. Cursing his luck, Danny leapt from rooftop to rooftop, his frame nothing more than a streak in the night. He was heading to the tech sector where only a small branch of Vlad's 'legitimate' company operated, almost missing all of the Teen Titans chasing Red X down.
"Fixit, you there?"
"Yes."
"Looks like Robin isn't Red X," Danny said leaping up onto a small warehouse ledge overlooking the fight. A wave of relief coursing through him only to be shattered by Fixit.
"Are you sure? Because the Fenton phone is only picking up six sets of movement, and you're one of them."
"What?" Danny paled his eyes widening while he watched Robin get trapped in a red net.
"I'm fine, get X, go!"
Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Beastboy left Robin behind heading down into the subway station, quickly Danny leapt from the building free falling onto the roof below, where he turned off the prerecording of Robin.
"Danny?" Fixit asked through the headset, he never replied.
The team entered the empty station, the smell of gasoline and cigarette smoke filling their noses. Cyborg switched the setting of his red eye.
"I've adjusted my ocular implant to scan at multiple sub harmonics in the EM spectrum."
"Kay….do you come with sub titles?" Beastboy asked, Cy clarified.
"My eye should spot him even if he's invisible."
It only took a second for Red X to strike, sending Cyborg skidding across the concrete floor sparks flying from his metal.
"It's him!" Raven shouted the Titans taking defensive positions watching Cyborg stand. Red X emerging behind him, attempting to hack into his systems once more, but the X only sparked Cy's back surging with electricity. He looked over to the now visible villain, smirking.
"You're gonna have to learn some new tricks, dog," Cy said throwing the teen to the other Titans who surrounded him.
"Surrender, we do not wish to fight you," Star said. Red X merely tensed on the ground, his feet preparing to leap, he looked at the girl.
"Sorry, I'm not through with you yet," Red X said jumping high in the air throwing his X's at Star, Raven protected the girl as she flinched away. Cy slammed his fist into the ground missing the man by inches. Again, Red X seemed to know every in and out of the Titan's movements. He knocked Cy and Star together, threw Raven into the heavy wooden crates. But the one who caught him off guard was Beastboy, his body slamming into him with the force of a truck, or in his case: a ram. As Red X caught his balance around the column, he swung back and hit the changeling square in the face. The force sent him flying, his head connecting on the railing with a crack. He fell down into the subway tracks.
Disorientated, Beastboy tried to stand, but his legs felt like a mushy mess, his head throbbing, and his eyes blurry, or was that from the growing light. Fear took hold of Beastboy as he realized where he was, and what was coming…the subway train. Beastboy only sat there his hazel green eyes wide, ears flattening to his skull, when someone yanked him by his collar dragging him up and out of the tracks, the train zooming by. Both teens landed on the other side of the station. The changeling got up slowly, his back hurting tremendously, but he pushed it aside and looked over to Red X. His eyes filled with confusion as he studied the skull masked teen.
"Dude, did you just save me?" BB asked his only answer was to get kicked in the chest, the train disappearing into the black tunnel. The other Titans quickly joined Beastboy staring at the stairs where Red X had fled. Starfire helped BB up.
"Beastboy, you are undamaged?" She asked.
"Yeah, who is that guy?" Beastboy asked, no one could answer.
Danny watched as Robin emerged from the subway station running down the alleyways, he followed high up on the rooftops jumping silently. Red X twisted down a path, disappearing into a run down building. Danny followed, thoughts centering on beating the living daylights out of the Titan. He only managed to reel in his rage when Robin activated a computer, the image of Slade popping up, his coal black eye appraising the teen.
"Impressive, Red X. I tapped into the security cameras to watch your performance, you treated the Titans to quite a show," Slade said. Danny felt his heart drop into his stomach, watching Robin agree, asking if the audition was over, holding up the red and blue disks.
"Patience, trust is easy to destroy, but it takes time to build. One last test, prove yourself and we'll meet to discuss your future," Danny's heart raced when he saw the image of the green disk appear, the address right below. The image abruptly cut off, the computer nothing more than static. The teen watched as Red X turned.
"Good," he said, hands coming up to the skull mask, and Danny's worst fears were confirmed when the mask came off, revealing that it truly was Robin under that mask. He'd still held the slight hope that it wasn't.
"It's about time we met face to face," somehow Danny knew that had originally come from Slade. Resisting the urge to confront Robin in person, Danny knew he had bigger things to worry about. Like getting to the green chip before anyone else. Sighing, the teen took to the roof, cold wind biting through his black clothes, the blade resting like a weight on his hip.
"Danny?"
"Yeah, Fixit?" Danny asked feeling a guilty pang at the worry in his friend's voice.
"You refused to answer me earlier. I take it Robin is indeed Red X."
"Yeah, I also know the location of the green chip and I'm heading there now. It'll take me about fifteen minutes if I push myself," he said and by pushing himself he meant without flying, which right about now Danny really wished he could do. Man, doctor's orders really stunk.
"How did you learn of its where a bouts?" Fixit asked, Danny leapt down onto a condo.
"Ease dropped on a computer conversation between Red X and Slade," Danny said like it was the most natural thing to do in the world. Fixit let out a soft growl.
"And what do you plan to do after we have the information?"
"Destroy the chip, why?" Danny asked his feet propelling him onto another building twenty feet away.
"If you destroy the chip before Robin arrives won't you jeopardize his life? After all, if that is the last chip, Slade won't be happy to find it gone, he'll more than likely attack. And without Robin's team to back him up since he's Red X…"
"Okay, I get it! Don't destroy the chip. I won't risk Robin's life, even though he does deserve a good beating," Danny mumbled under his breath, Fixit still heard it though.
"Danny!" He reprimanded though it was lacking any real fire.
"What? I've been having to play stalk-the-hero-but-I'm-pretending-to-be-a-villain all day. Do you know how much I feel like Edward Cullen right now! It's friggin' awful," Danny said his voice rising and falling with every step he took. The other end of the line went strangely quiet.
"Fixit?"
"Why do wish to be this, Edward Cullen?" Fixit asked his voice serious, and so confused, Danny couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't. You know, never mind, I forget you lived under a dump for the last twenty years."
Fixit sputtered indignantly, "I was only down there for five."
Danny couldn't help but smile at his friend's reaction, he landed on another roof. Only ten more minutes away.
Four of the Teen Titans were staring at the massive layout of Jump City, two green dots flashing on separate buildings.
"Okay, that's where Red X has been, now we just have to figure out where he's going to strike next," Cy said as Raven typed in the new data onto the computer screen which processed and registered over twenty different possible locations.
"Great," Beastboy said looking at all the ground they needed to cover. The Titans stared at the screen in frustration.
"Robin!" Star exclaimed watching their leader walk into the living room carrying a box full of gear, his face stern and emotionless.
"Wonderful, our efforts to locate Red X will benefit greatly from your help," she said floating slightly off the ground in her joy.
"It'll have to wait. I'm close to a break through with Slade," Robin said heading up the stairs.
"More wonderful, perhaps we could be of assistance to…"
Robin disappeared down the dark hallway. Starfire's feet hit the soft red and gold carpet.
"Let him go. Not like he's been much help anyway, if Robin wasn't always a-w-o-l, X would be k-o'd by now," Beastboy said his frustration getting the better of him, but he raised a valid point.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Beastboy's right," Raven said.
"He never even asked us who the ninja was yesterday. Ya'll think maybe Robin's losing his grip?" Cy asked.
"No! Robin's grip is not lost. He works harder than any of you, he works to catch Slade before something terrible happens, he works to save us all," Starfire said desperately trying to make her friends understand what she witnessed on the shore after the fight in DALV labs.
"Yeah, that's why every time we need him, he disappears," Beastboy said his arms crossed over his chest, leaving Starfire with nothing to say because she knew both of them were right.
Starfire opened the door to Robin's private room. The same desk in the center, articles lining the walls and tools on the desk. Walking inside, she noticed that her friend was not here and that only made the fear in the pit of her stomach grow. For what if Cy, BB and Raven were right…
She picked up a shattered boomerang, "Robin, where have you gone?" she asked. A flash interrupted her thoughts as a small dark silver ball rolled from the desk and onto the floor, activating when the dropped boomerang hit it, turning on the hologram. Starfire stared in horror at Robin who was trapped in the red net.
"I'm fine, get X, go!" He said.
"Huh, Robin?" She asked walking forward when Robin repeated the phrase again and again. Form blurring in and out of focus. Star placed a hand through his transparent head and recoiled, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"If you were not really there, then where were…" Star sucked in her breath the moment she knew where her friend was, and who he was pretending to be.
Danny moved through the building, dodging personnel and cameras with ease—which only served to make Danny's nerves stand on end. Entering the massive computer room he raced across the floor and picked up the chip.
"Fixit? You there?" Danny asked through the Fenton phones.
"Yes, you have the chip?"
"I do," Danny said taking out the black and blue hard drive, inserting the green chip.
"I'm breaking through the firewalls now," Fixit stated the hard drive humming quietly, blue lines turning a dark red.
"Downloading now."
Danny shifted nervously on his feet, blue eyes scanning the room for something out of place. He didn't know it was because Slade was watching him intently.
"I've completed the download."
"Thanks," Danny said placing the chip back on the podium disappearing into the darkness. Slade tilted his head, eyes narrowing, watching as the teen pressed his back up against the wall, waiting.
"Interesting," Slade spoke, Red X entered the room seconds later grabbing the green chip. Moving from the darkness into the shadowed light, Slade wondered how this would play out.
"Excellent work," Slade said watching the teen turn to face him, catching the movement of Danny behind him.
"Honestly, I couldn't have done better myself."
"So, do we have a deal?" Red X asked, Slade smirked when he saw Danny freeze in the shadows.
"Indeed, you and I are so very much alike. It seems, only natural that we should be partners," Slade said extending his hand even though they were on opposite sides of the room, he watched Danny tense.
"What are they for?" Red asked holding up all three disks, "I need to know what we're planning partner," he said stressing the last word venomously.
"Patience, you can't expect me to trust you with such sensitive information right away, can you, Robin."
The next seconds passed in a blur, the net snatching the disks from Robin's hand. Slade catching it, right as the cool metal blade pressed up against his neck. The lights came on, and all three of them were surrounded by Slade's robots.
"You?" Robin gasped, taking a defensive position watching the teen behind Slade shift slightly, illuminating his eyes.
"Drop them," Danny ordered, blade cutting through the neck armor with ease. Slade merely turned his head, black eye narrowing.
"What's with the hesitation?" Slade asked enjoying the anger ablaze in those crystalline blue eyes.
"Your blood will ruin my sword."
The man could have laughed at the insult, when the ground shook beneath their feet, the Teen Titans bursting through the roof.
"Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted. Slade twisted, blocking the sword and he sprinted down the corridor, Danny racing after him. Robin dashing after them.
A fist grabbed his cape.
"Gotcha!" Cy yelled as Raven and Beastboy fought off the robots. Red X struggled in his grasp.
"Let go, we have to stop him!" X yelled pointing to where Slade and the teen disappeared. In that moment Starfire appeared,
"No! Release him, he is…"
"Me!" Robin yelled ripping off the skull mask, the team froze. Cy's hand releasing his hold.
"Robin?" He asked, but the teen didn't hear him for he was already down the hall.
"Slade's getting away, come on!" He yelled Cy stared in shock, but he, Raven, Beastboy and Starfire recovered when the robots surrounded them.
Sounds of metal on metal rang through the night. Danny and Slade trading blows, the armor around the man's arms serving as his shield and his weapon. Still, he barely missed a killing stroke.
"Well, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised you'd go that far," Slade said enjoying the way the teen involuntarily cringed. They jumped across buildings, and Slade had to remind himself to keep an eye open for Robin, who was catching up, his all black uniform contrasting horribly with the red construction beams they were fighting in. He turned his attention back to Danny, who seemed to notice Robin. The teen's blue eyes widened in fear, his stance lowering as he watched Robin make the fifty foot jump onto the building. It was the only opening Slade needed. He grabbed Danny by the neck and hoisted him high in the air, his black hat slipping off falling to the ground along with his sword.
Danny gasped for air, his windpipe being crushed. Vainly he tried to yank away the arm, his blue eyes still watching Robin, who was standing only a few feet away yelling something at Slade who merely chuckled.
"Afraid he'll die," Slade said turning his attention back to Danny, who noticed Robin's raised weapon. The teen felt consciousness leaving him.
"How far will you go to protect him, Danny Phantom?" Slade whispered into his ear, shocked blue eyes met coal black. Using the last of his strength, Danny gripped the arm and raspingly whispered back.
"Sorry, don't know him," he said swinging forward and nailing Slade in the stomach making the man drop him. Robin lunged forward, throwing his weapons, leaving Danny on the ground to catch his breath the black mask unraveling. Dizzy and unfocused Danny watched Slade begin to circle Robin.
"Hand over the disks." Robin snapped.
"I thought we had a deal."
"Sorry, I have a strict rule against giving stole technology to psychos," Robin spat, this Danny completely agreed with. Slowly, with his vision fading from black to blurry the teen stood. His mask falling around his neck like a scarf. Thankfully no one noticed, and at the moment, Danny didn't really care.
"How very noble of you, but stealing in order to trap me, that wasn't so noble," Slade said the red billboard casting his frame in colors of blood red.
"Two wrongs don't make a…"
"Don't ever lecture me! Whatever you're planning, Slade, it's over!" Robin yelled.
"On the contraire, Robin, it's only just begun. Right, Danny?" Slade asked looking over to Danny as he used a red beam for support and for the first time, Robin looked over to the fallen hero and gasped at the sight of Danny Fenton, who merely glared. Slade quickly charged, and Robin jumped, flipping high in the air spinning around to counter attack. Both dodging the others attacks until Slade kicked Robin in the chest sending him flying twenty feet back skidding on the cement roof. Turning, Slade set his eyes on Danny and stalked towards him. Coughing, the teen made a dive for his sword. A fist connected with his chest, the back of his skull cracking on the metal beam. Slade needed to prove his theory as he gazed into those defiant eyes.
"Tell me, have you let someone die before?" Slade asked. Danny froze, the memory of Slade in that burning field filled his head. Eyes going wide and breaths coming in gasps that had nothing to do with the fight, Slade now knew.
"Slade!" Robin yelled attacking once more. The man dropped Danny and blocked all of the teen's movements with ease. Growing frustrated, Robin threw a punch that Slade caught, bringing the teen forward slamming his fist into Robin's chest. Pain seared through Robin's ribs, he felt his feet moving backwards from the momentum, right into the crates and over the roof. He screamed. Slade caught his arm leaving Robin dangling over the edge staring up at him in pure confusion.
"You…saved me?"
"I'm not through," he said throwing Robin back onto the roof. The teen shifted when he felt another presence beside him and together he and Danny attacked. Robin knocking Slade back, Danny severing the metal container that housed the chips with his sword, kicking them next to the man when Robin ripped off the mask to reveal only a robot. The two teens didn't notice the other Titans as they leapt onto the building.
"Patience, Robin, we'll meet face to face some other time," Slade said on the monitor leaning forward the clocks turning in the background, "Oh, and speaking of time." The countdown started on five, destroying the robot and the three disks in the explosion.
"At least he didn't get the chips," Beastboy said watching their leader who turned to glare at Danny.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded the Titans moving forward, eyes widening as they stared at Danny in shock.
The teen felt his anger rise at Robin's question, but he squashed it back down, meeting him with the same glare.
"Saving you apparently," his tone sarcastic.
"You almost got yourself killed!" Robin snapped to which Danny let out a short laugh.
"Says the one who was thrown off a building. I was here to make sure Slade didn't get the chips. After all, DALV is my foster father's corporation," Danny said pushing past the shocked teens to retrieve his hat, sliding the sword back in its sheath, the light catching the beautifully carved green dragon on its hilt, the coloring strangely unaffected by the giant glow of the red billboard. Raven quickly turned her gaze back to their leader, who only scowled.
"But the chips are destroyed, that can't be good for Vlad," Robin countered. Danny tied his mask back on, showing only two cold blue eyes.
"Who said I was doing it for Vlad?"
With this he leapt off the building and disappeared.
Robin had locked himself in that pitch black room, the only light coming from one bulb hanging over the desk. The boy wonder leaned up against the wall, staring into Slade's mask. Starfire entered, she'd long given up on knocking, and slowly she approached her friend.
"You want to yell at me too, everyone else has, and I can't blame them," Robin said, Star placed a hand on his shoulder, her forest green eyes sincere.
"I do not wish to yell, merely to understand. Robin, why did you not tell us the truth?" She asked.
"I needed to fool Slade, if you guys knew it was me under that mask, you would have held back. Doesn't matter anyway, Slade figured it out and I still haven't figured out anything about him." Robin said his eyes hardening, knuckles going white under the green gloves from how strong he was grasping that awful mask.
"That is not true. Whoever Slade is, you and he are similar. Slade did not trust you, and you did not trust us."
Robin felt like he'd been thrown into ice cold water at Star's words, he only took one more moment before he placed the mask on the hook in the wall before turning back to his friend.
"You need anything else, Star?" Robin asked.
"Yes, Raven requires your assistance. She believes she might have found something on Danny," both teens headed out the door and into the main living room, where Cy and Beastboy sat on the red couch. Raven standing in the middle of the room holding what looked like an ancient scroll. The tension in the room was heavy as Robin and Star took their seats.
"You think you found something," Robin stated, the violet haired girl nodded.
"I do, but first I need to know, what have you found out about Phantom," the, if-you-were-even-looking, was implied.
"All I know is that wherever Danny goes, so does Phantom along with his countless enemies," Robin said.
"Why?" Robin asked.
"Something is bothering me about the sword used by Danny," Raven said leaning down to carefully unroll the aged parchment across the table.
"We're here all because of a sword?" Beastboy said groaning into his hands, everyone merely ignored him.
"What does a sword have to do with Phantom and Danny?" Cyborg asked leaning forward intently to see the characters written down the page. Raven looked up at the team, her violet eyes serious.
"Everything. Because according to this story, the sword originally belonged to Phantom," she said and everyone listened to the legend of the Great War between the White Dragon and the Red Demon.
AN: Read & Review
~Rin
