Chapter 11: The Ultimate Enemy
Sorry for the long wait guys. More on my absence at the end (for those who care). To recap, the Titans minus Raven are watching the first two chapters of this fic. Raven is about to see Danny's evil side. I hope you like my portrayal of The Ultimate Enemy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Teen Titans, the Justice league, or anything else in this work of fiction except the main plot.
Raven POV
"You're not going to like a lot of what you see here. Especially my actions during this time period. Do keep in mind that I knew what I was doing. The desired outcome was achieved and while it cost Daniel his loved ones… it's better for the future as a whole," Clockwork said.
Before I could respond, I found myself in a classroom looking at the bald man I saw in Danny's head after our first meeting. Well the first without him being influenced.
"The only thing to gather from this part is that Daniel was high stressed to do well on this test. A test that was not as important as it was made out to be."
He pressed a button and the man began speaking.
"This is the test that will determine your career. How you do is up to you. Do you want to flip burgers for the rest of your life or dream bigger and become a doctor? A teacher or even a professor?" The man said.
"Ah man," I heard a voice to my left say. When I turned I saw Danny and his friends.
"With all the time I spend hunting ghosts I'll never get time to study," Danny complained.
"Relax, Danny. A high school test can't possibly determine your future," the girl, Sam, said.
"She's right bro. We'll help you catch the ghosts so you can get time to study," his other friend, Tucker I think, said.
Danny started to reply but stopped moving before he could start talking.
"That's all from here. The important stuff begins here," Clockwork said, fast forwarding until a building stood in front of us.
I saw the words 'Nasty Burger' on the door and recalled it from my time in Danny's head. However, this one was not yet damaged.
I walked through the door, eager to find the truth of Danny's past. Once inside, I saw a bunch of high schoolers acting like… well high school kids.
I looked around and saw Danny and his friends in the back corner booth. After my realization, I saw Danny stop mid sentence and run to the bathroom.
"While Daniel changes," Clockwork started, "let me give you some background knowledge. The ghost that is about to appear is one from a different timeline, an alternate universe. I'm the one that sent her."
"Who is she? Does she not exist in this timeline? Even in the future?"
Clockwork shook his head, "No, she will never exist in this timeline. Observe."
After Clockwork finished his sentence, a female ghost phased into the fast food chain, scaring all the customers away.
She was around eleven, maybe twelve, and had blue skin. Her hair was a flaming white and she had sky blue eyes. A choker necklace was fastened around her neck, hanging above another necklace with the letters 'CW' on the trinket at the end.
Danny phased out of the bathroom and looked at the ghost.
"You're not one of the usual ghosts that interrupt my life," he deadpanned, "who are you?"
"Daddy… Don't you recognize me?" the girl asked tentatively.
"Daddy? I'm fifteen!" Danny yelled.
"Daddy, don't do it. Don't become him," she begged.
My eyes were wide, but I managed to keep the rest of my face neutral. Anyone except those who knew me wouldn't even know my eyes had widened.
"His daughter?" I asked.
"Indeed. In another timeline, a parallel universe, he marries a ghost rocker named Ember. This is their child. I used her to bring him to me and, in turn, the future. Watch," he demanded before I could inquire further.
"Him? Who is him?" Danny asked bewildered. Sam and Tucker were just as surprised.
The girl remained silent, only staring at Danny.
Danny sighed and pulled out the thermos.
"Okay, kiddo. In you go."
"No! I'm not bad, Daddy. That's for bad ghosts! You told me so!"
I saw the shock and confusion on Danny's face, but he pressed the button anyways. The girl dodged and her eyes flashed a neon green.
"Daddy is already him! Don't you remember… Don't you love me?" the girl asked. "Dad it's me, it's Caroline."
"I'm sorry, but you have the wrong ghost," Danny said.
Caroline didn't say anything. She charged an ectoblast and threw it at Danny. He dodged, but hit the wall behind him, damaging it.
Danny wasted no time throwing a few of his own, but Caroline made a shield and yelled, pushing it towards Danny (AN: this isn't like a wail, but like how Ember's guitar works.) Danny was unable to dodge it and was pushed into the wall, which collapsed after impact.
Caroline threw several ectoblasts at Danny while he was down, but he deflected them with his own shield.
When Caroline finished her attack, Danny stood up and faced his "daughter".
They glared at each other and took off at their highest acceleration towards each other. Danny won the charge, but upon impact, Caroline's 'CW' necklace fell off.
She started shimmering, here one second and fading the next.
I saw a tear leave her eye as she said, "Daddy please don't," before fading away.
Danny's shock was clear as he grabbed the necklace and turned to his friends.
"That necklace led him to my castle where he escaped into his future. Exactly where I wanted him to go. Unless you want to see him try, and fail, to defeat me, I suggest we skip a bit more," Clockwork smirked.
Clockwork forwarded until we were in a desolate town, one that I remembered.
"Wait… I've been here before," I said.
"In Daniel's dream," Clockwork told me.
I looked around and realized he was right. The buildings were in such bad shape it was a miracle they were still standing, glass littered the street, and debris was everywhere. The only thing missing were the voices asking him 'why'.
"This was ten years into the future. Daniel became evil and nothing stood in his way. Not you, the Titans, or even the Justice League could defeat him."
"Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern… None of them?" I asked in disbelief.
Clockwork smiled grimly, "Oh they had stalemates, but when Daniel unlocked his wail there was no one that could stop him. Except himself."
"Ready to continue?" he asked.
I nodded, "I think so. There's just so much to take in."
Clockwork nodded in understanding and began the scene.
Danny and his friends cautiously walked around the destroyed town. Tucker and Sam had wide eyes, but didn't say a word. Danny walked as if in a trance. Then an ear piercing scream split the air.
Danny quickly snapped out of his stupor and took off, leaving his friends behind. Clockwork and I followed close behind him.
We reached our destination and were greeted with the sight of Danny's evil future self standing above a broken figure in a red suit.
"Valerie?!" Danny yelled, alerting the combatants to his presence.
Dark Danny looked at his younger self and sneered, "Clockwork sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."
Taking advantage of her attacker's distraction, Valerie launched a kick to evil Danny's ribs with her non broken leg.
"Ugh," dark Danny grunted, "stupid bitch."
Dark Danny reached down and lifted her with one hand effortlessly. In one swift motion, he snapped her neck and dropped her lifeless body while the sickening snap echoed in my ears.
"You… You killed her," Danny said in disbelief.
"I've killed a lot. You get used to it," he stated as Sam and Tucker approached.
"Ah! My old friends. Clockwork is going to have to do better than that. A blast from the past isn't going to change me."
"Then I will!" Danny shouted, throwing a large ectoblast at his future self.
It connected and evil Danny was thrown backwards. Unfortunately, that was the only hit Danny connected.
Dark Danny flew at Danny and launched a series of combos too fast to follow. There were several punches to the face, some jabs to his stomach, and a knee to the face that knocked Danny to the ground, a mixture of red and green oozed down his face.
"Haha," the evil Phantom laughed, "pathetic."
"Leave him alone!" Sam yelled, running towards dark Danny.
"Ah, Sam. What a pleasant surprise," he said, deflecting her kick and grabbing her by the neck and lifting her into the air. "If I could still feel, the love I had for you might have returned. But I lost all feeling a long time ago."
Danny coughed and stood up, spitting out whatever mixture his blood was.
"Put her down," he said.
The dark Phantom did, but before Sam hit the ground he turned around and delivered a savage superman punch to Danny's jaw.
As Danny crumpled to the ground, I could see how this Danny could defeat the Justice League. He was cold, ruthless, and felt nothing.
I shuddered as I remembered I felt the same way when my father took over Rage in Nevermore. I had grabbed Dr. Light and pulled him into the darkness while I shifted into my demon form.
I felt Clockwork's hand on my shoulder, "You understand why I only allowed you to see this now?"
I nodded and continued to watch the scene before me.
"Now that Clockwork is meddling, I must ensure that you become me," dark Danny spat. "Now how to get to the past…"
Dark Danny looked at his past self and smiled. "Time medallion…"
"No way, dude!" Tucker yelled, jumping on him from behind and putting him in a choke hold.
"My, my. None of you have learned have you?" evil Phantom said as he grabbed Tucker and pulled him over his head, slamming him into the ground at his feet.
Tucker gasped for air and dark Danny curb stomped his chest. I could see the indention of his caved in sternum from several feet away.
"Don't worry. You won't suffer for long," dark Danny grinned while Tucker coughed up blood.
He then moved the trio together, binding their hands and feet with ectoplasm before removing their time medallions and grabbing them.
As they faded away into the past, evil Danny did too.
The scene before me changed back to the town before its destruction. The trio plus dark Phantom stood in the parking lot of the Nasty Burger where a news crew was reporting the damage and fight from earlier.
The appearance of the four surprised and excited the crew, who rushed over to get the event on camera.
"What is your purpose here?" the reporter asked, excitedly.
Evil Danny just glared at him before relenting and saying, "To make sure he becomes me," pointing at Danny and then himself.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Danny Phantom. Only ten years in the future and the most feared thing on Earth and the ghost zone."
As the excitement wore off, the news crew and the spectators realized how serious the injuries were to Tucker and Danny.
"Someone call 911!" a pedestrian shouted.
During his shout, a big RV pulled up and I recognized Danny's parents get out of it. They were heavily armed with many weapons I had never seen before.
"Is this it?" I asked softly, unable to keep my monotone because I knew I was about to see something I didn't want to.
Clockwork only nodded at me, his jaw set and eyes hard. I could tell he didn't want to watch it either, that he hated this outcome just as much as Danny did.
I missed what Danny's parents said, but dark Danny was laughing at them.
"Please, you couldn't catch me when I was a kid and a hero," he spat the last word.
Danny's mom fired her gun and an ectoblast shot out of it. Dark Danny erected a shield and absorbed it.
After the blast was gone, he lowered it and blasted the gun out of her hands. My stomach lurched when I was realized the gun wasn't all he had blasted, her hands were gone too.
Evil Danny wasted no time going after her husband, moving slightly to avoid the ectoblast sent his way before he dazed Danny's dad with a few punches. When he finally fell, dark Danny bound his hands and feet with ectoplasm before binding Danny's mom as well.
He grabbed them and moved towards the trio. When he reached them he grabbed Sam and Tucker and hauled the four of them to the Nasty Burger while Danny tried to break free from his bindings.
Once he reached the sidewalk, Danny cried out and snapped the ectoplasm, freeing himself. As soon as he was free, he exploded into the air, taking off after his future self. He collided with him, knocking him through the wall.
Danny landed on top of evil Danny and sent punch after punch at him. Many connected but once dark Danny blocked one, Danny's attack ended and evil Danny's began.
He started with an upkick that sent Danny out of the building. Before he reached the ground, dark Phantom flew out and tackled him, flying him into the building across the street.
Dark Danny threw punches, elbows, and knees at his past self, some charged with ecto-energy to boost the power but it didn't matter. Danny was overmatched.
When evil Danny finally stopped his onslaught, Danny collapsed.
"You can't hope to defeat me," dark Danny growled.
Danny tried to stand back up, but evil Phantom curb stomped him back into the ground.
"Now to ensure that you become me…"
Evil Danny turned around and walked towards Danny's friends and family. I realized the final two people were there. Danny's sister and teacher were both trying to free dark Danny's captives. Unfortunately, dark Danny bound them too.
"Ah sister, glad I did not have to hunt you down later. And Mr. Lancer… why not add one more to my list of casualties," he grinned.
That grin quickly turned to a grimace when Danny's ice blast hit him in the back. Judging by the look on Danny's face he was expecting that to freeze him momentarily, not hurt him.
"Ugh! That's going to be annoying," evil Phantom growled, turning around and hurling an ectoblast at Danny.
Danny dodged and flew at his future self, but evil Danny dodged and delivered a double handed down swing that knocked Danny into the ground.
While Danny was trying to rise, dark Danny grabbed his captives and dragged them into the Nasty Burger.
Danny finally got back on his feet just in time to see his evil self start a fire underneath a stainless steel container.
"It's too late, hero," he spat.
Danny took off, trying to get to his loved ones, but his future self wouldn't allow it. He swatted Danny to the side and flew after him.
Danny righted himself and dodged the kick evil Danny threw at him before making another desperate attempt to save his family.
He made it inside the Nasty Burger this time, but evil Phantom grabbed his leg and flung him back with so much force he hit the building across from the restaurant again.
Dark Danny flew at him, connecting a knee to the stomach and a right hook before grabbing Danny and throwing him about 1,500 feet down the street.
Danny rolled, using his momentum to get back to his feet… and then the Nasty Burger exploded.
Dark Phantom flew at him again, but was unprepared for what happened next.
Danny's cry was one full of sorrow, rage, hate, and grief. I could see, hear, and feel the difference between this wail and the one he let out after his nightmare.
The wail only lasted 90 seconds, but that was all it needed. When Danny stopped, glass littered what remained of the street. The news van was scrap metal, several buildings were on the verge of collapsing, and several chunks of the road were ripped out and thrown wherever.
Evil Phantom was nowhere to be found.
"Did he—" I started.
"Kill Dan? Yes, and everyone foolish enough to stay and watch the fight," Clockwork said.
"He killed civilians?"
"Indirectly. Danny did not know he had this power. Did not know he was causing this damage during his cry of pain. There's a reason he believes he can no longer be a hero, Miss Roth. It's one thing to kill a psychopath, another to kill innocent people."
I remained silent. I didn't blame Danny for the death of the civilians or even his future self, but it was something I wasn't prepared for. A trace of a grim smile twisted my lips when I realized I had got my answers. Now I wished I hadn't known. I knew they would be bad, but the truth was cataclysmic.
"We must return. The others are waiting for us," Clockwork said, removing us from Danny's past.
"There you guys are! We've been waiting… woah. What did you see?" Beast Boy asked, his excitement quickly fading.
"Yes, Friend Raven, you look like you have seen a forgart," Starfire said.
"What she means is… you have a haunted look, Raven," Robin told me.
I tried to keep my face emotionless, but my mind kept returning to Danny's past. How he had inadvertently killed those people and his future self. The brutal beatdown he and his friends and family had received.
"You may find out one day, Titans. For now, Danny needs your help. Remember what I showed you," Clockwork said, pointing his staff and creating a portal.
"This will return you to your tower. You have been gone for four Earth days," Clockwork informed us.
"Thank you," Robin said walking towards it.
"No. I should be thanking all of you. Keep Daniel safe and heal him from his past," Clockwork said, looking at me at the end of the sentence.
We nodded and approached the portal. It was just me and Robin left when Clockwork spoke again.
"Oh and Robin, it's really impolite to keep the poor girl waiting," he winked.
Robin blushed, but nodded his thanks and moved on.
I nodded to Clockwork, who had a ghost of a smile on his lips.
"I trust you will do right by Daniel," he told me.
I nodded again and stepped through the portal.
Danny POV
"It's not your fault, Danny," Valerie said, her arms embracing me.
"I killed so many people… I'm supposed to protect them," I choked out.
"With a power you didn't know you had and didn't know you were using. Look, Danny," she sighed, "I'm not saying it was right or okay, but you can't blame yourself. It was your older self that's to blame."
I just sat there, tears slowly making their way down my face. I had told Valerie the truth about the deaths of my family and friends and what had happened to me in the process. It ended our game of catch-up we started when Slade kept us here.
We continued to hug each other until a hiss sounded, indicating the door had slid open.
"Come, Phantom," Slade demanded.
I gently pushed Valerie away and wiped the tears off my face before turning and following him out of the room.
"No snide comments? No demanding what we're going to do today?" he asked.
I remained silent, not caring what we did today. I just wanted out of here.
"Fine, I'll just tell you. Today we're going to test and enhance your wail along with your stamina and endurance."
I stopped walking. My eyes were wide and I'm pretty sure my mouth was open.
"You really thought I didn't know?" Slade chuckled.
I was surprised. I didn't think he had known, but since he does, I think I'll try to use it to escape.
A plan was forming in my head. I only hoped it would work.
Sorry for the wait! I am no longer working part time, but full time now so I have less time to write. And for some reason this chapter gave me a bad case of writer's block and I wanted to do my own spin with The Ultimate Enemy. Next chapter will resume the original plot and will hopefully be easier for me write. I hope y'all enjoyed and I'll try not to take three months to update next time. Feel free to PM or review with any comments or questions.
'Til next time!