Chapter 26: Almost There

2 weeks later

Danny typed in a system of different commands into the control panel, causing the course to continue with it's training. HE glanced up slightly at the Titans as they practiced, then went back to making sure the course ran smoothly. He glanced at his watch as the alarm quietly went off. He pressed a few more commands into the computer and the course slowly sank back down into the floor, signalling they had finished.

Danny walked over to the bench and threw Robin a towel and water as he walked over. "Man, you're pretty good with that thing." He said, taking a few chugs of water as he finished. Danny chuckled. "Don't want to make it too easy for you guys." Robin snorted. "Yeah, that's certainly not a problem." He said, taking another drink, then quickly putting it down as a reminder popped into his head. "Oh, I forgot to ask! How was your session with Jazz today? He asked.

Danny smiled. "It was good. The nightmares have gotten less frequent and I haven't had any panic attacks in a while." He said. Robin smiled as well and placed an arm around the boy. "That's great Danny. But you're still off from fighting." He added quickly. Danny groaned and pouted slightly. "But I'm all good! Well, except for my shoulder, but even that's almost there!" He complained. And it was true. Even with his quick healing, it had taken longer than usual for his wounds to heal, especially his shoulder, which had been hurt the worst. But the wounds around his body had now healed, scars the only indication they were there in the first place, and his shoulder was almost completely healed. He didn't even need his sling anymore.

Robin shook his head. "You still need a few more days for it to fully heal. I don't want to make it worse." He explained. Danny grumbled something under his breath. Robin jerked his head towards him. "What was that?" He asked with a smirk. Danny grinned at him. "I said you enjoy this too much, you jerk!" He said, throwing the towel into his face. Robin growled at the boy, wrapping his arm around his neck and pulling him in, scruffing up his hair, which he knew the boy hated.

Danny growled and tried pulling away. The other Titans watched the scene from the other side of the room. "Oh, it is most adorable the relationship of brothers Danny and Robin do share!" Starfire said, hands clasped over her heart as she smiled. Beastboy laughed. "Yeah, now we have someone to balance out Robin's craziness." He said, his body still sore from the training Robin had given them 2 weeks ago.

Raven, Sam and Cyborg turned to Jazz, the others still giggling at the boys. "So, Danny's getting better?" Sam asked the girl. Jazz nodded. "His trust issues are still there, but they're getting better everyday. He's finally starting to act like himself. Sharp, metal objects still make him nervous, and he has adapted a nervous habit. Whenever he's uncomfortable or scared in any way, he starts rubbing his wrists in the same place the restraints were." She explained. "I'm pretty sure that's something I won't be able to break, but other than that, he really is starting to come around." She explained with a smile.

Cyborg smiled. "Great. I was worried for a while. He would go into panic attacks whenever he saw something sharp and metallic." He said. Raven nodded. "But that's to be expected, isn't it? I mean, we'll never be able to fully understand what they did to him." She explained. Sam stepped forward. "But now, we can all move to get past it, right?" She asked Jazz. The girl nodded with a smile as she glanced back over at the boys who were now starting to walk over.

Danny glared at Robin as he finished off smoothing out his now ruffled hair. Cyborg smiled at the group. "Alright! 12:35! Time for lunch!" He shouted, Beastboy jumping with excitement next to him. Robin rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. what do you guys want?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"PIZZA!" The two boys shouted.

Robin chuckled and nodded. The boys yelled and whooped and raced out the door. The others laughed as they followed slowly behind. "Got to admit. I've never met anyone who loves food as much as I do, let alone 2 people." Tucker stated. Danny laughed. "Yeah, I'm afraid to ask how many pizzas you guys have eaten." He said. Raven groaned. "You don't want to know."

Downtown Jump City

Maddie fiddled with her fingers as she stared at the table. Jack glanced over at her. "Maddie, you need to relax. Everything's going to be okay." He tried to reassure the woman. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "We don't know that, Jack. We haven't spoken to either of them in at least a month. Danny's probably terrified of us and Jazz probably won't even look at us." She said.

Ever since they had found out their kids were in Jump, they had worked extra hard in finding them, and when they heard on the news from the League that they had joined up with a team of superheroes, it didn't take them long to realize that they had joined the Titans. Since then, they had being trying to figure out how to contact their kids. They realized they would have to go to them, seeing as their kids probably wouldn't come to them.

She let a small smile creep onto her face as she remembered when she had seen the broadcast.

*Flashback*

Maddie sat in the back of the RV, staring at a map of Jump City. Multiple "x's" littered the paper, some more forcefully drawn than others. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out where the kids might be hiding. She groaned and threw the map aside, pinching the bridge of her nose. Jack turned around and glanced at her. "Maddie, I think you should take a break. You've been at this for a while." He said. Maddie sighed and rested her head on the walls of the R.V. She groaned and placed her head in her hands, realizing just how tired she really was.

She nodded and maneuvered her way into the passenger seat. The parked R.V. sat next to an old warehouse, seeing as they wouldn't be able to search properly until morning. Jack yawned as he turned to her. "We've searched most of the city. Where else could they be?" He asked.

Maddie shook her head in confusion as she stared out the window. Jack reached back and grabbed the Fenton Finder. He remembered when it had turned on, signifying it had locked onto Danny's signature. It still hadn't turned on since then. He sighed. "Madds, maybe they aren't there. I mean, this thing could have glitched and malfunctioned, like usual. They might be gone." He said.

Maddie scrunched her eyes, not wanting to believe it, but knowing it might be true. She sighed and stared at the ground. Suddenly, the screens around the R.V. started flashing. Maddie stared around in confusion. The screens then turned on to a breaking news story. Maddie glanced at her husband in confusion, then remembered he had recently programmed the screens to instantly turn on with breaking news stories, in case they had any information on their kids.

They glanced at each other, then turned to the screens.

"This is Melissa Rant with Channel 6, here with breaking news. We have here members of the Justice League Batman and Superman here with news they say will clear much up on the Fenton/Phantom story." The reporter said, the camera panning to the two members of the League.

Superman stepped forward. "As many of you have now know, Daniel Fenton also known as Danny Phantom and companions, Samantha Manson, Tucker Foley, and Jasmine Fenton have been on the run for a while now. You also know of our partnership with the Guys in White. Well, we are here to explain that we have broken away from the GIW and have now put them behind bars." He said.

Maddie stared at the screen in confusion. She turned to her husband, who merely shrugged. Then turned back to the screen, where Batman was now talking.

"-realized what they were really doing. They apprehended Daniel not to long ago from Jump City, and preformed inhumane acts on the boy. The Justice League was able to save the boy when we realized what the GIW really was, thanks to a group of superheroes Danny and co. ended up joining. Afterwards, they explained to us that all the 'crimes' Daniel had committed were really just misunderstandings and stories made up by the GIW to destroy his name."

Superman stepped forward once more. "We understand now, and we need the rest of the nation to understand as well. Danny Fenton, or Phantom, or whatever you want to call him...is not a criminal. Him nor his companions deserved the things they have gone through these past months. From this point forward, Daniel Fenton and friends are to be left alone. Anybody who wishes to harm them will have to go through us." He stated firmly.

"Danny and co. have now found a place among a group of teenage superheroes where the League is sure they will be secure, although, we will be watching closely." Batman stated.

The camera panned back to the reporter. "There you have it folks. Daniel Fenton and co. are NOT the criminals they have been made out to be. This is Melissa Rant, Channel 6 news." The screens returned to their normal black. Maddie turned to Jack, each giving the other the same look. They then turned to the street, where a bright glowing T-shaped tower could be seen out over the bay.

*End Flashback*

It hadn't been hard to decipher that the team of superhero teens her kids had joined were none other than the Teen Titans. After that, the two had worked on figuring out how to get to their kids and explain everything to them without having them freak out. But Maddie was pretty sure them freaking out was inevitable.

Jack nudged Maddie out of her thoughts as the waiter dropped off their food. Jack instantly dived into his plate, but Maddie continued to stare at the table in front of her. "Jack..." She called. The man paused mid-bite and looked at her. "Yeah?" He asked. She took a deep breath. "I think we should do it. I think it's time to go see our kids." She said. Jack put his fork down and stared off at the other tables as he thought about it.

Finally, he nodded his head. "Okay, but we'll need a day or two to figure out what we're really going to say to them. We can't exactly walk in there without a sure-fire plan." He said. Maddie nodded her head in agreement. "Oh, Jack. I want to see them so bad. I've been away from them for too long." She sighed. Jack placed his hand on top of hers. "I know, Madds. I know." He said.

Maddie felt a small smile grace her lips. She looked away from the man and stared back out at the bay, the T-shaped tower standing still against the clear blue water. Hang on kids. We're coming.

Redwood Motel

125 miles from Jump City

Valerie sighed as she placed her arms over her head as she lay on the bed. She was trying not to think about what might be lying under the covers of the mattress, but so far, she was failing at it. She jumped up with a shriek as she felt something graze her arm. She glanced at the bed for a moment longer and shuddered.

She sighed and walked over the the chair next to the window, hoping it was at least more suitable than the bed, which she was pretty sure had growled at her a few minutes back. She stared out the window of the motel which overlooked the desert she had been travelling through for a few days. She pulled out a map from her backpack and saw that she was coming close to Jump. She would probably get to Jump in around a day or two.

She bit her lip as she thought back to the news broadcast she had seen of the League members explaining everything. Does he really need me? She asked herself. She shook the thoughts from her head. Even if he doesn't, I still want to see him, to explain that he doesn't have to be scared of me anymore.

She sighed as memories of hunting her friends drifted back into her mind. Ignoring his pleas that he was good as she shot at him. She shuddered at the horrid memories. "I have to find you, Danny. I have to talk to you again." She said to nobody in particular. She was broken from her thoughts as her stomach started to rumble. She groaned. If the beds at the motel growled at you, she hated to think of what the food did.

"Ugg, maybe I can just sleep this hunger off." She said aloud to herself as she got up from the chair, only to jump back as she saw something shift under the covers. "Okay...maybe I'll just sleep here." She said, realizing she should probably stop talking to herself. She reached into her back, pulling out the credit card her father had given her when she had returned to her apartment for a few minutes to gather supplies before leaving Amity.

She could probably get food in Jump tomorrow, but for now, she really wanted to sleep. The light above her head crackled and went dead. She sighed. Correction. She wanted to sleep in a suitable environment. She muttered something under her breath and curled up in the chair.

The thought of seeing her friend again brought a small smile to her face as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Jump City

The Pizza Shack

As the two pizzas were set on the table, one being half veggie and half meat lovers and the other plain cheese and pepperoni, 9 hands shot out towards the middle, each grabbing a certain slice of pizza. Beastboy and Sam shared the veggie pizza together, Cyborg and Tucker the meat lover, and the others the cheese and pepperoni, Starfire washing hers down with a large tub of mustard.

Danny watched with a confused look as Starfire placed a straw into the yellow container and started drinking it was if it were water. He leaned towards Robin. "Uhh..." Robin snickered. "It's normal. Have you really never noticed what she drinks?" He whispered to the shocked boy. "I always thought it was lemonade!" He whispered back. Robin snorted, Danny proceeding to punch him in the shoulder.

Suddenly, a large explosion shook the ground as smoke was seen from behind one of the buildings in the distance. The Titans stood automatically, then paused as they glanced back at Danny. He sighed and shook them off. "Go on. Take em' down." A smirk passed his lips. "But you guys better hurry back, cause I'm pretty hungry and there's no telling how much pizza will be left when you come back."

Beastboy, Cyborg and Tucker all gave him horrified looks and took off. The others merely sighed at their antics and quickly followed. Robin hesitated and glanced back. Danny threw a balled-up napkin at him and gave him a smirk. "Go. Kick their butts for me." He said. Robin gave him a two-fingered salute and took off. \

Danny sighed and stared back at the pizzas, suddenly feeling alone as he sat at the table meant for 10. He took a small bite out of the pizza he held in his hands and put it down, his appetite dissolving.

A little after an hour passed, and Danny realized they probably weren't coming back anytime soon. He asked the waiter for some boxes and started packing up the now cold pizza slices, making his way towards the street, heading back to the tower where he would await his friends return...again.

As he walked down the street, boxes in hand, he realized some people he passed glancing back and whispering excitedly. He gave them confused glances and shrugged, continuing on his way. It wasn't until one group stopped him on the street that he realized what was going on. "Hi, so sorry to bother you, but do you thing you could take a picture with us?" A teenage girl asked excitedly, her friends buzzing around her. Danny gave her a confused glance, then remembered the Justice League had "fixed" everything, whatever that meant. Danny sighed, guessing this was one of the consequences of being revealed as a "superhero".

"Umm, sure I guess..." He said. he girls squealed in delight and quickly snapped a picture, the flash making Danny wince. The girl that had asked the question turned back to him. "What's it like?" She asked. Danny tilted his head. "What's what like?" He asked. The girl rolled her eyes. 'What's it like being a ghost?" She clarified. Danny shrugged. "Technically, I'm half ghost. But, it's fine, I guess. Kind of cold." He shrugged. The girls giggled, making Danny roll his eyes.

"We all heard about what happened to you with those jerky agents at the GUW." She said. "GIW." Danny corrected. The girl shrugged. "Whatever, anyway. That sounds really awful. It must have totally sucked."

Danny lowered his gaze. "Yeah, it sucked." He said quietly, rubbing his wrists. "Um, listen. I...got to go." He said quickly, wanting to escape from their stares. He ignored their whines as he quickly turned on his heel and started quickly walking away towards Titans Tower. He didn't stop walking until he finally made his way to the inhabited island.

He sighed in relief and started walking towards the large doors, only to stop as he heard something shift on the rocks. He paused and turned back, walking forward slowly to the edge of the rocky outcrop. Nothing moved except for the gentle waves that licked at the rocks below. He narrowed his eyes and turned back, only to gasp at what he saw.

A dozen or so robots blocked his path. They were in black uniforms, void of any other color except for an orange circle in the middle of their faces. Danny narrowed his eyes and gently placed the boxes on the floor, slowly sliding them with his foot into one of the nearby bushes. "Sorry, Robin." He said as he transformed into Phantom for the first time in 2 weeks. He glared at the robots as he clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling the ghostly energy swirling through his veins once more. "Rest will have to wait."

As the robots slowly crept forward, Danny felt a small grin spread across his face. "Guess we'll just have to skip to the part where I kick your butts!"

Uptown Jump City

Robin narrowed his eyes as he slammed his staff down on the last of the robots. It fell to the ground with a thud, joining the other bodies that littered the floor. He stared around the room of the museum. Different robots were scattered around the room, the other Titans glancing around to make sure there weren't anymore.

Cyborg walked over, scratching his head. "Okay...so what did they want here?" He asked, glancing around the room. Most of the expensive artifacts and jewls lay untouched. Robin scanned the room until his eyes fell upon a case that had been smashed open, the insides empty. He walked over to the case and glanced sown at the description of what had laid there.

"The Ark Amulet..." Robin read. "Holder of a gem lost to time..." He glanced back at the other Titans in confusion. They shrugged their shoulders. Robin glanced back at the case and scanned the picture plastered onto the side of the description. It was a golden amulet, about the size of a fist, connected by a golden chain. An eight pointed star was engraved into the surface of the amulet, and a large hole rested in the middle of the piece, seeming to have held something at one point.

Beastboy glanced at the robots around them. "Guess Slade really is back." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Robin narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Strange artifacts aren't really his thing." He said. The battle had been longer than they had anticipated. It had started off as a normal battle, fighting off against Cinderblock in Downtown Jump. But after finishing up with him, they had gotten an alert saying there had been a break-in at the museum, where they came face to face with a horde of Slade-bots.

Starfire flew over to the silent boy. "Robin?" She called. He glanced back up at her. "It's okay, Star. Just thinking." He said, glancing back up at the rest of the team. "Lets get back to the tower. Raven, you're an expert with strange artifacts. See if you can figure out anything about this...Ark Amulet in any of your books." He said. Raven nodded in understanding.

Tucker stepped forward. "Uh, don't know if you've forgotten...but Danny's still waiting for us." He said. Robin shook his head. "Judging by how long we were gone, he's probably headed back to the tower, which is where we should be going as well." He said. Suddenly, they heard a distant boom. THey ran outside and saw a trail of smoke rising into the sky. Beastboy sighed in annoyance. "Seriously?! Can't these villains take a break? I want to go back home!" He grumbled. Cyborg narrowed his eyes as he stared at where the blast had come from. "Well, guess you get your wish, BB, cause that blast came from Titans Tower!"

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Titans, GO!"

Titans Tower

Danny growled as he dodged the blasts from the robots, flying through the air. He dove towards the nearest group of animatronics, charging a large ecto-blast as he did so. He reared back and hurled it at the mass, sending them flying in different directions.

He landed quickly on the ground, freezing the ground around the robots. As they tried getting a foothold, Danny flew forward, ramming his fist through the head of one of the robots, sending it crashing back into the others.

"So...you all are Slade-bots? I thought you would be more, I don't know...scary?" He said, only to yelp as a beam flew over his head, missing by mere inches. "Of course, you CAN have your moments." He said, flying back into the air, shooting a barrage of ecto-blasts at the robots, most hitting their desired targets. They pulled out small handheld blasters and fired upon the ghost boy.

Danny flew back down, avoiding the multiple beams as he drew closer and closer to the robots. Suddenly, the metal on one of the animatronics glinted in the setting sun. Danny faltered as images flashed through his head. Hot metal...cold steel...rusty tools... He shut his eyes and shook his head, ridding himself of the horrid thoughts. The robots took advantage from his falter as on of the blasts hit him in the chest, knocking him back as he skidded against the ground. He groaned as he rotated his arm, trying to rid his shoulder of the slight pain.

His eyes widened as another group of robots charged at him. He gasped and turned himself intangible, silently thanking his ghost powers as the robots passed through him, crashing into the rocks behind. He quickly jumped up, encasing another group in ice as he charged up his hand with green energy, smashing the ice into a million pieces.

He raised his arms, energy swirling around his fingertips, about to shoot it out at the robots, when his attack came to a screeching halt as his name was called. "DANNY!" He turned in confusion, only to be blasted in the chest and sent hurtling back, right at the feet of Robin and the other Titans, who quickly jumped into action.

Robin placed his hands under the boy's arms and hoisted him up. "What happened to NO FIGHTING, Danny?!" Robin yelled. Danny glared at him. "What was I supposed to do? Give a rain check?! Oh, so sorry fellas. We'll have to reschedule! I'm not supposed to fight for another few days, but I'm sure I can pencil you in then!" He yelled in exasperation, flying back into battle before Robin could say anymore. The Boy Wonder sighed and rolled his eyes. "Man, am I really THAT bad?" He asked to nobody in particular.

"YES!" The other Titans all screamed back as they continued to fight against the robots. Robin groaned and pulled out his staff, jumping into battle alongside the others.

It didn't take long.

Considering Danny took out more than half of the robots by himself, the Titans really just wrapped everything up. Finally, the dust settled. Dozens of robots scattered the rocky terrain, much like the scene back at the museum. Danny sighed in relief as he transformed back into Fenton, pleased that he had been able to handle the fighting without much trouble.

Danny turned back to the Titans, his eyes widening as he remembered something. He ran over to one of the nearby bushes and pulled out the box of pizzas, tossing it to Beastboy and Cyborg. They opened it and squealed, running into the house, Tucker right by their side. He turned back to Robin, who stood next to Jazz and the other Titans. "What did I tell ya?! Told you I could handle it." He said, crossing his arms in the process. Robin narrowed his eyes. "Yeah...I guess. But I still think you should take it easy..." He paused as Danny whimpered and gave him a pathetic puppy-dog stare. Robin hesitated, then sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You'll take it easy?" He asked.

Danny nodded.

"You won't overdo it?"

He nodded again.

Robin sighed once more. "Fine. BUT you still have to have your sessions with Jazz for a little while longer." He said.

Danny nodded, the incident with the flashing metal still in the back of his head, but right now he didn't care. He whooped and transformed into Phantom, flying into the air at high speeds as he zoomed through the air. Robin growled and cupped his hands to his mouth. "THAT'S NOT TAKING IT EASY!"

Danny's laughs echoed across the water.

Unknown Location

Slade watched the video, taken from the robots as they fought Danny. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the boy battle the robots. Even though his plan to get rid of the boy had failed, he knew a child with that much power might be a use to him.

"He's strong. Even after the GIW." He said to himself as he watched the video. The Slade-bots had been sent to the tower to test the boy's skills without others to back him up as usual. And as Slade predicted, the boy could hold his own. The sound of a door opening made him turn. Plasmius entered, a smirk on his face.

"We got it." He said, placing the Ark Amulet down on the table. Slade grinned behind his mask as he picked up the amulet and twirled in in the air, inspecting every inch of the golden piece. He turned back to Vlad. "Excellent. Now, we can begin Phase 2." He said, placing the artifact back down onto the table.

Vlad nodded, but narrowed his eyes at the man. "Fine, but it will take some time to track the gem down. After all, it's one of the most securely guarded items in all of the Ghost Zone." Slade turned away and picked up the book, flipping to the page he had marked. "Time is of no issue to me. We've waited this long. Why not a little longer?"

He studied the page, the Gem of Zith and the Ark Amulet shown fitting together, the gem securing into the hole in the center of the amulet. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the black and red gem. The Gem of Zith and the Ark Amulet power each other. Without the Ark Amulet, the Gem of Zith is merely a pretty jewel. Combined, they give the user the untold power of every ghost who ever wielded the gem before him/her. Slade's gaze scanned the rest of the page until his eyes fell upon one sentence at the bottom of the weathered page.

Unlimited power

"Soon, everything will fall into place."

Hey guys!

Once again, not the MOST exciting chapter, but ya know, you can't have an earth-shattering scene every chapter, so BITE ME! Just kidding...hehehe *cough* *couch*

...anywayyy...I decided to incorporate Jack, Maddie and Valerie into this chapter because I didn't feel like making a whole interlude for them, but I still wanted to show what was happening with them.

They'll be a BIG part of the next chapter, so stay tuned. Also, I added Slade and Vlad to this chapter, just in case some of you were wondering what was happening with that. So, what are they planning now? What do you think?

P.S.-the Gem of Zith is NOT the gem Freakshow used, although that was a good guess. So, what do you think it does, leave a comment if you want to guess. It'll be fun to see what you guys think.

By the way, Dani WILL come into this story, don't worry. She'll come. I always enjoyed her in the show. Just be patient. Anyway, the next chapter should be out soon, probably before the end of the week.

So, how will Danny and the Titans feel when Jack and Maddie drop by? How about when Valerie crashes the reunion as well? Find out in the next segment of The Ghostly Titan, Chapter 27: Family Affairs!