Not a sound interrupted the imperceptible vibration of the ocean waves on the shore. The camera panned around the entire tiny island to find no signs of movement before pulling back to frame on the screen a colossal skyscraper, shaped like a T. A gloved hand reached forward and with the push of a button, the blank screen beside it was filled with an image of a school building. Things were just as deserted here for about thirty seconds. Then, the school bell broke the silence not a moment before a crowd of teenagers poured outside. But the camera zoomed in and picked out with ease the only three students of interest to the two viewers.
"Still together, just as I expected," one commented.
His companion's single eye, however, was focused on the giant T. "Things are quiet at the tower."
"We can't strike now. Not until they're alone."
"You should be able to handle their three friends as easily their security system and defenses," the second spy softly replied as he made as if to walk away. "That is why I hired you."
"You hired me? That's a bold statement coming from someone who crawled to me on bended knee begging for help."
You could not tell if the masked shadow had even heard this accusation. "I will use any means if they suit my needs," he spoke, but without moving a muscle even to turn and face his partner. "Now is the time to strike."
"How do you plan to snatch the girl right out from under his nose?"
At last, the one eye turned to face him. "Speedily and successfully. Unless, of course, you're not feeling quite up to the challenge."
The first spy glanced at the island fortress one more time as his eyes glowed a hot red. A black aura surrounded him, a flash of black light, and a caped ghost was standing in his place. "Just be ready to pay up," he warned, and with a pull of his cape, in a swirling bright green vortex, he vanished.
"So, all still quiet on the western front?" Sam and Tucker narrowed their eyebrows at another one of their leader's lame jokes. "Your parents suspect anything?" Danny clarified for Sam as they left school for the day.
"Nope. By now, they've already left for that yacht party, and Robin was fixing his motorcycle when I left this morning," Sam assured him. "I gave him a key and let him know when it would be safe to leave."
"What about your folks?" Tucker asked Danny when they reached the door.
"They're still oblivious, and I'm still safe," said Danny.
"If ghosts keep showing up around here, it won't stay that way for long," added the Goth girl, habitually looking at the down side.
"That's not the only thing I'm worried about," said Danny.
"Why?" asked Tucker. "There wasn't a single attack at school today."
"That's what worries me," said Danny.
"Exactly. Nothing good ever follows when things are too quiet." The startled trio looked up to see that their eavesdropper was none other than Robin, leaning against a tree nonchalantly enough to make any jock envious.
"What are you doing out here?" asked Danny. "What happened to your paranoia of being discovered?"
"No one around here's going to recognize me," Robin explained with a shrug. "Thought I'd take a look around town for anything suspicious. Nothing."
"Not good," agreed Danny.
"No offense, but how do you stand living in a place this, well, small?" the city-bred stranger wondered as the four walked away.
"You make friends with a ghost kid," said Tucker.
"How big is Jump City, anyway?" asked Sam.
"Big and dangerous enough to need five resident super powered crime fighters," Robin answered her.
"Don't you have police for that?" asked Tucker.
"Used to, but the city couldn't afford both of us," replied Robin.
"Don't you guys do anything besides save the day?" asked Danny, trying to imagine what five kids like himself, living alone, together, did on a typical day.
"We still shoot hoops, play video games, watch horror movies, go to the park," listed Robin. "We've just got to be more careful. Raven almost scared us to death one time her powers went haywire after a scary movie made her freak out. You ever been chased down black corridors by shadowy, shapeless monsters, picking you off one by one?"
"No, but one can hope, right?" Sam laughed.
"You don't even go to school?" Danny asked.
"Not unless you count the time Cyborg infiltrated the headquarters of an academy for super villains," Robin recalled. "I've been meaning to ask him why he doesn't use that holographic generator more often if he likes looking human so much.
"What do you mean?" asked Sam, as they turned the corner, heading into the park.
"Cyborg's half-robot. It was... the only way to save his life after this... explosion at his father's lab," Robin answered, trying to sound as composed as one could while relating his best friend's pain.
"That sounds familiar," Danny commented.
"Only to you and Beast Boy," Robin informed him. "Raven and Starfire were both born with their powers, at least that's what Raven told her that time they switched bodies."
"What?" the trio exclaimed.
"We almost didn't make it out of that one. Starfire was trying to control herself to focus and levitate objects all over the place, and Raven couldn't feel angry enough to fire a starbolt until the last minute."
"Levitating?" said Sam.
"Starbolts?" said Tucker.
Eager to steer the conversation towards another subject, Robin said, "Why would anyone who finds time between family, chores, and homework to banish malevolent spirits bent on world domination find this stuff so fascinating?"
"You mean the freedom to use your powers whenever you want? To lose your cool without it being the end of the world?" responded Danny, carefully not looking anyone in the eye. "Yeah, nothing fascinating about a club where a ghost kid would fit right in."
"Yeah, tough luck, dude," said Tucker in cheering-up-mode. "They have clubs for jocks, bandys, techno geeks, and cheerleaders and cheerleader-look-a-likes, but enough super powered kids never generated enough interest to start a branch around here."
"You're one of a kind, Danny Phantom," Sam added. "No Halfas Anonymous or Connecting-Super-Heroes-With-Super-Heroes Pen Pals for you."
"Guess it's the double-life of an alter ego for the rest of my life for me, then," said Danny, gloomily to the ground.
Robin kept silent as he thought, Is he actually jealous? I guess it would be hard if you couldn't feel a thing without randomly phasing in and out of focus, not to mention walls, or your eyes glowing and blowing your secret. All the teasing and peer pressure of high school was too much for Cyborg to handle, but Danny's still trying to tough it out. Maybe I was a little too harsh last night.
Danny's and Tucker's window of opportunity before their parents would get suspicious was almost over, so the gang headed towards Sam's house where they could call home; Sam and Tucker still wanted to hear more about the Titans and Jump City, and Danny and Robin naturally wanted to compare more notes and make some kind of battle plan.
"When Slade finally feels brave enough to show his face," Robin whispered icily as he tossed a disk into the air, unsheathed a birdarang, let it fly, and caught it again with perfect precision after it sliced the disk in half, "I'll be ready."
"Whoah, and I thought the Mp3 player was a cool gadget," said an impressed Tucker.
"Where'd you get all that stuff, anyway?" inquired Sam, glancing at his utility belt as he pocketed the sharp projectile.
"It's a long story," Robin simply answered.
"Maybe you oughta check out some of my parents' gadgets," said Danny. "They're designed to work against ghosts, but they cause a lot of damage to humans, too. Just ask my sister."
"Why not? We can use every edge we can get," agreed Robin. "I've been so stressed out ever since I left, I haven't exactly been on my best form."
When you were a martial arts expert and a techno genius and had cat-like agility and lightning reflexes, who needed super powers? Danny's head reeled just thinking about the moves he'd seen the acrobat pull off in the last two days. "Well, at least you know you'll always be better than me," he said.
Robin felt a twinge of guilt at those words. He may be good, but even he hadn't been able to take down any ghosts on his own. And it wasn't like he'd always been content with being so human. "I'm good because I have to be. Super powers never worked for me. I once formed what I thought was a foolproof plan to take down Slade."
"Mess around with forces you shouldn't have?" Tucker put in, in the voice of one who'd been there, done that.
"Not xynothium so much as my own dark side," Robin finished.
"Take it from a geek who's been introduced to one too many fists," said Danny. "Know the feeling."
"But you control it, and that takes strength," Robin said to Danny, a light bulb turning on in his mind. "In fact, skill-wise, you might be a good match for me."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?" asked Danny as the four teens stopped, though still blocks away from their destination.
"It's a challenge," answered Robin.
"Say what?" Tucker threw in as Robin continued, "I need the practice, plus I want to see more of what you can do. Spar with me."
"Are you serious?" insisted Sam. "You couldn't even touch him. It wouldn't be a fair fight."
"Yeah, for Danny," added Tucker.
"Thanks for the support, Tuck," Danny said sarcastically.
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it would be a challenge," answered Robin truthfully. "It's not like you could stay intangible the entire time because then you couldn't touch me, either. I think we'd both have a fighting chance."
Robin actually thinks I stand a chance against him, Danny thought. He must have had one quick change of heart. "Why not?" he accepted confidently. Robin was right about one thing; he hadn't seen everything he could do.
"What's the first thing you do with a new friend? Beat each other up," Sam said, not in the least bit to herself. "Boys."
"Actually, it's more like 'heroes'," said Tucker. " 'Cause I don't get it either."
"Just call my parents and cover for me, okay, guys?" Danny requested as he and Robin turned back to the park alone. "See ya' later."
"Sure, go have your fun and leave us with alibi duty. Again," said Tucker as he and Sam continued alone...
or so they thought.
"Azarath metrion zinthos... azarath metrion zinthos..." She was floating in mid-air, her eyes closed, her arms raised in meditation. The only movement on her body was the fluttering hem of her cloak. Her voice repeated the same musical syllables without any prompting from her brain. She was far away, where she felt nothing, remembered nothing, her energy in perfect equilibrium.
An unexpected chill shook her out of her peaceful state. A sense of foreboding and an intangible but nonetheless sure feeling of danger overcame the empath; she latched onto it and returned to within the four walls of her bedroom. Now she could sense another presence in the room with her, but as quickly as it had come, it was gone, with not a sound, not a sight altered.
Raven enveloped her sliding door in her black energy, opened it, floated into the hall, and alighted on the ground to walk down to the operations center, wondering what threat had caused such a strong vibe.
Cyborg and Beast Boy were playing another video game, but their silence and stillness and the lack of fists flying whenever a point was scored indicated there was no energy in it; it was just their way of killing time. Starfire was staring out the window over the bay again with a look that would make an innocent prisoner staring out from death row appear happy.
No alarms had gone off, no signs of an intruder. Raven walked into the middle of the room. "Everything okay in here?"
"Sure," Cyborg answered, dropping his game controller.
"Same old, same old," added Beast Boy, doing likewise.
"Just fine," said Cyborg, only to hold back the silence now that it had been broken.
Starfire dropped the hand that had been resting gently on the glass and clenched her fists in sad frustration as she turned and approached the others. "How can you say that everything is fine? Nothing is fine. Nothing will ever be fine or the same again until Robin returns."
"Starfire, Robin can take care of himself," Raven tried to assure her friend, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"But why must he?" the red-head answered tearfully. "Why must he always do things alone? Why must he always keep secrets from his friends?" She began pacing around the couch. "Those in a team should be able to depend on each other, but Robin will depend on none of us to help," Starfire lamented as she collapsed onto the sofa.
"We can't help," said Cyborg, getting up and standing in front of her. "When you try to help Robin, you just make things worse." He suddenly felt a motion in the air behind him and turned, but there was nothing there. The others were busy reassuring the grieving alien girl.
"Robin may be a loner, but he's no fool," said Raven. "I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing."
"I would just like to be doing it with him," said Starfire.
"Come on, Star," said Beast Boy, as happy-go-lucky as ever and smiling. "When has anyone who's written that kind of letter ever said 'I'll be back'? He must have meant it."
"And if he cannot come back?" Starfire replied. "If he has walked into a trap of Slade's? If he... If he..." The image of her friend passing out in her arms, a bloody mess of bruises and torn clothes, burned into her mind, she couldn't finish the thought.
Raven was distracted by a noise above her head, so as soon as Beast Boy had said, "Anybody else besides me freezing?" Cyborg replied, "Don't even think about it. Robin's had closer calls than anybody I've ever met except me, and he's not about to run out."
Evidently, the noises weren't in Raven's imagination because Cyborg looked up, too, as Beast Boy said, "Robin may be stubborn, even crazy, but he's definitely not stupid. He wouldn't let anything... well, he's the last person you need to worry about holding his own, Star."
"But what if..." the princess began, but Beast Boy cut her off.
"Just relax. Trust me. There is absolutely nothing to worry about."
He spoke too soon. One instant, Starfire was looking up at him with hope in her eyes. A nanosecond later, a look of utter fear overtook her as she screamed and then, with no warning of any kind, vanished from right in front of her friends.
The two boys also yelped at the sight and Raven gasped and jolted, knocking her hood down. Cyborg called out, "Starfire!" over faint rustlings, bumpings, and grunts of one straining with all their might that seemed to be coming from all over the room. A very familiar voice screamed again.
"What the heck is going on here?" yelled Beast Boy. As if on cue, following another scream, halfway across the room Starfire reappeared, five feet off the ground, struggling with all her might against the grip of a white-cloaked, blue-skinned, fanged stranger.
Starfire finally broke free and, grabbing her attacker by the wrists, threw him across the room. The Titans scattered to avoid collision, but he disappeared in mid throw. Eight eyes swiveled around the room, Starfire gasping in shock, when Cyborg yelled, "Star! Look out!"
The Tamaranian swooped down and made a ninety-degree turn, bringing her back to her upper vantage point, just dodging the intruder who had apparently come right out of the ceiling for another strike. Cyborg raised and aimed his sonic cannon and fired once the shot was clear. There was a crash as the room filled with smoke and Starfire flew back to hover above the boys with Raven. The Titans gasped as the smoke cleared to reveal their opponent safe behind a red pane of glass, untouched.
"Who are you?" Cyborg gasped without lowering his weapon.
"That's none of your concern, really," said the intruder with a mean smile. He lowered his hand and the shield evaporated.
"How did you get in here?" Cyborg said next.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," was the answer. "Now, as much as I'd enjoy getting to know you all better, I have a job to do. So I'm afraid I must get right down to business."
It was really a horrible thing to see. Where there had just been one intruder, there were now four, and they all fired a red energy blast at once. Raven raised a black protective dome around the Titans just in time.
Shock now given way to anger and adrenaline, Cyborg yelled, "Titans, go!" The dome disintegrated and the heroes leapt into battle Cyborg tried firing another sonic blast and Starfire an eye beam at two of the clones. They disappeared and reappeared, utterly untouched.
"Missed me," they mocked before firing two more energy blasts. Cyborg was knocked down but Starfire flew up and dodged it, firing a barrage of starbolts as she came back down. One shot made contact, and the clone disintegrated right in front of her eyes. The second copy, apparently thinking it was safe when she ceased fire, became visible again, and Cyborg surprised him from the side with a flying punch. He, too, disappeared in a red explosion as he hit the wall behind him.
"Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven's eyes flashed with power as she conjured black restraints out of her powers and attempted to bind one of the clones. He countered with a glowing red energy that was too strong for her. She lost her grip and as her powers fizzled out, she was knocked out of the air with an energy blast. As he flew towards her, warming up for another strike, she dissolved into the floor and, to his obvious shock, descended from through the ceiling as the bird for which she was named, and reformed into solid human form but afire with black anger.
"What are you?" her opponent asked before being enveloped in a crackling black aura that reduced him to a brief wisp of glowing smoke.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Raven calmly echoed his earlier words, landing back on the ground.
Beast Boy was the only one left fighting the whatever-this-guy-was. But turning into a lion, a bull, an eagle, a bear, or a triceratops was getting him nowhere as the intruder calmly stood with crossed arms, protected by a red dome of energy. He finally dropped the shield as the dinosaur shrank back to human form.
"Shape shifting. Very impressive," he commented offhandedly. "I personally always wanted to try that."
"Huh?" the exhausted changeling wondered as his opponent turned a transluscent blue and lunged for him. It happened too quickly for anyone to do anything. As soon as they collided, the enemy turned invisible (as everyone now understood), and the Titan glowed a bright green aura as he screamed, but only for a second. He turned and faced the others with an evil smile and eerie red eyes.
Starfire found her tongue first. "Beast Boy?" She found herself flying back up with a scream as her friend turned into a large venomous cobra that followed her into the air and coiled itself round her ankles.
Raven grasped the snake with her telekinetic energy and flung it back to the floor, but he came after her next as a tiger. She swiped her hands with flowing shields of energy in front of her, one after another, as she retreated before the swiping claws. Finally, with both hands in front of her, she pushed him back to the far wall with one mighty blast.
"What did he do to him?" Cyborg said hurriedly as the tiger transformed into a woolly mammoth and charged. Raven surrounded him with a rippling black tidal wave of her powers.
"I have a theory," she said as she closed her eyes and moved her black hands in the pattern of a complicated spell. Her eyes lit up as she opened them, raised her hands above her head and then towards the now human-shaped Titan. Slowly but firmly, she chanted once, "Evil spirit, BE GONE!" As she pulled her hands apart, Beast Boy and his possessor followed suit. The unconscious Titan fell as Raven relaxed her powers and their enemy rose into the air again.
"Enough! The fun and games are over!" he announced with clenched eyes. A red whirlwind or cyclone began to materialize around him, quickly growing in circumference. The blast filled the room and knocked the four defenders limp. Everyone was still struggling to their knees as he flew towards Starfire and pulled her into their by her neck.
"Now relax," he said as the weakened heroine screamed in fright. "It's nothing personal." He pulled her Titans communicator from its slot on her belt and let it drop to the floor. "It's just business." With a genuine evil laugh, he raised his cape, producing a green twist of light energy around them both.
"Starfire!" Cyborg yelled as he got to his feet. He sprinted across the room and dove for the two but a split second too late. In a cyclone of green light, they were both gone.
"Starfire! Star, you there?" Beast Boy called out.
"They're not invisible. They're really gone," Raven explained as she helped him up.
"But who... what... how did he do that? Where did he take her? Why?" Cyborg panicked.
"What happened anyway?" Beast Boy inquired, rubbing his head. "How did I..."
"You were possessed," said Raven, cool and collected as ever.
"Say what?" Beast Boy exclaimed in return.
"Raven, what was that?" Cyborg asked, turning to her.
Raven floated a few feet away and hung above where the communicator had fallen. She looked over her shoulder to her two remaining teammates and stiffly replied, "That was a ghost."