sorry this took so long, but I had a history project to work on. Hopefully, the next update will be sooner.
Review responses:
Firehedgehog: Yeah, it always seems to be tough for Danny. I assure you, it's going to get even worse.
Amber: Thanks for the compliment. I hope I hear from you again.
Shadowedstar: Unless I have a lot of free time, I'm only updating on the weekend. Thanks for the encouragement, though.
FreakyPerson: Glad to hear you like my story; just try not to get too carried away. lol.
Let me know if I missed anyone. It sometimes happens and I want to make sure I get everyone. I've written a story on this site that's gotten so much positive feedback.
Titans Tower had none of its usual joy. Robin was determined to take Danny Phantom, and became obsessed about sighting of him. Starfire tried to relax, but it was easy to tell she was worried. Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing video games, but they didn't have any of their usual competitiveness.
2 figures came into the room. Robin was ready for battle, but he sighed in relief after he saw who it was.
"Glad to see you, speedy." said Robin, and they shook hands. "You too, Aqualad."
Aqualad was a boy Robin's age dressed in blue and able to breathe underwater and command fish. Speedy looked and acted much like Robin, except he had light arrows instead of disks.
"We heard you guys could use some help." said Speedy. "So what's been happening?"
"Slade has a new apprentice." said Robin. "It's Danny Phantom, and he's quite strong. He took me, Starfire, and Cyborg out, so your help is greatly appreciated."
"We're at your service." said Aqualad, giving him a mock bow, and Robin chuckled.
"So what's our first course of action?" asked Speedy.
"We found out were Danny is, but he lives in a civilian home." said Robin. "They're the Fentons. They bought a home here for the summer to catch ghosts. I don't have a clue why his parents don't know his secret. Fortunately, we got this information before the tracer was destroyed."
"Who said they don't?" asked Speedy. "Maybe they also work for Slade."
"I highly doubt it." said Aqualad. "The Fentons are well-known for opposing Slade." (just something I made up)
"It could all be a ruse." said Robin. "In any case, we have to bring Danny to justice. Problem is, he's a ghost and Raven's probably the only one who can hit his in his quasi-ghost state."
"How do you know about ghosts?" asked Aqualad.
"It's hard not to, now that ghosts are making themselves known." said Speedy. "In any case, we better get the facts before acting."
"We don't have that kind of time." said Robin. "It won't be long before he strikes again."
Danny sat on the top of his roof and sighed. Fortunately, his parents turned the ghost scanners off, so they wouldn't think he was a ghost.
Why do I even bother being Danny Phantom? Thought Danny. Nobody thinks I do anything good, except Sam and Tucker. If I quit, I could just have a normal life without this heavy burden.
"Hello again, Daniel." said a voice behind him. He turned around and saw Vlad Plasmius. He had a blue face, vampire-like fangs, a white cape with a blood-red interior, black boots and gloves, a white body, and a black triangle on his chest.
Danny went ghost and prepared to fight, but Vlad held up his hand. "Easy, my son." said Vlad. "I only want to talk with you."
"That, and kill my dad." he retorted. "Get out of here before I make you."
"Don't be so foolish, Daniel. You wouldn't stand a chance, despite your growing power. In any case, do you remember what I told you during the college reunion?"
"Yes, and I'm not interested."
"Think about this carefully. Nobody admires you or even respects you for what you've done. On the contrary, they despise you and would rather shoot you than thank you. The police shoot at you, the people spit your name like a curse. Tell me, why try to help them?"
"Because it's the right thing to do. No matter what, I will help them."
"You even saved Raven's pathetic life, and all you got was hatred from her friends. Do you think she'll feel any differently? At this very moment, 2 more titans have arrived at the tower with the sole purpose of hunting you down. They know where you live, and they intend to attack, and probably kill, you. They even believe your family works for Slade.
"Why would they believe that? You're part of the Fenton family, so they will tie the others in as well. All this can be avoided and all you have to do is join me. I'll even spare your miserable father, though why would you want me to? Hasn't he caused you enough suffering?"
Danny stayed silent. Vlad had a good point, and there was a lot of truth to his words. Even more, he sometimes hated his father for making him Danny Phantom. Nevertheless, he couldn't do it.
"No, I won't join you. Thanks for the offer, but I can't do it." Was he going crazy? Did he just thank Vlad?
"Very well, Danny. I'll meet with you again soon enough."
Vlad didn't expect to join him that time, though he had a little hope. Still, it was going to come. Danny had doubts about what he should do and that was good.
Soon, we will rule as father and son, Thought Vlad.
Danny sighed and decided to go to bed. He wasn't doing himself any favors by staying up past midnight. Try as he might, he couldn't fall asleep. Vlad's words kept echoing in his head. He prepared himself for a miserable night.
At about 5 in the morning, there was another superhero running through the streets who called herself the Red Shadow. She had only been around 3 days, and was not an experienced fighter. She had taken down a few thugs, but had not had to deal with any major threats.
The maximum amount she could lift was about 5000 pounds. She now had incredible agility and reflexes. She could run nonstop for hours until she needed to take a break. To think, all this happened because of a freak accident at Wayne Corporation.
About 6 in the morning, when the sun was visible, she decided to call it a night. That is, until she came face to face with a robot scorpion. She barely dodged the energy blast in time. It fired repeatedly, with her trying to dodge all of them. The Red Shadow knew she had to get close or she was doomed.
Maybe I should try zigzagging, Thought Shadow. After all, that's how animals escape their prey and the same principle should work here.
She put the plan into action, dodging energy blasts from its tail. She jumped up about 30 feet and landed on it. She immediately put her fist through it, disconnecting the wires and shutting it down. Shadow sighed in relief that she survived her first major battle.
Maybe I should ask someone to train me, Thought Shadow. I don't have any real skill at fighting. Perhaps the Titans can help me.
But in the meantime, she decided to head back home. She had only got about 3 hours of sleep and she desperately needed it.
Meanwhile, Danny woke up at 9:30, and looked around. At least the Titans hadn't found out where he lived yet. Still, it was only going to be a matter of time.
He walked down to the kitchen, where he saw his parents making breakfast. To his surprise, the kitchen appliances had not needed repair when they moved here, which gave evidence that somebody was here in the past.
"Danny, I've been waiting for you!" said Jack. "I taped the news so you could watch it. Come on!"
Danny allowed himself to be dragged onto the moth-eaten coach and sat down. Jack pressed play and the tape started.
"It appears that Slade had made his return after nearly destroying Jump City 6 months ago." said a reporter. "The Teen Titans have not commented on his return, but it is believed that the scourge of Amity Town, Danny Phantom, is his new apprentice. We now go live to an interview with Jack Fenton."
"Mr. Fenton, what do you make of this?" asked a female reporter who looked like the school geek.
"I don't think Phantom is involved." said Jack in the interview. "When we observed the fight between the Titans and Slade, Phantom was trying to help the Titans, despite what it may look like."
"You are one of the ghost-hunters trying to capture him." said the reporter. "You should be the last one to take his side."
"I was wrong about him. I have heard from several witnesses that he saved their lives from ghosts, but I did not believe it until now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to ghost hunting."
The current Jack turned the TV off and talked to Danny. "Those reporters are nothing but brainless idiots! You know, I'd like to know who Danny Phantom really is."
"Well, if I find out, I'll tell you." said Danny, and he walked out of the room... a little too quickly.
You know, Danny Phantom looks a lot like our Danny, Thought Jack. Still, they couldn't be the same person. Or could they?
Raven sighed as she woke up to see all the Titans around her. Starfire gave her a bone-crushing hug and everybody were asking her is she was all right. That is, until Raven's lamp exploded.
"Guys, I'm fine." said Raven in her usual monotone voice. "No need to be worried."
"You were out for days!" said Beast Boy. "Even worse, we still haven't managed to beat Danny Phantom. I'm going to rip him apart for what he did to you."
"So what did happen?" asked Robin, having more control than Beast Boy.
"I got attacked by someone named Skulker." Raven told them. "I fought as hard as I could, but I couldn't beat him. He wanted to put he on display in the ghost world, whatever that is. Anyway, the last thing I saw was a boy in spandex kicking Skulker aside."
"So Danny was the one who saved you?" asked Cyborg. "Are you sure about this?"
"I'm positive." said Raven, a little angry they didn't believe her. "I may have been hurt, but my mind and eyes were functioning perfectly. He was the one who saved me."
"Well, this isn't good." said Robin. "I don't think he's going to forgive us. To think I thought he was Slade's apprentice. I can't believe I fell for another one of his tricks!"
"Robin, we all fell for it," said Cyborg. "It's time to fix our mistakes, not berate ourselves for them."
"Yes, we must give Danny Phantom the gift of friendship!" said Starfire. "I would love to make a new friend!"
"It's not that easy." said Robin. "He's going to be angry. We'll be lucky if he doesn't attack us again, much less become our friend. Sorry, Starfire."
"We don't need his help." said Aqualad. "If he doesn't want to forgive us, fine with me."
"But he would make a great addition to the team." said Speedy. "From what I heard, he took down Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg, so having him on our side would be beneficial. We don't necessarily have to like each other."
Meanwhile, after getting away from his dad, Danny ran out of the house. After he got a good distance away, he did behind a trash can and went ghost. He turned invisible and flew off.
His flight, once again, led him to Titans' tower. He heard the Titans talking about him, saying they were wrong. Raven obviously detected him, but didn't say anything about it. He sighed and flew out.
After flying around for about an hour, he saw a crime in progress. 4 people were beating up someone in an alley. He was relieved for something to do, but worried that he might kill them like he did with a few criminals in Amity Town, even though it was an accident.
They deserve to die, Said a dark part of his mind. After all, they would do the same to others.
He grabbed 2 of them by the shirt and threw them into trash cans. The other two drew knives but he kicked them away. The others had recovered and bull-rushed him, but he simply jumped and the thugs ran into each other.
After a few punches, all 4 of them were down, and one was dead. The victim in question, a boy in his late teens, sighed in relief and ran away as fast as he could.
Afterwards, a red figure ran towards him and he prepared to fight. The figure stopped in front of him and made no move to fight.
"Well, it looks like you took care of them first." said the figure. "I am the Red Shadow, but just call me Shadow." It was obviously a female voice.
"Well, Shadow, I'm Danny Phantom." said Danny.
"There are few who do not know you, but few see the truth." said Shadow. "I'm glad to see you, and not evil ghosts."
"Have you ever fought them?"
"I have not, but I've seen them, and I know what havoc they can cause. Phantom, I wish to work with you."
"All right, Shadow. I'll give you some time to prove you're trustworthy. If you're not, I'll have to beat you up and give you to the authorities."
"All right, but I got my powers about a week ago; I'm still new to this. Sorry if I'm not too much help at first. I'll probably get better with time."
Shadow and Danny then became companions, helping anyone who needed it. Hopefully, the Titans would eventually accept them. Maybe they could even help them if they ever get along, especially Danny.
What they didn't realize was that Slade was watching. "So Jump City has two new heroes: Phantom and Shadow. Perhaps I can turn them against the Titans. With their help, I will be able to defeat even Vlad Plasmius."
He walked away and thought about the past few days' events. He was almost certain that Vlad was the one who hit him from behind as he was about to kill the annoying ghost hunters. It would be his style to do something like that.
Unfortunately, he had ghost allies while Slade didn't. He could reveal who he really was, but Vlad would ally himself with the Titans and annihilate him. Slade knew for a fact that he could not handle Vlad and the Titans at the same time.
They had pretty equal resources and great minds. Unfortunately, Vlad had ghost powers and would be able to beat him if he ever found him. He took out about 50 of his robots in less than 5 minutes, and he didn't even seem to be trying.
Still, he had a new plan with which he was confident would at last destroy him.
Cliffhanger! I had originally intended for Vlad and Slade to work together before I realized that neither would want to work with the other.
Next chapter: Moving Pieces Pt2. Valerie arrives at jump city, hoping to find Danny. Danny, Shadow, and the Titans have a little chat, and the war between Vlad and Slade becomes more evident. Also, we find out who Shadow really is.
