Greetings, guys! I'm a little tired today, but I also had some free time. Rare, since this whole week I've been busy with one thing or another. That explains the long wait for an update.

Wait's over now! Let us read Chapter 9! I don't own Danny Phantom or Teen Titans.

Plotting for a Transformation

Chapter Nine: The Problems Mount

Late that night, Danny lay in bed, unable to sleep. He knew it was Monday night and he had school tomorrow, but he couldn't help it. There were too many thoughts in his head.

More or less, he knew that everything had turned out okay. There had been no real threat to the city, he had fought off every single one of Slade's henchmen, and he had flown underground Mount Amity and searched around until he had eventually found Sam and Tucker and flown them out of there.

But why? What was the point of setting up the fake disruptor? What was the point of sending all of his henchmen to attack him? And perhaps most puzzling, what was the point of sending a hologram of himself instead of being there in person?

He must be up to something major, Danny thought to himself, But what? Why did he lead me down to that sewer? Why did he follow me to my house? Why did he make me come to the warehouse for no real reason at all?

And what did he mean by me showing "impressive killer instinct"? What is he trying to do to me?

Nobody answered these questions, although they continued to linger in Danny's mind until he finally drifted off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

Danny looked sleepy as he, Tucker, and Sam walked to school the next day.

Sam asked him, "Long night?"

Danny rubbed his eye, "I've had better ones."

Tucker said to him, "Good news is Amity Park won't be turned into a lava exhibit."

Danny turned to his best friend and responded, "That's what's been bothering me all night, Tuck. The fact that Amity Park never was in danger, and the fact that I fought off nearly a hundred of Slade's henchmen without a real purpose."

Sam said to him, "Well, we do have something that might wake you up a bit."

"What's that?"

"Last night, we both did super extensive research, and we finally have a bit of info on Slade."

Danny's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets, "Seriously! What? Where? When? Answers!"

Tucker whispered to Sam, "That woke him up alright."

Sam took a paper out of her backpack and handed it to Danny, "It's all on here."

Danny looked through the paper, reading a few words of it out loud, "Hmmm, robberies, destruction, and other dangerous activity originated by the masked man known only as Slade. All in one location."

Sam finished for him, "Jump City."

Danny looked up from the paper and retorted, "Jump City? What kind of name for a city is that?"

Tucker answered, "Whoever named it, Jump City is somewhere out west on the coast."

Danny asked them, "Is this all you found out? Nothing on who Slade is?"

They shook their heads.

Danny sighed, "Great. I'm no closer to being any more prepared for Slade when he next shows his face."

Tucker held up a finger and said, "Well, actually, he hasn't shown his face at all, wearing a mask all the time."

Danny and Sam glared at him.

Tucker threw his hands out, "What! He hasn't!"

For the rest of the week, Danny practically lived on the computer. He searched everywhere for as much information of Slade he could get his hands on. And it all came to nothing that the info that Sam and Tucker hadn't given him on Tuesday.

At one point, Danny had reached a level of frustration so great that he knocked the keyboard off the desk.

But on Thursday night, he had been able to find something that concerned Slade.

Apparently, also residing in Jump City were five teenagers, all but one with superpowers, and all of whom had fought against Slade a number of times. They were known as the Teen Titans, consisting of Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy.

But that was all. Nothing more or less, and Danny spent a couple of sleepless nights trying to mull it all over.

Friday finally came. It was warm and sunny, a perfect sign for the weekend just on the horizon.

But Danny didn't seem to be making an effort to enjoy it. And the fact that he once again found it difficult to pay attention during school didn't help either. He had gotten told off by Mr. Lancer for daydreaming, and he had gotten a D on a history test that they took yesterday.

Noticing Danny not saying anything on the walk home, Sam groaned, "Danny, are you still thinking about Slade?"

Danny looked at her warily and lied, "No."

Sam stared at him.

Tucker said to him, "Dude, are you ever gonna talk to us about this?"

Danny sighed frustratedly, "I'll talk about it when I feel like it, so stop badgering me!"

Tucker and Sam raised their eyebrows and stared at Danny.

Danny held his hand to his forehead, "I'm sorry, guys. It's just frustrating for me trying to figure out what Slade's up to. Tell you what. When we get home, I'll talk to you guys about it."

Tucker chuckled nervously, "Yeah, about that…"

Sam finished for him, "It'll have to wait until the weekend."

"What?" Danny said, perplexed, "Why?"

Sam responded, "Yesterday, Tucker and I both got a letter in the mail. We're both supposed to go to some meeting around 5:00."

Tucker added, "Apparently, it's for a meat versus veggies debate. It's supposed to decide what is eaten at the Casper High Class Reunion of 1976 next month. Chairman's a vegetarian, but the President's a carnivore."

Sam finished, "The letter said that they recognized our opinions between meat and veggies and want us there. We don't know how long it's gonna last, so we can't make any plans for tonight."

Danny was a bit taken aback by this news, but he said calmly, "Oh, okay. No big deal. Go ahead and have a good time. See you later."

With that, Danny turned off to his house while Tucker and Sam went the other way.

At ten to five, Tucker and Sam both stood in front of the building they were instructed to go to for the meeting.

Both of their faces looked skeptical. Tucker said, "Something doesn't feel right."

Sam agreed, "I know. I don't remember this building being used at all for years."

Which was true. The last people who lived in the building were a rather messy family. They had all died in a fire about eight years ago when someone left the stove on when they went to sleep. No one bought the house after that.

Tucker asked her, "You sure this is the right place?"

Sam checked the letter and said, "This is it."

They both thrust the door open and walked inside. It was dark and uninhabited.

Sam called out, "Hello?"

Tucker called out, "Anyone here? We're here for the meeting!"

No answer.

Sam turned to Tucker and said, "Do you think it got cancelled or rescheduled or something?"

"Not at all," said a voice that was not theirs, "You're right on time."

That was followed by the door slamming shut and locking, followed by several shadowy figures moving out of the darkness…right towards them.

That's all for now! Please don't kill me. Looks like Sam and Tucker have fallen right into a trap, in which Danny is unaware of! Can he get to his friends? Find out in Chapter 10!