Chapter 17: Snow Chance of Romance

It was the morning of the Saturday that followed and Danny got up.

He thought of Starfire again, but shook his head and got up.

"I gotta stop thinking about her." He said to himself. He heads to the bathroom, where he brushes his teeth and thinks back to her. "At least now she won't get her heart broken… then again, I kinda did that when I said I can't see her anymore…"

I didn't think this through, did I?

Still, he continued on and went about his day.

In the universe she lives in, Starfire has waited for days for Raven to complete their secret project. Robin and the boys were taking some time off to visit the Titans East. She waited outside Raven's door since 8. It was noon now and her door finally opened, with Raven floating out.

"Is it ready?!" Starfire asks, getting up quickly.

"Just getting water…" Raven says as she flies past the alien girl, who just freezes.

Raven floats back in with a glass of water and drinks from it. She returns to her room. Starfire remains still.

Raven opens up again. "It's ready."

"Glorious!" Starfire cheered as she flies into Raven's room. "How does it work?!"

Raven hands Starfire what looks like a wooden marble.

"I'll teleport you to near his location. Once you get the answer that you're looking for from him, crush that thing and it'll bring you back here." Raven says. "Now stand still, I'll teleport you after a finish the incantation." Raven then sits cross-legged on the floor as she begins to meditate. "Azerath Metrion Zinthos…"

It was supposed to be a full day. However, thanks to a ghost attack and a prank by Dash Baxter gone wrong, the school caught fire. Nobody was harmed, but it was decided to let the students go home early. Danny and friends were supposed to attend 6th period, but now they're free to go home.

"Since we got free time, I wanna finish this Literature assignment before anything else. I'm heading home." Sam says before running off. "See you tomorrow!"

"I'm off to get the new game release!" Tucker says as he runs off. "Later!"

Danny, now alone, heads home.

Danny thinks to himself on how to get his mind off Starfire. He thinks maybe a change of scenery, going somewhere he doesn't normally go to get his mind off her.

When he heads upstairs, he lies on his bed and thinks before he closes his eyes.

"Hello, Darling!"

Danny feels Starfire wraps her arms around him, picking him off the ground.

"Huh?" Danny looks around. "How did I-" Danny looks down and notices he's in ghost form. "When did I-"

His questions are cut short when Starfire's hug tightens.

"It is time for our wedding!"

"Wedding?!" Danny questions. She turns around to show him a church. She lets him go, and Danny sees her now not in her purple outfit, but in a white wedding dress and with a bouquet. "What? Wait!"

"It is time, my Phantom!" She says as she raises her arms up.

"I'm not a Tamaranian!"

She stops.

"What?" She asks quietly.

Danny then turns human in front of her.

"I'm human! When I transform with my powers, I just conveniently look similar to your people."

Starfire just stare at him, the bouquet in her hand dropping.

Second pass.

Starfire immediately glares.

"You tricked me?!"

"What?! No! I-"

Her eyes glow green.

"You tricked me!"

Her voice no longer sounded lovely, but angry and somewhat demonic.

Suddenly, the area around them turned red and caught fire.

"Starfire! Wait!" Danny shouted, holding his hands up.

"You tricked me! You will pay!"

Danny flies away, but hits something. When he looks, it's Blackfire.

"Told you she'd be upset…" Looking down, Danny sees she's also in a wedding dress. "But I'll be more than happy to marry you!"

She reaches out for him with a smile, one that is rather terrifying.

Danny looks behind him, seeing an angry Starfire. He looks to the sinister Blackfire. Danny goes ghost and tries to fly up, but finds something holding him down. It's a ball and chain.

"Oh no…"

He sees the two alien girls coming closer. Danny curls and wraps his head with his arms, worrying for harm coming from either one.

He wakes up. He looks and sees he's been out for 10 minutes.

"What was that?" He asks.

He looks up and figures it's his guilt messing with him. He thinks of the fire in that and realizes how warm things have been getting. He pulls his shirt collar and fans himself with his other hand. He decides to go someplace cooler.

Maybe I can go to those mountains Sam mentioned.

"Danny!" He heard his father calling. "Can you help me?"

"Sure, Dad!"

Heading downstairs, Danny goes to the basement. There, he sees his father working on the "ecto-stoppo-power-erfier", the original device that once cancelled out his powers. He was hesitant to go near it.

"Uh… what's up, Dad?" He asks without trying to step any closer.

"So… turns out this thing takes up too much power. Your mom had me replace the power source." He says as he walks to his son. "So, I need someone here to hold this." He gives Danny what looks like a high-tech meat thermometer. "Use this to register the energy."

Hesitantly, Danny holds it up as his father activates the machine. After a brief flash of light. Danny looks at the reading.

"Is this good?" Danny asks, showing his father as he walks up to him.

"Huh… only half as powerful as before."

"Uh… what does that mean if, say, Danny Phantom were holding this thing?"

"Well, his powers would be weakened for about two hours or so. Not as much as before and it would at least be temporary." Jack says.

"I see…" Danny feels somewhat relieved as this means he would have to worry. "So… can I go now, Dad? Since I'm off school early, I want to at least have some time to myself."

"Sure thing, Son." Danny nods and heads upstairs. Jack just shakes his head. "He must have met a girl who isn't that Sam person. Must be trying to get his mind off her. Ah, young love!"

Going ghost, Danny leaves and flies towards the North. One advantage of his power and speed is that he could go to places most boys at 14 can't on their own. Since he's got a few hours of freedom, he decides the snowy mountains about 100 miles North of Amity Park would be a good place to cool off. Since his powers have grown in months, he can now fly faster than his original 112 mph and makes it to the mountains in 40 minutes. It's there, in ghost form, he lays in the snow and decides to kick back.

"Maybe here, I can relax a little…"

Not too far, atop a hill, a portal opens up and out comes Starfire. Once the portal closes, she looks around and sees a forest covered in snow.

"Where on Earth am I?" She asks. "Where is Phantom?" She looks around the snowy environment and sees a small town nearby. "Perhaps someone there can aid me?" She starts to fly in that direction. She observes the area around her.

This is quite a beautiful place.

She loved the scenery, like something out of an animated movie. She sees small animals like rabbits and deer around when she notices she's heading to a cliff. Just as she was about leave, she spots something at the bottom. Something that catches her attention, it's the boy she's looking for.

"My Phantom!" She says cheerily. "I found him!" Without hesitation, she flies downwards.

Danny has fallen into a small nap. It was then he felt two warm arms hug him tightly. It managed to wake him up, but just barely. He opens his eyes a bit and sees Starfire is hugging him.

Huh, I'm dreaming of her again. He thinks drowsily as his eyes blink a bit.

"Hello again, my handsome Phantom!" She says. "I have come all this way for you." She lets him go, allowing him to sit up. She uses her flight to rotate herself until she was looking down at him. "I wanted to show you nothing would get between us and I do not fear whatever secrets you hide." She then kisses him on the side of his forehead.

It was the feeling of her lips on his forehead that Danny became wide awake. He realizes this is no dream.

Uh oh.

In that exact second, he tries to crawl away. However, Starfire wraps her arms around him again and holds him close.

"We are together once more!" She kisses him on the forehead a few times.

Danny tries to go intangible to get away, but finds he can't. He remembers why.

"Great… Dad's gadget is working…" He mutters quietly.

"What is wrong, darling?" Starfire asks.

"Uh… nothing, Starfire!" He says with a smile he puts on to reassure her. "So… um, how did you get here?"

Starfire giggles. "My friend, Raven, is a user of magic. She used her powers to help me find you!"

Danny thinks back to her friends. He remembered the only other girl looked in his direction as though she could see him. He thinks this is her.

"So… why are you here?" Danny asks.

"For you!" She says.

Instantly, she lets go of him. Even quicker, she grabs both sides of his head and pulls him in for a long kiss on the lips.

Once she lets go, both teens blush hard. Her smile never left her, Danny is still concerned.

"Uh… listen, Starfire?"

"I am here to know why you wish to avoid seeing me any longer…" She asks, looking a bit concerned. "You do not wish to see me again?"

She puts on a concerned look.

Danny starts to feel guilt.

"Um…" He rubs the back of his head with his hand. "It's not that I don't want to see you anymore… I just can't." Starfire looks concerned. "I mean…" Danny thought of something quick. "I'm not sure how my parents would react."

"Oh… that is alright!" Starfire said, putting her hands together with a smile. "I will inform them I am the princess of Tamaran! Surely a princess and a heroine in her own right would be worthy of their son."

Danny mentally slap himself.

I shouldn't have mentioned them.

"But… I don't know…" Danny says. "I don't think they want me dating, period." He tries to convince her not to pursue him.

"Yet…" She smiles. "You have performed the lip contact with me."

Danny is stunned silent, he has no response to that.

What do I say now?

"You are silent." Starfire says. She then wraps her arms around him again. "Perhaps our being affectionate can convince you."

Struggling, Danny manages to break free and fly into the forest.

"I gotta get some distance between us!" After some time, Danny flies behind a tree and looks behind the show-covered branches. "I don't see her."

Suddenly, he feels two hands around his face pulling him to his left. There, Starfire kisses him, much to his shock.

"You wish to play the hide and seek again? She asks cheerily. Danny bolts away, causing her to chuckle. "His reaction is adorable!"

Danny flies as fast as he can.

"Of course, missing her would bring her here." He thinks to himself. "What do I do now?" He stops and notices a large snowman. "Huh… I didn't see anyone around. I guess this works." Danny flies inside the snowman, using it for cover. Pushing out a hole around its face, Danny peeks with his eyes. "Okay, where is she?"

Another pair of eyes, much greener than his, appears inside the snowman and to his left.

"I am here!"

This catches Danny's attention. However, his shock ends when he remembers something.

"Aren't you cold in an outfit that revealing?" He asks.

"I am not as affected as the cold… although…" Danny feels her arms wrapping around him, causing him to blush hard. "I am feeling the warmth now."

Starfire kisses Danny. In a cartoonish fashion, the heat they produce from this kiss causes the snowman to immediately melt. If one of them were to look down, the puddle would be in the shape of a heart.

Once she ends the kiss, she once again looks longingly into his eyes with a big smile. Danny, despite his predicament, blushes.

"U-Umm…" He stutters. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have brought something from my friend, Raven!" She takes out the wooden marble Raven gave her. "This will allow us to return to Titans' Tower." Danny starts to worry. "But I will not until I learn something." She looks to him, worried. "Why do you not wish to resume our relationship?"

"It's not that I don't! I just can't!" He says.

"Why not?" Starfire asks, concerned.

Danny looks left and right, trying to think of something.

"It's a long story… one I can't even say at the moment…" He says.

"You are concerned?" She asks.

"Yeah." Danny says.

"Do not fret!" She says before hugging him tightly. "Perhaps if we spend more of the time together, you will see nothing is wrong!"

"What?!" He says, struggling to stay conscious.

"Perhaps more of the romantic rendezvous will convince you that I will be accepting of your issues!" She says with a big grin.

"Uh…" Danny freezes up after that. Not because of the cold, but because he can't think of how to get out of there.

"We must enjoy our time together!" Starfire shouts. She then takes his hand and starts flying towards the direction of the town she saw. "I had seen a town, perhaps we can spend our time together there!" She starts to rise a bit. "Perhaps there we can have chocolate that is hot, or the sled of Bob!"

She continues her flight as Danny tries to break free from her grip. He stops when he realizes she won't let go. Looking into the town, he thinks of finding some way of getting away from her until his powers can be turned off.

Let's see… it was like 2 when I left. So, I should be good to go around 4.

Danny and Starfire arrive at the town.

There, his attempts to get away will begin.

"So, Starfire?"

"Yes, Phantom?"

"What do you want to do, exactly?" He wants to find a way to kill time.

"Hmm." She folds her arms then scratches her chin in thought. Looking around, she sees a chubby photographer with glasses taking photos of couples. "Look!" She says to him, pointing at the photographer. "That man is taking the photos of the couples! Perhaps he can take our photos?" She suggests.

"I… don't know, Kory. I mean, I don't have any money. Do you?"

"I do not." She looks crestfallen.

Danny had to admit, he didn't like seeing her saddened.

"Stop!"

They look to see the photographer getting robbed by another man, taking his wallet.

"Later, loser!" He shouts.

Not wanting this crime to go unpunished, both teens step in his path. Danny on his right with Starfire on his left.

"Stop!" They shout.

"Wha?" He says in surprise at these two teens.

Both the half-ghost boy and the alien princess throw a set of punches in the face. Danny uses his left fist, Starfire with her right. They knock the robber out cold. Danny walks to take the wallet out of the man's hand and returns it to the owner.

"Here you go, Sir."

"Thanks!" He says. He looks closer to Danny. "Wait… aren't you-"

"Nope!" Danny says quickly, not wanting Starfire to know his identity this way. "Just a cosplayer and his… date… going out together." Danny says as a way to convince the man.

"Oh… well anyway! You two stopped that mugger, so I owe you. I normally charge 15 for photos." He holds up his camera. "As a thanks, I'll take your photo free of charge."

"Glorious!" Starfire says, walking to the man.

"Alright. Let me set up my photo."

As the man walks to where he wishes to take the photo, Danny takes Starfire aside to whisper to her. Realizing the man recognized him as Danny Phantom, he feared both Starfire learning who he is and causing a panic at a ghost and alien in this small town.

"Starfire, not everyone is going to be accepting of people who fly or shoot blasts out of their hands, so I think we should avoid using our powers in town." He whispers.

"That is a good idea." She says.

"Okay you two!" The photographer says. "I'm ready."

The two walk to where the photographer pointed. They stand in front of a brick wall, painted with images of lovely sunflowers. The two pose, Danny giving a smile even as Starfire wraps and arm around his shoulder. Quick thinking, Danny wraps his arm around her waist to hold her close. They smile at the camera as the photos are taken. After about a minute, the photographer gives each one a copy.

"There you go! Thanks again."

Starfire takes her photo and skips away, giggling happily. Danny is slower as he walks because he looks to the photo. There, he and Starfire are smiling. He can see how happy she is and it causes him to feel guilty.

I'm back!

Sorry about that folks.

But anyway, I was debating where to go next. I mean, I know how this ends, but how to get there?

I decided for a change of scenery, and figured something snowy had interesting ideas. Or, I just want them kissing inside a snowman.

But now, Danny's got to kill time with her. Can he do it?

Next time though, things get more action packed.