Morning light graced Danny's face from the skylights, ushering the arrival of a new day. Danny groaned as he pulled himself from where he rested. His purple backpack, which served as his pillow, had given him a crick in his neck.
That night after dealing with the evil sporting enthusiast and slipping away from Robin Hood and the lady, Danny tried in vain to get his bearings to find his way home. He had tried to contact his friends through both the Fenton Phones and his cell, but the former only got static and the latter had no reception.
After some more flying about, Danny had decided that he'll camp out and find his way in the morning. After all, one can think better after a good night's rest. That option seemed appealing since he spotted the two patrolling the streets (probably looking for him) and he didn't want to risk getting caught by them.
He settled to taking a nap in the museum, using a high up nook which remained unseen to anyone.
With a quick transformation, Danny flew invisibly out of the museum and over the city. He was still wondering where he could be. He was supposedly in Star City; which he had never heard of. At first he had worried that he was in a different country, which said worries were assuaged when he passed two coworkers in a office building that were discussing (rather loudly as Danny was outside the building) about last night's Football game and other obviously American topics.
"Okay, my phone is still dead and I'm not getting anything through the Fenton Phones, so I'll go where one would go to get information: the library-" he was then cut off by his gurgling stomach. "After breakfast."
Spotting a decent-looking restaurant, Danny floated down and found a private place to de-transform before heading inside. He hummed in interest at the menu and the items listed, as he hadn't heard of this restaurant chain before. Danny stood in line to order, lazily looking about. There was a few other people in the building; not overly crowded, but populated enough for a lively environment. The sound of a ringtone caused the man in front of the teen to dig out his phone. Not an odd occurrence… at least until Danny caught sight of the man's phone itself.
The device was a sleek and flat, nestled snuggly into the man's palm. A single touch brought the device to life, the entire upright surface lighting up.
Danny blinked at the apparently touchscreen device. 'Wow, that's a fancy looking phone.' He didn't recall ever seeing or hearing about phone models quite like that. And he would have heard of something as his friend Tucker was all about tech. Danny shrugged it off, figuring that it was likely not widely available.
That was soon debunked. After Danny had gotten his order from the Jamacian cashier -which the teen thought the young man's accent was cool, having lived with the same people of his town his entire life-, he noticed that all the customers and some staff had variation of the phone. Danny pulled out his phone, mentally comparing it and some other models he had seen while trying to reach one of his friends or sister. No dice.
A group of teenagers were passing Danny when one of them (an older boy with tan skin, brown hair and jade green eyes) spotted Danny's phone. "Wow, haven't seen one of those in a long time."
Danny grinned sheepishly, "yeah, my parents are kinda cheap." He then regarded the older teen's phone. "What model is that one? I've been thinking of buying a good phone with my savings." Danny mentally patted himself for the brilliant cover story.
"It's the smartphone V7 from Waynetech. Got it last Christmas. Waynetech's products tend to be more reliable and of a better quality than Lexcorp's."
"Thanks." Danny nodded, waving to the parting teen. He had never heard of Waynetech nor Lexcorp before, and by the sounds of it, both were major companies.
This was only the beginning as Danny picked out more and more odd details on his way to the library (the Jamaician guy was more than happy to help by providing directions): brands and models of cars, stores, music…
Suspicion trickled in, but the teen pushed it to the back of his mind, instead choosing to sightsee as he walked. Based on the directions, the library wasn't far. Danny admired how big the city seemed. He had lived in Amity Park his entire life and never traveled much, but when he did, he loved exploring the new sights and discovering wonderful oddities. He totally understood why Dani, his little clone cousin (though of recent, they began to view each other as siblings), loved to travel. Danny himself had that wanderlust and desire to explore. Hence his dream to be an astronaut. Danny stopped to investigate a wonderfully done mural, with a growing dread he tried to smush was slowly growing deep down in his gut, as there was that certain feeling: there's something wrong.
…~~~oOo~~~…
The last thing Oliver Queen wanted to do was to go searching for a meta kid.
Last night was nothing but hectic for the archer. The criminals have been causing trouble nonstop for the past week. Green Arrow was barely able to get a breather before the next wave of illegal activity called his attention and last night was the cream of the crop. Note the sarcasm.
His cover had been blown, and nearly was his head as well if it weren't for Black Canary dropping in to lend aid (much needed aid, not that he'd say it out loud). The two heroes then entered the warehouse to apprehend Sportsmaster. Much to their surprise, they found a young teenager facing off the rogue and the hired help.
They weren't sure about what powers he had, but it would be more surprising if he didn't considering the fact that the kid glowed. That and the fact he had tossed Green Arrow aside so easily (Dinah was still ribbing him about that) and ran. Okay, maybe he shouldn't have aimed his bow at the kid… maybe, kinda.
He let out a frustrated groan. After the police had taken the men away, both he and Black Canary searched for the mystery teen. It was like he had vanished, much like the cliched expression, into thin air. There was once or twice he had thought he spotted the youth, only to find nothing. With this and the news that Sportsmaster had busted out of the police car that held him-
*BOOM*
An explosion rang out from a couple blocks from where GA perched on a rooftop. Bolts of electricity flashed, dancing dangerously in the late morning/noon sky.
Green Arrow let out a groan. Great, just what he needed.
…~~~oOo~~~…
Danny eventually arrived to his desired destination. Danny's original plan was to use the computers at the library to look up where he was so he would know which direction to fly. But now he had some suspicions tickling the back of his mind as he walked to where the librarian had directed where the computers were.
After admiring the computers for a moment (for they were pretty advanced as well), Danny quickly, and with slight hesitancy, checked the date/time setting. Much to his relief, the computer matched his correct time period down to the year, month, day and (accounting different time zones) the time to the second.
Okay, not in the future (or past as Danny did not want to mess with the timeline again. He learned his lesson the first time). Danny mentally laughed at his paranoia (or at least tried to), opening the web browser- an unfamiliar web browser. In fact, all the available web browsers and search engines were unheard of to the halfa. He quickly typed in first where Star City was (West Coast he figured based on the time zone), then typed in the info for Amity Park…
[No results came of 'Amity Park, IL'. Do you mean…]
Danny blinked at the message on the browser in confusion. He tried again… several times, using key words and phrases like 'most haunted city in America' and 'the living ghost town'. Every time, Danny got zilch. The cold ball of dread sitting in his stomach grew.
"Okay, Fenton. You're somewhere in the California in a city you never heard of, using a computer with neither brand of the computer itself nor available web browsers are familiar. And according to the search engines, online maps and other sources, Amity Park doesn't exist," Danny muttered softly, dragging his hand over his face. "I'm not in a different time period…"
Danny's fingers danced across the keyboard in a flurry as he made various searches.
[No results came of 'FentonWorks'…]
FentonWorks doesn't exist.
[No results came of…]
No mentions of the Ghost Zone or any related studies on ghosts.
[No results…]
His mom doesn't exist.
[No results…]
His dad doesn't exist, nor does his sister Jazz.
[No results…]
The GIW were never founded. No Dalv CO., Axion Labs, Nasty burger, the Mansons-
[No results…]
Okay, reading that Vlad doesn't exist brought some temporary happiness to the teen, even if it was short lived.
Danny slumped into his seat, processing this newfound information. The screen that displayed the traitorous words began to flicker, pulling him out of his emotional downward spiral.
The flickering of the computer screen became rapid, soon to be joined by the other computers. The nearby printer's motor whirred to audible speeds unnatural for- well, any device- and began spewing papers. Nervous murmurs came from various library goers, then screams erupted as the computers blew. Danny sprang away as his computer's screen exploded, the teen hero rolling then landing in a crouch. The power to the entire building fluctuated, the lights flickering. Danny narrowed his eyes, then sprinted to the exit as people frantically sought cover from the overloaded electronics. The lights flickered some more, before plunging the entire library in darkness. The only source of light now was the steady green glow of Danny's determined eyes.
Meanwhile…
"-is in the area and is currently robbing the jewelry store on 52nd Street and Jefferson Main. Red Arrow: I need you, and Arsenal if he's coming, to bring extra foamers to neutralize-" Green Arrow was distracted by a black and white blur streaking past. He did a double take as he recognized the small figure.
"Green Arrow, what happened?" Black Canary questioned on the comm.
"It's the kid!"
"The kid that whooped GA's butt? What, he's also robbing the stores?" A male voice asked.
"No. He just passed by. And apparently he can fly. I can handle kids with super strength and bratty personalities, not kids that can fly! Flying is where I draw the line!"
"Ooh, someone chicken?" Another male voice, similar to the first one but younger, teased.
"Do you know how hard it is to keep track of super powered kids?! Forget herding cats!"
"Enough!" Black Canary's voice reprimanded. "Green Arrow, go and intercept. We'll provide backup as soon as we get there."
"Don't worry, we'll bring some nets too." Green Arrow only grumbled, sprinting to the crime scene where our favorite halfa was headed.
Danny regarded the figure in front of him. The female looked insane. She wore a skin-tight black suit. Her hair was crazily spiky and her skin was pale, slightly blue tint. If Danny didn't know better, he could have mistaken her as a ghost. Electricity crackled about her.
"I think I just encountered Technus' long-lost sister," Danny commented to himself, staring at the odd woman.
"AHAHAHA! Finally, these lovely little trinkets will do nicely!" She cackled.
"I don't think those diamonds want to be your friend." This finally caught the woman's attention. She swiveled to look at the floating teen.
"I beg to differ!" She regarded the ghostly hero in front of her. "How many heroes are there?" Danny rose a questioning eyebrow. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Call me Phantom. Now your name please?" Danny coaxed. "And a monologue if you're like my regulars." He muttered to himself.
"I'm Livewire!" Electricity flared.
"Uh Huh. Since you mentioned heroes, you are probably familiar with the hero/villain routine. So how about we skip the fight and get to the part where you are arrested."
"Aren't we feeling cocky?"
"Naw, just wanting to get this over with." Danny deadpanned. Livewire's response was to shoot at the teen, lightning streaking from her fingers. Danny dodged the blast, lunging to the side. The electric villain continued to shoot electric attacks, attempting to hit Phantom. She eventually lost sight of the teen. She kept abruptly turning about, hoping to see her smaller foe.
Danny then emerged from a shadowy corner, as if he materialized from the air, launching himself to kick Livewire. It worked, but Danny was shocked by the direct contact and was sent tumbling outside.
"Why do the bad guys I fight love to shock me one way or another?" Danny grumbled to himself. As he pulled himself up, his left elbow bumped against the fire hydrant he landed next to. An idea presented itself in Danny's mind.
Livewire exited the store, looking smugly at the teen, who had made his way back and stood in a ready stance. "What's the matter? The little twit can't handle my electricity?"
Danny rose an eyebrow. "Twit? That's the best insult you can come up for me? I've been called more creative insults than that. I've gotten bigger shocks as well. Maybe your villain name should be 'static cling'."
Irritated, Livewire began to fire at the teen. Danny wove gracefully through the air, now having more maneuver room versus the confines of the store.
"NYAH NYAH! Can't catch me~!"
*ZAP* Phantom looped around a stray bolt.
"Hold still you brat!"
"What's the matter Livewhiner? You seem frazzled."
*ZAP* Danny only had to move his head to the side this time.
"You call that a good shot? My blind grandma can shoot better than you!" Now this wasn't true, as Danny's grandmother wasn't blind. But he wasn't gonna tell the crackpot that anytime soon. His snark was riling her up, like he wanted.
"You're such a pest!"
Danny smirked. Livewire was getting frustrated and was now pouring more into her attacks. "And you're a lousy shot!"
"I'm Livewire: the mistress of electricity and master criminal! And I won't-"
"Dang it, I got another monologuer! Why do all you evil people have the need to monologue?! My English teacher's more interesting… and I'm asleep half the time!"
"AAAUUUGH!" A shockwave of energy exploded outwards, hitting Danny as he had no time to dodge. He stumbled to where the fire hydrantlay waiting, grunting in pain.
Livewire sent a dark glare at the teen, lightning dancing about her. Danny noticed that is seemed she was drawing power from the buildings and power lines. 'I hope this works…' Danny thought as he stood in front of the hydrant.
"Get ready for your body to course with so much electricity, your molecules will be scrambled!" The electric villainess growled out, glare murderous.
Danny only gave a deadpanned look. "Been there, done that. I didn't even get the shirt that was advertised. What a ripoff! Besides, you couldn't even power a lightbulb."
Everything seemed to move in slow motion. What seemed to be like lightning shot out, a sick glee twisting onto Livewire's face as she anticipated the charred remains of her opponent. Danny's face remained stoic until the blast was just about to reach him. At that moment, a determined and somewhat cheeky grin plastered itself on Phantom's face as he instantly turned intangible and phased himself through the sidewalk. The last thing Danny saw before he went underground was the look of shock (pun totally intended) and growing dread on Livewire's face as the lightning struck, instead of the young halfa, the fire hydrant.
The force of the attack caused the hydrant to explode in a tsunami of water and fragments of the former hydrant. Livewire screeched as the water made contact and she ended up zapping herself.
Danny came back up, taking stock of the surroundings. He then floated over to downed Livewire, slightly concerned for her well-being. He sighed in relief as the villainess was merely unconscious.
"That's taken care of," Danny muttered. It was then that the one of two heroes, Robin Hood, from last night dropped in with two others with him, staring with silent shock. Both were redheads and were dressed in red. Danny was fairly positive that the two guys were brothers, and the both seemed to have a thing for archery like the dude in green. What really was standing out to Danny was the younger of the two red heads had a robot arm! That and both red archers had their bows/crossbows out and aimed at him. Perfect.
"Did that kid take down Livewire?" The older red head questioned.
"Well it looks like we meet again kiddo. Are you going to do us a favor and come quietly?" The green-clad man asked. Danny noticed that the three had surrounded him.
"Yeah, as if I want to join your D&D fanatics club," Danny stated, watching them carefully.
None of them seemed to appreciate Danny's snark. "Hey, we don't want trouble."
"The Weasley boys with weapons pointed at me says otherwise."
Robin Hood gestured for the two red-clad archers (who were now scowling at Danny; the younger one more than the older) to lower their weapons. "Look, we just have some questions-"
"And I'm leaving. Bye!" At this, Danny took off.
Simultaneously, the red archers shot at the halfa. Danny, with his quick reflexes, dodged the bolt and caught the arrow.
"HA!" The teen exclaimed smugly. But to Danny's irritation, the head of the arrow blinked, then exploded. This sent the teen sprawling.
"Ugh. Considering this sort of thing happened before with the ghost archer, I should have seen that coming." Danny muttered to himself, only vaguely hearing the green archer and a female voice saying something. Danny picked himself up as the two redheads both made a beeline to him from opposite directions. Danny couldn't help but smirk when he turned intangible, the two red archers crashing into each other.
Danny took to the air, leaving the three behind with the gothic lady, who had apparently just joined them. He then flew off.
Black Canary watched as the black and white speck disappeared, then turned her attention to Green Arrow and his former protégés. "Look at what you boys did. Ya scared him off."
Red Arrow waved a hand frantically, glaring at the older heroes. "Aren't we gonna mention the fact that no one told us about how the kid can density shift?!"
Green Arrow huffed, "we're just in the dark about the kid's powers as you. Ugh, now we have to find a kid who can fly, density shift and who knows what else!"
"Calm down! Let's just clear this up and report this to the league."
…~~~oOo~~~…
Danny found himself at the other end of the city. Dozens of sleek buildings towered, tips competing for height as they scraped the sky. Danny flew up the larger skyscraper of the lot, looping around as he ascended. He finally graced the top, coming to rest by a pole, ghostly tail loosely coiled around it. He gazed out and let out a sigh. He had come to the conclusion after leaving the city's heroes, reviewing the information he had in his head: he was in another dimension.
Great. Just what he needed!
Danny slumped down with a groan, tail changing to legs as he sat cross-legged against the pole. The wind whipped his hair about, the chill of the height not bothering the teen in the slightest as he was occupied with his turmoil of thoughts.
"I'm in another dimension with no way to contact Sam, Tucker or Jazz. They're probably worried since I practically disappeared without a trace last night. They'll probably think Vlad kidnapped me again. Ugh, stupid Vlad! Why did he have to go steal the-" Danny froze in his little rant.
The Infimap! It was yesterday that Danny and his friends had been working on updating their files on the ghosts when Danny got a message from Frostbite. Basically the Infimap had been stolen by the fruitloop. Arming themselves, the trio had raided the elder man's mansion and got the map back. They hadn't gotten very far before Vlad and some minions had ambushed them in the park.
Danny mentally facepalmed. The Infimap was the ultimate tool for traversing the Infinite Realms and all that it connected to (as the Ghost Zone acted as a bridge of sorts to different realms and dimensions). Danny had the map on him, strapped to his belt towards the back, when he ended up at the warehouse district last night and stowed it inside his backpack before investigating. He could have used the map to get himself home, but with all that had happened… he forgot.
Danny reverted back to his human form, shouldering the hand-me-down purple backpack off. Yanking it open, he rummaged the contents (most of it ghost weapons from the raid) before finding the needed parchment.
He pulled out the map. His relieved smile morphed, first to a look of confusion as he noticed something off with the map, shock as he had started to unroll it, then horror.
That night, when Vlad had tried to stab Danny with his ectoblade, Danny had narrowly avoided being pierced. Vlad had missed the teen, but had instead struck something else. The very thing that would take the teen home.
Danny's hands shook as he held the parchment open. There was the Infimap, arguably one of the most powerful artifacts of the Infinite Realms, now bore a gaping hole burnt into the center.
The wind swallowed Danny's scream.
…~~~oOo~~~…
Tiamat Dragoness: Here is chapter 2 as I had it mostly ready at the same time as the first chapter.
It has been a while since I've seen Young Justice, so I apologize in advance if there's some inconsistencies.
I'm going to be using other characters and concepts in the DC world, not just Young Justice, like how I just used Livewire. Will there be Supergirl?
Yes, she'll be showing up.
Is there a Starfire?
Of course!
Jason Todd/Red Hood?
…yep!
Read, review (kindness only. No bad mouthing!) and have a good one!
