Bam! Danny inwardly cringed at the cracking noise, an expensive vase exploding nearby. He knew he had to control those emotions, or he'd never master that new power. People in the room were jumping, suspecting two ghosts were battling each other invisibly.
Mr. Lancer, however, had ordered them to stay in the room. Anyone who left would be stuck with detention for the year, and that was more than enough to have them take the chance the ghosts had left.
Truth was, Danny was losing control of his emotions again. And when that happened, another item exploded. It all came with the job of protecting the town and having superpowers.
He still wished the town would trust him. He wasn't trying to harm them, and most believed that. But the deadlier ones didn't. The mayor, mom, dad, and Valerie, just to name a few.
So here he was, getting angry again, and watching the whole class flinch as Dash's pencil exploded. 'Calm down,' he thought to himself, taking a deep cleansing breath. Mr. Lancer decided to come in at that moment, glancing around the room to find a couple charred items.
"Ghost problems?" he asked, and the class nodded numbly. He sighed, picking up a large stack of papers. "Today's Pop Quiz is about…"
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Starfire crashed to the ground, making a large dent in the concrete. Robin growled angrily, launching himself at Slade. The two masked figures exchanged blows, Slade finally landing one on Robin's chest.
Roaring, Beast Boy ran towards Robin's nemesis. He thrust himself at Slade, changing into a tiger while doing so. His claws slashed at the armor, doing little more than scuffing it up. A well aimed kick later, the green boy was flying through the air, avoiding crashing into a tree thanks to Raven.
The sorceress levitated towards Slade, Cyborg following on the ground. They attacked him at the same time, and he stumbled a bit before flinging two items at them both. They crashed to the ground, tumbling head-over-heals into the forest. Slade walked up to Beast Boy, pointing a laser at his head.
"You always were the weakest," he mocked, charging up the deadly device. Beast Boy was frozen with horror (and pain), and he couldn't move. Suddenly, a voice he knew all to well called out from the distance.
"You always did delay victory, which caused you defeat." The voice sent shiver down Beast Boy's spine, although they weren't unpleasant. A giant chunk of earth flew out of the ground, taking Slade with it.
Almost afraid to look, the shape shifting boy turned his head, gasping as he looked into the glowing yellow eyes of someone he thought he'd lost.
((I could leave it there, but lucky for you I'm nice. :P Anyways, now we continue.))
"Terra?" he asked, and the girl lowered her arms. Beast Boy saw her eyes were no longer blue, but rather a bright neon green. "Terra, what happened?"
"I… It's a long story Beast Boy, and…" she trailed off, glancing off to the side.
"Um, Terra, since when do you float?" The question made her wince, and he realized he'd said the wrong thing. Suddenly, Slade emerged from under the pile of rubble, trying to strike Terra in the face…
And going right through her.
The one eye that was visible widened, and he whipped around. "I… Will… Get… You!" he yelled, throwing a punch after every word. The young blonde sighed, glancing at Beast Boy. Then a small ball of yellow energy appeared in her right hand, and the beam hit Slade directly in the chest, he went flying backwards, and Terra again looked at Beast Boy.
"Well, you know how my statue disappeared? Well, my powers did that. They cracked the stone, allowing my body and spirit to roam free. However, my body had my powers and my spirit had my memories. I knew that my human half would need memories to survive in this world, so I gave them to her. Unfortunately, I accidentally took her powers as well.
"I was drawn to a strange and distant place, where millions of ghosts rested. Most kept to themselves, although occasionally there was the kind or hostile one. I found a swirling green vortex, and, having nowhere else to go, entered it. Apparently, however, I was exiting that place.
"I entered what appeared to be a lab, and a teenaged girl with bright orange hair was looking for something. I asked her where I was, but she just picked something up and tried to shoot me with it. Scared, I brought up a bit of earth and stopped the attack, although I still trembled.
"Glancing into a mirror, I saw my eyes had changed to a brilliant green, and my skin paled. I tried to touch my reflection in the mirror, but my hand went through it. I broke down and… And… And cried.
"The girl who had screamed looked at me in confusion, then in what appeared to be understanding sympathy. She came up to me, trying to pat my back and succeeding once I solidified again. Then some guy with silvery hair flew through the ceiling, holding a small thermos in his hand. He opened it and pointed it at me, but the girl protected me."
Here Terra whimpered, as though she could barely bare to go on.
"He asked how she knew she could trust me; how she knew I wasn't evil. She went off on an entire lecture of 'innocent until proven guilty,' and finally got his eyes to soften up. I think I owe my life, or what's left of it, to her. I don't know what would've happened if he had attacked me, but many of the ghosts feared that thermos.
"Only then did I realize this part of me was dead. Do you know how hard that was to cope with? Part of me being dead, while the other part was living out the life of a regular teenager. I started crying again, and after I while, I learned that… That that ghost wasn't so different from me.
"I wish I could tell you more about that Beast Boy, but I promised I wouldn't. But once he told me about him, I told him about me. Running as my powers caused disasters, joining the Titans, running away and becoming Slade's apprentice, saving the city but sacrificing myself… I told him all of it, and he looked at me almost in understanding.
"I don't know why, because he didn't tell me that much about him, but he did tell me he once had a battle with his evil self. He told me… I just had to think about the ones I loved, and I did. It gave me strength, and I decided to travel the city. One day I decided to try and talk to the mayor.
"At first I don't think he realized I was a ghost, so we had a civilized conversation. Then I told him not to freak out, and removed the sunglasses. At first he pulled out this strange gun and threatened to shoot me, but I finally coaxed him put it down. We talked for a while, and he finally trusted me.
"However, he said I would only be welcome in this city so long as I gathered you guys for a mission. He didn't know how to reach you otherwise, so this is the only way I can be trusted. Beast Boy, he wants you to find and eliminate Danny Phantom…
"The ghost that helped me."
