WoM- Yayness! You guys are all really awesome, you know that, right? Here's installment three, hope it lives up to expectations!
"Never raise your hands to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected."
-Red Buttons
"You know, this has to be some sort of union dispute," One of the vultures griped. "We haven't had a vacation or sick leave for the decade we've been working for the Master!"
"Ghosts don't get sick," One of his companions reminded him.
"…Oh, yeah…."
The three flew in silence for a moment longer, before one of them spotted something that looked like an ominous black plane. It wasn't as large as the places you saw flying around in the mortal realm, but it did look eerily high-tech, in the same forbidding way Vlad and Skulker's labs did.
"Uh, think the boss might consider that 'something useful?'" he asked, pointing the device out to his ever constant companions.
"Well? Go check it out!" One of the other vultures snapped.
"WHAT? Why me?" Vulture #1 demanded.
"You're the one that found it!" Vulture #2 pointed out.
"Exactly! I've done my fair share for the day, YOU check it out!"
"Uh, guys?" Vulture #3, usually silent, tried to interrupt, his eyes wide.
"How is saying a plane MIGHT be useful doing your fair share, you nincompoop?"
"Oh yeah, well pttui on you!"
"Guys?" Vulture #3 said again, this time a little more urgent.
"Look, this won't get us anywhere let's all go down there and get it over with," Vulture #2 suggesting as a reluctant diplomatic.
"Yeah," Vulture #1 sighed in defeat. "Might as well or else we're gonna have to-!"
"RUN!" Vulture #3 squawked, leaving his companions behind in a fury or feathers. The other two were confused for a moment before they saw a dark silhouette looming over them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Maybe we should call her. You know, just to see how things are going…"
Robin raised an eyebrow at Beastboy's carefully casual tone.
"Raven's in school right now," Robin reminded him, "We're only supposed to call her if it's an emergency. We can't risk blowing her cover Especially on the first day."
"Oh," Beastboy said. "Right…" minutes ticked by. It felt strangely awkward in Titan's Tower without Raven's presence for everyone, but Beastboy was most obvious in his discomfort. He'd shift around, play with loose threads on the couch and whistle random tunes but nothing seemed to satisfy him.
"So," Cyborg broke the silence (Save for Beastboy's rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy,) "How do you think she's doing?"
"Oh, yes!" Starfire said happily, "I hope Friend Raven has made many new friend she is willing to share with us!"
"Dude, it's RAVEN," Beastboy exclaimed, "Knowing her, they've probably got her on quarantine right now."
"Do you even know what quarantine mean?" Cyborg asked.
"Not a clue," Beastboy admitted. The other Titan's sweat dropped. "Hey, wonder what's on TV…"
"Do you agree with Beastboy, Cyborg?" Starfire asked worriedly. "I'd hate for Friend Raven to feel alone."
"Uhh…" Cyborg said, feeling trapped. It was Robin who came to his rescue.
"I'm sure Raven's fine, Starfire," He assured her. "She's lived through worst then High School, after all…"
BLACKBIRD
Chapter 3; Friends?
"So, let me get this straight," Raven said, frowning, "Your parents are ghost hunters?"
"Yep," Danny grinned. With his impish charms and pretty blue eyes, it wasn't hard to see why Valerie liked him…
"And your dad's a Weapons Supervisor?"
"Well, not right now," Valerie said, too proud to tell the new girl her dad worked nightshifts as a security guard, one of the lowest of the low jobs. (WoM- No disrespect to any hardworking security guards out there, or their children,) "But yeah,"
"Am I the only one who thinks this is an odd match up?" Raven asked dryly. Danny laughed.
"Nope," Danny chuckled, "And I think it's safe to say you'll only find friends like us in Amity Park,"
"I'd bet…" Raven drawled, amused.
Raven usually kept herself from getting too attached to people, especially after the Terra thing. Unfortunately for her, Danny's easygoing and accepting personality was too compelling to ignore for long. And as much as she hated to admit it, he was actually kind of interesting.
Never before had she met someone who portrayed both deep responsibility and laid-back acceptance. It was like someone had combined Beastboy and Robin, and actually made a person who was workable in society. Sort of, anyways.
"Anyways, you mentioned you're into all this ghost stuff, right Rae?" Danny said, "If you want, you can come over to my place after school and I can show you around the lab a bit, introduce you to my parents." Raven's eyebrow raised at that, thinking of the Oh-So-Warm welcome she's received from the school so far.
"You sure about that last one?" She asked. Danny looked confused.
"Uh, yeah?" Danny frowned, "My parents are a little over eccentric-!" This earned him a dry look for Valerie, "-okay, a lot over eccentric, but I'm sure you'd get to like them after a while. Or tolerate them at the very least. The rest of the town has…" Raven suppressed a smile at that.
"No, that's not what I mean," She said, "I meant would you parents really be okay with you being friends with a creepy girl like me?" Raven clarified, using the nickname given to her back home. Danny rolled his eyes.
"No offence or anything, Rae, but Goths are eerily normal when compared to Mom and Dad," He said dryly, "Besides, they didn't mind with Sam, and she was Goth…"
"Mr. And Mrs. Fenton are pretty accepting," Valerie added, clearly irritated she was being left out of the conversation, "So long as you have a pulse you're welcome in their home."
"That seems a little over-trusting to me," Raven said in amusement.
"Where do you think Danny gets it?"
"Hey!" Danny said, clearly insulted. Valerie laughed.
"Ease up, Fenton, I'm just messing with you," She said playfully.
"What kind of world has this become when one can't even rely on his friends?" Danny sighed mournfully. Valerie rolled her eyes and swiped at Danny in jest. He ducked away and jumped up, hiding behind Raven to use her as a sort of human shield.
"Some brave guy you are," Raven snorted.
"You ever take a hit from Val?" Danny countered, "When you do, we'll talk. Until then…" Danny yelped as Dash Baxter walked past him, shoving him painfully into the picnic table.
"Watch it, Baxter!" Valerie snapped, her good mood gone as she glared at the jock.
"Keh. Need your whiney girlfriends to stand up for you, Fenton?" Dash sneered.
"They're my friends, Dash," Danny corrected, "Not that you would know the difference between a friend and a girlfriend, considering you haven't had an actually one of either." Danny flinched after saying that, and Raven realized (In amusement) That was supposed to stay internal dialoged. Dash's face became a ruddy red as those around him choked back snickers.
"You're a dead man, Fenton!" Dash growled, starting forward. Both Raven and Valerie tensed, but before they could do anything another voice stopped everyone.
"Lord of the Flies! Fenton, Baxter! Are you two fighting again?"
"No, Mr. Lancer," Dash answered, shooting Danny a glare that promised retribution. Mr. Lancer frowned after the boy as he and his friends left.
"Danny, may I have a moment of you time, please?" He asked.
"I guess." Danny said in a sullen voice. Then he addressed Raven and Valerie "Be right back. Oh, and Val? If you see Tucker, could you tell him I need to talk to him later?"
"Sure, Danny," Valerie said with a small, encouraging smile. Danny returned it bleakly before he left.
"Any reason he looks like he's off to his own funeral?" Raven asked dryly.
"Mr. Lancer's a real hardhead, and he's been getting on Danny's case a lot recently." Valerie sighed.
"Why?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.
"None of your business," Valerie said with a glare. "If Danny wanted you to know, he'd tell you."
"No reason to get so jealous." Raven said dryly.
"I'm not jealous," Valerie said, "It's just I don't trust as easily as Danny. I know your up to something, and I'm gonna find out what," Now it was Raven's turn to glare.
She didn't have much experience with other girls her age, (save the fellow female Titans, and even that was pretty minimal,) but she could already tell that Valerie would indeed become a headache if Raven let her stew long enough. Upon coming to that conclusion, Raven decided to stop it in her usual blunt way.
"I'm not interested, okay?" She said dryly.
"What?" Valerie said, raising an eyebrow.
"Danny, he's a nice guy, but he's not really my type," Raven explained. "Besides, I'm not exactly most guy's idea of great girlfriend material. So you can rest easy, your crush is safe," Valerie blushed then sighed.
"Look," She said begrudgingly, "Sorry if I come off as cold, but I've liked Danny for a while now and I'm hoping he likes be back. Especially now that Manson's out of the picture."
"You won't have any competition in me," Raven promised her.
"Still doesn't mean I trust you," Valerie said. "Like I said, you're not like other people,"
'How much ectoplasmic energy have these people been exposed to?' Raven thought irritably. If ghosts really haunted this place, some of the people here who were more mentally atone to such things should've absorbed enough stray ectoplasm to have a strong sixth sense, and therefore feel the difference in the aura Raven put out.
Still, why was it just Valerie then…?
"Back," Danny said glumly.
"Hey," Valerie smiled, "Didn't go well?"
"The parents have been called to chaperone the school trip to Jump City." Danny groaned, "My life is officially over…" Raven froze.
"We're taking a trip to Jump City?" She asked, alarmed.
"Not till the end of the school year," Valerie admitted, "But yeah."
"It's a week long, and a pretty big deal," Danny explained. "Last year's class got a tour of Titan's Tower. Think they cancelled that this year though. Something about Beastboy and a Teletubbies marathon…" Raven couldn't suppress a smirk as she remembered Cyborg's addition to the terrible punishments they'd heaped on Beastboy for holding tours without their knowledge.
"Still, there's lots more to do," Valerie smiled, "Danny and I as tour partners since Tuck's already signed up with Melissa. But we should all be in the same group."
"You've already picked partners?" Raven raised an eyebrow.
"You pick or the school picks for you," Danny gave a wicked looking grin, "And that's NOT something you want to put up with for a week," The bell rang and everyone gathered their trash, throwing them away on the way out.
"You better find someone to sign on as your partner soon," Valerie warned, "Or you'll end up with someone like Nathan."
"Who's Nathan?" Raven asked, frowning. Valerie pointed to a boy with frizzy red hair, acne, huge glasses and braces walking with his fellow band geeks before she and Danny parted ways with the sorceress. Raven made a face, "…Joy…"
Danny grinned as he and Raven left sixth period, eyeing her dark scowl in amusement.
"Where do teachers come up with this stuff? She demanded, "A twelve page essay, a book report, a study guide for a test I apparently have to take this Friday and a vocabulary sheet?"
"Welcome to High School," Danny laughed. Then he brightened when something else caught his attention. "Tucker!" Puzzled, Raven turned to see who the boy was waving to.
Coming towards them were two people, a boy and a girl. The girl Raven recognized from the bus stop that morning, but the boy she didn't know.
He wasn't the coolest looking guy, but he certainly seemed nice enough when he grinned at Danny.
"Hey!" He said, "Valerie told me you needed to talk. Who's this?"
"Oh, right." Danny said, wincing when he realized he'd forgotten the introductions, "Rae, this is Tucker, a friend of mine since forever. Tuck, this is Rachel Venn, but she prefers Rae,"
"The girl who slugged Dash?" Tucker clarified.
"I did?" Raven asked, surprised.
"It's high school, Rae," Danny grinned, "It takes exactly three seconds for someone toblow something out ofproportionsaround here. I'm guessing there are many, many alternate versions by now."
"Haven't really paid any attention to them," Tucker shrugged. "But I think I've heard around three or four so far…"
"Great," Raven said dryly, "Is there anything good about high school?"
"Nope," Danny and Tucker answered together as one. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, man, what did you want to tell me?" Tucker asked.
"Later," Danny said pointedly, glancing at Raven and Melissa. "I'll call you or something."
"Sure, Danny," Tucker said, frowning. If Danny couldn't say anything in front of the girls, it was probably ghost related, "Come on, Melissa, let's go to the Nasty Burger for a bite. Nice to meet you, Rae. Later, Danny!"
"See you round, Tuck," Danny responded, "Come on, Rae, Jazz is probably getting impatient."
"Jazz?" Raven questioned.
"My sister," Danny sighed, "She's a Junior here. She can drive, so she usually takes me to school in the morning and always brings me home."
"How is this a bad thing?" Raven asked. She would give almost everything in the world to avoid the bus crowd every day.
"well, she can get a little naggy and over-protective…" Danny admitted as he led her out towards the bustling Parking Lot, "Ah, there she is, and Val's with her. JAZZ!" Danny missed Raven's slight flinch at the mention of his other friend, no looking forward to spending more time with the girl.
Still, the ghost hunters would probably be the best place to start looking as far as the ghost front went. They'd have more and more knowledgeable information then Mrs. Ishiyama. And while she had no intention of using Danny, she didn't see why she couldn't take advantage of an opportunity that practically fell into her lap.
"Hey Danny," A pretty red head smiled at Raven's companion, "Who's your friend?"
"Rachel Venn," Raven introduced herself, "You can call me Rae,"
"Jasmine Fenton," Danny's sister replied smiling, "Jazz. Everyone set? You have all your homework, Danny?"
"Yes," Danny groaned, climbing into the passenger seat.
"Are you sure? You know Lancer has-!"
"I've got it, Jazz!" Danny said, looking annoyed.
"I'm just saying," Jazz sighed, climbing into the driver's side as Valerie and Raven got in the back, "Everyone buckled in?"
"Yes, Jazz," Valerie chimed, mimicking a schoolchild and grinning at Danny. Jazz rolled her eyes.
"You've been spending far too much time with my brother, Valerie…" Jazz grumbled. Danny and Valerie laughed. "So, Rae, where are you from?"
"New York," Raven answered.
"The city?" Jazz pressed.
"Yeah,"
"What's it like there?"
"It's alright," Jazz sighed when it became apparent that Raven wasn't going to elaborate on her answers willingly, and Danny and Valerie snickered. "So anyways, why are you two coming over? Some new project?"
"Nah," Danny said, "Raven's into the ghost hunting stuff and Valerie's already got the go ahead from her dad to come over for dinner so mom can tell her what she needs to bring for the Camping trip this weekend." Jazz made a face.
"Why is it that everything nowadays leads back to ghost hunting?" The redhead griped.
"Jazz is still mad she was wrong about ghosts not existing," Danny explained to Raven with a grin.
"DANNY!" Jazz said, taking advantage of the red light to smack her little brother. Danny laughed.
Raven couldn't help but smile. They were bickering, sure, but it was a good bickering, like Cyborg and Beastboy. It was obvious the Fenton siblings were close, most likely because of their parents odd career path. More and more, Raven was wondering just what kind of people Mr. And Mrs. Fenton were.
"Here we are," Jazz said, stopping, "this is our house." Raven blinked at the enormous neon sign reading FENTONWORKS over the most noticeable house in the block, if not city.
"Couldn't tell," Raven said casually, shrugging her messenger bag up. Danny and Jazz blushed as Valerie choked back laugher.
Raven trailed behind the three as they made their way up to the house. Jazz immediately started calling out for her parents while Danny and Valerie took up positions in the kitchen. Raven trailed behind her, looking around.
Compared to the outside, the inside of the Fenton's home looked relatively normal, save an over abundance of ghost based decorations and family photos, most of which consisted of the grinning mug of a man Raven could only assume was Danny's father on the loose family resemblance. Raven smiled wryly as she studied this picture, deciding that the man didn't look all that bright.
Then Raven's eyes landed on a plaque that hung on a wall nearby. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon reading it.
FENTON FAMILY RULES;
AS COMPOSED BY MADDIE FENTON
5.) COMPLETE ALL CHORES AND FOLLOW
SET CURFEW RIGIDLY (THIS MEANS YOU,
DANNY!)
4.) NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL IN
THE LAB AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. THIS
MEANS NO NON-FENTONS, SAVE TUCKER,
SAM AND THE GREYS.
3.) NO STRANGE BOYS WHO HAVEN'T
BEEN INTERVIEWED BY MYSELF, YOUR
FATHER AND DANNY (JAZZ)
2.) NO TOYING WITH ANY MORE
EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT.
1.) ALL BASIC SAFETY PROCEDURES
MUST BE FOLLOWED AT ALL TIMES,
INCLUDING FINDING COVER ANY
TIME THE WORD 'DUCK' IS YELLED.
"Jazz insisted on that last one," Danny said behind Raven, noticing what she was reading. Raven turned and fought a smile at his grimace. "Dad thought it was unnecessary, but then again all the rules are pretty ridiculous."
"Except number three, right?" Valerie grinned, "Don't deny it, Danny, your family won't let any boy you consider unworthy within three feet of Jazz,"
"Jazz can date whoever she want," Danny said, rolling his eyes, "Just not her last boyfriend was all…"
"Mm-hm…" Valerie said, giving him an unconvinced look.
"What? The guy was a total loser!" Danny said defensively.
"Speaking of losers, when are you gonna tell your parents about the punishment you got thanks to Dash?"
"Tonight, I think," Danny sighed. "It's not gonna be pretty…"
"I don't know about that," Valerie said, "I mean, you mom said she's always wanted to talk to the one with the powers, right? Raven or whatever?"
Raven stopped examining the contents of the room to consider the sheer irony of this moment as Danny sighed.
"Well…"
"DUCK!" Valerie and Danny hit the floor at Jazz's yell, Danny pulling Raven along for the ride before she had time to register what was going on. Above them, a whistling rocket lit the room in a blinding green light before it crashed out the window in a spray of glass, exploding in mid-air outside.
"Mom! Dad! You nearly killed Danny and his friends!" Jazz yelled, glaring down the open door as Valerie Danny and Raven all slowly got out from under the table, just in case another missile was heading their way.
"Don't be silly, dear," a warm female voice responded as two sets of footfall were heard coming upstairs (one much heavier then the other.) "The Fenton Bombers are made of a special ectoplasmic residue that only affects ghosts. It couldn't hurt a human…"
Two figures came out from the downstairs and into the kitchen. One was a woman in a blue Hazmat suit with red goggles and the other a burly man in a similar suit, only in a bright neon orange that reminded Raven vaguely of Starfire. Both seemed quite happy and since neither Danny or Valerie looked upset (Or even all that concerned) with what had just transpired, Raven relaxed a little again, though she still eyed the pair as warily as if she expected them to be the next thing to explode.
"Oh, who's this?" The female of the pair asked. Raven could only assume the woman's gaze was on her, since the goggles hid her eyes.
"This is Rachel Venn, a new girl at school," Danny introduced, "Rae, this is-!"
"Jack and Maddie Fenton!" The man bellowed with a wide grin, "the leading scientists for ghost hunting technologies! Nice to meetcha! Say, do you like ghosts?"
And, just like that, Raven found out just how abnormal the Fenton hose truly was…
WoM- Has anyone else out there ever noticed what pretty eyes Billy Joe from Green Day has? Off topic, I know. Anywho, that was chapter three! More about the Fentons first meeting with Raven next chapter. (Tee Hee!)
Thanks to;
Twin Kats
enigmatic penguin
Titan6
Jaaku-san
Invader Johnny
Tetsukon
Rei Tamashii
Kara Crane
Anasumi
epobbp
phantomgirl07
fang 50
soaring-bright-flame
Unit 1860
CelloSolo2007
Raiki-Casinio
Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse
k
Firehedgehog
Rosadina formerly Tima
Aida Vargas
Reggie Tuesday
Questions;
Twin Kats (I know, my firends have already told me and I signed a petition going around to axe that rule. No such luck so far, though. I decided to cut it down by only responding to questions and praying that people here are nicer then they were over in the Anime Section, who got one of my old pennames banned. 'grumbles' Damn penguin (Thank you, and it's true! I don't want to bother you if you're busy, I'll just try and be a little more careful. 'laughs' A lot of people say they admire my ability to keep a deadline. Truth is, I've got ADD, so if I don't keep everything on a schedule, I'm screwed.)
Jaaku-san (Thank you! And yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like Sam/Danny but when you start seeing it everywhere... 'laughs' Yeah, I like the Fenton Comms too. It gives Jazz 24/7 nagging rights! Being an older sis is just TOO fun sometimes...)
Invader Johnny (I don't have anything against goths or any one else for that matter. My best friends consist of a rather preppy girl who's about as sweet as you can get (If a little naive) a gothic girl who has no internal dialog whatsoever, a video game freak who is almost crelly sarcastic and me, the creepy girl no one wants to look in the eyes who's eerily random. (That's how we describe ourselves, by the way) it's the jerks who like to think they're better then people who seem to have a problem with them, and you've gotta admit the DP world seems to be full of thise kind of people. Thanks, and I will! PS. Is your penname a combo of Invader Zim and Johnny the Homicidal Manic? Great graphc novels, those two!)
Anasumi (Thank you! Yeah, no matter how I worked with this story, I just couldn't bring Sam and Tucker in and keep it on the path I wanted it to go... Though Sam's probably ready to kill me by now. Sorry Sam! Yeah, OOC annoys me almost as much as lack of originality. Thank you again, I'll try to improve my grammar.)
soaring-bright-flame (Thanks! Blow up the boys bathroom? 'blinks then grins evilly' hmmm...)
Unit 1860 (Thank you. And no, no Trigon in this story. Your suggestion has given me an idea for a sequel, though...)
CelloSolo2007 'laughing' don't feel too bad, you're the first to notice. How perspective of you! Have a cookie! 'gives CelloSolo2007 a cookie,' I couldn't resist, though. I love playing with names. Glad you liked that, though.)
Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse (I hear that. That combined with the fact that almost nothing on the menu is vegetarian means the days I eat school lunches are few and far between.)
Rosadina formerly Tima (Three fics? Wow! Thank you! I'm glad you like this story so much!)
Aida Vargas (Auug... I'm offending people left and right today... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought the irony was amusing, not the situation itself. I completely understand why you'd be upest in that kind f situation. God knows I wouldn't let them take me without a fight...)
Next update; December 6th
See ya then!