Chapter Six
Stationing
"Where are they?" Raven questioned to herself as she looked around the abandoned city. It was all quiet and not even an animal was making a sound. The only animal that could be seen was Beast. "Where is everyone?"
Beast growled before huffing out something that sounded like a sigh. Raven blinked as Beast put his nose down on the ground and take a long slow huff. He raised his head in the air a moment later and breathed deeply once more. "Beast Boy?" Raven questioned as she waited to see what her friend would do.
It was several minutes later that he grabbed her by her hood and swung her up onto his back. "Beast?!" She exclaimed as the creature took off down the streets at a fast pace. "Where are you going?" She questioned, using what little strength she had gained to hold onto her friend.
Raven screeched as he came to a dead stop, knocked aside a man hole cover, and jumped down to continue to run in the sewers. The Azarath being kept her head down, waiting for Beast to stop running so she could figure out where they were heading. But he wasn't slowing down, not at the moment, and raven couldn't even guarantee if he was going to stop anytime soon.
Beast was the culmination of all the creatures that Beast Boy had ever been. He was strong, fast, high stamina, enhanced senses, and so much more from all the animals. She had even found gills hidden beneath the coarse fur of his neck. She knew what he could do if he really let loose.
"Whoa! What the hell is that!?" A voice shouted from ahead of them, making Raven lift her head up to stare into the crimson eyes of a ghost.
TeenTitans
"What's the plan?" Robin questioned as he kept his eyes on Phantom. He wasn't going to look at Slade no matter what right now. It was too much and just something he wasn't ready to deal with at the moment. Instead he was going to concentrate on the problem of his city being controlled by two megalomaniacs that wanted nothing more than to destroy the world.
Both worlds.
"We have to separate the two first." Phantom started as he looked at the group of super heroes and Ghosts. "Together Dan and Plasmius are dangerous, more so now that Dan is here in the first place." He growled out in annoyance.
"So we separate them." Batman said as he stood up, holding his ribs gingerly. "Then what do we do? Incarcerate them in one of those thermoses?"
The half ghost shook his head. "No, it's obvious that the thermoses won't be able to hold them. Dan was held in one so I know it won't hold him anymore. Plasmius won't be held in one either. He'd be able to escape just as easily." He turned towards Robin again with a serious frown. "Look, to make sure they never hurt anyone again…they'll have to be terminated."
Robin looked taken aback before shaking his head. "Human or ghost, we don't kill anyone. We'll find a way to lock them up so they can't hurt anyone ever again."
"How well did that work when it comes to the rest of your villains?" Danny questioned with a raised brow. "I mean the hive students, Cinderblock, Mad Mod, and of course My Master." He pointed out. "These two are too dangerous to keep alive. They'd be better off dead and kept from killing everyone around them."
"We don't kill." Superman said instead, trying to figure out how to keep two men alive. No matter they were dead for the most part. "We'll build cells capable of holding them. Keep them from getting out ever again."
"Didn't my apprentice just counter that argument?" Slade questioned as he stepped forward. "Let me propose this instead. Whoever gets to them first decides what happens to them."
Batman narrowed his eyes as he walked forward to be eye to eye with the other man. He was just a little bit taller than the villain. "Are you suggesting a game? That concerns two men's lives?"
Slade smirked but said nothing to that. "Now, we just have to see who gets to them first."
"Until then, we have to work on getting the humans out of here that can't fight." Danny said as he looked at the group. "I have ghosts that are trust worthy relocating them now. Skulker informed me that they had found the humans down in the catacombs, deep down in them. They would have died in a few hours from the cold if they hadn't found them."
"So a close call but they're safe and being moved now anyways." Cyborg said as he frowned at Technus. "Dude, you're so old school. What'd I say about trying to connect the power units to the central circuiting?"
"That is the easiest fix we can make with such short notice." Technus replied. "We try and reroute the power like you suggest, that could take several hours and from the sounds of it, we don't have several hours." He looked up to Phantom. "We're going after them within the hour…are we not?"
"True." Phantom nodded his head. "We need to take them out now and fast. By hitting them same day we escaped, we'll be able to take them off guard and take them down."
"Not a bad plan." Superman conceded.
"Only for the fact that most of us are injured still. One good hit and we're all out for the count." Robin returned as he glared at Phantom and Slade.
"You aren't going." The apprentice said next as he stood up. "None of you are except for the ghosts I need. The rest of you would just be cannon fodder and be destroyed. They'll go and protect the humans from damage, you'll be going with them." HE turned to look at the Teen Titans and Justice League members.
"The hell I am." Robin growled out. "I'm going to help you."
"Same here." Flash said next as he smirked. "I gotta get even with that jerkwad of a vampire."
"You are not going anywhere without me." Starfire said next, eyes glowing green in her own anger. "I will not allow some…monster to hurt my friends."
"I know that tower better than anyone." Cyborg said as he stood up, waving Technus away. "I built it! So I know how to get in and out without being seen."
"I'm going because someone has to keep you from killing them." Superman said next.
"Robin goes, I go." Batman said next. "I protect my family and the innocent."
Phantom snorted at this as he remembered being just like that. Always wanting to help and be there for his friends. Always wanting to do the right thing. There was only one thing left that he thought about all of that. "You're all a bunch of idiots." He said as he looked at the heroes in front of him, startling each one. "Justice, truth, save those in distress, protect the innocent, punish the bad…false ideas that do nothing but cause pain and misery in those who follow them."
"No it's not." Robin responded grimly. "They're what makes us who we are. Ideals that we follow so that we can be heroes."
"Heroes that are led by imbeciles. Each time you put a villain back into jail gives them time to plan and prepare themselves for a new attack. Each time gives them that chance to kill you." Phantom snarled as he waved a hand at all the ghosts surrounding them, landing on a stunned looking Skulker at the end. "I did the same thing for all of these ghosts. I let them live and threw them back into the ghost zone. Now some of them are allies, I admit that, but most of them are all assholes that have come after me to kill me. That one in particular has always wanted to hang my pelt on his wall."
That had all the humans staring at Skulker in disgust. "I'm a hunter! The greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone!" Skulker shouted in exasperation. "The Halfa would have been the greatest trophy I could have ever had!"
"And he still wants my pelt! If I had just destroyed him from the beginning I wouldn't be having that problem." Said halfa shouted in anger. "But instead I let him live. A danger that posed to not only myself later but everyone in Amity Park and my friends…my family." He glowered down at the floor.
"But that's what made you a great hero." Frost Bite said as he stepped forward, frozen hand waving around in front of him to show pictures of Danny facing Dark Dan, Pariah Dark, and all the other ghosts he had fought in the past. "Facing the dangers despite the danger that was posed to you and your family."
"The ability to stand up and face those who could hurt you." Johnny 13 said with a smirk. "Always facing the danger with a smirk on your face."
"Confidence that none of us had when Pariah Dark reappeared." Kitty agreed from her seat on Johnny's bike. "You wanted to fight him, even though you knew you stood no chance alone."
"You came for help, and we gave it then. Despite some of the…conflicts among us, we came together to fight." Dora spoke up with a small smile on her face. She had face many conflicts and even now still did. Her brother had not come but remained in the isolated part of the Ghost Zone that was their home.
"We attacked and you fought back. You attacked and we fought back. That is how we have been handling everything since that portal was open." Technus put in. "Always fighting and always trying to find out a way out against you."
"We even brought in those brat friends of yours before." Skulker stated with a smirk.
"Took them in too." Walker added with his own smirk. "Trying to make you the outsider. Make you the enemy to the humans and all those around you. Isolate you so you would weaken and be easier to manipulate."
"Only for that to blow up in our faces." Skulker started again. "We saw you blow through it and become stronger and stronger each time. The hero that would protect all the humans from the evil ghosts that were attacking his town."
"A hero that did all he could!" Box Ghost cut in next with a smile. "You gave so much that hardly any of us could face anymore but you did so much more than that. You gave hope to us little guys who were…trash to others and weaklings." He turned a bit quiet at this before firming himself for what he was about to say. "You afford me comfort and a push to get stronger! If it wasn't for you, I would still be a weakling, not trying to make myself better."
Danny stared at the Box Ghost for a long moment with a blank face. He remembered how he had encouraged the other to get stronger, to make himself better, to try and make others see he was worthwhile. It seemed the Ghost had taken what he had said to heart and become better. "That was another life." Danny finally said as he laid a hand on the Box Ghost's shoulder give a sad smile. "I'm no hero now. I don't plan on being a hero ever again." With that he turned towards Slade. "We have a plan, let's get it going. The ghosts going with us is Skulker, Walker and his men, Dora, Johnny, Frost Bite and his Yetis, Fright Knight, and the Box Ghost. We're heading out." He said as he waved a hand and changed into his Ghost Form.
Slade walked with his student as he changed his form as well, not missing a step as he did. "You didn't say we were going to take that last ghost with us."
Phantom shrugged his shoulders as he went intangible, all the ghosts he mentioned doing the same behind him. "Plans change." With that they disappeared through the ceiling, leaving ghosts and humans behind in their hiding hole.
TeenTitans
"Now what?" Robin questioned as he turned to the left over Ghosts in the area that were disappearing one by one. "It's just going to be us here soon. We'll have to plan."
"We don't have a whole lot of time to do that planning." Flash said as he watched another ghost leave. "Man I hope those are the ones that are going to protect the civilians."
"Let's just get going. We'll plan on the way like we've always done." Superman decided a moment later. "We'll have to stop those two before they do something they regret."
"I think they already have." Batman replied before he walked over to the door and opened it.
Only to be almost bulldozed over by a large green creature, snarling angrily, with a familiar figure on its back.
"Raven!" Robin shouted as he ran over to the Beast. He stopped in his tracks when the green creature snarled and snapped at him. "Beast Boy! It's me, Robin!" The Leader of Teen Titans shouted in surprise.
"Beast…heel." Raven gasped out as she lifted her head. The Beast relaxed at that and watched warily as his passenger disembarked unsteadily. "Hey, long time no see." Raven said as she looked at her friends tiredly. She stayed right next to Beast, leaning no him heavily.
"Oh friend Raven!" Starfire shouted out in excitement. She flew over to her and hugged her, ignoring how the green animal was growling right next to her. "We thought you had perished against the evil ones."
"No, I was badly injured though." She explained as she winced in pain, making the Beast snarl and separate the two. He instantly pushed the injured girl back up against him and made her sit down. "Beast Boy, you don't have to be like this here. They're friends of ours." She explained even though she allowed herself to be pushed around to rest. She didn't like how cold the floor was here.
"What's up with BB?" Cyborg questioned as he walked over to the two settled beings. "Why hasn't he returned to his humanoid form?"
"His mind is scrambled at the moment." Raven said as she ran her fingers through the fur. "The instincts from the animals he takes on were affected when he was overshadowed. He's lost himself in those instincts and nothing I've been able to do has brought him back out." She explained as she made herself more comfortable in the Beast's side.
"So he's all sort of messed up." Cyborg moaned before shaking his head. "Can he still fight?"
"Yeah, he can. He's still powerful as well." She looked around. "Looks like he'll be the most powerful out of all of us for the time being." Raven smiled sadly as she took in the banged up look that all of her teammates had. She frowned as she looked down at her own body. "We all are in terrible conditions. We can't fight like this."
"We don't have a choice." Robin stated with his own frown. "We have to protect this city no matter the condition we're in. That's the promise we made when we first created this team." Robin said as he looked at his friends and then an idea dawned in his head. "All of the teams." He said as he pulled out his Teen Titans communicator.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?" Cyborg questioned as a smirk fell on his face.
"They won't get here in time." Raven interrupted, causing the smiles that were forming to falter. "Phantom and Slade are putting their own plan into place, right now, right?" She questioned.
Silence reigned for a long time before Robin sighed in defeat. "Yeah. They're too far and we don't have enough time to wait."
"There's a few people we can call for though." Cyborg said though as he looked up. "Three of them with speeds rivalling the Flash." He said as he pulled up his communicator on his arm. "I'll call them and they'll be here in a nanosecond." With that he moved away from the group and began to speak on his communicator.
"So we'll have three people to back us up. And then what?" Flash questioned as he entered into the conversation again.
"We plan while we wait. We use what we have and make sure we win." Batman added next. "You won't just have the Teen Titans, but members of the Justice League to back you up."
"Despite the fact we're not at full strength either, we're still stronger than if you didn't have us." Superman added on. "So who are these three that could give Flash a run for his money?"
"Someone who's as fast as me? There's no way!" Flash said with disbelief. "I'm the fastest man on the planet…well…except for one person." He changed a moment later.
"That'd be me!" Kid Flash appeared next to Flash with a big grin on his face and his spikey red hair wind swept.
"¡No nos olviden!" Two little boys appeared next, wearing white suits and yellow goggles. One had a positive sign and the other with a negative on their suits.
"No creo que podamos con esa entrada." Batman said to them with a raised brow. "Two sets of speedsters, who knew."
"I didn't!" Flash exclaimed in surprise as he looked down at the twins. "I knew about Wally, but I never knew about these two! Man I didn't even catch them coming in!"
"Mas and Menos, they're superfast as long as they are touching each other. They'd give you a run for your two's money." Cyborg said as he patted the twins on the head each. "Good to see you two again. Thanks for coming right away."
"De nada Cyborg!" Menos said happily.
"Cualquier cosa por un amigo. Un buen amigo como tú." Mas added on next with his own smile.
"Alright, we have some backup, now we can hit the tower. Cyborg, pull out the blueprints so we can find an easy and hidden entrance." Robin said as he looked at his robotic friend.
"Got it. Alright, the easiest one to get into the tower is this one here."
"Isn't that the sewer entrance you made forever ago?" Robin asked as he looked over the map.
"Yep, the one I made after Hive made an attack." Cyborg agreed as he brought up an image of a trapdoor just inside of the entrance hall of the Tower. "We can use that one and go from there."
"They will be powerful? No?" Starfire questioned next as she looked at the holographic image of the tower. Something she still was unused to was the technology that was used here all the time.
"Yes. More powerful than some of the enemies we've ever faced. More so than some of the ones you've ever faced." Superman began seriously. "But we should be able to take them as long as we…"
"As long as we work together as a team and everything else you've ever said to everyone ever." Batman drawled as he walked passed the Kryptonian. "We get it, we work together we'll achieve our goals."
"I have a feeling that Superman is the Starfire of our group." Cyborg said to Robin.
"Close." He replied before looking around the rest of the blueprints. "We'll have the fastest people go in first. They'll lay down explosives in these areas." He pointed at spots on the tower.
"That'll cause the entire tower to collapse! Are you sure that you'll want to do that? Destroy our home?" Cyborg questioned.
"It's easier to destroy where they're staying then to get them out of the tower." Raven said next. "There's too much room to hide and move around. We need them out in the open so that we'll be able to defeat them."
"The tower will fall?" Starfire questioned for a second. "It was easy to build the first time. We can rebuild after the battle is over."
Cyborg looked like he was about to cry. He felt like it. All of his babies were in that building. His car, his computer system, his charging port, everything was in there. But the others were right. They needed a way to force those ghosts out into the open and then best way to do that would be to destroy the tower. "Alright, so Kid Flash, Mas and Menos goes in and places the bombs here, here, here, here, and here. This'll knock the tower down and out. Implode it from the inside out. It'll take anything inside it with it as well."
"You three hearing that?" Robin asked as he turned to the three teens.
"Don't you mean four?" Flash questioned with a raised brow and crossed arms. "I'm after all the leading speedster here. You'll need me to get things done after all."
"No, you'll be with Superman and Batman." Robin said. "You three are our heavy hitters. All three of you have a tight knit teamwork that should confuse the two."
"Superman and I could handle that. If they hadn't ran, then we would have defeated them on our first encounter." Batman said. "It was close."
"No kidding there. We almost had them then. We should be able to handle them now, even with our handicaps." Superman added on. He raised a hand and clenched it tightly. The knuckles turned white and he flinched as pain radiated through his body.
"That's why I'm here to help then." Flash said with a smirk. "I took hardly any damage in this whole thing. I'm the third person in this place in less damage than anyone else." He looked at Wally and Mas and Menos. "Good thing we have back up."
The three speedsters all smiled at this.
"Alright then. We have our plan, let's get this started then." Robin said as he turned towards the door. "Titans, move out!" with that his team followed him out, leaving the three Justice League Members behind.
"He's like a mini you." Flash said with a small smile on his face.
"No." Batman replied as he moved to follow his apprentice. "He's better than me."
DannyPhantom
"Do you think they'll do what you want?" Phantom questioned as he watched the Titans leave the base as quietly as possible.
"Don't they always?" Slade questioned back with a smirk. The Ghosts that had left with them had already left to head for the Teen Titan Tower, putting into place their plan. Though they were unable to enter due to the Ghost Sense that both adversaries had. They'd get things rolling from the outside. The Titans would handle the inside. "There's a reason why we set it up to look like it did."
"Yeah, but Robin has a tendency to screw up out plans. Not to mention that Batman is involved now. Both are the smartest of their teams not to mention the most intuitive and aware." He looked up to his master. "Do you think that Batman will figure it out?"
"Possibly." Slade said as they followed the group down the sewer, his eyebrows rising as he watched the Titans pass ladders and manholes out. "Do they have a way to the tower from down here?"
"Looks like it." Phantom could only shake his head in amusement when Flash complained of the smell of the sewers and how Mas and Menos would laughingly push the man into the dirty water. "Should we be prepared to knock Batman out if he gets too curious?"
"No, let him do as he pleases. He'll do what we need him to do." Slade waved a hand at his apprentice as he thought. "He's Batman after all." He stated sarcastically.
Phantom chuckled at that before he tilted his head as a chill ran up his spine. Slade ignored the puff of blue smoke that came from his and Phantom's mouths. "What's the report then?"
"The bombs are in place." Skulker said with a grin. "We also set up a barrier around the Tower at your request. The explosion won't hurt the area around when it goes off. We've also made it so that the tower will for sure implode." He explained as he pointed at the cybernetic teen. "He had the right idea, but he forgot about the outside of the building. This way the plan s guaranteed to work."
"Good to know." Phantom said with a frown. "We know the two will survive the explosion, there's no doubt about it. They'll be left out in the open and with the citizens freed of the possessions of Dan, he'll have all of his power concentrated into one place again. He'll be powerful and Plasmius has always been devious. We'll have to be extremely careful."
"We'll stay on the outskirts and allow you two to handle it." Skulker stated next.
"Yes, unless we command an ambush, then you'll attack." Slade commanded with a glare, his white and green helmet detracting the sinister feeling his normal black and orange one gave. The glare still had Skulker nodding hurriedly, just not as fast as it normally would. "I'm more worried about the Azarath girl. She's in horrible condition."
Phantom looked down and watched said girl ride on the back of the green beast. "I'd be more worried about the shapeshifter. He's running off of instincts and that's more dangerous than a calculating mind."
"We'll keep an eye on them either way." Slade said as the Titans stopped at ramp. "How did we miss that?" he muttered in annoyance.
"We weren't interested in traveling this far into the sewer systems." Phantom replied as Skulker turned intangible and headed back up to the other ghosts. "I'm not surprised they decided to make an entrance this far in. Now we know so we can use it later."
"True." Slade agreed as he watched the four speedsters disappear up the ramp and into the tower. "Now we get into place and prepare for the attack."
"We're coming for you…Dan…Plasmius." Phantom growled out as his eyes flashed neon green and crimson.
DannyPhantom
"Think they'll attack soon?" Dan questioned lazily from his seat on the couch. He was sprawled all over it, relaxing against the soft cushions. He enjoyed this much better than that damned thermos.
"Any minute really." Vlad said to the future ghost. He was standing at the windows, watching the skyline with narrowed crimson eyes. "That boy is too stubborn and impatient to wait for too long."
"Watch it." Dan hissed, eyes flashing in anger. "That kid and I are the same. Much like we are." He stated angrily.
"Whose fault is that?" Plasmius questioned serenely. "I did not make you take the Ghost Gauntlets and tear me apart, to absorb my ghost half in that timeline." He said as he frowned as a familiar Ghost appeared far off from the tower. "Why is the Box Ghost there?"
Dan was up and at the window in an instant, a sneer on his face. "He's nowhere near what he was in my timeline." He stated and then smirked as a thought came to mind. "I can take his hand again and maybe even more."
Plasmius rolled his eyes before he watched in astonishment as ghost after ghost reappeared. "I believe we know why all of your duplicates returned now." He said as he glared at his once ally Skulker.
"Yeah, I knew that already." Dan said with a smirk on his face.
"You said you didn't know who was stopping your duplicates!"
Dan leaned away from the other ghost, scowling at the screech to his ears. "Yeah, I lied." He stated as he cleaned out his one ear. "This should be interesting." He said as he floated into the air and prepared to move forward.
Only to gasp as explosions rocked underneath, around, and behind them.
He howled in anger as he and Plasmius were sent flying through the window and out into the open.
Behind them the tower imploded inwards and exploded all at the same time. Completely destroying the base of the Teen Titans.
"Hello Dan, long time no see." Phantom said as he and Slade appeared in front of the two ghosts.
"Destroyed the tower so we couldn't use it to our advantage. Smart move Daniel." Vlad said as he straightened up and dusted soot from his suit.
"Yeah, well, we couldn't let you have the home field." Danny replied with a shrug.
"Won't help, I'll still destroy you." Dan snarled as he moved to attack.
"I'm not the same kid you attacked before you monster!" Danny snarled right back. "I've gotten stronger! I won't be an easy target this time."
"Yeah? Well let's see what you've got them!" Dan shouted as he flew straight for the teen.
"You're on!" Danny shouted right back as he flew at the ghost to meet him half way.
Slade ignored his apprentice as he laid eyes on Plasmius. "I think it's time you finally died."
"Oh, and what are you going to do about that?" Vlad questioned with a smirk on his face. "You must've been turned into a halfa from that explosion at my mansion, which means you haven't had anywhere near as much experience as I."
"It's not always about just experience." Slade countered as he summoned his energy and made it surround his fists in blue flames. "Let me show you." He stated.
"I would love to see it." Vlad said as he summoned his own pink energy, ready to destroy this thorn in his side finally.
The two flew at each other.
TeenTitans
Robin stared up at the sky in astonishment. He knew the tower would no longer be there but he didn't know that Phantom and Slade would be up there waiting for the two ghosts. "We were used!" HE shouted.
"It was obvious that was going to happen, even to me." Flash said next as he watched the explosion of energies colliding.
"And we are going to allow that?" Starfire questioned as she prepared to head up and fight. It was obvious that Superman wanted to as well as the two of them were the only ones capable of flight at the moment.
"Yes. We allowed it so we could bring all four of them out to the open." Batman said as he watched the fights with narrowed focused eyes. "We needed to make sure we can break them up when the time comes but we also know that this is a fight we can't interfere in."
"How come? I mean yeah, obviously we're outclassed in this ghost fighting stuff, but we're strong in other ways." Cyborg said with a frown.
"Because, there's a tension between the four of them. In Phantom concerning something about him." Superman grunted out as he forced himself to stay back. "This is obviously something he needs. You 'll have to explain why later."
Robin was silent as he looked up at the fight and nodded his head. He understood that need. That desperate need for revenge and relief and release. He had come to that choice when he was younger and when Bruce had just taken him in.
He hoped Phantom would make the same choice as him.
TeenTitans
A.N. We are getting close to the end here. I'm not sure how many more chapters I'm going to do for sure but I don't think it'll get pass ten. So I'd be prepared for this part of the story to end soon. Then the trilogy will come to an end. You'll have to review and tell me what you all think about this story. I can't wait to see what you all have to say about it!
Translations are from Google Translate.
¡No nos olviden! - don't forget us!
No creo que podamos con esa entrada. - I dont' think we can with that entrance.
De nada Cyborg! - You're welcome Cyborg.
Cualquier cosa por un amigo. Un buen amigo como tú. - Anything for a friend. A good friend like you.