Author: Nazran

Shattered: Act I

Chapter 2

§Oo–.–oO§

"Are you sure Danny?"

"Yeah. Too much excitement around here for my tastes, I'm sorry Tom, Delonte." He shifted uncomfortably. He always hated doing things like this, he felt like he was failing the people who relied on him.

The junior manager slapped his shoulder, "All right man, if you need a reference letter just ask." Danny nodded grateful and turned, exiting through the back. As he left he caught Delonte's muttered words, "That's too bad, kid was a good employee."

"Hey D, Titans are here. They want to talk to you about yesterday!"

Danny froze. So the Tamaranean had come back. His skin tingled and his body became intangible and invisible. Not exactly 'not using his powers' but with the residual ectoplasmic energy in the area it would hopefully be masked by any sensors. Floating was easier to manage than his other abilities so he lifted up and hovered around the high ceilings of the kitchen. He passed out of the kitchen and preparation area to the main floor of the restaurant.

There were the Titans, or at least the more serious ones. Robin and Starfire seemed to be talking to Delonte about something, from the excited manner in which Star gestured and moved it may have been him. Raven was just behind them, silent. Cyborg and Beast Boy were, of course, basking in the adulation of their fans. The mechanized teen was smug and proud while the little one flitted about like a hummingbird talking to the various girls that had gathered.

"Please, who was it that served us yesterday?"

"You mean Danny?

"Danny?" Robin inquired.

"Yeah. Tall, black hair. Eyes that freeze you in place. Doesn't say much but he was a good worker."

"That is him perfectly! Oh please tell me he was unharmed yesterday!"

"Unharmed? I'm not sure I know what you mean." This was not good. Delonte was giving them too much.

"We believe that in the battle yesterday Star may have crashed into this Danny when she was launched into the restaurant."

"Is that what happened up stairs? We've had to shut down that floor until the window and floor could be replaced."

"Oh I am sorry! It does not harm your making of pizzas does it?" Starfire had the good grace to blush and look down.

"Don't worry about. You guys bring enough business in to compensate for the damages, and besides the UNSSF and the city covered it with your insurance. We'll have the second floor back up and running by the end of the week," Delonte smiled, "But about Danny. He actually quit a few minutes ago, said it was too much excitement. Weak stomach I guess." Danny's eye twitched from where he floated, invisible and intangible.

"Is he still around?"

"No he left pretty quickly."

Robin muttered to himself, "Damn. All right, how about an address or something? Can you provide us with that?"

"Eh sorry but it's against company policy to provide information like that about our employees." Starfire cast her eyes down, "But listen. I can give you his contact number, not as my employee but as a concerned friend of his. Since you guys want to make sure he's okay. And you hardly have bad intentions, I mean you're the Teen Titans!" Danny nearly growled about his manager being an idiot before he caught himself.

"That would be wonderful, thank you!" Starfire took up the manager in a bone crushing hug. A faint blush, barely visible under the dark skin of the manager appeared, despite the pain. Starfire was, after all, a very attractive girl. Robin glowered.

Danny bit his lip. Things were not going well at all. The hair on the back of his neck prickled dangerously. He looked around and froze. Violet eyes, glowing with restrained magic stared right at him, locking with his invisible orbs. They searched the area where he was. She knows! Danny fought the urge to starting breathing heavily in panic. She could sense him, the enchantress could feel his presence, even above the ectoplasmic aura left from the ghosts and rounds fired by the weapons. He had been hoping, desperately, that he would be more than just literally invisible to the girl. Long had he expected her powers would affect the ghosts, magic was always a universal energy.

He waved at her hesitantly, but she showed no reaction. Interesting, perhaps her power simply allowed her to sense the higher concentration of energy he was very likely giving off. Raven could not see him. This was a very fortunate thing. He phased through the ceiling, turning, still invisible, and leaving the area. He could fly extremely fast, or so he thought, even if he didn't really push his limits. With that he reached his apartment in a few seconds. Of course when he did the phone mounted on the wall started to ring.

The boy ignored it, running to small closet by the entrance door and grabbing the black bag on the top shelf. He ran back toward his room, the phone still blaring. He snarled, the plastic shell exploded and the circuitry scattered across the floor beneath his fist. It was quiet again. He ripped drawers open and the doors were flung aside to his wardrobe, piling a few sets of clothes into the bag along with the several blueprints he had pulled out to study in recent weeks.

Danny took this smaller bag and shoved into the over large one he had stashed beneath his small bed. This he threw over his shoulder, double checking nothing else incriminating was left behind for when the Titans inevitably showed up. The hood on his sweater was thrown up to obscure his face and he left, rushing out of his temporary home. He would lose the deposit but that hardly mattered, it was time to hide again.

§Oo–.–oO§

"No answer at his place. Give me a second, I'm going to track the number and we'll find out where he lives." Robin put his communicator away and pulled a screen from his belt. It lit up and he plugged the number in.

Raven huffed. The last two days had been exceedingly weird. First the strange pizza boy, not that he had been very different from most people, his emotions were as common place as any, if muted a little bit, but that did not warrant any special attention. It was his aura—cold and almost lifeless in its feel but roiling with hints of energy. Whatever he was, it was not just a regular teenager; perhaps he was a Meta, they were beginning to crop up quite often. Then the mysterious attack and the unheard of GIW showing up. The monsters had reeked of anger and death, the distinct scent of the undead. Strange energy weapons and government hacks aside Starfire had drawn attention back to that boy with his seemingly impossible survival. A normal human would have been killed by the impact. More credence to the metahuman theory.

"I have a lock. Let's go see if this Daniel is home."

"You mean Danny dude?" Beast Boy really needed to take some sort of class for common sense.

"Yes Beast Boy. Titans, let's go." Robin slung a leg onto his motorcycle, affectionately dubbed the R-cycle. Cyborg piled himself and Beast Boy into the T-car while Starfire started floating. Raven followed suit, lifting herself into the air.

The team set out, moving quickly through the streets. Despite not really needing to, citizens tended to stand aside for the team as if they were police or emergency vehicles. She had to admit that even if it was not needed it was often quite useful. It was not overly far from their location and they made it there within a few moments. Cyborg bypassed the door lock. Raven huffed silently, they weren't concerned with laws concerning the security of building obviously. They all entered the first flow, a lobby and a set of rooms along with a couple of elevators.

"The information I have says he's near the top, floor twelve. "

The team entered the elevator but a buzzer went off. "Damn. Man, fine I'll take the stairs." Cyborg grumbling when everyone looked at him. He smashed the open door button and left the steel box.

The typical music that plays in elevators failed to calm Robin's intensity or Starfire's anxiety. Beast Boy was still as oblivious as ever, how that was possible Raven still did not understand. As they passed the seventh floor on the display in the elevator she felt that presence again, the muted cold energy. She opened her mouth to speak but—

"Yo, I got a runner here, eighth floor. Dude saw me and just took off down the hall."

"Is it Danny?"

"Don't know, too far to scan but I'm pursuit now."

Robin hit the emergency stop. The elevator jolted to a stop and Star pried the doors open with her alien strength. A bad feeling began to creep down Raven's spine. This really wasn't going to be an easy few days. Robin, Beast Boy and Star hauled themselves through the gap left where the eighth floor started. Raven merely magicked herself into the hall. Everyone took a second to examine their surroundings when a figure came around a corner down the hall. He was hooded in a dark sweater, black jeans, rugged shoes and a large black bag on his back. He froze and stared at them.

"Not Friend Danny! Is that you? Are you harmed?" Starfire was jubilant.

The figure spun and ran straight away from them. Whoever he was, he was fast, he moved before even Robin had reacted. Cyborg slid around the corner, heavy bulk carrying too much momentum for him to make the corner easily. The witch sighed, this was not how she wanted to spend her Thursday, chasing some unknown person through suburban Jump City. It was annoying.

"Titans go!" The teen leader shouted without hesitation.

Nevertheless, she followed the team. The apartment was long, the building was on a corner and took up a fair sized portion of this block. It was one of the new mega apartment complexes that the city had taken to building for low and medium income citizens. Robin fired a grapple at the figure but somehow it missed, the boy cursing. Starfire called out and Beast Boy sprinted by as a cheetah attempting to catch him. The changeling leapt, fur standing on end but something happened and he was bowled over, obscuring the hallway as his shape cycled through a couple of animals in the confusion. When the view was clear the boy was gone.

"BB, man what happened?" Cyborg caught up with the other four. Robin ran to the window, looking out up and down the fire escape to see if Danny had slipped out.

"I don't know dude! He turned around and then I was down, I couldn't even control my form!" Raven blinked. Something was definitely up, so much for the simple chase. She breathed through her nose violently, closing her eyes. The half demon wasn't messing around anymore.

Her senses extended out searching, probing the air. It was a simple magic for the telepath, more an extension of her innate powers that an actual spell. Her mind swept out in all directions, touching upon the other living creatures around her. It had been a long time ago she learned the presence of her team mates and so they didn't even properly register. Most of the minds she touched didn't react . . . there! Two floors down and across the alleyway in the next building. That same muted mind, running down another hall.

"I found him. Next building over, two floors down and moving fast. You better hurry if you want to catch him."

"Cyborg, Beast Boy go to the street, cover his escape. Star, above. Raven you're with me, we're going directly after him."

Raven grabbed Robin's shoulder and they vanished in a maelstrom of black magical energy and they appeared in the hall, directly in front of the figure. Raven heard him curse and he twisted through the air. Robin was pushed into the wall as he was used for a spring board and the hood fell back from the boy. It was boy who had delivered the pizza to their table, definitely Danny. Raven only realized this on the peripheral however. Her violet eyes were locked on the sharp blue of his eyes, on the energy that burned through them. The strange green rings about his pupils that seemed to undulate. He didn't blink as he flew past her and she was captured in their depths, stunned by the raw clarity.

He had made it about a half dozen feet before Raven snapped free of the strange daze. She scowled and reached out with her magic, feeling it condense into a great black talon that grabbed him and jerked him sideways. Plaster crumbled from the wall as his dense body impacted with it. Robin snapped up to his feet beside her, veritably snarling with rage. He growled into the communicator that they'd subdued him and gave the location.

Raven sighed again. As intrigued as she was by the strange boy they had better things to do. This was the year when everything was to go to hell. Literally. The boy pushed himself up but Raven absently raised her hand and encased him in black energy, forcing him back down roughly.

"Raven don't hurt him." Robin scolded.

She blinked not realizing she was being that rough. She felt mild anger at herself for losing control over some boy. But he had unnerved her with those eyes, something was wrong with them, with him. She should not have been frozen like that by any normal person, no matter who they were. She needed to meditate, the approaching end of the world was beginning to get to her.

"So, why did you run Danny?"

The boy looked up at Robin, his legs splayed before him and his arms restrained behind his back. "That's hardly your business, Robin." He stressed the word.

Grimacing Robin continued, "That doesn't explain anything, we only wanted to make sure you were okay but now you've turned it into more."

"Bullshit. Your girlfriend might only care about if I was hurt or not, but you certainly want to know more. Well it's none of your damn business Boy Wonder, I'm a free citizen like anyone else." The venom and frustration in his voice surprised Raven. She did have to suppress a smirk at his comment though. For all other members of the tower it was obvious that Robin and Star were infatuated with one another, except they themselves refused to admit it. Or at least Robin did, Star had tried to drag her into 'girl talk' quite often recently.

Robin blushed, but continued, "We are given authority by United Nations and the Justice League, Danny."

The boy turned and look down the hall, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy were trotting down the hall toward them. He looked back up at Robin and smirked, "Well I'd love to stick around but places to be, you know how it is right, Robin. . . "

Raven's brow crinkled. There was something going on, a subtle build of energy within the boy. She tried to read into it but the energy was like a forgotten spell, hovering there just beyond reach. Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening, she jolted forward but it was too late. A flash of green light and she felt her magic tighten on nothing.

"No!" Robin slammed his fist into the wall.

Raven spoke then, "Well, at least we know how he survived." Her monotone was dull and bored. Robin scowled at her and stalked away.

§Oo–.–oO§

Danny appeared in the Ghost Zone, the fluid green world of the departed who wouldn't let go. He took a moment to get his bearings, welcoming the flow of ectoplasm into his body. It had been a long time since he'd been here. Development of his new powers meant he no longer needed a Ghost Portal to reach the Zone but it took a lot out of him to do it in his human body. He stretched sore muscles. Sighing he readjusted the bag of clothing and technology on his back.

The white rings, a concentrated extension of his ectoplasmic ice core encircled him and flash fired his body into his ghost form. When Danny had regained his Ghost form, when he had died for the second time, it had changed him. His power was more concentrated than it had been, for when his powers were taken from him the ectoplasm fused to his DNA had remained, simply dormant. The blast that had reactivated it and added more to it, strengthening the bond between body and energy. As such it became more connected to his mind and soul.

A direct side effect had been the changes wrought to him. As Phantom his suit had changed, remolded itself into what he had once imagined it could be. Padded white boots covered and padded his shins to the knee, plain buckles lining up them. Tucked into the boots black pants rose up to a plain white belt. His black sweater fitted snuggly, a white, hooded vest sewn at the shoulders hung over the sweater. The black base reached only to his elbows where another layer, attached beneath the black, was folded up in rolls. The white of the thin material continued beneath the thick gauntlets matching the boots with a molded knuckle brace on each hand. The edge of the rolls of white hiding the end of the gauntlets. He was not certain of what made up his suit now, the rubbery material of the hazmat suit was gone and replaced by a tougher, rough synthetic fibre. The simple vest had two inner pockets and the pants had several at the hips and rear; stuffed into these he usually carried a few new variants of ecto-tech. When he had first seen the suit he had been surprised, he and Sam had designed what he wore now, as fanciful thinking one night when Tucker had been grounded and not allowed out. It had hurt at first to have the reminder and still caused a faint pang in his heart for his lost friends. But he took strength from it as well, knowing they would want him to keep going.

He would need to wait a while. The Titans would likely run scans and tests, trying to figure out what happened when he had opened the portal. There would be little residue except for the ectoplasmic signature, he had infused the portal around his body so as to not suck anyone else in. Absently he hoped that the Fenton Ecto-Taser didn't mess with Beast Boy too much—ectoplasm was often difficult to predict.

He hovered through the barren floating islands and doors. He wasn't entirely sure where he had wound up in the Ghost Zone. It looked to be an older area though. Hopefully that meant Clockwork's fortress was nearby, he needed advice. And to complain. The ghost Master of Time had said that California would offer peace, but would not elaborate further. Danny had considered the words and looked at every city and town he could in in the state—Jump City had been the most obvious choice, heroes could ensure he didn't need to save anyone. Now though he wasn't so sure.

He floated through the ruins for a while, the different chunks of floating rock with their stalactites and battered pale surfaces. Few sentient ghosts roamed areas like these, it was mostly the ones whose minds had faded into feral madness, like the ectopodes that had attacked earlier, that found habitation here. Danny could feel Clockwork's ectoplasmic signature get closer through his ghost sense as he moved. It seemed he had arrived on the outskirts of the Time Master's territory. This was a much more accurate arrival than the last time he had used the power, he meant to visit Clockwork and ended up in the middle of Skulker's Island. He'd just been lucky that the ghost hunter was out somewhere.

Clockwork liked his dramatics that was certain. His home was set on a floating island, flat with jagged broken rock hanging down from the underside. Set atop that was a castle, a mixture of dark metal and white stone that clawed at the green surroundings like some ancient hand. Danny drifted near, placing a hand on the metal door, set with its massive stylized clock face, and pushed. The door swung smoothly open and revealed a shadowy interior. The inside always appeared larger than the out, whether by design or reality the Halfa did not know for certain. The energy in the ectoplasm changed, swirling dark purple and green, deep and fathomless in the depths of the turning gears and rhythmic pendulums that rocked. There was no floor, just an edge. Lower, who knows how far below, pieces of floating rock hovered. Across the chasm there was another platform, an illuminated opening glowing faintly. Danny slowly glided through the ominous atmosphere, alighting gently on the bare space. All around mirrors floated, some swirling in purple others showing various events. Nine Eleven in one, the sinking of the Titanic in another. The Crusades; the signing of the Declaration of Independence; various wars; Greeks and Romans; and there, his home, Fenton Works, surrounded by the white vans and black utility vehicles, men in white suits swarming over the area. That had been the day that his home was raided. He had barely made it out with the more dangerous devices, he could keep no mementos.

"Daniel, what a surprise."

Danny turned a genuine grin on his face. "Nothing ever surprises you Clockwork." The ghost floated into view from the gloom. He was in his adult phase, bright purples and blues covering a thickly muscled body wrapped in dark straps with golden buckles. Magenta runes were carved stamped into the clothing and cloak he wore, the dark hood pulled up over pale blue skin and glowing red eyes. Watches, all of them in different times from different areas of the two Zones and even other dimensions were strapped to his forearms and others were hanging from a set of straps at his waist. His legs were not solid but rather a forever undulating trail of mist snaking through the air.

The Time Keeper inclined is head, "You have come close before my young friend. Now what brings you to me?"

"Clocky I just wanted to visit you."

"Daniel I have requested you not call me that." He uncrossed the thick arms at his chest and a staff materialized in in them. It was a complex straight staff of dark metal, bands wrapped every several inches around the shaft. One end held a long point and the other an arch carved with more runes, and a floating blue disk, glowing with distorted energy spinning slowly within the crescent of the arch.

"I know. It's amusing though. Anyways I came by to ask just what the hell is going on!" Danny's smirk faded.

"Going on?"

"You said I would have peace in Jump but now the Titans are meddling in my life and the GIW are running around the city with ghosts. In what time space is this even close to peace?"

"Ah Daniel, really you must learn patience. I said you will find peace, I never said it would be immediate. Everything is going according to time."

Danny stared for a moment. He hated all this cryptic stuff that Clockwork spewed out of his ancient face. Sighing he responded, "I hate that about you, you know."

Clockwork morphed, an old man clad in the same clothing replacing his younger body. This one was thin, decrepit with a long white beard hanging down to his waist. "Regardless you must relax. You will face difficulty ahead but trust me when I say you will find that peace. Or fully die. There are a several courses your time might take young Halfa."

"Great, just great. Any other sage advice?"

"Go back. Do as you normally would. We both know that I cannot reveal any more without causing myself undue difficulty. But remember, no matter how you struggle, Fate always finds a way. Good luck, Daniel." The voice echoed with the unbridled power of the Master of Time. It was not unfriendly. Tingling overtook Danny's body and he dissolved in purple power.

Danny looked around. He was back in the hallway where Raven had nearly put him through the wall. Danny sighed again, looking at his bare hands. He hadn't known Clockwork had the ability to force his form change at will; that was something to take note of for later. He readjusted the bag and walked toward the stairs. Time to figure out his next step.

§Oo–.–oO§

The sky was clear and pale blue, the moon bright and pale next to the sun. The city was still, nothing moved and those few who were out on the street so early were frozen, unmoving. An explosion rocked the street, fires burning over the ragged remains of a car. From flames left in the wake of the burning metal emerged a form, tall and broad with a bright symbol etched on his forehead. The man stalked forth, menacing in a black outfit, the scarred metal wrapping about the reinforced fabric. An emotionless mask covered the face, dichromatic in black and orange.

A gravelly voice echoed from the mask as he stood over a girl in a dark cloak. "You can't run away—"

A flash of green and a dark shape was flung into the imposing man. The girl heard a grunt from the man as both figures crashed into the pavement, carving a jagged line into the black pavement. Danny groaned, pulling himself up. He caught sight of a girl in dark purple and navy, she was staring at him with wide violet eyes. Staggering up he waved her away, telling her to go, the girl turned and shot off into the sky, calling the name of someone.

A hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing painfully and lifting him up from the crevasse. "Petulant child. How dare you."

Danny's eyes were glowing green in the low light. He stared back at the black slit that was the eye, confused. He had no idea where he was, or what was happening. The last thing he remembered was being blasted by Skulker and the other ghosts. He hadn't even had his powers then but now he could feel that familiar tingle in his body, the hum of the ectoplasm in his blood and bones, in his flesh and organs. The hand tightened on his throat, he clawed at the hand vainly, fingers biting into the metal plated gauntlets. The man didn't flinch, if anything his strength increased.

"Die, boy."

The half ghost snarled, kicking at the thick torso, glaring at the man. His eyes began to burn hotly and he blinked his eyes rapidly, forgetting to struggle momentarily. His head snapped back as green beams shot from his eyes and blasted into the man. The fingers ripped at his neck at the force pushed the man away, the boy dropping to the pavement. He coughed, bruises already forming at his throat from the vicious grip.

The beams of ectoplasm shuttered to a stop, leaving Danny gasping heavily. His eyes burned sharply from the energy discharge and tears leaked from the ice blue orbs. His skin felt tender and raw where the rough glove had begun to crush his windpipe, and his clothing was torn and battered by the impact. He knelt, coughing on his hands and knees but paused. For the first time he saw the thick plates on his hands, the synthetic material of the gloves that now covered them. They were never like this, what was going on . . .

A blast of fire struck him sidelong. The searing hot flames, red and malicious as the fires of hell itself, licking at his undead form. His body skipped over half melted asphalt and careened into the side of a building, bursting through the brick wall of a shop. He lay in the rubble, vaguely thankful that no one frozen in whatever was going on had not been hit by the rude entrance he'd made. Danny coughed again. This was not right, whatever the hell was going on was beyond his knowledge and he was too sore and weak from the ghosts' attack to try and figure it out. His body went still, the effort leaving him exhausted simply trying to rise. He needed a few moments, time to gather himself and his strength. With any luck the ectoplasm in his body would repair the issues.

Eventually Danny rose. He was shaky and none to ready to engage the armoured creature with the flames but the girl needed his help. Some innate instinct told him that, a gut feeling not unlike his ghost sense. The boy knew he had stayed down too long. He only hoped it the consequences for the mysterious girl were not high. If this was her doing she was powerful in her own right, but he had seen the fear in her eyes. He took a deep breath and lifted from the ground, body glowing green and eyes steeled carefully.

He flew upward, rising above the muted colours of the building and the birds frozen still in the air. There, some distance away at the top of a building his eyes picked out the form of the man and the girl. He clothing was torn, tattered and beaten, red hot symbols he didn't recognize glowing against pale grey skin. The sky flickered red and black, the buildings becoming ruins, Danny couldn't move, he was caught in some force that held him fast even as he struggled. The girl struggled against the indomitable strength of the man. He could only watch as a great black raven burst from the top of the building. His vision flashed in light and suddenly he was free, the world returned to the busy city.

His powers kicked in again and he shot forward. The man released his hold the girl and she slipped from the roof of the building. Danny swore and pushed himself harder, faster than he ever had before. He angled his flight and swept beneath the girl, some twenty feet from the hard pavement of the street. His arms wrapped around her delicate frame. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Danny, slightly relaxed again, set down on a building nearby. As gently as he could the young hero brushed hair, now long and thick, from her face. He looked to the rooftop she had fallen from but the man was gone. Metal scraped against the material of the rooftop, Danny looked up and saw another boy. Young like himself with a black mask and battered costume predominantly of red and green, clearly some sort of hero though Danny's mind was too muddled to figure out who. He cautiously approached, asking direct, short questions in a demanding tone. Danny did not answer, was not sure if he could even speak at this point and backed away slowly.

At the edge of his peripheral powers he felt an ectoplasmic manifestation behind him. The Halfa spared a glance behind him and saw a portal, swirling in turbulent ectoplasmic green. He looked back at the girl, and then the other boy. With a single curt nod Danny slipped into the portal and vanished from the earthly plane.

§Oo–.–oO§

A/N: 5300 words before this A/N. Anyways I apologize for being a week late, I was a bit overwhelmed by university with midterms, papers, projects and other various lab work all crammed into this week. I really am trying to keep this regularly updating. I have up to chapter 6 written, though 6 is in progress still. Chapter 7/8 will probably bring about the conclusion of the first arc of this storyline and then I'll moving into Act II and the meat of the story. There may even be a third act if I feel it's warranted by the events of Act II. Any questions, feel free to PM me. Review if you'd like, they make me anxious when I see the alert emails. For those of you who did review, thank you for the input and motivation. Below are links to the character models I am using for inspiration, hopefully they'll work inside the chapter where they didn't in my profile.

/art/Raven-271528390

/art/Cyborg-390199538

/art/Let-the-Lesson-Begin-w-story-348201194

~Naz