Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or the Teen Titans franchise. Please consult my (non-existent) secretary for more info.
The wind blew over the large mountain tops, flecks of snow floating through the air. In the far distance, deep below the mountain ranges of the Alpes, was a valley. Not incredibly large, maybe the size of New York City, from north to south. At the side where a waterfall cascaded into a river and fed to a lake in the center of the valley, a massive castle was situated.
Markovia was the name of these lands. Few people came here, and things seemed to have stopped here somewhere in the time of the late Middle Ages. Still, technology was very present in these people they're day-to-day lives. Phones, electricity, you name it, they have it.
And somewhere in these mountains were the remnant of an old laboratory. The structure was built into the side of the snowy mountains, but a massive hole straight through the rock showed that the place had seen better days.
The inside was cold, and dust had collected over the past years on the old equipment. A glass window was sitting broken, snow blowing through into the office situated in the lab.
A few shards fell down as someone crawled through the opening and inside the office. The mysterious person's boots cracked in the snow, and he took precise steps through the old room, eye going over the pictures and the framed diploma's.
The figure stopped at a picture showing a brown-haired scientist standing together with another man, white hair and a somewhat paler skin, a small white goatee to match. Behind them was the silhouette of Harvard University.
A black gloved/gray armored hand took the picture, and the single eye of the man examined it, old memories flowing back.
"Ah, Alabaster. It's been so long since I've last seen you, old friend. Too bad that your destiny wasn't meant to be." The man spoke up as his mask came into view. Orange on the side with the eye and black at the other side.
Slade.
He placed the picture back and walked into the lab, examining everything with pinpoint precision. He noticed that there were camera's inside the destroyed experimentation rooms. He entered the security office and turned the computer back on. The man inserted a USB-drive, but decided to take a sneak-peek into a few files as well. He opened the security footage that seemed interesting, and was surprised with his luck.
The footage started with the image dark. The lights go on, revealing a much younger Terra lying on an examination table. She strained against the binds around her arms and legs, but couldn't get loose.
The door outside of screen opened, and a man dressed in a large white lab-coat walked inside. His brown hair was starting to gray at the top, and a part was growing bald. The figure of a much older Alabaster Adiagos walked closer to the girl, and she said something to him, to which he visibly laughed, holding his stomach. His face came in view, revealing the wicked look on the man's face.
The man returned back outside of the screen, and his shadow was visible at the other side of the though glass letting a view into the room. A few machines came down from the ceiling, along with a pair of robotic arms, large needles and tubes attached to them, gathering together in a transparent tank with a strange yellow substance. The needles entered into Terra's arms, and a noiseless scream erupted from her mouth.
The yellow substance started flowing through the tubes, entering the girl's body. She started screamed seemingly louder, trashing around as her eyes started glowing yellow. Off to the side you could see Alabaster trying to fix something that was going wrong.
Suddenly, the tank exploded, and the substance flowed onto the floor. The machine started acting strange, and a piece of the ceiling broke off, falling on top of the device, making it break and fall apart in pieces. Emergency lights turned on, and the alarm was going off, although you couldn't hear it.
The metal bounds holding the blonde down snapped off, and she freed herself from the table. Her bare feet landed on the floor, and came in touch with the substance, that seemed to react to her very presence like a liquid. It waved like she was giving off an aura, and the stone tiles seemed to bend at her wills command. The camera was shaking, and everything else seemed to be shaking too. An earthquake, Slade realized.
Great gods, she has the power to create earthquakes!
Her still-glowing eyes turned to the door, like she was in a trance. Terra aimed her hand at it, and in response a piece of the wall broke off and shot through the door. Alabaster was seen running of somewhere, as Terra made her escape.
Slade turned the recording off, and at that moment the download of the files was complete. He smirked behind his mask, took the drive, and left the office. The psycho passed the place where everything from the recording happened all those years ago. His eye widened as he saw a small puddle of that same yellow substance, hidden in a corner of the room, close to the shattered tank.
"Well, well. Looks like you still have a chance after all, dear Tara." Slade mused as he took a vile from somewhere and sampled the yellow liquid. It had a faint glow, and seemed to weigh a lot more than it should.
Inside that substance was the very essence of the earth, the one thing you can find anywhere on Earth.
The most powerfullest tool imaginable. Or the most destructive tool known to man.
The latter, to Slade's interest.
The sun shone down on the water. In the distance was Jump City, the large metropolis enjoying a calm Sunday. People were out at the beach, enjoying themselves. Some surfers were able to get some waves, but all eyes turned to a small speck further in the bay.
A rock was zooming over the water, hovering a few inches above the surface, the force coming from it creating a large ripple in the water behind the rock. On top was a blonde girl, blue eyes and a large smile on her face.
Terra was enjoying the peace now she could. There hadn't been any criminals for the past few hours, and she was going to enjoy the break as long as she could.
A green eagle appeared from the sky, following the girl. She smiled at the bird, and made a looping over it with the rock. She laughed as the bird seemed a little dazed after that.
"Hope on!" She called. The green eagle flew to a spot behind her, and it morphed into a green-skinned, green haired and green-eyed boy her age. Beast Boy managed to regain his balance, taking a hold of his girlfriend's shoulders.
The two titans were having a blast, flying through the air and skimming the water. As if life wanted to taunt them, though, their communicators beeped. Terra slowed the rock down, giving them time to recover and grab the yellow devices. They noticed that they both had theirs out, and a short argument followed on who would take the call.
In the end, Terra lost and she opened her communicator, the screen showing Robin.
"Hey Rob. What's up?"
"Terra, is Beast Boy there?" Robin asked on the screen. The changeling showed his face from behind the blonde, a toothy grin on his face.
"Right here!"
"Good, we need your help. At first it looked like a normal robbery in a new labs-facility, but when we arrived we discovered some unwanted company." The leader of the titans explained to the couple. Terra raised an eyebrow, feeling that this wasn't going to be pleasant to hear.
"Whose that?"
"Slade."
The looks on the two their faces turned serious immediately. Beast Boy had to suppress a growl from escaping him, and Terra her scowl was nasty.
"Looks like we'll get a chance at beating the crap out of him, huh, Beast Boy?" Terra said with an almost menacing tone. He nodded in return, his blood already starting to boil just thinking off that psycho-freak.
"Calm down you two, we want him alive, despite everything he did he still deserves a fair trial." Robin tried to ease the two. A blast sounded in the background, and the boy wonder looked somewhere off-screen for a moment. He cursed under his breath and turned back to the duo. "Just get here, the location is on the GPS. Danny just took a bad hit!"
The screen turned black, leaving the couple to contemplate what just happened. To hear that Danny, the strongest ghost on their team, had taken a bad hit? This is bad, very bad.
"Beast Boy, lead the way. I'll follow behind." Terra stated as she put her communicator away. He gave a salute before taking his own communicator, already checking the location. Once he knew where it was, he turned into a large green pterodactyl and flew off, Terra following behind on her rock.
As they left, neither were aware of the small bug-shaped camera-drone watching them. The lens focused on the duo a little before turning to look at Terra solely.
His plan was falling in place wonderfully.
They arrived at the scene not long after. The first thing they noticed was the practical army of Slade-robots gathered around the building. A hole was blasted into the roof, smoke coming from inside. A few had strange devices in hand, and were trying to make a break for it, but the titans that weren't fighting the robots were trying to stop the others from escaping with those materials.
Beast Boy dove down, turning into a T-rex on the way. He slammed down on a group of robots, crushing them under his clawed feet. Terra launched her rock at another group, and blocking one of their exits as well. She rolled over the ground when she landed, taking on a battle-stance. The robotic warriors seemed to hesitate before attacking her. She took pieces of the ground, and floated them up before hurdling them at the robots, smashing them to bits.
"I almost forgot how fun it is to break these things!" She exclaimed whilst hurdling another boulder at a group that was sneaking up on Raven's back. The cloaked titan spared the destroyed machines a second's look before resuming her attack against the enemy.
"Blastin' time!" Cyborg yelled as he fired sonic blasts from two canons, one for each arm.
Robin was fighting the ones that were defending the escape-group. They were able to manage a small room for escape, but Dani phased up from the ground and fired her ecto-blasts at them, destroying two and making the ones carrying the materials back off.
"Look out!"
The yell from Starfire was just in time, an explosion suddenly wracking the area. A hole had been blasted into the side of the building, and the burning remains of a few Slade-robots were lying scattered around. As the smoke cleared, the figure of Danny Phantom became visible. He had a few scrapes across his suit and arms, but seemed fine for the rest.
"Danny!"
Until a robot snuck up behind the halfa and hit him in the back, hard. He hurdled through the blasted hole and crashed into the asphalt parking lot, grinding over the surface. He came to a stop, and shakily tried to get up. Dani and Raven both tried to get to his aid, but suddenly a new group dropped down from nearby buildings, surrounding them and making a barrier around the ghost-boy.
It was a stalemate now, the titans unable to get any free-space and reach Danny. But the robots couldn't over-power the titans either.
All stopped when a slow clapping was heard. They looked up at a nearby apartment building, a shadow standing in the harsh Sunday light on the rooftop. It jumped down, landing expertly in the area cleared by the robotic warriors. Everyone was able to see who it was now, and glares appeared on their faces.
Slade.
"Slade. What are you planning this time?" Robin demanded as he glared daggers at the man. The masked villain payed his former apprentice no heed, walking slowly to the struggling form of Danny. The halfa looked up, eyes meeting the single one of Slade.
"I-If you're here to convince me to join you, than good luck. You're not the first who tried that with me." Danny declared as he got up on one knee, hand resting on the ground and keeping himself standing, somewhat. A low chuckle came from the man, finding a strange sense of amusement in it all.
"I'm not here to convince you, Daniel," Danny's eyes widened and for the first time he looked at the masked man with a fearful look. "I'm here to take something from you."
"And what's that?" Dani asked as she tried to get to her father. The robots kept on forcing her back, somehow able to land hits on her just when she wanted to go intangible. She gritted her teeth in anger.
"Something that has been fascinating me ever since I first saw you." Slade said as a robot walked to him. It handed a strangely familiar black and orange belt. It had a unique design, and Danny's eyes widened as he recognized it as a Specter Deflector. "Ah, I see you recognize this little gadget. Yes, I made a small visit at a place called 'Fenton Works'. Sound familiar?"
"What did you do?!" Danny yelled as he managed to get up. Before he could do anything more, Slade put the belt around the ghost's waist, and when it clicked, a power-surge burst free and shocked the ghost-boy. Danny gritted his teeth in agony as the others yelled at Slade or out of fear for Danny's wellbeing. He slumped to his knees, fighting the pain, but coming short.
As he fell to the ground unconscious, the titans gazed in shock as a pair of white glowing rings appeared around the ghost-boy. They travelled over his body, revealing the now-human-boy lying on the ground.
Danny Fenton.
"No!" Both Dani and Raven yelled in fear or anger. The others stared dumbfound at their friend, who turned out to be more than they thought. Slade chuckled as he picked up the unconscious form of Danny, and jumped on top of the facility roof.
"See you soon, Teen Titans." He declared before vanishing. Many robots made quick escape using the situation, and soon the titans were left alone next to the smoking structure.
"Did that just happen?" Terra asked in shock as she started recovering. No one was able to answer her.
They were still figuring that one out themselves.
"I can't believe that you didn't tell us that Danny is a freaking half-ghost!"
Cyborg started pacing again, grumbling under his breath. He paused, cursed something and turned to face the young ghost-girl standing a little off to the side of the living area in Titans Tower.
"And, does that mean that you…?"
"Uhm, yeah, duh! He's my father, of course I'm a half-ghost just like him!" Dani exclaimed, crossing her arms. She understood that getting angry for someone keeping a secret is normal, but this has been going on for half an hour now. "Shouldn't you be more focused on finding Danny? Like Robin is?"
Robin was, indeed, looking for their friend. The boy wonder was working at the computer, fingers flying over the keyboard like a miracle. His masked eyes were aimed at the screen, focus on finding a clue to where Slade might have taken the halfa.
"Can't you find him with that telepathy-trick of yours, Raven?" Beast Boy asked from the couch. Raven breathed out in annoyance. She knew that no one was aware of the relationship between her and the halfa, and couldn't blame the changeling for prodding like that. She chanted in her mind, keeping Rage at bay.
"I tried, but Slade somehow is hiding Danny's mind from me."
"Don't we have any clues to where he might be?" Terra asked, standing up from her seat. Everyone shared worried glances, until Dani had an idea. She walked over to Robin and tapped him on the shoulder, getting the boy's attention. He looked at her, mask somehow showing he's raising an eyebrow at the young halfa.
"That lab, did it make chemicals?"
"Not that I'm aware off."
"Then, is this something Slade dropped?" She asked, revealing a small glass vile holding a yellow liquid in her hand. Robin took the vile and examined it. He's never seen something like this before. He got up from his chair and held it in the light. Terra noticed the vile, and shrieked, hiding herself behind the couch.
"Terra?"
"Get that away from me!" She exclaimed in fear, curling up in a ball behind the couch. Beast Boy got to her side, calming the blonde down. He rubbed her shoulders, humming a soothing tune. She calmed down a little, and he helped her back up from her hiding spot.
"You know what this is?" Their leader asked, holding the vile forwards. She backed up a little, but nodded.
"Y-yeah. I-It's the same stuff p-professor Alabaster used to g-give me and my brother o-our powers." She stammered, trying hard not to run away. She's not going to be a coward, not this time. Everyone their eyes widened and they looked at the yellow substance inside the vile. That stuff gave Terra her powers?
"If Slade got his hands on this stuff, who knows what he might do!" Cyborg stated as he walked over to Robin. The masked boy handed to vile to the half-robot, an idea forming.
"Cyborg, analyze it and see if you can track this. If Slade has one of these, he must have more. Maybe it can lead us to him, or Danny. Hopefully both."
The oldest titan nodded, took the vile, and left for his workspace. The others turned to Robin, expecting looks in their eyes. He sighed, knowing that the rest of the team wants to help.
"Alright. Starfire, Dani, look from the sky. Beast Boy, search the city. Terra, see what you can find underground. Raven, keep trying to find Danny mentally. We're not giving up on him that easily!"
"Yeah!"
"Ugh…W-wha-…What? Where, where am I?"
Danny forced his eyes open, looking into the strange darkness around him. He was tied to a table, wrists and ankles bound by metal contrasints. He tried forcing them open, but his body wasn't strong enough, and that metal is really tough stuff.
"Don't bother trying to escape. Those straps are made of a ghost-proof metal."
He looked around, trying to find the source of that dark and menacing voice. From the shadow appeared the masked form of Slade, his one eyes looking amusedly at the futile attempts of the halfa.
"Okay Slade. I don't know what you want, or what you're planning, but I promise you that you'll regret messing with me." Danny threatened. That only earned him an amused chuckle from the villain.
"Oh, I'm sure that the titans are looking for you. But they won't find you. Your ecto-signature is hidden thanks to your human form, and the walls in this structure cover up your mental waves perfectly. There is, no escape."
Danny gulped, now seeing just how more dangerous Slade is than Vlad. 'This guy is crazy!'
"Tell me, do you still remember what these are?" Slade asked, motioning to a table where the light above turned on. On the table were heavy duty metal gloves. Danny's eyes widened as he recognized those gauntlets.
"The ghost gauntlets. How did you get those?!"
"I have my ways. Oh, and one last thing."
Slade inched closer, his face so close to Danny's the boy could nearly hear him breath. Danny gulped, fear building up inside. Not even Vlad could act so intimidating!
"Hello from your parents."
The halfa's eyes turned to dots, fear catching up with his mind. He started fighting even harder against the constraints, with no luck.
Slade his chuckle turned into an evil laugh as he walked away, leaving Danny alone in the darkness, a single light illuminating the examination table the boy was strapped to.
He couldn't imagine his fate.
Danielle was floating in the air, somewhere above the city. Nighttime had fallen over everything, the moon shining down on the city-lights that illuminated the streets. She had a scanner in her hand, made by Cyborg to find the substance she had found after Slade kidnapped Danny.
She looked at the screen, letting it scan the surroundings. After a little while, it came out negative.
"Damn. Not here either. I hope Starfire has more luck than me." She said to herself before taking off, looking for another good spot to search. She passed over the busy streets, making sure she's got a good look at everything. Just because she can't find something on the scan doesn't mean there isn't anything down below.
At that same time, deep underground, a tunnel was being dug by Terra. She took a moment to catch her breath, the yellow glow around her hands disappearing.
The blonde took a similar scanner from her belt. Taking a glance, it also came out negative.
"Come on! No, I can't give up now. Danny needs us more than ever."
She put the scanner away, and resumed digging, a yellow beam appearing from her hands breaking and pushing away the stone in front of her. She continued forwards, hoping to find something.
Back aboveground, in the city, a green dog was running through the alleyways. It took a halt on top of a garbage container, and turned back into Beast Boy. He sat down on the side of the container, taking his own scanner. It took a moment, and beeped negative.
"Not here either? Where could Slade be hiding?!" He yelled in annoyance. The changeling grumbled a few more things under his breath before turning into a cat, jumping up the fire-escape at the side of a building.
Out on the street, both the T-Car and R-Cycle were out, both drivers looking at the screens on their vehicles. Robin signaled he was going to drive of the highway and into a nearby district, and Cyborg gave a thumbs up to show he understood. The R-Cycle took a turn off the highway and into the busy streets of the city, while Cyborg continued with a large-span scanner.
Everyone was searching, and so far nothing.
Starfire was flying over an old industrial district, the location marked for demolition. She halted and took the scanner in her hands, checking.
As if a prayer had been heard, it blinked green before focusing on the exact location of the source. She did a small fist-pump before taking her T-Com, calling up the others. Finally, she had Robin on the line.
"Robin, I have found a signal. I am at the… Jump City Western Industry District." She informed her boyfriend after reading the nearest sign. He smiled, glad to have a lead.
"Great job, Starfire. I'll tell the others. Wait there."
The screen turned black. Robin called the others, telling them the situation. Soon, everyone arrived in front of an empty demolition site. A few bits of the old building that was once there were still left, but for the rest everything was empty.
"There's nothing here." Raven noted, kicking a small stone over the ground. Terra noticed, and an idea came to her.
"Maybe not aboveground…" She started. The blonde aimed her hands at the ground, balled them to fists and spread her arms, the ground responding to her command. The soil gathered together and a trench was dug, going deeper and deeper until it hit a large concrete surface. "But down below there is!"
"Good thinking Terra. Where's the entrance?"
"Why look for an entrance if you can make one?" The geomancer boasted, taking a mental hold of the concrete. She willed it open with her powers, a hole made big enough for everyone. The others shrugged, and followed the blonde inside.
They landed in a dark hallway, old lamps hanging from the ceiling, but not working. Cyborg activated his shoulder light, showing the way. Everyone was on high alert, Beast Boy keeping an eye on their back.
After a little while, they reached a reinforced steel door. No keypad, no handle, nothing that seemed to give a way to open it. Robin signaled for Starfire and Raven, the two girls going to the front and firing their attacks on the door.
Nothing, not even a scratch.
"That's first-grade reinforced dura-steel. Nothing can get through that stuff without burning at temperatures of over 9,000 Fahrenheit. " Cyborg explained. Everyone held disappointed looks on their faces, everyone but Dani. She tapped the cyborg's shoulder, and he looked down at her.
"Uhm, half-ghost here. Intangibility?"
Cyborg wanted to hit himself for that stupid mistake. He made way for her, and she walked casually to the door before going through it. Just when she reached through, Dani was blown back. She landed on her butt, and after recovering a bit, rubbed her head, groaning.
"Slade must have made the door ghost-proof. Man, that hurt."
Robin held his head in thought, going through possible ways of getting in. He looked at Terra, and an idea formed inside his head.
"Terra, you control the earth, right?"
"Uh, yeah, so?"
"You think you can control metal? It's made of ore, and that holds elements of earth, right?"
She took a moment to think about it, and couldn't argue with the masked boy. He had a point, technically she should be able to do it.
"Maybe. Make some place, I'll need to put all my focus into this."
The group made place for the geomancer. She stretched her hands out and closed her eyes, focusing. The yellow glow appeared, and she groaned as she tried to get a grip on the metal. It seemed to be fighting back her control, like it knew she was pushing her limits here. Images of how Slade used her under his control, and revealed that new possibility of hers, flashed in her mind and she fueled the anger into her powers. Her eyes shot open, glowing a harsh yellow. A similar glow started appearing on the door, and a few bits of metal started bending.
The other backed up as they see how their friend is pushing her outer limits. The metal started shaking, and the dust on the ground started waving like an aura was coming from Terra. She gritted her teeth, and the memory of how Danny supported her flashed through her mind. He helped her in her darkest moment, just like the others. She has to help save him!
Something seemed to snap inside her, hair flowing in the air as she finally took a good grasp on the door. The metal bended to her will, and the door was pealed from its hinges before thrown to the side, into the wall. Finally, with the way clear, she let her powers flow away and the blonde collapsed to her knees. Beast Boy was quick to her side, supporting her as he helped her up.
"You did great, Terra." He said with a confident smile. She smiled back, tired, but was able to stand on her feet.
"Let's go." Robin declared as he was the first through the open doorway. The others followed, as they continued through the dark halls.
Unknown to them, a camera was hidden in the wall, lens focusing after seeing that amazing display of power.
And Slade had seen it too. Under his mask, a wicked smile formed.
'You hold more potential than I first thought, Terra.'
Danny groaned as he opened his tired eyes. He didn't know how late it is, but it felt like he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire night.
Slade had returned a few times, tools in hand. The man had taken samples of his blood, and used an electric stick to force him to transform, allowing the masked psycho to take samples of his ectoplasm as well. He even took bits of skin and had ripped a piece of his suit. A few spots were bleeding, but he could feel his powers regenerating the cut flesh.
He flexed his bound hands, the metal straps cutting a little in his wrists and ankles, and his muscles feelt stiff.
'Is this how I'm going to die? No, Slade probably wants to use me after doing his research. Brainwash me? That didn't work when Freakshow tried it. A neural suit like Terra? Maybe he's just trying to break my spirit with these torturing experiments.'
His thoughts were interrupted when the sound of a door hissing open sounded. The noise of metal boots walking over a tiled floor echoed in the large room. The shadowed figure of Slade appeared in front of the examination table with the halfa strapped to.
"Hello, Danny. Ready for the next round?"
"Try all you might. I won't break."
"Oh, but I'm not trying to break you. I just wants to understand how you can possibly exist. I mean, how can someone be only half-death? There must be a reason why you're still alive with a beating heart, yet when you're a ghost it's like you are truly death." Slade explained, hands behind his back. Danny could picture the smug look on the man's face behind that mask.
"You'll never understand. Not even I do, not fully at least." Danny challenged, a smirk working its way on his face. Slade balled a fist, and hit him in the stomach, the air escaping his lungs. The halfa panted in pain as he tried to recollect his breath, the stinging feeling in his stomach not helping.
"You have a lot of guts, Fenton."
"It's Phantom for you, psycho."
Just when Slade wanted to deliver another punch, a blue wisp escaped the halfa's mouth. His eyes widened at that, and as if on cue, an explosion rocked the area. In a large flash of fire and smoke, the doors in the dark room were blasted open.
From the smoke appeared the titans, ready for battle. Starfire her starbolts were charged, Cyborg his canon was aimed and ready, Robin had his bo-staff in one hand and a collection of boomerangs in the other. Terra took some of the wall that was blasted off, the pieces floating next to her. Beast Boy turned into a lion, growling loudly. Raven her hands glowed black as she floated above the others, her eyes a menacing white. Dani was right next to the cloaked titan, ecto-blasts in her hands.
"Give up now, Slade."
"Let Danny go!"
"And we might let you live."
The villain chuckled at that. He snapped his fingers, and from above them masses of robots appeared, ready to attack. The titans engaged in combat, destroying the robotic warriors like they were nothing.
"You won't get away with this, Slade!" Robin called as he kicked back a few bots. Dani flew overhead, avoiding both enemy and friendly fire. She yelled, firing her blasts at a few that prevented her from getting to Slade. They were quickly destroyed, giving her headway to the masked villain. He jumped out of her way, and she crashed into the tile floor.
"You're just a child! You are no match against me!"
"Think again, you one-eyed freak!" She threatened, blasting a few shots at him. He dodged, but got in her other line of attack. She swung around, unleashing an energy-strike from her feet. She hit him in the stomach, blasting Slade to the table where the ghost gauntlets were lying.
"Dani!"
"Danny!"
"Who?" Beast Boy added in confusion before dodging a kick from a robot. Both Phantoms rolled their eyes, and the young halfa rushed to her dad.
"No, you don't!"
She was kicked in the side, flying through the room and througb a few robots on the way. The ghost-girl slid over the tiled floor, groaning as she tried to get back up after stopping.
"I'm not leaving without my price." Slade declared with fury, the ghost-gauntlets on his hands glowing a dangerous red. He reached out with a single glove, the gauntlet going through Danny's body like they were intangible. He screamed in pain as he felt something being dragged out of him. Slade put all his strength into it, and his hand emerged back out of Danny's body, something in his palm.
Dani looked up at that moment, and she gasped in horror as she saw the blue pulsing orb in Slade's hand. The masked man laughed maniacally as he held the orb in front of Danny's weakening eyes. The boy couldn't say anything on it, his energy suddenly gone, his body growing weaker.
"Slade!"
Robin tried to get a hit on the man, but a robot got in his way. Slade took that moment to run away, and he disappeared through another door that was hidden in the wall.
The last robot was blasted to pieces by Starfire, and as the others recovered, Dani rushed to her dad's side. Raven joined the girl, and used her powers to get the straps off.
"Dad!"
Danny slid of the table, groaning in clear agony as he landed on his knees, weak. Dani held his arm over her neck and shoulders, trying to get him to get back up.
"Danny. What did he do?" Cyborg asked as he joined the halfa's side. Danny managed to look up at the cyborg teen, and utter one sentence.
"Slade… took… Core…"
"He what?" Cyborg asked, not understanding what the halfa had said. Dani had tears in her eyes as she understood what her father meant.
"He took Danny's ghost-core."
"His what?" Cyborg asked to the younger halfa, confused. Dani sighed a little as she helped her dad lie down. Raven had her eyes closed, also knowing what the halfa -no, former halfa- meant.
"A ghost-core is the center of a ghost. Without it, they die. Without his ghost-core, Danny… He, he… He'll die!"
Everyone gasped in horror, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. Starfire had tears in her eyes, and Terra took a hold of Beast Boy, needing support. Robin closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in anger. Anger, aimed at Slade. The boy wonder slammed his fist on the floor. Cyborg was doing a scan of their friend, and sighed sadly.
"She's right. I don't see it anymore."
"When Danny became a half-ghost, a part of him died. And now, without his ghost-core keeping him alive, he's dying." Dani explained further, tears starting to flow.
"Won't he turn into a full-ghost?"
"No. A core is unique, like a fingerprint. If a half-ghost dies without their core, they vanish… Forever." Dani finished, tears streaming down her face. She embraced her dad, whose eyes were growing dimmer. Danny managed to push her back a little and bring his hand against her cheek, rubbing it with his thumb.
"Danielle… You're… The best d-daughter… Anyone could wish for…"
"Daddy, no… Please, don't leave me alone!"
He held her close, letting the ghost-girl cry on his shoulder. His eyes drifted to Raven, who was on her knees next to him, eyes closed. He forced what energy he has left to bring his other hand up. Danny managed to grab her arm, and bring her attention to him. She opened her eyes, and for the first time in… Ever, there was true sadness in those violet eyes.
"Raven… I w-want to ask you… F-for a favor…"
"Danny… What do you need?"
"Take… Care of Danielle… For me…" He asked. She closed her eyes, and nodded, before opening them again. Tears were stinging in her eyes, but she didn't want to let them flow. He frowned, or as much as he managed of a frown.
'Raven, this time… There is nothing wrong to cry.' He send her his thoughts. Her eyes widened for a moment, but they quickly grew sad again, and she couldn't deny the truth in what he thought. And tears started falling from her eyes.
The others watched from the sidelines, and realization finally struck them as they watched the exchange between their teammate and the dying boy. Robin held Starfire close to him, the alien girl crying on his shoulder. Beast Boy was holding Terra from dropping to her knees, the blonde holding her face in her hands, tears seeping through her fingers. Cyborg made some place from the two, and he really wished he could shed a tear at this like a normal person.
"There… There has to be a way." Raven tried to assure, trying to get some form of hope back. But that look in Danny's eyes, that was a look of acceptance.
"Raven… I know that there is… Nothing you can do… I-I just… want you to remember…"
He closed his eyes, as tears appeared from them. They streaked down his face, and he felt how his mind was drifting further away. He had to say it now, or else he would never have the chance again.
"I-I… I love you…"
"I-I… I love you too, Danny." Raven declared, in front of everyone, and she leaned down to place a final, tender kiss on those cold lips. Lips she'll never feel again.
As the two girls around him got back to their knees, holding his hands in theirs, he could only say one last thing.
"Thank… You… For everything."
And his eyes closed.
Danny Phantom, was no more.
Author's note: Dun dun dun! The first part of what I think is going to become a two (or three) parter. But, cry not, as I have a surprise ready for the next chapter. Until then, good fans, remember to review, fav and follow!
See you soon.