"Find anything?" Danny asked as he carefully shifted away another pile of trash, pausing to make sure that his cloaks long sleeves stayed rolled up.
"Nope." Tucker replied as he tossed another broken TV remote over his shoulder.
"Nada." Sam sighed as she kicked over a box which promptly opened up spilling glass bottles everywhere. "Oh for the love of- the recycle label is printed on the side!"
They were currently in Jump City's surprisingly large landfill trying to find anything to make their room in the factory look at least a little homely. If they were going to stay in the city for a indefinite amount of time they might as well like it.
"I know that we spent most of our money on winter clothes but do we really not have enough to get something less, ew?" Danny said pulling up a container that had a thick line of green goop holding it to the ground.
"I wish we could but with the eight months of buying food and finding places to sleep, we're pretty stretched on money." Sam said grudgingly giving up cleaning the scattered bottles.
"How stretched are we talking about?" Tucker asked.
Sam picked up a tattered looking knapsack that was filled with large holes, "Do you think you can mend the holes in this?" She asked displaying the damaged bag to the techno geek.
"That bad?"
"Ohh, yeah."
It wasn't like this was the first time they had resorted to scrounging through a landfill. When they had first left Amity they had been terrified to go near any type of civilization. This made them resort to sleeping in caves and looking through dumps for anything they might need. Now that they were used to living in a somewhat higher cleaner state the once familiar stench of a sweeting garbage in the noonday sun was starting to grate on them.
"Guys check it out!" Danny shouted, a large maniacal grin on his face. "I hit the jackpot!"
Sam and Tucker quickly maneuvered over the shifting piles of garbage. Shock clearly on their faces they as gasped at what Danny was trying to pull out of the trash heap. It was a large cardboard box and across it's side in huge black letters was the word 'COT'.
"It's unopened and I think there's a couple more in there." Danny as he finally got the heavy slightly banged up rectangular box free.
Tucker immediately took Danny's place by the trash heap and with a heave began to pull another heavy box out, "This is amazing! You have no idea how tired I was of sleeping on concrete." Tucker said completely pulling the box out and moving aside to let Sam get a cot. "Not that I'm complaining, but who the heck throws out a perfectly good cot?"
"You would really wouldn't be surprized," Sam said standing up her own cot and showing Tucker and Danny the address on the box, "Look, the Bellsighers. My parents and I use to know them. A couple years ago they moved from Amity Park to get away from it's, um, negative atmosphere. They always planned outings every year and then canceled them because of weather or if their equipment got to old."
"This box is marked July, of this year." Tucker flatly pointed out.
"We use to know them," Sam said smirking deviously, "I may have gotten my family blacklisted from their estate after I staged a protest on the overconsumption of America's one percent. This area is probably teeming with useful stuff."
"Thank you America's one percent." Danny said stacking the cots on top of each other, "But," Danny quickly backtracked at Sam's dark, almost lecturing expression, "curse your effect on the environment!"
"Yeah I thought so," Sam said taking her gaze off Danny, "Ok guys let's see what else we can find in the garbage of the one percent."
Over the next couple of hours they found a ridiculous number of basically new things that they could use, which directly brought them to their next problem. What to carry and what to leave.
Sam counted down from ten before releasing her nose, "Tell me again why we need a pool table?"
"Think about it Sam, what are we going to go on the days that we can't leave the factory, read your books?" Tucker said pointing to a box of books that Sam had claimed as her own. The Bellsighers had quite literally thrown out a fully stocked bookshelf, and with the more interesting books in it Sam had taken the liberty to create a small library for herself. "Unless it's a comic book or on a website I'm not reading it, and we all know Danny's mark in English."
"Hey!"
"Just stating facts dude," Tucker said opting not to look at Danny's bristling demeanor, "just give us this. I mean look this thing, is fully stocked! The cue sticks are still warped in plastic and are made with Armenian wood, come on!"
"Fine, but you're carrying it." Sam said as she stacked the rest of the boxes they had found on a relatively clean flatten cardboard box, "Seriously I think we went kind of crazy with how much things we're taking."
"Yeah but think of this when was the last time we splurged?" Danny said his face pulling up into a bright grin, "We deserve this, seriously can this day get any better?" Danny face slowly dropped as heard what sounded like a low crunching sound. Sam and Tucker froze with him when the sound of slowly approaching footsteps got closer to them.
"Ugh, Robin why are we here again?" A unseen voice loudly complained.
"We haven't seen Blue, Black or Purple for weeks," A crisp commanding voice replied, "This is the only place that we haven't searched yet. Titan's keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
Danny, Sam, and Tucker had promptly laid down flat between the garbage as they heard the Titans walked determinedly pass them their intention loudly announced with their every step.
"Stop glaring at me." Danny whispered flinching at the angry glares that Tucker and Sam were giving him.
"No." They snap at once.
"You can't blame this on me!" Danny hissed out.
"Beds Danny, we had beds and sleeping bags!" Tucker hissed back, "You know how Murphy hates us! Now we have to leave all of this. Not cool man, not cool at all!"
"Maybe we don't have to leave our things." Sam interjected her glare turning into a completive look, "If you go ghost right now how much of our stuff can you carry back to the factory?"
"All of it." Danny said confidently as he calculated the weight. "But I can't carry all that and you too."
"But you won't be carrying us." Sam pointed out slyly, "Balaclavas up, here's the plan…"
Robin, was annoyed.
After pulling up everything he could about Amity Park and the convicts he was ready to confront them. If they would only show up. Two weeks since they had confronted them and two weeks since anyone had seen them. They had scoured the city from top to bottom trying to find the elusive convicts. Heck, he had even step up traps for them to fall into, but the days went on and his snares were still empty. Even the Jump City media had lost interest in them. At this point Robin knew he was pulling at straws by searching the dump, but he didn't want to believe that the Amity Convicts left before he got to confront them again. So if he had to shift around trash to make sure they where gone so be it. No matter how gross...
THUNK
…why was he on the ground?
"Friend Robin are you okay?" Starfire exclaimed pulling him off of the ground and taking, he really didn't want to know what, off of him.
"I think so, what hit me?" Robin said shaking the cobwebs out of his head and ignoring the wet slap his hair was making.
"That would be us."
Robin tense and looked up to see Black and Purple leering down at them from atop of large garbage hill. Purple had her arms crossed while Black had his hands in his pockets. He could almost see the self serving smirks that they gave him.
"Don't you know that assault is a criminal offense?" Robin said annoyed as he stood to his full height as he decidedly ignored the strange liquid dripping behind his ear.
"So is trespassing." Purple said pointing an accusing finger at Robin, "This is a is the city's landfill, private property, yet here you are. What kind of hero breaks the law?"
"Well…"
"Shut up Black." Purple deadpanned.
"That brings up another thing," Black said his voice taking on a lamenting air, "why does my code name have to be Black?"
Purple sighed and lifted her hand, "One it was a spur of the minute decision," she said raising a finger, "and two" she said raising another, "the nicknames you make for yourself are terrible."
"What wrong with Captain Sex Dream?" Black said voice raising.
"What right with it? No seriously that name should get put you on a watch list or something." Purple snapped back.
"You're just mad cause you know the names you made suck!" Black shouted throwing his hands into the air.
"Why I outta...!"
"Um?" a timid voice below them interrupted.
Black and Purple looked down to see the Titan's watching them a hesitant look on their faces, "Should we come back later or...?" Beast Boy trailed off.
"No, no it's fine," Purple said adjusting her hood while Black dusted his cloak of imagery dust, "just a little fight."
Raven eye brow raised, "A lover's spat?"
Black and Purple's reaction was immediate.
"What the- no, oh god no!" They said at once only to blink at each other's wording. "Hey!"
"Right back at you!" Purple said glaring down at Black, "You didn't have to react like it would be the worst thing ever."
"I could say the same to you!" Black pointed out.
"Wait." Beast boy said scratching his head, "So you guys are together?"
"No. No we are not. Just friends." Black said slowly, "Not to mention I can't think of being with anyone other than my Sugar Bear." He was violently taken out of recollection by the overwhelming silence around him.
"What?" Black asked the horrified faces of the Titans he then look Sam only to find the same but muted features on her face, "What you too?"
"T-Black we've been over this," Purple said catching herself, "Second rule, remember? No kooky talk when the person you're talking about isn't here, or if I or Blue is around you." Purple then rubbed her arms trying to get the goosebumps down. "Seriously, ew!"
Black huffed crossing his arms, "You're just jealous that my snuggy bear and I have gotten together before you and your-"
"That's it!" Purple said getting into a fighting form, "If you won't stop I'm going to make you stop!" She quickly lunged at Black only to have him dodge her.
The Titan's watched in shock as the fight between Black and Purple got more and more heated.
"What are they doing?" Raven asked as she watched the escalating fight.
"They're fighting each other." Robin dryly as Black and Purple got more elaborate and were now throwing garbage at each other between kicks and punches.
"But, why?" Starfire asked, "They are a team are they not? Don't they know that they cannot win this battle if they fight each other?"
"Ah, what battle Star?" Cyborg said, "All they did was throw something nasty at Robin, seriously man we might need to quarantine you, and started to argue." Cyborg shook his head, "It's almost like that they don't want to fight with us."
"If they're not fighting us, what are they doing?" Raven questioned as Black exaggeratedly leaned back to avoid the flying kick Purple aimed for his head.
Robin eyes widen as he took in the way that Purple and Black were fighting. Especially the wide weak blows and greatly telegraphed movement that gave the other ample time to move. It all clicked together when he realized that the small team was now little bit too small, "They're distracting us."
Robin grabbed his staff, pointed it to the two fighting teens and shouted, "Black, Purple! Where is Blue?"
Black and Purple froze in mid-swing and once again looked down at Titans. The tension between the two groups got thicker as Black and Purple looked to each other before sharing a nod. Then Black spoke slyly, "Well it looks like they figured it out."
"Doesn't matter," Purple shrugged, "I think we gave Blue enough time to do what he needed to do."
"And what exactly would that be?" Robin grated out as the Titan's behind him threateningly braced for a fight.
"Whoa relax guys," Purple said her hands coming up in a calm down motion, "there's nothing dastardly going on. We just needed to distract you for an unspecified amount of time."
"That sounds pretty dastardly." Raven said her hands glowing with dark magic as her eyes went white.
"You know she kind of right, that does sounds pretty suspect." Black said causing Purple to quickly elbow him in the side, "-but it's not I promise." Black said placing a hand over the area where his heart would be.
"If that's true tell us what Blue is doing." Robin ordered his hands gripping his staff harder.
Black and Purple looked at each other the same doubt reflexed on both of their faces. A small hushed verbal fight broke out between them at ended in a quick game of rock paper scissors. Purple lost and quietly turned to face the Titan's.
"Okay this may seem hard to believe, but it's true." Purple breathed in deeply before saying, "Blue is currently redecorating."
Robin's eyes narrowed and with the tone of his voice so flat it make Purple and Black winched he spoke, "I don't believe you. Titan's go!"
"Told you that it wouldn't work." Black exclaimed before stomping on hard a weak spot on the hill.
The Titan's to pause in their ascent as the hill started to rumble. Just as Robin was about to give an order to move the whole mountain shifted and the Titans were instantly caught in the resulting revolting landslide that dragged them down the way they came.
Purple winched as she heard the Titan's muffled disgusted screams, "Sorry!" She yelled before running down the other side of the mountain with Black.
They had landed on even ground when Raven came out of the ground in front of them black magic crackling around her as the endless portal behind her closed. "Halt." She said as the shifting black flame from her eyes grew.
"Ooh I forgot, you're part demon aren't you?" Black pointed out dryly.
"Yes I am." Raven said as large chunks of garbage around her lit up with the pulse of her dark magic. "Give up."
"Purple, how close are demons and ghost again?" Black said as their surrounding area became more like floating wall of doom.
"Well a ghost can become a demon," Purple said her hands flexing mindlessly at her sides, "other than that I don't think they're really that close."
Black's hands disappeared up his sleeves, "Well then lets find out how close they can be. Lets go with plan Surprise Autumn."
Purple quickly broke away from Black and ran straight towards Raven.
Raven eyes widened as Purple jumped high into the air, propelled herself off a floating toilet seat lid, and began jumping toward her. Dodging Raven's first attack Purple grabbed Raven by the cloak and with a fast twist forcefully tossed the stunned half-demon to the ground. The black coated objects quickly dropped as the Raven's concentration was violently broken allowing Purple to use the falling objects as a means to get to solid ground.
Raven staggered up her eyes now glowing a fierce white with her anger at the Purple cloaked girl.
"Do you really think I would go down that easily?" Raven grated out as her the dark glow from her hands started up again.
"Heck no," Purple said as she threw her arms up in exaggeration, "You're a half demon, and I have no weapons or anything on me. This is a fight I can't win."
"Then why did you attack me if you knew you can't win?" Raven asked, her confusion clouding her voice.
"Because I came prepared."
Blood red petals fell from the sky, as they danced on the soft air currents Raven was briefly remained of the browning leaves outside their tower. That pleasant memory faded to nothing as the first petal touched her.
"What is this?" She choked out as the petals crushed her body with a heavy numbing feeling. Raven fell to the ground as the world spin dangerously.
"Blood Blossom." Black said plainly stepping over her and joining Purple, "It's a really old but surprisingly effective way to ward off evil spirits, or I guess spirits in general."
Raven glared up at them gritting her teeth at the pounding in her head, "You won't get away with this when my friends come for me…"
"Like we're going to wait for that," Purple said walking away, "If we don't need to we're not going to fight you."
"Why not?" Raven gasped out as she felt herself near unconsciousness.
Black briefly turned back to her, to her shock the edges his balaclava pulled up with his smile, "Honestly we only fight bad people. Don't worry about blossoms I used a diluted species the effect will wear off in a couple of hours. So do yourself some good and get some rest."
The last thing that Raven saw before she fell unconscious was Black and Purple running away leaving her to be find by her disgruntled friends.
"I still can't believe you convinced me to let you fight Titan's by yourselves." Danny said as he twisted the satellite above their recently required TV.
"Danny get over it," Tucker said rummaging through an opened box, "that happened days ago."
"I know but what if something happened?" Danny said explaining his grievance, "I would have been too far to help you."
"Well think about your options," Sam said as she turned a page in a practically new book, lounging on couch that was still in plastic when that they found it, "One, you could take our finds home and sleep on actual beds or we could've ran and tried our luck on those sheets we found out back."
Collectively they all shivered.
"Sam," Tucker said his hands still going through the motions of cleaning the goggles he had found, "I never want to hear something that scary again, like ever."
"Whatever," Sam replied turning her attention back to Danny, "do you have picture yet?"
"No this stupid this won't work!" Danny growled, "This thing was still in its box, why won't work?"
"Did you try hitting it?" Tucker asked trying on the goggles and playing with its lenses' magnify settings.
Sam raised an eyebrow at the techno geek, "Tucker I'm pretty sure that won't-"
Bang!
"Ah hah!" Danny yelled in victory, "Its' working, its-" Danny trailed off at what he saw, "Oh No."
"Do I want to know?" Sam asked wearily as she saw the panicked look on Danny's face.
"Yes, yes you do." Danny said pointing at the screen, "The Titans are on the T.V, and they look pissed." He turned to the suddenly guilty looking Sam and Tucker, "You know I just realised I never asked, what did you do to them?"
"Other than burying them in garbage and covering Raven in Blood Blossoms? Nothing." Sam said a weak smile on her face.
Danny looked at them flatly before deadpanning, "We're going to have to change our names and appearances completely if we ever want to live in society again aren't we?"
"More than likely, but on a different note," Tucker said raising a finger into the air, "I want to change my code name to something that embodies my awe-inspiring person attitude."
"If the name has the word or words, sexy, hot, awesome, phenomenal, or genius in it no." Danny state blankly as he adjusted the TV's picture settings.
Tucker lowered his hand and pouted, "Just saying you guys have no flare for secret names."
"That's not true." Danny said.
"Oh, really Danny Phantom." Tucker said raising a critical eyebrow at him, "Were you even trying with that one?"
"Shh, guys," Sam said glaring at them both, "I'm trying to watch this."
"And that's why we are going to try our hardest to take down Blue, Black, and Purple." Robin said speaking clearly to the reporters in front of them.
"Blue, Black and Purple? Don't they have a team name? Like the Hive." The reporter said shoving his microphone closer to Robin's face.
"They never gave us one. For all we know they don't have one." Robin said his annoyance at the situation clearly on his. "Rest assured we will take these villains down and make the city safer." Robin fist clenched as determination spread across his face, "The Titans will take Blue, Black, and Purple in."
"Well it seems that their serious about this." Danny said reclining in the couch beside Sam watching as Raven teleported the Titan's away and the major of the city took the podium.
"That's kind of what we were going for." Tucker said waving away Danny's concern, "We wanted the Titan's to claim us as their own personal enemies. If us embarrassing them moves the process along, so be it."
"This kind of reminds me of the prank war that happened between Danny and Vlad," Sam said, "You know that war that almost ended in the destruction of the town?"
"We won't go that far. We just need them annoyed enough to be too angry to ask for help." Tucker said as he popped open a toolbox and opened the back of his P.D.A, "As long as we're the only villains on their minds there's nothing to worry about."
Deep inside an abandon mineral mine a hellish dark orange light shone over large stationary gears. A single twisted soul resided within the mines many snaking tunnels and called the unnerving place his own. This man stood in complete silence as series of video clips and still pictures flashed across a screen.
He found himself chuckling at the name that the media had given his soon to be newest apprentices. The Amity Convicts. What a ridiculous name that was strangely benefiting to the last eight months.
He was searching for a new apprentice to mold when he had found the first rumour of Danny Phantom. A ghost boy that was hated by his town no matter how many times he saved it? It seemed almost too good to be true. Of course to get to the ghost he needed to cut his ties to his town, however he wasn't sure if doing so would kill the ghost or not
Imagine his surprize and delight when he came across a certain tape of the ghost boy turning into a certain human son of two world renown ghost hunters. His plan was simple expose Danny's secret and nurture his despair and distrust when he was rejected, then turn the ghost boy into the perfect weapon.
Why it was that the easiest plans were never fool proof, he would never know.
He didn't count for Danny's friends going with him, the birth of the Amity Convicts, his parents and his friend's parents fighting for them, or the sudden competence of the Guys in White.
When the Justice League got involved he just about decided to trash the plan, when something interesting happened. The Convicts came to Jump City, and suddenly countless opportunities opened for him.
Why would he take one powerful apprentice when he could have three.
Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley. Danny for obvious reasons, Sam because her ferocity when fighting was more than impressive, and Tucker for his very much understated technology skills. If he had them under his wing he would become unstoppable. Seeing how easily Sam and Tucker, pardon, Purple and Black took down Raven of all people solidified his resolve.
He learned from his mistake with Terra. He needed to get to the Convicts before the Titan's could talk to them. Also from what he gathered taking two hostage and ordering the third around would only end in a painful disaster for him.
No, he needed them to be too afraid to go to any hero for help. He needed them to become so desperate that they come to the conclusion that only through him they could live. Then he would carefully mold them to his side.
However, before he could truly start recruiting them he needed to conduct some tests to see what they could really do.
When they pass he believed that black and orange will look just grand on them.
AN: Late update I know life and stuff go in the way. So as an apology here is a link to a music video you probably already saw.
Doesn't mean you shouldn't watch it again.
watch?v=YlEb3L1PIco
