Hey!! Awesome!! I have reviewers! YES!! I'm a bit overly excited, but then again, who cares!
DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own Danny Phantom…I still haven't gotten over that sob…or the Teen Titans.
Danny sped towards the ridiculous looking tower, stamping down the clamor of emotions that were bubbling inside him. This wasn't a good idea. Definitely not. He was painted as the enemy in Amity, and he was likely going to again. A reputation never really dies. People just stretch a big metaphorical band-aid over it and pretend it never happened. But it did happen to Danny, and he didn't want to screw up the fragile life he had built himself again.
Danny was close enough to the gigantic building to see the crabs scuttling around desperately for footholds where the rough water crashed against the rocky shore. The sheen from the glossy windows was making him feel insignificant, like a bug waiting to burst into flames due to the sadistic kid holding a magnifying glass above him.
Danny stopped abruptly mid-flight. He wasn't going in there. He couldn't. There was something in there, something cold and brooding, waiting for its prey…
He felt a numbing cold wrap itself around him, a death grip, lulling his heart into a slow sequence. Slower still. He was being pulled towards the building. It was not long before he was hovering right outside the window, watching his breath mist the shiny and perfect glass. He could see his reflection in the window. Looking at himself was something he tried to avoid as much as possible. When he looked at himself, Danny saw the failure in his eyes. The faces of his family and friends surfaced, begging him for help is strangled, panicked voices. But Danny had no help to give.
And worse still, when he looked at himself he saw how similar the features were to the one who killed his family. It wasn't surprising, seeing as he was the monster who wreaked the havoc, but it was still a stunning blow to him. Even the slightest glimpse could ruin a day.
He crept closer to the window, a mere six inches away now. His eyes were glued to the picture. Danny didn't even start when he realized the picture was morphing. Not into Sam or Tucker, like usual, but his sister. She was pointing to something off in the distance. "Save me Danny! Save me! We're here, and we need you! Mom, Dad, Sam, and Tucker! Please!" She sobbed, resting her head on the glass. She dropped her voice, suddenly jerking her head back to look around. "Or you could just save me, Danny. Just you and me. You miss me, right? I could be back. I could help you. You're psychologically unstable, and I'm the only one who could help! You know that! So save me Dan--", she broke off, standing stock straight as her features morphed back into the figure of Danny.
This Danny wasn't the same. He was staring raptly back, the tips of his hair blood red, and one of his eyes being consumed by the vengeful color.
He gasped, not a wisp of cold breath, but instead this gasp was of his own fear. In retrospect, it could have been a new development in his ghost sense. He could have been expanding his horizons from just ghosts to any troublemaking creatures.
But Danny wasn't exactly thinking about how he had found a new way to kick bad guy butt. He was to busy appeasing the flight part of the phrase 'fight or flight'.
Danny rocketed away from the building like he never had before. He was focused on simply getting home, and not running into the Titans on the way there. That wouldn't be good. Danny already had sensed that Robin didn't like him, and that the rest of the group wasn't far behind in the wary suspicion, even Starfire.
Danny idly rolled the thoughts over in his mind, no longer plagued by thoughts of some creature coming and destroying him from the inside out, which happened to be the fear he had earlier caved to.
The moon was beginning its descent into the horizon, and the sky was turn a light pink in anticipation for morning. It was times like these when Danny missed Sam the most. When the sun was setting or rising. He always used to fly with her, like he never flew with anyone else, not talking or communicating. Just…being. Immersing themselves in the exhilaration of flight. He remembered the way Sam used to spread her arms wide and pretend she was a bird, soaring to the heavens, and how disappointed she always was when he set her down on the ground.
She loved the sky, and was fascinated by the heights Danny brought her to. But there was never enough time. There was constant interruption. A ghostly enemy, Danny's parents, Sam's parents, Tuck…never enough time. And now there was none at all. It was times like these…
He put on the brakes as his apartment came into sight, dropping to the ground and moving to his human form quickly, after observing the barren street. He would have to call in sick for work. He currently was assistant manager at a music store. One that sold the bands that people had never heard of and old records everyone had forgotten. He loved it there, but seeing as his shift was from seven to one, he wasn't going to get enough sleep to show up looking ready for the job.
Well, now was not a time for worrying, he surmised. That was for later. Now was for sleep. He collapsed on his unmade bed, not envying himself for the nightmares he was to have.
LINE BREAK!! OH YEAH!! GET OVER IT!!
Danny rolled over and blinked. The sun was glaring through his window, the blinds futilely trying to block the rays. He stuffed his head under his pillow, but it was no use. He was awake, and was going to stay awake for the duration of the day. A glance at his alarm clock informed him the sun was high in the sky, a the perfect angle to shoot in his eyes, as it was three o'clock. Joy.
He padded into his kitchen, pouring some orange juice and gulping it down. Next to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and grabbed a towel, wiping the water off casually.
He let out a yelp of surprise. Where he had rubbed his face on the towel was a complete pitch black, like he had applied a mixture of oil and black clown paint to his face. He frantically ran down the hall, snatching all the towels he had in stock and rushing to the bathroom, turning the faucet an wetting a towel. He scrubbed at his face in a panic, breaking his rule and looking in the mirror.
His face was like a black hole. Not only the color of pitch, but it seemed to be sucking the light out of the room. Danny freaked. "AHH!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, reaching into his shower, grabbing soap, and squeezing in all over his face.
He lathered the suds around until he looked like Frosty the Snowman, but they were turning black too.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Danny exclaimed, dropping his cleansing products. Danny stared into the mirror, horrified. The black consumed the soap, and twisted his mouth into a smile.
"You'll find out."
Danny frowned, unable to tear his eyes away. He watched as the black moved his lips like a puppet master.
"I want you, Danny."
He warily eyed his skin. He couldn't talk. His skin flickered back to the pale white it usually was, leaving nothing in its wake.
"I won't be visible, but I'll be here underneath the surface." As if to prove its point, it rose Danny's am like a meat puppet and forced his fingernail to his forearm, creating a long scratch. Black blood oozed out, dripping onto the floor with a pink!
Danny stood, astonished, hold back the hysteria he wanted to release. He felt the presence lurking under his skin, laughing at his state of shock. He tested out the mobility of his limb, which seemed to be okay.
He exited the bathroom, heading straight to the computer. It was time to research.
Yes!! Cha-ching! Update! Well, I'm against subliminal (press the periwinkle button) messaging, so I won't (it's right there. PRESS IT!) pressure you into reviewing or anything (REVIEW!) and I won't hold my chapter hostage or anything, ( it's irresistible. review.) so I'll update ASAP!!
BYE!!