A/N: I have deteremined the most addictive of all substances on the earth. Reviews.
What? It's true. Their more addicting then food. Seriously.
Anyway, this is my latest (and longest) chapter. Over eight thousand words! That's about two and a half thousand more then my second longes. In this chapter, and my future ones, I'm going to try and take it a bit slower, describe some things more, give more details on the thoughts and actions of the characters. Please tell me if this is a good choice.
As an answer to the question posed by Blood Brandy: Not yet. Some of Danny's old foes do have an effect on this story, but keep in mind that by the end of the cannon show Danny could easily beat any of his normal foes, and sometimes Plasmius. Now, even with his two belts, he is stronger then that. They are terrified. But don't worry! They will come. Oh yes, they will come. Hehehehehehe...
As a side note, the beta search thing scares me! It's so big and long and confusing! And how do I know if the beta I get will be good for me? (I'm sure that they are all good, but I'm not so sure they are all good for me.) I will get a beta eventually... once I manage to bite back my fear...
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Teen Titans. Sadly.
Pulling the Strings
Many people believe time to be immutable, that free will is nothing more then a fancy of the human race.
Those people are now wrong.
If one person can choose their destiny, then their choices will effect others. And those people's choices will effect others.
Destiny is no longer the case.
Free will is.
It is now up to Danny Phantom and those he interacts with... and who those interact with... to change the future.
Their fate is now in their own hands.
Danny was meditating on the roof of his store, the full moons light shining down on him. Ever since his last 'adventure' with the Titan's, he had been more easily spooked, more easily angered. He almost hit Donna yesterday!
Danny let out an almost imperceptible growl. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be in control. He was supposed to be able to put a stop block on his emotions. When did he get so weak? Last week he cried himself to bed!
He sighed as his floating, his ghostly form slowly lowered and turned back to his more 'normal' body. He stared across the city, a far away look in his eyes. He recalled back to when he used to fly over his home town, Amity Park, just for the heck of it. And tonight was a perfect night for flying... the air was cool and crisp, the wind practically non-existent, and the full moon was practically begging to light the way.
Danny turned his back on the moon and started walking back into his store, not realizing that his hands were trembling slightly.
He slowly walked down the stares, past his bedroom, past the bookstore, and down to his laboratory. He looked at the prototype of a belt he was making... it was supposed to be twice as effective as the normal ones he was wearing right now. But he reached a dead end. How was he supposed to power it?
The previous version worked by running off of the ectoplasm of the various ghosts that the wearers body touched, but this version, for whatever reason, just wouldn't work.
He put it back on the bench and looked at another of his experiments.
Another Fenton Thermos, this one usable on anything. The main problem was that while Ectoplasm was shrinkable... normal matter wasn't. The last time he tried it exploded and tree guts flew everywhere. Another failure.
He looked at his next test. It looked like a simple wooden sword, but it drew upon the natural ectoplasm of its user to cut through any known material on the planet. And several unknown ones on others. Unfortunately, it drew a little too much power for his taste; he could only wield it a minute, tops, before he was forced to transform back. And that was without doing anything else!
He grumbled to himself as he looked at the next one. A prototype of the ghost gauntlets he'd seen the future Vlad wield... they worked, but he would never use them. Not after what could have happened...
He sighed as he turned around and went back to his bed. He was no good at this kind of stuff. He would be better off leaving it to Fixit; he at least seemed to be able to make some progress.
Raven was meditating in her room, chanting her line in a calming fashion over and over again. She felt in control for the first time in a while. Ever since that... incident... in her mind, she was feeling out of sorts. It was weird; whenever she thought of the enigmatic ghost, she felt slightly... weird... in the pits of her stomach.
Raven sighed as she straightened up; she wouldn't get anywhere with her meditation until she sorted herself out. She silently walked for the elevator to the roof.
As the elevator rose, her thoughts turned back to the mysterious ghost that somehow invaded her mind... and saved her from herself. Why didn't he want to be called a hero? He clearly was one, even if he denied it. He risked himself for her, and he saved Beast Boy and Cyborg.
She would kill to have her questions answered... the only person that he reminded her of was, well...
ding
The elevator reached the top of the tower. Raven, momentarily shaken from her thoughts, walked out onto the roof to a most unusual sight. Their, her feet dangling in the air, sitting on the roof, was Starfire. She was practically brooding. Something was clearly wrong.
Raven sat down next to her, her legs crossed over one another in a meditative stance. She spoke with her slightly worn from disuse voice. "...what are you doing here?"
Starfire turned to look at Raven, a sad look on her face. "Just thinking about not-friend Phantom, friend Raven."
Raven nodded in understanding... she was doing that just a minute ago. Despite her better judgment, she was rather curious. She gestured for her to continue.
Starfire sighed-a noise which most defiantly should NOT have come from somebody with her personality- as she looked up at the twinkling stars. "It is most confusing. Not-friend Phantom is clearly a friend, yet he insists that he is not. Is it normal for earthlings to shun affection? Are our teammates the exceptions?"
Raven looked blandly at Starfire. This was not her place... normally Robin would talk to her about earth culture... but she could try. Even though she wasn't an earthling herself, she did come from a place very similar. "No, Starfire. It is not normal. Phantom is the exception... but I do not know why."
Starfire nodded as she leaned back until she was lying down. "He seems so lonely... like you used to be, friend Raven."
Used to be? That was an interesting response. Raven was about to ask Starfire to elaborate when a noise was heard throughout the tower, signalling the return of the males of the team. Raven silently phased down, not bothering to stand up, to make sure that nothing was awry. Starfire used the elevator a moment later.
The five titans opened up the box, revealing puppets. Six of them. Five of them where fairly obvious for them. One of each titan. It was the sixth one that was a mystery. Their, in the box, with the rest of the titans, was one Danny Phantom puppet.
They were all confused.
"What the heck man? What's up with this?" Cyborg was the first to break the silence. Beast Boy soon followed.
"Yeah! That dude's not a titan! Why's he in their with us?"
Raven decided to try to stop this argument in the bud. "Clearly whoever made these made a slight mistake."
Cyborg turned to her. "Slight? That guy's never even been in the tower! Who in the world could mistake him for one of us?"
Robin spoke up now. "Well, he has been with us on are most recent adventures..."
This sparked a whole new set of complaints, mainly from Cyborg with Beast Boy as backup. Raven and Robin tried to calm them down, but to no avail. Meanwhile, as four of the five titans argued, the fifth picked up the remaining puppet.
"...not-friend Phantom? Is this from you?" She gently poked the puppet, and giggled at the way it moved.
This stopped all arguments instantaneously. They turned to the alien in their group at the sound of her light giggle. It has been a while since she giggled, and all of them where relieved to hear it again. And if a mistakenly sent puppet was what caused her increase in mood, who where they to argue?
Fixit's life has taken two one eighty's. Not a three sixty, but two one eighty's. The difference is subtly, but it is there.
Fixit started out as a normal human with a penchant for mechanics and organics. He made break through after break through in the area of prosthetics. He made it so that, on occasion, the fake limb would be better then the real one. His original name, long lost to the ages, was known across the planet.
As Fixit's business life grew, his personal one shrunk. He had one brother that died at the age of thirty one due to mass organ failure. His mother and father never recovered... and tried to make their sickly alive son their active dead one.
Disenchanted with normal human life, he slowly became more and more withdrawn, spending more time alone in the dark then with his friends in the sun. The pure joy of creating and fixing was all that kept him going... and he managed to fool himself into thinking that that was enough, thinking that he was in paradise.
So, when his organs began to fail, he looked for a way to extend his life with his work... and he found it. His work grew to absorb him; he became obsessed. He spent more and more time alone. More and more of his employees left. Some quite, some died, his body now immortal. His company now in shambles, he left for a more isolated area after his building was scheduled for destruction; a cave underneath the city dump.
Now, however, he had a friend. Danny Phantom. He had a job. He played in the sun. And he still enjoyed fixing and making.
This was paradise he long thought he was in.
Two one eighty's. Everything lost and everything gained. And he would do anything to protect it.
Leading to what he was currently working on; armor that covered and protected him, complete with ghost protection... just in case what he needed to protect his best and only friend.
The Puppet Master sneaked around Titan Tower, his goal in mind. He had already captured Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. Half of the Titan's where now his puppets. All that was left was Raven, Starfire, and Danny Phantom. His master would be pleased
Unfortunately, he had no idea where the Titan's newest member slept. He couldn't find his bed anywhere! This was not good. If he didn't get what his master wanted, then he would be punished greatly. Where was he?
Danny Phantom was in Fixit's little hide away, a rather large warehouse on the docks. "You wanted to see me?" His voice was cold, but Fixit knew that he was happy, or at least calm. Friends developed a kind of understanding that let them know this sort of thing.
"Ah, yes." Fixit had a slight smile on his face. "I wanted to test a ghost scanner on you, to make sure it worked."
Danny nodded. What's the worse that could happen? After all, even as a human scans showed him as a ghost. "Go ahead."
Fixit took out something similar to those portable scanners at some stores. He pointed it at Danny and pressed the button. Fixit looked at the screen, tilted his head ever so slightly, pointed it back at Danny and scanned again. He looked at the screen. Then back at Danny.
"...Danny Phantom? Are you human?"
Danny paused, more then slightly worried. What did Fixit mean? "...no. Of course not. I'm a ghost."
Fixit blinked. He adjusted some of the dials on his device. "Then... do you have a human core? My scanner can detect humans and ghosts. It is more accurate that way."
Danny paused again. What was he going to say to that?
Raven was frustrated, annoyed, confused, worried, and a little bit scared. She shoved all of these emotions down with practiced ease as she turned to Starfire. "Starfire. Stop. My powers work off of emotions. You need to calm down." Despite the fact that her words were in Starfire's voice, her tone was all Raven.
"But-but-but our friends are captured by that strange puppet man! We must rescue them!" Starfire was giving Raven's worn voice a major workout with her fast, loud and worried tone.
Raven shook her head. "How? Every time you think you blow something up, and I can't use your powers at all. We'd be useless."
"Then teach me!" Starfire stamped her foot. "I refuse to stand by and sit here while our friends are in danger!"
Raven sighed, her eyes betraying her annoyance. "Starfire. He has control of Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin. We wouldn't stand a chance even if we were at our full strength."
Starfire was frustrated, and she showed it by increasing her volume even more. "Then we get help!"
"Who? We're the strongest people in the city, except for..." Raven's eyes widened. "...no. You aren't thinking..."
"We get not-friend Phantom!" A nearby car exploded.
Danny didn't know what to say to Fixit... but he knew he had to say something. On the one hand, he most definitely didn't want anybody to know his secrete... not now, not ever. But on the other hand, that device was truly remarkable... much better then anything he could make. Or his parents... before he...
Danny sighed. He knew he had not choice. "Fixit. Do you trust me?"
Fixit nodded, his motion on only the barest edge of human perception. "You saved me; I trust you with my life."
Danny looked away. "...don't. I'm going to tell you my story. Don't interrupt, don't kill me, and don't tell anyone."
Fixit took a long time to nod, thinking things through. It had been a while since he actually had to process these complicated emotional decisions. But eventually, nod he did.
Danny looked at Fixit, a strange mix of desperation, hope and sadness on his face. A white ring appeared around his waist, split into two, and soon, in front of Fixit, was standing a human.
"Starfire, no!" Raven was raising her voice, frustration and anger leaking out of it. Her hands had a slight green glow around them. "You promised him you wouldn't go near him!"
"But not-friend Phantom is our only hope! You said yourself that alone we have no hope!" Black sparks were beginning to come off of her, shocking anything nearby.
"Then we find another way! There had got to be another way!" Ravens hands were glowing green, ready to fire out starbolts. "You promised h-"
Starfire had had enough. She was furious. Her whole body was enveloped in the strange black fire that signified Raven's powers. "Do you not care about our friends? Do you wish for them to be puppets forever?"
Raven stopped, her hands flickering out. She looked away, the fire gone from her eyes as she quieted down. "It's not like that... It's just..." She looked up at the clear sky, the stars twinkling so far away. She turned to Starfire, who saw the dead look in her eyes... and calmed down herself. "...if you truly believe that that is the only way... then let's go."
"Raven? Are you... okay?"
"No."
"Do you want to do the talking about?"
"No."
Starfire looked uncomfortable. She hated these conversations with Raven. "Um... okay. But... if we are to find not-friend Phantom, I need to be in the air. I only know how to get their from the sky. How do you fly, Raven?"
Fixit was thinking through the story that Phantom... no, Danny had just told him. He wasn't sure what was worse... what he did, or how he didn't seem to feel a single emotion as he described it. For the first time in a very long time, Fixit didn't know what to think.
He knew Phan- Danny. Not very well, but he knew enough. He knew that he was kind, though he didn't show it. He knew that he was thoughtful, though he kept it hidden. He knew that he was a hero... or at least had the potential to be.
Fixit mentally shook his head. What happened happened, and it didn't matter if it was heroic or demonic. He should know better then anyone else that the past is the past. It's the future that matters. He once ruined his future... and he refused to do it again.
Danny was meditating on the roof of his store, calm and confident that Fixit could keep an eye on it. He didn't know why, but he was worried something was going to happen to his store tonight, and Fixit volunteered to look after it.
Maybe having a friend wouldn't be so bad after all...
No. Danny cut that line of thought off right there. He was not going down that road. Not again. He would never get attached to anyone ever again. Ever. It wasn't worth the risk... the pain of having your heart ripped out...
Danny was half grateful, half annoyed when he felt two presences land behind him... Raven and Starfire, if he was not mistaken.
Raven and Starfire were both nervous as they landed on Phantom's rooftop, both for different reasons. Raven couldn't help but remember the ruthlessness that Phantom had shown her when they last met... if they got him angry, she was certain that he would not hold back on them. She also felt a bit... weird... around him. It was... difficult to define... though it was certainly something that she had never felt before. Her eyes scoured the back of the muscular ghost, trying to figure it out.
Starfire was mostly worried that Phantom would not help them, seeing as, any way one looked at it, she was breaking her promise to not-friend Phantom. She quickly gathered her courage and opened her mouth to speak, certain that he would help them. However, before she could say anything, Phantom spoke up.
"I thought you promised to never come here again, Starfire." With minimal movement he put his legs on the ground and stood up, his back to them. "And Raven, what a surprise. Are you hero's determined to make me angry?" He turned his head oh so slightly to where Starfire's body resided as he spoke..
Raven and Starfire started, surprised. They where certain that they didn't make a noise as they landed, and yet here he had identified them correctly... even in their wrong bodies! He was impressive, no doubt about that.
Ravin tried to speak this time. "Phantom, we need your help. Our-"
"No." Was his curt reply.
Starfire tried again. "But not-friend Phantom! Our friends are in danger, and-!"
Phantom interrupted again. "Don't know, don't care. Now. Go. Away."
Ravin tried one last time. "Phantom, please. Without your help, they may die."
Phantom snorted, showing no outward signs of the internal conflict he was feeling. "Don't care. Now leave. Both of you."
Starfire suddenly spoke up, without thinking, and yelled at the ghost boy. "Friend Phantom! You are a hero! Help us save our friends!"
Danny whirled around, his internal conflict squashed by pure anger. Facing the two girls, he slowly opened his eyes. He would have been surprised that Ravin and Starfire were in the wrong position if not for his rage, consuming all thoughts. It was shown through his eyes. They were red. "You just made. A big mistake."
Raven took a step back, startled at the eyes. Those hauntingly angry, evil red eyes. This was bad. Very, very bad. For the first time in her life since she left Azerath, her voice quacked with worry. "Starfire... we... we should leave. Now."
Starfire, far to stubborn with anger to listen to reason or fear right now, stamped her foot. "No! Friend Phantom is a hero, and we need his help!"
Danny Phantom took a step forward, his pure ectoplasmic energy radiating off of him like tsunami after tsunami. It was not a good sign. "I'm going to hit both of you. Then I'm going to shoot you. I might kill you. I'm going to drive in, once and for all..."
Starfire and Ravin took a step back, instinctively.
"THAT I AM NOT A HERO!" He flew at them, screaming an animalistic cry, his fists glowing ghostly green.
Slade looked up above to the sky, and saw three teens flying away. One was angry, one was confused, and one was sad. Interesting. Why was Starfire sad?
Slade gave his head an imperceptible shake to clear his thoughts. He would deal with that later. Right now, though, he had a goal.
He looked at the shop that he was about to enter. He required more information on this... Danny Phantom... and this was the only building that he was known to frequent. He suspected that he might be staying at Titan Tower, somehow avoiding his bugs, but the Puppet master squashed that idea.
He slowly stepped out of the shadow and walked towards the store, a good fifty of his new robots behind him. He didn't expect any real opposition, but better safe then sorry. It's not like anyone could notice invisible robots, anyway.
He stepped up to the door and carefully opened it. It was unlocked. Strange. He stepped into the store, and saw a strange, tall man behind the counter. He was wearing a cloak, and his blue eyes were clearly mechanical.
The strange man spoke up, in a voice clearly worn from recent over use. "Can I help you?"
Slade looked around. There was nobody else in the store... this man was not part of his planes, but he could adapt. He always did. "No... I am just looking for a book."
The strange man nodded his head, and gestured slightly with his clearly mechanical arm and hand to the bookshelves. "Take your time."
Slade nodded and looked at the books. Fascinating. Some of these books even he didn't have... and yet this one store did. What was his source? He had to find out.
Fixit watched as the strange masked man took down books to look at the titles, the grace of a martial artist governing his movements. He could detect the fifty ecto signatures outside the store, of course, but he didn't mention it. Best not to ask for trouble when trouble wasn't wanted.
This changed, however, when he spotted the man place a small mechanical device on the bottom of the table where he was sitting at. "Please remove your bug, sir."
Slade started. He looked up at the man, his eyes hiding his emotions. How did he know? How did he see? Did he just guess? He knew, somehow, he needed this place bugged just as much, if not more, then Titan Tower. So he lied. "I do not know what you are talking about."
Fixit slowly nodded. "...I see. Then please leave. We are closing up the store, and I must remove your bug."
Slade slowly stood up. He imperceptibly signaled his robots to come closer to the store. "I must tell you that you do not know what you are getting into. Do you wish for trouble?" Slade truly did not want to fight... at least not when it would bring trouble. And he found that intimidation usually worked best. This strange machine man didn't seem to notice, or even care, about his mask, one of his key intimidation tools... but he could still try.
The man slowly shook his head. "...no. But I will not flee. Please leave." Fixit did not want to fight in his friends store; he knew how much Danny, Phantom or Fenton, valued his store.
Slade slowly walked up to the counter. "I suggest you leave; I can pay you handsomely if you simply look the other way." Slade did not like to bribe; he only did it when there was no other immediate courses available to him. Intimidation didn't work, and he highly doubted that seduction would. Bribery was usually safer, but sometimes backfired tremendously.
Fixit stared at the maxed man, his eyes showing no emotion. "Leave. Now."
Slade sighed. Bribery backfired "I tried to warn you..." He waved his hand in a visible motion, and fifty robots leapt into the store through the windows and the door, suddenly visible. "Now you've got trouble. May I ask your name? I do hate killing people without knowing their name."
Fixit slowly stood up, his hands by his side. "My friend calls me Fixit. But you may know me as..." he sent a mental command to his armor, and he slowly grew. Soon seven feet tall, the mechanical man used his large arm to remove his cloak, revealing a hulking machine made to destroy. "Breakit."
Danny flew after the two teens, destruction and death on his mind. Parr of him was screaming at him to stop, to re-evaluate what he was planning... but it was easily drowned out by his fury. He watched as the two girls fled from him. As they should. He quickly sped up and started shooting at them, not planning on any mercy.
Starfire, in Raven's body, eeped as she instinctively flew upwards to dodge a green beam of energy. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She shouted, and a black shield came up to protect her from some of the beams. "Friend Phantom! Why do you do this?" Her voice spoke volumes. Much more then just the words. They expressed her confusion and anger. It showed her desperation for help.
Danny simply roared in anger, and flew towards the black orb floating in the sky. Raven saw what he was doing and shouted, "No!" as she flew to intercept him. She punched him out of the way, her hands glowing slightly green. "Stop this! We don't want to fight you!"
Danny spun away, but he quickly straightened himself. His red eyes glared at the two girls who were not born on earth. "But I want to fight you!" He charged again, his red eyes leaving an after glow that burned into the girls minds. The pure fury... the pure evil they saw their... it left no room in their minds for doubt. If they didn't win, they were going to die. By Danny Phantom's hands. Viciously, and without mercy.
Danny charged between the two as he shot ecto beams at them both. Starfire absorbed them with her black shield, but Raven... Raven was not so lucky. Still not used to flying based on happiness, strength based on confidence and fighting based on anger, she was unable to fly, hit or fight in any worthwhile manner. As such, she was the one that was hit.
Raven screamed. She was hit. She hurt. And she was falling. She couldn't get back up. All these years of hiding her emotions, keeping them hidden, and she was going to die because of this? An ill thought out plea for help? What was she to do? What could she do? She was going to die. She was going to hit the cement below her. She was going to feel a moment of pain, and then it would be over.
Starfire screamed. Her only female friend was hit. Her emotions out of control, black sparks started to fly everywhere, the air around her smelling like ozone. She was falling, unable to keep her emotions enough under control to fly. She wouldn't be able to get get back up. She knew this. She was going to die, in a body not her own, at the hands of one who she thought was a friend. She was wrong. And she was going to die for it.
Danny screamed, but on the inside. He watched as he killed two girls, innocent of everything but angering him. Yet, at the same time, he was glad they would be gone. So glad. They wouldn't question him anymore. They wouldn't make him angry or sad. The one that looked like Sam wouldn't draw out feelings that he had long since hidden.
Time froze.
He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to act. So he watched, numbly, as they fell. He knew they would die. Both of them. It was painfully obvious.
But... why did it hurt? He killed before. He killed his best friend, his family, his teacher and his crush. And he didn't feel a thing until a week later. But this... it hurt. His heart was screaming at him, shaking him, trying to get him to move, to do something! But he couldn't. He watched as the two girls fell, inch by inch, foot by foot.
He looked at his hands, a slight green glow still on them. What should he do? What could he do? He could save them... but then he would have acted like a hero. He could let them fall... but then they would die. No matter what he did, he would lose.
He would lose... he would lose... he would lose...
A small voice spoke up inside inside of him, telling him to fight anyway, telling him that not all was lost. It was silenced by the rest of him... but it kept talking, whispering to him.
If one was going to lose no matter what one did, what was one to do?
One gave up... or looked for the ending that wasn't as bad as the rest.
Danny had been called many things in his life. Ghost. Monster. Villain. Hero. Friend. Son. Brother. Murderer. None he choose, but all a part of him.
What part of him would he show today?
Time unfroze.
Fixit, now back to his normal body size, looked impassively around the store. Robot parts lay everywhere, ectoplasm leaking out of some. Remarkably, the store hadn't been too damaged. The books, shelves, and everything beyond the counter where untouched. Unfortunately, the tables and chairs where not so lucky.
Fixit looked at the robotic head in his hands, a strange orange and black mask on it. What would he tell Danny?
Fixit looked around the store, then made a decision. Nothing. He would tell Danny nothing. He would fix up the store, clean out the robot parts and ectoplasm, replace the windows, door, tables and chairs, and he would hide this from Danny.
Fixit may be mostly machine, but he was human enough to know that Danny didn't need anything else bothering him.
Ravin continued to scream as she fell, certain she was destined to die in a body not her own. She saw the ghost boy that killed her struggle with himself, his eyes flashing between red and green. Then she saw him rushing towards her.
She watched as he concentrated, a bit of sweet coming from his forehead. It momentarily struck her as odd that a ghost could sweat, but that was stopped when she saw what happened next.
He split in two.
Two phantoms. One for her, one for Starfire. They weren't going to die. Not today, at least.
She watched as the the two phantoms caught the two titans in midair and put them on the road... then she watched as one of the ghosts, the one that saved Starfire in her body, poofed out of existence. The remaining ghost fell down, landing on his hands and knee's, clearly exhausted.
Raven turned to Starfire, the black orb she was caccooned in slowly shrinking away. She looked up at Phantom... and quickly got to her feet and backed away, fear on her face. It was clear that she did not expect to be attacked and nearly killed... and it was clear that she didn't know what to think. Her eyes were darting back and forth, looking for the best escape route in case things went south.
She then turned her head back towards the enigmatic ghost boy that saved their lives... after almost killing them. For some reason he seemed to get closer... she heard in the distance Starfire shouting at her to get away, and she realized that she was walking towards their would be murderer.
She leaned down on one knee and looked at his white hair, a strange aura surrounding him as he panted. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do. So she just looked. She watched as he slowly regained his breath and looked up at her, clearly still recovering.
Danny hesitated, looking into the eyes of Starfire behind which Raven lay. He still didn't know how he knew that they where in the wrong bodies. He just... did. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. So he just looked. He saw her face, seemingly blank and emotionless... but could tell that their was a torrent of emotions rushing beneath it, barely under control. He idly wondered why she was here, why she was so close to him... but that was interrupted when Raven was suddenly pulled away from him.
Starfire was confused, worried and scared. Confused because Raven just walked towards the ghost boy that sometimes had red eyes that almost killed them. Worried because Raven was still close to him... and she didn't know when he would snap. But most of all, she was scared. Was he evil? Was he just taunting them? Would he kill them? Did he want them alive for some nefarious purpose? These and many other questions raced through her head as she grabbed Raven and pulled her away. She may be cold and seemingly emotionless, but Raven was her friend. Unlike Phantom.
Right?
Danny watched as Raven was dragged away by Starfire, even though it looked like the opposite. He slowly shifted his body so that he was sitting, his back against a nearby wall. That split took a lot out of him, and he still didn't have access to his elemental powers again. He was almost tempted to remove one of his belts, but he knew what would happen if he did.
He just sat their, resting, for the next few minutes. After his breathing became somewhat manageable, he slowly got up on his still shaky legs... when he let out a small wisp of smoke from his mouth.
He stretched, letting out a few choice curse words as he did, and tried to identify the location of the nearby ghost.
With a sigh, he started walking towards where he felt it, invisible and intangible.
Raven still didn't know what to think. She was more confused then she'd been in her entire life. Those red eyes... those evil red eyes... those red eyes that reminded her so much of her father...
And those green eyes. Those eyes that show pain similar to her own. Those eyes full of kindness, and yet hidden beneath layers of pain that no sapient being should experience.
She blinked, and realized that she couldn't see the ghost boy anymore, and that she was being dragged away. She looked up.
"Starfire?"
Starfire either didn't hear her, or ignored her. Either way, she was still being dragged, and Raven didn't like that one bit.
"Starfire!"
This got Starfire's attention. She let go of Raven and sat down, shivering slightly. Raven sighed. What they just experienced was tougher then anything they've done yet... and at the hands of a friend, to boot. Or someone Starfire THOUGHT was a friend, which was just as bad.
Raven looked left and right. She quickly realized that she had no choice... so she leaned down in front of Starfire and, with the hesitance of one not used to such things, slowly embraced her in a hug. "Shhh, shhhh, it's okay. It'll be okay."
Starfire just sobbed into Raven's shoulder, unable to help herself. Black energy shot off of her, orbs that practically radiated sadness. The orbs caused dents in all the surrounding buildings, but the two teens in the center either didn't notice or didn't care. Raven was never a comforter before, but she found... she liked it... it was nice, knowing that she was helping her... friend. Friend? Yes. That was what Starfire was. Her friend.
Starfire sobbed into Raven's shoulder, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She didn't know what to think, what to do, how to act... her whole world was thrown askew, and it terrified her. She had been on many adventures before, but one thing that never varied was that friends were friends... always. But now... now she just didn't know anymore.
Danny Phantom was an enigma to all, except Starfire. Or so she thought. She knew what he was; a hero, pretending that he wasn't. Oh, sure, he acted cold, but she was confident that he would eventually return to his heroic activities and join the Titan's in their fight against evil. He was strong, sensitive and kind. Just what a hero was. Those green eyes of his radiated sadness, and kindness, and a wisdom beyond his age.
But those red eyes... those eyes of pure rage and evil... those eyes that Starfire knew would haunt her nightmares... they told a different story. It's been said on many planets that eyes are gateways to the souls, and if those red eyes lead to Phantom's soul... then she wanted to leave the planet and never come back, just to avoid him.
Starfire always knew that friends were friends, and enemies were enemies. But now... now she wasn't so sure. And it frightened her.
So she cried.
Danny watched idly as the strange puppet man was preparing some kind of ritual. In one hand he had a remote, which seemed to control the male Titan's bodies. In the other were three puppets, one for each of the Titan's that were being controlled.
He invisibly watched as the strange puppet man started up some kind of fire in a cauldron.. He long ago learned that invisibility and intangibility required concentration more then energy, so he quickly spent the time to mastered them. It was a rather useful skill to learn.
'hmm. I wonder what would happen if...'
Danny idly walked over to the puppet man, took the remote from his hands and, as said pupper man was panicking, dropped it into the fire.
'There. That should stop this in the bud.'
The Puppet Master desperately ran towards the cauldron as his life seemed to just... flow out of him. Danny gasped, his concentration faltering as he became visible. "No! The magi-i-i-i-..." With a short green flash, the Puppet Master just... stopped moving. As the life force of the Titan's returned to their proper bodies, Danny picked up the puppet master and held him, bridal style. He looked down at it with sad eyes as the Titan's looked at him.
"I didn't mean to kill him..."
Robin hesitated. What was he to do you do here? The Puppet Master was a villain, but he was just a puppet... right? He hesitantly walked up to Phantom and gently put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, calm down... it's just a puppet... It was never alive."
Danny instantly grabbed Robins arm and threw him over. "Shut UP!" His fierce green eyes glared at the young leader. "Bah, I knew you were a child, but I didn't know you were this stupid!" Without looking, Danny pointed at Cyborg. "He's half machine! Machine's aren't alive! So is he less then human?" He turned away from the leader of the Titan's and started walking away, the Puppet Master still in his arms.
Robin looked up as the ghost walked away. What just happened...?
Robin was so busy comforting the crying Starfire, and Starfire was so busy crying, that they didn't notice when they returned to their proper bodies for a good ten minutes.
Finally, Starfire stopped sobbing. With tears still in her eyes, she sniffed as she opened her eyes. "Friend Raven... thank you."
Raven's mouth had a very slight upward curl. "It was no problem, Starfire."
They paused, and suddenly exclaimed each others names at the same time.
"Starfire!"
"Raven!"
"We're back in our bodies!"
They got up and moved, testing a few of their powers. Raven, ever the practical one, spoke up first.
"What happened?"
"I do not know, friend Raven. But I believe that our friends have triumphed over the strange puppet man!"
Raven was doubtful, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she took out her communicator and let it ring. "Robin. Raven here. You their?"
"Um... yeah."
Raven raised an eyebrow. Was Robin... distracted? It took a lot to do that.
"Meet at the tower?"
"..."
"Robin."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. See you there."
Raven hung up and looked to Starfire. "You heard that?"
"Oh yes friend Raven! It is time for a joyous celebration of freedom! Let us go!" With that, Starfire started flying away. Raven quickly followed.
-line-
Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire were all in the Titan's living room, doing a debriefing. Robin went first.
"...and that's when Phantom walked away with the Puppet Master."
Raven hmmmed, leaning back. "...he saved you. Interesting."
Starfire leapt up. "I am sure that foe Phantom is just trying to lure us into a sense of falsely believed security! He is surely going revive the man puppet and come after us!"
Everybody, except for Raven, was shocked at the Tamerian's outburst. She never got truly angry, or distrustful, at anybody... and against Phantom? Just the other day she was certain that he was a hero.
Cyborg was the one that broke the silence by asking the question that was on everybodies mind. "Yo, Star, what's got you so upset?"
"Foe Phantom is evil! He nearly killed friend Raven and me!"
The rest of them looked doubtful. Beast Boy spoke this time. "Are you sure about that? I mean, Phantom isn't exactly nice or anything, but that's a bit much."
Raven responded. "I can vouch for Starfire in this case, though he did save us in the end."
Robin, still trying to put his thoughts back together, asked the question. "So... he nearly killed you... then he saved you?"
Raven nodded. Slightly, but it was still their.
Robin leaned back, looking into the distance. "...we clearly don't have enough information to make a sound decision yet. Dismissed."
Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg left for their rooms. Starfire stayed.
"Star? Is their a problem?"
"Yes! Foe Phantom is still free! We must get him before he gets us!"
Robin shook his head. "Star, as loath as I am to admit it, he is better then us. All of us. Put together. Easily. We wouldn't have a chance."
"So you are going to do nothing?"
"I never said that. I said we needed information. We will not attack Phantom... but we will do research on his abilities, and how to counter them. We have next to no information on him. Until we met him, I didn't even know ghosts existed. We need more information."
"But-!"
"Star. I know you are worried. And I understand. But you are letting your emotions cloud your thoughts. Please, leave me for now. I need to think this over... why don't you go calm down?"
Starfire was clearly upset, but she nodded and walked away.
Robin sighed. This was all too much. How could something not alive be so much trouble... oh. Not alive. Robin bonked his head. How could he be so stupid? That's why Phantom got so angry at the 'never alive' comment.
Growling, Robin got up and stalked to his room. He needed to map out his thoughts.
Raven heard a knock on her door, interrupting her meditation. She gently landed and opened said door, letting a bit of her irritation creep into her voice as she said, "Yes?"
To her (lack of) surprise, Starfire was on the other side of the door. "Friend Raven..." She bit her lip, looking a bit shy.
"Yes?"
"Can I... um..."
"Yes?"
"Can I... meditate with you?"
Raven blinked, taking a moment to respond. This was unexpected... but not entirely unwelcome. She silently slid out of her room. "...certainly. Let us go to the rooftop." Surprising both Starfire and herself, she opted to walk with the alien to the elevator, instead of just phasing to the roof.
Danny phased through into his store, tossing the puppet in his arms to Fixit.
Said half robot easily caught it, and looked up at Danny. "...what is this?"
Danny turned human as he started walking to his room. "Was alive. Study. I'm off to bed."
Fixit was about to respond as he heard a door slam, signaling that Danny clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. With a mental shrug, he took the puppet with him as he head to his lab, locking the store up on the way.
Slade was looking at the multitude of television screens in his layer. "...interesting. This could prove... useful... if it does not prove troublesome first." He turned off the screens and thought, sitting on his throne, going over all of the possibilities in his head. This was just a game a chess... and he always won when he played chess.