This is easily the longest chapter in the fic so far.

Epic fight scenes, too. :3

So, now let's get on with the notes...

It occurs to me now that Danny could get Raven's medallion out if he was careful… but the question is, would that occur to him? I don't think it would, and it'd still leave him stranded in the future, just alone.

I went back to check something when I didn't know how to format thought. It seems I didn't use any marks like 'so and so thought so and so' and just left it italic in previous chapters, unless it was in a larger sentence. So, I don't really know what to do with that. The natural feeling is to do like the first example there, and have marks around them. Oddly, I'm drawing a blank as to what those marks are called. Anyway, this might flop to and fro a bit, but I'll try to keep it working like I have it. Not using marks makes it look cleaner, but could get a tad confusing. Bleh. I'll just go with what seems appropriate for the sentence it's in.

Going to flash-forward a bit to our leading lady, because I feel it makes for a better opener than the other options. So, when the next bit is back a bit, don't get all confuddled.

And now, for the chapter I'd actually named before the fic itself-

The Last Titan

Raven was cold.

She wasn't shivering, she wasn't breathing out a condensed mist… it wasn't a normal cold.

It was a primordial cold. A supernatural one.

It unnerved her, but she actually didn't mind it. Curled up as she was, she couldn't alleviate it. As she floated through the cold, she had to wonder if it was so dark because everything was black, or if she didn't have the strength to open her eyes.

Damn concussion… I thought needing to stay awake was a Hollywood myth.

A gentle rocking took hold of her floating form as wind caused her hair and cloak to flutter. A sound… a voice? No… it wasn't quite right to be a voice. It called to her- its mournful sorrowing tone was like a beacon of pain and anguish. It was resonating with something deep inside her.

She cringed, clutching herself tighter as her mind forced itself awake. She blinked warily at the swirling green that made up the world she found herself in, populated by sparse rock outcroppings without anchors and doors of all kinds dotting the horizon like stars. Upon closer inspection, there weren't just doors… portholes, archways, portcullis…

Gateways.

She shook away her mind's whisperings and noticed something was different. It took her a second to realize it. The voice was gone, and with it, the shaking, rocking, fluttering waves that came with it.

By Azar, she was starting to wax poetic.

She definitely needed to get her head wound seen to, she decided as she flew off at top speed towards where the voice had emanated from.

(*)

He let out a groan as he woke up, glancing about at the wreckage of the town as memories of the last few minutes- was that all it was? -came back to him. They'd fought his evil future self and lost.

A cold voice halted his struggles against the glowing green rope of ectoplasm that held him. "So there's still some spunk in you left…" The originator of the voice came into view bearing a taunting, wickedly fanged grin. "So good to see I wasn't entirely as pathetic as you'd shown me back then."

"Let me go!" Danny raged. "What'd you do to them, where's Raven and Valerie!"

His spiteful laughter was haunting as it echoed around them. "Oh trust me, the ghost hunter won't be bothering us again." There was something in the way he said it… in the way he jeered and smirked.

Valerie was dead.

"Oh, don't make that face." The monster spat. "She was in our way, so she had to go."

Danny's sorrow roared into a boiling rage. "I'll never be like you!"

His older self rolled his eyes. "More teen hero drivel. We could go back and forth about this all day, but I've got somewhen to be." He smirked as he held up one of Clockwork's medallions. Danny's eyes widened as he looked down at his own chest. "Fused inside you…" Dan said as he noticed the motion. "Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human, which means you're stuck here."

"But…" Danny was trying to find something wrong with what his older self was saying. Something he could refute. Anything that would disprove everything that'd happened already. "…but if I'm stuck here, I can't become you anyway." He stated with an insolent grin.

"Semantics." Dan shrugged, his tone deadpan and uncaring. "I still exist, therefore you became me. The minor details are irrelevant." He walked over casually and picked his younger self up effortlessly by his bindings. "Now you be a good boy and stay put while I go back and make sure nothing can stop me." He growled, hurling Danny into the conveniently active hole to the ghost zone he'd made to toss Raven into.

(*)

Jack sat ominously still as Maddie relayed a summary of Cyborg's combat report and their search of the Ghost Zone. Seeing the normally jovial man this quiet was highly unsettling to say the least. It was almost worse than a talkative Raven. The man's eyes were narrowed in thought before he suddenly stood. "Maddie, you take the Specter Speeder and go call and find Jazz. We'll need her help on this. Cyborg, you take your car and I'll take the Ghost Assault Vehicle, and we'll start searching right away."

The mechanical teen nodded and left, even as Maddie dove down the stairs to the Speeder's hanger. The first thing she did was grab a set of Fenton Phones from where they always kept them in the Speeder, and used them to contact her kids. First she tried connecting to Danny's cell phone, which got no signal, and then Jazz.

…she knew putting those extra chips in their cell phones would pay off someday.

"Hello?" She heard in the earpiece.

She gave a heavy sigh of relief even as her craft shot into the air. "Jazz? Sweety? We have a problem. Your brother, his friends and Raven are missing. Where are you?"

"Mom? I'm… here with Sam and Tucker. I found them at the Nasty Burger and-"

"Stay there hon, I'll be there in half a minute."

True to her word, she was setting the speeder down in the alleyway- next to the partially-destroyed Nasty Burger the kids were in- twenty-seven seconds later.

"Misses Fenton! Hi, erm, we were just…"

The hazmat-clad woman wouldn't have any of Sam's misdirection today. The scientist glared down the young woman from behind what now looked to be angry red goggles, what wasn't hidden by them a scowling rigor of fury.

Mama bear was pissed.

"My son is missing. He went missing with you. What. Happened. …Where is he?" Her words were calm and enunciated. She wasn't going to be 'heard wrong' today.

Sam and Tucker gulped reflexively.

(*)

Danny was having a bad day.

First he had to fight Box Lunch. That wasn't so bad until the Nasty Burger exploded. The fight with Skulk-Tech was less pleasant, but still okay until they met Clockwork. That was a barrel of laughs… and then there was his evil future self.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think of his life like a mediocre Saturday-morning cartoon.

It didn't help at all that most of the ghosts he'd ever fought were there in the future, beating him senseless for something he hadn't done… at least not yet, by any reckoning. At first he thought it was unfair, that he would be blamed for something he hadn't done. Then, just for an instant, he thought the irony hilarious… but after the blows kept coming, he started to grow afraid. Fear for his friends if he didn't escape, fear for Raven wherever she was… fear for his family, knowing that his future self had something horrible planned for them. Gradually these gave way to a deeper fear. Each crumbled away, leaving only one primal fear behind.

He was going to die here.

The ghosts showed no signs of stopping. They had no hesitation in their actions, no pity for his plight, no mercy for his life. They were going to kill him, slowly and painfully. It was this thought that scared him most. What kind of a way to die was this? How could he get away? He had no answer, and the sorrow and rage at his torment boiled within him. He couldn't even fight back.

So he screamed.

And they stopped.

He shook his head trying to stop the sudden dizzy spell. What shocked him was the feeling of his own gloved hand against his face as it instinctively came up to brace his wounds. He spent a moment looking at his hands, reveling in his freedom, before he glanced about to inspect his foes. All of them looked to be in worse shape than him- he had no idea why. He'd begun trying to puzzle it out when a voice cried out behind him. "Danny!"

How Raven managed to do so in a monotone, he had no idea.

She floated towards him, continuing on even as a wave of dizziness hit, leading him to catch her. "Um, are you okay?" He asked as he held her shoulders to support her.

The girl shook her head while she felt her forehead with her palm. "I'm pretty sure I've got a concussion… might still be internal bleeding… I can't risk trying heal my head in this condition."

It was then the boy took note of the streak of caked blood in her hair on top of her other injuries. "We need to get you some help…" She flinched away from his touch- him brushing her hair aside to try and get a better look disturbing the now-scabbing wound.

"S-stop… You're not trained to handle this, are you?" She asked, cursing herself for her frailty in stuttering.

He did stop, though. He shook his head sadly and put an arm around her to support her. "You're right… let's find you someone who is… but who could possibly help in a place like thi-"

He was stopped by something causing him some cranial trauma of his own.

As he rubbed his head, cursing loudly, Raven picked the metal boomerang out of the air. "What is this?"

"The boooo-merang?" Danny asked, more to himself than anything, and took it when she offered the thing to him. Tied to it with a blue slip of cloth was a note. "It's one of my parent's inventions." He said as he untied it. "It tracks down any ghost it's locked into, but they couldn't get it to work on any ghost but me. …it's from Jazz?" He read the note to himself before handing it to Raven. "Wisconsin? Well… that's better than nothing. Let's go."

(*)

"…And that's it?" Maddie seemed to hiss after the end of their explanation. They'd had to omit a lot of it, all of which bore those dreadful 'your-son-is-that-ghost-you-hate' details. "And why was Phantom there? I get that he's still evil in the future, but…" She paused as she held her chin to begin puzzling out her quandary.

Sam and Tucker shared nervous glances, both looking over to Jazz and finding her in her own slump at her mother's attitude. Now that they knew that Jazz knew, and didn't feel the same way as her parents… well, maybe they could do something.

It was then that a blue orb of energy appeared, depositing Danny amongst them.

At least, he looked like Danny… So that was the name they all shouted when they tackled him in a group-hug.

"Ack! Gah, get off of me! What are you doing!" The boy shouted.

"You were missing, so we all started looking for you!" His mother said. "Now, are you alright? I heard from Sam and Tucker… that evil Phantom didn't hurt you, did he? Where's Raven?"

Dan would've been touched by the show of affection… if he could have been. "I'm perfectly fine… Not a single scratch on me. And Raven…" his eyes glowed red in rage for only a split second… "…Said that she still had something to do in the future. She didn't tell me what."

"Oh, well… it's just… I was so worried about you!" His mother continued, unabated.

"Mother!" He cried, pushing her away. "I just want to forget what happened. I… want to be alone for now." He added, thinking quickly.

Maddie, unsure of how to react, just nodded dejectedly. Sam and Tucker's eyes followed their friend with worry, but Jazz held a glint of something else in her eyes…

(*)

"I'm still confused as to why one of your arch-nemeses would help us." Raven droned as they came upon a large football. They'd been discussing the boy's enemies on the way, Vladimir Masters in particular.

"Nemesis, singular, and what better choice do we have? Plus, look- it's Vlad. Subtle as a flying mallet." He gestured to the massive football. "We'll be fine."

She gave him a cold, piercing stare that was little different from the way she normally looked.

"I promise." Was his reply to her stare. He pushed the barricade aside and helped her through the portal.

On the other side was a dilapidated laboratory that seemed largely inactive… but not abandoned.

"Come to kick a defenseless old man while he's down?" An old, somewhat weary voice asked.

"Defenseless? Old?" Danny asked, even as he held Raven up by the arm around her shoulders. Her own grip over the back of his neck tightened reflexively, preparing in case a fight broke out. The throne-like chair turned, revealing a thin, bearded, white-haired old man in a tattered black suit. "What happened to you?"

The man's eyes widened as he saw his visitors… Danny he was expecting, if older and more violent… but this girl was not. If he remembered correctly, she'd been dead for nearly three years. She looked younger, as well, as did Daniel. "I could ask you the very same question, my boy…" He stated with quirked brow as he pondered this development. "…especially you, my dear." He said, referencing Raven's battered form.

"She's hurt… We fought my future self, but… we need help." Danny said, taking the lead as Raven was in no shape to.

Old, wearied eyes narrowed. "Quite foolish, my boy, to come to one's old enemies in your time of need." He watched them tense, the boy moving in front of the girl protectively, and sighed. "My medical supplies are in another room. Lay her down on the workbench over there." He gestured towards the other side of the room, filled with half-built gadgets and dust, as he grabbed his cane and hobbled away.

The teens looked at each other curiously before they made their way over, Danny clearing a large area and lifting her up onto it. After a moment, they heard the cane tapping along the floor again, and Vlad returned with a rather large case bearing the standard red medical cross.

"You might find it hard to believe…" The man said as he groaned and heave the case onto the worktables. "…but Maddie and I actually met in medical school. Her training to be a nurse, and I a doctor, before I found it wasn't for me, and she suggested her boyfriend Jack's engineering program." His smile grew wistful and his eyes distant. "Ahh, what irony we find in hindsight… all those years that I'd blamed Jack…"

There was a moment of silence, awkward for all save Vlad, before the latches on the case were clicked off and opened. He grabbed a bottle and an abrasive cloth and coated it in the liquid. "This may sting a bit." He said, before he began cleaning away the dried blood.

"Why…" She hissed in pain as the man applied alcohol and antiseptics to her head wound. "…why are you helping us?"

The man stopped, and sighed. "You, my dear, have done me no wrong. I, however, have done much… both to young Daniel, and through him, to the world." They looked at him oddly before he continued his work as he talked. "There was an explosion. Daniel's friends and family were killed. As the only other half-ghost, he eventually came to me for help… as the only one who could understand his pain and loss. It's true he spent some time with the Titans before he came to me, for reasons I know not, but in the end, he wound up on my doorstep. We tried to make it work, to let him forget the pain and work towards a… brighter tomorrow…" There was a dark chuckle there. "But, a month later he asked me to remove his human half. To sever him from his painful emotions… in my foolishness, I complied. I believed that in doing so, I would gain the son I always wanted. After I removed his ghost half with the Ghost Gauntlets, the ghost turned on me, using the same Ghost Gauntlets to rip out my ghost half. The two merged, and his darker side became overwhelmed by my evil. Thus, we… I… created the darkness that enveloped the world."

He finished tying off the bandages he'd wrapped around Raven's head. The silence was stifling.

After a moment, Vlad sighed again. "I won't ask for forgiveness. It's far too late for that. I've had ten years to wallow in hatred and self-pity, to finally see what a fool I'd been." He turned back to Danny, limping over on his cane to set his free hand on his shoulder. "If there is anything I can do to help now, to make amends, Just say it, and it will be so."

He fidgeted from being put on the spot under such an intense gaze, before he began to think. "…do you still have those Ghost Gauntlets?"

Two pairs of eyebrows quirked as their owners eyed him curiously.

He blinked in turn before he continued. "I mean, we're stuck here because of the medallions… Clockwork's time medallions stuck inside us." He gestured at his chest. "But, you could get them out, right?"

Vlad's eyes widened, before he blinked and glanced down. "Send you back to your past…" He stared down at his worn, almost grizzled hands for at least ten seconds, which dragged on as if an eternity. "One moment…" And he hobbled away down the halls, the fall of his cane against the stone floor of his basement bunker echoing back to Raven and Danny.

"Do you think we made the right choice?"

The voice broke Danny from his reverie, and he turned back to look at her. The normal monotone of her voice was tinged with something he couldn't identify. "You feel any better?" She glanced away with a distanced look, before meeting his eyes again and giving a slight nod. "See? He's helping us. I think we can trust him… for what that's worth."

She thought over his words for a moment before nodding again.

The steady clanking signified the return of Vlad, who made his way over to a large cabinet-like door, fiddled with the lock for a moment, and opened it to reveal an anti-ghost weapons locker of sorts. Several familiar devices were there: examples of the Specter Deflector, the Ghost Gauntlets, some apparently salvaged Fenton gadgets, and unidentifiable things of apparently his own creation. There were also weapons… from bulky ecto-cannons to sleek handheld devices, and even a small section of standard munitions and pistols. The man certainly liked his guns.

'Had to go get a key, I guess…' Danny thought to himself as he moved to get a better look at all the things in the large closet sized locker.

Raven's eyes narrowed sadly as she hopped down to the floor. The man had been sitting down here, apparently waiting, while a case of weapons was nearby? It wouldn't be locked. Who would he try to keep out of it? He must've needed the walk to clear his head and contemplate unmaking his own past by sending them back in time to change it. The ramifications of tweaking the linear progression of timespace are complicated enough without adding in one's personal demons. She kept these thoughts to herself, though, as she leaned on Danny for support.

After grabbing a few of the things inside, Vlad tossed a dormant Specter Deflector belt, complete with several gadgets and gizmos, to the young half-ghost. Danny gave the belt and its load a quick once-over inventory, and clasped it around his waist. The former halfa trudged out with a second, similar belt, which he handed to Raven. "Be careful with this technology, young Daniel." He said, catching the boy's gaze in a surprisingly harsh and serious stare. "There were many advances in technology between the explosion that claimed your family and friends, and the day the world burned. Your father was an oaf. I was not wrong about that… but he is also a technological savant. To allow someone like him the chance to reverse-engineer some of these devices could throw the world years ahead of its stable technological advancement."

Danny honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but he nodded somewhat fearfully.

"Then why give them to us at all?" Raven asked, distrust in her tone.

"I know him." Vlad countered. "I've studied him, and watched, waiting. I know what he would do when presented with a vision of his past. He would seek to eradicate it. I have little doubt that you will find my Daniel should you return." His voice grew steadily louder and vicious, his rage at the thought of his creation dancing in his eyes. He took a moment to calm himself when he saw he was scaring the children. "If you fight him, you'll need as much help as I can give you. Now…" He slipped on the oversized gauntlets. "Daniel, step forward."

The boy took a tentative step towards the man, letting Raven's arms slip away from him. He took a breath, shored up his mind, and brought up every bit of courage he could muster. The eyes that met Vlad's next were hard and decisive. "Okay. Do it."

The man smiled at seeing the soldier budding within the boy. He would be a great force for good someday, if given the chance… "This will sting. Quite a bit…"

Before he could reply or retort, the man had extended the claws of the gauntlets, and shoved them into the boy's torso. Danny bit back a scream at the pain of having something forcibly torn from him, before he faded into the past.

(*)

Lancer looked down at the Fenton boy with cold eyes. He'd never admit it, but the boy had been a favored student of his. He pushed and pressed the boy to do well and exceed, and he'd seen the boy's marks crawl upward, bit by bit.

Cheating was not something he ever abided, however.

"What were you thinking, Danny? Did you think I wouldn't find the answers in your desk after the test was over? I would rather not have the principal expel you. Please, what was going through your mind that made you turn to cheating?" Though his words were soft, his voice was harsh and unrelenting. Even the boy's parents were eyeing him, wondering what could've come over him.

"What does it matter…?" The boy hissed, about to continue before someone stormed onto the scene.

"That's NOT Danny!" Jazz yelled as she brought the Fenton Peeler to bear on him. The elder Fentons backed away as the beam washed over their son, shredding away the false countenance of the boy they loved. Sam and Tucker stood on either side of her, ecto-blasters drawn.

"What did you do with our son!" Maddie yelled as she and Jack swung large weapons into targeting the hulking figure.

A dark chuckle washed over them as the thing looked up at them. "I AM your son!" He said, grabbing the cannons by the barrel and turning to block the barrage from Sam and Tucker with them. He then dropped them and with a wave of his hand, encased all three of the teens in a glowing green prison of ectoplasm.

He turned, knocking away Jack and Maddie with a wave of energy from where they'd fallen back to in order to regroup and continue the assault. With a grin, he used his powers to pin them and Lancer to the tank of combustible condiments.

"Booya." Was the soft-spoken warning he had before a large metal fist tore through his intangible chest, coming out the other side far too easily and knocking the cybernetic teen off balance. Dan had to admit, Cyborg was surprisingly stealthy given his size and composition. He turned slightly to savor the look of shock on his opponent's face as he grabbed the arm that'd passed through him in both hands and lashed out with a demolishing ecto-enhanced kick under his shoulder.

Cyborg flew backward, crashing and tumbling along the ground until he stopped. The computerized augmentations to his brain were shouting structural warnings into his thoughts as he rose to his knees and brought his arm around to fire his cannon at the ghost.

…only to find said ghost still holding the appendage in question.

His eyes turned with horror down at the stump shooting off sparks, ending halfway between his shoulder and elbow. He glanced back up at his foe to find the man standing inches from him, grinning wickedly down at the young man.

Dan's grin only grew as he caught the boy's awkward punch with his remaining left arm. He grabbed the arm and wrist and bodily flung him into the crowd pasted to the tanks, which now included Sam, Tucker and Jazz. With a flourish, the monstrous ghost bound and chained Cyborg alongside the others.

"I'd forgotten how fun this can be…"

(*)

After ripping Clockwork's medallion from Danny, Vlad turned to Raven, his features sunken and depressed as he removed the left ghost gauntlet in favor of having his cane to lean on, after all, with no latent ecto-energy within her, it would be simple to remove her medallion with only one. "I have a favor to ask of you, child…"

She was still tense and guarded around the man, even if he was helping them. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to help…"

"Then consider it repayment for returning you to the past if you must." Vlad's tone was dire now as he glared into her eyes. He could see the threat of not returning settle into her heart, and she nodded. His gaze softened. "First you may need to know why I ask this of you. You know from what was said earlier that it was I who parted Daniel with his ghost half. This led to the pivotal moment that caused the destruction of the world… when he separated me from my inner ghost, and merged with it. That is what led to the destruction of the world: Our merged evils with no conscience to guide them."

She nodded along. The thought was terrifying, chilling her to her very bones.

"But… we must go back further. Ever since I learned of him, I was obsessed with molding the only other half-ghost into my own perfect son. To this end, I took control of the very information within his town. I censored all knowledge I thought would lead him to seek out the other heroes for aid, and all outgoing knowledge that could lead them to him."

His pointed stare caught her widening eyes. "It was you…" Her jaw snapped shut at her unintended outburst. His eyebrow quirked in question, but he gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. Shaking her head lightly, she continued. "Robin was investigating the invasion of Pariah Dark, which had become global news, but because the information didn't add up, he sent me and Cyborg to Amity Park to investigate."

He smiled. It was a small, morbid smile, but it was there. "So I did one good thing, even back then. I brought you to him. And now, I can ask you this favor." He gave dramatic pause. "You must keep Daniel Fenton away from Vlad Masters at all cost." Her brow furrowed slightly as his words sunk in, but he gave her no time to interject. "Take him with you to Jump City if need be. I am sure a solution can be found to Amity Park's ghost problem that will enable his departure. He must not be my son. Keep him whole, both human and ghost, and this terrible future cannot come to pass." He leaned forward, his cane creaking as he met her eye-to-eye. "Can I trust you to keep him whole, young Raven?"

She nodded, her violet eyes set and determined.

"Good." He said, extending the claws on his gauntlet. "Now go save the world."

(*)

Dan tapped his foot in midair as he floated above the Nasty Burger, his fingers drumming a staccato beat on his forearm as they lay crossed over his chest. "Any minute now… any moment… any at all…" He glared down at the humans blinking up at him for another second before he sighed and held his palm out towards them and growled, "I'm starting to wonder why I can't just blow you up myself."

And then a fist collided with his face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Floating above him, focused entirely on the captives, was his younger self. He groaned.

"This… could take a lot of explaining." Danny said to the bound group. "But I promise, I'm never going to be like him!" Danny swore emphatically as he floated beside his friends, family… and Lancer. "I suppose this explains my chronic tardiness, huh?"

"Oh give it a rest would you?" The elder ghost rumbled, knocking the boy from the air with a wave of green energy. "I think I'm starting to make myself sick."

Danny took a moment to regroup as he lay there on the ground- glad he'd been able to put up most of a shield before the blow struck. He had to plan his moves… had to time things just right. If he could get his older self away from his family-

A swift kick to the ribs broke his train of thought, launching him across the block. He tumbled for a bit before landing against the side of a brick building. "No more quirky quips?" Dan asked as he stalked over to stand above him. "I thought not." He brought his fist down, hard.

And hit only brick. Suddenly a wave of pain flowed through him like electricity, locking up his muscles and joints. "Forgot all about the Specter Deflector, didn't you?" The boy asked, before punting his enemy across the street… and into an oil tanker parked there.

The unintended consequence of this act wound up being a fireball of blue flame engulfing the ghost, and the area nearby.

With a wave of his hand, the flames parted in front of Dan. The scowl on his face only deepened as he saw his younger self standing there. His fury unquenchable, he shot toward the boy, who pulled out a small cylindrical object and ducked, leaving it in midair to deploy and latch around Dan's form with nine strong cables, each tipped in a latching mechanism that looked oddly like Vlad's head.

The thing only caught him partially, but gave his younger self time to flee and regroup as he ripped it apart with his free arm. Suddenly there were three more of him standing beside him, each dodging or blocking blasts from the young teen, who seemed to be throwing them out as fast as he could trying to keep him off balance.

As his clones kept Danny occupied, he flew up behind the boy, who turned his hand, upon which was an odd glove, toward him. The open palm emitted a red barrier before his fist slammed into it.

'A portable Ghost Shield generator?' Dan thought angrily, before noting that while he held off the original, he was still firing off blasts at his clones. The shield only covered a half-sphere. He grinned. 'It's not even complete yet, is it?'

Dan began a flurry of punches and kicks with glowing fists and feet, cracking and shattering the barrier after a moment with his barrage of blows. Danny was thrown back into the clones from the force of it, which earned him several kicks and punches from the doppelgangers. They then kicked as one, downward, smashing the boy into the ground.

"You can't win Danny. No matter what you do, I'm stronger, faster, better than you. Just give up and give in."

The explosion rocked the entire city. Dan was nearly knocked from his feet by the trembling of the earth beneath him. He grinned his wicked grin. "You might as well, now… the only thing you had to live heroically for is dead and gone."

He looked up, horrorstruck at the words. He felt the blast. He heard it. It came from where they were!

Not possible… it can't be…

"Give in. You know you have no choice, now."

I can't, I won't. Not now, not ever. They can't be gone… they can't be dead!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He cried, his cry warping into a ghastly sound as his anguish fueled the Wail. The waves of energy washed over the town as cracks and fissures formed spider-web patterns along the buildings and road. The blast blew over Dan like the wall of kinetic energy it was, picking him up and flinging him into a building, causing the structure to collapse.

From the rubble he pulled himself, battered as he was, to look at the boy with confusion and fear. "That power… It can't be… I don't get that power for another ten yea-"

His words were cut off by a painful knee thrust under his chin, knocking him into the air. As he tried to get a bead on the boy, a fist smashed into his face, then his ribs and stomach, followed by another uppercut and kicks that kept him from forming a coherent battle plan to put himself back on the offensive. As it was, he couldn't even defend himself. The blows that rained down were stronger and faster than anything the boy had shown previously.

Such was the power of his rage.

Dan was knocked around, then smashed into the ground with a powerful kick that cratered the road around him. He found the boy hunched over him, rage and sorrow melding on his face as he took a deep breath.

And straight down into the crater, point blank, he wailed.

Windows shattered. Asphalt cracked. Concrete buckled. Mortar crumbled. The whole block was decimated in the blast wave that radiated from the roar of the wail.

Danny, his energy entirely spent, changed back to his human form as he stood over his evil future self. The monster groaned before falling limp, unconscious.

He'd done it.

He won.

But the victory was hollow to him. It didn't matter. So what if he'd beaten the villain? His friends and family were all…

He cringed as the tears began to fall, choking on his breath as he brought the thermos down to imprison his foe. He had to be strong now. For them.

He cried. The tears welled up and fell without end, but he wouldn't let himself whimper or wail. He couldn't… not now.

His feet hung heavily, as if he wore shoes of lead as he made his way back to the source of the explosion. He wouldn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.

The pillar of smoke was huge. He was sure the plume could be seen for hundreds of miles. It was easy enough to follow, even if he couldn't remember the way to the ruins of the Nasty Burger. When he made it there, he was surprised anything was left standing. The building wasn't a crater… it was just a smoldering husk of what it had been. Most of the concussive force must have been pushed upward, rather than out and around, but that was of no moment to Danny. He hadn't found them. Most of the buildings around were heavily damaged as well. He felt his strength leave him, and he fell to his knees.

They were gone.

"You know, it's times like these I'm glad I can't feel my extremities." The young but deep voice coughed out satirically.

Danny turned his head to see figures past a nearby alleyway. The ground they stood upon was almost clean, without cracks or the sooty residue of the explosion. Again, this was of no moment. He had to see. He had to find out…

"Is everyone okay?" A cold monotone asked as he came closer.

They were there. All of them. Three Fentons, Sam, Tucker, Lancer… even Cyborg and…

Raven

She saved them. While he was off fighting, she must've freed them and shielded them from the blast.

He ran up to them. His thoughts were a jumble of joy and relief, excitement that they survived, and confusion that he just didn't have time for at the moment. There only seemed to be one person in the world at the moment. He almost caught her by surprise as she turned when she heard him coming.

Raven was surprised when she was wrapped up in a hug, having a thousand 'thank you's thrown at her at once. He lifted her off the ground, twirled her around, and when he set her down, he did the only thing he thought could properly express how thankful he was that she saved his friends and family.

He kissed her.

When their lips parted, both were oblivious to all the world save the one in front of them. Danny was still too overjoyed to care about anything but how happy he was, but Raven…

She was shocked. Not only that he'd kissed her, but how nice it felt when he did. It was forceful, but only as far as youthful impulsiveness let him be. He held her tight, and she in turn put her arms around him. The tenderness of the kiss after its impetuous start was…

It nearly melted her in his arms.

They stared at each other for a long moment, even as the onlookers watched.

Jazz was smirking, wondering what might happen next… her parents were both eyeing Danny warily, their instincts as ghost hunters warring with their parental love for their son. Maddie also partly wanted to scream out an 'I told you so!' and hug the two teens who had yet to part.

Cyborg was openly gawking at the two. Lancer was trying to come to terms with what had just happened, and what was happening. Tucker was inwardly cheering for his best friend, even though he knew this would come back to bite them both in the ass. And Sam…

…Sam was a beacon of pain and jealousy, watching her new friend as she kissed and held her crush. She'd never thought of Danny as anything but hers… and maybe Tucker's, but not in a romantic sense… much as she tried to deny it, even to herself. But now, she just felt hollow. The pain of having someone ripped out of your heart, and the jealousy at the one who did it…

She knew it would be better not to be hurt or jealous… and let the hollowness consume her.

"I won." Danny said cheerfully, smiling as bright as the sun.

And then the world around them stilled.

Both of them glanced at the others, all of them still as statues. The world around them had halted. The smoke didn't rise, the dust didn't settle… the air was stuffy and thick…

They looked down at each other's, and their own, chests. Both wore a stylized cog-like medallion around their necks.

Danny took his medallion in hand as he and Raven finally parted from their embrace. "You know, I never actually believed that kissing could stop time…"

A deep and hearty chuckle echoed over them. "That all depends…"

"Clockwork." Danny and Raven both said at once as they turned toward the infant ghost. Danny took up a halfhearted fighting stance, knowing his energy was spent. Raven barely moved.

"Now now, I'm not here for a fight. I wouldn't have given you those if I had." He indicated the gears around their necks, and Raven nodded.

Danny's stance faltered. "Then why are you here?"

A smile on blue lips. "To congratulate you on your victory, amend a temporal anomaly… and to give a warning."

"A warning?" Danny asked with narrowed eyes.

"That comes last…" The ghost of time, now middle-aged, stated. "First, you did well. Had I not known you would prevail over him, I would be quite surprised. It is an amazing accomplishment." Danny took the praise with a grain of salt. "Second, the ghost within that thermos…" He pointed at Danny's hip, where Dan's cage was clasped. "…should not exist in this timeframe. I intend to take him off your hands and make sure he remains locked within it for the rest of time."

"You fought us knowing we could never win, in order to spur us into the succeeding events." Raven summarized.

The ghost, then an old man, gave a toothy smile. "Yes. And now, the warning… remember your promise." The ghost floated closer, leaning forward to emphasize his pointed stare. "Should you forget the promise you made today, the world as you know it may end."

Both teens swallowed thickly as the ghost continued to stare at them, until he nodded.

"The thermos?" The ghost held out his hand. Danny unclasped it, gave it one last long look, and placed it in the outstretched hand.

The ghost floated away, until he paused. "Remember your promise." He reiterated as he pressed the button on his staff and disappeared in a swirl of clock hands. "Time in."

Both looked down, and saw their medallions were gone. They heard the flaming ruins of the Nasty Burger as it crackled… the mutterings of those behind them… the wind as it rustled along…

…and both swore, no matter what, they would never break the promise they'd made.

First off, something that never made sense to me. We all know Maddie is competent (for an adult Fenton) and even a considerable genius and master martial artist. What has never made sense is that, despite that, she always defers to Jack. In every major situation, she seems to ask Jack what to do, or has him take the lead. Why would she do that if Jack had never shown some competence in leadership?

The man may be incredibly silly, but I bet when his family's in danger, he shapes up pretty damn fast.

I would also like to point out that Raven does not, in any way, have a ghost sense. It was noted by my beta that readers might think she did when I described her being cold (and the fact that the human characters in the series never mention any discomfort while in the Ghost Zone) I have since edited the chapter to dissuade this idea, but some people may still think so. She doesn't. It's all in her heavily concussed head. Also- I love the word 'concussed'. My apologies if it was overused.

I know that inter-cranial trauma is a big deal, and not something to joke around about, but come on- she promised not to go all damsel in distress on him!... okay, stopping with the funnyman routine. It's a big deal and I could use it as a plot device. It's a serious medical thing though, and if you get knocked on the head at all, get it checked out immediately. Getting knocked out for several minutes is also unrealistic. If you're unconscious after a blow to the head for more than a minute or two, you need to get it looked at or you're probably going to die. That's one Hollywood myth I'm not really fond of- that you can just knock someone out for half an hour and then they're fine. Doesn't work that way.

Cyborg's arm- I have no idea if he's right or left handed. I can't remember which arm always turned into the cannon, so I'm just defaulting to it being his right. I really don't know, but does it make that much of a difference?

Clockwork's scene at the end- No, I'm not unmaking the reveal that Danny is Phantom. They have to deal with it. Also, and this is very important- Both Danny and Raven made promises recently. Raven to keep Danny from turning into Dan (By keeping him away from Vlad) and Danny, to never be like Dan. Both of them thought Clockwork was talking to them. This was what Clockwork intended.

Next up, Chapter 6:

ectoBiology