Chapter 24: The Renegades

Danny and Sam wasted no time as the final bell rang out, and headed straight to the middle school to pick up Danielle. Both were beyond grateful that there hadn't been any ghost attacks all day; the thought alone of Danielle having to try to fight without powers in the state of mind she was in nearly made Sam vomit up her lunch. As they jogged up to the front of the school, both teenagers began to feel panic coursing through them as they looked for Danielle, but found no sign of her.

"Where could she be?" Sam said, worry clear in her voice.

"Maybe she's still inside. Let's go check," Danny said, grabbing her hand and heading toward the building. As they made their way up the stairs and through the halls, they were oblivious to the many stares and whispers of the children around them. Ever since he began ghost fighting, Danny had been working on keeping his focus when he had a task to complete, and though it was more of a work in progress, he had gotten better at filtering out noise like the voices of chatting middle school children.

Scanning the halls, they were starting to get nervous as they still found no sign of her.

"Danny? Sam?" The two turned to see Mrs. Otree as she walked down the hallway toward them with a look of concern on her face as well. "What are you two doing here? Is everything ok?"

"Where's Danielle?" Sam asked frantically.

"She's not here. As soon as school was over, she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door. Is everything alright?"

"Well, we were just really worried about her. After what happened this morning when we dropped her off, we haven't been able to stop thinking about her," Danny said.

"I think we should call home and see if she made it there ok," Sam said, pulling her phone out, she started with calling Danielle's phone. The phone rang for a while before going to voicemail. Sam then called the house phone as she tried not to panic at the unanswered call.

"Hello, Fenton Works, this is Maddie Fenton. If you're calling to try and get a news story from anyone in my family, you can just hang up now because we have no comment on-"

"Maddie, it me, Sam."

"Sam? Oh my god, I am so sorry, sweetie. I thought you were a reporter."

"It's ok. I was just calling to ask if you've seen Danielle. She's not here at the school and Danny and I are getting worried because she didn't answer her phone."

"Well you two can calm down. She's here, and she's in her room right now, taking a nap. I just checked on her and left her some cookies."

"Oh thank god. Thanks a lot, Maddie. We'll be home soon."

"No problem, sweetie." As she hung up the phone, Sam let out a sigh of relief that everything was ok. Danny wrapped his arm around her, and looked at his former teacher. Danny got an uneasy feeling as he looked at the worry that was still on the women's face, and knew it had something to do with his daughter.

"So…how did it all go today?" he finally asked, though he had a very strong feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.

"Not good, Danny. Not good," Mrs. Otree said with a sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself. "When she came into class, she had tear streaks coming down her face, her eyes were very red and puffy, and she was sniffling. It's obvious that she had been crying, but I have no idea why."

"Did she say anything about it?" Sam asked.

"No. I asked her after class if she was alright and told her if she needed someone to talk to that she could come to me, but she still seemed very distant. It didn't help that the other kids were throwing things at her doing class. Also the gym teacher told me earlier that someone hit her in the face with a dodgeball and gave her bit of a nosebleed."

"Oh my god. Poor Danielle. Come on, Danny, let's get home." Danny nodded his head in agreement and the two headed back into the hall for the front door. Once outside, they headed around the corner to transform and took off for home. "God, I hope she's ok."

"Me too. I can't imagine how rough her day was," Danny said. "Maybe it was a mistake to send her back. I mean, I was always scared that would be me when my secret got out. Her biggest secret gets out, and instantly, the whole town has turned this whole thing upside down."

"I know, Danny. I was scared for you and her. But we did it for her own good, right?" Sam asked, though her voice held all of her uncertainty. "I mean, eventually she was going to have to leave the house, and she needs an education. And…we're being good parents, right?" Sam looked to Danny for an answer, but from the look in his eyes as he looked back, it was clear he didn't have one.

The second they touched down on the front porch, the two ran into the house, not even bothering to change back into their human forms. Luckily, the house's usual anti-ghost defense systems weren't active. Jazz and Tucker, who had just gotten home themselves a few minutes before, jumped in surprise at the rush that the two were in.

"Jesus, guys. You almost gave me a heart attack the way you just came charging in here," Jazz said, holding a hand to her chest and letting out a sigh.

"Sorry, Jazz. We just want to-" Danny stopped as the sound of a door opening caught his and Sam's attention. Both looked up at the top of the stairs as Danielle let out a yawn and rubbed her eye of the sleep still in it.

"What's with all the noise? Can't a girl take a nap around here without someone blowing something up or breaking something?" she said in irritation, though no one was too surprised by that. Having gotten her sleeping habits from Danny and Sam, as well as living with a very overly excitable family like the Fentons, they had all learned early on to avoid her if she hadn't gotten enough sleep. Before Danielle knew it, she was being swept up into her mother's glowing arms as Sam held her tight and began placing kisses all over her face. Danielle could feel her face begin to heat up as a wave of embarrassment climbed up from her core and into her face, leaving her flushed. As Sam finally stopped kissing her and set Danielle back down on her feet, she began to inspect her for any injuries in much of the same way she did after a battle. Though she seemed ok, Sam could not help but worry as she looked at the Band-Aid that rested across the bridge of her nose.

"Are you ok, Danielle?" Sam asked, lightly touching the band-aid. Danielle winced and recoiled at the slight pain which only confirmed Sam's suspicions. Danielle was about to lie and say that everything was fine, but having learned her lesson from their last encounter with Ember where she was left with burned hands, she knew that wouldn't be a good idea.

"Not really. My nose hurts, and I wasn't able to start healing it until I got home and got the belt taken off," she said with a sigh as she allowed Sam to carefully remove one side of the band-aid and examine the bruise on her face that was healing slower than it should have been.

"Without your powers, your body wasn't able to do its normal healing process," Danny said as he came and stood next to them and looked at the bruise up close himself. Danielle rolled her eyes.

"Wow, really? I hadn't noticed," she replied in a snarky tone. "I guess I figured that out sometime between when it as bleeding and when I had to actually go to the nurse, who felt the need to ask me a bunch of stupidly awkward question."

"Rough day, kid?" Danny asked, ignoring the clear sarcasm in her voice, but couldn't help rubbing his head as she gave him a look that made it very obvious that what he had asked was stupid. "Sorry. Standard question."

Danielle sighed as the band-aid was put back into place, and looked at her father. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's just…been a really sucky day and…" Danielle paused, running up to both her parents and hugged them, holding them tight like they were a lifeline and she didn't want to let go.

Sam smiled a small, though sad smile as she ran her cool fingers through Danielle's long raven colored hair, sending a small shiver through her body at the pleasant feeling. Danny held her to him, letting her stay attached to them for as long as she needed, though he was surprised when she pulled away so quickly.

"Ellie, I am so sorry about whatever it is that happened to you today at school. I really wish there was something we could do to make it better," he said with a sigh. Danielle bit the inside of her cheek. If there was ever a time to ask for something, now was probably it. She knew she couldn't ask for anything too outrageous like being able to never go to school again, but it could help with her lockdown problem she's been having as of lately.

"Well…there is one thing I'd really like," she said quietly, looking up at him with a small bit of her puppy dog eyes, though it was unneeded.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"I was hoping that, since I have to be on lockdown during school, if I could possibly…be allowed to go out of the house whenever I want to…"

"You want to be able to come and go as you please?" Sam said as she tried to clarify what was being asked of them. "Um…Danielle, I don't know-"

"Please, Mom," she begged. "It's bad enough that I have to spend more than 8 hours with a belt that blocks my powers, but the torment I had to go through today was horrible. All I want is to be able to go out when I need to and go flying to clear my mind. It'll be a way to relax and blow off steam so I don't go crazy, and I can even do some patrolling while I'm out. Please?"

Sam looked to her boyfriend, unsure of what to do in this situation. All though the idea seemed plausible, she wasn't sure how she would feel about Danielle being out there alone. Of course she knew the girl was strong enough to take care of herself, and if there was a real problem, she would contact them for help. But the maternal side of her was telling her that it may not be the best idea. From the look of concentration on Danny's face, she could tell he was having similar thoughts of his own. With a sigh, Danny nodded his head.

"Alright. But there are a few rules," he said with a serious tone. "First, you have to let someone in the house know when you are leaving. Second, you have to be back by curfew unless preapproved by one of us. Third, you will check in with us while you are out there. Fourth, you will avoid the paparazzi. If they see you, they're going to go crazy about trying to get a story out of you. Clear?"

"Yes sir," she said, small smile on her face. "Thanks, Daddy." She quickly hugged him and then Sam before going back into her room. Both teenagers just stared at the door for a few seconds before changing back to normal and walking into their own room.

After dinner was over, Danielle went up to her bedroom, changing her jean skirt out for a pair of denim shorts, and dug the small piece of paper out of her backpack before heading downstairs to tell her parents she was leaving.

"I'm going out for a fly. I'll be back later," she said, as she tried to rush out the door.

"Hold it, missy," Sam said, standing up from the couch. "Do you have your cellphone?"

"Yes."

"Your Fenton Phones?"

"Yes."

"Fenton Thermos?"

"Clipped to my belt in ghost form, Mom. Anything else?" Sam smiled, shaking her head no, and kneeled down, kissing Danielle on the cheek.

"Nope. You're clear for takeoff. Just be careful, and make sure you're back by curfew."

"Don't worry, I will be," Danielle said as her ring appeared around her waist and she transformed. With a quick wave to her father, Danielle turned intangible and flew through the roof. As she floated high above the city, she took in a deep breath, relishing in the feeling. If she wasn't so excited, she would be crying right now. She hadn't used her powers or transformed in over two weeks. Spending the whole day without access to them at will had been torture to her, especially with the kind of day she had earlier, and the feeling of moving on a swing had nothing on the feeling over literally being up so high that the only thing you have to worry about was getting wet from going through a cloud. No, she would never take her powers for granted. Not when she could have this feeling of weightlessness and smell the freshest air there was up here. As she finally came down from her high, she turned toward the warehouse district of Amity Park, and took off.

As Danielle landed in front of the gate, she reverted back to her human form, and dug the piece of paper from her pocket.

"Section 7, Warehouse 24," she mumbled to herself as she squeezed past the gate, and began her walk. Danielle could feel an uneasy calm as she walked under the bright street lights, leaving many shadows around her. "I hope I find this place soon. I'm starting to get seriously creeped out, and I'm a ghost. Nothing is supposed to be creeper then that." It didn't take long for Danielle to find the building on the outer edge of the district, but as she stood in front of the door, she could hear the distinct sounds of other children, and instantly, she was starting to regret coming here. "Come on, Danielle," she mumbled to herself. "The sooner you do this, the sooner you can get out of here." With one more deep breath, she walked up to the door, and knocked on it.

At first nothing happened, and she was beginning to think no one had heard her and that she was just supposed to walk in, until a small window slid open to reveal a pair of gray eyes.

"Password," the boy on the other side said.

"Wh-what?" Danielle stammered, caught off guard by the question.

"I said, password," he replied in annoyance.

"Um…" Danielle looked down at the small crumpled up piece of paper in her hand for anything that she might have missed, but came up empty. "It doesn't say anything on here."

"Then you ain't getting in," he said coldly. Danielle cold feel a slight bit of confusion cross her mind as she remembered Nick's words from earlier, and based on the way she was being treated now, it hardly seemed like the refuge that anyone who could call home.

"Look, I'm just here to see Nicholas. He said he would be here, and I just wanted to thank him for offering to let me join."

"If you don't have the password, you can't get in. Now beat it before I make you."

"Look, I'm trying to be nice here, but you're making this really difficult," Danielle said as her patience was starting to tip on the scale into anger. "So either you can go get Nicholas so I can talk to him, let me in without any more problems, or I can force for my way in."

"I'd like to see you try!" he growled out. Danielle raised her eyebrow, a look of disbelief on her face before turning intangible. The boy's eyes nearly fell out of his head and onto the ground as she simply walked through the door and pass him before turning tangible again. Danielle looked around the brightly lit warehouse and was surprised at what she saw.

From one side of the warehouse to other, there were kids. In one corner, there were kids playing games on a TV that had been placed on some boxes. Two kids sat in front of the TV, their hands moving rapidly over the various buttons, while a group behind them cheered on for which ever player they wanted to win. A few of them had money in their hands, giving Danielle the impression that they were gambling on the match.

In another corner, a few other kids were sitting around, munching on various snack foods from chips to candy to fruits as well as drinking various liquids as they sat by what looked like an industrial sized refrigerator. Other various kids were just aimlessly running around, chatting or minding their own business.

But the thing that really caught Danielle's attention was the small over-crowded ring just off to the left of where she entered. Many kids were shouting and cheering as Danielle stared on in complete disbelief as an older boy seemed to be beating up on a younger boy. The older boy had long brown hair that seemed to stop just above his shoulders, and was standing shirtless with his hands up to protect his face. Danielle would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't the least be intrigued by the well toned abs of the boy whom she assumed was in high school. The smile on his face showed that he was both confident, but also a very proud person as he danced, bare footed around his opponent who was probably no more than ten-years old, and had a big smile of joy on his face as well. Danielle was so distracted by what she saw, that she didn't notice the boy come up behind her until she felt the tight, painful tug of her hair as he pulled her by her ponytail.

"Alright, freak, I don't know how you pulled that little trick of yours, and I don't care cause you're-"

"Bruce!" Both looked up, though for Danielle it was a bit harder with the boy still holding her hair, to see a young girl standing before them with her hands on her hips and a look of displeasure on her face. The girl was definitely older then Danielle, maybe only by a year or two, and her skin had a nice golden brown coloring to it, making Danielle believe that she was of Latin decent. The girl was wearing a floral print skirt that came to her knees as well as a low V-neck black shirt that showed a lot of cleavage, and as she narrowed her green eyes, she strode over to them, almost radiating authority. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"I-I was-I mean-" Danielle stammered before being cut off.

"Not you. Him," she said, glaring at Bruce. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Is that how you treat a lady? By grabbing her hair and yanking it?" A few of the kids nearby cringed at her tone as the older girl was infamous amongst their group for her temper.

"Listen, Marina, I-" he started, but was interrupted as she slapped him, causing him to release Danielle, who was just as shocked as he was.

"Get your stupid ass back to the door, and don't let me see you again for the rest of the night!" she yelled, grabbing Danielle's hand and leading her away from the entrance. "¡Dios mío, I swear, I'm going to get a leash for that stupid animal." As she finally got a good distance away from him, she turned around and looked at Danielle with a look of worry. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry about that."

"Um…" Danielle said as she tried to figure out what just happened. "Yeah. I'm fine, thanks. He just got the jump on me. I'm Danielle, but I prefer Dani."

"Oh, trust me, I know who you are," she said with a smile. "Name's Marina. I'm head of security around here. It's my job to make sure everything runs smoothly around here and make sure everyone stays safe."

Danielle's eyes drifted slightly back over to the fight ring, and her skepticism was starting to get the better of her. Before she could comment, her eyes fell back onto the older boy who was now patting himself dry with a towel as he walked toward them with, to Danielle's surprise, Nicholas at his side, chatting it up about something. Marina followed her gaze and couldn't help smirking at the look on Danielle's face. She had seen it on the faces of many little girls that had come to the warehouse, and knew that she was in the starting stages of infatuation.

"Who's that?" Danielle asked, her gaze never leaving the boy.

"That is Ray. He is the leader of the Renegades," she said as the boys walked over to them. "Hey guys."

"Marina. I see that you've let that temper of yours get the better of you once again," Ray said with a grin on his face. Danielle was amazed at the sound of his voice. Though not very deep, his voice had an authoritative tone to it, and was very smooth as he spoke.

Marina rolled her eyes at the comment. "It's not my fault that Bruce is an idiot. If you would just let me get the shock collars, he wouldn't have almost hurt Danielle here. Though based on what I've seen and heard on the news, I'm sure she wouldn't have any problem taking him down."

"Danielle! Good to see ya," Nick said with a huge grin on his face. "What brings you to our neck of the warehouses? Came to take us up on that offer?"

"No, I, um…actually just came to say thanks for being so nice and giving me the offer, but I don't think that I really belong here."

"Well, it was no problem. But you should stick around for a while, get to know people, maybe grab a soda or two from the fridge. Just relax a bit. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go referee the next match," he said as she made his way back to the ring. Just as he walked away, a loud crash rang out from over by the television as two kids began to fight over something. Marina let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Well, looks like my job is never done." She then turned and, with a wicked smirk, grabbed hold of Ray, slamming her mouth onto his. The two began a small groping session, and Danielle could feel her face heating up and turning red as she stood there, awkwardly watching as Ray grabbed Marina's butt and Marina let out a deep moan. Before Danielle advert her gaze, the two separated, and Marina walked off, swaying her hips in a very sexual manner. Danielle watched her go, but turned back when Ray let out a deep chuckle and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You look like you just got a bad case of sunburn," he said.

"Sorry, I…it's just…it was a bit awkward to watch you and your girlfriend make out like that with me standing less than five feet away."

"Oh, Marina's not my girlfriend. She and I just like to mess around from time to time."

Danielle didn't need any clarification as to what he meant by that. Because of the recent increase in teenage pregnancy, she had learned a lot about how many kids were born because their parents were doing things like that. Though she found it entertaining to watch the day time reality talk shows where people were yelling at each other over paternity, she did not like find it entertaining to have to have the birds and the bees talk with her mother. Danielle could still remember very clearly the day when her first…cycle had started, and, thinking she was going to bleed to death, ran into her parents room, crying her eyes out. When she saw her father laughing and the deadly red blush on her mother's face, she was very confused. And so, there began her first trip in the world of puberty, and from what she heard, it wasn't pleasant. To this day, she can't help blushing when thinking about her over dramatic reaction on that day, though her mother reassured her that she had done very much the same thing.

"So, um, why is she going to break up that fight? I thought you guys were ok with fighting?" Danielle said in an attempt to change the subject.

"No. Fighting isn't something we're particularly ok with. A little shoving, a little rough housing, sure. But we make sure to keep it from getting out of hand."

"Then what was it that you were doing over there?" she asked, looking at the ring were two more people were going at it.

"Over there is the sparring ring. We use it to train kids in self-defense, and to let them blow off some steam. Like if those two are fighting, Marina will give them a choice of either settling it in the ring, or letting her settle it. Most will usually take the first option," he said with another chuckle. "Once they get in the ring, we have a better chance to watch over them and keep them safe from doing anything too stupid."

"I see. So, were you the one who started all of this?"

"Me? No. The Renegades have been around in Amity for a long time. I'm just the most recent leader, Nick's my right hand, and Marina is the protection. A few of the other kids are ranked higher than other, but that's mostly based on seniority. You have to prove yourself or be in good favor with the high ranks to really move up in the group."

"Wow. That's really cool. I can see why some of these kids would want to be here," Danielle said as she recognized some of the kids from her school.

"So why don't you?" Ray asked.

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"Why don't you want to join?"

"Well, it's just that I…I don't think I belong here. I'm a reject. A freak. I would just be out casted from here too," she said as she gazed up into his green eyes.

"Danielle, look at these kids," he said, pointing out to a few. "That boy gets abused by his parents on a weekly basis, rejected by the people you gave him life. That girl gets shunned because she lost her virginity to a jock when she was thirteen, and people say that she's a freak and a whore. That little boy, is an orphan, and had to live on the streets before finding his home here because the world out casted him. Everyone is in the exact same boat as you, and no one here can or has the right to judge you just because you're different. We're all different, but just because we're different, people in the outside world want to persecute us for not being like them." Leaning down, her got close to her ear and began to whisper. "I know life isn't fair and that bad things happen, and that's why we're here. To help those kids that need the extra push to get past it and make them better people."

"But…I…" Danielle's voice caught in her throat as his words sank into her mind. It all sounded so good. These kids were no different than her. They had all been through something that made their life horrible, and yet, they were all smiling and laughing. Enjoying life like they didn't have a care in the word. If they could do it, why couldn't she?

"Don't you want that security back? That feeling that you never had to worry about anything and just live? Don't you want to be around people who won't turn on you, and that will accept you for who and what you are?" Ray squeezed her shoulder, feeling the tense muscle under her skin. Danielle could feel his breath tickling her neck and ear as he spoke one last sentence. "Don't you want to have friends again?"

That was the straw that broke the camels back for Danielle as the crushing reality hit her. She did want friends again. She did want to feel normal again. She did want what they had to offer her, and here it was, being handed to her on a silver platter. Everything he had said was true, but could he really keep that promise and give her everything that she wanted? Danielle was only sure of one thing: she would never know unless she found out for herself.

"Yes. Yes, I want all of that," she whispered as tears came to her eyes and ran down her face. Behind her, Ray smiled as he stood back up and gave her shoulder one more squeeze.

"Then welcome to the Renegades, Dani."

Ok, so that's it for this chapter. Sorry for the long wait. I've been having serious computer problems as of late, not to mention I'm super busy trying to finish a bunch of work so I can graduate. On a sad note, this story is almost over. I don't believe it will go past 30 chapters. However, the sequel is in full effect and will be up same day as the last chapter of this story. Also, I've been planning a Young Justice/Danny Phantom Crossover series that I'm currently writing and that is going to be spectacular. If you all go to my profile, you'll be able to get a summary of it, as well as my other stories. If you guys have any questions about it, feel free to ask me. The first story, "Phantom Light" will begin in summer of 2013! So be ready!

Also, a little trivia question: What is the significance about the numbers of the warehouse's location to that of the TV series? You're gonna have to think back early on in the series, in season one. A hint, it has to do with Danny's school. Good luck!