A/N: HOLY LATE UPDATE, BATMAN! Here we are! The last part to the prologue. I've realized that I have more than one OC in this chapter (Like 3...Haha...) however the one that will be added to the main story as a main character will be Alice Waters, who will make an appearance later. How this story will end up going, is that chapter 1 will follow the young justice episodes, so my advice is that if you haven't watched any of the serious and would like to, go watch the episodes first. I have read all of your reviews, and I thank you that you guys enjoy this story so much. I honestly never thought that it would pick up...but here we are, part 3 of the prologue. There were a few inconsistencies in the last part, and I realize that now. Thanks for pointing it out to me! Anywho, along with the story! This one is kinda emotional, lots of fluff. Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or Danny Phantom.
Soon after that performance, Danny found himself over exhausted, and as a result he had passed out. He was in the safety of Bruce's secure arms. Jazz looked at Bruce with concern and worry etched on her face.
"I knew we shouldn't have left him here alone with…" Jazz mumbled to herself as she looked at her passed out brother in regret.
Bruce heard her mumbling and it caught his attention, "What did you say, Jazz?"
"Huh? Nothing...He probably passed out from stress", Jazz said, trying to stray away from the topic about Vlad. 'But the real question is, what did he do to Danny?'
"…We should hurry to my manor, there he can get the rest he needs", Bruce said as he started to walk out of the court house, Jazz quickly in pursuit.
As they turned down a road, the house was located up on a hill in a secluded area. It was around the ocean and had a nice breeze rolling into the coast. Jazz looked on at the house that was in front of her. As Bruce had stated, it was actually a manor. This place was huge, and if she had to say, it was just a little smaller than Vlad's.
At the thought of Vlad, her face scrunched up in anger. Bruce chose to look at her at that exact moment and rose an eyebrow.
"What's on your mind, Jazz?" Bruce asked as he crossed his arms.
"Nothing, just thinking about the past…" She said, barely above a mumble. Danny groaned as he finally stirred next to her in the limo. He blinked his tired eyes open and looked around his surroundings slowly.
"Good morning, sleepy head!" Jazz said happily as she put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder. He almost shrugged it off, thinking it was Vlad, but then realized it was Jazz.
"W-What happened?" He mumbled, his throat was a little raw, considering he had just woken up.
"That's what we want to know, Danny", Bruce said as he looked at the boy who looked on in confusion, "What happened after we left the room?"
"What…happened?" He asked, more to himself than the others. His head started to hurt, but the events that had occurred were slowly starting to come back to him…
"At least let me give you something to remember me by", Vlad said as he dug into his jacket and pulled it out. It was a syringe and was filled with black liquid. He then thrusted it into Danny's chest and the boy cried out in pain.
"From now on, I won't have to come after you…No, my boy, you will always want to come to me. To be by my side. The link is complete, and I'd love to see how you'll be getting yourself out of this one, Daniel. See you real soon", Vlad said as he pulled the empty syringe out of his chest and turned intangible, laughing darkly before taking off towards his mansion in Wisconsin.
As he was pulled out of his thoughts by the limo stopping, his eyes grew wide with realization. Whatever Vlad had injected him with, it wasn't good…and frankly, he didn't know what it quite did.
"Um…I don't know, I just remembering passing out", Danny said as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. His sister looked at him in concern, while Bruce just stared at Danny in indifference, he knew a lie when he saw one.
"Mr. Bruce, we have arrived", came a voice filled with respect and wisdom, but old at the same time.
Everyone in the limo looked up at a man dressed up as a butler. Bruce gave a curt nod, before opening up the door and stepping out, Danny and Jazz quickly following his actions.
"Alfred, this is Danny and Jazz, their parents have left them in my care", Bruce said as he smiled gently, looking at Alfred, and then at Danny and Jazz as he introduced them. The butler looked at them before giving a nod and heading back into the limo, most likely to park it in a safe place.
"Shall we go inside?" Bruce asked as he started to head to the front door. Jazz and Danny got the message and started to follow him to the door. Right as Bruce clasped his hand around the handle, he flinched back in surprise, for it had electrocuted him.
Just then there was an ominous laughter that echoed from inside the mansion as Bruce sighed. The door was suddenly opened to reveal a 13 year old boy with dark black hair. He was wearing a dark green shirt with a black jacket over it, along with some jeans. The weirdest thing was that he was wearing sunglasses that covered his eyes, almost as if it served as a mask.
"Heh, I can't believe that you actually-" He said excitedly before noticing the glum look on Bruce's face and the company that he had behind him.
"Dick…let me introduce you to Danny and Jazz, they will be living with us from now on", Bruce said as he entered his home.
"Oh, um, hi", Richard said awkwardly before running to catch up with his surrogate father. "Why didn't you tell me you were bringing people?" Dick hissed in a low whisper.
Ignoring his adopted son, he gestured to around his home, "Make yourselves at home, I would show you where your rooms are, but I have a very busy schedule that I have to keep up. You know how work is!" He said as he began to stride off further into the hallway.
"This place is huge, huh, Danny?" Jazz asked, trying to make light of an awkward situation.
"Is it bad that in a way, this place reminds me of…?" Danny was about to say, but got cut off from an excruciating pain from deep inside his chest, exactly where that dreaded 'V' was embedded into his skin. He found himself hunched over, and grabbing his chest.
"Danny!" Jazz yelled as she kneeled down by him and began to put a hand on his back.
"Whoa! Are you okay?" Dick asked as he kneeled down and saw the sweat on Danny's face. It didn't look normal, and in a way, it kind of reminded him of Scarecrow's concoctions.
"I'm…Fine…" Danny said as he took in deep breaths.
Dick scrunched his face in suspicion, this boy looked anything but fine.
"Hold on, let me get Bru-"
"No! I don't need to…make another person worry about me", Danny said as he pulled himself together and stood up, trying to regulate his breathing.
"Danny…" Jazz said as she stood up with him.
"Anyway, I really just want to get some rest", Danny said as he wiped the sweat off his face, and Dick nodded before motioning towards the stairs to his right.
"The rooms are right up there to the left. Make sure you get some rest…" Dick replied in an uneasy tone.
Danny nodded before following what Dick had said, he made it to the second step before he passed out again, due to the pain in his chest…
"Get Bruce!" Jazz yelled as she ran to her brother.
"Yeah, like that's the easiest thing to do…" Dick mumbled as he ran through the mansion in search of his mentor.
Danny glanced around the rubble that used to be his home. He would never see them again, he would never spend any more time with them again.
"Sam? Tucker?" Danny called out and looked around the area, trying his best to not look at his collapsed home.
"They're not here, Daniel", came that voice that he hated with a passion from behind him.
He quickly turned around only to receive a hand reach out and grab his throat. Danny was struggling to breathe as he clawed at the man who was abusing his throat. Then, just before he passed out, he got a kick to the stomach. He landed roughly on the ground and he glanced up at Vlad, in his human form.
"Y-You…" Danny barely choked out. Vlad looked at him before circling around him with his hands behind his back. Danny couldn't help but think about how much this reminds him of a lion circling his prey.
"Now, now, little badger, of course it would be me. Who else would torment you in your dreams?" Vlad said as he chuckled to himself, like he knew an inside joke.
"Here's a suggestion, how about you leave me alone?" Danny asked sarcastically in anger as he got up from the ground and got himself into a fighting position.
"That would be too easy. And where would the fun be in that?" Vlad asked as he shrugged to himself before pausing in his circling.
"Then I'll make you leave me alone!" Danny yelled in anger before charging at his opponent with a fist raised. As he went to strike the man, Vlad grew a smirk on his face before vanishing without a trace.
"You can't make me do anything…I on the other hand…" Vlad said as he reappeared behind Danny. As Danny turned around he was met with a punch to his face. Danny landed roughly on his back, he had the wind knocked out of him and groaned as he tried to get back up.
Vlad appeared in front of him, he grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled it down so that Danny was forced to look up to Vlad. "I can make you do anything, Daniel. And if for a second you think you have any control, think again. You belong to me", Vlad whispered into Danny's ear.
"You're wrong!" Danny yelled out in defiance and as a result, Vlad pulled his hair down harder. This caused Danny to yell out in pain.
"Think what you want. The end justify the means, child", Vlad hissed as he vanished.
Danny woke up with a start. Sweat was covering his face and his body felt weak. He rubbed his head, and his eyes grew wide. "That dream had actually hurt me…"
"Danny?" Came Jazz's voice from beyond the door of his room. He glanced over to it before rubbing his head again, things weren't making sense anymore.
"Yeah?" Came his quiet reply.
"It's time for dinner", She said as she slowly opened the door. He wouldn't have had a problem with Jazz coming into the room, except that his shirt was off, and that dreaded tattoo was right there in plain sight.
"Uh! Jazz, wait!" He yelled trying to find his shirt, but couldn't find it anywhere, he then resorted to the blankets on the bed and covered himself up with them.
"Danny, are you feeling better?" She asked as she turned on the lights to the room. "Are you cold?" She asked seeing that he was covered up.
He nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty cold in here…"
"Oh, well, come on, Dick is already down stairs waiting for us", Jazz said as she sat down in a chair, waiting for her brother.
"Jazz, my shirt's off…can you wait outside?" Danny asked getting more nervous at the second.
"Danny, you're my brother, I've seen you without your shirt on before. Now, hurry up!" Jazz yelled, getting agitated.
"Jazz! Wait. Outside!" Danny ordered and Jazz rose an eyebrow in response.
"Why? Is there something that you don't want me seeing?" Jazz asked as she got up from the chair and started coming closer to him.
"Jazz, I'm serious!" Danny yelled as he brought the blankets closer to him.
"So am I! I thought that we weren't keeping anymore secrets between each other!" Jazz yelled as she tugged at the blankets.
"Jazz knock it off!"
"No, Danny! You're telling me everything!"
"Sometimes that's not for the best!"
"I'm only here to help you!" Jazz yelled as she pulled harder, and the blanket flew off the bed and crashed onto the floor. Jazz's eyes grew wide as she examined her brother's upper torso. "He did this…to you", She said as she moved her hand slowly and placed it on the 'V' that was there.
Danny looked away and refused to say anything.
"Why? Why does he always have to hurt you?!" Jazz yelled, tears forming in her eyes.
"Jazz…its fine. I can handle it", Danny said as he looked around the room for his shirt, but instead found a dark grey shirt and put it on.
"But…You shouldn't have to", Jazz said as she blinked and tears started rolling down her face.
Danny didn't say anything, but just looked at the door, Dick was standing there with his arms crossed.
"Um, am I interrupting?" He asked as he frowned.
"No…Come on, Jazz, let's go eat. I'll tell you everything after dinner", he said as he gave her a gentle smile. Jazz looked up and nodded. She wiped her tears with her hand before following Dick and Danny out of the room.
As they began to sit around the long dinner table, Alfred was busy setting the numerous plates across the table. The table was long and unneeded. It seemed like Bruce was just flaunting his money and power to his guests, if they had chosen to spend dinner with the man.
Danny rose an eyebrow, "Why does Bruce need such a long table?"
Jazz only shook her head, "Maybe he throws some parties…?"
"I can assure you, I don't throw parties", came Bruce's voice as he made Danny and Jazz gasp in surprise before turning their heads and looking at Bruce. He gave them a small smile and sat down at the head of the table.
"Yeah, if anything, Bruce kills the parties", Dick said with a smirk on his face, not even trying to hide it on his face. Bruce only glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes before returning his attention to Danny and Jazz.
"Danny, what made you pass out earlier? I had to carry you to bed. Not to mention you had such a high fever that you were shaking in your clothes, I had to get your shirt off you so you would calm down", Bruce said as he looked at the boy in question, trying to pry any information that might have been sketched on his face.
"I…Uh, I don't know. Maybe it's a cold?" Danny asked, more to himself than Bruce. 'What is wrong with me?' He thought as he looked down at his unfilled plate on the table.
"Perhaps…You should bundle up if you're getting a cold", Bruce said as he shrugged as Alfred came out with the food and started to fill everyone's plates. Danny nodded in reply, and Dick looked at Danny with his eyebrows raised with suspicion.
"Tell me, Jazz, what are you going to be doing? You said you wanted to get into psychology, and there's only a few more months of high school left in this year", Bruce said as he started to pick up a fork and dug into his food in an elegant and sophisticated manner.
"Now that you mention it…I'm not quite sure anymore. I want to stay around Danny so I can keep an eye on him…" She said as she mumbled in thought, her eyes fixated on her plate filled with food.
"Why would you feel the need to do that? Is he in some kind of unknown danger?" Bruce asked as he looked up and met Jazz's eyes. She flinched back at the accusation before recoiling.
"Well, no…You know, I'm just the over protective big sister!" She said as she beamed, looking over at Danny, who gave a small smile in return.
Bruce seemed to narrow his eyes for a few seconds, though it was very subtle. "I see…And what about you, Danny? You're a freshman in high school, have you decided if you want to enroll in a public school, or a private one with Dick?"
"Public school definitely. Private schools just don't sit right with me…" Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 'Though, neither do public schools…I just hope I'm not the target of everyone's misplaced aggression', Danny thought as he scrunched his face up in pain, remembering all the times that Dash and given him beatings.
"This may seem a little sudden, Danny, but I'm going to enroll you starting tomorrow. You've been out of school for at least a week now, and I personally think it's in your best interest if you get caught up", Bruce said as he took a drink of his water.
Danny nodded, "But, what if I can't catch on to everything?"
"Then Dick will have to catch you up. Although he's one year younger than you, he's at the top of his class", Bruce said as he smirked at his young ward.
Dick's head perked up and he rolled his blue eyes, "Whatever you say, Bruce. Although, it is kind of true. I'm a little whelmed".
"Whelmed?" Jazz and Danny asked together.
"Yeah, you know, not quite overwhelmed, but also not underwhelmed. So, just…whelmed", Dick said as he smiled and at the end shrugged his shoulders. Bruce was smiling in content at how well they were getting along with each other.
Alfred suddenly approached Bruce and whispered something in his ear, Bruce's smile vanished before he narrowed his eyes in the distance in thought. He stood up and smiled apologetically, "Well, sorry to eat and run, but Dick and I have to clean out the garage".
Dick looked at him with his eyebrow raised before realization came to his face, "Oh, right…The garage". Dick then stood up and smiled at Danny and Jazz. "Catch you guys later", he said as he walked by Bruce and down the hallway with him.
"Yeah…that doesn't seem suspicious at all", Danny said under his breath as he looked at Jazz with suspicion, she only nodded her head in return.
"Hey, that's their business. Everyone has secrets Danny, especially you", she said as she narrowed her eyes at him. 'You had better tell me everything, now, Danny', Jazz thought as she crossed her arms.
"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Danny asked as he sighed. He looked around the room and had noticed Alfred cleaning up the table. 'I don't have to worry about Alfred telling Bruce, do I?' Danny thought as he narrowed his eyes in thought at the busy butler.
"Nope, so start spilling. What happened…?" Jazz asked with concern in her eyes.
"Well, to be honest, I still don't know what his plans are. I do know that he marked me with the 'V' on my chest", Danny said trying to recollect what exactly had happened. This retelling of his experience is bringing up horrible memories that he'd rather not remember.
"I know, I saw that…But what happened after that?" Jazz asked as she blinked.
"After that…he said that he could control when I could 'Go Ghost'. The strangest thing that happened though, he could read my thoughts. That's why I couldn't escape."
"But for what purpose would he do that?!" Jazz yelled, practically in anger. She quickly placed a hand over her mouth, realizing that she had spoken that a little bit too loudly. The two teens looked over at the hard working butler only to see him carry on with his work as if he hadn't heard them at all. Both teens sighed in relief.
"I don't know. He kept saying how much I belonged at his side, and that he won't stop until I am", Danny said as he cringed. As much as the boy hated to admit it, he was getting a little uneasy at the thought of the man.
"That…Crazed up froot loop!" She yelled in a whisper. Danny nodded in agreement.
"But…I still can't believe that they're gone…Mom and dad I mean…" Danny said dejectedly.
"I know. We really haven't had the time to reflect on their deaths. Everything has just been pushed at us", Jazz said as Alfred took her plate, and then took Danny's right after.
"Tell me about it. Jazz, I want you to know that I'm here for you. We're the only family that we have left", Danny said as he placed a comforting hand on Jazz's shoulder, and she smiled in return, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.
"Aww, thanks little brother. I'm here for you, too", Jazz said as she stood up and pushed in her chair. Alfred walked out of the room with the dirty dishes in his hands.
"Say, Jazz. Why don't we explore?" Danny asked, a devious grin on his face. Jazz just looked at her brother and raised an eyebrow.
"Danny, I really don't thin-
"Come on, Jazz, don't be a spazz", Danny said as he stood up and started to walk out of the room.
"I am not a spazz", Jazz said in anger as she followed her brother out of the dining room. "Danny, I'm serious, we should not be exploring-
"You don't have to come if you don't want to", Danny said as he smirked behind him at his sister. Jazz scowled in response.
"Yes I do, I have to keep an eye on you", she said as she crossed her arms.
"Whatever you say, Jazz", Danny mumbled under his breath as they walked into a room with a fireplace. There was a painting of two people, most likely a couple from the way they were painted. On the north most wall of the room there was an old grandfather clock, slowly ticking away the time.
"Whoa…I wonder if those two are Bruce's parents…" Jazz said as she looked up at the painting that hung over the fireplace.
"Maybe…" Danny said as he walked towards the grandfather clock. 'This seems out of place…' He thought as he placed a hand on it to further examine the clock. 'It doesn't have a speck of dust on it…That's weird…' He thought as he put two hands on the clock and began to push it to his left.
"Danny!" Jazz whispered in a hiss. "What are you doing?"
As Danny continued to push the clock further away, inch by inch, there was a small damp breeze that he could feel behind the clock. "Jazz, there's something behind this clock! There's a draft", he said as he pushed the clock enough so that he could get through it.
Jazz gasped as she saw stairs leading down to an unknown area. Danny turned to look at her before giving her another smirk.
"Danny! Don't even think about it!" Jazz lectured to him.
"I'm thinking about it…" Danny said as he started to go down the steps.
"Oh! This is not a good idea", Jazz said nervously as she placed a hand against the wall as she headed down the steps. As the both of them traveled further down the steps, the sound echoed against the small area. Despite it being a small area, the only light that was visible was coming all the way from the bottom of the stairwell.
"I see…something", Danny said as he got to the bottom floor and looked around the area in amazement. This was a giant cave, and had multiple levels. Some levels had things that were collected from Gotham's most dangerous criminals. The Joker and The Riddler were among the few of which were displayed. Weapons, sometimes clothing articles. This place was vast and had various sorts of technologies. There was a giant computer along with other various computer supplies.
"Oh my gosh, Danny…This makes sense now", Jazz said with realization spread across her face.
"Bruce Wayne is…Batman", Danny said, which reaffirmed what Jazz was thinking.
"Which means that Dick is…Robin", Jazz said as she took a couple of steps forward to look around further.
"It's kind of hard to believe that we're living on top of the Bat Cave", Danny said as he stifled a laugh of amusement.
"Well, we did use to live on top of an entrance into the ghost zone…We shouldn't really be talking", Jazz said incredulously.
Suddenly there was the sound of an engine, and Jazz and Danny both came alert to their present situation. Bruce was coming home, and if he had known they were in the Bat Cave, it would be game over.
"Hide!" Danny yelled, and Jazz nodded as they both went into different directions to hide. Jazz went hi behind the Joker display, and Danny found himself hiding behind some crates that were stacked by the enormous computer. They heard the Batmobile pull into the cave and the turn off.
"Why did Luthor have to come to Gotham this late into the night? Isn't he more of a day time kind of guy?" Dick's voice said as his footsteps echoed throughout the cave.
"…There is a reason, Dick, we just have to find it…" Bruce's voice said, it was gruff, like Batman's.
There was a sneeze that came from the Joker display, and it sounded a lot like Jazz's sneezes. Danny face palmed. He turned himself intangible and made his way over to his sister, unfortunately, so were Dick and Bruce. As soon as Danny had touched Jazz to make her intangible, Dick and Bruce walked behind the Joker display, suspicion lurked underneath their masks.
"I thought I heard something", Dick said, still not letting down his guard.
"You did…Danny, you can come out now", Bruce said in his normal voice as he took off his cowl.
"Bruce, what are you-
Danny made himself visible, right in front of Dick and Bruce. Dick had a confused expression on his face.
"Uh…We can explain!" Jazz yelled, she wore a face filled with worry and fear.
"I know. You two were curious and decided to explore. It's only a matter of time before you figured it out. After all, that's how Dick discovered my secret", Bruce said as he walked towards Danny. He didn't see Dick give him a glare after letting Danny and Jazz figure out his secret identity out in public.
"Danny, what exactly are you?" Bruce demanded.
"I'm…" he said as his eyes wandered to his sister, who only nodded her head, "I'm a half ghost…There was an accident a few months ago, and that's how I got my powers."
"So…you're a meta-human", Dick said in affirmation.
"A what?" Danny asked in confusion.
"So you're Danny Phantom, Amity Parks 'Hero'", Bruce said as a statement. He had figured it all out. He sighed, just what he needed, another teenager with a hero complex.
"You could say that", Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, he gave a sheepish grin.
"I could tell, the two of you act the same. Promoting your normal nervous ticks in both identities isn't exactly what you would call a smart move", Bruce said as he started to walk away.
Danny's eyes grew wide as he immediately placed his hand down. He then glanced at Jazz, who only shrugged.
"We'll talk more about this tomorrow. It's getting late, and you and Dick have school in the morning", Bruce said sitting down in the chair that was in front of the computers. "Jazz, I'd like to talk to you about something".
All three of the teens looked at each other, before heading off to their separate ways.
"Good night, Jazz", Danny said as he gave Jazz an unreadable expression as he headed up the stairs with Dick.
Jazz nodded as she headed over to Bruce. He gave her a small smile. "I know it must be hard for him…for the both of you. I lost my parents at a very young age, I can relate", he said as he sighed.
"It is hard, but we're getting through it…" Jazz said as she glanced at the ground.
Bruce nodded in agreement, "What really concerns me though, is Plasmius. He kidnapped Danny for a reason, and I need to know why. I get the feeling that Danny doesn't want to talk, but I can't protect him if I don't know."
"Plasmius is Danny's Arch-enemy. Like the Joker is to you, but in a way, not really." Jazz said vaguely.
Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Danny is young, what did he do to cause Plasmius so much animosity towards him?"
"Danny caught Plasmius' attention. He has always wanted a son, and then Danny came along and you can figure out what happened next".
"I see…Now, don't be fooled by what Danny tells you. He's still hiding something", Bruce said as he glanced at his computer in front of him.
Jazz gasped in disbelief, "Danny wouldn't hide anything from me!"
"Then let me show you", Bruce said as he turned on his computer and typed in a few things, a screen of Danny sleeping from earlier today was being played.
"You were spying on him?!" Jazz accused as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"For a good reason", Bruce justified, "Watch".
On the screen, Danny was in bed, soundly sleeping, but then, in a flash, he was thrashing about.
"Sam? Tucker?" Danny called out, but then suddenly his body was pushed into the bed, his throat was turning red, as if someone was choking him. Jazz gasped as she put her hands to her face. Her brother was getting attacked in his sleep! There was then an indent in the sheets as an invisible force kicked his stomach.
"Y-You", He sputtered out, his breath barely returning to him. He took in small, rapid breaths as he tried to stabilize himself.
"Based on these findings, Plasmius has done something much greater to Danny then he lets on." Bruce said as glanced at Jazz, who only kept looking on in horror.
"Here's a suggestion, how about you leave me alone?" Danny asked sarcastically. This made Jazz smile a little, at least her little brother still had his courage.
"Then I'll make you leave me alone!" Danny yelled as his body lurched forward, only for his face to be pushed back into his pillow. His black hair started to be pulled downwards, as if someone was making him look up to them.
"You're wrong!" Danny yelled in defiance, his voice dripping with pain. The screen went black as Bruce turned to Jazz.
"That's where it ends…Until Danny tells me of his own accord, I cannot help him with anything", Bruce said as he stood up. His 'Batman' uniform unfolding itself as he did so.
"I see…I'll talk to hi-
"No, Jazz. Then he will suspect and accuse, and that's something that he doesn't need right now. He's a strong kid, but eventually he will come and seek my help", Bruce said as he turned to Jazz.
"O-Okay…I understand", she said as tears started to well up in her eyes, threatening to fall to show how vulnerable she really was. "Just…how can I protect my brother? How can I…" She said as she started bawling. She covered her face with her hands as she cried into them.
Bruce went over to her and embraced her into a hug, "You're strong, Jazz. You and Danny both are, just remember that".
"So, how long have you lived with Bruce?" Danny asked, trying to make small chat with Dick.
"Huh? Oh about 4 years now", he said nonchalantly.
"Wow, that's a while…And you go to Gotham Academy? I've never been to an academy, just average high schools", Danny said as he laughed nervously.
"You aren't going to ask me about Robin?" Dick asked as he glanced at Danny out of the corner of his eyes.
"I'm not going to force you to talk about your super hero life. You haven't asked me about mine", Danny said as he shrugged.
"How rageous. You know, I have a friend, Wally West, who will be going to your school with you tomorrow. He has red hair, kinda eats a lot", Dick said as he smiled at some inside joke.
"Wally West?"
"Yeah, don't let him cheat off you though. He's known to be clinically lazy", Dick said as he laughed. Danny smiled as they reached the top of the stairs.
"I'm surprised that you found this on your own. When I discovered the Bat Cave, it was because I caught Alfred walk out of it dusting some dust off his shoulder", Dick said as he shrugged. "If you ask me, he takes his job way too seriously".
Danny laughed, "That's actually how I figured it out, there wasn't a speck of dust on that clock".
"Funny how the past repeats itself, huh? Well, I gotta head to bed, school and such", Dick said as he waved to Danny before heading to his room. Danny nodded and did the same.
"And here we are again, Daniel", Vlad's voice said as it echoed around the area.
Danny started to back away. The area that he had appeared in was Vlad's lab. It had an eerie pink glow to it, and Danny was starting to loathe the color pink.
"It seems like you always come back to me…" Vlad said as he appeared in his human form, with his hands behind his back.
"More like you always stalk me", Danny said as he glared at the man. Vlad only smiled before chuckling a little.
"Things would be so much easier if you stopped resisting and let the mark to its job", Vlad said as he started to walk towards Danny.
"Let me think about that…Oh yeah, I will never stop", Danny said sarcastically. He noticed Vlad was getting a little too close for comfort and started to back up even further away.
"What this? Are you scared, Daniel?" Vlad said as he chuckled again.
"No…" Danny said defiantly to the man before tripping over something on the floor. He tumbled to the ground, hard, and Vlad appeared in front of him in an instant, looking down at him.
"Do us both a favor, Daniel, and stop lying to yourself. Deep down, you are terrified of me. You're even more terrified of what will happen if I get what I want", Vlad said matter-of-factly.
"That not tr-
"Daniel, you will come to me. You will like it." Vlad said as he bent down and picked Danny up by the throat. "You will obey me. You will belong to me. Why are you trying so hard to fight it?"
"Have you ever thought that I don't want any of what you have to offer?" Danny said, his voice wavering a little. If he lost this battle inside of his dreams, then he will lose the one outside of his dreams as well. And that's something that he cannot afford to lose.
"Come now, don't be defiant. Accept me and let me in", he said as he kept raising Danny up into the air.
"S-Stop", Danny said weakly.
"We are far beyond stopping, little badger. Once this has begun, there is no stopping it. You're losing control more and more every day. Your attacks are becoming more frequent. The nightmares occur every time you fall asleep. Face the facts, you're slipping."
"I…Can't…Breathe", Danny said as he started to claw pathetically at Vlad's hand.
"Danny!" Came a faint voice.
"This only means that I have to put in more power on having you come to me. I did say you would, willingly, after all", Vlad said as he tightened his hold on Danny's throat.
"N…g…" Danny responded, his body starting to go limp.
"Danny!" The voice said again, this time more loudly.
Danny snapped awake and fell down immediately. He felt the chilly night sky on his skin. He looked around and noticed Dick and Bruce were holding onto him, both looking at him with confused glances.
"W-Where", Danny said as he immediately reached for his throat. He felt the heat radiating off of it.
"You were sleep walking", Bruce said as he let go of Danny, Dick did the same thing.
"You almost walked off the roof…You kept mumbling that you had to 'Go to him' and 'He needs me', it was a little creepy", Dick said as he kept looking at Danny.
"Danny, whatever you were dreaming about, you kept resisting. You drug your feet and stopped frequently on your way up here. You need to let me in, otherwise I can't help you", Bruce said as he looked at Danny, his face full of worry and concern.
Danny sighed in defeat, "I wanted to fight this on my own, but now It's gotten too out of hand an-
He was interrupted by a violent pain in his chest. He clutched onto his chest with his hands, right where the mark was. "I…I…Have to go", he said in a trance like state.
"Danny, as much as you're thinking about the pain, don't. Don't think about the pain, it will only increase the hold that Plasmius has over you. Don't. Think. About. The. Pain", Bruce demanded and coached at the same time.
"I-I can't." Danny whined in pain.
"Block it out. Block it all out", Bruce said as he grabbed Danny's arm. "Do you feel that? Focus on the here and now, Danny. Not the pain or the voices", Bruce demanded again.
"I…" Danny said as he loosened the hold on his chest. The pain started to fade away, and he could finally catch a breath of relief.
"There…Every time that pain starts to happen, to exactly as I told you", Bruce said as he smiled gently at Danny who nodded.
"Danny! Danny! Are you okay?! I'm coming!" Jazz yelled as her form started to appear on the rooftops.
"We had to knock her out, she was going to hurt herself", Dick said as he waved at Jazz. "It's okay! We have it under control!"
"Like hell you do! Danny! I'm coming!" Jazz yelled again, however she slipped on the roof.
"We should probably head back inside before Jazz hurts herself", Danny said as he sighed and smiled.
"I think she already did that by slipping", Dick said as he raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks for choosing Keystone High School as your high school Danny Fenton", the cheery guidance counselor said as she handed Danny his schedule. "We'll have out student body president, Alice Waters come and show you around. In the meantime, you can sit in the waiting chairs outside the office."
Danny nodded and said thanks before heading out the door. Almost immediately someone knocked into him, causing him to crash to the ground.
"Oh man! Sorry! Gotta run, late for class!" Said a red head as he sprinted off to his class. Danny raised an eyebrow at the suspicious activity before shrugging it off. It was a new school, he should have been prepared to deal with unexpected surprises.
"Oh! Are you Danny Fenton? Did you trip?" Came a girl's voice coming around the corner. She was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt along with a black skirt. She had on black slip on shoes and her light blue hair was down and parted on both sides of her face. She had dark blue eyes that seemed to define her face.
She looked at the retreating form, "Hey West! No running in the halls!" She yelled at him but then sighed. She then turned to Danny and offered a hand to help him up. "I'm sorry, he's notorious for running into people…"
Danny took her hand and then smiled, "It's alright, I'm sure I would do the same thing if I were late for class", he said as he laughed a little. 'Actually I would walk into the school invisibly while running, but hey, that's my preference', he thought.
"Well, anyway, I'm Alice Waters. You just met Wally West, the school's 'speed demon'. Let me show you around school. I'm a junior, and you're a freshman, so that would mean you would have most classes in 200 hall…" She said as she started heading in one direction. Danny followed her, until she suddenly stopped. He had almost run into her if he hadn't caught himself in time.
"Wait, do you have honor classes?" She asked as she turned around, her light blue hair turning with her.
"Me? Honors? I don't think so", he said as he laughed a little at the thought of him having honor classes. He was barely passing regular classes. She took his list of classes and scanned them, her eyes going from one line to the next.
"Yup, you do. So, 300 hall then", she said as she turned to where Wally had run down.
"Wait, what?" He asked, he was incredibly confused. "There has to be some mistake, I don't take honors, I can barely pass my regular classes", he said as he tried to catch up with her.
"Then you'd have to take it up with you parents or the guidance counselor. The paper doesn't lie, Danny", she said as she handed him the paper, and sure enough, there were honors classes on there.
"Alright, well, this is 300 hall, where the sophomore classes are located. It's pretty self-explanatory, you have all your classes here. The cafeteria is at the conjoining hallway of 300 and 200, where we started from. Your first class is Mr. Blake, who teaches chemistry. Don't worry he has a great teaching method."
"Uh, okay", he said, the information going in his head too fast and not staying there.
"Well, I have to get to class. You need any more help, find me, alright? Bye Danny, have fun on your first day!" She yelled as she began to walk away.
"Right…" He said as he looked down 300 hall to where Mr. Blake was. He found it and opened the door, the room was silent, and everyone turned their eyes at the new guy who just opened the door.
"You are Danny Fenton, correct?" Mr. Blake said. He was wearing a white lab coat and had a giant black mustache that was hanging off his face.
"Yes, sir", Danny said and nodded.
"You can take a seat right next to…" Mr. Blake said as he scanned his eyes over everyone in the room. "Derick. Derick, please raise your hand".
Danny looked over the classroom, there was a mixture of every kind of social class. However, his stomach dropped when he noticed that a jock raised his hand. 'Great, a Dash number 2', Danny thought sourly as he began to walk over to Derick.
"Yo Danny, I don't bite or anything", Derick said as he broke into a grin.
"I'm just not used to this school yet, everything is so much different than what it used to be at my old school", Danny said nervously.
"Hey, I get the feeling man, I was new here at first, too. But then I found my calling…football!" Derick said as his eyes sparkled.
"Please, Derick, 'football' is your only calling", came a voice from the back. It was a tech nerd that was a girl. The class erupted in laughter.
"Now, now, class. Time to get back to the lesson. Derick, what would happen if I added water to a weak acid like HF?" Mr. Blake said as he pointed to the board.
"HF would give away an H positive", Derick said confidently.
"Very good, Derick", Mr. Blake praised.
'There is something very wrong with this school. The jocks are smart and the tech nerds are funny…This isn't normal', Danny thought as he sat back further into his seat.
The class flew by fast, and Danny didn't think that he would learn anything today, but he did. He learned a lot. Alice was right, Mr. Blake did have a nice teaching style.
"Yo, Danny. What class do you have next? Maybe we might have the same class", Derick said as he gave a friendly smile. Danny handed Derick his list of classes slowly, still not really trusting Derick, after all, he's had a bad history with jocks.
"Geometry? Yikes, that's a rough class. You must be pretty smart being in all these honor classes", Derick said as he handed back his schedule back to him.
"Not really", Danny said as he shrugged. "I was just put in them".
"Still dude, you're one smart cookie", Derick said as he laughed and patted Danny hard against his back. Danny, being surprised by the action, lurched forward expectantly.
The bell rang, and everyone stood up to gather their belongings. "Well, catch you later Danny-O, I've got AP Psychology", Derick said as he winked while exiting out of the door.
"You actually made friends with Derick?" Came a girl's voice from behind Danny. He turned around and realized that it was tech nerd from the earlier.
"Yeah? Why? Is that a bad thing?" Danny asked cautiously as he started for the door.
"No, it's a good thing. Just don't hurt his feelings. He's a swell, big buff guy on the outside…But on the inside, he's easily hurt. Be careful with him", she said as she flipped her hair and exited out of the room.
Danny stood there and blinked out of surprise, "This isn't weird at all", Danny mumbled as he finally walked out of the chemistry classroom. He was heading to his final block of the day, Geometry. He had come in pretty late, due to Jazz's persistence that he should stay home. Last night's events were…surprising. He hadn't expected things to get that bad, but what should he really expect fro-
His thoughts were interrupted by an immediate pain in his chest, right where the mark was. He clung onto the wall to prevent himself from falling down with one hand, while his other hand was clutching his chest. 'Don't think about the pain. It's not there. Just block it out…Block it out', Danny thought calmly to himself, and within minutes, the pain started to vanish. 'Wow, I guess that does works. I should have told Bruce sooner…' Danny thought as he smiled in relief.
He approached the math room, some teacher named Mr. Witherow was teaching it. He was a plump man and had a beaming laughter.
"Danny, huh? Go take a seat next to Wally", he said as he pointed to where the red head was sitting. 'That's him…that's the guy who ran into me…Wait a minute, Wally West? That's Dick's friend…' Danny thought as he walked closer to Wally and then sat in the seat beside him. He was chewing obnoxiously on a candy bar, devouring it at an alarming rate. 'How exactly are they friends?' Danny thought grimly as he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! U're da guy I rughn indu earleuhr", Wally said with his mouthful. Danny cringed at his lack of manners.
"Uh, what?" Danny asked as he backed further into his seat.
Wally quickly swallowed, "Sorry, fast metabolism. You're the guy I ran into earlier! Really sorry about that, man. I was in a really big hurry", he said as he frowned. He then offered his hand. "I'm Wally West", he said as he smiled.
"Danny Fenton", Danny said as he took his hand, Wally then quickly shook it back and forth.
"Nice to meet you, Danny! Wait…Danny, you're Richard's foster brother!" Wally yelled with a gasp.
"Yup…That's me", Danny mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed at Wally's enthusiasm.
"Oh, wow! I wonder what living with that little psycho is like…" Wally wondered, more to himself than Danny.
Danny rolled his eyes before looking out the window. His eyes grew wide as he noticed a girl wearing a gray jumpsuit and a black cape. She was barefoot and had gray hair that was curled. He couldn't see the girl's face, but something told him that he knew this girl…
"Mr. Witherow, can I go to the bathroom?" Danny asked, and the teacher gave a seldom nod.
The boy proceeded to stand and go towards the door, once outside it, he turned into his ghostly alter ego, Danny Phantom, and turned himself intangible as he flew through the building to the outside. He saw the girl heading towards the harbor. Danny made himself visible as he flew to where the girl was going. He landed softly on the ground behind some stacked up crates.
"Vapor, have you prepared all the necessary procedures for tonight's robbery?" Came a deep menacing voice. The young halfa grew curious and peeked his head around the crates. There was a man with long gray hair. He was wearing a black cape, as well as black shorts. The things that made him threatening though, was his amber colored eyes, as well as the trident that he was holding.
"Yes, Poseidon, everything is in place…" The girl, now known as Vapor said, her voice trailing.
"Is that regret? My child, we do this because we have to. Society has turned into that of an ugly menace. Soon, all that will be shown due to the Light!" He exclaimed to the world as he started to break out into a menacing laughter.
"But, father, I've never wante-
There was a loud echoing smack, and Danny cringed at the injury the man had made across the girl's face.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, child. You were born into this, and you will die into this. My reputation shall not be ruined due to the fact that my daughter refuses to carry on my legacy. Do you understand?" He asked as he took a threatening step towards her.
The girl was cradling her cheek, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks, but she knew that would only anger her father. "Yes…" She said in a wavering voice.
"Good, now, I will be off." He said as water started gathering at his feet and then traveled upward in a typhoon like fashion. He disappeared from the scene, and then the girl fell to the ground in defeat. Her skin started to glisten in the sun, and soon, her outfit fell off her like water. In its place was a dark blue long sleeved shirt, and a black skirt. Blue hair replaced the gray.
"Alice?" Danny whispered in disbelief. 'Great, what should I do?' He thought as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why? Why does the happen to me? Mother…" She croaked out in between her sobs.
"Alice…" Danny said, a bit more loudly this time as he stepped forward.
Alice turned around quickly and noticed the white haired stranger. "W-Who are you? Stay away from me!" She yelled as she raised an arm up, a wall of water appeared in front of the two of them.
Danny looked at her with sympathy, he then let himself switch back. There was a bright blinding light, and in a flash, he was back into Danny Fenton. Alice gasped.
"You're a…Meta-human?" Alice whispered in surprise.
"I guess. It's what everyone has been calling me lately", Danny said grimly, still not knowing exactly what that term means.
"Hero or villain…" Alice said weakly as she scrambled to get up on her feet.
"Alice…that shou-
"Answer the question!" She yelled narrowing her eyes.
The boy sighed in defeat, "Hero, but listen-
"Then we can't be around each other. It's against all the rules there are…" She said as she began to walk away.
"I know you don't want to continue being a villain. You said so yourself back there", he said as he took a step forward, the wall of water slowly dissipating.
"You don't understand…My father is the only one I have left. Without him, I am nothing", She said as she stopped walking, her fists clenched.
"Then come and be a hero. You can make something of yourself…instead of following in your father's shadow", Danny said confidently.
"It's not that simple. He would stop at nothing to turn me back into a villain. He's a possessive monster wh-
"I know the feeling, and there is a way to get past that. You just need to trust in someone", Danny said as he outstretched his hand towards her, offering his help.
Alice looked back at the hand, she had a confused face, unsure of what to do. "I…I…Just don't know what to do anymore", she said as she glanced at the ground before shutting her eyes tightly. She then opened them back up and looked at the hopeful boy, "Thanks, Danny", she said before dashing off deeper into the harbor before vanishing into the air itself.
"Well, that couldn't have worked out better", Danny said grimly before turning back into Phantom and shooting off into the sky.
"The school called, Danny. You spent 30 minutes in the bathroom…" Bruce said as he raised an eyebrow at the young lad who walked through the door, still in his ghost form.
"Huh? Oh…I guess I did", Danny said as he shrugged. He reverted back into Danny Fenton before looking at Bruce. "Sorry about that, I have a lot on my mind", the boy said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"It wasn't an attack?" Bruce asked cautiously.
"Huh? No…No…" the boy responded back before shaking his head. "Just…life", he said as he sighed.
"I've been there too, Danny. In fact, when I was your age I-
"Bruce, its Poseidon and Vapor! They're robbing Crown Jeweler's!" Dick yelled as he entered the hallway.
"Dick, suit up, we're leaving", Bruce said as he started to walk to the cave entrance.
"Hold on, I'm coming too", Danny said as he ran to catch up with Bruce's fast strides.
"No, you're not", Bruce said as he glared at the young man. "It's too dangerous. These two are violent criminals", Bruce ordered.
"No, they're not. Only one is! The other doesn't want to be a villain!" Danny yelled hopefully.
"You might want to see the good in others, Danny, but that's a weakness that you shouldn't let loose in this line of work", Dick said as he came back, dressed as Robin.
"Wait, you know the identity of Vapor…" Bruce said as he stopped walking and looked down at Danny.
"I'm not telling you anything unless you let me come along", Danny said defiantly.
Bruce looked away in thought for a while. "Fine, but if you get so much as injured, you will not be coming with us again, is that clear?"
"Crystal", Danny said with a smirk. Two white bright rings appeared at his chest and traveled in opposite directions of each other, revealing him to be Danny Phantom.
"Whoa, asterous!" Dick exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.
Vapor was standing on the rooftop. The plan was simple, distract the dynamic duo enough so that her father could get safely away...
'He should be here any minute', Vapor thought grimly. She didn't want to live this kind of life anymore.
An ominous laugh echoed around the area, alerting Vapor out of her thoughts.
"Well, here's the boy blunder…" Vapor mumbled to herself as she looked around the area. She felt the air molecules start to split in half around her in a straight line. She quickly summoned a water wall, and sure enough, a bat-a-rang was caught in it. "And here's Batman", she said grimly.
"Alice!" Danny yelled as he appeared in front of her, green smoke fading off of him.
"Danny? No…You shouldn't be here…" Alice said as she took a step back. 'He can't see me like this…He shouldn't know this side of me!' She thought furiously.
"Alice, I know that you want to quit, and I'm here to say that you can. You don't have to be like this anymore if you don't want to", Danny tried to reason with her.
"I…" She said unsure of herself.
"Vapor, fight them off, I'm heading to the safe house", Poseidon's voice rang out. His figure appearing in the distance, hopping frantically over rooftops.
"Don't do it, Alice. You said how much you wanted to change, so start changing now", Danny pleaded.
"Vapor! What are you waiting for, you disobedient child!" Hissed the menacing voice from the distance.
Alice was clenching her fists, she then turned to her father, "Shut up! You don't tell me what to do, not anymore!" She yelled as she raised a hand towards her father. A sudden burst of water was heavily thrown at the man. His back fell down on a building, knocking the wind out of him.
Batman immediately appeared in front of him, taking his hands in handcuffs. "Thought you could escape from justice, Poseidon?" Batman said as he smirked. Robin landed beside him and folded his arms across his chest.
Alice was out of breath from exerting so much energy, sweat was pouring down her face. She slowly lowered her hand down to her side.
"You did a heroic thing today, Alice. You're already taking a huge step to the good side", Danny said as he put a hand on Alice's shoulder as a comforting gesture.
"You think…So?" She asked as she smiled weakly.
"Nobody crosses me, Alice!" Her father yelled from the other building. This alerted Danny and Alice to the man. "You are going to get punished for this. Your little friend over there won't be there for you an-!
He was interrupted by Robin knocking his bo staff into Poseidon's head. "That man is not whelmed…Not whelmed at all…"
"I think I might lay low for a while. I can't return to my house, he'll look for me there", Alice said, looking at the ground unsure of herself.
"You can stay with us", Danny offered.
"Thanks…But I don't want to endanger anyone…I'll still show up for school, so don't worry about me. I'm really going to try this whole 'hero' thing out".
"Have you thought of a new name?" Danny asked.
"I've settled on Hydrowave. It has a nice ring to it. Anyway, if you ever want to take on a job, find me", Alice said as she smiled before turning from Danny. She took a step forward before she disappeared into the air itself.
"You did some good work tonight, Danny", Bruce said as he came over to the boy.
"And not a single injury on me!" Danny said as he smirked.
"He's right you know. I can see Phantom being a great hero", Robin said as he copied Danny's smirk.
"Alright, alright…You two have school in the morning, start heading back", Bruce ordered.
Robin and Phantom grumbled but complied. 'I think everything will work out. After all, this is only the beginning', Danny thought as he looked up at the star filled night sky.
(Prologue Part 3) End.
Prologue End.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Like always, if you see any errors, and would like to comment or tell me, please do. I always enjoy the feedback that I receive! The next part should most likely come out in a week or two. The reason for the late update is because I had mid-terms in school. They were a beast to beat, but I did it. That's the important thing. I'm rambling...Next update in a week or two! Officially will be 'Chapter 1', I'm kinda excited! :)