Chapter 6: The Reappearance
December 15, 2010, 14:36 CST
"Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Rock!" The music blared from the speakers all around Amity Mall as people of various ages, sizes and the like browsed and moved quickly in an attempt to get their Holiday shopping done in the hopes of avoiding the last minute rush. The entire place, from one shop to the next, had been decorated with festive props. Lights of various colors were strung up, twinkling over the crowd. Shining silver and golden tinsel gleamed in the bright lights as it reflected off of their surfaces. The smell of aerosol fake snow wafted through the air before mixing with the sweet smell of baked gingerbread from the food court. Large, oversized ornaments hung from the ceiling in various colors as their surface reflected like a mirror. Lastly, in the center was a large evergreen tree, decorated in a traditional fashion as it reached to the very top of the roof, and just below, perched on a throne surrounded by large warped boxes, was a jolly man in a red suit with a long white beard and a hat to match.
"Santa!" Danielle cheered in excitement as she stood at the back of the line with her baby blue parka, ski hat and boots. "I'm so excited that I actually get to meet him!" Danielle turned to her companions who all had various facial expressions about being in line with the more then overly rowdy screaming children of various ages.
Sam, much to Danielle's surprise, had been very pleasant since they had been there. She found this strange since any knowledge she had about goth's had told her that they were usually dark and not pleasant during any time of year, though she attributed this to the fact that Sam was always a bit different and that she and Danny had been dating for a little over a week now. Tucker's mood had been up and down all day, though Danielle knew exactly why. Much to his displeasure, his Foley Mistletoe Beret hadn't pulled in any women, though he didn't seem to be letting that get him down or effect his holiday spirit, which was more then she could say for her brother who had been wearing a sour look since they had walked in. Danny looked around in annoyance as more and more people chattered and scattered around them in a rush, bumping into others, shoving people in an unforgiving manner and couldn't help the old feelings he had held before.
"Well I'm glad you didn't get Danny's distaste for the holidays, Danielle," Sam said, before turning to her boyfriend. "And I thought you said that you were going to try to be better after what happened last year?"
"I am trying, Sam," Danny said, placing a hand on Danielle's head and ruffling her hat, bringing a smile to her face. "I haven't said a word about any of this, as much as I'd love to, for both your's and Dani's sake. I'm trying to at least be somewhat civil this year."
"Well then you're gonna have to cheer up. I know you hate Christmas time, but walking around with that big frown on your face isn't going to make it better, you know," she said, placing a kiss on his lips.
"How can you hate the holidays?" Danielle asked as she spun around and took in all the cheer with a huge smile. "The decorations, the presents, the wonderful feeling everyone has when they're around each other."
"Ok, Jazz has let you watch way too many Christmas specials," Danny said. "Sure, the presents are nice, especially giving them to people you care about, and the decorations are ok, I guess, but people aren't nearly as happy as they seem."
"What do you mean?"
"Well like the people around here," he said, pausing to look around him again. "Everyone is always in such a rush, that most people don't care about anyone other than themselves. Especially when it comes to buying things. People get into fights over stuff all the time."
"Well, ok, but even so, there's plenty of joy in family, right?"
Danny sighed as he looked at Sam and Tucker, both wearing apologetic looks on their faces. They knew that when it came to Christmas and family, his was the most chaotic there was around, and they hated to see him get so upset about it. Now that Danielle was a part of his family, Danny wanted to make her first Christmas a special one, and not anything like the ones he and Jazz had growing up, which was why he had asked them to try and keep the annual feud quiet from Danielle. Unfortunately, he knew it was only a matter of time before she heard about it.
"Yeah, there usually is, Dani, but there's something you need to know about," Danny said, kneeling in front of her. "I don't want to burst your bubble or ruin Christmas for you, and I promise that Jazz and I are going to make it special, ok?"
"Danny…what are you saying?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'm saying-"
"Santa's real!"
"Santa is a fraud!"
Danny, Sam and Tucker all groaned as the four looked at the main stage where none other than Jack and Maddie stood, bullhorns in hand as they shouted back and forth with each other. Danny smack a hand over his eyes as he stood back up while Danielle's mouth dropped open and her face began to turn bright red.
"What are they doing!?" She whispered yelled, her eyes never leaving her parents.
"This, Danielle, is the annual Fenton Family Fight," Danny said as he shook his head and stuck his hands into the pockets of his red jacket. "Every year since before Jazz and I were born, Mom and Dad have argued over the possibility of Santa Claus being real or fake. Dad believes that he is and makes it known by trying to re-enact all of Santa's moves. Mom doesn't believe that he is, and tries to use science to prove so. Because of this stupid fighting, every year has been one disaster after another. From my first Christmas when a dog peed on me, to the one when I was four and the turkey came to life and tried to attack me and Jazz, to the one last year when I was trapped by the Ghost Writer in a book and they thought that I had destroyed Christmas for everyone in Amity Park."
"Oh my god," Danielle said, pulling her hat further over her head as she shook it. "This is so embarrassing."
"Trust me-"
"Hey, it's Fent-dolph, the geek nosed reindeer!" a loud voice cried from behind him, making Danny cringe.
"It's only just begun," he finished before turning around and coming face to face with Dash who was being flanked by Paulina, Kwan and Star. "What do you want, Dash? Besides butchering my last name."
"Heard you were back in town. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't think you could get any lamer since you're parents are making fools outta themselves, " Dash said as he towered over Danny.
"But then we found you losers waiting in line to see Santy Claus," Paulina said with a faux laugh that the others joined in on. "What are you, five?"
Danielle looked at the ground as they laughed, making her feel bad that she had forced them to wait in line with her to do something that she should have out grown by now. Sam could tell from the look on her face that Danielle wasn't in a very happy mood anymore, and it pissed her off to think that these airheaded jerks were about to ruin the little girl's first Christmas.
"Kinda funny that that's coming from a giant Barbie doll," Sam said with a smirk as she nudged Danielle who smiled a little at the comment. "I feel bad for any girl that finds that under their tree."
"Excuse me?" Paulina said, moving to get in Sam's face, but was quickly cut off as Danny stepped in front of her.
"Why don't you guys beat it? I'm trying to have a decent day, and you're mammoth breath isn't helping, so why don't you just get out of here so I can take my little sister to see Santa."
"Better watch yourself, geek, or else you're I'm gonna drop a Christmas beating down that chimney of yours," Dash threatened as he grabbed Danny by his jacket and lifted him up. Danielle gasped in horror as the jock rough handled her brother while the other popular kids only smirked at him. Without a second's hesitation, Danielle ran up and kicked Dash in the shin. The blonde boy cried in pain as he dropped Danny and held his now aching shin.
"Leave my brother alone!" She yelled, gathering people's attention. Sam reached to pull her back while Tucker helped Danny up from the ground, but never got to her as Dash picked Danielle up by the front of her jacket with his other fist pulled back.
"So you think you're tough? How bout I make you look like a red-nosed reindeer!?" he growled. Danielle kicked her feet out and struggled to get free without using her real strength for fear of exposing her secret, but found that it was useless to do so given her position. As Dash reared back and began to swing, his fist was suddenly caught in a gloved hand. Everyone turned in surprise to see a young man no older than them as he held Dash's fist with little to no effort, though the expression on his face clearly told that he was not happy. The boy was wearing a thick brown leather jacket that was zipped up all the way and a pair of dark cargo pants. His boots were black and thick, matching his gloves and his dark short hair. His blue eyes were bright yet held a lot of anger, mostly toward the boy standing before him. "What's the big idea, buddy? You want some too?"
"Let her go, now," the teen said, eyes narrowing as his grip tightened on Dash's wrist.
"And what if I don't" Dash challenged.
"That's not the best idea, pal." Everyone turned to see an entire group of teens that none of them knew, standing behind him with the same upset looks on their faces. The first boy wasn't as tall as the dark hair boy, but wasn't nearly as short as the other who also had dark hair and was wearing sunglasses. His red hair was wild and bright like his green eyes as he stood in his yellow and red parka. The third boy was small and had a skinny frame as he stood in his black jacket and hat, but behind those glasses was a mischievous pair of bright blue eyes. Behind them stood three girls, one blonde with dark gray eyes and a green jacket, another red head with a bright white puffy jacket that could rival the snow, and a dark haired girl with blue eyes wearing a black leather jacket and pink hat on her head.
"Who asked you?" Kwan said, moving to stand in front of the red headed boy. "Who do you guys think you are anyway?"
"Name's West. Wally West. And take it from me when I say that you don't wanna piss off my buddy Conner there anymore then you already have. So it would be in your best interest to put the kid down."
"Oh, and what are you gonna do?"
"This," the blonde girl said as she swept her foot under Kwan's, knocking him off balance. The football player stumbled as his feet came from under him, leaving him no time or way to react other than to receive her punch square across the left side of his jaw. As the lights danced around in his vision, Kwan tipped backwards, falling ungracefully onto the cold tile floor. Paulina and Star gasped, running to check on him while Dash could only stare in disbelief. Danny, seeing that he was distracted, quickly grabbed Danielle and yanked her out of Dash's grip. Danielle squeaked in surprise, but soon found herself safe in her brother's grasp as he held her tightly and glared at Dash with anger and a bit of hatred in his eyes. Conner only needed a second to see that the girl was safe before he let his own fist come up and deck Dash, knocking him out in a single blow. As the group all stood over the now downed jocks and perplexed pretty girls, they all looked at them in disgust.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, threatening a little girl like that," the red headed girl said with her hands on her hips.
"You know, maybe you should be a little more chalant next time you decide to pick on an innocent kid," the short boy said.
"And as for you two," the dark haired girl said, pointing to the two girls. "Maybe you should get it through you're pretty little heads that just because you think you're better than everyone else, doesn't mean you are."
Conner turned toward and smiled a small smile at Danielle as Danny placed her back on the ground.
"You ok?" he asked the entire group, though his question was clearly directed toward Danielle.
"Thanks to you, I am," Danielle said with a smile as she looked at the entire group who were all smiling at them now. "Thanks for all your help. That big buffoon is always tormenting my brother."
"Glad we can be of some help. I'm Megan and these are my friends Zatanna, Artemis, Robin, and you already know Wally and Conner," the red head said as she introduced each of them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Danielle, and this is my big brother Danny, and our friends Sam and Tucker."
"Or you can call me TF, as in Too Fine," Tucker said, moving in closer to the three girls who all backed away from the hanging mistletoe on his hat with various looks of discomfort. Robin cackled before elbowing Wally in the side.
"Looks like you got some competition for world's worst joke teller."
"Oh ha ha, real funny, Rob," Wally said with a disgruntled look on his face. "You're so funny, you should do stand up."
Danny rolled his eyes as he grabbed his friend's shoulder and pulled him back as he looked at the six teens, a nagging feeling crawling in the back of his mind. He knew he had never met these guys before, and yet something told him he needed to be on guard for some reason. He knew that they weren't ghosts because his ghost sense hadn't gone off, but that didn't mean that they weren't dangerous, especially after the way that that Artemis girl had taken Kwan down easily without so much as breaking a sweat. If they could do that, who knew what else that they could do. As Danny was staring at them, he eyes locked onto Conner's as the young man stared back at him. Danny didn't like the look in other boy's eyes as he looked at him, though he didn't know what it was that he was thinking, but glared at him anyway out of natural habit from spending two months in the Ghost Zone, fighting for his life. In fact, Danny didn't trust anyone other than his closest friends and family. Conner's face fell as he returned the glare that didn't go unnoticed by Robin or Megan as she stood next to her boyfriend, nor did Danny's as Danielle and Sam stood next to him.
Pulling Tucker back from the group, Danny began to usher his friend's away. "Come on, Tuck. We gotta get in line, an-" Danny stopped as a gasp came from both his and Danielle's mouths and blue vapor spiraled from their throats. Luckily, they both were facing the opposite direction of the group when it happened as the mall was suddenly filled with screaming and running as people began to push and shove each other to get to the nearest exit. "Oh crap! We've gotta go." Not waiting to for an answer, Danny grabbed them all by the hand, and dashed off, running against the crowd. As they came upon the tree, Danny dove in, pulling Danielle in with him while Sam and Tucker stood by the tree as look outs. A bright flash illuminated the tree briefly before the two Phantoms emerged in their new outfits. Danielle groaned as they floated in place.
"Ugh! This sucks! First Mom and Dad have to do their stupid argument, then Dash tries to bash our faces in, and now I'm not gonna get to see Santa because of some ghost!"
"Yeah, well now you have a way to blow off some steam," Danny said with a grin as they took to the sky. Many of the on lookers began to cheer and applaud as the two flew over them, scanning for the threat that they had sensed. Danielle smiled as she waved at them while Danny smiled, but kept alert, having done the same thing many times and gotten ambushed because of it. Just as Danny was about to remind her that they had a job to do, a loud roar ripped through the air, causing everyone to scream. The building rattled and rumbled under the force of the devastating sound waves. The two Phantoms covered their ears and turned toward the sound of chains rattling as it came closer and closer.
The two gazed upon the ghosts as he stomped toward the crowd of people heading toward the exit, chains in hand. People screamed as they raced toward the exit, but found the exit blocked by glowing red chains that were securely wrapped around the handles to the door. The Ghost towered over the citizens like a true monster with his long sharp teeth and glowing red eyes with small black pupils. His long tongue was almost as long as the hairs that covered his body, hiding the digits on his fingers where the long sharp claws extended from. The sound of his hooves as they stomped on the ground sent shivers throughout the building, causing it to shake while his long, curved horns brushed against the hanging ornaments. Danielle stared at him in terrified horror, though whether it was hers or everyone else's, she didn't know, but one thing she did know was that the creature before them could only be defined as one thing: A demon. Danny looked on in stunned surprise at the size of the ghosts. He'd only seen three ghosts this size: Pandora, the Lizard that seemed to plague every river in the Ghost Zone, and Pariah Dark.
The devil Ghost made his way to the center of the mall and, raising his clawed hand, brought it down upon the large tree in his way, destroying it in an instant. As the splinters of the once decorative tree fell to the ground, people screamed and covered their heads to avoid the falling derby. Before either of them could move, Danny and Danielle were shocked to see all of the derby stop in mid-air before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Standing on the railing of the top balcony was a girl in a black tuxedo suit and stockings holding a magic wand. Danny instantly recognized her as the girl, Zatanna, that they had met earlier. As his mind raced with unease and questions, his attention was drawn back to the Ghost as he began to declare his demands.
"Citizens of Amity Park!" he roared in a voice that was deep and rough, very fitting for a demon such as himself. "I am Krampus, the Spirit of Christmas! I am the contrast of Saint Nicholas, the one you call, Santa Claus."
"Ha! See, he even said it! That proves that Santa's real!" Jack gloated as he and Maddie stood with the crowd. Maddie could only give her husband a disapproving look as the ghost continued to talk.
"Where as he rewards children for their good behavior, I punish those who misbehave." Many of the people began to scream in fear at his words, irritating him as he roared at them. Everyone fell silent as the power radiated off of him and turned into fear. "I have come because I have been informed that there lives a child in this town who has proven to be so vile and evil, that they must receive the ultimate punishment. You will tell me where this child is, or so help you, I shall drag you all away!"
Panic laced the voices of everyone in the mall as they all screamed and chattered wildly about themselves as to the mysterious identity of this child the spirit was seeking. Danny turned to Danielle, who was breathing heavily as she tried to suppress and control all of the emotions that were flooding into her at the moment. With a nod to her brother, the two flew up to eye level with the ghost.
"Hey, devil boy," Danny taunted, "I don't know, or care who you're here for, but you're not taking anyone away. So why don't you get out of here and go back to the hole you crawled out of?"
"Impudent child! You dare rise against the Devil of Christmas!?" Krampus said, raising his hand to strike. Just as he was about to attack, a roar came as a black object flew through the air and connected with the side of his head. Danny and Danielle stared in surprise as a teenager landed with a loud thud next to Krampus. Both instantly recognized him as the boy Conner as he stood without his gloves and jacket. A red and yellow blur began to move around the ghost's feet as a wind tunnel began to pick up, taking with it any lose derby or dropped objects. Just when the two didn't think it could get any stranger, they were startled by the objects that flew past them, and straight into the distracted face of Krampus who roared in irritation. Danny turned around to find three other teenagers, all clad in costume, as they stood next to Zantanna.
"Who the heck are they?" Danielle asked her brother as she watched the blur run up to the group and stop in front of them, showing that it was in fact another person.
"I don't know, but we'll have to figure that out later. Right now, we've gotta take this guy out. Just be careful and don't let your guard down."
Danielle nodded as she looked at the giant as he began to remove the foam that had blinded him. "So what's the plan?"
"You head to the door and try to get it open so these people can get out. I'll stay here and deal with him. Once you get that door open, come back over and help me," Danny instructed as he pulled the hood on his back over his head. Danielle nodded as she pulled her own hood up and took off, her cloak fluttering in the wind.
"Anyone got a clue who those two are?" Kid Flash asked as he regrouped with his friends. Artemis rolled her eyes as she put a hand on her hip.
"Well, if you had paid some attention on the way over here, you'd know that this place is supposed to be the hometown of Danny Phantom," she said.
"Wait, that's the guy that they keeps making the news about being both good and bad?" he asked.
"There's no denying that's him," Robin said as he looked over the image on his holoscreen. "Same hair, same eyes. But the outfit is way different, though the basic color concept is the same. But I've got nothing on his partner in the black cloak."
"So what do we do about them?" Superboy said as he glared at the two ghosts who were most likely having a similar conversation about them. Much to everyone's surprise, the two ghosts pulled their hoods up before the smaller one flew off toward the crowd. Superboy turned back to his teammates, everyone waiting for Robin to make a decision as mission leader.
"Ok, here's what we're going to do," he said, looking at them all and pointing to Artemis and Kid Flash. "Mis, KF, you two get that door open and get those people out of here. Make sure you watch your backs and keep a look out for that smaller one. We don't know what they're up to. The rest of us are going to take care of this guy and find out where he's keeping the captive kids." Everyone nodded, taking up their positions. Artemis was quickly scooped up into Kid Flash's arms bridal style where she wrapped her arms around his neck as he took off at full speed for the door. As much as Wally irritated her, she had to admit, she did enjoy being in his arms. Not that she was ever going to tell that to him. Who knows what would happen to his ego if she actually admitted that she liked him?
"Clear the way!" Kid Flash yelled as they approached the crowd who parted and made way for them to get to the door. Just as they came upon the door, the small ghost popped up from the ground, throwing up a shield in front of them. The two teen heroes panicked as Kid Flash tried to stop, but skidded straight into the shield, dropping his partner. As the two groaned and sat up, they jumped into battle position, Artemis notching an arrow and Kid Flash tightening his gloves as they stared into the green eyes waiting under the hood of the girl's cloak.
"What is wrong with you two?" She yelled at them. "Do you normally just charge start into glowing doors when you have no idea what's going to happen!?"
"Why should we listen to anything you have to say? You really expect us to trust you?" Artemis bit back as she tightened her grip on the bow. Danielle said nothing as she dropped the shield he had put up, and picked up a small ornament that had fallen to the ground. Turning her back to the two, she threw the ornament at the door where it hovered few inches away from the glowing aura that consumed the door before shooting off like a glowing bullet. The two heroes slid apart as the small projectile shot pass them and smashed into a wall, a smoldering red mark left in its place as the residual energy began to fade away. Everyone stared at the girl as she turned to face them again, smirk clear on her face.
"Well, that would be a pretty good reason to trust her," Kid Flash said as he looked at his partner who only glared back at him. "So, um, kid, what's your name?"
"Phantom. Danielle Phantom. But you can call me Dani. And that's with an I, not a Y."
Danny turned to Krampus as his ectoplasm began to charge around his hands, preparing his first move, when out of the blue, Conner came streaking through the air once more. However, this time, Krampus was prepared as he swatted Conner away like a fly, sending him crashing into a pillar that began to tip. Danny flew over to it, getting under it just in time for keep it from crushing the boy as he shook his head to clear it.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Danny yelled as he groaned under the weight of the pillar. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"
"Shut it!" Conner yelled back at him as he looked at the ghost boy with annoyance.
"Nice way to thank the guy who save you from being crushed by a pillar," he grunted just as the pillar began to float and moved away from the two of them before flying toward Krampus. The devil growled as his hand glowed red and a long branch appeared in his hand. With a powerful swing, the pillar was destroyed, pieces scattering everywhere.
"Zatanna, now!"
Danny turned as the last three members of the team jumped in front of him and Conner. Zatanna raised her wand and began an incantation that Danny had never heard of, though he knew nothing about magic to begin with.
"dnib mih yticirtcele," she cried as a bolt of electricity fired from her wand and began to wrap around the giant beast like a snake. Danny's eyes grew in astonishment as his adrenaline pumped through his veins.
"Superboy, Maneuver Seven!" the short boy cried as he ran to the muscle shirt wearing teen. As he jumped into his palm, the boy was launched into the air, heading straight for Krampus as he struggled to free himself from the shocking bindings. Just as the boy was upon him, Danny's eyes grew wide before he shot his hands out toward him. Superboy looked at him in anger, thinking he was trying to attack his friend, and prepared to launch himself at the ghost, when he noticed a giant wall of green energy appeared before Robin who used it as a springboard to bounce back just as Krampus freed himself and attacked it, smashing it to pieces.
Danny groaned as he dropped onto his hands and knees. Robin landed next to Zatanna who was feeling weak after using so much energy. Krampus roared as he leered down upon the group. Bringing his large hoof up, Krampus prepared to stomp them out of existence. Thinking quickly, Danny brought up a large dome over them all. The large hoof smashed into the dome, cracking it as the pressure weighed heavily on Danny while he focused to keep the construct together. Large beads of sweat fell from his brow while his body screamed for him to let up on the shield.
"What now? None of our attacks are working?" Superboy said as he turned to Robin who was tending to Zatanna at the moment.
"I'm not sure. Right now, it looks like Zatanna is the only one who can do any damage to him, and she's way to wiped to do anything right now," Robin said. "At this point, we might have to regroup, and –"
"You guys are really a bunch of idiots, you know that?" Danny said as he continued to hold the shield. "None of you are equipped to fight ghost! Who are you anyway!?"
"You know, you're not exactly in a position to talk, pal," Superboy roared at him.
"I'm only in this position because of you!" Danny glared with an effort. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be a pancake right now, so how about showing a little appreciation! In fact, if you guys hadn't shown up, this would be going a hell of a lot smoother!"
Before anyone could retort, a bright light exploded from an arrow, blinding the beast and causing him to step back, alleviating Danny of the pressure on his dome. Danny breathed a sigh of relief as he looked up to see Krampus backing away as he was pelted with ecto-disk.
"Everybody ok?" Kid Flash asked as he and Artemis made their way to their teammates while Danielle floated down to her brother, enveloping him in a hug.
"Are you ok?" she whispered to him. Danny nodded his head before getting to his feet and looking at the teen heroes who were now all back on their feet.
"Look, just let us handle this, ok? None of you have what it takes to take this guy down," Danny said, glaring at Superboy who looked ready to strangle him. "And by that, I mean that none of your weapons run on the type of energy that can actually do real damage to a ghost. The best you can do is disorientate him. Save for her." Danny pointed a finger to Zatanna. "So far, she seems to be the only one capable of doing any damage other then the two of us. So if you want to be of some use, why don't you try finding a way to get all these people out of here?"
"Wow, you're a real motivation speaker, you know that?" Kid Flash remarked sarcastically. "And we've already tried that, but based on what we've seen and what your partner told us, the only way this place is coming out of lockdown is if we take this guy down."
"And it's not like we don't have a reason for being here," Artemis said. "That guy has been kidnapping kids all over the place, and we need to find out why and where he's keeping them."
"So either you two start doing things our way, or move on because this is our job," Superboy said. Danny could feel his anger grow as he eye flashed green in anger at the boy. Danielle grabbed her brother's hand while M'gann grabbed Conner's shoulder.
"Now is not the time to be fighting with each other, Superboy," she said.
"She's right, Danny," Danielle said, looking at the frightened crowd. "We need to take care of this ASAP."
Danny sighed as he looked back at the group before him and nodded his head. "Fine. We'll work together to stop this guy."
"Good, because it looks like he' coming back for more," Robin said. Everyone turned to the large ghost as he roared in anger. The branch in his hand vanished as the energy flew into his clawed hands which he raised into the air.
"Enough!" he said, voice reverberating around him. "Bring me the one called Danielle Phantom now less you all be swallowed up."
"Danielle Phantom!?" Danny, Kid Flash and Artemis cried at the same time.
"Me!?" Danielle cried in shock, her eyes widening.
Danny looked to his younger sister before stepping in front of her in a protective stance. "I don't know what you want with her, but you're not getting my sister, you Sasquatch reject!" Danny yelled, surprising the other teens as they looked at them.
"Wait, you're Danielle Phantom?" Zatanna asked as she looked at the younger girl. "Why is he after you?"
"Because obviously they really are evil," Superboy said, glaring at the two of them. "Why else would he be here?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Kid Flash said.
"He's right. Now isn't the time for moral judging," Robin said. "We need to move and get her out-" Robin was cut off as a red light erupted from underneath their feet. Long chains sprung up and began to snake their way around everyone's feet and legs. Robin reached for his belt, but was quickly detained as the chains grabbed his wrists and tightened around him. Miss Martian struggled as she mentally tried to pry the chains off of her, but found it useless. As a last resort, she attempted to Phase Shift out of them, but found that she still could not do it. Artemis struggled against her chains as she attempted to reach her bow, but found that the more she struggled, the more she was restricted.
Superboy growled in annoyance as the chains wrapped around his forearms, forcing them behind him as well as his ankles, effectively hogtying him. Zatanna began to chant out her next spell when she suddenly started to gasp for air as the chains wrapped around her throat, constricting her windpipe and cutting off part of her air. Danny struggled to break the chains as Danielle as ripped from his grasp and pulled up toward the waiting palm of Krampus. As the girl came to eye level with the monster, he grabbed her, squeezing her and forcing her to shriek in protest.
"Danielle!" Danny shouted as the chains restrained him like the others.
Kid Flash quickly began to run, maneuvering around the chains as he tried to get to his friends. Dipping, ducking and diving, Wally soon found himself running from person to person, but with each try, he became more and more discouraged as the chains refused to budge. He soon found himself having to dodge faster each time he circled around as a group of chains attacked the spot he had been in.
"Damn it!"he mumbled as he tried to remove to Robin's chains.
"KF, get her! We'll find a way out of this, but it'll all be for nothing if we let him leave with her!" Robin commanded. With a nod, the speedster charged up the nearest wall, launching himself onto Krampus's large body where he began to run circles around him, trying to distract him while he tried to think of how he was going to free Danielle who was hanging limply in the monster's grasp.
"Stupid child! You shall suffer the same fate as this girl!" Krampus said as his eye began to glow red. More chains began to spring from portals around the area, each reaching out toward the young man. Wally quickly yelped as she began dodging more and more chains. Unfortunately, Wally realized too late that he had been running himself into a trap as the chains linked together, creating a cage around him. Wally struggled and began to punch at the links to try to break them. Krampus, having grown beyond annoyed with the boy, raised a glow red hand.
Wally's screams of pain caught everyone's attention as his cage surged with red electricity, effectively stunning the boy as he slumped over, unconscious. Everyone cried out to their fallen friend, but no one more the Robin and Artemis.
"KF!" Robin yelled.
"Wally!" Artemis yelled as they watch Krampus pick him up and hold him in the same hand as Danielle. Holding out his other hand, Krampus focused his energy that began to mold into the shape of a red sack.
"By the power vested in me, as the Spirit of Christmas, in three days time, I shall condemn these child who will face the trials, and suffer the punishment of all children of their caliber; damnation straight to hell! May the devil have mercy on their souls!"
"Danielle! DANIELLE!" Danny screamed as he watched the creature vanish in a bright red light, leaving only a large crater where he once stood. All sounds became void in Danny's mind as he could only stare at the spot when Danielle once was. His body fell slack as the chains that once held them all vanished as they popped out of existence. The exit doors soon flew open as everyone rushed out of the disaster zone save for the young heroes and the few members of Danny's friend and family as they ran toward him. Danny made no motion to move, but soon found himself being slammed into the ground. Blinking, Danny looked up into the angry faces of Superboy and Artemis who now held her bow, arrow notched, in his face.
"Where is he!?" the Kryptonian yelled as he held Danny's shirt in his vice grip.
"What have you done with him, Phantom!? Tell us where he is, now!" Artemis yelled.
Danny could only look at them in shock before his anger began to boil over. Danny gathered his energy in his body before releasing it all in a concussive burst, sending the two flying off of him before floating in the air, eyes glowing angry and hands sparking with live energy.
"You think I had anything to do with this!?" He shouted. "That ghost just took little sister! And it's all your fault!"
"What have you done with Kid Flash!?" Artemis yelled, arrow pointed square at Danny's chest.
"Enough!" Robin yelled, startling his team while Danny continued to hover menacingly over them all. "Artemis, Superboy, stand down!" The two looked at their friend in disbelief, wondering if he had lost his mind, but complied none the less. Robin turned toward Danny, a serious look on his face. "Look, Phantom. I don't know whether you're good or not, but I'm not here to judge. As of right now, a member of my team is missing and has been captured by this, Spirit of Christmas. It's also been made very clear that we don't have what it takes to stop him on our own. As of right now, our top priority is getting him back, but to do that, we're going to need the help of someone who knows about ghosts."
"Robin, you can't be serious! How do we know we can even trust this guy!?" Artemis protested.
"We don't have time to debate this, Artemis," Robin said, keeping his composure on the outside though on the inside he was panicking beyond belief.
"Robin's right," Miss Martian said, standing next to Superboy. "If we want to have any chance at all in find Wally, we're gonna need his help."
"Can't we just track his signal?" Superboy said, not liking the idea of working with a possible criminal.
"I've tried. I don't know where he's taken them, but it's not showing up anywhere on the planet. He's vanished," Robin said before turning back to Danny who was finally calmed down and was standing before him, energy no longer flowing around him. Robin walked up cautiously to the ghostly teenager. The two stared each other down until finally, Robin raised his hand, offering it to Danny. Danny looked at him, uncertainty in his eyes. "Please, will you help us to find our missing friend?"
Danny only stared at the hand as he thought about his options. Everything in his body was telling him that he needed to get away from these guys. He'd never met any human other then Danielle and Vlad who had type of powers, and here was a whole group. Sure, they claimed to be the good guys, but how did he know he could trust them? They didn't trust him, that much was clear. But as Danny thought about it, it became more and more clear: if he wanted to save Danielle, he was going to need help. Extending his hand, Danny gripped Robin's, shaking it though the look of distrust never left his face.
"I'll help you, but not because of whatever you're mission is. I'll do it strictly because he's a ghost, he's terrorized my town and because he took my little sister and your friend. So you have yourself a deal, but only if you agree to do this my way. You lead me to him, but once we get to him, you follow my orders. It's the only way we're going to beat him."
Robin was silent as he took in the serious look in Phantom's eyes as well as felt the look of his friends on his back. He was the leader right now, so whatever he did was going to affect all of them, especially Wally. And even though he knew next to nothing about this person, what choice did he really have?
"Deal. When we confront him, you lead us so that we can stop him."
Danny nodded his head, looking at the uneasy faces of all the teens around him while also noticing the confused and nervous looks of his friends and family as they stood away to try to give him space. Taking a deep breath, Danny addressed his new partners with determination in his voice.
"If you want to fight ghosts, you're going to need gear. And I know just where to get it."
To Be Continued…