Hey everyone. Lord Pugsy here. This is the second part of the 'coming out' section of the story. I hope the first part was ok and not too confusing. I hope you enjoy it. Once again, I only own the villain and the story.
"I hope friend Danny will ok." Said Starfire, anxiously looking around the T-Car.
"I'm sure he'll be fine Star. He and Clockwork are friends." Said Robin, attempting to comfort his girlfriend. "Besides, I'm more concerned about the Justice League, and what their intentions are for Danny." All the Titans shared a knowing look inside the car. They had opted to drive together to whatever was happening outside of the city. They needed time to think over about the League; in addition, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy refused to fly with Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern after what they had just witnessed back at the Tower.
"Yeah. Besides, if anyone threatens or attacks Danny, he can just use his super-mega-awesome Halfa power." Joked Beast Boy, trying to lighten the mood, but Raven glared at him.
"Don't talk like that in front of Danny, Beast Boy." She hissed, causing everyone to shiver at her tone. "Danny has always been afraid of his power, and now we know the reason why. He is terrified that now we know what he is capable of, we will turn our backs on him." Beast Boy looked down at his feet.
"But surely friend Danny knows that we would never do the back turning, doesn't he?" Asked Starfire, getting upset again. Raven just shrugged.
"I think if we found this out the day he got back, he would have been scared." Started Robin. "But over the past two weeks, he has started changing back into the Danny we all knew. That's why he finally told us; he is finally full trusting us. But now I don't know what to think after the League performed their little show."
"Guys?" Interrupted Cyborg at the wheel. "I know we are all concerned with Danny and everything, but I think we need to be more concerned about us at the moment." He said, gesturing out the windscreen. They had arrived at the outskirts of the city, and a fiery sight welcomed them.
In front of the Titans and the Justice League was a spectacular battle between three super powered teens against a black-cladded, green tornado. Whilst this was happening, a colossal fire beast was slowly making its way towards Jump City. Before an order could be given, the smallest of the three teens was blasted out of the sky and landed in front of the Titans and Justice League. The Titans gasped in recognition.
"Dani?!" They all yelled. Said girl looked up and saw the Titans.
"TITANS!" Dani squealed, getting them all in a hug. "It's great to see you. And you couldn't have come at a better time." She said gesturing towards the sky, towards the on-going battle. The Titans looked up and realised that the other two teens were Thunder and Lightning, and they were fighting a ghost.
"Guys, meet Vortex. A stupidly powerful ghost who doesn't seem to be acting himself. He somehow managed to trick the Storm Brothers into summoning the fire beast." Said Dani, then noticing the Justice League standing in a daze at what they were witnessing. "Umm, who are the old guys? And where's Danny?" Asked Dani, frantically looking around for her original.
"Long story short, those are the Justice League, and Danny is with Clockwork at the moment; but he should be joining us soon." Said Cyborg.
"Fair enough. So here's what we do-." Started Dani, before the Justice League cut in.
"Hey. Why should we take orders from a little girl?" Said Flash in annoyance. Dani's eyes glowed brightly at this. Flash took a step back.
"Why should I take orders from someone who looks like a lobster?" She countered. The Titans snickered at the insult.
"The reason you are going to listen to me, " Dani started again. "Is because I am a ghost who has faced this ghost, which you know nothing about, before. You are also going to listen to the Titans because they have faced that fire thing before, again, knowing more than you do." The League stood flabbergasted at being told off by a thirteen year old, whilst Starfire and Beast Boy were applauding her.
"So, as the Titans have ecto-weapons now, they will be helping me and the brothers take out Vortex, whilst you Justice People are going to attempt to slow down and minimise any damage caused by the fire thing. Any questions?" The ghost asked.
"Yeah. Just one." Came a voice from behind them. "Did you miss me?" They all spun round to see Danny in Phantom form with a big smile on his face.
"DANNY!" Scream Dani, and flew like a bullet into Danny, giving him a hug.
"Hey Danielle." Smiled Danny. "We'll catch up later. For now, let's kick some tornado butt." The two ghosts flew into the sky to help the brothers.
"I think they've got Vortex down." Laughed Cyborg. "Let's help the League take out Hot Head over there." They raced ahead of the fire beast ahead and set to work.
"Alright, listen up." Robin said to the group of heroes. "Batman, Flash and myself are going to useless against this thing. The only thing we're going to able to do is distract it as much as possible. Beast Boy?" The changeling turned to their leader. "Morph into something big and take out as many of these trees as possible. We need to limit how much damage this thing will do, and we don't want any fires to spread. Raven, go with him and anything he rips up, send it straight at the beast. Any boulders you can find will suffice too." The two nodded, and went their way, Beast Boy turning into a mammoth.
"Cy, I want you at a distance firing everything you possibly can at its left leg. We need to see if we can topple it over. Starfire, you do the same." He turned to the League. "As for you guys." He said distastefully. "Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, I want you to do the same thing to the thing's right leg. As for you Superman." The Kryptonian looked down at the Boy Wonder. "You're the only one who will actually be able to hit this thing physically without injury, so aim for the face. Punch, kick, laser beam, whatever. Just hit it with everything you possibly can." With that, Flash began running in all directions trying to draw the beast's attention, whilst Batman and Robin laid down exploding traps where its feet would land, hoping to knock it off balance.
Back with Vortex, he was beating the Storm Brothers with ease, until a black and white blur came hurtling through the sky and smashing into him, causing him to crash to the ground in a crater.
"Phantom!" Exclaimed the brothers in unison. Danny flew up to them, a smile on his face.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" He joked; Dani just scoffed at the poor joke.
"Better than now you are here to aid us Phantom." Said Lightning.
"Indeed. My brother and I are inexperienced when it comes to enemies of a ghostly nature." Said Thunder. "Whenever we try to conjure rain, this storm ghost counters us."
So we've got to take out Vortex before taking out the fire giant thought Danny. Before he could say anything, the four heroes heard a roar from below as Vortex soared straight at them, sending lightning bolts at them. The heroes scattered before they could be hit.
"Phantom!" Vortex shouted. "You have…ruined my plans…for the last time." The ghost wheezed at him. This Vortex sounds different than what he usually does thought Danny. He sounds more malicious.
"I've only been here for about a minute and already ruined your plans?" Laughed Danny. "Imagine what I could in the next twenty." He and Dani fired a mixture of ecto and ice beams at the ghost, whilst the brothers used their weather powers to hit him, causing an explosion. When it had settled, the heroes were shocked to see that Vortex had been barely affected by their attacks.
"You think you can stop me…little Halfa?" Snorted Vortex, creating his own ice and electric beams and firing them at the teens.
"SCATTER!" Screamed Dani, as they all flew to avoid the attacks.
"Your attacks…are nothing… compared to the might of…my storm." Laughed Vortex. He brought his hands together and let his energy build, before unleashing a sonic wave, hitting all the teens and causing them to crash to the ground.
"Time to…end this." He wheezed. He turned his back on the grounded heroes and flew towards the fire beast, who was slowly overcoming the Titans and Justice League. Glowing green, Vortex used his overshadowing power and flew into the beast. The thing stood still and began to turn a sickly green, before being covered in black armour, and continued its rampage towards Jump.
"Not good. Not good. Not good." Said Beast Boy, in human form again. They all couldn't help but gaze upon this new monstrosity. "Now how do we stop this thing?"
"TOGETHER!" Shouted several voices from behind them. They turned to see the Phantoms and Storm Brothers flying at high speed towards them.
"We need to get Vortex out of that thing and into the thermos before the brothers can create a rain storm to quench the beast." Said Danny, pulling up to the other heroes. "What were you guys doing before?"
"Just trying to topple it over. We nearly did as well before the ghost went inside of it." Panted Robin, exhausted from the long fight.
"Alright, carry on with that." Said Danny. "Dani and I will distract it from the air. He seems particularly focused on us at the moment." They flew off and started aiming ecto-blasts at the beast's face as the others did all they could to topple it over. Dani, however, was getting exhausted from fighting and was beginning to drain. The Vortex-Beast noticed this and conjured a massive lightning bolt and aimed it directly at the youngest Halfa.
"NO!" Screamed Danny. He flew as fast as he could and barged Dani out of the way, taking the full force of the lightning bolt. He screamed in pain as electricity coursed through his body, literally boiling the ectoplasm in his veins. The other heroes looked on in horror as Danny began to fall out of the sky. Before he hit the ground, black magic enveloped him and slowed him down enough so as not to break any bones upon impact. They rushed to his side, hoping that the teen was ok; the Vortex-Beast had even stopped, thoroughly enjoying the scene before it.
"Danny?!" Wailed Dani, desperately trying to get Danny to open his eyes. He was writhing on the ground, gripping his head as pain shot through his head, making him want to scream again. But pain wasn't the only thing streaming through his head; memories began to reawaken. Memories of the Titans, memories of their time together before he left, but most importantly, memories of his power. Danny's eyes shot open as he slowly floated to his feet, his ghostly aura glowing brightly around him, almost blinding his friends. He continued to float up, and met the Vortex-Beast's eyes.
"The good news is I got my memory back." He started. "The bad news however, I got my memory BACK!" The last word came out as his Ghostly Wail, hitting the other ghost head on, sending it careening back and toppling over. The League just stood in awe at the power this kid had. Before it could get back on its feet, Danny flew to it and sucked Vortex out of it using the thermos.
"BROTHERS!" Danny shouted. "NOW!" The Storm Brothers and Danny soared into clouds and a few moments later, ice-cold rain began to drop, dousing the fire beast until it was nothing more than a smouldering pile of ashes. Danny, Thunder and Lightning slowly descended to the ground, where a cheering group of heroes were waiting for them. Danny, adrenaline levels still running high, high fived Beast Boy and Cyborg as he landed, and made a bee-line for Raven. He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her fully on the mouth; shocked at first, she slowly melted into it and kissed back. Pulling away from each other, gasping for air, Danny spoke up.
"Rae." Danny said softly. "Never, ever, apologise for kissing me again." Raven blushed deeply, but nodded nonetheless.
"And don't think I have forgotten about you Star." Danny said, turning to the orange alien, who was smiling brightly. "As far as I can tell, I have two weeks worth of hugs to catch up on." Starfire squealed excitedly and bowled him over as she gave him the biggest hug she could muster. After finally prying her off, Danny walked up to a smiling Robin, sticking his hand out. Robin just smiled as he shook it.
"It's good to have you back man."
"It's good to be back." Said Danny, starting to feel drained, as the Titans moved closer to him. "Can one of you do me a favour though please?" He asked wearily.
"What is it?" Asked Dani.
"Somebody catch me." With that, he slumped forwards as he fainted from exhaustion.
A few hours later, Danny awoke to the familiar sound of beeping machines and Cyborg's mutterings.
"I really need to stop waking up in here. It's becoming a habit." He said tiredly. Cyborg just laughed at the ghost as he made his way to the teen's side.
"You sure?" Asked Cyborg. "We were thinking about renaming the room 'Danny's Place' as you've spent more time in here than anyone else put together." Danny just laughed at him.
"If you're going to do that, you'd best give it a paint job. Not such a fan of all the white." He chuckled.
"Kidding aside, you alright though? Everything back?" Asked Cyborg.
"Yep." Confirmed Danny. "Some things are still a bit squiffy, but that's slowly disappearing."
"Good." Said Cyborg. "Now haul your ghost butt to the main room. You've got some talking to do."
"Yeah." Sighed Danny. "I thought I might." They made their way to the main room, to find a very tense atmosphere. The room was split into two; Titans on one side, glaring at the League on the other, equally staring at the Titans.
"Wow." Said Danny. "You could cut the tension in this room with a knife."
"Danny!" Yelled Dani, as she flew across the room and hugged Danny tightly. Everyone smiled at the family bond, as the tension slowly began to disappear. It was short-lived, however, when Superman stepped forward towards Danny. Dani just looked up at him with disgust; the Titans had told her about what they said about her Danny.
"Phantom. Sorry, Danny." Superman said, catching himself at Danny's look. "We would like to formally apologise for our behaviour earlier. We would like to make amends." He said, sticking out his hand. Danny just stared at it.
"No." Danny said curtly, earning a shocked look from the League; a glare from Batman. "You have not earned the right to make amends." Superman slowly lowered his hand, reeling from Danny's anger-filled look.
"You threaten my very existence on the assumption that I might become a threat, instead of focussing on the actual threat at hand." Danny said, his eyes slowly turning green. "And you think an apology is enough for me to forgive you. You're as bad as the Guys in White."
"Now you listen here kid." Batman started angrily. "You can't talk to us like that." This sent Danny over the edge.
"Don't you DARE tell me what I can and can't do." Shouted Danny. "I am not a being of this world to be commanded by narrow minded fools like you!" To prove his point, he transformed into Phantom, with his trench coat blowing in the non-existent wind, his scar glowing dangerously. For the first time since his parents were killed, Batman was afraid.
"I have endured more than any of you have put together." Stated Danny, a dangerous echo in his voice. "I have stared death in the face and lost. I have been despised and hunted for what I am, when I all I did was help people. I have had my life threatened by being experimented on and ripped apart molecule by molecule." Danny knew he should stop, but he was far too angry to care at the moment.
"So if you think I am just going to accept your apology, you are wrong heroes." He said the last word with such venom, the League flinched. No one could speak in the now unbearable silence, all eyes looking at Danny's angry form floating in front the Justice League.
"I think we have overstayed our welcome Kal." Spoke up Green Lantern.
"I guess you're right Hal." Superman sighed. He looked over to the Titans standing behind Danny, hoping for some support, but it was in vain. Their expressions may not have been as intense as Danny's was, but they were still angry. Even Starfire was looking angry at them. Robin only had eyes for Batman, a glare evident on his face, as it was his ex-mentor who had initiated the plan.
"We shall take our leave then." Superman said gloomily. The Justice League began to shuffle out of the room, Superman lingering at the door momentarily to look at Danny. He was still floating there with the same angry expression, but his eyes Superman noticed, were full of sadness. Sighing, he spoke again.
"We are sorry Danny." With that, he left.
Danny finally calmed himself down enough to transform into Fenton and landed on the floor, exhaling a breath he hadn't realised he was holding in.
"Dude. That was terrifying!" Exclaimed Beast Boy, bouncing up to Danny. "I think you made Flash wet himself." Danny just laughed, as Dani and Raven each took one of his arms and led him towards the sofa, in which he flopped on to with them sitting either side.
"Beast Boy?" Asked Robin. "Tea?"
"Aye Cap'n". Said Beast Boy, saluting. Whilst, he made them drinks, the other Titans made themselves comfortable on the sofas, all looking at Danny.
"I'm sorry." He finally said. "I shouldn't have blown up like that. I don't know what came over me."
"You have nothing to apologise for friend Danny." Consoled Starfire.
"Star's right Danny." Said Robin. "They had no right to say that to you; we understand completely what you went through." Danny just smiled at his family.
"Thanks guys."
"By the way, what did Clocky want with you before you joined us with Vortex?" Asked Dani. Danny stifled a laugh.
"I'm pretty sure the Master of Time doesn't appreciate being called 'Clocky'." The rest were just laughing, imagining what his reaction would have been. "Anyway. He came to tell me that Mortuus will be arriving in exactly a month." A glass smashed from the kitchen as Beast Boy had dropped a mug.
"But what can we do against him?" Whimpered Dani.
"That's where I come in." Said Danny, holding her close. "He told me a way in which I could beat him."
Flashback:
"You are powerful Danny. Far more powerful than Mortuus can ever hope to be." Said Clockwork, looking down at his young ward.
"Are you kidding me? You saw what he did to the Ghost Zone. Half of it was destroyed and the other half is where all the captured ghosts are. What power could I possibly have that can stop that monster?" Ask Danny dejectedly. Clockwork looked sadly at the young hybrid and spoke.
"Listen to me Danny. The only thing stopping you is your mind. Your heart will always find a way to fight, but your mind is holding you back. Your human heart and ecto-core hold phenomenal amounts of power; enough to defeat Mortuus and his army. You just have to open your mind, and believe you can do it. Mortuus has yet to realise what can happen when you combine both your cores, and he never will; he only goes by his ego, not what his heart is telling him. I doubt he even has a heart anymore. Your moment of truth will come on the day that you finally say that you are not scared. Believe Danny. Believe in your human and ghost half, and unlock your ultimate power."
Well I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Sorry if Danny seems a bit angry, but I reckon that's only understandable after everything he's been put through, only to have superheroes throw it back in his face. Until next time.
Lord Pugsy.