Authors notes: Wow… 21 chapters. Should I be happy?
I'm gonna chose to be happy! :D
Surviving the Titans
By GhostAnn
Chapter 21: Planning Ahead
"Ow!" Beastboy whined as he was shoved into a bush outside of a large mansion.
"Shhh!" Sam and Raven hissed at him. His ears fell, upset, the hand of the cyborg that had shoved him sitting on top of his head to keep him still.
"This is the place." Cyborg said.
"What are we doing? If that's where Danny and the others are then we should go!" Sam said sneaking toward the building.
Tucker fallowed her. "Let's go."
Cyborg looked around at the others who just shrugged and moved forward. Sighing the Cyborg fallowed. "Forgive me for thinking we might want to plan ahead for once." He mumbled.
"We don't know what we're in for." Jazz said.
Raven sighed. "We can figure that out when we get inside."
Danny hit the bars with an 'oof!' as he was shoved back into his cell with a new cellmate. Robin found a corner and wrapped his arms around himself.
"What happened?" Valerie asked. "Who's that?"
Danny looked to Valerie his face full of sorrow. "This is entirely my fault..." He said.
"What is- Danny?"
Danny walked over to Robin, hesitating for a second; he placed a hand on the boys shoulder. "Robin-
Robin pulled away from him sharply. "Leave me alone." Robin said coldly. "I… need to think."
"I… I'm sorry Robin."
"Is that Robin?" Valerie asked. "Danny what happened?"
Danny sighed looking to Valerie sadly. "They hit him with a strange ray. Valerie… Robin is a ghost."
Robin trembled. "What?" Valerie asked looking terrified.
"They used a stone to… turn him. I guess it was the only way to make sure he became a ghost… when he…" Danny stopped.
Robin took a deep breath. "It's…" He squatted shaking his head. "I don't know what to do- this hollowness, it won't go away!"
"It's… apart of what makes a ghost a ghost." Danny said looking uncomfortable.
"This isn't fair." Robin said. "This sucks! Arrg! I hate this! Slade that bastard! I could kill him!" The faint glow around Robin grew as his words grew in rage, then just as suddenly, he calmed down, the glow fading.
"We'll get them." Danny said his eyes glowing brightly. "I won't forgive them for what they've done!"
Robin stood. "We should start formulating a plan. We can't go running in headfirst- the collars make it impossible."
Danny was stunned for a moment. Shaking it off he smiled, glad to see Robin behaving more like the leader of the Teen Titans he'd come to know. "Right."
"I'll help!" Valerie said leaning against the bars.
Robin looked to her, surprised to see her, then smiling he walked over to her and the two shook hands. "Let's do this."
"Well, things seem to be going smoothly." Vlad said holding the device that Techness had brought him.
Slade sat down and looked at him solidly. "Were you expecting anything less?"
"No." Vlad smiled setting the device down. "Not at all."
Slade crossed his hands and leaned forward. "And the girl? What do you have planned for her?"
"Hum…" Vlad said in thought. "Since Danny's under my control I don't really need her as a hunter… I was considering just getting rid of her- but…" He held up the device grinning darkly. "What do you say to another ghostly servant?"
"The more the merrier."
"Oh, but first, I have some personal matters to attend too."
"That woman?" Slade asked a smirk in his voice.
Vlad just grinned as he left.
Maddie stood to the side of the door holding one of the candle stick bases form the table in her hand as she waited for the doors to open.
When the door opened she planned to smack the daylights out of who ever came through. True, if it were a ghost it would only prove mildly effective- if at all, but if by some rare chance her captor turned out to be human it would be her only chance.
As the clock struck 7 she lifted the makeshift weapon. The doors opened and she swung down hard. 'Clank!'
"Ow!" A familiar and annoyed voice reacted to the action.
She gasped. "Danny?"
"M- mom?" Danny rubbed his head, staring up at the woman who had tried to knock him cold.
"What are you doing here?" They asked in unison.
"Ah." Vlad walked in then and Danny glared up at the man. "Welcome. I'm glad you two could make it."
"Ha, make it? We were dragged here against our will." Danny mumbled.
"What was that?" Vlad asked, innocently showing the hand held button before tucking it away discreetly.
Glaring Danny stood. "Nothing."
"Well, in that case please be seated!" Vlad said walking down the stairs he pulled out a chair motioning Maddie to sit. "I insist."
Maddie took the seat and shoved her legs against the ground forcing the chairs leg onto the man's foot. "Ohh!" Vlad said getting a small grin of triumph from Maddie but it was gone as soon as it came.
Danny sat down next to his mother. "Why are we here?" Maddie asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing in anger at the millionaire.
"I found you out cold on the streets, Maddie, I took you to my mansion. I was simply concerned for the well-being of my friend."
Danny glared at the man as he weaved his lies, but he felt a small touch of relief, seeing that his mom wasn't buying it.
Maddie, realizing that she wasn't able to counter Vlad's obvious lie at the moment, turned her attention to her son. She saw that he looked tired and there was a strip of mettle wrapped around his neck. "Danny…" She said. "What's on your neck?"
Danny instantly looked nervous. "Uh… it's a fashion statement." He said sweating slightly. Rubbing the object lightly with his hand he laughed nonchalantly. "It's all the rage at school." He couldn't look at her as he lied. Though, telling her the truth was out of the question- besides he didn't want her to worry about him. Her situation was equally dire, and he was starting to wonder if there was any way out of Vlad's latest trap.
Maddie frowned sensing the lie. "Okay…" She said not wanting to scold or push the boy in such an unusual situation. "If you say so." She sighed. She didn't know what was going on. Her fist balled as she realized that Danny was looking at Vlad nervously. If he hurt her son in anyway she'd never forgive him. Old friend or not.
Vlad just smiled as food was brought in. "Please, while you're here, enjoy yourselves."
"I'm not having fun!" Tucker yelled as he and Beastboy ran away from a large mutated bare ghost.
"Hold still!" Cyborg yelled.
Tucker jumped into a bush and Beastboy kept running. Cyborg loosed a blast.
Yelping in surprise, Beastboy curled up rolling into an armadillo as the ghost ray was shot out of Cyborgs cannon, charring the bare. The beast blinked shocked before shaking the ashes off and running away with complaining yips.
"Whoo!" Cyborg said happily. "Looks like those upgrades are working nicely.
"Upgrades? Ooh! That sounds wonderful!" A voice said from above. "Mind if I show you a few of mine?"
The group looked up gasping.
"Techness!" Tucker said angrily.
"Mystery ghost number 1!" Jazz said at the same time.
"Ha! Ha! Yes, it is I! Techness, master of all circuitry! Controller of all mechanized mechanisms!"
"This is not good." Sam said.
"You think!?" Cyborg cried as the ghost gathered technology collecting it into a large suit.
"Less freaking- more fighting." Raven reminded the group.
"Leave this to me." Starfire said shooting in and blasting at the ghost with her energy.
Techness swatted the girl out of the sky and she crashed into the lawn below, creating a small crater.
"Starfire!" Beastboy cried. "That's it, I'm taking you down!" With this he put on the Fenton Gloves and shifted into a gorilla. With a roar he ran up to the ghost ripping out as much wire and mettle he could get his hands on.
"What are you doing?" Techness asked angrily slapping him away from him.
Beastboy rolled to a stop and groaned returning to normal. "What is with this guy?" He asked.
"He's pretty hard to beat like this." Sam said. "We usually have to shut him down before we can beat him."
"Shut him down?" Cyborg asked.
"Yeah." Tucker said covered in the leaves of his previous hiding place. "And I've been trying but he must be using some other kind of program, I can't hack him!"
"Well then." Cybrog said cracking his knuckles. "I think I might be able to help you out. Come on Tuck- we're going to nip this vires where he started!"
Valerie watched worried as Robin floated just a few feet off the floor curled up shivering. Occasionally he'd vanish from sight for a second or two. It had been nearly an hour since he and Danny had been brought back down, but only 15 minutes or so later they took Danny away again. Now Valerie and Robin were just waiting for what would happen next.
She was also worried about the others; she was concerned about the fact that Danny and Robin were the only other two she'd seen. Robin rolled, his current fit of shivers passing, he looked at her his green eyes glowing with intent. "We barley had any time to talk to Danny." He said.
"I know. But… What can you plan anyway- we have no idea what they want." Valerie said.
"Yes we do." Robin said struggling to right himself as he slowly rotated upside-down. His powers had started to affect him a few minutes before Danny was taken away.
"Just concentrate. It's like meditating. It's something you control. Not the other way around." Danny managed to tell the boy wonder before he was forced to follow a ghost vulture.
Valerie looked at the Titan waiting for him to continue. "They want power, and control."
Valerie sighed. It was kind of irritating how he could state such a sentence as if it were a simple solution. "Well, that's a given, but how does that help us?"
Robin grinned mischievously. "It helps a lot."
Authors notes: Okay, going to call that good for this chapter… I know they haven't been long… but…
I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands right now… and well… this seemed like as good a stopping point as any.