Chapter 02: Letting Go
Danny sat in the lab around two in the morning with a picture of his family being held in his hands.
It was only a few hours since he got back from Amity Park with Nyx and Ray ran off after their argument with Danny confronting him about risking his life in the Middle East war.
'I couldn't even visit their graves without something happening.' Danny thought bitterly. 'And I may have pushed Ray away from here.'
Placing the picture down, Danny resisted the urge to cry out in frustration.
'And not only did Hydra attack Amity Park to get my human half, Valerie Gray is now trying to kill me with even more prejudice because of Vlad.' Danny stood up and leaned over the workbench taking deep breaths, to try and calm himself.
In truth that was what hurt the most.
"I thought going back there would help me face my demons." Danny muttered looking down as the pain in his chest at the thought of his family was greater than it was. "But all it did was make things worse."
"You want to talk about it?" Danny gave a start and spun around to see John who looked a little awkward.
"How long have you been there?" Danny asked a little worried.
"Long enough." John answered as Danny looked down. "Danny you know that if you need anything we're all here-."
"I know." Danny interrupted a bit harshly before he caught himself. "... Sorry, I-."
"I get it." John said placing a hand on his shoulder. "A lot has happened and you weren't given enough time to properly grieve."
Danny shook his head. "I've already grieved for three years." He said although there was doubt in his tone.
Truthfully, he threw himself into training his abilities to get stronger instead of grieving, he just avoided it.
To make sure that what happened to his family never happened to anyone else again.
Every thought, every action was put into perfecting his abilities.
John gave a nod. "None of us would think any less of you if you chose to grieve."
"I-." Danny gave a grateful smile. "Thanks John, but I can't afford to grieve not with Plasmius out there or with making this place safe for everyone."
"Alright." John said knowing that Danny wouldn't admit it. "But if you ever need to talk, just ask."
Danny gave a nod as John turned and left before he picked up the picture again.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The next morning, Danny was watching from the doorway as Nyx was conversing with Taz, pestering him about werewolves while John and Laura were in another argument about which was better Skill or Tech.
Unlike their past arguments though, John and Laura looked like they were just trading barbs rather than truly arguing.
The sight caused Danny to smile and brought a tear to his eye.
He did lose a family and nothing will ever change that.
But after awhile he gained a new one.
One that he will work tirelessly to protect at all costs.
"Morning Danny." Nyx greeted cheerfully as Danny quickly wiped the tear from his eye, making it look like he was still waking up.
"Morning." Danny greeted back with a smile as he moved to join them.
To Be Continued…
Started off heavy but it ended light, I hope this was a good one-shot to show you.
There was actually an ulterior motive to this chapter.
Recently a friend of my brother passed away and we went to his funeral today. I wasn't as close to this friend as many other people were besides following him and my brother around when I was a little kid playing soccer, but the service moved me and I wanted to honor this friend in my own way.
So this chapter is for Justin Pierce, may he live on in all of us.
Now to answer some Reviews.
Taz-the-Monster: Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter.
Coldblue: Yeah, I figured that it would be an appropriate chapter to have all members of the current Renegades be there for the first one-shot, along with some humor in it. Those are good calls for couples in this story.
Nightmaster000: Yes I plan to do so and in some chapters Danny won't be the main focus. A three-way prank war between the Renegades, Brotherhood and X-Men? Good idea.
The Richmaster: So very true, seeing people bonding is one of the greatest joys.
KuriMaster13: Haha thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the last one.
ThelonewolfNT: I figured it would be random but believable with Danny Phantom involved.
Richard1081: So very true.
Guest1: Thanks, I'm happy you think so.
PhantomWorks-Stories division: Thank you and the answer to your question is yes and no. I was kind of indecisive on that part, but I'm happy it's enjoyable so far. But this side-story will have serious moments I didn't show in the main story like in this chapter along with the light-hearted stuff.
Guest2: I don't plan to blow any of their powers out of proportions if I can help it.
Alright Spidey is Signing Out!