I dedicate this chapter to all the children killed in the Newtown, Connecticut Elementary School Shooting: Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Endel, Josephine Gay, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine F. Hsu, Catherine V. Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison N. Wyatt. All these kids were either six or seven... I would also like to dedicate this chapter to the six adults killed: Rachel Davino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Russeau, Mary Sherlach, and Victoria Soto. Many of these brave women stood in the face of danger, even giving their own lives so that their students could survive. May they forever be honored as the heroes they are.
Broken Hearts
Chapter Fourteen
The Ghost of the Past~ Part Three
"The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do."
~Anonymous~
Northern Jump City 2000 Hours
"Think Robin's chewing out Phantom for leaving the Tower?" Beastboy asked they walked farther down the road.
"I'm sure Phantom's fine. He does this kind of thing all the time," Valerie muttered remembering the last time she seen him broken like that. He was lying on ground after a fight with Plasmius, who she knew as Masters. He was lying on the ground in pain, and the only thing she could do was wrap his wounds. It was the last time she seen him before the school blew up. He had a long slash across his chest along with a deep purple bruise. Plasmius was saying something about how he was missing out on a training thing or whatever. She wasn't listening; she was more worried and concerned about Phantom.
"Valerie?" Raven asked narrowing her eyes at the huntress.
"Huh," Valerie muttered looking up at the sorceress.
"You okay, not that I care," Raven asked watching Valerie closely.
"I'm fine; just remembering the last time I had seen Phantom like that. I know he's not invincible, but he makes himself appear to be and it's annoying," Valerie muttered upset that Phantom always seemed that way.
"Well, he's a pain," Beastboy smiled. "He likes to make you think things aren't hurting, but if you see him when his walls are down…well, it's humbling."
"Friends, I believe we may have come to the end," Starfire pointed out wanting to get away from the depressing topic. She knew Beastboy seen Phantom at his lowest, but she didn't want the sad thoughts to cloud her powers of flight. She had also caught the young hybrid in times of distress, but he always disappeared from sight when she appeared.
"Well, maybe Phantom found him," Raven stated as they looked back out over the city. "Let's take another round before meeting back up."
"You've seen him with his walls completely down," Valerie asked staying next to Beastboy while the others were in the sky looking over several buildings.
"He…it was something we brought up that was sensitive. He kind of broke down and I followed him to his room. This was before Robin took away his lock."
"I heard about that," Valerie laughed dryly.
"Well, he was leaning against his door crying," Beastboy started. "His eyes were lost, and I've never seen someone so broken…so…so sad. I…I just stayed there with him until he fell asleep."
"I never would have thought someone like him would have cried himself to sleep," Valerie whispered wondering how many times Phantom would go home and cry himself asleep from a stressful day. She wondered how he dealt with everything.
Outside Jump City 1900 Hours
"Mama?" Paulina asked as they walked off the plane. Her mother smiled at her.
"Yes, dear?" she answered as they got their bags and headed to the taxi that had been waiting for them.
"Is Phantom really here?" she asked looking around in the sky hoping to get a glimpse of him.
"I don't see him," she whispered looking up at the sky hoping to find the ghost. Her mother sighed and looked over to the city where the faint outline of the Tower was glowing.
"You see that building out in the middle of the ocean?" she asked watching her daughter carefully. "He's in that Tower with some of the most amazing teens on earth. He is there watching over Jump City with the Titans."
"He's always out flying at night," Paulina whispered looking at the sky wanting to see that comforting glow that was always above Amity when Phantom was there. She rubbed her arm remembering the burns that had covered them when she ran out of the school.
"The Titans are actually out in the city searching for something," the cab driver stated as he put their bags in the trunk. "I think that they have Phantom with two others down at the warehouses at the other side of the city."
Paulina looked to the south and wondered where they were. She wanted just to see the young ghost and make sure that he really was there. Her parents had tried to tell her that he was in Gotham with Batman, and then that he was dead. She refused to eat after the last one, and then her mother brought in an article about him being in Jump. So far it truly looked like he was there.
Suburbs of Jump City 1975 Hours
"Son?" Michael asked while watching his son get ready to go to bed from the side of his paper. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just seen a few things that I didn't know before, and it showed me a little more about myself and how I acted back in Amity before," Dash answered feeling really cruddy all the sudden. He had been picking on his hero. Calling him names, making fun of him, pulling pranks, and at times hurting him physically; it was all too much for him. He felt like the biggest jerk in the world.
"Want to talk about it?" the father asked putting his paper down. Dash shook his head.
"Nothing that I can't handle on my own. Grandpa knows, but I don't want to talk about it now," Dash explained. "I'm just going to bed."
"Goodnight, Dash. I love you," Michael smiled glad that he still had his son. It was something he couldn't say for many of his friends, but it was enough for him to know that he still had his.
"Love you too, Dad," Dash responded as he headed to bed. He heard the sound of a fight going on, but he knew that they were protected by Phantom. He fell into the blackness of sleep as dreams of his old life swirled in his head. His dreams of being a football star swirled in there until memories of the fire and what all it had destroyed.
Southern Warehouses 2074 Hours
"No," Phantom whispered closing his eyes as memories and pain flashed across his eyes and body. HIs body glowed a bright blue as ice formed along the ground and chased the flames. Skulker appeared in the middle with a wicked grin. Memories of the fire danced behind the hybrid's eyelids as he prepared himself for the oncoming battle, but something was wrong. His powers were taking over, and he felt like he was going to lose control.
"Time's up, Ghost Child," he growled out before firing at the hybrid. Robin threw a birdarang at him before jumping back behind another vehicle that was in the street. He felt blood run down his back, and he looked over at Cyborg who seemed dazed. There was a long scratch on his chest that would have painful if he was human. Phantom growled as his eyes turned pure white and the ice on the ground thickened. The flames were frozen in place completely ignoring any laws of physics. Robin looked at them in shock not knowing what to think of the power Phantom was now displaying. It had a frightened light to it, and he was worried that Phantom would hurt himself. He picked himself off the ground a little more to get a better look at the fight.
"No," Phantom stated while the echo in his voice made Skulker stumble slightly. It sent shivers down his spine, and that was difficult to do since he was normally the one to that. He took a step back when Phantom took one forward.
"We are done playing this game," Phantom hissed as he raised his hands that had blue and green flowing around each other while staying in the hybrid's control. "I'm done running from you."
"I will have you at the foot of my bed," Skulker growled as the blades appeared from his wrist again and he punched at Phantom. The hybrid back flipped away and sent a powerful ecto beam at the hunter slamming him into a nearby warehouse. The wall caved under the pressure, and Robin worried that Phantom wasn't entirely there. Green flames surrounded Phantom's hands as he strode up to the fallen robot.
"I'm done letting you put innocent lives in danger for your fun. I've had it with your gross statements," Phantom growled picking up the suit and sending waves of dangerous energy in the air. Cyborg aimed his cannon ready to back up the hybrid, but he watched Phantom closely. Robin walked up behind Cyborg.
"We have to be careful," he warned grabbing his bo-staff that Phantom had given him. Phantom never seemed violent, until today, and Robin really didn't want to have a violent member like this in the group. He could put everyone in danger if he were to lose control.
"Something's not right," Cyborg whispered and he aimed his cannon between Phantom and Skulker just in case Phantom did something insane.
"You're done for," Phantom hissed as green energy rippled though the suit making Skulker scream. The little blob jumped out still screaming at the top of his voice. He looked up into pure white eyes as Phantom grabbed him and growled. "And now I will finish you."
"Please, I…" the high squeaky Skulker started only for Phantom to send waves of green across his arm. Robin's eyes widen as he ran forward.
"Phantom, stop," he ordered realizing that Phantom was going to really end the hunter's life. Phantom stopped and he dropped the small ghost which looked at the young hybrid with wide eyes. He never thought that the young teen would have it in him to kill. He never thought that he would be the one to push Phantom over the edge, but looking into the young hybrid's eyes he seen a dark part of the ghost. A part that he had only seen in very few, and those few had destroyed much of the Zone. He never wanted Phantom to be one of them. He may have hunted him, but he had respect for the teen's intentions and even his bravery. That's why he tried so hard to have his pelt on the wall of his bedroom.
"I…" Phantom whispered as he eyes turned back to their original green. Phantom looked at Robin with worry before vanishing into thin air. Robin reached out to stop him, but noticed that he had left his communicator on the ground.
"Phantom," Robin whispered picking it up. Skulker looked around before flying off to find a portal back to the Zone to tell the others. He knew he attacked too soon now. He thought that maybe he would get Phantom, but he wasn't going to risk his and every other ghost's existence for it. Phantom was unstable, and everyone needed to back off before the teen let everything go. No one would be safe then, and no one would be there to stop it.
"What just happened?" Cyborg asked not sure what to say or do any more. Robin showed him Phantom's communicator.
"I think we just found out why Phantom rarely uses his powers to their full potential around us," Robin informed knowing that Phantom had more powers than he originally thought. "We have to find him. He's doing what Terra did when we found out about how she couldn't control them. He's running because he's afraid of his own power."
"Wasn't Terra afraid of hers too?" Cyborg asked wondering if maybe this was bad. Robin looked down.
"She was afraid of them because she couldn't control them. Phantom can control his to a degree, but I think with what happened in Amity, he started losing it after the explosion. He was calm before that last one where we were thrown out of his sight," Robin explained. "He's still in the city and we have to find him before he has another episode. He could've killed that ghost."
"Where is the ghost?" Cyborg asked looking around. The suit was still there, but the tiny little blob was gone.
"Phantom probably scared him," Robin mumbled as he looked out in the city. "I just hope that Phantom didn't scare himself."
"I still have his ecto signature in my systems. He deleted from the Tower but I had it put in mine just in case," Cyborg informed typing into his arm trying to see if he could get the signature. Robin put the small device in his pocket hoping that they wouldn't lose the ghost. He didn't think that the team could handle it.
Phantom flew towards the park as fast as his form would allow. He couldn't believe that he about destroyed Skulker. He never thought like that before, and it terrified him. He had done it before, but it started at the school. Then he started losing control out on the streets, and he had almost really hurt someone, especially if they were anywhere near him at the time. He thought he had those episodes under control. His powers would go into overdrive and try to eliminate the threat that was around him.
They had done that several times when he first took off. He was weary of people because he didn't want to hurt them, and then when he finally was about to get himself under control, he ended up in an alley with some gang members. They had no idea who he was; all they seen was easy prey. Phantom landed somewhere deep inside the forest part of the park and changed back. He felt the chilled air bite at his form, but he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice it much.
Pain was the only thing that reminded him of the things he was able to do, and the things he could do if he let his control go. He had been hunted and cheated, and he knew that something Plasmius did when he was running had done it. He wasn't sure if it was just his own paranoia or if there was something he got into before the school. But he figured that Plasmius had something to do with it.
"I hate this," Danny mumbled leaning against a tree and looking up at the stars. The sky was clear, and a perfect night for a good flight around the city and he was tempted. It would be a great stress reliever, but it would also make him easy to be found by the Titans, and he really just wanted to be alone. He needed to gather his thoughts. He looked back away from the city not wanting to leave and break the Titan's trust in him, but he didn't know if he could keep his flashbacks at bay. They were painful.
He looked up and tried to find all the star constellations that he had remembered before the accident. The sky here was the same, but he had to flip himself around several times before he was facing the right direction in order to find all the stars.
"He landed in the park, and changed back. His signature is so weak I can't track it now," Cyborg informed as they headed to the gate. They told the others what happened, and Robin ordered them back to the Tower just in case Phantom decided to head there before they caught up to him.
"Keep an eye out, I want to talk to him alone," Robin ordered looking around the park knowing Danny would have stayed off the beaten paths.
"You think he'll talk to you? We never found Terra, and when she came back…" Cyborg started only for Robin to cut him off.
"Yeah, but Slade got to her first before we were able to show her otherwise. I'm not failing Phantom," Robin stated. "I convinced him to trust first, and I'm letting him down. I know our team can't handle another one leaving again, and I don't think Phantom can handle it either. We're the first ones he's trusted in a long time; if he were to go now, it would ruin much of what he's work at in trying to get back to a normal life."
"He would survive out there on his own, Robin. He's capable again, and I think he's worked himself out of the shell he had been in," Cyborg pointed out before Robin could walk away. "If he were to leave now, he wouldn't fall back into that destruction stated again."
"I don't think he is," Robin whispered taking off into the darkness hoping to find his friend. Whatever had triggered Phantom's episode at the warehouses had to be related to the school exploded. Robin didn't quite understand at first since he seemed fine the first couple of explosions, but when that last one went off, he seemed to have zoned out before attacking violently. He turned around a tree and seen Danny leaning against one with his head bowed and his arms wrapped around his knees. Robin slowly walked up hoping not to get attacked or startle his friend.
"Danny?" Robin called stopping just a few feet before him. Danny's head shot up and Robin stopped noticing the tears and pain on the young hybrid's face. It was a complete opposite of the teen that just joked about being seriously injured.
"How'd you find me?" Danny growled jumping up and wiping his tears on his sleeve trying to show that he wasn't crying, even though he was sure that Robin knew already knew. Robin smiled slightly and sat down against the tree adjacent from the one Danny had been leaning against.
"Cyborg still had your ecto signature programmed into his systems," Robin answered honestly knowing that lying now would probably chase the teen away. Danny looked away and growled silently.
"You guys weren't supposed to keep that," he muttered glaring at the leader. Robin smiled.
"You were supposed to keep the communicator on you at all times," Robin countered trying to get Danny to relax a little before asking him anything about what happened. He wasn't a suspect, but a friend, and Robin knew that treating him as such would only make him leave.
"I didn't want you guys to find me," Danny answered staying standing. He really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He just wanted to be alone. The Titans seemed to suffocate him, and he felt like he was on consist watch and no one was trying to help him. He didn't like it.
"I figured as much. That's why I sent everyone else back to the Tower; the only ones who know anything is me and Cyborg," Robin informed. "I didn't want to lose my new member. Not after everything that we've been though and what we've done to help you. I'm always here for you, and I'm not going to leave you out here by yourself."
"I'm not Terra," Danny stated looking at him. "But you guys are over whelming at times. I just wanted to be alone."
"That's not the main reason you took off today," Robin stated wanting to know that one. It was dangerous if Phantom got out of control like that when he was against one of their enemies. They couldn't survive that kind of power.
"No, Robin, it's not," Danny growled glaring at him again. "I'm unstable; I've told you that, and you guys have yet to truly understand that. I can't keep everything down; the pain is still there, and you guys pretend like…"
"Danny, enough," Robin ordered standing up himself. "You have to talk to us in order for us to know these things. We can't read your mind."
"No," Danny muttered glaring at him. "You just haven't seen everything that I'm been trying to. I'm saying something now, and you're not listening!" A cloud of green erupted around him and he disappeared again. Robin gave a sigh wishing he would have let Danny rant out his frustrations. He was never good trying to help someone heal mentally. He wasn't trained for that, and he let himself get too far ahead of himself.
"Way to go, Robin," he muttered to himself hitting the tree. He walked off to find Cyborg to see if he could get a read on Phantom's signature once more. He got up to the entrance where Cyborg was glaring at him.
"You realize he came by here and told me to go home and drag you with me. He wanted to be alone," Cyborg muttered. "He seemed pretty pissed."
"I cut him off trying to calm him, and I should have just let him rant himself till he calmed down," Robin muttered. "I really need to learn when to just let people talk."
"I think you should go back to the Tower, and tell everyone that he's okay. I'll look for him," Cyborg suggested giving Robin a disappointed glare. Robin sighed.
"Tell me as soon as you find him," Robin stated as he headed out knowing that he would only make it worse than he could help. Danny was already ticked at him, and Danny would only teleport himself away if Robin showed up while they were looking for him.
"I will," Cyborg muttered looking at his arm. Danny was now in downtown, and he planned on just watching over the young ghost before he did anything to upset him. He just wanted to make sure that Phantom was safe before jumping in and actually talking to him.
Paulina woke up from another nightmare about the school fire. She felt her scars burn, and she got up and went to her bathroom and washed them down with cold water. She looked in the mirror and remembered her perfect skin. Burns wrapped and danced around her skin now, and one of her eyes still looked purple from the burning building. It never truly healed the way it should have, and she had no idea how to fix it. She had just been covering it up with the make-up she brought..
She took out her make-up kit and looked at before getting dressed and heading outside quietly without putting anything on. She just wanted to walk through town without any of the nightmares. She slipped out and walked down her street. The lights glowed dimly, and she hoped that no one would attack her or that she would get caught in something that she wouldn't be able to get out of easily. It should be the safest city since it's Jump City and being protected by the Teen Titans. She knew a bit of self defense, but she just wanted to walk a couple blocks before heading back. She wanted to clear her mind and hope for a peaceful night sleep. She noticed someone come out of the alley she was about to pass and panic flooded her. She went to turn around when he noticed her, and she froze. It was a face she never thought she would see again.
"Fenton?" she asked as her eyes widened.
"Paulina?" he wondered taking a step back. "What is everyone moving here from Amity?"
"How are you alive?" she growled getting in his face. He took a few steps back before glaring at her. "You were in that classroom when it blew up. You were in the same class as Star…"
"The same way Phantom did," Danny shot as the air surrounding him grew colder and darker. He was still stressed from the crap Robin said, and then how his day turned out and the way everything was heading. He really didn't want to deal with it and pass emotions came flooding back.
"But…" Paulina started feeling extremely terrified of the geek. Danny was suddenly seemed to make the already dark street even darker and more threatening. "Danny?"
"You actually know my first name, surprising," Danny shot walking passed her. She reached out and grabbed his arm before he got far.
"Wait, don't leave," she begged. She really didn't want to walk alone in the dark, and the way Danny acted made her feel like he could protect her if something were to happen.
"Why? Every other time I tried to talk to you, you made fun of me and then walked away," he muttered looking at the ground.
"You were always going to be that Goth's girls, and there was no way I could really get between that. She scared the crap out of me," Paulina stated honestly. Sam did scare her, and she had nightmares about Sam at times.
"So you decided that making fun of me and dragging me down was the answer?" Danny asked glaring at her. Paulina looked down.
"I just followed the crowd," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
"You led the crowd, Paulina," Danny countered pulling his arm out of her gasp. He started walking away, and she followed him.
"Wait, don't leave me out here alone," she begged as she caught up to him and wrapped her arms around herself.
"You were fine out here alone before I showed up," Danny muttered feeling a little guilty for telling her off. He blamed on the stress of everything that was going on. Movement caught his attention and when he turned around they had four guys surrounding them.
"Don't you know it's late to be out with your girlfriend," one questioned with a malicious grin.
"She's not my girlfriend," Danny responded glaring at them and trying to keep his powers at bay. They were still stinging to get out from his episode. He subconsciously grabbed Paulina and pushed her somewhat behind him.
"Your sister then?" another suggested seeing that he was going to protect her. Danny took in a deep breath and pulled Paulina closer to him.
"Close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you to," Danny ordered quietly. Paulina looked at the guys fearfully before doing as told, but she gripped his hand tightly. She was scared, and after everything that had happened, she really didn't want to add any more traumatizing events to the list. It was bad enough just living in Amity Park: Ghost Capital of the World.
"She's a pretty little thing," the last one stated as he looked at his buddies. "The Titans are looking for their little lost ghost friend, and we get to do what we want."
"Well, seems to me that you found him," Danny growled back as ice formed on the ground and rose up. Green energy crackled around it before exploding and blinding the four men. When they looked up, the two were gone.
"Paulina," Danny whispered as he moved her away from him. "You can open your eyes now. We're safe."
"What happened?" she asked looking around and noting that they were now on a roof somewhere in the city. She looked at him with wide eyes as the pieces came together. She felt kind of stupid for noticing it sooner. "You're Phantom."
"I would say something, but I think it's probably best to keep quiet now," Danny grinned making Paulina slap the back of his head. "Ow."
"That's for making fun of me," she muttered, but the grin on her face didn't fall. "Why bother saving us if we hurt you?"
"It's right for you to suffer when I can stop it," Danny answered looking up at her. "I didn't want anyone getting hurt."
"Why'd you run from the Titans then?" she asked sitting on the ground silently asking him to do the same. Danny shook his head and turned around.
"I really don't want to talk about it," he whispered not wanting to upset her. "But is everyone from Amity moving here or something?"
"I know Lancer is coming here to teach again," Paulina stated with a smile. "Most people who seen you more want to come here. They don't feel safe in Amity anymore. Phantom is their hero. It's how I convinced my family to move."
"Wow, I didn't realize how much of an impact I had in Amity. I thought everyone hated me, no matter who I was," Danny whispered. Paulina stood back up and walked up to him.
"You know I didn't," she informed wondering exactly what happened and why it was so easy to talk to the young teen.
"Yeah, but to be honest, you kind of creped me out," he answered rubbing the back of his neck. Paulina blushed.
"Well, I had to let everyone else know that I liked you," she answered with a grin. "I won't have any more creepy shines to you though. It started freaking me out on who I had become."
"Well, then I guess we could start over, and I can get to know the real Paulina," Danny smiled wondering if he could be friends to someone who once made his life hell. Paulina smiled and held out her hand.
"I'm Paulina, and you?" she asked making Danny laugh.
"Danny, nice to meet you," he shook her hand. "Did you know Dash is here?"
"Really, that's the first thing you decide to talk about?" she asked wondering what went on in the head of the hero.
"Just starting a conversation. Sorry about earlier when I flipped out; kind of stressful," Danny stated as he tried to gather his thoughts. Paulina noticed that he wasn't uncomfortable, but trying to get things in order.
"Yeah, sorry for the way I treated you. Are you going to start something without jumping from topic to topic though?" she asked not wanting to guess what Danny was going to ask next.
"Well, did you?" he asked as he sat on the side. Paulina sat next to him knowing that if anything happened, he would save her.
"No, not till you told me," she smiled. "Although, I'm sure I would see him eventually."
"His grandpa is a judge," Danny stated looking back over the city. The light danced peacefully out in the distance, and the Tower glowed. Danny wondered what his friends were doing and hoped that they weren't too worried.
"I know that, but how'd you?" Paulina asked knowing that Dash never talked about his grandpa unless it was his friends.
"He was the judge of my case here in Jump City when I was arrested," Danny answered looking at her. "It was interesting sitting in a jail cell for three days."
"Seriously, they arrested you?" Paulina asked wondering why if what she heard was true and Phantom helped save the city from Slade and Terra.
"It was some idiot from Amity. He came in after everything happened and thought that I had something to do with it, and then there was this clone, and everything was so confusing, and…" Danny stopped himself remembering the lab. Paulina noticed the painful wince and Danny wrapped his arms around himself. "Okay, talking about getting arrest is easier than talking what all caused it. I'm sorry, but that may have to wait."
"It's okay. My therapist is always trying to get me to tell her what happened in the school. I never told anyone," Paulina whispered wondering if she could talk about it with Danny.
"I've talked to the Titans, and then they read the stories, but I've never really explained everything. I just beat around the bushes," Danny muttered looking at her face. He finally noticed the burns that were on her neck and arms. He didn't remember seeing anything on Dash and wondered if Paulina was one of the last ones out.
"My therapist won't let me have anything because she thinks I'm going though depression and might commit suicide. My parents wouldn't let me in the kitchen for the first week, and then I got sent to Mexico and then we came back here when we learned that you were here," Paulina explained looking at the city not wanting to meet Danny's eyes. She felt them on her, and she knew he was going to listen to anything she said. "I was afraid that my dad gave up and picked a random city, but now I'm glad we were here."
"I never could see you as the one who would take their own life. You like yourself too much for that," Danny smiled showing that he was being honest. Paulina smiled at him.
"She said that I was bottling everything up, and then gave me meds that I never took. I didn't see the point, I was fine," Paulina whispered. "I had nothing, but then I had everything. I could get rid of the old Paulina, and become who I wanted, but what my friends or family wanted."
"Why didn't you do that before?" Danny asked wondering who Paulina really was now.
"I was afraid that I would lose my friends and then I would have no one," Paulina whispered.
"We would have welcomed you," Danny whispered looking at her. "You could've hung out with us."
"Sam would have tried to kill me," Paulina muttered knowing Danny probably would have jumped at the chance before to hang out with her.
"If you showed Sam that you truly cared about it and really was trying to make something better of yourself, she would have supported it. Questioned it first, but once she confirmed that you really didn't care about being on top anymore, she would have gotten over it," Danny smiled. "She really did care about everyone and she's also the reason I became Phantom in the first place. Not just because she pushed me to go into the portal, but because she believed that I really could be a hero. You never knew who Sam really was because you never took the time to learn."
"You really loved her, didn't you?" Paulina asked knowing that Danny probably missed her the most.
"Yeah, and I wish I would have been able to save her as well, but when the fire started, her and Tucker were already at their seats, because my mom wanted me to do something, and I was caught without any of them near me. When everything first went off, my powers took over, and I've never had that happened before. I was out, and when I woke up, I was Phantom," Danny explained looking away as tears formed in his eyes. "All I seen when I looked around that room was the burned bodies still on fire."
"I'm sorry," Paulina whispered knowing he lost everyone. She wrapped her arms around him when she noticed the small water drops making their way down his face. "You lost everyone, and I lost my best friend…"
"My powers flipped out, and I didn't mean to freeze the school like what had happened, but no one died from being froze to death, and I saved the rest who weren't killed by the fire," Danny whispered. "After that, I left. There were still people who were out for Phantom's head, and then my enemies would still attack."
"You left Amity unprotected," Paulina pointed out wanting to know why.
"The school left me unprotected. I left, the ghosts would follow or not attack. I shut down the portal, but if I would have stayed, I would have been killed by either the Guys in White, the ghosts, or…I wouldn't be alive," Danny whispered pulling away from her and staring at the ground beneath them.
"The Guys in White were shut down before the school fire," Paulina informed making Danny tense. "Didn't you hear about that? They got caught when they fired at innocent civilians when we had that new kid at school that wasn't who he said he was," Paulina explained. "The entire organization was shut down because of the problems they had been having."
"Someone else took over because they were here for a bit before Robin ordered that any agents here would be arrested," Danny whispered feeling his scars throb.
"What did they do?" Paulina asked.
"The same thing that got me arrested. The same reason, they all happened at the same time," Danny explained. "Sorry."
"Oh," Paulina whispered realizing that they probably did catch him and do some pretty bad things. "I had helped a girl when Dash had book checked her. No one else was in the hallway and she was waiting for me to say something to her. The only thing I told her was not to tell anyone else what I did… she didn't make it out of the school."
"Wow," Danny whispered. "You helped kids without them telling anyone."
"They wouldn't because they would be afraid of me doing something," Paulina explained. "I put up a mask and when we were the only ones in the hall we were friends. They never told, and were always glad that I helped them out."
"You do have a heart," Danny smiled. "Sam thought all you had was a black hole."
"Shut up," Paulina muttered crossing her arms and giving a huff. They both broke out into a laughing fit. Paulina finally felt safe, and like nothing could ever hurt her again.
"Phantom?" Cyborg asked seeing him up on a roof. He shook his head seeing a girl up there with him. He had no idea what the deal was but he was glad that Danny seemed to relax. Maybe it wasn't something he needed to talk about with the Titans, but he still wondered who that was. Danny looked down and noticed him. Cyborg hoped he wasn't going to disappear, but he tapped the girl's arm and pointed down. She nodded and hugged him and they disappeared in a whirl of green smoke only to appeared on the ground in front of Cyborg.
"Hey," Danny smiled as the girl waved shyly at him.
"I sent Robin home, but you are hard to track when you're not Phantom," Cyborg smiled hoping not to get under his friend's skin and have to track him down again. "Who's this?"
"Cyborg, this is Paulina. She was a student at Casper. Paulina, Cyborg," Danny introduced with a smile.
"Hey there little lady," Cyborg smiled holding out his hand. Paulina gently took and shook it while Cyborg remembered what Terra had done.
"Hi," Paulina whispered feeling intimated by the half robot. Cyborg smiled and looked at Danny while holding out his communicator.
"I will glue this to your face if you leave it again," he warned making Danny laugh a little.
"I will send the video of you dancing in that tutu if you do," Danny countered taking the small device. Paulina put her hand over her mouth trying not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. She desperately wished that it hadn't taken the school going up in flames for her to realize that Danny was really a great guy.
"I was not the one dancing, you over shadowed me," Cyborg growled knowing that no one would believe him. Danny grinned.
"Still, your body," Danny smiled wickedly while Paulina clutched her stomach laughing. Tears formed in her eyes as she laughed. She never laughed this hard in her life, and she liked it. Danny soon joined her and fell on the ground while Cyborg looked like he wanted to strangle the young hybrid.
"I hate you," Cyborg muttered as he looked out down the street. Something caught his eye, and he straightened himself up. "Phantom, time to straighten out, I think we have company."
Danny opened his eyes and looked at Cyborg before following his gaze down the street to where there were robots heading towards them. They were white, and Danny had a really bad feeling crawl up his spine. Paulina stepped behind him afraid of what it was as well. White rings appeared around Danny's waist and split, and Paulina watched in amazement as her new friend turned into her long time hero. His cloak blew in the small breeze as he prepared for anything. Cyborg let his cannon appeared and prepared to call for back up. They had to be careful now that they had civilian to protect.
"Phantom, we should probably get out of here," Cyborg muttered knowing that they would be out numbered. Phantom looked back at him and then looked at Paulina.
"Paulina, where's your house? I'll take you back while Cyborg gets everyone else," Phantom asked as Cyborg got the Titans on the line. Paulina looked around.
"I'm not sure how to get there from here," she whispered shaking. I don't know the place yet.
"Just tell me the address, I do," Phantom asked seeing that the robots had gotten closer. He picked her up and headed towards where they had been before they teleported. He knew that she wouldn't have traveled far if she didn't know the place very well.
"It's on Heighten Drive, and I knew what building and floor it's on," she informed fisting her hands in his cloak. She wasn't prepared for him to suddenly pick her up and take off.
"You only traveled a couple blocks then," Phantom asked as he put on speed.
"Yeah, can you slow down," she asked getting scared. Phantom slowed slightly.
"Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of anything white," he answered making her look at him funny.
"You're hair is white," she pointed out still clinging to him.
"Yeah, but I don't have to worry about my hair attacking him and dissecting me," Phantom mumbled as pain flared in his back.
"That makes sense," Paulina mumbled as she noticed her building coming up. "That's it," she pointed at it. "We are on the third floor."
"The whole floor?" Phantom asked noting that every floor was a different suite.
"Our house isn't done yet," Paulina stated as Phantom leveled himself out to aim for the third floor. Paulina noted that the window facing them was hers.
"That's also my room," she stated wondering how he would know that.
"Awesome, because that would have been my next question," Phantom smiled as he drove into the room and landed gently letting Paulina go. She was still clinging to him. "You can let go now. Sorry about the flight, but I really didn't want you to get hurt, and I really didn't want to see what they would do to me."
"Sorry," Paulina whispered as she let go and dusted herself off. She looked up to the bright green eyes that were once blue. She could see the similarities between them, and she wondered how no one noticed before.
"It's okay, but I have to go," Phantom stated before turning around. Paulina reached out and grabbed his cloak.
"You'll come and visit again, right?" Paulina asked not wanting this to be the last time she seen her hero. Phantom smiled.
"Yeah, I will. I have a few things I need to fix, but I'll come back when I have time," he promised and took off. Paulina smiled so happy that he wasn't going to just leave her hanging. She fell into her first peaceful sleep since the fire.
Robin paced the room trying to think of how he could have done things differently so that Phantom wouldn't have taken off the way he did. Valerie was glaring at him the entire time. She had finally put her old feelings aside and decided to try to be Phantom's friend, but now the Titans screwed up by letting Robin try to calm him down.
"I hope Friend Phantom is okay," Starfire mumbled feeling like crap. Beastboy was in the kitchen itching to go out and find his friend, but he was ordered to stay. He knew he could find Phantom, and he knew that he could get Phantom to calm down. Raven was drinking tea at the table and drinking seeming indifferent, but she was also worried. Beastboy knew that was her way of dealing.
"I should've kept my mouth shut," Robin mumbled as he stopped and looked at the screen. Suddenly Cyborg's face appeared.
"We got some white robots attacking here in downtown. I found Phantom, but he had to take one of his new friends back home so they didn't get hurt. He looked pretty shaken when I pointed them out. He went from laughing so hard he could barely breathe to almost having a panic attack. He got the civilian out of the way, but I have no idea what these things are."
"We're on our way," Robin informed as the connection was cut. He knew Phantom was okay, and he probably talked to this friend, but there were still a few things that needed to be fixed between Phantom and him. "Titans, Go."
The team headed out. Starfire carried Robin while Beastboy, Raven, and Valerie flew. Beastboy caught a break by riding on Val's glider so he would have more energy for the fight. Raven watched out for anything that might be a trap.
"Got any ideas of what those things are?" Cyborg asked as Phantom landed next to him in the alley as they watched the robots head deeper into the city.
"Maybe, and I really, really hope I'm wrong," Phantom whispered while a tremor shot though his body. "If I'm right, then we have a big problem, and if I'm wrong, then I have no idea what the hell is going on."
"That's really not helpful," Cyborg muttered as they noticed a few people mixed in. Phantom shifted recognizing them, and Cyborg put his hand on Phantom's back to prevent the ghost from running. "The rest will be here. Those might work for the government, but Robin said that they weren't allowed in Jump."
"They don't work with the government. They were disbanded a while ago apparently," Phantom whispered looking at his friend trying to get his mind away from the agents that were standing with the army of robots. "Paulina told me that they were supposed to be shut down because they kept putting innocent lives in dangerous in order to catch me, who wasn't putting anyone in real danger."
"How'd she know?" Cyborg asked hoping that this wasn't going to hurt Phantom.
"Her dad worked as a senator or something, but he got tired and decided to do something else," Phantom explained looking back at the robots. "She knows that they someone took over the labs, but she doesn't know who. I have a guess though."
"Plasmius?" Cyborg put in knowing that was it.
"Yeah," Phantom mumbled as green surrounded his hands. Cyborg looked at him sadly before Robin appeared next to Phantom.
"What do we got?" he asked.
"It's have. It's 'what do we have?'" Phantom corrected not letting his energy disappear, but not looking at Robin either.
"Okay then. What do we have?" Robin asked wondering what was wrong with Phantom.
"Robots being controlled by the agents that work for the Guys in White," Phantom answered without missing a beat. It was like he was a robot, and Robin worried that he would have another episode.
"Phantom indentified the agents that were in Amity," Cyborg put in seeing that Robin was glaring at the hybrid. "We have a problem, and you two need to work out whatever the heck happened back in the park."
"Nothing happened," Robin growled letting his anger get the better of him. Phantom turned to him sharply.
"You're right nothing happened because you're too full of yourself to listen to what I was trying to say," Phantom growled making the rest of the team flinch. Cyborg put a hand on Phantom's shoulder.
"Like I said, now isn't the best time to work it out. We need to get them out of the city," Cyborg whispered calming Phantom down a little. The green surrounding his hands died away. "We need to figure out how many robots there are."
"We don't need to figure out how many there, we need to figure out where the controls are for them," Phantom stated looking up at the robots. "I'm guessing its somewhere around here, but if we try to fight the robots, then we are more at risk of getting ourselves hurt or worse."
"Phantom's right," Valerie jumped in remembering them going after he thinking she was a ghost. She had to have Masters stop them, and she was glad that he did get them to stop. She can't believe how the hell they were able to even get into that kind of work with the crap they tried to pull. "We need to find their base of operations."
"Raven," Phantom asked. "How much can you lift with your powers?"
"Why?" Raven asked confused.
"I have an idea," he grinned. "Starfire, I want you and Beastboy in front of them. They will be heading to the Tower since they are hoping to take me. Put a dent in the army. Raven, while those two show a distraction, you take out the ones in the back, and I'll help. Cyborg and Robin can track the central operations base. There's too many for us to take down, but we will stop them before they get farther into the city and really hurt someone."
"Titans, Go," Robin ordered liking what Phantom's plan was. It was simple, but it also put together people who won't try to kill each other at the moment.
"You okay?" Raven asked looking at Phantom while they waited for Starfire and Beastboy to attack. Phantom shook his head.
"No, I'm not, but we have to take care of them before they really hurt someone," he stated watching the first few closely. Starfire and Beastboy had to make sure that they were going to start it in an area with very few people, and so far, the closest place was the business district part of Jump.
"What happened?" Raven asked. Robin didn't tell them anything other than that Phantom was upset and took off leaving his communicator behind. Raven wanted to question him farther but he refused to talk after that.
"I thought hanging back here with you, I wouldn't have to say anything," Phantom muttered looking her with an annoyed expression. Raven narrowed her eyes at him.
"Both you and Robin are pains," she stated making Phantom give a small smile. "I can sense Robin's emotions, and with you I can't. Robin felt guilt and anger for something he did. Now what is it that he did?"
"He wouldn't listen to me," Phantom whispered looking back at the robots. Raven gently rested her hand on his shoulder and gave small squeeze.
"He's not the best to really talk to with something important," Raven stated hoping to help get Phantom's mind settled. "He's trained to interrupt and interrogate people, not help them get over something painful."
"Thanks, but Starfire just fired at the first one," Phantom pointed out going back to his robot tone. Raven sighed figuring that this would need resolved when this was taken care of. She was sitting both of them down and giving them a piece of her mind.
"Let's go," Raven stated as she chanted her spell and slammed five robots into the five in front of them. Phantom fired his ecto-beams destroying another five before freezing ten in one strike. Starfire and Beastboy were taking them one at a time while Raven and Phantom started taking them down two at a time hoping that Robin and Cyborg would find the base soon. They were tiring quickly and there were still many more robots that they didn't know about.
"The back trace on their signal is jumping everywhere," Cyborg muttered trying to get his computer to work. Robin was pacing in front of him as he listened to the fight going on outside.
"It has to be close and here in Jump," Robin stated looking at the computer trying to figure it out. "We shut down most of their operations everywhere else."
"I'm almost there," Cyborg stated as the location started to settle. The dot stopped in the middle of the robot attacks. "Dude, the agents that me and Phantom seen are the ones controlling them. All at once, it's in the middle."
"So we have to get in the middle of the fight?" Robin asked really wanting to break something. Cyborg nodded and they headed out in the fight coming up behind Phantom and Raven who were back to back trying to keep each other covered. Phantom was the first one to notice the two come up.
"Did you find the base?" he asked as he charged up a blast and kept it condensed. When he let it go, it destroyed three robots in a line.
"It's in the middle of this mess," Cyborg stated charging his arm cannon. "Those agents have the control."
"Of course they do," Phantom mumbled as he flew higher and aimed at a few more robots before landing next to them. "Now what?"
"Phantom, take to the middle," Robin stated taking out his communicator. "We'll get them, and Cyborg can help Raven."
"Robin," Phantom started really not wanting to work with the leader. Raven slapped his head and pointed and Phantom picked up the boy wonder before flying off in the middle of the mess.
Starfire and Beastboy were being pushed back and both felt extremely over whelmed. Most of their attacks took a while before the robot fell, and they knew that they were designed to take on Phantom's level of power. Beastboy suddenly got an idea and almost slapped himself for not thinking of it earlier. He turned into a giant T-Rex and started stomping on the robots that were going after Starfire. He changed back and looked at her. She gave him a quick smile before charging more star-bolts.
She fired at the robots that started to take the place of the ones Beastboy had just destroyed and they were starting to really put a dent in it, and they could see Raven on the other end. Phantom's plan at attacking on both sides was working. She noticed that Phantom and Robin were flying into the middle of the robots where the agents were apparently.
"There," Robin pointed to the small vehicle that was in the middle of the robot army. Phantom descended and dropped the boy wonder on the roof. Three robots started firing at the hybrid and Phantom created a shield around him and Robin. Robin hacked into the computer system while the agents jumped out and fired at the shield.
"Robin, hurry up," Phantom stressed trying to keep his shield up. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this."
"I'm almost there," Robin muttered as he broke in and planted a quick virus into the systems. He stopped the robots' weapons and then inserted the bug before jumping back and reaching out for Phantom. "They're set to self destruct in thirty seconds."
Phantom grabbed him and teleported to the front and grabbed Beastboy and Starfire before teleporting them to where the rest were at before throwing up another shield along with Raven right as the robots blew up.
"What about the agents?" Cyborg asked looking at Robin and Phantom. Phantom was focused completely on the shield while Robin looked down.
"They were there, but they had the vehicle to protect them," he stated knowing that Phantom probably didn't think of them. "Where's Valerie?"
Phantom dropped his shield in surprise and looked at them. "She wasn't in front with them…"
"I'm right here," she called dropping two unconscious agents on the ground. "You guys really don't care much about them, do you?"
"Wasn't our top concern," Phantom answered glad that he wouldn't have to add dead bodies to his list of things he's really screwed up.
"Yeah, well, you forgot about me," she muttered as she landed on the ground and walked up to him. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he smiled and turned to the team. "Can we go back to the Tower? I'm sleepy."
Robin felt like slapping him a good one.
Titan's Tower 0100 Hours
The safe opened releasing the pressure, and the bad guy grinned up at the suit that was now free from the vault. He grabbed it and put it on, happy that it fit as it should. He stretched out his muscles and tested the strength and flexibility of the suit. He grin widen as the light came on.
The white mask and red X glowed in the darkness as he pressed a button on the belt and disappeared in a flash of red. He was glad that those morons from the Guys in White had shown up trying to attack the Titans. It gave him the time he needed in order to steal it, and he had everything he needed for it planned. It took a few months to get all the information, but he knew it wasn't going to disappoint.
Danny:Well she actually got the majority of this one done today...
Me: I only had about five pages...then I worked on it today, and you all should know that every chapter has twenty one pages...
Danny: It was close, and now...well you all should know what comes next...
Me: I was suppose to put another story up, but this one just had my attention all day...and deal with people...-_-
Danny: She's slightly lost...well see you all next chapter, and if you read all the way to the end of this note, put the word in your reviews...see who pays attention when nothing is in caps...