Sins
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Teen Titans, or anything DC-related. If I did then it wouldn't be as popular as it is.
The story was written & developed by Nightmares Around Winter. The story is based on 'The Forgotten Hero' by TheWhiteTitan.
Beta read by Leaf Ranger
Author's Note: So here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it and like usual, don't be afraid to leave a comment or a review. Hopefully I can keep up with a chapter every two months, maybe even once a month if everything goes well. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter if you celebrate it and hey, the eclipse is coming soon so maybe you all could check that out! Later.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demonic/other-worldly voices or thoughts"
(Author's Note/Translation)
Chapter 22: I Don't Want to Remember Me, Part 4
Jinx and Argent could only watch on in abject horror as their home crumbled away in clutters of frosted metal and frozen glass into the sea. Cyborg remained unconscious from his pain and his injuries as Argent had him on a manifested stretcher. The pair can see their attacker, the red-eyed black-robed figure, hovering in the sky over what remained as a portal formed behind him before he disappeared into it. It all seemed to happen so suddenly...the pair stared in horrified silence, struck dumb. However, they were brought back to reality by Cyborg's condition. Argent quickly moved to check on him, as Jinx pulled oout her communicator, trying to get into contact with anyone.
"Raven, do you read me!? Come in Raven!" Jinx called frantically over the communicator. The reply was fairly swift.
"Jinx, are you alright?! We just watched the Tower fall apart!"
"We...We-." The device glowed with a red aura in Jinx's hand as it began to be crushed under invisible force.
"What in the?!" Argent shouted before something wrapped around her neck and started to lift her up.
Jinx turned to her and fired a pink bolt at the hidden threat only for it to be deflected again as the hidden attacker appeared. His arm was around Argent's neck as she started to struggle against the choke-hold, only to pass out from the lack of oxygen. As such, the stretcher holding Cyborg disappeared, causing the limbless half-machine to crash on the floor in an unresponsive mess. "Put her down creep!" Jinx commanded as her hands glowed with furious energy.
The figure, saying nothing, complied with her demand, allowing Jinx to catch the other pale girl. Jinx glared at the cloaked figure; those red eyes staring back at her in silence made the bad luck caster uneasy as she carried Argent over to Cyborg trying to make herself into a human shield between the unconscious pair and him. "You really shouldn't be here..." He said.
"W-What?" Jinx asked. "What do you mean by that?"
The figure stared at her for a few moments, his red eyes still judging her. "You should leave these people. Take her with you," he said gesturing to Argent, "and run."
Jinx's confusion was evident on her face. "Why? To let people like you have their way?!" She snapped. "I don't care who or what you are, I'm not gonna turn run away from a fight. I've made a promise to someone very important to me that I would be a better person than I was when I first met them! I am not gonna break that promise just because some bastard made some threat!" She said as his hands glowed in a bright pink energy.
The figure stared at her before making a light tongue click and shook his head dismissively. "Shame it had to be this way," he said in a strange, somewhat fond tone that made Jinx tilt her head slightly in confusion. "Very well," he said, "but remember, I gave you the chance to walk away from this. Don't blame me if you get hurt next time." He said as a green portal appeared behind him just as Raven and a woman in a blue shirt with a red 'S' and a matching skirt came flying towards him. "Goodbye for now." He said as he disappeared.
"DAMN IT!" The blond girl said angrily, missing him a second time.
Raven looked over to Jinx and spotted the passed-out Argent and Cyborg before turning to the cat-eye witch. "What did he say to you?" Raven asked.
Jinx stood there, staring at the spot where the portal was. "He...he said nothing." She lied. "Just that he'll be back."
Raven stared at her for a moment, a frown was clear on her face as she turned to help out Argent and Cyborg. "You're Jinx right?" The blond girl said as she hovered over to her.
Jinx turned to her, taking the chance to look at her. Beautiful blond hair, blue eyes, smooth but athletic stomach, wide hips hugging a skirt, and a tight blue top...she had a feeling she wasn't gonna like her so much. "Yeah, sorry but who are you?" Jinx asked.
"Supergirl." She answered, Jinx's eyes went wide for a moment as Supergirl seemed to look around as if looking for someone. "Aren't you missing someone? Where's Starfire?"
Raven flinched at the question while Jinx closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, "That...creep took her. Drugged her and took her through one of those portals he makes." She answered.
Supergirl frowned as she started to rub her head as if trying to concentrate. "So..one of you is MIA, two are unconscious, and the other," She said as she looked at Cyborg, "Requires urgent medical care or repairs. Is there anyone he can be taken to?"
"Cyborg can be repaired at STAR labs," Raven stated.
Supergirl nodded at that. "Alright, in the meantime, you and your team will be taken to the Watchtower. They'll look after your friends while you debrief them."
"Debrief them?" Raven asked.
Supergirl nodded. "Yeah...the League has been trying to track down the man who attacked you for a while. We expect that he has been involved with other attacks recently."
"I-I'm sorry but who is this guy?" Jinx asked.
"He calls himself Fenrir, King of All Ghosts," Supergirl stated.
"Ghosts?" Jinx asked. "Wait, is this connected to that government agency Hawkgirl told us about?"
Supergirl shrugged. "It's possible, but we still don't know anything about him," she said as she looked over at the ruined tower. "We still don't know what he is even capable of." She said as she turned back. "And his ability to teleport makes it hard to even figure out when or where he will show up again. As far as the case goes, your team is the only one that saw him. Though after today, it may be more likely you've seen his true form and not transformed," Supergirl stated.
"Transformed?" Jinx asked. "What other forms has he taken?"
"You heard of the Stag Man and the Arkham Assailant?" Supergirl asked.
"...yeah..." Jinx answered. "I remember seeing them on the news."
"I haven't." Raven said. "I don't watch TV."
"The Stag Man showed up in Dakota City. Killed several people, mostly other metahumans, and crippled one of our best, Static." Kara explained. "The Arkham Assailant showed up in Gotham and killed more people, including Batman's current ward Robin, Tim Drake. Our ghost expert says that those are two different forms of ghosts called a Wendigo and an Onryo. We suspect that Fenrir was connected to the attacks but after what I've seen here...he may be more directly involved."
"Never seen a ghost with a metal arm before," Jinx stated.
"We still don't know a lot about ghosts in general." Supergirl responded. "Even our expert's best speculation is mostly theoretical based on her time as a hunter."
"Red Huntress," Raven said, remembering the girl who came to the tower.
"Exactly." Supergirl went on. "Look, I know you have been through a lot today, and you're worried for your friends, but rest assured the League is looking into this. They will find Starfire and we can figure out what to do about Fenrir and the ghost problem, but for now, we need to get you to the Watchtower."
Jinx nodded as Raven looked out into the bay at what remained of her home. "I can't just yet...I need to go there and salvage what I can."
"What? You looking for something in particular?" Supergirl asked.
"Cyborg developed a system that would seal our rooms in case of an attack or emergencies like fire or flooding. Hopefully, when this 'Fenrir' started to freeze the tower, the system activated leaving our items unharmed. My room in particular has a lot of magical items, spellbooks, and other artifacts and Cyborg has a lot of equipment and projects in his, so it's important to salvage what we can from before the sea damages them."
Supergirl nodded, "Alright, let me help."
"I'll stay here and look after the others." Jinx said, "I'll use Argent's communicator in case I need you."
"Be safe," Raven stated as she and the Kryptonian flew towards the wreckage of Titan's Tower.
Jinx went back to her incapacitated friends. "Sorry Star," she apologized to the alien girl, worried about what that man could be doing to her. Yet she also couldn't help but wonder why he wanted her and Argent to leave.
Franz stood outside the door of the containment section of the facility. The loud sounds of fists against reinforced glass echoed even from here, so much so that it was giving him a headache. "RELEASE ME!" The girl shouted as she tried to blast the glass with green bolts only for the green energy to blast off the glass unscathed. The girl's eyes glowed green as she gritted her teeth and kept blasting at the glass. Franz sighed in boredom as he waited for his superior to appear. She must have been at this for the past ten minutes. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She bellowed as she kept blasting at the glass in anger. Ignoring that her blasts had no effect.
The door snapped open and Franz sighed in relief to see his superior come in, his hood was undone and his cloth covering was down, exposing his face. "How is she?" Danny asked.
"Pissed," Franz responded. "When she isn't trying to melt the glass, she's trying to break it down with her bare hands, and when she isn't doing that she's screaming and demanding to be let out."
"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Starfire screamed out once more as she punched the glass.
Danny and Franz turned to the containment section. "That one is a real firecracker..." Franz said.
Danny glanced over to the mercenary. "Go. Leave her to me, don't let anyone else in here. Understand?" He said. Franz nodded as exited the room. When the door slammed shut, Danny took a deep breath in and let it out through his nose. He pulled up his hood and face cover, hiding his face as he went to confront the Tamaranean who was still punching the glass. "It's pointless." He called out, making Starfire stop as she locked her stare on him, panting and sneering at him. Her vivid green eyes were dark with anger and bitterness. "That glass has been reinforced several times over. Just so that you, specifically, can't break it. And in case you haven't noticed, the wards on it disperse any energy that comes into contact with it. I had the best do those."
Starfire growled at him. "I don't care what you've imprisoned me with...you have to release me."
"I don't have to." Danny responded as he approached the glass. "I can keep you in here forever if I damn well choose." Starfire wrathful visage started to slip as tears started to flow from her green eyes as she dropped to her knees. As she wept, Danny stared at her. He began to take in some of her changes that he didn't bother with on his attack. Her red hair was so much longer than he remembered, she seemed to ditch the purple and started wearing white and black...a color scheme that he can't help but feel uncertain about. Yet as she cried, her hands were on the glass and her head hung low as something dangled down from her neck. Danny crouched down to look to see a green star on a chain looking back at him. Danny felt a bullet sensation pierce his chest at the sight of the green ice. His eye started to get watery but he closed his eyes and demanded the tears to fade as he steeled himself. "You...break so easily." He taunted...trying to kill his own weakness at the moment. "So...tell me, why should I let you go? Do you miss your friends that badly? What is out there in the world for a thing like you?"
She looked up at him, her eyes full of disdain as she balled her hands into fists. "Stop calling them that...those people aren't my friends." She said back.
Danny's interest was piqued by that statement. "Oh? So you have worked with them for how many years and you don't consider them friends? Not even the pink-haired one? She seemed to be concerned for you."
Starfire's glare softened. "Jinx and Argent...are an exemption."
"'Argent?'" Danny repeated. "Aaaah...so that must be the short one with the red energy." He said. "And yet the others, the ones you knew the longest...they aren't your friends?"
Starfire glared at him. "Does it matter? I am trapped here with you, and I won't see what happens when they finally learn about Danny's-"
Danny's eyes went wide. "Explain...NOW." He said coldly.
Starfire got to her feet and turned her back towards him. "That doesn't matter anymore...maybe I deserve this..." She said forlornly, "I wasn't there to help Danny...now I get to share his fate being imprisoned and locked away somewhere that no one can find me." She said as she sat down on her cot.
Danny slammed his fist against the glass, getting her attention. "EXPLAIN!" He snapped.
Starfire glanced over to him before sighing. "Years ago, we betr-."
"No! Explain what you mean by 'they finally learn'?!" Danny insisted.
Starfire tilted her head slightly in confusion. "I...I was going to confess to the Justice League about the disappearance of a former teammate named Danny Phantom. He was attacked and given over to the government four years ago. They...denied any knowledge of it while I just stayed quiet about it. Jinx and Argent convinced me to go to the League about it when they learned, they set up a meeting with someone close to the League's Founders where I was going tell them what happened."
Danny felt cold as if his soul left his body, "So...you knew all these years, and you've still worked with them. You never said a thing about what happened, and you didn't even leave them?... only now you were going to say something." He said softly.
Starfire just looked at him as he mumbled to himself, barely able to hear him. "What are you saying?"
He looked over to her. "Well...it's a good thing I came when I did...maybe it was fate that I came by when I did."
Starfire glanced at him, "What do you mean?"
Danny glared at her in turn, "You sat on this for over four years, you could have done something sooner. But you failed...so now it will fall to me to tell them what happened." He said. "After all, it's my story in the end. I should be the one to reveal it."
Starfire only grew more confused. "Your story?" She inquired. "I don't..." She stopped as her green eyes went wide. "Danny?... Is that you?" She asked, her voice cracking as her eyes grew watery. Danny merely said nothing as he took off his hood, long snowy white hair that made her gasp and bring her hands over her mouth. When he pulled down his covering to reveal his face, the alien girl broke into tears as she ran over to the glass. "DANNY!" She cried out as tears fell from her eyes as she pressed herself against the glass trying to get her hands and arms around him. Danny could only stare at her as she desperately tried to get to him. His reveal brought that shine back to her eyes to her eyes as tears streamed down her face as she tried to seemingly claw her way out of her prison. "Danny, please! Let me touch you!" She cried out. "I-I missed you so much!" She called out.
"Did you?" He questioned coldly, making Starfire stop. "Did you really care? Because if you did, you wouldn't be working with the people who betrayed me..." His words began to tear into Starfire. "On that Christmas Day, you weren't there...when those agents set up that Nth energy field that sapped my powers away making me weak and vulnerable...where were you?" He asked as the memories of that first moment he entered the energy field made him ill to his stomach. "When Beast Boy turned into a wolf and pounced on me, as I tried to fight him off as he bit and clawed at me, where were you?" He went on, and the alien shuddered. Her silence made him angrier as he recalled the pain of vicious teeth and feral claws tearing at him as he desperately tried to fight off a large green wolf. "Where were you when Cyborg chased me through the halls of the tower, blasting away at me with that stupid sonic canon of his?!" He asked more furiously, as he recalled the blast hitting him in the shoulder and chest, sending him flying and slamming against the walls that he could have easily phased through if it wasn't for the disruptors. "Where. Were. You. When Raven used those magical spells she was learning from her bastard mentor that tore into me like a ragdoll?! OR WHEN ROBIN CRACKED MY RIBS AND BROKE MY JAW BEFORE KICKING ME OUT A WINDOW ONTO THE FUCKING ROCKS WHERE ALL I COULD FEEL IN MY BODY WAS THE SHARP, COLD ROCKS STABBING INTO ME AND THE WINTER SEAWATER WASHING MY OPEN WOUNDS IN COLD SALT!?" He demanded.
"Danny..." Starfire whimpered.
"And above all else...where were you...when they took me to be their lab rat?!" He cried out. "I waited for you...I begged whatever power that could hear me for someone to save me, and nobody came. You...never came..." He said as he started to wipe his tears from his eyes. "You said...that no matter what the others thought of me, you would be there for me. You promised me all that and in the end, all I got for that hope was misery and pain. So tell me, Starfire...was all that just sweet, meaningless nothings?"
Starfire remained silent as she tried to gather her words. "Robin came into my room that morning. He handed me a gift, at first I thought it was just about the gift-giving ritual. I was getting ready to hand him his gift but when I was distracted, he injected me with a tranquilizer." She confessed. "When I finally came to, I thought I slept in. The others repaired the damage they caused and they all had those ice crystals you made for them. They said that you were nowhere to be found and that you left a note."
"...What did it say?" He asked.
"That you had to go away, but you would be back." Starfire said, "The handwriting was just like yours; maybe if I was thinking clearly I would have realized that it was a fake but when you were gone. I...I couldn't take it. For the first few weeks, I never left my room. Not even when the alarms would go off." She said mournfully. "I was just in there waiting for you. When you didn't come back, I...I couldn't bear it...my heart and my mind were broken." She went on. "My condition became so dire that I was seeing you everywhere...in the mirrors, in the shadows, corners." She started to weep. "It...it felt so real that I swear that I felt your body in my arms, that your scent was in my nose when you were close...I probably would have died in my lonesomeness if Raven hadn't forced herself into my mind and revealed the truth...the truth of what they did to you."
"...Go on." Danny insisted.
"...When I learned of the truth, I felt nothing but hate for them. I wanted to hurt them all. Yet they managed to restrain me, they said that I would come to understand that what they did was right...that is until Malchior revealed his true self." Danny said nothing as he listened to her. "When Malchior revealed his manipulation, that he showed them a vision he built to get Raven on his side, I wanted them to tell me where they took you...that's when I learned about the 'Guys in White.' I demanded we go to get you but Robin said that it would be impossible to retrieve you."
"It didn't take Slade much to overrun the lab where I was kept," Danny stated.
Starfire's eyes went wide. "S-Slade?!"
"Yes, funny how the man who wanted us dead did more for me than my so-called 'Friends.'" Danny said, "Now...continue."
"I wanted to get the Justice League to help us. But...the others refused...they were afraid of the consequences. Even when the Justice League were setting up a search operation for you, they refused to give them any information."
"And you?" Danny said. "Why did it take you so long to say anything?"
"I was afraid they wouldn't believe me. It was the other's words against mine, and I had no evidence to bolster my own while Robin had the trust of one of the League's founding members and evidence that I was not well in mind...having recorded my moments when my mind wasn't my own." She confessed as she got on her knees and looked up at him. "I understand if you can't forgive me Danny, but please understand that I never lied when I said that I love you."
Danny stared at her, those green eyes were looking at him with so much sorrow that made him frown. He crossed his arms. "Maybe you did once...but I'm not that person anymore. The 'Danny' that you loved...died as a broken husk in a laboratory at the hands of cruel researchers whose entire experiments revolved around seeing what happens when you fill a soul with so much hate, suffering, and pain." He said as he started to leave. "It turns out, it mutates into me." He stopped as he reached the door, turning to Starfire, "You had nothing to do with what happened to me, I understand now, but I can't let you go since you now know too much. So for now, you will stay here." He said to hear. "When my business is done, I can let you go then. Goodbye, Koriand'r." He said as he opened the door.
"No! Danny wait!" She got to her feet and called out to him just as the door closed, making the Alien girl start to cry softly.
"Is everything alright, sir?" Franz asked as Danny stared blankly at the floor.
"Been better." Danny said as he turned to Franz. "Give her three meals a day. And fulfill any reasonable request she has, understand?"
Franz nodded, "Understood sir." Danny nodded back as he created a portal back to the Ghost Zone.
Meanwhile
Lex Luthor watched the news report coming out of Jump City, and the entrepreneur couldn't shake the small cool grin on his face as the camera showed the devastation of Titan's Tower. The broken pieces and sealed compartments were still being dredged out of the sea by some members of the League. Luthor recognized the female Kryptonian and the hooded sorceress. Admittedly, he felt some pride in his nephew's work, finally channeling that anger against the League. As he watched the news, his computer messaged him from a private secured link. "Lex Luthor speaking." He answered, not taking his eyes off the TV.
"I have seen your project on the television," the caller responded back. "Do you think he is ready to join our ranks?"
Luthor allowed himself to smile more. "I can assure you, he will be a magnificent asset."
"You have a history of being arrogant and prideful in your purists. What makes this one special?" Vandal Savage asked over the call.
"Our council is composed of some of the forerunners in a variety of aspects. Business, science, politics, magic...he will be the voice and the hand of the one force us mortals and even immortals like you have struggled to understand. The one thing that all mortals dread."
"And that would be?"
"The Afterlife, Vandal Savage," Lex answered. "The existence of life after death. The Light could use someone who can provide us with insight into the truth of what happens after death, and not only is he a primary expert. He is the exemplar of its existence." The call was silent for a few minutes.
"I will extend the invitation to them. But if your creation can't be sustained, it will be your doom Luthor." Savage said as the call hung up. Luthor's smirk only grew wider as the TV shifted to an image of a black hooded robe hovering over the destroyed tower before disappearing through a portal.
Danny looked over the burgeoning lab he had just entered. "I see that you've been making yourself right at home Technus." He said.
The Ghost of Technology looked over from his equipment with a pleased smile. "Welcome child!" He greeted. "Or I guess I should get used to calling you king." Technus corrected as he hovered over to him. "I see you're back from the living world; got anything for me?" Danny conjured a green portal and pulled out a couple of Cyborg's crushed parts. "OOOOOOH?!" Technus excitedly grabbed the parts and brought them to a nearby table. He quickly studied the new parts, taking apart what was possible and shifting through the components. "Where did you get this? This is extremely advance tech you have here!" He said eagerly.
"An old friend." Danny answered. "I want you to analyze their parts and see if you can engineer a new arm for me based on the design." He said as he gestured to his own skeletal arm.
"I can give it a look through," Technus answered as he already started to skim through the parts, taking every piece to his eye and looking at them from every angle before seemingly separating them out. "Though it would be easier if these were more intact."
"I apologize but when I was ripping them off my intended purpose was less about keeping them intact and more about inflicting as much damage as I could." Danny shot back. "There is...another thing."
Technus looked over at him. "What that would be?"
"Are you familiar with the Watchtower space station?"
Technus was silent for a moment as he brought a hand to his chin in thought. "I think so, if I recall that is the name of the orbital command center for that Justice League supergroup."
Danny tilted his head at that. "Huh...not gonna lie, I am surprised you knew that. Ember and Desiree had never heard of the Justice League."
Technus smirked. "Ah, let's just say when I was busy pushing you and that girl together so I could get into the processing unit of the Cybertron Mega Computer, I had some time to surf the web and learn what I missed out on. So you can say I'm 'hip' with the Justice League." He explained. "In fact, if I succeeded, I would have loved to see if I could have got into its systems."
"Well...interesting that you mentioned that."
Technus's interest was peaked. "Go on."
"I want to hack into the Watchtower, and..." he took in a deep breath, "and release some data into its system."
"What sort of data?" Technus asked. "A virus?"
"No. A...recording...the only one of its kind left." Danny explained as he summoned another portal and pulled out a small case with a disc in it.
"A recording?" Technus asked again as he took the disc from him. "Of what?"
"...It is the surviving video logs of the experiments I had underwent," Danny said.
"Wait...YOU were a test subject?!" Technus shrieked loudly.
Danny quickly grabbed his mouth to silence him. "QUIET." He growled as he turned his attention to the lab's door. After not sensing another ghost within earshot he released his hold. "Yes. I was a test subject. The experiments were what made me today...save for the mechanical bits. I want you to figure out a way that I can get it into their system and make sure it plays. I want every member of the Justice League, every detachment, to see what's on it."
Technus raised an intrigued eyebrow at the demand. "Well...I could create a high-powered transmitter but there isn't a guarantee that it would be able to get into their system before they notice someone trying to get in. Not to mention that I wouldn't have enough time to transmit it to every branch of the Justice League like you want. Especially since if what is even remotely true about it, the Watchtower's systems and firewalls are the strongest in the solar system...so it would take a long time for me to try and hack it blindly...unless..." Technus pondered until an idea emerged that made the tech ghost grin.
"Go on..." Danny asked.
"I could absorb the data on the disk, phase into the Watchtower's systems, and personally hack into it. Like I did back with Axion Labs. It would take time but I doubt they would expect a ghost to be in their systems so I can do it safely and more securely. Once I do, I could control the system in possibly a matter of seconds and be able to upload your recordings to wherever they have a connection to."
"But in doing so you would have all the data on the disk directly into your mind..." Danny said.
"Yes. But you're planning to reveal it to hundreds of people already right? So what's wrong with the first being your Head Researcher?" Technus asked. "Having trust issues already?"
"The information on that disk is mine to reveal...not anyone else. Trust isn't an issue in this circumstance." Danny stated. "The principle of this matter is I should be the one to reveal my experiences on my terms. Not have somebody do it for me; all I need are the means to do so. That is why I came to you for that." Danny explained. "Create the transmitter." He said as he took the disk from Technus.
"Very well, I'll get started ASAP." Technus said as he turned towards a worktable. "Do you need any more of me?"
Danny shook his head. "No, that should be enough. Thank you." He said as he left the lab. As he headed towards the tower's library, skeletal spirits began to salute him as he walked by in acknowledgment. As he got closer, he began to hear the distinct cords of a guitar playing. When he reached the source of the music, he saw Ember playing on her pink guitar. Her eyes were closed and her flaming blue hair smoldered soothingly as she swayed side to side, sitting in a chair, lost in the music. Danny said nothing as he listened and watched the ghost rocker play.
Ember smile grew a bit more as she opened her eyes, only to stop at seeing Danny peering around the door frame. "AH!" She jumped in fright causing her flaming blue hair to erupt in a flume for a moment as she flinched. "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE DIPSTICK?! I didn't see those weird portals that you always use!" She snapped.
Danny smirked at Ember's reaction, especially at the color that seemed to flourish on her face. "I had to see Technus first about something." He retorted. "Though I get to admit, if I knew you would explode like that I probably would have tried to be more subtle next time."
"Ha ha ha...very funny." Ember groaned. "Anyway, where have you been? Aside from spying on me like a creep?"
"Busy, nothing to concern yourself with." Danny answered.
"Right, well if you're looking for Desiree, she's with that princess chick you helped out earlier. Dora or whatever her name is. Skulker is well..Skulkering and Walker is over at his prison." Ember said as she went back to playing on her guitar. "And Fright Knight is running some drills with the other boneheads."
"I see, well thanks for telling me." He said as he went over to a nearby shelf. As he scanned the books, Ember's music began to pick right back up. Danny couldn't help but listen to the music. 'For as much of a pain in the ass she was before, there was no denying she had some actual talent.' Danny thought to himself. As he listened to the music, he couldn't help but think back to his first encounter with the ghost idol. "That isn't your usual song." He said offhandedly.
Ember stopped and turned to him. "What? You think I'm just some one-hit wonder?" She said. "Unlike some other hacks, I DO write all my music ya know."
"Right..." Danny answered as he turned to her, watching her tweak the cords on her guitar before strumming it. "So, how long have you been playing music?" He asked.
Ember gave him a confused look. "I dunno, back when I was alive is the natural answer. For the exact age? I can't recall. I was very young though, Barely in my teens I think." She stated. "Why?"
Danny stared at Ember and the guitar for a moment before getting an idea. "So...if it isn't weird or anything, could you...like...teach me?"
Ember cocked an eyebrow at him. "Come again?"
"Could you teach me? To play the guitar?" He clarified.
Ember stared at him, looking him up and down before shrugging. "Yeah sure, why not." She said, gesturing over to a seat next to her. As Danny sat down, Ember handed him her guitar. Danny took the guitar gently as he looked over it, carefully getting his hands on the neck and the body before he shifted into the correct position. Ember got up and walked behind him. "Right so you want to place your hands like this." She said as she grabbed his hands and guided them to the right positions. Danny was surprised by the action, especially when Ember seemed to press her chest against his back.
Later
A woman with long blond hair, a small blue jacket, a black one-piece bustier, and leggings rode on a motorcycle through the streets of Star City, riding after a figure in a scarlet hood with a quiver of arrows on its back. The figure looked back and narrowed its bright green eyes at her before speeding off. The woman placed a finger against her earpiece. "Target is heading towards Forrester Tower." She said.
"Understood, Canary" Green Arrow responded in. "I should be there in ten minutes."
"Got it, Ollie." She answered as she revved her bike up to go faster. She and Green Arrow have been chasing this strange archer for the better part of the night after hearing reports of someone hiding away in the bank. Strangely, the person wasn't holding hostages or demanding money like most criminals. Instead, it seemed to have stuck to hiding away and firing arrows at anyone who seemed to get too close.
Naturally, Oliver Queen contacted her to help look into it. Yet neither of them had expected the red archer to be nonhuman as evidenced by the lack of a pair of legs, a featureless face save for the eyes, and the ability to fly and phase through walls. The figure managed to keep them on a chase, occasionally firing flaming arrows at them. For now, their goal was to find a way to keep them at one place till the League sent support.
Dinah Lance, or Black Canary to the League, was able to keep on top of the figure. Watching as he phased into the building, she swerved her motorcycle to a stop and got off. She started to run into the building causing people to stare at the beautiful woman as she started to rush towards the elevator. "Arrow, the marksmen is up on the eighth floor of the tower!" She said as she managed to catch an empty elevator.
"Understood, setting up across the street." Green Arrow responded. Black Canary quickly pressed the button for the floor. When the door came open she gasped and just barely dodged a flaming arrow whizzing just inches from her face. She then saw the arrow had what looked like sticks of black powder at the end with a lit fuse. Canary quickly pressed the button to close the elevator doors and ran before the fuse went off. The explosion caused Black Canary to leap and the people still stuck on the floor panicked.
"EVERYONE OUT! USE THE STAIRS!" She barked at the evacuating office workers.
The red-hood archer wasted no time firing another arrow at her, causing her to duck as she started to charge him. The archer merely phased through her punches much to her annoyance as she opened her mouth and let out a sonic scream that shattered the windows on the floor, making the red-hooded archer place his hands on the side of his head and groan in pain.
As the red archer tried to fly away, he was smacked by a green boxing glove with an arrow shaft sticking out of it, forcing him on the floor just as Green Arrow arrived riding on a zipline into the building. Black Canary stopped screaming as the red archer fired an arrow at her that expanded into a net, capturing the blond girl with it just as Green Arrow fired an arrow of his own.
The red archer phased through it letting it embed itself in the wall behind him as he ready an arrow. The sound of a beeping coming from the green arrow made him turn his attention and watch as it exploded into a flash of bright light. The red archer made a loud, angry shout as the flash made him blind for a moment as he covered his eyes and tried to fly out of the building. Oliver Queen readied another arrow only for a purple blast of energy to hit the red archer and sticking him to a wall with what seemed to be a glowing, purple substance.
Green Arrow looked over to see a young woman in black and red armor flying on a hoverboard flying in. "Took ya long enough." He said with a small smile. "Red Huntress right?"
Valerie nodded back, "Sorry, I hurried over as quickly as I could when I got the call." She said as she looked at the trapped ghost struggling to break free.
Oliver went over to the netted Black Canary and cut her loose. "You okay beautiful?" He asked coyly as he offered her a hand.
"My ego is bruised but I'll live." She replied as she grabbed his hand. She turned to Valerie. "So you're that ghost expert the League has recruited."
Valerie nodded. "Yeah, Valerie Grey. Red Huntress." She greeted as she held out her hand.
Black Canary smiled and shook it. "Dinah Lance, Black Canary." She greeted back before turning towards the trapped ghost. "Never thought I would see the day we get a ghost."
"You two were lucky, you got one of the more human ones." Valerie stated.
"Says you, I was on my last arrows." Ollie stated. "I don't know where this guy kept getting more."
"At least no one was hurt." Black Canary offered. "But still, what should we do with him? We don't exactly have a place where we can keep him. He would just phase through anything right?"
"I do have a containment cell, back in my base of operations." Valerie stated. "There I can try to get him to talk. See how he got here and-." She was cut off when she got a notice from someone. "Red Huntress here."
"Valerie, it's me. Supergirl." Kara stated. "We got a big one over in Jump City."
"Ghost attack?" Valerie asked.
"Yeah...the Titans got hit pretty hard. Valerie...It's him...it was Fenrir."
Valerie's eyes went wide. "I'll be there ASAP."
END