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: Okay, I am sorry for how late this was. I had to go through a lot of things, namely quite a few pouts of sickness and some deaths in the family. Just weirdly back to back. Not to mention just the natural hustle of life kinda taking advantage of me. So I hope you at least enjoy the chapter enough to make up for it.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demonic/other-worldly voices or thoughts"
(Author's Note/Translation)
Chapter 23: I Don't Want to Remember Me, Part 5
Argent's eyes slowly opened as she finally regained consciousness. Her vision was hazy at first till she saw Jinx sitting next to her bed. "Hey, how you feeling?" The misfortune-slinger asked with a small smile.
Argent groaned as she placed her hands over her eyes. "I got a headache," she croaked. "Ugh, and it feels like someone tried to crush my voice-box." She looked over and her eyes went wide as she saw the Earth floating just outside a massive window. "Woah!..."
Jinx smirked. "Yeah, welcome to the Watchtower," Jinx said. "We were brought here after the attack. Raven is still being questioned over it."
"What about Cyborg and Beast Boy?" Argent asked.
"Cyborg was too busted up, he's getting repairs at a STAR labs facility. BB is in a different room, he's been knocked out for a while." Jinx answered her. "We...may be stuck up here for a while."
Argent frowned as she recalled the Tower being destroyed by ice and decay. Then her mind went to Starfire causing her to turn to Jinx. "What about Star?"
"She is...still missing. Along with all the information we had on Danny." Jinx answered.
Argent rose from her back and scooted over to the side of the bed to face Jinx. "So, now what? Should we just tell them?"
Jinx was silent for a moment. "I don't know. Hawkgirl and Supergirl came wanting to hear Starfire's testamony to the events; with her gone then I don't know if they will take what we have to say seriously, considering we weren't even around when Danny disappeared. Besides, they seem more concerned with the guy who attacked us than trying to figure out what happened to a person who disappeared a couple of years ago."
"So what? Are we just gonna sit on it?! Just stew on the fact that our so-called friends sold out one of their own to be a government lab rat somewhere?!" Argent exclaimed. Jinx can only frown in response, causing Argent to sigh. "I...I'm sorry. I just woke up remembering that Starfire is gone and my home got frozen and shattered into pieces and now that we're not even in the position of getting the League to look into Danny's disappearance it's just so-."
"No...It's fine Argent, it's understandable. I don't like it either," Jinx cut her off, before forming a small smile. "In...some lighter news, Bumblebee and her group over at Steel City heard what happened and offered to let us stay at their tower," Jinx suggested.
"Oh okay." Argent said before tilting her head to the side in thought. "But...why do I get the feeling you're not coming with?"
Jinx frowned as she recalled her encounter with Fenrir, those red eyes looking at her in a contemplative manner, telling her to run away with Argent. It ate away at her and made her want answers and the plea to run away tells her that he is planning to attack Jump City again. So at the very least, she can send Argent away to hopefully a safer place. "I volunteered to help with the salvage mission for the tower." She half-lied. "Besides, I might stay with my boyfriend instead." She said as she made a small smile when she thought about Wally and how long it had been since the last time she had seen him in person.
Argent gave her a small smirk at the mention of the speedster. "Oh? And I assume your stay with be PG13-rated?"
Jinx pushed the shorter girl lightly. "Shut up," she said, making the punk goth chuckle.
Meanwhile
Ember listened intently to the series of strings being played by Danny. She had gone over the basics with him and she hated to admit it, but he had made good progress. However, he made it clear that his cybernetic eye was helping him memorize the strings and the finger positions faster than most would. So no reason for her to be annoyed with him...yet. As Danny finished his series he looked up at her, eager for appraisal.
Ember could only nod. "Alright, not bad," she agreed with a small smile. "Keep practicing and maybe I would have considered you a place in my band as a roadie."
"Gee, such high praise," Danny said with a frown as he gave Ember her guitar back.
Ember laughed coyly. "Relax Babypop. Not bad, reminds me of me when I was learning." She said more sincerely as she tuned her guitar slightly. "So tell me, why did you want to learn guitar anyway?" She said as she played a riff as if to emphasize her point.
"Someone close to me likes music." He said fondly as he thought of Circe, the second of his lovers and the music lover of them.
Ember took note of his smile and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? And who might that be? The spooky chick?"
Danny gave her a confused look. "'Spooky chick?'" He asked.
"Yeah...remember, the spooky chick in black? The one I made you have a thing for when we first met, with my love spell." She explained.
Danny's eyes went wide as memories of Sam flashed into his mind. "O-Oh...yes...of course." He said as he began to feel a hole in his heart form as his memories of the goth girl came to him. "No...she's...not around."
"Oh...um...I-"
Danny held up his hand. "Don't. You didn't know...you couldn't possibly have known." Danny stated as he got to his feet. "Thank you for the lesson." He said stiffly as he walked out of the library.
Ember raised her hand as she left as if getting ready to reach out to him only to find herself unable to say anything as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "Good going McLain, you're driving off you're one ticket to the living world."
Danny left the room with a small ping of guilt forming in his gut. It had been over 6 years since Sam, Tucker, and his family were lost to him. He then thought about Shayera and Kara...as he did his thoughts went to his brief encounter with Supergirl back at the tower. Kara didn't recognize him. Not that he could blame her, who really could anymore? He allowed himself a small smile as he recalled the last time he saw her in person before he became a Titan.
Flashback
Danny and Kara were sitting on the edge of a rooftop, both of them looking over the city as they ate burgers. "So you're gonna join up with that new team over in Jump City huh?" Kara asked as she wiped her mouth on a napkin. A smile formed on her face as she looked at him with her pale blue eyes.
"Yeah," Danny admitted as he took some of his fries. "I mean Shayera thinks it might be good for me to be part of a team since all I've been doing is just working with you and her; she keeps saying she's certain I will do good. Thinks it's about time I go off on my own and prove my worth to the Justice League and all that but..." He said as he frowned.
"But...what?" Kara asked sincerely.
"It's just that...what if I screw up?" Danny asked. "It's been a while since I've...you know...stayed in one place. What if I just mess up and make things worse? Or what if-"
"Danny," Kara said as she placed a hand on his shoulder making the ghost guy smile at her, her blond hair blowing in the wind. "You are your biggest critic. You know that right?"
"It's just that...I'm...scared. The last time I tried the whole 'city defender' bit I couldn't stop something disastrous and I've been scared of that happening again so I just...keep going from place to place, trying to avoid that responsibility."
"Well you won't be alone, you'll have a good team with you." Kara said reassuringly. "Besides, if you ever really need help you know Hawkgirl will be there for you. I will be there for you too."
Danny smiles at her. "I...I guess. I don't know, maybe I need to think more about it."
Kara laughed and playfully ruffled his hair. "There you go again, thinking too much!" She teased before giving him a sincere smile. "Look, for what it's worth Shayera and I think you can handle it. You just need more confidence in yourself. And I'm sure you will even get along with your teammates."
"Yeah? And what makes you so sure about that?"
Kara smiled more as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a mild embrace. "Just be yourself, Danny. That alone should be more than enough."
Danny returned the gesture around the alien girl. "Thanks Kara." He said back.
The two held this moment for a while. "You know...I'm going to miss having you around." Kara confessed as her voice sounded forlorn, "Before I came to Earth, my job was to look after my baby cousin. But when I finally came here he was already a grown man and he didn't need me. If anything I ended up relying on him." Danny looked at her as she gave him a playful bump on his side. "But...having you around it felt nice having someone to rely on me and not just chalk me up as 'Superman but in a skirt' or Kal-El's cousin. I'm going to miss that when you become some big named hero."
Danny chuckled. "And you say I sell myself short."
"Oh shut up." Kara snickered as she shoulder-bumped him lightly. "Still, I do mean it." She said as she smiled at him. "I'm gonna miss having you around."
"Yeah, I gonna miss you too Kara."
Danny's thoughts were cut off as a chilled, red mist flowed from his mouth, and an annoyed growl rumbled in his throat. "Alright...who's there? Show yourself." He demanded. A skeleton approached him but watched as it shifted into a new form, one with a black fedora with red tinted glasses but a smooth, pale face with no features along with a long black overcoat with a white shirt and red tie carrying a cane with a skull.
The figure took off his hat and simply bowed. "I am Amorpho. Shapeshifter extraordinaire," he greeted.
Danny made a small amused smile. "Interesting, now that we got the 'who' let's hear the 'when' and 'why'." He stated as he crossed his arms.
"I've been here for a while now, with you gone most of the time and your 'council' busy with their own agendas, it was easy for no one to notice an errant minion trudging along not at the same pace. As for the why, well the rumor goes of there being a new ghost king that defeated Pariah Dark. You don't think a curious individual like myself will not wish to see if it's true? That and the other rumor of said ghost king being able to go to the living world on a whim is especially interesting."
"Ah, so you want me to send you to the other side," Danny responded. "You must have a lot of unfinished business on the other side if you risk potentially getting caught and treated like an intruder as opposed to a guest. Especially when you can just give your appeal to Desiree and she would eventually get to me about it."
"Well as I said, I wanted to see you in person. I will admit when I first heard of the new Ghost King Fenrir, I expected someone a bit more imposing for the Devourer of Tyrants. I-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Danny interrupted. "Who is calling me that?" He asked.
"Some of the more old-fashioned ghosts." Amorpho answered. "After what happened to both Pariah Dark and Prince Aragon, some of them have started to come up with more colorful titles for you."
'Well...still a better name than Inviso-Bill' Danny thought to himself. "I suppose I should be used to that. Alright, it's clear what it is you want. So now, the real question is, what are you willing to do for it?"
Amoprho shifted into Danny's appearance, then into Fright Knight's, Desiree's, and Technus's, quickly taking on perfect mimicry of their forms. "I can be anyone I see. Ghost," he said as he then took on the form of an elderly old woman in a walker, then into a large strong muscle-builder, a duck, and so on. "Or anything else. If you send me back to the human world, I can be your eyes and ears."
"Hmmm, I can see uses for someone with your abilities, but you have to realize that there are people there that can threaten someone like you. Do you think you can handle it?"
"I am very proud of my abilities, and despite my reputation, I can assure you that I am a ghost of my word," Amorpho said.
Danny narrowed his eyes at him. "Alright, fine. I'll give you a chance...in fact, I already have a job for you."
"Excellent!" Amorpho said, "Let's hear it!"
"Very soon, there will be an attack in Gotham City; are you familiar with that place?" Amorpho nodded. "Good, I need you to take on a role as an officer for the Gotham Police. When you hear they are starting to go en mass to investigate a potential smuggling operation at a dock, I need you to contact me as soon as you can."
"Seems simple enough, what's the catch?" Amorpho asked.
"It's a trap." Danny answered. "Created by a person who calls himself the Joker. I need it to go off so it brings out a vigilante called the Batman. When he shows up at the scene I can follow him to his base of operations. He has something that can potentially lead to some countermeasures for my plans. So I need to take it from him. After that, you are free to do as you please."
Amorpho nodded. "As you wish, and do you want me to save anyone from this trap?"
"No." Danny said. "I can't risk you potentially exposing yourself. Just report to me when you get the orders to investigate." Danny explained as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a small communicator. "Use this to message me." He said as he handed it to Amorpho and opened a portal to Gotham City.
Amorpho looked at the portal, his featureless face scanning it before shape-shifting into a man in a police uniform. "Off I go as one of Gotham's Finest. Hopefully, this won't take too long. I am itching for some real fun of my own." Amorpho commented as he went through the portal.
As Danny closed the portal he received a call from Skulker. "What is it?"
"I found it." Skulker's blunt response came.
"Found what?"
"The hydra! The one that Desiree mentioned." Skulker snapped.
"Send me the coordinates, don't engage till I get there," Danny responded as Skulker sent him the details, creating another portal. Hoping a little monster hunting will aid his distracting thoughts, Danny appeared beside Skulker who was hovering and watching the beast with a pair of telescopic goggles. "Did it hurt anyone?" Danny asked.
"GAH!" Skulker jumped at Danny's sudden question before growling in annoyance. "Warn me when you teleport next time. And no, no one has been hurt." Skulker said as he went back to observing the beast. "It's strange, it has been going through major occupied spaces but leaving most of it unharmed aside from putting the locals in a trance of some kind."
Danny looked at the creature, its back was towards them as it swam through the empty void of the ghost zone. It was a grey, lifeless color and its body was misshapen with vague sores and tumor-like growths. And of course, it had a few long necks that ended with glimpses of a human-like face, only the eyes were empty and blackened. It seemed to wander about aimlessly as if searching for something. "And any help?" Danny questioned.
"Um...none. Nobody wanted to help when I explained to them what the creature was capable of. A lot of ghosts favor their memories dearly so when a creature can steal them or alter them then they do not want to tangle with it."
"And does that include you?" Danny asked.
Skulker smirked. "I don't get scared easily ghost child, you know that better than anyone."
"Well as long as it doesn't have a PDA then we should be fine," Danny stated making the hunter grumble under his breath. "Alright, how's this? I go in first, distract it, then you can blast it with whatever it is you got. See what we can use to hurt it."
"Agreed, but one thing I've noticed since I started tracking it down. It its going in a circle." Skulker stated "And the circle gets smaller each time."
Danny raised an eyebrow. "So could it be a typical hunting pattern? Any idea what was in the center?"
"Yeah. Your tower."
Danny's eyes raised wide. "Wait, are you suggesting that it was...hunting for me? Specifically?"
"It could be. I also noticed that it seems to be more active when you're here, that's how I knew to call you to begin with." Skulker answered as he went back to studying it. "So should we go with your plan?" Skulker said as he summoned his jetpack.
"Wait," Danny said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "if it's hunting for me, then maybe it can be reasoned with. Maybe it has some sort of hidden intelligence."
"WHAT?! You want to try and reason with this thing?!" Skulker snapped, frustrated that his time of stalking and hunting this beast would be for nothing.
"Give me a half an hour, Skulker." Danny stated, "I am curious to see if it is after me." Danny flew over to the creature, leaving the hunter growling in annoyance as he crossed his arms and cursed under his breath.
Danny flew to the beast; as he got closer the very air around the beast felt like a dense haze or a fog entering his mind as he experienced what felt like scratches inside his own mind. "Hey!" He called out to the beast. All four heads turned to face him, staring him down with their empty eyes. As soon as he did Danny felt his mind slip from him as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went limp.
"Damn it welp!" Skulker cursed as he prepared to charge it.
"TIME OUT." A loud command sounded as Skulker was frozen in place. Skulker's eyes looked around, it wasn't just his mechanical body frozen but even his true small self was frozen in this position as his eyes spotted a man in a violet cloak appearing by him. He had distinct red eyes with a long black scar under one of them, and his body was filled with mechanical gears and turns like the inside of a cloak. The figure turned to Skulker, his body shifting from a man to an elder with a long flowing white beard and becoming hunched over. "Sorry Skulker, but this is something Danny must experience."
Danny's ears ringed like sirens and his head throbbed as he shut his eyes tightly and clenched his hands over his ears. After a few moments, the ringing stopped as he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry as he could hear a faint echo, before it came in clearer. "Danny...Danny...DANNY!" His eyes snapped wide as his vision became unhazed. His eyes grew wide as he saw two faces staring back at him, concern clear on their faces.
"S-Sam?...Tucker?" His voice came out shakily as he gaped at them, thoughts racing through his head as he stared at them. His eyes began to burn as they grew watery.
Tucker adjusted his glasses as he put his PDA in his pocket to place a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, you okay?"
Sam came over to his other side and placed a hand on his back. "Do you need to sit down Danny?" Sam asked cautiously.
Danny could only wipe his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming. "I-I just..." His voice broke as he looked up; just in front of him was a red brick stone building with a large eyesore of an operation center on top with a neon sign reading 'Fenton Works' on it. Home. Danny rushed to the building and into it. Everything was as he remembered. The living room with an old throw rug and TV, and the kitchen with its tacky 'Fenton' branded appliances.
Danny looked around, his head spinning as questions upon questions layered on his mind. So many 'hows' or 'whys' that it was overwhelming as he placed his hand on his head. Catching himself in the mirror, he saw himself back when he was fourteen, before everything went downhill. No cybernetics, no scars. "Danny? Sweetie? Is that you?" Another voice called out to him.
Danny froze in place as a woman with purple eyes and short auburn hair wearing a blue jumpsuit came up from the basement. "Mom?" He asked.
His mother, looking at him with concern came rushing over to him. "Danny?! What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.
As if hearing her concern, another voice called out from the basement. "Everything okay up there Maddie?"
Maddie turned over and called out. "Jack come up here, something's wrong with Danny!"
As soon as she said that, loud stomping steps came rushing up as a tall and large man with black hair greying along the sides of his head, wearing an orange jumpsuit. "Danny? What's wrong son?" He asked as he placed a large hand on his shoulder, staring him down with blue eyes. His own blue eyes.
"D-Dad? I-I just." He wiped his eyes as he felt the need to cry begin to overwhelm him as he dropped to his knees. His mother and father got down and hugged him tightly.
"Hey, it's okay Danny." His mother said softly.
"Just let it out, Son." His father encouraged him.
Danny began to cry loudly as he buried his face in their shoulders. He wrapped his arms tightly around them, letting himself surrender into the forgotten parental warmth of his mother and father. The sound of Sam and Tucker running into the building was the only thing that made him look up and see his two friends looking at him with worry and concern. He smiled at them reassuringly but as he did, a sinking feeling grew in his stomach. "W-Wait!" He said as he tried to break away from his parents but their hold on him grew tighter. "L-Let me go."
"Son?" His father asked in confusion.
"Let me go." He said more firmly as their hold wouldn't cease. The wrong feeling in his stomach became a panic as his memories of the blinding green light came back so vividly as if he was witnessing it all over again.
"Danny, it's okay." His mother said comfortingly.
"LET ME GO!" He roared as pushed them off and changed his form. He looked down at his hands, seeing the mechanical hand again and his red eye in the mirror snapped him back to reality as a coldness entered him. He gazed at these impostors. "Who are you?... What is this? Explain...now."
Sam, Tucker, Maddie, and Jack looked guiltily at the floor. Till one of them spoke up. "Danny...it's us." Tucker said earning him a sharp glare with Danny's burning red eyes.
"Just...not as you remembered." Sam went on.
"Or how we would have wanted to reunite with you," Jack spoke.
"But it's us in the end...and some more." Maddie finished. "Speaking to you directly, mind to mind."
"W-What are you talking about?" Danny asked, watching in awe as everything faded away into white light and re-emerged again only to see Sam, Tucker, Jack and Maddie bound and gagged by glowing green cords as GIW agents left the house in a hurry.
"When those men invaded Fenton Works and rigged the Fenton portal to explode, they assumed it would leave no traces behind." The voices of all four of them entered his mind. Leaving him to watch in horror as the bright green light erupted from under him. In a moment he saw all four of them being vaporized into chard remains and dust in slow motion, rending his very heart in his chest as the bright green light was too much for him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw he was back in the empty void of the ghost zone once more. "Yet they didn't expect that so much ectoplasmic energy, taking that many lives so quickly," the voice explained as he watched a gray fleshly ball form. "Would cause those consciousnesses to fuse and create...us." The voices went on as long serpentine appendages emerged and small heads began to grow.
"No..." Danny whispered as he watched the shape grow and grow forming itself to the beast. Refusing to accept the implications. "That's not possible."
"Look Danny, I know it's hard to understand. It was for...all of us at the start." Jack talked to him, placing a kind but firm hand on his shoulder. "But it is true." Danny looked around and began to see that he was surrounded by waves of people standing around him in a circle. He recognized some of the faces, neighbors, townies, and even some students he attended school with. All of the people that must have been caught in the blast.
"Yeah it was...difficult at first," Sam said as she cupped his head, forcing him to look at her. "So many feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories were running through our minds at once. But in the end, we sorted it out."
"So all those victims are here?" Danny asked as he looked around. "But then where's Jasmine? Where's my sister?" He asked as he looked around the sea of faces trying to find her, but as he did they all slinked away as if ashamed.
"Jazz isn't here, Danny." Maddie said. "She wasn't at the house when the blast happened."
Danny's eyes shot wide as he turned to his mother. "Then could she have survived?!" Danny said, his eyes wide. "She...she could still be out there?" He asked hopefully.
"And we can find her together son." Jack said reassuringly. "With your help, we can be united as one."
Danny felt anxious at the phrase. "W-What do you mean by that?"
Jack's smiling face never faded even when sensing the apprehension in his son thanks to the shared mental link. "Why isn't that obvious son, join us. Stay here with us!"
Danny smacked Jack's hand off his shoulder as he stepped away from the crowd, "NO!" He shouted as he backed away, staring down the crowd as they stared at him with slightly disappointed frowns on their faces. Danny glared sharply as darkness gathered around him. The others can only watch on, vacantly. Tiredly. As if dissatisfied in his display as if he were a child throwing a tantrum. Danny's glare softened as the darkness let up and he let out a long breath, "Look, I...I can fix this. I, with some time, can-."
"NO!" They roared in unison as the sight of his old home crumbled away into a void darker than all the ghost zone. "Please, help me!", "Someone! Help! It hurts!", "Why can't I feel anything?!" Voice shouted one after another, a suffering child, a scared woman, a tormented man echoed in his mind. "Break us apart!"
Danny snapped his eyes ed as the voice became silent, their assault on his senses quiet. He looked around seeing his parents and friends again. "Please...listen, I promise that I can fix you...I just need time. I have resources that-."
"We already know Danny," Maddie spoke. "We...all know what has happened to you after we lost each other."
Danny could only be silent, staring down at the void at his feet. "How much?" He asked...a foolish question, but one he felt to ask.
"...We know you suffered son...you suffered more than enough." His father said, his voice filled with a paternal understanding."
"The loneliness," his mother whispered.
"The longing." Tucker sighed.
"The love." Sam whimpered.
"The pain." They all spoke together. In an instant, he stood before himself...staring at the flayed sight of himself strung by the wrist and shins between two posts like a slaughtered hunted prey carcass. The sight nearly made him vomit as all the memories of the sensations of feeling the sinews snap from his skin rushed towards him. He flashes back to the freshest memories of the final sequences of the experiments, inflicting enough injuries to his form to overclock his healing factor. In this case when they used an ectoplasm-powered laser to peel his ghostly skin from his body.
"You...I can-." Danny tried to speak before he felt hands placed on his, looking around him to see them all. Hands on his own, a remorseful but concerned look in their eyes that made him want to wither.
"You don't need to explain, we know you have changed." They all said at once. "You have done some terrible things, but we know it was because you are in pain." They went on. Sam's voice spoke out alone, "I've always loved you Danny, but I just wished I could've said that when it mattered." Danny wanted to cry out to her but Tucker spoke out. "I wanted to admit that I always envied you! You could have had anything in the world with your powers, but you chose to help others instead, I don't think I could ever have done that!"
"Tucker!" Danny cried out. "Listen!"
"I have always been proud of you, my baby boy!" Maddie cried out to her son. Tears running down her face. "I just wished I could have protected you more!"
"Mom!" Danny tried to reach out to her before shifting to his father who slammed his large hands on his shoulders. "I am so sorry you felt like couldn't trust us! If you told us, I wouldn't have been mad I swear!" Jack shouted with a heartbroken look that made Danny freeze in fear and remorse.
"STOP!" Danny cried out once more causing them to be silent. "Just stop!..." He felt solid ground under his feet as he dropped to his knees. This...beast in his head was giving him an illusion of solidarity to try and stabilize his nerves. "Just tell me...how much...did you see." He asked.
The silence was heavy, truly a foolish question...he knew that they knew. "You have been through so much," the unified voices spoke. In the void, he saw more images. Watching his memories from a projection on a screen. The first was him as an aimless roamer, under a bridge, tracking shelter for the night. "When we died, you lost your place in this world, but you saw the future. You vowed not to end up like him, your other self so you kept your humanity no matter how much it hurt."
"You had that hope build-up," the voice said as the image of Hawkgirl flew over him, looking down and holding out her hand. As they both flew over Midway City. Then an image flashed to Supergirl and him standing next to each other as the Inner Circle gave the two of them a mission. "You found rejection and love." The image flashed to where he saw Raven hovering in the air, her eyes flaring in aggravation. "Why would I be interested in you?!" Raven snapped. "Why would you think it would even work?" She went on. Danny felt a small pang of pain in his chest. "What even are you? Some abomination, half-dead half-living creature...I just...I just want to be left alone."
Danny could only watch on, eyes glazed over reliving the moment. But that moment ended when the image flashed again, seeing himself sitting on the edge of Titan's Tower, overlooking the sparkling skyline of Jump City. Starfire sitting next to him. "I think I'm gonna give up on Raven." He watched himself say. Starfire's eyes lit up, "It...it was probably stupid of me to even chase after her. I mean she does have a point, who would be interested in an abomination like me anyways?"
"I would." Starfire confessed, a shade of red formed on her skin as Danny looked up at her. "In fact, I would have...very much liked if you would look at me the same way you would have Raven." Starfire went on. "I understand you may not feel you deserve someone but if...if you would like I would very much like to be your girlfriend, as you humans call it."
"Wait, you would? But I-."
"I understand if you may not want to! But in truth, I am just happy to-!" Starfire frantically tried to explain but silenced herself as Danny placed a hand on her shoulder. Present Danny watched the memory, remembering the feelings of warmth and relief to hear Starfire confess, especially right after he felt like scum from Raven's hurtful words.
"Starfire I would be happy to go on a date with you," past Danny said, a smile on his face as the alien girl smiled widely and hugged him. The sudden embrace made him flinch for a moment as he hugged her back.
He closed his eyes as a tear went down his organic eye, a pang in his heart filled it with pain. "Please...no more." He begged.
His pleas were unanswered as the images flashed forward once again, forced to stare at the shivering form of himself in the corner trying to get away from a glowing machine radiating an energy field, Nth metal releasing waves causing the ghost power to become weakened and struggling. Vomit all over himself as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, clinical white walls and a window as two researchers watched and wrote their observations down.
The images flash again, him being strapped down as a weaker form of that same Nth energy generator bombarded him. He struggled against the binds as he was strapped down to a surgery table. Present Danny could only watch with eyes wide and dread filling his soul as he recalled this moment. "NOOO! DON'T SHOW ME THIS!" He cried out as he backed away from the sight, it eventually fading away like vapor into the endless void.
"You've been through so much pain, Danny. All we want is to free you from it." Danny's mother spoke to him once more. He looked up to see his mother holding her arms out to him. "Come on Danny. My son, join us."
Danny could only look at her, soon she was joined by Jack, then Tucker, and then Sam. The void reformed back into his living room. Almost as if by instinct, he felt himself reach out a hand to seek them, only to remember something that made him pause. The smile of pride on Hawkgirls face after a successful mission, the playful slap on his shoulder from Supergirl, the sensation of Starfire's lips against his, the warmth of Blackfire's body, the pleasure of Circie's fingertips as they caress him, Rose's loving confession. "No..." He finally said. "I can't join you." The others looked hurt at his rejection. "Please, give me a chance...I can separate all of you from this."
"No..."
"I can help you all be yourselves again."
"No..."
"Please, I just-."
"NOOOOOOO!" The voices came again, this time more numerous and powerful as his mind felt like it was splitting into two. His mind throbbed in pain as he tried to maintain his focus as the pain might make him pass out. When the pain finally seemed to subside, he looked around to see he was in an empty, featureless void once more.
Skulker could only watch as Danny and the creature stared at each other in silence for the past few minutes. Only for the creature to start bellowing in what could be described as pain. "What's happening?!" Skulker shouted at the Ghost of Time.
Clockwork, now in the form of a child, watched on passively. "They're reaching an impasse." He stated.
Skulker could only grimace as he struggled to move his mechanical body; the stasis he was trapped in wouldn't budge. "Why are you doing this Clockwork?!" He growled at him.
The Ghost of Time didn't bother to even glance at him. "Because Skulker, this is something that only he must endure. I can't allow you to interfere with that."
Skulker merely growled in annoyance. "What even is that thing?!"
"An amalgamation of souls." Clockwork started. "Souls that were fused in a violet release of energy that happened so fast and suddenly that their consciousness couldn't adjust. Now seeking more to add to their collective in hopes of lessening the pain. Starting with Daniel."
"Why would they want the ghost child first?" Skulker asked.
"Because the ones in control of that form were the ones at the focus of the explosion." Clockwork spared him a glance. "I am sure you can figure it out from there."
Skulker clenched his metal teeth as he struggled to free himself, still forced to look as the Hydra roared while Fenrir remained hovering. Skulker began to realize something...the heads seemed to shift and form slightly as it roared. The sunken eyes and withered faces took on a familiar sight that made the Hunter's eyes brighten in morbid fascination. "The boy's friends and his parents... there are the main ones."
"Yes," Clockwork spoke, more somberly reverting to an adult man. "Jack and Maddie Fenton, Tucker Foley, and Samantha Manson are the main personalities that remain but they are only whispers of their former selves. Figureheads for a hive of lost, confused souls, looking for their loved ones and to be reunited with them."
"And you want that beast to fuse with the boy?! Do you have any idea how powerful they will be?!" Skulker snapped. "You want that thing to escape into the human world?!"
"No Skulker. I am here to see Danny's actions." Clockwork said offhandedly. "To see what path he takes."
Danny was lost in the void once more. He inhaled sharply. "Okay...this is my mind...right? Maybe I should take the chance." He said as he closed his eyes and concentrated. His mind shaped the void back into the streets of Amity Park as buildings were raised and the sun lighted the sky. As he did, the others came back and circled around him. Danny finally opened his eyes after that. "Just hear me out please, you've seen everything that I've been through, can you at least hear me out?" They remained silent as they stared at him. His father and mother shared a look of regret, Tucker frowned and shifted uncomfortably, while Sam just had a vacant look of hopelessness. "I can get Lex to help me with this, it will take time but I can separate all of you. We can even create new bodies for you."
"It wouldn't be that easy son," Jack said. "Our minds are connected. All of our minds, integrated to a molecular level."
"And it's not just the four of us Danny, there are dozens of people here," Maddie answered. "If you intend to split all of us apart, then how can you ensure that nobody is left behind?"
"And that's not even knowing if we WANT to be split apart," Tucker suggested. "As far as we know, we only exist together...and if we aren't together then we-."
"Rather...not...exist," Sam answered mournfully.
Danny's eyes went wide as he shook his head. "How? How can you say that?!" He said, anger starting to boil into him. "Is this hivemind really worth all that?!"
"We've changed, Danny." Tucker said softly. "I know it's hard to hear but it's true."
"So have I." Danny snapped. "But I still choose to exist as an individual."
His father angrily stared at him. "And what did that cost you son?"
His tone made him flinch. "What do you mean?" The city fades as they take control, changing back to an office building. He recognized it as the GIW agency in DC; the scene unfolded as he ripped apart every person wearing a white suit in sight. As screams and cries of pain echoed through the halls in the wake of his slaughter. Danny himself had a smile stretched from ear to ear as he mutilated everyone that got close, coated in their gore. "Did you expect me to forgive them then?" He asked bitterly. "After everything they did to me, I should have just turned the other cheek? Even when they have shown that they never would stop hunting me?" He asked.
"...Maybe not." Maddie answered. "But this...brutality, this violence isn't you."
The scene changed again, this time he witnessed himself as The Stag Man with the gored body of Gear on his antlers like a trophy. The scene changes once more as he sways himself and grabs a young man with red and yellow hair casting fireballs to no avail as his claws pierce his flesh and pull him apart, spilling his guts onto the frozen ground before he gathers the organs with his clawed hands and consumes them. The scene of his monstrous self eating flesh nearly made him sick as he looked away. "I wasn't myself. It was my first transformation."
"Yet you don't sound very regretful," Sam said to him.
"I regret the innocent people who got in my way." He spoke.
"Ah yes...innocents. You have dealt with a few of those haven't you." Jack said as he flashed to previous memories. He watched as he snapped the neck of the security guard at Alva Industries. Then forward to his assault on Arkham, when he used his telekinesis to rip another guard's head from his shoulders. He couldn't fathom an answer as the memory progressed to the moment he killed the Robin. Black tendrils plunged into the teen's body till his organs spilled out onto the floor.
Danny could only close his eyes. "I not going to lie and say that I'm a good person, but if I succeed in the end then their deaths won't matter."
"It won't work." Jack and Maddie responded together. Danny turned to them as the city emerged around them.
"What do you-."
"It...it just won't work." Maddie cut him off. "What you want...this...idealized society you want to create after you're done with the Titans. It just won't work."
"Why not?" He asked calmly. "Why won't it work?"
"Because son," Jack started, "life and death are meant to be separated from one another. They can't just coexist."
"They have been coexisting since the dawn of time!" Danny snapped. "I just want to bridge the gap, to show the living world that death shouldn't be something to fear! That they can have something to look forward to when their time comes and not be afraid or heartbroken by loss!"
"We don't doubt that your intentions are good," Jack said, "we just doubt your ability to keep them that way."
"What do you mean?"
Maddie placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "Danny, you are in pain." She started gently, as she lifted her son's chin to look her in the eye. "And it's that pain that clouded your judgment. It's a pain that can make a monster out of any good man, Danny...my son. My precious little boy. I am scared that you are becoming a monster before my very eyes." Maddie spoke as he felt dozens of hands grab him and hold him down.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!" He cried as he witnessed the dozens of dozens of figures, their eyes vacant and nulled as Jack, Maddie, Sam, and Tucker watched on. Regretful looks on their faces.
"It will be over soon son." Jack said gently. "It will hurt less if you stop fighting."
"Stop it!" Danny cried out as he felt more and more bodies pin him down.
"Sorry it had to come to this Danny." Sam said, "But it will be worth it when you join us."
"PLEASE!" He pleaded as he could feel jolts of pain in his mind as he felt them trying to calm his anger.
"Yeah, just let go of everything bad that has ever happened to you." Tucker said. "Once you join us, they won't exist anymore."
The head pains flared even more as he tried to struggle, his pain feeding into anger. "NO! That's enough!" He shouted back.
"We can be together again, as it all should be," Maddie said softly.
Danny tried to struggle more as he clenched his teeth, his head pains flared even more as his wrath bubbled over as he felt power rush into his body. "I said ENOUGH!" He roared as red energy flared into him blasting away the massive horde of souls latching onto him.
"ENOUGH!" Danny had awoken from his trance much to Skulker's shock while Clockwork could only watch, a detached look on his face as he observed. Danny's body was enveloped with red energy as his body radiated pure power. In his anger, Danny raised his hand as energy gathered in it. But as he locked eyes with the hydra he could only freeze as he looked at all four heads. The sunken eyes that seemed so empty before now seemed filled with a soft reluctance. Danny's furious scowl faded into a quivering frown. As he lowered his hands. "Please...I can still save you...save you all. If you give me time." His face lit up. "DESIREE! S-She can grant a wish! Free you all!" He tried to bargain.
Skulker could only frown watching the scene of his prey begging for what remains of his family and friends. "Seems that he knows now."
"It was only a matter of time." Clockwork said as his body shifted to an elder.
Danny looked at the hydra, waiting for a response. Yet the only one he got was when the hydra brought their faces closer to him, and with a gesture forced him to place his glowing hand on their heads. Danny gasped at the implications. "Please...no!" he begged once more. "You can't...I..." He struggled to form words as he felt his mind get clouded.
"Do it." He heard them say in unison. "If we can't be together, then we prefer to perish. All of us."
Danny can only whimper as he raises his hand. "Is this... want you all want?" He said, his voice breaking as he gathered energy in his hand. His heart soon followed at the sight of them nodding. "It didn't have to be this way." He whispered as a tear rolled down his eye. He released the strongest blast that he could muster, lighting up the ghost zone in brilliant blood-red light as the hydra became enveloped by the beam. The hydra cried out loudly, shrill and pain-filled as Danny could only cry.
"Thank you, son." His father's voice spoke to him.
"Don't forget who you are." His mother pleaded.
Danny clenched his jaw as the tears flowed down but he still kept gathering as much energy he could muster as the creature and the very souls that composed it disintegrated away.
"Goodbye, Danny." Tucker's voice murmured as it faded.
"I've always...loved you," Sam whispered into his subconscious one last time as the final remains of the creature vanished like dust in the wind.
Skulker watched the display in awe, while Clockwork could only frown. "So...he has made his choice. TIME...IN." He said as he pressed the button on top of his staff freeing Skulker from his bind before vanishing off.
Skulker checked his systems first before he turned back to Danny, his eyes filled with tears as he stared at the empty spot where the Hydra was. The last trace remains of his family and friends...gone...forever...because of him. Before Skulker could muster any words, the young man brought his hands to his face and started to hit himself. His eyes became wild with grief and regret before he let out a loud mournful cry. Skulker flinched back at the frightful call, his screech sounding almost like a wild wounded animal. After what seemed like an eternity Danny created a portal, disappearing into it. Taking him away from this place.
An Hour Later
Desiree had returned from her meeting with Princess Dorathea. It seemed that the young princess was on a good start, her gentler rule over the occupants had endeared her to them. The castle repairs were holding up, and even the formally dead forest and the murky waters started to regrow and clear. Yet one problem was that they had a missing ghost, the Royal Marksmen. Desiree promised the draconic princess that she would report the issue to the Ghost King as soon as she could. Of course, the Princess said something about wanting to give a gift to the Ghost King. An offering of thanks and a symbol of her swearing official fealty to the king's rule.
Desiree couldn't help but notice the faint blush on the princess's face when the ghost king was brought up. She smiled faintly as she remembered the time she felt affection for another man, she couldn't deny that she felt a little envy for the princess but she wished the young girl luck. As she entered the throne room, she saw Skulker close by the throne with a stoic look on his face. "Skulker?" She called out causing the hunter to look over at her. "I thought you were tracking down that Hydra that people have been complaining about?"
"Yes, me and Fenrir took care of it." He said simply.
"Oh I see." Desiree answered. "So I take it he's back in the living world?"
Skulker shook his head. "No...he's...here. Upstairs in his room."
Desiree smiled at that. "Oh good. I shall go up and see how it went."
"I wouldn't." Skulker insisted.
"Why?" She asked confusedly. When Skulker failed to come up with an answer she shot him a dour look. "Skulker...what happened?"
"I...I don't know how to explain," Skulker answered.
Desiree said nothing as she went up the stairs towards the top floor. As she got closer to the top, she heard the sounds of objects breaking and loud frustrated grunts. When she reached the top, she saw Ember, Fright Knight, and Technus already there. Peering into the hallway, an open door and a light can be seen where all the noises can be heard. "What happened?" Desiree asked the trio.
Ember shrugged. "Don't know, he's been like this for a while. Ever since he got back with Skulker."
"He's been breaking objects and pacing back and forth like a wild animal." Fright Knight said.
Desiree sent a glare at the trio. "And none of you considered checking on him?"
Ember looked the most guilty from her question. "I may have said something to upset him before he went with Skulker. I doubt he would want to see me when he's like that." She said, gesturing to the hall.
The Fright Knight shrugged. "It's best to let him channel his rage alone. He has been-" he stopped as a table flew out of the doorway and slammed against a wall, shattering it into pieces, "violent."
Eventually, all eyes were on Technus; the inventor turned and jumped slightly at the expecting stares. "Well, what do you expect me to do?!" He shrugged.
Desiree sighed heavily, her attention going back to the door as the sound of rage-filled growls and breaking wood was replaced with sobbing. The sound made the ghost genie feel a pang of sympathy as she walked past the trio, their eyes wide at her as she moved passed them to enter the King's chamber, and closed the door behind her. Ember was the first one to smile. "Come on guys, she's got this." She said as she turned around and walked down the stairs. Technus shrugged as he followed suit and went down the stairs himself. Fright Knight looked back at the closed door for a moment before finally going back downstairs himself.
Desiree looked around the room, looking as if a wild beast had been let loose into the room as it was nothing but broken pieces and torn fabric and splintered wood. Desiree ignored it to look at the Ghost King, back against the wall as he cried. His knees were up as his arms rested on them, shaking and whimpering. The vulnerable state of her king made Desiree hover over to him, her ghostly tail forming a pair of legs letting her sit next to him and placed a comforting hand on the top of his head. Danny's face shot up and looked at her, tears running down his face.
"D-Desiree!" He said as she tried to wipe his face. "I-I just-."
"Shhhhhhh." She hushed him gently as she wrapped her arms around him and gently led his face to her shoulder. Danny froze in place, either still consumed by the soul-shattering guilt or by the absurdity of the situation. The Arabian ghost gently ran her hands along the crease of his back. "It's okay to cry Fen...Danny." She corrected herself. Danny began to whimper into her shoulder as the genie remained, comforting him and stroking his back and hair gently. Trying her best to relieve her king's sorrows, finding a strange nostalgia for it.
END