Ghost of a Chance

Mirror and Image

Richard "Dick" Grayson did not care for big, fancy, rich shindigs. He'd spent most of his early life traveling with the circus, which was all pragmatism and scraping by. After his family's death and his adoption by multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne, going to such fancy fru-frus became a thing. After all, the head of Wayne Enterprises was often invited to shmooze for all the back room deals necessary for keeping the company on top and ethical. Such snob-fests were also good to get intel on who was doing the darker dealings that could lead to crimes, something that Bruce Wayne was always interested to hear, though he never showed it, because his alter ego of Batman, the darkness, the vengeance of the night, used such information to ferret out crimes and take down the criminal underbelly of Gotham.

Honestly, Dick liked that part of the job too, even if he wasn't nearly as good at smelling trouble as Bruce was. But he played the part of an adopted kid unused to such finery, and let the older and wiser members of the social elite take pity on him to explain things. (Perhaps the most useful way to get information, even if he couldn't keep the front up much longer given how long he'd been with Bruce.)

Most of the people his age were the heirs of all the wealthy socialites, and Dick really didn't care for many of them. Oh, a few were nice enough, but they all had the feelings of entitlement that they often accused the peons having. In fact, their entitlement was much worse, even among those who had honest altruism. Still, Dick did what he could to establish connections. One never knew when he might need access to another company for something or other. After all, he didn't even know what he was going to do once he grew up.

Lucius Fox was with Bruce, though that was no surprise, and both were talking with Lex Luthor. Honestly, how did people not see that Luthor was a complete slimeball? Oliver Green was talking with Ted Kord and Vlad Masters. Donald Trump had been discretely escorted out after insulting quite a few members of the party with his usual bullying bluster, and the plutocrats continued to brag, backroom deal, and speculate.

Sipping his water, Dick decided it might be time to get some air. There was a spacious balcony, but not many people were out enjoying it because the winds had shifted from a gentle breeze to something a fair bit stronger. Nobody wanted their perfect hair messed up in case they needed to impress so-and-so, thus Dick, being the kid who didn't care about appearances, decided it would be a good place to hide. He was surprised, however, to see he wasn't alone.

A girl, a year or so older than him, with long red hair pinned up and heavily sprayed given how little it was moving, was standing stiffly and staring up at the non-existent stars.

Not recognizing her, Dick decided to be the gentleman and walked over.

She didn't notice him, staring with intent focus up at the clear sky, her lips barely moving. Coming in front of her, Dick observed quietly for a while, trying to place her face as he leaned back into the shadows. He didn't recall seeing her before, the other billionaire children had been arriving to these functions regularly, as Dick had, and heaven knew Bruce had made him memorize all the faces and the backgrounds. This carrot top was new on the scene. Teal dress, backless, bare arms that showed several goosebumps in the stiff wind. Her hair was pinned up in a French twist, a few loose curls here and there, still in place against the weather.

"Miss... ?" he asked, stepping forward with a bright and charming smile. "Aren't you cold?"

She didn't even seem to notice him, still staring intently at the sky, muttering to herself. Her tone was low, almost under her breath, impossible to make out until he got closer.

"Tell Danny I'm alive, tell Danny I'm alive, tell Danny I'm alive," she said in a continuous, nonstop stream, even as she breathed in.

Behind Dick's pleasant face, Robin, sidekick and fellow crime fighter to Batman frowned heavily. What the hell?

"Danny?" he asked softly. "Danny who?"

Teal eyes, same color as her dress, focused on him, and her shoulders and back, already stiff, stiffened even further. "You can hear me?" she asked quietly, eyes piercing him.

"Yes," Robin replied, letting his polite smile fall from his face. "Are you in trouble? Do you need help?"

Her face filled instantaneously with desperation. "Tell Danny I'm alive! He has to know or he'll break his promise. Then everything will be ruined."

"Danny who?" Robin asked, more than a little confused. Data was filling his mind as he took in more of this teen. Heart-shaped face, small nose, thin but toned arms; a girl who exercised, looked after her health. Tightness around the eyes, a distinct crease in the forehead, signs of intense stress. Her breathing was irregular, getting more so as she focused on him, and she looked so desperate. The Batman of his mind was warning him that this might all be a trick, but the Robin in him wondered what could possibly have happened that-

"Danny Phantom. He has to know, tell Danny-"

Then she gasped, her eyes closed, her stiffness faded into a relaxed posture, and she brought her glass up to sip, opening her now red eyes. What...? What? How did someone change eye color? All of the stress disappeared from her face, now calm and totally closed off. How...?

"Ah, Jasmine, my dear," came a suave voice of pure oil.

Robin quickly put on his fake smile, eschewing everything that was pointedly focused and putting on the face of a bored, slightly-out-of-place kid.

"Hello Uncle Vlad," Jasmine smiled sweetly, completely at ease, "I was wondering where you went."

"I'm sorry my dear, business waits for no-one."

"I understand," she replied. Then she turned to Robin. "It was nice chatting with you."

Robin, Dick, shrugged just as blasé as the red-eyed girl. "Sure." Tightness started to bleed into her features again.

"Thank you for keeping her company," Vlad Masters, billionaire extraordinaire and avid Packers fan said with a condescending smile. Even in the stiff wind, his gray ponytail didn't flutter as he rubbed his goatee. He turned to Jasmine. "Now there are some business associates you must meet."

"Of course, Uncle Vlad."

She smiled winningly at Robin, her eyes still red and posture completely at ease, as she turned with Vlad Masters and walked back into the party. But not before she turned, and for a brief moment, her eyes were once more teal as she mouthed, Tell Danny I'm alive! Before she gasped again and here eyes turned red.

Frowning heavily, Robin was tempted to reach for his communicator and contact his team right then and there, but first, he needed to do some research. He reentered the ballroom, perfectly controlled as he casually pulled out his phone and started opening different apps. A quick internet search brought up the standard fair for one Vlad Masters: yet another billionaire tycoon, owner and CEO of Dalv Corporation and acquisition-er of several science institutes like Axiom Labs. Most of his work was in chemistry and weaponry, the sheer amount of government contracts was substantial – even compared to specialists like Lex Luthor. He also had interest in some metaphysical nonsciences – the study of ghosts and a few patents on ghost-related technology. There was an impressive college paper, co-authored with one Jack and Madeline Fenton, on the existence of ghosts and some very esoteric theories on where ghosts lived, what they were made of, and how to travel from one plane of existence to another. Most of his pseudoscience dribbled off after college, and now he seemed – online at least – to be a perfectly upstanding, very lucrative, mayor of a nothing-city in Illinois.

Not on the internet, however, was Batman's database. There Masters was more dubious. Unlike confirmed instances of criminal intent like Luthor or others, Masters appeared to be much more murky, but there was a long and colorful list of stories where his hostile takeovers would be met with months and months of resistance before the opposition just... changed their minds. There were also lists of chemicals and compounds that were always ordered in bulk by the tycoon, and then just... disappear from the books. There was significant circumstantial evidence to suggest he had a shadow corporation under his legit business dealings, but the whats and whys were beyond even Batman's deductive skills.

Putting his phone away, he kept a pleasant smile plastered on his face while he puzzled out the implications.

The next key word was Danny Phantom. He'd never heard of the kid – it was a kid right? - before. He glanced up to spy Masters, the "niece" Jasmine was still there, still awkwardly stiff, still red-eyed. Dick glanced at Bruce, and saw Wayne was eying him critically, glaring at the phone. Dick, not yet a master at nonverbal communication but willing to put in the effort, threw his gaze back to Masters and Jasmine, even jut his chin oh-so-slightly, and tried to put a "something's not right" into his eyes. Wayne nodded and turned to smile at Ted Kord and say something.

Back to Danny Phantom. The internet was abuzz with activity on the kid. Forums, threads, long strings of passionate conversations about whether Phantom was a hero or a villain. Most of the users just oozed teenagers, the insults were personal and vicious as one side hurled epitaphs at one another accusing or defending Phantom's status. News stories were dubious at best. Amity Park Illinois, strings of ridiculousness – ghost attacks, being pulled into another dimension, spiritual vines, etc. Statewide and national news laughed at the suburb repeatedly for their antics, obviously desperate for any form of tourism they could find and cooking up such outlandish stories. And at the center of almost every story Robin scrolled through was Phantom, alias Invis-o-Bill (what a terrible name!), alias Ghost Boy, either causing mayhem or saving the day, which lead to the long string of comments at the end of each article. It was too much information to sort through and analyze at the gala, and he saved the information for later.

Jasmine was still with Masters, and Wayne was talking energetically with him over something. Chewing his lip, he considered his options, and walked up to the conversation, standing at Wayne's shoulder and politely listened.

"... and after that they simply... saw the benefits of me buying them out."

"That's a very aggressive policy, Mr. Masters," Bruce was saying, bright smile on his face. "I'm not sure if I could do it."

"Oh, you could, Bruce," Masters said, grin oily and voice smooth and self-assured. "Anyone in this room could. It's just a case of want, really."

"If it were that simple, Mr. Masters," Bruce said politely, "Then why haven't you bought up FentonWorks? You certainly go after them often enough."

Whatever FentonWorks was, the jab wiped the grin right off Masters' face, eyes hardening and brow furrowing in what could only be described as a glower. Jasmine's red eyes cleared slightly, teal bleeding through for barely an instant before coloring again. The glower disappeared just as quick, if Robin hadn't been watching he wouldn't have caught it, and Masters gave a breathy huff of a laugh. "That's a little bit different," he said easily. "There are... other factors."

"I see," Wayne said brightly. "So then, what's your next acquisition?"

"Oh, I haven't decided yet," he said blithely, brushing invisible dust off his collar. "My portfolio is pretty diverse right now, and being mayor is proving to be an interesting distraction. I think I'll wait until the next cycle before reassessing my assets. As they say, the best goals take the most planning and the most patience."

There was a strained noise that could just barely be heard from Jasmine's throat, but her face was utterly placid and relaxed, as was her posture and demeanor. Robin glanced at Batman, but he was too buried in Bruce Wayne to give anything away. He did, however, finally glance at the redhead. "What do you think Mr. Masters should do next, Miss...?"

"Jasmine," Masters said smoothly. "Her name is Jasmine, and she's still very new to corporate ins and outs. You'll have to forgive her, she's very shy with new people."

"You talked to me," Dick said lightly. "I thought you were very charming. She was talking about Amity Park. What were you saying Jasmine?"

Red eyes smiled, dark and coy in a way that was unsettling with her rigid posture. "Just saying how boring it was," she said brightly. "I'm so glad I live with Uncle Vlad now."

"Oh?" Wayne asked.

"Yes," Masters said with a cavalier grin, "Like you I seem to have found a ward. Jasmine here was running away from abusive parents, and her story broke my heart."

There was an infinitesimal shaking of the head on Jasmine's part, her eyes very nearly teal, but she shivered and was back to her red-eyed self. Robin had seen enough. He glanced at Wayne and saw he agreed. In the span of an hour they had made their goodbyes and left. Robin needed to get back to Jump City. He needed to consult with Raven about mind control. But first was the Batcave and doing some in-depth research.

As far as Robin was concerned, there was no computer database on Earth, perhaps the solar system as vast and detailed as the computers in the Batcave. It was also a firm testament to the sheer paranoia of Batman with how much information he had on anyone that Batman considered either a major player or a minor one, even the most inconsequential. Files existed on nearly every major company that was at the forefront of some sort of research, subsidiaries that provided materials, the various scientists at the head of such research as well as their teams, anything of suspicion by even a slightest trace, it was listed. Even incidental people, like a random crook that had gotten caught up in, say, a job peripherally for the Penguin, had a detailed file and analysis.

So, after Robin had reported everything that had happened at the billionaire bash, both he and Batman were searching the databases for everything on Vlad Masters, Danny Phantom, and whoever this Jasmine girl was. Research, after all, was the key to winning any battle. Know thy enemy. It was a creed Batman lived by.

Robin had already sent a message to Raven to prep him for anything she knew about mind-control, metaphysical, chemical, psychological, anything she knew or could find. But for now, he was reading up further on Danny Phantom while Batman dug through a large file on Masters.

Danny Phantom, Ghost Boy of Amity Park, dead hero or existential menace, depending on the reports. Reports were extremely difficult to dig through, since the vast majority of the country viewed the local media, including it's "ghost reports" instead of "weather reports" as a publicity stunt and utterly ridiculous. Anything that seemed to lend credence to such claims fell under crazed cooks who called themselves ghost hunters, which even fewer people took seriously. Message boards or blogs were highly opinionated and quickly fell into arguments and sifting through everything was a nightmare.

Or at least it was, until about a year and a half ago, when the entire town disappeared, totally vanished, behind a green dome, for about a week. Most of the country considered it to be some sort of experiment-gone-wrong, either from the local Axiom Labs, subsidiary of VladCo, or of a pair of local inventors known to create crazy and destructive weapons. When the town reappeared again, and stories were all about an insane ghost invasion by some sort of Ghost King, the media at large went back to laughing at the town convinced that it was some sort of science accident and the Amity Park decided to cash in on it, continuing with their "Most Haunted City In America" bid.

Robin frowned. While nowhere as big as Metropolis, Gotham, or New York, Amity Park was one of the larger towns of the midwest, with a sizable population. And no one contradicted the whole invasion story? Something was getting fishy. In fact, several of the citizens were reported to start visiting therapists for signs of PTSD.

Hmmmmmm….

It was also after this that Invis-o-Bill (terrible name) started to be referred to as Danny Phantom and public opinion of the town started to shift more dramatically. And quietly, without ever being called to the floor for debate, Congress had passed a slew of Anti-Ecto Acts.

Robin sat back and rubbed his eyes briefly. Okay, going under the assumption that ghosts, or something was real and attacking the town, he needed to start going back over the previous local press that was so summarily dismissed.

Reading through or watching newscasts, there was no denying the definite slant of the locals that all things ghost related were first dealt with skeptically, then cautiously believing, then outright terror of anything spiritual. Whether Phantom was hero or villain, once ghosts were confirmed for the town, anything that was ghostly instantly became a bad thing. Granted, there were some incidents, (a kidnapped mayor? Seriously?) most particularly the blatant robbing of several stores and banks, that would lend credence to Phantom possibly being a villain. But on the whole, when Robin looked objectively at the reports, ignoring a lot of the blatant bias, he believed Phantom to be a positive for the town, though Robin wouldn't trust that till he actually met Phantom to get a better read of him.

Phantom's abilities themselves, had all sorts of discrepancies and theories. Local news didn't even bother trying to cover what they could be, even as an interest piece, it was actually a phan site (a phan site? Robin shook his head…) that kept a running tally of what had been observed, confirmed, and speculated, including theories on what Phantom's ghostly obsession was, how he got so powerful, where he was when he wasn't being seen fighting other ghosts, and all sorts of theories that Robin would take with an ocean's worth of salt.

More digging around Amity Park centered blogs did lead to some consensus on ghosts, their abilities, and what to do when caught in a ghost fight. If the premise that ghosts actually existed wasn't somewhere between insane and ludicrous, it would be fascinating.

Pushing his incredulity aside, Robin stood to stretch his legs and, unsurprisingly, found Alfred approaching with a tray of lemonade.

"Perfect timing," Robin said, taking a glass. "Your lemonade in the summer just can't be beat."

"Thank you, Master Grayson," Alfred replied with cultured posh. "I see Master Wayne is still at it?"

Robin glanced at Batman and noted the many, many screens that were open.

"Yup. I'll be getting back to it in a second as well."

"Very good, sir."

Robin gave a light smile, and continued to chat as he enjoyed his glass of lemonade. He'd miss this once he was back in Jump City. Both Alfred and Robin tried to cajole Batman into taking a break, to no success, but then, Robin hadn't expected any.

So with a backflip, Robin landed back in his own chair and kept digging.

Most of the research on ghosts cited two local scientists, Jack and Maddie Fenton. For the first time, Robin frowned. Those were the same names on the research paper of Vlad Masters from years ago when they were in college. Narrowing his eyes, he dug further.

Most of the science was centered around ectoplasm and how to use it to fight against ghosts, and digging into the Fentons, Robin started to find things far more applicable to the strange encounter he'd had hours earlier. The Fentons owned FentonWorks, which Vlad Masters had made several attempts to buy out but never could. The Fentons had been entirely self-funded and didn't start getting grants until after the situation in Amity Park was finally acknowledged by the locals and places like schools, police, even the local burger chain, started purchasing anti-ghost equipment to defend themselves. Robin even found a few government contracts.

How was this still getting ridiculed? If the feds were passing laws and buying equipment, no matter whether you believed in ghosts or not, how was this still getting ignored?

The Fentons themselves were clearly specialized in their research, and while they made small scale inventions that sold enough to fund themselves before ghosts and Amity Park became a problem, the blueprints and equations behind their anti-ghost equipment were years ahead of several other dedicated research institutes, including Star Labs. But no, because it used ectoplasm as a power source and were used to fight ghosts, they were considered a fringe laughing stock of the science community.

Wait….

Robin turned and glared at Batman. Wayne Enterprises was quietly funding FentonWorks. Oh, no wonder Bruce had used that against Masters in conversation. No wonder Bruce had known. With a sigh of irritation, Robin got up to get ready to head back to Jump City.

Though irritated at Batman's tendency towards omniscience, that didn't stop Robin from asking Batman to detail what he'd learned about Masters before Robin headed out. Batman only said that Masters remained above board and that there wasn't any hint at any sort of shady underdealings. The only thing Robin needed to know (and he bit back a growl about that) was that Jasmine was one Jasmine, "Jazz", Fenton, daughter of Jack and Maddie Fenton. Both of her parents were dead after some sort of explosion at their home, which had also left Jasmine injured when Masters found her. Jasmine's little brother Daniel, was missing. There was no evidence that he was in or around the blast, but no one had been able to find him. Many presumed him dead, but without a body, there was no way to know for sure.

As Robin rode his R-cycle up into the garage of the Titan's Tower, he wondered why Jasmine had insisted on telling Phantom that she was alive. The connection wasn't immediately obvious and he couldn't quite equate how a Fenton - ghost hunters and purported saviors of Amity Park - would have any association with the dubious entity of Danny Phantom. But, then, Phantom himself was anything but straightforward and the entire scenario was centered around ghosts for crying out loud.

But, then again, anything was possible. Batman said that over and over again.

"Robin! You are back!" Starfire was of course tickled to see the Boy Wonder return, and behind her was the green-skinned Beast Boy and Cyborg, one with cake and the other with some kind of barbecue rib. "We have assembled a party of welcoming," Starfire said, floating happily as she gestured to their two friends. "There will be food, the gaming, dancing, music, and of course a Blothargian Welcome Ritual!"

"Thanks but no thanks," Robin said, striding past the small entourage. "Do you know if Raven finished her research on brainwashing?"

Beast Boy sighed, disappointed. "Yeah," he said lightly. "She's in her room meditating, or whatever she does when we're not with her. Said she wasn't interested in dancing, music or Blotharigan Welcomes."

Just like the mystic. Robin nodded and moved to go up the stairs when something in the air changed. He stilled, turning around and saw the catastrophic disappointment on Starfire's face, and he realized the mistake he'd made. He offered a small, conciliatory smile. "Sorry, Starfire," he told the alien princess, "I'm glad that you planned all this, but after I talk to Raven we may be gearing up."

That got everyone's attention. "Really? For what?"

"I don't know yet," Robin answered honestly, "I'll tell you more after I talk to Raven."

He moved up the stairs and to the elevator that lifted him up to the personal floor, marched past his room and Cyborg's shop, and to the dark door of Raven's Room. Beast Boy had been pranking again, a bright yellow smile had been painted onto the door, scratchy letters barely reading, "Don't worry, be happy," written in red. One of these days, Robin was going to explain to Beast Boy the major criminal traits of the Joker. Mentally listing off the major points of that lecture, he knocked and waited for Raven's approval to enter. The door opened just enough for Raven to exit, dark hood down, and nod to him in greeting.

"Well?"

"To the point as always," Raven said with a hint of a smile, her voice as dark and raspy as the rest of her. The sorceress moved down the hall, Robin following, and entering the main living quarters of the Tower. The sun was turning the bay into a dark blue, the city bright shades of white and grey in the noon light, the epitome of cheer - and coupled with streamers and fallen confetti of the ignored welcoming party. Robin was going to have to make up for that. "Brainwashing," Raven said, "Is an art form, and there are several ways to do it, but few the way you've described. There was only one method I found that talked about changing eye color, and it was a deeply complicated spell that summoned spirit to our world in order to do it. If that girl is being brainwashed, there is some very dark magic that is being used to do it."

Not at all in line with what he'd learned about Vlad Masters or VladCo. Another piece to the puzzle.

"Okay," Robin replied, crossing his arms and looking out over the bay. "Next objective. We need to find Danny Phantom."

"... Who?"

And that was how the search began. Cyborg in particular was visibly against the idea of even the concept of ghosts, but everyone dutifully began their research. Robin didn't want to search for every rumored power Phantom had listed on his phan sites, but from the local news reports he had spent days going through he had a simple set of common powers ghosts (and he still was struggling with that idea, thank you) had: invisibility, intangibility, energy blasts of some kind, telekinesis, glowing, and flying. That combination brought up a string of sightings all across the country - no the continent. Phantom was spotted of course several dozen times in Illinois, but also three sightings in New York City, one in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Colorado Springs (and what a media mess that was, kidnappings, property damage, hostages, the works), Topeka, Toronto, Winnipeg, etc. For the last year Phantom had broken his pattern of being only in Amity Park - never showing in the same place twice in a row - and seemed to be wandering the country.

The most recent sighting was in Vancouver, two months ago. The trail was long dead, but the Titans packed up and flew north to learn what they could. The sightings in general were almost formulaic. Some kind of villain would appear and wreak havoc, Phantom would arrive and - and Cyborg was incredulous to hear this - suck said trouble-maker into a thermos and disappear. Reactions were mixed from grateful to terrified, true to his established pattern in Amity Park, and witnesses had little to add, even after an interview from the Teen Titans.

"I still don't buy it," Cyborg said upon their return. "There is no such thing as ghosts! What kind of metahuman in their right mind would want to have ghost powers anyway? It's just some lame Halloween-obsessed vigilante wannabe. And a thermos? I'd give my right hand if that was real."

"You cannot deny the presence of a spirit world," Raven said for the umpteenth time.

"No I don't," Cyborg said in tired repetition. "I may not get magic, but I know it can be explained. I may not get spirit, but I know darn well I have one. I do not get ghosts, that is just too stupid to believe!"

Beast Boy was, of course, no help.

"Remember that one movie with the kid who saw dead people? What about that one show where the lady tried to cross over ghosts and dark forces were always hunting her? What about the movie Ghost Busters? What about that reality series where psychics go visit haunted houses and they get all possessed and stuff? Have you ever seen a video where the ghost is a good guy? What if it tries to eat our brains or something? Aw, dudes, what if this doesn't end well? Raven, if I turn into a ghost, promise me you'll cross me over!"

"I can't do that," Raven deadpanned. "I can't create a portal from here to any of the spiritual planes."

And Starfire, bless her, was oblivious to the conflict at all. "I cannot wait to meet this Danny Phantom," she said brightly. "I always greatly enjoy meeting new people."

Robin silently ignored them all, ranging from pleasantly annoyed to downright irritated at their reactions. He reminded them yet again that they only had to deliver a message, but this also had its own conflict. "If this Jasmine is being controlled, should we not save her?"

"We can't prove it, Starfire," Robin explained - again. "One teenager making a claim won't hold up in court, especially with her adoptive uncle being so clean and above the board."

"And rich," Cyborg said in a derisive tone. "Rich guys always get what they want."

"Not always," Robin assured. "Once we make contact, we can get a clearer story."

The next sighting was in Portland, reports blipping on the computer only an hour after the event - but it was an hour too late. They arrived and it was already over. Witnesses said a blue-skinned person in overalls was shouting about boxes and cardboard, taking over a cubicle farm and declaring it his new kingdom before Invis-o-Bill floated down from the ceiling.

"The blue guy shrieked like a drowning cat," one of the witnesses said. "I remember the terror in his eyes when he saw Invis-o-Bill. Then Invis-o-Bill just sort of rolled his eyes, you know? Like he couldn't believe he was doing this, and said, 'Really Box Ghost? Cubicles?' Then he pulled out what looked like some kind of thermos and popped the cap. I don't really understand what happened next, but there was a lot of wind, and the blue guy disappeared. I remember we were all staring at him, wondering what had just happened. Then Vinnie shouted 'Ghost!' and Invis-o-Bill just disappeared. Like a real ghost. Is he a ghost?"

"He is no ghost!" Cyborg declared from inside the T-ship, frustration coloring his voice.

"We're all gonna be deaaad," Beast Boy was moaning.

Robin, not for the first time, mentally ran through the legal definition of justifiable homicide.

It was a week after the Portland sighting when they finally met.

In spite of their extended side project, life did go on in Jump City; there were villains to fight, invasions to hold off, and robberies to stop. It was that latter category that proved the most fruitful. Alarms had gone off that one of the ISP server farms was being attacked and data stolen left and right, the machines "coming alive" and doing whatever they wanted.

"Control Freak," Beast Boy predicted. "But why would he want data? Usually he just goes after geeky and nerdy stuff."

"Who cares?" Cyborg said, psyched to be dealing with something he had a handle on. "Let's just get in there and kick his butt!"

The Titans mobilized and moved to the server warehouse. With a nod they fanned out and began circling the building, looking for the best entry points and easiest way to get to the source of the attack. The police were already on site, backing civilians out of the way and waving the Titans into the perimeter.

Robin catapulted up to a roof next to the warehouse, binoculars out and surveying the compound through various sensors. He frowned, cycling through the inputs again, and opened his comm. "Guys," he said, "I'm not picking up Control Freak anywhere."

"Me either," Cyborg said. "Sensors aren't picking up any life signs. But it has to be Control Freak, he's gotta be nearby."

"Okay," Robin said slowly. "Move in. Contain the damage first, that'll hurt his ego enough to show up."

"Agreed," Raven said.

"Go."

Robin ziplined to the roof of the server farm and entered through a skylight, landing on a metal support beam and gazing down at the chaos below. The servers were all alive, hopping to and fro, spitting out data chips and making a multicolored light show as they danced around some character with green skin and an eighties mullet and grey cape. "It's not Control Freak," he murmured.

"I don't get it," Cyborg said over the comm. His voice was noticeably tighter than normal. "There aren't any life signs. How is that possible?"

"It doesn't matter," Raven said softly. "We have to stop him before he steals any more data."

"Agreed," Robin said. He stood on his beam, raising his voice. "Titans, go!"

They sprang into action, Cyborg blasting through a wall, Raven phasing up through the floor in a black cocoon of energy, Starfire bursting through a window, Beast Boy flying in as a hawk before shifting back, and Robin flying down from above. The others spread out around the green eighties mullet and Robin angled his fall to land a devastating kick.

Except he passed through the guy and landed on one of the server banks.

"Foolish child!" the mullet said. "No human can withstand the power of me, Technus, Master of all Technology! With the data from these servers I will rule the Ghost Zone, and the world!"

"Ghost Zone? Did he just say Ghost Zone like in ghost ghost?" Beast Boy visibly shuddered.

"Ain't no such thing!" Cyborg shouted, his arm shifting to his sonic cannon and firing. The blast passed through Technus, and the green-skinned, glowing man gave a toothy grin.

"What interesting technology," he muttered, "Technology that I, Technus, Master of all Technology, will acquire!" And the figure lifted a hand and a green glow filled it. All eyes snapped to Cyborg as he lifted off the ground, face wide in terror.

"Get out of my circuits!" he shouted, legs swinging back and forth in frenetic panic. "Woah, woah! Not cool, get out of my-" his arm jerked to one side, sonic cannon now aimed at the Titans, and everyone watched as it began to charge.

"Everyone down!" The Titans scattered, Raven calling a shield while Beast Boy shifted to a green coyote. The animal froze, tail moving between its legs and backing up with a pitiful whine. Robin ducked behind a moving server and pulled out a birdorang, taking aim before dodging again. Cyborg's cannon went off, exploding two server banks, before the birdorang connected and sent an electric short through Cyborg's systems. His big friend grunted with the damage, but his body still floated in the air, the mullet floating over to him, shades doing nothing to hide his evil grin.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven let loose a spiral of black energy, wrapping around Technus and pulling him away from Cyborg. The creature laughed before another server crashed into Raven, distracting her and breaking her concentration. The capture lasted long enough for Starfire to recover, who sent a volley of green blasts at the mullet. Unlike Robin's weapons they connected, but the green floater just shrugged them off.

"You think you can defeat me, Technus, Master of all Technology, with your paltry energy blasts when I have so much data?"

"No," said an entirely new voice, and everyone looked up to see a new teen enter the fray. White hair, black hazmat suit, acid green eyes against pale, almost translucent skin. "But you say your name so much it gives me a chance to find the best angle to sneak up on you." The teen pulled out a small cylinder, thermos-like in shape, just like the witnesses described, and popped the cap. Wind filled the warehouse, Robin's cape flying up into his face before he could get control of it to watch what was happening. Sliding across the floor slightly, he watched as the mullet, Technus, screamed while trying to fly away from the wind, being pulled in its direction even as he fought harder and harder to get away. His shape contorted slightly, disappearing into the source of light inside the… the thermos, before the cap slammed back into place.

The white haired teen floated above the Titans, staring at the thermos. "Geez, Technus," he said, "When will you realize that shouting your name all the time gets old."

"G-g-g-g-g-g-ghost!"

That was, of course, Beast Boy.

Said ghost (and Robin was trying really, really hard to get over his existential crisis quickly) froze, looking down and seeing the Titans perhaps for the first time.

"Ah, crud," he muttered, before floating down to face them at eye level. "Hi," he said awkwardly, shoulders hunched and hand rubbing the back of his head. "Teen Titans, kind of a fan, didn't mean to bother you. If you'll just let me go I'll find a portal to send Technus here back to the Ghost Zone and I won't ever bother you again. Just don't-"

"Ghoooooooooost!"

"-run screaming." The last two words were said with the distinct sound of defeat, and the Ghost Boy landed lightly on his feet. His entire demeanor changed; his back was straight, his face guarded, his eyes wary and sad. "Look," he said in a more placating tone. "Yes, I'm a ghost; no, I'm not going to hurt anybody; yes, ghosts really do exist; no, I don't want a fight. I really won't bother you again, so if you'll just let me go I'll disappear. You can even say I escaped after you turned me over to the police, that way you can save face. I don't want a fight. Honest."

"Ghooooooooooost!"

The ghost gave a deep, pained sigh and began floating up. Only then did Robin's brain finally turn on.

"Invis-o-Bill! Wait!"

The noise that answered sounded like a particularly vulgar word. "For the record," he called down, "I always hated that name!"

"Wait, Phantom! We have a message for you!"

Phantom stopped floating, but he didn't descend either. His face was still tightly guarded. "Let me guess," he replied, "Guys in White declaring that they will capture me and experiment on me, right? Not interested."

… Who the heck were the Guys in White? Never mind, not important. "No, from a girl!"

A pregnant pause drew out, Robin and the other Titans waiting for Phantom's response. If he ran now… Robin prepared a tracer, just in case.

Phantom finally floated down, stopping to hover three feet off the ground, legs crossed in an eerie mimic of Raven when she meditated. The guard was still up. "Well?" he demanded.

"There's a girl," Robin said. "Redhead, teal eyes, goes by the name of Jasmine. She wants you to know she's alive so you won't break your promise."

The reaction was one for one of Batman's textbooks. Robin watched the Ghost Boy's eyes widen slightly, then double in size when he heard the name, gaze disappearing to somewhere in his own head. His eyes welled, and the floating skittered to a halt, the teen's feet jerking out automatically to catch him. After the shock was the relief, a single tear rolling down his cheek and the release of pressure palpably felt in the air. Robin found himself releasing a breath in empathy, and a glance showed the team doing the same, even the terrified Beast Boy. Raven met his eyes, nodding slightly.

"She's alive…" the relief and pleasure and exhaustion in his voice was almost painful to hear; emotional vulnerability like that was meant to be private, or at least in proximity of a close friend. Robin found himself feeling awkward, still handling the tracer, uncertain what to do next.

"She alive," Phantom said again, a second tear escaping. "How did she even survive? And where has she-"

All at once the positive emotions evaporated, his face darkening to something almost sinister. This was the face of a villain, it was suddenly easy to understand how people could believe the worst in Phantom as his mouth pressed into a black frown, his acid green eyes glowing even brighter.

"Plasmius," he muttered, that one word filled with so many negative emotions that Raven stepped back, reaching up to hold her head. Robin flicked his wrist.

Green-white energy started to build around the Ghost Boy, Phantom growling low in his throat as his glow grew brighter and brighter, becoming hard to see. "Jazz!" he shouted. "I'm coming!" Robin threw the tracer just in time; with an animalistic roar, he shot up, bursting through the roof of the warehouse, and rocketed off to the night sky, vaguely easterly in his direction.

Robin pulled out his comm. Did the tracker stick? It had.

"Titans, let's go!" he shouted, beginning to run out of the server farm.

"Go? Go?" Beast Boy demanded. "You expect us to chase a ghost? Are you crazy?!"

"No, he is correct," Starfire said. "Phantom was in much distraught. We must go to him and make him feel better."

"He's dangerous as he is now," Raven added, floating beside Robin. "A spirit that powerful in a rage will only end in destruction."

"And he's not a ghost!" Cyborg growled, limping behind them with his damaged circuits.

The team jumped into the T-ship and took off, loading the tracer data into the navigator and taking off at mach two. Robin frowned, mind working as fast as possible to categorize and analyze what he had seen. Whoever Jasmine was, she was obviously very close to the Ghost Boy to elicit that level of emotion – he may not have had Batman's skill at reading people yet, but he saw how genuine that reaction was – and going from thinking someone was dead to learning they were alive was an emotional roller coaster in normal circumstances, let alone with metahumans.

Plasmius. Who or what was Plasmius?

He searched the data banks and found nothing as they flew over the Rocky Mountains and continued east, slowly catching up with the Ghost Boy (at mach two!). Where was he going? What made him take off like that? He put in a call to Batman, leaving a message with Alfred to search the databases for anything related to Plasmius, wondering what – if anything – could be found.

"Do we know where he's going?" Cyborg asked. Robin looked over to see him doing repairs on his arm, yanking out the birdorang and tugging at wires. Suppressing the twinge of guilt that came with that Robin answered honestly.

"No. But we're going to Wisconsin."

"Wisconsin?" Beast Boy said. "Why Wisconsin? What's even there? Cows?"

"Because that's where Vlad Masters lives with the girl," Robin replied. "If Phantom is in a rage over getting the girl back, then we have to warn them that a dangerous metahuman is on the loose and take proper precautions."

"How?" Raven asked in a flat voice. "He is a spirit, normal weaponry will not work on him. Yours didn't. Cyborg's didn't work on that Technus ghost-"

"I don't care if there weren't any life signs. It has to be a trick. There is no such thing as ghosts!"

"Yes there is! I could smell it. Every instinct I had told me to back away from that thing!"

"Enough," Raven hissed, the intensity of her voice stopping the oncoming argument. "Phantom is a spirit, and he is dangerous. Only energy and magic will be able to affect him, and that eliminates over half the team."

"Phantom isn't our priority," Robin replied. "The girl is. She isn't a metahuman, she has no way to protect herself from Phantom if and when he finds her. Once we know she's safe, then we can worry about Phantom and figure out how to deescalate his rage."

"Perhaps then we can learn why the Phantom thought her dead," Starfire said softly, "and why that caused him such obvious pain."

Leave it to the Tameranean to get to the heart of why things had gone FUBAR so quickly. Robin pursed his lips and pushed the T-ship to mach three. They finally overtook Phantom according to the tracker and started ticking north as well as east. They were well into the Great Plains now, and everyone waited in tense anticipation, expecting the ghost (if he said ghost enough, Robin assumed he would eventually believe it) to veer off course at some point.

He didn't.

"Is this Plasmius guy in Wisconsin, too?" Beast Boy asked, but nobody had an answer for him.

They landed an hour later at an extensive mansion overlooking the Great Lakes, pouring out of the ship and all but running up to the main door. Phantom was still on the tracker, still making a beeline towards them. Starfire made it to the doors first, floating to a stop and politely knocking on the door and waiting for a response. "No time for that," Raven muttered, black energy engulfing them and phasing them into the impressive entry hall of the mansion.

Robin stepped forward. "Hello!" he called out. "Is anyone here? Vlad Masters?"

"Well, well, the Teen Titans." The multi-billionaire appeared on the landing, rich cherry wood railing twisting all the way down the ever widening staircase. Marble statues of historical figures dotted the entry way, the floors were marble and a gold chandelier hung from the three-story ceiling. The place dripped with opulence. It was so like Wayne Manor it was spooky (eerie, Robin quietly resolved that with the confirmation of ghosts he would never use the word "spooky" again), but unlike the monolith of pain and loneliness, this place exuded confidence and arrogance. Masters was at home in the finery, expensive Armani suit perfectly tailored and iron grey hair swept back into a stylish tail. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"We're here to warn you," Robin said, moving closer to the stairs. "There's a metahuman speeding here looking for someone or something, you and your niece are in danger and need to evacuate. You have at best five min-"

"Plasmius!"

The Titans turned to see Phantom floating above them, just under the chandelier, still engulfed in green-white energy – only now it cackled around him. He had just flown over two thousand miles in less than four hours, and wasn't even winded. Beast Boy whimpered, physically shrinking away from the Ghost Boy, slinking behind Cyborg while the big muscular teen stared in wide-eyed awe. Tension charged the foyer, the white haired specter glaring acid green daggers at Masters, and Robin was at a poor angle to watch both of their reactions. Phantom was the one about to commit murder, and the Boy Wonder forced himself to turn to face the ghost more fully.

"She's alive!" the ghost shouted in rage. "You faked her death! You've manipulated us for the last time!"

"Phantom!" Starfire said, floating up and getting in his line of vision. "Please, you are angry and behaving in a dangerous manner. Please calm yourself that we may talk rationally."

"Rationally?" Phantom growled. "Rationally?! Do you have any idea what's happened for the past year? What we've been through?"

"Please," Starfire tried again. "You must calm yourself!"

"I'll be calm when I have Jazz back!"

Robin was signaling the rest of the team while Starfire distracted him. Their overriding priority was to get the girl, Jasmine, out of harm's way before this ghost started to rampage. Starfire was the best choice of deescalating the situation, but if that didn't work, Raven was already beginning to chant a spell, thin wisps of dark energy swirling around her. Robin, already halfway up the stairs, slowly climbed higher to station himself in front of Masters, who was watching it all with an impassive eye. Robin couldn't spare more than that glance, though, as his eyes darted to Cyborg and the cowering Beast Boy. The mechanical teen was also starting to edge his way up the stairs, taking position to help Robin defend Masters, and Beast Boy eventually shifted into the form of a bloodhound – tail still between his legs, to start sniffing out the girl.

"Please explain to us why you are so upset," Starfire was saying, "Perhaps we can help you."

"What's the point?" Phantom retorted. "You've already decided. Ghost equals evil, no good comes from the likes of me, just run away screaming. It doesn't matter how much I respect you and try to be like you or what I do to help people, I'll always be the bad guy! I'm tired of trying to explain myself to people who won't listen. Just let me get Jazz and I won't ever bother you again."

"But why is this jazz music so important to you? What of the girl who wished you to know she was alive?"

The Ghost Boy was struck speechless at the language gaff, staring at the Tameranean in mute incomprehension, and for a moment the powerful aura he was exuding diminished. Robin tensed, was there a way to end this without a fight after all?

And then everything went to hell.

"Uncle Vlad!" The front door opened. "You're favorite niece of all time is home!"

Jasmine casually walked through the front door, no longer in a teal dress but a burgundy school uniform, backpack slung over her shoulder that was dropped leisurely to the floor. The older teen paused, red eyes wide as she looked up at the spectacle in the entrance way. Phantom's aura had completely disappeared now, green eyes just as wide as he stared down at his objective. The moment hung in the air, Robin's team watching warily, trying to guess what Phantom would do. Masters, behind Robin, made a bored noise in his throat as Phantom floated down, hovering over the floor for a moment. His back was to Robin, he couldn't read his face anymore, but he could see Starfire's, and she waited in tense anticipation. Robin pulled out a birdorang just to be safe, and he saw Cyborg shift his arm into a cannon. Beast Boy was on his belly, paws over his head and trembling.

Starfire's face suddenly tensed, and that was all Robin needed. "Titans, go!"

"Get out of her Plasmius!"

Phantom raced down to the stalk-still redhead, but Raven had completed her spell and sent black tendrils of energy out to create a sphere around Phantom. Everyone could hear the impact of the ghost against the dark cage, and for a brief moment it looked like they had managed to contain the ghost. But then Raven grunted and the sphere shattered into pieces and Phantom was flying again, and before anyone could really react he flew into the girl.

Cyborg finally lost it. "What just happened? How does that happen? That doesn't happen! What is going on here?"

Everyone watched in horror as Jasmine jerked this way and that, her body wooden and puppet like, before two beings erupted from her: Phantom and a blue-skinned, vampiric creature that had to be Plasmius. Jasmine crumpled to the ground in a heap, orange hair spewing out around her. Raven started chanting another spell, Starfire flying up to intercede on the battle but was swept away by a pink energy blast by the white-clad vampire. Cyborg was still suffering his existential crisis and Beast Boy was doing utterly nothing. Robin was going to have to talk to him about that but the girl still came first. He leapt over the balcony and ran across the expansive marble, dropping to his knees and sliding three feet to the girl. He rolled her over carefully, not sure what to expect, but her eyes were open and teal, and once again she was muttering to herself, barely audible over the din of the fight going on above their heads.

"Get me out of here, get me out of here, get me out of here, get me out of here, get me out of here..."

Robin looked up. "Cyborg!"

The half metal teen gathered his wits enough to dart over, and a glance at the muttering Jasmine told him everything he needed to know. He swept the girl up into his massive arms and started backing up to the door. Beast Boy crawled over to them on all fours, barely, and Robin glanced up. Starfire was blasting her energy bolts at Plasmius more than Phantom, and Raven was throwing black spears of energy left and right, but both ghosts were so intent on each other that neither paid much mind to the girls. "Raven!" he shouted, and the cloaked teen nodded, disappearing in a black vortex to the T-ship, leaving Starfire to the ineffectual fight. Robin watched for a very long sixty seconds before he threw his birdorang, and the smoke bomb exploded between the two ghosts (he was fighting ghosts! Existential crisis!), distracting them.

"Phantom!" Robin shouted. "If you want Jasmine you're going to have to come with us!"

And he turned and fled back to the T-ship, hopping into his cockpit while Cyborg took off. Starfire entered her cockpit, Beast Boy sharing with her and Jasmine in the green teen's pod. Cyborg jumped to mach two and shot off into the sky. "Get ready," Robin said, "We don't know if one of both of them are going to follow us or if we have to fight."

"How long will it take for him to catch us?"

"Depends," Cyborg said. "We caught up to him in just under an hour at this speed, but he had a twenty minute lead on us because we had to get the ship and deal with the police."

"What about the girl?" Starfire asked. "How is she?"

Robin could see her peering over to Beast Boy's cockpit, and Robin's eyes darted over to the carrot top as well. She was sitting perfectly still, and she could just be heard on the speakers, still mumbling. "Danny will come for me, Danny will come for me, Danny will come for me, Danny will come for me..."

"Creepy," Beast Boy said.

"She's been overshadowed for an indeterminate time," Raven commented, "It's amazing she's still sane."

"Overshadowed?" Robin asked. Was she referring to the mind control?

"Jazz!"

The entire team shrieked (except Robin. The Boy Wonder was above shrieking. Really. He just... startled, very loudly) and nearly broke the ship apart to see Phantom just appear in the cockpit with Jazz. All of his power was gone, he looked as he had when he first appeared in the server warehouse, a thin, teenaged metahuman, and he put gentle hands of the girl's shoulders. "Jazz, it's me, it's Danny. Can you hear me?"

Everyone watched as the girl came out of her stupor, eyes widening before filling with tears. "... Danny?"

Phantom's entire frame sagged in relief, and he threw his arms around her, shaking with emotion. "Yeah, Jazz. Yeah. It's me. It's me..."

"Oh, Danny...!" And Jazz collapsed into a gut wrenching wail.

Author's Notes: ... Good grief where to start.

The cold open for this: Robin finding Jazz fighting possession muttering "tell Danny I'm alive" over and over has been in our heads for years, but we never really knew where to go with it, how to play it, and the AC novelizations took priority. After the novelizations practically rewrote our brain chemistry for writing fanfics we were worried that we wouldn't be able to come up with our own ideas again or if we would be doomed to novelizing other things. This was us dipping our feet back into the realm of creativity and seeing if we still "had" it.

We once again welcome and thank our beta, Tenshi, for letting us beleaguer her over and over. She's swamped with fics for us, but she's almost done beta'ing this so we felt it safe to start posting.

For the fic itself, well, this chapter kind of speaks for itself. Every Titan has a different opinion on ghosts that will change over the course of the fic, Danny and Jazz have (obviously) a lot to do, and we just... we play, and it was really nice after the AC novelizations had become such work. This fic goes in a lot of directions, and we hope you enjoy the ride.