Slayer Anderson

HIVE Minded VIII

A Teen Titans/Danny Phantom Fanfiction

8/24/17

Chapter 8-Alice Doesn't Have Anything On This

Or

The Invasion of the Space Lizards

When Phantom came to, it was to a sight he'd never imagined before. The phrase 'psychedelic nightmare' came to mind as he stared vacantly at his surroundings. Pink stars dotted the sky as a moon with the consistency of a runny egg slid around the horizon lazily. Pink and black stripped cats the size of tigers danced in the 'light' of a blue neon sun that flickered on and off like the sign at a cheep motel.

It was then that he realized that he was standing on top of an ocean of pink and navy swirling liquid that rose and fell like tides but formed buildings instead of waves. Doors appeared and disappeared over the course of seconds that seemed like hours and felt like minutes.

Danny cringed, his head beginning to hurt as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. The sticking point was that, as unnatural as it all seemed…something told him that the world around him was in perfect alignment, synchronicity, and…

The ghost boy's eyes widened as an angry red weave snaked out towards him.

Immediately, one of the large cats that had seemed so far away pounced on the thread of energy and tore it to pieces. When the thread was no more, the cat looked towards Danny with an intelligence that belied its bestial appearance.

"Danny Phantom…" The cat said in perfect English, seemingly not impaired at all by its lack of human vocal cords, brain structure, or mouth organs. "I am Ignoble Conscience, welcome to my mistress' mind. Your presence is most fortunate at this juncture. How do you do?"

"Uh…" Danny stated intelligibly, his gaping mouth sure to draw flies…if they existed here. "What?…No, wait…WHAT?"

"In your reality," The large cat explained patiently, "The one you know as Jinx, my mistress, is in grave danger. That danger has manifested itself here in the form of a creeping red evil which threatens the independence of her mind and the health of her body. You are currently in her mind…a psychic manifestation of your residual self-image. If you wish to know all the technical details…you should talk to Irresponsible Ingenuity."

A sudden spasm in Danny's neck muscles cocked his head as a massive, full-body twitch flowed over him. He could literally feel his brain trying to process the influx of weirdness, freezing all cognition beyond that. Finally, one of the fuses keeping him from going insane burned out and his mind rebooted.

The ghost-boy slowly nodded. "Okay. If I've gone crazy I might as well have fun with it. So…Jinx is in danger and I have to…save her?"

The cat smiled…Danny purposefully didn't put much thought behind how it smiled and looked towards a fountain of red flares on the horizon. "Your quest is thus, specter: traverse the quixotic mindscape of my mistress while we hold back the growing invasion tide and free my mistress."

"That and a bag of chips," Danny muttered, flexing his muscles and taking flight gently. Concentrating further, he attempted to pull at the metaphorical 'muscles' that consisted of his powers. To his surprise, the change of emotions didn't trigger a miniature flood, storm, or other weather phenomena.

Then again…if he was in Jinx's mind…there wouldn't be weather…

Right?

Shaking off the weirdness, Danny turned to the ca-Ignoble Conscience, only to find her…him, it?…gone and the area around him vacant of all life save the shifting turmoil of the 'ground' beneath his feet.

He took a deep breath and, admirably, restrained himself from screaming in frustration. Instead, as had become the habit these days, Phantom iced his emotions and coldly contemplated the task before him.

Objective 1: Find Jinx.

Objective 2: Find whatever was threatening her and eliminate it with extreme prejudice.

Objective 3: Get the Hell back to the real world.

Objective 4: Find a bottle of Tylenol and take a long nap.

Yes, those were good objectives. He could live with that…and maybe some chili. Chili actually sounded really good right now-

Danny slapped himself.

Hard.

Objective 5: Maintain Sanity…somehow.

With those plans in mind, Danny Phantom set off towards the most difficult challenge he had faced yet.

He was never more thankful that he could fly as in this instance. Each wave of swirled pink and navy pseudo-liquid seemed to not only create a landscape in and of itself but also create its own gravity. As such, he often only had the downward pull of gravity to tell him that 'up' was now 'down' on many occasions. What little wildlife there was consisted of all cat-like animals…

Cat-birds, cat-snakes, catfish…

Danny blinked, staring at the whiskered dark-blue skinned fish. It was sunning itself gently on a rock by a…well, he supposed it could be defined as a river and seemed in no danger of suffocating from lack of water. Many of the other animals seemed to move backward and forward randomly as if caught in one of Clockwork's 'time-outs.'

The strangeness of the environment became more and more apparent as he went on into the depths of what was rapidly becoming a 'city.' Tall buildings made of dark stone in Gothic-style architecture loomed all around him, somehow sitting on top of the pink and navy liquid without sinking.

"I suddenly have so much more respect for Alice…" Danny muttered quietly, still drifting cautiously towards the red flares of light. "Of course, I don't think I'll ever go to an amusement park after this."

"That's bad. Parks are fun."

Danny blinked and turned, expecting to find another talking cat. Instead, a diminutive girl with pink hair and eyes, dressed in a baggy t-shirt, stained cut-offs, hole-filled shoes. Wait…

"Jinx," Danny said warily.

"Jennifer," The girl corrected curtly. "And if you're going to be our boyfriend, you'll need to take us to lots of parks."

Danny could feel another fuse in his mind threaten to explode. "Okay," he stated, vaguely remembering something Jazz had said about playing into peoples' insanities. "…Jennifer, are you like those…big cats back there?"

The child giggled and pulled out an ice cream cone from…somewhere. "You're silly, at least you'll make us laugh. I'm part of myself…the youngest part, at least. I'm the part that likes to laugh and hates to cry. You're our boyfriend, though, so you should already know what I like."

Danny's eye twitched rapidly as he came to terms with this latest development. "Right. You like sherbet ice and long walks anywhere but the beach. You hate lemons, limes, and most types of alcohol. Oh, and you'll punch anyone in the neck that carries a rabbit's foot."

Jennifer, which Danny could only guess was Jinx's real name, gave him a long, long look in only the way inquisitive children can. Finally, the little girl nodded. "Very well, I have but one more test to give you. What…is your favorite color?"

Danny grinned, as an answer immediately sprung to mind.

"Green…No, Pink!"

Jennifer fell over laughing, the ice cream floating next to her writing body as the sound of juvenile laughter. Finally, with tears in her eyes and gulping deep breaths of air, Jennifer sat up. "I love that movie. Okay…you're a good boyfriend I guess. My older self should be a little further on. Don't mess up, though, or I'll make sure to kick you in the shin."

Danny sighed and nodded.

Every time Jinx chose a film for HIVE's movie night it was the same thing: Monty Python and the Quest for Holy Grail. Granted he thought it was hilarious too…

The first seven times.

Danny's attention on some of his better memories almost cost him his right arm as something black and white streaked through the air. He swerved right at the last instant, wary of going intangible in this environment. Turning to see what had tried to maim his, Danny decided he needed to get out of here, now.

It was a five-foot panda bear standing on its hind legs. It had demonic glowing red eyes and a bright red swastika emblazoned on its chest. Belying its cute superficiality, it positively radiated evil in a way he'd only ever felt from the Fright Knight himself.

For a moment that seemed to last hours, Danny just stared.

Then the panda attacked. It's mouth opened to reveal rows and rows of razor sharp teeth spinning like a blender. Phantom back-shifted his movement immediately, flying backward as fast as possible, dodging as he went.

Finally gaining a spare second between the bear's lunges, Danny's hands began to glow green. Shoom, Shoom!

The energy splashed against the panda like water against rocks, Danny's eyes widening further as the bear came at him again, glowing red energy claws extending to a ridiculous length.

"Holy Hell!"

Instinct kicked in and Danny's fist shot forward, encased in blue energy as a shell of ice impacted the beast. Thankfully, the bear staggered this time, but not before throwing Danny backward a dozen feet. Coming to a painful stop, Danny slowly stood up to face off against the Nazi Panda again.

"Da-Danny! What the…how are you even-?"

Danny's head spun, finding Jinx (of the proper age) encased in a cage of red energy, looking at him in amazement. "Jinx! Okay…what the Hell is going on he-!"

Shwam!

The claw caught him off-guard and dragged painfully along the artificially-tough material of his trench-coat. Thankfully, the jacket held and he was thrown another ten feet instead of being gutted like a fish.

"Okay," Danny stated coolly from the crater he'd formed as he landed. "I've been assaulted, freaked out, and am currently fighting an imaginary panda. Putting aside everything else…I refuse to lose to a figment of my girlfriend's imagination!"

The panda grinned, it's teeth looking like an industrial meat grinder in the process. The sword-like claws extended still further as the bear charged the ghost-boy. Danny slammed a kick into the bear's girth encased in blue energy, knocking it at a ninety-degree angle and putting Jinx behind him and out of the line of fire.

Then, he took a deep breath.

And WAILED!

The bear lasted a few long moments before it exploded in a shower of red sparks and dying light. Phantom collapsed, breathing hard and concentrating to hold off a reverse-transformation. Finally, his ectoplasmic energy railed and gave him a second wind, allowing him to stand back up and walk, slowly, to the still-imprisoned Jinx.

"Okay…what the Hell is going on? Feel free to explain in excruciating detail now that the homicidal fascist panda has been turned into crappy fireworks." Danny gasped out as he sat down on the outside of the bars.

Jinx stared, her jaw opening and closing in blank awe.

Phantom blinked for a moment before nodded. "Right, door first, then an explanation."

Taking another moment to concentrate, Danny's finger hummed with focused cold for a moment before he pressed it to the lock on the cage door. The lock froze and shattered in short order, leaving the door to swing open.

Then he was hit by something pink, black, and navy.

And there was kissing.

Lots of kissing.

He decided the explanation could wait a little longer. Her mouth was hot against his, her tongue probing with more force than he'd ever felt. There was a passion, a flame, that he'd never felt before as if she was putting all her heart and soul into the embrace. After several minutes of pressed lips, Jinx pulled away in a much more pleasant gasping, breathless, manner.

"Don't take this personally, Danny, but I'd like to get a little privacy. Plus, I'd really like to thank you…personally, back in the real world." Jinx grinned, her face flushed from exertion.

Phantom's head nodded happily, a vacant look in his eye as Jinx slammed a pink-coated hand onto his forehead. Danny's eyes shot open as his body seized and was forcibly expelled from Jinx's.

Waking up with a warm body curled up next to his was an interesting new sensation. No, more than that, it was enlightening. The head of pink hair resting on his shoulder was something that warmed his very soul. The fact that Jinx had each and every curve of her body pressed meticulously close to his own only deepened the sensation. Finally, a half-smile resting on her sleeping face that he could barely see from the position her head was in, resting in the nape of his neck and guiding her breath to tickle the almost nonexistent pulse of his ghostly body.

He decided he liked it.

Memories of the night prior floated back to his waking mind in a sleepy haze that indicated he wasn't quite awake. He remembered slamming into his dorm wall as a wave of pink energy, thankfully tame in comparison to the concentrated bad luck of her hex bolts, washed over him.

In short order, his ghostly flight shorted out and he crashed to the ground in a heap of tired, sore, and pained ectoplasm. He taken a moment to just lay there, hurting and gathering his wits about him. Finally, he tugged on the spectral currents of energy that surrounded him to establish that, yes, he was back in the real world where his errant temper could cause tornadoes.

Without further hesitation, he 'iced' his emotions, clearing his mind in the process. Now with a more clear presence of mind, Phantom stood and turned his attention to the pink haired girl in his bed.

And was promptly knocked back down.

Onto the ground.

Again.

For the fourth time that day. Wait…did those first three times actually count? Did they really happen, given that they'd happened in Jinx's head…mind…imagination? Some distant part of his mind decided that it wasn't even worth the thought to figure it out as Jinx hit a very sensitive place with her tongue on his neck.

Drawing in a gasp which was mirrored by the rapid movement of air in the room, Danny looked down to see two mischievous pink orbs dancing with amusement. She bared her teeth lightly and grinned.

"You know what," Danny asked sardonically. "I'm not getting up. I'm going to lay here and ask questions and I'd like you to please answer them because I am very confused right now. If you could please intermittently kiss me, that would also be very much appreciated."

Jinx's frame shook with suppressed laughter as she regarded him like a tasty treat left unattended. "I don't know if you'll want me to keep kissing you after you listen to what I have to say," Jinx said sadly, all laughter gone from her form.

She sighed and curled up on his chest, which was still enveloped in the silky fabric of her dress. "You really do look good in my clothes, you know. How do you do that?"

"It's a byproduct of my complete lack of masculinity," Danny deadpanned, idly running his fingers through the pink mane inches from his face. He was careful not to mess up the 'horns.' He was fairly sure Jinx had broken bones for less. "Could you please explain why I'm still wearing the dress, though? I'd really like to know, seeing as I was in my jumpsuit and trench-coat in…where ever that was."

"My mind," Jinx said quietly. "It's not…really a nice place. I have a very unique view on the world. In order to use my powers, I have to see the implausible as likely and the reasonable as impossible."

Danny supposed that made a considerable amount more sense than anything else he'd seen today. "And the dress?"

Jinx fingered the blouse in response. "Does it really bother you that much? I'd thought you'd be used to cross-dressing by now."

"I feel I have to put up a token argument to save what little male pride I have left," Danny stated, used to detouring Jinx's questions with a pinch of black humor. In all honesty, the dress didn't bother him at all nowadays…not that he would ever admit it.

Ever.

"Hm…I guess you just see yourself as wearing the jumpsuit and trench-coat. You ever see The Matrix?" Jinx asked, now tracing a finger on his arm.

"Oh," Danny said, remembering the years-ago craze. "You mean like Neo was bald and skinny in the real world, but…normal in the matrix?"

"Got it in one," Jinx sighed. "You weren't really in my mind after all. It's just that with so many presences within my body I instinctually needed some way to sort everything out. You appeared as a representation of yourself inside a representation of my mind."

"Oh," Phantom reiterated. "Then why do I feel like I just went three rounds with a fascist panda bear with red energy claws?"

"If you die in the matrix?" Jinx asked, leadingly. As if to punctuate the question, she bit down lightly on his neck, leaving a hicky which she proceeded to lap at gently.

Danny shivered at both the sensation and the answer. "You die in the real world," he replied quietly. He blinked as his mind fixated on one point, "Wait. So many presences? Who else was in there?"

"Brother Blood," Jinx whispered, her tone distant.

Every muscle in Danny's body tensed and Jinx was almost alarmed as she felt frost cover his form, crystalline snowflake patterns appearing over the material of the dress. "Why?"

The question was deathly cold, leaving no doubt in Jinx's mind that this was someone who had faced a literal death and come out triumphant. "He wanted me to kill you. Our…relationship was his idea, to catch you off-guard."

The ectoplasmic flesh underneath her form felt as cold as frostbitten stone, growing colder by the moment. She looked up and saw quiet accusation in his eyes, suspicion that was like a knife wound to the soul.

"That…creature you killed was a manifestation of his will inside me, mimicking everything I hate. Why it took the shape it did…is a long story. When you killed it and freed me…you cut his puppet strings. Danny…"

Her voice trailed off into silence as she bit her lip, looking for any hint of compassion in his green/blue orbs. Finally, she decided to chance it anyway. If there was any hope that he might…

She'd only begun to consider him a friend when Blood gave the command, but…

He'd held her so gently, kissed her more lightly than she'd thought possible. He'd been the perfect gentleman even when her zealous advances would have had any other student, or teacher (and that thought redoubled her hatred when she thought of what Blood could have done to her), drag her back to their room and…

She most likely wouldn't find another like him if she tried.

It was more than just the thought of him as an acceptable and tractable companion, though. He was…special. He cared about her, which was more than any other person had ever even attempted. If he decided that she was no longer trustworthy, that she 'd had some intent to hurt him and never wished to see her again…

She'd cry.

She'd cry for the first time since she learned what being an orphan meant. The sadness that came with learning that no one wanted her and she'd been left to people who wouldn't spare the rod any more than the fist or the boot.

"I…" Jinx started, searching for words to express exactly what she felt when she, herself, didn't rightly know. "You're important to me."

The chill in his eyes softened at that and Jinx felt such relief that it almost crushed her. "I want to stay with you…I want…to kiss you and not have it be someone else's idea."

The ice melted in his eyes and Danny slowly swept her up into his arms, pressing his face tightly into her and breathing in the scent of lavender and cinnamon. "I want to believe you, Jinx. I want to know that there's someone who…cares about me. But…"

The tears seeping into the collar of the dress he was wearing stopped him. "I don't want you to trust me, Danny."

Phantom stared at her in blank surprise. "What?"

"Blood is still inside me. The strength with which he was controlling me suppressed my powers, but now my powers are suppressing his. Bad luck can fuck all manner of things up, after all. If he notices, though, he'll put me back under his thumb in a heartbeat. I want you to be ready to stop me if I ever try to hurt you again. For tonight, though…"

Danny blinked. Tonight?

Phantom gulped as her eyes took on a darker, hungrier look.

"Uh…Jinx?"

The pinkette smiled and leaned in, kissing him deeply and more demandingly than ever before. "Tonight," Jinx confirmed, her hand sliding down Phantom's side and towards the hem of the skirt.

Oh.

There had only been two reasons he'd refused. The primary one was that he couldn't guarantee what would happen with his powers should he…

Anyway, the second had been Jinx herself. He wanted her to be sure when they slept together, that she wasn't doing it just out of gratitude for saving her, or if Blood really was still controlling her…he couldn't take the risk. Jinx had left a dozen marks on his neck trying to convince him, but she eventually conceded the point. Of course, she'd demanded a compromise, which was why she was still in his room the next morning.

She'd stripped to her underwear and cuddled up next to him, latching on more tightly than he gave her small frame credit for. That was all they'd done, though, besides a little more kissing.

She was cute, though, and Danny didn't know if he'd refuse her a second time.

Sighing, the ghost-boy phased through her grip and went looking for his jumpsuit, where ever it was in the mess they'd left his room. The suit, like most of his ghostly apparel, didn't need actual cleaning, but would be ready for another day with a simple second or two phased intangible. The dirt and grime would simple fall through the material, leaving it spotless and stain-free. Although, he'd never been more thankful to have worn clean boxers than last night.

Now all he had to do was figure out how to deal with Blood.

Phantom concentrated as the rage built inside him, ice forming on his bare skin. Blood had done something unforgivable to Jinx, and he'd see the Bastard pay dearly for it. Maybe Bumblebee was right; this whole damn school needed to be destroyed.

And he needed to find a coin.

After all, it was becoming harder and harder to choose between Blood and the Headmistress.

Of course, he couldn't have a single day without something going wrong.

In hindsight he should have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Still, the fact that he was almost perfectly content with his life at the moment was enough to lull him into a false sense of security. Granted, he was still plotting, preferably bloody, vengeance on the HIVE…

But, all the same, he'd never expected a proximity alarm to go off.

HIVE took it's security very seriously, disregarding the two spies in their midst and the coup de tat in the works of course. Threats from within weren't very big on the agenda apparently. But…the security against outside threats was comparable to STAR Labs in its sheer volume and complexity.

It could be an accident, though that wouldn't explain why he was immediately called to the Headmistress' office only a few seconds after the alarm went off. All around him students were rushing to defensive stations in case of a medieval-style siege or an open war with another villain or heroic operation. In the case of the latter, the HIVE would move to a supplementary base due to the main complex being compromised.

He frowned and reminded himself to give Bumblebee more information on the emergency plans of the HIVE. Provided this whole mess wasn't her doing, of course.

"Mam," Phantom said, stepping over the threshold of the open door. "You called for me?"

The Headmistress nodded. "Indeed," Her strict, severe countenance cut right to the point. "The city above us is under attack by an alien force."

Danny blinked.

"The HIVE has never compromised the integrity of Jump City. We have…discouraged any activities of our own students or other, minor, villains who aspire to terrorize the city. The fact that these aliens are destroying much of the city's infrastructure is disturbing and may reveal our organization's presence."

Phantom nodded slowly, following the reasoning and waiting for the punchline.

"We have never before faced such a situation, Daniel. As such, I have engineered a unique response. The destruction of this city will not be tolerated. It is a valuable, nigh vital resource. These people are indispensable to our continued operation, do I make myself clear?"

The ghost-boy gave one sharp nod as comprehension began to dawn.

"You will observe and covertly intervene in the situation. I have assigned Kid Wykkid and Jinx to your command for the duration. You are not to engage in any unnecessary…heroics. You are to avoid overt action."

The Headmistress gave him one more, considering glance. "They are currently making a nuisance of themselves. If they should pose any threat to the HIVE's continued existence, eliminate the threat by whatever means necessary."

...Okay, I wasn't something anything. Honest. I did not imbibe alcohol, any prescription, or non-prescription medicine. No, really. I'm being honest. If you want to blame something, blame Johnny Depp's Sleepy Hollow and too much Mountain Dew. Well...and Jinx, you can definitely blame her. The strange thing is, writing this part came fairly naturally to me. Huh. Oh well, THE TITANS ARE HERE! Yes, you can stop asking when the Titans are going to appear. They will be a significant part of next chapter...

Now you can all keep bugging me about when Danni is going to get here...Damn it.

Now, to summarize the plots and sub-plots I've got going.

Plot #1: Danny is black-mailed to attend HIVE against his will. Plot #2: The eventual downfall of the HIVE. Plot #3: Jinx/Blood Mind Control Plot #4: Danny's interaction with the Titans (This hasn't been completely introduced yet).

Sub-Plot #1: Danny's moral decay and seduction to the dark side. Sub-Plot #2: Danny's conflict with Cyborg (This hasn't been completely introduced yet either, but you've known it's been coming). Sub-Plot #3: Jazz and Vlad plotting to drag Danny back to Amity Park for his own good. Sub-Plot #4: Danny/Jinx romance. Sub-Plot #5: Danielle Phantom (You know Damn well this hasn't been introduced yet) Sub-Plot #6: Jazz trying to redeem Vlad and psycho-analyze him. Sub-Plot #7: ...Did I miss something? Oh yeah...the ghosts.

What? You can't honestly think they're not doing ANYTHING during all this time. Granted, some of them are, but...some are plotting and scheming.

...Announcements? I honestly don't know if I have any. Uh...currently out of Mountain Dew. 'Sides that...next chapter is kind of up in the air right now, so it might be a few days.

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Remember, original bottom text is preserved. Sorry about the delay, more on that later.