Slayer Anderson

HIVE-Minded Part 1: Relocated

A Danny Phantom/Teen Titans Fanfiction

05/25/09

Summary: Danny Fenton gets an acceptance notification from a school that he never applied to. I know what you're thinking…green ink, owls, and a castle, right? Sorry, not this time.

*A/N (1): This story takes place after 'The Fenton Menace.' All events before that episode are identical to the cannon storyline. This means the events of 'The Ultimate Enemy' have already occurred and Jazz knows who Danny is.

*A/N (2): The Teen Titans storyline, when it overlaps, will do so before the introduction of the Hive team. Therefore, this storyline begins before the events of the animated Teen Titans series do.

Chapter 1-School Daze

Dear Mr. Fenton,

We at the HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People would like to offer you a scholarship to attend our prestigious school free of charge, complete with room and board. Our facilities include state of the art electronic libraries, exercise and work-out rooms, and only the most competent lecturers. Virtually any subject can be researched and awarded credit for on our curriculum standards.

We also offer a very understanding atmosphere for uniquely gifted or challenged students and are willing to accommodate physical disabilities, medical concerns, and intellectual needs. Our enclosed brochure and scholarship offer details will, we hope, convince you that the HIVE Academy for Extraordinary Young People is the appropriate choice for your continued education.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Alexandria Trotsky

P.S.-This letter should arrive while a school representative is in your area. To schedule a meeting with our representative, please call (555)555-8989.

"Well Dann-o, looks like you got my brains, at least!"

His father's rant went unheard as Daniel Fenton looked disbelievingly at the invitation. It had taken a moment, but the unreality of the situation had hit him…hard. His grades were…less than spectacular.

No, if he was honest with himself, his grades were horrible.

So, the question became: How did a C average (barely) buy him acceptance, much less a scholarship, into a private school. It was…wrong. More than that, every sense that he had honed as the superhero Danny Phantom was going off in alarm.

"I'm not going," Danny said suddenly, making both his parents blink in confusion. Maddie frowned as her goggled eyes narrowed.

"Danny, I know you may like Casper High and your little friends, but you should at least consider the offer. It's a wonderful opportunity for you to enrich your education."

Danny shook his head. "Mom, I appreciate the offer, but I don't think…"

"You could at least go and talk to them," Maddie pointed out. "It won't hurt to check out the school and you don't have to make your decision now."

"Mom…"

"Or you could help you father clean the lab for…oh, how about the next three months?" Maddie smiled pleasantly, her tone vaguely unsettling.

Danny sighed, beaten. "Fine. I'll just…give them a call, then…"

"I'm glad to see you taking this opportunity Danny," Maddie said graciously, kissing her son on the cheek and moving to get dinner ready.

Jasmine Fenton walked in her house to find her father ranting about how smart his son was, her mother humming happily as she basted a chicken with an ectoplasmic baking compound, and Danny looking consigned to a horrible fate.

She sighed tiredly and approached Danny.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"Weird," Tucker commented, only half of his attention on the conversation; the other half focused on the small device in his hands and its glowing screen.

"Tucker," Sam growled, "Its not just weird! Danny's right, it might be one of Vlad's plans!"

"To…what? Get Danny a quality education?" Tucker responded sarcastically.

"How about getting him away from Amity Park?" Sam replied. "Without Danny here, do you think we'd even have a chance against his royal cheese-ness?"

Tucker frowned, but didn't look up from his PDA. "I still don't think it has to be Vlad. Spectra's infiltrated the school system…twice now? You'd think they'd have a better hiring policy."

Sam snorted lightly, but conceded the point. Bad feelings, bad history, and attempted murder aside, Vlad wasn't behind every scheme that came Danny's way. At least…not that they knew of.

"So, mom is freaking out about my meeting later, Jazz is freaking out about me getting a scholarship to a private school half-way across the country, and dad is…" Danny shrugged, not needing to finish that sentence.

After all, Jack Fenton's behavior was fairly predictable, come hell or high water.

"Why is Jazz freaking out?" Sam asked. "No offense, but I thought she'd be happy to see you get away from all the ghost stuff. Especially with that horrible family vacation from last month."

Danny shivered. "If I ever see Young Blood again, it'll be too soon. Well, to tell the truth, Jazz seemed a little…frustrated. After all, she's got the good grades, so I guess she was angry…maybe jealous."

"I don't blame her," Tucker muttered. "I mean, if I were picking for scholarships I wouldn't go for a freshman, much less one with your grades."

"Thanks Tuck," Danny sighed sardonically. "You know, I was kind of looking forward to some time off. If this doesn't turn out to be some crazy plot maybe I should try the other school."

"You don't really mean that, do you Danny?" Sam asked, suddenly worried.

"No…well, maybe. I'd just like to be normal once and a while and anytime I try, I end up fighting Vlad, the Fright Knight, the Ghost King, or…" Danny trailed off again. The memories of his alternate, evil, self were still to fresh. Too raw.

Sam bulldozed through the awkward moment.

"But you're Amity Park's hero, Danny! If you leave, the ghosts will have free reign, practically!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Sam, I think you and Tucker would have things covered for a while if I had to leave. Besides, it wouldn't be forever, maybe just a semester if I didn't like it. Plus, if there was a real emergency, I could fly across country in a few hours."

Sam frowned, but didn't press the matter.

Tucker shrugged the problem off as he was wont to do with everything not related to his precious electronic. "Sam, relax. Danny's right, we'll take care of it if the spooks cause trouble and we can always ask Danny's-"

"-Sister," Danny interrupted. "You can ask my sister. Since Jazz knows my secret, she'll make time to help you. I'd rather you didn't put my parents in mortal danger while I'm not around to save them. If things get desperate, you can go to Valerie for help. If you drop enough hints, she'll come out guns blazing."

"Right," Sam said sourly. It didn't sit well with her, having to depend on Vlad's 'happy little helper,' but if it came down to that or another ghost invasion… "Talk about the evil you know."

"Better than the evil you don't," Tucker recited. "So, when's this interview?"

Danny blinked and looked down to his watch. "…Damn it."

Sam and Tucker tried not to snicker as the secret teen superhero took off running.

"You must be Mr. Fenton, right on time."

One good thing about his…extracurricular activities, he could run faster than almost any other student in his school and, from the look of it, he needed every second. The woman who greeted him in the hotel was the epitome of a strict disciplinarian; her hair was drawn back into a tight bun and she wore clothing that would be more at home a few decades earlier with sharp eyes and a sharper tone of voice.

"Well? Come in, we haven't time to dawdle," She criticized curtly.

"Yes mam," Danny replied, snapping to attention. As he walked into the room and set down, he noticed her cryptic gaze following him, judging. Silently, he thanked his mother for forcing him into a pressed polo and slacks and taming his hair.

With a barely perceptible nod, he knew he'd past whatever unspoken inspection she had performed. The woman sat across from him with impeccable posture and opened a file folder with his name on it. His breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the photo on the top file.

"Let me begin by commending you, Mr. Fenton. Most villains don't bother with the menial task of maintaining a secret identity. It took quite a bit of legwork for even our agents to find the renowned menace Danny Phantom. You are a very good actor Mr. Fenton, especially given that you live with the world-famous ghost hunters."

The sudden unreality of the situation left the teen in gaping shock and panic.

"Now, now, don't be so surprised. The Hive academy is always looking for gifted individuals inclined to terrorizing or thieving the populous. You've been on our recruitment list for quite a while, you know."

The damning photo caught him in mid-morph and shock drained away as it was replaced by anger. Again, again! Why couldn't he just have one normal day! Just one! The temperature in the room dropped dramatically as Danny, whether rationally or irrationally, sought out a target for his rage.

The Headmistress' breath caught in her throat as the teen's eyes flashed a cool ectoplasmic green and then, as quick as before, to a ice-blue so cold as to be artic. She had been suspicious when her agents had reported such a seemingly light-hearted person as a talented villain. That he could make Public Enemy #1, even in such a small city as Amity Park…

What she saw now, though…

The dark seething anger directed at her, the cold black tug at her heart that she hadn't felt since an age she thought long past.

She smiled a smile better suited to a shark.

"What do you want?" Danny growled out, his anger having blinded him to her earlier words.

The Headmistress smiled another toothy smile. "I want you to be a student at my school. It would be quite the feather in our hat to have you choose us over our competitors."

"School?" Danny asked dumbly, flummoxed by the suggestion that someone would go to all the trouble of finding out his secret identity to… "You want me to go to a school for villains?"

Normally, he would proudly declare that he was a hero. He'd done it enough that it proved the majority of the people in this town were deaf or retarded. But, the woman in front of him seemed to have a vested interest in him being, not only a villain, but a fairly famous one. So, for once in his life, Daniel Fenton bit his tongue.

"Absolutely, we offer a variety of courses, such as Doomsday Device Construction 503, Sewing Dissention in Political Sciences 208, and Practical Applications for Theories of Destruction 101." The Headmistress recited gladly. "For a student of your caliber, your scholarship would include room and board and some additional spending money if your grades remain acceptable."

"About that," Danny broached the subject gently, trying to ignore the fact that the school actually sounded interesting. "If you've done so much research on me then you should know I have…"

"If you attend The HIVE academy, we forgive all previous academic discrepancies. Understand, though, you will be held to the highest standards if you make this commitment." The Headmistress elaborated sternly.

"And if I don't?" Danny asked, struck by a fit of rebelliousness and reminding himself that he was a hero. Heroes didn't associate with villains. They especially didn't go to school with them.

Another toothy smile.

"Even though they are just minions or mind controlled puppets that you've duped into believing they're your parents…destroying them would be detrimental to your cover at least. If that isn't enough, I'm willing to leak this image to the press, internet, and anyone who would even be willing to talk to you. I think you'll find we can make your life…afterlife, very difficult."

Danny closed his eyes to keep from following his first instinct, which was to overshadow the woman and manipulate her memories. She reminded him too much of Vlad.

If he'd learned one thing about the fruit-loop, it was that he always, always had a contingency plan.

So, Plan B, then…

"Do you offer career planning options?" His mom had told him to ask that, and it was as good a time as any to do so.

Especially since Plan B involved stalling.

"Since you ask, the classes we offer double as college credits and we have several degree plans…"

Danny blinked…high school and college?

The meeting had lasted three hours.

In the end, they'd exchanged threats, cold stares, and Danny had said some things which would have had his mother cleaning his mouth out with a plasma torch. In comparison, it made what he'd said to Vlad on pervious occasions seem like small talk.

In his defense, Danny had never before faced someone like the Headmistress, which was the only name she'd given him to call her by. Vlad was nearly at her level, but she had schemes within schemes and had alluded to enough that even Danny knew when he was outclassed.

Then she'd threatened his family.

He'd threatened her.

She'd threatened his friends.

He'd threatened her precious school.

She'd threatened his identity.

He'd…run out of threats.

And if he'd revealed he was a hero? She'd have seen all her threats to fruition in an instant and he'd…

Red eyes, fanged teeth, and a forked tongue made him shiver. If his family died…and he doubted he'd be able to protect everyone, everyday, twenty-four/seven… If he didn't go, his family would die, eventually. If he tried to fight, his family would die.

Eventually.

If he went…

Red eyes and a grinning mouth. Taunting him, looking out over a dead world.

The wind tugged at his jumpsuit as he flew patrol, his motions on autopilot and his mind wandering, trying desperately to find a solution. Rather, to find a way out of the problem he'd already sucked himself into.

In the end, he'd said yes.

Term started in two months.

Now he had to go home and explain exactly why he'd made a decision like that without any input from his family without telling them exactly why he'd made the decision. Besides, it wasn't like he could even begin to tell his parents and…

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam would try to help.

And he knew, by the way the Headmistress' smile showed too many teeth, and that dark, cruel laughter behind her eyes…she wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

Then he was back to square one.

So he would go to school and learn how to be a proper villain. He would put forth his best effort. He'd make friends, smile, and learn everything he could. Then…then, he'd melt her face off.

Or freeze it.

He frowned as he looked at his ice-incrusted fist. That was yet another thing wrong with this day…and something he really needed to figure out. Flexing his fingers, he shook the ice off and focused on his more immediate concerns.

Friends and family.

The easiest way would be to just break it off with all of them. Tell them he was tired of all this ghost nonsense and wanted something like a normal life. He'd already said as much, but they hadn't taken him seriously.

Convince them that it was better this way.

Toe the line with the villains.

Try not to loose his soul to the darkness inside him.

His fist clenched again as ice formed over it. He hated himself for wanting that woman dead, for giving into her way of thinking so easily, so naturally. He hated himself for stooping to her level.

That still didn't make him hate her any less.

I feel like I don't even know you!

Dude, we're your friends! At least give us a real reason!

Danny, you have responsibilities in Amity Park!

Their voices fell on deaf ears as the months drew to a close. Danny concentrated on his school work more, isolated himself, and stopped going out with friends. He'd redoubled his ghost-fighting efforts, but was all the more brutal for it. His last fight with Skulker had taken out a city block, earned him a terrifying new reputation, and cemented his plans.

The only deviation had been Danni.

The ghost girl had stormed into his life and almost gotten him killed.

But…but, Danny felt hard-pressed to hold a grudge against someone who had been deceived into doing evil. Especially since he was being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the darkness himself.

He felt a certain grim satisfaction as the box ghost was incased in a beam of ice shot from his palm. That was yet another change.

After that mess with the Infi-map, he'd been wary of asking Frostbite for help again, but the yeti-dog-man-thing had come through with an impressive training regime. The fact that he'd turned Undergrowth into a hedge ornament did something to alleviate his conscience when he'd betrayed his town in almost every other way.

Soon, though, very soon, he'd be out of Amity Park, and free from hurting the people he loved. Then, in a year or so, he could return with that woman's head on a platter and give Vlad a few new bruises.

Things were already looking up.