#Danny going to kick Vlad's butt though

[bluerosefox]

Uncle Damian Mode ACTIVATE

Twins Danny and Damian but! They both know where the other is (Damian going to Bruce and Danny being sent to the Fentons on a mission at a young age), has kept in touch and all that.

They just...never got around to telling anyone about the other.

That is until Danny comes interrupting Damian on patrol one night in a panic, pushes a bundle into his arms and hurriedly says "Read our texts! It'll explain! I gotta go, got a fruitloop on my tail! Be back when I can!"

And rushes off. When Damian looks down at the bundle in his arm, ignoring the yelling on comms and Nightwing rushing over, he is stunned to see a almost identical face to that of his brother staring back at him, only he can tell its female from the more delicate features.

When he later reads the texts his brother sent during his patrol... well he's tempted to go fruitloop hunting but he has a niece to take of... and inform his father of his granddaughter he's currently holding.

[aikoiya]

You know what’d be interesting? If when Vlad came back to Earth, the Danny he met was different from the one before.

Like, I see a lot of stuff going around about trans Danny. Now, I don't really believe it, but let's just say, hypothetically, that it was true? Well, what if while Vlad was stuck in space, Danny realized that she didn’t wanna transition anymore. That it shouldn’t matter if she was a little more masculine than other girls. She was just a tomboy & shouldn’t have to go through hormone therapy or a life-altering surgery or literally castrate herself just to appease other people's twisted ideas of what a boy or girl should be. She’s never cared about being a girl before, so why should she now?

Really? She’d only pretended she was one because she remembered her mom saying that she’d always wanted a son. It'd delighted the woman when she started asking to be treated as a boy. She had encouraged it, not even really questioning her about it, but now Danny knew just how toxic that was.

When she takes off her binder & starts using her old name again, it’s like a huge weight off her chest. (She never went on puberty blockers or hormone therapy because it sounded too experimental to her.) She doesn’t have to be something she doesn’t actually think she is anymore!

Not to say that gender dysphoria doesn’t exist, so much as Danny, herself, isn’t a subject to it. She has no problems with the transgender community. She's just not one herself & she doesn't appreciate others trying to force their views onto her just because she isn't the perfect image of femininity.

She is bi though.

Because of this, she doesn’t think other kids should be allowed to make that transition until they reach between 18-25 because what if they changed their minds like she did? What if they wanted children of their own? The brain doesn't stop developing until the age of 25. There’d be no going back after surgery. Like, sure, once they do reach that age, then fine. Go ahead, it's their body & they are mature enough to make that decision for themselves. But otherwise, don't do it.

Danny just jumps with both feet back into being a regular tomboy & loves every moment of it. Unfortunately, she & Sam break up as Sam prefers guys, but they stay bffs.

Then Vlad comes back & he’s stunned by the sudden appearance of this beautiful half-ghost woman. When he learns that she was his little badger & that she was a biological female, he’s shocked into silence. He tries to take out his revenge but keeps getting sidetracked by certain new, rather obvious, features of his enemy.

She inherited her mother's body type is all I'm gonna say. Besides, Vlad's always liked a woman who could kick his butt & look fantastic doing so.

---

Personally, I am of the opinion that Vlad didn't have access to the Ghost Zone until after Danny became a halfa. The reason being that most of his tools are Fenton knock-offs, so I don't see him managing to build a working full-sized portal when even they hadn't yet. Even if Vlad managed to get the proto-portal to actually work, it was too small to be able to fit him & the only things able to pass through would've been blob ghosts & Skulker without his suit, maybe some of the smaller animal ghosts. As such, the only ghosts he would've made physical contact with would've been those just listed. Vlad wouldn't have had anything especially strong to fight like Danny does nearly every day. Not only that, but most of the business he'd conducted in the GZ would've been done through a middleman, i.e. Skulker.

I firmly believe that, as a businessman, Vlad would eventually have found himself weaker than Danny. Primarily because of his style of fighting, which is to never fight anyone that he isn't 100% sure that he can beat & to then overwhelm them with pure power. Did you see how he ran from Pariah Dark & Vortex? Not only that, his personality is that he never cleans up his own messes & avoids the consequences of his actions whenever possible.

As such, I think most of his power is due to being a fully mature adult & even if Vlad has trained his abilities, the fact of the matter is that that sort of thing has nothing on real life experience in battle. Not to mention, I highly doubt he even knows how to utilize his core element & just tries to suppress it whenever the heat gets to be too much. The reason being that Danny needed Frostbites help.

Vlad never had that.

So, I feel like even a female Danny would end up being much stronger than Vlad upon reaching maturity. Like, sure being female affects physical attributes, but not her actual energy-based powers & not her flight. Anything envolving using her body (minus flexibity) would be less than if she was male, but not by much, however everything else would be the same.

So, it'd be like comparing a male nerd to a female veteran. Vet trumps nerd.

At the same time, I do think Vlad has a talent for escapes.

So, it'd be a lot like seeing their first fight in Bitter Reunions reversed.

---

Edit: There have been comments recently calling me a TERF, but that term is incorrect.

TERF isn't simply being anti-trans which is the way that the word's been thrown around. It is defined as someone who excludes trans rights from the advocacy of women's rights.

Thing is, neither women's nor trans' rights are even brought up here. If you're going to antagonize me by calling me something, please use the correct termonology for whatever it is you're accusing me of.

If you wish to debate with me civilly, that's fine. I like a good debate, but please respect me & my opinions & I will respect you & yours. I admit that it's possible that I could be wrong about some things & feel free to try & correct or convince me. I like to think that I'm a mature enough person to be able to admit when I'm wrong, but only if there's enough evidence to do so.

I just don't understand how simply having different opinions from someone elses & merely stating them could infringe on anyone's rights. That sort of logic would mean that no one could ever voice their own opinions for fear of infringing on anyone's rights & that just leads to stagnation. Or, is it that only your opinion matters? If so, that's highly arrogant & I can't help but wonder where such an idea came from. It's a sentiment that lacks empathy.

Maybe I'm just trying to increase visibility on detrans rights? They're a minority too, even more so than transpeople in fact, so why is it that so few people talk about it?

I hope you all have a good day, take care of yourselves, & learn tolerance for other people's opinions.

[constellaj]

This is VERY cursed but I'm morbidly curious. Can you make Phantom Planet worse?

[cracks knuckles]

danny wakes up and vlad is not the MAYOR, no, he has become PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA. do not worry, this does not actually impact the plot. the masters blasters are here, the guys in white are not mentioned even once. danny has to fight using ONLY his ice powers. there is a joke where he runs out of underwear and has to wear a diaper to school. 

you see, we are not going to even foreshadow ectoranium in the beginning of this episode, it will come up randomly halfway through.

he deletes his powers, the cast treats him like he’s a selfish prick, the writing treats the cast like they’re right. not just sam, but jazz and tucker also abandon danny and danny gets his ‘comeuppance’. jack insults his own son, now with low self esteem, several times, with the line ‘you’re even more of a girly wuss than my daughter!’. jack is treated as if he is in the right because of this

maddie exists only in the episode as an object for vlad; she is not competent whatsoever. at the same time danny loses his powers she becomes enamored with vlad. this is not explained. the audience takeaway is danny made his mom fall in love with vlad (who is 30000% more creepy) by not being dead.

the first 50-60% of the episode is these shenanigans of danny being insulted and kicked around, with a healthy dose of ‘man in underwear’ and ‘woman bad’ gags. no cohesive or coherent plot, just characters being assholes, of course.

then, in the span of about 2 minutes, we are told: the disasteroid is coming, it is made of GHOSTROCK, ghostrock can kill ghosts and mute their powers, jack tried to destroy it and missed and blew up the moon, vlad and maddie are now engaged, vlad revealed his secret to maddie (but not jack), and he plans to fly her to the disasteroid so they can have their wedding. on the asteroid. hurtling towards earth. then in a triumphant display he will destroy it.

(vlad is surrounded by secret service who are all racial stereotypes.)

vlad reveals his secret to the entire planet, of course. jack is shocked. not one reference is made to molecule-by-molecule and it is treated as though jack loved ghosts like they were his family this whole time.

the asteroid shorts vlad’s powers and of course he gets launched into space. danny has to go get his powers back and save his own mom. maddie is too incompetent to save herself.

around this time of course we also make tucker the butt of some joke. how about him being a creep and then saying ‘well when the disasteroid comes at least i’ll have my pda’ or whatever the fuck. like just a cringe joke

of course danny doesnt know how to get his powers back and sam and tucker and jazz are all like ‘well we told you not to lose them, idiot, this is your fault.’ danny goes into the ghost zone to mope. don’t worry, a random ghost we’ve never seen or heard of shows up, benevolently gives him his powers, and leaves. the ghost has a chiseled jawline and dark hair and sam has a MEGA crush on him.

from now on, none of danny’s powers have any consequences. he can use the ghostly wail without reverting to human. he can shapeshift. he can duplicate as many times as he wants. it is treated as though he could always do this.

danny uses a power of mind control that he just discovered 2 seconds ago to mind control all the ghosts into helping him save the earth. he also duplicates himself a bunch and possesses humans to make them build things to save the world. this is treated as good in the writing and there are no parallels drawn to vlad rigging his own election this way. there is some blatantly homophobic joke wherein dash is confirmed gay, and is humiliated for it, and the audience is encouraged to laugh at him.

all the ghosts work together. including tucker’s ghost from what you want. including dark dan. including pariah dark. none of their appearances are explained. and of course danny reveals his entire secret to the world at the end

maddie and jack make a perfect resolution and there is a half-assed line about how she was possessed but they dont examine their marriage at all. sam and danny make out. tucker makes out with his pda, and then valerie, but like, in a weirdly toxic masculine way. paulina throws herself at dannys feet and he just goes ‘nah uh, i got a real girlfriend’ or whatever. again him shitting on her is treated as the right thing to do

(yes valerie was here and no she didnt participate at all. there are moments where she seems to be bordering on competent but, do not worry, she is beaten at every turn)

vlad still gets inexplicably crushed by an asteroid out in space instead of just going home and tucker is still made mayor of amity at 14 because i genuinely cannot think of a worse ending than that

[q-gorgeous]

Strange

fanfiction

this fic is based off of @jerichomere‘s dead kyle au comic

hidey hey u guys im back for another dannymay fic jhgvf

Kyle walked through the main entrance of Casper High, a yawn falling out of his mouth while his eyes scrunched closed. When he opened his eyes, he had walked down the hallway a bit where the rest of the students were gathered. He smiled at some and waved at others as he walked down the hall, but it was starting to dawn on him that everyone was staring at him weirdly. 

No one was waving back to him as he greeted his classmates. Everyone either backed away from him or avoided looking at him altogether. His friend, Nost, nearly jumped out of his skin when Kyle clapped him on the shoulder in their usual greeting.

Huh, that’s strange. 

Pulling back, he looked at Nost with wide eyes, saying something about catching him later. Nost must’ve pulled an all nighter, it wouldn’t have been the first time. He shrugged off the feeling churning in his gut and changed direction when he saw Wes standing at his locker. 

“Hey, bro.” Kyle said as he walked up behind Wes. “Everyone looks like they’ve seen a ghost. Do you know why they’re acting so weird?

Wes paused in his digging in his locker, his hand clenched around his locker door. He slowly turned around, eyes wide, to stare at his brother who was standing nonchalantly in the middle of the hallway. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Wes said. 

“What?” Kyle looked at Wes’ wide eyes and the way he shrunk in on himself. “Oh, not you too. I don’t know what crawled up everyone’s butts but you can come find me when you’re not being weird. I’m going to class.”

Kyle walked away from Wes, adjusting his backpack straps, and made his way down the hallway. The people he passed were white as a sheet and were looking at him with wide eyes. He didn’t know why they were acting so strange, but he would just go about his business as usual.

“Hey, Dale! High five!”

Dale instinctively lifted his arm and turned toward Kyle at the invitation for a high five, but the moment he realized it was Kyle’s hand smacking into his, it looked as if his soul left his body. 

Kyle continued walking down the hallway, whistling as he turned into his english classroom. 

“Lord of the Flies! Mr. Weston?!”

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

“So how come you don’t eat then?”

Wes kicked a rock as he walked beside Kyle, hands shoved into his pockets while he sported a grumpy expression on his face.

“What do you mean? Of course I eat! I’m just not that hungry very often.”

Wes shot Kyle a look. “I haven’t seen you eat since… For a couple weeks now. When do you eat that no one ever sees you?”

Kyle shrugged. “Probably when I’m baked as fuck.”

Wes sighed. “Well you’re not high right now, and you’re not eating, are you going to be hungry enough to join us for dinner?”

“Eh, I think I had a big lunch today. I’ll let you know if I��m hungry later.”

“You think you had a big lunch?” 

Kyle looked away from Wes. “I mean, I assume I had a big lunch since I’m not hungry.”

“You don’t even know?” Wes stared wide eyed at him. “Look, Kyle, I know you don’t believe in ghosts but-”

“Ghosts aren’t real.”

“But-”

Kyle sighed. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I just want to go home and do my homework.”

Wes followed after Kyle quietly, hands tucked into his jacket while Kyle was clad only in his hoodie even in the fall weather. 

Later at home, Kyle was interrupted from his homework when Wes knocked on his door and opened it. 

“Hey, dinner’s ready. If you wanna, uh, come eat.”

Kyle softly shook his head and gestured at his homework. “Nah. I’m, uh, not hungry. Besides, I wanna get this essay done for Mr. Lancer.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later.”

Wes quietly shut the door behind him and Kyle leaned back in his chair and sighed. The churning feeling in his gut was reignited when the invitation to dinner sounded more like… A formality rather than an actual invitation this time. Like Wes knew Kyle wouldn’t be joining them. 

Turning the thought away, Kyle leaned forward to his desk again and turned his attention to the homework assignment Lancer had handed him with a barely there tremor in his hands. He stared at the assignment for a moment before getting up and crawling into bed, pulling the blankets over his body and curling into himself. 

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. 

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

As Kyle walked through the hallways of Casper High, he began to realize that he now had to look up at many of the kids who were in a younger year than him. Even Wes was slowly beginning to surpass him in height. He’d always been taller than Wes, why was he catching up to him now?

Suddenly, a large body bumped into him on the left, nearly toppling him over to the floor. 

“Hey, shorty, watch it!”

Turning towards the voice, Kyle looked up at Keith who wilted upon meeting Kyle’s gaze. 

“Oh, uh, hey Kyle! I didn’t know that was you there! I thought you were Mikey or something.”

Kyle looked around the hallway and pointed to where Mikey was standing in the middle of the hallway with his friends. The boy who had once been a foot and a half shorter than Kyle now stood at the same height as him.

“He’s over there.”

Keith followed where Kyle’s finger was pointing and nodded vigorously. “That he is, I’ll go- go pummel him for making me think you were him!” Keith walked away towards the scrawny boy. “Hey, Mikey!” 

Kyle’s brows furrowed and he uneasily made his way over to where Wes was at his locker. “Hey, when did you all get so tall?”

Wes looked over his shoulder for a moment before turning his attention back to his locker. “About a year ago. Why? Did you finally notice?”

“Notice what?”

“That you stopped growing.”

Kyle shook his head. “No, of course I’m still growing. I just haven’t had a growth spurt in awhile. I’ll catch back up to you guys.”

When Kyle woke up the next morning and came downstairs yawning, Wes looked up at Kyle and the inch he used to have on him. 

“Of course.” Wes said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Who could have seen that coming.”

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

“One of these days I’ll make you admit it.”

“Admit what?” Kyle asked as he tossed a football towards Wes as they stood in the middle of the park.

“That ghosts are real.” Wes caught the football and threw it back towards Kyle who jumped to catch it.

Kyle tsked and tucked the football against his side. “You can’t admit what isn’t true. Ghosts aren’t real.”

Wes sighed and bent over to pick up his stuff. “Whatever.” 

I will never admit that ghosts are real. 

I won’t. I can’t-

-Kyle watched as Danny flew around, putting on a show with his parents special effect technology. The man he was pretending to fight put on a pretty impressive act. Suddenly, one of the special effect machines exploded, shooting into the building Kyle was standing in the second story of. The building rumbled and groaned and he could hear Danny shouting his name.

“Kyle!” 

Then it fell. The building collapsed around him, puffs of dust going everywhere, the road littered with debris. Kyle’s head popped out of it like it hadn’t even touched him even though he could still feel the floor falling apart under his feet-

“Come on, let’s go home. Dad wants us there for some dinner with Vlad.”

Kyle watched Wes walk away for a moment, his heart in his stomach before following behind him, gripping his backpack straps tightly. 

Because if I do…

That’s not all I’ll have to admit. 

[geekgirles]

Full Disclosure

“I’m sorry for the way I used to act towards you when we were fourteen,” she admitted before softly adding, “especially when you and Danny were beginning to connect.”

Or

In which Sam and Valerie clear the air between them.

Word count: 5176

READ ON AO3

Before we go in, I just wanted to say that I hope I did the characters justice. Really, it’s all I ask because I’m still fairly recent in the fandom (as in, actively participating rather than fangirling on my own) and I’d hate to make a travesty of characters that mean so much to me. Oh, and this one-shot can take place in whatever timeline you want: you hate PP with a passion? Don’t worry, it didn’t happen. You actually think it’s a good finale? That works too. There shouldn’t be anything that indicates this story takes place in anywhere in particular other than Amity Park, so... All you need to know is that Valerie knows.

Please, enjoy!!

As an intense throb manifested itself in her right side, eliciting an involuntary groan to escape her throat, Sam was more frustrated at herself than aching from the hit. It had been two years already since Danny had the accident that gave him his powers, consequently beginning the constant battles against ghosts that made their teenaged life significantly harder, and, as they came to appreciate their lifestyle, significantly more interesting, too. Once Danny gained his ghost powers, she and Tucker took it to themselves to make sure their friend was always supported and aided when fighting his ghostly adversaries.

And with that came the injuries. 

They certainly didn’t get hurt as often or as gravely as Danny, since he was usually the one facing the mischievous spirits head-on, but they still had to get used to their own fair share of beatings. The teachers were understandably surprised when they effortlessly completed their first aid training in Health class. 

All in all, Sam was used to getting hurt. 

Which made the fact that Valerie had landed such a perfect kick that it literally left her breathless all the more humiliating.

Valerie Gray, a.k.a. the Red Huntress. Danny Phantom’s longtime pursuer and Danny Fenton’s one time girlfriend. The once popular girl was now their trustworthy ally. And, as much as Sam hated to admit it, she was thoroughly kicking her butt. Perhaps she should have expected as much from a ninth degree black belt. 

“Had enough, Manson?” Valerie taunted with a raised eyebrow. 

Getting up slowly, Sam sent her a smirk alongside a challenging, determined look. “Never.” And with that she leaped on the ghost huntress, using her momentum to connect a punch to her face. But Valerie was faster, blocking the Goth girl’s attack with her forearm before sliding her leg under Sam’s to make her lose her balance. Seeing what her opponent was up to, the violet-eyed girl quickly got out of her way, widening the space between the two to give herself some time to think up a new strategy. 

Smirking at Sam’s maneuver, Valerie appraised her with pride. “Not bad, Sam,” she said before changing her stance, ready to pounce, “but the extra space won’t save you from this.” Leaping into the air, the Red Huntress didn’t waste a moment to knock Sam to the floor with a roundhouse kick boosted by her movements. 

Even if the Goth blocked the attack by keeping her palms up in front of her face, the sheer force behind it was still enough to knock her down. That was gonna bruise in the morning, she was sure of it. Glancing up she noticed Valerie looking down at her with a smug look on her face and her hands on her hips. Sam barely resisted the urge to scowl darkly at her. Panting, she conceded, “Alright, alright. Maybe now I’ve had enough.” 

Chuckling at Sam’s proud nature, the green-eyed girl bent down slightly to offer her friend a hand and lift her up from the floor. Once Sam was at her eye-level, she looked down on her watch, now serving as a chronometre. “Five minutes. That’s a full round! Congratulations, Sam. So far, you’re the one who’s lasted the most against me.” She applauded her, but her face betrayed her. She was about to burst out laughing. 

Snorting, the Goth girl elbowed her slightly on the arm. “Knock it off! Even if I lost, I still managed to land a few hits myself.”

“Yeah...Trust me, you don’t have to remind me.” Valerie complained with a pointed look as she rubbed her lower back. Early on in the match, Sam kneed her there. Thank goodness she wasn’t tasked with unloading the Nasty Burger’s products that week. “I’m serious, though. Danny without his powers lasts a minute and a half, tops. And Tucker...well, let’s just say that taking one hit without passing out is already a victory when it comes to him.” 

“Yeah, he and Danny really should do more exercise.” The two girls laughed at that. These past two years Danny’s skill when using his powers had skyrocketed. Enemies that used to give him a hard time were now more of a headache. He didn’t even have to pay attention to the fight to get rid of the Ghost Box. Now, as Danny Fenton… He’d gotten taller, that was for sure. But he still had the nasty habit of relying on his powers a little too much, which didn’t do his P.E marks any favours. And Tucker was still far more interested in whatever his PDA had to offer than the wonders of physical exercise. 

In truth, everyone had changed during that time, if only a little. 

Sam was still as Goth and ultra-recyclo-vegetarian as always. Her raven hair was slightly longer, now reaching her shoulders, but she still wore it mostly loose and framing her face, except for the one strand she kept in a high ponytail. Her fashion sense hadn’t changed much either. She wore a black crop top with Danny’s logo on it instead of the old purple ovalーthe town began selling merchandise of its hero to attract, and basically rob, tourists. Since she created the logo herself, she made her own outfits and nobody was none the wiser. She also stuck with plaid skirts, but this time she favoured a purple and black one instead of her old black and green. But her combat boots, accessories, and make-up were sacred. Everybody knew impending doom was near if Sam ever changed even the tiniest detail in her appearance when it came to that. 

She was still outspoken and an avid defender of animal rights, individuality, and most importantly, of Danny Phantom. Even though most people celebrated the boy and thanked him for his services, there were still some who criticised him and believed Amity Park was better off before him. Needless to say, Sam was always at the front of the line in any protest to defend Amity Park’s greatest protector. The fact that he was not only one of her best friends but also her boyfriend may have something to do with it. But even if they weren’t together, Sam knew Danny. She’d always known him. She would always defend him from those who couldn’t even begin to grasp just how noble, responsible, and compassionate he was.

The corners of her mouth curled up slightly when she remembered she’d just been sparring with what once was one of Danny Phantom’s greatest detractors. 

In a way, Valerie had probably changed the most out of everyone she knew while simultaneously not changing anything at all. 

In terms of appearance, just like Sam, she’d only modified her look slightly. She cut her long, dark brown curls so they now barely reached her shoulders instead of cascading down her back. According to her, long hair just got in the way with her suit. She originally wanted to get an undercut, but her dad almost had a cow so they compromised with short hair for now and leaving the undercut for when she was a little older. The huntress still favoured spaghetti-strapped yellow t-shirts, but now she completed her outfit with dark blue jeans or shorts (depending on the temperature) and white sneakers. She also dropped the headband due to her hair, but she kept the earrings. 

The most obvious change, though, was that she was now an ally rather than an enemy after Danny Phantom’s head. Sam feared for the worst when Valerie found out her ex boyfriend was the very same ghost she’d vowed to destroy (could she really say she and Danny were exes, though? Sure, they went on a few dates and they genuinely liked each other, but Valerie pseudo-broke up with him right when he was about to ask her to make things official... Ugh, the wonders of the teenaged heart... Always bound to give her a headache. This is why she preferred her Goth indifference...most of the time). As much as they wanted to trust Valerie was going to be sensible about it, her track record wasn’t the best, forcing them to keep an eye out in case she decided to send her more positive opinion of Danny Fenton to Hell and shoot him with her ecto-bazooka. 

Thankfully, one day Valerie just sat down with them at lunch, and when Danny tentatively asked her if they were okay, she just smiled and said, “We’re okay.” So they ate lunch in peace...until the Lunch Lady showed up and they had to send her back to the Ghost Zone. At least that time the Red Huntress was there to help them out. Ever since then, the girl sometimes fought alongside them, but for the most part she did her own thing. 

And that was something about Valerie that hadn’t changed; her hatred of ghosts. Valerie was still hellbent on getting rid of all the spirits that haunted Amity Park, with half-ghosts being the sole exception ーexcept for Vlad, Valerie held a huge grudge against him for having used her as his pawn; not like the team could complain, they all hated Vlad, after all. And that made her ruthless, determined, brutal… More than once Danny had tried talking her out of her grudge against the paranormal, explaining to her that, albeit not as numerous as the troublemaking ghosts, there were still some that just wanted to be left alone. But Valerie would not budge. She believed all ghosts lacked the humanity and self-control necessary to resist whatever crazy obsession that tied them to our world and would eventually attack. 

To Valerie, ghosts were ticking bombs. 

Seeing as, so far, most ghosts they faced were malicious or seriously causing trouble, Tucker suggested they just let her be, but the moment she actually targeted an innocent ghost (say, Wulf), then they would have to get serious with her. 

All in all, Valerie was their friend. A friend who had agreed to help her train so Danny wouldn’t have to worry so much about her safety when they were out fighting spectres. Not like he really needed to worry, she could take care of herself, but the more prepared they were, the better. And Valerie was helping her with that, and yet, the air still hadn’t been completely cleared between them. 

As much as Sam would’ve loved cutting to the chase, a part of her still wasn’t prepared to address the elephant in the room. “Not gonna lie, Valerie, I wiー” she stopped mid-sentence. The last thing they needed was to have Desirée roaming free around Amity Park just because she hadn’t been careful with her words. Clearing her throat, she went on. “I mean, I would do anything for your fighting skills. You must have every ghost shaking in their boots...or whatever they have to shake in.”

As Sam sat down on the floor of her family’s private gym, which Valerie still couldn’t get used to being in, the green-eyed girl made her way to the other side of the room far away from  the training tatami, where a middle-sized fridge was located. Pulling the door open, she grabbed two water bottles before going back to Sam. “Yeah, what can I say? I am pretty awesome.”

“And don’t forget modest.” Sam replied sarcastically. 

“Girl, when you’re as good as me, you don’t need to pretend to be modest.” She joked as she handed Sam her own water bottle, which she accepted gratefully, before sitting down on the floor next to her. “Believe it or not, though, I became a ninth degree black belt long before I started hunting ghosts.” She looked at the floor, a pensive look on her face, “...we couldn’t have afforded the classes otherwise.”

Sam did her best to suppress the urge to do a spit-take at her words. Valerie almost never brought her financial situation up. The most she used to do was remember Danny why she hated him back when she still was after him, but the topic was dropped altogether once the secret was out. Looking around her ridiculously lavish house, Sam felt like facepalming herself. How could she have been so insensitive as to remind Valerie of the life she lost?! 

“Valerie...I-I’m sorry. I should’ve told you to meet up at the park to train, but I…”

“Sam, don’t.” The huntress cut her off with a stern tone. “Don’t apologise. You have nothing to apologise for.”

“But it was insensitive of me toー” Again, she was interrupted by Valerie, who silenced her by raising her palm up in front of her.

“Please, let me talk. You don’t have to apologise for anything because you’ve done nothing wrong. I’ll admit, it’s a bit paradoxical finding out that while I was mourning my losses you’d been hiding the fact that you’re stinking rich all along. But I’m not offended by it. Actually, I think I understand.”

“You do?” The Goth girl asked in disbelief, her eyes wide open. 

The African-American girl just shrugged. “I think so. I didn’t realise it until my so-called friends kicked me out of the group, but having money attracts a lot of fakes and shallow people. People who’ll only be there when it’s convenient for them and who’ll throw you away like a used tissue the moment you have nothing else to offer. I know that better than anyone…” When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Sam smiling kindly at her, doing her best to get out of her comfort zone and offer her some comfort. She returned the smile. “Bottom line: you want real friends, so you never talk about your money ‘cause you don’t want to attract the wrong people. I get it.”

“You really do.”

“And I guess I’m also flattered.”

Sam blinked slowly at her. “Wow, Valerie. It usually takes a lot to take me by surpriseーwith the ghost fighting and allーand yet, here we are!” 

The huntress just chuckled softly in response. “What I mean is that I understand that it takes you a lot to let people inーand quite literally tooーbut you still invited me. That means you must trust me, if only a bit.”

Sam couldn’t help but blush at her earnest words. It was true, wasn’t it? She trusted Valerie. She would have never invited her to her house if she didn’t. And, now that she thought about it, Valerie had to trust her too if she was willing to show her vulnerable side to her. Somehow, the thought made her smile. Knowing she would have to bring up uncomfortable topics soon, the violet-eyed girl decided to alleviate some of the tension first. “Well, I’m glad you could at least get your black belt first! Otherwise we would be in for a major asskicking from some ghosts.”

That comment actually made Valerie laugh. “Oh, hush, you flatterer! Or I’ll tell Danny his girlfriend has been hitting on me.” She could only snort when Sam gasped in fake shock. “Seriously, though. I personally would love to be as genre savvy as you are. I mean, you always know what to do or have some obscure knowledge about whatever we’re facing. From the Fright Knight’s legend to how to train your dragon ghost.”

Sam merely shrugged with a lazy grin on her face, “What can I say? Obscure knowledge sort of comes with being a Goth.”

The two girls started snickering after that. As their laughter died down, Valerie noticed Sam’s smile fading from the corner of her eye, concerning her. “Sam? Is everything okay?”

“Valerie...I’m sorry.” 

That took her by surprise. After a few seconds of shock, the Red Huntress rolled her eyes good-naturedly before gently nudging her friend with her shoulder. “C’mon, Sam. I told you already. You don’t have to feel sorry for inviting meー.”

This time it was Sam who cut her off. She shook her head. “No. No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m sorry for the way I used to act towards you when we were fourteen,” she admitted before softly adding, “especially when you and Danny were beginning to connect.”

One would think that a semi-professional ghost huntress would have seen it all, and honestly, so did Valerie, but she was genuinely shocked at Sam’s apology. The shock didn't last long, though. “Are you seriously apologising for that? Sam, that was two years ago!”

Of all the things she could be apologising for...She just had to pick that one, didn’t she?

Sam groaned, frustrated and clenching her gym shorts with her hands. “I know it’s been two years, but that doesn’t change that I wasn’t the most pleasant person in the world to you for reasons that weren’t...completely pure.”

“So what?” Valerie insisted. “Neither was I for the longest time! You and Tucker were right when you called me out during Pariah Dark’s attack; how could I expect to be treated like one of the group when I used to be such a brat to you? You still eventually forgave me.” She pointed out.

“You don’t understand…” Sam whined as she rubbed her face with her hands. “While it’s true that part of my animosity towards you came from how you used to treat us, and another good chunk came from your eagerness to vaporise one of my best friends,” the Red Huntress actually had the decency to blush embarrassedly at that, “I really, really disliked you because I was...well, I was jealous. Plain and simple.” 

There. She’d said it. After years gritting her teeth and burning with envy whenever Danny and Tucker (mostly because of Danny, obviously) drooled over Paulina or any other pretty girl, she had finally admitted she was mostly jealous instead of simply not understanding what the fuss was about. Hanging out with girls more often, namely Valerie and Jazz, instead of only spending her time with the guys had really helped broaden her horizons. Especially when it came to her opinion on other girls. She was proud to say she was finally moving on from her “not like other girls” phase. 

Even if Danny’s crush on Paulina had driven her nuts more than once, it was his budding romance with Valerie that truly pushed all her buttons and caused her deepest insecurities to rear their ugly head. Even if dating her was dangerous, Danny still wanted to be with her! He was willing to throw caution to the wind if it meant they could be a couple. And he was so protective of her when Technus attacked… As much as Sam hated to admit it, as much as she wished (to Hell with Desirée) she could ignore it all and just focus on protecting Danny from being hunted by his new girlfriend, that hurt.

That hurt a lot. 

Albeit annoying, Danny’s crush on Paulina was safe. Paulina only liked Danny Phantom. Danny couldn’t really get closer to her as his alter-ego without putting her in danger, and Danny would never put an innocent person in danger. And just like that, Paulina became unattainable. But Valerie…

Valerie liked Danny Fenton. She and Danny often just wanted to have a normal life, away from ghosts and burdens that no 14-year-old kid should shoulder. Even if the Red Huntress wanted to kill Danny Phantom, Valerie genuinely liked Danny Fenton. Despite the danger, she was closer than Paulina. And despite their close bond, she was closer to Danny than Sam herself. Because Valerie wasn’t afraid to admit her feelings, unlike her. 

In fact, hadn’t Valerie put her job before her love life, Sam knew without an ounce of a doubt that she and Danny would still be together. Because she had been too afraid to tell Danny how much he meant to her sooner. 

Yes, she had been jealous of Valerie. 

She had been jealous of the attention she received from Danny. She had been jealous of the fact that they went out on several dates and nothing could embarrass them or ruin their little moment. She was jealous because it would’ve meant things would change. 

But most importantly, she was jealous of Valerie’s guts. 

And she finally confessed it.

...which made what Valerie said next all the more jaw-dropping. 

“Yeah, I know.”

Her jaw hanging low and eyes as wide as saucers, Sam slowly turned her head to look the huntress dead in the eye. “You know?” She asked, completely flabbergasted. 

Valerie snorted. She actually snorted at her question! And while Sam was looking at her with the most comically astonished expression on the face of the planet, Valerie just regarded her with a coy smile. “No offence, Sam, but it was kinda hard to miss. I think only Danny wasn’t aware of it.”

Sam had nothing to say in response to that. 

“Besides, didn’t I tell you before I even started going out with Danny? When you like someone, if you don’t make a move, somebody else will. What did you think I was referring to other than your feelings, chess?”

“That...is true.” The Goth admitted quietly. 

Seeing her usually outspoken friend acting so despondent all of a sudden didn’t sit well with the green-eyed teenager. She sighed, “Look, Sam. I understand that you were...difficult because you were jealous. I can’t deny I once or twice acted petty towards you because I was jealous, myself. But even if I hadn’t decided to just stay friends with Danny, I don’t think we would’ve worked out in the end.”

Not for the first time that day, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last time either, Valerie had taken her completely aback. Furrowing her brow in confusion, Sam insisted, “What are you talking about? You two are the best ghost hunters in Amity Park, you guys would have been the ultimate power couple!”

Leaning back on her elbows, the Red Huntress sent the Goth a smirk, “Ah, but you’re forgetting I would’ve had to know Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one and the same first. And I…”, for the first time since their sparring lesson began, Valerie found herself hesitating, “I don’t know how I would’ve taken that.

“Sure, I really, really liked Danny, but I had spent far longer hating his ghost half. Ever since the Cujo-related incidents I blamed him for the turn my life had taken. And even when I was growing fond of Danny Fenton, his actions as Danny Phantom still drove me nuts! I mean, he literally unmasked me right before my dad! He forbade me from ghost hunting until I got that upgrade in my suit. Could I really put all that aside in favour of having a relationship with him?

“That’s why it took me so long to face you guys once I learned the truth; I was trying to make peace with it all. I figured I could learn to forgive Danny, maybe even trust him with my life...but never with my heart again. There were too many imbalances between us for me to be comfortable in a relationship with him...and you guys are honestly better together anyways.” She winked at the ultra-recyclo-vegetarian.

“You really think so?” Sam could feel the heat making its way to her cheeks the moment Valerie nodded at her question. “I-I mean!”, ugh, how she hated stuttering!, “Danny’s always been super important to me...obviously! And we’ve always done our best to be there for each other and have each other’s backs, but there are times when I can’t help but wonder if perhaps we’re just making a mistake and we were better off as friends…” She finished with a defeated sigh. 

At the sensation of an arm wrapped around her shoulders, she turned to look at Valerie. “Sam, trust me. This is no mistake. You’re one of the very few people who understand there’s no difference between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom; they’re both Danny and you’ve always known that and done your best to show him just that. And unlike Paulina or me, even if you hadn’t known his secret from the beginning, I’m willing to bet my right arm that you would’ve accepted both sides of him equally either way.”

At her words, Sam could only smile warmly, “You really think so?”

Valerie returned her smile. “I know so.”

Still replaying Valerie’s words and organising her own thoughts in her head, Sam turned to face her, one hand resting on her lap and the other on Valerie’s shoulder, “For what it’s worth, I still think that after a, very understandable, initial bump in your relationship, you two could’ve made a great couple too. I meant what I said when I told you that, if Danny liked you, then we would only have to make room for you at our table. I can’t think of any girl I would be willing to do that for but you, Val.”

Valerie almost gasped at Sam’s words, but she recovered rather quickly, “Thank you, Sam. That means a lot coming from you.” Resting her own hand on top of the one on her shoulder, she winked mischievously at her, “And don’t worry; I don’t go around stealing my friends’ boyfriends.”

The Goth girl snorted at that. “Glad to hear that.”

They remained like that for a moment, just enjoying the comfortable silence that had settled between them and their secret understanding. They were friends. They had similarities and differences. But that would never change the respect each felt for the other. 

Finally, getting up from the floor and dusting herself off, Valerie broke the silence, “Come on, there’s still many moves I haven’t used to kick your butt.” 

Sam smirked at the challenge, “Oh, you’re so on!”

................

The Fentons’ Emergency Ops Centre had, ironically, become their safe haven. 

Whenever they wanted to enjoy some alone time before they had to part ways or a ghost attack took place, they would simply climb up the roof and enter through the door leading to it. Although Danny could just phase or fly them there if they were really pressed for time, which was their usual way of getting there because they were always pressed for time. 

The Ops Centre was really just an excuse to spend some time together, really.

It didn’t matter what they did. Sometimes they would make out because they were a couple and couples made out with each other, didn’t they? Especially when said couple consisted of two hormone-driven teenagers. Maybe if they’d been a pair of octogenarians, the fuss of the relationship would have been elsewhere. Like how incredible it was that they’d survived that long in the first place.

Other times they just talked about nothing and everything at the same time. Sort of like what they usually did, but without Tucker. Sam would often talk about the latest hideous monstrosity their parents had intended she wore ー”Oh, you’re laughing now! But trust me, Undergrowth had much better fashion sense than my parents!”ー, or how rapidly the poles were melting and nobody was doing anything about it, or how her latest poetry reading went ー“Kwan’s getting better, actually. This time he wrote about the new scabs he got during the last game”ー, and how they could defeat the villain of the week who was somehow harder to beat than the previous one because, really, they always got harder to beat. 

And Danny would recall his parents’ latest shenanigans, or Jazz’s newest psychological experiment with ghosts that she was sure was going to work because it was just flawless; or he’d warn her about the food in his house ー”I know you don’t eat meat anyways, but don’t open the fridge. The ecto-weenies are back and this time they’ve brought BBQ sauce.” He would also complain about the workload of homework Mr Lancer had assigned them; sometimes because he didn’t think he’d have the time to finish it all, and sometimes he just didn’t know where to start because what the Heck is irony anyway? Didn’t anyone realise that what they often called irony was actually more of a paradox? How could they be teaching something wrong in English class?! And, sometimes, in those rare moments where Danny finally realised, only to forget his lesson all over again the next day, that he could count on her, Tucker, Jazz, Val ーand his loved ones, damn it!ー and confide his deepest secrets, he would open up about how being Danny Phantom was taking its toll on him. How being famous was more often than not more suffocating than flattering. How he was getting tired that his enemies only ever came back, or became stronger, or multiplied. How he feared, no, how he felt it was never going to end until he was 100% dead and not just 50%... He even still had trouble understanding what truly happened to him the day of the accident. 

And maybe they just would never know. 

And then, there were days like today. Days where they would just stay in silence, watching Amity Park since the makeshift observatory his zany but genius parents had built all on their own. Because, sometimes, watching the sunset in silence with that special someone was just enough. 

While Danny leaned against the railing, Sam was sitting on top of it, enjoying the soft breeze blowing around her and caressing her skin. “Today I trained with Valerie.”

Perking up at the sound of her voice suddenly breaking the silence, Danny turned his head slightly in her direction. “Oh?” He let out, “How did it go?”

“I managed to last a full five minutes and land a few serious hits myself.” She stated proudly. 

The ghost boy whistled appreciatively, “Five full minutes! Now that’s impressive.” He sent her a sly look and a smirk, his admiration turning into amusement, “And how many hits did you cushion?”

Curling her lip in annoyance, Sam muttered, “The fact that I’m even sitting here is a miracle in itself.”

That had Danny snickering like crazy, before a sharp pain in his arm stopped him, “Ow!” 

To his surprise, instead of a smug Sam as he expected, he found his girlfriend gingerly rubbing her arm, a pained expression on her face. “Okay,” she panted, “that was so not worth it.”

“Here, let me help.” Gently resting his fingers on her arm, he used his ice powers to send a chilly sensation across her limb, effectively alleviating the pain. “Anything else I should know about? Did the training turn into a battle to the death?”

“Actually, we talked things out and we finally buried the hatchet.” She said seriously.

Danny furrowed the brow in confusion. “Uh, Sam? I was kidding. And I thought you already did that when she found out the truth about my powers.”

Chuckling softly, Sam could only roll her eyes with a smile on her face as she leaned close to leave a tender kiss on his lips before whispering, “Clueless.”

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Eidolon 12 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary:  AU: What started off as the result of a simple act of rebellion ends up causing his life to spin out of control. How will young Danny cope with the results as well as a past that has a strange habit of coming back to haunt him.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, kidnapping, and various other things

Chapter warnings: Forced feeding of a drink

Parings: hints of Danny/Sam much later on

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr

Chapter 12: Entrapment

It was difficult to tell how much time had passed since he had been in the room. There was no apparent clock, even if he could swear he could hear the soft, steady ticking of one, and he didn't carry a watch or phone he could check. Danny's eyes wondered to one of the white walls for a moment as he tried to imagine it with a non-frosted window. Even a glance outside would be better than nothing. At least then he could tell for certain if it was day or night.

Heck, even watching the scenery for a while would be an improvement over his current activity of lying face up on the eerily pristine bed and staring at the ceiling. He had already checked the entire room (including under the bed) six times for anything he could use to at least get out of the room, and he could only do that so many times before it started to get to him. The exhaustion didn't help. While he was searching, his limbs had decidingly refused to remain normal for more than a few minutes at a time. From the time the strange occurrences began, he had experienced a few bad days, but nothing compared to this particular one. It was almost as if simply being in the room was making it worse.

The ceiling held no answers or a hidden plan of escape, but he continued to stare at it anyways. He knew he should be trying to escape while worrying about Winston and his friends, but he was unable to summon the effort. It was almost as if an odd hollowness had replaced his heart. He slowly sat up as he considered the strangeness of it. Maybe it was just that exhausted, or maybe the room was getting to him more than he thought.

.....

A sweet smell caught his attention as he opened his eyes. Groggy and confused, he slowly sat up and stared for a moment as his brain tried to process what he was seeing. While he had been asleep, someone had placed a silver tray which held a small pastry and an unknown drink with a strangely appealing color on the floor. He was rather surprised he could see it from his location, but perhaps whoever had put it there had placed it there on purpose.

Curious, he slowly crawled off the bed and moved over to it. The pastry didn't seem like anything special, but he was starting to feel hungry and allowed himself to try it. The drink was different. He noted that whatever was in it was thicker than water and gave off a strong yet attractively sweet smell. It was also an unusual green color, which was what made him wary of it. The drink looked a little too much like the antifreeze he had occasionally helped Winston put into his car. He was probably being paranoid, but he was locked in room without any apparent way for him to escape. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that whoever put him there was going to eventually kill him. Isn't that what usually happened to kidnapped kids?

His eyes widened as the weight of his previous thought hit him. When a child went missing, didn't the news usually mention it was nearly impossible to find the child alive if the child couldn't be found within twenty four hours? And didn't adolescents fall into the same category when it came to the statistics? Panic welled up in his chest as he stared at his hands. Exactly how long had he been in the room? If anything, he was probably didn't have much time left. Well, he wasn't going to give up without a fight!

A guttural yell escaped him as he charged the only door in the room. The wood quivered for a moment as he bounced off of it and landed painfully on the floor. Undeterred and filled with resolve, he rushed it again and again with similar results. His whole body began to ache from the effort, but it wasn't enough to make him stop. He didn't want to die. He couldn't die! Not while his friends didn't know where he was (if they even knew he was missing), nor while Winston was still in the hospital. He just had to escape!

But he couldn't do anything if he was exhausted. After bouncing off the door about ten more times, he allowed himself to relax and rest against the side of the bed for a little before he tried again. His right shoulder was throbbing and his butt was sore from hitting the ground so many times, but he tried to ignore the pain as he examined the door. What was it made of? Steel? There didn't seem to be any sign of damage on it, but he had to have done something to it. When he recovered more, a closer look would be in order. Aiming for a weak spot would be far more beneficial than continuing to blindly run at it.

A though occurred to him as he looked at the door. Maybe he could pull the pins out of the hinges… It was so simplistic, it could actually work. Curious as to why he didn't think of it earlier, he slowly stood up and limped over. Wow, ramming it had taken more out of him than he thought.

He ran his fingers along the frame as he tried to find some sign of the hinges, but quickly realized it was futile. This door opened from the other side… There went that idea. Well, while he was there he might as well check the door for any signs of damage. There wasn't much to find, but there was some near the stubbornly locked doorknob. It wasn't as much as he had hoped but a few more hits to the right side of the door should be enough to at least get him out of the room. From there… he would have to wing it. He just hoped there weren't any other doors like the one currently keeping him captive out there. This one was bad enough.

Deciding it was not the best of ideas to attack the door again in his current state, he headed back towards the bed and laid down. He stole a quick look at the platter of food before he buried his face in the pillow. He was starting to get a bit hungry, but there was no way he was going to eat poisoned food. A growl combined with a gnawing feeling in his stomach entertained him as he drifted back into sleep.

…

"Why… won't… this thing…. Break?" Danny yelled as he kicked the door. After waking up, he had resumed his task of running at the door, but after no further progress, frustration had taken hold of him. He sighed as he banged his head off the door. If he couldn't get past something as simple as a door, how was he going to escape?

A clicking sound caught his attention. Glancing down at the doorknob, he noticed movement. Suspicious, he backed away and waited. The doorknob continued to rattle for a moment before a hard yank pulled the door completely open. The man who was revealed glanced at the door carefully before looking at Danny and smiling. "What exactly have you been getting yourself into? Hmm?"

"Y-you!" Danny stammered as recognition hit him. Vlad Masters had done well on his promise. Somehow the man had managed to take him from the police station and put him in this prison of a room. This was a worst case scenario… well, maybe not the worst. At least this man didn't particularly want to kill him, he hoped. "Where am I? What do you want from me?"

Vlad shook his pointer finger as if he was telling off a young child. "All in due time, my boy. But first, I must ask, how are you feeling?"

A blank stare was the only response Danny could give as he tried to process the question. This man kidnapped him and then turned around and asked about his condition. Was it him or did something just not add up?

Vlad took a couple steps into the room and glanced around. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the untouched tray of food Danny had carefully moved out of the way. "I see that you didn't touch your snack. I had a servant place it there in case you got hungry… It's been a couple days since I placed you here. You really should eat something…. Or at the very least, have a drink."

A couple days? He had been here for a couple days? Jeez… this room really did steal all sense of time. He shook his head. He would have to deal with it later; there were more important problems… like getting away from the madman in front of him. "Sorry, but that's been the last thing on my mind," he snapped.

Danny watched carefully as Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. From the limited interactions he had previously had with the man, he had learned enough to know Vlad was slightly annoyed. "Come now, Daniel," Vlad's tone almost matched the vary one Winston had used in the past when he was trying to convince him to do his chores. "Believe it or not, I do have your best interests at heart. Starving yourself isn't going to accomplish anything and neither is repeated throwing yourself against the door. You'll just be doing more damage to yourself than to it."

"Says the man who kidnapped me."

"I don't expect you to understand the reasons for my actions… at least not yet…" The older man moved to the tray to retrieve its lone cup before turning back to him. "But I assure you, everything was done for your benefit."

"Sorry if I don't believe you…"

"I assumed you wouldn't listen. We'll discuss this later once you've calmed down."

"'Calmed down'? Calm down! You've fricken kidnapped me! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?" His fists were balled and his shoulders tense as he spoke. It was taking almost all of his will power to not punch him in the face. Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Vlad didn't look all that strong, and he was a business man (they don't have time to work out)…. One good punch to the face should knock him out. And with the door finally being open, he could make his escape.

Without another thought, he charged Vlad. The older man looked surprised as Danny's fist came close in on its target. Danny smirked as he had a clean shot, but stumbled in horror as he landed. Instead of hitting a wall of flesh, his fist along with his body just passed through the man. Unsure exactly what happened, he slowly backed away. Glancing to his side, he realized he had a clear shot to the door and made a break for it.

Before he could even get through the opening, a strong pair of hands grabbed him from behind. He fought, flailed, and yelled in an attempt to break free, but whomever had him had a grasp like a vice. Apparently tired of his antics, his captor spun him around , let him go for a brief confusing moment, before using one arm to pin him against his body and to grab his chin with the other.

Being unable to move his head, Danny had no idea who was keeping him from escaping. Or, for that matter, where he had come from since it seemed like only Vlad had come alone. However, the person holding him felt unusually cold, almost as if he had been standing in a walk-in freezer just prior to him grabbing hold of him. Whoever this person was, he was a major obstacle in his goal to escape.

"Hold him still," Vlad commanded of his unknown aid as he approached the pair. Danny felt a little more than unnerved as he watched. There were no traces of kindness on his face, just a cold, calculating, business-like stare which sent shivers down his spine. "Daniel, I was hoping you weren't going to force me to do this, but as you've been rather uncooperative, you leave me little choice."

"W-what are you doing?" he stammered as Vlad held out the cup of the strange green liquid to him.

"It's simple really. You're body is already in the middle of realizing what it really is. This can take some time, but I know of a way of… let's just phrase it as 'speeding up the process'."

"I don't want any!" Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was a very childish thing to say, but he was absolutely terrified of whatever the drink or Vlad was going to do to him. "Get away!"

"You're in no position to give orders boy," the person holding him hissed into his ear and adjusted his grip so he could open his mouth by putting pressure on his cheeks.

Danny tried to break out of his captor's grasp, but he was far too strong. He barely managed a wiggle when Vlad poured the liquid into his open mouth. Unable to move, he was forced to drink the entire glass. Despite its sweet odor, it had a terribly bitter taste which was coupled with a burning sensation. It was enough to make him gag, and his stomach didn't appreciate it any better than his taste buds. The man who was holding him decided to let go of him, allowing him to drop to the floor, just in time to allow him to retch.

It seemed to take several long moments for him to regain control of his stomach. Once he did, he stole a look at Vlad, who seemed had a cold air of amusement around him. However, his attention was quickly taken by the figure besides the billionaire. It appeared to have a masculine shape, but it was clearly not human. Its skin had a sickly blue sheen, and its eyes were a sickening familiar soulless glowing red. An ethereal glow surrounded it as it floated a few inches off of the floor. Danny felt unnerved as recognition hit him; even though he had never seen it clearly before, this figure was the very same creature that had cornered him in the graveyard.

Vlad caught Danny's gaze and smiled. "I see you've previously met my associate, Plasmius."

Plasmius…? Why did that name sound so familiar to him? Wait… Winston had mentioned a person by a similar name when… His eyes widened as recognition hit him. "I d-don't understand…. W-why do you know it?"

"Whatever do you mean, my boy?"

"Winston… Winston said that he… it… attacked my parents. It's the reason why they're gone!" He weakly tried to stand, but his previous injuries from hitting the door suddenly seemed amplified making it incredibly difficult. "I don't understand. He said you were friends with them! Why… Why would you work with the thing that took them away?"

"It's rather simple, Daniel," the creature, Plasmius, told him with a wave of the hand. Without wasting another minute, it drove straight into Vlad. Horrified, Danny stayed rooted to the spot as Vlad's eyes glowed red for a moment. As they faded, a black ring which cackled with slight discharges of energy appeared around the man's waist. It then split into two and each one passed over one have of the body: one towards the feet, the other, the head. As they passed, Vlad's being was quickly replaced with that of Plasmius'. When the rings disappeared, Vlad Masters was gone; only Plasmius remained.

There was no way he had just witnessed what he did. It had to be a dream! There was no way a man could turn into a monster! It just wasn't possible!

"Can you really not believe what you just witnessed?" Plasmius asked as it floated closer to him. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run, but he couldn't. His fear had rooted him to the spot, and he was about to pay for it dearly. "Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius are truly one in the same even if one appears human while the other, a ghost." And, as to prove its point, it summoned the black rings again. Once they disappeared, Vlad Masters carefully dropped to the floor while continuing to move. "You asked me why I attacked your family. There are several reasons, but I suppose the primary one involves you."

"W-what do you mean…? Ugh!" As he spoke, a wave of pain raced through his body, dropping him down to his knees. He tried to steady himself by using one of his hands, but it refused by slipping through the floor instead of offering support. Danny stared at his arm in horror as the translucent appearance of his hand began to spread upwards towards his shoulder.

A chuckle escaped Vlad as he watched Danny's predicament with a sickening satisfaction. "Isn't it obvious? You're a lot more like me than you realize." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you believe in curses, Daniel? Even if you don't, you should as you're living proof of one. Legend states a family once delved too far into their work of studying the afterlife. To make sure their secrets would never be known, several powerful spirits cursed the family. Fifteen generations would pass before a male child would be born to them who neither completely belonged to the material or spirit realms…"

"Though this boy would appear human for his first fifteen years of life, he would come into his monstrous inheritance on his date of birth and forever after walk as a symbol of chaos." Vlad then knelt down and grabbed the boy's shoulder to make it easier for him to stare into his eyes. "Do you get it now? Everything I've done was to get a hold of you and the power you will soon possess."

"Y-you're lying! There's no way…! I can't be anything like you! You're a ghost… Th-they're dead! I'm not… I'm not…!" Danny pushed the older man away from his as he scooted backwards towards the wall. None of what he… no, it, said made any sense. Curse? Spirits? Did it mean it was going to turn him into a ghost too? He shook his head to try and clear away the thought. Vlad had said he wasn't going to hurt him… but that was before he showed him what he really was. What was he going to do?

A creepy laugh rang through the room. Vlad sneered at him as his laugh died. "Whoever said you had to die to become a ghost? But, you'll find out what I mean soon. It appears that the concentrated ectoplasm I gave you is finally starting to take effect." A satisfied look crossed his face while moving towards the door. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours. I'm sure you'll be a lot more cooperative when I return."

Danny barely noticed when Vlad slammed the door closed. His body was starting to feel like it was on fire burning, yet freezing him as it began to consume him. He convulsed as his body tried to reject the unnatural feeling, but it was to no avail. Time which was already slow within the room seemed to come to a crawl as the pain took precedence over every other thought.

Unsure what drove him to move, he tried to force himself to the bed. It wouldn't accomplish much, but its promise of comfort appealed to his wreck of a body. Every step was sheer torture, but the call of the pristine sheets was enough to force him to keep moving.

Another wave of pain rocked his body, sending him to the floor mere inches from his goal. He groaned in agony as he realized it was getting worse. In a last attempt for some stability, he desperately grasped at one of his bed posts as another convulsion coursed through his body. The pain that accompanied it was even more intense than the previous time.

He could barely move as the pain seemed to burn throughout his body. In a desperate attempt for salvation, he reached out his hand in hopes someone or thing would show him mercy and save him all the while wondering what he had done to deserve such a fate…

=========================================================

Notes: A couple of different things here.

1) Danny's thoughts and feelings being affected by the room is not as farfetched as some people might think. Prolonged periods in a purely white room can cause aspects of sensory deprivation (a disconnect with ones senses). Some people use sensory deprivation for reflection or meditation without negative effects, but it has been known to drive people insane. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia has several examples of this in its history.

2)The statistics of finding a child alive 24 hours after abduction is horrifying nonexistent. While it is true that sometimes a captor will keep the abducted child alive for years, cases like that are so rare that if the police can't find sign of the child within a day, they know they will most likely not find the child alive.

3) Antifreeze does usually have a sweet odor (unless bittering agents have been added as a deterrent), and sadly, ectoplasm sometimes reminds me of it.

4)Do you recognize the last few sentences of this chapter? You should. They're a more stylized version of the opening I have in the 1st chapter.

[mischiefandspirits]

Doppelgänger (3/?)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Prisoners of Love, Part 2}

Doppelgänger only realized the van they’d been tossed into had been moving when it stopped. They looked up as the doors opened.

“Out,” one of the cops growled.

They awkwardly got to their feet, their three minds all trying to control their body. They tried to shuffle to the doors and promptly fell out of the van.

Danny started apologizing, Sam started cursing, and Tucker started laughing.

A sound came from their mouth that sounded more like television static than words.

“Get up,” the cop growled.

The static got louder and they shakily got their arms and legs under them. It took a few moments, but they eventually got to their feet. They looked up and froze.

In the prison yard next to where the van was parked were Skulker, Technus, Desiree, and quite a few other random ghosts they’d fought over the past few months.

The ghosts had been watching the van and they all took on smirks or scowls when they saw Doppelgänger.

“Well, if it isn’t one of the young whelps who helped us get locked up in this stinking place!” Skulker said, crossing his arms and giving them a vicious grin. “Welcome home.”

The static grew to a screech before finally forming words. “We’re in trouble. Do you think shankings still happen in ghost prison?”

One of the police ghosts -- guards? -- grabbed their arm and dragged them into the prison. He shoved them into a small room where a pair of striped prison clothes waited. “Get changed,” he said as their bonds disconnected from each other, keeping their powers bound but allowing for freedom of movement. “You’ve got a meeting with the warden, then you can go see your friends in the cafeteria.”

“Friends,” they growled as he shut the door to the room with a smirk. “I’ll show him friends.” They moved to grab the clothes, then jerked back violently. They collapsed to the floor. “We can’t take off the hazmat suit. We’ll get in trouble if we don’t put the clothes on though.” After a moment’s deliberation, they struggled to their feet and grabbed the pants. They haphazardly began to put them on over the suit.

“Can you believe he thought we were just duplicates? Well, it makes sense. We do look exactly alike as long as we’re wearing our goggles. Remember how freaked out Skulker was when he realized we were a trinity. And how many ghosts have actually seen all of us fighting together?” They paused, one arm in the prison shirt. “Skulker and Sidney know, but Sidney never talks to anyone but us and the chess club. Skulker obviously didn’t tell the fruit loop so he might not have told anyone else. The dragon, Technus, and Vlad have only ever seen one of us change and Technus thought we were one of us. The same goes for Boxy and Desiree, but for each of the other ones of us. Holy crow, does everyone just think we’re one ghost going around kicking butt and duplicating now and then? That’s hilarious!”

They finished buttoning up the shirt and their bonds disappeared.

Energy blasted out of them, scorching the walls and leaving flickering fires surrounding them.

They collapsed as they forced the energy down, shaking. They spewed static as they tried to get their energy under control without the bonds to inhibit it. They tried to figure out why the ghost prison would allow them their powers, then they felt it. There was something in the prison clothes trying to inhibit their powers, emphasis on trying. The clothes were obviously only designed with one ghost in mind. They could feel the power of the clothes wrapping around Sam, then Tucker, then Danny, then Sam. Always trying to lash them down, but only managing one at a time.

The energy of the others was spilling out, trying to fit into the too-small space their body made.

They were about to separate, but then Sam got an idea. The boys hesitated and went over the idea. Slowly, they perked up with excitement and all three pulled themselves in, shrinking their power as much as they could without transforming. Even still, white-blue-purple light flickered at their waist and energy buzzed across their skin, hidden mostly by the prison clothes.

Danny and Tucker allowed their minds to go blank, allowing Sam to take control of them. She quickly put out as much of the flames as she could and placed herself in front of the door so that the guard couldn’t see much of the room when he came back.

Thankfully it worked and he didn’t say a word as he led her through the halls to an office, where he chained her to a chair.

“Doppelgänger, is it?” the white ghost from before said as he marched in and the guard left.

“That’s us,” Sam chirped.

He glared at her and opened his green book. “Trespassing, loitering, creating a disturbance, and possession of real-world contraband.”

She opened her mouth to comment, then her eyes widened as a gift box floated past. “The gift! Mr. -”

The warden grabbed her by her shirt. “Walker, son. Kn-”

“Not a boy,” she said.

“Don’t interrupt me, girl.”

“Not a girl either.”

Walker threw her back onto the chair and she barely stopped it from toppling over.

“You better learn quick that your jokes won’t earn you any favors here.”

“It wasn’t a joke,” she muttered.

“I am your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and, if necessary, your executioner.”

She stared blankly at him. “You said executioner three times and we’re ghosts. If you’re going for scare tactics, then we should point out we kind of already did the death thing so executioners aren’t exactly scary.”

Walker smacked her across the face with enough force to knock over the chair.

“Son of a bi-iscuit,” she growled into the floor, barely keeping a hold on the three’s power as Danny and Tucker swirled back into consciousness. “We’re feeding him to Audrey II. No, she’s got better taste than that. True.”

“Seeing how this is your first offense, I was willing to be lenient. Now though… five thousand years!”

“Ok boomer,” they snorted.

He scowled and waved at the door. “Get it out of my sight!”

“Wow, we’re an it now. Just call us they you coward,” they said as a guard came to unchain them. “Did we have to antagonize him that much? No, but it was fun. Yeah, that’s fair. We're insane.”

The guard dragged them up and out of the office. A few halls over they were shoved into a cafeteria. “Chow time! Move it out!”

“Huh, so ghosts do eat,” they said as they stared around the too familiar settings. “It’s kind of like school.” Their eyes landed on the table where Skulker, Technus, Desiree, and Boxy were sitting. “Wow, heh, pretty much everyone who hates us all at one table. It’s exactly like school.”

As they tried to get themselves back into some semblance of order, they watched Skulker stand up and march up to them. The others stood, but stayed behind to watch.

“Hey, Skulky, question before we do this: Does everyone really think we’re just one ghost duplicating?”

Skulker cracked his metallic knuckles. “As far as I’m aware.”

“Wild.”

He stopped in front of them, towering over them as other ghosts began to gather around. In a low voice, he asked, “So which one are you then: the hunter, the geek, or the girl?”

Doppelgänger gave a smile that was all fangs for Sam, crossed their arms and tilted their head mockingly for Danny, and laughed in Skulker’s face for Tucker. “Yes.”

Skulker gave a confused frown, then his eyes widened and he backed away.

Their grin grew and they tapped at the tight rubber band-like feeling that had been growing in them since they’d been forced together. It snapped and the prison clothes were disintegrated as they split apart in an explosion of energy that knocked down every ghost in the room.

The trio instantly went to work. Tucker and Sam fired plasma blasts at the guards near the doors and on the catwalks while Danny opened his Space Fold, allowing six of Audrey II’s bathtub-sized heads to emerge. He set her upon the guards, then he and Tucker turned their attention to their fellow prisoners.

The lot looked caught between horror and excitement.

“Are you all going to try to fight us or are we getting out of here?” the trio asked. Danny raised a hand to shield them from a guard’s blast and Tucker took control of all the guard’s batons, forcing them to stop working.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, for now,” Skulker said, eyeing the flytrap head that had just scooped up two guards and began dissolving them in the acid dripping from their lobes.

“No, don’t eat them, Twoey. They’re bad. They’ll give you a stomach ache. We’ll feed you when we get home,” the trio said, Danny turning to wag his finger at the plant.

The flytrap spat them out then started grabbing and tossing the guards around instead.

“You feed your plant ghosts?” Desiree asked, looking ill.

“No, we feed her ectoplasm. She’s still learning the difference between pure ectoplasm and inhabited ectoplasm though,” they said and Sam scratched one of the plant’s lobes. “Now are we going to get out of here?”

The prisoner ghosts nodded quickly and started rioting.

“We should probably send Twoey back before she accidentally eats one of them,” they said quietly and Danny flew over to lure the stalks back into the fold. “We’ll go for the gift while we lead these guys out of the prison. Alright, meet up on the other side.”

Sam flew out of the cafeteria and transformed. Humming, she made her way through the halls until she reached Walker’s office. She slipped through the door to see the warden yelling into a microphone.

“Guards, what’s going on down there? Somebody answer me!”

She rolled her eyes and walked over to the present.

“You? What are you doing here? Who are you?” Walker growled as she grabbed it out of the air.

She set it on her hip and turned to the warden. “I’m Doppelgänger, duh.”

He snarled and tried to grab her, only to pass right through.

She ignored him as she grabbed Tucker’s phone off his desk.

“Why can’t I touch you?” he asked as he kept trying for her.

“I’m a halfa, moron. Half-ghost, half-human. And humans are the intangible ones here.” She gave him a wink and walked through the wall.

She kept going until she passed through the outer wall, then paused. “Now where are my boys at?”

“Have fun?”

She smiled and turned to Tucker and Danny. “I got your parent’s present and ticked off a prison warden. Today was a great day.” She passed Danny the box, then handed Tucker his phone before transforming to join them in the air.

“My baby,” they said as Tucker nuzzled the phone. “Don’t make us say that! Come one, let’s head home.” They paused. “Do we know how we know how to get back to the portal? Maybe because we died there? Or formed there? How about we not think about that and just head home? Yeah, alright, it’s interesting though. Interesting as in morbid? Yes.”

They laughed and flew off.

{My Brother's Keeper}

Sam checked her watch and frowned. Danny? What’s taking you so long? Did a ghost show up?

Yeah, but that’s not the problem. The thing got away and left me in the smoking remains of the new guidance counselor's office. Lancer and Jazz found me and now they’re making me talk to her. Apparently, Jazz convinced him it would do me some good to talk to her because I’ve been “pulling away from everyone except his partners” and she’s worried we’ll become “overly dependant.”

Yikes, sorry, dude, Tucker said.

If she only knew, Sam snorted. Want us to bring you some lunch?

Yes, please. I don’t know how long she’s going to keep me here.

On our way.

The two stood up and Tucker grabbed their lunches while Sam went to grab some for Danny.

“You know, Jazz might have a point,” Tucker said as they headed to the office.

“Seriously?”

“I mean, when was the last time we did anything apart?” Tucker pointed out. “I know I haven’t hung out with the computer club since the new school year started.”

Sam frowned and tried to think of the last time she’d been to a poetry night. “Oh.”

“Yeah. And how much do you want to bet Danny’s been skipping out on time at the observatory?”

“Okay, yeah,” Sam sighed. “Maybe we should schedule more personal time.”

“Before we really do become a hive mind,” Tucker chuckled, only half-joking.

“We wo-” Sam cut off as heat flooded her cheeks. She looked to Tucker to see him staring down at his arms. “Hair standing up?”

He nodded.

They stuffed their lunches into an empty locker and transformed.

Sam pointed at the counselor's office.

“Think the ghost came back? Wouldn’t one of us have noticed? Even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to do anything with the counselor there.”

The two shrugged and turned invisible.

When they stuck their heads through the wall, they saw Danny sitting in a chair looking miserable while a perky redhead came up to him.

“I'm not saying you're a loser, Danny,” she said, stepping behind him. “I think you're a great kid!”

She grabbed his shoulders and their eyes widened when they saw a flicker of green energy passing from Danny to her.

“Then why do I feel so miserable?” their partner asked, slouching down.

The two snarled and Sam blasted her away from him.

“Woah!” Danny said, jumping up as they landed in the room.

Tucker immediately placed himself between the redhead and Danny while Sam had a nearby potted fern grab the ghost.

“What are you doing, uh, ghosts?” Danny said, backing away.

“Get somewhere safe,” they said. “She’s not what she appears.”

Danny nodded and ran out the door.

Suddenly a blob ghost tackled Tucker. “I thought you said it was the Fenton kid, Spectra,” it hissed.

“I thought it was!” she growled, phasing through the plant.

“Stay away,” the two snarled as Sam ripped the blob off Tucker. She punched it and sent it crashing into Spectra.

It helped the redhead back up, then turned to them with a furious glare. It transformed itself into the shape of a bee, only to be sucked up by the thermos.

The two looked up to see Danny poking halfway through the ceiling, waving.

“No,” Spectra shouted and black clouds formed around her. They rose to cover her, then dispersed, leaving her as a literal shadow of herself.

Unimpressed, the three blasted her before Danny sucked her into the thermos as well.

He gave it a hard shake as he dropped down next to his partners and they all transformed.

“That’s what you get for trying to mess with my head.” He gave it another shake then put the thermos in his Space Fold.

“Feel better?” Sam asked.

“Much.” He pressed into her side and she wrapped an arm around him.

“Good, now let’s get out of here before we get blamed for this,” Tucker said, gesturing to the upended plant and cracked wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jazz fidgeted slightly as she made her way down the hall. She really should leave this to the professional and let Danny work through things without her intervention, but she couldn’t help but want to check on him. Her brother had been closing himself off from the world and that wasn’t healthy. His partners were no better, but she didn’t have any authority to help them. Hopefully, when they saw how much Danny benefited from it, they’d consider getting help too.

She turned the corner and then ducked back around when she saw Danny come running out of Ms. Spectra’s office. She peeked out to see Danny looking around then he held his arms up. Her eyes widened as she saw him transform into a green creature in a flash of white rings.

“What was that?” she whispered as he floated up and pulled a Fenton Thermos out of nowhere before diving upwards. She ran up to the office and looked through the window to see two people that looked just like the… whatever Danny had turned into facing off against a green blob and Ms. Spectra. The blob suddenly turned into a giant bee, only to get sucked into a thermos held by a third green creature -- Danny? Wait, he used the thermos! Does that mean they're ghosts? Ghosts are real! -- that emerged from the ceiling.

Then all three took down Ms. Spectra -- Who was also a ghost? Maybe? She turned into a shadow! -- before they all transformed. Danny from the one with the thermos using white rings like before. The one next to him turned into Sam using purple rings. The last turned into Tucker using blue rings.

Are they all ghosts? Why did they look exactly alike? Is this why they’re always hiding away together?

“Feel better?”

“Much.”

“Good, now let’s get out of here before we get blamed for this.”

Jazz eye’s widened and she ducked down and ran for the corner. She slipped around it just as she heard the door open. She looked back to see the three come out of the office, Danny still tucked against Sam’s side while arm-in-arm with Tucker.

He smiled up at them and kissed them both on the cheek. “Thanks for the save back there.”

“Of course, dude.”

“You’re our partner, we’re always going to take care of you.”

Jazz smiled and left the three.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What?”

“Nothing,” Jazz said quickly, turning her gaze back to her food.

Her eyes slid back to her brother.

“Ugh! What?”

“Nothing!” She shouldn’t say anything, should she? He’d get defensive. But a little push couldn’t hurt, right? “Uh, so, uh, Danny, I know I've been kind of hard on you lately, but you know I think you're great, right?”

He looked surprised before ducking his head. “I-I guess. I mean, I thought so, but I’ve been hearing things.”

“Then you've heard wrong,” she said, grabbing his shoulder and squeezing it. Well, he certainly feels solid. Human. And he’s breathing so-No, focus. “Look, I know you think I'm pushy and I'm a know-it-all. I know you think I can be a jerk sometimes…” she trailed off as he saw the dorky smile on his face. “You know, you can stop me at any time.”

“I know.”

She sighed and let go of him. “All I'm saying is I'm your sister and I care about you. And even though you don't think I'll understand, you can talk to me about anything.”

He bit his lip and looked away. After a moment, he glanced at her, “I -”

An explosion sounded in the family room. They ran to the door to see the couch was smoking and their dad was holding up some new device while their mom watched on.

“I'm just saying, if we can find that ghost at Jazz's school, we can peel that ghost like an onion!” their dad said.

“Well we can't completely vaporize it,” their mom reasoned. “Don't you want to at least examine the remains?”

Danny’s shoulders hunched up and he went back to the table. “I don't feel like talking about it.”

“Yeah, I'd imagine not,” she said, holding back a glare. Why did her parents’ obsession with ghosts always have to ruin things? She followed him back to the table and kissed him on the head.

He squirmed away with a glare, but she ignored him as she went back to her meal.

“I… Jazz?”

“Yeah?” she said, head popping up. Maybe her parents hadn’t messed things up after all.

“Sam, Tuck, and I were talking and… Maybe, maybe, you were right about us spending too much time together so… Would you want to go to the observatory tomorrow?”

She blinked, then smiled. “Sure, little brother.”

Not exactly what she’d been hoping for, but it was a step in the right direction. He could tell her when he's ready.

[dpjustified]

Bingo #4

(disclaimer: fanfic not headcanon)

(#4 Themes: Identity Reveal, Danny Goes to Space, Wes Weston, and Dual Obsession/Space AU mention)

His secret was out to the world alright, he was sure of it. But somehow, when he woke up the next morning, even his parents didn’t remember there was an asteroid in the first place. The only thing different was a mysterious machine in Antarctica had appeared overnight, and there was a strange conspiracy going around about ghosts being aliens.

Either way, after thinking about it, he was much better off without worldwide attention. He was having a hard time living normally with just four people knowing his secret, namely his sister, his best friend and girlfriend, and Valerie.

And after confirming with him, they too were confused that no one seemed to remember.

“I’m telling you guys,” they heard Wes, a kid one grade ahead of them that was on the Casper High Basketball team. “That nerd kid Danny Fenton is actually Danny Phantom.”

“Him? Are you getting high again, Wes. Lay off the munchies.”

“It’s not...” He spotted Danny and rushed over to him. “Hey, kid, tell them the truth!”

“Uh.” Danny didn’t know what to say, but he wondered why this guy remembered when no one else did. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Wes’s friends laughed and went off.

“Just great!” Wes tore off his baseball cap and threw it down. “You made me look like a complete idiot. Why does no one see it?”

“Do you remember the meteorite?” Tucker asked, and Sam leaned in.

“Meteorite? What meteorite.”

“Why do you think he’s Phantom then?” Sam added.

“I’ve seen it...I’ve seen you transform. That day when the ghost came into the gym. I’ve done a lot of research. My friends won’t believe me! You’re an alien, right?”

“Since when are ghosts aliens?” Danny said. He couldn’t believe this guy.

Wes pulled out a book titled “Aliens are Coming: The Conspiracy No One Wants You to Know.”

“It says here that after the world is exposed to ecto-cosmic radiation, it will use the memories from this event to power some kind of device that primes this planet for takeover. You know, that machine in the Arctic?”

“That thing? That was just for making the earth intang- I mean-”

“You see? You know what it’s for! You really are Phantom, aren’t you?”

“Look Wes, can you promise to keep a secret? I can’t exactly protect this town with fans going crazy on me.”

“You...you’re really.”

Danny flashed his eyes green briefly. “Yep, congratulations.”

“I was right? I was right!”

“You’re loud,” Sam said, putting a hand on Wes’ shoulder.

Tucker loomed over him - well, as best as he could since Wes was at least 6 feet tall. “Now that you’re in on it, you have to hang with us now. And any blabbing will get you sent straight to a ghostly prison.”

“G-ghost prison?” Wes said.

Danny was sure they were enjoying intimidating one of the popular kids.

A week later, they had gotten to know Wes a bit more, as well as some of his wild theories on aliens.

“I think they kidnapped Mayor Masters,” Wes said over fries. “Don’t you think so? Why else would he have disappeared. Plus, with that meteorite you guys said everyone forgot about, our memories have probably been absorbed and somehow you guys were protected.”

“Maybe it’s because we sleep with these Fenton Headphones?” Tucker said, showing off the device from his pocket. The three of them made it a habit ever since Ember’s mind control messed with their heads, but slacked off until Nocturne’s takeover.

“...Can I have some? They might prevent the aliens from getting inside my head.”

“Right,” Sam said, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure Danny’s parents would love to make you some for the low price of $39.99, tax not included.”

“Take my money!” Wes took out his wallet.

“Hold up there,” Danny said. “Money can wait. Anyway, I kind of am worried about Vlad. You know, this whole time he was acting kind of...erratic up till the meteorite.”

“He must have been controlled by the aliens to bring down the meteorite!” Wes insisted.

“That idea’s totally not out there,” Tucker said, before taking another bite of his burger.

“He must be in space. Danny, let’s go look for him.”

“...Why?”

“You said you were worried about the old fruit loop,” Sam said, prodding him with an elbow. “Go ahead on a little space trip. I won’t miss you too much. We can talk through the coms anyway.”

Tucker added, “I can update that space ship your dad used last time with a wider space map and get it hooked up to our system. We’ll guide you from down here.”

Danny smiled a bit. He still had his astronaut helmet in his room.

Here we go again, Houston!

On Saturday, Danny and Wes flew up to the rock Vlad was apparently abandoned on. There were signs of a struggle, and a picture of Maddie left behind.

“He was taken after all!” Wes cried from the ship, viewing from the camera attached to Danny’s space helmet. Danny flew out and picked up the picture. Surprisingly this rock was big enough to have a gravitational pull. On the back of the picture there was a hastily scribbled note.

“Daniel, if you’re seeing this...I was wrong. I have a tracker. Please, save me, if you have a heart.” Hidden in the corner of the frame was a memory card.

Always pulling the purse strings. Why do I care about this guy anyway?

It wasn’t just that he pitied him, but he knew that Vlad wasn’t all evil, even though he said he was.

“Rescue mission!” Wes cried out like a mantra.

“Space! Trip!” Tucker cried from over the com.

“As long as you’re back by Monday?” Sam added. “And besides, you can use some blackmail on Vlad, and he’ll owe you big time if you save his butt.”

“Okay fine,” Danny said, flying back to the ship. “We’ve gotta try to get back by Monday. Wes, did I ever tell you how much I like space? Oh, this is gonna be great.”

He was excited already. He couldn’t wait to use the ship’s features to take pictures of the asteroids. But what about the Milky Way? What would he do if he saw a black hole? He wondered if they led to the Ghost Zone or let him time travel.

Tucker poked fun at him over the intercom. “Did you switch to space mode again? Come on, I like Super Danny. Hero Danny. Stop it with the glittery space mode.”

“I don’t sparkle like a vampire when I think about space, I have acne, not freckles, and I don’t have an obsession! Let alone two.” Danny yelled.

“Ow, loud,” said Sam.

Tucker didn’t know when to quit. “Don’t you have three? One being this lovely lady over here.”

“Ghosts have obsessions?” said Wes, interested.

“Not me, at any rate! It’s just a joke Tucker likes to pull on me,” Danny said. “I’m kicking your butt when I get back, Tucker.”

“But I’ve gotten faster at running...” Tucker chided. “Ow!”

“I kicked his butt for you, so get a move on!” Sam said.

“Love you too,“ Danny said, then sat back down in the pilot seat.

Wes pulled out his mp3 player and played “The Final Countdown”.

“Now we’re talkin’!” Danny exclaimed while Wes started jamming out. He inserted the memory card and the system drew up a navigation plan. Apparently it would take them a day to fly to Vlad’s location, wherever he was. And if Wes was right, they might would run into aliens.

Who cares. Space Trip.

They then blasted off to who knows where.

[gottacatchghosts]

Frame by Frame

This is for Phic Phight 2019! I’m on Team Human, with team leader @currently-lurking!

Prompt: As a result of having a time medallion phased into him, Danny begins to exhibit time powers.

Word count: 3360

Prompt by: @five-rivers​

Characters: Danny, Jazz, Clockwork (Sam and Tucker, briefly)

Warnings: none that come to mind, unless you don’t like pseudosciencey stuff lol

Extra notes: this was a fun prompt omg

[writing tag] | [Phic Phight 2019 tag] | [My fills] | [fic index]

FFN/AO3 links to come following the end of the event.

There’s something wrong with Danny.

Well, wrong isn’t the best word to use. Weird is more appropriate, but really, what about Danny isn’t weird these days? But still, something is wrong and Danny has no idea what it is.

Ever since that incident with that alternate future, Danny’s felt off, off balance, off kilter, fundamentally changed in a way that has nothing to do with the trauma of seeing almost everyone he’s ever cared for caught in a fiery explosion. (That part doesn’t bother him at all, no really, honest.)

It didn’t even have to do with seeing that abomination with his name and his face claiming to be him. Ten years from now is so obscure to his fourteen-year-old mind that even the thought of being twenty-four is enough to separate him from the “could-be”s.

No, it’s something else entirely. Something Danny can’t put his finger on.

It was little things at first. Things that didn’t stand out as wrong at the time, but in hindsight it feels obvious that something happened. Little things like the shower never running cold despite standing under the spray for longer than usual, like finishing his homework before dinner even though he was sure that he’d be working on it the rest of the night, like how he’s been on time getting to class every day this week even when there’s a ghost encounter on the way to school.

Danny tries to tell Sam and Tucker. Tries to tell them that he thinks something’s wrong, that something is up, but they just brush it off.

“Maybe you got lucky with the shower?” Tucker suggests.

“You’re smarter than you think you are!” Sam assures.

“You’ve gotten so kickass with your powers dude!” Tucker crows, pumping his fists with a grin.

“Have you been leaving earlier? That might explain it,” Sam points out, shrugging it off.

Danny doesn’t believe he’s just gotten lucky or smarter or stronger, but he smiles and nods along with them, saying, “Yeah. That must be it. Sorry for being so weird about this.”

“It’s not a problem, Danny! You’re probably still a little out of it from having to kick your jerky older self’s butt.” Tucker puts a hand on Danny’s shoulder, nodding sagely.

Sam hip checks him and smiles back. “Don’t be afraid to tell us if something’s happening!”

Danny laughs. “I won’t!”

He keeps the oddities to himself after that.

For the next few months, nothing really changes. Life goes on, ghosts still attack, Danny’s grades slowly but surely pull up into the low A high B range they’d been the first couple weeks of high school, and still Sam and Tucker find nothing wrong with this strange new turn of events.

Jazz, however, once she finally joins the team and she and Danny go back to getting along, is more willing to listen to him when he says he thinks something is happening.

She pulls him into her room one day after driving him home from school and shoves him into her desk chair. She then pulls out a notebook and sits on her bed, giving him her full attention. “What do you think is happening?” she asks, cutting straight to the point.

Danny shrugs and rubs his arms. “I don’t know, really. It’s not like it’s been just one thing. It’s like a bunch of little things that all add up and point to the same thing, except I don’t even know if they do. I wanna just accept whatever it is, but the problem is that I don’t know what it is.”

Jazz nods and jots down some notes. “And how long as this been going on?”

Danny hesitates and looks away. “Since the, uh, since the CATs.”

Jazz pauses her note taking and glances at him over the top of the notebook. “The CATs?” She bites her lip and looks back down. “Does this have anything to do with… you-know-who?”

Danny sighs and leans back in the chair, throwing his head back. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

The room is quiet for a few minutes before Jazz shifts to the side and pats the bed beside her. After a moment’s hesitation, Danny joins her and together the two flop backwards on the bed to look at the ceiling.

“What exactly happened?” Jazz asks, voice soft. “I know you somehow swapped places with that older future guy and got stuck in his time, but how did that happen?”

Danny groans and shoves his hands into his eyes. “After Sam, Tuck, and I jumped through this portal in Clockwork’s lair into that timeline, we ran into Future Valerie, and then he showed up and started attacking everyone. Sam and Tuck got out of there by taking off their time medallion things—they ended up back here in Amity like nothing happened. But.” Danny’s voice dies and he moves his hands to lay them at his side.

“But?” Jazz prompts, nudging him with her elbow.

“He phased the time medallion into my chest,” Danny says. He puts a hand over his breast bone and stares at the ceiling, eyes far away. “Just stuck it right in there. I don’t remember much right after that, just that I somehow ended up in the Ghost Zone, tied up and floating aimlessly.”

“How’d you get it out?” Jazz asks, voice little more than a whisper. She rolls over to face him and links an arm with one of his, a steady, calming anchor.

Danny tenses up, slight enough that she wouldn’t have noticed without physical contact. She squeezes his arm in an attempt to be reassuring and the hand resting on his chest slides over to sit over hers. “Vlad.” Danny looks at her from the corners of his eyes. He still has that thousand yard stare but a little bit of life creeps back into his eyes as he takes in the surprise on her face. “I found where he was hiding and got him to help pull it out.”

Jazz takes note of the finality in his voice and gracefully sweeps past the subject. She can ask him about it later. “And you came back here after that?”

“Yeah. And then I really only had enough time to grab some of Mom and Dad’s ghost gear before I had to fight him off.” Danny sighs. “I didn’t really win. Sure, I got him in a Thermos, but you guys all still…” His voice dies and her clears his throat. Jazz won’t make him say what happened. She knows he still has nightmares about it and she has a pretty good idea of what happened. “Clockwork stopped it. Reversed time, saved everyone, took the Thermos, gave me a second chance.”

“And how soon after did this Something start happening?”

“Pretty much right after.” Danny runs a hand through his bangs and closes his eyes, thinking back. “After I gave Lancer the test answers back, I went home and crashed in bed for a while. It felt like forever but it was only a couple hours.” Jazz nods and sits up to grab her notebook. She makes a few quick notes and Danny waits until her frantic scribbling slows to a stop. She gestures for him to continue and he tells her what he told Sam and Tucker.

He tells her about the shower and the homework and the suddenly improved grades and attendance and she listens, more so than Tucker and Sam ever did. It doesn’t surprise him at all, really. Jazz has always been the type to stop and listen, even if she does have her moments of single mindedness. Even if this really does turn out to be nothing, he’s glad he’s got Jazz on his side to figure it out.

When he’s done explaining his concerns, she pauses and reads over her notes again. She purses her lips and lowers the notebook, giving Danny an expectant look. “Have you talked to Clockwork about this?”

That gives Danny pause. “About what?”

Jazz levels him with a look of absolute certainty. “It sounds to me like you’re gaining time.”

“Wait, what?” Danny throws himself upright so he can be at eye level with Jazz. “Explain.”

“That, or you’re slowing it down.” Jazz nods once herself and waves a hand up and down, from his head to his feet and back. “From what you told me, it sounds like you could be slowing down time.”

“That’s crazy,” Danny mumbles, crossing his arms. “Clockwork controls time. I can’t do anything like that.”

“Not before, you couldn’t.” Jazz raises a brow. “Think about it. You were fused to one of those time medallions for who knows how long and you couldn’t just take it out on your own. Who’s to say that you didn’t pick up some kind of temporal power?”

Danny squints at her for her use of the word “temporal,” but considers her words. “Maybe,” he says slowly, thinking aloud. “The time medallions allowed us to move outside of time. Whenever Clockwork froze time, if we had one of them on, we could still move around and stuff. And then when we were in the future, and when those future ghosts attacked this time, the medallions allowed us to stay there. Taking them off sent us, and them, home.” He presses his lips together. “Maybe you’re right.”

“You should talk to Clockwork,” Jazz says in between her notetaking. “I don’t think I can help you with this anymore.”

Danny reaches and puts his hand on hers, stilling her writing. Jazz looks up and he smiles at her. “You’ve already helped a lot. Thanks, Jazz.”

Jazz smiles back. “Anytime.”

Clockwork’s citadel is hard to find and Danny suspects the only reason he can is because Clockwork allows it. Danny’s never seen the outside of it before, but the giant floating cogs and gears make it pretty obvious he’s found the right place. The place looks like a cross between a grandfather clock and a castle and Danny has a nice chuckle at the tasteful scythes adorning some of the roofs.

The double doors at the base of the tower creak open and Danny pauses for a moment. He half expects Clockwork to greet him outside, but he’s equally unsurprised when nothing happens. He floats through the doors and ignores the way they close behind him in favor of seeking out Clockwork himself. Clockwork has to know that Danny was coming, being the all-seeing and all-knowing Master of Time, so Danny doesn't feel too bad about just barging in.

After all, the doors were open.

Danny comes to a stop in front of Clockwork’s viewing screens, too nosy for his own good and not completely looking forward to the conversation he knows the two of them are going to have. They show ordinary, mundane scenes of many different people—and ghosts—going about their lives, oblivious to any unseen watchers.

“Everything is as it should be,” Clockwork says from behind Danny, startling the boy several feet higher than he’d previously been floating.

“Clockwork!” Danny says, spinning around and lowering himself to be closer to eye level.

“Hello, Danny.” Clockwork cracks the barest hint of a smile and Danny rolls his eyes. “Come,” Clockwork says, waving Danny over as he turns and floats off. “We have much to discuss.”

Danny follows quickly, turning his head to catch a glimpse of the row of Time Medallions hanging on a rack near the portal screens. He shudders once and looks away.

Clockwork leads him through several archways to a library full of different types of texts; scrolls, stone tablets, and the oldest books Danny’s ever seen all line the walls and crowd the towering shelves. Clockwork gestures to a small nook with several cozy looking couches and nods, encouraging him to sit.

Danny hovers over to the nearest overstuffed arm chair and allows himself to fall into it, giving it to the artificial gravity of the Zone. It’s a comfy chair, just like he’d hoped it would be and he can feel the tension leaving his shoulders. Clockwork sits on the chair opposite his and waits, giving Danny a chance to mentally prepare himself for their talk.

Eventually, Clockwork clears his throat to catch Danny’s full attention. “I know you’re nervous, but do try to relax.” Danny huffs, somewhere between amusement and exasperation, then Clockwork continues. “I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the temporal abnormalities you’ve been experiencing.”

“So…” Danny’s brow furrows. “It is a time thing?”

“Correct.” Clockwork smiles at the boy. “I’m afraid your experiences with the timestream have had… an unforeseen outcome.”

“‘Unforeseen?’” Danny echoes, bolting upright. “I thought you saw everything!”

Clockwork gives a slight grimace. “As the Master of Time, I have the unique privilege of experiencing time like an outsider. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always extend to myself, or anything existing outside of time.” Clockwork reaches into his cloak and produces a Time Medallion. “Wearing these allows someone to temporarily displace themself anywhere in the timestream and instantly return as soon is it is removed.

“They’re not made to become a part of one’s person.” Clockwork outright frowns. “When this Medallion was fused to you, it lost some of its potency.” He passes it over to Danny and the boy frowns as he inspects it. “The medallions make the wearer immune to my ability to totally stop time by placing them, technically, outside of time.”

“So what does that mean for me?” Danny asks, looking back up at Clockwork.

“It means, Danny, that your sister was correct. You’ve developed an immunity of sorts to the normal flow of time, becoming something of a human Time Medallion. I’m unaware as of yet how far this power will extend, but if I’m correct, the ability will only be limited to yourself and whatever is on your person, including anyone you may be in direct contact with.”

Danny blinks several times, processing the words. “That’s actually kinda cool.”

Clockwork allows himself a small chuckle. “Because of this slight immunity to time, you also appear to be exhibiting some temporal displacement abilities, the ‘gaining time’ that Jazz mentioned. What this means is that time moves much more slowly around you while allowing you move freely and as normal. From an outside perspective, one might say that you look to be moving at high speeds.”

Danny nods as he turns the words over in his head. “When you say that you can’t always see things that exist outside of time, does that mean you can’t, like, watch over me? Since I have the immunity?”

“I can see you just fine the majority of the time, don’t worry,” Clockwork says, waving off the concern written on Danny’s face. “When you use your powers, it’s like looking through a fog. The image becomes distorted and blurred, but then it clears up again.”

“I didn’t even know I was using them.”

Clockwork nods and smirks. “Control will come with time.” Danny snorts, and relaxes a little. “Have you noticed anything in common with the incidents?”

Danny thinks, pushing a fist against his chin. “Uh… They all seemed to times when I wanted… more… time…” He trails off, eyes wide. “Wow. I wanted more time in the shower, I wanted my homework done faster, I wanted to be on time for school… and then it all happened.” Danny cracks a grin. “That’s pretty useful.”

“Indeed.” Clockwork looks Danny in the eyes. “I just want to impart with you the importance of not abusing an ability like this. Time is a powerful thing.” Danny nods, completely serious. “That said,” Clockwork grins again, “I cannot stop you from using it to your leisure.”

Danny laughs. “So, what, exactly, can I do with… whatever I’m supposed to call this?”

“What you call it is up to you. What I can tell you is that a power like yours has limits, and you can rest easy with the knowledge that your temporal powers are no where as powerful as mine. You cannot stop the flow of time completely, nor can you reverse it or speed it up. Your power is limited to only slightly and temporarily slowing down time for yourself. That’s it.”

“That’s still pretty awesome,” Danny says, gazing at the Medallion in his hands again. “Hey, wait. You said I’m kinda like one of these things, right? Does that mean you can’t freeze me in time anymore?”

Clockwork blinks, expression flat. With no warning, he raises his staff and says, “Time Out!”

Danny suddenly feels like he’s underwater or submerged in something thick and viscous. He blinks, ever so slowly and moves his head up, inch by inch to look at Clockwork. Before he can say anything, Clockwork moves—and he’s fast, so fast, like he’s dropping frames to snap into new positions without any movement between them—and then Danny is free from the heavy feeling. “That was weird,” is all he says.

Clockwork nods. “It appears I can no longer stop you completely, and you can move under your own power ever so slightly. From my perspective, it was as if you were moving in slow motion.”

Danny throws his head back and laughs, the idea that the crazy powerful Master of Time being unable to control him completely being too hilarious to pass up. Clockwork rolls his eyes—though it’s hard to tell without a pupil—but allows Danny to ride out his amusement.

“I feel you have another question for me,” Clockwork prods, drawing Danny back to the present.

Danny nods, rubbing a tear from his eye. “Yeah, just one.” He holds up the Medallion and asks, “How did this give me time powers?”

“Danny, how much do you know about how ghosts work?”

Danny shrugs. “Not a whole lot. I know ghosts are made of ectoplasm and that ectoplasm is kinda everywhere, but I don’t really know how much of what I heard Mom and Dad talking about growing up is true.”

Clockwork nods. “Ghosts are, indeed, made of ectoplasm, and ectoplasm can exist in many different types and forms, including raw energy. At the center of every ghost exists what is known as a Core. A Core is the purest essence of a ghost and where the most powerful abilities and attacks originate. I won’t get into the types of Cores for now, but I will tell you that there are seven elemental types, two incorporeal types, and then an additional, unspecialized type.”

Danny nods, eyes wide. “Do I have a Core?”

“Yes, you do.” Clockwork points at the center of Danny’s chest, just right of his heart. “And it because you possess a Core that the Medallion had such an effect on you.”

“Wha—really? How?” Danny presses a hand against his chest, along his breast bone, and he can almost imagine his feels a thrumming pulse he never noticed before.

“When the Medallion interacted with your Core, some of the energy that infused with the Medallion was absorbed by your Core. Whether it was self-preservation to protect you from the foreign object, a subconscious absorption of power, or a result of your Core still developing, some of the Medallion’s powers were leeched off and into you. Over time, this new energy and ability has settled in your Core and it has become a part of you.”

“When it was still stuck in here, I learned how to use my Wail. And even though I felt tired afterward, I could still keep going. Would that have made a difference?” Danny tilts his head in question. “Or was it just because I was in the Zone?”

“It could have been both.” Clockwork thinks it over for a second. “That’s likely when the strongest transfer of power happened. The Medallion fed you some of its energy to recover what you used in your attack.”

“Weird.” Danny stretches in his seat, considering everything that he’s learned. It takes him several minutes to sort through his thoughts, but then he looks up at Clockwork, eyes glowing brightly in determination. “Teach me how to control it.”

Clockwork smiles and takes to the air again. “It would be my pleasure.”

[phandomphightclub]

Phinal Round, First Place Match: @reallydumbdannyphantomaus vs. @heyheyitsstillgay

The ring was repaved. Vic and Tali were back in their seats. Tucker had finally gotten some decent food.

Finally, finally, everything was ready for the final battle.

“Bug versus Anri, huh?” Tucker asked.  “Is it too late to place bets?”

“Who would you bet for?” Danny asked in return.

“Probably Bug, honestly,” he said after taking a big bite from his burger.  “They might be a pain, but they’re apparently pretty good.  Not a ton of ghosts can get the whole duplication thing down.”

“I’d still vote for Anri,” Sam argued.  “They’ve got more raw power.  Plus it looks like they have more abilities than they let on.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out who’s gonna win!”  Tali said brightly as the two ghosts once again entered the ring.

“Our phinal match here, pholks!  Winner gets all glory, honor, bragging rights, and a year’s supply of free Denny’s pancakes.”

“Really?”  Danny perked up at that.  The Denny’s might not have the greatest food, but their pancakes were pretty good.  And a year’s supply of free ones?  He might enter the tournament next time for that.

“Really!  So let’s get this phight started!  From the Observant’s Keep, a ghost who once tried to eat fake grass out of an escape room, we have Reallydumbdannyphantomaus!”

“That was one time!”  They shouted up at Tali, who just laughed.

“And their opponent from Nightmare Valley, a ghost with memes so dank they can’t be seen by the mortal eye, Heyheyitsstillgay!”

They waved to the crowd with a staff made entirely out of Danno faces.

“PHIGHT!”

Bug extended their PowerPoint staff like a lightsaber, red glow and all.  “Ready to finish this, binch?”

“I died ready.”

They two ghosts clashed over the freshly-paved center of the ring.  The Danno staff squealed each time it made contact with Bug’s PowerSaber.

“Is that, like, gonna burn your face too?”  Tucker asked Danny.  “Like some kind of voodoo or something?”

“Shut up, Tucker,” Sam said offhand, her entire attention glued to the fight.

Anri brought her Danno staff down in a heavy overhand blow, putting more of their extra-dense weight into the attack.  Bug blocked, using all four of their arms to hold up the PowerSaber.

“You… have strength, I’ll give you that,” Bug said through gritted teeth.  They couldn’t have blocked that attack if they’d used any of their energy on making duplicates; this was going to be tough.

“I’ve got more than that. I’ve been around longer than you can imagine,” They said, their face inches from Bug’s.  “My core is ancient and fueled by things you’ve only seen in your nightmares.”

“Your… core, huh?” Bug asked, getting an idea.  Twisting and diverting Anri’s staff, they slipped one hand free to punch them in the gut.  Anri grunted and gave Bug an opening to dart away.

“You’re not gonna break my core that easily,” Anri said, spinning her staff and coming back in swinging. Bug snapped theirs into two halves, blocking with one red-glowing half and striking Anri’s side with the other.

“I don’t plan on breaking it.”  Bug smirked. Then they plunged one half of the PowerSaber into Anri’s unprotected stomach.

Anri stopped for a moment, stunned at the wound – but then, as Danny knew would happen, the dark energy began coalescing around it.

“What’s Bug thinking?” He asked.  “They know Anri can’t be beat like that!”

“Why not?”  Sam asked.  That’s right, she and Tucker weren’t there for that match.

“They’ve got a special power.  Instead of being fueled by ectoplasm, the inside of their form is – well, just watch.”

The memes began to trickle from Anri’s stomach as they pulled out the Power Saber.

“You’re in for it now.” They grinned ominously.  But to their surprise, Bug grinned back and stabbed the half of the PowerSaber they had left into the ground.  The projector screen unfurled from it, casting blinding light onto Anri.

“That’s not going to—”

But blinding wasn’t what Bug had in mind.  The two halves of the saber created a link – one that siphoned the memes from Anri’s form and projected them onto the screen.

“What – no!”  Anri shouted, feeling their form begin to droop as it lost its power.  Bug folded two hands behind their back, using the other two to point to the presentation.

“And if you’ll look at this diagram, you’ll see the different types of memes that Anri contains broken down by type and percentage.  I would draw your attention to this slice of the pie chart, which depicts the percentage of bad Danno edits.  It’s unusually high in comparison to the other types of memes, though they are all equally impressive…”

“You can’t just – my memes – my PowerPoint slides – how can you take them from me!?”

Bug pointed to the half of the saber that Anri still held.  “You did that to yourself, my good binch.  You should’ve kept your hands to yourself.”

“NOOOOO!”

And with that last shout, Anri’s flesh prison deflated completely.  We won’t describe what that looked like, because we’re sure it’s already frightening enough, and probably wasn’t suitable for children to watch.  However, the Denny’s does not have insurance for psychic and/or emotional damage caused by exposure to any of the phights, so hopefully everyone could deal with it on their own, or had officially-licensed, non-Spectra therapists who could help them cope.

“Dude, are they gonna be okay?”  Tucker asked.

“Oh, Anri?”  Tali laughed.  “Don’t worry, they do that about once a century.  They’ll replace those memes with even worse ones and come back stronger than ever.  Kind of like molting, or something.  But in the meantime everyone can press F to pay respects.”

Danny looked down and saw a tiny button labeled F on the armrest of his chair.  He pressed it.

Tali blew her kazoo to the tune of Never Gonna Give You Up.  Every verse.  All three minutes and fifty-six seconds of it.  The crowd listened with their arms raised in a respectful dab.  Danny figured he might as well dab too, and eventually even Sam caught on to the mood and obliged.

When the song was over, Tali finally said the fated words.

“Heyheyitsstillgay is unable to battle!  Reallydumbdannyphantomaus wins!”

XXX

“Tucker!  Sam!  Wait!”  A voice called as Danny was about to fly them out of the Denny’s.

“Oh great.”  A resigned glare slid over Sam’s face as she turned to the ghost.  Of course, it had to be Bug.  The one ghost she’d wanted to see get their butt kicked, and it never even happened.

“What do you want?” Tucker grumbled.  “Come to make fun of us again?”

“No, well, actually…” Bug ruffled their blue hair with one hand, two others fidgeting in front of them. “I came to make up.  Here.”

With their last remaining hand, they held out three CDs, one for each of the friends.  Sam took hers with a critical glare.

“Exactly what you think?”  She read the title.  Bug’s signature was scrawled below it.

“It’s the song I wrote for the phinal.  As a friendship gift.”

“If I wanted some lame music, I would’ve gotten something signed by Ember.”

Danny elbowed her, and her she winced.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t fair to hold a grudge for something Bug said one time.  It wasn’t like they had to go out of the way to give them something.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “Thanks.”

“What song is it?” Tucker asked, a little more brightly. He’d never learned to hold a grudge like she did.

“You’ll see!”  They grinned.  “But if you want to know just how lame my music is before that, come watch the closing ceremonies of the Phight.”

“Closing ceremonies?” Danny asked.

“What, Tali didn’t tell you? She does forget a lot.  Anyway, we’re holding it out in the ring in a few minutes, if you’ve got time!  See ya!”

They flew back out of the Denny’s, leaving Danny, Tucker, and Sam confused.  They shared a glance, but figured they already knew what they’d be doing.

“So… who’s up for one last blast in the ghost zone?”

XXX

A few minutes later, the stadium was packed again, this time with ghosts holding candles over their heads. As Danny didn’t have a candle himself, he settled for lighting the tip of his finger and swaying it in time with the music that Bug began to sing.  Tali backed them up on kazoo, putting her soul into the tune’s melancholy air.

Oh Danno boy The phights, the phights are calling From den to den and through this portal side The show is on and all the blows are falling Tis you tis you must go and I must bide But bring ye back when Denny’s is reopened Or when the ring is hushed and in limbo It’s I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow Oh Danno boy oh Danno boy I love you so.

Danny turned at the sound of sniffling.

“What?”  Tucker asked, drying his eyes on his beret.  “It’s a very emotional song!”

Sam sighed and patted his shoulder, to which he mumbled a thank you.

Then slowly and more orderly than they had after any of the phights, the ghosts began to filter away. Almost like they too were mourning the end of a tournament that they’d all enjoyed.  As they left, Danny pondered the lyrics.

“Does this mean… the Denny’s is closing?”

“Only physically,” Tali said, suddenly appearing beside him.  “But in our hearts, the Denny’s is forever.”

“I’m not sure if that was sappy or ominous,” Sam said.

“Both.”  Tali smiled.  “We’ll still be around, but we’ll be on the downlow until the next Phight.”

“When’s that?”  Tucker asked.

“Next year, probably. It’s a lot of work to run a Phight Club on nothing but a few pancakes and the money we conned out of Vlad.  But don’t worry, it’ll come sooner than you know it!”

And somehow, in spite of all the crazy things that had happened in the past month of watching the Phight, Danny looked forward to it.

[kimurasato]

Unexpectedly You: 05

Summary: Danny got better at balancing his life since high school, mostly. He had a good job but still managed to deal with ghosts whenever they popped up to cause trouble. But can that peaceful life last for long? Characters: Dash x Danny and others.

               "Is that really what you do all day?" Dan asked, sitting at the kitchen table with his chin resting in his hands. "It was so boring!"

               Danny snapped his head around, just long enough to shoot Dan a withering glare. "Oh, there's one giant reason today sucked." He turned back to the stove where he was working on fixing dinner.

               "It can't be Valerie." Dan tapped his chin thoughtfully. "She's delightful! Was it because of that punk at the front desk? I could do something about that, you know."

               Danny leaned his head back with a loud, drawn out groan. Dan didn't even make an attempt to hide his smirk. If he was going to play the "good guy," he was at least going to have some fun annoying Danny. After being stuck in Danny's little office at Axiom Labs for a day, he regretted listening to Clockwork's orders. It was only mildly better than being stuck inside that stupid Thermos. He just hoped when this was all over, whatever they were going to face, he wouldn't have to go back into the Thermos.

               "If I could trust you not to go off and destroy stuff, I wouldn't have to babysit you." Danny stirred the pot, sprinkling in a few more spices.

               Dan scowled at the back of his head. "I don't need to be babysat." He got up from the table. "And I know we both want to get this whole thing over with as fast as possible. So why you're stuck at a boring job all day, I can zoom around the town and keep an eye out for anything that looks vaguely threatening. Though honestly," he folded his arms as he shrugged, "I think my presence would be a bit overkill."

               Danny shook his head. "I wouldn't get so cocky. I mean," he sent a smirk over his shoulder, "I kicked your butt, and I was only fourteen."

               Dan snorted, turning his head. "Only because you caught me by surprise. You wouldn't have won if you hadn't learned the Ghostly Wail from me early."

               "Whatever you say." Danny continued grinning as he worked on dinner.

               Dan ground his teeth, but before he could think of a scathing response, the doorbell rang. Danny glanced toward the hall doorway, his face scrunching up and his brow knitting. A smirk tugged at Dan's mouth. He was hoping for a good distraction, and it seemed like someone was listening. He doubted that someone was Clockwork, as annoying as he was.

               "Well, that sounds like my cue to get out of your hair," Dan announced.

               "What?" Danny snapped his head around so fast Dan was surprised he didn't hurt himself. "Dan, don't you-"

               But Dan didn't wait for him to finish. He turned invisible, masking his presence at the same time.

               "Get back here!" Danny whispered heatedly.

               Dan bit his forked tongue to keep from laughing. Danny looked livid, and Dan was absolutely delighted by that fact. It was amusing, but he was free now and didn't want to spend his whole time tied down to Danny "the goody-two-shoes" Fenton. Was part of him ever really like that? He almost couldn't believe it. After all this time, he barely even thought of himself as ever being Danny or Vlad.

               Danny huffed, muttering to himself as he stalked out of the kitchen and down the hall toward the front door. Dan flew straight up through the ceiling of the kitchen and exited Fenton Works through the roof. Hovering over the house, he stared out over the neighborhood, enjoying the early evening. His mouth stretched into a wide grin. Freedom, and Danny wouldn't be able to follow him! He worked on the whole masking his presence skill during his time stuck in the Thermos, but until he made his escape last night, he couldn't be certain it would actually work.

               He spent fourteen years waiting for this moment. Now that it was here, Dan realized he never considered what to do once he was free to do whatever he pleased. Destruction and mayhem were no longer his goal. He made peace, mostly, with what happened in his timeline. An anger still burned right in the middle of his chest, but he found he could now push it away and ignore it.

               For the most part.

               But where did that leave him now? What was he to do with no goal in mind? He no longer had an obsession, and he honestly didn't know what happened a ghost without an obsession. It was possible, he supposed, to switch obsessions. Plenty of the ghosts in his timeline had made it their goal to get revenge on him, even if that was impossible. He just needed to focus his mind on a goal. Currently, that goal was taking out whatever threat was about to turn up in Amity Park. It was good enough for now, but it wouldn't last after the threat was eliminated.

               Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Dan flew to the downtown area of Amity Park. He wanted to spend the night having some fun! Danny, without a doubt, was going to threaten to Thermos him again once he got back. Dan rolled his eyes as he touched down in a dark alley, well out of sight from anyone. He wasn't going to worry about Danny tonight. Turning visible again, he shifted to his human disguise before he stepped out of the alley. No one walking the street gave him a second look. Dan grinned as he blended into the human crowd.

               After a few minutes of walking around, Dan frowned. It was a strange experience for him. No one was running away and screaming at the mere sight of him. He felt an itch, a desire to terrorize the people around him. His nails bit into his palms as he squeezed his hands into tight fists. The slight pain only mildly distracted him from that urge. He couldn't give into those violent tendencies if he wanted to remain free.

               Ugh, this is going to be impossible! Dan held back a frustrated growl.

               Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head, catching sight of someone exiting a restaurant. It looked like a small place, probably family owned, but the restaurant wasn't what caught Dan's attention. His eyes narrowed in on the man's ass. His mouth curved upward. He was looking for a distraction, after all.

               Walking over to the restaurant, Dan planned a couple of ways this could go. If he didn't approach this right, it could go very wrong. The man turned around, letting the door swing shut, before Dan could decide on a plan of action. His brain went blank when he was faced with the man.

               "Um," he frowned with a slight furrowing of his brow, "can I help you?"

               "Lost!" Dan blurted out when he realized how long the silence stretched between them. Even the man looked a little concerned by it. He couldn't help being a little thrown running into Kwan, of all people.

               "Lost?" Kwan lifted his eyebrow as he nodded slowly. "And where are you trying to go?"

               "Um," Dan mumbled, his brain still stalling for decent answers. He shook his head, letting a smirk slip onto his face. "I was hoping to have a bit of fun. Care to help me out?"

               Kwan gave him a flat stare. "Is that flirting? Is that what you're doing? I can't really tell if you're serious."

               The smirk immediately fell. "No good?" Dan raked a hand through his hair, a strange feeling when it wasn't on fire like it usually was. "I guess it's been a while since I've done the whole flirting thing." Ever since he came into being as Dan, trying to date someone wasn't exactly a high priority for him. He mostly thought about destruction, chaos, violence, and the like. Flirting with someone was completely new territory for him.

               The corner of Kwan's mouth twitched, but there was a sparkle in his eyes. "I wouldn't have guessed." His gaze flicked back to the restaurant. "First off, I'm not agreeing to do anything with someone who can't even introduce themselves."

               "Right." Dan had memories of Kwan, thanks to Danny, but of course, he was a complete stranger to Kwan. "It's Dan." He held out his hand.

               "Kwan." He shook Dan's hand. "Well, Dan," he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I'm afraid I already had plans for tonight. I'd invite you along, but you would probably just be bored."

               Dan snorted. He let his gaze roam down then back up Kwan's body. He doubted he would ever be bored in his presence. "Maybe I will be, but you can't know that for certain." He shrugged. "But at least I'll get to learn something about you."

               Kwan's mouth pursed slightly, uncertainty furrowing his brow. "Why would you be interested in knowing anything about me?"

               Dan considered the question with a frown. Kwan's body language came off somewhat guarded, pulling his hands from his pockets to fold his arms. Had he come off threatening in some way? He was actually trying not to be his usual menacing self. "I think you're cute," he answered bluntly, "so I want to know you better."

               "Oh," Kwan said softly, his mouth forming a small "o" as his bronze cheeks darkened. "Well, I guess you can tagalong. If you really want."

               Dan grinned triumphantly. "Lead the way then!"

               He bowed, one arm wrapped around his waist while the other arm extended outward. He lifted his head when he heard a short laugh. Kwan held a hand over his mouth, clearly struggling not to laugh outright. Dan couldn't identify that feeling in his chest. It was strange, maybe a little familiar, and he wondered if he could get Kwan to laugh without holding back.

               "Okay. Okay." Kwan grabbed his arm and pulled him to stand up straight again. "Follow me." Adjusting the strap of his duffle bag on his shoulder, he turned to walk down the street.

               Dan easily fell into step next to him. He glanced around, but no one gave them funny looks, or even really paid them any attention. It was a little unsettling. If this was his timeline, the people around them wouldn't know what to make of him walking around with someone. Valerie was pretty much the only human who dared to stand against him, so Dan couldn't imagine people screaming at him and trying to forcefully take Kwan away from him. They would more likely try to subtly gain Kwan's attention and encourage him to get away from the scary, murderous ghost.

               "So," Kwan said, snapping Dan's attention back to the current timeline, "are you from out of town?" He stared at Dan with one eyebrow inching up toward his hairline.

               "Ah," Dan looked away, rubbing his neck, "I guess you could say that."

               "Where are you from?"

               Crap! Dan winced. What was he supposed to say to that? "Wisconsin!" He almost smacked his forehead for that answer. But if he wanted to be technical, he did come into being in Wisconsin.

               Kwan's mouth curled upward. "A cheese head, huh?"

               "Oh yeah!" Dan laughed, maybe a bit too loudly. A few people looked his way as they walked by. "I'm real big into that whole green and gold." He thought about Vlad's castle and almost gagged when he remembered how tacky it looked with all the Packers' decor. Where was that old geezer anyway? He would have to ask Danny what happened to him later. Then he turned back to Kwan. "You ever play football?"

               Kwan nodded, a fond look passing through his eyes. "In high school."

               "Didn't want to keep going in college?"

               Kwan shook his head. "I didn't have time with all the courses I was taking."

               "Ah, yeah. Education." Dan nodded. "That's a thing that's important."

               Kwan laughed. "Yeah." He stopped walking. "Well, this is it."

               Dan lifted his gaze. The little hole in the wall business wasn't exactly what he expected when Kwan said he had plans for the night. It was just a dingy door set into a brick wall with a sign hanging over it reading "Li's Boxing Gym." He raised an eyebrow as his gaze drifted back to Kwan.

               "What?" Kwan smiled as he opened the door. "Did you expect some kind of fancy restaurant or something?"

               "I honestly can't say what I expected." Dan followed him into the building, still stunned. "Though I guess the football thing would have made more sense than boxing."

               Kwan chuckled, waving to an old, gray haired man overseeing the two or three people still hanging around the gym this late at night. Dan guessed that man was probably Li, the owner. He followed Kwan into the back where there was a changing room. Kwan dropped his duffle bag onto the long thin bench that reminded Dan too much of being in the locker room at Casper High.

               "Uh, so," Kwan tugged at his ear as he looked away, "I don't know if you really care to join-"

               "Loved to." Dan grinned, his mouth stretching wider when Kwan's eyes snapped back to him.

               "Er, okay. If you want to change, there are some extra clothes over there." He pointed toward a wall with several cubby holes with folded clothes and towels. "Don't worry. They're all washed daily, so they're clean." Next to the cubby holes was a basket for tossing used towels and borrowed clothes.

               "Right." Dan looked down at what he wore, jeans and a leather jacket. "I guess this wouldn't be the best for boxing in."

               "You can if you really want, but it's probably less comfortable." Kwan shrugged then bent over to unzip his duffle bag.

               Dan walked over to the cubby holes and searched through them until he found something that would fit him. Once they were both changed, their stuff locked up in one of the lockers, they left the changing room. The other members of the gym had finished up with their training. They greeted Kwan with grins and pats on the shoulder as they passed him on their way to the locker room.

               "Hm, quite the popular guy."

               Kwan shook his head. "We just know each other from coming here since we were kids."

               "You don't normally bring a friend along."

               Dan jolted. He hadn't even noticed when old man Li sneaked up behind them.

               Kwan bit his lip, holding back a snicker at his reaction. "I warned him this would be pretty boring for him."

               "If there's one thing I don't find boring, it's fighting." Dan grinned as he mimed a few quick jabs. "This is going to be fun."

               Li laughed loud and hard, and Dan frowned at him. "Oh, I see you have your work cut out for you with this one."

               "What?" Dan snapped his gaze to Kwan. "What's he talking about?"

               "Your stance," Kwan winced, "isn't quite the best." He laughed at puzzled furrowing of Dan's brow. "Come on. I'll show you." He grabbed hold of Dan's hand and tugged him toward one of the punching bags hanging to one side of the ring in the center of the gym. His hand felt warm, and when they reached the punching bag and Kwan let go, Dan frowned in disappointment. "Okay. I'm going to adjust your stance a little."

               "Uh, yeah, okay." Dan shrugged, standing in front of the punching bag. He jerked when he felt hands on his hips, his instinct telling him to spin around and slug whomever dared to touch him. But Kwan chuckled behind him, and Dan forced himself to relax.

               "Sorry. This'll just be a second." Kwan positioned Dan's waist, nudging his feet into proper placement with his own feet. "Okay." He walked around to the other side of the punching bag then held onto it. "Try out how that feels."

               Dan didn't think his feet made much of a difference, after all the fights he got into over the years. But he put up his fists then punched the bag a few times, alternating right and left. After a couple minutes, he paused and glanced at Kwan, who stared at him expectantly. "I guess it feels a bit better."

               "Still looks pretty sloppy," grumbled old man Li from behind him.

               Dan ground his teeth. How did he keep doing that?

               "You can't expect him to get it perfect right away. It's good for a start," Kwan argued. "Are you heading out now?"

               Li nodded. "You'll lock up when you're done here?"

               "Yeah." After Li said his goodbye, they were left alone in the gym.

               Dan cocked an eyebrow at him. "You got the keys to this place? Are you related to that geezer?"

               "He's my uncle." Kwan stared flatly, perhaps not liking the geezer comment. "And I've been coming here pretty much since I was seven."

               Dan couldn't picture little seven year old Kwan boxing. He actually couldn't even recalling seeing Kwan at that age.

               "So do you want to keep punching the bag?" Kwan shifted his weight, chewing on his lip. "Or do you want to try a bit of sparring?" He nodded toward the boxing ring.

               Dan stared at the ring. He was itching to fight something, but with no evil ghost showing up to make trouble, he was out of luck if he wanted to remain free of the Thermos. Would fighting a normal human even be a wise idea? He could seriously hurt Kwan if he wasn't careful. "I'm ready if you are!" Dan grinned as he held up a fist. He would simply have to remember to hold back his strength.

               Kwan helped him put on the gear. Then when they were ready, they climbed into the ring. Dan grinned, pounding the boxing gloves against each other, ready and eager to fight. Kwan stood opposite of him with his arms raised. Dan remembered Kwan being happy-go-lucky in high school. Here, Kwan's face set in a serious expressions, keen green eyes observing Dan's movements carefully. It was like someone else entirely stepped into the ring with him.

               Dan threw a punch. Kwan bobbed out of the way. Dan punched again. Kwan blocked with one arm then countered, slamming his other fist into Dan's right side. Stumbling back a step, Dan was stunned by the blow. Kwan grinned. Dan raised his fists again. Maybe he would need to take this a little more seriously.

[fountainpenguin]

The Masked Magician Vs. Danny Phantom (a.k.a. human with fairy powers Vs. human with ghost powers). Who would win this battle and why?

You could turn the tide of this battle either way depending on who has knowledge of the other’s weaknesses (a.k.a. butterfly nets vs. blood blossoms). Since they’re both heroes, they’d also need a reason to fight one another in the first place - presumably misinformation about Danny being evil - and my instinct is to say that the underdog would come out victorious. Of course, when the Masked Magician did have the upper hand in his final battle, he chose to show humility and apologize for his wrongs instead of fighting.

So I envision a pre-“Phantom Planet” scenario where Vlad convinced everyone Danny Phantom is evil, and the Masked Magician donned his mask to challenge him. Danny would try to shake him, and just generally stall so he can observe the Magician’s abilities and fighting tactics (with Danny zigzagging and giving he Magician a hard time, Sam observing and relaying information from the ground, and Tucker searching the Internet for any news of the Magician and learning what he can about the Magician’s only known appearance before now, of course).

The Magician would be giving chase as best he can, spitting wishes and trying to catch Danny (Cosmo and Wanda, disguised as aspects of his costume, would probably inform him of some rule that prevents them from directly interfering with ghosts, or at least with ghosts as powerful as Danny).

Timmy’s not much of a “Stall and figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the guy I’m up against” type of kid, but his strength is creativity, so he’d be rapidly analyzing what Danny’s doing and trying to play his strengths against him. Danny can go fast? “I wish a titanium wall would appear immediately in front of him.” Danny can fade through things? “Okay, I wish you’d keep poofing me so I can keep up with him.”

The first time they confront one another, Timmy would think he trapped Danny - probably by stunning him with a sudden wall and then poofing a cage around his dazed body, then throwing a sheet on top of the cage and bringing him back to Vlad (or whoever sent him after Danny). Onstage, the Magician would whip off the sheet to reveal Danny underneath, only for everyone to realize that - gasp! - there’s no ghost under there. Obviously, this presentation would be followed with a weak “Ta… dah?” before the Magician makes himself scarce.

Wanda would encourage Timmy to do more research about Danny, while Cosmo slips away to perform reconnaissance, y’know, like he does. By this point Timmy would have to check in with his parents, and probably nurse some bruises. Likewise, Sam and Tucker would be taking care of Danny, who is exhausted after shaking off the Magician (though he feels a bit guilty the town is angry with the Magician for losing him, since he knows the Magician is just a kid).

At some point, possibly through Cosmo’s recon, Timmy would realize Vlad had tricked him, and that Vlad is actually the bad guy, and has a big evil scheme planned. Unfortunately, Cosmo and Wanda can’t interfere with him directly, so Timmy decides to seek out Danny again- this time for help. 

So the next time he and Danny confront each other, Danny would force him to give chase again, Timmy would fight for the chance to apologize… Maybe even lift his mask as he’s doing so to reveal his secret identity, just to prove the trust he’s willing to give. Then they’d combine their powers to overtake Vlad together and kick a lot of mayor butt. That’s how two nice superheroes would settle a face-off, I think.

The Masked Magician could totally take on Phantom in a fight, up until he gets hurt and realizes “Oh shoot, Fairy magic can’t heal wounds caused by Ghost powers.” Until he gets injured, I think the Magician could match Danny very well, with the Magician constantly giving Danny obstacles and traps to overcome, and Danny outwitting them all with his ghostly abilities (so long as he has the energy- his powers do drain him, so if he passed out, he’d be in trouble).

But it’s against Da Rules for godkids to use magic to hurt someone. Timmy’s hands are tied there. Danny’s aren’t. If Danny legitimately perceived the Magician as a threat, it would only take a few blasts to send the kid crashing to the ground.

[scientifically-strange]

Bored part 3

Danny looked around at the small group that had decided to join, all geared up and ready to go. There were more volunteers than Danny was expecting. When he had asked them who wanted to pay Vlad a visit to help Tony out, almost every hand in the room went up. Thor had just shrugged ad left the room with his poptarts, not wanting to get involved with how mortal businesses work. But Steve had immediately volunteered, and because he did Sam ad Bucky joined in. When Bucky sighed and agreed to come along, Danny didn’t miss the worried look on Steve’s face, but he also noticed how Steve didn’t protest. And then of course Tony was more than willing to fight for what was his. Danny could respect that.

The fastest way to get there was through a portal, but with Vlad’s ghost proof mansion he could probably only get them to the fancy gates. When he told them this, Sam groaned.

“You mean we have to go through one of those gross portal things you shoot out of your hands?” He asked.

“Yeah. Relax, it’s not like you’ll be going to the Zone. Just to Vlad’s mansion. You won’t feel a thing,” Danny said with a roll of his eyes. Bucky snickered as Sam groaned again, and the Falcon couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. It had no heat behind it, though.

Danny held up his hand as it began to glow before focusing his ectoplasmic energy into the portal, imagining exactly where he wanted to be. The circle came out of nowhere, swirling beautifully with foreign shades of green. Danny smiled to himself before quickly turning to the others.

“After you,” he said. They all hesitated for a moment, eyeing Phantom with a sort of worry, but in the end it was the great Iron Man who went first. Then it was Cap, Falcon, and finally Bucky, who hadn’t said a word since he agreed to come along. He tested it out with his metal hand first before walking all the way through. Danny was right behind him, closing the portal behind him.

A part of him was happy to see such a familiar place, but a knot formed in his stomach. It was only familiar because Vlad had this-used to have-this obsession with making Danny his son. Danny couldn’t help but briefly wonder if the cat was still kicking.

The mansion hadn’t changed a bit on the outside. It was still the giant green long and tall silver gates and the red brick walls. Danny walked in front of them, his cape fluttering around his ankles. Vlad had to answer to his crimes, and Danny was more than willing to make him pay up, whether it was ghost related or not. You mess with Danny’s friends then you get the full wrath of the ghost king.

“So, do we just knock?” Sam asked, picking up a rock and flicking it at Bucky. He was completely unfazed by the action. It must have been normal, then.

“Something like that,” Danny grinned. He walked up to the lock, giving it a nice coat of ice before stepping back. He brought his knee up and kicked it as hard as he could. The gates opened with no problem, and they were now horribly dented. Oh, Danny had missed this.

“Looks like he’s not home,” Tony observed. “Should we come back later?”

“Nah, he’ll show up. His sensors have already picked up ghost energy, so it’s not like he already doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Wat about the rest of us,” Bucky said. His gravely voice almost sounded worried, but his face remained completely void of emotion.

“I ind of have to agree with him on that one,” Sam said. “If we weren’t going for stealth then-”

“-You guys worry to much. I said he knew I was here. His equipment isn’t going to pick up on you because it’s to focused on me. Now come on, I know where his lab is.”

They all shared a look as Danny turned and started floating up the long driveway and through the front door. He opened it for them, gesturing for them to enter.

The place was just as massive as Danny remembered, and he couldn’t help the feeling of nostalgia of the first time he ever walked these halls, where he didn’t have to worry about his parents’ old college friend murdering him. Ah, good times.

He led them past the lobby and past the display cases filled with Packers shrines. They didn’t stop until hey reached the den, where everything was coated in a very thin layer of dust. Danny eyed the giant painting of Vlad above the fireplace, his eyes boring into your soul. For a moment Danny thought they flashed red, but no. It must have been in his head. PTSD fro his years of fighting the older halfa.

“Grab onto me,” he said. Iron Man took a shoulder, and Sam took the other. Steve and Bucky each took a hand, and Danny slowly brought them down. Somehow he thought holding four grown men up would be hard, but his ghost strength really paid off. It was almost effortless, really.

After maybe ten feet of dirt it opened up into this blinding white room with equipment everywhere, and old inventions that hadn’t been touched in forever. Over on the far wall was the ghost portal, and on the long wall closer to the exit were several chambers that once held clones of Danny. He walked over and placed his hand on the broken on, thinking of the time he and Dani had kicked Vlad’s butt when Dani was destabilizing.  He let his hand slide down as he continued looking around.

Bucky watched as Phantom walked around like he knew the place. The way he looked at the chamber, the weapons, and especially the large doors off to the side with caution tape around the eight edges. What was that? And why was Phantom so chummy with this place? When had he had time to learn the terrain of Vlad Masters’ home?

“I remember this,” he said, picking up a small cube. He threw it to the ground, and it grew. The top of it had a large hole in it, enough to fit a head, but no more. “See, before I became a full ghost me and Vlad always fought. The whole arch nemesis type thing. He kidnapped me a lot, because I was just a scrawny teenager who had had my powers for a few months. He had had his since his college days though. He used to be a lot stronger than me.”

“Why was he always kidnapping you?” Iron Man asked. The helmet gave a sort of ting to his voice.

“He had a major thing for my mom, who married my dad. Bu my dad was kind of an idiot sometimes. He was the one that caused Vlad to get ecto acne, and Vlad wanted him dead. He wanted to marry my mom and make me his apprentice, so I ended up down here a lot. It was awful. Now though, I almost miss it. I mean, not the whole fighting part, but the adrenaline and such. But I’m all ectoplasm now. It made my core feel good.”

“Your core?” Steve couldn’t help but ask. The boy looked so nostalgic, like he was stuck in the past where everything was right. Steve could relate to that more than he wished to admit.

“It’s like a heart, but for ghosts. When I was a halfa is sat right next to my heart. It’s als what gives me the ability to make ice. Different cores for different ghosts, depending on the obsession or how they died. Sometimes it’s random. I think that’s how I ended up with ice.”

“So you weren’t obsessed with the cold or anything, or died by ice?”

“No, not at all. I was actually obsessed with space. See, my parent had a portal just like this, except the on button was on the inside. It’s what killed me the first time. A part of me feels like I should have gotten electricity powers. But when I died it gave me a new obsession.”

“What was it?” It was Bucky that spoke up this time, eyeing Phantom warily. A look quickly flashed over his face, something to quick to read. If you blinked you would have missed it, but Bucky was searching for that reaction ever since they came down here. His shoulder was starting to itch.

“Something wrong?” Bucky asked. His voice still held no emotion, but he knew how to get into people’s heads. He guessed ghosts weren’t much different after all.

“No. But it-” Phantom sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and Bucky couldn't help noticing how the ghost’s hands wrung. “Don’t ever ask a ghost what their obsession is,” he said slowly. Steadily, like he was trying to choose his words carefully. Like if he didn’t control his language he would blow up in their faces. “It’s very offensive. It,” he paused, opening his eyes and turning to him, “it’s like asking you why you’re alive. Why do you keep living? What is our purpose on Earth?”

That made the other heroes think for a moment. They could all see how it was offensive, ad how it could have gone way worse if Phantom didn’t know how to control himself. After all, he had to. He had to keep up his image, even in front of his friends. But within a few moments he was back to normal. Or at least as normal as a ghost could be.

“It was protecting, by the way. I just-I could never stop myself from getting a cat out of a tree or running into a burning building, you know? It-Your core pulls at you. Going against your obsession could be catastrophic to your very being. I didn’t know anything about that at the time, though. I just...Did. Hell, the media even coined this dumb name for me.”

“What was it?” Sam asked, because now he had to know. Phantom chuckled.

“It was,” his chuckles grew, and his shoulders were shaking from contained laughter, “It was Inviso-Bill! God, I used to hate that name so much! It was freaking genius!” He was laughing now, the kind where you can’t stop, and you’re bending over backwards. It echoed around the room, and as they watched this, Phantom looked twenty years younger, almost like a happy-go-lucky teen. They couldn’t help but crack a couple of smiles.

However all of them instinctively got into their battle stances when a figure in while floated through the large octagon doors, rolling his eyes as Phantom laughed. He was so focused on the ghost king he didn’t notice the few others.

“Daniel, don’t you have a kingdom to be running?” The older ghost snarled. His fangs were bright against his pale blue skin and red eyes, almost matching the white suit he had on, with the long cape behind him. This guy seemed more mildly annoyed at Phantom’s presence than anything. Phantom wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter died down, and he faced Vlad, getting serious now.

“What are you doing buying up Stark shit, dude?” He asked, eaning against the table.

“Nothing that involves a child like you, little badger. Besides, I don’t think you’re small mind can handle it.”

“Well, knock it off, Fruitloop. Give it back to Stark,” Phantom snapped at him. He got off the table and stood to his full height, which was  few inches over the other man. “In fact, I’m gonna need you to give it back to him.”

Sam felt as though he was going to get whiplash from this guy’s mood swings. One second he was laughing his ass off, the next he was deadly serious with a flaring aura. Vlad, however, just scoffed.

“And why should I? It’s not like it involves you,” Vlad sneered.

“Oh, but it does, Vlad.” His voice boomed throughout the old chamber, and Tony was jut going to assume that that was his cue to make themselves known.

“Listen, Drac,” he said, gaining the attention of Vlad. he bared his fangs at them. “I don;t like it when people take my stuff. So why don’t you just give it back, and we’ll call it a day. and my boy Phantom here won’t blow you to bits.” As he talked he walked over, finally putting his elbow on Phantom’s shoulder. Phantom smirked, his confidence growing as the others slowly came as well, surrounding Vlad from all sides.

“The great ghost king couldn’t come by himself?” Vlad haunted. “He needs these second-rate heroes to come with him? How pitiful, really. When you were a halfa you were much more frightening.”

“They came because they wanted to. You know good and well I would have gotten the Fright Knight to come if I needed backup.”

Something shifted in Vlad’s face. Barely, but Bucky caught it. His lips dropped, and there was a brief flash of fear that was gone as quick as it came. So apparently Fright Knight was a big deal. He glanced at Phantom, who seemed to have notice the change in Vlad’s mood.

“Just one little call would all it take. Now, you don’t want that, do you?” Phantom asked, a sickly sweet. Vlad growled at him, but after a few moments of consideration, gave in.

“Very well. But if I see your face in here again I won’t hole back, King or not. Now get out.”

Phantom smirked as he nodded, giving Vlad a lazy two-fingered salute as the others began to get behind Danny so he could take them back to the Tower. Before he flew up threw the ceiling, he grinned at Vlad.

“Well, Fruitloop,” he said, “as always, it was a pleasure doing business with you.”

And then they were gone.

------------

It was a matter of minutes before they were walking back into the Tower’s kitchen. The phone inside of Tony’s armor rang, and it was quickly answered. Danny tuned it out though, knowing that it was good news about Stark’s business. Judging from the grin on Tony’s face when his face mask pulled back, he was right to assume everything went well.

“Thanks, kid,” he said. Phantom just nodded at them with a smile, and Tony led him to the tbale where everyone else had sat back down.

“So,” Tony said, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Daniel, huh? Makes you sound like an old man.”

“Whatever, Anthony.”

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You know, I really need to work on my essay, not this, but I just couldn’t help myself. You guys are going to be the death of me (hehehe)

[scientifically-strange]

Can you do a oneshot with Damien and Dani meeting somehow and have them hang out?

Indeed I can! However, this will be the last OC drabble I write until later on this year when I will do a week of writing OC drabbles. I haven’t decided which week yet, but I will keep you all updated on that.

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Damian had gone above and beyond with everyone’s expectations. And though his mutation was mental, he used it to strike blows against his enemies just as hard as a physical blow would. And thanks to training with Danny and Spider-Man, he had become better at fighting and self defense.

But with all of the training he’s had, he didn’t now if his non-super strength butt could handle the blue Dracula reject floating around and messing things up.

He rolled to the side, out of the way of one of his blasts, covering his head so the crumbs of debris wouldn’t hurt him. His glowing pink hands reminded him of Danny’s green ones, and the faint glow around the vampire was unmistakable. Was this guy a ghost?

Before he could calculate what he needed to do next, a small, black and white blur zoomed in out of nowhere and hit the dude square in the chest, sending him flying.

The figure was a young girl, and a hell of a lot shorter than him. She had white hair and glowing green eyes, and was wearing a black and white jumpsuit with the same logo as Danny’s. Was this his sister or something? The resemblance was uncanny, and she had the same logo as him. He watched as she pulled out some sort of thermos (?) and sucked the vampire into it.

“Who are you?” He asked as she hooked it back onto her belt.

“Name’s Dani. With an ‘i’, mind you. Who are you?” She was short but obviously full of power, and he calculated that this meeting could go bad or good. It was a rare 50/50 chance. It all depended on how he spoke to her.

No pressure, right?

“Uh-er-D-Damien,” He stuttered. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was still a little blown away by her performance. “You look like-like-”

“-Danny Phantom?” She asked, raising a playful eyebrow. She had a shit eating grin on her face as she lifted off the ground. He nodded numbly. “That’s because he’s my cousin!” Damian didn’t really pay mind to family resemblances that often but he was dead sure that cousins didn’t look like they could be twins. “I’m in town to see him, actually.”

“I can show you where he is,” Damian offered. The words left his mouth before he even knew what he said. He felt like he was having an out of body experience. “I hang with him sometimes,” Damian offered at her skeptical look. “Cause I’m...I’m a super hero too.”

Instead of second guessing him about the hero thing like most people did, she just shrugged and floated down to his eye level.

“Cool,” she said, floating on her back with her arms under her head. Just like Danny. He ignored that though as they started walking. Damian was pretty sure he was with the Avengers right about now, and their tower was only six blocks away. Happy would let him up.

“So, how long have you known Danny?” Dani asked him. God, that was going to get confusing really quickly.

“Only a few months,” Damian answered. “I helped him out with this goo thing. It was no big deal.”

“And you said you were a super hero too, right?” She sounded legitimately excited to hear about his life. “Does that mean you have powers too, or are you more like Captain America? No powers but can still kick major butt.”

“My power is probability. I do calculations in my head based on the situation around me and come up with a probability. I use that to dictate the battlefield.”

“Dude, that sounds so rad!” She did a loop in the air before returning to his eye level, this time on her stomach with her chin propped up on her hands. “Wish I could do that. All I have are these stupid ghost powers.”

“Speaking of ghosts, who was that back there? I’ve ever seen anyone like him. He kinda looked like a modern day vampire.”

“Vlad Plasmius,” she answered. Her whole mood changed, and she became silent and upset. It was a complete 180 from the happy girl he had come to like. “He’s been a pain in me and Danny’s butts ever since we became halfas. He’s always wanted Danny to join him, be his apprentice or something. But Danny is obviously better than that.” The way she worded the last sentence made it sound like a bad breakup happened between Danny and Vlad. Thankfully, Damian knew when to stop asking questions.

“Do you play Doomed?” She asked.

----------

Danny was laughing when they walked into the living room. Well, Damian walked. As soon as the elevator doors opened Dani had tackled Danny and was hugging him, talking a mile a second before handing him the thermos and zooming around the room to greet her other friends.

“Oh, hey Damian. What’s up?” Danny asked, ducking to avoid Dani. Damian shrugged.

“Nothing much. Hey, do you wanna play Doomed?”