#a load of the danny phantom ones probably

[braisedhoney]

y'know i always say i tend to like villains (or at least antagonists??) more than the protagonist, but what i don't know is like. Why.

did i have one specific childhood villain that just formed my taste in characters for the rest of time??? if so wtf was it? i need to unravel my own lore it's driving me up the wall.

[evilminji]

Oh... oh no it's all coming together ( o.o)

Ya'll remember my Danny haunts Space Games post?

That but MORE SO. Harder. Like... ZONE GAME DEVELOPER PASSION PROJECT harder. Because? Special Interest chemicals go brrrrr~☆

And you KNOW... you absolutely FUCKING KNOW! That Danny was minding his business, going about his life, hyped as FUCK for the new Space Game 5 (a niche game but so what? It has REALISTIC physics! It's set on THE MOON!).

Has NOT stopped rambling on about it.

Been driving everyone insane, because it won't be out for MONTHS.

When~?

Youngblood, probably, goes "So what? That sound BORING. There barely anything to DO in that! Not like one of OUR Super Cool ZONE Video Games™. OURS are way better! And we gave LOADS more options then THAT! Now can we get back to-"

Freeze frame, record scratch.

Wait. WHAT!?

Danny is violently answers out of that eternal child faster then you can say "Dude! Chill!" Got them manic Obsession Eyes. Oops. Youngblood forgot Danny is Space Obsessed. But also PROTECTION Obsessed. Meaning he can't LEAVE where he is protecting.

You know.... FOR SPACE.

He needs a work around to feed his Obsession. Video games do it. Since he can go INTO them, but leave at a moments notice, if trouble happens. It's like being both IN SPACE but also AT HIS POST! Double Obsession Feeding! Happy chemicals! Mmmmm, content ecto-goo~

But now? NOW?! He's learning there is BETTER Space?!

WHERE IS THE BETTER SPACE?! *kicks open the portal*

It? Is a terrifying time for everybody. Thanks A LOT, Youngblood. It takes like... five Amazons and Pandora herself tackling the little menace, to get him still long enough to get a semi-coherent answer out of him. Stop him trying to shake down random ghosts for answers they can't GIVE.

Youngblood is grounded.

DANNY has an Obsession-crash headache, is really embarrassed, but honestly no one blames him. No one acts their best when they're Obsession gets suddenly triggered that hard. It was a poor man offered El Dorado, a scholar all the secrets in the world. He got swept up in it.

That SAID, yes, there IS a video game shop near here. There are, of course, countless such shops. It's the Zone. There are countless EVERYTHING. It's the nature of the Zone. Just don't harrass any of the developers and all will be well, Phantom. They're not afraid to put YOU in time out as well.

Deal! ( /☆.☆)/ *grabby hands*

There? Are so, SO many games. For systems Danny's never even HEARD off. Alien ones, new ones, long dead ones. Zone exclusives. It's less a shop and more a sprawling maze.

His grin is FERAL.

Space. Gaaaaaaames!!!

The more realistic the BETTER. Give him that living vicariously like an Astronaut DREAM. But fantasy maybe! Or in the future! Or deep space! Alien mayhaps! There are a few. The blended Obsessions that are kinda like his. Space and video-games instead of Space and Protection.

And? Oh~

Oh they are so SO realistic.

Impossible to play on any Earth computer, too. Not a single chance. Wouldn't even TRY and run. But! He is a Fenton! And he WILL have his Space Games! If his parents can make a portal in their basement? HE can make a Bank of Ectoplasmic Supercomputers in his spare room! Or Bedroom! Depends on renting prices!

He GUTS every landfill for MILES for usable parts.

"Liberates" parts from Rogues, left and right. Fuck their evil plans! He has computers to build! The Justice League? Baffled. Alarmed. Nooooot his problem!!!

He completes his works and? Oh~ the smile is both terrifying and fangy.

Spaaaaaaaace~☆

He starts College. On line, of course, he refuses to leave Amity. And Online can be done at his pace, at his hours. So? For once? He's actually doing WELL. Even BETTER? It helps him remember to leave them games every once and a while. Eat something. Be human.

But... well... it's like a slow flip of his Obsession starving. Now that he has all the Space he could ever want? He... suddenly finds Amity... peaceful? Which is GOOD! It's... it's GOOD.

.........just not for him.

He can almost physically FEEL him mind unclenching it's death grip on the town. Finger by finger. Hands releasing, letting go, as they... reach for something. As he starts taking NOTE of crime rates in major cities. Alien attacks and Rogues, Heros spread too thin, people getting HURT.

In need of PROTECTION.

He... he doesn't WANT to be that fickle. He LOVES Amity! It's his HOME. He wasn't protecting it just because he craved something to protect! In the end, he drags it out longer then he probably should, argues with himself, ignores the problem. Is STUBBORN.

It's only after Dani starts talking about coming back to Amity to stay with him, do the college thing like he did, that he realizes...

Amity's not his Haunt anymore.

They talk. She's excited to help him find a nice shit hole of a city to protect, but also worried because he looks really gaunt. He may LOVE Space... but...

It's the GHOST in him that loves Space. The Astronaut. The Kid who refused to die, who ate a PORTAL TO THE EVERYTHING and crawled out still exsistant, who told Death not only "not today" but "not EVER"? That kid had something to protect. Was and is and always will BE, protection. Himself, his friends, his family or the town. Doesn't matter WHAT it is.

He refused to go, so he could protect them.

The part that DID, though, was starlight. And yeah, he needs it. Feeds it desperately. But it... doesn't exactly support his human half, you know? Doesn't anchor him. Make him want to eat and sleep, be human and alive, connect with people.

Space makes him ghosty.

Dani ultimately convinces him, after spraying him down with a hose and shoving a cheeseburger down his face, to move to Metropolis with her. They get ALIENS! Have Aliens HEROS! BIG DESTRUCTIVE FIGHTS. With lots and LOTS of people who need help! Plus? Gotham is within a day trip!

And UNLIKE Gotham, the Ecto isn't RANK AF in Metropolis.

Seriously, it smells like a burst sewer pipe over there.

Danny agrees. Can totally afford a modest lil place thanks to some patents. Makes one HELL OF A SCENE moving in. With his giant, ominous, futuristic, weirdly day glow green glowing bank of super computers... in this, "we love our Alien Blorbo" Metropolis.

Cause Green and Glowing sure ain't welcome round these parts! No SIR! Somebody call the COPS!

Danny isn't even half way through, when Superman lightly touchs down, a forced grin plastered to his face. The "please, God, not another Rogue. Not a new one. Please!" all but RADIATING off him.

Hmmmmm....

Danny... kiiiinda forgot not everyone was as "I see fuckin NOTHING, man" as Amity natives. Awkward. Welp! Fenton Oblivious Gene's, ACTIVATE!

"Oh, HIIIIIII~☆ Superman! What brings you round these parts? Gosh, it's an honor! Dani! Come meet SUPERMAN!"

Clark knows what he's doing. Danny knows, Clark knows what he's doing. They are both from the Midwest. They ain't gonna break first! You kidding? Clark still has to ask. Inserts himself by INSISTING on helping. A welcome to Metropolis! Ha ha! (How long we gonna lie for, kid? How long? I can do this all day.)

Clark? Learns that Danny has become ABSURDLY knowledgeable about terraforming, spacecraft, aerospace engineering and anything else related to Space Survival. Thanks to... his "games".

Which Clark is PRETTY sure? Are creatively set up, alien, training programs. Cause both of the Fentons are DEFINITELY at least partially non-human. But, eh. Who is he to judge? The "mad scientist" vibe, though... THAT is his to judge. Which he does.

Routine check ins!

And pasta bakes. Because good lord, Fenton, you are skin and bones! And? If it helps with both Watchtower maintenance AND some killer articles? Because Danny is a fountain of Space related knowledge who loves to share it? That's between Clark and the weird, semi-feral, gremlin he's adopted! (Yes, honey, he KNOWS Danny is a grown man. But I did it with BRUCE-)

@hdgnj @babbling-babull @legitimatesatanspawn @hypewinter @mutable-manifestation @the-witchhunter

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X DC WRITING PROMPT #17

(I had this idea when I learned that there are some people who give out their phone numbers for people to give to someone who is harassing them/giving creepy vibes/or just plain not interested.

Btw, if you wanna add a ship between Danny and any of the mentioned captured vigilantes, go right on ahead! If you're not a fan of ships, that's fine too. Later!)

✦

Who You Gonna Call?

After the Anti-Ecto Acts were dismantled and the townwide internet/communications blackout is dismantled, Danny's social media for his alter ego blows up. He won't lie either, he loves the mostly positive attention whereas before he'd only been met with fear and hatred.

It isn't until he makes a post where he jokingly mentions the Fenton patented Anti-Creep Stick™ (yes it actually works on ghosts) that he gets loads of comments on how many wish it would work on human creeps giving unwanted attention (it actually does because it's literally just a baseball bat covered in anti-ghost paint, but meh) or really just have Danny himself scare away the creeps because of the whole "being a ghost" thing. Naturally, this sets off Danny's protection obsession and he decides to do something about it.

With a little help from Technus, Danny learns to manipulate and travel through phone connections and then releases a separate phone number for people to use/give away if they're stuck in an uncomfortable situation.

Here's the funny part tho.

Red Hood somehow uses the number kinda as a joke to, well, sic Phantom on the Joker while him, Nightwing, and Red Robin are tied up for another one of the clown's schemes. It works a little too well though. Turns out the Joker is wanted in the Infinite Realms for continued interference on peaceful relations between said Realms and the Living World, i.e. - terrorism. It's then discovered that Joker is in fact considered liminal by ghost standards and therefore falls under Danny, the Ghost King's, jurisdiction.

So basically, Jason calls Phantom's Anti-Creep number as a joke, Phantom actually shows up via phone connection, and all three of them wind up witnessing firsthand the Joker being dragged into a glowing green, concerningly Pit-like portal, bound in chains + kicking and screaming. Phantom even stops long enough to untie them, shake hands with a shocked Red Hood, thanks him for his help, and then leaves like it never happened.

Now. How the hell are they going to explain this to Batman?

✦

This idea has probably already been thought of before but I haven't seen it. If someone has, please direct me to it. 👀

[not-my-final-account]

Danny is Gotham

PS most of the ghost stuff in this is fannon

Most ghosts had haunts. Technically Danny Phantom had the whole world, but it wasn’t his haunt.

Most cities had ghosts. Technically Gotham had loads of ghosts, but Lady Gotham was fading.

-

I went incorporeal as the beam of energy flew at me, then laughed “What?” Tucker asked, my hands flew over my key board as I beat the noob who had shot at me in the first place.

“I got shot at in game and disappeared in real life.” I said

“That’s you- Danny Clueless Phantom.” Sam said

“Hey!” I retaliated, but it was affectionate.

I didn’t fully understand this whole ghost thing yet. But I had figured out that ghosts had cores, and haunts, and ‘fraids. Cores were essentially the soul of a ghost and that’s pretty much all I’ve figured out. No one seems to remember that I have no clue how any of this stuff works! I’m still a new ghost.

But anyways, ‘fraids were… the best word I could think of was ghost families or animal packs but ghost, and like it or not Sam and Tucker had been accepted into mine. I wasn’t sure quite how it happened but now I seemed connected to them, and when I was happy with them (and/or we were laughing together) my core hummed happily.

Haunts however, I had none of. Haunts were basically a ghosts house or an area the ghost claims as their own or protects. I dunno if they represent status or anything but being a ghost king without haunt seemed pretty bad.

“Yeah!” Tucker yelled as we got another key.

“Only a trillion more to go.” Sam said sarcastically,

“Five actually.” I said. Suddenly I felt a tug on my core “Guys I gotta go.”

“Bye!” Sam and Tucker called in unison. It made me smile as I powered down the game and then my computer, I gave into the tug and let it pull me to where the summoning was.

I had already transformed into my most regal form on the short journey there, so I didn’t hesitate to grab the edge of the circle. What did worry me though was the screaming that started the second I reached my hand up. I cursed whoever made these things for making you pull yourself up and not just be able to fly out, but I got up due to Sams pull up training.

The second I got out I flew up and hovered above the circle ready for battle. I actually blinked when I saw three kids standing in front of me- well one was standing, the other two were lying on the floor and hugging each other.

“Ehh.” I said as I took in what they were doing. The two on the floor were shaking and in hysterics and the standing up one was staring up at me with wide eyes, I think he’s in shock. I reached out slightly and his mouth fell open and he dropped the book he was holding then passed out.

The books title was ‘ghost summoning’ oh my god I’ve been summoned by idiots. I gave them a growl so they wouldn’t try to do this again and prepared myself to dive back into the summoning circle and into the phantom realm where I could quickly fly back to my house and start playing DOOM again. Then I felt a tug in my core. It wasn’t like a summoning which tugged at my core from the outside, trying to pull me somewhere, this was part of my kingly duties; a ghost was in trouble and/or calling for me.

I flew off towards the ghost without a second thought about the party I had probably ruined just by existing and got there in seconds. I landed atop a hill and wind swept my hair away from my face, a skinny grey ghost who seemed like someone you’d spot it old movies looked at me.

She had straight black flowing down her shoulders, a large light grey hat with a grey peacock feather on it, a grey dress and a shade umbrella, she was clearly old although still beautiful and she moved with grace as she stepped before me and fell to her knees

“King Phantom.” she said, how weak her voice was worried me “I am lady Gotham. However Gotham is no longer the beautiful city I knew it to be, it is not close enough to my home and I fear that it has changed too much for me to be strongly connected to it, my power to protect it is fading. Please my King, I have heard you are strong and kind, protect my city, both from what’s outside and what’s inside.” she begged, she was clearly dignified and her begging meant this was truely important. Well, I did need a haunt.

“Okay.” I agreed, relief flooded her face and something else flooded my, I couldn’t name it if I tried but at least it filled an emptiness that had been resident there for a while.

The Lady Gotham fell to the ground, her body faded rapidly

“Please.” she rasped breathlessly “Take good care of them. Protect my city, protect my knight and his sons.” those were her final words.

“I will.” I said, and upon hearing that she slumped down and let herself fade.

I looked up at the city and went incorporeal and invisible. Good thing it was the school holidays, I think I’d need to spend a few days here and find Lady Gothams knight.

-

I sat down in a corner. I had found out that here I more or less was the city, not body horror or possession though, in a weird way. But it let me sit here fully visible and still be hidden, the shadows wrapped around me and nothing part of the city- my city would hurt me.

I watched as he fought. He was strong, smart, and had resources. I had read the news papers and this was the Dark Knight, he has multiple side kicks who many believed were his family, and even without my help he blended in with the city and knew it like the back of his hand. The blend wasn’t seamless anymore though, he had noticed something was different but didn’t know quite what. I knew though, I knew I had found Lady Gothams knight.

I let him tie up the criminals and he jumped onto a roof top. I followed him and and let the fog hide me, then I landed and let it fade. “Hello my knight.” I called because he was my knight now. He froze and spun around to face me but didn’t attack

“My name is Batman and I am no ones, if you’re some high ranking government offical I assure you I don’t work for the police either.” Batman said, he glanced at the inches between my feet and the ground “Who are you?” he asked, I hesitated.

What title would be best here? Danny Phantom? Danny Fenton? King Phantom? I thought about Lady Gotham and decided.

“You would know me as Gotham.” I introduced, wow that sounded more cryptic that I meant it to. Batman scoffed and I reached out and told the city to curl around him, to protect him and hide him and power him like it did with Lady Gotham.

He froze then relaxed slightly, his cape blended into the shadows instead of ending, his face became almost fully obscured, his eyes glowed in the dark menacingly, his form became something less human.

“Why reveal yourself to me now Gotham?” he asked, for once there was nothing hostile in his voice.

“Gotham has changed too much in the past years for Lady Gotham to have power anymore, she is too weak to be anywhere but the ghost zone.” I explained “She was the Gotham you knew. She called for me to protect the city and protect you.”

Batman looked wary again, I could understand why he wouldn’t trust me. New leadership could suck (or be evil) and it took a while for them to gain respect, especially if you didn’t know them.

“I’ll protect you in a general sense, but if you ever really need help, like life or death help, call for me.” I said, then I let a wave of fog swallowed me and disappeared.

[voiceofdragons]

Danny With the Street

150,000 people die every day on average. On average, 385,000 people are born on that same day. Thats  535,000 souls made and unmade every day. Some peacefully at the end of a life lived, either fulfilled or not, and some tragically and early. Some even die the same day they are born. 535,000 people. 385,000 births, 150,000 deaths. These, however, are simply the averages. No one living can get the exact numbers, and they’d change daily regardless, so that data would be of no real use.

That’s only humans though. Those numbers are dwarfed in comparison to the averages for animal life, and the less said about plant life the better for our collective migraine. Still, that is no small amount of people. For the number of deaths, you’d get a population somewhere between the size of Kiribati and Guam. For the births it would be between Iceland and Guadalupe. The combined number puts you at Malta.

You have probably never even seen that many people in person before. And that is not even a percentage of a percentage of the worlds population. 535,000 is not barely a drop in the bucket. This number is important to Danny, for the simple fact that you can figure out a lot of interesting things regarding ghosts with it. He’d pestered a few of the Observants, when they weren’t trying to literally get him out of their picture, with a bunch of questions a curious 14 year old would want answers to. 

Some were not answered, in typical Observant fashion, but they’d given him an interesting answer to the question “how many people even become ghosts”. 

“The rate changes day to day, but we’ve figured out that its normally 1 ghost out of however many are born and day in a day added together.” This particular Observant then proceed to ramble on about how smart they were for figuring it out, how much better off the universe was for having them watching over things, blah blah blah.

Even if the rate changes, it doesn’t change drastically enough to ruin the precise and exacting science of guestimating things. If its one in 535,000, but only 150,000 die a day, then that means its somewhere between 3 and 4 days to get a new ghost. Their reasons for lingering were there own, and were often normal. And then there were the fruitloops that he dealt with so often that it was kind of starting to get old. The ghosts were getting easier to handle most days though, especially after he helped lock up Pariah Dark again. Who knew making their dimension safer would make them hate him a bit less?

And these days his biggest headache was that government agency that had temporarily bought Fentonworks to try and nuke the ghost zone. They’d failed, but still tried their hardest to make his life miserable.

Case in point; they were in the living room with his parents. Talking about Phantom. Specifically about some ‘concerning’ footage of him they’d been able to record of the ‘ectolasmic scum’. He was hiding invisible on the stairs, his mom and dad on the couch with two familiar white suited dingbats standing across from them. They had placed a tablet on the coffee table, a video taking its sweet time loading.

“As interesting as i’m sure this video is, would either of you gentlemen like to see some of our latest projects?” his mom said, clearly growing bored as the video took yet another minute to load. Thank goodness ghosts effected technology the way they did, clearly whatever film they’d taken was hard on their systems. Mom picked back up with “we’ve been experimenting with some new ‘ecto-electrolysis metal plating’ its a lengthy process, but the results are-” suddenly the video started to play, cutting her off. Danny leaned forward to get a better look, and froze. It wasn’t Phantom.

It was normal, human looking Danny Fenton. Walking down the street. The same one that Johnny and Kitty had gone racing down last thursday. Suddenly a familiar looking mist pooled out of his lips, and the screen started to glitch and lag a bit, but he remembered what happened next. He’d look around the empty street, not see anyone, and then-.

“Going Ghost!” his familiar catchphrase came from the tablet, and the glitching stopped. And Danny Fenton was no longer on the screen. All the glitching had coalesced on a single point on the screen, exactly where he’d been standing, making it clear there was a ghost in the footage. Then another blob of corrupted screen appeared streaking down the street, and the first one sped off after it.

The video stopped, and his parents were frozen. His dad reached for the tablet, and restarted the video. The catchphrase, the mist, the glitching, and his disappearance. His parents replayed the video about five more times before his mom shakily flipped the tablet face down. His dad hugged gripped her shoulders as she brought her still shaking hands up to her face.

“We understand that this must be difficult for you both, but it is imperative for state security and research that you assist us with the capture and containment of the entity.” the agent on the left spoke softly, clearly trying to be gentle, but it brought no comfort to anyone in the room, least of all Danny.

“This is not simply difficult!” his dad said forcefully. “This is our son, and you’ve just told us-” his dad stood up and started pacing, clearly distraught. After a minute of pacing he slumped back onto the couch. Mom sniffed and rubbed her face down before bringing her hands to her lap. Her next words were enough to make Danny freeze in shock and terror.

“He’s upstairs in his room.” dad turned to look at her, shocked was an understated descriptor for his face. Danny stood up still invisible and made his way up to his room. He had to leave before anyone came for him. He just barely heard her continue. “I’m going to lock down the house so he can’t get out, but just to be safe you should go outside in case he somehow gets out.” he didn’t hear the agents respond, or his dad.

Once in his room he grabbed one of his notebooks and wrote a quick message to leave for Jazz. ‘GIW told mom and dad i’m phantom, had to leave the house, i’ll be with a friend, i’ll call.’ he then slipped it under her door and then phased through the ceiling just in time to see the familiar ghost shields surround the building. The agents were by their van, arms crossed, and Danny flew off in the direction of tuckers house, tears building up in the corner of his eyes.

Landing at the corner of Tucker’s street he rubbed his eyes to clear them before walking toward his best friends house. The wave of relief he felt when the house came in view was quickly squashed by the sight of a familiar white van, and two white suits talking to Tucker's parents on the porch. Staying invisible he flew off again for Sam’s house. When he didn’t see a white van outside he was relieved.

He was less relieved to see none of the lights were on and their car was gone, meaning the whole family was out at the moment. Still floating he decided to fly to the Nasty Burger, deciding to wait there until one of his friends or for Jazz to go there looking for him.It was when he was flying past Caspar High when he saw something that gave him reason to pause.

There was a new street there that hadn’t been there yesterday. The buildings were brightly colored, and there were people mulling about wearing clothes he’d never seen anyone in Amity Park wearing. Getting closer, he expected the usual white mist that meant a ghost was nearby, knowing that in a town like Amity, anything weird was probably ghost related. There was nothing. He landed, still invisible and walked quietly down the street, deciding to see where things went.

The multi-colored buildings turned out to be a hardware store, a military surplus hut, and a bunch of other places you wouldn’t expect to be in pastel pinks and purples. Reaching the middle of the street was a building dubbed ‘Peeping Tom’s Perpetual Cabaret’ all done up in bright flashing lights, music leaking out onto the street from inside.

In short, this place seemed awesome, and as soon as he was able to reach Sam or Tucker he was bringing them here. He passed more fun looking stores, and some more adult stores that he knew he was too young for on his way to the end of the street closest to the Nasty Burger, and he stopped when he saw the street sign.

 ‘Danny St’.

“Well that’s weird” he said, still invisible.

A cloud of steam popped up from a nearby sewer grate with a sound almost like a gasp, and strangely enough it turned into a series of exclamation points and question marks.

“Also weird,” a fluttering sound behind him made him turn to see a pile of leaves spell out ‘says the invisible boy’. Danny took a step away from the pile, waiting for the mist that meant a ghost was nearby. It didn’t come. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a ghost.

Deciding that questions would be an alright distraction from the nightmare his day became he asked, “Who are you?” and another noise from behind him, this time a metallic squeaking. When he looked it was the street sign rotating around. He laughed, and turned back to the pile of leaves, only it was the sign on the window that responded this time, changing its arrangement to ask ‘what’s so funny feele?’.

“My name is also Danny.” deciding to trust the talking street, he stopped being invisible. The steam from before came again, just exclamation points this time though. A rustling sound had him turning right where a banner unfurled to declare ‘Neat Trick Twinsie!’ making Danny laugh. Deciding to ask a few more questions, he walked over to a conveniently placed bench across from a pawn shop.

“You’re not a ghost are you?” he asked, and the pawn shop window grew a question mark. “Oh, right, you’re new in town, considering I didn't see you here yesterday.” waving his hand around Danny continued. “Welcome to Amity Park, the most haunted city in America. My first thought when weird things happen here is it’s a ghost doing something, and I've seen a lot of weird.” The window proclaimed ‘ooooooh’ before another sound had him turning his head left. This time a cafe menu board said ‘Not a ghost, but are you?’

Danny clapped his hands as he said, “Half points Danny, thank you for playing!” the question mark came back so he elaborated. “I’m only half ghost, all the abilities of ghostliness, still alive and kicking.” he then smirked as some word play popped into his head. “Kicking all the other ghosts butts for messing with the town.” he then remembered his current problem, and slumped backwards, his view of his new… friend? Acquaintance? Friend, suddenly flipped.

“Or I did at least.” he sighed. “No idea what i’m supposed to do now, got some fruitloop government ghostbusters after me, and they just told my parents! Who are also ghost hunters!” from his upside down view he saw more letters rearrange across the street, but he didn’t want to parse out what Danny had said. “I was going to go wait for some friends before I spotted you, try to figure things out.” he sat up and turned around, not wanting to ignore a message. ‘Thats rough buddy.’ his face split into a grin. “Its just my luck that the same day all these bad things happen, I also meet a new friend with impeccable taste in memes!” he stood up and stretched, feeling a bit less panicked. “I’m going to go meet with them, but can i bring them back to see you? They’d love your… everything!” the banner from before flipped over ‘that would be dolly Danny! Bona to Vada!’ this was starting to remind him of when he first met Wulf, and learned of the wonders of Esperanto. A fun new dialect was just the distraction he needed.

Waving at the street, a few of the people walking around waved back, even though he hadn’t spoken to any of them. A flag flapped aggressively in a nonexistent wind, and his smile stayed on his face as he turned invisible again and flying off to the Nasty Burger.

It had only been thirty minutes since his parents found out, but his anxiety made it all feel like seconds ago as he sat there waiting. Five o'clock approached and a familiar face walked in, though not one of the ones he’d been waiting for. Valerie was starting her closing shift in ten minutes, and Danny was sitting at a booth waiting for Tucker, Sam, or Jazz. she put her bag behind the counter and slit to the opposite side of his booth.

“Why so antsy ghost face?” Valerie asked with her arms crossed. Their situationship had been weird for a while since she’d found out he was half ghost, but things had been improving lately since her dad got a new job. Guess most of her aggression had been stress induced.

“So… My parents found out i’m a ghost. The Guys in White told them, I had to leave the house, and when I went to Tucker’s house they were there too, Sam wasn’t home, and now I’m waiting for either one of them, or Jazz to come find me so i can figure out the shipwreck my life has become!” the floodgates had opened and he’d word vomited everything to his frenemy, and then promptly face planted into the table.

She visibly blue screened for about ten seconds before she reached over and patted his head. “That’s rough buddy.” he glared up at her for all of two second before snorting a despondent laugh. She joined in and after a few seconds of laughing together he leaned back, smiling a bit more easily since the anxiety had claimed him five seconds into waiting.

“You are not the first person who’s said those exact words to me tonight! I should start collecting nickels, I probably won’t get more than two but it's weird that it’s happened twice!” she didn’t laugh at that, tilting her head in an unspoken question. “You are not going to believe this, but on my way here I found a new street by Caspar High. Just there, new buildings, decorations, the whole shebang!” he flared his fingers out to emphasize the point. “I was invisible, but when I saw the street was called ‘Danny St’ I had to say something. And it started talking back, kinda.” 

“That’s a load of bull-” she started before he waved his hands to cut her off.

“Val, after half the stuff we’ve dealt with since my parents opened the portal, is this really too much for you to believe?” she raised a finger and took a breath before closing her mouth and lowering her hand. They’d dealt with a lot of wacky nonsense.

“Valid, but I won’t believe it until I see it. What kind of ghost looks like a whole street?” she asked, but he shook his head.

“That’s the thing! They weren’t a ghost, I would know! When I asked, they didn’t know what I meant. Had to explain kinda about Amity Park being the most haunted town in America.” This time he crossed his arms, leaning back to look out the window, hoping for a familiar red hat, or someone dressed in all black and purple.

Valerie stood up suddenly, and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry this happened to you Danny. My shift is starting, so I’ll make you some fries while you wait. If you’re here till closing, mind showing me this magic street you found?" It was nice having her be this friendly with him again, and he grinned and gave a thumbs up.

“Sure thing!” he said, before the doors burst open and four men in white suits rushed in, guns aimed at him. He shoved Valerie out of the way and went intangible through the wall to the outside. He then went invisible and rushed as fast as he could over the buildings.

He was passing the new, and brightly colored Danny St when he felt a sharp pain in his side, and smelled burning flesh and ectoplasm. Losing control of his abilities amidst the pain, he crashed into the side of a building before flopping onto the street. Looking up he heard loud music and saw the word ‘Tom’s’ visible on the part of the sign he could see. A crowd started to form, but he was too dazed to understand what most of them were saying. A pretty face popped out of the crowd and bent down to check on him. She was tall, dark skinned, in a glittery outfit with big hair.

“Kid, are you ok? How did you fall?” she was checking him over for any open wounds, but he was to dazed to do much. He heard tires squealing in the distance, and knew that the people chasing him were going to be here soon. He didn’t want anyone hurting his new friend, the talking street, or the people that were just now worrying for his wellbeing.

“I need to go, the Guys in White are after me!” he tried to stand but the woman placed her forearm across his chest to keep him from doing more than sitting up. She turned her head, listening to the squealing as well, before she focused back on him.

“Who are the ‘Guys in White’?” she asked, very seriously.

Danny tried to phase through her arm to stand but the pain in his side made it hard to focus, so he gritted his teeth and kept trying as he responded. “Government sponsored ghostbusting fruitloops, now please let me go they don’t care about collateral damage!”

The woman sighed and closed her eyes for half a second before she turned to look at a few people in the crowd. “You heard the kid, we got government on our tale! Danny, we need to leave.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do lady!” Danny said, while at the same time one of the store signs changed from advertising fatigue leotards, to saying ‘Time to scarper!’

“Was talking to Danny, kid.” she said distractedly.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” he retorted, his head starting to hurt and the burn on his side starting to throb dully.

She laughed, a short, loud burst of amusement before she told him pointedly, “Oh you’ll fit right in kiddo!” and that’s the last he heard before a wave of vertigo took over his senses, the buildings and sky around him twisting and folding impossibly, and he leaned over to dry heave and then pass out.

“Jack, we need to hurry before those agents find him!” Madeline Fenton said from the passenger seat as they approached Caspar High. As soon as they realized that Danny had left the house they’d begun their search, especially vigorous due to the agents also on the prowl. They’d seen some agents leaving Nasty Burger and firing wildly into the air, and they’d seen one of the shots land on something invisible.

And then they’d seen their son materialize and plummet thirty feet to land a few streets over near his high school. Jack was driving them there, and that alone was enough to get the agents to pause on their way to their vans. Small blessings. When they neared the high school though they saw something odd. 

“Honey, am I crazy or was that street not there last week?” Jack said as they approached.

“I don’t think that matters right now dear.” she rescinded, though it was bugging her as well. She knew they tended to get a bit focused on their work, but that work often took them out on the town. She would have seen something of a new street before now, especially with such charming looking stores.

“Theres people milling about, maybe one of them saw him!” Jack pointed out, her wonderful optimist.

“Lets hope! We need to get him back to the lab to check him for injuries, after that we need to game plan keeping him safe.” she looked down at her lap, her jumpsuit a comforting familiarity. “He’s Phantom. He’s been Phantom this whole time! Oh he must have been so frightened.” Jack parked the GAV and reached over to squeeze her shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Our kid is a tough one, and just as brave as his mother. Lets get him safe and we’ll figure it all out.” he unbuckled himself, then reached over to undo hers for her. They both stepped outside and as they turned to look down this new street they saw something that made them take a breath of equal parts relief and terror. They saw Danny lying prone with a crowd of people clearly trying to help him. He would be fine.

And then, just before they could step foot on the pavement of the street, everything sort of shifted and folded, the other streets stretching to fill in the space being left behind as the street they were now desperately reaching for vanished. The last thing they saw was their sun jerk to the side, several people trying to help him, and then both he, and the mysterious new street vanished.

[castrianamore]

Bitter, Had the Heart

DC X Danny Phantom Crossover

Chapter 1: to see or to mistake

TW: Graphic depictions of Corpses, Mutilation, vile smells

Tim Drake was a brilliant Detective. He was a shareholder of Wayne Enterprises. Middle child of the family really. He was working on his degree in business at Gotham U, as expected. He also excelled, as expected. Nothing could have prepared him for this, though. I’m all his years of detective work nothing was quite this gruesome, this brutal. This slow.

A horrified terror filled expression struck across two gang member’s faces. Their deceased bodies had entrails splayed over the alley and he held a rag over his nose and mouth at the smell. It wasn’t just the decay setting into the bones and souls. It smelled like rotten eggs, sulfur. Mixed with the metallic scent of iron and blood and disgust.

Nightwing landed next to him.

“Oo that’s not pretty,”the man whispered. “Damn that stinks.” Time handed over a rag to his elder brother who very gladly put it over his nose.

“You’re telling me. This is one of the more brutal and gruesome cases I’ve seen in a while…” Tim was trying to take in what he could from below. They had to have been tortured alive as they had their entrails removed, at least most of the other rogue’s in Gotham made their subject’s deaths quick, even if painful but these? This was a new breed of brutal and horrific.

Tim was frustrated. He was a fucking detective for gods sake.

“How many is this now?”Nightwing looked at his younger brother before back down at the bodies.

“8… I think we can classify this as a serial case right now,”he huffed. He pulled out a notepad writing things down.

Smell of sulfur.

Entrails spread out.

Claw marks on the walls.

Symbols written into the alleyway walls in the blood of the fallen.

Faces frozen in horror.

This was the 7th and 8th one and of course it was similar to the others. Smell of sulfur. Entrails spread out. Once they got the autopsy report back he high suspected the heart will have been removed and a bite being taken out of the kidney if there even was one.

“So Gotham has another mysterious serial killer whose signature is as gruesome and messy as the Joker’s entire existence.” Tim had been frustrated with this case since it started and he was beyond grateful for the help. A lot of the bats were in on the case at some point. Duke had been trying to do Daytime recon. Tim and Dick were keeping up with police investigation, namely Dick who claimed he was coming from Bludhaven to help with the case. Got them both the inside information.

Bruce and Damian were trying to track down anything and it had been all hands on deck to keep a watchful eye on the city. Cass and Steph were off-planet apparently dealing with something from the covert ops team of Young Justice. Barb was doing her best to play eyes as she kept an eye on the various cctv footage around the city, but Gotham was big and there was always crime to attend too.

Tim was stretched thin himself. He normally had shareholder meetings in the mornings at least once a week, sometimes twice, and after that it was to his college classes. Tim had college, patrols, the company. Fuck. Let alone the occasional charity galas and other events he had to go to not only as a wayne but as a head of the company as a whole.

Tim was running on fumes as this case was running him dry. That was another reason why Dick was in town to lessen the load on Tim. He liked college and he knew that he wan’t exactly the most social person let alone the most normal(look at his job?) but he did want to do things sometimes with his friends. Though, he was sure his ‘friends’ probably wouldn’t be around for super long. Having mundane friends outside of super hero life was hard, let alone a romantic relationship. He had tried with the other heroes. He had tried with civilians but the civilians just couldn’t understand the time necessary and the excuses he was going to have to make.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pursue a romantic relationship but it just simply felt as if he had no choice but to not. Wow, he was tired if hid mind was going off on it’s own separate tangent in mind distracting him from the task at hand. Speaking of…

A small flash of one of the police’s camera’s caught him off guard. Unbeknownst to the group a man in black tech wear with white accents and a mask pulled over his nose was crouched by the body. Hands gloves and a hood up over barely visible black hair. He was taking a sample it seemed of, what was that? How did he not notice that?

There was a green viscous liquid and he just collected it, not just an incredibly small amount, but what was on the body at all. It reminded him far too much of Lazarus water for his liking, but if someone had poured gelatin in it.

“Wing,”Time stated wide-eyed at him.

“I see.”

“We have eyes on a potential suspect,”Tim called over coms.

“Do not engage, follow,”Batman’s words echoed back to him. Duh. They wanted information on the dude. The two backed into the darkness a little more as soon as the police-men turned around he was gone. Tim and Dick watched his foot catch on the ledging as he climbed onto the roof of the building pulling down his hood and looking around. Eyes covered by a pair of goggles that were a stunning and haunting green color. Then it seemed he spotted the bats even from their vantage point, and as soon as they noticed. The man took off running.

“Shit!” Tim exclaimed, moving to jump onto the roof to pursue .

“Red! No engaging!”

“I’ve been following this shit for months, I’ve never been then close to a lead Nighty!” He exclaimed moving to follow.

“Language! But, really?!?” Nightwing followed after time the two moving with ease.

“Stop!!!” He yelled at the black masked figure who merely cocked his head to the side running backwards for a moment before jumping across to the next roof doing a roll. Experienced in parkour at least as Tim and Dick followed suit. Fuck he was fast.

“We need to corner him,”Dick hissed.

“Don’t tell B…”

“Don’t tell B what?”Dick replied before Tim threw two batarangs at his target.

“Red!” Dick exclaimed as the man dropped sliding on his knees to avoid the first one but as he got up the second one hit his leg. Bullseye. The person tripped holding his leg for a moment. A small grunt of pain could be heard as he scooted away from the two of them. The way their face was covered left no idea what thoughts crossed their mind. Nightwing landed next to Red as they stared at the man backing up against the wall to the roof.

“Don’t make us hurt you anymore. Tell us what you were removing from that crime scene,”Red threatened, grabbing his bo staff off his belt and letting it unfurl. The person shook their head as they used the short wall to stand up limping heavily. They weren’t incredibly close to the ground at the moment. At minimum a solid 8 stories high.

Pretty far up Tim would say. Which made the next move shake him. The man looked at them and slowly shook his head and by the time they both realized what they were doing their hearts broke. They gave him a farewell salute with two fingers and fell backwards off the edge of the building and neither himself nor Hightwing could catch him in time. Both running desperately to the edge wide eyed with panic.

It wouldn’t have been the first time someone had committed suicide to escape them. Tim doubted it would be the last either. Fate had it out for them in that way. Fate had it out for them in a lot of ways as Tim would find out over the course of events.

Though they never heard a smack against concrete as they rushed to the side, nor a scream of terror. So when they looked into the alley way the man wasn’t there anymore. Dick and him quickly using grappling hooks to get down.

“What the…”

“Where did he—“

“Infrared?” Dick suggested they both moved to look around them. Just the coldness of the alleyways and setting mid January weather. It was freezing in this alleyway.

“Is that a bed?”Dick pointed out the small campaign at the very back of the alley. A few cardboard boxes set up as a table with a few remains set there. Messy soaked sheets sat on top a cardboard bed with a messy pillow half destroyed it seemed

“Of course it’s a bad.” voice drawing them both out from their mission. “I never thought this would be the way I finally run into Two bats. You’re in front of my sleeping spot.”

They looked up to see a young man(teenager?) he only stood about 5’3. He was bundled up with a hoodie and a black trench coat over it. A soft blue scarf wrapped around his neck, hands shoved into his pockets with piercing blue eyes and ruffled black hair being held down by the matching blue beanie. He looked cold and from the infrared sensors on him the man was abnormally cold compared to most normal humans. A metà Maybe?

He had deep tired circles under his eyes. Skin far too pale to be healthy and a guant looks to his cheeks. His clothing almost just draping off his thin frame. He looked like he was very very sick if Tim could guess.

“Sorry for intruding, then,”Dick spoke up walking in front of him. Giving him a nod that he saw it too. “Did you happen to see a man fall from what roof?”

The man shifted and looked concerned Tim’s eyes looking of his shoulders, eyes, lips. Trying to pick up any subtle mico expressions.

“I just got back from classes, man,”The man sighs rubbing his forehead. “I’m half asleep and running 3 red bulls and a pack of saltine crackers.”

“Can we ask where you’re coming from?”Dick gave a charming gentle smile.

“The library.”

“I see, well we’re looking for a man dressed in all black with goggles with bright green lenses and black hair. He was sporting tech wear. You can give the police a call if you see anything?” Tim pulled out one of Greyson’s cards after he spoke. “We’re working with Detective Greyson at the moment for any leads so you can call the precinct if you see anything.”

The man took the card tossing it over his shoulder.

“ACAB, so can I sleep now? Or are we going to be playing a fun little game of 20 questions with me being the epicenter of the bats hyperfixations.”

“Ah… no, not at all. Have good night,”Dick stated as Tim was trying not to laugh as the man grabbing him grappling them up onto the roof. It was silent as they got a few blocks away before Tim burst out laughing.

“He just…”another laugh,”YEET!” Mimicking the card being thrown over his shoulder.

“That kid is suspicious.” Dick huffed maybe a little salty his normal charms didn’t work on him.

“He’s sassy not suspicious.”

“But his body temperature was—“

“He’s probably a meta Nightwing. Don’t tell the bats that you’re a meta, remember? It’s kind of Batman’s whole reason for keeping the city the way that it is, to protect metas.”

“You’re right.”

“I know. The kid looked exhausted the only thing I picked up from him was that he was beyond annoyed that he had to wait a second longer to go to bed. It’s,”he paused to look at his wrist. “2am.” A pause. If we was a student the mostly likely place he would have been would be the library. Even if you were walking from Gotham U library or a cafe it wouldn’t have taken you two hours to get where they were.” The library and most cafes closed at 11 or midnight.

“What did you realize? You’re smile fell.”

“The university library closes at midnight.”

“Okay and?”

“And this part of town is only a 45 minute walk from the library.”

“Is he our culprit they both have black hair. Could be especially if he’s a Meta explain why he was able to get away from us so fast.”

“I doubt it, that kid looked… sickly to say the least, but he was definitively hiding something.”

“So what was he hiding that he didn’t want the bats to know?

By the time they made it back to the alleyway the mysterious kid was gone.

“Dammit!”Tim exclaimed. This case was frustrating. Everything was going wrong.

“Look we at least know one thing right?” Dick was trying to make light of the situation. “He goes to Gotham U.”

“Dick.. we’re going to find hundreds of people who fall under the broad category. Let’s search “Black hair blue eyes” into the student database and see how many we come up. Let alone the fact that black might not be his natural hair color.”

“Hood could find him…”

“No, Hood has enough on his plate with these murders finding a homeless kid is not part of the problem at hand. The dude didn’t hurt anyone.”

“But if we run into him again,”Dick stared at the quickly disassembled bed the few ratty sheets now gone. “Do you think we could get him to the hospital for some help? Meta or not his readings were… rough.”

“We can’t force people into getting help all the time. It’s one thing for rogue’s who are more than a little insane but a guy who’s sick in the alley way?” Tim shook his head with a sigh rubbing the back of his neck. “We’d be chasing after half of Gotham.”

Tim rubbed his forehead a little frustrated with the general turn of events going on right now. Why couldn’t he get a lead on this fucker. He doubted that googles person would be much help. They looked like an investigator themself but at this point it was a lead and Tim was desperate. Each murder was more gruesome than the last like they were pushing their victims and themselves every time they did it. It had to have been a beast right?

“We need to find the masked person…”

“Yeah no I agree. Whatever they pulled off the body they were looking for that. They knew it would be there.”

“Think he’s the murderer?”

“Probably not, but they seem to know more than us which is concerning in its own right.”

“Not wrong there little bird.” Dick sighed. “We should leave. Head back to the cave.”

“Best, I have too many classes in the morning.”

“You have coffee addiction, you’ll be fine.” Dick smirked as they started back towards the cave moving to write a report of what they encountered on their patrol.

“You trying to feed my coffee addiction?”

“Absolutely not, B might kill me with that one,”Dick snorted.

It wasn’t as if Tim could sleep even as they got back to the manor to crash for night after writing their reports. He remained long after Dick had gone to get some sleep. Eyes focused on the screen and then down at his drawing in front of him. A rough sketch of the new person of interest.

Those eerie glowing goggles were stained into his mind as he leaned back in his chair looking at the file they had created for him.

Name: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Height:5’3 ~

Weight: 115-130lbs~

Appearance: Black hair in black tech wear and a respirator over his mouth and glowing green lensed goggles. White motifs along the outfit with a white D symbol over the left side of the chest.

Status: Unknown

Alignment: Unknown

All these unknowns. How were they supposed to figure it out. He had to meet this person again. He had to find them. He didn’t have a choice. This person was a key in his case. He sent a text to Jason.

“Keep an eye out for a guy that roughly looks like this” He sent an attachment of the drawing he did of the rough outfit in greyscale and what he saw.

“Oh… I know that dude. The people called him Distortion.”

What?

Jason knew of him? How did?

“How?” Cue Tim’s annoyed thoughts at how Jason didn’t care to share this information with them. Any of them. “And you didn’t think a new body on the streets who has a name wasn’t something you wanted to share with the class?!?”

More little bubbles as he was typing.

“He belongs to me that’s all you need to know. He’s an associate. A valuable acquaintance.”

“Well your associate was found removing evidence from my crime scene and bolting.”

“Need to know basis, Tim.”

“Do you know his identity?”

“No.”

“Age?”

“Yes.”

“Can i have it?”

“Absolutely not. He doesn’t want to be involved with the Bats or on your radar. I’d advise deleting the file you’re creating on him. He doesn’t take well to being on record right now.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know Don’t care but he’s incredibly useful and I’d like to keep him on our side and he was very hesitant on even coming to me. He only came to me because he’s operating out of my territory.”

“At least the guy has some respect.”

“He has street smarts. Now back off Tim. You know I let you in on a lot and that’s why I’m telling you this, but him? Distortion? Let him do his thing. If he tells me anything I’ll let you know.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“An investigator.”

“You have us?”

“Not all crime is big enough to involve the bats. Not all crime I can do all the work for for myself. He helps me out locating information and in exchange I leave him the fuck alone.”

Tim stared at the texts.

More typing bubbles.

“You tell Dick, Damian, or especially Bruce about this and I will rat you out for the Yelen case.”

Tim would be silent after all…

He stared at his doodle, ripping it up. It looked like shit anyways. He rubbed his face frustrated really as he made no changes to the file. Dick didn’t have to know about what he knew. This felt wrong to him though. Not just the whole Jason apparently knowing of the guy. If Jason knew of the guy but he remained under the radar of the rest of the bats it was concerning, and even as close as he was to Jason he wouldn’t put it past that guy to keep his issues to himself.

He always thought of himself really. First and foremost. It had been that way since his return mostly. It wasn’t like he never tried. Birthdays and holidays he’d show up. Tim wasn’t going to like that he noticed the mans change in demeanor the past year had done for him. A decrease in murders Jason committed in Crime Alley.

It was subtle enough unless you were looking for it, it wouldn’t be noticed, but tim did. Tim did notice. It reminded him of that breakdown he had a while ago. The anger returning to his brother like it had been there all along slowly increasing. The pit madness returning with a full force nearly driving Jason away from everyone. Jason wouldn’t talk about why the pit madness hit him so hard again.

He wasn’t exactly a feelings guy. None of them were. Dick was the most open of the Bat siblings to openly talk about their emotions and hell Duke had the most normal of a life before it all. Even he was hesitant. They all saw the Black Canary at least once every 6 months and that was only after a begrudging agreement with Black Lightning and the rest of the justice league. Most of they, themselves, weren’t involved in the justice league.

It was also why Cass and Steph being asked to go seemed to set him off. It wasn’t his place.

“He belongs to me..” Tim whispered out the words with a slight possessive tome looking at their texts chewing on his lip a little. A small habit he picked up when he was lost in thought and alone. Usually only when he was relaxed and with family. He couldn’t let people read his microexpressions out in public.

“For a solitary man, that’s quite a possessive statement Jason,”he mumbled into the batcave before standing up and walking up the stairs to his room. Not that he got much sleep either.

[bitchycatwizard]

A Petty and Subtle Danny

Danny as Phantom has during the past month or so being almost shoot by his parents a few to many times,

And as Danny he has been kept awake by their noisy work, been spun around inside the GAV (he had no clue why he needed to be there) and hear their very detailed dreams of tearing Phantom limb from limb at the dinner table (when they bothered to turn up at all).

3 weeks into this unusually bad month he downloaded a bunch of their research papers in a desperate attempt to get himself to sleep.

This works for a night or three.

But on the fourth night he started to notice something.

It was contradicting other papers.

It would take him another 2 weeks, but in the end he had read every single academic paper his parents had written on ecto-biology and other ecto-science adjacent topics.

It was about 109 papers written between his parents over a period of 23 years.

98 of them was about ecto-science, the other 11 was about energy sources, mechanics and weapons. all that seemed to have been patented and the sold to various industries (Hammer Industries, Lexcorp, VladCO, among others).

Probably what financed them outside of all the tax fraud.

But those 98.

Out of those 98, 76 in some way or form contradicted each other.

And since there was always a note somewhere in all the papers referencing another paper, none of the could be disregarded as obsolete.

Not to talk about the Ecto-Biology and Ecto-Psychology ones.

Where the idea that ghosts can not feel pain and ar all evil is just....... made up.

There is about 43 dissections refernced (yikes), all with videos (fuck me, my eyes!!!)

30 other experiments and 20 odd other things.

Not a single one of them proves their theories and most actively talks against them.

But all evidence is ignored (Danny starts to think of them as being in a cult).

Danny is dead tired (ha) and quite angry.

As the third explosion of the night goes out this one almost throws him out of his bed.

Now, he is not only angry.

Now, he feels very Petty.

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

It takes a little while.

But with some help from Tucker and Sam after they had both read his findings.

But both had very technical skills.

Tucker who could sent out mass email without them turning into spam and made sure that the computers themself wanted to show this mail to it’s owner.

And Sam who could speak “Upper Classism” and write invites in away that rich and (People who saw themself as) important would come.

And she had the spending money that she could convince a high grade university to be the battle ground (it did not even take as much in Donation as they thought it would).

Danny made sure that the 98 research papers ended up in the right hands, together with a dokument and slide show that showd how impossible the research was if it was all in the same file.

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

The Fentons was lured to the University thanks to promises of Research grants/titles/A fudge festival whatever.

And in front of a whole load of professors, industry people, mystics, rich cunts, and others, they now have to defend their research.

Not because they are kooks.

Not because they are ghost believers.

Not because they are a danger to themself, their children and Amity Park.

But because they are bad scientists.

And if they fail, they might loose the Doctors title.

Danny and the rest will watch, with bated breath.

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

Afterwords

You can see this as a very long writing prompt.

 Or if you know any similar fics, tell me.

-Have a good one.

[five-rivers]

Life's Great Lie 14

AO3

“I guess,” said Sam, “the good thing is that we were planning on going to the Ghost Zone anyway.”

“You were what?” asked Maddie.  She looked sideways at Stark.  “It was my understanding that the problem had to do with aliens.  Not ghosts.  Not our area of expertise, but of course—”

“We’ll beat up anyone that messes with our kids!”  The statement was emphasized by the sound of the bazooka cocking. 

The effect was slightly ruined by Sam’s knowledge that the sound was an entirely unnecessary addition Jack and Maddie had built in.  A flip of a switch could disable it entirely. 

“Ow!” yelped Jazz. 

“Well, if our doctor hadn’t just been zapped into a hell dimension, you’d be getting better care,” said Romanov.

“And if your arrow guy didn’t shoot me, I wouldn’t need medical care.”

“I said I was sorry!” said Barton, who was doing some kind of wrist exercises now that he was no longer tied up.  “I was being mind controlled.”

“Stuff you do while being overshadowed doesn’t count!” agreed Jack. 

“I don’t blame you for shooting me,” said Jazz.  “I am judging you for the whole unsecured interdimensional portal thing and missing the obvious Nazis.”

“They’re not that obvious,” said Romanov. 

“We are wasting time,” said Thor.  “Open your portal to Helheim and retrieve Banner so we can continue our search for my brother.”

“That is the reason Dr. Banner was brought on board,” said Romanov. 

“I’m not sure we do need to search for him,” said Jazz.  “It’s something I’ve been thinking about.  The things Danny wanted from us, I mean.  I’m sure Sam and Tucker have, too.  But, Mom, Dad, you remember the ecto-converter?  How much power could it…”  She shook herself subtly.  “How much power could it extract from a level seven ghost?  How many places can produce that much power?”

“A level seven ghost?  Where would Loki even—” Maddie cut herself off.  “Oh, right.  Phantom.”

“Danny,” corrected Sam.  

Maddie sighed.  “He’d need a power plant.  For a portal like the one he’s creating…”  She trailed off. 

“Didn’t you guys make a portal in your basement?” asked Barton. 

“The Ghost Zone’s different!  It’s always around us, right next to us, even now, and it’s chock full of energy!  Once it connects, it’s—Well, not easy to make it self-sustaining, but it’s doable!” explained Jack.  “But his portal, it goes somewhere in this universe.  Somewhere really far away, right?”  He looked to Thor for confirmation.

“I believe that to be so,” agreed Thor.

Jack pumped his fist.  “Yeah!  So, Loki’s gotta get some power to punch through that difference!”

“But the reason HYDRA and SHIELD wanted the Tesseract in the first place was the power it could produce,” said Captain America.  “Wasn’t it?”  He shot Romanov and Barton a look that wasn’t quite a glare. 

“Oh, yeah, Mr. America, sir!  That thing has loads of power!”

Captain America pointed a finger at Jack.  “Don’t call me that.  It’s Rogers.  Steve.  Even Captain America.  But if the Tesseract has power, then what—"

“Think of it like a potential barrier,” said Stark, who was tinkering with a piece of his armor.  “Or activation energy.  Or, if that’s too scientific for any of you, needing to heat something up, put energy in, before it burns, puts energy out.  Which is technically activation energy.”  He jerked his head sharply to one side.  “So, that checks out.  I don’t suppose he told you where he was going?” he asked Barton. 

“Not really.  The last few days are a bit…  Blurry.  And I didn’t need to know.  What I didn’t need to know, I didn’t ask about.  I mostly remember Loki and Danny arguing about it.  One of the places was apparently pretty heavily populated.”

Natasha paused.  “Fenton—Danny was arguing with Loki?”

“Not real arguments.  More repeatedly stating his opinion.  But he did seem… different from… the rest of us.”

“Well, knowing that might help us rule things out,” said Maddie.  “Beyond that, we can eliminate anything too inconsistent, like wind power.  Probably not hydroelectric, either.  Nuclear?  Coal?”

“I don’t know,” said Stark.  “That doesn’t seem like Loki.  I mean, far as I can tell, there was no reason for him to be walking down the street in the middle of Amity Park.  He was grandstanding.  Whatever he’s doing, he wants to be seen doing it.  He wants an audience.  I know the type.”

“Because you are the type?” asked Romanov. 

“Ha ha, very funny.  I might be a narcissist, but Loki, Loki’s a full-tilt diva.”

“Stark.”

Stark waved Thor off.  “Yeah, yeah, I get it.  He’s still your brother.  But we’ve made him run twice, now.  How’s he going to react to that?”

“Loki has never liked losing.  But then, neither of us has.”

“He wants to beat us.”  He pointed a screwdriver at Thor before turning it on Maddie.  “He wants parades, he wants flowers, he wants monuments with his name plastered—”  He froze. 

“You thought of something?” asked Jazz. 

Stark rubbed his hand over his mouth.  “He’s going to Stark Tower.”

“Great,” said Jazz.  “So we can get going!”

Maddie nodded and turned to the control panel to punch in coordinates.  “But don’t think we forgot what you were saying about going to the Ghost Zone, young lady.”

“It’s not like we were going to hide it from you,” said Sam, exasperated.  “We’re going to go fight an army, right?  So, we’re going to need an army.  We have contacts on the other side, or at least Danny does.”

“I don’t think introducing ghosts to this situation is the right thing to do,” said Maddie. 

“Come on, you can’t think that all ghosts are evil after—”

“Danny’s not a ghost, he’s a unique case—”

“Wow, I can just imagine that conversation going well.  ‘Danny, we only think you’re half evil—”

“Sam!” snapped Jazz.  “That’s not necessary.  Mom, I’ve met some of these people, and if we don’t manage to stop the portal from opening, and everyone on the other side can do stuff like what Loki did when he was fighting Tucker, we’ll need back up beyond a bunch of people with guns.  No offense.”

“None taken,” said Captain Rogers.  “I agree.  We should notify the local police and National Guard—”

“About what, an alien invasion?” asked Stark, whose work on his armor had become notably more frantic.   

“Well, we can’t exactly tell HYDRA.”

“Wait, wait,” said Barton.  “That was real?  That was a real thing?  SHIELD has been infiltrated?”

“Yep,” said Romanov.  “Not the news you wanted?”

“Not really, no,” said Barton. 

“The army,” said Captain Rogers.  “They’re reliable?  You can really get them to come?”

“At least some of them are,” said Jazz.  “The Far Frozen, Dora’s people, the Greeks.”

“And even for the unreliable ones, a lot of them used to live here.”  Tucker shrugged.  “They might still care enough to help.”

“Then we need them.  Dr. Fenton, Dr. Fenton, will you be able to build a portal?”

“Between the porta-portal and the rest of what the kids brought, we should be able to make a stable portal if we start now,” said Maddie. 

“Actually, we don’t need to do that,” said Tucker.  “Not for this part, anyway.  Might need it later, for the actual army.  Can I have my staff back now?”

Romanov frowned deeply, but swung the long, thin bag off her shoulder. 

“Thank you.  I can send a few of us straight to the Zone.”

“Are you okay to use that?” asked Jazz. 

“I can handle it,” said Tucker, notably not yet opening the bag.  “I didn’t go full megalomaniac when I was fighting Loki in Amity Park.”

“You tried to bite me,” said Iron Man.

“I’m sure that’s a common problem,” said Sam, dryly.  “Who’s going?”

“I was thinking me and Val,” said Tucker.

“I will join you,” said Thor. 

“The Ghost Zone isn’t for everyone,” warned Sam.  “It takes some getting used to.  And you kinda need to be able to fly.”

“I can fly, and while I am sure you are both fine warriors—” he inclined his head towards Tucker and Val “—returning Banner to this realm will require strength.”

“Isn’t anyone going to ask me if I want to go?” asked Val.

“Don’t you?” asked Tucker. 

“Sure, but…”  She swallowed.  “Jeez.  This is really happening.  Yeah, I’m going to go.  How do we do this?”

“Just stand near me.  Uh, Mrs. Fenton, where will your portal be in the Ghost Zone?”

“We’ll try to put it near our home portal,” said Maddie.  “But we don’t have a lot of experience with placing portals in specific places in the Ghost Zone.  There hasn’t exactly been a point.”

“Oh!  I’ve got an idea!” exclaimed Jack.  He dove sideways, making Barton jump out of the way and opened a cabinet under one of the dashboards.  “You can use this!”  He chucked a blocky item at Tucker.

“The Fenton Finder?”

“Upgraded!”

“We added a feature to find the Ops Center after it got lost last time,” explained Maddie.  “The signal should be able to work through a portal.”

“Okay,” said Tucker, “got it.”

“Great,” said Captain Rogers.  “You three go.  Fentons, you build the portal—”

“One of us will have to keep the Ops Center on track.  Our autopilot isn’t that good.”

“I can do that,” said Jazz.  “And Sam can tell the rest of you guys what you can expect from fighting Danny.”

“I’m not telling you how to kill him or anything,” warned Sam.  “But his powerset and how to manage ghosts in general…  I can do that.”

“Cool!” said Tucker.  “Now that we’ve agreed on that, can we go now?  You do need to get closer to me, Mr. Thor.  Great.  Now let’s hope Egyptian magic and Norse magic don’t explode on contact or anything like that!”

Val did a double take.  “Wait, what—”

Sand swept over the three of them, leaving a thin layer on the floor. 

Sam clapped her hands together.  “Okay, let’s get started on Ghost Fighting 101!”

“Aw, I want to do Ghost Fighting 101…”

“We’ve got a portal to build, Jack.”

“Oh!  Yeah!  Gotta love portals!”

.

“… And those are the basics,” finished Sam. 

“The basics,” repeated Natasha.  “Okay.  The basics.”

“Hey, fighting people who can turn invisible and intangible isn’t easy,” said Sam, “and Danny’s our heavy hitter.”

“I don’t suppose you have any arrow-type things?”

“I don’t know, but I can take you to the armory.  If you promise not to shoot Jazz again.”

“You’ve got it.”

“And after that, we should all get some rest,” said Captain Rogers.  “Some of us have been awake for over twenty-four hours.”

“Not like an extra hour is going to mean much,” said Stark. 

“You’d be surprised,” said Captain Rogers.  “Soldiers learn to sleep when they can.”

“We’re not soldiers.  These kids we’re relying on?  Especially not soldiers.”

“Hey, it’s us or HYDRA,” snapped Sam. 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.  I have to work on this, anyway.”  He rapped his knuckles against the faceplate of his helmet. 

.

“Wow,” said Sam, sitting in the copilot’s chair, “that was tiring.  Who knew that assassins were so obsessive about weapons.”

“Literally everyone,” muttered Stark.

“Yeah,” said Jazz, “that tracks.  Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Stark snorted.  “If anyone is sleeping, I’m a teetotaler.  We saw capsicle go thataway, and no one with that kind of expression on their face is sleeping.  Drinking, maybe.”

“You are a teetotaler, though, aren’t you?” asked Jazz. 

“What?”

“I mean, I know you used to always be in the paper partying, but given everything, I know you’re more responsible than to get drunk when you have direct access to some of the most dangerous weapons in the world.”

“There’s a huge gulf of difference between getting drunk and having drinks now and again.”

“Welp!” said Sam, before Jazz could reply.  She did not need to be in the middle of Jazz trying to expand her ‘billionaires I have interrogated’ list.  “I’m going to go see if anyone is sleeping.”

She walked out of the control room.  The Ops Center was surprisingly large, all things considered.  Or maybe not surprisingly.  It had more or less doubled the size of Fentonworks.  Greater emphasis on more. 

Now, if she were the one sulking around, where would she go?

Observation deck, probably.  Assuming she knew it existed.  She walked through a couple more doors and slid down a ladder.  Sure enough...

Well.  She had wanted to talk to him. 

“Captain Rogers?  Are you okay?  I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“You know,” said Captain Rogers, staring down out the window at the rapidly passing countryside, “one of the first things I used the internet to look up was how the war went.  SHIELD told me, but the joke about military intelligence, that’s an old one.  Books had more.  Went to my own museum exhibit.  Figured out the internet.”  He shifted his hands slightly on the rim of his shield.  “I didn’t like the Neo Nazis, wanted to…” 

“Kill them all?” asked Sam. 

“Something like that.”  He smiled at her, thin and tense.  “I understand why they’re not all in jail.  I don’t like it, but I understand it.  I can… live with it, most of the time.  There’s always going to be bullies.  HYDRA, though?”  He shook his head, not turning his gaze from the window.  “I thought… I really thought we had gotten them.  It just feels like all of it was for nothing.”

Sam shifted her weight, tapping her foot behind her.  “My great-grandparents were from Germany,” she said.  “I’m Jewish.  So, yeah.  Kind of a do the math thing.”  Captain Rogers turned to look at her and she shrugged. 

“Miss, you don’t have to—”

“You’re right, I don’t have to.  But I am.  They, um, they didn’t get out in time.  But they still got lucky.  Sort of.  They were caught about the same time the Kreischberg Facility needed more laborers.  Slaves.  Test subjects.  So, they got sent to Austria.  It’s how they met, actually.  You know, other families have cute stories, but-- Never mind.  They were—The one time I heard it from them, it sounded like they were on the operating tables when you came in.”  She paused to swallow.  “From the beginning, everything you did, it wasn’t for nothing.  If it was, I wouldn’t be here.”

The captain looked up at her. 

“Just, you know, something to think about.  And you really should take your own advice.  Get some rest.”

.

Danny craned his neck, gazing up at the glittering expanse of Stark Tower from the safety of the alleyway.  He’d never seen a building this tall in person.  It was honestly giving him a little bit of vertigo.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” said Selvig, with a chuckle.  “But that’s nothing to what we’ll have in the next couple of hours.”

The part of Danny that was Fenton giggled along with Selvig.  Phantom, however, was hoping his friends got his messages, such as they were.  Danny as a whole… He had mixed feelings.  Obviously.  “Yeah, I guess not.” 

Loki’s hand dropped onto Danny’s shoulder.  “Enough talking.”

“Right,” said Danny, letting invisibility and intangibility wash over all three of them.  “Let’s go.”

[i-am-an-androphilic-doormat]

Ghosted

Part 1

https://i-am-an-androphilic-doormat.tumblr.com/post/635727711629901824/ghosted-a-vlad-masters-x-reader-story-part-1

Part 2

https://i-am-an-androphilic-doormat.tumblr.com/post/667706669294338048/vladdy-is-daddy

Part 3

You sighed as you sat in the passenger seat, Operative K had volunteered to sit in the back with all the equipment and said he’d go ahead and get a head start on their report of the case in the computer logs. Operative O insisted he drives, when you had said you wouldn’t mind driving considering he had drove the team to the mayor’s residence, he said something along the lines that your temper contributes to how safely you drive. In other words:

He’s pretty sure if you drive, all of you would die in a car crash.

Whatever.

You still couldn’t believe that asshole was the new mayor, and the fucking nerve he had towards you. Can’t he just go back to Wisconsin in a different mansion? Sure, your men destroyed the second one unwarranted, but it’s not like he couldn’t afford a third. He owns like- four different massive companies. He has to be up to something! You just didn’t know what… yet. Oh well. You weren’t going to worry about it anymore, I mean really, what influence will he actually have on Amity Park?

————————two weeks later—————————

Vlad had just finishing delivering his address to bills he had passed concerning ghosts. That should teach Daniel Fenton a lesson as well keep that pesky Danny Phantom out of his hair. For now at least, it’s only a matter of time before he waves the white flag and gives Vlad his rightfully earned victory over this game they’ve been playing.

But in order to really put Phantom in his place, he needed to take his role in busting ghosts in this town. However, he can’t deal with these ghost problems as Plasmius as he usually would, this has to be public, so this will be a job for Masters. Therefore he won’t be able to do this alone.

The plan was to get his partner Skulker to release some low ranking ghosts into Amity Park while Vlad hires the Guys in White to catch the spectral fiends in his name. A pro he now has as mayor was having command over government funded associations.

After having his mayoral assistant arrange some things with the Guys in White and confirming their cooperation, he was now left to do the loads of paperwork… the agonizing con of being mayor and CEO of multiple companies.

The long treacherous hours as the day turned to night, sitting in his leather office seat, scribbling away sheet by sheet, square framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Maddie, his cat, was curled up comfortably on the top of her cat tree.

Vlad sighed taking a moment to look at the time: 8:39 P.M. He has to greet the Guys in White at 9 for their first ghost hunt. Now would probably be a good time to stop for the night. Besides, his writing hand was starting to cramp…

Getting up from his seat, he stretched his limbs letting out a satisfied grunt, waking Maddie from her nap as she watched her owner down the last bit of his favorite whisky in his glass. Vlad stuffed his reading glasses away and left his office with Maddie following close behind. As the mayor passed through the long halls, his mind wandered. Perhaps he’ll see that woman again… Don’t get the wrong idea, Madeline will always be the only woman that owns his heart, but he hasn’t been able to shake off this itch on the back of his brain that he somehow knows that agent! From the way she behaved towards him, she remembers all too well that they had met before and he couldn’t think of anything he might have done to offend her.. maybe she was an employee he once had and was fired for whatever reason. Although it would be odd considering the agency she works for now so that doesn’t seem to be the likely answer, even if it would make the most sense to him on why she’d dislike him so much. He was just dying to know… oh to hell with it. It was most likely she was just another ‘eat the rich’ type just as Daniel’s friend Samantha Manson was, despite the irony of her family being rather wealthy.

Vlad’s work cell buzzed to life as he was notified of the Guys in White’s soon arrival. With a small glance of acknowledgement and grin, he dismissed his previous thoughts and focused on what truly mattered: beating Danny Phantom at his own game.

—————————————————————————

The riot you had upon discovering who had hired you for your next mission. You’re expertise being challenged by the likes of him? You’re going to kill him! After all these years you festered this hatred towards this man and here he was practically laughing at you! The last thing you could’ve ever wanted to happen was becoming a reality, you working for Vlad Masters and him making a laughing stock out of you. You were sure he was the one that hired the world’s best ghost hunters in order to catch that blasted Danny Phantom kid a few months ago, just so he could get a rise out of the chaos that had ensued. And your poor men fell right into it. Embarrassing. The promise you made that day all those years ago was being forced to be broken, and if you were to keep it, you’d lose your job over it. How you resented him for this. All he has ever done to you even now is make you suffer…

Once again you were not allowed to drive. But you didn’t care for that, he wants you to hunt ghost? Fine. You’ll give him a ghost hunt and more. So much more he’ll be running for his money! Yes. That’s exactly what you’ll do. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Masters’ face when you manage to eliminate all of these pesky ghosts in one night!

As for your coworkers, they were keeping a distance from you. You holding a heavy, dangerous, and armed Spectral Melter while having an evil grin on your face was incredibly disconcerting… they just knew it was better to stay out of your way. After all you took ghost hunting very seriously, even more so than them. If they were to make a comparison, you were like a starved lion in the Roman Colosseum arena. The moment you were released: whatever that was alive in that ring with you won’t stay alive long. It was nights like this the agents pitied the clueless spirits of what was to come.

Soon after your team had fully unpacked and prepared for the night ahead, a black limousine pulled up to allow the new mayor to greet the crew and discuss the plans he had in store. The moment he stepped out he had a smug look on his face and all you wanted to do was smack it right off, he radiated the demeanor that he was better than everyone else. Damn the election. All it did was inflate his already obnoxiously huge ego.

You barely listened to his stupid ramble about how “appreciative” he was for your team’s help and what not, all you really cared to listen about was getting started. You were all separated into groups and spread across the town, and of course your team performed exceptionally just as you expected. As for you, you were truly pushing your limits and hitting the jackpot with the spectral fiends you were rounding up. By the end of the night, you had caught the most. As you loaded the captured ghost and equipment onto a ecto-protected carry van, the smell of expensive cologne drew too close for your comfort.

“My my! Wasn’t expecting to see you tonight my dear!”

Gag. That’s all you wanted to do. Just gag. You momentarily froze, the ecto-annihilator still heavy in your hands as you were midway handing it off to Operative F, you glanced up and watched as he, and some others hurried to make some distance from you, taking the heavy equipment out of your hands to be put away for the drive back to the office. You took a deep breath before turning your attention to the mayor, whom seemed to be a bit confused by your colleagues sudden rush to pack things up.

“Mayor Masters.”

You forced yourself to say politely, holding your hip and clenching your fist as to not suddenly wring the unsuspecting man’s neck out. The silver-haired man shook off the distraction going back to his stupid smug look that you’d guess he was using to try and charm you. “It’s a pleasure to see you again my lady, and under better circumstances as well!” He said offering a smile, but you offered no response. You simply cut your eyes at him in hopes he’d wrap things up already and leave you alone.

Vlad cleared his throat, rubbing his hands together, “I was actually over here to tell you how thoroughly impressed I was to hear about the catches you made tonight! I felt that perhaps the hardest hunter tonight should be rewarded.” He complimented, “Did you expect less of me? I don’t take kindly being underestimated and then being rewarded for doing my job correctly simply because I’m a woman, Vladimir.” You bit out, god he was so frustrating.

“No! No no no of course not!” He quickly said, laughing nervously, “I’m a huge advocate for equality.” He said “What kind of mayor would I be if I wasn’t?” He smiled proudly, like he was patting himself on the back. Gross. You crossed your arms across your chest, “Don’t stress yourself for brownie points Mayor Masters, I’m going to decline this reward and be on my way.” You huffed, grabbing the support bar to pull yourself into the van. A warm hand wrapped around the wrist of your free hand

“Can I at least get your name this time? I know you may not like me for whatever reason that is but it’s most likely we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future for works sake. I’d hate to continue addressing you as the Mistress in White.”

You glared at him, “You can call me...”

You snatched your arm away, watching the glimmer of hope you had given quickly diminish as quickly as it had came,

“Operative B”.

Then slammed the van doors shut.

—————————————————————————

Vlad was left stunned, left alone on the concrete road as the other agents bustled into their vehicles to leave. Operative A, head agent of Guys in White (which Vlad was also now realizing he was just a rank above the Mistress), approached the mayor. “We’re all wrapped up here Mayor Masters. Is there anything else you need for us to do before we leave?” The gentleman asked.

Vlad let out a sigh of…. Disappointment? Annoyance? He wasn’t sure. “No. I appreciate your team’s cooperation in this matter.” He thanked, folding his arms behind his back, straightening himself out to recover from the whiplash of emotions the Mistress in White had served him. The agent simply nodded and headed to his designated vehicle, “Until tomorrow night, sir”.

Thus, they were off.

Vladimir went back to his home contemplating deep in thought. This “Operative B” has nearly taken over his mind completely. This hatred she holds for him is much deeper than what he had initially thought. There’s disliking a person, then there’s hatred. A hatred he was all too familiar with. But it intrigued him. It really shouldn’t, in all honesty from here on out he should just go about things and not bother with her anymore… But it did. Vlad wanted to know why she hates him so much so badly. More importantly, her name!!! The only problem is that Operative B didn’t seem keen on telling him anything anytime soon.

Suddenly an awful idea struck Vlad. An evil mischievous grin grew onto his features, feeling nothing but clever with this little plan his brain concocted. She may not tell Vlad Masters what he wants to know, but that doesn’t mean she won’t tell Vlad Plasmius what he wants to know. It was a risky game of course, but the best he’s seen from the Guys in White was confiscate Skulker’s mechanical suit and lock up FreakShow, and he wasn’t even a ghost. The damage she could do alone to Plasmius was small, if not smaller than what the Fenton’s could even do. If he plays his cards right…

Oh yes, what a wonderfully awful idea indeed.

[underforeversgrace]

the walls you hide behind (I saw the truth inside the real you) - 6

title: the walls you hide behind (I saw the truth inside the real you)

words: 3,223

Story Summary: Jazz is tired of the ghosts, tired of her parents not doing enough, tired of Phantom's recklessness and her brother's persistent exhaustion. When she yells all of her frustration at her parents after nearly getting killed by a ghost, she gets sent to Vlad's mansion in Wisconsin for the weekend - where she's offered a chance. She could have the ability to fight back, protect her brother and her town. Jazz leaps at the prospect. When she returns to Amity Park at the end of the weekend, it's with abilities and strength of her own, and she's fueled by anger and disdain. And she's got her eyes, first, on Danny Phantom.

Chapter 6 of 10: The Only Hell I Know

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One

Tumblr Chapter Seven

Beta by: @probably-dead

(Also, check out the AO3 link for some really awesome art by @englandamericaitaly!)

Three days later her ghost radar went off in class, and she had to yet again excuse herself to go handle it, especially as she sensed a second ghost - that she somehow knew to be Phantom.

Thankfully, Jazz had always been a good student, her teachers didn’t question her suddenly small bladder. She ducked into the girls’ bathroom, making sure the coast was clear before she tugged her suit into existence and headed back out, to where she sensed the ghosts were at the edge of the school.

“I should have gone intangible. Idiot! I’m not getting better at this - I’m getting worse.” Phantom’s voice echoed across the empty lot.

A giant, ghostly wasp flew down at Phantom from above and Phantom cried out as the stinger plunged into his shoulder, ripping out from the insect. Under her mask, Jazz grinned, taking aim at Phantom and firing. She struck him in the chest and he was thrown back, slamming his head against the tree behind him. He gripped at his chest, painfully hissing when his white glove came back covered in green.

Right, insect ghost, she reminded herself, turning to where she’d last seen the ghost, only to find it had disappeared- both from her sight and from her tracker.

Jazz faintly heard Phantom grunt and she looked back towards him, seeming to struggle for balance as he stood, a hand against the tree for support.

“Maybe she was right,” Phantom muttered lowly. “Maybe I am a loser.”

Dissipating her hoverboard from existence, she dropped down in front of him. Instantly, his hand came up, glowing green as he growled. “Back off, Vi. I’m not in the mood.”

“And I’m supposed to care?” She asked, her voice heavily altered as she summoned a blaster to her hands.

Again, a low growl as he realized he was cornered.

“Stay dead this time,” Jazz hissed, firing the weapon.

Before she could process what happened, green filled her vision and her arm felt like it had been shoved into a furnace. She screamed, gripping at her right arm and falling to her knees as her nerves burned. Jazz looked up at him, ready to fight through the pain, but found herself face to face with Phantom’s glowing green hand. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. She could see past his hand to his face, see the rage in his eyes, see the scorch mark on the tree behind him from where she’d missed.

For the first time since this started, fear churned in her stomach. She couldn’t get a blast off before he did, and she was at point blank range. In all of her hunting, she’d never actually been afraid. Hunting Phantom was to get rid of the other ghosts - they were only here to fight him, they’d leave if he finished dying, a theory she’d long since held and Vlad confirmed, based on his studies.

But now, doing the equivalent of staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, she wondered if she’d been a little too blasé with her life.

It felt like an eternity but was barely even a full moment before the energy around his hand faded and his arm dropped to the side. “Leave me alone.” He said, more weary than she’d ever heard him. Without another word, he went invisible and Jazz was unable to pinpoint his location.

Finally alone, she studied her arm. The one ectoblast he had shot off had gotten her in the shoulder and burned through. It wasn’t a severe burn, it was hardly even a burn at all, but Jazz frowned at it.

How strong was Phantom that a single blast from him could rip into her suit like this?

Deciding that was a problem for another day, Jazz hurried back inside, again changing in a bathroom, grabbing a spare shirt from her locker on the way there. She gently poked the injury, relieved to see it was already healing. The bell to change classes rang as she finished and she groaned - she’d need to run back by her class and grab her bag.

The hallways were filling with people as she exited the bathroom and hurried back to the classroom, grateful the teacher didn’t ask any questions when she ran in then back out with her bag.

The sound of her name from a familiar voice stopped her.

“Are you sure Jazz said that? It doesn’t sound like Jazz to me.” Sam said, the goth’s back to the older girl.

“What doesn’t sound like Jazz to you?” She interjected. To Sam’s credit, the girl didn’t jump in shock at being sneaked up on. That was when she noticed Danny’s angry glare. “Still mad?” She asked. He’d been even more distant the past few days, since starting the sessions with Spectra that she knew he didn’t want.

“Wow, you are the smart one.” He said sarcastically.

Jazz sighed, stepping towards him. “Danny, I know you’re angry, but I’m worried about you. Ever since the accident -“

“Jazz, I know you think you’re helping, and I’m sure when I’m older I’ll appreciate it, but right now, I don’t,” he interrupted, side stepping her attempt to pat his shoulder.

“You have to talk to somebody, Danny!” Jazz said in exasperation. “You’ve changed and I’m worried!”

“Well, maybe this is me now!” He shouted, waving his hands to either side in frustration. “Not everyone can be as brilliant as Jasmine Fenton! Now just leave me alone!” With that, he grabbed Sam and Tucker’s hands and pulled them away, effectively ending the conversation and leaving her behind, amongst the slow, tired crowd.

Danny avoided her for the rest of the day, including at home. He wouldn’t even look at her as he poked at dinner that night.

Stupid ghosts - stupid Phantom. It was all his fault - if he would just go back to the Ghost Zone, the other ghosts would lose interest in the human realm. They only bothered Amity because Phantom had staked his claim on it and then Danny wouldn’t have to live in the constant fear Jazz had no doubt was fueling his odd behavior. Still, what was it Sam had been talking about? That didn’t sound like something Jazz would say?

The next day passed in a blur, Phantom making three separate appearances, as did the wasp, disappearing each time before she could arrive, much to her frustration.

At least in the afternoon she managed to get her brother while he was sitting still, at the Nasty Burger. He had his head on his arms and seemed to be ranting about something to Sam and Tucker, a despondent look on his face, but he straightened up with a glare when he saw her approach.

“Hey Danny, how’s it going?” She asked, hoping her smile looked more genuine than it felt.

“Like you care. Just go away, Jazz,” he said petulantly. He suddenly shivered and glanced around, mumbling something to himself that Jazz couldn’t catch. Abruptly, he stood, glaring at his friends, who looked back at him in confusion. “Yeah, well, if you’re gonna take her side, then you hang with her too!” He shouted at them, grabbing Jazz’s shoulders and shoving her into the chair he’d just abandoned with a surprising amount of strength. “Here, take my seat! You’ve already taken my friends!”

With that, he ran off, through a side door.

“Danny, wait!” She called, running through the door after him, to find a surprisingly empty hallway. “Where’d he go?” She muttered to herself, eyeing the doors around her, finally settling on the one with the EXIT sign. Deciding to take her chances, she ran for that one, pushing the door open. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Danny in the alleyway, tensely looking to either side, though not seeing Jazz behind him.

She’d been about to call his name when bright light suddenly appeared at his waist. Her ability to speak went out the window as she watched Danny, her baby brother, her living brother, get swept over by the light, leaving a ghost in his place. Jazz’s ghost radar immediately went off as his transformation completed, confirming what her eyes were already telling her.

It was Phantom who leapt up off the ground and flew away, Phantom who her brother transformed into.

Jazz slid down to the ground, her knees unable to keep her up as she cried.

The same Phantom who she had shot and stabbed, burned and beaten, telling him everything was all his fault, telling him to stay dead this time. Suddenly, she could feel cold, slick ectoplasm on her hands, despite there being nothing there. She stared at her hands, remembering every time she’d shoved a knife into Phantom’s side when he got close to her, remembering every time she’d pulled a trigger and sent an ectoblast at him.

Her breath came in rapid heaves as tears ran down her face, her body shaking in shock or horror, she didn’t know.

All the times Phantom had told her to lay off, that he didn’t want to fight her.

All the times Phantom had screamed in pain because she had attacked him.

The nanobots stirred agitatedly within her, reacting to her heightened emotions as she continued to sob as the truth crashed into her.

She’d beaten her brother bloody, stabbed him, shot him. Just a few days ago, she had held a gun to her brother’s head and told him to die.

She clutched at her hair, ripping it out of its ponytail, the ponytail suddenly reminding her of every time in the past nearly two months she’d fought Phantom.

Fought Danny.

…was Danny dead?

Her heart skipped a beat as her stricken mind pulled together a timeline. Danny had had an accident in their parents’ lab. Phantom and other ghosts appeared shortly after. Danny was struggling with school and sleep. Phantom was seen fighting at all hours, as often in the middle of the night as in the middle of class.

She felt as the other ghost got away, beyond her range, Phantom disappearing shortly after. That was how he hid from her, wasn’t it? Vlad had told her about some ghosts having the ability to repress some of their ghostly nature, even appearing human.

Was that what had happened Danny? Had he possessed his own body when he… when he died? But that light… and he transformed, his entire body going with him. That wasn’t how possession worked.

The more she thought about it, the worse her headache grew. She wanted nothing more in that moment than to go home, so that was what she did, calling her suit and her hoverboard to her as easily as breathing.

What was she supposed to do now? Confess to Danny what she was and that she knew what he was? Call a truce? Help his ghost move on instead of haunting them, help him to rest in peace?

Her heart twinged painfully in her chest at the idea of Danny dying. Well… dying again?

Would he even trust her anymore? He already seemed to think she didn’t care…

There was a bitter irony here, she knew. She had suffered the process of becoming the Trapper to protect her brother and her town. He had suffered dying, and she had no doubt he’d stayed to protect her and the town as well. The Fentons really were a family of ghost hunters, through and through.

She’d wanted to save Danny, to keep him away from the ghosts he’d pretended to fear. She felt somewhat hollow as she realized she couldn’t save Danny.

No one can save the dead.

She dropped onto the roof of FentonWorks, pulling her suit back into herself before heading inside.

Jazz stopped at the bathroom, rubbing the tear streaks off her face as she did her best not to cry again. Staring at herself in the mirror, she saw the red edge of the minor burn she’d gotten yesterday. She pulled at the top’s neckline, examining the burn. It was healing well but suddenly she didn’t want it to heal at all. She deserved to hurt, to have a scar. This injury was the only one Phantom had ever given her, when she’d given him dozens.

In that moment, staring at a burn her brother gave her, Jazz made a decision. She’d keep being the Violet Trapper. She just wasn’t going to shoot Danny anymore. At least, not directly. She couldn’t outright stop without him getting suspicious of what she knew and she did not want him learning her secret that way.

She’d wait until Danny was ready to tell her his secret.

Jazz released her shirt, letting the fabric cover the injury again.

Decision made, some relief pushed away the pain that had settled in her heart. Enough that she realized she was parched after crying for so long, the headache bouncing around her skull more from dehydration than over exertion.

As she made her way downstairs, she was entirely lost in thought. Should she tell Vlad? The idea tugged a frown to her face. No, she couldn’t. She couldn’t explain it, but… something about him still just rubbed her wrong. He’d also just been so adamant during her training that Phantom was, without a doubt, at fault for the ghost attacks and would end up turning on the town sooner rather than later.

No, he didn’t need to know. He was still a ghost hunter, just like her parents, he just hid his penchant for the supernatural.

Pulling a bottle of water from the fridge, another realization settled in her stomach. All three of Danny’s family members - the people who should love him more than anything else - had hunted him, tried to kill him. Their parents spent half their family dinners ranting about dissecting Phantom! All the while, Jazz had agreed, saying the ghost couldn’t understand having a conscience or empathy.

Jazz closed the fridge door then leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the cool metal, which did little to soothe the pounding in her head.

“Jazz?” A voice behind her asked and she turned, startled, immediately throwing the bottle of water at whoever had come up behind her.

Danny effortlessly caught the bottle before it hit him, concern on his face. “Are you alright? I know we argued, but…” he gestured to the bottle and the fridge.

Jazz had completely forgotten they had even had an argument. She’d been too busy having her world ripped apart. She wanted to reach out and hug him but… she couldn’t. Even angry at her, he was still worried about her.

“Just a long day, little brother,” she said, tired.

Danny shrugged, accepting her response as her being fine and started to turn to the stairs.

“Wait, Danny,” Jazz said, catching up with him and grabbing his wrist. She subtly pressed her fingers into his inner wrist a little harder than she needed to, some modicum of relief granted to her turmoil as she felt his slow pulse.

He rolled his eyes as he looked at her. “What, Jazz?” He asked, his face and body language laden with exhaustion. No wonder Jazz had never recognized Phantom as Danny.

She’d only ever seen Phantom in pain or fighting for his afterlife. She’d never have seen her brother’s smile in her enemy’s scowl. Looking at him now, looking at him while knowing, she was amazed at how similar they looked. His hair, the shape of his face, the baby fat still in his cheeks… they were identical.

“I know I’ve been kind of hard on you lately… but you know I think you’re great, right?”

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. That’s not what I hear,” he said, jerking his arm out of her grasp.

“Then you’ve heard wrong!” She insisted, resisting the urge to grab for him again, if only to again reassure herself that he was alive. “I know you think I’m a pushy know it all. But I’m also your sister and I care about you. You can talk to me about anything, anything, and I will understand.”

He averted his gaze at that, scuffing his shoe against the floor.

A loud bang in the living room abruptly ended the conversation, the two of them hurrying to look. Jazz sighed as she saw the smoking spot on the wall and a weapon in her dad’s hands.

“I’m just saying!” Jack insisted. “If we can find that ghost that triggered the school’s ghost sensors, we’re gonna peel it like an onion!” He waved the weapon excitedly.

“Well, we can’t completely vaporize it. Don’t you want to at least examine the remains?” Maddie asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny visibly flinch at their words, rubbing slightly at his chest. Jazz managed to hide her grimace. Right. She’d shot him there yesterday.

“If anything ever comes up, I’ll consider talking to you,” Danny said and she knew that was all the acknowledgement she’d get as he hurried up the stairs and away from the three people routinely trying to kill him.

Was Jazz going to drown in this guilt? She wasn’t sure.

Jack boisterously shouting her name, however, pulled her from her thoughts. “Jazzerincess!”

She sighed. “Yes, Dad?”

“Have you seen the Fenton Peeler yet?” He asked, hurrying over to her and shoving the weapon in her hand, hopping from one foot to the other in excitement.

Jazz looked to her mother for help. Maddie smiled slightly and shrugged. They really had taken Jazz’s outburst to heart - they kept trying to involve their kids now, at least, rather than just staying hidden in the lab all day.

As Jack rambled about their newest invention, Jazz kept having to fight the urge to grimace at the idea of her brother being peeled like an onion. 

He also mentioned that the ghost alerts around the school had gone off a lot recently - more than Jazz had picked up on, which was odd. Was it sensing Danny? Was there another ghost hiding somewhere? She knew about Sidney Poindexter, she largely ignored him since he tended to hide in the old locker and not bother anyone. But he wouldn’t be causing a sudden increase in alerts, he had always been there.

When Jack asked her if she wanted to take the Peeler to school with her, she accepted, maybe a little too eagerly. She’d rather a weapon like that be in her hands - not with her parents or pointed at Danny.

It was still an hour before she managed to escape her father’s exuberance, claiming the need to go to bed. Jack, despite being nearly seven feet tall and built like a brick building, somehow managed to pout like a puppy when she left.

Her headache returned as soon as she laid down, after dropping the Peeler into her backpack.

She hadn’t been in bed longer than ten minutes when she sensed a ghost, Phantom appearing on her radar moments later. For the first time since Vlad’s, she just shoved her head under the pillow and ignored it, hoping sleep would cure her of the throbbing pain in her head.

Jazz couldn’t help but wonder how often she’d caused Danny to curl into his pillow and ignore the pains in his body as he fell asleep.

[skyllion-uwu]

1, 3, 11, and 16 for the fandom ask game?

1. What's your favourite fandom you've been in with regards to the community?

Probably Yume Nikki! The parts I've been in are very chill and I love seeing all the fangames people make inspired by it :3

3. Are you in loads of fandoms, or just a few?

LOTS I have a huge ass list in my Carrd and I don't think that even has everything on it

11. Is there any fanon that annoys you?

Oh man I have A Lot but the biggest one would be Danny Phantom and DC crossover stuff. Sorry, I know it's super popular but that's why I don't like it because it makes it hard to look for non crossover stuff. Runner ups include x reader fics (people don't ever consistently tag it), RiddleBat based on Batman 2022 (both characters often get flanderized beyond belief), and flowtp (shipping of Sabitsuki and Smile; Sabitsuki is canonically on the aro spectrum)

16. If there was no barriers like time, skill and motivation, what fan content would you make?

SOOOO MANY ANIMATICS I listen to a lot of music and make epic AMVs so I'd bring all of those in my head to life and they would be so awesome. And I'd make comics as well to combine writing and art into one. OH FANGAMES TOO I've been rotating a YNFG (as in the traditional kind where it follows a similar format to the original game), a Batman visual novel idea I talk about once in a blue moon (it's so complex I don't know where to begin making it), and then me and my bestie Alex (if you're reading this Hi Al!) have talked about a YNFG based on Batman

Fandom Related Asks

[artistfingers]

There’s one ~silver lining~ of my iPad being broken: I’ve had loads of time to think about my many half-formed undercover phantom au ideas! Since I have no idea when or what will make it to comic form, here’s the lowdown…. AKA, everything that’s been rattling around my brain recently :P

For context: Danny, Sam and Tucker have never met, and nobody knows Danny is Phantom. When Vlad’s newest bit of tech gets Danny stuck in ghost mode (with the rest of his powers on the fritz to boot), he meets Tucker and Sam—who instantly see through his disguise and lend a helping hand. (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4!!)

So. After that, Danny—no, Phantom—becomes friends with them. It’s exciting! He was invisible at school even before the ghost powers; he was pretty isolated and lonely and being Phantom for the last year hasn’t exactly been a social boon. Kid’s lonely, ok?

But now… two human friends? Who’re his age & share his interests? It’s like a dream come true! If only they weren’t exclusively friends with his ghost self… and if only they didn’t wanna be so involved in his dangerous ghost hunting things…Uhhh. Hm. Could be a problem.

Danny angsts about the danger he’s putting his new friends in, and about not being able to befriend them as a human. He plays with the idea of telling them Everything but that’s… risky to say the least. He’s only known them a few weeks! ugh….!! it’s too much. maybe he should just throw the towel in.

Buuut Sam & Tucker don’t take no for an answer. Especially after they rescue him a third time.

Thus… Phantom friendship shenanigans!!

Sam filched some parts from the Fentonworks Lab when Phantom took them there, and later convinced Tucker to help her build a custom mini ectogun in case of emergency. They didn’t tell Phantom.

Danny is really sentimental about that DP hat he wore when he first met Sam & Tucker. He wore it as Phantom for a while but it got singed in a fight. He still wears it when he hangs out with Tucker & Sam but otherwise keeps it squirreled away for Sentimental Reasons.

“So Phantom, how old are you?” “I’m 15.” “15 now? Or 15 when you died?” “Yes.”

Tucker has a bunch of awful 90s button up shirts, and gives one to Phantom

They aren’t able to convince Sam to wear one too, but they sure do try.

Phantom won’t tell them when he died, so once he starts wearing 90s shirts they start using terrible 90s slang with him

“I am NOT from the 90s!!! They didn’t even SAY that then!!!” “methinks the lady doth protest too much…..home slice” “NOOO!!!”

“Phantom I have an extremely important question. Like, life or death. SHIT is on the LINE here. Are you listening?? I really need to know…. Do ghosts play video games”

The answer may surprise you (no it won’t)

Sam is completely convinced they can ACTUALLY get a good working guess of when Phantom lived and died based on the fact he liked Nasty Burger when he was alive, since NB’s a regional chain with a not-so-distant past. Tucker meanwhile thinks Phantom probably has a good reason for keeping them at arm’s length—but regardless of method, they can agree: they want to break down Phantom’s walls.

The next arc is less “Undercover Phantom” and more “Undercover Fenton” because the juxtaposition of him having to do hidden identities squared (squared again) is too good for me to pass up. It boils down to this: during a ghost attack at school, Danny finds himself stuck being “protected” by Sam and Tucker.

Sam and Tucker take their new jobs as Phantom’s ghost hunting companions too seriously to let this skinny stranger they just met run TOWARDS the danger. WHY does he keep trying to run TOWARDS the danger

NO YOU CANNOT GO TO THE BATHROOM THE SCHOOL IS ON G H O S T L O C K D O W N

Sam pulls out her ectogun.

Danny: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!

Sam does not tell him.

“Wait, your last name’s Fenton? Like Fentonworks Fenton?” “No, the other Fenton.” “Oh… well, that’s too bad…” “YES LIKE FENTONWORKS FENTON”

Sam is initially wary of Danny because of his parents’ super strong anti-ecto views. Danny is clueless as to why she isn’t very friendly to him-as-a-human when she’s great with him-as-a-ghost. but she warms up after he helps resolve the ghost issue in a way that shows he doesn’t subscribe to his parents’ views.

afterwards you get this excellent situation where Danny is now friends with Sam and Tucker as Phantom and as Fenton, and they’re not connecting the dots as quickly as they did when it was just “that’s Phantom wearing a hoodie and a cap with his own logo on it”.

the potential here? *chefs kiss* here’s a few things but honestly? the possibilities are limitless

Danny pretending to not have a cell phone because he already gave them his number as Phantom

Tucker: *dials Phantom*

Danny, standing directly next to him: *frantically attempting to silence his phone*

Sam & Tucker try to introduce Danny and Phantom. Danny has to make excuses to avoid this happening in both forms.

Danny takes Sam & Tucker down to the Fentonworks Lab to get them some real equipment. Sam & Tucker pretend (very badly) that they’ve never been there before

Rooftop chill sessions as Phantom, late night teenage hijinks as Fenton, plus school AND fighting ghosts does not do any favors for Danny’s sleep deprivation. Tucker introduces him to caffeine pills with… mixed results.

Tucker and Sam teach Phantom some sign language. Later Danny slips up and uses it casually with them as Fenton

…. And many other silly mixups that I’ve yet to think of because I live for that shit

Sam & Tucker have theories about the Fenton-Phantom connection and they’re all wrong but somehow also plausible and that freaks Danny out just a little bit if he ever overhears them

Ultimately, I see this AU having a final arc where a New Situation occurs in which Danny-as-Phantom has to—once again—pretend to be human. This time, he’s with Sam & Tucker as Phantom from the get go, and can’t disappear or transform, even if being Phantom is extremely dangerous at that moment. Somehow this scenario would lead to the Fenton-is-Phantom (or, in this case, Phantom-is-Fenton) reveal…. But the details still escape me :P

so in short………… I really like hidden identities

[pricklenettle]

Fenton Driving School

The prompt comes from @gilbirda

WC: 3344

Prompt: The students of Casper High aren't sure why they are on a siege. The ghost villain is new, and they keep demanding for the Ghost King to show his face and battle them, but they don't know any 'Ghost King'. And why is the Fenton kid being held down by his friends? (PR284)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38381152

Danny Fenton felt like he was in a pickle jar. An impression not helped by the bottle green ghost shield that strained any light that got through into an unnatural twilight. When you looked up at the sun it almost appeared to wobble as though through old warped glass. This same effect made the huge ghost floating right outside look like a misshapen frog. 

Especially when he opened his mouth to bellow: “Where is the Ghost King! Fight me!”

Which was just a ridiculous thing to shout into the air. In any other world if someone walked around challenging the king of ghosts— well incarceration at an insane asylum would be the usual course. 

The ghost outside punctuated his cry by again punching a huge blast at the school. The shield wobbled, rippling like a disturbed pool. Danny sighed, but they were in his world and nothing so convenient would ever happen. He bounced his leg up and down, eyes flicking back and forth to track the attacker and watch for any other threats. Sam and Tucker stood on either side of him, guarding him from moving even a centimeter out of his seat on the steps in front of the school. The ghost shot another torpedo blast of force at the shield and Danny jerked toward it almost against his will. Sam sent him a loaded glare that would curdle milk and kill most small rodents. Danny settled back on the step.

All around them, students milled inside the shield, keeping together in tight worried groups. School hadn’t finished when the ghost attacked so inside was packed as well. Danny’s eyes roved over the parking lot, each vehicle representing a fraction of the students trapped in the ghost shield, crowding to the windows and doors, watching the ghost circle. Danny would have gone completely insane if he’d been trapped in a schoolroom on top of everything else. He was lucky other students were willing to risk their physical safety outside at the edge of the shield to catch a glimpse of Phantom. At least he had fresh air (although the breeze that filtered through the shield had the barest hint of stuffy citrus and battery acid, like bad cleaning product.) He didn’t feel lucky.

The ghost bellowed a blood curdling war cry probably designed to stop his enemies in their tracks, the students didn’t seem much more than annoyed by it though. Danny actually recognised this guy, it had taken him a hot second of course, for the simple reason he’d never taken him seriously.

Puncheus Maximus— yes, that was his name, was dressed like a wrestler you’d see on t.v. really, really bad t.v. Purple leopard print shorts and all. He did have a very battered, very real Roman helm, but Danny was pretty certain he’d found that after his death. Sometimes you couldn’t be sure though. Puncheus had led a small group of malcontents raiding Danny’s allies. Just generally spitting in the face of his reign, making big boasts, and failing to accomplish much except to be annoyances. So Danny had sent Fright Knight to clean them up so he could deal with the many actual problems clogging his life (one of which was locked around his waist under his hoodie.) Looked like Puncheus had joined the list.

Danny gritted his teeth and snuck another glance around the periphery. Everyone looked fine for now, if impatient. As for Puncheus, it looked like instead of using ecto blasts, the guy shot a powerful short range torpedo blast that vibrated the air every time he punched. It looked like it would hurt to take a hit head on, but Danny knew if he could just turn into Phantom he could bring him down.

“Ghost King,” he bellowed.

“We don’t know who you’re talking about,” Dash yelled, tossing a football at Kwan.

Kwan grabbed the ball out of the air, joining in a bit quieter, “Yeah, we don’t have any Ghost Kings around here.”

“Seriously, just let us go home.”

Paulina looked up from her perch on the railing at the top of the stairs. She smirked. “Phantom will make mincemeat out of you, so just go already before you embarrass yourself.” Apparently bored of bullying the ghost, she returned to her conversation with Star.

Danny buried his head in his hands. “This is what I get for playing up my fear of ghosts.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Sam winced, she was always awkward in the position of comforter. “It’s not your fault people always see you run away from ghost attacks.”

He grunted, frustrated. Right now the specter deflector was at the top of his least favorite Fenton inventions. Dad and Mom had gone off to some conference, and they’d been very worried about the safety of their youngest child. So of course the best solution was to create a specter deflector designed just for Danny and his “ectoplasm residue” and lock it around his waist. The gesture might have been sweet if the stupid belt didn’t inflict terrible electrocution every time he tried to go ghost. At least the adjustments wouldn’t let it shock him on contact anymore. 

He turned to Tucker. “You’re sure you can’t unlock it?”

Tucker shook his head. “The lock is completely manual. They’re going to have to fly back with the key. Face it, dude, Phantom’s going to have to take the bench this time.”

“As soon as they get home I’m dropping this thing in the blender.”

Sam patted his shoulder. “You said yourself, this guy is no big deal, I’m sure Valerie can handle him.” 

“The suit Technus modified is completely ghost, she can’t pass it through the shield. I’m pretty sure she’s moping in the library.”

“Well, the ghost will have to give up eventually, won’t it?” Tucker’s voice was high and unconvincing. 

“Hey, Phantom.”

Danny groaned and dragged his hands over his face. “Hello, Wes. Would you mind leaving me to my misery?”

“Ha! You responded, tell me now you’re not him.”

“Alright, I’m not.”

Wes Weston crossed his skinny arms, scowling. “Transform already, I want to get out of here.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “If I was a ghost, I would be just as unable to pass through the ghost shield from this side as our friend out there.”

“Oh.” 

Wes’s face fell, perhaps finally realizing that he wasn’t being helpful at all. He crab-walked away up the steps, but then whipped out his camera anyway, as though Danny might transform after all. Danny sighed, kneading his palms into his eye sockets. 

It was Lancer who landed the final blow.

He came out of the school blinking, taking in the screaming ghost as though he hadn’t realized they’d been under siege for the past forty minutes. Then his eyes settled on Danny and he marched straight through the other students. There was no escape. 

“Mr. Fenton, this is the perfect opportunity to talk about your book report that was due today.”

Danny was done. He slapped his knees and lunged to his feet before Tucker or Sam could stop him.

“Sorry, Lancer, got to go.”

The Fenton thermos was in his backpack. He dropped it off his shoulder and plunged his hand in, rooting for it as he darted for the shield. 

“Danny, no, don’t do this!” Tucker slid down the banister, at the bottom he jumped off, arms out to tackle him to the ground. Danny skidded to a stop, just short of Tucker’s faceplant.

“Sorry, bud,” he shouted as he jumped over the prone form.

Tucker lifted a trembling thumbs-up into the air. “I’m okay.”

Danny’s hand finally closed on the thermos. And a good thing too, because Sam was sprinting at him with a look more determined than Cujo’s. He zipped the bag closed, then spun, launching the backpack at her at top speed. 

She went down with an “oof.”

Danny shoved the thermos into the front pocket of his hoodie, hopefully, it wouldn’t get in the way too much there.

“What is he thinking,” Lancer cried.

“Dash, incoming,” Sam shouted.

Dash turned, confusion on his dumb mug. That sneaky goth. Dash grinned, broadening his stance to intercept. Danny skirted around him, but Dash sidestepped to make a grab. It was easy to slip past him, and Danny left him behind. 

“What the heck are you up to Fen-turd?”

Other kids were now trying to grab him and hold him back, but Danny jumped and wound his way through, finally clearing the shield with a leap. It was like passing through a thick soup bubble, it caught him for a millisecond, green gooping over his nostrils, eyes, ears, the back of his neck like a freezing cold stream, and then it released him, letting him stumble forward into the parking lot. 

The ghost floated lower, glaring at him furiously. “You’re not the Ghost King.” His tone was mystified.

Danny put up his hands. “Nooooo, I am definitely not that guy, toootally not.” He raised his eyebrows waiting but Puncheus didn’t seem to get it. He stole a glance back to see Sam, Tucker, Lancer, Wes, Dash, and everyone else who’d been waiting outside the school pressed against the ghost shield watching him with wide eyes. The crowd was equally divided into delight at the mad show and the certainty that they were going to watch Fenton rushing to an early grave. Great, an avid audience was just what he needed. 

“Are you trying to mock me, human child?” Puncheus griped.

What was the plan? Who was he kidding, he never had one. Danny held back a laugh. If he could tire him out or take him off guard it would be easy to suck him up with the thermos. “I would never… Puncheus Maximus.” He won’t lie, a couple snickers burst out.

Puncheus seemed to take offense at that, he wound back, ectoplasm shimmering over his fist in glowing rings. “Shut up, I don’t need to take this from a brat. Tell me where the Ghost King is.”

“Don’t know anybody like that,” Danny said blithely, “how about I fight you instead?”

He snorted.

“Scared already? If you can’t even beat me, you should give up on Ghost Kings.”

“I am not scared,” Puncheus exploded. “You’re beneath my notice.” The fool floated lower so he could more effectively glare Danny into the ground. “You should be more careful who you—”

Danny punched him in the eye. He, of course, just went intangible, and Danny got to experience the other side of the cold sensation of his arm passing cleanly through an apparently solid person, but it certainly did the trick of making Puncheus really, really mad. Puncheus jumped back, letting loose with a torpedo blast. Danny leaped to the side, easily avoiding the wave of power that cracked the asphalt behind him. He darted forward, dodging another with both fists up. Puncheus scoffed, swinging a torpedo blast at him. Danny ducked under it, saw his chance, and landed two blows. Puncheus roared, Danny barely had time to roll away before a huge blast screamed past his ear. He couldn’t help a smile though, it was just what he thought, Puncheus couldn’t fire his powerful blasts and stay intangible at the same time. 

“You brat!” he shouted. 

He floated up a couple feet in the air, close enough that his blasts would still be effective but far enough that Danny would be missing his flight— not that he hadn’t been already. Puncheus reared back and sent a barrage of blasts raining down on him. Danny dodged behind a car, he put his back to it, wincing at the bang that no doubt meant a trip to the auto mechanic. He looked up in time to spot Puncheus floating over the roof and aiming another blast. 

Danny threw himself to his feet, avoiding a blast that splashed him with asphalt pebbles. “Wow, you are really bad at this.”

He ran deeper into the maze of cars, the rows packed tightly as the red marks that were going to crowd his book report— just as soon as he turned it in. 

It was a good chance to catch his breath. He got on his hands and knees so Puncheus would have a harder time seeing him. Jazz’s cruddy old car was somewhere nearby, Dad might even have stocked a Fenton bazooka. That would be lucky. He crept through the parking lot, carefully keeping an eye on the sky.

“Come out, brat.” Puncheus kept yelling. “You picked this fight, don’t run away now.”

Puncheus appeared right in front of Danny. He grinned, shooting a torpedo blast. Danny pushed off the senior’s car he was leaning against. The small car jumped sideways, the ugly dent right where Danny’s chest had been. He took a running jump, kicked off the side of the opposite car, and went flying through the intangible ghost. 

Grumbling he picked himself up, darting into another row of cars. The problem was hitting Puncheus at just the right moment. 

There it was. Jazz’s car was half shaded by a bush which did no favors for the peeling brown paint. Danny spotted Puncheus in a side mirror just in time to roll under a van. He peeked out carefully, it wasn’t too far of a sprint, he’d just need to be sneaky if he wanted any time to rummage.

He waited, Puncheus had stopped shouting threats. He eased himself out from underneath the van, squinting grumpily past the sun glaring into his eyes in search of Puncheus. Nothing. He crawled out. Keeping low to the ground he dashed across the empty space. The side of Jazz’s car was rough against his fingers when he ducked against it, scanning for Puncheus again. He reached for the handle, peeking through the window revealed a deliberately clean interior, a couple books in the back seat, and an empty coffee askew in the cupholder. He yanked on the handle again. His stomach sank, it was locked. Heavy boots crunched down behind him. He turned. Punchius stood over him with a triumphant grin. 

“Bad at this, am I?”

“Wow, you’re still burning over that quip? It wasn’t even that good.”

He shot a torpedo blast at Danny’s head. 

Danny rolled to the side, kicking out his leg to hook around Puncheus’s ankle. He went intangible but that just meant he couldn’t shoot torpedoes. 

“You really need to work on your self esteem.” 

Danny jumped to his feet, raining useless blows on him and dodging heavy punches. Then Puncheus caught Danny’s fist with his chin. He gaped at it for a single uncomprehending moment. Puncheus’s flashing red eyes glared murderously. Then a torpedo blast rammed into him. Danny hit the car hard, the breath whooshed out of his lungs in a gasp, and he felt the metal dent under his shoulder. Electricity from the specter deflector arced up and down his side as his ghost half tried to heal. He kept his balance, barely, even though his arm and chest felt like a wrung dishcloth. Puncheus grabbed his collar, dragging him up into the sky.

“Do you yield, brat?”

Danny wheezed out a laugh which made Puncheus’s eye twitch. “I just can’t—” he laughed, “I just can’t take you seriously. Congrats on landing one blow on a teenager.”

Puncheus’s face shot a livid green. “I don’t have time for this,” he said in disgust.

He swooped down. Danny tensed, ready to hit pavement. But instead, Puncheus forced him, intangible, through the roof of a car. Danny went sprawling in the backseat. Puncheus’s face phased through the roof above him. And what an ugly face it was.

“You should invest in cosmetics, I’ve taken more damage from your face than your punches.”

Puncheus snarled. “Be grateful I’m saving my strength for the Ghost King, kid.” Then his eyes glowed and all the locks snapped shut. 

Puncheus’s face disappeared. Danny could already hear his challenges starting up again as he wandered back toward the school. Well, this wouldn’t do, at this rate, he’d lose his crown to a t.v. wrestler wannabe who thought Puncheus Maximus was a cool name. 

Danny scrambled up over the divider into the driver’s seat. He only blanched when he saw the pile of graded papers in the passenger seat. This was Lancer’s car. Well, hopefully, whatever he did next would destroy his assignment in the crossfire. His fingers grazed over the ignition, no keys of course. He scrunched up his face in preparation for the pain and shoved his hand into the dashboard. The belt sparked, zapping out a series of light shocks. Danny just had to grimace, rooting around until the car revved to life. Danny quickly snapped back his hand, and the specter deflector immediately calmed down. A wide grin spread across his face as he switched to drive.

Danny stomped on the gas. The engine squealed in dismay, lurching forward in a skid. Danny’s teeth clicked together at the sudden acceleration, all the loose papers flew up like pigeons. He threw the wheel to the right, tires squealing messily. The back end clipped its neighbor. Puncheus spun, eyes wide with disbelief. Danny braced himself against the wheel. The car bucked as he smashed into the car Puncheus had been standing in front of. Time slowed, Danny lifted out of his seat, gravity losing its grip on him for a snapshot. Danny’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. It was thrilling, feeling his heartbeat, his blood pumping through his veins like a hose, the euphoria as his brain bounced around his skull. Flying alive was great. Then he crashed back down, windshield cracked, head bouncing on the headrest. The front of the car was probably crumpled.  

Danny turned to the passenger seat with a smile. “Going somewhere?”

Puncheus was clearly discombobulated to find himself in the front seat of Lancer’s car. Automatically he retrieved the hand phasing through the door and the legs still standing in the street, folding them into the human space. Face drawn into a mask of fury, he leveled his fist at Danny like a gun.

“That’s it, brat, say goodbye to life.”

His arm rippled as it charged up ectoplasm.

“Already did that.”

Danny rammed the car into reverse, the gas hitting the floor with a satisfying thud. Puncheus was caught off guard in the tangible world where physics existed. He flew out the windshield, glass spraying across the asphalt. 

“I take tips by the way,” he shouted.

Danny pushed the brake for the first time, gasping. He put it in part, slipping his legs up into the seat. Feeling just a tad like jelly, he climbed out the windshield. He paused for a moment on the hood, planting his hands on his hips to survey the damage. Not bad for his first time driving.

Puncheus was still lying on the ground a few feet away. Danny hopped down, fishing out his thermos. He was face down on the ground, a couple shards of windshield sparkling under him. Other than a bad case of road rash and a healthy dose of shock, he looked fine. Danny let a devilish grin spread across his face. 

“I win.”

Puncheus just groaned miserably.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get back to the zone tonight, I’m sure Fright Knight is missing you sorely right about now.”

His eyes widened before the thermos’s beam engulfed him and he was safely vacuumed up. Danny couldn’t stop the self satisfied smile as he twisted the cap closed.

“Fen-turd, what the heck?”

He froze midstep, just then remembering his audience. He half turned toward them stiffly. The ghost shield had dissipated, but no one had moved, all staring at him. Sam smacked herself in the face.

“Are you— um, alright?” Lancer said, eyes popping out like a squeaky toy.

Danny put up a hand to the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Sorry about your car.”

Lancer seemed at a loss.

Danny laughed nervously again. Then he turned and ran.

[phantomphangphucker]

Phic Phight: [REDACTED] “Oh Goddamnit. DANNY!”

Prompt Creator: @mr-lancers-english-class

Even Danny’s school projects cause ghostly issues and Lancer really should have seen this coming.

Alright fine, Lancer knew this was a bad idea. He knew it. And yet... here they all are, with each of his students doing their self-chosen presentations. And as he should have expected, Every. Single. One. has been on Phantom. Sure at least there’s been some variety. Star’s piece on his fashion and how that reflects on his personality and the era he died was actually fairly interesting (if it wasn’t for the fact that Phantom spiced up his jumpsuit with t-shirts and whatnot sometimes then this would have been a very boring one). Kwan also surprised him some, apparently he’s spent the past year or so sneaking photos of Phantom eating and did a piece on Phantom’s rather peculiar food tastes (who dips their pickles in milkshakes???) as well as effectively providing proof for the existence of ectoplasmic food (there’s no way any earth apples are neon green on the inside). Dash’s wasn’t even correctly calculated, trying to figure out how far Phantom could throw footballs based on his known strength and if he could kill someone by tackling them (disturbingly the answer -regardless of Dash’s bad math- was decidedly yes. Daniel seemed particularly disturbed). And Paulina’s was quite literally a badly written self-insert ship fan fic; the added drawings of what their child would look like only made it worse (Daniel left, not that Lancer could blame him. Lancer’s also glad for the ghost fight interrupting the presentation). Emilie’s was... disturbingly about ghost hunger and purposed the thesis that Phantom, for the good of the town, should eat the aggressor ghosts (he actually had to cut her off for getting too graphic).

But the single most interesting thing was that a ghost apparently caught wind of this and literally Every. Single. Presentation so far had words that were permanently replaced with [REDACTED], which, needless to say, caused some chaos when Samantha gave the very first presentation.

-

Lancer clicked his pen, crossing his legs and resting the evaluation sheet on his thigh, “alright, Samantha. Feel free to start whenever you please, though soon would be preferred”, by ‘preferred’ he had meant required, but no need to be mean. He chooses to ignore the goth teen's eyeroll.

Predictably the projected screen doesn’t work when she opens her file so Lancer has to spend ten minutes fiddling with the outdated tech that they wouldn’t give the school funding to replace. Eventually, he does get it up and running showing Ms. Manson’s title screen reading ‘Phantom And Hate Crimes Against Blood Blossoms’. Lancer’s positive ‘blood blossoms’ are a type of flower, figures she would do something nature-focused. She’d make for a great herbalist or botanist someday. He does catch Daniel and Tucker giving her ‘death glares’, as the kids call it, though; Samatha doesn’t look any less smug. The second page has what he thinks was supposed to be a detailed drawing of a flower but it’s severely pixilated, almost as if it been blurred; Samantha looks visibly upset so he’s going to assume something when wrong with the file or pasting format. He’s not marking on artistic capabilities though, so effort is effort there.

She quickly clicks to the next page, where the actual writing of the assignment is and looks decidedly pissed; Lancer even quirks an eyebrow since at least two-thirds of the words are a very bold noticeable [REDACTED]. Lancer watches her yank out her physical copy while glaring with murderous intent at Daniel -Lancer will have to dock him marks if he messed with another student's project- before looking at the physical copy in bafflement for a few seconds. Half the class shrieking when she drops the papers and basically launches herself over the desks at Daniel, “OH YOU LITTLE FUCKER!!!! HOW THE FUCK!”.

Lancer’s sighs and stands, “language, Ms. Manson”, moving to pick up the papers and quirking an eyebrow over them looking the same. Sighing again and eyeing Daniel, who’s being choked -or throttled perhaps?- by Samantha yet is grinning innocently. “Daniel, messing with other students' work is against student policy”, sighing yet again, “and I’ll let Star go while Samantha fixes her document”, summoning up the blonde while glaring at Daniel. Some days that boy was more trouble than he was worth but he was also insanely bright and had a heart of gold. Lancer knows he’ll do good things someday, and that’s why he still tries with him.

Half the class is snickering or laughing now and Star is very clearly trying not to laugh as she sets up.

However, as soon as it opens up the class is met with a very familiar sight. [REDACTED] litters every single page; he checked. And Star’s physical copy was in the same state.

Kwan blinks, “okay seriously, what is going on”, before scrambling to grab out his own physical copy; the rest of the class going wide-eyed and following suit. Lancer just puts his head in his hands and sighs very audibly while shaking his head. Why could nothing go right? Sighing again as the class erupts into noise.

“Mines all weird too!”.

“Same here!”.

“Okay there is no way Fenturd messed up everyone’s work”.

“And I actually tried on mine! It was about the merits of Phantom getting armour!”.

“Oh damn do we just get auto hundreds now? Please please please say yes”.

“Oh damn, Phantom would actually look awesome in armour”.

“I know right”.

“Can we just skip class entirely now?”.

“Oh my Zone a ghost messed with or work”.

“Holy Shit”.

“Wait! Wait! Wait! You don’t think Phantom did do you?”.

“Why the heck would he do that? How would he even know??????”.

“Oh I hope Phantom was inside my computer. That would be so hot”.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe someone told him or he overheard shit. He’s a ghost, he can be invisible. Heck, he could be here, right now, invisible”.

“Invisible and laughing at us”.

“No! No! Hold up! What if he doesn’t want us writing about him or maybe someone wrote some sus shit and he just nerfed us all for good measure”.

“That would mean Phantom totally read my stuff, aw Hell yeah man. That was some boss shit”,

Lancer sighs and stands up, “alright that’s enough”, sighing again because why did this have to happen to him, “and I apologies for blaming you earlier, Daniel”.

Samantha snaps, “oh no, I still blame him”, and continues glaring at the teen. Lancer suspects Samantha would continue blaming the boy even if it was firmly proven he wasn’t at fault.

Addressing the class again, “here’s what we’re going to do, you’re going to read off what of your projects you actually can and allude to the rest. Please reframe from repeating what you know was there beforehand as I’d rather not have whatever ghost responsible -Phantom or otherwise- come here pissed off”, glaring at few students who look slightly encouraged rather than discouraged by that prospect, “anyone who does will receive automatic zeroes”, ah and the encouraged looks have deflated. Good. Gesturing at Star, “you’re already up here, so do continue”. Better to not bring the clearly infuriated Samantha back to the front until she’s had some time to calm down.

Star nods and clears her throat, thankfully everyone quiets down. “O-okay, well, um”, gesturing at the screen, “I did my piece on Phantom’s sense of fashion and the cover image was one with him dressed in one of the Spook Sense stores meme shirts....”.

-

Lancer shakes away the memory, he honestly slightly regrets giving this project. But regardless right now is Daniel’s turn and Lancer is honestly slightly fearful of what his file is going to look like. Thankfully all their files were saved to his computer before the [REDACTED] debacle, so no one could go back in and edit theirs to add [REDACTED]’s for an easy grade. Lancer’s still not exactly sure how he’s supposed to mark assignments that were anywhere from one-fifth to one-third [REDACTED]. That word will be burned into his head after this grading period.

Lancer moves to find the boys file, but stares when clicking it crashes the computer. Not once. Not twice. But thrice. The fourth time rebooting the computer he inspects the file and is a bit dumbfounded, “Daniel, your entire file’s corrupted. The file type has even been changed to redacted, which I’m fairly sure, isn’t actually any possible file designation”. Everyone’s silent for a bit before bursting out into laughter.

“Just what the Zone did you write, Danny!”.

“Oh we so have to know what this is now”.

“Danny has the forbidden knowledge! We haft found him! The keeper of things forbidden and Ghostly! Haza!”.

“Ha! It was probably so lame that Phantom wanted to save him the embarrassment”.

Lancer sighs, but Daniel gestures Tucker up, “hey Tuck, feel like trying to fix the file”. Tucker chuckles and walks up, though apparently glaring at the boy. Based on Daniel’s smirk he finds this quite amusing.

Tucker does manage to make the file viewable at least. Lancer nods and leans back in his seat, “thank you, Mr. Foley”, while the file loads on screen.

Tucker sits back down with a head shake while Daniel stands at the front and gestures to the screen, “aight, as you can see from my not redacted title-”, that earns a couple laughs, “I did mine on Phantom’s portfolio of crime. Every single time our dear Phantom broke ghost law. Including such wonderful things as, that time he caused not one, not two, not even three, but five, prison breaks in one day. Or that time he invalidated a Observant spectator duel by bringing an inflatable sword”. Samantha slams a hand on her desk, “IT IS YOUR FAULT YOU DICK!”.

Lancer has some serious questions as Daniel clicks for the next page, the entire class going dead silent as a screen comprising of almost nothing but the word [REDACTED] shows. Lancer sighs very audibly. Eventually the class starts up again.

“Fenton... actually has forbidden knowledge”.

“If it wasn’t for the teacher computer saved thing I’d think he was fucking with us”.

“I mean... he is a Fenton, right?”.

“Okay the fact that this entire presentation is on ghost crimes is concerning alone. But they’re forbidden ghost crimes at that”.

“Shit I wanted the tea. Damnit”.

“Better question, how does Danny know?”.

Daniel clicking the button to go forward is very audible. And, Chicken Soup For The Soul, every single page is [REDACTED] to the point of being completely and utterly unintelligible. There are occasional lines pointing out how Phantom apparently ate confetti at a ghosts third wedding (which is apparently illegal for some reason) or that time he beat someone up with a violin that had a pie inside it (Lancer can see this one, Lancer himself has smacked a ghost with stranger).  Literally the only photo that isn’t blurred beyond recognition is one of Phantom in a prison uniform (Paulina was very vocal about liking men in uniform here). Lancer is absolutely positive the end of his conclusion ‘[REDACTED] are a bunch of [REDACTED]’ is an insult.

Samantha chucks a boot at his smirking face, “YOU IDIOT. Of course they were going to block you from talking about them. Ancients, I can’t believe you”. Tucker’s busy laughing into his hand.

“Oh my Zone, they know too”.

“They’re really earning that weirdo trio title, huh”.

Daniel snickers as he sits back down, “they broke into my room and wrecked that epic puzzle I was working on. They shoulda seen this shit coming. Literally”. Tucker snorts, “they probably did but couldn’t do anything else about it. They can’t stop you and your endless bullshit”.

“Damn fucking straight”.

Lancer isn’t going to claim to know what exactly they’re talking about but apparently Daniel effectively orchestrated this entire fiasco just to annoy some ghost. Lancer is honestly more impressed than disturbed. A for effort but an A- for making everyone's work nigh unusable.

End.

Prompt: For the last project of their senior year in high school, Mr. Lancer is letting his class do presentations on literally whatever topic they want. He is very, /very/ sure that this is going to go poorly, but that's a problem for later...

[lexosaurus]

Tutoring Phantom Ch 1

Characters: Danny, Dash, Kwan Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Word Count: 4036 Summary: It was funny. A year ago Dash was all but praying for Fenton to shut up, but now he would do anything to hear him speak.

This is my very belated gift for @kinglazrus! It has ended up becoming a twoshot. Here’s chapter one!

Read on: [ao3] [ffn]

---

The revelation shook Amity Park to its core.

Fenton? Really? That Fenton? 

The scrawny one? 

The kid of those nut-job parents?

The one that got picked on?

I heard he’s a loner. Super quiet. 

It was always the quiet ones…

Isn’t he failing school? Maybe that’s why. Maybe it’s because he’s a ghost. Aren’t ghosts less intelligent than humans?

Teresa told me he ditches class all the time. Probably because of his Obsession.

That’s so creepy.

Fenton was...Phantom. Danny was Phantom. It was simply indisputable. Of course some conspiracy theorists were probably screaming about photoshop and CGI, but when Dash saw the transformation happen on television, there was no other way he could make sense of it.

Fenton was Phantom. 

The Guys in White had figured it out, evidently. According to their spokesperson, they had been analyzing Phantom’s ectoplasm samples left from a ghost fight when they found human DNA infused into the ectoplasm. Scans showed that it belonged to Danny Fenton.

When the GiW collected more samples from various ghost fights, all the results were the same. 

Fenton was Phantom.

So they developed a gun. And when Phantom was distracted with a ghost fight they denied planting (but they must have, there was no possible way they could have captured him otherwise), they hit him with it.

And he transformed right there in front of everyone. 

Fenton was Phantom.

And Dash had spent years ruining his life.

Dash collapsed on his couch, his glassy eyes fixated on the still image of Fenton’s horrified face. His hair was wild, his eyes even more so. In the background, he was surrounded by men in white suits, all armed to the teeth with guns. Above him, helicopters soared. 

Fenton was trapped.

There was no way out of it.

Dash had spent the better part of his life bullying the boy who would become his hero, and now he would never be able to apologize.

---

Well, maybe Dash spoke too soon.

By some miracle, Fenton was released from the government’s clutches. 

Eventually. 

Dash didn’t understand the science behind it, but apparently Fenton wasn’t dead. He was...almost dead? But not quite. He was just alive enough to have a pulse, just alive enough to have a heartbeat, just alive enough to be considered human in the eyes of the law.

Dash didn’t want to acknowledge just how relieved he was at this revelation. And if he were a good person, his relief would have come from the part where that meant his classmate was actually alive.

But he wasn’t a good person. What good person spends their downtime picking on the weak kids at school? What good person takes out their aggression on those who don’t fight back?

Dash wasn’t kind, he wasn’t nice, he wasn’t selfless. And that’s why he was relieved.

Because all of his relief came from the fact that if Fenton was alive, then Dash didn’t have to live with the guilt that he’d tormented a dead person. He didn’t have to lie awake at night wondering if he was the one to push Fenton past his breaking point, if he were responsible for Fenton’s death.

Because Fenton wasn’t dead. So what if he was almost dead? So what if he probably did die—if only for a moment—before his body was kickstarted back to life? Fenton wasn’t dead, so Dash didn’t have to think about it.

Dash could get away with it all scot free.

Just like always.

---

Fenton was allowed to come to school.

If Dash were honest, he was surprised by this. He didn’t think the PTA would have caved to the students, who had demanded that Fenton be allowed to return to school. But apparently they relented.

Under certain conditions.

Conditions which the government was more than happy to collaborate with.

It was Fenton’s first day back, and yet he didn’t look all there. He was pale, sickly, his hair too long and voice nonexistent.

But his eyes, those scared Dash the most.

His eyes were dead. 

It was as if someone had taken all the light that was Danny and replaced it with a puppet. There was nothing in there. Nothing inside of his skin. It was...dead.

What did they do to him?

The teachers didn’t try to make him engage with their lessons. They only looked at Danny with pity in their eyes when they would walk by. And Danny wouldn’t acknowledge them because he was just empty. 

Dash wanted to approach him. Talk to him. He had a whole speech prepared, and he knew Kwan did too. But the speech had all but died on his lips when he saw Fenton that morning. He knew—he knew—that nothing was going to get through to him.

Fenton was Phantom, but Fenton wasn’t even there.

And in his place was nothing but bones wrapped in skin held together by metal contraptions on his wrists, ankles, and neck.

Dash shivered. The one on his neck was blinking. It was a warning, Dash realized. A warning that Danny was dangerous. He was inhuman. He was Phantom. 

The students avoided him. Even the ones who had advocated for his safe return. Dash didn’t blame them, either. No one could have predicted that this would be coming back to their class.

Even so, Manson and Foley stuck by him. Dash watched them guide him to each class, carrying his books and trying their best to include him in the conversation. Sometimes he would even lock eyes with them, sometimes his lips would twitch upward and his eyes would brighten as if he were following along with Manson and Foley’s antics. 

Those moments were rare though. Fleeting.

Because in the end, the modicum of emotion would always vaporize from Fenton’s face and they’d be left with the blank, faraway glazed expression that he always seemed to wear now. The duo would be left talking between themselves, and Dash was left looking at them from the sidelines waiting for Fenton to open his mouth and just respond.

Gone were the days of the snarky comments and muttered undertones. Gone were Fenton’s stupid comments that Dash spent years beating him up over. 

It was funny. A year ago Dash was all but praying for Fenton to shut up, but now he would do anything to hear him speak.

No one knew what happened to Fenton during his stay with the government. No one knew what they did to him. Because, as far as Dash knew, Fenton hadn’t said a word since he returned home. Dash wasn’t sure if it was because Danny couldn’t respond, or if he just wouldn’t. 

He didn’t know which one was worse.

---

It had been one month since Fenton returned to school. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see that he wasn’t doing well.

He drifted from class to class like he was in a dream, often not even bothering to put his notebook on his desk as he sat in each class staring at the wall with the same dead expression.

Fenton didn’t take his tests or quizzes with the class anymore. He was in the same math class as Dash and only lasted one exam before Mr. Falluca started proctoring his exams separately. Rumor had it they were trying to get him extra help, but the PTA didn’t want him integrated with Casper High’s most vulnerable students.

Dash thought that was a load of crap, personally. Dash had a few teammates who got extra help from the school’s learning center and they could handle themselves just fine.

Regardless, at this rate, Fenton was going to fail out of school.

Which was why it was of no surprise to Dash when he and Kwan were called down to Mr. Lancer’s office one day with a request to tutor Fenton.

“I know this is a lot of responsibility, and I know you haven’t always seen ways with Mr. Fenton in the past,” Mr. Lancer said, his fingers steepled in front of his chin. “But I can’t ask just anyone to do this. You two are leaders in your class, and you have some high marks to boot. Mr. Lee, you have consistently scored in the top ten percent of the class in your English and history courses, and Mr. Baxter, this past year you’ve done remarkably well in your math course.”

Dash had been regarded as many different things. Athletic, social, hotheaded, cocky, brave—but never smart. He was always known as the high school jock stereotype, he never did well in school.

But Mr. Lancer always knew he was more than just a stereotype, and when he called Dash and his parents after school one day with the recommendation that Dash get tested for ADD, suddenly everything clicked. 

It was amazing how a small pill each morning could turn Dash from a C student to a rising A student in the matter of a few months.

“And because I know how much I’m asking of you two, I have spoken to your teachers and they are willing to give you extra credit on your final exams as compensation.”

Dash cleared his throat. “Mr, Lancer,” he started, his voice scratchy. “With all due respect, why have us tutor him? Why not have the teachers do it?”

“I have been working with Mr. Fenton, and I’ll continue to through the school year. But he needs that peer to peer connection, he needs the support of those around him. I’m sure you’ve noticed the shift in your class, the growing uneasiness of those around you?”

Dash nodded. He would have had to have been blind to not see how everyone seemed to skirt around Fenton in the hallways, how nobody except Manson and Foley said so much as a “hello” to him.

“I understand,” said Dash. 

“The...ghost inhibitor thing isn’t helping, either,” Kwan added. “I’ve never seen that kind of technology used on any ghost. And you have to admit, Danny’s been acting really strange lately. Like he’s not even here. Mr. Lancer, if you don’t mind me asking, is it...are they…?”

The unsaid question hung in the air, and Mr. Lancer’s eyes darkened. “There’s only so much I’m allowed to say on this matter. But I would say your suspicions about the devices are likely to be true. Although, it’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly how much they’re affecting Mr. Fenton. He’s been through a lot.”

Dash felt lightheaded. So the rumors about the devices were true. At least, somewhat true.

If there was one thing both Fenton and Phantom were, it was resilient. Sure, the Guys in White could knock him down, but to change him this much? To give him so much baggage he couldn’t even speak?

It screamed foul play.

“That’s terrible,” Kwan said. “It’s sick knowing that they’d do that to him.”

“Indeed. Which is why I’m asking you both to step up as leaders of your class and help your fellow peer through this difficult time. If we can help Mr. Fenton become more integrated with his classmates, we may have a case to allow him to remove the inhibitors and get him real help.”

Dash could feel Kwan’s eyes on him, and he knew why. Dash and Fenton had history, and that made this complicated. There was so much unfinished business between the two. 

Was Dash ready to take this step? Was he really ready to be the selfless, altruistic hero like Phantom instead of the bully he had always been?

“Again, I know the school is asking so much of you both, and I am willing to personally help if need be. If, for whatever reason, you feel as though you can’t do it, there will be no judgement from me or any of your other teachers. This is entirely up to you.”

If Dash said no, Kwan would follow. If Dash wasn’t ready, Kwan wouldn’t force him into that position. It was exactly why Dash and Kwan were such good friends: Dash got his way, and he always knew Kwan would have his back.

But that wasn’t healthy. And it didn’t lead to good outcomes in the long term.

Now was the time for Dash to take that step. 

He needed to be the leader instead of the coward he always was.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

---

If Fenton was confused as to why his two former childhood bullies were now his after school homework buddies all of the sudden, he didn’t say it.

In fact, he didn’t say anything at all.

But Dash knew this would happen going into it. He knew it would be difficult to tell if Fenton’s head was in the clouds or if he was truly in the present. And he knew Fenton would just go along with whatever they threw at him anyway.

Because he was Fenton. He could never let Dash have the last metaphorical word, even if he was being suppressed by the physical manifestation of the United States government on his wrist, ankles, and neck.

He was annoying like that.

“See, this is what goes into the equation. F of x has its own definition, and g of x has its own definition. So in this problem we’re just replacing f of x and g of x with what’s written here. You see?” Dash asked, circling the functions and drawing arrows with his multicolored pens.

Fenton just stared down at his paper.

“Here, we can do it together,” Dash said. He took Fenton’s paper and wrote out the equation, going through the problem step by step with his neatest handwriting. Following Kwan’s lead from earlier, he talked through every minute detail about the equation, pausing in between lines to allow the information to sink in, and to give Fenton the opportunity to interrupt if he was lost.

Even though it was obvious that Fenton wasn’t going to interrupt.

And he didn’t. He sat there, staring dully at the paper like he was watching cement dry. And at the end, once Dash put his pencil down, Fenton just ran his finger across the problem, his brow furrowed like he couldn’t figure out how Dash’s writing had ended up on his paper.

And maybe he truly couldn’t figure it out. Maybe he didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe he had no idea that Dash was tutoring him.

Dash wasn’t a mind reader. He didn’t know what was going on in Fenton’s head.

“That makes sense, Dash!” Kwan supplied from across them, his voice bright and cheery. 

Even though they were technically just tutoring Fenton, framing the group as a small, informal study group seemed more appropriate in Dash’s eyes. 

“I think I understand this a little better now. What do you think, Danny?”

Fenton blinked slowly, his head raising to face Kwan.

“Do you think you get the first problem?” Dash asked.

Fenton’s gaze flickered over to Dash, and the confused expression on his face deepened. He cocked his head slightly, as if he was just seeing Dash for the first time.

A beat of silence stretched around the table, and Dash held his breath, waiting for something to happen. But after a moment too long, Fenton just turned his attention back to the paper, staring at it motionless.

Dash couldn’t help but send a quick ‘help’ glance over at Kwan. He had never tutored anyone in his life, much less a teen who was seemingly incapable of responding. 

Maybe...maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he was wrong to think he could do this.

But fortunately, before he could get too deep in his own insecurities, Kwan came to the rescue. “Dash, can we do one more together before trying a problem on our own? Number two looks a little different than number one, and I don’t really understand how to set up the equation!”

Dash sent a mental thank you Kwan’s way before plucking a purple pen off the table. “Sure!” He turned to Danny’s paper. “Okay, this is f of x. Looking at the equation, we know that it goes here. And this—” He swapped to a green pen “—is g of x. Where do you think this one goes?”

He sat patiently, as if he were waiting for Fenton to respond.

But Dash knew that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He was wasting his time with this pause, even if he was only doing it to be polite.

Truth be told, he didn’t even think Fenton was listening to him. Fenton probably was incapable of that. Hell, he probably didn’t even remember where he was or how he got here.

But, just as Dash was about to go ahead and answer his own question for Fenton, the small teen shifted beside him. Dash’s eyes snapped onto Fenton, watching as the boy lifted his arm off his lap and pointed to the paper.

Dash’s eyes trailed down to the worksheet, down to Fenton’s hand, and froze. 

Fenton was pointing to the correct part of the equation.

He had been listening to Dash. He, somehow, was able to understand Dash.

Dash looked over to Kwan, who too was resembling a fish with his open mouth stare at the duo. His eyes met Dash’s, and a smile overtook his expression. He shot Dash a thumbs up, a clear encouragement to continue on.

“Yeah,” Dash breathed, turning his attention back to Fenton. “Yeah, that’s it.”

Fenton’s hand dropped back to his lap.

“Good, now let’s solve this together.”

---

As the days turned to weeks, slowly tutoring Fenton got a little easier. Though it was still impossible for Dash and Kwan to know just how much Fenton was absorbing with their sessions, they were starting to be able to decipher small behavioral quirks in Fenton’s body language to help guide them through the haze.

An eyebrow twitch here, a tiny jerk of his pupils there. His movements were small, but telling. And when he was truly spaced out, when their questions would yield not even the faintest twitch from him, a gentle tap on his arm seemed to pull him back to reality.

Tutoring Fenton could be difficult—some days it felt like nothing they said was committing to his fleeting memory—but it wasn’t impossible. Because under that dense fog clouding his mind was still the annoying, snarky teen they had grown up with.

And some days, they could still see glimpses of that snarky teen in him.

“Yeah so the coach is having us an extra gym routine tomorrow,” Dash said, closing his notebook and leaning back in his chair. “So I’ll probably be a half hour late picking you up. Sound good?”

Fenton didn’t respond.

Not that Dash was expecting him to.

“I hear we’re gonna have a wall-sit contest,” Kwan said. “Dale crushed us all last time, but I’ll have my revenge this time around!”

Fenton’s eyes flickered up to Dash. He tapped his thigh, the corner of his lips twitching up.

“What?”

Fenton paused, seemingly mulling something over, before loosely pointing to Dash’s legs with a subtle smirk.

Dash sat up, realization dawning on him. “Are you…are you calling my legs weak?”

Judging by the ghost of an impish grin on Fenton’s features, Dash was right.

“Really? You too?”

Fenton grinned and tapped his legs again.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” Dash crossed his arms. “I could kick your scrawny ass to next year if I wanted to!”

Fenton raised his brows ever so slightly.

“What, you think just because you’re Phantom that means you’re stronger than me?” Dash jammed his thumb to his chest. “Don’t forget who your gym buddy was Freshman year! Once those inhibitors come off, it’s you and me at the gym! I’d like to see you try to keep up with me, Fenton!”

Dash heard a snort from the other side of the table. His head whipped around to see Kwan with his hands cupping his mouth.

“What are you laughing at?”

With that, Kwan bursted out laughing and leaned back in his chair. “Dude!” He exclaimed, seemingly catching a breath. “You really think you can bench more than Phantom? Oh my god—I can’t breathe—that’s the funniest fucking thing!”

“Hey, have my back here!” Dash snapped. He glanced over to Danny, whose face had broken out into a full grin. “Yeah, laugh it up why don’t you!”

Danny just tapped his legs as a response.

Kwan roared in laughter and all but fell off of his chair.

“Oh, shut up!”

---

“We want in,” a voice said from above him.

Dash stuffed his notebook into his backpack, not even bothering to glance up at the speaker. “What are you talking about?”

“We know you’ve been doing homework with Danny after school, and we want to join.”

Dash sighed and threw his bag over his shoulder. He stood, facing Manson in all her glory. Though her outfit didn’t scream quite as goth as it had when they were Freshmen, she still had the same self-righteous stance that had always irritated Dash.

“Okay?” Dash responded. “And who is ‘we’?”

“Tucker and I. You know, Danny’s best friends? Have been since elementary school? The two people who have actually been there for him this whole time? Ring a bell?”

Dash rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m leaving. Study with him on your own time.”

He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Wait. Sorry, just—” She paused, dropping her arm back to her side, and Dash watched as a myriad of emotions flickered through her expression. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and cracks of insecurity seeped through her features. “Sorry. Let me start over.”

He straightened back up. “I’m listening.”

She took a deep breath. When she started, her voice was quiet but steady. “I get why Lancer asked you and Kwan to work with him. I do, I get it. But Tucker and I are his best friends. And you know how he is right now. Those devices are...they’re messing with his head. I know they are.” Her gaze flickered up at Dash, and she looked scared. “It hurts seeing him like this, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Dash said. “But I don’t see what this has to do with our study sessions.”

“He just seems happier now since he started. He seems better.”

Dash blinked. Whatever he was expecting her to say, that definitely wasn’t it.

Manson hugged herself, her shoulders hunching. She looked...small. Fragile. As if the slightest breeze would topple her over. 

This wasn’t like her.

“Whatever you guys have been doing, it’s working. He’s getting better. I don’t know, he just seems more present now. And...it hurts that I haven’t been there during this. You know, it’s been months since I’ve heard his voice. Not since before he got captured, since before those evil devices were forced on him. I know they’re preparing for a court case to get them removed, and I know there’s a chance he’ll get better again, but I just…”

“You miss him,” Dash said, surprising himself. 

“Yeah. I do.”

Dash sighed. “I don’t know how I can help with this.”

“Just give us a chance? Please. Just let us tag along, even if it’s only for a few days a week. We won’t interfere with the tutoring, we just want to be there.”

He stared at her silently, studying her face under her bangs. 

The past year had been hard on her, that much was obvious. And Dash, as unobservant and bullheaded as he was, could see the dark circles under her eyes, her blotchy skin, her chapped lips.

The way she stood there before him, a person who she would never have been caught dead being friendly with, defeated and all but begging for help.

Dash wasn’t selfless. He wasn’t altruistic.

He was just a dumb jock.

But in that moment, as he scrutinized the way her hands fidgeted and her lower lip wobbled, he couldn’t help but feel her sadness, her regret.

It was painful to watch.

“Okay.” He turned away. “We meet at Kwan’s at four. I’ll see you both there.”

---

chapter two> 

[nastyburger]

public ShortComings right now right now right now right now ri

LMAO I HAVE SUMMONED CONSTELLAJ WITH MY DASH REDEMPTION ARC KLSADJSALKDJALK anyway heres the episode idea under the cut!!!

the premise/start of the episode is similar to its canon counterpart. danny needs to pass an important physical exam and is paired with dash as a fitness buddy to help prepare for it. however, instead of jack just blasting phantom, a ghost, and an innocent bystander outside the house with the shrink ray and promptly fucks off to not deal with the consequences of that, the shrink blaster is introduced early on to danny as a prototype still in the works. it is then left in the lab until it is needed later and the set up for the actual fitness buddy stuff comes into play.

the real deviation from micro management happens when skulker attacks the duo. danny randomly shouts to scatter in opposite directions to throw the ghost off as a thinly veiled excuse to have a place to transform and promptly bolts...... except dash doesnt run in the opposite direction like he was supposed to. danny gets to a secluded area and starts slowing down, like half a second away from going ghost, before being pushed by dash to keep running with skulker following close behind.

while still running for their lives, danny is just like???? why the fuck did you follow me i said scatter????? to which dash promptly says “dude that ghost was definitely chasing you and there’s no way you can out run it, you would’ve been toast.” to further prove the point, danny is unable to shake dash off his tail and actually is struggling to keep up in human form, to the point where dash is practically carrying him while occasionally tossing him ahead to force him to run without falling behind.

danny, realizing that he wont be able to turn into phantom anytime soon, decides “okay change of plans, we’ll do this the human way” and steers dash towards the direction of fentonworks to get ghost weapons instead. they eventually hit the lab and danny starts grabbing ectoguns and starts blasting at skulker who is putting up quite the fight. dash, seeing the struggle, tries to help too. he grabs some guns of his own, but being more unfamiliar with the tech, he grabs a lot of duds or stuff not fully loaded. in his frantic panic, one of the guns dash grabs ends up being the unfinished shrink blaster.

before danny can stop him, the blast goes off but instead of shrinking only the target, it malfunctions and hits everyone in the room and a couple of weapons here and there. the shrink explosion knocks everyone back quite a bit so they’re far away from the gun and idk some bullshit about jack coming in to be like huh that’s weird and taking it somewhere else. shrunken shenanigans ensue.

if danny couldnt get away to transform before, he DEFINITELY cant now (how is he gonna explain disappearing and then having a mini phantom show up lol). so he an dash are stuck together. they grab all the tiny weapons they can and set off, having tiny happenings and that all along the way similarly to canon. the only difference is danny more discreetly using his his powers and covering it up by saying it was fenton tech. it leads to some funny stuff and danny trying to badly lie through his teeth.

this episode builds on both dash’s character and how his view on danny starts to change. this event is sorta the kicker to his whole redemption arc in the nasty reboot timeline, having moments/seeds somewhat sown before this but never full on sprouting until this moment. dash has seen danny hold his own in a fight before, but only in teams, with his friends, and behind weapons (i.e pirate radio) up until this point. as their weapons start to lose ammo and supplies (and, unknown to dash, danny’s powers) dash starts to REALLY see how resourceful and charismatic danny is on his own. all other possible factors are removed here, its just pure, unfiltered, human danny fenton baby!

even when dash has his breakdown similar to canon, the kid he picked on for years still extends a hand and helps him out of it. even when the goal seems so far away like they’ll never make it, danny tells him to press on and keeps moving forward. even when they’re at their wits end and dash cant for the life of him figure out a way out of the situation, danny still!! somehow!!!! does!!!!!!! all these little moments make dash start to fall in love appreciate the skillset and merits danny has all on his own. (theres also like themes of danny learning how to properly balance/maintain both of his lives and learning he has valuable skillsets as fenton too instead of being a useless half in this reboot. dash’s validation is a small part of what encourages danny into realizing his worth. because, hell, if your bully thinks you’re doing alright then thats gotta mean something, right?)

the climax of the episode is when danny is backed into a corner by skulker with no ammo, no powers, and no significant physical strength. but even so, danny decides to go off the deep end by launching himself at skulker and starts smacking the shit out of the ghost with nothing but an empty ectogun and blind gremlin rage.

(exactly like this lol)

in the struggle, danny is doing surprisingly well (which dash absolutely notes in awe) but then at one point, skulker points a weapon in prime position to shoot danny without him noticing. dash panics and rushes to pull fenton off of skulker, but danny, upon realizing what dash is doing, takes opportunity and latches onto skulker’s head trying to pry it off with dash’s combine strength (much to dash’s confusion).

basically, danny manages to rip skulker’s fucking head off (dash is horrified until danny shows him the actual ghost and how his body was just a suit) and sucks up skulker into a spare thermos. the two then use the suit to jet pack them up onto the welding table in the ops center where jack had been tinkering with it.

the shrink blaster had its final fixes implemented in it now, with a reverse switch as well, so danny and dash easily changes back to normal. they share a bit of a moment, similar to phantom and dash in canon. but instead of dash ruining the moment this time, its danny who simply states “well the adrenaline has worn off so i should probably tell you my leg is most likely fractured” before collapsing onto dash. at some point during the tussle with skulker, danny’s leg apparently got scrunched pretty hard to the point of being broken but danny was being too feral in the moment to react right away.

(again, as stated in a previous ask, my shitpost jock protection squad au took various elements from this plotline in the reboot so there will be overlap but its not canon)

because of the broken leg situation, danny is unable to do the test but is allowed to retake it once he recovers. of course, this means dash is still danny’s fitness buddy. this gives an excuse for them to be stuck together for a little longer and so the redemption process begins!!!! (even if danny’s leg technically already healed after a day or so lol)