#(incidentally the questions Dr. Morrison is asking are from the SIS-MAP)

[auberginesdonthavelimbs]

Phanniemay Day 19: Favourite Episode

Word count: 1573

CW for mentions of suicidal thoughts and a suicide attempt

“I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live. But that’s not how I work.” Dan throws Valerie across the street, into a brick wall. The impact shatters her spine and cracks her skull, but doesn’t kill her. Dan walks over to inspect the damage. He rolls her over with his foot and smiles when she cries out in pain. 

Danny is writing the CAT. He takes his time with each question. Sam and Tucker look over at him a few times, brows creased. Mr. Lancer watches the entire class but pays special attention to Danny. Danny keeps his eyes down. 

Skulker unplugs the wires from his suit. He systematically bends every joint and then summons a ball of energy to his hand. He gives a thumbs up. Technus grins from the screen on his chest and yells, “Skulk-Tech 1.0 is fully operational!” 

There are five funerals - Danny’s parents share theirs. Danny attends all five and speaks at four of them. 

Valerie beams and pulls her father into a tight hug. “Oh thank you, Daddy, thank you! I promise I won’t let you down.” She pulls out of the hug and looks down at the screen, which is displaying a map with several circled areas, each with some writing next to it. Locations and details of recent attacks. “So,” she says with a more sober tone. “Where to?” 

Klaxons mix with screams in one of Amity’s underground shelters. Dan shoots randomly into the crowded halls. Then he grabs a few humans and flies out with them. He takes his time. The residents of the shelters can often hear the sounds of torture happening just above their heads, but they pretend not to. Dan comes back down for new victims every few weeks. 

Vlad is watching Danny. He is supposed to be doing math homework, but his eyes keep unfocusing, and his pencil keeps slipping from the page. Vlad frowns. “Daniel, you aren’t well,” he says. Danny doesn’t look up. “ Please talk to me. I want to help you, but I don’t know how.” 

Kitty paces back and forth in front of the door to her and Johnny’s lair. Her makeup is streaked and her hands are clenched, nails biting into the flesh of her palms. She turns abruptly when a sound comes from outside. She throws the door open and looks down. She starts to smile but then her face freezes. Her eyes flick across her lover’s shattered legs. She screams. 

Danny is silent while Mr. Lancer delivers his monologue. He looks everywhere except for the faces of his teacher and parents. Around the corner of the building, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz strain to hear while remaining unseen. Inside, the glass cover over a temperature gauge cracks.

Damon indicates several symbols on the diagram in front of him. “These are the backup generators. They kick in automatically if we lose power for any reason. As you can see, each one is isolated and well protected - there’s no way for any ghost to get to it while the ghost shield is active. But these generators are small, and won’t last more than a year. If we lose our main power source, that’s how long we’ll have to fix it or come up with something else.” 

Danny nods, and Dr. Morrison checks a box. “Do you feel worthless?” He nods again, and she checks another box. “Have you attempted to kill yourself?” He shakes his head. “Do you think you will get suicidal ideas in the future?”

Vlad lowers the knife toward the body on the table, whose eyes follow it with interest. The knife easily cuts through the skin. The body gasps, and then quickly goes silent as Vlad’s duplicate phases back out. A small wound on his abdomen oozes ectoplasm. “I think it works,” both Vlads say at once.

Dan takes a breath and opens his mouth. Waves of ecto-energy spread out in a cone, accompanied by an impossibly loud ululation. The stones in front of him vibrate then shatter, and the broken pieces are flung into the distance. The animals in the area try to flee, though a few are caught by the blast or by the debris. After a few seconds, Dan stops and catches his breath. He looks around, smiling. 

“I just want the pain to stop, that’s all.” Danny sighs heavily. “I just don’t want to feel like this anymore.” 

Dr. Ruud steps into the hall, and Valerie rises from the floor. She looks at him, her eyes wet. “He’ll live,” Dr. Ruud says, and Valerie smiles. “But we couldn’t save his arm. We had to amputate above the elbow. I’m sorry.” Valerie nods, her smile all but faded. She sits back down.

The Box Ghost puffs up his chest and yells toward the approaching figure, “Halt! You have entered the territory of the Box Ghost! I suggest you leave immediately, or I will be forced to … wait, aren’t you that half-ghost kid? What happened to your skin? And hair?” Dan doesn’t respond, he just reaches forward and grabs the Box Ghost’s hand. “Wait, what are you- aaaarrrgghh! No, no please, don’t- aaaarrrrggghh!!!”

Danny is pushing vegetables around his plate. Vlad’s plate is empty, but he doesn’t move from the table. Without looking up, Danny says, “Hey, Vlad? I was thinking … Do full ghosts still have human emotions? Like, do they feel love and sadness and stuff the way we do?”

Valerie watches the screen with dismay. Damon alternates between watching the screen and watching his daughter, and he looks equally concerned by both. “There has to be something more we can do,” she says suddenly, through gritted teeth. “We have all these weapons. We should be fighting instead of hiding.” 

Ember opens her mouth and then closes it. She sighs. She opens her mouth again, takes a breath, and then winces. Then she closes her eyes and her entire body tenses, but nothing happens. She visibly relaxes and takes a few deep breaths. She tries again, her face contorting, her hands balling into fists. Tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Finally, a quiet, pinched sound comes from her throat. She gasps and opens her eyes. She forces the sound out again, and again, until she can sustain it for several seconds.

Vlad taps his pen against the desk, staring at the page in front of him. “It’s good, but … no. It would seem like I’d named it after Daniel.” He crosses out the words Phantom Fist. The words Ghost Glove are written above, also crossed out. After a moment he writes Ghost Grip. Then he shakes his head and crosses that out, too. “Ghost … something. I’m sure there’s something there.” 

Danny is looking down at the bandages on his arms, though his eyes are unfocused. Vlad is watching from the chair in the corner of the room. “I just thought …” Danny says, his voice hoarse. He shrugs, raising his arms, then winces when the movement tugs on the IV. “I don’t want to be a human anymore. Being a ghost seems so much easier. And I figured, if I died …” Vlad’s expression doesn’t change. His eyebrows are knit together, his lips pursed. His eyes don’t seem to be focused on Danny, either.  

The Fright Knight is kneeling in front of Dan, who has a hand on his chin. “Well that’s a very pretty speech, but I’m going to need some proof of your loyalty, you understand.” The Fright Knight flinches and looks up. Dan holds out a hand to silence him. “Yes yes, I’m sure your word is your bond. If you prefer, think of it as a test of your abilities, to see whether or not you’re worthy of serving me.” The Fright Knight hesitates, then nods. “Excellent. Let’s see, now. What shall I have you do?”

Boxlunch is in her parents’ lair, sitting on the floor next to a pile of box- and food-related objects. She is sorting them into a rough grid, where the y-axis goes from less to more food-like and the x-axis goes from less to more box-like. She telekinetically lifts a salami and, after a few moments of deliberation, places it to the left of a wheel of gouda. 

Sam and Tucker mutter to each other as Danny slowly peels off the sticker holding the envelope closed. He glances at them as he pulls the packet out, and they say nothing. He reads the first page. “That’s it, then,” he says with a shaky voice. “No going back now.” 

Vlad places the mask over Danny’s face. “Deep breaths. You should feel it working in a few seconds.” Danny’s eyes start to droop. “That’s good, just relax.” When the monitor tells him that Danny is unconscious, Vlad leans down and whispers, “I’m sorry.” Then he steps back and carefully puts on the ghost gauntlets. 

“Clockwork, there is a matter of grave importance that requires your attention.” The Observant pauses expectantly, but Clockwork does not respond, nor even turn to face her. She looks at her partner, who shrugs. “The future is in peril, Clockwork.” Still no response. “There is a boy called Danny Phantom - do you know of him?”

Clockwork lets out an exasperated sigh. He rolls his eyes, the action going unseen by the Observants, and then finally turns around. 

“Of course I do,” he says. “I know everything.”