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omegasmileyface · 2 years ago

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Of All the People - Ch. 12

yippeee!! here's the beginning note straight from the ao3 upload: It's done! This is our longest chapter by far at about 7k, so if it's late at night, I'd recommend going to bed before reading this. It's not quite long enough to put a reminder to take a break in it, so make sure you're keeping track of your needs! Alright, carry on, and I hope you enjoy! the end note will also be pasted at the end of this upload.

this concludes the Invisobang fic @attackradish and @ectolemonades and I have been working on this year! Thanks again ti @toasty-ghosti for the art in chapter 1!

whole fic summary: After a stupid dare puts Dash Baxter in the lab at Fentonworks during the middle of a ghost fight, he finds himself a little more spectral than usual. Apparently Danny Fenton’s gone through the same thing (someone has got to call OSHA on these guys eventually), and who could better help Dash than his hero? His lame, stubborn hero?

warnings: Penelope Spectra.

words: 7313

AO3 link

first chapter

previous chapter

===

It was a blessing of a November day. The skies had cleared, the sun warmed the back of Dash’s jacket despite the chilly air, and Danny was right next to him. They were just walking to Fenton Works for some regular training, but something about the weather made it feel almost magical.

It was only the two of them. Sam and Tucker had disappeared with his friends again, not that he minded. He couldn’t have planned a better day for a walk if he tried. Amity's prized maples hadn’t lost their candy-red leaves yet, the breeze was playing with Danny’s hair, and the air smelled like wood and sugar. He almost didn’t notice when they took a different turn than usual. Probably just taking a scenic route, the long way ‘round in the last good weather of the year. Hey, maybe he'd even caught on to what Dash was thinking and was taking him somewhere a little more romantic.

“So…” Dash fiddled with the bottom of his jacket. “Why are we going this way?”

“Hm?”

“Not that I mind or anything, I’m just… wondering. I mean, Fenton Works is that way.”

“Well,“ said Danny, gliding into a bricked-off alley, “you’ve been getting better at flying, and I think some agility training is in order.” He slung his backpack off his shoulder and dropped it in a corner.

“Agility training? Here?” He looked around at his surroundings. Some loose trash, a dumpster, a rusty fire escape. Dandelion corpses.

“Yeah! I mean, you’re gonna be chasing ghosts around someday, and God knows this is where you’ll be chasing them. Might as well get some practice in.” Danny smiled, and then transformed just as easily.

“Prac… Wait, am I gonna be chasing a real ghost? Is that what you mean?” Dash's chest buzzed with nervous excitement. He’d been looking forward to being officially ready to fight ghosts, but that didn’t stop him from being anxious.

Danny flashed a devilish grin. “I’m a ghost. Chase me.” With that, he rocketed into the air. Oh of course. That made way more sense. Dash wrestled his backpack off as he went ghost and tried to take off after Danny. His weightlessness wavered for a moment, but with a short burst of concentration he was able to stabilize himself and shoot over the building.

At a glance, the skies looked empty. A few clouds drifted lazily by, the sea of buildings was stone-still, there weren’t even any pigeons.

There! A flash of movement caught his eye, an inky streak disappearing behind a water tower. Before long, Phantom’s head peeked out the other side. When their eyes locked, Danny stuck his tongue out and rocketed away. The chase was on.

Needles of chilly air stung Dash's face, and the wind tugged at his jacket in a way that made him feel more alive than ever. He could gain some ground on Danny, but before Dash could tag him, he’d dart away in a completely different direction, leaving Dash careening to follow. The way Danny twisted was almost liquid. It was mesmerizing. So mesmerizing that he nearly flew face first into a plate-glass window.

Intangibility saved him not a moment too soon. Dash Baxter was interested in being many things, and a pancake was not one of them.

“Y’know, this would be a lot easier if you used your tail,” Danny teased through the glass.

“Shut up.” He’d only used his tail once and he hated it. It made him feel ghostly, and not in a cool way. In a dead, shouldn’t-be-here kind of way.

“Suit yourself.” Danny shrugged and flew away with a little loop-de-loop. Dash narrowed his eyes. He had to prove Danny wrong, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it.

He was able to spot Danny fairly quickly, soaring casually just below roof level. Dash gave chase, and Danny sped up once he noticed. Good. He caught Danny shooting glances back, probably calculating the exact moment to slip away and bother Dash the most. The next time Danny glanced, Dash swerved behind a building the moment his eyes were averted again. He started accelerating, hoping to overtake him before he looked back again and knew something was up. As soon as there was space to turn again, he whipped around as tightly as he could, swinging right in front of Danny. Before his target had time to react, they’d slammed into each other.

The impact knocked the air right out of him. Dazed, flying was the last thing on his mind as he struggled to catch his breath. He didn’t realize he’d begun falling until he felt Danny’s arms around him. He let himself be guided to the nearest rooftop, where he sank into a sitting position against a wall.

“Dash? Are you okay?”

Dash grinned victoriously. “Tag,” he wheezed.

“Dash, you’re hurt! Is that…” He sighed, but a smile slipped through. “Of course you’d do something like this. You won! Got me fair and square.”

“And I… didn’t even have to use my stupid… tail.”

“Gotta say, I’m really impressed. You’re going to have to use it eventually though.”

Dash scoffed. He’d see about that. “I don’t know, I think I’ll just keep getting better at this. Invent a new style of flying that’ll keep all the ghosts on their toes.”

Danny sat down next to him. “If you say so.”

“Y’know, earlier when I thought I’d be chasing Boxy or somethin’, it got me thinking. About finally getting to start ghost fighting officially.”

“Hm?”

“And I didn’t feel totally ready for that, even though I’m really looking forward to it, but that’s not my point. Now, I’ll need a hero name when we start fighting together, right?”

Danny chuckled. “I guess. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, you’re Danny Phantom, and—“

“You can’t be Dash Phantom.”

“What? No! I might be your biggest fan but I’m not that clueless. I was thinking what kind of ghosts sound like Baxter, and maybe Dash Banshee?”

Danny nodded thoughtfully, but then his face twisted into a smirk. “Nah, I think you should be Inviso-Bill.”

“No! Absolutely not.”

“I had to deal with that for how long, nine months? I think it’s only fair!” Danny crossed his arms.

“Hero names? For you?” said a chillingly familiar voice. “I love the ambition, Dash, but let’s be realistic.” Standing there in three-inch heels, a crimson pencil skirt, a blazer to match, and unmistakable hair was Penelope Spectra.

Danny was at his feet. “What the hell do you want, Spectra?"

“I heard you have a boyfriend now. This him? Hm. I think you could do better.”

“What? No I don’t.”

There goes that fantasy.

“Oh, excellent news. I was worried there for a sec! There were some rumors, and I just had to come see who’d won over the Phantom’s heart. And when I saw him…” she paused to look Dash in the eye for the first time, grimacing. “Let’s just say he’s not the one.”

“Excuse me?“ Dash demanded. His blood burned with anger.

She turned back to Danny. “Sure, he does rock that varsity jacket skinny jeans combo, but I remember counseling this kid. He’s just some football-star wannabe with a future in minimum wage.”

“Shut up and get around to stealing my DNA or whatever stupid thing you have planned. We don’t have time for this.”

“No plans! It would just be such a shame to see a hero like you throw away his future for some mediocre parasite.”

“I said, shut up!” he barked, and Dash felt the sound in his bones.

Spectra sighed. “If you insist. Before I go, there’s a special guest who’d like to see you.”

“Hey, Fenwipe. Miss me?” sneered a voice that made Dash’s throat seize.

Dash- no, something that looked like him appeared behind Danny. When he turned around, not-Dash socked him square in the face.

“Man, I wish there were lockers up here. Then it would be just like old times!”

Danny glanced back and searched out Dash's eyes until they met. He didn't see the kidney punch until it sent him curling into himself. A pang of guilt twisted Dash’s stomach. This was because he was here.

Dash hurried to his feet, and Spectra was standing beside him. “You must think you’re really something. Playing in the big leagues, cooking with gas, Mr. MVP. After all, your boyfriend is a superhero! At that, one who loves you so much he’s willing to take a beating just for the sake of your feelings.” She paused, her patronizing smile widening into a grinchlike sneer. “But deep down you know you don’t really deserve it.”

Dash was sweating. “Can it! I know what you are. You’re just some ghost who lies to people and feeds on their misery.”

“You’re a ghost too, in case you’ve forgotten. What do you feed on? Attention? Love? Approval?" She stepped forward, and the space between them wasn't enough to breathe in. "What sort of lies have you been telling to get them?”

“None, actually. Because I’m better than you!” That’ll shut her up. He stepped back to reclaim the space, but she took another forward.

“You can’t really believe that. You’re too smart to fall into such a simple delusion. Unless… you haven’t changed at all.”

He bit back a reply. She’d just twist his words back at him again. She kept coming.

“You’re the same bully who sentenced Danny to a locker every morning for the crime of being a loser. Deep down you don’t feel guilty— you just had the wrong target, that’s all. It’s fine as long as the person’s actually uncool, right?”

It was like the skin on his chest had been pulled back and his insides were left in clear view— but they weren’t his. Everyone was looking at the horrible things he used to be like a clot of hair from a shower drain and it made him feel disgusting. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the ghost wearing his face slam Danny’s head against the edge of the roof. Is that all people saw in him?

“Struck a chord there, didn’t I? Your silence is admirable. Most people would lower themselves to grasping at straws, but not you. You know when you’ve been caught.”

He grit his teeth. I’m not taking the bait. It doesn’t matter what Spectra thinks, Spectra sucks.

She left him a moment of quiet, a moment to think about responding. His thoughts got antsy, but they never left his mouth.

She smiled wider, and continued on as if she hadn't stopped. “You’re nothing but a lying brute trying to worm your way into any hearts you can get your hands on. Like that time at the museum. You looked so earnest and interested! You really had Danny tricked. Oscar-worthy performance. And when you’re not lying, you’re hiding the truth. Like when you didn’t tell Danny that your friends found out his secret. Or what you’ve been doing to your poor mother.”

That caught him off guard. My mom? What did he do to his mom? Confusion must have crept onto his face, because Spectra gave him a look that could be confused for a pity smile by anyone who hadn't been her victim.

“You haven’t told her yet, have you? That her son died? That Dash Baxter, the light of her life, met a grisly end in the basement of Fenton Works, and you took his place? I’m sure you only want to protect her from the grief, but isn’t it just a little selfish? You know what’s going to happen if she finds out what you really are. After all, how could she love a life-stealing nobody like you?”

“Shut the fuck up! And don’t ever let me catch you talking shit about my mom again. She’s the most loving person you’ll ever meet, and she’d never do that to me!” Dash roared.

“Then why do you keep it secret? Forcing her to sleep in the same house as her son’s corpse every night? You’re worse than I thought, you sadistic freak.”

Enough was enough. Dash didn’t care that his last ghost fight ended in disaster, or that Spectra could probably deck him. All that mattered was the boiling rage that threatened to burst every vessel in his body, and the searing energy that exploded through his arm and out his fist.

Spectra stumbled backwards in shock, clutching her stomach. Her shock curdled into fury, and obsidian flames enveloped her body. “You’re going to regret that,” she snarled.

===

“Hey Fenwipe, miss me?”

Danny turned around, a fist eclipsing his vision before his skull filled with pain.

It took him a second to process what he was seeing through the stars in his vision. It looked like Dash. Intense blue eyes, apple-red letterman jacket, and a cocky, sadistic smirk that he hadn’t seen since the accident. But behind the face there wasn’t a whiff of human emotion. Bertrand, had to be.

“Man, I wish there were lockers up here. Then it would be just like old times.”

Assuming fighting stance, Danny was about to strike when he remembered Dash. What if he takes it the wrong way, like Valerie did when I destroyed her empty suit? He looked over his shoulder, Dash’s expression of slack-jawed horror significantly less enlightening than he’d—

FUCK! His body folded in on itself. Right in the kidneys. That was a terrible idea.

“Hey! I’m over here, Fengeek.” Sneered the impostor. “Didn’t last time teach you not to care about that deadweight?”

Bertrand swung again. Danny felt the displaced air graze his suit just after his frantic dodge.

“C’mon, aren’t you going to fight back? Don’t tell me you care about a guy who treated you like this, huh?”

Dash probably won’t mind. It’s not like he’s gonna think I thought it was him. Fuck it, we ball. He saw an opening, and jabbed Bertrand right in the solar plexus.

“There we go. Now we’re getting somewhere!” Bertrand threw another punch, barely missing him. Danny grabbed his wrist, and swiftly twisted it behind his back. Dash’s voice yelped in pain.

“Bet you’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said, an octave higher. “Giving that jerk a taste of his own medicine, paying him back for everything he’s done…” Bertrand’s joints popped, then his body went jellylike as it contorted into a new position. They were face to face now. “And best of all, there aren’t any consequences.”

Bertrand’s free hand grabbed his face, cracking his head against a brick corner.

“Doesn’t this face just scream 'punch me'?” He flashed a mocking, nearly playful grin. His hair wasn’t even messed up. Danny’s fist was itching. He almost had a point.

The punch landed with a satisfying thwack, and guilt coiled in his stomach for how much he enjoyed it.

“See? You don’t really want to redeem him. You want to beat the stuffing out of him. No amount of warm fuzzies from seeing him become a decent person will beat the feeling of bones under flesh, and that taste of terror and regret dancing across your tongue.”

He clenched his fists tighter, holding back an ectoblast that would certainly fry Bertrand’s fl… wait, Bertrand doesn’t have human flesh. He’s a ghost. In a flash of green, Bertrand was sent stumbling back. He seemed stunned, and before he could resist Danny whipped out his thermos and sucked him in.

Ancients, dealing with him was exhausting. He took a couple deep breaths, and rubbed the back of his head. His hair was matting, and a little sticky.

Crap, he’d left Dash alone with Spectra. Dash was a couple rooftops over, like he’d been trying to get away. Spectra was still talking, her full attention on Dash. Maybe if he caught her off guard, he could thermos her without having to fight. He quietly lifted his feet off the roof and slowly floated towards her.

Rage choked the air. He tried to make out what Spectra was saying.

“…every night? You’re worse than I thought, you sadistic freak.”

There was a flash of gold, and the scream of an ectoblast. Spectra stumbled back. She stood still, clutching her stomach, apprehension stretching the seconds taut. A plume of pitch-black flame roared up her body, and her true form hovered threateningly over Dash.

Her tail lashed back and forth. She growled. “You’re going to regret that.” She unleashed a volley of ectoblasts, sending Dash scrambling.

“Hey Spectra! Forget about someone?” Danny shouted, lobbing an ectoblast of his own. She dodged and carried through the turn to face him.

“I see you took care of Bertrand. He couldn’t convince you, it seems. I still can’t wrap my head around how you care so much for this heap of garbage.”

A shot from Dash grazed her shoulder. She whipped around, and he ducked back behind the AC unit he was using as cover.

“You little…” she hissed, diving after him. There was a loud thud, and an intangible Dash surfaced next to Danny.

“Got her with the old ‘hide in the floor’ trick,” he grinned.

“You okay?”

Dash looked stunned. “Yeah, sure. Sticks and stones and whatever.”

Danny doubted him, but now wasn’t the time to pry. Spectra was taking too long to reappear. There’s no way she hit the roof hard enough to knock herself out. He was trying to think where she might have gone when a shadow grew next to his. In an instant, his whole back felt like it was on fire.

“Two can play at that game,” said Spectra's voice from behind him. Danny spun around. As he fired an ectoblast, Spectra grabbed Dash like a shield.

The shot hit.

Dash cried out.

Danny’s core seized.

He was supposed to Protect Dash, not… the wound was all he could look at. Singed fabric, the puckered skin of a fresh ecto-burn, the curving lines of an odd scar. Nothing major, but Dash had curled in on himself. It wasn’t until the rings appeared that it clicked.

He’d hit his death mark.

Spectra returned to her human guise, dropping Dash like a sack of wet garbage.

“That’s a very interesting scar, I heard it’s your father’s work.” Spectra paused, watching for his reaction. “Is that why you’re doing this? To make up for his mistakes? So noble of you, caring so gently for someone who mistreated you for so long, and with no reward. You’ll never undo what he’s done, scrub his blood from your veins, or even be anything more than the son of a monster.”

She didn't even get it. She didn't seem to understand what he had just done. Danny hadn't even thought of his dad during all this. He'd heard that train of thought from Vlad too many times for it to strike any interest anymore.

But Spectra being on the wrong thread was a good sign. If he could get her to think she was sending him down some dark path, maybe he could get to his real focus. He might even get the chance to look over Dash and make sure he was alright. Get him somewhere safe, maybe. Somewhere Danny couldn't hurt him anymore.

“You’re right, it’s all I can think about,” Danny said, as defeated and crestfallen as he could muster.

It wasn't hard, with the way Dash was struggling to breathe.

Spectra’s nose wrinkled. “No, that’s not it. There’s something else going on.” She leaned closer to Danny, and her eyes went wide.

“Ohohoho, you sneaky devil! I can’t believe it. It was you!” Spectra clapped with giddiness. She glanced back at Dash, who hadn’t moved.

“You did it on purpose,” she whispered. “At first I was wondering why you’d pick him, but he’s perfect. You turned him into a freak, and used that to draw him closer. He feels safe, understood, and he knows that you’re the only person who’ll love him now. He’s yours forever! I’m so proud of you, Phantom. You’re finally becoming a real ghost.” She pulled a handkerchief out of her breast pocket, and dabbed fake tears from her eyes.

A pang of guilt crept into his chest. What if Dash did feel that way, because of some offhanded remark or something he said while explaining the importance of staying hidden? Is Dash going to have life-long self worth issues because of this?

Snap out of it, Danny. Spectra was just messing with him. If it felt true to Dash, he could deal with that later. Right now he had a job to do.

“Alright. You’ve had your fun, now get in.” He raised his thermos. Spectra snatched it.

“No, I don’t think I will. You may be the apple of my eye, but I’m not going down that easily.”

“Hey! Give that back!” Danny grabbed it, but Spectra held it tight.

“Why? I’m just going to set Bertrand free, and we’ll be on our merry way.” She tugged, and his fingers slipped to the base of the thermos.

“That’s not how this works.”

“I don’t think that’s up to you right now.” She tugged again, and the thermos came free.

Danny grabbed at it, but Spectra held it out of his reach. Her thumb neared the release button. He wouldn’t get it in time. His outstretched hand glowed. Praying this would work, he shot the thermos.

It landed with a clang far behind Spectra. Bolting after it, Danny outpaced Spectra by a hair. Clutching the thermos as tightly as he could, he held it close to his chest to keep her from grabbing it. Spectra’s nails tore his suit, and her knee dug into his kidney as she tried to get leverage.

“Danny! Pass it here!”

Danny’s heart leapt. Dash was okay! He peeked around Spectra’s head. He was standing, at least. Still human, and his face looked ragged. He was waving his hand frantically.

Passing wasn’t his forte, but it wasn’t like he had any better options. He bucked Spectra off, wound up, and lobbed it as hard as he could. Dash jumped to catch it, and took off running.

“Dash! What are you doing? Get Spectra!”

“What?”

Spectra pounced on him, wresting the thermos from his hands.

“Thank you, Mr. Baxter. I liked you better when you weren’t moving so much.” She aimed a glowing hand at Dash’s chest. Dash shot first, and she fumbled the thermos. Danny snagged it, flying out of reach. Spectra slipped intangibly out of Dash’s attempts to hold her down.

Damn, she was fast. Before he could even aim at her, she was right up in his face. He soared higher, trying to keep her out of grabbing distance. It wasn’t easy. He didn’t even have enough room to fire an ectoblast without giving her a handhold. It didn’t look like he was going to outrun her anytime soon.

But maybe he didn’t have to. Dash was still on the ground. Throwing the thermos past Spectra wasn’t going to work, but something else might.

Danny plunged downwards. Slamming into Spectra, his arms and tail wrapped around her before she could react. By the time she reached her arms behind her he’d already dropped the thermos. It was out of range of her telekinesis before she thought to use it.

He watched it fall towards Dash as he restrained Spectra as best he could. She burst out of his grip moments before Dash caught it. The base of the thermos glinted silver when Dash pointed it at her. A scream rose up in Danny’s throat. At the last second, he flipped it around and Spectra disappeared into the blue vortex.

Danny came down and met the ground just as Dash fell to his knees. He waited for him to catch his breath.

“We got her. It’s over.”

“You got her. You officially caught your first ghost! I didn’t bring any party poppers, but—”

Dash burst into laughter, which slowly trailed into a cough.

“Shit! You’re shot, I completely spaced.”

“Spaced. Ha,” he mumbled.

“Pull up your shirt, I need to check how bad it is.” Danny crouched down to Dash’s level.

“NO!” Dash blurted. “I mean, not now. Please. I can’t handle someone looking at that scar. My core or whatever is acting all weird and there’s no way I can handle both.” He took a shaky breath. “I just want an ice pack for my leg, a couch to lie down on, and maybe some painkillers.”

“It’s okay, I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do. You’re in control.” He held his hands up placatingly.

“Okay.”

“I think I can do something about that ice pack. Okay if I touch your leg?”

Dash nodded. Danny cooled his hands, and laid them on Dash’s thigh. He saw his shoulders relax slightly.

“That feels better. Thanks. I must’ve strained it when Spectra first shot at me.”

They sat in silence for a while. Dash’s eyes wandered onto Danny’s hand, up the scratches on his arm, and into the eye that had started to swell.

“What am I doing? Dude, you’re worse off than I am. I should be the one helping you,” Dash said. “Lemme see your back, I know Spectra shot it, and then there’s what Bertrand did…” Danny didn’t protest as Dash shuffled on his knees to get a better look.

“How’s it look back there?”

“I mean, um, it could be worse? I’m not saying it’s not bad, but if I straight-up said ‘it’s bad’ you’d get the wrong idea. Like in those cheesy medical dramas, y’know?”

He gave a slight nod.

“Head wounds bleed more than normal ones, right? That’s real, not just something I heard someone say?”

“What?”

“It just looks like a lot of blood, is all, and I can’t tell how bad the cut is ‘cause it’s all red. And green. There’s green too.”

“It’s probably fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, just tell me what else is going on.”

“Well there’s the burn. It’s pink with jagged edges. Pretty big too, like if a sheet of printer paper could go splat.”

He chuckled at the mental image.

“I wish I had a power I could use to help, like your ice thing, or at least a first aid kit,” Dash murmured dejectedly.

“You are helping. It’s not like I have eyes on the back of my head.”

“But that’s not helping helping. I’m always promising something I want to do and then not delivering.”

“You delivered today.”

“I barely managed to catch Spectra in a thermos! And before that I was all like ‘pass it here’ and then instead of doing anything useful I just started running like I’d forgotten I wiped out of football.”

“Dash. It’s okay. Nobody got hurt. This is only your second ghost fight, and I haven’t even finished training you. You did great.”

“I guess that’s true, but it doesn’t make up for going back on a promise. Maybe Spectra was right.” Dash hung his head.

Danny had a small heart attack just then. “I don’t know what Spectra said to you, but I know she’s full of shit.”

“But what if she got lucky this time? I didn’t believe her at first, but fuck, man, it’s getting harder not to. Maybe I am just a fraud who’ll say anything for people to think I’m worth having around.”

“Dash. If you were a fraud you’d know for sure. It’s one of those things you have to do on purpose. You’re overenthusiastic and don’t always think things through, but that doesn’t make you a liar.”

“So maybe I’m not a fraud. Yet. But there’s something scary about how crazy I get over feeling… needed. Necessary, helpful, recognized. When I do get it I’m on cloud nine, but when I don’t… When I don’t it’s like my insides are falling apart. What if I’m an evil ghost like her? And it’s only a matter of time before I lose control?”

Ah. “Dash, that’s normal.”

“No, you don’t get it! This isn’t normal at all! There’s nothing normal about these feelings, I never felt anything like this when I was still…” Dash’s voice cracked, and he looked at Danny pleadingly.

Danny tried to make his voice soft. “Hey, it’s okay.” He put his hand across Dash's shoulder, and he flinched from the cold. Whoops. “It sounds like it’s your Obsession. Every ghost has one, it’s what keeps their core together.“

“Obsessed. That’s the word. I’m just like one of those freaks with the newspaper clippings and the red string and the crazy look in their eyes. But for, like, getting people to think a certain way about me. You said it’s a ghost thing, right? So I just have to learn how to be more human there and I’m all set?”

Danny frowned. "I mean, there are parts of you that are fundamental to keeping you running. If your heart stopped beating, your humanness would stop being human, right?"

Dash gave a clipped nod, like he wasn't sure but was willing to go with it.

"Well, if you stopped having an Obsession, your ghostness would stop being a ghost."

"Wouldn't that be easier, then? I'm used to being human!" Dash turned away and started picking at his shirt. "Maybe that would be half of me gone, but maybe it'd be simpler just to be half a human and no halves anything else."

Danny scoffed. "Sorry, but if you're anything like me, and I think you are, you're just one whole. The ghost parts are the only things keeping the human parts from just being straight-up dead. You're one system, in homeostasis."

"So, what? Why does that mean I have to be all obsessive over being something I'm not?

Danny laid down on his back, using his hands to cushion his wounded head from the ground. It was still tacky, but nothing felt newly wet. That was good. "Ghosts only occur when ectoplasm gets stuck together from emotion. It's a very chaotic substance, so it takes a lot to make particles of it work together." The sun wasn't near setting, but it was casting long shadows from the sparse clouds. Days must be getting shorter. "Ectoplasm reacts to emotions. I'm not super sure how yet, but you didn't come here for an ecology lesson. Point is, a core forms when the human emotions in some connected ectoplasm line up to wanting something that it couldn't have without having some power and solid form."

Danny rolled his head back over to see Dash was looking at him. He didn't look enraptured or anything, but Danny was just glad he was willing to hear him out before having a breakdown. "Blobs are made up of connected ectoplasm with the same human emotion holding it together, but they don't have cores, and they just sort of drift around. When they have desires, they only have desires made out of ghost emotions, and they're temporary. But since they don't have cores, they don't have much control over their form, or a sense of self, or any ability to charge their ectoplasm.

"Ghosts with cores want something. The core represents that want. It's the one human emotion a full ghost expresses, the desire that imprinted on their core. Ghosts exist because the emotions that let them form in the first place all said something like 'I need to…' uh… 'walk my dog, even though I'm dead, so I need to have a body and powers to do that.' A ghost that only exists because they need to walk their dog won't be able to get rid of that nag in the back of their head, and if they're kept from walking their dog, they're being denied their entire reason for existing. That's their Obsession."

Dash was quiet. Danny figured he'd been rambling, and let him think.

"So… what happens if they don't want it anymore? Like, if the dog dies and doesn't need to be walked?"

"Well, I guess they'd dissipate. Their core would succumb to entropy and stop holding them together." Dash paled. Shit, he did say that kind of clinically. "I mean, that's pretty rare. Most Obsessions are way more general than that, and there's always something to activate them. It's hard to get a ghost to stop caring about something." He smiled and scooched closer to where Dash was still sitting. "We're creatures of spite!"

"So I just have to keep trying to make people think they need me because some part of me will die if I stop wanting it? I'm not gonna keep fuckin' manipulating people's thoughts to make me healthy, that's dumb. Why can't we both be happy?"

"Hey, having an Obsession doesn't mean everything you do has to fulfill it. Sure, the feeling of fulfilling your purpose is incredible, and it sucks to not fulfill it, but you still make choices as long as you can acknowledge that you want it. You're a jock, have you ever been on a diet? What's it feel like when there's something you really want to eat but it doesn't fit the diet?"

Dash looked thoughtful.

"Exactly! It sucks, but you push through it because you know that desire isn't the only thing at play. I wanted to keep you out of harm's way because of my own Obsession, but you were so set on helping that I weighed my options and decided to risk denying it. If you find yourself supposedly 'manipulating' people to feel like they need you, step back and ask if that's really what you want to do, and if feeling needed is worth feeling guilty and ruining a relationship."

Danny sat up to better look Dash in the eye. "And hey, that's something you have to do on purpose, just so you know. Wanting to feel known, wanting to feel useful, and then trying to make yourself that way, isn't the same as deciding to lie to someone. We all make mistakes, and we all act in dumb ways because we want people to like us. That's not the same as going 'hey, how about I act dishonestly about myself to trick somebody into thinking I'm somebody I'm not?' Everybody puts on a little of an act all the time. It's high school. Fuck, it's life. And death, I guess."

Dash was quiet for a bit. Danny joined in and watched the clouds get thicker as the air cooled with the low sun.

“Don't let Spectra get in your head. If you keep trying, you can be important to someone without hurting anybody. She can just make crap up and I still fall for it sometimes. Like what she said about—“

“Pfft, you don’t have to do that.”

Danny paused. “Do what?”

“That thing you do when you’re Fenton. Pretending to be scared and insecure, rubbing your arm, even though you’re the most confident guy around.”

Danny blinked a couple times, like that would somehow change what he’d just heard. “You think I’m just confident and fearless 24/7?”

“I mean yeah, you’re Phantom! You always know what to do, you’re the coolest guy alive, not to mention strong enough to beat every ghost that’s shown its face here. Of course you’re confident and fearless 24/7.”

He struggled to find words. He’s talked to Dash how many times, and he still doesn’t think he has feelings? He’s been helping this guy through his problems, listening to him, getting to know him, even getting a little bit of a crush. Maybe a lot of a crush. And Dash just saw him as little more than a pull-string action figure?

“Am I… human to you? Was I just talking to a brick wall this whole time?”

“No! I mean… yes? Gah! I mean of course you’re human. You nerd out about space and don’t like toast and feel awful when you see people get hurt. But I saw how different you acted after I found out your secret. I know the shy frightened Danny Fenton thing is an act, and faking it to make me feel better feels condescending.

“It’s not all an act. Sure I crank it up to eleven at school, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get scared or lose confidence in myself!”

Dash looked at him with wide eyes. Like he was processing the implications of this new information, and also waiting for him to say psych.

“Oh. Shit. I’ve been treating you like garbage. The fight at the football field, when my friends found out your secret, heck, when I died in front of you! I thought you were just mad, but… sorry dude. Do you still need to talk about Spectra?”

“Maybe in a bit. I’m still wound up from the whole…” he waved his hand vaguely.

“Yeah,” Dash sighed.

Traffic was picking up down below. Probably nearing rush hour. His parents might be worrying where he was, if they paid attention to anything other than their research. Which might make him sad if he was up too late and couldn’t sleep, but it was really convenient right now.

Dash was fiddling with his jacket again. There wasn’t a dark spot on his shirt, so that was promising.

"You know, you didn't really use any powers in that fight. I mean, other than the basic stuff. And ectoblasts."

Hmm? "Oh, I… guess I didn't. It's easiest just to resort to fisticuffs unless I have to get creative."

"I bet it would have been a quicker fight if you had used a couple other powers at some points."

"I kinda forget about them sometimes. Hey, maybe you can help me out with that! Pros of having a football strategist on your side."

Dash blushed and looked over the edge of the roof to the sidewalks below.

Danny looked around to see if he'd gotten multicolor blood on any surfaces. Nothing noticeable.

“Dash, have I ever made you feel like I was the only person who’d have feelings for you?”

“What?”

“Like, because you’re a halfa. That nobody else…”

“I mean, like. Why would I be thinking about if you had feelings for me? Who said anything about that?”

Danny could have phrased that better. Just because Dash had a crush didn’t mean he was aware of it.

“Have I been blushing or something? My doctor said I might do that randomly because of the lung… thing,” Dash stammered.

Nope. He was aware of it. Letting him off the hook and letting him confess when he was ready was probably the right thing to do, but part of Danny wanted to see how deep a hole Dash could dig himself. Dash seemed unnerved by his silence. Then some kind of realization crossed his face.

“Who told you?”

“Told me what?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Was it Star? Lina? Please tell me it wasn’t Kwan.”

“No I don’t. What is it?”

“That I have a crush on you!” he shouted. His face crinkled in a way Danny didn’t expect. This isn’t the face of someone who’s been playfully drawn out of his shell. This is the face of a man betrayed. Well, shit.

“Hey. It’s okay. Nobody told me.”

“Shut up.”

“No, I promise. Sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed like that.”

“Then why were you asking about…” Dash waved his hand dismissively. “The thing. Me, thinking about you. Romantically.”

“Spectra said something along the lines of ‘you only tolerate Dash because he’s a halfa and you can manipulate him into thinking you’re the only person who’ll ever love him because of that’ and I was worried I’d done it by accident, somehow.”

“I mean, you’re straight, so it’s not like you loving me was much more than a dream. Getting from there all the way to ‘you’re the only person who’ll ever love me’ is a pretty big stretch,” Dash sighed. “So you didn’t know? This was all just hypotheticals?”

“Well… I knew you had a crush. I just didn’t know if you thought of it as one.”

“Oh… What gave me away?”

Danny grimaced. “So, you know how Spectra feeds on misery?”

”I mean yeah? I thought your Obsession was fucking… Protection, not people having crushes on you?”

“Misery isn’t her Obsession, it’s just her favorite flavor of emotion. Ghosts can… metabolize different human emotions, and they taste different.”

“So Tucker wasn’t joking when he asked if I could taste him being dishonest?”

“He was joking a little. Dishonesty isn’t really an emotion.”

“Ah. Well, um, at least it wasn’t painfully obvious to anyone who wasn’t a ghost. Or Kwan.”

“Yep. I know this is kinda a weird time to say this, but I forced out your secret, and I think it’s only fair that I tell you one of mine. I’m gay too, and I kinda like you back.”

===

What? Dash couldn’t believe his ears. The whiplash alone rendered him nearly incapable of thinking, and instead of butterflies in his stomach it felt like a flock of angry geese beating their wings in every inch of his body.

“For real?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.”

Dash needed a breather. Danny liked him. Danny Phantom, the ghost he’d had a crush on for years was gay too and liked him back. The guy who only half-accidentally tricked him into revealing his most mortifying secret a few moments ago also just fulfilled his wildest dreams. He was conflicted, his head was spinning, what the hell was he supposed to do? There was so much he should do, could do, now. Spend more time with him, learn all of the little things that make him tick, be there for him, hold his hand, romantically brush his hair out of his face, take him on dates–

“Dash?”

“…We need to buy some milkshakes.”

“What?”

“We need to go to the Nasty Burger and get milkshakes. It’s like, the classic first date,” Dash explained. If he was in a romance movie the next move was obviously a milkshake date. So that’s what he was going to do.

“Dude, I haven’t checked your chest yet.”

Oh right. That thing.

“Okay. Fine. I think my core’s done freaking out, so I should be able to handle it.” Dash lifted his shirt and averted his eyes. Maybe if he didn’t see Danny looking, it would be easier.

He heard Danny shuffling closer. Dash‘s core started to constrict, but it was bearable.

“Fortunately, you were ghost at the time. This isn’t nearly as bad as it could be. You’re pretty durable.” Danny's breath fluttered across his skin. God, he was close.

“So it's not dangerous?”

“Not really. It’s not a cut, so it’s unlikely that your ghost healing will seal anything under your skin. I can get you some burn cream for the pain and to prevent infection, but if you want we can do the milkshakes first.”

Dash let his shirt drop. Looking down, seeing Danny so close to him and processing their revelations of mutual feelings, Dash had to make a move.

“Danny?”

“Yeah?”

“Um, my jaw is kinda sore. From when Spectra dropped me on it. Could you maybe…” Dash tentatively reached for Danny’s wrist, who got the message and placed his icy hand on Dash’s cheek.

They locked eyes. It didn’t take long for Danny to realize what he was thinking. He let out a small laugh and leaned in with a kiss. Dash could have sworn he felt sparks between them, but maybe that was just leftover adrenaline from everything they’d just been through.

Dash pulled back, breathless again, but now in a good way. “So. Milkshakes?”

“Milkshakes.” Danny kissed him again on the cheek and they took to the air, hand in hand, for some hard-earned fast food.

===

End note:

And that finishes off our Invisobang 2022 piece, just as the year's ending! Thanks for coming with us on this journey. Thanks to Ghostie for the art in chapter 1, they were great to work with!

I wanted to touch on something a lot of commenters have brought up, that Dash's healing in his leg and chest might just be restricted because he believes it to be. That's great thinking, with the way ghost bodies work, but when we were writing it we intended those wounds to naturally never heal, since they were a part of his death. Sometimes when things happen, like accidents with weaponry, parts of the body are permanently kept from functioning like they did before, and you have to give up activities like normal football. And that's okay! It sucks and makes things harder, for sure, but it happens, and you can live a fulfilling life despite it 😌 thus the "being half ghost is a disability" tag on this fic! I think if somebody dies, that's a big deal, and even if they come out of it mostly fine and a little different, there's probably gotta be some long-term consequences. They wouldn't be like their human peers anymore, due to being a different species and whatnot, but they also wouldn't come out of something so traumatic unscathed. So nice thinking, everyone who commented along those lines, I like how you're looking at ghost health, but this is something Dash is going to learn to live with and work around, and love himself with his injuries included <3

Any one of us might revisit this universe to write a "sequel" sometime, so I'm going to give a briefing on what each of us usually writes in case you're interested in any of our styles and want to subscribe to our accounts, where you might someday see a continuation on this (no promises):

AttackRadish is currently working on a longform angst story which will be published once it's done. He tends toward Fenton Family angst and dissec in his writing, but not without variety.

OmegaSmileyface has a non-angst Ghost Hunger series at the forefront right now. They tend to work Ghost King!Danny and detailed fictional science into most of their writing.

ectolemonades tends to write fics focusing on interpersonal relationships, in all kinds of emotional flavors. Especially Grey Ghost and Teddy Ghost at the moment.

Hope everyone enjoyed!

#danny phantom #invisobang 2022 #my writing #swagger bishie #halfa!dash #halfa dash au #dash baxter #teddy ghost #check ao3 for more tags!

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q-gorgeous · 1 year ago

Text

coup de foudre chapter 12

fanfiction

ao3

wooo finallyyyy a year laterrrrr well technically less but

Danny woke up groggily. His head felt really heavy.

The first thing that came to him was two soft sets of beeping. He furrowed his brows, struggling to pull his eyes open. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling above him and his heart rate spiked, the beeping getting faster. He almost thought he was still in the GIW compound but then he heard a rustle to his right and when he turned his heavy head tears sprung to his eyes.

Sitting just a few feet away in another hospital bed was Dash. He was shifting and turning under his covers before he let out a groan.

“Dash?” Danny croaked. His throat was dry and it hurt to push the name out.

Dash finally pried his eyes open and turned his head, his eyes meeting Danny’s.

“Danny? What happened?” he asked, looking around the hospital room. “How did we get here? What happened to the GIW?”

Danny shrugged. “The FBI stormed the compound but I don’t know what happened after that. Agent O zapped me with some kind of ecto taser. I passed out after that.”

“I was already passed out before the FBI could even get me out of my room.” Dash said, rubbing his head. “Their last experiment took everything out of me.”

Danny frowned. “I’m sorry for getting you caught up in this. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t even be here right now.”

Dash shook his head and grabbed for Danny’s hand across the space between their beds. Danny held his hand out and Dash took it. “I got myself into this. This was no one’s fault besides the GIW.”

“But–” Danny started but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

A woman in a doctor’s coat walked into their room with a clipboard in her hand. “Hello there, boys. I’m glad to see you awake. I’m Doctor Victoria Cavanaugh and I’m the one who’s been overseeing your care since you were brought in.”

“What happened?” Dash asked.

“This young man’s friends and family started rallying once they found out where you two went. With the help of the mayor they were able to get the help of the police and FBI to get you two home and finally shut down that terrible government organization.”

“The GIW was a government organization?” Danny asked, shocked.

Dr. Cavanaugh nodded and turned back towards Dash. “You have suffered from severe ectoplasmic contamination. Right now it seems to be manifesting itself through intangibility and invisibility. We’re hoping this process can be reversed but there hasn’t been enough research on this subject for us to be sure.”

She turned toward Danny, turning to a new page on her clipboard.

“Your ghost half has suffered from tears to its core. It’s already looking much more stable, but it’s why your ghost half wasn’t holding onto your human half.”

“My ghost half?” Danny asked apprehensively. “How much do you know?”

Dr. Cavanaugh chuckled. “You don’t have to worry. Vlad Masters called me here personally. We were friends as kids, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, sure, I have nothing to worry about but my doctor is friends with the fruit loop.” Danny muttered.

She smiled at him. “I simply have the expertise needed and know how important it is to keep a secret.” A pink flame appeared, surrounding her finger, and Danny gaped at her.

“You’re a ghost?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Half ghost, albeit of a different nature. I know how terrible the GIW are and what kind of propaganda they’ve spread. Your secret is safe with me.”

Danny was reeling with this new information. There were other half ghosts besides him, Vlad, and Dani? Different kinds of half ghosts? How?

Before he could ask any questions, Dr. Cavanaugh continued talking.

“Now that you’re both awake, I’ll send your friends and family over to visit. They’ve been very worried about the two of you.”

She walked back toward the door, walking out and shutting it behind her. The room was silent for a few moments except for the constant beeping coming from their heart monitors.

“Half ghost?” Dash asked, pulling on Danny’s hand. “Is that what you are?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. Half dead half alive, somehow. I thought there were only three of us but apparently there’s more? Who knows how many.”

“How’d you become a half ghost?”

Danny squeezed his eyes shut. “I was supposed to die but for some reason I didn’t. I was in an accident with my parent’s ghost portal. We think it had something to do with the combination of electricity and ectoplasm.”

“Oh man that sounds awful.”

“It was. That’s why I couldn’t tell them how it happened. I don’t even know why I survived. How do we know it wouldn’t just kill someone else entirely?”

“Who are the other two half ghosts?” Dash asked.

“Uh, one of them I shouldn’t tell you at my own discretion otherwise he might try to ruin my life even more, but the other one is actually my clone so she was just made like that.”

“You have a clone?” Dash's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Danny chuckled. “Oh yeah, I’ve been through so much you wouldn’t even be able to imagine all the–”

Suddenly the door to their room was opening again. Danny’s family and friends rushed in and headed over to his bed. Dash squeezed his hand one more time before letting go.

“Danny!” Sam and Tucker shouted as they threw themselves at him. He let out an oof sound and he could feel his ghost half puff out of him a little bit, but it didn’t lag nearly as much as it did in the GIW compound.

“Haha, hey guys.” He patted them on the back. “How’s it been?”

Sam pulled back and gave him a look. “Awful. You’ve been missing for several days, Danny.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know I was there.”

Jazz walked up to him next. “Are you guys okay? The doctor told us what happened.”

Danny shrugged. “As okay as we can be. It could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Yeah, at least what we got can probably be healed,” Dash piped up from the other bed.

“I’m so glad you two are okay!” Maddie walked up to Danny and pulled him in a tight hug. She pulled back and looked at him. “I’m so sorry you couldn’t trust us with any of this. That you couldn’t come to us for help.”

“Uh, help with what?” Danny asked nervously.

“They know, Danny,” Jazz said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We told them so we could get their help getting you out.”

“Oh. And they’re okay with it?” Danny’s gaze traveled slowly from Jazz to his parents.

“Of course, Dannyboy,” Jack said, wrapping an arm around Maddie’s shoulders as he walked up to join them. “We’ll love you no matter what.”

Danny could hear a sniffle from Dash and he turned to look at him. “Your family is so nice and loving.” Dash said. “I regret ever calling them crazy.”

Maddie turned to face Dash and walked over to him. “Oh you poor sweetie. Where are your parents? Are they on vacation? We’ve been trying to get a hold of them along with the hospital and no one’s been picking up.”

“Ah, yeah. If they left a voicemail about what happened my dad could’ve just decided it wasn’t worth it. He’s probably just hanging out at home.”

Danny watched as a broken expression crossed over his mom’s face. She pulled Dash into a hug. “You are always welcome in our home if you need it, okay?”

Dash sniffed again and nodded. “Okay.”

Tucker nudged Danny and he turned to look at him. “So any new developments?” He nodded towards Dash.

Danny blushed. “No.”

“Developments for what?” Sam asked, butting in on the conversation.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tucker sing-songed. “But I think the fact Danny and Dash were holding hands before we walked in was pretty telling.”

Sam turned her head towards Danny. “What? You and Dash were holding hands? Why?”

“This is why.” Sam turned her head back to Tucker to see him making a heart with his hands.

“Tucker!” Danny hissed.

“Is this why Dash has been acting so weird lately?” Sam gasped. “Is that why you’ve been acting so weird lately?”

Danny shoved both of them a little bit. “Leave me and my feelings alone. You’re just gonna try to talk me out of it, Sam.”

Sam looked mock offended. “Me? Talk you out of it? I would never.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and Tuck’s also a vegetarian.”

Tucker clutched his hands to his chest. “That hurts just to imagine it.”

Sam nudged Danny’s shoulder. “But in all seriousness, I won’t try to talk you out of it. I know I get really defensive and angry at the A-Listers, but as long as he’s serious about becoming a better person then it’s whatever.”

Danny smiled. “Thanks for coming around.”

She shrugged. “It’s better than being miserable and angry that you’re dating someone I don’t like. Trust me.”

They all shared a laugh together and started talking about mundane things like school and homework. Sam and Tucker also started teasing Dash. Danny relaxed back into his pillow. Eventually they’d have to talk about the heavy stuff, about what happened in there. About where they were going from here. But for now, he was content.

He looked over at Dash. His mom was still talking to him, asking about his home life and getting ever more adamant about him coming to stay at their house instead. Dash gaze flicked towards him and their eyes met. He smiled. Danny smiled back.

He couldn’t wait for life to go back to normal.

#gorgi writes #danny phantom #invisobang 2022 #danny fenton #dash baxter #swagger bishie #fanfiction #fanfic #phic #honestly idk what happens in this chapter cuz i wrote it like last year but i think those tags are good enough

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