#phantom's identity either. no he was just looking into amity park and this 'ghost situation' danny told him about. its just that when he

[starry-bi-sky]

im dedicating this to @detectivedarling. i felt inspired after seeing their little ficlet yesterday sadhjfl 🫶

-

Danny's grip on his cane tightens.

"What—"

His voice cracks. He stops, clears it, then tries again in spite of the nausea twisting in his gut. "What are — you, uh, watching, Bruce?" He sounds horribly far away.

Bruce doesn't look at him, his attention laser-focused on the screen. Which is— fine. It's usually not a problem, Bruce gets like that when he hyper-focuses on a case, and unless it's urgent — or he's been at it for hours — Danny sees no need to pull him away from it. He likes the quiet camaraderie they have, it's companionable and unique to the two of them.

He wishes he was right now though. Looking at him, that is.

That way he wasn't watching what was clearly one of Danny's ghost fights. One of the nastier ones, if the collateral damage and rubble on the street is of any indication.

Danny tries to remember which one that is. He shuffles a little closer to the desk, ignoring the rock in his stomach or the ugly weightlessness in his arms. It's not the blood blossoms, that much he knows. He just recently had an injection so it shouldn't be bothering him this soon—

So it's just nerves. Perfect.

Most footage of his fights are— messy, at best. Unusable at worst. Amity Park was obsessed with appearing 'normal' when they first started happening, and typical news stations censor the worst of the fights anyways for publishing, since they can get pretty gory at times. And ghosts move too fast to be caught on regular standard cameras, not including distance and light and—

That is to say— finding usable ghost fight videos is hard.

Danny wonders how Bruce got his hands on this one, and then stops wondering.

The audio is muted, which is - good. Good, because the fight is ugly and chaotic and clearly this was taken on someone's phone. Fuck, he can't remember if he ever saw that before — clearly not. They're hiding behind an overturned car, and Danny grits his teeth so he doesn't tell that idiot to run.

The camera turns up, and focuses on two figures in the air. It takes a few seconds, but when it does, Danny gets hit with a wave of vertigo. His grip tightens and he leans heavily on his cane, he waits for the black dots to disappear.

He- uh, he remembers this fight now. Uh, sort of.

He remembers being twelve at the time, and he remembers some of the injuries he got out of it. His eyelid spasms abruptly. This ghost wasn't one of his regulars, so he doesn't remember whatever name they had, barely remembered what they looked like up until- uh. Now.

Was he always that small? Well— Phantom's never been particularly big, perks of being a dead kid, but— it's - different. Seeing it from an outsider perspective. Was he that small? Or is it just because he's wearing a jumpsuit clearly too big for him that casts the illusion of being small?

Doesn't really - matter. Now. He can't access his ghost form, and he already knows the answers to his appearance.

Phantom is clearly bleeding, viscous and violently green like the bubbles of a lava lamp, clutching onto a limp shoulder that's missing an arm from the elbow down. Half his face is drenched in similar blood, the eye on the drenched side is closed — not because he can't see through the ectoplasm.

Danny's memories of that fight slowly come in a bit clearer. Right. He took a pole to the eye in that one. That had - hurt. A lot. Getting an eye gouged out usually does. It and the missing arm took hours to grow back.

He rubs his eye with his palm for no other reason than it itches.

The other ghost isn't untouched of any injury either, but he's not in a state of dismemberment like Phantom is.

Danny drops his gaze down at Bruce, whose sitting in his chair with his hands threaded together, looking so tense that Danny half expects to meet solid steel if he were to touch his back. His face is - blank. Terribly blank, with an intensity in his eyes that Danny doesn't see often.

He looks terribly distressed.

He opens his mouth, and finds that nothing comes out. His throat is thick with an ugly, tar-like feeling that makes his eyes sting. Kinda reminds him of when someone wraps their hands around your throat and presses. He closes his mouth, then tries again.

"B—" hhhhhh, "Buzz."

Finally Bruce looks at him, one hand slaps the space button on the keyboard, and the video pauses. His expression doesn't shift, but there's a weight in the lines of his face that reminds Danny of a set of weights sagging.

He looks quite like he's grieving something.

Bruce opens his mouth, his voice comes out terribly soft and heartbroken: "He looks like you."

Which is— a terrifying sentence in and of itself. One that makes Danny's legs shake and ignite his ragged, poison-chewed nerves alight with the need to run. An instinctive urge to deny, deny, deny.

How could he? He could say, that's a ghost, Bruce. I'm not a ghost. He could crack a joke, and ask, 'do I look dead to you?' or say something about how he knows that his parents studied ghosts, but that didn't make him one.

He could say that, and he could say it knowing full well that Bruce would see right through it. He'd probably let Danny too.

Danny closes his eyes. They sting, you see? So does his nose, right in the back like someone popped him in the face. And his throat is thick and gross and like someone stuck a spider, the big fat tarantula kind, right down into his esophagus.

He breathes in — through his mouth, because his nose stings and so it'd be best not to irritate it further with air — and it's terribly shaky and uneven. But it clears a pathway to his lungs big enough for him to say — whisper, really:

"You know, I think you're the first person to notice that."

[absolutely-esme]

I had a couple more thoughts.

The first relates to Dani being disappointed when she realized she wasn't going to make it back in time for Bruce's birthday. I think it would be funny for Dani to randomly turn up at some point with a late birthday present that's kind of out there. Probably some weird thing she found in her travels.

Could be anything from a little kitschy knickknack from some small, obscure country to a really weird object from another realm, but I think the weirder the better. Like, this little girl randomly shows up, enthusiastically hands Bruce a bizarre item that she found somewhere, and then disappears with no explanation.

I guess it could also be some Fenton Works equipment paired with a mysterious mention of how "Grandma and Grandpa fixed the Specter deflector so it prevents overshadowing without hurting any ghost the wearer touches." I just find the option of Bruce being left holding something that looks like either a weird rock formation or some kind of fungus or egg attached to a stalagmite with no idea what to do with it funnier.

On the one hand, it's a gift from his ghostly little sister. On the other hand he has no idea what it is or if it's dangerous in some way the ghost child didn't realize.

The second thought I had is about Deadman being the one who has answers. In the cartoon, the ghosts all knew who and what Danny was. Apparently the creation of a half-ghost is hot gossip in the zone. Most of them don't bring his condition to the awareness of humans. Apart from the mutually assured destruction situation with Vlad, the closest any of the ghosts come to using Danny's secret identity against him is when Walker makes life really difficult for him by launching a smear campaign and stirring up anti-ghost sentiment in Amity Park.

I kind of headcanon that spreading private matters of the dead amongst the living is something ghosts just don't do. They gossip amongst themself, and they'll even chat with living folks about things that aren't private for the ghosts involved, but they don't air ghosts' secrets to the living. It's not exactly a moral thing, it's just how they do. They just don't tend to have any interest in doing so. The only reason it even came up with Danny and Vlad is because they're both half human.

That said, the fact that Danny, Sam, and Ellie are reincarnations and seems to be trying to reconnect with people from their previous lives might mean that talking to Bruce about their history might not register as "telling the living about a ghost's private business." He wouldn't broadcast it to the world or tell random people, but he can clear up a misunderstanding with their son.

So Deadman tells the tale of Danny Fenton/Phantom as he knows it. Basically it's an overview of the broad strokes of Danny's superhero career and how he became king. It is probably incomplete and not entirely accurate because Deadman wasn't there for any of it and learned most (if not all) of what he knows from stories that had been told and re-told several times before reaching him.

Deadman cheerfully and obliviously delivering a whole new crisis. They got answers about how they can register as both reincarnations and ghosts. Now they have entirely new unanswered questions.

After moving to Gotham and having to deal with a stressful job, Danny has started taking walks around the city as a way to destress.

Since he knows that he could get mugged, he just becomes intangible and invisible while listening to some loud music on his phone.

Unfortunately for him, his control on his Invisibility keeps slipping when he gets lost in his music, and the people of Gotham keep seeing a semi-translucent ghost man walking around at night aimlessly.

Some thugs think it’s just a meta with invisibility and try to mug him, but pass right through and he disappears completely. This convinces them that he is a ghost, since having both invisibility, and intangibility would be too big a coincidence. Not to mention he never reacts to them whatsoever.

The Bat’s get word that a Ghost has been stalking the streets of Gotham, and he looks scarily like Bruce Wayne from the little they have been able to see from him. Now Batman thinks his dad may have come back as a ghost.

Danny is oblivious to all of this. He just likes his nightly strolls.

[its-rat-time-babey]

I’ve seen posts about Amity Parkers creating all sorts of theories to try and explain why Phantom protects the town/who he was in life/acts so human, but I’ve never seen any where Amity Parkers jump to conclusions about people like The Red Huntress and Plasimus. Consider this.

The Red Huntress just shows up in town one day with a massive grudge against Phantom and no explanation. They have their face completely covered at all times, their suit disguises their voice and I think the suit makes them look taller than they really are. Townsfolk have no idea where she came from, why she has this grudge against Phantom or where she got this gear that is on par with or even better than anything the Fentons have made. All Amity Parkers can say for sure about The Huntress is:

On multiple occasions they have mentioned having a boss that they need to report to. (Valerie was actually talking about her real job, but no one knows that).

They mentioned once that they got their gear from an unknown benefactor.

They didn’t get their gear from the Fentons. (They denied making it. The Fenton’s would never lie about making some sort of ghost hunting device. Especially if it’s as powerful as the Red Huntress suit.)

They didn’t get their gear from the GIW. (The GIW don’t have the technology to make that suit and they treat The Huntress like an obstacle, not like an agent).

She views Phantom as their primary target. If given the choice between firing at either Phantom or another ghost, they will always choose Phantom.

So the residents of Amity Park took that information and created all sorts of theories as to who the Red Huntress is and where they came from.

The generally accepted theory is that The Red Huntress is a human bounty hunter that was brought to Amity Park by some unknown, shadowy benefactor, given their ghost hunting gear and now gets paid to hunt ghosts. The identity of the unknown benefactor is heavily debated though, some say it’s the CEO of axion labs, who wanted Phantom dead after he trashed one of their largest and most important buildings, costing thousands in repair costs.

Some say her employer is some government official that runs a department far shadier than the GIW and the reason the GIW dislike her is because they simply don’t like having some other department getting in their way and meddling with their affairs.

Some say that there is no central benefactor, but rather a group of benefactors that give the Huntress the materials needed to make and upgrade the suit.

Some say there is no benefactor and the huntress made her own gear in some sort of iron man situation, the boss she reports to is some sort of mission control that watches the city for ghost attacks and her beef with Phantom is more personal than professional.

The most common theory about the huntress’s boss however is that the unknown benefactor is just, unknown. Just some shadowy, unseen figure with a grudge against ghosts and a larger grudge against Phantom. The huntress gets paid for every ghost she successfully hunts and gets paid a much larger sum if they take down Phantom.

[snackleggg]

It wasn't hard, in that moment

~~~

Angsty one shot without a happy ending. Sometimes hate can blind you to the simplest things.

~~~

This couldn't be happening.

There was no way this was happening.

But the screen didn't change as Maddie and Jack Fenton stared at the news on their TV.

" -and with all this in mind the government has not only decided to revoke the Anti-ecto act but to also give ghosts and other ectoplasmic entities that fall under that category basic civil rights. The GIW and several other unethical ghost hunting organisations are being shut down as a result and the government will soon be moving onto the inspection of smaller groups and individuals that have shown excessive malice towards these beings-" The news reporter continued on but Maddie couldn't really listen to anything else they were saying.

She didn't think it would ever get this out of hand. At first it had been small things, the impressionable and naive children of Casper high supporting that menace Phantom. Then when word of ghosts being real spread to the rest of the world other groups supporting them and their rights as people started popping up.

Now the Anti-ecto laws were not only taken down but new laws protecting the scum were put up. How did this happen?

A growl escaped Maddie "Phantom".

Of course that evil menace had to be up to this. He and his ghost pals must have mind controlled government officials. Now Fenton works would undoubtedly be inspected and shut down considering the new Ectoplasmic Protection Act.

They had to work fast Maddie decided.

If they could destroy Phantom then whatever ghostly hold he had over the government would disappear and they would all come to their senses.

Maddie stood up and started stomping her way down the stairs. She didn't even notice Jack continuing to watch the news as they interviewed some ghosts on what they thought about the situation. She didn't even notice how Jazz was standing proudly at the top of the stairs or the suspicious look Jazz threw her way when she had left.

With her new urgency it wasn't hard for her to finish a project they had in the works for a while. Her and Jack had kept it top secret so that the scum couldn't somehow find out and destroy it like they did with some of their other brilliant inventions.

The Fenton Ghost Filter was about to get a test run on the local menace.

Unlike something like the Ghost Grabber or a Ghost Shield, the Ghost Filter didn't filter ghosts from an object or just force them away. It filtered them from existence. Separating all their ectoplasm down to the molecular bond, they would become nothing but air.

It wasn't hard to find the menace. He had just finished sucking another ghost into a Fenton Thermos, Maddie still couldn't figure out where he had got his hands on one. It wasn't hard to get his attention and expertly lie about her intentions, about seeing the news and understanding how wrong she had been, about how she wanted to speak to him and make a truce.

The words were bitter on her tongue and it took everything in her to keep her expression of friendliness up and not let any venom or disgust leak into her voice.

He was obviously still cautious when he approached her. He carried himself with the air of someone ready to bolt at the slightest sign of danger. Of course Maddie would never give him that chance.

The moment he was in close enough where she knew she wouldn't miss she pulled out her newest invention. She saw the moment he realised what she was about to do, the moment he realised she had lied and the moment he realised that even with his speed he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Maddie saw the fear in Phantom's acid green eyes.

She smiled.

She was proud to be the cause of that fear.

She pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down after Phantom collapsed. Not in the good way either.

It wasn't the same kind of slow as when she was about to shoot him, when she was savouring that moment, that victory.

At first it was caused by confusion.

Why hadn't he been torn apart instantly? Maybe she had gotten something wrong in her rush to finish it? Maybe a calculation had been off?

Then white rings appeared around Phantom's waist and travelled up his body.

She was tense. Was this a new power? A new attack? Thanks to those damn new laws it would be seen as self defense if he attacked her now.

Then when the rings of white light disappeared her son was left there on the ground. He was screaming.

Over the years Maddie had learned to ignore the screams of ghosts, they were all just ploys to gain her sympathy of the emotionless creatures. The screams of ghosts had become white noise to her, nothing more than a passing irritation.

But infront of her right now was not a ghost but her son. Her baby boy. He was screaming. He was in pain.

The mother in her wanted to run over to her boy right then and try and make him feel better, comfort him and make his pain stop.

The ghost hunter in her, the part of her that had been driving her every action up until that point, whispered in her ear how this was a trap. Phantom was trying to trick her like always, trying to gain her sympathy by making himself look like her son.

The two sides were at war, and so Maddie was frozen.

Then time seemed to snap back into gear, moving fast now like a rushing river.

Someone ran past her, towards Danny (Phantomphantomphantom). It took her a moment to realise it was Jazz. She was quickly followed by Danny's two friends, Sam and Tucker.

They were all panicking. All calling out to Danny, asking what was wrong, asking what happened and what they should do. Reassuring him that everything was going to be okay, though it sounded like they were trying to convince themselves just as much as they were trying to convince him.

The entire time Maddie could barely hear them over the screams, over her son's (Phantom's) screams.

Then it all stopped.

The screams cut off abruptly, like the plug being pulled from a TV.

Danny (Phantom that's Phantom it's Phantom) fell limp.

Sam was crying, Maddie had never seen her cry before. She was always such a strong girl.

Tucker seemed to be franctically looking for a plus, both on Danny's wrist and neck.

Jazz was-

Maddie felt like she had been slapped when she looked at Jazz.

Jazz was staring at her- no, glaring.

There was so much in that glare.

Jazz had always expressed a lot of emotion through her eyes, she could never really hide what she was feeling if you looked her in the eyes.

There was rage, and sadness and- what Maddie didn't want to admit looked like hatred. Unshed tears sat in the corners of her eyes as she glared at Maddie like she had just taken everything from her.

Then her eyes trailed back to Danny's (Phantom's) limp form.

He wasn't breathing. He was still, too still.

His eyes closed from when they had been screwed shut in pain.

Tucker was now also crying, he had stopping looking for a pulse.

Maddie felt bile rise to the back of her throat as she replayed the events in her head.

Maddie saw the fear in Phantom's acid green eyes. (She didn't need to try hard to imagine those same eyes as blue- sky blue like the day the baby in her arms opened his eyes and she swore to always protect him)

She smiled. (That's the last thing he saw, her smiling. Smiling because she was about to kill hurt him)

She was proud to be the cause of that fear. (She caused that fear. Her own baby was afraid of her, and she had been proud of that)

She pulled the trigger. (She pulled the trigger, she shot him, she hurt him, she killed him)

"Tragedy struck today as Amity park's local ghostly hero Phantom, whose identity was revealed to be Damiel Fenton, was killed by none other than Madeline Fenton. It has been a common fact in the town of Amity for many years that the adult Fentons have harboured a, at times, unreasonable hatred to ghostly entities. While not all the details are yet known, the broader strokes of the story are that after the government's public declaration of the Ectoplasmic Protection Act yesterday Madeline Fenton decided to act out to destroy Phantom who she and her husband had claimed to be a menace multiple times. Taking a, as of yet unidentified, weapon and lulling Phantom into a false sense of security around her before she shot him and subsequently killed him. When he died his identity was revealed to be that of her own son who, we are told, after an accident involving their prized invention, the ghost portal, became part ghost and took personal responsibility for making sure that Amity park was safe from those who wished to harm it. Madeline Fenton is being charged with first degree murder and there is currently much debate on whether Jasmine Fenton should be removed from Jack Fenton's custody-" The news reporter went on.

Jack couldn't focuse on the TV anymore. His sobs having grown too loud to be able to hear what was being said.

His wife was going to be sent to prison.

His daughter hated them both.

His son was dead.

His son had died nearly two years ago and they hadn't noticed. They hadn't questioned his strange behaviour, the falling grades, the breaking curfew. They hadn't seen their son when they looked at Phantom, hadn't recognised him.

Then his son died again, by their invention again.

He was a terrible father.

He was a terrible person.

[avaritia-apotheosis]

Phantom Children Ch.4

In Which: exposition for exposition's sake exists, and Vlad looks way more suspcious than he ought

| AO3 | Prologue | 3 | [4] | 5

VLADIMIR MASTERS. Human male in his mid-forties, and most notably the founder and CEO of VladCo, a billion-dollar industry that mostly specializes in manufacturing weapons and technology. Graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin despite having to drop out due to a lab accident in his second year, landing him in the hospital. Despite being based primarily in Wisconsin, he made an unexpected move to Amity Park Illinois shortly after reuniting with his college friends Drs. Madeline and Jack Fenton.

Not even a year later, Masters ran for mayor of Amity Park and won the election by a landslide. Suspicious, considering Masters being an unknown and the former mayor Montez being quite popular. It’s during Masters’ tenure in office that reports of ghost attacks to the Justice League steadily died down.

“Why?” Damian asked.

Barbara shrugged, pulling up a few files on the screen. “I originally had a theory that related to VladCo’s buyout of Axion Labs—a technological research and manufacturing company that’s mostly local to Amity—being a factor. Within the last couple of years, they had been experimenting with highly volatile chemicals with hallucinogenic properties. Amity had always been known for being extremely superstitious with its ghosts, and if Axion Labs had somehow accidentally released that chemical into the city, well…” She leaned back into her chair, hand twisting in the air. “You could bet how that ended up. The hysteria around ghosts only grew worse in the last two years, with suspected sightings from once every few weeks to multiple in a single day. Early attempts to capture sightings were unsuccessful, and soon enough Amity Park was just written off.”

Much like the mass hysteria surrounding the urban legend of the kuchisake-onna in Japan in the late 1970s, Bruce thought. He pulled up some news footage from Amity Park dated a few years back of citizens being interviewed about their ghostly encounters. Beside these videos were a few photos taken by a shaky camera, showing bright blurs of light streaking across the sky or vaguely humanoid shapes rising from the ground.

“So VladCo., bought out Axion Labs, improved its security, and slowly helped detoxify the town?” Damian shifted his weight onto his other leg and crossed his arms.

“That’s what I thought, but—”

“But the ghosts ended up being real.” Bruce pulled up a video of a field reporter-slash-weatherman taking cover as a figure dropped from the sky, breaking through the walls of a building. The figure—features distorted by an eerie glow—shot out of the rubble just in time before a green blast hit it.

Oracle enlarged other news footage with a few taps on her keyboard. Beings zooming through the air. Massive plants erupting from the ground. Technology coming to life. Each video more worrying than the last, and most showing some footage of a figure bathed in a white glow. “I’d be hard pressed to call any of these faked.”

It begged the question as to how Amity Park survived this long unscathed. Since, if he remembered correctly, even the Dark Leaguers tended to avoid Amity Park like the plague. “They have their own heroes, then?”

“Think along the lines of vigilantes with unofficial support.” A few more files popped up on screen. One showcased a female in a full-length black and red body suit on top of a hover board. The other was a male; young, perhaps a teenager, with white hair and a black and white suit. Hazmat? “The Red Huntress and the Phantom of Amity Park.”

“Partners?”

“More like enemies working on the same turf. Sources place Phantom as appearing first, though it seems Red Huntress has more government support in the end despite there being no official statement. They seem to be the most effective ghost hunters in town, though far from the only ones. The Fentons of Fenton Works are also acting as ghost hunters, though their track record of success leans more towards their anti-ghost tech than any hunting. The town’s even attracted visitors from the Ghost Investigation Ward; a side branch of Cadmus though a now defunct organization.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Damian said. “If anything, this should be more than enough reason for a League intervention. Why the Justice League didn’t come sooner is the real question here.”

Bruce’s lips thinned. “That’s because we were warned off it.”

“What?”

While there was no rule against heroes entering another hero’s city, there were certain unspoken rules that demanded that JL members avoid claimed cities or stay just outside of city lines until given permission to enter. Some were especially strict about it such as Batman’s ‘no metas or outsiders’ rule. Others were more lenient, simply requesting a warning before entering.

Amity Park, despite having no listed heroes in the database, was marked with heavy ‘Do Not Interact’ warnings for humans and metas alike.

“Justice League Dark said that under no circumstances should the League interfere in Amity. The situation was never explicitly laid out for us except to say that everything was being handled.”

“Oh yeah,” Oracle chimed. “Constantine even had it bolded, underlined, italicized, and in all caps. The occult community was very clear about everyone staying away—and apparently this decision had support from Amity Park too.” She pulled up another document. “That’s probably what led to the decline in their ghost reports, actually. Amity’s claims were considered bogus and brushed aside. No one outside their town—not even their sister town of Elmerton—believed them, so they simply stopped asking for help.”

Strangely, it reminded Bruce of Gotham. Both cities existed in its own isolated sphere, unwilling to let any outsiders interfere in its business.

“It’s safe to assume, then, that whatever Ra’s al Ghul wants with Amity, it has to do with these ghosts. Do we have anyway to contact the town’s vigilantes?”

Oracle shook her head. “Ghost attacks within the past few months have slowly died down along with sightings of Phantom and Red Huntress. Your best bet is asking Masters directly.”

Damian glowered. “Masters blatantly sent out an invitation for Batman to my father. How do we know that Masters hasn’t somehow found our secret identities?”

“Unlikely,” Bruce said. “Vlad Masters, despite his wealth, has done well to keep a low profile. He’s met Bruce Wayne a total of three times within the last decade and Batman not at all.” That, and with the kind of spyware Batman has, he’d be able to tell when, where, and who was trying to dig deep into Batman’s past. Masters hadn’t even registered as a ping.

“Besides, there’s always a few rumors of Wayne Enterprise’s involvement with Batman. All this tech has to come from somewhere, no?”

“How long is Masters staying in Gotham?”

“Umm…” Oracle leaned forward in her chain and flipped through a half-dozen windows. “Going by his reservations at the Gotham Royal Hotel, he’s leaving tomorrow.”

Bruce pivoted on his heel, heading deeper into the Cave. “We better make this count, then.”

------

According to Oracle’s intel, Vlad Masters was staying at one of the executive suites in the Gotham Royal Hotel. A titanic structure with forty-eight floors, two towers, and the gothic aesthetic that never seemed to leave Gotham’s architecture.

Scaling the building as well as entering the suite proved no challenge for Batman and Robin. But upon entrance, it was abundantly clear that the room was vacant.

“Are you sure you guys are in the right room?” Bruce could hear the clicking of Oracle’s keys through their comms. “Masters had reserved the suite on the west tower.”

“Yes we’re in the correct room, Gordon,” Robin hissed.

“Codenames only, Robin.”

Robin clicked his tongue, sweeping the common room for any hidden bugs or cameras as Batman scouted out the rest of the room. The bed was made to hotel standard and the bathroom towels all completely replaced. There were no clothes in the hotel closet or dresser.

The only thing left that indicated occupancy of the room was an unmarked manila envelope unsubtly tucked within a pillowcase.

Robin tensed at the sight of it. “A detonator of some sort?”

Batman rotated the package, holding it up to his scanner. “Doesn’t seem to be. Regardless, it might be better to take it back to the Batcave and locate Masters ag—” The envelope started ringing. A standard ringtone found in most phones. Quickly, but carefully, Batman opened the manila envelope and dumped its contents onto the bed. A ringing burner phone and a flash drive came tumbling out.

Batman threw the flash drive at Robin before answering the phone, holding it up against his ear but saying nothing.

Silence. Then, Masters’ voice filtered in through the phone with a strange echo-like quality. “Good evening, Batman! I’m so glad my invitation managed to get passed along.”

Batman growled into the speaker, “What do you want, Masters?” He signaled Robin to do another sweep of the room for any signs of Masters they might have missed.

“I sincerely apologize for not being there to meet you myself; incredibly rude of me, I know. But it cannot be helped, the shadows are growing ever bolder.”

“So, you are aware then, of the League of Assassins’ presence in Amity Park?”

“A league of assassins? What a terrifying notion that is.” Batman frowned. It was unlikely that they had misread his words at the gala, so why was he acting unaware now? Could he be watched? “Why such a group would appear in my little town, I wouldn’t even dare to guess.”

Robin came back into the room and signaled back ‘negative.’

“Why did you call for us, Mayor Masters?”

“Do you know what is so very tragic, Batman?”

“This is strange,” Oracle said. “I can’t pick up his signal. He’s not appearing on any of my cameras, either.”

“When someone so young dies much to soon.” A pause. “Could you even imagine such a thing? A parent burying their own child.”

Batman could. He had no need to even imagine it because he lived it.

“Some very close friends of mine have been weighed down by the shadows of death and I require help in providing them the closure they need.”

“Are the Fentons the targets, then?”

Masters paused. Then let out a breathy laugh over the phone. “Oh, if only it were that simple.”

“So a different target.”

“Everything you need to know is in the flash drive I’ve enclosed in that envelope Whether you take up the case is entirely up to you—though I do hope you take it. Regardless, if he is not returned soon then I assure you that a disaster unlike any you have seen before will arrive.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Is that a threat, Masters?”

“No,” He laughed. “That was no threat. That was promise.”

The phone line disconnected just as Oracle exclaimed that she finally found Masters boarding his flight back to Amity Pak.

[mystyrust]

Fracture - Ectober 2020

Day 2 Prompt: Bones / Pulse  

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203635

Word Count:  2387

Tags: Past torture, identity reveal

There were many ways Maddie liked to spend her weekend. When her kids were younger, she and Jack would take them out to museums or parks – a family outing. Now that her kids are in high school and have a lot of homework, they don’t go out every weekend anymore. In fact, it feels like they haven’t had time to bond as a family in months. Jazz is always in the library and Danny is always with his friends – sometimes even sleeping over – or catching up on missed homework. Maddie could never figure out why Danny had a backlog of homework to catch up on, yet always had time to hang out with Sam and Tucker.

Now, with her kids spending all their free time by themselves, Maddie liked to spend her free time in her lab, creating and improving her inventions to catch the elusive ghost Phantom. It had been around the time that Phantom appeared that Danny and Jazz became more distant – while both her children were in support of the ghost vigilante, Maddie and Jack were against it, devoting their free time into solving the mystery of what made Phantom different from every other ghost that haunted Amity Park. They wanted to catch it, run experiments with it, and dissect it.

So this weekend was like any other – Maddie was huddled in her lab with Jack, working out the schematics of a new invention – when their Fenton Ghost Detector beeped; a strong ecto-signature was detected inside the Fenton household. This was normal if the ghost came out of the Fenton portal – this signature came from… the living room. Maddie and Jack ran up to find Phantom having stumbled through the front door, leaking ectoplasm behind it.

“What do you think you’re doing here, spook?!” Jack raised his ecto gun at the intruder, his large frame standing in between Maddie and the ghost. But Phantom was in no shape to fight.

“I… I need help,” The ghost managed to gasp out. Maddie paused in confusion. The ghost had tears streaming down its face, heavy breathing, and ectoplasm leaking down one limp arm. It’s mimicking of human physiology was fascinating. And to come to ghost hunters for help? Either this was a trap, or it wasn’t thinking straight.

“The..guys in…white… barely got away from them,” Phantom continued to explain. Maddie noticed him sway where he stood. And that was the weird part – he stood. Not floated. And he had legs, instead of a spectral tail.

“Please, before they… finish me… like they did…”

Jack lowered his ecto gun ever so slightly – not lowering his guard, but still confused about what to do. It was odd, seeing the always confident Phantom reduced to pleading and begging its former enemies. Something in his psyche was so shattered from his experience with the GIW…

Maddie didn’t know what to make of that, but she couldn’t waste a perfectly good opportunity when it knocked phased right through her front door.

“Let’s… let’s stabilize him for now,” Maddie said, lowering Jack’s aim. “Then we can ask him what happened. And decide what to do after that,”

Jack nodded in agreement. He gingerly placed his ectogun down, approaching Phantom with both is hands up and in front.

“We’ll help you, spook,” Jack spoke loud and purposefully. “But we’ll need to take you down to the lab to do that,” Phantom nodded slightly, and Jack took that as permission to walk up to the ghost. Phantom was… he wasn’t heavy but Jack wasn’t expecting the ghost to be as solid and corporeal as he was. He lifted the ghost in his arms, and followed Maddie down to the basement.

The ghost offered little resistance, but he was breathing heavily, and leaking a concerning amount of ectoplasm from his limp arm and one of his legs. It must be difficult to keep up the charade of struggling to breathe, when he’s lost as much ectoplasm as he has, Maddie thinks.

They place him on an examination table, with Maddie grabbing a scanner and running it over his damaged arm.

“Jack…” Her voice shuddered, “His arm is… it’s fractured.”

“What? That makes no sense, he doesn’t even have…bones…” but the scanner showed Jack exactly that.

There were a million and one questions that ghosted Maddie’s lips: How did you get bones? Do other ghosts also have bones? Where do the bones in your body go when you form a spectral tail? Are your bones made of calcium, just like human bodies? But the words that left her mouth were:

“You have bones?”

All her years of academic study, her dual MD/PhD, wasted on a Captain Obvious™ moment.

“Yeah, no duh,” Phantom cracked an eye open, while the rest of his face continued to grimace. “And it hurts…like hell…” There was that snarky teenaged attitude the Fentons were so familiar with.

“How do we even treat this?” Jack asked. One of Phantom’s legs was badly muddled – peeling the suit back revealed deep and numerous gashes. He was losing ounces of ectoplasm a second, and if these injuries were on a human, he’d need blood transfusion and stitches.

“Well, we can supplement ectoplasm to help his healing factor. And then…” Maddie gulped. “Stitch the leg. And set the arm.”

Maddie went to the back of the lab, returning with a set of tools. Scalpels, needles, and bandages. The glint of the metal must have caught Phantom’s eyes – how was he still conscious? A human with this much blood loss would not be awake right now – and the ghost started hyperventilating.

“What are you –? No, please! Please don’t! I wasn’t – !”

“Phantom! We’re helping you!” Jack yelled back. Phantom stared at Jack, eyes fogging over and breathing uneven.

“I’m sorry I never…I should have told you sooner,” Phantom cried. It was an ugly cry, from a body and heart in pain. Maddie didn’t know what else to call it. What kind of guilt could be eating Phantom alive, from the inside?

“I can’t –” Phantom grunted. “I can’t change back! I’m sorry, I’m sorry I should have –”

“How about we help you first, then you tell us what you should have told us when your arm and leg are better?”

Phantom, still sniffling, nodded silently.

Maddie set to work with putting stitches on his leg, while Jack hooked an IV of purified ectoplasm. She looped phase proof thread – from Jack’s Fenton Fishing Pole – onto a surgical needle, and set to work, closing one of the many wounds. Since the wound was deep, Maddie needed to stitch the inner layers first, before sewing the outer layers shut. She was marveled at the level of detail in this ghosts’ body – maybe she could ask him about that when he was healed up.

It was strange that only one leg was injured, while the other leg looked fine. It was stranger how Phantom’s breathing and crying hitched every time her needle pierced his flesh.

“Phantom, can you –? Can you feel the needle as I –?”

“Mhmm,” Phantom managed to grunt, tears freely flowing from his eyes. “Please hurry, Mom.”

Maddie froze in her tracks. Why did he even –? Okay calm down.

He can feel pain. He can display emotion. He can appear delusional with loss of bodily fluids. And in that delusion, he seeks a parental figure.

He has the psyche of a child, her rational mind concludes. So she’ll play that part.

“Almost,…Almost done, sweetie.” Maddie responds hesitantly. “You’re doing great.”

As for the feeling pain part, she isn’t how drugs can affect a ghost – and she can’t take a chance that Phantom will react badly to some experimental medication they use on him. She can only hope that he passes out at some point, and doesn’t feel any pain for the remainder of the procedure. From watching previous footage of his battles in chronological order, Maddie had concluded that Phantom has a fast healing factor. She can only hope that healing factor is still fast. He’ll be fine.

Funny how in the course of an hour, she stopped thinking of Phantom from an “it” and started to think of Phantom as a “he”

It took thirty more minutes of verbal coaxing and soothing for Maddie to finish stitching Phantom’s leg. He promptly passed out when that was done. While Phantom was asleep, Jack finished bandaging the arm, adding a splint to keep it straight.

Finally, with ghostly patient asleep and treated, Maddie and Jack sat down, exhausted.

“Well, I never thought – ” Jack paused, unsure how to word it. They learned more about Phantom’s physiology today than ever before, and he broke every known convention about ghosts that they’d researched thus far. Not to mention a ghost turning to a ghost hunter for help.

“I want to take a sample of his ectoplasm while we can,” Maddie said. “But he might not have enough to spare. And I have a feeling that we’ll get more questions than answers under the microscope, too.”

“You’re right,” Jack agreed. “I wonder what he went through, for him to be as injured as he was and decide to come to us, of all people. Heh, Danny and Jazz would freak.”

“Well, Danny’s sleeping over at Sam’s again, and Jazz was tutoring someone else this weekend.” Maddie mused. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Phantom stayed here for a few days without them even knowing.” It hurt her to know how detached her children had become from her, and it hurt her to know that her assessment of the situation was objectively correct – Jazz and Danny were rarely home.

“Well, he mentioned the guys in white,” Jack said. “If they are the ones who did this to him, and we protect him from those guys, we can earn his trust. And then maybe he’ll let his guard down enough for us to …at least solve the mystery of what he is.”

The two scientists stare at the sleeping form of Phantom, noticing how even in a seemingly unconscious state, his chest rises and falls with each breath.

“With his consent, I suppose,” Jack added.

_

A few hours later, in the middle of dinner, Maddie and Jack are interrupted to rude knocking from their front door.

“Ugh, not another door to door salesman,” Jack grunted. Answering the door revealed that their rude guests were none other than

“GIW,” an agent dressed in white answered, holding up an identification badge. There were two agents, both equipped with ecto guns and headphones, Maddie noted.

“Yes, we can see that,” Jack responded, keeping the shock out of his face. “If you wanted to come over for dinner, you should have called earlier. We don’t have leftovers.”

“We came to inform you that Phantom has escaped our captivity,”

“We didn’t even know you had Phantom in captivity,” Jack raised his brows in surprise.

“Just a few hours of questioning. We underestimated his abilities, and his allies.” The agent continued. “We’ll need extra weapons, the latest of whatever you’ve developed.”

“Well, we don’t have anything, since we gave you everything we made last time,” Maddie interjected. “So we don’t have anything complete yet. And besides, wouldn’t it have been faster for you to send an email or announcement that Phantom escaped? You must have lost a lot of time driving around to come tell us in person.”

“You never know who could be listening.”

“And besides,” the agent in the back added, “There was a chase. We don’t know where he disappeared to, but we suspect he stopped by here.”

“And why do you think he stopped by here?” Jack was very good at keeping the caution out of his voice, Maddie noted. If it were her, their cover would have probably been blown by now.

“Isn’t it weird for a ghost to hide out at a ghost hunter’s house?”

“True, but the same ghost uses technology he stole from a ghost hunter, and he can go into the ghost zone from the portal in your basement,” This was nothing new to Maddie. In fact, it annoyed her that Phantom used Fenton tech, because it meant he somehow evaded ghost detectors in their home to acquire it, or it was handed to him directly by Danny or Jazz. That last one hurt the most; she couldn’t bear the thought of her children going behind her back to support someone who was the very antithesis of everything they stood for.

Or, someone who used to be that. Maddie isn’t sure how she feels about Phantom now, but at the very least, she doesn’t want to hurt him anymore.

“Well, we’ve been home all day, and our equipment didn’t detect anything. But if we find anything new, we’ll call.” Jack told the two agents.

“Alright, stay on alert!” The first agent said, before leaving. Jack closed the front door, and the two waited until they saw the agents sit in their vehicle and drive off, before moving from their spot. Thank goodness they didn’t come inside or into the lab; the lab’s high ectoplasmic content could somewhat mask Phantom’s signature, and could be explained as a false positive on ghost detecting radars, but they wouldn’t be able to hide an unconscious ghost – an unconscious ghost! How wild is that?! – if the agents wound up downstairs.

Maddie breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s been a few hours, let’s check on him”

Maddie and Jack headed downstairs to their lab. Just as they had left him, Phantom was sleeping on the examination table, hooked to an IV of ectoplasm. The fracture on his arm looked like it would heal completely – the naturally cool body temperature of the ghost helped, along with his quick healing factor. His leg looked significantly better, though Maddie wasn’t sure if the stitches would leave behind scars.

Maddie pulled a notebook from the work table, adding and updating her notes with everything they’d learned about Phantom today.

“Can ghosts get scars?” Maddie mused out loud. “Or is it unique to him?”

“I dunno, I guess we’ll have to ask –”

Their conversation is interrupted by a groan – Phantom was waking up – followed by a flash of bright white light. The Fentons covered their eyes, and when the light died down, they’re met with even more questions than answers.

“Danny?!”

[cosmonaughtt]

hitch-hiker (steven universe future/dannny phantom crossover)

ao3

Danny's lost, thanks to the help of another ghost patrol gone wrong. Luckily he finds a kind driver who's willing to take him to the next town. But is this driver just as "normal" as he is?

Hitchhiking was NOT the way that Danny wanted to get back to Amity Park, but he was left with it as his only option, because;

1. He was exhausted. His powers could still work, sure, but he didn’t want to risk trying to fly back home, transforming back mid-flight and taking a tumble to the earth, and

2. He didn’t know where he was and what direction he had to go to in order to find his way home.

Danny tried to pull out his phone and check its signal; no luck. It wasn’t a dead-zone, but his phone was dead. Hah. Funny.

What did he have on hand? Well, he always had the thermos on hand, in his other form. He had his phone and a wallet. And that’s it.

Just his luck. 

He sent a few texts out to the ghost hunting group chat. They wouldn’t send until he had some kind of connection again, probably, but it eased his heart to 

And. And, to top it all off for his current situation, he hadn’t even found the damn ghost he’d been fighting originally! Stupid Skulker. The wild chase (of which Danny was, unfortunately, hunted again) took him back through the Ghost Zone and out through a random door. 

Which led him to this current moment. Standing on the side of the road trying to catch a lucky ride to the next town to figure out how long it’ll take to fly home.

The road was pretty empty. It was inching closer to midnight by then, and he was probably going to have to transform to try and get at least to the next town where he can break into a motel and catch up on a little bit of sleep before trying to get home.

Damn his luck. 

Danny glanced at his phone again. Now it was midnight. Hopefully, his messages would send in soon, but he was going to give it until… 12:20 until he gave in and flew. Try and recover some energy so he wouldn’t suddenly decide night-time sky diving sounds a lot of fun in the middle of nowhere. 

12:01.

12:02. 

12:04.

12:10.

The sound of a car’s engine brought Danny up from the crude drawing he was doing in the dirt by his feet. He stood, and glanced down the road. A single car, brights on, was making its leisurely way down the road.

Danny stuck his hand out and waved. Please, please, please…

To his luck (thankfully), the car slowed down as it neared him. It was a compact Dondai of sorts, but Danny never paid much attention to the different kinds of cars. He had to think of more important things, like the different kinds of ghosts. 

The passenger side window rolled down to reveal the driver.

Who looked not much older than him.

“Hey, are you okay?” The kid asked, quirking an eyebrow. He looked really young, but maybe it was bad genetics. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m good. Could I get a ride, though?”

The boy didn’t look immediately distrustful of Danny, at least. He even smiled and nodded. “Sure! Hop on in!”

The passenger side unlocked with a click-- it was one of the older cars, where you had to manually roll down the windows and had a cassette deck, but other than that you couldn’t tell. It was really nice inside, and Danny jumped into the plush seat and smiled at the driver.

“I’m Steven, your humble new chauffeur.” He introduced, with a cheeky wink. 

“Thanks. I’m Danny.”

“It’s good to meet you. Where are you heading to?”

“I just need to get to the next town. Do you know how far that is?”

Steven thought for a moment, before leaning over to Danny’s side and pulling out a map. Really off-road, but then again, Danny didn’t have any service, so the odds that Steven had some were slim as well. He didn’t bother turning on any lights in the car to read the map, but it only took him a minute to figure it all out. “An hour or so, I’d say. If I’m doing the math right.”

“I’ve got a C minus in math, I doubt I’d be much help,” Danny said. “Is that on your way? If it isn’t, I can try and--”

“No, it’s fine!” Steven interjected. “I’ll probably gas up there, and probably rent out a room to sleep.” He laughed nervously. “All buckled up?”

Danny nodded.

And off they went.

…

….

…… It was weird.

It only took a few minutes of being in this stranger’s car to realize how weird this situation was.

He was in the car with a boy, probably barely a year older than him. In the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night. It was not some horror movie concept (and frankly, Danny hadn’t been scared by one of those in months after all the shit he’s been through), but it was just. Really, really, really weird. 

Steven hadn’t asked why Danny was out in the middle of nowhere. He hadn’t asked Danny’s full name, he had provided his own and hadn’t hounded Danny with any questions. He also didn’t explain much about why he was out in the middle of nowhere, either, just driving in the middle of the night.

Maybe not all things needed answers. 

“Do you mind music?”

Danny shook his head. He’d be listening to his own music, had he not broken his earbuds in the latest fight with Technus. He was going to get more tomorrow, since it was officially a weekend and he and his friends could go to the mall and he could buy them, hopefully without any fights along the way. 

“Sadie Killer and the Suspects cool?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Sam had gone through a brief time of being obsessed with that band, and when she showed Danny the music he had to admit, it wasn’t that bad. 

Steven reached into the compartment by his arm and pulled out an old cassette, switching the one that had previously been in it with the new one with seasoned ease. 

Disobedient. Hm.

Again, another pause of silence. 

“So… You’re not going to ask me why I was out in the woods? In the middle of the night? Alone?”

Damn it, Danny is so awkward. But he can’t help but be confused by the stranger who took him in without questions.

Steven shrugged. “I mean, yeah, it’s kinda weird, but I’ve seen weirder.”

Oh. Now that piqued Danny’s curiosity. 

“So you pick up hitch-hikers often?”

“Eh, you’re only my third,” Steven replied. “The first was a guy who needed a ride to the hospital, I couldn’t just say no, you know? And then there was the woman who broke down on the side of the road, on the way to the car dealership. Talk about bad luck…”

“And you weren’t… afraid that they’d like, kill you or anything?”

“I can protect myself.” Danny tried to ignore the slight flinch that Steven had, but it was noticeable.

They settled into another beat of silence. Another song-- G-G-G-Ghost. Oddly fitting for Danny’s situation.

He didn’t even turn the question around and ask why Danny was in the middle of nowhere. He just… took it, as is. Might as well throw Danny’s cover story of getting lost when he got up in the middle of the night to pee while camping out the window, because Steven didn’t seem phased by anything at all.

Heh. Phased.

The thought of Steven being the maniac serial killer came, but Danny shot it down. The other teen-- he had to be a teen, or at least in his 20s, with a super bad case of Baby Face-- gave off some kind of vibe that he wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

But he could. It was extremely powerful; but not threatening. More like royalty, if anything. 

It was strange. Danny never got it confirmed as an official “ghost power”, but being able to just sense people’s vibes were definitely not a human thing. 

Then again, what was a human thing? It’s been almost two years since The Accident. 

Tucker called it being able to vibe-check people. Steven’s vibes were powerful, but not malevolent. 

“So… Steven, where are you going?”

“Eh. I don’t really know.” He gave off a smile, but it was different than his tone. “I’m trying to go on a journey of self-discovery right now? Just going where-ever the road takes me.”

“Really? Don’t you go to school or anything?”

“Eh-- uh, kinda. I’ve taken up a few online classes I can get with free wi-fi and stuff, you know?”

“How old are you?” 

“Almost seventeen.”

Alright. Danny knew some kids in Amity Park who dropped out of Caspar High. Some of them took up jobs at the Nasty Burger, others in various gas stations, and grocery stores throughout the city. So Steven must’ve been a well-off kid to just drop out, take online classes, and travel the country.

Danny was kind of jealous. Being able to just drop everything and go somewhere else, and make a new identity for yourself?

But he’d be leaving Amity Park defenseless. No, bad idea.

Danny checked his phone again for the time-- ah, finally. Connection again.

big titty goth gf: danny? helloooo?

t.f. as in the fuck: you’d think he’d be back by now.

big titty goth gf: yeah, well, he isn’t if u hadn’t noticed

t.f. as in the fuck: ………. Yeah

t.f. as in the fuck: usually he’d be out of the ghost zone by now if skulker’s got him going. think something happened?

big titty goth gf: i hope not or else jazz is gonna start yelling at us for letting him go into the gz alone

big titty goth gf: danny tuck and i are headin back to my house let us know when you’re ok?

Oh, his messages are finally going through. That’s good.

sad ghost club president: hey SHIT guys uh i got out of the ghost zone but uh. Don’t know where i am and don’t know where skulker went i’m gonna try and find a way back home. can either of u cover for me while i’m gone? Idk when you’ll get this massage

sad ghost club president: *message fuck tonight sucks

It wasn’t long until someone responded. They were teens, they were up late on a weekend night. No rules.

big titty goth gf: oh thank GOD its been like two hours 

t.f. as in the fuck: good to hear you’re ok! sam and i got ya covered. But where are you?

sad ghost club president: tuck i just said i didn’t know. but a kind samaritan stopped and i’m on route to the closet down 

t.f. as in the fuck: you’re HITCH-HIKING?

sad ghost club president: well it’s either that or having a fun trip skydiving tonight, so yeah

big titty goth gf: just be safe danny, don’t fall into a horror movie

sad ghost club president: remember i’m scarier than anything they can throw at me owo

sad ghost club president: plus this guy doesn’t look like he’d hurt a fly

sad ghost club president: or, well, he could if the fly hurt him first. Vibe Check is going off yall

big titty goth gf: i still cant believe u refer to that as ur Vibe Check

t.f. as in the fuck: sam its a good name

big titty goth gf: I Beg To Differ

t.f. as in the fuck: anyway if his vibe check is clear then you’re probably ok danny

sad ghost club president: yeah but its still super weird. he hasn’t asked why i was in the middle of the woods or anything, he didn’t ask me any questions about whio i am?? he’s also like. jazz’s age at MOST. just driving nowhere in the middle of the night because apparently he’s on some sort of journey of self-discovery

big tittyy goth gf: yeah thats weird but also danny?

sad ghost club president: yeah sam?

big titty goth gf: stop being paranoid

big titty goth gf: also ur cover story is being at my place with tucker for a movie night like we originally planned until He came around.

t.f. as in the fuck: fuck skulker

sad ghost club president: skulker does not have rights

He could chill now, that he knew that Sam and Tucker have his back (like always, they always have his back) and a cover story already set up. His parents didn’t question his whereabouts usually on Friday nights, because he usually spent them with his friends and they were usually too buried in research to notice him not there.

Sad, but true.

Steven changed out the cassette tape for another, continuing the quiet drive down the road.

This is okay. They were probably only half an hour away now. Once they got to the city, Danny could look it up on his GPS app and see how long it’d take to fly back home. He couldn’t have ended up too far away from home, but with the Ghost Zone, he had doubts sometimes.

Of course just as everything seemed to be okay, everything had to go downhill immediately.

It started with his ghost sense going off. Steven was preoccupied with looking at the road, listening to the music playing through the speakers. Luckily. 

Danny glanced out the window.

Skulker’s face materialized through nothing and threw his robotic body at the car.

It was a shake, but the sudden force against the poor car sent it sliding across the road. Steven grasped the wheel hard and hit the brakes, and Danny braced himself and held onto whatever he could.

Luckily it was midnight in the middle of nowhere, no one else was on the road.

“You okay, Danny?” Steven asked, looking around with frantic eyes.

“I’m-- yeah, I’m good.” Danny took a deep breath. He glanced out the window again. Skulker was still around, no doubt about it, and Danny’s ghost sense went off again. He’s close.

“What was--” 

Danny didn’t want Steven to have to deal with ghosts, on top of his existential cross-country trip to find himself. For all Danny knew, the kid didn’t even believe in ghosts! He unbuckled his seatbelt and threw open the door.

“Thanks for the ride, goodbye!”

He didn’t want to deal with Skulker, once Steven was out of the way he’d go ghost and try and fly to the town nearby and figure out where he was, then let Skulker hunt him all the way back to Amity Park. All in a night’s work.

“Wait, Danny--?”

He ducked into the brush by the side of the road, trying to lure Skulker away from Steven. He didn’t want more normal people to get involved in his problems.

But apparently the other kid didn’t take goodbye! very well, Danny turned his head around and saw Steven following him carefully into the woods by the side of the road.

Before he could tell Steven to turn around and go, Skulker appeared. Of course. Steven was immediately drawn to the sight of the sudden floating, glowing robot in mid-air, of course, but it didn’t go the other way. 

“You’re too out-of-range to have your friends help you with that stupid tablet now, whelp.” Skulker had somehow got re-synced to one of Tucker’s tablets, and it was good while it lasted, but it seemed Danny was out of time. And even if they were still synced up, they were too far away from Amity Park for it to connect.

Damn it. Just his luck.

“Let’s make this quick, shall we?” Skulker added before Danny could interject with a witty remark. He raised one of his DALV-made ecto-guns and it shot.

Go intangible, his instincts said.

FUCK, his brain said, helpfully.

He closed his eyes and braced for whatever was coming-- intangibility, pain, whatever. Hopefully, Steven got the idea to run--

No pain came. He wasn’t intangible.

Danny opened one eye.

And then the other. 

Steven was standing between him and Skulker, and a weird… It wasn’t ecto-energy, but it was some kind of pink energy, forming a barrier, taking the hit from the ecto-gun too easily.

What.

The fuck.

Steven turned around to Danny, eyes wide. “Danny, are you okay?”

“Uh-- the-- what.” Skulker looked as annoyed as he usually did, if not more, and tried to phase through the pink barrier. “Are you-- what-- uh. I think my brain has officially had it. Yeah, you know, this might as well happen.”

Steven cringed. “Oh, the shield. It’s a, uh… Long story.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Danny replied. He looked back at Skulker. He didn’t want to transform right in front of Steven, but the barrier probably wouldn’t hold forever, or Skulker would just go over it or under it eventually. 

Steven could clearly protect himself. This is what he meant, it seemed.

“Well. I didn’t freak out on you. So don’t freak out on me now, okay?” Danny looked to Steve, who nodded.

“No freaking out, got it!”

Danny allowed the familiar rings to transform him. Why he was trusting this random kid with the biggest secret he had (well, one of the biggest secrets, technically), Danny didn’t know.

But the kid obviously wasn’t normal himself, as evidenced by the glowing pink barrier between him and the ghost.

And to his word, Steven did not freak out. His eyes did glimmer and he did look at Danny with an odd sort of familiarity to it, a sort of kin-ship of weird teenagers with weird powers. Apparently.

Skulker broke through the barrier. He looked down at Steven, then to Danny. “Looks like I’ve got two pelts to add to my collection.”

“Ew, gross?” Steven replied, looking a bit sick to his stomach. 

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while.” Danny shrugged, before turning to Skulker again. “How many times do I have to tell you, Skulker, that you’re never gonna get your hands on my beautiful hair?”

Danny charged ectoblasts into his hands. Steven allowed more of that weird-pink energy form around his fists, like boxing gloves. Ah, not just a one-trick show pony. 

“I’ve got your back, Danny.”

And for once, Danny didn’t feel alone in his ghost-fighting.

----

Skulker was taken down easily with two people fighting instead of one, especially with barriers that could take hits from both ecto-gun blasts and normal ecto-energy blasts pretty well. It was probably not even five minutes until the pesky hunter was sucked up into the thermos and stashed back in the safe space along Phantom’s handy belt.

Steven didn’t even look fatigued. It looked like he had more energy than he had started with originally-- probably the adrenaline high that came with every ghost hunt. 

“Alright. I was trying to not be too nosy, but what was that?” 

“A ghost.”

“A… a ghost?!”

“Yup. Not the whole horror-movie, boo and spook ya kind of ghosts.” Danny said, floating down to where Steven stood. “You’re taking this well.”

“You’re taking this well.” Steven wasn’t even bruised and he’d been thrown into a tree during their fight. He wasn’t even bleeding, but one of his fists was still covered with the magic-bubble glove. He flexed and it popped, fading away.

“Well, at this point, anything might as well happen.” Danny landed, allowing him to transform back. “You can’t tell anyone about this, alright?”

The sudden harsh tone in Danny’s voice startled Steven, and he straightened up. “Scout’s honor! Even though I was never a scout.” Steven shrugged. “And, well, I never kept my gem powers a secret, so I don’t care if you tell anyone or not, I guess?”

“Gem powers?” It was the word that Skulker had thrown out during their fight, but Danny was just trying to take him down quickly so he could get home quickly so he could take a nice, long nap. 

“Oh, yeah. I’m half-gem.” To prove, Steven lifted his shirt and showed that, in the placement of his navel was a bright pink gemstone. “Half-gem, half-human.”

Wow.

The only experiences Danny had ever had with other hybrids like him-- halfas-- were Dani and Vlad. Dani (or, Ellie, as she said last in one of her letters) was his clone, for starters, who was taking soul-searching to a whole new global level. Vlad was an egotistical maniac who wanted to kill his dad so he could date his mom.

“I’m… I’m half-human, too. Except, half-ghost instead.” He could feel a few tears welling up, but he pushed them aside. “Normally I’d say you’re going to have to wait a little longer to unlock my tragic backstory, but after tonight I’d say we both have stories to tell.” 

Steven smiled. “I still owe you a ride to the next town, don’t I?”

[ecto-american]

Broken Ectoplasm C12

Ectoplasm | Broken | Glass | Theory | Community | Eavesdropping | Worldbuilding | Accident | History | Shape shift | Puppet | Or Read on FFN or AO3. | shoutout to @qlinq-qhost for betareading

Day 20: Ink

There was just simply too much to think about. The most annoying part was how that's all there was to do. Think, think, think. Zero action.

Agent G sighed boredly as he sunk further into his couch. He had nothing to do, nothing to prepare for tomorrow. His work clothes were already hung and ready for tomorrow. Everything needed, including lunch and his briefcase of paperwork, was packed and sitting on the kitchen counter. Part of him wished that he had been able to just stay the night at the hospital instead of passing over shift duties to the night team. Ghost activities always spiked at night. But given that the night team had come in white sweatpants and personal laptops, headphones and snacks, they likely suspected that Phantom was going to be very quiet that night. Which made sense, given his condition.

God the Guys in White was boring.

Where was the action? The excitement? The cool jet planes and armor and shootouts? That's what had enamored him, that made him curious and interested in the organization. While the initial introduction to his current career path was certainly not...ideal, it definitely caught his attention. Nothing really could do so better than accidentally being shot at over being mistaken for the ghost boy. Hell, after he joined, he learned that the very agent he was partnered with now was the one that nearly shot him out of the Amity Park Observatory. So it's not like he was in the wrong department.

Agent K didn't even really seem interested in being a detective of any kind. Agent G, the entire ride back to the main office, had tried to ask about his thoughts. His theories, his predictions. Agent K had none, and he didn't really care to listen to Agent G's either. Even after they got the medical records, and Agent G was left floored, Agent K had no insight into the situation.

Skinning? A skinning? That was so disturbing, the reported account. Maybe, maybe he could understand why a ghost researcher would wanna skin a ghost, even though that in itself was kinda creepy. But a ghost, skinning another ghost? Skinning them "alive" so to speak? That was some dark stuff. Something he'd imagine hearing some kind of serial killer did. Even a ghost as supposedly evil as Phantom didn't deserve that.

Emphasis on the supposedly.

Agent G's mind continued to wander as he tuned out the low background noise of his TV going. The Guys in White...was simply so boring. So much waiting, he had entertained himself via reading, and re-reading, and analyzing every case file that Agent K and Agent O were assigned to. It caused him to notice some odd details in the finely printed black ink that led him to have doubts when he began to match Phantom's long, detailed case file with various other cases that were on file within the GIW archives.

The mass public report and stories, the personal accounts and statements taken from dozens and dozens of people during what was dubbed the Overshadowing Epidemic. Many people, whose names he even recognized, had come forward with their accounts and to be interviewed about their overshadowed experiences. Their accounts were similar. Most experienced a loss of time, feeling constantly cold for a while afterwards, being dazed and confused following the immediate aftermath. Some felt physically and mentally exhausted, as if their bodies were never given rest or they had been running a marathon. None of them could pinpoint truly how they knew that they were overshadowed, but they always knew when it ended, and many could immediately see the ghost in question leaving their body. While a number of people came forward with their concerns, the case author reported that given security, news and personal footage, that it was estimated that anywhere from twenty-five to forty-percent of Amity Park was overshadowed during this time while only a hundred people had personally come forward with their account. And for what purpose? Why did this mass overshadowing even happen so suddenly, and why did it end? Nobody was really sure, and the case author made no attempts to even answer the question, nor did he even suggest the question even being a reason.

According to both Phantom himself and eyewitnesses, Phantom stated that he was on their side during this time. At least five eyewitness accounts, names of people he recognized from his high school years, had come forward to claim that Phantom had saved them from being overshadowed. This was dismissed as being ridiculous according to the case author. But this matched up reasonably well.

Frederich Isak Showenhower, more commonly known as Freakshow, was taken into custody after being in possession of stolen goods. After his initial interview with the Amity Park police, he was extradited to GIW's headquarters due to his story. It was absolutely wild to the police, but it had that odd grain of truth that made them ship the ex-circus leader their way. His story was that it was really ghosts that did it using a ghostly artifact, and that he wanted a plea bargain of sorts, to get less jail time since he did not technically do any of the actual stealing. It was noted that in exchange for his information on ghostly artifacts, that he would be given a lesser sentence.

Phantom was shown on security footage and seen by witnesses stealing jewelry and money, robbing stores. Agent G studied all that footage closely, and he had noticed something peculiar. Many of those unique objects stolen matched perfectly to what was confiscated from Showenhower's loot. Both in item description and appearance. Phantom was never shown actively stealing money or jewelry or anything really, outside of this window of time period that matched with Showenhower's statement.

And these things just continued to match on, and on, and on. Things matched up, hidden in the endless text of black ink of case file after case file. It didn't quite confirm innocence. There was still a lot of questions, like motivation and some details that'd need clarifying. But the amount of facts that clicked together was enough, in Agent G's mind, cause a significant doubt in Phantom's defense.

But nobody really wanted to hear it.

He had brought it up to his boss, to no interest. Agent K told him to not bother digging too deep into seeing something that wasn't there. Agent O was more interested in his upcoming vacation with his wife. The other agents tuned him out. Nobody really seemed to care about the motivations or deeper questions involved in the casework.

Ghosts are just evil, they do that, his coworkers claimed, and Phantom was no different than any other evil ghost. But even evil had motivation of some kind. They almost always had some motivation. That's what drives people, and ghosts, to do anything. Many ghosts didn't attack humans or even come to the human world. So why were some attacking and others not? Why would Phantom, if he was evil, seemingly flip flop from doing good days one day to doing evil ones the next? It made no sense. Especially given the supposed behavioral patterns he displayed, it just was an odd fit, and Agent G had simply too many questions.

Agent G turned his TV off as that empty, confused feeling set in. Something just wasn't right concerning Phantom's case. Was this really life as a GIW agent? Was this really what he signed up for? Maybe he really should have become a cop like he originally trained for. But the Guys in White promised to help him find an identity, something he had been searching and trying to find for years. Their impressive display, that action and lightshow. It was what he thought he really wanted.

Was he missing something? Maybe it took longer to get those things, an identity and the excitement of field work. To be fair, he discovered so many things already laid out in ink that previous agents had authored before him. The desk work wasn't entirely useless. Just boring. There was so many facts that pointed to doubt. Agent G wasn't even claiming that Phantom was innocent! Just that there was reasonable doubt.

But of course...he was just a rookie.

He sat in the dark for a few moments before he finally stood up, and he got ready for bed. Tomorrow, he could hopefully get some answers. And he already knew how he was going to force his coworkers to listen.

123456789

Thankfully the worst of the worst was over, leaving many what if thoughts to be put to rest. The surgery went well. Maddie nearly cried in relief when she finally properly saw her son post-stitched up. The swelling had reduced dramatically, and his jaw no longer looked distorted as it was secured back into place. His jaws were also wired shut. So unfortunately, the much needed conversation was still put on hold, and it would truly be put off to the side for a long time. But the important thing was that he saw safe. He made it through the surgery without shifting his form, and his secret was in tact.

She watched Danny as he slept peacefully. Jazz was curled up and sleeping on two chairs pressed to the wall. The teen had been so tired, she didn't even stir when Phantom was moved back to his room. Jack had been napping, but woke when Maddie was allowed to follow Phantom inside.

But now her husband sat next to her in the heavily dimmed lights of the hospital room. Maddie couldn't sleep. A pressing concern troubled her too much.

"Jack?"

Silence.

"Yeah?"

"...Are we bad parents?" Maddie's voice was barely audible. Afraid of the answer.

Jack didn't immediately swoop in with his reply, a blind assurance that they were not bad parents. That they couldn't have known. It wasn't their fault, that this was unpreventable.

"...We might be," came the grim confession. Maddie wiped an eye before tears could freely flow.

"He's afraid of me." Maddie was barely able to get it out. She kept her eyes on her baby. Tiny parts of her continued to die with every slap of reality.

Jack said nothing to correct or reassure her of something different. He stayed silent as they both let their situation sink in. Their son...was a ghost. Danny Phantom. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. Looking at that snow white hair, and how physically similar he was...how terrible were they to not have noticed.

"What do we do now?" Maddie had to know. She squeezed her husband's hand. "How can we ever...continue? How am I supposed to live knowing-"

"Do you really think he did all those terrible things?" Jack half-interrupted her. Maddie swallowed hard. She hadn't really thought about that. But now that she knew that Danny was fine, that he was safe and okay and right in front of her on a steady recovery path, her thoughts were drawn to an entirely new and frightening question: was her son evil?

Regardless of anything, that ghost boy was her son no matter what (wow, that was still a lot to process). But the ghost boy...his track record of criminal behavior was long, nearly endless. Attacking the mayor, all those robberies, summoning the ghost king, ruining Christmas, so many various miscellaneous things. This was so unlike Danny. Before high school, Danny had never had any troubles in school. Not grades, not behavioral. He was a model student in every way, and this sudden change, this very violent and destructive change, scared her.

A sick feeling came over her. When Danny died, maybe he...changed. Maybe this really wasn't her sweet little baby anymore. But did Danny die? He never answered her question.

"Jack, is Danny dead?" Maddie asked her husband quietly. Jack paled, and he shook his head no immediately.

"Jazz said he became half ghost during the portal accident," he explained. Danny was half-ghost? That was...a bit better than the idea of her son dying without her nor his father noticing, but it was still chilling.

"So he's not truly a ghost," Maddie said slowly. "So in theory, he shouldn't be evil." Jack looked thoughtful as he picked his words.

"But given everything he's supposedly done...Do you think?" Jack dared not say the thought aloud. Neither of them wanted to believe it.

Danny her spectral nemesis, who attacked a mayor and brought Amity Park into the Ghost Zone, who consistently caused perhaps millions in property damage and injuries from those who couldn't escape the scene, who robbed banks. Danny her baby boy who was skipping class, had begun to snap at her and talk back, who was failing classes and constantly coming home late from his curfew. Danny the ghost boy, who had been seen rescuing people from burning buildings and who saved a school bus from driving off a cliff, who helped catch criminals. Danny the youngest member of the Fenton family, who would cook dinner without asking if his parents were in the lab too long and encouraged them to take a break and eat, who never forgot a birthday and who stood up for his friends no matter what.

No matter what form he was taking, no matter how much she shot at him as Phantom or scolded him as Fenton, he never looked at her maliciously or with true rage. Frustration and teenage annoyance, but she had never looked into blue or green eyes that made he feel as if he was truly, at his very core, evil.

"No," she shook her head. "I don't think there's any possible way."

"So what do we do? What was all of that, all of the robberies and the attacks," Jack began, and Maddie just continued to shake her head. Her head was throbbing from a lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion.

"I don't know," she confessed. "There has to be some reason. Some explanation. But I don't know it, we'll have to…" she trailed off. Maddie closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Sleep sounded wonderful right now. She felt Jack's lips press against her temple in a gentle kiss.

"Let's focus on going home," Jack finally suggested.

"What's the chances of us all going home?" she questioned. Jack didn't reply. The unspoken answer was very, very unlikely.

[ladylynse]

The Trouble with Ghosts: Part VIII [FF | AO3]

For @chocobijou -- as a thank you for their donation to my ko-fi. (@queenofhearts7378, I owe you a chapter, too, so you get the next one.)

<<  <  Part VIII

Lancer sat down abruptly on the bed. He hadn’t heard wrong. The Red Huntress worked for Vlad Masters.

True, their prestigious mayor had once put a one million dollar reward on Phantom’s head, but Lancer had assumed Mr. Masters had had a change of heart because the reward had been lifted.

Did Vlad believe, as the Fentons did, that all ghosts—Phantom included—were a menace? Despite Phantom’s continued protection of their town? The Red Huntress clearly had no compunctions about hunting down Phantom, and she was an ideal person to hide behind. Unlike Jack and Maddie, no one knew her true identity—except, of course, the mayor. And possibly Phantom and his friends, given how much else they seemed to know.

“It’s…. I guess it’s more of a surprise than I thought it might be. Given what you know, I mean.”

Given what he knew. That Vlad was an old college buddy of Jack and Maddie Fenton’s, no doubt. Lancer rubbed his temples. “I wouldn’t have thought the mayor would actively try to rid the town of one of its best ghost hunters,” he admitted.

“Well….”

Lancer looked up, but Phantom seemed to think better of whatever he’d been about to say. “Well what?”

“He’s, ah, not trying to get rid of me, exactly,” Phantom said slowly.

Moby-Dick, was Phantom saying that the mayor was ready to experiment on him? That he hadn’t left his ghost hunting days behind at all? That made sense, if he truly employed the Red Huntress. Her technology was similar to but still different from anything produced by FentonWorks, yet it was too effective to have been produced without intimate knowledge of ghosts and paranormal technology. Was Vlad collaborating with his old college friends? Did the three of them intend to tear Phantom apart, molecule by molecule?

“Yeah, it’s kinda messed up.” Phantom was offering him a smile. A smile. Humour in the face of a sickening situation.

“I think this goes beyond that,” Lancer said hoarsely.

Phantom’s response was a shrug and a wince. Then, “But that’s why I’m the focus, not my friends. And why you can’t tell anyone else.”

Lancer let out a slow breath. “Mr. Masters is already aware of your helpers.” Phantom had told him as much before, but he nodded again anyway. Lancer was mostly trying to get the facts straight. “Despite this, he hasn’t used them against you? Tried to bargain with them?”

Phantom groaned. “Okay, fine, he tried using Jazz against me once, even wanted us to fight each other, but it didn’t work like he’d planned. Obviously, we didn’t want to really fight each other, so we just kinda put on a show until…. It doesn’t matter. Point is, he hasn’t tried something like that again. I think he realized that’s never going to work. Like, ever.”

Lancer pursed his lips. “If he has ghosts in his employ, what’s stopping them from kidnapping someone and holding them hostage until you give yourself up?”

Phantom stared at him. “Because I’d win. I’d find them and beat them. They all know that. Even if I had to get help to do it, I’d win.”

“Always?”

Phantom frowned. He could hear the skepticism in Lancer’s voice. “Vlad’s tried a lot of different things. Nothing’s worked, and he’s not stupid enough to keep reusing the same tactics over and over. I mean, not for everything. He knows how important the others are to me, but he also knows how easily I can get allies when it really matters. I don’t just mean ghosts, either. The Red Huntress and I have called truces before. If I brought her in on this, he’d have to do some fancy footwork to keep his dirty work from her. She doesn’t know about all the ghosts that work for him or about anything to do with me. She wouldn’t still be working for him if she did.”

“You seen awfully confident in your assessment of her.”

“I know her better than she thinks I do, including what misunderstandings led to why she hates my guts. She’s a good person, just…really, really misguided.”

“And in the employ of the mayor.” He hesitated. “Is she aware of his true identity?”

Phantom didn’t answer right away. Then, “She knows he’s the mayor, if that’s what you mean.”

Lancer had no idea what else he could mean, but Phantom clearly had something in mind. Lancer filed that bit of information away for later; instead of pursuing that line right now, he could pick apart some other information Phantom had volunteered. “You said you had allies. Am I right to assume this includes ghosts you don’t fight with regularly?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And your friends have met them?”

Phantom nodded. “I mean, I don’t think Jazz knows everyone, but the others do.”

Perhaps that explained young Mr. Fenton’s whereabouts. He’d phoned their household this morning to request an update, but he hadn’t gotten an answer until Jack and Maddie had driven past his house with a loudspeaker, alternating between calling for Danny and threatening the ghosts that surely had him. (He rather thought that was what had woken Phantom, though he couldn’t be sure without asking.)

“And will the ghosts help them?” Lancer asked carefully.

Another nod. “Sam and Tucker have stolen the Spectre Speeder to go into the Ghost Zone more than once.”

Because Danny was preoccupied or because this wasn’t the first time he’d gotten hurt? The thought gave Lancer pause. Danny had been quite insistent about not going to the hospital. Perhaps this really wasn’t the first serious injury he’d attained in his exploits helping Phantom. Perhaps that had simply been his assumption and Phantom hadn’t corrected him. Why would he, when he was trying to argue so vehemently that he could protect them all?

Had Sam and Tucker come to take Danny to a rendezvous point where he could be collected by one of Phantom’s ghostly allies? Had Jazz managed what they could not? Was Danny in the Ghost Zone right now, being attended to by the spirits of doctors who retained enough relevant knowledge of human biology to put their skills to use? He couldn’t discount the idea, not when he’d met other ghosts who were clearly the spirits of those who had passed on from this world—Phantom included, as far as he could tell.

Lancer had no idea how much knowledge and technology from their world had made its way into the Ghost Zone, but Lancer hoped—if his suspicion was right, and especially if this wasn’t the first time—that those ghost doctors did more good than harm. He’d always understood that Jack and Maddie Fenton regularly wore HAZMAT suits to reduce the risk of contamination—however many times they had to change suits for that to be the case—so if Danny were immersed in the Ghost Zone itself….

“Um, before you jump to any conclusions, they don’t only go into the Ghost Zone whenever I need help. Sometimes we explore it together, and Sam’s good friends with Dora, so she’ll go there on her own, too.”

Dora. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Lancer couldn’t place it, and he didn’t want to fall for Phantom’s bait and ask. Phantom would only too gladly latch onto a change of topic and lead the conversation away from more important points. “Is the Red Huntress aware of what your friends do for you? Of the risks they take?”

Phantom bit his lip. “I don’t think so,” he admitted. “I mean, she’s gotta know they know their way around an ectogun, and she definitely knows they support Phantom, but most kids in school do, so that’s not really surprising. And she’s seen us together before, but I don’t think she, um, knows how actively they help me. We’re trying not to give her too many clues about who I am.”

Too many clues about who Phantom is? Or was? Back when he was…alive?

Phantom let out a nervous laugh. “It gets, um, complicated. And she might shoot me anyway. Because I never told her. About a lot of stuff, not just this. I just…. You don’t need to worry about her. She won’t hurt my friends. Or you, if she figures out you’re involved. She only has a thing against ghosts, and you’re all human. If I told her everything, she’d probably back off me, too, but I…. I can’t do that right now, okay? I can’t.”

“I would hardly force you to spill your secrets to someone who actively hunts you down,” Lancer pointed out, but Phantom didn’t look remotely convinced.

“Yeah? Even when it’s not just her who should know?” Phantom pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. “You don’t need to keep dancing around the subject, Mr. Lancer. I know you think I need to tell my parents.”

His parents?

“But I’m not ready yet, and I need you to respect that. That’s why I don’t want you to tell anyone, especially them. They can’t learn something like this from someone else. If anyone tells them, it has to be me, and it has to be on my terms. It’s my secret.”

My secret. This wasn’t the first time Phantom had said referred to it as such, but it was the first time Lancer had realized there was more to Phantom’s secret than the help he was getting from Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

And for Phantom to talk about his parents so casually, as if they were here, in Amity Park….

Lancer swallowed.

He’d known Phantom was young.

He just hadn’t realized what that meant.

“Your parents,” he said carefully, “truly have no idea who you are?” He could see how it might happen. For all that Phantom looked human enough, it was highly doubtful that he was the spitting image of who he’d been when alive. Coupled with the fact that his parents wouldn’t be expecting to recognize any of the ghosts, they’d never think to see their son in one of them. Of course, Lancer had no children of his own, only his students, but he’d like to think—

Phantom shook his head. “Jazz says they wouldn’t be hunting me if they did.”

Lancer blinked. His parents were hunting him? True, far more adults than children were disgruntled with Phantom (and all the damage from the ghost fights), and most households had a few FentonWorks weapons on hand, just as he did, but actively hunting down ghosts—Phantom in particular—was a different matter entirely.

“Would…would that not be preferable?”

Phantom pulled a face. “Not, well…. I mean, yeah, but it’s more complicated than that.” Lancer raised his eyebrows, and Phantom sighed. “Please, Mr. Lancer, you just need to trust me on this.”

“You are asking me to trust you about a rather large number of things.”

Phantom straightened up and crossed his legs. “Okay, look. I know the chances of them freaking out and trying to capture and dissect me are pretty small, especially with the others to back me up so they know it’s not some trick or whatever they might come up with. But I know where things stand as they are now, and it’s not like I don’t know how all the FentonWorks weapons work. And Dad’s aim is terrible anyway. They’ve only caught me once.”

Lancer couldn’t help but stare. “I beg your pardon?”

“I know how to avoid their stuff,” Phantom repeated. “And it’s just…. It’s been so long. And them knowing would change things. I mean, even if they do take it well, even if they accept who I am, what I am, that’s not…. That’s not going to just erase everything that’s happened.”

Avoid their stuff?

This wasn’t just a matter of Phantom being unsure of how his parents might accept the fact that he had become a ghost.

“They’re going to blame themselves,” continued Phantom. “For hunting me. For hurting me. For the accident, even though it was an accident, even though they weren’t around. I don’t want to do that to them. I’ve gotta…. I need to figure out how to tell them, if I can tell them, and I’m okay with them hunting me if it protects them from the truth. Does that make sense?”

It didn’t make a whit of sense, not with what Lancer had been thinking.

“It’s…easier, I guess. Safer than changing things.”

It’s not just people, Phantom had told him. It would be everything.

This was what he’d meant.

“So just…don’t tell them. Don’t tell anyone. Please.”

All things considered, Lancer didn’t know very much about ghosts.

He was quickly realizing he knew even less than he’d thought, particularly where Phantom was concerned.

“If you’re worried about how guilty they’d feel once they found out the truth,” Lancer heard himself say, “how can you say that prolonging telling them will improve things rather than make everything worse? You talk as if you never intend for them to know.”

Phantom looked away. “That wouldn’t be the worst thing,” he mumbled. “You know how my parents are. How do you think they’d take this?”

You know how my parents are. There it was, plain as day. Lancer knew Phantom’s parents.

Phantom’s ghost-hunting parents.

Who lived here in Amity Park.

It’s not like I don’t know how all the FentonWorks weapons work.

I know how to avoid their stuff.

“Yeah,” Phantom said softly when Lancer didn’t reply. “That’s what I thought, too.”

Lancer didn’t understand. He didn’t know enough to understand.

They’re going to blame themselves, Phantom had said. For hunting me. For hurting me. For the accident.

How could this just be an accident?

Phantom was…. He….

“Jack and Maddie Fenton,” Lancer said slowly, “are out searching for their son.”

Phantom didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “I don’t know exactly what Jazz told them. Maybe they thought she was wrong.”

No wonder at the sudden change in topic.

Because it wasn’t a sudden change in topic.

If he had asked Phantom if he knew young Mr. Fenton’s whereabouts, what would he have been told? Would Phantom have lied? Claimed ignorance? Pretended Danny was with his friends?

“They’re worried.”

“Yeah, well, knowing the truth wouldn’t change anything on that front, either.” Phantom slumped back against the pillows he’d set against the headboard. “They’re always concerned about their family, but they’re also always concerned about what ghosts might be planning. Sam and Tucker told them a ghost had stolen my face once, and they believed that, so….” He trailed off, shrugged, and let out a faint hiss of pain at the movement. “It doesn’t matter. Jazz can handle them. She knows I’m with you. This was her idea.”

Lancer didn’t know how he’d never noticed that Phantom always talked about Sam and Tucker or about Jazz but not about Danny.

“Wh….” It was hard to force his thoughts into coherent words. “Why me? Out of everyone—”

Phantom raised an eyebrow. “It’s not exactly out of everyone,” he cut in. “There isn’t an everyone. That’s the whole point. All the ghosts know, but I can count on one hand the number of humans who do. And it’s not like I’m going to go to Vlad for this when he’s the reason I’m in this mess.”

All the ghosts know. Yet none of them had ever used that knowledge against him, even though he clearly feared the fallout if they did and that fear gave them power over him. Leverage.

But while Jack and Maddie Fenton hunted down Phantom, Vlad Masters was…. He was doing more than that. Worse than that. He’s not trying to get rid of me. Maybe experimentation wasn’t far off, except—

Except Phantom talked like going to Vlad might be an option. For something. At some point. Under particular circumstances. Despite what he’s doing now.

The mayor may have discovered Phantom’s secret, may be hunting him down like this because of that, but there was something else, something more, something—

Phantom blew out a breath. “And I just…. You know. You know, but you don’t look at me differently. You still tried to help.”

You know.

But he hadn’t known.

You don’t look at me differently.

Would he now? He hoped not.

You still tried to help.

Because someone needed his help. Because that was the right thing to do. Not because—

“People of Amity Park, be on the lookout for Danny Fenton!” The announcement was loud enough to rattle the net gun on the bedside table and send ripples through the water glass; this time, Lancer surmised, the Fentons were driving down his street instead of somewhere beyond.

Phantom jerked, grimaced, and muttered, “I guess they’re still doing that. Please tell me they don’t have the giant billboard again.”

He couldn’t.

He’d glimpsed it in the distance this morning, and he doubted they’d retired it in the meantime.

Instead, they sat in silence, listening as Maddie Fenton’s repeated announcement became muddled by distance and finally faded away.

“I know they’re worried,” Phantom finally whispered, “but this?” He made a vague gesture to himself. “This isn’t even the worst of it. And if telling them everything was so easy and simple, Jazz would’ve been able to convince me to do it ages ago.”

“How is this not the worst?” Phantom was…. He was dead. That’s how one became a ghost. By dying. Whatever this was, however it had come to be, that fact wouldn’t change.

“It’s better if you don’t know the details.”

“Phantom.” Phantom still wouldn’t look at him, so Lancer continued, “You already think I’m in danger, and we’re taking precautions. Talking to me will hardly put me in more danger. We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t just a one-time thing.” Phantom met his gaze now, his bright green eyes boring into Lancer’s. “And I’m still not convinced you get that. If Vlad realizes you know as much as you do, he’s going to wonder what else you know—or what else you can guess. It’s better if you just pretend I’m a normal ghost and don’t interfere after this. You don’t want to give Vlad a reason to look closer.”

“Because of all the ghosts he employs?”

Phantom shook his head. “Because he’s powerful. And he’s not afraid to use that power to get what he wants.”

Lancer let out a slow breath. “What hold does he have over you?”

“My secret,” Phantom admitted, though Lancer had already surmised that much, “but that’s fine. We’ve called a truce of sorts on that front. He won’t tell on me.”

Vlad Masters wouldn’t tell the world Phantom’s secret, and Phantom wouldn’t, what, tell everyone that the mayor was working with the ghosts he hunted? It must be more than that. It wouldn’t be terribly difficult for Vlad to lie or otherwise cover up his association with ghosts if it came to that, and his background as a ghost hunter would act in his favour.

But Lancer had seen Phantom fight, time and time again. His conviction that he could win a fight wasn’t entirely unwarranted. So why—?

“And you’re sure you don’t want to remove that power from him?”

“You mean tell my parents my secret so he can’t hold it over my head? It’s not really that simple. It’s not just this. It’s everything else, too.”

Everything else.

His revelation was only the tip of the iceberg, and Lancer already didn’t know what to do.

Phantom was young. Too young. And far more human than Lancer had ever realized. And he was—

“I should just go,” Phantom said. “Try to keep you out of danger. Jazz’ll understand, especially since I’m doing better. Since Mom and Dad are out, I could probably go through the portal and visit the Far Frozen if I have to.” He saw Lancer’s expression and added, “It’s okay. I’ve got friends there. They’ve helped me before, and they definitely wouldn’t give me up to Vlad, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Exactly how much did Amity Park’s mayor trust the ghosts he hired if he believed they would not only track Phantom down but fight his allies to get to him? Convincing the ghosts to cause trouble on his terms in this world was one thing, but in the Ghost Zone—? What could Vlad possibly be offering them in exchange for that?

It must go beyond a mutual desire to be rid of Phantom. That still wouldn’t give the ghosts free reign, not with the Red Huntress and the Fentons in town, and the ghosts could accomplish that on their own anyway. Why would they bow to the wishes of a mere human, especially when up against someone as powerful as Phantom? They might be able to overwhelm him if they ganged up on him, but Lancer had rarely seen any of the ghosts working together. If they didn’t like to work with each other, why would they work with a human?

Vlad wasn’t just any human, though. He had the same background as Jack and Maddie Fenton and a lot more wealth to throw around. To Lancer’s knowledge, the only way for the ghosts to get into this world was to cross through the Fenton’s portal—if ghosts had a way to create them, he hadn’t seen it—but the attacks were far too regular for them to have come through a single chokehold like that. Had the mayor built another portal, granting ghosts access to his city, in exchange for their help? In exchange for Phantom? Despite all the damage that resulted from the ghost attacks?

“What exactly does the mayor want with you?” It…. He had to be missing something. The risks were so great, and Lancer couldn’t see a guaranteed benefit that would be worth such potentially devastating consequences.

“It’s complicated.” He could recognize the closed tone in Phantom’s voice now. This wasn’t just reluctance to tell; it was flat refusal. “He likes to play his cards close to his chest. The Red Huntress doesn’t know, either, but she doesn’t care. As far as she’s concerned, I’m just a filthy piece of ectoplasmic scum, and Vlad’s too smart to let her know too much.”

Lancer had never noticed how skillfully Phantom could steer a conversation when he wanted to. Phantom had brought up the Red Huntress again to deflect from Vlad Masters, clearly thinking her the safer topic. And, earlier, Lancer would likely have happily pursued it—as a distraction for Phantom, if nothing else.

But now….

“How much danger are you in?”

Phantom crossed his arms, a look of defiance plastered across his face. “I can hold my own.”

“Because you’re confident you’ll always win?”

Phantom rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Mr. Lancer. You know that’s not just me bragging. You’ve seen me fight. I’m good. Sure, Vlad’s tricked me before, but he’s never won any battle that counts. He’s still losing the war.”

Lancer might question the exaggeration of the expression if he were more certain that it was a mere expression.

“But how much danger are you in?”

“Nothing—”

“How much?”

Phantom’s mask finally dropped away, and he wouldn’t meet Lancer’s eyes. “It doesn’t matter. You can’t do anything, anyway. Vlad would deny everything and then ruin you to make a point. And it’s not really any more danger than I face from my parents.”

“It is,” Lancer said quietly, “because your parents would stop the moment they discovered the truth.”

Phantom snorted. “They’d have to believe it first.”

Lancer closed his eyes and took a breath before saying, “They would test the possibility rather than reject it outright; they wouldn’t want to risk being wrong.”

He didn’t think he was wrong. He didn’t have to be a parent to have children in his life that he cared about. Knowing he’d missed something this big, this important, was bad enough, especially when he could see so many signs in hindsight that he’d misinterpreted. He sincerely doubted any truly loving relative would find reason to continue any sort of cruelty when there was any doubt to be had whatsoever.

“Fine. Doesn’t change the fact that I can handle whatever Vlad throws at me. So, yeah, I guess it’s dangerous, but not more so than usual.”

“You’re just a child—”

“I’m fifteen!” Phantom cried indignantly, and then he seemed to realize that didn’t help his case and huffed. “You don’t need to baby me. And you can’t protect me from this danger. You knowing about it doesn’t make me safer; it just puts you in more danger. Why can’t you just understand that?”

“Why can you not accept that I am willing to risk myself if I can help you? You came to me for help. You can’t deny that sometimes your enemies get the better of you, just as you can’t promise that your friends will always be safe, that anyone will always be safe, and believing you will always win is a fool’s mistake.”

Phantom made a face but didn’t say anything.

“I am not asking you to tell me why the mayor is so insistent on hunting you when he knows you are a child. I am not insisting you tell your parents everything before you’ve had a chance to think through how best to do that. I am asking you to stop endangering yourself and others so recklessly, and I am suggesting that one of the ways you do so is by confiding in me and accepting my help.”

Phantom said nothing.

In the distance, they could hear the garbled words of Jack Fenton this time, asking for the help of Amity Park’s citizens in finding his son, as the Fentons circled around to continue their search for their son.

“Phantom, it’s been too long. They need to know something.”

Phantom very deliberately picked up the glass of water from the bedside table and drained it.

“Phantom.”

He replaced it without a word.

“Pride and Prejudice,” snapped Lancer, not pausing to consider that his conclusion might still be wrong, “if you don’t tell me what you want me to say to your parents, Mr. Fenton, I’ll come up with something for you!”

-|-

see more fics | next

@cosmic-melodies 

[darks-ink]

Disinterred CH.15

Chapter 15: Clean It Up

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent. So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

(Tumblr hates links and I want this to appear in the tags so… for author notes/full fic summary/links to the other chapters/mirror links to AO3 and FFnet, click here)

“We need to talk to detective Payton.”

The woman behind the desk quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced at the group behind him. “If you have a crime to report, you can speak to whichever officer is available.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Danny insisted. “It involves a case he was working on.”

She opened her mouth again, clearly intending to shoo him away. Jazz cut her off, however. “It’s really important, please. Can you just contact him and tell him that the Fentons want to talk with him.”

The lady glared at them shortly, but complied. The call involved a brief back-and-forth, but once Payton had heard the words “Fenton” and “case” he seemed to have made up his mind.

Sighing, the woman at the desk put the phone down again. “He’ll be here in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” Danny grinned, just a little too pleased with the small victory. Hey, he would take whatever he got right now. Any distraction from the upcoming conversation was more than welcome.

When Payton appeared he looked more than a little resigned at the sight of their group of teenagers. “I thought that the Fentons wanted to talk to me?”

“We’re temporary stand-ins for his parents,” Sam said with a shrug. “They’re… occupied.”

Payton sighed but, to his credit, didn’t otherwise react. He simply led the four of them to an empty room so they could talk.

“What is this about, then? Because I’m guessing that the ‘case’ you wanted to talk about is yours?”

“Yeah,” Danny confirmed with a nod. “We… We kind of left our some details.”

“You are aware that it’s illegal to lie to the police?” Payton crossed his arms, a mild glare send towards the teens.

“We didn’t lie!” Sam exclaimed, throwing out her hands. “We just didn’t tell the entire truth.”

“Is that so?” Payton didn’t look particularly convinced. Danny didn’t really blame him. In fact, he kind of felt bad for the officer. His involvement in the case certainly made it a lot harder than it had any right to be. Ghosts, in general, made work for the police difficult.

“When we talked about my… ghostly nature,” Danny started hesitantly, “we implied that my… more ghostly appearance was just a one time thing. It’s not.”

Payton nodded, now looking slightly more believing. “Is this related to your glowing green eyes during the confrontation with your parents?”

“Uh, yeah. I can trigger the whole transformation on command, but the glowing eyes happens for all sorts of reasons. Usually when I’m using my powers or when I’m experiencing really strong emotions.” Danny shrugged. “I kind of… use my more ‘ghostly’ form as a disguise of sorts, so people don’t recognize me.”

“But what would you need a disguise for?” Payton squinted at him, suspicion clear on his face. “Nothing illegal, I hope?”

Danny snorted in response, leaning back in his chair. “Hardly,” he said, before tapping into his powers to make his eyes glow on purpose. “Come on, it can’t be that hard to figure out.”

Payton scrutinized him for a few long moments, eyes gliding over him. Then the man sat forward, arms resting on the table. “You’re saying that you are Phantom? Well, that certainly explains why you laughed when I said that if Phantom thought you were okay, it was probably safe to trust that judgment.”

“What can I say, ghost hunting runs in the family.” Danny smirked, a rather Phantom-like expression, to drive the point home.

The detective continued to eye him, then sighed. “You do realize that this isn't going to change the decisions we made last meeting, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed with a shrug. “I mean, I guess I’ll try for college but if I can’t get in I’ll just work for my parents. I’m already following their footsteps as Phantom anyway, might as well give inventing a shot too.”

Then his expression fell again. “But to get back to the original topic… I’m not just telling this for fun. It’s a secret for a reason.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Payton agreed, sitting back again. “What is it then?”

Danny frowning, running through his options. Apparently he took too long, because Jazz spoke up. “He’s not the only one. Not the only one with a human and ghost appearance, I mean.”

“And you’re telling me this because… you don’t think they deserve their secret if you didn’t get to keep yours?” Payton queried, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Danny bit out. “I’m telling you because he’s a jackass who uses his powers for bad purposes!” The vivid green light from his eyes flickered on the desk in front of him, but he ignored it. “He hurts people, he manipulates people! And he has gone too far!”

“And who is he, then?” Payton seemed genuinely intrigued. Apparently Danny’s rant had convinced him to at least play along.

“In human form or ghost form?” Tucker piped up. “Because he looks drastically different and he has no problem flaunting that fact.”

“In his ghost form he calls himself Plasmius.” Sam crossed her arms. “But the public usually calls him the Wisconsin Ghost, I believe.”

“The blue skinned vampire ghost?” Payton frowned. “I’ve heard of him, yes. Known to cause problems, picks fights with… Phantom.” The last word he said more quietly, realization of Phantom really being a 16 year old apparently striking him.

“That’s him,” Danny confirmed. “His human form is also well-known. Old family friend of my parents, current mayor of the town…”

Payton grunted. “You’re saying that the Vlad Masters is a ghost like you?”

“How do you think he won the election?” Jazz questioned with a scoff. “He didn’t stand a chance until he overshadowed most of the voters.”

“And that’s just one of many sketchy things he has done with his powers.” Tucker’s jaw visibly tightened at the thought of everything the man had done. Of what he had tried to do to him. Danny was glad for friends like these. “Stealing money, overshadowing business rivals to take over their companies, attempted murder of Jack Fenton…”

“Kidnapping Maddie Fenton, twice. Kidnapping Danny at least that often, including trapping him in ghost-proof bindings and electrocuting him,” Sam continued. “Sending potentially dangerous ghosts to Amity Park, in the hopes to either kill Jack or hurt Danny.”

“And that’s not even to mention that he tried to clone me,” Danny joined in. Then with a grimace, he added, “And emotionally abusing the one clone that survived. Well, as far as a ghost can survive, of course.”

Payton blinked, apparently stunned by the information overload. Then the last part processed, and he frowned. “He cloned you?”

“Not very successfully, but yes.” Danny shrugged, a faux casual air about him. “She didn’t quite come out right, and she wasn’t stable. But she’s with my parents now, and we managed to save her.”

“Which is also why they’re not here,” Tucker explained, leaning on Danny’s shoulder. “Hence Sam and I as the replacement parents.”

Payton remained quiet for a few moments. Then he sighed. “You are aware of how bat-shit insane this sounds?”

“Welcome to my life,” Danny said with a snort. “Or, well, you know what I mean.”

“We can’t just take your word for all of this,” Payton insisted. “It sounds… Well, it sounds too bizarre to come up with, but that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”

“And we can provide you with whatever proof you need.” Sam glowered at him. “We just need your assurance that you’re gonna look into it, and that you’ll do your best to arrest Vlad.”

Payton sighed, looking like he was very much regretting his involvement in this case. Again. “Of course. That’s literally my job, miss Manson. Although I do wonder how you expect us to arrest and contain a ghost.”

“Inventions to restrict his powers exist,” Tucker supplied. “You can probably move to arrest him the normal way, since he won’t be expecting you to know. Use some ghost-proof cuffs and you’ll have him before he realizes.”

“Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll need all evidence you have of his crimes, including witness reports,” Payton instructed, looking like he was trying to get back in control of the situation.

Danny nodded, then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the Red Huntress. She was one of the people Vlad manipulated, and he straight-up tried to hire her to catch the clone when she escaped.”

Looking he was going to regret asking, Payton nonetheless asked. “I thought the Red Huntress didn’t like Phantom? Or ghosts in general?”

“Misunderstanding,” Danny explained, waving Payton’s concern off with his hand. “We got everything figured out, and she knows of both my identities.”

“Of course,” Payton groaned. “And I’m guessing you know who she is, then?”

“We all do.” Sam grinned at the clearly overworked detective.

The detective only groaned, but didn’t say anything. Danny figured he had a pretty good idea of what the agent was feeling like.

But it was for a good cause.

It took a few days to gather all the evidence the police required. The witness reports alone took a considerable chunk of time, considering the sheer amount of people in Amity Park alone that knew about Vlad’s shady business. Aside from the Fentons (all five of them) and Sam and Tucker, Valerie also had to be included.

And sadly, that was easier said than done, as she needed to reveal her identity for the report to count. After all, a judge wouldn’t just accept the statement of a masked vigilante that no one knew.

Thankfully she trusted Danny’s judgment (and, of course, the judgments of his friends and Jazz) and allowed Payton and his team to know. They were… less than pleased to discover that she, too, was a teenager.

Knowing that it had been Vlad who pushed her into ghost hunting in the first place… Well, that eased their moods a little. Besides, she and Phantom now worked together – and they trusted Danny to keep the people of Amity safe. From ghosts, at least. Human crime… Well, that was their job.

Additionally, there was some trouble with Dani’s witness reports. Law wasn’t exactly made with cloning in mind. Legally, Danielle Fenton didn’t exist.

But then, neither did ghosts.

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent.

So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

Most of the people involved who knew enough about the case to know that three of the people involved were ghosts… Well, they were just glad that the ghosts were solving their issues like normal people. Instead of, you know, blasting each other to bits on the streets.

When Danny first heard people mention it, it had been some of the other officers of Payton’s team. People who knew he was a ghost, but who hadn’t been told about his Phantom alter-ego. He immediately thought back of all the times he and Vlad had brawled and burst into laughter.

The officers looked at him like he had gone crazy, eyebrows raised. Between giggles, Danny managed to explain himself. “You- You really don’t know the half of it.”

That hadn’t really explained anything to the cops, but Payton coaxed them back to work before they could question Danny. The detective attempted to glare the boy into behaving himself, but failed once more. Now that he knew what the boy had faced off against, he wasn’t surprised.

Finally enough evidence had been gathered. The cops set out, armed with anti-ghost weaponry and ghost-proof cuffs. A cell had been prepared beforehand, covered by a ghost shield provided by FentonWorks. A special one, they assured, which would hold even the most powerful and skilled of ghosts.

Payton double-checked his gear. Then he gave the start signal, allowing his officers to pour into the mansion.

Within minutes the team returned, guiding Vlad Masters in their middle. The man was dressed, as always, in an impeccable suit. He frowned at Payton when his guides stopped him in front of the detective.

“Sir, with all due respect, but what on Earth is happening here?”

Payton offered the man a lopsided smile. Then in one swift movement he cuffed Vlad’s wrists together, preventing his escape.

“Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius, you are under arrest for… Well, for a lot of crimes.” His smile grew a little wider, a little more genuine. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.”

Vlad’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting between his bound wrists and the police officers surrounding them. Payton ignored him, continuing with his whole rights speech.

“Wait, no,” Vlad pleaded. “You must be mistaken- I have never heard of a name like ‘Plasmius’ before.”

“Save it for court.” Payton shoved the man forward, towards the van that would transport him. Several officers, all armed with ectoplasmic weaponry, would ride with him. The cuffs should prevent him from using his powers to escape, but better safe than sorry.

Then he turned towards the rest of the officers still waiting. He inclined his head towards the mansion that stood before them, looming in the approaching dark.

“Well then, let’s see how many sketchy things we can find in here. Sources say that he has an underground lab hidden, like some kind of supervillain.” He grinned at the crowd of police. “First one to find and enter it without disturbing actual evidence gets a reward.”

He clapped his hands together. “Ready, set. Go!”

And then the officers were off, leaving Payton to observe. The boy had been right. Arresting Vlad had been easy, as the man hadn’t expected them in the slightest.

How clever he thought himself. What a sham.

The Summer vacation hadn’t done much to calm Casper High’s rumor mill. The turbulent arrest of ex-mayor Vlad Masters right after the start of said vacation had spurred on all rumors. Not much was known about it, but that didn’t stop the teenagers. They whittled away, discovered the smallest details. Any slip-ups were gladly accepted and brought into the rumors.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise that they discovered that Danny Fenton had been involved as well. Not as a perpetrator, oh no.

As a victim.

Which, of course, combined well with the previous rumors of him being a ghost. It didn’t take long for the first theories to emerge, suggesting that Vlad was his killer. That he had played a critical role in the death of Danny Fenton.

And so when the school year started, against all odds… The rumors hadn’t died off. Quite the opposite. Even more people than before believed that the boy, now in his final year of school, was a ghost.

So they kept their eyes open for his arrival.

Eventually, their wait was rewarded. The doors of the school opened, and in the opening he stood.

Lanky, with unbrushed but shiny black hair. Icy blue eyes that, ironically, sparkled with life. A surprisingly healthy gloss to his pale skin. A playful but kind smile on his face. For once, he looked well-rested. No bags under his eyes.

Perhaps… Perhaps Vlad Masters really had been responsible for his death. Perhaps Danny Fenton could finally rest easy, knowing that the man was finally arrested.

His outfit was much like the usual.

The girl he had his arm wrapped around… much less so.

She, unlike Danny, looked uncertain. Shaky. A red beanie sat perched on her head, but messy black hair still spilled out of it.

Her eyes, blue as the skies, glanced around the entrance hall with vigor. She looked guarded, like she was expecting someone to suddenly attack her.

She had her hands stuck in the pockets of her oversized blue hoodie. A crease in her brow suggested, however, that said hands were clenched into fists.

Standing right next to Danny Fenton, it was very very clear that she looked almost exactly like him. A little younger, perhaps, but undeniably identical.

The crowd parted the let the two through. But they remained nearby, hovering around the two. Waiting. Watching.

In the end, it was Dash Baxter who decided that he’d had enough. He stepped forward, breaking from the line and into the circle of personal space that had been granted to Danny and his… whoever she was.

“Hey Fenton,” he bit, stressing the last name of the ghostly teen. “Who’s this?”

“Oh hey Dash,” Danny greeted as he turned to face the other boy. He pulled the girl next to him a little closer to his side, drawing a displeased hiss from her. “This is Danielle, or Dani.”

“With an i,” the girl muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Okaaay.” Dash frowned, looking between the two. “That still didn’t answer my question of who she is.”

“Oh, right.” Danny flapped his free hand. “She’s my dead sister.”

Dash froze up, and sharp intakes of breath could be heard from everywhere in the crowd. “She’s your what?”

“My dead sister,” Danny repeated, finally releasing the girl to reach towards his locker. Then he looked over his shoulder at the crowd and grinned.

And stuck his arm right through the still closed locker door.

“Funny how that works, huh?” he said, with his arm still waving through his locker. He looked like was searching for something without being able to see it.

Dani, meanwhile, seemed to have gotten over her nerves. She leaned back against the lockers, standing right next to Danny. She was still eyeing the crowd, however, a little warily.

Soft mutters could be heard from the crowd, but no one had a real response. Sure, everyone had been convinced that Danny was a ghost. Hell, Dash had even seen the boy go intangible before.

But this was undeniable proof. And it was a lot less feeble than a whiffed punch by a jock.

Finally Dash got his thoughts back in order, though. “So why’s she here now?”

“Well,” Danny hummed as he finally pulled his arm out of the locker again. Held in his hand were several books for school. “You guys all knew I was a ghost anyway, so she didn’t have to hide anymore.”

He turned back to face his once-bully with a lopsided grin on his face. Then he shrugged. “Besides, where else is a ghost going to get an education?”

[epickendall]

The Summer of Del'goxoth part 20

Sam didn't know how to feel for the moment right now, of course, she is happy that Danny is back at home safe and sound and he's ready to help to deal with the ghosts that have been running loose in Amity Park. On the other hand, Danny brought a girl from Gravity Falls that no clue who she is. Sam knew that there something between Danny and Wendy that they were becoming more than friends when she looked at the two looked at each other but for her sake and Danny Sam going to put this feeling aside which can be hard for her.

"So Wendy how did you and Danny met?" said Maddie

"Well Mrs. Fenton me and Danny first met where he had a whole identity for his disguised," said Wendy

"Which is?" said Tucker

"I wore a blonde wig, red hoodie, and the identity was River Robertson," said Danny

"You in a blonde wig I got to see that,"

"Anyway after we met I offer the tour of my town he accepted, and I showed him around," said Wendy

"After that we became friends," said Danny

"Then, how did you know that River was actually Danny," said Sam.

"After the tour, I chase after a ghost when that got away I change back to my human form, and my wig falls off, and Wendy saw the whole thing,"

"I was kinda pissed at for lying to me, but the next day he explains the whole situation about the cult and the FBI I forgive him and understanding the situation,"

"So what is it like in Gravity Falls Wendy?" said Valerie

"It's peaceful and has its quirks it can be weird at times,"

"I think we save the question for Wendy later after we deal with this ghost mess," said Jack

"Dad right we need to capture all the ghosts before they destroy the town," said Danny

"So do you guys have any thermos left to use," said Wendy

"We do, but Jack and I have a better idea before you, Val and Danny show up," said Maddie

Jack then shows everyone a large silver rectangular device with a green line straight in the middle.

"What is it?" said Valerie

"It's the Fenton Grabber," Jack said Proudly.

"The Fenton Grabber grabs any ghost near it and chains them together then drag them into it," said Maddie

"Isn't a bit big to carry around?" said Danny

"No worries this thing is going on top of the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle it'll take a few minutes to attach The Fenton Grabber on it," said Jack

"Alright then,"

While Jack and Maddie put The Fenton Grabber on the Fenton Family, Ghost Assault Vehicle in the garage Danny talked to Tucker, and Valerie Sam approaches Wendy.

"Hey Wendy got a sec," said Sam

"Yeah sure what you need Sam," said Wendy

"I got question do you have any feelings for Danny?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like-like Danny?"

Wendy blushed at Sam question she knew that Sam is both his Ex and best friend so decide at least be truthful to Sam "Yeah I kinda like-like Danny not because he's a superhero and famous I think he's a great guy to hang around with like how sweet and caring he is,"

Sam sighs "just do me a favor Wendy if guys do to start dating just be a better girlfriend then I was when we were dating promise me that,"

"I promise Sam,"

"Alright everyone the Fenton Grabber is attached to the Rv let's get rolling!" Jack shouted from the garage

The teens go to the garage to see the Fenton Grabber on the Rv Wendy was blown away of the Rv.

"Danny, your parents, are the coolest," said Wendy

"I know," said Danny

Everyone gets in the Rv Maddie hit the garage door opener in the Rv, and the Rv drove out of the garage onto the streets ready to combat the ghosts.

Elsewhere in Amity Park Washington looked for any clues on where The Leader might be at then Washington see in an alleyway a white limo with the limo driver wearing all blue suit looking through binoculars on top of the limo.

"Bingo," Washington thought.

Washington walks over to the Limo driver he put on a shit-eating grin and approaches the limo driver.

"Hello my brother," said Washington

The Limo driver put his binoculars and looked at Washington, "Brother?"

"Yeah, I'm in the Del'goxoth,"

The Limo driver raises an eyebrow "if you are then where is blue clothes and your tattoo?"

"One all my blue clothes are in the cleaners, and I'm new to the cult, so I didn't get my tattoo yet,"

"If you really are in Del'goxoth, what is our purpose?"

"To find a god to this new world and get rid of the greed and waste of this earth," then Washington shoots a smile.

Limo driver seem convinced "alright brother I know you are telling the truth,"

"Hey, can you tell me where are Leader is I didn't get the information I dropped my phone in the toilet?"

"The Leader is at Lake Eerie waiting for us to capture Danny Phantom,"

"Thank you, my brother,"

Washington was about to knock the Limo driver out, but large ghost hawk grabs the Limo driver and lifts him in the air.

"I guess that takes care of him,"

Back to the Rv rolling down the streets finding a load of ghosts in the city streets and they turn their attention to the Rv.

"So how do we turn on the Fenton Grabbers?" said Tucker

"Easy we press this blue button," Maddie points at it.

"Who would like to push it?" said Jack

"I will," said Wendy

She pushed the button, and the Fenton Grabber turns on it's open up, and chains come out of the device they start to grab ghost near the Rv the device chain the ghost together and pull them inside of it.

"Hm didn't explode," said Jack

"Wait the Fenton Grabber could have blown us up," said Sam

"No about a small percent it could have,"

The Fenton Grabber works excellent as it grabbed any ghost from above it or far away as the Rv drive all over town capturing ghosts it could.

"Wow, it looks like we're going capture most ghost," said Tucker.

Then a missile explodes near the Rv everyone looked up to see Skulker fired the missiles while trying to avoid the Fenton Grabber.

"Seriously does he ever give up," said Danny

"Don't worry Danny I got this," said Wendy

Wendy gets out of the Rv quick as she aims her crossbow at Skulker, who laughs at Wendy.

"Please you think that would do damage to my su-" Skulker gets cut off when Wendy fires an arrow in Skulker eye hole paralyzing him to let the Fenton Grabber chain him as well with the other ghost Wendy get back into the Rv.

"Nice shot Wendy," said Valerie

"Thanks, Valerie," said Wendy

After two hours of driving all over the streets and letting the Fenton Grabber does it work all of the ghosts has been captured ending the city nightmare Jack drove everyone back to the Fenton Works that still guard by Cujo. Danny, Jack, Wendy, Maddie, and Valerie get the Fenton Grabber off of the Rv, and they took to the lab, and they release all of the ghosts into the ghost portal.

"We did it the city is ghost-free," said Jack

"So what's going to happen now?" said Sam

Then Danny received a text from Washington about where the cult is and that he's going to get the FBI backup and Danny tells everyone.

"We're going to end Del'goxoth,"

Everyone decides that Danny, Wendy, Sam, and Danny parents go to the lake put a stop to the cult for once for all. While Tucker goes to the town hall to tell everyone the good news while Valerie watches his back if the cult comes after him, they head to Lake Eerie in the Rv once they got there they see a giant circus blue tent has taken over the run-down camp.

"Everybody be ready we don't know what to expect if we enter the tent," said Danny

Maddie and Jack grab their ghost weapon as well handing Sam a ghost weapon and Wendy reload her crossbow they all enter the tent it was dark with no light until heavy ropes fly from above the tent and tie Danny parents, Sam and Wendy. The light turns and twenty cult member aiming their weapons at Danny and his group there was a stage at the back of the tent with a strapped chair and the Leader on the stage with a microphone.

"Hello Danny Phantom, at last, we finally meet," the Leader says into the microphone.

"It's over the FBI is coming here to put a stop to this madness,"

"Oh really then are they fast to get here when you become the god of this world,"

"I'll never be your god you nut-job,"

"You tell her, Danny!" Wendy shout

"Hm is either that or this," said the Leader who snapped her fingers the rope around Wendy, Sam, Jack, and Maddie started to tighten up. "Do you want to see them crushed from that rope and die right before your eyes?"

"Are seriously going harm my family and friends just to make me god," said Danny getting angry

"Whatever it takes to make you see that you have a greater purpose than being this world hero you could do more good to be god,"

Wendy then notices her Ax is slowly getting the rope she tries to reach for it, but she couldn't; however, she sees Sam next to it.

"Psst Sam, my Ax," Wendy whispered.

Sam notices what Wendy whispered about, "she caring Ax this whole time. What is this girl?" Sam thought she grabs the Ax from Wendy Ax holder and begins to cut it with no one looking.

"You better decide now hero," the Leader pulls out the Voxinir and points at Danny.

Then suddenly, an unknown force grabbed the knife from the Leader, and it flies above the stage. Danny ghost sense appears realizing a ghost taken the knife.

"Spirit that has taken my knife to give it back brother and sister," the Leader shouted and the cult member aim their weapon on the unknown ghost.

"Is this how you treat your new god," then the spirit reveals itself to be Logan Hall.

"Logan!" shouted Danny and Wendy

[scientifically-strange]

Blood blossom tea

“Please, sit down. Have some tea.”

Danny looked at the Red Skull warily as he sipped his tea. This undercover mission was dangerous, but he owed Fury and Cap a favor.

He had enough bad press from Amity Park, and he used that to kindle the rest of what was happening. Whenever there was a disaster like a fire or building collapse, he would proudly take the blame for it. He would pretend to fight other heroes, calling their ideologies fake dreams that will never come true.

Then the Red Skull sent to armored men to his hideout, inviting him to have tea. Inviting him on a partnership.

He has been expecting this, and he and Cap already had everything set up. The secret microscopic microphone that would go in his gloves, and some cameras invisible to the human and nonhuman eye that sprayed on, so the could get a visual just in case. And while he knew Cap wasn’t okay with him on this mission, it had to be done, and Danny was the only one who could do it.

He has arrived at the meeting point, some discreet identical warehouse or wherever that reminded him of his fake hideout, and they had driven off. Fir good measure they blindfolded him and put him in some anti-ghost cuffs so he couldn’t get out. It felt suffocating and wrong. But then again, this whole situation felt wrong.

They led his blindfolded behind down so many twists and turns he wanted ti make a joke about not knowing which was was up, but for once he was actually paying to much attention to the mission. Not a single quip could come to mind with how much he was focused.

He heard a few clangs around him as he walked into a room. The whole atmosphere changed. It was warmer than what he has experienced so far, and the attitude had completely changed. All of a sudden the blindfold was ripped off, and his cuffs fell to the ground with a large thunk. Danny blinked a couple of times to adjust to the warm sunlight that was coming from the windows.It was a mostly empty room that had large (evil) equipment against the walls, some flatscreens (both evil and not evil) and a nice little table in the middle. Red Skull was lounging in a comfy chair, legs crossed and sipping tea. Danny suddenly pictured him in a dress from the 1800s and had to press down his laughter. But even with the funny thought, the tension was still extraordinarily high.

“My pleasure,” Danny said, walking forward and trying to ignore the guards that had their guns trained on him.He didn’t need any trigger happy lunatics to ruin everything. “Thank you for having me,” Danny said politely as he sat down. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“Bah,“ he waved Danny off."Flattery will not work, my dear Phantom. Besides, we have more important matters to discuss. Like our partnership. ” He took another sip of his tea before placing it and the small plate on the table. Skull gestured to his cup. “Do you not like tea?” Skull’s accent was almost gentle, but had an underlying threat to it all the same.

“Uh… er.. I love it.” Not a lie, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous. Anything the great Red Skull wanted him to consume was bad. Even if it was a tiny, harmless cup of tea. But his stomach was doing flip flops just looking at it. He grabbed the cup and gave Skull a nervous smile before taking a sip. There was an immediate reaction from the moment the calm drink touched him. His mouth and throat burned, his eyes watered, and he was unable to breathe let alone talk. He grabbed at his throat, trying to gain stability using the table, but it just wobbled to the side, taking Jim down to the floor with him. His stomach started to burn, and he could slowly feel his insides being torn apart by the tea.

“Blood blossom tea is my favorite, but I can see that your body does not agree with it,” Skull was saying. Danny was having a hard time paying attention now that the lining of his organs were probably melting off. It felt like it anyway. “Now, in what part of this partnership were you going to tell me you were on a mission for the Captain and Fury?”

Danny opened his mouth, but he couldn’t talk. He couldn’t ask for help. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he had to if he wanted to see what else Skull was going to do to him. Black creeped at the edges of his vision, and he fought to keep it away. He couldn’t pass out. Not here. Not now.

He heard a door slam open, and he heard lots of footsteps. It was either Steve and his backup, or it was Skull’s goons here to take him away.

His stomach exploded with pain when Skull rolled him over and pressed down. Danny tried focusing on the light, to stay awake, but Skull’s head blocked the light as he pressed down harder, leaning forward with a gross, yellow smile.

“You were an idiot child trying to do a man’s job,” he hissed. Danny’s fingers clawed at the boot pressing into his gut, but he couldn’t get a grip.

He let out a blood curdling scream that sent chills down normal people’s spines. He was hoping some form of a ghostly wail would come forth, but no luck. The blood blossoms in his system must be taking its toll on his powers. Any longer and he might be forced to switch back.

The Red Skull just laughed though, straightening up and throwing his head back as more men surrounded them. Strange. They were all in white...Skull’s men didn’t wear white...

Oh no.

[fountainpenguin]

So... In your "Zone Swap" idea, does Jazz figure out Danny's secret like she does in the main series? And if so, does she try to help keep his secret without letting him know she's figured it out?

Heh heh. It’s not much of a secret, really. I’ll jot out some AU basics here because I’m still trying to figure them out myself and decide where Jazz fits best in the AU. This is kind of a rough draft, so details may change later. Skim to the bold parts if you want to see the answer to your actual question; this first part is just some “ChalkZone” babble as I gather my thoughts on secret identities.

My goal with ZoneSwap is to swap some signature parts of both “Danny Phantom” and “ChalkZone”, but still keep the characters as in-character as possible where I can while taking into account all the ways the worldbuilding has been flipped and taking creative liberties as necessary (like making Tucker a ghost to give Danny motivation to visit and protect the Ghost Zone).

As a result of this swap, Rudy can now “go chalk”, turning into Snap, and even use the magic chalk in the RealWorld (though the effects only last as long as he stays in chalk form, and erase when he switches to normal). I’ve said that he can switch at will, but really, he needs to be standing inside a closed chalk shape like a circle or a square or whatever. If he can’t find one and he doesn’t have chalk of his own on hand, he’s stuck.

He can no longer create portals at will, and has to find them instead. I think they pop up on certain chalk surfaces at random, kind of like the Ghost Zone ones do: for example, instead of drawing the underwater portal in “Water Water Everywhere”, it would have opened itself, flooding the quarry, and Rudy only would have known about it once it started attracting attention. 

I can’t decide yet if he would have tried to repair the breach while in regular form or chalk form. Hmm. I’m thinking the ZoneSwap version of this episode would share some similarities with “Life Lessons” from “Danny Phantom”, by which I mean that Reggie would go chalk and try to help Rudy save the town.

Ooh, yes. They go chalk and have to act like they get along in public because the whole town sees them and thinks they’re superhero and sidekick or something, even though they can’t stand each other. Then when the rain finally arrives, he and Reggie end up stuck under a ledge or something in the quarry / nearby area and have to watch the water rise while Penny runs frantically off in search of an umbrella, heh heh. 

As much as Reggie doesn’t care for the wonders of ChalkZone, he still appreciates the world as his escape from reality, and he doesn’t want to see it found or destroyed. Presumably, he’d use his cape like a scarf to hide his face and better conceal his identity. Gotta have secret identities! (So, for the most part, it’s Rudy who has the secret identity now, not Danny).

Rudy also has to deal with dangerous Zoners escaping into the RealWorld, and Reggie the Red, Vinnie, and Terry are bigger threats too. Finally, he’ll dissolve in water if he’s in chalk form and it will hurt a lot.

Danny, following his being zapped by his parents’ basement portal, still has ghost powers, but in this AU they only work in the Ghost Zone. Even though the Phantom look doesn’t carry over, he still calls himself by that name when addressing other ghosts, because they feel more comfortable with him that way.

He still has ghost enemies, but makes lots of ghost friends too, including Tucker, who’s been dead for the last two years. He can also create portals into the Ghost Zone through the thermos at will, but only so many before the thermos has to be recharged. Probably by dipping it in the portal in the basement and filling it with “ghost soup”.

ZS!Danny’s entire deal is, whereas Rudy is a fighter now, Danny becomes a lover kind of by default. For some reason or another, ghosts can’t survive outside of the Zone for longer than a few hours or days (not sure how long yet, but preferably hours for plot reasons). This might be because they can’t breathe, or they can’t maintain their connection to the world (the assumption being that the Zone is the only thing that keeps them grounded) and they fade away permanently.

There would need to be a definite negative association with fading for Danny to react the way he does, so perhaps instead of just fading, a ghost becomes “corrupted” when away from the Zone too long. They might start to dissolve, losing pieces of themself and some of their sanity. Ghosts who were once friendly, helpful spirits might transform into bitter nightmare creatures and act like feral or even rabid animals. Yes, now we’re getting somewhere.

Anyway, unfortunately, lots of ghosts either don’t know this, or believe it won’t happen to them (Imagine the stories that get in the news sometimes about parents putting their kids in risky situations at national parks, such as by spreading honey on their children to attract bears. Or compare it to teens who regularly have unprotected sex but don’t consider the possibility of getting pregnant or contracting STDs. That sort of mindset. “This is the kind of thing that happens to someone else”, “I’ll be careful”, “I know what I’m doing”, etc.)

Let’s face it: The Human Realm is attractive to ghosts. Technus wants to get his hands on all the flashy electronics that Walker doesn’t allow in the Ghost Zone. Skulker wants to hunt. Box Ghost wants to add to his collection. Ember wants to play her music in front of adoring teen crowds. Tucker wants to hang out with his friends. Other ghosts want to explore, visit friends and family, or just simply cause trouble.

Danny has watched his parents chase down countless of these “rogue” ghosts that I compared to feral, rabid animals here. And they’re terrifying. After reuniting with Tucker in the “pilot episode”, I presume, he learns some missing pieces from Tuck and puts together this whole “being away from the Zone too long makes these ghosts lose themselves”. 

So, he and Sam take it upon themselves to inform all the ghosts about such dangers / keep tabs on which ghosts are out and prioritize which ones need to be caught and returned first. Unfortunately, Danny probably gets pegged as a liar or something, so few ghosts are willing to go quietly back to the Zone and he has to lure them into the portals he creates with the thermos.

And there are some ghosts who are well aware of the danger, but come to him seeking aid, so he has to solve their problems, I guess. Something like that.

Basically Danny’s existence revolves around befriending the restless spirits he can and trying to better their afterlives while having a strict “ghosts are supposed to stay in the Ghost Zone” policy that no one listens to (especially a guy named Vlad who wants to exploit ghosts in some way, possibly by making them pay to leave the Zone? My original idea was that he firmly believed ghosts should be free, but I’m not sure how that will work with this “rabid ghost concept. And later in the series he’d start sending them Danny’s way by painting him as a villain for trapping him… I’m thinking Vlad had a daughter named Ellen who just recently died and he’s also trying to find her. Hmm… Thoughts?)

And of course, on the flipside, Rudy plays hero by keeping Skrawl, Craniac, and various other baddies in ChalkZone while at the same time keeping Vinnie and Terry out of it, and dealing with his school life and Reggie. He has to go chalk in order to draw stuff with the magic chalk, and he’d draw lots of things to fight for him (as opposed to attacking physically) while of course sticking to his oath to never again draw a living thing because he can’t handle the stress.

I’m loosely trying to imagine these two shows as if they were designed and written by the writers of the opposite show, therefore resulting in CZ being a darker and more actiony show and DP being cuter and more focused on world-building. That’s kind of tough though, because I can’t just remove all the awesome worldbuilding from “ChalkZone”, and a show about teenagers and ghosts tends to be angsty by default. I’m trying to find a middle ground.

To answer your actual question, everyone in Amity Park thinks ZS!Danny is a loon who runs around being a goofy ghost hunter like his parents. Since Danny can’t use his powers in the Human Realm, Valerie is Amity Park’s big hero. Instead of Phantom getting his name dragged through the dirt, the citizens of Amity Park by default attribute all of Danny’s good deeds to her, even if she only showed up at the very last minute when the cameras arrived. It’s equally as annoying to him as it was when everyone considered Phantom a villain.

Jazz would have to go into the Ghost Zone to realize that Danny has these ghostly abilities. In the Human Realm, he has to chase ghosts while fully human. Their parents would obviously be thrilled that he wants to join them in the family ghost-hunting business.

BUT Danny is trying to help and rescue ghosts, while his parents want to catch and study them. I think the big secret for Jazz to learn in this AU would be that Danny is using the portal despite their parents thinking it doesn’t work. 

She would learn (possibly during that “Snap Out of Water” parody that I nicknamed “Tuck, Tuck, Loose”) that Tuck is a ghost now, and Danny and Sam are friends with him and regularly sneak off to visit the Ghost Zone. I think she would want to be helpful, but her helpfulness probably has its limits.

Jack and Maddie, I guess, would be very worried/upset with A) Danny for befriending a ghost behind their back, B) the fact that he’s been getting in their way and preventing them from catching ghosts, and/or C) having potentially dangerous adventures in the Ghost Zone, or something along those lines. Once Vlad becomes involved, that would add another factor into the equation.

OR! About a year ago, Bill Burnett (one of “ChalkZone”’s co-creators) confirmed that a human who spends 24+ hours straight in ChalkZone will turn into a Zoner permanently, and said that if the show hadn’t stopped airing, we would have met a “British aristocrat kid” who had suffered this fate, and who teamed up with Skrawl in a big special episode (and Bill hints that this is why Skrawl kept stealing magic chalk since only a human can use it, even though we never found out why he was doing this in the show itself). 

So, I could take that detail and add it to this AU too- ZS!Jazz might find out through her parents (or probably Vlad) that the more time ZS!Danny spends in the Ghost Zone, the more corrupted and “rabid ghost-like” he’ll become (possibly because he’s half-ghost, so Sam might be immune). She might tell Danny this, but he would be upset, and they’d get into a fight over who knows more about ghosts, since he’s the one who’s visited the Zone more. 

Maybe he would begin showing signs of feral/rabid corruption, and she has to keep this from their parents while she struggles to find a cure, despite Danny constantly snapping at her that he’s fine and she needs to get off his back. With him being partly dead, maybe he suffers the same way as the other ghosts when he’s not in the Zone, but his development was delayed. So like, he can’t stay in the Ghost Zone without negative side effects, but he can’t stay out of it without negative side effects either.

If ZoneSwap were a show then Danny would probably show subtle signs the whole season, but the topic of his corruption would probably be the Season 1 finale or something, or maybe Season 2 (Personally I like the idea of Dash building a thermos of his own - possibly with Vlad’s help - as the last scene of Season 1 so he and Danny have the same weapon as a nod to Reggie and Rudy both using magic chalk in “Reggie the Red”, so we’ll make it Season 2).

So yes, in a way, Jazz would discover Danny’s ghost side. Even if he doesn’t become the same exact Phantom he does in canon, he’s still half dead and would presumably be of interest to his ghost-hunting parents, so she does her best to keep him off their radar.

I’m still kind of working out the details, but I’m getting there! I have some vague plans for this AU already figured out, but most of this I’m making things up as I go and get to answer Asks like this~

[politenuclearbomb]

the only thing ive managed to produce in the last two months is a short wes weston and danny phantom fic i wrote in german today so

here it is feat. a danny somewhere in between canon and fanon in terms of trauma who is just a very angery boy

Six months of hunting the Ghost Boy takes a toll on a guy. Trying to prove some nameless punching-bag freshman’s secret identity as the town hero - that’s enough to drive someone crazy. Especially when said punching bag/Amity Park-beloved superhero sabotages your every attempt. Not that it’s not somewhat understandable, but. Honestly. Does he have to destroy Wes’s camera every time? Can’t he just wipe his memory card? Cameras are fucking expensive.

The problem is that Phantom - or rather Fenton - or - fuck it, they’re the same person - he’s so goddamn jovial about this whole situation. He looks Wes in the eye and transforms right the hell in front of him, with those damned white-blue rings, and grins before taking off to save the day or whatever the fresh hell teenage superheroes do.

Wes just wants people to stop thinking he’s crazy for drawing the connection. Fenton, though - he seems like he’s out for Wes’s sanity.

--

Danny is having one hell of a bad day.

Not that he isn’t used to ghost attacks; he is, but that doesn’t mean he has to like them. And when there’s something approaching a dozen in a day - well. It’s enough to make anyone cranky. After Vlad’s latest scheme - something involving releasing Technus, for some reason, as though he’s anything more than a nuisance to Danny at this point - all Danny wants is to skive off the last two hours of school, go the fuck home, and sleep.

But he can’t. Because, of course, Technus wasn’t the only ghost in town today, and there’s still two of those Ectopusses wandering around. They’re nothing more than minor pests, really, but Danny is frustrated, he’s close to pulling his hair out and letting Amity Park deal with them their damn selves, and he hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep in two weeks. The dark circles under his eyes show through the concealer he borrowed from Jazz.

He doesn’t need teachers inquiring into his well-being. Not when his parents are already scheming their newest plot to capture the Ghost Boy and dissect him.

And, really, he’s already caught one of the damn octopus ghosts when lo and behold, the prime human pain in his ass, Wes Weston, practically appears behind him.

Danny is having none of it, and the ghostly rage already built up in his chest has nowhere to go but out.

--

The fourth camera these six months goes flying out of Wes’s hand from a concentrated ecto-blast in record time as a blast of cold air rockets through the alley he’s found himself in. That’s strange. And about to get stranger, Wesley, dear.

Phantom turns around slow, eyes still closed and a very, very cold expression gracing ageless features. Fenton looks like a normal fourteen-year-old, but Wes has noticed that the Phantom alter-ego looks like he belongs in any time and no time. He could be anywhere from thirteen to twenty-five and no one would be able to tell any better. Their features match perfectly, but there’s just… something about Phantom. Possibly that he’s a fucking ghost.

Either way, his expression right now is terrifying and Wes - well, he hadn’t bargained for this.

Phantom’s feet leave the ground and his eyes pop open, glaring directly at Wes and advancing on him. “When will you take a fucking hint, Weston?” That voice rings like he’s in a long, cold tunnel. His eyes smoke unlike what Wes has ever seen from Phantom.

He doesn’t have a chance to respond. Instead, he’s picked up by the front of his shirt and slammed into a wall by a glove-clad hand, those smoking green eyes a bare four inches from his face. “How many times do I have to tell you to leave me the hell alone?” He’s growling. For once, Wes is genuinely scared, cold radiating through his sweater and jeans.

“I - I just want people to stop c-calling me crazy, okay?” he manages to get out, shivering from the cold, he tells himself.

“Join the fucking club, Weston. I’m the school nuthouse escapee already. Why are you so damn obsessed with me?” Wes notes the degraded eloquence and shrinks against the wall as much as he can.

“I-I - you - y-you don’t remember anything f-from six mo-months ago? Fucking honestly?” Wes’s nasally voice breaks into the chilled air in puffs, steamed from his breath, shaking even with his bold words.

“Oh. A made-up grudge. Like I’m not used to that a couple hundred times over.” Phantom scoffs, eyes rolling, and Wes puffs up, scowling.

“That fucking game you r-ruined - I c-could be a ch-championship win-ner by now if it - weren’t for y-you - I needed that f-fucking schol-scholarship!” Wrong thing to say, Wesley.

Phantom’s eyes pulse a solid green and he snarls, animalistic to contrast Fenton’s human features. “Oh, I’m so fucking sorry that I was running for my life at the time, Weston, that’s such a goddamn tragedy - really, how have you ever survived this long without killing yourself already? I sure wouldn’t have - oh, wait. I’m already dead.” His words are growled and now his face is a bare two inches from Wes’s. “I died at fourteen. I’m gonna age to about thirty-five and stop. I’m gonna outlive every fucking person I know and care about and I’m gonna look like a peak-of-performance thirty-five-year-old the entire time.” He’s on a roll, eyes pulsing an even more solid green with his rising rage, air dropping below freezing and Wes shivering harder. “That is, if I make it past high school with my secret identity intact, you know - the one you’re trying to expose.”

Wes just scowls. “W-why do y-you ca-care? Y-you’re a- a- a fucking - su-superhero, peo-people l-love you.”

Wes, you’re really good at saying the wrong thing. Phantom’s face contorts and he tosses Wes to the ground, floating down and holding him down with a foot. “You have no. Fucking. Idea. How it’d affect my life, Weston. My parents are ghost hunters. They want to dissect me, Danny goddamn Phantom, ‘atom by atom’. News would get out and I’d be strapped to an operation table faster than you could blink. There’d be no, ‘Oh, Danny, we’re so proud of you, you’re such an inspirational superhero!” Nah. Any explanation would be shot down by ‘get out of my son, ghost!’ or ‘you’re no son of ours!’” His voice is shrouded in an echoing reverberation unfitting of the alley.

He doesn’t get a chance to respond. Phantom’s already let him up. “Next time, you’re dead, Weston.” The growl makes him believe it in his bones, and Phantom’s gone without a trace but for the ice on the brick.