#still trying to figure out how I wanna draw the halfa’s eyes

[painted-fanbird]

✨Dani✨

Ft. A bit of a redesign because canon Dani doesn’t do a whole lot for me, and I wanted her to reflect my headcanons lol.

[darks-ink]

Absurdism Chapter 11

Danny antagonizes Vlad, Valerie shows everyone why she is Amity’s best ghost hunter, and then promptly as A Regret.

Rating: Teen/K+ (a lil swearing, because teenagers, man) Warnings: - Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort Additional Tags: Sibling Bonding, Family Bonding, Alternate Universe - Halfa Jazz AU, Jazz makes friends

[AO3] [FFN] [more Absurdism on Tumblr] First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

---

“Have you seen?” Jazz asked the moment she joined Phantom in their clearing.

“What, the bounty?” He shrugged, far too casual for her comfort. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Fine? It’s a million dollar bounty! The world’s best known ghost hunters are all coming to Amity, just to hunt you down! How can you not worry about that?!”

Phantom blew out a breath. “Chill, Jazz. They’re the world’s best known ghost hunters, not the best. They’re a bunch of phonies who couldn’t catch a ghost if it waved at them.”

“But—” Nerves curdled in her stomach. Why was he so dismissive?

“It’s nothing,” Phantom said, more comfortingly, like he’d finally caught onto her concern. “Really, Jazz, it’s fine. I got away from all of them when I was your age, and I could do it again now. Not that I would have to, because the bounty isn’t real.”

She blinked at him. “It’s not?”

“Nah. Or, well, in my universe it wasn’t, so I bet it’s not in this one either. Vlad set it up to lure me—you—us away from the Fenton Portal so he can steal it. And I guess I make a better target than you.” He shrugged.

“He’s probably still trying to get you out of the way,” Jazz pointed out, crossing her arms. “Since you ‘stole’ his mentorship position, and all that.”

Phantom made a face. “Ugh, yeah, probably. Really, though, I’ll be fine.”

Jazz shuffled her feet uncertainly, watching her glow flicker slightly. A reflection of her emotions, she now knew. “Are you sure? I mean, it just takes one slip-up…”

“I’m sure, Jazz.” He smiled at her. “I mean, really, the only reason why I got caught in my own universe was because I felt bad for Dad and let him catch me. And you obviously haven’t hurt his feelings like I did, so…”

She snorted, startled. “Oh my god, you let him catch you? How did you even survive your first year as a half-ghost?”

“Well, some might argue I didn’t.” Phantom winked, his grin growing more wide. “But for real, he found out that the bounty was a trap, and the ghost who put it out was going to target our family. Or, well. Jack’s family. I offered to free him from the trap if he freed me from the Fenton Weasel, and that’s pretty much how it went.” He shrugged at the end of it, like it wasn’t a big deal that their ghost-hating father caught and then released a ghost of their caliber.

“How can you act like that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, Dad caught you and then let you go?”

“His family comes before ghosts,” Phantom pointed out, humor leaching out of his voice. “Always.”

The mood was clearly broken. Silence fell, strained and uncomfortable.

Jazz cleared her throat uncertainly. “Right, so, uh. What are we working on today?”

---

Now, Danny usually doesn’t go out looking for fights—not counting his patrols—but he figured he would make an exception this one time. Vlad was still in Amity somewhere, lurking.

Besides, he fought the elder half-ghost in his own universe. If he didn’t come to Vlad, the man would surely seek him out. Better to catch him off-guard and engage on his own terms, right?

Finding the older ghost was easy enough. Even though half-ghosts were harder to detect—thanks, ghost sense—Vlad wasn’t alone; he’d brought the three vulture ghosts along. And those? Those were easy to track down, as long as you were looking for them.

Danny glanced downwards, quickly making sure that they were high enough up that no one could overhear. Assured of this, he flew up to Vlad’s level, even though the other half-ghost hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Hey, Plasmius!” he yelled, drawing even with the four ghosts. “What the fuck are you doing in Amity?”

Vlad whirled around, his red eyes briefly blown wide open—startled. Danny had actually startled him.

The expression was quickly wiped away in favor for Vlad’s usual smooth blankness, of course, but Danny was counting it as a win anyway.

“Phantom, I presume?” Vlad hummed, as the vultures spread out behind him. An attempt at intimidation, or were they getting out of the way for a possible fight?

“Oh please, like you don’t know exactly who I am.” He rolled his eyes at Vlad. “Seriously, man, you’re not welcome here. Haven’t you caused enough trouble yet?”

“Me?” Vlad pressed a dainty hand against his chest, eyes wide and blinking innocently. “Why, Phantom, what are you accusing me off? I haven’t done a thing.”

Danny shot Vlad the flattest, most disbelieving look he could manage. “Uh huh. Sure, old man. Nothing about this bounty is sketchy at all, and it certainly has nothing to do with you. Now, for the last time. Leave this town, or I’ll make you.”

The vultures behind Vlad squawked, a dead giveaway that it was Vlad’s fault. Not that Danny had any doubt about that, but it was always nice to have proof.

He grinned at Vlad, knowing the other half-ghost hated that cocky smirk. “So, now that we’ve established that… Leave, Vlad. I’m not above fighting you.”

“What, all on your own?” Vlad quirked an eyebrow at Danny. “I didn’t know you fought without your dear… sister.” The last word, he said carefully, measured.

Danny snorted. “I’ve fought more without her than with her. But don’t you worry, I’ve got more than enough power to deal with you.”

“Big words for a ghost who hasn’t even met me before,” Vlad scoffed, flaring out his cape in a (weak) attempt at intimidation. His fists flared up with pink ectoplasm. “But if it is a fight you want so dearly, I suppose I give you that much.”

“I would prefer if you just left,” Danny bit back, firing off two quick but low-powered ecto-blasts towards Vlad, “but I’ll settle for kicking your ass.”

Vlad summoned a minimal shield, small and glass-like, reflecting the blasts. “Oh please. Bold words for a little ghost that can barely form an ecto-blast. It’s a miracle that Specter would even consider you a mentor, when you have so little to offer her.”

“You’re just jealous that she didn’t want you,” Danny countered, smirking at Vlad. His core thrummed eagerly, flooding him with energy. It had been far too long since he’d been in a serious ghost fight. “But don’t be jealous, Vladdie, because she wouldn’t have accepted your offer even if I hadn’t been around!”

He underlined the statement with another ecto-blast, bigger and more powerful than the previous two. Vlad swore, ducking underneath it—barely.

Vlad shot back a blast of pink ectoplasm in retaliation. “Don’t call me that!”

The blow petered out against a hastily formed shield, and Danny blinked innocently. “Call you what, Vladdie? Don’t you like it when people use your name?”

Vlad snarled, the ectoplasm whirling together into pink flames. “Who do you think you are, you little pest!”

Danny opened his mouth to snark back, but Vlad lunged at him and he discarded the attempt in favor of protecting himself. He dodged the first swipe, used a shield to block the second, and then blasted Vlad in the side to push him away.

“Why do you even care about Specter?” Vlad asked, once he’d recovered from the unexpected counterattack. “You say she’s your sister, but you can’t be. It must be something else.”

Oh, Vlad. For an expert of all things half-ghost, he could be incredibly oblivious. “Why can’t I be, hm? Is there some sort of limit on half-ghosts, or do you just feel threatened by the possibility that someone could’ve managed without your help and expertise?”

He could see Vlad’s brain grind to a halt at that. The man froze in mid-air, the ectoplasmic flames around his fist dying off.

“You… You can’t be,” Vlad mumbled. His voice was quiet, like he was just thinking out loud. Danny would feel bad about listening in but, hey, Vlad has done far worse. “It makes sense, but— surely I would’ve noticed? He acts like he knows me, and he’s close to Jasmine, but— no. Surely not?”

“You’re rambling, man,” Danny interrupted, leaning his chin on his hand and rattling the fingers against his cheek. “You wanna leave to have your crisis somewhere else, or are we still gonna fight?”

Vlad whirled around to him, his aura flaring brighter. “Would you shut your mouth, Daniel?!”

Immediately, Vlad snapped his mouth shut, but it was too late. His cheeks colored—an inhuman teal—and Danny realized that Vlad hadn’t even meant to say his actual name.

“You know, I usually ask people to call me Phantom or Danny, but I’ll give you a pass for this once.” Danny lounged backwards, his spine clicking as he stretched. “Seriously, though. Are you gonna leave, or what?”

A pink ecto-blast whizzed by him, and Danny raised an eyebrow. “Well, alright then. If that’s how you want to play this.”

The next blast, he intercepted with a shield. It lasted through several more shots from Vlad, before Danny suddenly dropped it, following it with an ecto-blast of his own. It caught Vlad right in the arm, breaking up the steady rhythm of firing.

In the newly made gap, Danny darted closer, angling low and bypassing Vlad entirely. Electricity crackled over his arms, and he discharged it right against Vlad’s unprotected back.

The older half-ghost was blown forward, tumbling heels over head, but he managed to straighten himself quickly. He snarled, baring his fangs, flames licking over his arms.

Danny rolled his eyes, looking as unimpressed as he felt. “You’re not that scary, man.”

He waited until Vlad opened his mouth to snark back. When he did, Danny launched a pointed icicle, swiftly followed by several more.

Vlad swore, throwing his ectoplasmic fire in front of him. Once the flames had faded, Danny could see that Vlad had gotten soaked, but he seemed unharmed.

“You’ve been underplaying your skill,” the other half-ghost commented, his voice strained. “You didn’t need Specter’s help for any of those fights of yours, did you? But why else would he train her…"

“Yo, fruitloop, I’m right here!” Danny shot another ecto-blast, but it was halfhearted, and Vlad easily shielded it. “And I think you know the answer to that last question already, don’t you?”

“It can’t be!” Vlad snapped back, aura flickering wildly. “You’re obviously experienced, and I can’t have missed— missed another for so long!”

Danny scoffed dismissively. “Clearly you can. Seriously, man, it’s been years. You’ve missed your shot by miles, and Jazz will never take you, because she knows she’ll always have her actual family. Give up, Vlad. Or learn to do better, and maybe I’ll let you help.”

Vlad snarled, vicious and animalistic. “I don’t need your pity, boy, nor your advice! I’ll get what I want sooner or later, and you’d be wise to join me before you pick the losing side.”

“I’m already with the winning side, Vlad.” Danny crossed his arms, staring Vlad down impassively. “You’re free to join us if you clean up your game, you know? But nobody wants this, Vlad. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can find happiness yourself.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vlad sneered, eyes narrowed into bright red slits. “You’re, what, sixteen? You have barely an ounce of the life experience I have. But, nevertheless, I am done here.”

Vlad caught the edge of his cape, bowing deeply. “Goodbye, Daniel. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”

And, with that, he swept the cape over himself, disappearing in a swirl of pink smoke.

Danny cast out his ghost sense, confirming that Vlad had actually left. Him, and those vultures too. Uh, whoops. He’d gotten so caught up with Vlad that he forgot about the minions.

Well, they couldn’t have gotten that far. He would just have to keep an eye out during patrol.

Actually… maybe he could take Jazz out with him. That would assure her that the bounty wasn’t dangerous to him, right?

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

---

“Wanna join me on patrol?” Phantom asked, completely out of the blue. Jazz jerked her head towards him, frowned.

“Why?”

He shrugged vaguely. “You’re worried about the ghost hunters, yeah? If you come along on patrol, you can see first-hand that they’re no danger to me. Besides, they won’t go after you—they’re only interested in the bounty.”

“Well…” She made a face. He was right, she supposed, but still… “Are they really only going to chase you, though? That seems…”

“Sketchy? Kinda shitty? Just overall a really awful thing to do? Yeah.” He shrugged, lounging in mid-air. “There’s a reason why they held off on coming here until now. They don’t care about the actual ghost hunting, they care about the money.”

“That… sucks.”

Phantom shrugged again. “It also means that they have very little experience dealing with actual ghosts, so. Not very threatening. Want to join me for patrol?”

“I guess. Are you that worried about ghosts?” She frowned at him. “I mean, won’t the ghost hunter’s presence scare off other ghosts?”

“It’s possible,” Phantom admitted, easily. “But Vlad tends to drag his vulture minions along with him, and he’s not above having those guys cause trouble just to lure us out. So I’m gonna go on patrol and find them, make sure they can’t cause a ruckus later.”

“Isn’t that exactly what he wants, though?” She sighed. “But, yeah, sure, I’ll join you on patrol. Give me a second to finish this bit of homework, and I’ll meet you outside.”

Phantom grinned, wide and bright, and saluted her. Then he was gone.

She rolled her eyes—he was definitely running head-first into a trap—but did as she’d said. Her homework was almost done anyway, and she had plenty of time for the rest later. For now, she had to make sure that Phantom wasn’t doing anything stupid.

And, yeah, in some way he was her older brother. Maybe she was a bit too worried about Phantom. He was, after all, both older and more experienced as a half-ghost. He was way stronger than she was, could beat her easily if they fought.

But he didn’t always make good decisions. And that? That wasn’t a Phantom thing. That was a Danny thing.

Besides, they both knew that Phantom wasn’t happy to be here. No matter how hard he tried to be cheery, to help to the best of his abilities… He missed his home. He wanted dearly to go home. It was clear, so clear.

So, Jazz was glad that he was staying around anyway. That he was helping her with all this, instead of looking for a way home. Sure, he said that there was no point in looking for portals back, but there must be other ways. And even if he didn’t know about them just yet, he could’ve done tons of research in the time he’d been here.

But, no. Instead he’d stuck around in Amity, helping her. Training her, mentoring her, teaching her.

With her homework swiftly finished, Jazz pushed herself away from her desk, out of her chair. She bit her lip, hesitating for just a second… Leaving with Phantom to patrol would be sneaking out, wouldn’t it? But as long as she returned before it was too late her parents wouldn’t miss her, and Danny definitely wouldn’t.

She easily shifted to her ghost form, turning invisible and intangible so she could sneak out unnoticed. From her room it was just a short flight to the rooftop where Phantom was waiting, and she dropped her invisibility almost immediately.

“All done?” Phantom asked, pushing himself to his feet. With a quick flash of light he returned to his usual ghost form—he must’ve shifted back to avoid ghost detectors.

“Yeah. Lead the way, Phantom.”

He nodded, pushing himself off of the rooftop. Jazz followed him, taking a moment to remember the first they’d met. When she could barely fly up to meet Phantom’s height, never mind follow his steady flight.

She still couldn’t match his grace in the air, but, well. Danny had always been aiming for space. It made sense that he was better at flight, at disregarding gravity, than she was.

They found the vulture ghosts faster than the ghost hunters found Phantom, which either said worrying things about the hunters, or great things about them.

Unfortunately they weren’t that much faster, and the cacophony from the human hunters distracted her and Phantom long enough for Vlad’s minions to get away from them.

“Just follow my lead,” Phantom told her, a grin on his face, before he turned a full 180 degrees and flew back over the ghost hunters chasing them—him—them. She scowled, but did as he asked.

The hunters, in four clearly-uncoordinated groups, got tangled up in each other when they tried to give chase. Only a single shot was fired in their direction, and it went so wide that Jazz was almost embarrassed for the hunter who had fired it.

With their tail thus thrown off, the two of them managed to track down one of the vultures.

“Must’ve split up,” Phantom mumbled under his breath. They were hidden from the ghost around the corner of a building, ready to chase it down. “I’ll come from the front and freeze it, you catch it in the Thermos.”

“Gotcha.” She nodded, pressing her feet against the wall so she could push herself off.

Phantom nodded back, and off they went. He shot straight at the vulture, legs immediately melting into his spectral tail, hands glowing blue. He didn’t even fire the ice beam from the distance, like she knew he could, but held off until he was practically touching the vulture before releasing the shot.

It was effective, though, she had to give him that. The ghost was frozen solid, and the Thermos sucked it up easily.

“One down, two to go,” Phantom said, rejoining her. “Let’s keep up the pace, before those suckers catch up again.”

They returned to their sweeping loops over Amity, both turning invisible when they passed the ghost hunters again. Jazz thought they had ghost detectors, but they either didn’t have them, or didn’t use them, because the hunters didn’t even notice them. Suckers.

The two of them used a similar tactic on the second vulture, once they had found him. This time, though, Phantom scared the vulture by flying at him from the front, while she caught it off-guard—and in the Thermos.

“Just one more.” She grinned at Phantom. “Are you sure you didn’t ask me along just to make this go faster?”

He laughed, holding up his hands. “Guilty as charged. But, really, do you still think those guys are a threat to me after this?”

“I guess you’re right,” she allowed. “Come on, let’s go catch that last vulture.”

Just then, both their ghost senses went off.

“Well, I guess that he’s making it easy,” Phantom said, twisting his head to look upwards. “Oh, yeah, there he is.”

Jazz followed his pointing finger, and indeed, there the third vulture ghost was. Way up high, and actively flying around.

“What are we waiting for?” She smirked at Phantom, Thermos already in her hand. “Let’s get him.”

He grinned at the challenge, and before she could move, he launched himself upwards. Jazz laughed, quickly flying after him, even if she couldn’t match his speed.

The vulture squawked when Phantom hit him, apparently forgoing ghostly tactics to just body-slam the vulture at top speed. Jazz worried for a moment about how she was supposed to catch him in a Thermos, but Phantom was already turning around, arms still wrapped around the ghost.

They leveled out with her, stopping abruptly, and Phantom released the ghost. Apparently the maneuver had disoriented the vulture, because he didn’t even try to fly away.

Jazz uncapped the Thermos, held it up, and captured the ghost in its vortex. Satisfied with a job well done, she capped the Thermos again, clicking it back on her belt.

“And that was the last of them,” she said, a satisfied hum to her core.

Phantom dusted his hands, grinning at her. “Yeah. Thanks for the help, it really made things easier for me.”

“Not that you needed the help,” she countered with a shake of her head. “Seriously, those ghost hunters are just sad. I know that people don’t like it when we protect the town, but we have to be better than that, right?”

“The Fentons aren’t that bad either,” Phantom pointed out with a shrug. “And there’s always Val.”

“There sure is,” a familiar voice answered, and Jazz’ eyes snapped upwards. Red, and a lot of it. The whine of some sort of technology, and a blinding flash of light.

Jazz clenched her eyes shut, slowly opening them when the light faded again.

Valerie stood on her hoverboard, a knock-off Thermos in her black-gloved hands. It was nigh impossible to read her expression thanks to her mask, but Jazz thought she was frowning down at the device.

Wait.

Where was Phantom?

She looked around, but there was no trace of him. It was like he… disappeared.

Oh.

“Did you just catch my brother?” she bit at Valerie, twisting back to look at her. “I thought you were alright with us!”

Valerie scoffed, shoving her Thermos in a holster on her thigh. “There were more important targets. It’s a thing called prioritizing.”

“What, and we suddenly pushed to the top of your priorities?” Jazz asked, but cold realization seeped in. “Oh, no, of course. It was the bounty, wasn’t it?”

“Oh please.” Valerie huffed, her tone of voice making it sound like she rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t expect a ghost to understand what that money means to me, to my family.”

“There is no money!” Jazz snapped back, feeling her glow flare out, ectoplasm sparking around her fists. “It’s a trap, Huntress! Just let Phantom go. Don’t do this.”

“Or what?” Valerie bit back. “You’ll attack me? Not good for your status as protector, is it?”

“I’m serious! It’s a trap, alright, and you won’t get the money.” Jazz darted around to block Valerie’s path. “The bounty isn’t real, some ghost put it out because he wants Phantom out of the way, I swear!”

Valerie scoffed, pushing Jazz out of her way. “Yeah, I don’t believe you. Leave, Specter, or I’ll shoot you.”

“Fine.” Jazz moved aside, crossing her arms. “Go, then, prove me right. But don’t blame me if this comes back to bite you in the ass, Huntress.”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Valerie murmured, shaking her head. Her hoverboard roared to life, and away Valerie went—with Phantom captured in a Thermos.

“Ugh,” Jazz sighed, immediately dropping her stern posture. “I can’t believe— Of course she would be out here too, hunting for the bounty.”

She knew she should go out after them, should free Phantom, but… there wasn’t all that much she could do. Valerie would probably release Phantom sooner or later herself, once she discovered that it really was a trap. And Phantom wouldn’t want her to follow, either. Would want her to keep her house, and the ghost Portal, safe.

So she reluctantly turned around, flying back home.

No ghost hunters bothered her.

---

Danny had some experience with getting captured with ghost hunting devices, but the Thermos always remained one of his least favorites. The Weasel, at least, allowed him to overhear the outside, to still feel like he existed. The Thermos was… was nothing. From the moment he went in to the moment he was released again, it was like no time had passed.

It wasn’t… uncomfortable, or something. It just… didn’t exist. As long as he was in the Thermos, he was completely and utterly unaware. It was like no time passed at all; he was just suddenly elsewhere, and also it was three hours later.

He tumbled back into awareness—literally—staring right into Valerie’s mask. It was creased heavily around her brows, a clear sign of her frowning at him. And glaring, probably, knowing Valerie.

They were inside a cage of sorts, the bars made out of pink ectoplasm. Ah, yes. Danny remembered this part.

“I hate your sister,” Valerie told him, leaning right into his face. “I want you to know that.”

“Duly noted.” He rolled his shoulder, grimacing at the sound of it crackling. “She warned you about the trap, huh?”

Valerie hissed, low, and Danny raised his hands. “Chill, it’s fine. Specter can be a bit of a know-it-all sometimes. She’s clever, but she’s not great at conveying that knowledge.”

“I don’t care,” Valerie growled, then took an audible breath. When she continued, her voice was calmer. “Look, I just… I know you and Specter aren’t actively causing trouble in the city, so you’re not, like, high on my shitlist or anything. But that bounty went out and… it seemed too good to be true, but I just… wanted it to be real.” She shrugged. “My family and I… we really could’ve used that money.”

“It’s fine, Red. I get it.” Danny caught himself halfway through lifting a comforting hand, freezing in place. Valerie probably wouldn’t be receptive to that sort of thing, not from him. “I know everyone thinks that ghosts don’t remember anything from their lives, but… I know I do. And I… I remember what being poor can do to someone. How much it sucks, and what kind of weird shit people might pull just for some money.”

Valerie cocked her head slightly, her mask crunching together slightly. “Like what?”

“What, is this a cross-examination now?” He rolled his eyes, huffed for dramatic effect. “I might have sold stuff from my parents’ shed to make some money, hoping that they had hoarded enough stuff that they wouldn’t notice.”

“That’s nowhere near what I just did,” Valerie pointed out, crossing her arms.

“Well, no, but it’s not like I had ghost hunting equipment or potentially dangerous ghosts to chase down.” Danny shrugged, loosely. “Seriously, it’s fine. Not the first time I’ve been caught, and you, at least, had a pretty valid reason to catch me. If I had to get captured for this bounty stuff, I’m glad that it was you and not one of those other hunters.”

She made a face. Or, well. He thought she did. “Are those… seriously the best money could buy? Because, uh, yikes. I had no idea ghost hunting, as a profession, looked like that.”

“Yeah, you made a poor career choice.” He grinned at her. “But, hey, you’ve got plenty of time left to change stuff around. Or to better the name of ghost hunting. Either or, really. Up to you.”

“You sound like a motivational speaker.” Valerie scoffed. “Seriously, I thought you were bad during battles, but this? This is worse.”

“Aw, Red, I didn’t know you cared.” He pressed a hand against his chest, blinking lovingly. It was just… too easy to fall back into his easy banter with Val. He knew he shouldn’t, but, well. Banter was better than fighting, yeah? “But, for real, I get it. Specter and I, we try our best, but we’re not perfect. We can’t catch every ghost the moment they look like they’re up to anything malicious, unfortunately. I’m sorry it happened to you.”

“I don’t think you are,” she said, shaking her head, but Danny recognized that tone. It was her “I’m starting to acknowledge that you’re actually kind of human-like but I refuse to accept it” tone.

And, yes, Valerie had a tone like that. It was rare, but the few times he’d heard it had been memorable enough to stick.

“Well, that’s up to you.” He reached out a hand towards the bars, but they didn’t shock him. Ah, yeah, just like last time. Not phase-proof. “You want me to apologize by phasing you out of this?”

“You can do that?” She jerked her head back towards him. “I thought— It looked like ectoplasmic energy, I figured it would zap you if you tried.”

He wrapped a hand around the bar, tugging it meaningfully. “Doesn’t look like it. Besides, isn’t that why you let me out of the Thermos again? Or did you just want to vent about my sister so badly that even I would do?”

“Oh, shut up,” she grunted. “Just let me out and we’ll ignore this ever happened.”

“Sure thing, Red. The closer you are to the bars, the shorter I’ll have to make you intangible, so…” He gestured vaguely. “I’m assuming you want that time to be as short as possible, anyway.”

She inched closer, keeping her head turning towards him the whole time. “Why do you keep calling me that, anyway?”

“What, Red?” He shrugged. “Specter and I needed a name to refer to you, and, well. You’re a ghost hunter, dressed almost entirely in red. So, the Red Huntress.”

Valerie stopped next to the bars—and him—and stared him down. “I would comment on your naming skills, but I feel like that’s a lost cause, since you’re two ghosts called Specter and Phantom.”

“Believe me, I’ve heard it before.” He offered her a hand. “The worst part is honestly that we didn’t even coordinate that. We didn’t know the other had become a ghost until we ran into each other.”

“So shitty names are a family trait?” Valerie asked as she took his hand. Hers was warm even through her gloves.

Danny paused, thinking of literally every single one of his parents’ inventions. He shrugged. “Kinda, yeah.”

“I… I really don’t know how to feel about that, Phantom.”

He laughed, and used the moment of distraction to turn the both of them intangible. He stepped backwards through the bars, tugging Valerie along with him. Released both the intangibility and her as soon as they were through.

“That’s fair,” he ended up saying with another shrug. “My family was… a lot.”

“At least Specter still is,” Valerie said. Then she froze, seemingly startled by the fact that she’d just said something comforting to a ghost.

“That, she is,” he agreed with a nod. “Speaking of, I should go check in with her. Tell her you didn’t re-kill me or anything. Will you be alright from here on out?”

Valerie scoffed. “I don’t need your help. Yes, Phantom, I’ll be fine. Go worry over your sister.”

“I will. Stay safe, Red.”

He pushed off before she could answer, darting upwards too fast to hear anything she might shout afterwards. After that, however, he lowered his speed for the flight back home. Or, well. Back to FentonWorks. His dad could deal with Vlad fine on his own, and Jazz was around in this universe, too.

Still, even a casual speed brought him to FentonWorks quickly, and he landed on the same rooftop that he’d started the patrol on. He only had to wait for a few moments before Jazz appeared next to him.

Danny opened his mouth to greet her, but suddenly a body was pressed against him, chilly arms wrapping around him.

“Hey, Jazz,” he said, voice soft, as he wrapped his own arms around her. “It’s fine, I’m alright.”

“I was worried,” she admitted quietly. “I… I knew you’d be okay, but I couldn’t stop worrying.”

“I’m sorry.” He ran his hand through her hair, as strange and gravity-defying as his own. “I didn’t realize you’d be so worried, or I would’ve stopped talking to Val sooner. I promise, I’m fine.”

She huffed a breath in his neck, then pulled away a little. “You were talking to Valerie?”

Hook, line, and sinker. “Yeah. Warming her up a little to, well. Ghosts in general, I think, but mostly to us. How’d things go here?”

“They went fine. I didn’t have to do anything.” She pulled away entirely, but still didn’t look quite settled. “Dad beat up Plasmius with some of the inventions, and Mom and Danny just kind of shouted encouragements at him. I didn’t even have to do anything.”

“Good, good. That’s pretty much what happened in my universe too.” He nodded, rolling his spine and grinning at Jazz’ disgusted face. “Well, not the encouraging part, but Dad defeated Vlad on his own. In my universe, the vultures had grabbed Mom and, uh, Jazz, and trapped them in the weapon vault.”

Jazz blinked at him for a moment. “We have a weapons vault?”

“Yeah? It’s got a circular door and a keypad?” He shrugged. “It’s also not phaseproof, so it’s kind of worthless against ghosts. Well, it isn’t phaseproof now. They improved it when too many weapons disappeared but, well. Not much point to it if they kept telling me the password.”

“That’s ridiculous. How did I not know that it existed? You should show me where it is, later, just in case.”

“Sure thing.” He yawned. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. Shouldn’t you head to bed soon?”

She heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, I… Wait a minute. You talked with Valerie! Danny!” She jumped forward, suddenly, crowding him. “You need to tell me what you two talked about!”

“Woah, chill, Jazz.” He gently pushed her away again. “Now?”

“Yeah, now!” she snapped at him. “You tried to change the topic so I would forget! I need to know what you two talked about so I know how to approach her tomorrow!”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” He shook his head. “Alright, so, it started like this…”

[darks-ink]

Play Your Part 2

Chapter 2: Life’s Not Making Sense

Feat. the last bits based on @cordria‘s original fic. I want to add some clever chapter notes but I don’t think I have any that can go before the chapter instead of after? Hm.

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When Danny opened his eyes, it was to the sight of both of his friends bending over him. Worry was clearly visible in both Sam’s and Tucker’s eyes, for once not disguised by the glow of their ghost forms.

“Danny?” Sam asked, her eyes widening as the both of them stepped back to give him a little more space. “Are you alright?” Then, after a brief hesitation, she added, “Sorry, standard question.”

“I think so.” Danny pushed himself into a seated position, rolling his shoulders and feeling the muscles ache from the sheer power he had encountered just now. “What happened?”

“Not sure,” Tucker said, cocking his head. “But I bet it was the Nasty Burger you ate. I told you it didn’t taste right.”

“Nasty Burger?” Danny repeated, blankly. What was that supposed to be? It sure didn’t sound like something you would want to eat. “What…”

He trailed off as he noticed something weird. Not only were his friends hovering over him when, moments before, they hadn’t been anywhere nearby. He was outside. How? Hadn’t he just been in his parents’ lab?

Jerking slightly, he turned to look around him. It didn’t take him long to recognize the park, even if it didn’t make sense. If something had happened with the necklace, why was he in the park? Shouldn’t he be at home, then, getting looked over or something?

“Yup,” Tucker confirmed for him, drawing his attention back to the nonsensical conversation they were having. “Are you fine, or do you need to go home?”

“Tucker,” Sam scolded, swatting at the boy. “He just collapsed for no reason. Of course he’s not fine!”

“You know how fast he heals,” Tucker muttered, making no sense again. “Just because he fainted doesn’t mean that he can’t go to the movie. I figured I might as well ask before I wrote off all our plans for the day.”

Danny opened his mouth to answer, but then hesitated and closed it again. Was he fine? He didn’t feel all that bad, the ache in his muscles receding already, but… but what had happened to him? He couldn’t remember how he had gotten here, in the park, and Tucker seemed to be talking nonsense as well. Something had happened in the lab, and he couldn’t remember anything after, and… “I think…”

“He’s going home.” Sam nodded decisively.

“But it’s Dead Teacher Eleven,” Tucker moaned, slumping dramatically. “The not-to-miss continuance of the blood and guts nonsense of Dead Teacher Ten. You’ve read the reviews – we can’t miss it!”

Ignoring the debate for the moment, Danny pushed himself up to his feet. But the moment he stood, his legs wavered, balance still upset from the wave of white-hot energy earlier. Sam and Tucker caught him immediately, grabbing him by the shoulders to help him stay upright.

“I think Sam’s right,” he said, softly. At the very least, his mom could tell him what happened after he grabbed the necklace, after the energy strike.

Now Tucker cocked his head, looking at him with even more concern in his eyes. “You’re voluntarily going home? Should I call 9-1-1?”

“So what?” he grunted back, frustrated. The day had been long and hellish, and he still didn’t understand what was happening, and he was just so tired of all the confusion and the otherness. “So I’m not as strong as you. Leave off.”

Tucker blinked. Blinked again. “What?” he finally replied, blankly.

“You heard me.” Danny huffed, squirming a little in the arms of Sam and Tucker. He was strongly considering asking them to just fly him home so he could get answers. “Just… Let’s just go home, I’m done.”

Both of his friends shared a worried glance, but nodded, and together they started walking back. Neither of them offered to fly him, which was… strange. Normally they were oh-so eager to show off.

They made it all the way to the edge of the park before Sam pulled to a sudden stop, making Danny stumble as a result.

“Danny,” she breathed, eyes fixed on something in the distance.

“What?” he grumbled back, annoyed.

“The Box Ghost,” Tucker finished for her, also looking in the distance. He raised a hand, pointing helpfully at the specter.

Danny watched the blue ghost as well, wondering how the annoying spirit had gotten out the Ghost Zone. Then he realized that not only was no one stopping him, they were… running away? Why? Any of these people, these halfas, could’ve taken on the weak spirit with ease. Why were they running?

“Are you going to do something?” Sam asked, impatiently, as she crossed her arms.

“Me?” Danny took his eyes off of the bizarre spectacle, raising a questioning eyebrow at Sam.

“Who else?” Tucker shrugged, still keeping one spectacled eye on the Box Ghost. “You’re the half-ghost.”

He felt himself still entirely. His muscles tensed, protesting quietly.

“I’m what?!” he shouted, before immediately slapping his hands over his mouth to avoid drawing attention. Then, more quietly, he repeated, “I’m what?”

Sam and Tucker shared another glance, before settling worried eyes on him once more.

“You’re not our Danny, are you?” Sam asked, her tone flat as if she already knew the answer. But that… but that couldn’t be, right? Wasn’t he the only Danny? The only him?

Apparently the confusion in his eyes just confirmed it for her, because she nodded and turned to Tucker. “Definitely not ours, then. Must’ve happened after we lost track of him, which is why he was knocked out.”

“So it wasn’t that Nasty Burger?” Tucker shook his head, sounding somewhat disappointed. “Too bad, because I could’ve sworn something was up with that. Ah well. Wanna bet our Danny got swapped with this one?”

“Probably,” Sam acknowledged with a nod. “I wonder why. Actually…” She nudged him, and Danny startled back to awareness, too occupied with trying to make sense of the conversation to actually follow it. “Hey, what is your world like?”

“My… world?” He frowned, trying to figure out what she could be referring to, exactly. Obviously it must be pretty similar, right, if he looked like their Danny, and they looked like his Sam and Tucker?”

“Yeah, world, universe, dimension, timeline. Whatever you wanna call it.” Tucker shrugged, pulling a PDA from his pocket. Well, that stayed the same as well, he supposed. “Anything major happening over there? Anything that could benefit from the intervention of a half-ghost?”

“… no?” Danny tried, uncertainly. “I mean, what is one more, right?”

The two of them shared a knowing glance, then Tucker said, “One more? There’s that many halfas over there?”

“Well, yeah. Who isn’t?” Then he grimaced. “Well, besides me, I guess. And my parents are convinced that there’s still humans out there, somewhere, but I don’t think I believe them on that. No one but me.”

“Wait, everyone is a halfa?” Sam repeated, sounding… thrown off. Thrown off and shocked and astonished. “Everyone but you? That’s like, pretty much the reverse of here. Holy shit.”

“Uh huh.” Danny’s eyes caught on the blue ghost that was still causing a ruckus in the streets, telekinetically throwing boxes all around. “Um. So is no one gonna stop the Box Ghost, or…?”

“What?” Sam turned around, saw the Box Ghost, and sighed. She shook her head as she turned back to Danny. “Eh, he’s not all that dangerous. I’m sure the Fentons will pick up on his presence soon enough and come hunt him down. We’ve got more important things to focus on.”

“… right.” Danny took his eyes off of the ghost again to squint at Sam. Her casual dismissal of the Box Ghost was strange, since apparently no one here was half-ghost. Wasn’t he still a danger to regular humans? “So, um. Any idea what’s going on?”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like Clockwork?” Tucker shrugged uncertainly. “I’m not sure who else could’ve done it, to be honest. I didn’t see anyone else, and it was such a short window that there’s no way Vlad could’ve done it.”

“Why would Vlad have done it?” Sam asked, a harsh tone to her voice. “In the hopes of pulling in a Danny that was not only also half-ghost, but also more obedient to him? There’s no way he would’ve taken that risk.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Danny held up his hand, halting the discussion. “You’re telling me that you have proof that Clockwork exists? How? We have an entire population of half-ghosts and the many ghosts of the Zone, and we don’t have proof.”

“Uh, yeah.” Tucker tapped around on his PDA a little, then pulled up a photo of a ghost. Blue skin, empty red eyes with a scar over one of them. Purple hood and robe as well, it seemed, but it was hard to tell since only the ghost’s head was on the photo. “He messes with you, or uh, Danny, sometimes. To make sure the future turns out right, and stuff.”

Danny nodded at this, accepting the information. Based on the stories, and on what Tucker just told him, it didn’t sound like Clockwork was responsible. But what else could’ve…?

Oh. Oh.

“Guys,” he said, unintentionally interrupting the conversation between his friends again, which he had zoned out of. “I think I might know how this happened.”

“You do?” Tucker shot him a hopeful grin, tapping around on his PDA. “That’s great, because I was running out of options on my list. Let’s hear it, man!”

“I think, um. I might’ve done it? From my, uh, universe, at least?”

“I thought you weren’t a half-ghost?” Sam asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised. “And I doubt your parents’ inventions would’ve been responsible for it, if they’re not ghost hunters on your side.”

“Ghost hunters?” Danny repeated incredulously. “Well, no, they hunt humans, obviously.” At her sharp glare he blanched, dropping back to the original topic. “But I was in the lab with Mom, right, and there was this necklace on one of the desks. And she asked me to clean it up, but when I picked it up, it released some kind of weird energy pulse? Then I blacked out and I woke up here.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Tucker agreed with a nod. His stylus moved over the screen rapidly as he tapped away the new information. “D’you think it was a ghost artifact? Must be, right, with that kind of powers?”

“Probably, yeah.” He hummed, then perked up as his ears picked up on a strange noise. Was that… screeching metal?

An enormous tank-like vehicle screamed into the street. Silver, with green accents, and a flame-like logo on the side, a large F in the center of it. Wait, didn’t Sam mention…

The doors slammed open, and in perfect sync, two people jumped out. Both dressed in very familiar jumpsuits, one teal, the other orange.

He groaned, slumping in on himself. He wasn’t sure if it was better or worse, knowing that his parents were just as eccentric in this world as they were in his own.

“Some things don’t change, huh?” Tucker asked, a grin on his face. “At least they’re helpful for once, since we don’t have to worry about Boxy while they’re hunting him.”

“And,” Sam pointed out, “we can borrow the Specter Speeder while they’re not home! If it is a ghost artifact, and it probably is, let’s be real, then we can find out more in the Ghost Zone.”

“Wait, hold on.” Danny held out his hands, breaking up her enthusiastic speech. “You want us to go into the Ghost Zone? Three ordinary humans? That’s suicide.”

“Nah, it’ll be fine,” Tucker dismissed immediately, flapping his hand. “We’ve been there tons of time, and we’re still fine, aren’t we? And we can ask Jazz to come along, too, so it’ll be the four of us.”

“But, but--”

“The Speeder has built-in weapons, Danny, it’ll be fine.” Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and started pushing him in the direction of his house. “Let’s get a move on, Boxy won’t distract them forever.”

“This world is insane,” he groaned, but he gave up on protesting. If he could survive his usual life surrounded by half-ghosts, surely the Zone wouldn’t kill him either.

He only hoped that, if the Danny from this world had taken his place, that the boy was doing alright, too. Oh god, if he was a half-ghost and used his powers around his parents they would never give up on Danny getting powers too!

Or… or they might see the son they had always wanted, but didn’t get. An actual half-ghost, like them, instead of a human abomination like him. Maybe… maybe this was the way it was always supposed to have been…

When Danny opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his mom leaning over him. The first thing he thought was ‘oh man, some ghost must’ve jumped me in the park.’ That, at least, would explain the bright flash of light – and the searing pain that followed it.

“Oh, Danny! Are you okay?” his mom asked, a cool washrag in her hand. He noticed, now, that he was laying on the couch in the living room. That was a little strange. If Sam and Tucker had brought him home, why hadn’t they put him in his bed?

His head pounded when he tried to think about it, though, and instead he decided to answer his mom. Maybe she could tell him more. “What happened?” he moaned.

“What do you remember, sweetie?” She pressed the washrag against his forehead, concern clear in her violet eyes.

“I was in the park with Sam and Tucker,” he started, slowly, trying to put together his memories. He wasn’t sure if he should mention the light, but… but his parents would blame it on a ghost anyway. “There was this bright light… and then I woke up here?”

She clicked her tongue sympathetically. “You must have lost a bit of your memory. You made it all the way home, you were helping me in the lab. There was an accident and you got shocked.”

“Makes sense,” he muttered, scrunching his eyes closed a little. He knew how much his parents’ technology ‘liked’ him. Another downside of living with his ghost-hunting parents as a half-ghost.

“You’re going to stay home from school tomorrow,” his mom continued in a no-nonsense tone. “I’m not going to let you take any more of that bullying after a shock like that.”

At this, Danny raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t told either of his parents about Dash… had Jazz? “Okay,” he told her, though. Any excuse to stay out of school was one he would gladly take. Maybe he could catch up on homework for once, or, hell, maybe he could get some sleep for once. He would deal with the inevitable repercussions later.

“I’m sure you’ve got a headache, sweetie.” She brushed a lock of his hair out of his eyes, gently.

The pain in his head was ebbing away already, thankfully; one of the upsides of being half-ghost. But he was feeling achy, still, and there were still bruises on his body from an earlier battle with Skulker. A few painkillers would be more than welcome, so he nodded.

“I’ll get you some aspirin and you can take a nap.” She got up, but hovered for a moment longer. “If it doesn’t go away, we’ll take you in to see the doctor tomorrow.”

Ugh, no thanks. The pain was already pretty much gone, anyway. That, and he couldn’t risk a doctor finding out about his ghost half. It would be… it would be bad beyond words, he was sure.

As he laid back against the cushions of the couch, he couldn’t help but wonder what invention of his parents got him this time. Usually he was careful enough in the lab to avoid them, and most wouldn’t have been powerful enough to knock him out, anyway. Not while their effect was dampened because he was in his human form.

His mom returned, handing him two aspirin and a glass of water. “Thanks,” he said, swallowing the pills.

“You’re welcome, Danny.” She smiled, pulling up a blanket to cover him. “Just lay here and get some rest. And don’t worry about your ghost powers… you’ll get them soon, I’m sure.”

Danny’s mind ground to a sudden halt. Eyes widening, he stared at his mom, her own eyes sincere and caring. Ghost powers?

“R-Right,” he stuttered back, uncertainly. “I’m… sure.”

She nodded, patting him on the head. “Like I said before, in the lab. You’re a late bloomer, like your dad. But you’ll see, once you’ve got them, that you’ll be far more powerful than the others, okay? You’re a Fenton.”

“Uh huh,” he agreed, blankly. What on Earth was this about? Why was she talking about ghost powers, and him still getting them? Why was she implying that his dad had them, too? Hell, it sounded like they were normal for their family, but--

Wait. Was he… Had he jumped into a different universe? Or timeline or whatever? Is that why his memories didn’t line up right? Had he swapped with some powerless Danny, into a world where he was supposed to be a half-ghost?

“Sorry, I’ll let you get some sleep.” She smiled, ruffling his hair once more, before she moved away again. “I’ll wake you up for dinner, okay?”

“Yeah, uh. Yeah. Thanks, Mom.” His eyes were locked on her. She looked like his own mom. She sounded and acted like his own mom. Was she still a ghost hunter, if his dad was a halfa too? Was his dad like him, in his ghost form, using his powers to hunt dangerous ghosts? How much did they know about halfas?

Was this a learning opportunity provided to him by Clockwork? To make up for the non-existent mentoring Vlad offered?

Well, there was no point in worrying about it now, was there? Better to get that nap first, so his mom would stop worrying. That, and he would think better when he was well rested. Or, that’s what Jazz always said, at least.

And with that, he let himself nod off, laying on a couch in a living room just like his own, in a world that wasn’t.

As she had said, his mom – or this version of her – woke him up for dinner. A little sleep-drunk, he stumbled after her into the kitchen, joining his dad and Jazz at the table. Both of them looked ordinary, but apparently this Jack Fenton had ghost powers. Presumably, Jazz did as well, if they were all counting on him having them too.

“Danny-boy!” his dad boomed when he sat down, “Heard some of the kids at school were messing with you again! Just wait til you get your powers, then you can kick all of their butts!”

“Dad,” Jazz chided, her eyes briefly flickering purple. Wait, hold on. Purple, huh? Not the color he would’ve imagined for Jazz, that’s for sure. “Don’t give him any bad ideas! Using powers to fight is a terrible idea, and it’s against the school rules.”

Their dad rolled his eyes. “Nonsense. He needs to show them his power, that’s the only thing young halfas listen to! Right, kiddo?”

“Uh. I dunno?” He shrugged, trying to dig the presented information out of this bit of conversation. Were powers… normal, here? Did everyone have them? Well, everyone but him? Was he bullied not because of his parents, but because of his lack of powers?

Yeesh, he didn’t know if that was better or worse than how it was back home. It definitely meant that he couldn’t risk fighting back. If they discovered he had powers before he swapped back with the powerless Danny that was supposed to be here, he could get this other version of himself seriously hurt.

He only hoped that other Danny was doing alright, back in his own universe. Sam and Tucker would realize pretty quickly, right? As long as no powerful ghosts attacked, none that required Phantom’s intervention, it would be alright. And if Clockwork was responsible for this, and surely he was, then things would definitely be okay.