Don't read this unless you've read: Danny Phantom: Ultimate Showdown, Danny Phantom: A New Beginning, The Phantom Triplet's Choice, and Chloe Phantom: Prom Fright. They're all a series.
Jack Phantom: Grounded
Chapter 1
"Remember, the secret is not in your body. The secret to ultimate power lies in your heart, your mind, and your soul." Master Heidi Grouser said. "The weak bodied man can defeat a stronger man if he has a stronger mind. The slow man can defeat the faster man with a strong heart. A person with a strong soul can defeat all those with weaker souls, no matter how much stronger or faster they are than him in body. Throughout history you see this, men and women who were slow or weak in body, but they were strong in their minds, hearts, and souls, who conquered incredible challenges. Remember this; Ultimate power lies in the heart, the mind, and the soul."
"Thank you Master," all her students yelled. That concluded this day's class. Jack Fenton stood up and grabbed one of the spears Master Heidi had on the dojo's back wall. He was one of the most dedicated students she had. He went through several forms, displaying all his skill. He is going to do great things, Master Heidi thought. After he was done, Jack again thanked his Shaolin Kempo Karate instructor and changed into his orange jumpsuit. He left the dojo and as soon as he saw that he was alone, turned into his alter-ego, Jack Phantom.
Jack Phantom flew over to his friend Damon's house. They had met in the third grade, and been best bros ever since. Jack was now Captain of the Casper High wrestling team while Damon was the football team's quarterback. Jack turned into his human form and knocked on the door. "Good evening, Jack." Mrs. White answered. "Good evening Mrs. White, is Damon home? He said we were going to go hang out at the Nasty Burger." "Damon's in his room." Mrs. White said, and let her son's best friend in. "Thanks," Jack said, and headed for Damon's room. Damon's room was a museum for football, he had so much old stuff hanging on his wall from his dad, granddad, great granddad, and so on and so forth.
"Hey man," Damon greeted, and started their 'secret handshake'. "Ready to go bro?" Jack asked him. "Yep, just let me get my jersey." Damon grabbed his red and white jersey and the two guys left Damon's house to head for the Nasty Burger. "Man, I can't wait for the next game; Rotherford's Ravens are dead meat." Damon said. "I know man; this is only the fourth time you've said that today." Jack said. "I can't help it; I can feel that trophy in my hands." Damon said. "Anyway, how's Chloe doing? Is she seriously dating that ghost?" Jack shared his family secret with Damon in the eighth grade; Damon swore he would never tell another soul without Jack's permission.
"Yep, she's seriously dating him. It started the night that video came on the Net," Jack told him. "Nuts, I was thinking about asking her out, but never got the chance." "Dude, seriously? That's my sister you're talking about, that's a violation of the Guy Code." Jack told him. Rule #2 of the Guy Code: NEVER date your best friend's sister. "I know; you can whack me later for it. But seriously dude, she's" "Finish that sentence, and I'll tie you into a pretzel, man." Jack was only half-joking. Damon dropped the subject. "Anyway, how are you and Jo doing?" Jack asked him.
For the rest of the walk to the Nasty Burger the two jocks talked about girls, games, and what they were going to do to Luke Forge tomorrow. Luke had punched Chloe three nights before Freshman Prom. She had let it happen to get her boyfriend Roger out of a fight with Luke. She ordered Jack and Jerry not to do anything, but Jack wouldn't let it go. Rule #3 of the Guy Code: if a guy hurts your sister, MAKE HIM PAY. Because Chloe wasn't permanently hurt, and had ordered him not to beat Luke's head in, Jack had decided to pull three pranks on Luke to make him pay.
Tomorrow was Wednesday, and the last prank. On Monday Jack and Damon put live frogs in Luke's locker. Tuesday, it was toilet paper. Tomorrow was going to be the best one ever. They found out about Luke's secret fear at Lunch, and were going to use it on Luke, with Extreme Prejudice. "Dude, I hope you never use that mind for evil, we'd all be doomed." Damon said when Jack told him his plan. "I know, WA-HA-HA-HA!" Jack laughed mock-evilly.
Suddenly the lights at the Nasty Burger went off. "Crap," Jack said. Then the sky was lit up by a glowing ghost, Gigawatt. Jack got under his table and turned Ghost. He flew up and said, "What is your deal man? Everywhere I go, you show up eventually." Gigawatt said, "I guess I'm lucky that way," And blasted at the Nasty Burger. Jack made a shield and redirected the ghost-rays back at Gigawatt. The electrical ghost dodged it only to get a kick in the face from Jack. Gigawatt flew straight for Jack; Jack was just a little too slow and got an uppercut to the jaw.
Jack went back ten feet, then made a spear and charged right back into the fight. Gigawatt ducked and dodged as fast as he could, Jack never gave him a chance to counter-attack. Jack then got rid of the spear, and kicked Gigawatt in the face again, forcing the ghost back fifty feet. Jack followed it up with a punishing combination, and finished by sucking Gigawatt into his Fenton Thermos. Jack had to fly out of sight before he turned human and went back to see Damon. Damon said, "What is that ghost's deal?" "I have no idea, I don't remember doing anything to him; he just shows up wherever I am and ruins my day. He's like my Box-ghost or something," Jack said. "At least the Nasty Burger's okay." A little over three months ago the Nasty Burger closed down due to damage sustained when Jack's brother, Jerry, fought a fire-mage ghost called Pyromancer.
Jack's mic went off, "Kappa Leader to Brawler, we have two ghosts over here, our weapons can't penetrate their ecto-shields and we need you, NOW!" Jack found a secluded area and flew off after telling Damon the situation. The two ghosts looked like skinny rockers, scary skinny rockers. Kappa Squad was giving it their all, but couldn't breach the ghost's shields. Jack couldn't shoot ghost-rays or make ecto-shields, his sister Chloe got those powers.
Jack made gauntlets over his hands and hit the skinny rocker ghosts from above. Their ecto-shields crumbled under his fists, allowing Kappa Squad to blast the ghosts and suck them into their Fenton Thermos's. "Thanks, Jack. Seriously, we need better equipment or something." Kappa Leader said. Jack shrugged and said, "Lieutenant Phantom told me that the problem isn't the equipment, it's that we don't have enough people shooting it." No one in Foley's Fighters but Commander Dashiel Baxter knew that Jack, Jerry, and Chloe were Danny Phantom's kids.
"Maybe, but damn it if we don't need better weapons to make up for the losses," Kappa Leader said. Jack shrugged again and called Damon to say that he was staying Ghost to patrol Amity Park. "Good luck, Jack." His friend told him and hung up. Jack flew around, and saw nothing until around ten o'clock. "Roger?" he said when he saw Chloe's boyfriend fighting three men in black armor. The Brotherhood of Humanity. Jack flew as fast as he could and punched one of the ghost hunting fanatics 200 ft away. Roger howled and clawed at another, he must have cut off something vital because the man immediately went stiff.
The final member of the Brotherhood of Humanity screamed, "ALL YOU MONSTERS WILL BURN!" and he pressed a button on his chest. A clock immediately appeared, counting down from 30 seconds. Jack grabbed the suicidal man and flew him as far and as fast he could. With five seconds left he went intangible, tore the man out of the suit, and threw the suit away. Jack then knocked the man unconscious with an elbow strike. The Brotherhood of Humanity's members had false teeth that turned into acid when bitten, and they bit them whenever they were captured.
Roger was still where Jack had left him, panting. "You okay man?" Jack asked him. Roger turned into his humanoid Ghost Form and said, "*huff huff* Just a little tired from fighting those guys. Did the Fighters get anything out of the two we captured Friday?" "No, those two were interrogated by the best, and didn't crack. We could only charge the two of them individually. They're in solitary confinement now, placed on suicide watch." "If only we knew who they were, we could stop them." Roger said. Jack then remembered about the Brother that Roger had cut and tore his helmet off. The guy was unconscious, so Jack slung him and the one he knocked out over his shoulders and delivered them to Foley's Fighter's HQ. He then went home and silently went to bed.
Chapter 2
Jack woke up and started practicing his martial arts. He did this for thirty minutes before he heard his Dad call him and his siblings to breakfast. Jack stopped and dressed, then went down for a small breakfast of an orange and some toast. Sam was shocked; Jack had the biggest appetite of the triplets. "What happened, Jack?" Jack told his Mom about last night and said, "Why can't we figure out who they are? It's like someone hacked every computer system in the world and erased any files about these guys. Fingerprints, DNA, all gone." Sam didn't know what to say, this was a problem she couldn't solve.
"That's not something you need to worry about now, Jack," Danny said, "You're only a fourteen year old kid, you can't solve all the problems of the world. Tucker has been working on it, and says that he thinks he can trace the source of the virus that erased any records on members of the Brotherhood of Humanity. We'll find them Jack, for now just focus on school." Jack nodded; he knew when he had been given an order. Jerry and Chloe agreed; they weren't alone in this fight; Foley's Fighters, as well as Valerie and Tucker Foley, would work on it while they were in school.
The Fenton triplets went to the bus stop where they spotted Roger. Chloe managed to not start making out with him then and there, and settled with a tight hug. Roger told her and Jerry what had happened last night, and then said, "You all need to watch yourselves. We don't know how big this 'Brotherhood of Humanity' is, we could have taken out either 90% or not even 1%." Jack, Jerry and Chloe nodded, and the four teens went in the bus; and from there to school.
They all separated and Jack headed for Art class. He was working on sketching mythological deities for it; he had chosen to draw the Fudo Myo-o Acala Buddha, destroyer of all impediments to wisdom and Nirvana according to Japanese Buddhists, first. He used his father as a model, and the drawing was coming along well. His teacher Mrs. Gooring was impressed at how he had managed to draw a picture that resembled both his Dad and traditional Japanese woodcuts of Fudo Myo-o. Jack finished his sketch and handed it in. His next would be of Bishamonten, god of warriors and punisher of evil in Shinto.
He just started the basic outline when the bell rang. Jack put the sketch away for now and went out to go to his next class, English. Jack rounded a corner and saw Luke Forge opening his locker. Jack hid and watched as when he opened it and a large anime-girl head popped out. "WWWAAAAHHHHH!" Luke screamed, running into the wall behind him. He was terrified of anime depictions of girls, especially little girls with big eyes. Jack and Damon had made it; Jerry rigged the system that made it pop out.
Jack laughed; he couldn't help himself after seeing the look on Luke's face. Luke Forge heard him and stormed over to him. Jack stopped laughing and looked at Luke. They were about the same size those two, a fight between them would last a while. "When School's out-" Luke started, then Jack leaned in close and angrily said, "I'll tell everyone what you did to my sister. She still has a bruise under her makeup. You got off lightly, Luke, I wanted to fight you the next day, but she asked me not to." Jack told him. Luke swallowed his anger, and the two jocks went their separate ways.
Jack's English class was boring, like watching the paint dry boring. Jack barely kept himself up, and wrote notes on the important stuff. Jack was half asleep when the bell woke him up, time for his next class, Biology. They were studying the human nervous system, and Jack paid attention. You never knew when knowing this stuff could come in handy during a fight. The teacher concluded the lesson by giving them homework. Jack didn't say anything, but he scowled, he still hated homework.
The Lunch bell rang, and Jack was first greeted there by his angry sister. Chloe punched him, hard, in the shoulder and said, "I told you to do nothing, Jack." "That, prank is nothing, compared to what I was going to do to Luke." Jack said. Chloe face palmed and went to a table to wait for Roger. Jack sat down between two blond girls, and had an interesting conversation with them about wrestling and stuff. He saw Missy walking by and waved. She waved back and headed for the Hall right in time for the bell for the final class of the day, Gym.
Coach Polson had him and the rest of the wrestling team run laps for thirty minutes. Jack was exhausted, but he needed to set a good example for the rest of the team and didn't let it show. Polson then had them review all their strategies. The last five minutes of Gym involved mock-wrestling and reviewing how to pin one's opponent most efficiently. Jack was so relieved to get in the shower that he sighed loud enough for it to echo around the gym.
When he got out he saw Missy standing there. "Uh, hi Missy," Jack said. Missy asked him, "Jack, I'm looking for someone to model Achilles for me and was hoping you could help me pick my model." "What kind of guy are you looking for?" he asked her. "I imagine Achilles as someone who was thin, more defined, not bulging muscle. You know anyone like that?" Jack thought about this for a minute then said, "I think you should ask Mike Freedman about it. He's pretty small for a wrestler, but he's got mad wiry strength." "Thanks Jack," Missy said, and then walked over to her bus.
Jack watched her go, and then went to his bus. He saw his brother Jerry, who said, "You gonna kiss her or what?" Jack looked at him and said, "Back off, String-bean. We talked to each other after the Prom and she and I agreed to remain friends, JUST friends." Jerry wouldn't let it go, "That's what we thought Roger and Chloe were, but now every other minute they're sucking face." Chloe appeared just then and slapped Jerry upside the back of his head. "Bus, now," she ordered. Jerry, Jack, and Chloe all went in the bus, no more talking.
When they got off Jack went to his room to do his homework. After an hour Jack was done and decided to call Odafin. Odafin Foley was his friend since forever, despite their two year age difference. "Jack, my man, how's it hanging?" Odafin answered. "Odafin, what can you tell me about your Dad's progress on my little problem?" Jack asked him. Odafin was silent for a minute then said, "He's getting there, Jack. I overheard him and Mom talking about it being one more week before they found the source." Jack was a little unhappy; he had thought Tucker could get it done sooner. "Look man, forget about the BOH for now and get outside. I just got a call from the mail office; 'Jack Phantom' needs to get his mail, its overflowing."
Jack slapped his forehead, he had totally forgotten about his mail. After he started being visible as 'Jack Phantom' he had decided to make arrangements so he could get fan mail without people finding out his identity. He, Damon, and Odafin told the Mail Office that they were special couriers of Jack Phantom, and Jack had to sign a bunch of documents both as Fenton and Phantom to arrange it all.
"Thanks for the reminder, heading out now," Jack headed out and saw Odafin and Damon already waiting for him. He told his Mom where he was going and left to get his mail. At the mail office were three large bags full of mail for Jack Phantom. Damon and Odafin struggled, but managed to get it in Odafin's car. The three guys drove to the Foley residence where Valerie answered and helped them open all the mail. Tucker was in his office, still working on the Brotherhood of Humanity's virus.
Tucker came out for ten minutes to take a break and say hi. He was different; Valerie had whipped him into shape after he retired as Mayor last year. He also had a beard now. After they sat down Jack, Damon, Odafin and Valerie started opening the mail. It was a boring task; none of the letters appeared to be important. They talked about school, Odafin looking for a job, and how Odafin's older brother Omar was doing in the Navy.
Chapter 3
It was around seven that Damon saw an interesting letter and handed it to Jack. Jack opened it up, the Letter was from a Doctor Emily Boothe, it said:
Mr. Jack Phantom,
I am a doctor specializing in muscular dystrophy at the Amity Park Children's Hospital. Muscular Dystrophy is now curable thanks to the efforts of Jasmine Fenton and others, treatments are possible. Unfortunately, the treatments require years of work before the child can live a normal life. The children here look up to you and the other members of Triple Threat and many of them want to meet you. If you can find it in your heart, please answer this letter as soon as possible, and help make these children's lives a little better.
Signed, Emily Boothe, M.D.
Jack almost cried, but didn't by remembering the Guy Code. Rule #1 of the Guy Code: Never cry in front of other guys. Instead he thanked his friends and Valerie for their help, got the rest of the mail together, and went home. He went home and saw his parents looking him with angry expressions. "You are in big trouble young man," Danny told his son. "I can explain," Jack said, but Sam said, "We know your excuse Jack, and it doesn't excuse what you did." "WHAT?" Jack yelled; he couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Chloe didn't want us to do anything, and she told you not to do anything either. You and Jerry may have had your reasons, but so did Chloe. She was planning on telling a teacher today, but decided not to because of your prank." Sam explained.
Crap, Jack thought. He and Jerry should have listened to Chloe. "What does that mean, how much trouble am I in?" he asked. Jack's Father answered, "You abused your powers for your own petty reasons. This 'Guy Code' you always seem to think the world about has led to this, but luckily for you, you didn't hurt anyone. For now, you and Jerry are grounded from anything but ghost fighting and school until next Friday." Jack opened his mouth, but Sam said, "Chloe suggested it, we were going to ground you for three weeks." Jack shut up, Gotta thank Chloe next time I see her.
His mic went off just then, "Calling all Phantoms, calling all Phantoms, we got five massive ghosts at Delta Quadrant. This is NOT A DRILL, repeat, NOT A DRILL!" Jerry and Chloe flew down while Danny and Jack went Ghost and together the four half-ghosts flew off at 179 mph towards Delta Quadrant.
They saw all five ghosts were just like the Thing that Jack, Jerry, and Chloe had defeated a week ago. They were all 20 ft tall and all had eagles legs connected to goat hooves, the bodies of apes, tentacles that ended in tiger claws and heads that looked like bears with rhino horns. "Crap!" Jerry said. Danny asked them for the basics, and Jack told him about how the one they fought a week ago got immune to whatever attack was given to it, but if its brain was pierced then it turned to ecto-goo. Danny nodded and said, "You three pick your targets and attack. If you can destroy the brain, do it, and then help the others."
"What about you?" Chloe asked. "Alpha and Omega Squads are coming soon, along with Delta Squad that should keep one of them busy while I deal with that one up front." Danny told them, and they all charged. Jack created gauntlets and gave his monster a flying uppercut. He got rid of them then bashed down with his feet glowing with ecto-energy. The beast doubled over, and Jack made a six foot claymore and stabbed up into the monsters mouth, piercing it through the head.
As soon as he sucked up the goo it left behind, Jack looked to see who else needed help. Jerry had unleashed a giant snowball at his monster, freezing it solid. Jerry then made a giant ice hammer and broke it to pieces. Chloe was blasting away at her opponent; then grabbed its giant head knocked it out with a ghost stinger attack. She sucked her unconscious monster into her Fenton Thermos and did Jerry's as well. They turned to see Alpha, Delta, and Omega Squad defeat their monster and suck it up right there. Their Father was floating and watching, his monster already defeated.
Triple Threat; Jack, Jerry, and Chloe, floated there, their jaws nearly dropping below their waists at the display of their Father, Danny Phantom's, power. They barely defeated their first Thing together; he had done it in record time by himself. Danny yelled down, "Got anymore ghosts for us Delta Leader? These kids look like they barely got a warm-up." "Negative, Halfa. You can always take them to HQ for training though, if they really need it." Delta Leader yelled back. Triple Threat regained their composure and floated waiting for their Commanding Officer and Father's answer.
Danny flew over and said, "HQ on the double," and rocketed in the direction of Foley's Fighters HQ. Jack, Jerry, and Chloe followed, feeling the aches already.
Chapter 4
The first thing that they trained on was their powers. Their strength, speed, and individual abilities were all pushed to the limit for the next four hours. After this was over came hand to hand combat training. All three members of Triple Threat pushed themselves to the limits of their speed and power, but Danny Phantom avoided every combination and attack they threw at them. "Keep up the pace Chloe, Jerry, more power less speed, Jack, you're relying too much on your strength." And Danny proved his point when he almost effortlessly knocked Chloe back as soon as he saw an opening, dodged Jerry's attack and threw him into Chloe, and then pushed Jack's fist away, turning him around and giving him the opportunity to push him into Jerry and Chloe, sprawling all three of them on the ground.
He did it gently, but forcefully. All three of them got up, ready for another round, but Danny said, "Stop, you're all too tired to do this anymore tonight and still be able to fight in a real emergency." Jack, Jerry, and Chloe all sighed in relief. "Go shower up and I'll tell you how you did." Danny ordered, and they all hit the showers at HQ. When they were cleaned up they went to the lounge to see their Dad in his human form, looking at his phone intently.
He turned to them and said, "You all did good today, if I had half the ability you three do when I was fourteen, Vlad Plasmius would've given up a lot earlier. Jack, your Top Speed is 180 mph, Top Lifting Strength at fifty one tons, and your Endurance is now around mine at eighteen. Your weapon and armor constructs are at least 5% more durable than they were last month.
"Jerry, your Top Speed is 184 mph, Top Lifting Strength is thirty one tons, and you've pushed yourself a little harder in Endurance; you're now at the level I was at seventeen. Your Ice is now -80 degrees Celsius, your ice weapons are 15% more durable, and your ice rays are 5 degrees cooler than last month.
"Chloe, your Top Speed is 188 mph, Top Lifting Strength is twenty nine tons, and your Endurance level is around my own at nineteen. Your ecto-energy attacks are 10% more accurate; and 3% stronger than last month. Your Ecto-energy shields are 20% more durable. Your ghost stinger unleashes 114 volts at maximum output. In other words, you three have gotten better."
All three of them were proud of themselves; they didn't realize how much they had improved until now. But then Jack asked, "How did your tests go D- I mean Sir?" Danny smirked and turned his phone so they could see for themselves. Their eyes were half a millimeter away from popping out of their skulls, and their jaws hit the table. The chart on the phone read:
Name: Daniel Phantom
Top Speed: 782 miles per hour
Top Lifting Strength: 147 tons
Endurance: Can fight at top strength for 216 hours barring serious injury
Ghost rays can hit a dime from a mile away, as well as blast through 30 ft of solid titanium. Ice rays measured at –89 degrees Celsius, same for ice, ice constructs as durable as meteoric iron, ecto-energy shields capable of being hit with the equivalent of 21600 KiloNewtons, ghost stinger ability capable of releasing 315 volts. Ectoplasmic weapon constructs are as durable as high quality steel. Ghostly Wail capable of leaving damage equal to two tons of C4.
Jack, Jerry, and Chloe looked at their Dad. He said, "I've been this powerful since last year, I've never been able to push those limits. You three are getting there, one day you'll surpass me." The three Fenton kids doubted that, but didn't challenge it out loud. "How is this possible, Vlad Plasmius was nowhere near this powerful, and he had eight years on you now?" Chloe said. Danny looked at her and said, "Vlad also didn't have to push himself as much as I have over the years. Since I got my powers, almost every day has been filled with either training or fighting. Vlad focused on using his powers subtly for profit and power, not fighting like I've had to." The three teens nodded, then the four Fenton's went Phantom and flew home, the rest of the day was quiet.
Chapter 5
Jack Fenton woke up and trained as hard as he could. His Father called him down for breakfast and he stopped training to dress and go downstairs for breakfast. He ate a lot more than he had yesterday; he was in a good mood despite being grounded. Danny noticed and asked, "Why are you so happy?" Jack looked at him and said, "I'll talk about it after school." Danny nodded, and Jack headed off to the bus stop with Jerry and Chloe. Roger was there and gave Chloe a kiss on the mouth.
Jack and Jerry ignored it and the four teens got on the bus, Chloe and Roger sat together, leaving Jerry and Jack alone. Jerry said, "Well, Jack, we are gonna have a fun week." sarcastically. Jack said, "Yeah, I better tell Damon and Odafin and cancel our plans today." "Brother, you'd think we cheated on a test or something." Jerry said. Jack grunted and the two brothers were silent the rest of the way to school.
Jack concentrated hard and took notes during his classes. At Lunch his Ghost Sense went off, he hid in the bathroom and went Ghost. Jack flew up and saw a five ectopuses about to enter the school. Jack grabbed one by the tentacles and used it like a bat on the other four. He sucked them up in his Thermos then returned to finish his lunch. All the while Jack thought about the letter from that Doctor, Emily Boothe. Of all the people she could have contacted, she chose him. Jack thought about what he knew about muscular dystrophy and decided she contacted him because he was the most muscular of Triple Threat and would be an example of what those kids could do once their treatments were completed.
I don't remember hearing about Dad ever visiting kids at hospitals, Jack thought. He then thought of how he wanted to be like his Dad and Grandpa Fenton, but still be his own person. Maybe this is how I can leave my own mark on Amity Park. Jack snapped out of his thinking when he got to the Gym, those thoughts weren't going to help him now. Coach Polson had the wrestlers all spar that whole period, switching opponents every two rounds. Jack eventually was put against Patrick Cornell.
He and Patrick fought like their lives depended on the match's outcome. Patrick lost to Jack for the title of Captain, and wanted revenge. Eventually Patrick put Jack into the same position he tried when he lost to Jack. Jack reversed and tried to pin Patrick, who then reversed on him and tried to pin him, only for Jack to pull a third reverse and pin him. "RRRHHHGGG" Patrick groaned. He then kicked Jack off and punched him. Jack dodged the next punch and kneed him in the solar plexus.
Patrick Cornell went down gasping for air, and Coach Polson helped him up saying, "You're off the team Cornell. I can't have hotheads like you starting fights with the team captain." Patrick didn't answer; he looked over his shoulder at Jack and glared daggers at him. Great, now I have to deal with him too on top of being grounded, Jack thought before heading to the showers.
Jack headed out, and went to the bus, no sign of Chloe or Jerry. Guess they were called to fight ghosts, he thought. Jack started to think about who was going to be his model for Bishamonten. He always imagined Bishamonten as someone who was constantly angry at the world, at least the evil in it. Roger's mellowed out a lot since him and Chloe became a couple, but he's the only one who'll do. Jack went home and saw Chloe was home, and asked her to call Roger. The rocker son of Wulf was there in ten minutes in his pale Goth form.
Jack said, "Roger, can you do me a HUGE favor?" Roger looked at him and said, "Of course, I owe you one anyway for how you saved me the night before last." "I need you to model for me, it's an art project." Roger lifted an eyebrow and said, "Not nude I hope." "Nothing like that, I just need you to get angry, REALLY angry, and strike a pose, something like this." Jack went up to his room and got his practice staff from the wall. He struck the pose he wanted Roger in. Roger agreed, and got in the pose.
"ANGRY, Roger, think about the night that Luke punched Chloe. Let that show in your face." Roger remembered how he felt as he saw it, Luke's fist striking Chloe, her collapsing, and his eyes glowed with his anger. Chloe glared at her brother for using Roger's feelings for her, but he was too busy drawing to notice. An hour later the rough sketch was done. Chloe and Roger looked at it and agreed that it was going to be a very good picture when it was finished.
Roger and Chloe then flew off to wherever, Jack didn't care. He started on the final sketch when his mic went off, "Beta Leader to Brawler, we got one Big Mother of a ghost here and need your help." Jack put the sketches away and turned Ghost and flew out to Beta Quadrant.
The Ghost was big, not giant, but big. He was dressed like a gladiator, and Beta Squad couldn't get beat the ghost because he kept on shielding himself. Jack saw this and made a similar shield and a spear. "Give up now, you can't beat me." Jack told the Gladiator. The gladiator ghost laughed and said, "Maximus of Rome surrenders to no one, boy," and threw a net at Jack. Jack went intangible and the net passed through him.
Jack then got his shield up and blocked a sword slash. Maximus of Rome was good, and wouldn't let Jack get on the offensive. Jack then pushed at Maximus with his shield, making him back up long enough for Jack to get his spear into play. For ten minutes it went like this, both Jack and Maximus defending and attacking. Suddenly Maximus kicked Jack's shield away. This is it I'm dead, Jack thought as Maximus's sword stabbed toward his side. Then Beta Squad's Spectro-blasters opened up all at once, blasting Maximus and knocking him out. Jack was shocked, and Beta Squad had to suck up the gladiator ghost.
"Jack, you in there?" one of Beta Squad asked. "What?" Jack asked confused. "Are you okay?" the same man asked him. "Y-yeah, yeah, I just saw my life flash in front of my eyes for second there." Jack said, and flew off, That was too close, I gotta put more effort in learning how to fight dirty. When Jack got home he saw his Dad waiting for him with a concerned look on his face.
"Jack, we need to talk about what just happened." he said. Jack sat down and said, "Where's Mom?" "Your Mom's grocery shopping, but right now, we need to talk about you and how close you came to dying today." Jack said, "I'm fine Dad, really, I was just shocked at his attack, that's all, it won't happen again." "Jack, you're not in trouble, but we still need to talk," Danny told him. "I knew the risks when I became a Deputy Fighter," Jack told him.
"No, you didn't, not really. Jack, do you think that you're the only person who'd be affected if you died?" Danny asked him. Jack's next argument died on the tip of his tongue. "Jack, if you died, I would never forgive myself. You weren't there when your Grandfather, the first Jack Fenton was killed. Your Grandma and Aunt Jazz cried for so long, and there are times that I still dream about it, and what I could have done to prevent it. You can't just throw away your life; that's not what being a hero is all about. You have to live, your life is important, you matter to people."
Jack thought back to his fight with Maximus of Rome, he had given up. He could have easily blocked that sword with his spear if he hadn't frozen. "Do you want to take a break from ghost fighting?" Danny asked his son. Jack looked up and said, "NEVER!" "Then you have to promise me to be more careful with your life from now on." Jack promised and then asked his Dad about Amity Park Children's Hospital.
Danny thought about it, he had to struggle to keep his pride off his face and out his voice. "I'll discuss it with your Mom tonight. Until you have our answer, don't even think of leaving the house for ANYTHING but ghost fighting. Even if we let you do this, you'll still be grounded." Jack was disappointed, but then thought, At least they're gonna consider letting me go out and help the kids.
Chapter 6
That night Danny and Sam discussed Jack's plan. "He can be so, confusing, at times. One minute he's pulling pranks, the next he's doing charity," Sam said. "Kind of makes me think about our freshman year, me playing pranks, you looking for the next cause to fight for," Danny said. Sam smiled, thinking about how she had tried to change Casper High. "But what about the Brotherhood of Humanity, they're willing to attack a Prom, just for two half-ghosts, and that was before they knew how strong the kids were. What if something goes wrong?" Sam worriedly said. "I don't think they would attack a Children's Hospital, only the worst of the worst ghosts would, and I'm pretty sure the Brotherhood wants to show they're better than ghosts." Danny said. Sam and Danny continued talking till about midnight before they reached a decision.
Jack woke up and did his usual routine, then went downstairs. His Mother told him, "We've talked it over; you can talk to Doctor Boothe today after you do your homework and set up a date for your visit. After that, you come home, unless you're needed somewhere. And just to make sure, you have to wear this on you while you're out of the house today." And she handed what looked like a wrist watch to him. Jack reluctantly put it on, knowing it was both a watch, and a tracking device. It could be worse, it could be a collar, Jack thought. Damon and he had been out later than Damon's curfew one time, and the next day Damon was wearing a tracking collar at school.
Jack got rid of these thoughts and hurriedly ate his breakfast and headed for the bus stop with Chloe and Jerry. They got on the bus where he told them his plans for the Children's Hospital and asked if they wanted in. Jerry and Chloe thought about it and Jerry said, "Nah, this is meant for you, bro. Obviously Doctor Boothe thinks you can reach these kids better than we can." "Jack thought about it and agreed. At school Jack could only wonder what he could do to help the kids, What am I going to do, raise money in a Telethon? Hand out autographs and pose for pictures? Jack forgot to take notes that day, but managed to pay attention to his classes enough to remember the important stuff.
Mrs. Gooring in Art was surprised at how early he was turning in his second picture. She looked and asked, "Is that Roger Wulfsson?" "Yeah, I figured that there's so much evil in the world that Bishamonten would always be angry, really angry. Roger can get pretty angry if you know the right buttons to push." Mrs. Gooring nodded and Jack left for the rest of his classes. That was the only part of the school day that really got Jack's attention.
After school Jack saw Luke Forge and Patrick Cornell talking. They saw him coming and walked off. I wonder what those two are cooking up for me; Jack thought then got on the bus. Chloe and Jerry were in different seats, same with Jack. It didn't matter to him, sometimes they all sat nearby or together, sometimes they didn't. Jack got off and headed for his room to get his homework done. He told Sam he was done, but she wasn't satisfied until she saw it with her own eyes. After seeing her son was done with his homework, she let him go to the Children's Hospital.
Jack decided to go there as Jack Phantom, and turned Ghost before leaving the house. He flew over lazily and saw the Hospital. He decided that if he was going to do this, he was going in as Jack Phantom the whole time. The Children's Hospital wasn't busy, and a lot of people got their phones out to take pictures of Jack when they saw him. Jack walked up to the information desk and asked where he could find Dr. Emily Boothe. The woman there was shocked to see him, but managed to give him the directions to Dr. Boothe's office.
The whole time he walked to her office Jack was reminded that he was a celebrity. What people didn't take pictures of him would look at him. Some people cheered as he passed by, others asked him to sign something. He signed a few casts of patients who were leaving, but that was it. He got to Dr. Boothe's office and the woman answered. She was small, about 5ft 2in tall and 100 pounds soaking wet, but Jack could see an inner strength that belied her small size in her eyes.
"Mr. Phantom, this is a surprise, I thought you would e-mail me or something." Dr. Boothe said. "I figured I wanted to meet you in person if I was going to do whatever it is you'd like me to do," Jack said as he stepped in her office. Dr. Emily Boothe looked at the ghost-fighter up and down, he was about six inches taller than her, he had the physique of a warrior, but his eyes looked very kind. It was shocking to her to see how young he was, given all the ghosts he had fought over the last three months.
"I got your letter and thought, this is something I can do to help people, without punching something," Jack said as he took a seat in front of the Doctor's desk. "I see. But, truth be told, I have no idea what I was thinking you could do, aside from fly and glow for the kids, sign autographs, and pose for pictures," Dr. Boothe said. "I've been thinking; muscular dystrophy takes away motor control, and the treatments these kids are getting here help give it back to them, right?" Jack said. Dr. Boothe nodded, and Jack continued "I was thinking, I'm a martial artist, I got all kinds of motor control and stuff, what if I give them a little demonstration, along with the posing and the autographs."
"That's a great idea; it'll give the kids something to look forward to when they leave here, seeing what someone not affected by muscular dystrophy can do will encourage them to keep going. OH! I have another idea, why don't we put them on a bus, and you can fly them around the city, a lot of them really miss their old homes, and it would do wonders for them to see them again." Jack was encouraged by this, and shook the Doctor's hand. Jack then took a piece of paper and a pen from her desk and wrote down a phone number, "Call me on this number if and when we're a go, okay?" Doctor Boothe took the number and said, "Thank you so much for this Mr. Phantom, you have no idea how much this will help the kids here."
Jack smiled, then went intangible and flew out her office. He flew around the Children's Hospital, waving at everyone he saw in the windows before leaving. He headed straight home, but halfway there his Ghost Sense went off. Jack looked around and saw Penelope Spectra sucking the joy out of some people on a roof. Jack flew over and punched her away. Spectra recovered quickly and said, "Back off, wannabe. You don't stand a chance against me." Jack formed two tonfa and said, "We'll see about that you old bat."
Spectra screamed in rage at the taunt, and fired a storm of ghost rays at Jack. Jack whirled his tonfa and deflected them all, then flew over and hit her with one, knocking her back thirty feet. Spectra recovered again quickly and charged forward. Jack blocked her first three punches, only to get kicked in the head and sent flying 100ft. Spectra followed up with some more ghost rays, hitting Jack hard. The half-ghost went invisible and flew around behind Spectra and whacked her as hard as he could with both tonfa, knocking her back 50 ft. He followed it up with a cross and an uppercut, sending Spectra flying straight up into the air.
Seeing his chance, Jack activated his Fenton Thermos and sucked Spectra in. Jack rubbed his neck, thankful that Spectra hadn't absorbed all the misery of the people on the roof. If she had been at full power, I'd be dead right now, he thought, then flew back home.
Chapter 7
When Jack got home he thought about which Kata and Kempos would most challenge him, to show the kids at the Children's Hospital what they can accomplish the best after their treatments were done. He figured out which ones he wanted to do after ten minutes and started practicing them all. Jack was sweaty when he came out of his room for dinner, but he was happy. Everyone saw he was happy, and he told them what he was going to do if Dr. Boothe could get the necessary paperwork done. They were all happy as well, and for the rest of the night nothing happened. After dinner Jack went back to his room to continue practicing, stopping at ten thirty exhausted and took a shower then went to bed.
The Fenton Family woke up that Saturday and went about their daily lives, except for Jack and Jerry because they were grounded. Jerry stayed in his room and worked on his Science project until noon, while Jack continued to practice, stopping only for lunch. Sam then suggested he take a break and clean up his room, it smelled like a cheap gym. Jack cleaned up his room and stopped practicing for the day; he had to be prepared in case he was called to fight ghosts.
An hour after he cleaned his room Jack's mic went off, "Delta Leader to Brawler, we have a Minotaur ghost rampaging through the quadrant, it's taking everything we got just to contain the damage, we need you, on the double." Jack went Ghost and flew off to fight the Minotaur. Jack saw the large half-bull ghost, and grabbed him by the horns, pulling it to the side. Every muscle in his body strained at the effort, this ghost was STRONG. The Minotaur grabbed Jack's leg and tripped him, making Jack let go. It then got on top of him to try to gore him with his horns, but Jack went intangible and its horns got stuck in the ground.
Jack got up and went tangible again to kick it in the head, ripping the Minotaur's horns off and letting Delta Squad capture the ghost. His phone went off and Jack answered, "Hello?" "Jack Phantom, this is Dr. Boothe, I pulled a lot of strings and we are a go, you can come over to the Hospital tomorrow, say around one o'clock in the afternoon?" "Sure thing Dr. Boothe, that sounds great, I'll see you then." The Doctor hung up and Jack headed off to his house, wishing he could go hang out with Damon and Odafin.
When he got home he told Jerry, Chloe, and Sam the good news. Sam was happy for him and made a big dinner for the whole family that night to celebrate the occasion. After dinner the kids went to their rooms, leaving Danny and Sam alone together in the living room. "I can't believe that he's going through with this. It seems like yesterday he was struggling to tap into his power, and now he's using it for charity." Danny said. "I told you those three were heroes," Sam said, her pride evident. "Jack may act tough, but inside he's the biggest softy you could meet. Jerry is the smartest kid in Casper High, but he's all heart. Chloe has nothing but love for people, even though she tries not to show it." "We raised our kids good Sam," Danny agreed, and then they went to bed themselves.
Saturday morning came, and Jack got up and practiced the Kata and Kempos he was going to do for the kids that afternoon. He stopped around eleven, and took a shower. Jack stayed in his room and tried to meditate until twelve thirty, then got up and went downstairs and flew out to go to the Hospital. All the kids were outside waiting for him. Jack flew down and acted heroic; the kids and their families cheered. Jack smiled and thanked them all for the introduction.
Jack then started the show for real. First he used empty handed techniques, going fast, and then slow, then fast again, thrilling everyone with his control and precision. He then created nunchaku and did everything he knew with them, Master Heidi would have been proud had she been there. He got rid of the nunchaku and started doing tonfa routines. He then made a staff and did his forms with the staff. He ended the show by doing everything he could all over again, this time as fast as possible. Jack looked like a black and green blur as he finished up, and the crowd cheered when he was done. Jack then went to meet all the kids in person, asking how they were doing, what their names were, what they wanted to do when they were done with their treatment and the like.
All the kids thought Triple Threat was the greatest team ever, and asked him about Jerry and Chloe, how cool they were, etc. He signed his autograph for everyone who asked, they all asked politely for his autograph. Jack then posed with the kids while their parents took pictures for the occasion. The kids all were so happy, and got even happier when Dr. Boothe told them that Jack was going to fly them around Amity Park. All the kids cheered, and got to the bus as fast as they could. Dr. Boothe walked up to Jack and said, "I can't thank you enough for this." Jack smiled and said, "I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing," then headed for the bus.
Jack checked that all the kids and parents were buckled in, and lifted the bus over his head easily. Jack then turned him, the bus, and all its occupants intangible and took flight. They flew around Amity Park for an hour, and it was the happiest hour of those children's lives. He flew everywhere and the kids would point out their houses to each other whenever they saw them. Jack felt happier than he had ever felt before; he knew that this trip had made a difference for these kids.
Suddenly, green energy appeared right in front of Jack's face. Jack dodged as fast as only a ghost could, and then looked around for its source. His Ghost Sense didn't go off, which meant only one thing. Another bolt of energy almost hit the bus, and Jack flew as fast as he could back to the Hospital. He dropped the kids off and yelled at Dr. Boothe, "Get everyone back in the Hospital now!" A third bolt hit him square in the side, knocking him back fifty feet. Jack Phantom flew up in the air in order to draw his enemies' fire. He saw five people wearing the black armor of the Brotherhood of Humanity and yelled, "HOLD YOUR FIRE, THERE'RE KIDS-" but the Brotherhood ignored him and continued firing.
Jack flew up higher, and then went invisible. The Brotherhood ceased fire, and pressed the sides of their helmets. Jack flew at them at top speed, kicking one of them away. The other four immediately fired. Jack flew off, but the Brotherhoods shots got scary close. They can see me, Jack thought, and formed a shield and became visible again. Jack deflected several shots back at the shooters and flew in closer. One of the Brotherhood's shoulders opened, releasing two green glowing mini-rockets straight at Jack. Jack grabbed them and threw the rockets as far from the Children's Hospital as he could.
The rest of them then activated their own rockets. There were too many for Jack to catch, and he didn't know what to do. Jack tried to fly in a zigzag but the rockets were locked on to him. Jack flew at top speed to avoid them, but the rockets were catching up to him. He then thought about his whole life, he knew he was going to die if those rockets hit, and the way they glowed told him that he couldn't phase through them.
He remembered all the stories he was told as a child about Danny Phantom. He remembered discovering his powers at five, getting better and better at using them as he got older. Complementing his powers by learning Shaolin Kempo Karate, eventually becoming a second degree brown belt, all the pranks he pulled, finding true friends in Damon and Odafin, going to the freshman Prom with Missy, every memory came flashing in front of Jack. "NOOOOOOO!" he yelled as the rockets overtook him. He couldn't die, he had too much left to live for, and he poured all his frustration, anger, and fear into his yell.
A GHOSTLY WAIL erupted from his mouth, destroying the rockets. The four remaining members of the Brotherhood of Humanity flew off after seeing the Wail. Jack let them go; he was too exhausted to follow. He instead floated down to the ground, landing on all fours. "Jack!" he heard Doctor Boothe yell. Jack concentrated, and barely kept his Ghost Form on. It felt like his body weighed fifty one tons, but he stood up and walked over to the Doctor. "Are you alright?" she asked him. Jack nodded and said, "Is everyone okay?" "They're fine, shook up, but physically they're fine. Who were those people?"
"The Brotherhood of Humanity, that's all we know. They hate all ghosts, especially half-ghosts. I hoped we had gotten them all, but I was wrong," Jack said. "Will they come back to hurt the kids?" Doctor Boothe asked. "No, they're after me, and only me." And Jack flew off, not wanting to risk anyone else's life. Halfway home, he felt weak, so weak, then blackness engulfed him.
Chapter 8
"Jack, Jack, oh God please, wake up." Jack woke up to see he was in his bed surrounded by his family. "How?" he weakly said. His Father told him, "Danielle was nearby and saw you turn human in mid-air and caught you before you hit the ground. You were unconscious and she brought you here. What happened to you?" Jack told them everything, and finished by saying, "I shouldn't have done it. I put those kids' lives in danger, just so I could be unique; set my own mark on Amity Park." "No, you couldn't have known that the Brotherhood would attack. We underestimated them, we assumed that they were scared of us and would wait before they attacked again. The only people who should be blamed are the Brotherhood of Humanity, no one else." Jack grunted, not entirely believing Danny. His family left him alone with his thoughts; nothing they said could help him.
Next week, Jack went to get his mail. He found letters from Amity Park Children's Hospital. He took them to his room, where he reluctantly opened them, and found that each one was a hand-made 'thank you' note. The kids all drew pictures of him; some showed him flying their bus around the city, others showed him fighting the Brotherhood of Humanity, or ghosts. One showed a kid as a Foley's Fighter, fighting an army of ghosts back to back with Jack Phantom. Jack Fenton felt a stirring in his heart. Jack Phantom was a hero; those kids at the Hospital looked up to him. I will keep fighting, I have to. No matter what happens, I won't let these kids down. He then went downstairs, wanting to show his family the pictures.