The Phantom Triplet's Choice

by chadtaylor020

Jack, Jerry and Chloe Phantom are fourteen now and trying to survive high school and being the half-ghost kids of Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom struggles as a member of Foley's Fighters, whose funding was cut in half last year by a new Mayor. Danny then gives his kids a choice, to join Foley's Fighters and help him defend Amity Park. Will they decide to become full time heroes?

Author's Note: Do NOT read the following story unless you have read Ultimate Showdown and Danny Phantom: A New Beginning first.

The Phantom Triplet's Choice

Chapter 1

"Give it up Fenton." Patrick Cornell told Jack Fenton. "Sure thing Pat, I'll make sure to give your girlfriend my number the next time I see her." Jack joked. They were the two best wrestlers of Casper High, and were currently wrestling to see who would become Team Captain. Patrick wasn't amused by the joke and pushed harder. Jack struggled to keep his back off the mat, if it got on there, Pat would win. "RRRRRR" Jack groaned, then he slipped out of the hold and reversed it, pinning Patrick to the ground. The team cheered as Coach Polson pulled the two freshmen apart and raised Jack's hand.

A bell rang, Gym was over and it was time to go home. Jack raced to the showers, cleaned himself off, then changed into his orange jumpsuit and headed for the bus. No one at Casper High thought it was weird for him to wear a jumpsuit, a third of the students did it to show how they thought that the Phantom's were cool. Danny Phantom was still protecting Amity Park, and started getting help from three new half-ghosts, Jack, Jerry, and Chloe Phantom, otherwise known as Triple Threat.

Jack headed for his bus where he saw his brother and sister. "So, are you the top gorilla now?" Jerry asked him. "That's Team Captain to you, String-bean. And yes I am." "Good job Jack," Chloe congratulated, but then regretted it as he gave them a second-by-second account of how he did it. He had just finished by the time the bus dropped them off, then they heard someone yell "HEEEELLLLLLLLLPPP!" The Fenton triplets ducked into an alley way where they yelled, "I'm going Ghost!"

Jack's jumpsuit turned black with green gloves, belt, and boots. Chloe's dress was replaced by black pants and shirt with red highlights. Jerry's street clothes turned into a white jumpsuit with sky blue boots, belt, and gloves and his glasses turned into sky blue shades. Their eyes glowed green and Jack and Chloe's black hair turned white while their blond brother's turned black. Triple Threat flew off to the source of the cry for help.

A crane at a construction site was falling apart; the cry for help was from its poor operator who was barely hanging on. Jack quickly grabbed the crane and pushed on it to keep it from falling any further, while Jerry used his freeze ray to keep it together and Chloe grabbed the operator and flew him safely to the ground. Chloe arrived and Jerry turned off his freeze ray, letting Jack put the crane back into its original position. Chloe then used a ghost-ray to weld it back together. They flew back, and the crane held in place. A small crowd that saw the whole thing cheered as Triple Threat flew off.

"Our adoring public," Chloe laughed, and her two brothers waved at all the people below them, especially the pretty girls. Chloe blew a kiss and ten teen guys fainted, thinking it was just for them. "Show off," her brothers said, and then they found a quiet alley and turned back to their human selves. It was close to home, so they walked. Their Mom and Dad were there, and reminded them about their homework before they could get into their rooms. An hour and a half later they were done with their homework and went out to go hang out with their friends.

Jack found Odafin Foley and Damon White outside his house, and jumped into Odafin's car. It sucked that he couldn't hang out with Odafin at school, but the older teen was two grade levels ahead of him and Damon. They zoomed all the way to the Arcade. Jerry and Chloe walked together a while until they reached Chloe's best friend Rachel Greene's house. Chloe walked in and waited with her Goth friend for the third member of their group, the ghost Roger Wulfsson. That left Jerry by himself to head over to hang out at the Nasty Burger with Louise and Dexter Fielding.

Chapter 2

Chloe and her little group hung out at Rachel's house for a little bit, and then went out to the bookstore to find some books on the occult. Chloe may have had her Dad's powers and face, but she had her Mom's personality. On the way there Chloe's Ghost Sense activated. Roger saw this and turned into a Wolf like ghost as befitted the son of Wulf. Chloe turned into her ghost form and just barely ecto-shielded Rachel from a ghost-ray. Roger pointed and howled at the ghost who attacked them.

It was one of Chloe's enemies, an artist ghost called Painter. Chloe had accidentally flown through one of his canvases, and he had never forgiven her. "Die, Philistine!" he yelled; then he painted another ghost-ray at her. Chloe dodged it and then flew up and gave Painter a taste of her Ecto-energy ball. The green energy sent him flying back, right into the claws of Roger. Roger clawed away his paintbrush, but Painter ducked then kicked him away, "That's one angry artist!" Rachel yelled. Chloe flew up and kicked Painter straight up into the sky, and then sucked him into her Fenton Thermos. Roger flew over and turned into his human form.

"Remind me again why that guy hate's your guts." Roger said. "I accidentally flew through this giant painting he made in the Ghost Zone. It looked just like the rest of the Ghost Zone, so I didn't realize what had happened until after I was covered in green paint." "I'd hate to see how mad he'd get if you did something on purpose." Rachel said. No more ghosts arrived, so the three teens headed for the book store.

While this was happening, Jerry and his friends were debating over whom among Danny Phantom's enemies was the deadliest. Jerry was saying it was Pariah Dark, while Louise said that it was Dark Danny. Dexter was neutral, and his best friend and twin sister were trying to convince him they were right. "Pariah Dark sent Skulker, Ember, Walker, and a million other ghosts running with their metaphorical tails between their legs." Jerry said. "But Dark Danny had all Danny Phantom's powers, and attacked Amity Park twice, once in an alternate reality where he destroyed it, and again here fourteen years ago." Louise argued. Danny Phantom released all his files on ghosts and the Ghost Zone when he became a permanent member of Foley's Fighters.

"Danny Phantom had to use the Ecto-skeleton just to seal Pariah Dark in a-" Jerry got no further when a green fire-ball crashed through the window behind them. People ran out of the restaurant as fast as they could while Jerry turned ghost. He flew up and saw his worst enemy, Pyromancer. He thought he was the strongest ghost in the Ghost Zone after Pariah Dark until Jerry proved him wrong. The fire-mage ghost saw his enemy and threw another fireball towards the Nasty Burger. Jerry used an ice ray and extinguished it before it hit.

"Chill out," Jerry Phantom said, and then he blew ice breath on his enemy. Pyromancer yelled in pain; then sent three fireballs Jerry's way. Jerry dodged the first two then used an ice shield to block the third. Pyromancer tackled him, but then let go of him when Jerry covered himself in a -60 degree Celsius aura. Jerry's eyes glowed as he kicked his opposite enemy away, and then froze him solid with a powerful Ice Wave. Jerry sucked him in then left the Nasty Burger with his two friends, it would take a while for their favorite hangout to be operational again.

While his siblings were busy fighting, Jack was busy impressing some girls at the Arcade by breaking the record at the newest Virtual Reality game, "Phantom Fight." It let the player assume the role of Danny Phantom when he first started fighting ghosts 24 years ago. He was on the final boss, Undergrowth, on Impossible difficulty. No one had gotten that far before. He was one virtual ghost ray away from beating the game and making a new World Record when all of a sudden all the lights and games in the Arcade went out. "AW, COME ON!" Jack griped.

He used the confusion to go ghost and phased through the wall to see who had ruined his game. It was an electrical ghost called Gigawatt. He was an electrician ghost that was just as muscular as Jack, but unlike him could wield electricity. Jack was too ticked off to bother with the witty banter, and instead poured his ectoplasmic energy into his fists and punched him a mile away. Gigawatt saw that he was going to get it this time, and sent three bolts of electricity at the Arcade. Jack saw this and flew back to rescue some people who were still in the building, then flew straight for Gigawatt, his eyes glowing an angry shade of green.

He then made a large ectoplasm sword and swung to kill. Gigawatt blocked it with his own electrical sword. Jack and Gigawatt traded blows, both of them equally skilled. Jack then switched to fighting one handed and formed another sword with his left hand. Gigawatt couldn't do that, so he blasted another bolt at Jack. Jack deflected it back at his enemy, and then followed up with two sword blows, one to knock Gigawatt's sword out of his hand, the other to chop Gigawatt's head off. Gigawatt fell to the ground where the now disembodied head complained, "You always were a pain in the neck, Jack Phantom." Jack just glared at him and sucked him into his Grandfather's Fenton Thermos. He had made sure that any ghost fighting equipment he used was his hero and namesake's.

Chapter 3

While his kids were battling their enemies, Danny Fenton led Beta Squad into battle against a giant Minotaur ghost. He had become Beta Squad's Leader after Dashiel Baxter was promoted to Commander of Foley's Fighters two years ago. Beta Squad pounded the Minotaur, dodging his club blows and head butt charges. "Mayor Briggs sure creamed us last year," one of Beta Squad commented. Tucker was beaten last year by the current Mayor of Amity Park Samuel Briggs. One of the first things he did was cut Foley's Fighter's funding, cutting squad size to four active members and eight reserves.

Danny didn't comment, he instead fired his Spectro-blaster straight into the ghostly Minotaur's eye, making it stop long enough for one of his squad to suck it into a Fenton Thermos. Danny's Ghost Sense flared, and he turned into Danny Phantom. He barely dodged a blast from his old enemy, Skulktech. But he was different this time, slimmer and more aerodynamic. "Call us Skulktech 3.0," the ghost cyborg said, he then rocketed over and punched Danny back four miles. He was a lot stronger than last time, but so was Danny. Danny flew at top speed and landed a punch that sounded like thunder when it hit.

Danny followed it up with an icy blast. Skulktech 3.0 dodged it and blasted a rocket at Danny. Danny caught the rocket and threw back at his face. Skulktech recovered before Danny could follow it up with a kick and punched him back. Beta Squad responded as soon as their Leader was clear and blasted away, making Skulktech dodge as fast as he could. Danny commanded them to stand down then unleashed a Ghostly Wail. Skulktech 3.0 couldn't dodge this attack and while he was recovering Danny sucked him into his Thermos.

"You okay, boss?" one of his Squad asked. "I'm fine, Hatcher. I was just a little surprised that Skulktech went lean and mean instead of big and bad like he usually is." Danny told him. Their job done, Beta Squad went into their RV and drove back to HQ.

An hour later the three Fenton kids stormed into their house with angry looks on their face. "What happened?" Sam asked her kids. She remembered her and Danny going home with similar looks when they were 14. It usually meant that something had gone wrong at either school or ghost fighting. Her three kids looked at each other then Jerry spoke up. "I was at the Nasty Burger with Dexter and Louise when Pyromancer showed up and blew the one of the walls off. I got him but, still. Its gonna be a week before the Nasty Burger's open again."

Chloe spoke next, "Roger, Rachel, and I were heading for the bookstore when Painter attacked. Roger got hurt, and now I'm not sure if I can hang out with Rachel anymore without her getting hurt too." That left Jack, "I almost made the World Record at Phantom Flight. THE-WORLD-RECORD. But then Gigawatt showed up and ruined everything, both my game and the Arcade." Sam was concerned when she heard about Roger and asked Chloe, "Will Roger be okay?" "He was fine when I last saw him, but Rachel almost got a ghost-ray to her face." She told her Mom.

All the kids looked dejected, so Sam told them, "Back when your Dad and I first started fighting ghosts, we had days like this too." The kids looked at her, a little shocked. None of the stories they were told talked about this. "Your Dad would get so angry sometimes at all the ghosts he was fighting that his eyes would flash green even when he was human. There were times when I got frustrated too, we would be on a date when a ghost appeared and ruined it. You'll have days like this kids, but they won't last forever."

Jack, Jerry, and Chloe were a little less depressed when they learned that even their famous dad had his bad days. "The Nasty Burger will be back. It's taken a lot of damage since it was first built, and it's never been closed permanently. There will always be new arcades and new records. You can't think about what could've happened. Your Dad and I could have died a million times since he first became a hero, but I never think about it. Everything is okay as long as no one got hurt, right?"

Jack, Jerry and Chloe's dark mood lightened after hearing this, and they all said "Right" at the same time. Sam smiled at this; it had been a long time since they had spoken in sync. The three teens went up to their rooms. Sam smiled to herself, remembering how much her kids had changed since their birth. Jerry looked like her Father, but was built like Danny at 14 and the top student at Casper High. Jack looked so much like Danny's Father and had Danny's good heart, and Chloe reminded her of herself at 14, she had the same attitude and sense of style.

Danny Fenton arrived home an hour later looking tired. "I swear sometimes I wonder what the hell Briggs was thinking when he cut the Fighter's funding." Sam understood his anger, she was one of the people let go because of the budget cut. "That bad?" Sam asked. "We had to fight this Minotaur ghost; I had to shoot it in the eyes before it went down. Then Skulktech arrived leaner and meaner than ever before. Seriously, if anything major happens, the Fighters won't stand a chance." Sam thought for a minute then said, "This may be it, Danny." Her husband looked at her, shocked at what she was suggesting. Then his ghost Sense went off and he spoke loudly, "All eavesdroppers will be grounded for the next seven months." Jerry showed himself and floated back to his room. "We're serious," Sam said, and then Chloe and Jack appeared and went back to their rooms too.

Seeing no other option, Danny went intangible and overshadowed Sam to speak with her psychically. "Do you seriously want to put our kids in danger?" he asked her. "No, I never want to see them in danger. But, we don't have a choice in the matter. They are the children of Danny Phantom, it's in their blood to protect and save people who need them." She said. Danny sighed and said, "I know, I just don't want to put them in the same fire we went through. There were so many times that we should have died," Sam put her finger on his mouth and said, "But we didn't die, we lived, and had three beautiful children. We can't stop them from doing this; you yourself told me it was their destiny to save the world."Danny sighed then came out of his wife's body. For the rest of the night, no one in the Fenton family talked.

Chapter 4

The next morning was a Saturday. But Danny none the less woke up his kids early in the morning. They didn't bother changing into clothes, it was Saturday after all. The kids looked cranky, but listened to their Father and followed him into the living room. Sam was there too, with a concerned look on her face. That woke the kids up better than any loud noise possibly could. They all sat on the couch, while their parents stood in front of them.

"Jack, Chloe, Jerry," Sam began, "you have made us both so proud. You have grown up to be so powerful, but so much more kind. Now, you have a choice to make." Danny cleared his throat and said, "As you've no doubt heard, Mayor Briggs cut the Foley's Fighter's funding. This has left a gap in Amity Park's ghost defenses. So far, we've been able to keep things mostly under control, but we're spread too thin to fight off a major attack, if one happens. For this reason, I have to ask you all to decide if you want to become Deputy Members of Foley's Fighters." Chloe, Jerry, and Jack's eyes nearly popped out of their skulls when they heard this.

Them, Foley's Fighters? They started to wonder if this was a prank, but the serious looks on their parent's faces killed that idea. "Before you decide, I am going to tell you all the good things and bad things that have happened to me since I became a ghost fighter."

Danny took a deep breath and said, "I was always struggling with my grades, and in my senior year in High School I almost failed. The only people I could hang out with were Tucker and your Mother who knew my secret. I always struggled to protect my family before they knew, and I had to fight more ghost hunters than you can imagine over the years, even after I became a hero in the eyes of most of the world. I was beaten, blasted, cut up, burned, and even blown up once. If it wasn't for my ghostly DNA, I wouldn't have survived half of the injuries I sustained.

"But, I also gained much. In 24 years I have had more adventures than 2400 people combined can have. I learned the value of true friendship. I discovered who I truly am, something that most humans and ghosts have struggled their whole lives to find, but never discovered. And finally, I married your Mother, and had three of the best kids that anybody could ever have."

The kids had tears in their eyes as they realized what Danny was offering them. He was offering one of the greatest gifts and one of the greatest burdens that a person could have. If they chose this path, there was no going back for them. If they accepted this responsibility, they would go through Hell itself for people they would never know. Before, all the ghosts they had fought had sought them out, and only come at them one at a time. If they joined Foley's Fighters, they would risk their lives, and fight impossible odds every day.

"You don't have to decide now." Sam quickly told them, "but, you need to answer by Monday at the latest. You must decide whether you want this by yourself, no one not me, not your father, not your siblings can make this choice for you. Each of you, individually, must make this decision." For the next hour no one talked while Danny made breakfast for his family.

After breakfast, Jack got dressed and headed off for the dojo to continue on his Shaolin Kempo Karate training. He was a brown belt now, and his instructor Master Heidi Grouser told him that he was only one test away from becoming a black belt. Jack struggled to pay attention to his lesson, his mind wrapped up in his father's offer.

Chloe went to her room after breakfast and called Roger and Rachel to tell them. Roger thought that it was a tremendous honor that she was receiving; and that she should march down and accept it that second. Rachel on the other hand told her that she was too young to join, right now. She still had High School to deal with, and chasing ghosts every day could kill her. "Your Dad even told you that he got blown up once. What if that happened to you?" Rachel said. That led to her two friends arguing over what was the right path for Chloe, which was only stopped when she loudly demanded that they change the subject.

Jerry went back to his room to get dressed, and then turned ghost and flew off. He flew slowly around Amity Park, absorbing all the sights he saw. Eventually, he found himself at the Fallen Fighter's Memorial. It had been dedicated four years ago to honor the memory of the first generation of Foley's Fighters field agents who had given their lives to defend Amity Park from Dark Danny. It showed eight bronze men and women, back to back in poses that could only mean that they were fighting. In the center was a miniature model of Amity Park. Jerry looked into the statue's faces.

The bronze smith had done a good job; each face looked like it would blink at any moment. They all showed mixtures of fear, anger, courage, desperation, and strangely, hope. Jerry floated down and saw the list of names of all 115 people who had died to protect their city. Jerry slowly read them all, wondering what their last moments had been like. What were they thinking? Who were they thinking about as they fought and died? Jerry thought he saw a familiar name and looked back at the list. He found the name, Lieutenant Jacob Fielding, Kappa Squad's Leader; Dexter and Louise's father. Jerry felt tears in his eyes as he flew away.

Chapter 5

Jack was still confused when he left the dojo. He didn't know what else to do, so he ducked into a port-a-potty and turned ghost. He then turned invisible and flew out to Amity Park Cemetery. He was still invisible as he walked over to the grave of his grandfather, the first Jack Fenton. He thought of all the stories his parents and Grandma told him about the man. He was clumsy, absent-minded, and oafish. He was also genius, brave, and honest.

He also imagined what it must have been like for him as he fought and was killed by Dark Danny. Neither his parents nor Grandma told him how his namesake died, so he found out himself. He did a little investigating on his own and with help from Odafin found out that the first Jack Fenton had gone down swinging, like a hero. He wish he knew what his last words were, his father's report on it said that he didn't hear what his father had said before his neck was broken. All he heard was Dark Danny's response, "I doubt that." Those were the last words the first Jack Fenton heard.

The younger Jack Fenton looked at the grave. It was a simple marble cube, three feet tall, carefully cleaned and maintained. Carved into it was a likeness of his Grandfather's smiling face, his name, his date of birth and death, and below the dates were the words, "Beloved Father, Husband, and Grandfather". Jack looked into the eyes of the likeness and said "If you had a choice, would you have done it the same way?" He looked at it for a few minutes, as if expecting an answer. He got no answer and flew away.

Jerry was in turmoil inside as he rang the bell to his friend's house. He needed to ask them this question, but how much would it hurt Dexter and Louise to be asked it. He barely kept his face under control as Mrs. Fielding answered. "Jerry," she happily said, "Dexter and Louise are in Louise's room checking their Science Project." "Is this a bad time?" Jerry asked her. "Not at all, those two have been busy for so long, I think they'd enjoy a little distraction." Mrs. Fielding told him, and let him in.

Jerry's feet felt like they weighed twenty tons as he walked to his best friend's room. Louise and Dexter looked up from their laptops and said "Hi." Jerry weakly returned the greeting, and then Dexter asked, "Are you feeling okay, man?" Jerry sighed and told them about the choice that his parent's had given him. The twins were in shock, but then Jerry asked, "I don't know how to decide. I looked at the Fallen Fighter's Memorial and saw your Dad's name on it. Why didn't you tell me he was Kappa Leader?" Louise got mad and said, "It was none of your business Jerry, that's why." Dexter put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Who our father was meant nothing, he was dead when we were born. Why are you here talking about him?"

"I need your help to decide whether to join Foley's Fighters. I want to know, do you think your father's sacrifice worth it?" Jerry told them, expecting they would both yell at him. Dexter looked at Louise, who said tearfully, "We asked Mom that question the day of the Memorial's dedication. She looked at us sadly, and said that it was worth it, that our Dad had died saving everyone. She took us out for ice cream and then to the Fair. That night, we woke up and heard her sobbing in bed. Was it worth it, Jerry? No, I don't think it was."

Jerry saw the pain he had caused his friends and left. "Why are you leaving so soon?" Mrs. Fielding asked, "I was almost done with a batch of snicker doodles and was going to give you kids first dibs." Mrs. Fielding's snicker doodles made Grandma Fenton's cookies taste like mud by comparison, and that was saying something. "No thanks, Mrs. Fielding, I just remembered that I have my own Science Project to work on." Jerry excused himself and left, sorry that he had asked the question.

Chloe was confused as she flew over Amity Park, going nowhere really. She had always enjoyed flying, the wind in her hair, flying circles around birds, she felt truly free when she was flying. This time however, she didn't enjoy herself. She had hoped that flying around for a little while would help clear her head, but after two hours it was clear that it wasn't working. Suddenly she heard a cry for help and saw a family being attacked by three ectopuses. Chloe flew down and kicked the first away she then blasted the other two ectopuses away. As she flew away she heard the Father of the family say, "Thank you, Miss Phantom." Miss Phantom was the name that some people called her.

That man's words helped her decide her course. Chloe flew back to her house then went to her Mom. "I know what I want to do." She told Sam. "You don't have to tell me, Chloe. You need to tell your Dad as soon as he gets home." Chloe nodded then went back out to find Rachel and Roger and tell them her choice.

Chapter 6

Jerry didn't know what to do with himself after leaving the Fielding's house. He flew home and stayed in his room for awhile, then heard his sister arrive. "I know what I want to do." She told their Mom. Jerry was shocked, it took Chloe forever just to decide what socks she was going to wear, but with a three day deadline she had decided in only... four hours?! Jerry was shocked that Chloe had so quickly decided the course of her future and was even more confused about what he would decide.

Jack came home around noon for lunch, and then went into his room to train. He practiced and practiced and practiced every technique, combination, and Kempo he had in his arsenal. He only came out of his room, sweating like a pig, for dinner. It was another quiet meal until Chloe finished her meal and turned to Danny, "I want to join Foley's Fighters," she told him. Jack froze in the middle of putting his food in his mouth, she had decided already?! He thought to himself. Danny looked his daughter in the eyes and said, "Are you prepared to give everything to protect Amity Park?"

Chloe looked back at him and said, "I am." with all the conviction that a ghost could possess. Danny grinned at his daughter, pride and fear struggling to show in his eyes. Sam hugged her, and then the Fenton's went back to eating their dinner. That night Jack struggled to sleep, and then he heard a cheerful voice say, "Wake up son, we don't have all night to sleep." Jack woke up and looked into the smiling face of his Grandfather.

The younger Jack Fenton rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. His Grandfather was still there. Jack then pinched his arm hard enough to bruise himself. He wasn't dreaming; he was being visited by the ghost of the first Jack Fenton. A million questions tried to come out of his mouth at once, until Grandpa Jack said, "What's the matter boy, you got a mouth full of fudge or something?" the younger Jack swallowed and said, "How? Why haven't you visited one of us before? Why me why now?"

"I don't really know what happened. I remember waking up in light, and a voice told me that I could become a ghost forever, or receive eternal rest. I was tired, more tired than I ever realized before, and told the voice I wanted rest. The next thing I know I was happy, and it felt like I was happy forever. Then my gut told me that I was needed here. And here I am." Grandpa Jack told him. "I'm-" "Half-ghost, I know, and now you're not sure if you want to follow in Danny's footsteps and be a full time superhero." Grandpa Jack finished.

"Can you help me?" Jack asked him. "I cannot decide for you, all I can do is answering your question and hope that that will make it easier for you. If I had a choice, I wouldn't have done it the same way. I would have spent my last two days making sure that everyone knew how much they mattered to me, and then I would have still gone to Fenton Works." Grandpa Jack said. "But you died when you went back there!" Jack told him.

Grandpa Jack looked at him and said, "Yes, I did, but I fought long enough for Danny to arrive and see that Dark Danny could teleport. Because of this, he was ready for it and defeated Dark Danny." Jack thought about this and found he had to agree with his Grandfather's ghost. "I have done what I came here to do, and I have a gut feeling that this is my last hurrah in the human world. Do me two favors, Jack. Always trust your gut, and the next time you see Maddie, give her a kiss for me." "I will," Jack said, and the ghost evaporated away.

The next morning, the first thing that Jack did was go to his father and tell him, "I am ready to join Foley's Fighters." Danny looked at his son long and hard. "Are you prepared to put other people who you will never know ahead of yourself?" "I am ready, Dad." Jack told him. Jerry heard this conversation and started to question himself. His sister and brother had already decided that they were ready to be heroes, so why couldn't he? His head told him that he shouldn't, but his heart told him that it was his destiny to join. Jerry didn't know what to do.

Chapter 7

Jerry was silent when he got breakfast. His family let him brood; it wasn't much of a mystery of what he was brooding over. After breakfast he went to Louise and Dexter's house. He apologized for the old wound he had opened up yesterday and left to go see Old Man Paul at the park. Old Man Paul and he played chess in the park on Sundays, and Jerry still hadn't beaten him. Jerry had beaten computers of all shapes and processing power, but he just couldn't beat Old Man Paul.

Paul started the game as soon as he got to the park, and talked while he was playing it about all sorts of things. That was another reason Jerry came to play against Old Man Paul, he always had stories to tell him about life. Today he was talking about the war in Vietnam. Paul had been a member of the Marines, and it had been his job to clear away the jungle. Then all of a sudden, he stepped on a landmine and was knocked out. He woke up in the hospital with a splitting headache, no leg, and a man shaking his hand and giving him a purple heart.

"Was it worth it?" Jerry couldn't stop himself from asking that question. "Some people would say that it wasn't, seeing as how we lost that war and all." Paul told him. "But I know, in my heart of hearts, that it was worth it, at least for me. I met my wife in that hospital, and we had forty seven years of happiness together."Jerry remembered all of Old Man Paul's stories about his wife; he made her sound like a saint.

"I can see that that was no idle question, Jerry. You have a big decision to make, and you're not sure what the right decision for you is." "No, I was just curious, a-a history assignment I got said we had to ask people who survived in a certain decade and-" Old Man Paul looked at Jerry and said, "Don't insult my intelligence Jerry, it doesn't suit you. I may not be legally allowed to drive anymore on account of my old eyes, but I can see when you have troubles, Jerry Phantom."

Jerry was shocked; he had never told Old Man Paul or anyone outside of his family and close family friends about his powers. "How did you know?" Jerry whispered. Old Man Paul got a mischievous look in his eyes and said, "I looked for the signs. I always try to figure out the personality of the people I play chess with, its how I've stayed undefeated for the last 15 years. You, Jerry, have a 'heroic' personality. You believe that it is your responsibility to protect everything that you can, as if you were Jesus Christ or something."

"Can you keep this secret?" Jerry asked the old man. "Of course I can, a man doesn't live as long as I have unless he can keep a secret. And, this is my opinion; I think that you need to stop following your head if you want to decide the answer to your problem, and instead listen to your heart. You have a good heart, Jerry, listen to it and you'll never go wrong." "Checkmate," Jerry said. Old Man Paul looked at the board and said, "It's just like I told you, listen to your heart and you'll never go astray."

Jerry and Paul shook hands and Jerry promised he would be there same time same place next week. "I'll put you back in your place then," Old Man Paul promised as he waved goodbye. Jerry ducked into an alley and turned into his ghost form, feeling as free as a bird. Then suddenly he heard a voice yell for help, and headed straight for it. The Box Ghost was bothering a warehouse owner. Jerry heroically flew up and said, "Freeze, Box Ghost." The Box Ghost was not intimidated by him and said, "The Box Ghost freezes for nobody!"

"That's what you think." Jerry Phantom told him then froze him solid with an ice-ray. The warehouse owner practically yelled "Thank you thank you thank you!" Jerry sucked the Box Ghost into his Fenton Thermos. "Just doing my job citizen." Jerry told the grateful man, and then flew off to tell his parents his decision.

Chapter 8

Jerry was about to tell them his decision when Jack, Jerry, Chloe, and Danny's Ghost Senses all went off. They flew out of their house, Sam flying with them in her Ghost Peeler. Before them stood a horde of weaker ghost, so many that they looked like a green wave. Danny blasted away with a Ghostly Wail, while Sam shot her Peeler as fast as she could. Chloe and Jerry let loose with their respective rays while Jack charged headlong into the horde, two swords flashing in his hands.

For the next hour the Phantom family fought their hardest, none of them daring to get tired. Suddenly, the last ghost was defeated. They looked around and saw that in spite of all the ghosts, there was relatively little property damage, and people were coming out of their houses. Sam looked at her kids, pride at how well they fought all too evident in her face, "Are you sure that you want this?" she asked them. Jerry, Chloe, and Jack looked at each other and said in sync, "Yes."

The next day after school, Jack, Jerry, and Chloe Phantom flew over to Foley's Fighters HQ. Half of the city of Amity Park was there to see Triple Threat become permanent heroes. The three teenagers stood on a podium where on the other side stood the commander of the Foley's Fighters, Dashiel Baxter. They walked toward him, stopping in front of a microphone. Dash raised his right hand and Triple Threat did the same.

"Do you swear to protect this city of Amity Park from all ghostly threats to the best of your abilities?" he asked them. "We swear." Triple Threat answered in sync. "Do you swear to put the lives of all her citizens ahead of your own?" "We swear." "Do you swear to protect your fellow Fighters and to put their wellbeing ahead of your own?" "We swear" "Will you obey all of your superior's orders, no matter what they are, as long as they do not threaten your personal honor or needlessly put the lives of your fellow Fighters in danger or the lives of Amity Park's citizens?" "We so swear," Triple Threat answered.

"Then by the authority invested in me by our great city, and as the Commander of Foley's Fighters," Dash walked over to each of them, "I give you these badges and ear-mics, and with them hereby recognize you, Chloe Phantom, you, Jack Phantom, and you, Jerry Phantom, as Deputy Members of Foley's Fighters." The assembled crowd burst into a raucous applause, every one of them filled with hope, knowing that their city was now protected by four of the greatest heroes to ever live, the Phantoms.

Triple Threat waved at the crowd, then their ear-mics sounded, three giant ectopuses were spotted at Delta Quadrant. The now deputized team known as Triple Threat flew off, ready to take on anything the world threw at them.