A Danny Phantom fanfic again this one i promised to Stormy a while back.. when i wrote it down in the middle of the night XD she was on my case for not posting it after she betaed, but i think she has forgotten it already.

oh well, Will be DanXDanny, SOMEHOW! and SOMEWAY! because that was the only reason i started writing it XD

Beta: Stormy

Danny Phantom (c) Butch Hartman

Prologue

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*Time Out!* Clockwork pressed the button at the top of his staff, pausing time. Through a small, green portal he watched the mortal world freeze. It was a small bit of amusement to see people stopped in time, especially those caught in awkward situations. But time could never be stopped for very long. Sigh. *Time In!* He pressed the button again, starting time once more.

Clockwork sighed. He was bored. What was a master of time supposed to do for fun? Repair clocks? Boooring.

"You wouldn't be bored if you let me out, you know," spoke a deep growl of a voice.

Clockwork glared at the Fenton Thermos sitting on a table across the room, where the voice had come from. "I can't let you out," he nearly growled. As patient as a ghost he was- after all, he did have all the time in the world- this was not a light subject to fight over. "Doing so could completely knock the stream of time off course. You're not even supposed to exist anymore, much less be let loose upon an unsuspecting world."

"But only until you fixed it," the voice tempted. Clockwork had the power! All he had to do was uncap the thermos, and the ghost inside would be free to wreak as much havoc as he wanted until he was herded back into the infernal device once more.

Clockwork sighed heavily. It was always the same argument. "I don't exist to fix time! I exist to keep it moving steadily." What was the point of trying to explain to such a tiny brain the importance of his power to the space-time continuum? It never worked.

"And it has been steady for too long." The voice quieted for a moment. "Let me out, Clockwork." The ghost in question squeezed his eyes shut, trying to resist the cliché of rubbing his temple as a headache began to form. The voice was seriously starting to annoy the master of time.

"I'm really not in the mood to catch you again. I can't let you out."

"What if I said I'd changed?" the voice rang in an innocent tone.

Clockwork laughed deeply, holding his stomach as if it had been a really funny joke. Which to him, it was. As if the owner of the voice had really changed. "I wouldn't believe you. Obviously."

"But how would you know for sure unless you let me out to see?" Clockwork could almost hear the smirk that went with the tone.

The ghost began to think it over. He really was bored…and he really had been trying to convert this being to goodness instead of villainy… Such an abuse of his power, though. Was he really bored enough to do that?

…Yes.

Another sigh escaped his lips. "Okay," He hesitantly reached to the top of his staff. *Time Out!* He floated across the room and grabbed the thermos. "You get one chance." Slowly, uncertainly, he unscrewed the lid, allowing the ghostly entity within to escape. Immediately, it floated into a portal, bringing it to the present time. "Don't screw it up, Dan."

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