A HERO'S JOURNEY
Unknown-nin345: Welcome all ye readers of various ages to my first multi-chap Danny Phantom fic. This fic is going to start off right at the beginning of the first episode of the season but with a major twist: Jazz doesn't interrupt Danny as he confesses his ghostly half to his parents. I plan on keeping mostly to canon with this fic but note; I said 'MOSTLY'. There are going to be a couple changes that will have an impact on how the story progresses. With that said, let's get this fic on the road.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor do I own any other possible movies/actors/characters/books/cartoons/video games that might be mentioned over the course of the fic. (Unless they are OCs or made up movies/books/etc.)
Daniel 'Danny' Fenton was backed up against a wall, literally, as his ghost hunting parents drew closer and closer. Tiny beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as his parents came to a stop directly in front of him. The teen did his best to hide his currently invisible arm behind his back before his parents could spot it.
"Ghost located, thank you for using the Fenton Finder," intoned the small gadget in the hands of the man wearing the orange haz-mat suit. Both Maddie and Jack Fenton looked up only to spot their nervously grinning son. Silence engulfed the kitchen.
'Well, it was bound to come out at some point,' the black-haired teenager thought to himself. A deep breath helped to fortify his nerves as he started to speak, "Mom. Dad. There's something I have to tell you."
The two parents looked at each other in confusion before Maddie responded, "Of course sweetie, you know you can tell us anything." Jack gave a firm nod of agreement.
'Boy, I sure hope so.' "You know how a month ago, you showed me and Jazz the finished ghost portal but when you plugged it in, nothing happened?" After his parents nodded, Danny went on, "Well the next day I brought Sam and Tucker down to show 'em and Sam managed to convince me to go into the Portal to see if I could possibly fix it. When I went in, I wasn't paying attention to where I was putting my hands and I ended up pressing the 'on' button." He allowed his parents a moment to exchange a sheepish expression while, in the background, Jazz slapped her forehead in exasperation.
"Suddenly, this bright green light engulfed and all I felt was this burning sensation. The next thing I know I'm back outside the portal and Sam and Tucker are both leaning over me, asking me if I was okay. That's when I found out … well, it might be easier to show you." With that, Danny closed his eyes and gently willed his transformation.
Before the eyes of his family, a bright bluish-white circle surrounded Danny before it split into two circles, one traveling up while the other went down. When the circles disappeared, Danny stood there in his black haz-mat suit with white collar, gloves, belt, and boots. His smoky-black hair was now a luminous snow-white color and he opened his now bright green eyes.
Danny's eyes were glowing and not just literally. There seemed to be a confidence and power there that normally wasn't present with Danny. In fact (at least to Jazz's eyes), his whole posture had changed. Whereas before he would try to make himself seem invisible by shrinking in on himself; his stance was now firm and strong, unyielding as a mountain in the face of a storm.
After giving his shocked family a moment to adjust to his new appearance, Danny continued speaking, "I'm now half ghost and half human. I can fly, turn invisible, phase through solid objects, and I'm stronger and more agile in my ghost form. But I don't know yet if those abilities are all I've gained."
The rest of the Fenton family was silent before Maddie frowned and asked, "But why didn't you tell us sooner Danny?"
The ghostly teenager looked down at the ground as he answered, "I was scared. Between your 'Let's dissect every ghost we find' and Dad's 'Let's destroy every ghost we find' attitudes, what should I have done? Every time I ran through this conversation in head I would stop right after I told because I couldn't be sure how you would react. Would you try to destroy me? Put me through painful experiments to learn my physiology? Cure me?"
The way he said the last two words had Jack curious. "You mean you don't want to be a normal teenager again son?" the large man asked.
The white-haired teen shook his head in confusion. "I don't know Dad. Being normal just means I'd be some clumsy loser who gets picked on constantly at school by bullies while the teachers turn a blind eye. But with these powers I can help people. Ever since the day I got my powers, ghosts have been slipping through the portal into our realm." When he saw the expressions his parents were gaining Danny hurried to calm them down, "So far nothing really dangerous has come through, and it's just mainly been animal ghosts that aren't too smart. I've been able to beat them back through the Portal, but what if something stronger comes through? As it is right now I can barely control-" Danny was interrupted as the blue-white circles appeared around him, changing him back to his human form. "-my powers. You see? Without them I'm just your average teenager. And since we're not sure if any of your inventions will actually work against ghosts there wouldn't be anything I could do if a stronger ghost attacked."
"But why you Danny?" his mother asked. "You're just a teenager, you shouldn't be the one who has this kind of burden placed on your shoulders. Let someone else worry about fighting off the ghosts; your father and I aren't the only ghost hunters in the world after all. We'll get started on finding a way to turn you back into a full human."
As his mother continued to babble on about curing him, Danny closed his eyes and bowed his head in thought. Could he really just step aside? Let someone else bear the burden of protecting the town from ghost attacks? Suddenly a face appeared in his mind's eye and Danny felt resolve strengthen his will. Courage empowered his spirit and the half-ghost teen knew his answer.
"No."
Danny's eyes shot open to reveal twin resolute emerald orbs that shone with such an intensity that left his parents and sister speechless. Immediately after, Danny stood there in his ghost form as he seemed to exude a presence that filled the small kitchen.
"With this power comes a responsibility to do all I can to help people. Mom. Dad." He looked both his parents in the eye so they could see how serious he was about this. "I'm not going to do this because I want to be some sort of world-famous superhero; heck I'm not even going to do this because I think it'll make me popular with the kids at school. I'm choosing to do this simply because I do have the choice; because it will be what is right and not what is easy." Danny looked down at his clenched fists. "I know I won't be able to protect everyone. I know I won't defeat every single enemy I come across right off the bat. But one thing I do know is this:" Here Danny looked up as his eyes glowed brightly, "no matter how many times I get battered, beaten, and bruised; no matter how many times I break my bones or how much blood I shed; I will NEVER give up. I will NEVER stand aside. I WILL always fight on to protect every single person I can." Unbidden, a poem he had once read came to the forefront of his mind. "In the end, it won't matter how straight my gait, how charged with punishments my scroll. I alone am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
Silence once again engulfed the kitchen as the glow faded from Danny's eyes. The half-ghost teenager broke the silence with a muttered, "Gotta go to school." When he was halfway across the room the white-haired teen felt a hand on his shoulder. Danny turned, only to be engulfed by a hug from his older sister.
"I'm so proud of you," Jazz whispered before she released her brother and gathered up her things to head off to school. With one last pride-filled smile, Jazz left. Danny smiled himself before he grabbed his backpack and took off, turning intangible to fly through the wall.
Back in the kitchen of Fenton Works, both parents still stood where they had been; shocked by their son's passionate speech.
END CHAPTER
Unknown-nin345: Well there we go. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt right here was a good let off point. Think of this as a commercial break…only without the commercials (don't know whether that's good or bad). As you can see already I'm making some changes to Danny's character and there will be plenty more where that came from.
Disclaimer: the poem Danny's recalling is titled 'Invictus' by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). The actual last stanza goes like this:
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
As you can see, I changed it up a little bit.
Anywho…Review Please!