"Mom? Dad? Are you down there?" Danny calls downstairs. He can see the lab door is open, so they should be able to hear him.

There's no response.

Danny sighs and rushes down the steps to make absolutely sure they aren't there.

He sticks his head into the large white room and looks around. Then, to be extra, extra sure, he ducks down and checks under the work tables. There's no sign of them. Thank Clockwork.

Danny didn't really expect to find them in the lab – they shouldn't even be in Amity Park – but it can be so difficult to pin his parents down. They're always showing up where he doesn't want them. And it's rare for Danny to get a break, much less one as lucky as this.

Just that morning, while Danny was chewing down a dry slice of toast and fighting off mutant bacon (courtesy of Mom's cooking), his parents had said they were going to Elmerton, and expected to stay the night. They were attending a conference about establishing an anti-ghost perimeter around Amity to try and keep the ghost activity contained.

Danny thought that was a great idea! And he told his parents exactly how great an idea it was for the rest of breakfast, and as he walked them to the RV. It wasn't often Danny encouraged his parents, and they were so happy that he was positive he got them to forget that single, tiny, bothersome detail, that might make them want to come home early, and not enjoy their conference to the fullest.

That small detail being: Jazz wasn't going be home. She was off getting a tour around Gotham University for the weekend. (Apparently Gotham was the place to be for the aspiring psychologist.) She had left that afternoon.

Which means only one thing:

Danny has the house to himself! And on a Friday night! How could the timing be any better?

Of course, Danny plans to be completely responsible. He's not that kid anymore, constantly trying to look cool, and join the popular kids. All that is beneath him.

Danny has moved on to much bigger things. But those bigger things include more responsibilities, and it has been forever since Danny has had time to just relax and have fun.

So just a small party. Over by midnight. 30 people, max. His parents will never know. He'll clean up as soon as possible, burn the evidence for good measure, and then toss the ashes into the Ghost Zone. Every cup, crumb and. . .

A sudden thought disturbs Danny. He narrows his eyes and tries to discreetly scan the room. His parents have been improving the home security lately, but they wouldn't have. . . no.

Danny decides to make sure.

Up in his bedroom, Danny flips his backpack upside down. Textbooks, crumpled up tests, and some candy wrappers pour onto the floor, but none of that is what Danny wants to find.

Confused, Danny looks inside the bag and finds the small, black and blue, pager-looking device, hooked on a loose thread. Danny grins and pulls it free.

It's a Justice League communicator. Batman gave it to him a month ago after he helped out with some wannabe necromancers in Gotham. It's not standard issue, seeing as he is not officially a member, but it's still pretty awesome.

Danny slides his finger over the engraved JL and tingles run up his spine.

Yeah, it's awesome.

And it's more than a communicator. Batman didn't get into everything it can do – not a talkative guy, Batman – but he did make sure to mention one trick: it can detect hidden cameras.

"Make sure you use it," Batman had said, his white eyes revealing nothing. "You never know who might be watching."

The League doesn't know about the whole Fenton-Phantom connection, but Batman might. Come to think of it, Superman might, too.

One time when Danny was in Metropolis, and he was helping Superman undo an enchantment that had turned some average photographer into a giant ferocious turtle-man, it seemed like Superman was trying to hint that Phantom should change his name. He kept suggesting replacement names like "Danny Spectre","Danny Ghoul," or, what seemed to be his favourite: "Ghostman".

Superman probably thinks Danny Phantom is too obvious, but what does he know? Superman doesn't even have a secret identity. And as far as the rest of the world thinks, neither does Danny Phantom. Nobody is going to guess that a dead teen and an alive teen are one and the same. They won't be able to accept it.

Except for Batman, of course. He can accept it. And Superman. But those guys aren't normal; they don't go to bed before facing weird, reality-breaking stuff way crazier than someone being half-dead, so they clearly don't count.

For the most part, Danny has stopped worrying about his secret id being outed by accident. As long as nobody spies on him, he can get away with one or two similarities to his alter-ego.

And speaking of spies. . . Danny pushes a few buttons on his communicator, trying to find the right setting. As soon as he finds it the communicator lights up, and starts beeping. Danny waves it back and forth and finds the beeping speeds up and slows down.

A camera detector. Cool.

At first it just leads Danny to the wifi router by his computer, but once he gets the hang of it, he finds a metal beetle, shaped like a certain fruit-loop's head, crawling behind his poster of Jupiter.

"Ugh. That's just creepy." Danny gags. "That man has got to get a hobby that isn't flirting with my mom, or messing with me." He picks it off the wall, and his hand ignites into an emerald flame. The bug melts, and liquid metal drips onto his skin. "Ah! Hot!" Danny runs to the bathroom and cleans himself off.

It's so strange how his powers work in human form. A blaze of ectoplasmic fire and he's fine, but a little hot metal and he's jumping like a frog on a stove.

He finds eight more bugs around the house (all modeled after Vlad's creepy little face) and he crushes them. Fortunately, Danny doesn't find any in his parents room. Seems like Vlad doesn't want to know what happens in there either.

Once he's positive he's not being watched, Danny jumps down on the living room couch. His camera detector is still beeping its little electric heart out, but Danny has searched everywhere, and it doesn't stop, even in rooms he has already cleared. He decides it must be sensing other electronics in the house and turns it off.

Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone to call Sam and Tucker and give them the all clear – the folks are gone, and it's time to party!

He calls Tucker first, and when he picks up the first thing he hears is, "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"What? Tell you what? Tuck, I called to tell you my parents are gone."

Tucker says something but Danny can't make it out. He's distracted by a horn blaring on the street, followed by a harsh screech, and a loud BUMP! sound, like a car had just mounted the curb.

There is only one person Danny knows who drives in such a violent, explosive manner.

"Tuck, I got to go. I'll talk to you later."

Danny peers out the window. Yup. He was right. Why does he have to be right?

Parked half on/half off the curb is the famed Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle. Or the RV, for short. The large chrome doors fly open, and out run Mom and Dad.

"Hi, Mom. Dad. What are you guys doing home?" Danny asks, sheepish. Dad bursts past him, yelling:

"Hi, Son! Can't talk. Gotta hurry!" he stampedes toward the kitchen and starts slapping together sandwiches as fast as he can.

Danny follows Mom, who is no less of a hurry than Dad. She races downstairs into the lab and pulls open a filing cabinet near the door.

"Hi, sweetie," she says. "We will just be a minute, and then we have to leave. Let Jazz know we might be gone for another day. I'll call if we have to stay any longer."

"What are you doing?" Danny asks, as Mom pulls out files, quickly glances them over, before tossing them on a pile. "Has something happened with the conference?"

Dad calls down that he's packed and ready. "Just take them all Mads!" he yells. "We can sort them on the way!"

"On the way where?" asks Danny, getting annoyed. He was the teenager around here. It was supposed to be him ignoring his parents, not the other way around.

"Oh, he's right," Mom says to herself, and she starts emptying the cabinet drawers. She hands Danny a pile and asks him to help her carry them. Once they have them all, she seems to remember that Danny has no idea what's happening.

"We just got the most shocking news," she says, in the tone of a woman who can't believe what she is hearing, and is deeply, incurably offended by it. "We were in Elmerton, but we just had to come back. Somebody has to do something!"

"What?" Danny asks, for the thousandth time.

"The Justice League! Superman held a press conference and announced that they were making that rotten ghost boy a member. Can you believe that!" Danny froze, and Mom pauses to look him in the eye.

Danny feels like he was just told the Box Ghost is the new Ghost King and that circles were outlawed. No, Danny couldn't believe Superman had invited Phantom to join the League. If he had, surely someone would have told him before announcing it to the entire world?!

"I know, honey," Mom says. She shifts her pile of files against her body so that she can reach out and squeeze Danny's shoulder. "He's got them completely bamboozled. But your father and I are going to go and testify about all the evil things he's done, and we'll make them understand."

Mom laughs lightly. "They're the worlds greatest heroes! But they don't know a thing about ghosts. Once they understand, they'll put a stop to that Phantom. He won't stand a chance. Once we've given the League the proper equipment of course."

Dad suddenly appears in front of them. "Hi, Danny!" he says cheerfully. "We're off to go see the Justice League! You and Jazz should come along! It'll be fun! Some good ol' Fenton family bonding!"

"Jack," Mom coos. "That's a great idea! You kids are always running into ghosts at school – you can testify!"

Danny stammers, and steps back. "Oh, I can't. I have. . Homework. And it's Sam's birthday tomorrow, and I promised that I'd. . uh. And Jazz isn't here, anyway, so someone should watch the house."

"Where's Jazzy?" asks Dad. Mom looks at Danny expectantly, but then she remembers.

"Oh, she's off seeing that college in Gotham. I forgot that was today, with all the excitement this morning." She turns back to Danny, with a stern look in her eye. "And Danny, I know for a fact that Sam's birthday is not tomorrow."

It has been a long time since Danny was caught in such an obvious lie. He blushes, and tries to push past it.

"Like I said, someone should watch the house. I can make sure nobody breaks into the lab. I know I just turned 16, but that's the same age Jazz was when you started leaving her in charge and – "

Dad cuts Danny off with a big, strong, belly laugh. "Son, we're not letting you stay here by yourself. You'd throw a party!"

"No, I wouldn't!" Danny shoots back, defensive. And he wasn't planning to. Not now, anyway. He has to go see the League and figure out just what they hell is going on, and maybe defend himself from his parents' accusations.

Mom starts laughing along with Dad. "Of course you would! That's exactly what you would do. Now come along. We have to get going. Go pack some clean clothes. And no dawdling!"

Danny goes up to his room and tosses some clothes into his bag. He looks at his communicator and considers making a quick call, but then his Dad yells for him to hurry up.

"This is going to be so much fun," Danny mumbles sardonically as he swings his half-zipped backpack over his arm and walks downstairs.


Unbeknownst to Danny, as he distractedly slumps down the stairs, a little blue bug crawls out from his back pocket and falls into the mess of his bag. Its red eyes flash in amused agreement.

"Yes, Daniel. For once, you are quite right. This is going to be so much fun."