Notice: The story has been slightly altered as of June 30, 2005. It's nothing too noticeable; I just want it to fit with the current Danny Phantom timeline.
Disclaimer: All Danny Phantom related contents are property of Nickelodeon and Butch Hartman.
Paranoia by Net Strife
Danny Fenton was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one, he was afraid of his parents and their ghost-hunting gadgets. For another, he's friends with the most unwanted couple in school whom, despite their reputation, were very close to him. And he also happened to be part ghost.
It wasn't entirely his fault he became this way. Perhaps if his parents put the caution sign outside of the machine, then maybe he wouldn't be crime-fighting every so often. But that was the past, and he knew he couldn't change it. So here he was good ol' ghost-fighter Danny Phantom.
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Danny went down to breakfast the next morning to find the three Fentons already sitting around the kitchen table. His parents were studying their new invention while Jazz, his sister, relentlessly tried to persuade them that they were wasting their time. Typical. It's always the same every single day. Save for the ghost fighting of course. He shrugged and poured himself a glass of juice. Just as he reached for the cereal, his father let out a sudden yelp of joy. The machine his parents were working on was beeping. Not a good sign.
"Members of the Fenton family," his father beamed. "I present to you, the Fenton's Ghost Radar! This little device is based on the design of a compass, with a few minor adjustments of course. This here arrow leads us straight to the ghost's location. The louder the beep, the closer the ghost!" He flipped the small red switch underneath the machine and followed the spinning arrow. Danny slowly inched back as his parents came closer. Fortunately, Jazz once again, saved his day.
"Dad! Get that thing away from Danny!" She bellowed and turned towards her little brother. "You better go before they do something weird," she whispered.
"Um… right! I have to go now, so… I'll see you later?"
"But it's only seven-thirty! The bus doesn't arrive until eight," Mrs. Fenton pointed. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, mom, I'm fine. I just remembered that I have to… meet Tucker and Sam in the library right now!" Danny replied as he made his way to the door. "Jazz is driving me."
"I am?" Jazz looked questioningly at him.
"Oh, well if that's the case… have fun!" Maddie smiled as she watched the two bicker with each other as they left the house. Her smile disappeared, however, once the door shut. She turned to her husband. "You know, I'm starting to think they're keeping secrets from us."
"Who, the kids?" Maddie nodded. "Nah, they're just teenagers. They do that. Now, about the radar…"
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"Can't you at least drop me off by the school?" Danny pouted. "It's only five minutes from here!"
"Look, I never said I was driving you anywhere!" Jazz said from the car window. "Plus I already told you I had a class trip to the planetarium, and I'm supposed to get there on my own. With all these budget cuts, the school can't afford buses for little class trips anymore," she started the engine. "I have to go now. You better start walking if you want to get there in time. Chao!"
"Wait, Jazz!" But it was too late. Jazz had already left. "First she saves my butt from Mom and Dad, and now she ditches me for some stupid field trip." He sighed and looked at his watch. "Great, I'm late for the bus too."
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"Hey Sam, wait up!" Tucker panted as he dragged himself up the steep hill. "Geez, can you walk any faster?"
"Tut, tut Tuck. Maybe if you'd eat more vegetables you wouldn't be in such an embarrassing situation." Sam laughed. "I mean, look at you! You're becoming softer after every meal!"
"Haha, very funny." Tucker glared at her, but retreated soon after. "Hey look! Isn't that Danny?"
"Danny? It can't be. He takes the bus. Besides, he's not exactly an early riser." Tucker paid no attention. Hastily, he made his way toward the other boy. Sam, on the other hand, didn't see him leave. "So it- hey! Where did he go? Tucker! This better not be a trick!"
"Hurry up, Sam!" From a distance, the Goth could see her obnoxious friend speeding toward their ghost friend. She sighed to herself in a wrathful manner. "I'm so going to kill him," she swore.
Surely enough, Sam had her revenge minutes after she and Tucker met up with Danny. It's too bad they wasted their morning walk bickering amongst themselves, because no later did the bell ring.
"You're late again, Mr. Fenton." Vice Principle and English mentor Lancer said as they stepped into the building. "You and you're two 'friends' will be meeting again after school. It seems as though our janitor caught the flu and won't be coming back for a while," Lancer smirked. "We can't leave our school filthy, now can we?"
"No sir."
"Good. I'll be waiting for you three in detention." Mr. Lancer turned and left. The trio sighed.
"See, Tucker? If you weren't so stupid then maybe we wouldn't have to clean the whole school! Can't you do anything right?" Sam fumed.
"For your information, Samantha, you're the one who practically slaughtered me on the way here! Don't think you can shove all the blame on me!"
"I have every right to!"
"You guys!" Danny threw his hands in the air, realizing he wouldn't be able to stop them from killing each other. This day couldn't get any worse.
Or so he thought.
"Fenton!" Perfect. "Hope you're ready for some serious thrashing!" Casper High's star quarterback and future prom king, Dash Baxter, pounded his fist against his palm. This is going to be a very long day.
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Beyond the school's borders was a deserted chapel, long forgotten by the ones who once worshipped here. It was a sad story, how cruel these citizens were treated. For only so long were they able to live worriless, but slowly their spirits withered and died along with their bodies. But, even through all the paranoia, they wouldn't stop believing, so they buried themselves in this very chapel's cemetery.
For hundreds of years their souls were full of hatred. And finally, thanks to the idiotic man who created the ghost portal, they would have their revenge.
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Please try not to mind the shortness of this chapter! It was intended to be some sort of prologue. If you're going to review, please tell me some of the grammatical errors you see. I'd try myself, but sometimes it's hard to self-correct things. Anyway, you'll see in a while why I put drama as the genre. There might be some slight angst and romance material too. Summer vacation is coming in only a couple months, so I'll finish about one or two chapters before then. If not, then I'll do my best to update as soon as possible. Homework is definitely taking much of my writing time away!