CH. 1! I am so excited for you guys to read this. This is the endgame for the series. Better buckle up, because trust me, there will have plenty of bumps along the way. Thank you for coming along on this wonderful journey with me as we discover just who Danielle and her family really are as characters and the stories they hold. It's been one hell of a ride. Without further ado, I give you: The Ties That Free Us. Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Nickelodeon does.

Summary: Five years of peace. Something that Danielle never knew that she could have. But as the years passed, Danielle realized she wanted one thing: To pave her own path and the choices ahead. One filled with ghost fighting and the glory that came with it, the other a normal life with family. Which one would she choose? A life of living up to her dad's legacy and the burden that comes with it, could she even live up to that? Or does she want a life that she was denied the first two years of her life? So many choices, so little time. But then all her questions and fumblings in her head were put to a halt.

He returned. "Suprised I'm back?"

Danielle sighed, giving a long roll of her baby blues. "Surprised? Nah, not really. Annoyed? Definitely."

"I'm gonna need you to stop the traffic light on Elm and Maple."

No answer.

"Aunt Jazz?"

No answer.

"Aunt Jazz!"

Her voice finally tore through the intercom. "Yeah yeah, I'm programming it as we speak. You are such your father's daughter. I don't have to do this, you know."

Was she serious right now? They were literally in the middle of a high-speed chase, and she chose now to be in a cranky mood. Danielle knew wedding planning was a hard job to do, but her parents weren't so stressed when they did it. Then again, they had a wedding planner, but Aunt Jazz had insisted that she and Uncle Roy did the whole thing with the family members' opinions weighing them down, even though Nana and Papa Manson said they would happily pay for a planner.

With her anger seething under the surface, Danielle did her best to remain calm. But she knew it broke through some. "This is your job, or at least part-time!"

"Then I don't get paid enough."

That's it, I'm talking to uncle Roy about this. Sighing, she patted the D on her chest off, ending the conversation. Rolling her eyes, Danielle continued sailing through the sky, cutting through the hazy summer breeze that caressed her skin as she flew in the opposite direction that the wind was pushing for. Buildings blurred, blending into one another as she zoomed past.

Shoving her conversation with her aunt to the back of her mind, she honed in on the car. Danielle sighed in relief as the streetlights froze on red, halting all cars in additional to the one she was trailing. Good. This should be easy enough.

Car horns honked in confusion as people started exiting their vehicles to find out why every stoplight had turned red. Upon seeing Danielle soaring through the sky, mumbles of understanding briefly caught her ear as she passed the cars. She quickly ignored the cheering that started as citizens assumed her heroic duty.

She pressed the D on her chest thrice to contact everyone. "Okay, I have them in my sight. Mom, dad, I'll be sending them your way, so be ready." Both Danny and Sam mumbled something in agreement. Speeding up, Danielle easily increased momentum as her eyes locked onto her target—a sleek, black 2004 Mercedes. She turned invisible and without a warning, overshadowed the driver.

She quickly glanced to the side to see the passenger side occupied with a man with a ski mask; from what she could see from his hands, he had pale skin, greasy brown hair from the little tuffs that pushed out at the end of the mask, and ratty old clothing. His hand clutched the handle of the car door, hanging on as the car continued to swerve between lanes.

She kept peeking between him and the road to see him loosen his grip on the handle to try to open the door, only to be met with the friction of the lock as it resisted to release the door open. The adrenaline that surged through his body only intensified as everything blurred past his window, his possessed friend driving unbelievably fast.

"Let me out please, I didn't want this in the first place; all I wanted was to save my little girl."

Danielle looked at the masked man in confusion, only taking her eyes off of the road for a second. "Little girl?"

Even with all other cars stilled on the street, Danielle was still having trouble not crashing into other people. She really preferred flying over driving.

"My 7-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer about a month ago. My wife and I don't have the means to pay for her hospital bills so this shmuck," The masked man pointed the body that Danielle was now overshadowing. "Told me that if I helped him with a job that he would give me enough money for my daughters treatments, but I never wanted any of this. Now I'm not sure if I will ever see her again after this. Or my wife for that matter."

Poor guy. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Just how the world goes. Change of plans.

Danielle could see the guilt building up in his eyes as he continued to talk more to himself than anything. "Gosh, this was a mistake. I wish I could turn back time and take it all back."

Danielle once again looked at the man with the sparkle of an idea in her eye. she pressed the D on her chest and signaled her uncle Dan. "Hey, Dan Dan, you there?" Glancing in the rearview mirror, Danielle could see traffic starting up in small quantities.

Great.

A low growl could be heard over the intercom, making her force back a chuckle. "I told you not to call me that. What do you need, pipsqueak?"

Another car was successfully avoided. She gave a light tap to the gas with her foot. She was pushing sixty, but she needed to make it to her destination before traffic started completely back up. They wouldn't listen to the lights for long, no one ever did in Amity. With ghost attacks being an average thing, everyone was pretty numbed to travel laws. "I need a clock reversal in about ten minutes. Also, tell Dad and them to hold back. Plans have changed. I'll take care of it, just have them do the usual clean up of the city after."

"You know, she's not going to like that."

She rolled her eyes, trying to keep a steady steer with the wheel. This guy's muscular hands were a pain to control. "Yeah, well unlike the rest of us at the moment, she has the time."

He sighed, but seemed to relent. "Fine, but you owe me. And don't think pizza can buy your way out of this mess like it used to. Nothing in Amity compares to authentic Chicago."

Another car passed, only this one had been driving in her lane and missed her by a beat— and yes, she was in the wrong lane, but if people would listen to the stupid lights, that wouldn't have happened—idiot.

"Stop drooling and get her here. And make it fast!" Danielle yelled as she nearly hit an oncoming charter bus.

The passenger, who was frozen to his seat the entire time, became animated once more. He even ripped his mask off, not caring that she would be able to identify him now.

With that he yelled, "What the heck! I thought a superhero would know how to drive properly!"

She shot him a warning glare, getting a glimpse of his soft structured cheeks, clean chiseled jawline, and oddly crooked nose, before returning her eyes on the road ahead of her. "Hey, I'm trying to help you out here, could you dial back the criticism just a bit."

He didn't look at all convinced as headlights reflected off of the windshield. She thankfully dogged it at the last minute, however, and she could see the relief sag into his shoulders.

With a slight scowl she added, "Besides, I do know how to drive. I was just taught by my Grandpa, that's all."

That relief was short lived as she did her best to swerve past the remaining traffic on the streets as more moving cars showed up. While keeping one hand on the steering wheel, she shifted the upper portion of her body out of the window.

She shouted to the sea of cars, "Come on, people! Ugh, you'd think people would recognize a red light!"

Just another normal day in my life. I wonder how grandma's doing in New York, I hope she's doing okay.

Realizing that she should focus on her task on hand, Danielle tried not to laugh as he gave her a sideways glance.

Out of nowhere, he said, "You have a lot of anger issues. You know, my therapist told me that when you're under stress it's best to— Oh sweet Mother Teresa!"

An oncoming eighteen wheeler was about to make a collision with them head-on. Danielle placed her hands on the dash of the car, causing it to phase through the oncoming truck narrowly escaping death.

With his back glued against the leather seat, and feet firmly planted on the floor of the car, he cracked his head to the side just enough to look at Danielle with eyes opened in fear. Breathing in a sigh of relief, she said, "Woah, that was close."

Danielle shifted her eyes to the passenger to see a look of frustration on his face, eyes screaming at her as he stilled against the car seat.

"Why didn't you just do that before?" he said.

She swiveled the car, just slightly out of spite; she may have been helping him, but he couldn't comprehend the hardships of her job.

"Do you know how much energy it takes it takes to temporarily shift an entire car to another dimension?! No? Then zip it!"

Sending a sharp glare to her, he grumbled out, "You know, your bedside manner could use some adjusting."

"That's not what your mom said last night!"

Danielle heard the all too familiar voice of her youngest brother— he looked to be around fifteen, maybe sixteen if she had to guess— from the future as he kept pace with the speeding car. A time medallion hung largely around his neck. Danielle somehow smiled out of her annoyance. "So, if you're here Speedy, that means Lily is too?"

"Ten-four, big sis! Why aren't you breaking?"

She did as requested, putting pressure on the break, but instead of the car coming to a rolling stop, the petal wouldn't budge. It wouldn't allow her to slow down the car so much as a couple miles, no matter how much weight she put on it. Her eyes snapped to DJ's, fear contorting her face.

Oh, no.

"Uh kid, we have a problem."

Still keeping pace, and yelling over the rapid wind that pressed against them, he tried his best to reassure his sister. "Don't worry, I got ya. Your ride is nice, but it's a bit heavy for my taste."

DJ quickly became a green blurred circle around them as piece by piece the car slowly was dismantled; as each part was removed their speed slowed down, until all that was left was the frame and the two people hugging in the front seat.

Danielle, who was too busy consoling the crying adult in her arms, did not realize that they were now stilled. She awkwardly patted his back and shushing him over his shoulder as snot soaked into her suit. "It's okay, it's okay. We'll do everything we can to help you and your family out."

Tears and snot now ran down the man's face as he pulled back from the embrace. "She's my whole world. I would do anything for her."

DJ just looked at the two in confusion. "So um... You're welcome?"

Unbuckling the seatbelt that still remained strapped around her torso, she floated over to her younger sibling. Stepping out of the one man's body, she easily made a wad of ectoplasm, tied him up, and kept him close in case he woke.

She then turned to her brother. "Hey Speedy, before you take off, I think we're going to need you to do your magic."

His crystal eyes that matched his sister's widened in horror, his weightless steps easily propelling himself backward several feet. "Oh no... Every time we do one of those, you punch me way too hard."

She scoffed at DJ's cowardliness. "Come on twerp, you can take it."

"I'm so telling on you to Mom and Dad."

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up before the police get here."

DJ was much better at possessions than she was. Even though she could move the body, it never came naturally to her like it did to DJ, and even like her father. The problem was, DJ got too into it, relishing in his power, so she frequently had to knock him out for him to be able to separate from the body.

The former bank robber, Danielle had yet to catch his name, came stumbling from the leftover car, still shaken. "Wait, why the heck is he grinning!?" the man asked in total fear of the smirk on DJ's face. He did enjoy overshadowing a little too much, in her opinion.

DJ quickly overshadowed the raggedy man, making him float ominously in the air just as the police showed up. "I am OVERKILL and you will all bow before me, puny humans!"

She didn't understand why DJ idolized her uncle so much.

That was the moment that the police decided to arrive. They had always done their best to protect the town as a whole but there were just some things everyday people—with or without ecto guns—could handle.

Danielle looked on for a moment as the police had surrounded them, circling almost the entire block, with their weapons at the ready. "Aim!"

That's when she took her queue, jumping in front of the officers before they could move their weapons.

Using her best heroic voice that her dad had taught her, much to her mom's embarrassment, she called out, "Wait! This ghost has clearly possessed an innocent man. If you fire upon him, you would be hurting someone who had nothing to do with the crime that was committed!"

DJ looked to the people below him as he flew just a bit higher, in the unlikely case they started to shoot at him. "Silence, puny hero! Or else you will feel my awesome might, the likes of which your tiny mind could not begin to comprehend!"

And he wonders why I hit him so hard.

Danielle zoomed to her little brother, punching him right out of the man's body as he dropped safely to the cushioned car seat DJ had been floating above. "You just made this so much easier, Overkill!" Danielle quickly threw DJ to the ground.

The hero's voice was becoming too much, even to her own ears, but she wanted to sell it. If they weren't convinced, they would be in deep trouble. She was beginning to understand why her mom hated it so much.

She yelled to him, "It's over, Mr. Overkill!" If I say that name one more time, I will put some force into my punch. "I have been waiting to capture you for a long time. Now, taste ghost justice, you fiend!"

She gave DJ a knowing smile as he just froze in place, eyes narrowing as he laid crushed up on the seat. "Really...?"

Danielle wasted no time in taking out her Fenton Thermos and encased her speedy brother inside.

One officer out of the bunch walked up to Danielle, almost no color dampened his face, it was almost as if he had... seen a ghost. Heh, I'm too much like my dad.

The way officer's adam's apple bobbled up and down while he tried to force his words out was hilarious. "Thanks again, Danielle. Normally, we can handle these sort of issues but I have to admit we had no idea that man was overshadowed. Thank you for your service."

Then the man that Danielle hadn't possessed began to stir on the car seat. His head swayed a bit before he shifted from his resting spot against the seat. His hand flew to his head as he tried to steady his surroundings. "Ugh, what happened, and why do I smell like Axe? Wasn't I just-"

Before he could continue, Danielle interrupted, using the same voice that she had used on the officers. "Yes, we know. This foul man came to your door with a plan to rob a bank, and the ghost overshadowing you made you agree to this man's criminal plan. But worry not proud citizen, you are free from his tyranny and can go back to your normal life. Now come with me! We must make sure he did not leave any unwanted side effects."

Gosh, I sound like an extremely patriotic muppet.

Danielle took the man back to Fenton Works where Lilith and Tucker were waiting for her, Tucker stood uncomfortably in the corner, while Lilith sat on the couch with a face void of emotion. The rest of her family was still out, doing their usual rounds after something like this happened to make sure every citizen was okay.

Danielle could tell that she was definitely masking her anger. "So sis, who is he?"

Well.

I'm in trouble.

She strode over to Tucker, shielding herself behind her boyfriend, who stood several feet away from her younger sister.

Her lips fell into a sheepish smile. "He's someone who could use a break. I promised I would help him and his family."

Pushing herself from the couch, Lilith stalked over to the two, arms crossed and eyebrows raised: the very embodiment of fear itself. "So, what do you want me to do? I can't just rewrite today, otherwise this whole scenario will just get time tangled."

Tucker's body stiffened as Lilith neared them, but immediately relaxed under Danielle's touch as she began to rub little circles in the small of his back. It was the little things. "Yeah I know, also find a better name than time tangled. But what I need you to do is go back and alter his crook buddy's memories to make sure that when the police interrogate him, he doesn't remember this guy here..."

She paused for a moment, eyes going to the man awkwardly standing at the entryway of the door. "What's your name by the way?"

Danielle watched as heat flooded his face, eyes went to the blue carpet of the house, his messy brown locks shielding his face. He refused to meet anyone's gaze. "It's Mattaniah, Herington the third." The toe of his shoe started to dig an invisible hole into the floor.

A few dry chuckles left her boyfriend's lips. "Wow, did three generations hate their kids that much to name them Mattaniah?"

His head snapped up, but he still wouldn't set his eyes on them. "It has a very old meaning to it, but yes it's very ridiculous."

Danielle moved out from Tucker's protective shielding. "Anyway, we need his friend to think he really was overshadowed."

She watched as Lilith sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "Fine, we'll take him home first and I'll go do the rest myself. Don't think I'm coming back too often though. We like to help out when we can—we're family after all—but protecting the city is your job as of right now. I'm not even conceived yet."

He looked at Danielle and Lilith, finally meeting their eyes. Confusion overtook his whole expression. "Why are you two doing all this for me, for my family?"

Danielle smiled, clapping him roughly on the back. "Well Matthan, Matten-" Her mind became a jumbled mess as she tried to say his name correctly. She failed, miserably. "You know what, I'm just going to call you M. We're very big on second chances in this family." She pushed him towards her sister.

Lilith opened a portal to go back in time but before she does she looked back at M, a secret grin overtaking her lips. "Just don't blow up any fast food places and we'll be good."

"Fast food places?" he said in confusion, looking back to Danielle for an explanation, who didn't respond.

Lilith shrugged, looking between Danielle and Tucker, shooting them a wink in a play. "It's an inside joke. Now come on, let's get you back to your family."

Danielle walked into the man's home, to see the place he was living in was not exactly glamorous. The house was old and almost looked condemned, with wooden boards that hung from the ceilings; some had scratches woven into the aged planks. In one part of the apartment there a large wall decorated with exposed brick, and chipped pieces fell effortlessly to the floor. It was absolutely disgusting.

"Wow... this is...um... a nice home."

Danielle's hesitant smile held no genuine warmth, even though she pushed all her energy into it. It was half done, and it settled wrongly on her lips. In truth, even she knew it fit in an uneasy way, without the use of a mirror. Oh well. Never have been the best liar.

A weak smile spread on his lips, guilt swelling his eyes. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better. It's falling apart from all fronts, but it's what we got. It didn't always use to be like this but..."

The edge of Danielle's mouth turned down in a small frown. "What happened?"

He sighed. "I used to be the head of a large computer company, then one day there was some weird computer malfunction. I thought it was nothing, but when my company investigated, it said that I had been embezzling money from the company since near the beginning, but I never did anything of the sort. They threw me in jail, and when I got out I found out my company was bought out by Vlad Masters of all people, at a dirt cheap price."

Anger constricted her eyes, making them narrow in tight slants as her mind began to race. Of course Vlad had ruined this man's life. Now the monster was up in space and this guy had to live with what he did every day. She wanted to help more than ever now. She knew what it felt like to be manipulated by Vlad.

His squeaky voice was hollow. "Now because of my criminal record, no well-paying job will hire me. It's hard to think how one little computer error could change my family's life so much. But if there is one thing that has been keeping me going, it's my girls at home. It just hit me that much harder when we got that diagnosis though. Please just promise me that if you tell her about helping us you won't give her any false hope."

They don't deserve this. No one does.

Danielle glanced around to see cobwebs and what she thought might have been specks of mold. This time her lips turned up into a loose warm, heartfelt smile. "Listen, I know a great charity that would help. Actually, I have their card, take a look." Handing him a card, he gave it a once over.

Reading it aloud, his eyebrows rose in confusion. "Sam Fenton Charities. Helping people in need of homes." His eyes went up to meet hers. "Your mom has a charity operation?"

"Hey, um, yeah. She's been doing for years now. She really loves to give back to people. I'm sure the staff would be willing to help repair and help get you on your feet."

His eyes shifted as pondered her offer. "I don't know…. What about paying them back? I don't know how we'd ever be able to do that."

Placing a gentle hand on his upper bicep, she offered again. "Please, it wouldn't be a problem. It's a non-profit, so it doesn't charge period. If you want to pay back, you can volunteer. My mom opened this charity to be able to help people."

He scanned the room, seeing the scattered remains of garbage littering the floor. "I don't know. It seems too good to be true." Out of nowhere, a piece of ceiling crashed down; Danielle let it phase through her to the floor while giving M a sly look. "I'll let the girls know.

After Danielle waved goodbye to her brother and sister after the portal closed, she transformed back to human, and started to shuffle her way to the stairs that led back up to the kitchen.

With each step, she didn't want to admit the worries that today held. It had been so easy for DJ to do what he did, and while she was proud of what he— what they— had accomplished, it made her pause. Would she be able to do something like he did so easily?

Another thought struck her.

Did she even want that?

Oh well, another thought for another day.

Woot woot! First chapter completed. I hope you guys enjoy! And while Lilith and DJ won't really show up much in this story, they will only play one big part later on. Please leave a review if you could. Love you guys! Shout out to my beta reader, silente faery.