Hello Everyone!
My name is TragicMiracleCollection and I am a new writer to this site. I'm not even sure if a lot of people will read this but I'm putting it here anyway. Danny Phantom is one of my favourite shows, so I was sad when it came to an end. This story is how I envision the continuation of Danny's life. It might be short, but it's going to get really interesting. Promise! (Ugh, who am I kidding? Everyone knows that an author's promise is worthless) Regardless, it is now the holidays and I have already written the next chapter, so be prepared for some fast updates!
I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom
Chapter 1: A Mob of Fans
The crowd was waiting.
Eyes excited and bated breath, gazes fixed on the balcony overhead. Easily a hundred figures huddled on the empty road, with more joining each minute. No cars struggled to get through. The neighbours knew well enough by now it was simpler to just go by foot or take the back streets to avoid the crowd.
As the time neared seven o'clock, the crush of bodies grew even denser. Elbows prodded into those around them, eliciting sharp gasps, but none breathed a word of protest. All their attention was focused on the window far above them, on the brick wall of the large building labelled in neon lettering - 'Fenton Works' - and topped with a crown of metal pipes and machinery.
The home of Danny Phantom.
The light from the gap in the curtains grew steadily brighter with the rising of the sun. It creeped and stretched across the floor, lightly brushing the assortment of clothes scattered everywhere. It reached the bed and slithered up its frame, tickling the features of the boy huddled under the covers.
He shifted and turned away from the light that invaded his eyelids. Breaths evenly escaped his lips and made his chest rise and fall in rhythm, muscles relaxed as he enjoyed whatever dream he was currently immersed in. A peaceful smile ghosted his features.
That peace was instantly shattered when the alarm went off.
His eyes snapped open, breath panicked as he jolted up and surveyed the room - looking for danger. When he found none, he realised his mistake and sighed in relief - then chucked the nearest thing in reach across the room, his literature book, at the alarm clock.
Sadly, it missed.
The boy groaned and wanted nothing more than to snuggle back under the covers and go back to that wonderful dream of flying freely, but knew it was impossible with that constant infernal racket. So instead, he got out of bed and walked over to turn it off. The cool air made him shiver slightly in his light summer sleepwear and he let out a massive yawn.
The boy in question was none other than Danny Fenton, not looking very happy about waking early that morning.
He wandered out onto his balcony and settled his head on his hand, enjoying the view. Unbeknownst to him, the eyes of the crowd sparked to life, taking in the sight of the one they had come to see.
Danny was counting the clouds just as the most unholy chorus of shrieks rose up towards him. On reflex, he ducked and crouched down, his back to the balcony wall as if avoiding enemy fire. It was a reflex he had unconsciously developed from fighting ghosts – duck or get your head blown off.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins, waking every part of his mind and body so he was keenly aware of the situation – his surroundings, the noise, the slight panting from his own lips. As the primary panic wore off, he realised that the noise was dying down and probably was not from a ghost attack. After taking a few moments to calm himself and make sure he was perfectly safe - ghost sense inactive? Check. Ectoplasmic blasts? Nope - he cautiously peeked over the side.
Once again, the screams and cheers nearly forced his body into battle mode, which he mentally forced down. On the street below were hordes upon hordes of fans delightedly pointing up at him. Danny noticed they were mainly teenagers, and girls at that! No doubt trying to get a glimpse of the world's saviour, his alter ego Danny Phantom, otherwise known as the "Ghost boy".
He ducked back down.
Whenever Danny thought about it, it seemed impossible that someone like him who used to be so normal - with embarrassing parents, a bossy elder sister and average popularity - had gained something the rest of the world didn't have. The day of the 'accident' where he had been caught inside his parents' ghost portal upon activation - changing his life forever by giving him ghost powers.
Thus, Danny Phantom was born. A ghost-butt kicking vigilante who saved Amity Park from countless ghost attacks. Originally, he hadn't had much favour from the humans - even his own parents had tried to hunt him down and destroy him on several occasions. However, after leading the coordinated effort to save the world from an asteroid, it was suffice to say that the world now had total confidence in him.
...As well as total obsession over him. In just a week, he had gone from the loser nobody of a minor town to a worldwide superhero. In addition, everyone now knew who he was and expected him to continue saving them - ALL of them.
Aside from the cool statues of himself all over the globe, what else could Danny say he had gained?
A total lack of privacy, he thought wryly.
Turning invisible, he peeked another look over the side. His 'fans' were whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Many wore t-shirts with his logo on them - a small 'P' inside a flaming 'D' - which he definitely had not approved, as well as other.
It was astonishing really. The crowd had only been there a few days but every morning he saw them felt just like the first. No matter how much his fame screamed at him to wake up, he was always stuck in the dream of being completely unknown to the rest of the world. His lifelong 'loser' status made it hard to accept that he was now a celebrity. A concept that Danny found quite unsettling, really.
These thoughts were what led Danny to keep up his invisibility while he showered and dressed. Not an easy feat while he couldn't see himself. At last, he gathered his books and pens for school and shifted back into the visible plane. Making sure to stay as far away from the balcony as he could, he headed down the stairs.
In the kitchen, Danny's mother Maddie was making breakfast while his father Jack and sister Jazz were sitting at the table. Jazz's nose was stuck in another one of her thick psychology books, while his dad played with some action figures – one for each family member, a bunch of ghosts, and a new figure Danny recognised as his alter ego - while making sound effects like a small kid.
They looked up as Danny walked in, unanimously calling "Good morning!"
"'Morning," he replied. "What's for breakfast?"
"Pancakes with bacon and eggs," his mother replied cheerily, placing a plate heaped with food in front of him.
"Dig in, son! After all, you can't fight ghosts on an empty stomach!" his dad said in his usual tone, which was the equivalent of a normal person talking into a speakerphone set to max. Danny rolled his eyes. There hadn't been a single ghost attack since they all went back into the Ghost Zone, probably still recharging from helping him turn the planet intangible.
He stuck his fork into his scrambled eggs. As he brought it to his lips to shovel in his mouth, his ghost sense suddenly went off - a thin wisp of cold, condensed air escaping his lips. He paused, looking around carefully for the source. When he couldn't find any ghosts, Danny turned back to his food and noticed his parents studying him carefully, poorly hidden eagerness alight on their faces.
He glanced at his food, then turned to Jazz, "They spiked the food, didn't they?"
"They spiked the food," she confirmed, never once looking up from her book. "There's an artificial ghost hiding in your eggs." He turned his glare on his parents. The two actually looked ashamed, as if they would have preferred it much better if nobody had noticed. Why would anybody want others to know they were doing experiments on their son to learn more about his ghost powers?
"You created an artificial ghost?" Danny scowled. "Isn't it technically cannibalism if I eat this?"
"Goodness, no!" his mother cried, then coughed in embarrassment. "We would have stepped in if you were going to eat it. It was simply a test to learn how effective your ghost sense was!" Danny wasn't completely convinced that they would have stopped him, and clearly it showed on his face.
His dad jumped in, "That's right! A harmless little test. The ghost is only artificial - a reeeeeeally wimpy one. Making it possess our food would be no harm to anyone."
"Wait, possess?" asked Danny in confusion. Right on cue, the food on his fork twitched and shivered, forming a face and letting out a shrill noise as if trying to learn how to speak without having a mouth. Danny shrieked and flung the fork across the room, embedding it in the wall. The eggs fell to the floor and the small ghost rose out of it, letting out a squeak before fading away.
Danny blinked, "That suddenly gave a whole new meaning to 'you are what you eat'".
Jazz slammed her book shut. "How can you say something like that? You're a child but you're letting your own parents conduct experiments on you!" she cried.
"You're a child too, Jazz," he muttered. Jazz ignored him. "You know what mom and dad are like. Once they decide to investigate something, NOTHING - short of the law - will stop them from finding the answer using whatever. Means. Necessary," she poked him in time with her words for emphasis. "One of these days, they're going to go too far and end up hurting you Danny! Who'll save the world from disaster then?"
Danny knew she was right. But when his parents had found out he was half ghost, the first question they'd asked was not 'are you alright?' but 'how'? Since then, the two had pestered him with dozens of 'tests', analysing him from all angles and wondering just how the ghost portal hadn't killed him upon activation... Or completely anyway. He kept forgetting being half ghost also meant he was half-dead.
"It's fine, Jazz. Besides, if they don't somebody else will. What if someone else tries to do the same thing to some other poor sucker?" He shuddered and frowned into his breakfast. "The sooner the statistical improbability of my being is released, the sooner I can rest easy. Nobody else needs to have their life ruined by being turned into a weapon." All eyes became downcast at that comment, knowing he was thinking of the sudden interest in his 'halfa' existence.
For obvious reasons, the family had been horrified. Years of paranoia due to researching the supernatural had made Jack and Maddie distrustful of the government, believing it was not beneath them to use their discoveries of the supernatural to get a leg up in the world.
His parents glanced at each other and gave Danny twin guilty smiles. "Even so, we'll try to restrain ourselves from now on," said Maddie. "Instead," his mother turned to the walk-in pantry door and opened it. Danny blinked as an avalanche of gifts and letters crashed onto the kitchen floor. She gestured to the pile, "What do you want to do with all this correspondence?"
Danny gaped, "Is all that for me?"
"No," sighed Jazz. "The lab is filled to the brim too. Honestly, who knew having a world famous brother would have these kinds of drawbacks?"
Jack grinned. "But think of all the cool stuff we'll get! There's enough sweets and chocolates in that lab to fill an whole truck! Moreover," he added in a sly tone. "I'm sure I spied a box of those 'Apple Fizzle Choco-roo' snacks they only sell in Florida. I've just got to try one!"
Danny rolled his eyes. Only his dad would find comfort in the absurd amount of mail crammed into their basement.
"Can't we throw it away?"
Jack's eyes turned almost pleading. Correction: they were full-on puppy dog begging. "But not the 'Apple Fizzle Choco-roo's, right?"
Danny sighed, "They're all yours." Jack pumped the air and resumed making an action figure of himself fight a ghost, involving a lot of shooting and agonised ghostly wails.
"We'll have to get rid of some of it," he continued. "What if we gave it to our friends?"
"I don't think we have that many friends," Jazz muttered into her coffee.
"But wouldn't you like to read what all these people have written? I'm sure they're all thanking you for saving the world," his mother arched her brow.
Danny huffed and bit into his bacon, not caring that his cutlery was stuck in the wall, "Don't forget the criticism. Now the whole world knows I'm a freak!" A loud thump made everyone wince. He realised Jack had slammed his fist onto the table and was fixing him with a hard glare.
"Now listen here son. You're a Fenton, and Fentons don't give up. We hold our heads high and proudly. It didn't matter that the whole world thought your mother and I were crazy for believing in ghosts - 'cause we were right, even if it took us twenty years to prove it." He poked his son in the chest with the hand that happened to be clenching the Danny Phantom action figure. "You managed to make a name for yourself in only a single year. Think of all the people supporting you - think of what you've done! Can anyone as good as you call them self a freak, after all THAT?"
His mother and sister looked quite impressed - though Jazz's right eye began to twitch, probably due to her expectations being shattered - at the words coming out of Jack's mouth. He rarely said anything with as much passion except for "Ghost!" and "Can you pass me the 'Banana-Pear Dazzle Delights'?", which was his favourite snack.
Despite his anxiety, Danny knew he was smiling. "Alright. I've been meaning to thank the ghosts anyway, so I'll give stuff to them. I'm not sure about the letters though."
"I'll help you read them," Jazz offered. "We can start right after school."
"If you can even get to school," Maddie said wearily as she sat down. "It's so packed outside that you might not be able to leave. Paparazzi are so pushy these days."
Danny raised an eyebrow and gestured to himself. "Uh, hello? Ghost powers? I can turn INVISIBLE."
Jazz shook her head. "If you do that they'll just assume you decided to stay at home a day longer instead of going back to school. If you don't show your face they might do something stupid to draw your attention, or even break into the house just to talk to you."
Maddie nodded, "It would be bad if the civilians got near the ghost equipment. If their curiosity led to messing with the portal particularly, the whole thing could blow - taking the town with them!"
"It's too bad we don't have a human shield," Jack grumbled over his half eaten pancakes.
It's called a wall, Dad, Danny thought. "Then I'll just fly over them."
"And give the world an opportunity to photograph you?" Jazz questioned.
Danny frowned. "You're right. That would be annoying."
Maddie brightened up and pointed at Jazz, "I know! Jazz can take you to school in her car. It's parked behind the house in the garage, so all you have to do is drive past, let them see you, then lead them away so they'll leave the house alone. It's brilliant!"
Danny and Jazz shared a look. The plans their parents came up with never worked 100% of the time, and it sounded like it would only last until they returned from school but it was better than nothing.
"Maybe reinforce the human security system just in case," Danny said with a smirk.
The four finished eating and Jazz trekked upstairs to prepare her school bag. While he was waiting, Danny decided to peek outside and carefully twitched the curtains apart. For such a large crowd, they sure didn't make much noise while they were calm. He could see nearly the whole space in front of his house was made up of bodies crushed together, sporting cameras and phones in preparation for a pic of their hero.
Danny scanned them - a skill he had picked up from his time as a hero, needing to be wary of ghost hunters in order to keep his identity a secret. He quirked an eyebrow. Quite a few people had backpacks crammed with (unapproved) merchandise, held giant posters, wore shirts with his alter ego's face plastered on them and some even had pretty convincing costumes, though the fake ectoplasm gave them away. It was kind of funny to see so many people wearing your face.
Unfortunately, one girl caught a glimpse of him and started screaming, "There! There he is! At the window!" causing the rest of the crowd to follow suit, pushing and shoving to get nearer to their idol. Danny dropped the curtain and backed away, his earlier unease coming back full force. He scurried off to the garage.
When Jazz arrived, they ignored the silver RV painted with neon green highlights and hopped in a smaller blue buggy. She started the car and carefully backed out of the driveway into a blissfully empty street.
"You ready?" she asked.
I grinned, "Always."
The buggy took off and approached the intersection at the corner of the house. Luckily, the crowd hadn't thought to block it. His sister slowed to let the fans see them leaving, but Danny saw her tighten her grip on the steering wheel. As they passed, Danny put his elbow on the sill and rested his chin on his fist. He glanced out the window.
For a moment, Danny worried that they weren't going to notice him. However, his concern was unnecessary. Almost immediately, they spotted him and begun to shout and push those around them, trampling others in their hurry to chase after him.
The buggy crossed the intersection just as the crowd spilled out behind them.
Jazz noticed the sudden surge of movement in the rear view mirror and suddenly floored the accelerator. The car shot off (slowing down later of course, Jazz was a strict goody-two-shoes and hated breaking even non-legal rules), trailing a stream of fans waving posters and autograph booklets, screaming his name.
The buggy zipped through the streets and steadily pulled ahead. Whenever they stopped at a red light, Danny mentally panicked. He squeezed the armrest and didn't relax until they were once again zooming away from the crowd of followers. More than a few tried to cut them off and caused minor panic on the roads. Jazz had to serve to avoid them, taking a few back streets to throw them off.
When at last it appeared the two had lost them, they shared a nervous look. Jazz cracked a smile first, and suddenly they were laughing, all their tension melting away.
"Well, that was fun. I really thought you would run over that last guy," Danny remarked.
Jazz grinned but kept her eyes on the road. "No kidding. They should include that in Driver's 'Ed - How to Escape a Crazy Fanatic Mob'." He laughed harder, but stopped abruptly when he noticed they were only a block away from Casper High.
The thought of what awaited him caused his dread to return. It grew every inch closer they came to school. Jazz seemed to sense this and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Danny. If things get out of hand, you have me, Tucker and Sam looking out for you. If it becomes too much you can always go home. Nobody would blame you for being uncomfortable around so many people." She made a face that was a cross between a smile and frown. "I mean, I'm only your sister but even I get pestered."
Danny tilted his head in confusion, "Yeah? How?"
Jazz scowled at the thought. "Yesterday, this guy called Kwan kept trying to persuade me to use my 'ghost powers'. He's convinced himself that our parents are twisted scientists who experiment on us - which is not that far from the truth, actually." She considered her next words carefully, "I think he was hitting on me to be honest. He kept asking if our future children would also be part ghost." She shuddered. "So I gave him a taste of the taekwondo mom's been teaching me. I flipped him over my head just like she showed me, but now he thinks I can use telekinesis."
Danny couldn't help it. He chuckled and Jazz shot him a quizzical look then gave a soft smile, glad that he was feeling better. Her words had made him temporarily forget his worries.
Maybe that was all he had to do. Think positive and not let it get to him. He was the world's saviour, right? Surely a little more attention wouldn't be that bad. Danny fought ghosts all the time that were bigger and meaner than regular people. Something like going to school should be a walk in the park.
Somehow, Danny found that hard to believe.
Phew! That was over 3,600 words! I feel so proud of myself! :D
To be honest though, I found it a bit bland and the part about weaponising Danny's ghost powers was hard to write. I kept screaming at myself "Don't make it so complicated! You'll drown all the readers in your endless blathering!" So yeah, this happened.
I'll get to work right away on my next chapter before I post chapter 2 (cause I'm lethargic and if I don't I'll just never get around to it), so the next chapter will be my hostage! Mwahahahahaha!