DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR MAXIMUM RIDE. IF I DID, WOULD I BE WRITING FANFIC RIGHT NOW? NO, NO I WOULDN'T.
Max flew through the air, her hair flying behind her. Each member of her flock soared behind her in their usual V formation. They were so far up it would be easy to mistake them for birds.
Max was happy. Hungry, yes, but happy. No one was kidnapped, the Voice had been silent for weeks (saving her head thankfully), and they hadn't been attacked in three days! Now all they needed was some food and she'd be golden.
Max looked back at her flock. Fang was flying silently to her right. Nudge was to her left 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the landscapes they flew past. Iggy and Gazzy were arguing about something she couldn't hear from where she was flying. Since it was them, they were probably arguing over some sort of explosive or bomb they managed to sneak past Max, despite her checking the boys for them. She didn't want to get blown out of the air (again). Angel was flying on her back, looking at the clouds above and probably making shapes out of them. Angel caught Max's eye and smiled, nodding her head.
They were flying over Illinois. At the moment, they were flying over the middle of nowhere, but could see a town several miles away. They would stop and get something to eat when they got there. (Presuming they weren't attacked or kicked out of the restaurant. And if they could get some money.)
She looked forward again, just in time for her to collide against something.
Hard.
Max clutched her head, muttering curses under breath.
"MAX!"
She looked up to see her flock flying back to her. They had shot past her, none of them expecting the sudden impact.
Speaking of, she looked around, trying to see what she had hit, but seeing only air. Then she heard the muttering.
"Owowowow. Jeez, of all the things to hit me, flying bird people was not on the list."
Max tensed, fists coming up, at hearing the disembodied voice. "Alright who's there? You here to pick a fight?"
Of all the things she expected to see flying in the air, a glowing, white haired, glowing green eyed, teenager in a black and white jumpsuit (For Pete's sake, who wears those anymore?) wasn't on the list.
Max stared, kind of in shock. Her flock flew up behind her, as close as they could get with their wings. She looked at Angel, thinking she should read his mind to see if he was a threat or not. She cocked her head before agreeing.
Max turned back to the glowing teen.
He rubbed his head and looked at her, annoyed. "That's what I get for not paying attention. You turn around for one second and a flying bird girl rams you with her head made of steel."
Oh no he didn't.
"Excuse me?" Max put her hands on her hips.
"So what are you Flygirl? A weird ghost...bird...humanoid? Did Plasmius send you? How many times have I told that Fruitloop to get a cat." He tapped his chin flying around her, "Well one not named after my mom."
Max looked back at her flock. They were covering their mouths with their hands, trying not to laugh. Even Fang was struggling not to smile. She looked back at the floating teen, shocked that she had met someone on this planet who could talk less sense than Nudge and be more of a smartass than Max herself.
The teen continued talking, ignoring the pissed look growing on Max's face.
"My ghost sense didn't go off, so I don't think you're a ghost, but others have been known to slip past me before. I think I'll check, just in case." Then he reached for something on his white belt. Max tensed expecting a gun, net, hammer, or - a soup thermos?
Glowkid uncapped it and pointed it at her, pressing a button. It whirled for a moment before dying down.
"Huh. Well you guys aren't ghosts and seeing as though you guys haven't tried to capture me, take over the town, or murder my dad, I feel introductions are in order." He stuck out his hand and Max noticed he wore white gloves, "I'm called Phantom, not Inviso-Bill. I'm Amity Park's resident hero, despite what most people say. No you can't have an autograph." He smiled cockily at them, waiting for Max to shake his hand. She stared at him, now more confused than angry.
He cocked his head to the side, smile still there, hand still out in front of him. "You do know how to shake hands, right?"
Now she was back to being mostly angry.
That snapped Max out of her shock, her smartass attitude coming back full force. She glared daggers at him, grabbing his hand (Damn. It was like grabbing a block of ice) she shook it once, hard, before growling, "Did you just compare my head to steel?"
Phantom, still smiling that damn smile, said, "It was a compliment. At least I didn't say it was full of rocks. I learned the hard way not to insult people you just met. You never know when you'll meet someone who'll kick your butt just for poking fun at them. So are you going to introduce yourselves or are you just going to fly there glaring at me like I plucked your wings while the rest of your friends try to contain their laughter."
That finally broke Nudge, Gazzy, and Iggy. Max thought they were about to fall out of the sky they were laughing so hard.
Fang, for once being the diplomat in a situation but still his emotionless self, shook Phantom's hand. "My name is Fang." He turned and started to point out each member of the flock, "The skinny, blind blonde with grey wings is Iggy. The curly brunette motormouth is Nudge. That's the Gasman, Gazzy with the barn owl wings. Then there's our blonde-haired, blue-eyes angel, Angel." Fang put his hand on Max's shoulder, in an attempt to calm her down. "And this is Max."
"Who I'm sure is plotting ways to murder you," Iggy yelled from behind Max.
"She can't murder someone who's already dead." Phantom said, saying it as causally as if he said he liked oranges.
That seemed to sober everyone up. Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy stopped laughing, only to stare at him with wide eyes. Except for Iggy, who raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Max's anger fell away, and she stood there gaping at Phantom. Fang just raised an eyebrow.
Phantom noticed the surprised look on the flock's faces. He blinked in surprise, losing the smile. "What? You never seen a ghost before?"
The flock shook their heads, trying not to show pity for the boy. Then he started laughing. Max lost all pity for him after that, annoyance growing yet again.
Still chuckling he said, "You guys don't seem that skeptical considering I'm the first ghost you've seen." He bowed dramatically in mid-air. "You are welcome."
He looked back at Max, grinning as he sat, cross-legged in mid-air. "So what are you guys doing flying around?"
"On our way to town," Max replied coolly.
"To visit someone? To stay awhile?"
"Just passing through. Why do you want to know?"
"Well you guys look hungry, and tired. My stupid hero complex is practically screaming at me to help."
"We aren't that hungry." Max said, right as her stomach growled.
Phantom rolled his eyes, "Yeah and that's not your stomach growling, it's a kitten meowing. Listen, I have some friends who'd be happy to buy you some food and let you spend the night for a day or two."
Max really didn't want to take the offer, it could be a trap. But she had her flock to look after. "Alright, who's your friends."
Phantom smirked. "I would walk into town if I were you, instead of flying. People have an annoying habit of 'shoot first, ask questions never' what with all the ghost attacks. One of my friends and his sister live near the city. Danny and Jazz Fenton. They will help you. Be glad their parents are out for the day. You wouldn't want to be covered in goo. I'll let them know you're coming."
Then he uncrossed his legs, which formed into a tail, and was about to fly away when Max yelled, "Wait!" He looked back at her. "You never gave us directions to the house, or even told us what it looks like."
Phantom grinned like he knew a private joke, "Trust me, you cannot miss it." And then he disappeared. Max felt as if a cold chill was lifted away and knew he was gone.
She looked back at the flock. "You guys hungry?"
After chiming in agreement, they started flying to the city. Angel flew up beside Max.
"Max," she said quietly. "I can't read his mind."
"Maaax?" Nudge asked warily, not taking her eyes off the building in front of her.
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me we aren't going into that building."
When Phantom said they couldn't miss, he really meant it.
"Why? What's wrong with it?" Iggy asked.
"It's….well it's….ummm…." Max stammered.
"It's a brick building with a giant spaceship on top!" Gazzy exclaimed for her.
Iggy snorted, "No really, what is it."
Fang shook his head. "No, really Ig, it's a brick building with a spaceship on top." He deadpanned.
Gazzy started telling Iggy, exactly what it looked like. " It's about three stories high, not counting the spaceship, and made of brick. There's a huge neon, flashing sign that says 'Fenton Works' on the side. The spaceship is made of metal, of course, and it's covered in satellites and weapons! It also looks like it's going to fall off at any minute."
They had flown to the outskirts of town, landing in front of a sign that said: 'Amity Park - A nice place to live!' And under that: 'Home of Danny Phantom'.
The flock had hid their wings before walking past the sign and into town. They normally avoided small towns, stopping only for food. It was too easy to be noticed, so they normally stuck to the woods and big they were hungry and this place had a lot of tourists for a small town.
After walking around for a while, Max finally stopped to ask a random person on the street directions to the Fenton's. The guy just snorted, pointed North, and said, "Don't worry, you'll see it." and walked away.
Max stared at the building, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Then she walked up to the door, her flock following behind her, and rang the doorbell.
Inside she heard someone yell, some more yelling, a crash, and then the door opened to reveal a familiar boy about her age with black hair and icy blue eyes.
"So you're the flying bird people that Phantom asked me to help out," he said before opening the door wider, "Come on in. My name's Danny. My friends will be over shortly with some food. Hope you're hungry."
The flock followed Danny inside as he walked to the living room. "I'm sorry but you guys can't eat down here. There's more room in the Ops Center anyways. Plus, that'll be where you guys sleep if you're planning on spending the night.
Max stopped, crossing her arms, "Why are you helping us?" she practically growled with suspicion.
Danny stopped walking and looked back at her, genuinely shocked that she was suspicious of his actions. "Because Phantom asked me to." He motioned for her to continue walking, but she didn't.
"And why's he helping us? He's not working for the School is he?"
Danny looked at her in confusion before shaking his head, "He's helping because he saw some teens and kids about to collapse sky. He has a huge hero's complex that refuses to let him bypass someone without offering them help, even if it's his worst enemy. Also, why would he work for Casper High? He hates school. Prefers his private tutors."
Max glared at him a little longer, then looked at Angel thinking 'You read minds. Is he telling the truth?'
Angel cocked her head as she listened to Max, then stared at Danny. After a second she frowned. "Sorry Max," she whispered, "Can't read his mind either."
"Well of course you can't," Danny said, looking annoyed, "I'm not letting random strangers into my mind."
That unnerved Max. She thought he couldn't hear them, unless he had super hearing. Or maybe he read their mind….
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, "I can't read your minds if that's what you're wondering. Although apparently the girl can. I just have really good hearing."
"More like super-hearing," Max grumbled.
Danny shot a smirk at her, "Sure, let's go with that. And please don't try to read my mind again." Danny started walking upstairs and this time the flock followed him. "So what's your names? I told you mine, it's only fair I know yours."
"Iggy", "Gasman", "Nudge", "Angel", and "Fang" came from her flock. Max silently fumed to herself. They were telling him their actual names! Even Gasman, who never passes up the opportunity to give some weird and random name to himself.
"One name left and it's the suspicious one." Danny sang looking back to smirk at Max.
She reluctantly grumbled "Max"
"Well, Max and her siblings, followers, team, whatever you call yourselves, we're almost there, I just need y'all to get in teams of at least three." Danny said, looking back at them with his hand on the doorknob of the door in front of them. Max acknowledged that they had gone up the stairs while they were talking.
"Why would we-" Max started before she was cut off from a voice behind them.
"Danny! I thought you said you had-OH! Are these them?"
A pretty red-head came into view as she finished climbing the top of the steps. She smiled at the flock, her teal eyes warm but calculating as she looked over each member of the flock.
She opened her mouth to say something but Danny cut her off with a groan.
"Jaaazzz, if you want to play therapist do it later. They're starving and I have to get them up to the Ops-Center."
She huffed and crossed her arms, "I don't play therapist Danny," The newly dubbed Jazz said all know-it-all like, "I was merely making an observation about the other half-human hybrids that walk into our house. I only ever see two others."
"Okay, first of all, you aren't talking about that fruit loop are you? I don't think anyone actually wants him here."
The flock watched, somewhat confused and somewhat entertained by the casual banter between siblings continued. Max was sinking somewhat deep in thought. Other half-human hybrids? Just who are these people?
Jazz scoffed as she shook her head, "Dad does, but he doesn't know Vlad like we do." She narrowed her eyes at him, somewhat suspiciously, "You are going to-"
By now, Danny was facing her fully, and not just looking over his shoulder. He waves his hand at her, cutting her off, "Yeah, yeah. I know. Keep the birds away from the crazed up fruitloop who needs a cat. Like it's going to be that hard." He rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping of the words "But back to my points. You really need to start thinking about your words more clearly. And here I thought that when you started hanging around G.W. you would slip up your words less." He smirked as she blushed.
"T-that's not-we aren't-ch-changing the topic Danny!" She sputtered, still blushing a brilliant red.
Danny laughed putting his hands up in defeat. "I'm taking them up and setting up their sleeping area. Sam and Tuck will be here soon and then we'll order pizza or chinese or whatever else that we want."
Jazz nodded, her blush fading, "Want me to keep an eye out for them?"
"Nah, they'll know where I am. But I will need you to keep an eye out for the food when they get here."
"Alright, stay out of trouble little brother."
Danny gasped, placing a hand over his heart in fake hurt, "Me? In trouble? Whatever would give you an idea like that?"
Jazz shot a dry look at him, "Do you want me to get the scrapbook?"
Danny rolled his eyes, "I don't go find trouble, trouble finds me. I'll see you later Jazz."
Jazz smiled and went back the way she came, while Danny turned the doorknob and lead the snickering flock into a bedroom.
"My parents room. Don't touch anything because I'm not sure if it will attack or not-," the flock glanced warily around the room at those words, "-and I really don't need another mess to clean up. I haven't done the dishes yet and I don't want to know what Mom will do of she comes home to the dirty dishes, much less a trashed room."
He strode forward and gestured dramatically to the rug on the floor. "Alright! Who's first?"
The looked at him strangely, and he sighed, "Well that totally ruined the dramatic moment. It's a suction tube that will shoot you straight up to the Ops-Center. You can only fit up to three at a time in it. So I repeat: who's first?"
After a couple bouts of arguing, several pointless and/or suspicious questions, and lots of Rock, Paper, Scissors, the flock found themselves relaxing in, as Gazzy put it earlier, 'the giant spaceship' on top of Danny's house.
Danny himself was currently sitting upside down on a couch (he said he brought it up there earlier) and entertaining Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge with some of his wild tales with Phantom.
"-and Phantom, the jerk, didn't think to turn me intangible with him. So I am the one that got hit with all the boxes, so I was the one that got thrown across the stage. And here's the embarrassing part. My friend Sam, you'll meet her later, was supposed to give a speech to stop frog dissection in the school. I had just been thrown on the stage so the curtain was still down and I was trapped in a pile of props, slightly dazed. She opens her speech with '...something sick and disgusting is taking place here in our school'. The curtains rise just as I'm getting up. When the crowd starts laughing their heads off, I look down and realize that somehow, somehow, to this day I'm still not sure how it happened, but I was wearing a pink dress with a curly wig on." The surrounding flock members were giggling at his tale, "And of course, while my students and teachers were laughing their heads off at me in a dress, Tucker goes and adds fuel to my growing embarrassment by whistling at me while yelling 'take it off'." The giggling from the flock increased, "Later, while I'm at my locker, thankfully, in my regular clothes, Sam starts chewing my ear off about how my dress up game ruined her 'Save the Frogs' presentation. Then Tucker started commenting on how funny it was to see me in a dress and how 'Puce is not your color, man'." He ended with an imitation of his best friend.
The three burst out laughing at his ridiculous tale. Even Max found herself smiling and becoming comfortable around his easy-going personality. Angle was nodding off beside her, and Fang just looked as bored as he usually does, though Max knew he was enjoying the tales somewhat.
Then a thought came across her mind.
"Hey Danny!" She called out.
The boy's shining blue eyes turned to her, though he still rested upside down, "Yes, oh fearless leader?"
She tried not to twitch at that, "What did you mean earlier by keeping us away from fruit loops? Do you have an allergy or aversion to the cereal?"
Danny burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he slid off the couch he was on, hitting his head on the ground. This only made Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge laugh harder than they were earlier from his stories. Angle started giggling from her place in the floor.
Still laughing, Danny sat up on the floor and looked at Max, "Haha! Sorry, it's just...hahaha...you think...hehehehe," he struggled for a minute, before finally calming down enough so he could talk, "Not the cereal. It's a person. A lonely, bitter, 40-year old billionaire who wants to marry my mom, discredit and/or kill my father, and adopt me and my sister as his own. He's obsessed with the Green Bay Packers, used to live in Wisconsin as the Dairy King, is now the mayor of Amity because he threw the election. Most importantly, he's a fruit loop who needs to try internet dating and get a cat."
Max stared at him, "Ahhh, okay? Sooo...what does he want with us?"
Danny shrugged. "I don't know if he even knows about you guys yet." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Last I checked, I got rid of all the hidden cameras in the house."
Creepy stalker much? "So, why worry if you're not even sure if he knows of us?"
He sighed, humor gone from his face. "While he is one crazed up fruit loop, he's also a manipulating, cunning, evil genius. He isn't someone to underestimate."
A whooshing sound was heard behind them, and a pale goth girl and dark-skinned boy wearing a red beret walked up to them. The boy was typing furiously into a piece of tech.
"You're being paranoid Danny," the girl said as she plopped down on a nearby, unoccupied bean bag.
"No I'm not! I'm being reasonable, Sam!" Danny exclaimed as he got up, only to sit upside down on the couch again.
"Relax dude!" The other boy said, "I'm hacking into his software right now. So far it doesn't look like he's up to anything other than the usual." Then he gagged and looked away from the tech, "But he really needs less photos of your mom."
Danny gagged with him, "Thanks Tuck,"
"Sooo, introductions Danny?"
Danny, Sam, and Tucker spent the night with the flock in the Ops-Center.
Despite her earlier suspicions, Max found she really liked hanging around the trio. They joked around, told stories, and ate lots of food. Turns out Sam was filthy rich and had access to speed delivery. So yeah, they ate lots of food. Tucker and Gazzy had a hamburger eating contest. It ended in a dead tie. Considering how much the flock has to eat in order to stay healthy, that is pretty impressive for a regular human.
Tucker got along great with Iggy and Gazzy. Apparently he knew some very interesting ways to make things explode and the two flock members were itching to try them out. Sam was calm and cool….till you got into an argument with her about meat or animal rights, then she was as chatty as Nudge. Just louder, and liked throwing her combat boots. And Max never had to tell her about The School.
The next day found the flock eating lots of cereal, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, toast (which both Danny and Jazz, who had come up earlier, refused to eat), muffins, bacon, eggs, sausages, ham, and leftovers.
They were just finishing dinner when all of a sudden Danny gasped and straightened up in his chair.
Max watched him lock eyes with his sister and friends, then just run out of the room.
"Uhhh….what was that about?" Max asked, looking to Sam.
"Bathroom" Jazz, Sam, and Tucker said in unison, not even looking up from their food.
Max just shrugged and went back to eating. She let it go considering they were flying out later. So long as she didn't run into anymore invisible, flying, ghost boys, she felt like it was going to be a great day.
Yeah, I know I should be working on my other stories right now, but I couldn't get this out of my head. There seem to be waaaay to many DannyXMax fics so I thought I'd through in one that wasn't. Just randomness.
Enjoy my viewers of the corn!