Chapter 1

The gas that warms your house doesn't actually have a smell. They mix something in with it to give it that distinct gas odor. If there's a gas leak, you'll smell that stuff and instantly get out of the house.

But no one smelled it that day.

The explosion of the apartment building on 42nd street echoed around Amity Park. Instantly there were three people on the scene: the fire department, Valerie Gray, and, surprisingly to the latter, Danny Phantom.

It was a race against time as more and more of the building collapsed with people trapped inside. Valerie expertly maneuvered her glider around the debris, picking up the fallen people and carrying them to safety. Phantom was working just as hard. He flew, intangibly, through the wreckage, saving as many people as possible.

At one point, Valerie and Phantom returned to the safety of the road at the same time, one carrying an old woman, the other a small child. Phantom handed the baby over to the sobbing parents before turning and lapsing into a violent coughing fit.

The smoke didn't bother Valerie; it couldn't get to her through her suit. But apparently Phantom breathed and his dozens of trips into the burning building had caught up with him.

Valerie watched as emergency personnel hurried over to him, offering an oxygen tank. He declined. It would slow him down. He shook his head and flew back into the fray.

Ash fell to the street like snow. Everyone was safe. Everyone was accounted for. The apartment building was barely more than smoldering rubble. The firefighters were taking care of the last few embers. Only then, when he was assured that everyone was okay, did Phantom accept treatment.

He was now sitting on a stretcher, taking deep breaths of pure oxygen. Valerie approached him. "Nice job," she said, a smile tugging at her face.

Phantom smiled weakly and gave her a thumbs-up. Then he started coughing so forcefully that he had to take the mask off. "Ugh," he groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I don't feel so good."

"You don't look so good, either. You should really let those guys help you, you know."

Phantom shook his head. "No…no hospitals. I can't…no." Suddenly a bright light emanated out of Phantom's chest. Valerie took a step back, startled. Phantom seemed to be fighting the light, groaning loudly. Eventually the light subsided and he sighed in relief.

"Phantom, what was that?"

He shook his ghostly head before passing out.

Valerie stood protectively outside the room Phantom was sleeping in. He had said no hospitals, but, well, he needed help. Why was she still here? The doctors had said she could go long ago. But, she just couldn't leave him. Especially after they took his burnt suit off. Him, lying there in nothing but a paper dress and his underwear, he seemed so helpless, defenseless, weak. And no one can abandon a sick puppy, which is what he reminded Valerie of.

He was so mysterious. She knew he was evil. He had to be. He was a ghost. And yet he hadn't stopped working at that building until he was sure everyone was safe. He was a ghost. And yet he breathed. He had a skeleton, a corporeal body, organs. But no pulse. He was a ghost. He had no feelings. And yet he had nearly burst into tears of joy when he heard everyone was accounted for.

He was a ghost.

And yet he looked so human.

His eyes flicked open, taking in the confusing surroundings. Valerie jumped, and instantly fled through the door and into his room.

Phantom's eyes flared when he saw her; he obviously considered her a threat. "Val – I mean, Red Huntress!" he stumbled and fell out of his hospital bed with a thud. He groaned, scrambled to his feet, and fled towards the window. He coughed and fell to the ground before he ever got there. "Please," he coughed again. "Please, don't hurt me."

Valerie approached him and grabbed his wrist. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Phantom. I just want some answers to some questions." The ghost nodded and then looked down at himself.

"Where's my suit?" he asked, indignantly.

"In the trash. It was so burnt it was basically rags."

"Oh," he conceded. Then he mumbled to himself, "Now I got to get a new one."

"And that brings me to my first question, Phantom," she said. "You're suit was actual spandex."

"Yeah? So?"

"I mean, most ghosts' clothing is just manifestations of ectoplasm. You were wearing actual fabric. Why? And how?"

"Well, uh, you see…" Phantom stuttered. He was interrupted, however, by one of the doctors entering the hospital room.

"Mr. Phantom!" he called. "You're awake. Good. The hospital was wondering if you would answer a few questions about your condition. Also, we would like to run a few tests…"

Valerie felt the ghost breathing heavily next to her. "Uh, uh," he whispered. "You're not getting me now." Valerie didn't realize she was still holding Phantom's wrist. A cold sensation overtook her body and she shivered. She looked down and saw that her body wasn't there. Panicking, Valerie didn't realize Phantom was pulling her towards the window.

She gasped as she didn't feel solid glass behind her. She didn't feel anything. She watched the flabbergasted doctor's face as she backed up through the window.

And then they were falling.

Valerie screamed as they fell from the eighth floor of the hospital. Windows streaked past her. Phantom wasn't doing anything to stop their rapid descent. "Anytime you want to fly us away from here, Phantom?" she screeched.

Phantom appeared to be battling as hard as he could to gain altitude. "Can't! Too weak!" he yelled at her.

Valerie huffed in midair. She activated her glider just by thinking about it and soon they were soaring through the air, Phantom clinging to her.

"You don't think very far ahead, do you?" she asked sarcastically.

Phantom grinned sheepishly. "I wasn't going to let them do any tests on me. Experiments," he spat out, as if it were a hateful word.

"So, um, let's go to my place?" Valerie asked tentatively.

Phantom's green eyes looked back at her, surprised. "What, no ectoguns? No taunts and fights and telling me I'm the lowest form of life imaginable? You know what I mean," he added quickly.

Valerie paused for a second. Why was she doing this? Why was she acting so nice? Why wasn't she trying to kill him (figuratively speaking)? Valerie smiled. She knew. "When you saved that little kid's life I knew… I knew you couldn't have done everything everyone says you did. At least not willingly." Her eyes grew cold. "But I still blame you for losing my dad's job."

Phantom nodded, which was something she didn't expect. "Yeah, I understand."

They had reached Valerie's house by now. They flew silently through her window and dropped lightly into her bedroom. Valerie felt very awkward. The ghost boy, her enemy, was in her house. It didn't make sense in her head.

"Well," she started. "Let's get you some clothes." It seemed Phantom actually needed to wear some as opposed to making clothes out of his own ectoplasm. She went to her wardrobe and picked out the baggiest t-shirt and jeans she could find. She also brought some of her dad's old flip-flops.

She came back to see Phantom looking over her bedroom. But to her surprise he was looking at it with a practiced eye, as if he had been there before. She watched him smile at odd objects that meant plenty to her but should mean nothing to him. He carefully avoided the wall with the poster of most wanted ghosts. After all, his name was at the top. Shrugging it off, she brought forward the clothes.

"Here, we can't have you flying around in a bed sheet all day. You'd look like an actual ghost." Phantom looked up at her. Valerie held a stern face but inside she was blushing. She hadn't meant to reveal that. He just looked so human. If she hadn't seen him throw ectoblasts around she would have thought he was some punk who decided to die his hair white.

But it was hard to ignore that ethereal glow he always had.

Phantom seemed to ignore that slip and reached for the clothes. "Thanks," he said. The instant he touched them they vanished along with himself. Valerie watched fascinated as the hospital dress appeared and floated to the ground. Valerie realized Phantom was changing in front of her. She wanted to gag and chuckle at the same time.

A minute later he reappeared. "Ugh. Girls' clothes." He winked at her. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

Phantom nodded. "Well, I should be going now. I think I can fly. Besides, I need to get a new suit." He gestured, grinning, to Valerie's clothes.

"Hey, you still haven't answered my questions," Valerie reprimanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uh, right. Well, how 'bout I meet you tomorrow?" he asked, surprising the huntress. She was expecting something along the lines of 'catch me if you can.'

"Well, sure," she agreed, extremely surprised. "Where do you want to meet?"

"I can pick you up here. We could… go somewhere."

"Where?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Um, the mall? The ice cream parlor? I'll pick you up, say three?"

Valerie actually smiled. "That sounds fine."

Phantom smiled back and made towards the wall.

"Phantom!" she called, surprising herself. He turned around, smile frozen. "If you give me one reason to believe you're evil, I won't hesitate in hunting you down. No matter how human-like you are, you're still a ghost."

The smile dropped from his face. He nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know."

And with that, he phased through the wall, and was gone.