My Mother's Guardian
An Danny Phantom fanfic
by Joshua Falken
Thanks for BenRG for beta-read this fanfic.
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and its characters are property of Butch Hartman and Nicklodeon. No copyright infligement is intended. This is a fanfiction work, written for fun.
Chapter 1 - The Trap
The people who knew her for her caring and gentle nature would be surprised by the cruelty of the smile on the face of Maddie Fenton while she worked in the basement lab of her home. In the soft light and the shadows, the hood and red protective goggles of her blue HAZMAT suit give her a somewhat insectoid aspect. That was one of the reasons why the black-haired, baby-blue-eyed newcomer was so uncertain about speaking to her.
"Er... Mom?" Daniel "Danny" Fenton said, a little cautious.
"Huh? Oh sweetie, what's up?" She removed her hood, revealing her shoulder-length brown hair and bright violet eyes, smiling kindly to her son.
"Well, you didn't show up for dinner..." Surprised, Maddie turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. It was eleven past midnight! "... and that was four hours ago," Danny finished.
"Sorry, Danny. I guess that I was really wrapped up in this work." Maddie rubbed the back of her neck for a moment, just like her son did when he was embarrassed. Danny almost snickered at the scene. Then he looked at the extendable metal bars on the workbench, which, to his surprise, looked rather simple... but he knew from painful experience that Fenton inventions are anything but simple...
"What is it?"
"This is the device that will finally capture the ghost boy! The Ectoplasm-Nullifier Hypercube Trap!"
Apparently, Mom caught Dad's need to give complicated names to their inventions after all...
"And what it do?"
"When a ghost passes in between these four columns, they extend…" she demonstrated extending the one-meter long column into a seven-meter long one. "And it creates a strong cube-shaped ecto-field, which immobilises any ectoplasmic molecules and sucks the energy out of the ghost in question, weakening it. It is basically a larger Fenton Thermos, but more powerful. I intend to install it at the intersection of Friedkin and Casper Ave. At last 34 of the ghost boy's apparitions have been in that area, so it is just a matter of time before he falls into it." That was practically in front of Casper High, his school! Danny swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. As if I didn't need worry about ghost attacks, Mr. Lancer's pop quizzes, Dash's bullying, my parents and Valerie hunting me, the machinations of that fruit loop Vlad and almost the entire town still thinking that I'm Public Ghost Enemy Number One, I need to be careful about where I walk...
"And the mayor has already agreed that if this prototype works, he will install the trap at every intersection in the city."
"Of course, Vlad would agreed with that," the black-haired teen murmured under his breath. Maddie glared at him, but said nothing. She knew that her son didn't like Vlad - hell, she didn't like her old college friend either - but he saved Danny when the Ghost King invaded the town some months ago. He should at last acknowledge that!
"But Mom… is that thing safe?"
"Huh?"
"I… I mean, what would happen if it turned on by accident while there is someone in the street?"
"It was made to act only when an ectoplasmic signature was detected at the area between the columns. There is no way that a human could activate it."
"And if a ghost is trapped by it while there is a person in the same place? Couldn't it hurt the person?"
Maddie sighed and stood up. "Danny, I designed this trap to affect only ghosts." She walked to a workbench model of the device, which she turned on. Between the four small columns, a cube of blue ectoplasmic energy suddenly appeared. "Except by this light, a human would not even notice that he is crossing though it." To prove her point, she passed her right arm although with no visible effect. She noticed her fifteen-year-old son rubbing the back of his neck and asked what was wrong. Danny looked at her for a moment, and them blurted out.
"Are you sure that you want to capture Phantom?"
"What?"
"I mean... he at last tries to help the town! He defeated Pariah Dark when he invaded Amity Park, and that Plant ghost..."
"And he stole the Ecto-Skeleton, robbed some jewellery stores, destroyed more things in the town that any ghost that he supposedly fought, tried to kidnap the former mayor, caused that weather problem..." Maddie said sternly, "and tried hurt you Danny!" That is the part that she didn't understand: how Danny could defend the ghost boy after he attacked him? The possibility of him being possessed by that dangerous ghost passed though her head. The ghost huntress discarded it when she remembered that he passed through the ghost shield around FentonWorks – a possessed human could not have done that.
"Mom, I already told you and Dad that I don't think it was Phantom that attacked me that day, but a ghost trying impersonating him exactly to get everybody against him..."
She sighed. "Danny, ghosts always lie. Phantom certainly wanted give you that idea to hide his real evil nature."
Now it was the teen's turn to sigh, defeated. "Ok, Mom."
Maddie Fenton saw her son going up the stairs, with that tired and defeated walk that had become usual for him recently. Where was the upbeat boy that was her son? Could it be that she and Jack were so focused on their work that they were failing their own kids?
I'm doing this to protect you, Danny, she thought before sighing again and going back to work.
In the next day, around 5PM, Danny Fenton had just left Casper High after another detention given him by Mr. Lancer for missing three periods - due to a fight with the Skulker and later with the Lunch Lady Ghost. Waiting for him outside were two teens: one was a young purple-eyed Goth brunette, who had her hair tied with a ponytail over her head and was wearing a black top, skirt and boots with purple leggings. The other was an Afro-American teen wearing a red beret and glasses, with his always present PDA. They were Samantha "Sam" Manson and Tucker Foley, Danny's best and closest friends.
"Welcome to freedom, jailbird."
"Thank you, Tucker." the half-ghost boy replied sarcastically. The trio began to walk home.
"Are you alright, Danny?" Sam asked, noticing that he was down, and not only from ghost fighting.
"It is just that I can't convince my parents that my ghostly alter-ego could be good, even if only in theory. Especially after the Amorpho disaster." I should have pounded Amorpho much harder for that one, Danny thought bitterly. "And now Mom is installing a new trap right on the intersection." He pointed to the street.
Both teens nodded and Sam put a hand on Danny's shoulder in sympathy.
He wanted to tell his parents his greatest secret - that he was a ghost-human hybrid since the accident with the Fenton Portal one and half years ago. That he was the ghost boy known as Danny Phantom. But only if he could convince them that his alter ego was good, and not evil. His friends and Danny's sister Jazz didn't question his decision: they knew that, deep inside, their friend was afraid that his parents would reject him if they knew his half-ghost status... But if they would admit that Phantom could be good, then they would certainly accept Danny for what he is...
Danny's parents would accept him anyway; the Freakshow's incident with the Reality Gauntlet showed that, Sam thought. But of course, the situation is different now... and it was possible, but very unlikely - at last, I hope so - that they would reject him. Her thoughts become gloomier...
"Danny, you want a lift?"
The three teens looked and realized who was standing right in front of them.
"Huh... Hi Mom! Uh... did you install the trap?"
"Ah, yes! I just finished it now." Maddie smiled brightly. "We and your friends could go to see that new space movie at the mall."
Normally, the sudden invitation would make Danny smile, being the NASA/space fanboy that he was. But one detail made it crash down: they would have to take the Fenton RV to go, and his mother would drive it right across the trap... Not a good idea.
"Danny! I'm glad that you're still here!" Another voice intruded, this one belonging to a tall 17-year-old green-eyed redhead. "Did you forget that you and your friends had to go to the library to do that report?"
The perfect excuse.
"You're right, Jazz! Sorry Mom."
"Oh... ok." Maddy's smile broke a little. "I'll see you later. Try don't miss your curfew."
"Ok. I'll see you later!" The three teens followed the redhead to her car.
"You arrived just in time, Jazz!" Sam commented.
"No problem. I'll take you to the library and later you can go to the Nasty Burger."
The half-ghost boy looked back and felt saddened. His mother was standing close to the RV, her face full of disappointment.
"Man…" he whispered remorsefully.
"Did you say something, Danny?"
"No, Jazz. It's nothing."
Later, Maddie Fenton was looking at a picture that was taken on a trip to the park, when her son was just 4 years old. In it, she was hugging a smiling Danny, who was holding a wooden sword, pretending to be a knight. A sad smile appeared in her face. When he wasn't imagining himself as an astronaut, he imagined that he was a superhero. At that time, they were very close, but now... Danny seemed to be more and more distant...
Right now, Danny was in his bedroom, doing his homework - what should be a routine. However, for more than a year, only once in a while would he manage to get home before curfew time. Today was one those days.
She frowned. What could be so pressing that it could force him to miss such a simple responsibility? To not mention all the times that he forgot his chores and his failing grades (stuck in a C- with luck). One fact didn't make sense: Danny could be clueless sometimes but he was smart. Until sometime ago, his grades floated between B- and A-...
The ghost huntress sighed sadly and leaned back on the sofa, closing her eyes.
A moment later they shot up open when she heard a small blip.
Immediately, she collected her ghost hunting weapons and raced out of her house, only stopping to put on an old white trench coat, due to the cold night.
Her trap had detected the presence of ghosts close to it.
Leaving the Fenton RV in a near street, she silently got close of the fight. She immediately recognised the familiar black and white blur of the ghost boy, who was fighting an eight-armed ghost.
"Man, why did you have to come and bug me? I had almost finished my homework before you came!" Phantom complained, shooting a green ectoblast. Phantom's enemy didn't reply; it just kept shooting ectoblasts of its own.
Homework? How could Phantom have homework if he is dead? Maddie thought frustrated, at the paradoxical information and the fact that both ghosts were keeping their fight away from her trap.
The ghost kid flew close to her hiding place, behind a dumpster. She charged her Fenton Bazooka, ready to shoot. That is when the octopus-like ghost shot a very strong blast that knocked Phantom to the ground, the shock waves striking the dumpster and almost knocking Maddie unconscious, breaking the ghost-killing weapon.
"Huh...? Mo-Maddie?" Phantom asked, groggily.
Before she could reply, the eight-legged ghost reached out with a tentacle, gripping her, and pulling her into the sky.
"NO! Leave her alone!" the ghost boy yelled, despair, fear and rage in his voice. The part of Maddie Fenton's mind that wasn't busy in trying to get loose from the ghost that was kidnapping her wondered why Phantom sounded so worried. She saw the ghost boy flying up with all his might after them.
Then, suddenly, when they were several kilometres from the ground, the ghost released her. Maddie began to fall.
"NOOOO!" She heard Phantom scream.
The fact that she was failing to her death let Maddie numb. She almost didn't feel it when someone grabbed her by the waist when she was just a few meters above the street. Then her trajectory curved towards the horizontal and she was flying down the street.
"Are you al…?"
The ghost boy didn't finish his question, because a blue light coming from nowhere enveloped them both. A pain like nothing that Maddie Fenton felt in her life coursed through her body for what seemed hours. Then everything went black.
To be continued...
So, what do you think?
Read and review!